2023 Air Force
9–4 (5–3 Mountain West Conference), coached by Troy Calhoun. Share
Schedule and results
- Best winBeat No. 24 James Madison 31–21Dec 23
Over the best-ranked team it beat, at a neutral site.
- Most excitingLost to UNLV 27–31Nov 18
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs Robert Morris | W 42–7 | 96% |
| Sep 9 | vs Sam Houston | W 13–3 | 83% |
| Sep 15 | vs Utah State | W 39–21 | 76% |
| Sep 22 | at San José State | W 45–20 | 68% |
| Sep 30 | vs San Diego State | W 49–10 | 79% |
| Oct 14 | vs Wyoming | W 34–27 | 75% |
| Oct 21 | at Navy | W 17–6 | 74% |
| Oct 28 | at Colorado State | W 30–13 | 80% |
| Nov 4 | vs Army | L 3–23 | 84% |
| Nov 11 | at Hawai’i | L 13–27 | 82% |
| Nov 18 | vs UNLV | L 27–31 | 63% |
| Nov 24 | at Boise State | L 19–27 | 37% |
| Dec 23Bowls & playoff | vs 24James MadisonArmed Forces Bowl | W 31–21 | 30% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat James Madison 31–21 in the Armed Forces Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Mountain West Conference.
In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 71 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 8: 22
- Wk 9: 19
- Wk 10: 17
- Record
- 9–4
- Conference
- 5–3 tied for 4th in Mountain West Conference
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 17
- Points
- 362–236
- Coach
- Troy Calhoun
- Elo
- 1592 −22 this season
- SP+ rating
- 5.9 No. 44 of 133; offense No. 71, defense No. 30, special teams No. 31
- SRS
- 2.0 No. 54 of 133 in FBS
- Returning
- 36% of last season’s EPA, No. 99 of 131
- Recruiting class
- No. 104 roster talent No. 131 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Mike Thiessen
- Defensive coordinator
- Brian Knorr
- Captains
- Thor Paglialong, Trey Taylor and Bo Richter
- Offense
- Triple option
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.17 | 45% | 1.09 | 37th of 133 |
| Defense | 0.07 | 41% | 1.19 | 45th of 133 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.14 off 0.10 def | 44% off 42% def | — | 46th off 62nd 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.0 | own 31 | 10% allowed |
| Defense | 4.0 | own 28 | 16% caused |
CORE rating 9.7, 33rd of 133 (offense 5.1, defense -4.6).
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 yards | Zachary Larrier QB | 789 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Zachary Larrier QB | 7 TD |
| Rushing yards | Emmanuel Michel FB | 935 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Emmanuel Michel FB | 11 TD |
| Receiving yards | Jared Roznos WR | 374 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Jared Roznos WR | 3 TD |
| Tackles | Alec Mock LB | 93 tkl |
| Sacks | Bo Richter LB | 10 sacks |
| Interceptions | Johnathan Youngblood LB | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2023 class
| Anthony Wenson WR | ★★★ | No. 1837 |
| Kyle Chen CB | ★★★ | No. 1909 |
| Blake Fletcher LB | ★★★ | No. 2085 |
| Keshon Singleton WR | ★★★ | No. 2085 |
| Devin Jordan S | ★★★ | No. 2085 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2023 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 2.5 | 0.785 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.812 |
| Receivers | 3 | 2.7 | 0.817 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 2.5 | 0.800 |
| Defensive line | 5 | 2.6 | 0.807 |
| Linebackers | 6 | 2.7 | 0.806 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.828 |
| Athletes and specialists | 3 | 3.0 | 0.808 |
| Whole class | 25 | 2.7 | 0.808 |
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 2024
The 2024 draft| Rd 7 | Trey Taylor S | Las Vegas Raiders |
Roster 125
The 2023 roster125 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 0
The 2023 portalNo transfers in.
Transfers out 8
 David Eure CB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Haaziq Daniels QB | ★★ | no new school on file |
| Kevin Miniefield CB | ★★ | no new school on file |
| Michael Mack II CB | ★★ | no new school on file |
| Jadon Furubotten OT | to Palomar College | |
| Kainoa Sayre RB | no new school on file | |
| Kyle Niese OG | no new school on file | |
| Michael Schneider S | no new school on file |
2023 Mountain West Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNLV | 6–2 | 9–5 | |
| Boise State | 6–2 | 8–6 | |
| San José State | 6–2 | 7–6 | |
| Air Force | 5–3 | 9–4 | |
| Wyoming | 5–3 | 9–4 | |
 Fresno State | 4–4 | 9–4 | |
| Utah State | 4–4 | 6–7 | |
| Colorado State | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
| Hawai’i | 3–5 | 5–8 | |
| San Diego State | 2–6 | 4–8 | |
 New Mexico | 2–6 | 4–8 | |
 Nevada | 2–6 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.