2020 Air Force Falcons football team

2020 Air Force Falcons football
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Record3–3 (2–2 MW)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Thiessen (10th season)
Offensive schemeTriple option
Defensive coordinatorJohn Rudzinski (3rd season)
Base defenseMultiple
CaptainGame captains
Home stadiumFalcon Stadium
Uniform
2020 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 24 San Jose State y$   7 – 0     7 – 1  
Boise State y   5 – 0     5 – 2  
Nevada   6 – 2     7 – 2  
San Diego State   4 – 2     4 – 4  
Hawaii   4 – 4     5 – 4  
Fresno State   3 – 3     3 – 3  
  2 – 2     3 – 3  
Wyoming   2 – 4     2 – 4  
New Mexico   2 – 5     2 – 5  
Colorado State   1 – 3     1 – 3  
Utah State   1 – 5     1 – 5  
UNLV   0 – 6     0 – 6  
Championship: San Jose State 34, Boise State 20
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, the Mountain West suspended the season, but later decided to begin play on October 24.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2020 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) during 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by 14th-year head coach Troy Calhoun, the Falcons compiled an overall record of 3–3 with a mark of 2–2 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for fifth in the MW. The team played home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Schedule

Air Force announced its 2020 football schedule on February 27, 2020.[2] The original 2020 schedule consisted of 6 home and 6 away games in the regular season. On August 10, 2020, the Mountain West Conference announced the suspension of the football season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][4] Due to the nature of their institutions and rivalries, Air Force kept scheduled games with Army and Navy in order to play for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy in the fall.[5] Scheduled games against Duquesne and Purdue from the original schedule were canceled and Mountain West Conference play was suspended. On September 25, the Mountain West announced that their Board of Directors had met and approved plans to resume the football season.[6] The revised schedule was announced on October 1, with conference play beginning on October 24.[7] The Falcons had six conference games scheduled, two less than their MW counterparts to account for their service academy match-ups. The Army game, originally scheduled for November 7, was postponed indefinitely on November 5 with both schools saying they would reschedule the game if possible.[8][9] The Wyoming game, originally scheduled for November 14, was canceled on November 8.[10] The Colorado State game, originally scheduled for November 26, was canceled on November 25.[11] On that same day, the Air Force-Army game was rescheduled for December 19 at Michie Stadium.[12]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
October 34:00 p.m.Navy*
CBSSNW 40–75,000
October 248:30 p.m.at San Jose State
FS1L 6–170
October 314:00 p.m.No. 25 Boise State
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO
CBSSNL 30–49500
November 148:00 p.m.at Wyoming
CBSSNNo contest
November 207:30 p.m.New Mexico
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO
FS1W 28–0100
November 2612:00 p.m.Colorado State
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)
CBSSNNo contest
December 37:30 p.m.at Utah State
CBSSNW 35–73,025
December 191:00 p.m.at Army*
CBSSNL 7–101,306

[13]

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award Player Position Year
Lott IMPACT Trophy[14] Demonte Meeks LB SR
Davey O'Brien Award[15] Donald Hammond III QB SR
Outland Trophy[16] Parker Ferguson OL SR
Nolan Laufenberg OL SR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[17] Donald Hammond III QB SR

Mountain West media days

The Mountain West media days were originally scheduled to take place from July 27–29, 2020, virtually, but were canceled.[18]

Media poll

The preseason poll was released on July 21, 2020. The Falcons were predicted to finish in third place in the MW Mountain Division.[19] The divisions were later suspended for the 2020 season.

Mountain
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Boise State 125 (20)
2 Wyoming 90 (1)
3 Air Force 86
4 Utah State 60
5 Colorado State 59
6 New Mexico 21
West
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 San Diego State 122 (19)
2 Nevada 100 (2)
3 Hawaii 74
4 Fresno State 73
5 San Jose State 43
6 UNLV 29

Preseason All−Mountain West Team

The Falcons had three players selected to the preseason All−Mountain West Team; two from the offense and one from the defense.[20]

Game summaries

See also: 2020 Navy Midshipmen football team and Commander-in-Chief's Trophy
Navy Midshipmen at Air Force Falcons
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Midshipmen 0 7 007
Falcons 3 13 32140

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, CO

Game information
Statistics NAVY AF
First downs 10 25
3rd down efficiency 5–13 2–9
4th down efficiency 1–3 0–0
Plays–yards 54–241 62–410
Rushes–yards 36–90 53–369
Passing yards 151 41
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 8–18–1 4–9–0
Penalties–yards 4–30 3–23
Turnovers 2 0
Time of possession 25:52 34:08

At San Jose State

See also: 2020 San Jose State Spartans football team
Air Force Falcons at San Jose State Spartans
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 0 066
Spartans 0 0 14317

at CEFCU Stadium, San Jose, CA

Game information
Statistics AF SJSU
First downs 17 19
3rd down efficiency 9–16 5–12
4th down efficiency 1–2 0–1
Plays–yards 66–298 59–294
Rushes–yards 49–206 30–68
Passing yards 92 226
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 9–17–0 22–29–1
Penalties–yards 4–55 6–45
Turnovers 2 1
Time of possession 29:24 30:36

Boise State

See also: 2020 Boise State Broncos football team
No. 25 Boise State Broncos at Air Force Falcons
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 25 Broncos 7 21 71449
Falcons 14 3 01330

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, CO

Game information
Statistics BSU AF
First downs 23 28
3rd down efficiency 2–4 4–12
4th down efficiency 0–0 3–3
Plays–yards 49–459 73–484
Rushes–yards 29–179 66–415
Passing yards 280 69
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 17–20–0 4–7–0
Penalties–yards 3–40 6–43
Turnovers 0 0
Time of possession 22:29 37:31

At Wyoming

See also: 2020 Wyoming Cowboys football team
CANCELLED – Air Force Falcons at Wyoming Cowboys
Quarter 1 2 Total
Falcons 0
Cowboys 0

at War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, WY

New Mexico

See also: 2020 New Mexico Lobos football team
New Mexico Lobos at Air Force Falcons
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Lobos 0 0 000
Falcons 7 14 0728

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, CO

Game information
Statistics NM AF
First downs 19 23
3rd down efficiency 4–13 9–13
4th down efficiency 0–1 1–2
Plays–yards 67–304 68–422
Rushes–yards 25–83 63–356
Passing yards 221 66
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 23–42–1 4–5–0
Penalties–yards 8–70 5–42
Turnovers 2 3
Time of possession 23:31 36:29

Colorado State

See also: 2020 Colorado State Rams football team and Air Force–Colorado State football rivalry
CANCELLED – Colorado State Rams at Air Force Falcons
Quarter 1 2 Total
Rams 0
Falcons 0

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, CO

At Utah State

See also: 2020 Utah State Aggies football team
Air Force Falcons at Utah State Aggies
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 7 14 7735
Aggies 7 0 007

at Maverik Stadium, Logan, UT

Game information
Statistics AF USU
First downs 24 14
3rd down efficiency 5–10 9–14
4th down efficiency 3–4 0–2
Plays–yards 64–461 58–232
Rushes–yards 55–334 26–109
Passing yards 127 123
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 7–9–0 17–32–2
Penalties–yards 6–67 6–65
Turnovers 0 2
Time of possession 34:54 25:06

At Army

See also: 2020 Army Black Knights football team and Commander-in-Chief's Trophy
Air Force Falcons at Army Black Knights
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 0 707
Black Knights 0 3 0710

at Michie Stadium, West Point, NY

Game information
Statistics AF ARMY
First downs 11 21
3rd down efficiency 4–8 9–17
4th down efficiency 0–0 2–3
Plays–yards 40–261 73–290
Rushes–yards 26–154 71–290
Passing yards 107 0
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 6–14–3 1–2–0
Penalties–yards 3–15 2–15
Turnovers 3 1
Time of possession 22:34 37:26

Roster

2020 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster

References

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