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2021 Air Force

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Mountain West Conference), coached by Troy Calhoun.

Schedule and results

Air Force in 2021, game by game: won vs. Lafayette 35–14; won at Navy 23–3; lost vs. Utah State 45–49; won vs. Florida Atlantic 31–7; won at New Mexico 38–10; won vs. Wyoming 24–14; won at Boise State 24–17; lost vs. No. 22 San Diego State 14–20; lost vs. Army 14–21; won at Colorado State 35–21; won at Nevada 41–39; won vs. UNLV 48–14; won vs. Louisville 31–28+34−7Won 35–14 vs. Lafayette+21LafayetteWon 23–3 at Navy+20NavyLost 45–49 vs. Utah State-4Utah StateWon 31–7 vs. Florida Atlantic+24Florida AtlanticWon 38–10 at New Mexico+28New MexicoWon 24–14 vs. Wyoming+10WyomingWon 24–17 at Boise State+7Boise StateLost 14–20 vs. No. 22 San Diego State-6No. 22 San Diego StateLost 14–21 vs. Army-7ArmyWon 35–21 at Colorado State+14Colorado StateWon 41–39 at Nevada+2NevadaWon 48–14 vs. UNLV+34UNLVWon 31–28 vs. Louisville+3Louisville
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsLafayetteW 35–⁠1490%
Sep 11atNavyW 23–⁠362%
Sep 18vsUtah StateL 45–⁠4972%
Sep 25vsFlorida AtlanticW 31–⁠760%
Oct 2atNew MexicoW 38–⁠1070%
Oct 9vsWyomingW 24–⁠1463%
Oct 16atBoise StateW 24–⁠1743%
Oct 23vs22San Diego StateL 14–⁠2062%
Nov 6vsArmyL 14–⁠2164%
Nov 13atColorado StateW 35–⁠2164%
Nov 19atNevadaW 41–⁠3944%
Nov 26vsUNLVW 48–⁠1487%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsLouisvilleFirst Responder BowlW 31–⁠2866%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Louisville 31–⁠28 in the First Responder Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 71 on file).

MW Mountain champions6–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Utah State

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
403–⁠257
Coach
Troy Calhoun
Elo
1643 +84 this season
SP+ rating
7.4 No. 54 of 130; offense No. 57, defense No. 33
SRS
6.9 No. 35 of 130 in FBS
Returning
77% of last season’s EPA, No. 61 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 90 roster talent No. 130 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Thiessen
Defensive coordinator
John Rudzinski
Captains
Demonte Meeks, Jordan Jackson, Milton Bugg III and Corvan Taylor
Offense
Triple option
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense19th of 130
  • Defense61st of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted19th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted70th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2446%1.1719th of 130
Defense0.1338%1.3461st of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.23 off
0.14 def		46% off
40% def		—19th off
70th 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
Offense4.3own 318% allowed
Defense3.6own 2719% caused

CORE rating 8.2, 39th of 130 (offense 8.1, defense -0.1).

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 yardsHaaziq Daniels QB1,184 yds
Passing touchdownsHaaziq Daniels QB7 TD
Rushing yardsBrad Roberts RB1,356 yds
Rushing touchdownsBrad Roberts RB13 TD
Receiving yardsBrandon Lewis WR619 yds
Receiving touchdownsBrandon Lewis WR3 TD
TacklesTrey Taylor S62 tkl
SacksVince Sanford LB9.5 sacks
InterceptionsCorvan Taylor S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Marceese Yetts RB★★★No. 1119
Kaden Meredith RB★★★No. 1227
Christien Hawks OT★★★No. 1654
Isaiah Henderson DE★★★No. 1687
Dru Polidore Jr. CB★★★No. 1767

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks32.00.791
Running backs52.60.813
Receivers72.30.790
Offensive line92.30.796
Defensive line92.40.798
Linebackers32.00.783
Defensive backs82.40.792
Athletes and specialists22.00.784
Whole class462.30.795

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.

Drafted in 2022

The 2022 draft
Rd 6Jordan Jackson DTNew Orleans Saints

Roster 102

The 2021 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 0

The 2021 portal

No transfers in.

Transfers out 2

Malik Scurlock DE★★★no new school on file
A.J. Jefferson CBno new school on file

2021 Mountain West Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
San Diego State7–⁠112–⁠225
Utah State6–⁠211–⁠324
Fresno State6–⁠210–⁠3
Air Force6–⁠210–⁠3
Nevada5–⁠38–⁠5
Boise State5–⁠37–⁠5
Hawai’i3–⁠56–⁠7
San José State3–⁠55–⁠7
Wyoming2–⁠67–⁠6
Colorado State2–⁠63–⁠9
UNLV2–⁠62–⁠10
New Mexico1–⁠73–⁠9

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