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2014 Air Force

10–⁠3 (5–⁠3 Mountain West Conference), coached by Troy Calhoun.

Schedule and results

Air Force in 2014, game by game: won vs. Nicholls 44–16; lost at Wyoming 13–17; won at Georgia State 48–38; won vs. Boise State 28–14; won vs. Navy 30–21; lost at Utah State 16–34; won vs. New Mexico 35–31; won at Army 23–6; won at UNLV 48–21; won vs. Nevada 45–38; lost at San Diego State 14–30; won vs. No. 21 Colorado State 27–24; won vs. Western Michigan 38–24+28−18Won 44–16 vs. Nicholls+28NichollsLost 13–17 at Wyoming-4WyomingWon 48–38 at Georgia State+10Georgia StateWon 28–14 vs. Boise State+14Boise StateWon 30–21 vs. Navy+9NavyLost 16–34 at Utah State-18Utah StateWon 35–31 vs. New Mexico+4New MexicoWon 23–6 at Army+17ArmyWon 48–21 at UNLV+27UNLVWon 45–38 vs. Nevada+7NevadaLost 14–30 at San Diego State-16San Diego StateWon 27–24 vs. No. 21 Colorado State+3No. 21 Colorado StateWon 38–24 vs. Western Michigan+14Western Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsNichollsW 44–⁠1677%
Sep 6atWyomingL 13–⁠1734%
Sep 13atGeorgia StateW 48–⁠3862%
Sep 27vsBoise StateW 28–⁠1428%
Oct 4vsNavyW 30–⁠2146%
Oct 11atUtah StateL 16–⁠3425%
Oct 18vsNew MexicoW 35–⁠3170%
Nov 1atArmyW 23–⁠660%
Nov 8atUNLVW 48–⁠2159%
Nov 15vsNevadaW 45–⁠3851%
Nov 21atSan Diego StateL 14–⁠3045%
Nov 28vs21Colorado StateW 27–⁠2440%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvsWestern MichiganFamous Idaho Potato BowlW 38–⁠2451%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Western Michigan 38–⁠24 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 35th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 71 on file).

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
409–⁠314
Coach
Troy Calhoun
Elo
1538 +172 this season
SP+ rating
-1.4 No. 74 of 128; offense No. 80, defense No. 77, special teams No. 8
SRS
−2.6 No. 72 of 128 in FBS
Returning
61% of last season’s EPA, No. 62 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 112
Offensive coordinator
Mike Thiessen
Defensive coordinator
Steve Russ
Captains
Kale Pearson, Christian Spears, Michael Husar Jr. and Joey Nichol
Offense
Triple option
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense55th of 128
  • Defense61st of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted65th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted55th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1645%1.0255th of 128
Defense0.1438%1.4361st of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.15 off
0.14 def		41% off
39% def		—65th off
55th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.9own 312% allowed
Defense3.2own 281% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsKale Pearson QB1,590 yds
Passing touchdownsKale Pearson QB14 TD
Rushing yardsJacobi Owens RB1,054 yds
Rushing touchdownsD.J. Johnson RB8 TD
Receiving yardsJalen Robinette WR806 yds
Receiving touchdownsGarrett Brown WR6 TD
InterceptionsWeston Steelhammer DB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Chandler Hawkins CB★★★No. 1549
Emmanuel Soto WR★★★No. 1624
Matthew Jacques WDE★★No. 1989
Matt Guida RB★★No. 2125
Cole Hansen OG★★No. 2338

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.769
Running backs32.00.772
Receivers62.20.769
Offensive line32.00.770
Defensive line32.00.766
Linebackers32.00.757
Defensive backs22.50.791
Athletes and specialists12.00.766
Whole class222.10.769

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 98

The 2014 roster

98 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 33 have a stat line. See the roster

2014 Mountain West Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State7–⁠112–⁠216
Colorado State6–⁠210–⁠3
Utah State6–⁠210–⁠4
Air Force5–⁠310–⁠3
San Diego State5–⁠37–⁠6
Fresno State5–⁠36–⁠8
Nevada4–⁠47–⁠6
Hawai’i3–⁠54–⁠9
Wyoming2–⁠64–⁠8
New Mexico2–⁠64–⁠8
San José State2–⁠63–⁠9
UNLV1–⁠72–⁠11

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