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1985 Air Force

12–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Fisher DeBerry, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Air Force in 1985, game by game: won vs. UTEP 48–6; won at Wyoming 49–7; won vs. Rice 59–17; won at New Mexico 49–12; won vs. Notre Dame 21–15; won at Navy 24–7; won at Colorado State 35–19; won vs. Utah 37–15; won vs. San Diego State 31–10; won vs. Army 45–7; lost at No. 16 BYU 21–28; won at Hawai’i 27–20; won vs. Texas 24–16+42−7Won 48–6 vs. UTEP+42UTEPWon 49–7 at Wyoming+42WyomingWon 59–17 vs. Rice+42RiceWon 49–12 at New Mexico+37New MexicoWon 21–15 vs. Notre Dame+6Notre DameWon 24–7 at Navy+17NavyWon 35–19 at Colorado State+16Colorado StateWon 37–15 vs. Utah+22UtahWon 31–10 vs. San Diego State+21San Diego StateWon 45–7 vs. Army+38ArmyLost 21–28 at No. 16 BYU-7No. 16 BYUWon 27–20 at Hawai’i+7Hawai’iWon 24–16 vs. Texas+8Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsUTEPW 48–⁠684%
Sep 14atWyomingW 49–⁠762%
Sep 21vsRiceW 59–⁠1789%
Sep 28atNew MexicoW 49–⁠1269%
Oct 5vsNotre DameW 21–⁠1572%
Oct 12atNavyW 24–⁠771%
Oct 19atColorado StateW 35–⁠1978%
Oct 26vsUtahW 37–⁠1572%
Nov 2vsSan Diego StateW 31–⁠1084%
Nov 9vsArmyW 45–⁠773%
Nov 16at16BYUL 21–⁠2843%
Nov 23atHawai’iW 27–⁠2070%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsTexasBluebonnet BowlW 24–⁠1668%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Texas 24–⁠16 in the Bluebonnet Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; Western Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 71 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 19
  2. Wk 6: 17
  3. Wk 7: 13
  4. Wk 8: 10
  5. Wk 9: 8
  6. Wk 10: 7
  7. Wk 11: 5
  8. Wk 12: 4
  9. Wk 13: 13
  10. Wk 14: 11
  11. Wk 15: 10
  12. Wk 16: 10
  13. Final: 8

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1985.

Western Athletic Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with BYU

Consensus All-AmericanScott Thomas, DB

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearFisher DeBerry, coach; also the Walter Camp Coach and Bobby Dodd Award

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 4
Points
470–⁠179
Coach
Fisher DeBerry
Elo
1739 +154 this season
SP+ rating
23.5 No. 6 of 106; offense No. 3, defense No. 28
SRS
21.0 No. 5 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captain
All seniors
Offense
Wishbone triple option

1985 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Air Force7–⁠112–⁠18
BYU7–⁠111–⁠316
Utah5–⁠38–⁠4
Hawai’i4–⁠3–⁠14–⁠6–⁠2
Colorado State4–⁠45–⁠7
San Diego State3–⁠4–⁠15–⁠6–⁠1
Wyoming2–⁠63–⁠8
New Mexico2–⁠63–⁠8
UTEP1–⁠71–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.