2015 Air Force

8–⁠6 (6–⁠2 Mountain West Conference), coached by Troy Calhoun.

Schedule and results

Air Force in 2015, game by game: won vs. Morgan State 63–7; won vs. San José State 37–16; lost at No. 4 Michigan State 21–35; lost at Navy 11–33; won vs. Wyoming 31–17; lost at Colorado State 23–38; won vs. Fresno State 42–14; won at Hawai’i 58–7; won vs. Army 20–3; won vs. Utah State 35–28; won at Boise State 37–30; lost at New Mexico 35–47; lost at San Diego State 24–27; lost vs. California 36–55+56−22Won 63–7 vs. Morgan State+56Morgan StateWon 37–16 vs. San José State+21San José StateLost 21–35 at No. 4 Michigan State-14No. 4 Michigan StateLost 11–33 at Navy-22NavyWon 31–17 vs. Wyoming+14WyomingLost 23–38 at Colorado State-15Colorado StateWon 42–14 vs. Fresno State+28Fresno StateWon 58–7 at Hawai’i+51Hawai’iWon 20–3 vs. Army+17ArmyWon 35–28 vs. Utah State+7Utah StateWon 37–30 at Boise State+7Boise StateLost 35–47 at New Mexico-12New MexicoLost 24–27 at San Diego State-3San Diego StateLost 36–55 vs. California-19California
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsMorgan StateW 63–⁠784%
Sep 12vsSan José StateW 37–⁠1670%
Sep 19at4Michigan StateL 21–⁠3523%
Oct 3atNavyL 11–⁠3336%
Oct 10vsWyomingW 31–⁠1785%
Oct 17atColorado StateL 23–⁠3849%
Oct 24vsFresno StateW 42–⁠1472%
Oct 31atHawai’iW 58–⁠765%
Nov 7vsArmyW 20–⁠379%
Nov 14vsUtah StateW 35–⁠2854%
Nov 20atBoise StateW 37–⁠3035%
Nov 28atNew MexicoL 35–⁠4770%
Dec 5atSan Diego StateMountain West Championship GameL 24–⁠2732%
Dec 29vsCaliforniaArmed Forces BowlL 36–⁠5556%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to California 55–⁠36 in the Armed Forces Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 37th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 71 on file).

MW Mountain champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Record
8–⁠6
Conference
6–⁠2 2nd in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
473–⁠357
Coach
Troy Calhoun
Elo
1522 −3 this season
SP+ rating
4.7 No. 57 of 128; offense No. 47, defense No. 74, special teams No. 23
SRS
0.9 No. 63 of 128 in FBS
Returning
62% of last season’s EPA, No. 63 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 123 roster talent No. 128 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Thiessen
Defensive coordinator
Steve Russ
Captains
Alex Hansen, A.J. Ruechel and Connor Healy
Offense
Triple option
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense30th of 128
  • Defense71st of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted44th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted81st of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1746%1.1330th of 128
Defense0.1137%1.5471st of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
0.10 def
45% off
37% def
—44th off
81st 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 292% allowed
Defense3.6own 292% 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 yardsKarson Roberts QB1,595 yds
Passing touchdownsKarson Roberts QB11 TD
Rushing yardsJacobi Owens RB1,092 yds
Rushing touchdownsKarson Roberts QB10 TD
Receiving yardsJalen Robinette WR641 yds
Receiving touchdownsJalen Robinette WR5 TD
InterceptionsWeston Steelhammer DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

James Jones CB★★★No. 1363
Corey Taylor RB★★No. 2308
Matt Gaiter SDE★★No. 2393
Tyler Vaught DUAL★★No. 2445
Ryan DeLung OG★★No. 2484

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.00.781
Running backs32.00.781
Receivers32.00.758
Offensive line32.00.771
Defensive line32.00.772
Linebackers22.00.734
Defensive backs42.30.782
Athletes and specialists12.00.760
Whole class212.00.770

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 123

The 2015 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 31 have a stat line. See the roster

2015 Mountain West Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
San Diego State8–⁠011–⁠3
Air Force6–⁠28–⁠6
Boise State5–⁠39–⁠4
Colorado State5–⁠37–⁠6
New Mexico5–⁠37–⁠6
Utah State5–⁠36–⁠7
Nevada4–⁠47–⁠6
San José State4–⁠46–⁠7
Fresno State2–⁠63–⁠9
UNLV2–⁠63–⁠9
Wyoming2–⁠62–⁠10
Hawai’i0–⁠83–⁠10

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