2018 Air Force Falcons football team

2018 Air Force Falcons football
2018 Air Force Falcons football
Conference	Mountain West Conference
	Mountain Division
Record	5–7 (3–5 MW)
Head coach	Troy Calhoun (12th season);
Offensive coordinator	Mike Thiessen (8th season)
Offensive scheme	Triple option
Defensive coordinator	John Rudzinski (1st season)
Base defense	Multiple
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium
Uniform
	Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Mountain West Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Mountain Division
No. 23 Boise State x	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 22 Utah State	7	–	1	11	–	2
Wyoming	4	–	4	6	–	6
Air Force	3	–	5	5	–	7
Colorado State	2	–	6	3	–	9
New Mexico	1	–	7	3	–	9
West Division
No. 18 Fresno State x$	7	–	1	12	–	2
Nevada	5	–	3	8	–	5
Hawaii	5	–	3	8	–	6
San Diego State	4	–	4	7	–	6
UNLV	2	–	6	4	–	8
San Jose State	1	–	7	1	–	11
Championship: Fresno State 19, Boise State 16 (OT)
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2018 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Falcons were led by twelfth-year head coach Troy Calhoun and played their home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They were members of the Mountain West Conference in the Mountain Division. They finished the season 5–7, 3–5 in Mountain West play to finish in fourth place in the Mountain Division.

Preseason

Mountain West media days

During the Mountain West media days held July 24–25 at the Cosmopolitan on the Las Vegas Strip, the Falcons were predicted to finish in fifth place in the Mountain Division.^[1] They did not have any players selected to the preseason all-Mountain West team.

Media poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Mountain Division
1	Boise State	132 (22)
2	Wyoming	95
3	Colorado State	82
4	Utah State	78
5	Air Force	52
6	New Mexico	23

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	12:00 p.m.	No. 20 (FCS) Stony Brook*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	Stadium	W 38–0	33,415
September 8	12:00 p.m.	at Florida Atlantic*	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL	CBSSN	L 27–33	24,101
September 22	8:15 p.m.	at Utah State	Maverik Stadium Logan, UT	ESPN2	L 32–42	22,720
September 29	1:00 p.m.	Nevada	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	ESPNews	L 25–28	23,707
October 6	1:30 p.m.	Navy*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	CBSSN	W 35–7	40,175
October 12	7:00 p.m.	at San Diego State	SDCCU Stadium San Diego, CA	CBSSN	L 17–21	25,326
October 19	8:00 p.m.	at UNLV	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	CBSSN	W 41–35	17,881
October 27	5:00 p.m.	Boise State	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	CBSSN	L 38–48	27,753
November 3	10:00 a.m.	at Army*	Michie Stadium West Point, NY (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	CBSSN	L 14–17	38,502
November 10	1:30 p.m.	New Mexico	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	CBSSN	W 42–24	23,723
November 17	2:00 p.m.	at Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	ESPNews	L 27–35	14,966
November 22	1:30 p.m.	Colorado State	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)	CBSSN	W 27–19	17,432
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[2]

Game summaries

Stony Brook

Stony Brook Seawolves at Air Force Falcons

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 (FCS) Seawolves	0	0	0	0	0
Falcons	14	10	0	14	38

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Date: September 1, 2018
Game time: 12:00 p.m.
Game weather: Partly cloudy, 75 °F (24 °C)
Game attendance: 33,415
Referee: Mike Vanderveld
TV announcers (Stadium): Ari Wolfe, Max Starks, Dani Klupenger
Boxscore

Game information

First Quarter

(10:21) AFA – Worthman 7 yard TD rush, Philichi kick, AFA 0–7
(9:41) AFA – Johnson 32 yard interception return for TD, Philichi kick, AFA 0–14

Second Quarter

(12:36) AFA – Philichi 48 yard FG, AFA 0–17
(6:37) AFA – Fagan 16 yard TD rush, Philichi kick, AFA 0–24

Third Quarter: No scoring
Fourth Quarter

(13:45) AFA – Sanders 1 yard TD rush, Philichi kick, AFA 0–31
(2:40) AFA – Hammond III 5 yard rush, Koehnke kick, AFA 0–38

Passing

SB – Joe Carbone: 5/16, 30 yards, 1 INT
AFA – Arion Worthman: 2/8, 29 yards

Rushing

SB – Donald Liotine: 12 carries, 31 yards
AFA – Joseph Saucier: 10 carries, 71 yards

Receiving

SB – Donavin Washington: 2 receptions, 17 yards
AFA – Marcus Bennett: 1 reception, 25 yards

At Florida Atlantic

Air Force Falcons at Florida Atlantic Owls

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	7	13	7	27
Owls	6	13	6	8	33

at FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, Florida

Date: September 8, 2018
Game time: 12:00 p.m.
Game weather: Partly cloudy, 85 °F (29 °C)
Game attendance: 24,101
Referee: Kevin Boitmann
TV announcers (CBSSN): Rich Waltz, Aaron Murray, Amanda Balionis
Boxscore

Game information

First Quarter

(10:16) FAU – Rivas 24 yard FG, FAU 0–3
(3:22) FAU – Rivas 34 yard FG, FAU 0–6

Second Quarter

(7:12) FAU – Singletary 36 yard TD rush, Rivas kick, FAU 0–13
(2:50) AFA – Eriksen 1 yard TD rush, Philichi kick, FAU 7–13
(0:27) FAU – Wright 17 yard TD pass from Robison, Two-Point pass failed, FAU 7–19

Third Quarter

(11:46) AFA – Waguespack 12 yard TD pass from Sanders, Philichi kick, FAU 14–19
(9:40) FAU – Durante 48 yard TD pass from Robison, Rivas kick failed, FAU 14–25
(6:00) AFA – Birdow 7 yard TD rush, Two-Point pass failed, FAU 20–25

Fourth Quarter

(10:41) FAU – Wright 26 yard TD pass from Robison, Two-Point pass, FAU 20–33
(0:50) AFA – Wills 5 yard blocked punt return, Philichi kick, FAU 27–33

Passing

AFA – Isaiah Sanders: 8/13, 164 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
FAU – Chris Robison: 33/44, 471, 3 TDs

Rushing

AFA – Cole Fagan: 16 carries, 80 yards
FAU – Devin Singletary: 16 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD

Receiving

AFA – Marcus Bennett: 2 receptions, 87 yards
FAU – Jovon Durante: 12 receptions, 174, 1 TD

At Utah State

Air Force Falcons at Utah State Aggies

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	14	3	15	32
Aggies	7	14	14	7	42

at Maverik Stadium, Logan, Utah

Date: September 22, 2018
Game time: 8:15 p.m.
Game weather: Clear skies, 72 °F (22 °C)
Game attendance: 22,720
Referee: Kevin Hassell
TV announcers (ESPN2): Roy Philpott, Tom Ramsey
Boxscore

Game information

First Quarter

(9:08) USU – Thompson 6 yard TD rush, Eberle kick, USU 0–7

Second Quarter

(13:48) AFA – Sanders 1 yard TD rush, Philichi kick, Tied 7–7
(7:13) AFA – Fagan 8 yard TD rush, Philichi kick, AFA 14–7
(6:18) USU – Bright 4 yard TD rush, Eberle kick, Tied 14–14
(1:02) USU – Vaughns 43 yard TD pass from Love, Eberle kick, USU 14–21

Third Quarter

(9:04) USU – Thompson 1 yard TD rush, Eberle kick, USU 14–28
(8:15) USU – Raymond 30 yard TD pass from Love, Eberle kick, USU 14–35
(2:48) AFA – Koehnke 31 yard FG, USU 17–35

Fourth Quarter

(13:13) AFA – Remsberg 9 yard TD rush, two-point pass, USU 25–35
(13:00) AFA – Musselman 21 yard fumble return TD, Koehnke kick, USU 32–35
(6:52) USU – Bright 70 yard TD rush, Eberle kick, USU 32–42

Passing

AFA – Isaiah Sanders: 9/17, 125 yards
USU – Jordan Love: 26/38, 356 yards, 2 TDs

Rushing

AFA – Kadin Remsberg: 17 carries, 94 yards, 1 TD
USU – Gerold Bright: 11 carries, 101 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving

AFA – Marcus Bennett: 5 receptions, 74 yards
USU – Ron'Quavion Tarver: 9 receptions, 128 yards

Nevada

Nevada Wolf Pack at Air Force Falcons

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolf Pack	7	14	7	0	28
Falcons	0	7	10	8	25

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Date: September 29, 2018
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game attendance: 23,707
TV announcers (ESPNews): Doug Sherman, Dustin Fox

Game information

First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Passing

NEV –
AFA –

Rushing

NEV –
AFA –

Receiving

NEV –
AFA –

Navy

47th Battle for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy: Navy Midshipmen at Air Force Falcons

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

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Date: October 6, 2018
Game time: 1:30 p.m.
Game attendance: 40,175
TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor

Game information

First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Passing

NAVY –
AFA –

Rushing

NAVY –
AFA –

Receiving

NAVY –
AFA –

At San Diego State

Air Force Falcons at San Diego State Aztecs

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	2	7	0	8	17
Aztecs	7	7	0	7	21

at SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, California

Date: October 12, 2018
Game time: 7:00 p.m.
Game weather: Clear, 67 °F (19 °C)
Game attendance: 25,326
Referee: Stephen Baron
TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor
Agnew's late TD pass lifts SDSU over Air Force, 21-17,^[3]

Game information

First Quarter

SDSU – Chase Jasmin 4-yard run (John Baron II kick), 13:49. Aztecs 7–0. Drive: 3 plays, 65 yards, 1:11.
AFA – Team safety, 0:07. Aztecs 7–2. Drive: 2 plays, -7 yards, 0:31.

Second Quarter

AFA – Ronald Cleveland 12-yard run (Jake Koehnke Kick), 5:13. Falcons 9–7. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 5:17.
SDSU – Trenton Thompson 19-yard return of blocked punt (John Baron II kick), 0:08. Aztecs 14–9. Drive: 3 plays, 9 yards, 2:21.

Third Quarter

No scoring plays

Fourth Quarter

AFA – Ronald Cleveland 4-yard run (Two-point conversion), 9:25. Falcons 17–14. Drive: 7 plays, 40 yards, 3:14.
SDSU – Parker Houston 29-yard pass from Ryan Agnew (John Baron II kick), 6:10. Aztecs 21–17. Drive: 8 plays, 94 yards, 3:08.

Passing

AFA – Isaiah Sanders – 7/15, 51 yards, 1 INT
SDSU – Ryan Agnew – 9/25, 213 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Rushing

AFA – Cole Fagan – 16 rushes, 90 yards
SDSU – Chase Jasmin – 18 rushes, 70 yards, 1 TD

Receiving

AFA – Kade Waguespack – 2 receptions, 31 yards
SDSU – Fred Trevillion – 3 receptions, 94 yards

At UNLV

Air Force Falcons at UNLV Rebels

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	3	17	21	0	41
Rebels	7	14	7	7	35

at Sam Boyd Stadium, Whitney, Nevada

Date: October 19, 2018
Game time: 8:00 p.m.
Game attendance: 17,881
TV: CBSSN

Game information

First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Passing

AFA –
UNLV –

Rushing

AFA –
UNLV –

Receiving

AFA –
UNLV –

Boise State

Boise State Broncos at Air Force Falcons

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	14	14	10	10	48
Falcons	7	21	3	7	38

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Date: October 27, 2018
Game time: 5:00 p.m.
Game attendance: 27,753
TV: CBSSN

Game information

First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Passing

BSU –
AFA –

Rushing

BSU –
AFA –

Receiving

BSU –
AFA –

At Army

47th Battle for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy: Air Force Falcons at Army Black Knights

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	6	8	14
Black Knights	7	7	0	3	17

at Michie Stadium, West Point, New York

Date: November 3, 2018
Game time: 10:00 a.m.
Game weather: Temperature: 53 F • Wind: W 19 mph • Weather: Cloudy, chilly
Game attendance: 38,502
Referee: Mike Defee
TV announcers (CBSSN): Ben Holden (Play-by-play), Jay Feely (color) & Tina Cervasio (sideline)
ESPN – Army holds off Air Force 17-14, 11th straight win at home^[4]

Game information

First Quarter

(02:05) ARMY TD: Darnell Woolfolk 1-yard rush (John Abercrombie kick); 21 plays, 75 yards, 12:55

Second Quarter

(04:03) ARMY TD: Kelvin Hopkins Jr. 6-yard rush (John Abercrombie kick); 11 plays, 89 yards, 6:47

Third Quarter

(00:54) AFA TD: Donald Hammond III 1-yard rush (Jake Koehnke kick failed); 9 plays, 34 yards, 3:50

Fourth Quarter

(08:35) ARMY FG: John Abercrombie 30-yard field goal; 13 plays, 62 yards, 7:19
(05:27) AFA TD: Joseph Saucier 6-yard rush (Joseph Saucier rush); 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:08

Passing

AFA – Donald Hammond III: 7/15, 120 yds
ARMY – Kelvin Hopkins Jr.: 3/5, 44 yds

Rushing

AFA – Cole Fagan: 10 att, 37 yds
ARMY – Darnell Woolfolk: 21 att, 117 yds, 1 TD

Receiving

AFA – Geraud Sanders: 3 rec, 55 yds
ARMY – Jordan Asberry: 2 rec, 35 yds

New Mexico

New Mexico Lobos at Air Force Falcons

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lobos	0	17	7	0	24
Falcons	7	14	14	7	42

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Date: November 10, 2018
Game time: 1:30 p.m.
Game attendance: 23,723
TV: CBSSN

Game information

First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Passing

UNM –
AFA –

Rushing

UNM –
AFA –

Receiving

UNM –
AFA –

At Wyoming

Air Force Falcons at Wyoming Cowboys

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	7	10	7	3	27
Cowboys	14	0	0	21	35

at War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, Wyoming

Date: November 17, 2018
Game time: 2:00 p.m.
Game attendance: 14,966
TV: ESPNews

Game information

First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Passing

AFA –
WYO –

Rushing

AFA –
WYO –

Receiving

AFA –
WYO –

Colorado State

56th Battle for the Ram–Falcon Trophy: Colorado State Rams at Air Force Falcons

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	13	0	6	19
Falcons	7	10	0	10	27

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Date: November 24, 2018
Game time: 1:30 p.m.
Game weather: Temperature: 54 F • Wind: WSW 5-10 mph • Weather: Partly Cloudy
Game attendance: 17,432
Referee: Eddy Shelton
TV announcers (CBSSN): Rich Waltz (Play-by-play), Aaron Murray (color) & Amanda Balionis (sideline)
ESPN – Fagan rushes for 260, Air Force beats Colorado State 27-19^[5] /// Box Score, Colorado State at Air Force^[6]

Game information

First Quarter

(05:48) AF TD: Cole Fagan 3-yard rush (Jake Koehnke kick); 13 plays, 80 yards, 5:54

Second Quarter

(10:34) AF TD: Marcus Bennett 16-yard pass from Donald Hammond III (Jake Koehnke kick); 4 plays, 74 yards, 1:35
(07:07) CSU TD: Preston Williams 34-yard pass from Collin Hill (Wyatt Bryan kick failed); 10 plays, 92 yards, 3:21
(01:09) AF FG: Jake Koehnke 29-yard field goal; 12 plays, 63 yards, 5:58
(00:26) CSU TD: Preston Williams 58-yard pass from Collin Hill (Wyatt Bryan kick); 5 plays, 75 yards, 0:43

Third Quarter

No Scoring

Fourth Quarter

(13:49) AF FG: Jake Koehnke 39-yard field goal; 18 plays, 76 yards, 6:51
(09:53) CSU TD: Preston Williams 31-yard pass from K.J. Carta-Samuels (Wyatt Bryan kick blocked); 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:56
(03:35) AF TD: Kadin Remsberg 4-yard rush (Jake Koehnke kick); 11 plays, 75 yards, 6:18

Passing

CSU – Collin Hill: 13/23, 284 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
AF – Donald Hammond III: 8/16, 81 yds, 1 TD

Rushing

CSU – Izzy Matthews: 10 att, 52 yds
AF – Cole Fagan: 34 att, 260 yds, 1 TD

Receiving

CSU – Preston Williams: 12 rec, 248 yds, 3 TD
AF – Marcus Bennett: 3 rec, 34 yds, 1 TD

^[7]

After the season

NFL draft

The following Falcon was selected in the National Football League draft following the season.^[8]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
7	250	Austin Cutting	LS	Minnesota Vikings

References

^ "Boise State, Fresno State Picked to Win 2018 Mountain West Football Divisional Titles".
^ 2018 Air Force Falcons football schedule FBSchedules.com. Accessed March 30, 2018.
^ "Agnew's late TD pass lifts SDSU over Air Force, 21-17". ESPN. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
^ "Air Force at Army – Game Summary – November 3, 2018". ESPN. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
^ "Colorado State at Air Force – Game Summary – November 22, 2018". ESPN. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
^ "Scoring Summary (Final) Colorado State at Air Force (Nov 22, 2018 at USAFA, Colo.)". USAFA Athletic Department. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
^ "Profile of the Air Force Falcons". Winsipedia. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
^ "2019 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.

[1] "Boise State, Fresno State Picked to Win 2018 Mountain West Football Divisional Titles".

[2] 2018 Air Force Falcons football schedule FBSchedules.com. Accessed March 30, 2018.

[3] "Agnew's late TD pass lifts SDSU over Air Force, 21-17". ESPN. Retrieved October 13, 2018.

[4] "Air Force at Army – Game Summary – November 3, 2018". ESPN. Retrieved November 3, 2018.

[5] "Colorado State at Air Force – Game Summary – November 22, 2018". ESPN. Retrieved November 22, 2018.

[6] "Scoring Summary (Final) Colorado State at Air Force (Nov 22, 2018 at USAFA, Colo.)". USAFA Athletic Department. Retrieved November 22, 2018.

[7] "Profile of the Air Force Falcons". Winsipedia. Retrieved April 4, 2018.

[8] "2019 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.

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v t e Air Force Falcons football
Venues	DU Stadium (1955–1961) Falcon Stadium (1962–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Army (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) Colorado State (Ram–Falcon Trophy) Hawaii (Kuter Trophy) Navy (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)
Culture & lore	History The Bird "Falcon Fight Song" "The U.S. Air Force" United States Air Force Academy Band
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

2018 Air Force Falcons football

Conference	Mountain West Conference
Division	Mountain Division
Record	5–7 (3–5 MW)
Head coach	Troy Calhoun (12th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Thiessen (8th season)
Offensive scheme	Triple option
Defensive coordinator	John Rudzinski (1st season)
Base defense	Multiple
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium
Uniform

Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Air Force Falcons football team

Preseason

Mountain West media days

Media poll

Schedule

Game summaries

Stony Brook

At Florida Atlantic

At Utah State

Nevada

Navy

At San Diego State

At UNLV

Boise State

At Army

New Mexico

At Wyoming

Colorado State

After the season

NFL draft

References

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