2020 Air Force Falcons football team

2020 Air Force Falcons football
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Record	3–3 (2–2 MW)
Head coach	Troy Calhoun (14th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Thiessen (10th season)
Offensive scheme	Triple option
Defensive coordinator	John Rudzinski (3rd season)
Base defense	Multiple
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium
Uniform

2020 Mountain West Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 24 San Jose State y$		7	–	0					7	–	1
Boise State y		5	–	0					5	–	2
Nevada		6	–	2					7	–	2
San Diego State		4	–	2					4	–	4
Hawaii		4	–	4					5	–	4
Fresno State		3	–	3					3	–	3
Air Force		2	–	2					3	–	3
Wyoming		2	–	4					2	–	4
New Mexico		2	–	5					2	–	5
Colorado State		1	–	3					1	–	3
Utah State		1	–	5					1	–	5
UNLV		0	–	6					0	–	6
Championship: San Jose State 34, Boise State 20
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Note: Due to COVID-19, the Mountain West suspended the season, but later decided to begin play on October 24. Rankings from AP Poll

The 2020 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Falcons were led by 14th-year head coach Troy Calhoun and played their home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They competed as members of the Mountain West Conference.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Lott IMPACT Trophy	Demonte Meeks	LB	SR
Davey O'Brien Award	Donald Hammond III	QB	SR
Outland Trophy	Parker Ferguson	OL	SR
	Nolan Laufenberg	OL	SR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award	Donald Hammond III	QB	SR

Mountain West media days

The Mountain West media days were originally scheduled to take place from July 27–29, 2020, virtually, but were canceled.

Media poll

The preseason poll was released on July 21, 2020. The Falcons were predicted to finish in third place in the MW Mountain Division. The divisions were later suspended for the 2020 season.

Mountain

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Boise State	125 (20)
2	Wyoming	90 (1)
3	Air Force	86
4	Utah State	60
5	Colorado State	59
6	New Mexico	21

West

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	San Diego State	122 (19)
2	Nevada	100 (2)
3	Hawaii	74
4	Fresno State	73
5	San Jose State	43
6	UNLV	29

Preseason All−Mountain West Team

The Falcons had three players selected to the preseason All−Mountain West Team; two from the offense and one from the defense.

Offense

Parker Ferguson – OL

Nolan Laufenberg – OL

Defense

Demonte Meeks – LB

Schedule

Air Force announced its 2020 football schedule on February 27, 2020. The original 2020 schedule consisted of 6 home and 6 away games in the regular season. On August 10, 2020, the Mountain West Conference announced the suspension of the football season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the nature of their institutions and rivalries, Air Force kept scheduled games with Army and Navy in order to play for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy in the fall. Scheduled games against Duquesne and Purdue from the original schedule were canceled and Mountain West Conference play was suspended. On September 25, the Mountain West announced that their Board of Directors had met and approved plans to resume the football season. The revised schedule was announced on October 1, with conference play beginning on October 24. The Falcons had six conference games scheduled, two less than their MW counterparts to account for their service academy match-ups. The Army game, originally scheduled for November 7, was postponed indefinitely on November 5 with both schools saying they would reschedule the game if possible. The Wyoming game, originally scheduled for November 14, was canceled on November 8. The Colorado State game, originally scheduled for November 26, was canceled on November 25. On that same day, the Air Force-Army game was rescheduled for December 19 at Michie Stadium.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 3	4:00 p.m.	Navy*		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	CBSSN	W 40–7	5,000
October 24	8:30 p.m.	at San Jose State		CEFCU Stadium San Jose, CA	FS1	L 6–17	0
October 31	4:00 p.m.	No. 25 Boise State		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	CBSSN	L 30–49	500
November 14	8:00 p.m.	at Wyoming		War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	CBSSN	No Contest
November 20	7:30 p.m.	New Mexico		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	FS1	W 28–0	100
November 26	12:00 p.m.	Colorado State		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Ram−Falcon Trophy)	CBSSN	No Contest
December 3	7:30 p.m.	at Utah State		Maverik Stadium Logan, UT	CBSSN	W 35–7	3,025
December 19	1:00 p.m.	at Army*		Michie Stadium West Point, NY (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	CBSSN	L 7–10	1,306
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 24) released prior to game All times are in Mountain time

Source:

Personnel

2020 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Game summaries

Navy

See also: 2020 Navy Midshipmen football team and Commander-in-Chief's Trophy

Navy Midshipmen at Air Force Falcons

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Midshipmen	0	7	0	0	7
Falcons	3	13	3	21	40

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, CO

• Date: October 3, 2020
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. MDT
• Game weather: Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind: SSE 8 mph • Weather: Sunny
• Game attendance: 5,000
• Referee: Luke Richmond
• TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (analyst) & Jenny Dell (sideline)
• ESPN – Air Force kicker, defense pave way to 40–7 win over Navy /// Box Score, Navy at Air Force /// Pregame Notes /// Postgame Notes

Game information

First Quarter (07:44) AF FG – Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl 48-yard field goal Drive: 7 plays, 35 yards, 3:49; Air Force 3–0 Second Quarter (14:50) NAVY TD – Myles Fells 73-yard pass from Tyger Goslin, Bijan Nichols kick Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:13; Navy 7–3 (10:58) AF TD – Haaziq Daniels 1-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:52; Air Force 10–7 (06:36) AF FG – Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl 35-yard field goal Drive: 5 plays, 12 yards, 2:01; Air Force 13–7 (00:00) AF FG – Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl 32-yard field goal Drive: 12 plays, 66 yards, 4:28; Air Force 16–7 Third Quarter (11:45) AF FG – Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl 40-yard field goal Drive: 6 plays, 52 yards, 3:15; Air Force 19–7 Fourth Quarter (12:08) AF TD – Matthew Murla 2-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 7 plays, 74 yards, 3:28; Air Force 26–7 (09:14) AF TD – Brad Roberts 2-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 4 plays, 29 yards, 2:12; Air Force 33–7 (03:50) AF TD – Warren Bryan 1-yard rush, Anthony Rodriguez kick Drive: 5 plays, 38 yards, 2:40; Air Force 40–7 Passing NAVY – Tyger Goslin: 6/15, 137 yards, 1 TD AF – Haaziq Daniels: 4/9, 41 yards Rushing NAVY – Nelson Smith: 7 carries, 25 yards AF – Timothy Jackson: 19 carries, 118 yards Receiving NAVY – Myles Fells: 1 reception, 73 yards, 1 TD AF – Daniel Morris: 3 receptions, 29 yards Defense NAVY – J'arius Warren: 10 total tackles (5 solo, 5 assisted), 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble AF – George Silvanic: 7 total tackles (2 solo, 5 assisted), 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss

Statistics	NAVY	AF
First downs	10	25
3rd down efficiency	5–13	2–9
4th down efficiency	1–3	0–0
Plays–yards	54–241	62–410
Rushes–yards	36–90	53–369
Passing yards	151	41
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	8–18–1	4–9–0
Penalties–yards	4–30	3–23
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	25:52	34:08

At San Jose State

See also: 2020 San Jose State Spartans football team

Air Force Falcons at San Jose State Spartans

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	0	6	6
Spartans	0	0	14	3	17

at CEFCU Stadium, San Jose, CA

• Date: October 24, 2020
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: Temperature: 62 °F (17 °C) • Wind: NNW 7 mph • Weather: Clear
• Game attendance: 0
• Referee: Scott Campbell
• TV announcers (FS1): Alex Faust (play-by-play) & Petros Papadakis (analyst)
• ESPN – Air Force Falcons at San Jose State Spartans /// Box Score, Air Force at San Jose State /// Pregame Notes /// Postgame Notes

Game information

First Quarter No scoring Second Quarter No scoring Third Quarter (06:48) SJSU TD – Derrick Deese Jr. 7-yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kick Drive: 9 plays, 92 yards, 4:30; San Jose State 7–0 (00:43) SJSU TD – Derrick Deese Jr. 11-yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kick Drive: 3 plays, 14 yards, 1:24; San Jose State 14–0 Fourth Quarter (13:16) AF TD – Kyle Patterson 34-yard pass from Haaziq Daniels, Haaziq Daniels rush failed Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 2:27; San Jose State 14–6 (05:18) SJSU FG – Matt Mercurio 30-yard field goal Drive: 15 plays, 78 yards, 7:50; San Jose State 17–6 Passing AF – Haaziq Daniels: 9/17, 92 yards, 1 TD SJSU – Nick Starkel: 22/29, 226 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing AF – Brandon Lewis: 9 carries, 60 yards SJSU – Kairee Robinson: 12 carries, 31 yards Receiving AF – Kyle Patterson: 3 receptions, 56 yards, 1 TD SJSU – Bailey Gaither: 8 receptions, 110 yards Defense AF – Elisha Palm: 9 total tackles (8 solo, 1 assisted), 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 1 pass break-up SJSU – Kyle Harmon: 14 total tackles (8 solo, 6 assisted), 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass break-up

Statistics	AF	SJSU
First downs	17	19
3rd down efficiency	9–16	5–12
4th down efficiency	1–2	0–1
Plays–yards	66–298	59–294
Rushes–yards	49–206	30–68
Passing yards	92	226
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	9–17–0	22–29–1
Penalties–yards	4–55	6–45
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	29:24	30:36

Boise State

See also: 2020 Boise State Broncos football team

No. 25 Boise State Broncos at Air Force Falcons

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 25 Broncos	7	21	7	14	49
Falcons	14	3	0	13	30

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, CO

• Date: October 31, 2020
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. MDT
• Game weather: Temperature: 55 °F (13 °C) • Wind: N 17 mph • Weather: Sunny
• Game attendance: 500
• Referee: Brandon Cruse
• TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (analyst) & Jenny Dell (sideline)
• ESPN – No. 25 Boise State Broncos at Air Force Falcons /// Box Score, No. 25 Boise State at Air Force /// Pregame Notes /// Postgame Notes

Game information

First Quarter (14:50) BSU TD – CT Thomas 75-yard pass from Jack Sears, Jonah Dalmas kick Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:10; Boise State 7–0 (09:27) AF TD – Brandon Lewis 7-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 5:23; Tied 7–7 (03:23) AF TD – Matthew Murla 1-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 6 plays, 87 yards, 2:50; Air Force 14–7 Second Quarter (13:14) BSU TD – Andrew Van Buren 4-yard rush, Jonah Dalmas kick Drive: 10 plays, 78 yards, 5:03; Tied 14–14 (06:53) AF FG – Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl 31-yard field goal Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 6:21; Air Force 17–14 (02:27) BSU TD – Andrew Van Buren 1-yard rush, Jonah Dalmas kick Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards, 4:21; Boise State 21–17 (00:47) BSU TD – Octavius Evans 21-yard pass from Jack Sears, Jonah Dalmas kick Drive: 5 plays, 63 yards, 0:35; Boise State 28–17 Third Quarter (00:54) BSU TD – CT Thomas 26-yard pass from Jack Sears, Jonah Dalmas kick Drive: 6 plays, 78 yards, 3:08; Boise State 35–17 Fourth Quarter (11:24) AF TD – Matthew Murla 7-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 4:30; Boise State 35–24 (11:13) BSU TD – Avery Williams 88-yard kickoff return, Jonah Dalmas kick Drive: 0 plays, 0 yards, 0:00; Boise State 42–24 (07:24) BSU TD – Jack Sears 1-yard rush, Jonah Dalmas kick Drive: 6 plays, 63 yards, 2:35; Boise State 49–24 (02:04) AF TD – Bo Gross 5-yard rush, Ben Brittain rush failed Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 5:20; Boise State 49–30 Passing BSU – Jack Sears: 17/20, 280 yards, 3 TD AF – Warren Bryan: 3/6, 38 yards Rushing BSU – Andrew Van Buren: 12 carries, 70 yards, 2 TD AF – Brandon Lewis: 10 carries, 112 yards, 1 TD Receiving BSU – CT Thomas: 2 receptions, 101 yards, 2 TD AF – Kyle Patterson: 3 receptions, 38 yards Defense BSU – Keeghan Freeborn: 9 total tackles (5 solo, 4 assisted), 1 quarterback hurry AF – Elisha Palm: 8 total tackles (7 solo, 1 assisted)

Statistics	BSU	AF
First downs	23	28
3rd down efficiency	2–4	4–12
4th down efficiency	0–0	3–3
Plays–yards	49–459	73–484
Rushes–yards	29–179	66–415
Passing yards	280	69
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	17–20–0	4–7–0
Penalties–yards	3–40	6–43
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	22:29	37:31

At Wyoming

See also: 2020 Wyoming Cowboys football team

CANCELLED – Air Force Falcons at Wyoming Cowboys

Quarter	1	2	Total
Falcons			0
Cowboys			0

at War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, WY

• Date: November 14, 2020
• Game time: 8:00 p.m. MST
• TV: CBSSN
• ESPN – Air Force Falcons at Wyoming Cowboys

New Mexico

See also: 2020 New Mexico Lobos football team

New Mexico Lobos at Air Force Falcons

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lobos	0	0	0	0	0
Falcons	7	14	0	7	28

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, CO

• Date: November 20, 2020
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. MST
• Game weather: Temperature: 37 °F (3 °C) • Wind: S 6 mph • Weather: Mostly Cloudy
• Game attendance: 100
• Referee: C. Watson
• TV announcers (FS1): Alex Faust (play-by-play) & Petros Papadakis (analyst)
• ESPN – New Mexico Lobos at Air Force Falcons /// Box Score, New Mexico at Air Force /// Pregame Notes /// Postgame Notes

Game information

First Quarter (05:07) AF TD – Haaziq Daniels 4-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 11 plays, 86 yards, 5:55; Air Force 7–0 Second Quarter (14:28) AF TD – Brad Roberts 5-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 10 plays, 72 yards, 4:48; Air Force 14–0 (06:13) AF TD – Brad Roberts 12-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards, 5:07; Air Force 21–0 Third Quarter No scoring Fourth Quarter (05:38) AF TD – Brad Roberts 44-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 1 play, 44 yards, 0:09; Air Force 28–0 Passing NM – Trae Hall: 23/42, 221 yards, 1 INT AF – Haaziq Daniels: 4/5, 66 yards Rushing NM – Nathaniel Jones: 6 carries, 29 yards AF – Brad Roberts: 28 carries, 177 yards, 3 TD Receiving NM – Emmanuel Logan-Greene: 3 receptions, 64 yards AF – Kyle Patterson: 2 receptions, 34 yards Defense NM – Brandon Shook: 19 total tackles (11 solo, 8 assisted) AF – Johnathan Youngblood: 8 total tackles (2 solo, 6 assisted), 1 tackle for loss, 2 quarterback hurries

Statistics	NM	AF
First downs	19	23
3rd down efficiency	4–13	9–13
4th down efficiency	0–1	1–2
Plays–yards	67–304	68–422
Rushes–yards	25–83	63–356
Passing yards	221	66
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	23–42–1	4–5–0
Penalties–yards	8–70	5–42
Turnovers	2	3
Time of possession	23:31	36:29

Colorado State

See also: 2020 Colorado State Rams football team and Air Force–Colorado State football rivalry

CANCELLED – Colorado State Rams at Air Force Falcons

Quarter	1	2	Total
Rams			0
Falcons			0

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, CO

• Date: November 26, 2020
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. MST
• TV: CBSSN
• ESPN – Colorado State Rams at Air Force Falcons Preview

At Utah State

See also: 2020 Utah State Aggies football team

Air Force Falcons at Utah State Aggies

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	7	14	7	7	35
Aggies	7	0	0	0	7

at Maverik Stadium, Logan, UT

• Date: December 3, 2020
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. MST
• Game weather: Temperature: 25 °F (−4 °C) • Weather: Clear and Chilly
• Game attendance: 3,025
• Referee: Mike Cuttone
• TV announcers (CBSSN): Ed Cohen (play-by-play) & Ross Tucker (analyst)
• ESPN – Air Force runs over Utah State 35–7 behind Daniels /// Box Score, Air Force at Utah State /// Pregame Notes /// Postgame Notes

Game information

First Quarter (06:56) USU TD – Jordan Nathan 4-yard pass from Andrew Peasley, Connor Coles kick Drive: 15 plays, 65 yards, 8:04; Utah State 7–0 (00:39) AF TD – Kadin Remsberg 21-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 6:17; Tied 7–7 Second Quarter (09:32) AF TD – Ben Peterson 49-yard pass from Haaziq Daniels, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 6 plays, 82 yards, 3:03; Air Force 14–7 (00:52) AF TD – Haaziq Daniels 37-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 8 plays, 99 yards, 3:33; Air Force 21–7 Third Quarter (04:43) AF TD – Matthew Murla 1-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 11 plays, 71 yards, 5:57; Air Force 28–7 Fourth Quarter (12:12) AF TD – Brad Roberts 15-yard rush, Tevye Schuettpelz-Rohl kick Drive: 9 plays, 83 yards, 5:04; Air Force 35–7 Passing AF – Haaziq Daniels: 7/9, 127 yards, 1 TD USU – Andrew Peasley: 17/32, 123 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT Rushing AF – Kadin Remsberg: 11 carries, 107 yards, 1 TD USU – Andrew Peasley: 8 carries, 53 yards Receiving AF – Ben Peterson: 2 receptions, 73 yards, 1 TD USU – Carson Terrell: 2 receptions, 27 yards Defense AF – Matthew Malloy: 6 total tackles (3 solo, 3 assisted), 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception USU – Nick Heninger: 14 total tackles (4 solo, 10 assisted)

Statistics	AF	USU
First downs	24	14
3rd down efficiency	5–10	9–14
4th down efficiency	3–4	0–2
Plays–yards	64–461	58–232
Rushes–yards	55–334	26–109
Passing yards	127	123
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	7–9–0	17–32–2
Penalties–yards	6–67	6–65
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	34:54	25:06

At Army

See also: 2020 Army Black Knights football team and Commander-in-Chief's Trophy

Air Force Falcons at Army Black Knights

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	7	0	7
Black Knights	0	3	0	7	10

at Michie Stadium, West Point, NY

• Date: December 19, 2020
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 1,306
• Referee: Brad Van Vark
• TV announcers (CBSSN): Dave Ryan (play-by-play), Ross Tucker (analyst) & Tina Cervasio (sideline)
• ESPN – Army beats Air Force 10–7, wins Commander-in-Chief's Trophy /// Box Score, Air Force at Army /// Pregame Notes /// Postgame Notes

Game information

First Quarter No Scoring Second Quarter (11:23) ARMY FG: Quinn Maretzki 24-yard field goal Drive: 20 plays, 73 yards, 10:02; Army 3–0 Third Quarter (00:15) AF TD: Kyle Patterson 10-yard pass from Haaziq Daniels, Anthony Rodriguez kick Drive: 10 plays, 87 yards, 5:01; Air Force 7–3 Fourth Quarter (01:13) ARMY TD: Jakobi Buchanan 1-yard rush, Quinn Maretzki kick Drive: 16 plays, 80 yards, 7:11; Army 10–7 Passing AF – Haaziq Daniels: 6/14, 107 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT ARMY – Christian Anderson: 1/1, 0 yards Rushing AF – Brad Roberts: 11 carries, 83 yards ARMY – Jakobi Buchanan: 21 carries, 86 yards, 1 TD Receiving AF – Kyle Patterson: 3 receptions, 65 yards, 1 TD ARMY – Tyrell Robinson: 1 reception, 0 yards Defense AF – Will Trawick: 14 total tackles (2 solo, 12 assisted), 0.5 tackles for loss, 1 fumble recovery ARMY – Jon Rhattigan: 7 total tackles (4 solo, 3 assisted)

Statistics	AF	ARMY
First downs	11	21
3rd down efficiency	4–8	9–17
4th down efficiency	0–0	2–3
Plays–yards	40–261	73–290
Rushes–yards	26–154	71–290
Passing yards	107	0
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	6–14–3	1–2–0
Penalties–yards	3–15	2–15
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	22:34	37:26

Source for Match-up Records: