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1989 Air Force

8–⁠4–⁠1 (5–⁠1–⁠1 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Fisher DeBerry.

Schedule and results

Air Force in 1989, game by game: won vs. San Diego State 52–36; won vs. Wyoming 45–7; won at Northwestern 48–31; won vs. UTEP 43–26; won at Colorado State 46–21; won at Navy 35–7; lost vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 27–41; lost at TCU 9–27; won vs. Army 29–3; lost at No. 21 BYU 35–44; won at Utah 42–38; tied at No. 23 Hawai’i 35–35; lost vs. Ole Miss 29–42+38−18Won 52–36 vs. San Diego State+16San Diego StateWon 45–7 vs. Wyoming+38WyomingWon 48–31 at Northwestern+17NorthwesternWon 43–26 vs. UTEP+17UTEPWon 46–21 at Colorado State+25Colorado StateWon 35–7 at Navy+28NavyLost 27–41 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame-14No. 1 Notre DameLost 9–27 at TCU-18TCUWon 29–3 vs. Army+26ArmyLost 35–44 at No. 21 BYU-9No. 21 BYUWon 42–38 at Utah+4UtahTied 35–35 at No. 23 Hawai’i0No. 23 Hawai’iLost 29–42 vs. Ole Miss-13Ole Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsSan Diego StateW 52–⁠3665%
Sep 10vsWyomingW 45–⁠750%
Sep 16atNorthwesternW 48–⁠3164%
Sep 23vsUTEPW 43–⁠2668%
Sep 30atColorado StateW 46–⁠2168%
Oct 7atNavyW 35–⁠774%
Oct 14vs1Notre DameL 27–⁠4137%
Oct 21atTCUL 9–⁠2763%
Nov 4vsArmyW 29–⁠358%
Nov 11at21BYUL 35–⁠4440%
Nov 25atUtahW 42–⁠3867%
Dec 9at23Hawai’iT 35–⁠3538%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsOle MissLiberty BowlL 29–⁠4260%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ole Miss 42–⁠29 in the Liberty Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 30th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 71 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 24
  2. Wk 6: 20
  3. Wk 7: 17
  4. Wk 8: 19

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 1989.

Record
8–⁠4–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠1–⁠1 2nd in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 17
Points
475–⁠358
Coach
Fisher DeBerry
Elo
1552 +60 this season
SP+ rating
9.6 No. 32 of 103; offense No. 7, defense No. 81
SRS
7.9 No. 31 of 106 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Dee Dowis, Lance McDowell, Scott Hollister, Randall Gladney and Tom Kafka
Offense
Wishbone triple option

1989 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
BYU7–⁠110–⁠322
Air Force5–⁠1–⁠18–⁠4–⁠1
Hawai’i5–⁠2–⁠19–⁠3–⁠1
Wyoming5–⁠35–⁠6
San Diego State4–⁠36–⁠5–⁠1
Colorado State4–⁠35–⁠5–⁠1
Utah2–⁠64–⁠8
UTEP1–⁠72–⁠10
New Mexico0–⁠72–⁠10

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