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2019 Air Force

11–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Mountain West Conference), coached by Troy Calhoun, finished No. 22 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Air Force in 2019, game by game: won vs. Colgate 48–7; won at Colorado 30–23; lost at No. 20 Boise State 19–30; won vs. San José State 41–24; lost at Navy 25–34; won vs. Fresno State 43–24; won at Hawai’i 56–26; won vs. Utah State 31–7; won vs. Army 17–13; won at Colorado State 38–21; won at New Mexico 44–22; won vs. Wyoming 20–6; won vs. Washington State 31–21+41−11Won 48–7 vs. Colgate+41ColgateWon 30–23 at Colorado+7ColoradoLost 19–30 at No. 20 Boise State-11No. 20 Boise StateWon 41–24 vs. San José State+17San José StateLost 25–34 at Navy-9NavyWon 43–24 vs. Fresno State+19Fresno StateWon 56–26 at Hawai’i+30Hawai’iWon 31–7 vs. Utah State+24Utah StateWon 17–13 vs. Army+4ArmyWon 38–21 at Colorado State+17Colorado StateWon 44–22 at New Mexico+22New MexicoWon 20–6 vs. Wyoming+14WyomingWon 31–21 vs. Washington State+10Washington State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsColgateW 48–⁠773%
Sep 14atColoradoW 30–⁠2345%
Sep 20at20Boise StateL 19–⁠3026%
Sep 27vsSan José StateW 41–⁠2479%
Oct 5atNavyL 25–⁠3452%
Oct 12vsFresno StateW 43–⁠2443%
Oct 19atHawai’iW 56–⁠2647%
Oct 26vsUtah StateW 31–⁠752%
Nov 2vsArmyW 17–⁠1371%
Nov 16atColorado StateW 38–⁠2168%
Nov 23atNew MexicoW 44–⁠2284%
Nov 30vsWyomingW 20–⁠670%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsWashington StateCheez-It BowlW 31–⁠2164%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Washington State 31–⁠21 in the Cheez-It Bowl; No. 22 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 71 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 15: 25
  2. Wk 16: 24
  3. Final: 22

Led the nationGeraud Sanders: yards per catch (24.87)

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Mountain West Conference
AP final
No. 22 peak No. 22
Points
443–⁠258
Coach
Troy Calhoun
Elo
1679 +186 this season
SP+ rating
12.1 No. 25 of 130; offense No. 17, defense No. 53, special teams No. 17
SRS
9.5 No. 26 of 130 in FBS
Returning
64% of last season’s EPA, No. 59 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 107 roster talent No. 130 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Thiessen
Defensive coordinator
John Rudzinski
Captains
Jeremy Fejedelem, Mosese Fifita, Donald Hammond III, Scott Hattok, Jordan Jackson and Kyle Johnson
Offense
Triple option
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense16th of 130
  • Defense49th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted22nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted45th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2252%1.0216th of 130
Defense0.0942%1.2949th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.07 def		50% off
40% def		—22nd off
45th 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
Offense4.2own 3013% allowed
Defense3.4own 2921% caused

CORE rating 11.3, 23rd of 130 (offense 9.3, defense -2.0).

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 yardsDonald Hammond III QB1,316 yds
Passing touchdownsDonald Hammond III QB13 TD
Rushing yardsKadin Remsberg RB1,050 yds
Rushing touchdownsDonald Hammond III QB13 TD
Receiving yardsGeraud Sanders WR746 yds
Receiving touchdownsBenjamin Waters WR7 TD
TacklesDemonte Meeks LB98 tkl
SacksMosese Fifita DL6 sacks
InterceptionsMilton Bugg III DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Nate Polk S★★★No. 992
Kyle Patterson TE★★★No. 1679
Demetris Dorceus SDE★★★No. 1826
Nathan Peterson OG★★★No. 1994
Kaymen St. Junious S★★★No. 2086

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.795
Running backs52.00.782
Receivers62.20.787
Offensive line102.10.771
Defensive line102.40.789
Linebackers82.00.764
Defensive backs52.60.807
Athletes and specialists32.00.772
Whole class492.20.781

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 106

The 2019 roster

106 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 72 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 Mountain West Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State8–⁠012–⁠223
Air Force7–⁠111–⁠222
Utah State6–⁠27–⁠6
San Diego State5–⁠310–⁠3
Hawai’i5–⁠310–⁠5
Wyoming4–⁠48–⁠5
Nevada4–⁠47–⁠6
Colorado State3–⁠54–⁠8
San José State2–⁠65–⁠7
UNLV2–⁠64–⁠8
Fresno State2–⁠64–⁠8
New Mexico0–⁠82–⁠10

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