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2017 Air Force

5–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Mountain West Conference), coached by Troy Calhoun.

Schedule and results

Air Force in 2017, game by game: won vs. VMI 62–0; lost at No. 7 Michigan 13–29; lost vs. No. 22 San Diego State 24–28; lost at New Mexico 38–56; lost at Navy 45–48; won vs. UNLV 34–30; won at Nevada 45–42; won at Colorado State 45–28; lost vs. Army 0–21; lost vs. Wyoming 14–28; lost at Boise State 19–44; won vs. Utah State 38–35+62−25Won 62–0 vs. VMI+62VMILost 13–29 at No. 7 Michigan-16No. 7 MichiganLost 24–28 vs. No. 22 San Diego State-4No. 22 San Diego StateLost 38–56 at New Mexico-18New MexicoLost 45–48 at Navy-3NavyWon 34–30 vs. UNLV+4UNLVWon 45–42 at Nevada+3NevadaWon 45–28 at Colorado State+17Colorado StateLost 0–21 vs. Army-21ArmyLost 14–28 vs. Wyoming-14WyomingLost 19–44 at Boise State-25Boise StateWon 38–35 vs. Utah State+3Utah State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsVMIW 62–⁠092%
Sep 16at7MichiganL 13–⁠2928%
Sep 23vs22San Diego StateL 24–⁠2846%
Sep 30atNew MexicoL 38–⁠5647%
Oct 7atNavyL 45–⁠4828%
Oct 14vsUNLVW 34–⁠3071%
Oct 20atNevadaW 45–⁠4262%
Oct 28atColorado StateW 45–⁠2834%
Nov 4vsArmyL 0–⁠2164%
Nov 11vsWyomingL 14–⁠2859%
Nov 18atBoise StateL 19–⁠4420%
Nov 25vsUtah StateW 38–⁠3555%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Utah State 38–⁠35; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 42nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 71 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
377–⁠389
Coach
Troy Calhoun
Elo
1495 −72 this season
SP+ rating
-11.0 No. 104 of 128; offense No. 59, defense No. 122, special teams No. 41
SRS
−6.4 No. 90 of 130 in FBS
Returning
63% of last season’s EPA, No. 61 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 109 roster talent No. 130 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Thiessen
Defensive coordinator
Steve Russ
Captains
Alex Norton, Grant Ross, Luke Strebel and Santo Coppola
Offense
Triple option
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense56th of 130
  • Defense120th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted64th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted124th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1048%1.0156th of 130
Defense0.2444%1.37120th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
0.22 def		46% off
44% def		—64th off
124th 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
Offense4.4own 2713% allowed
Defense4.0own 3312% caused

CORE rating -6.3, 92nd of 130 (offense 3.8, defense 10.0).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsArion Worthman QB1,100 yds
Passing touchdownsArion Worthman QB10 TD
Rushing yardsArion Worthman QB821 yds
Rushing touchdownsArion Worthman QB13 TD
Receiving yardsMarcus Bennett WR398 yds
Receiving touchdownsGeraud Sanders WR3 TD
TacklesJack Flor LB88 tkl
SacksJack Flor LB2 sacks
InterceptionsChristopher Musselman LB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Kade Remsberg RB★★★No. 1246
T.D. Blackmon OLB★★★No. 1261
Jojo Falo OC★★★No. 1527
Brandon Gooding WDE★★★No. 1759
David Cormier WR★★★No. 1916

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks42.00.768
Running backs22.50.808
Receivers82.10.764
Offensive line132.10.766
Defensive line152.10.768
Linebackers102.10.755
Defensive backs52.20.761
Athletes and specialists32.00.757
Whole class602.10.765

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 149

The 2017 roster

149 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 72 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Mountain West Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State7–⁠111–⁠322
Fresno State7–⁠110–⁠4
San Diego State6–⁠210–⁠3
Wyoming5–⁠38–⁠5
Colorado State5–⁠37–⁠6
Utah State4–⁠46–⁠7
UNLV4–⁠45–⁠7
Air Force4–⁠45–⁠7
Nevada3–⁠53–⁠9
Hawai’i1–⁠73–⁠9
New Mexico1–⁠73–⁠9
San José State1–⁠72–⁠11

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