2021 Air Force Falcons football team

2021 Air Force Falcons football
MW Mountain Division co-champion First Responder Bowl champion
First Responder Bowl, W 31–28 vs. Louisville
Conference	Mountain West Conference
2021 record	10–3 (6–2 MW)
Head coach	Troy Calhoun (15th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Thiessen (11th season)
Defensive coordinator	John Rudzinski (4th season)
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium (capacity: 46,692)
Uniform
Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

2021 Mountain West Conference football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
Utah State xy$		6	–	2					11	–	3
Air Force x		6	–	2					10	–	3
Boise State		5	–	3					7	–	5
Wyoming		2	–	6					7	–	6
Colorado State		2	–	6					3	–	9
New Mexico		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
No. 24 San Diego State xy		7	–	1					12	–	2
Fresno State		6	–	2					10	–	3
Nevada		5	–	3					8	–	5
San Jose State		3	–	5					5	–	7
Hawaii		3	–	5					6	–	7
UNLV		2	–	6					2	–	10
Championship: Utah State 46, San Diego State 13
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from CFP Rankings

The 2021 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Falcons were led by 15th–year head coach Troy Calhoun and played their home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They competed as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference.

Previous season[]

The Falcons finished the 2020 season 3–3 and 2–2 in Mountain West play. They were not invited to play in any post season bowl game.

Preseason[]

Mountain West media days[]

The Mountain West media days were held on July 21–22, 2021, at the Cosmopolitan in Paradise, Nevada.

Media poll[]

The preseason poll was released on July 21, 2021. The Falcons were predicted to finish in third place in the MW Mountain Division.^[1]

Mountain

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Boise State	148 (23)
2	Wyoming	115 (2)
3	Air Force	104
4	Colorado State	72
5	Utah State	47
6	New Mexico	39

West

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Nevada	141 (19)
2	San Jose State	121 (5)
3	San Diego State	96
4	Fresno State	85 (1)
5	Hawaii	56
6	UNLV	26

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	12:00 p.m.	Lafayette*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	Stadium	W 35–14	30,012
September 11	3:30 p.m.	at Navy*	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	CBS	W 23–3	36,997
September 18	5:30 p.m.	Utah State	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	FS2	L 45–49	20,264
September 25	6:00 p.m.	Florida Atlantic*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	FS2	W 31–7	19,763
October 2	5:30 p.m.	at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	FS2	W 38–10	13,158
October 9	5:00 p.m.	Wyoming	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	CBSSN	W 24–14	24,832
October 16	7:00 p.m.	at Boise State	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	FS1	W 24–17	34,446
October 23	5:00 p.m.	No. 22 San Diego State	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	CBSSN	L 14–20	23,887
November 6	9:30 a.m.	vs. Army*	Globe Life Field Arlington, TX (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	CBS	L 14–21 OT	32,537
November 13	5:00 p.m.	at Colorado State	Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, CO (rivalry)	CBSSN	W 35–21	25,550
November 19	7:00 p.m.	at Nevada	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	FS1	W 41–39 3OT	15,206
November 26	1:30 p.m.	UNLV	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	CBSSN	W 48–14	18,226
December 28	1:15 p.m.	vs. Louisville*	Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, TX (First Responder Bowl)	ESPN	W 31–28	15,251
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 2) - Released prior to game All times are in Mountain time

^[2]

Personnel[]

2021 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 Last update: September 17, 2021

Rankings[]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	RV
CFP	Not released									NR	NR	NR				Not released

Game summaries[]

Lafayette[]

Lafayette at Air Force

1 2 3 4 Total Leopards 0 7 7 0 14 • Falcons 14 14 0 7 35 Date: September 4, 2021 Location: Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO Game start: 12:06 p.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 12 minutes Game attendance: 30,012 Game weather: Temperature: N/A • Weather: Sunny • Wind: N/A Referee: Christian Walker TV announcers (Stadium): Chris Hassel (play–by–play) and Sherdrick Bonner (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 08:01 AF Micah Davis 10–yard run (Matthew Dapore kick) (10 plays, 59 yards, 4:53) AF 7–0 00:25 AF Haaziq Daniels 7–yard run (Matthew Dapore kick) (10 plays, 65 yards, 4:49) AF 14–0 2 09:05 LAF Julius Young 23–yard pass from Rent Montie (Micah Pettit kick) (13 plays, 83 yards, 6:16) AF 14–7 03:09 AF Micah Davis 16–yard run (Matthew Dapore kick failed) (12 plays, 75 yards, 5:56) AF 20–7 00:18 AF Haaziq Daniels 2–yard run (DeAndre Hughes rush) (7 plays, 40 yards, 1:20) AF 28–7 3 07:50 LAF Selwyn Simpson 3–yard run (Micah Pettit kick) (10 plays, 68 yards, 5:11) AF 28–14 4 06:10 AF Haaziq Daniels 19–yard run (Matthew Dapore kick) (8 plays, 68 yards, 4:02) AF 35–14

Pregame line	Over/under
AF –40.5	49.5[3]

Statistics	Lafayette	Air Force
First downs	12	24
Total yards	287	420
Rushing yards	43	370
Passing yards	244	50
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	25:39	34:21

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Lafayette	Passing	Aaron Angelos	10/16, 158 yards
	Rushing	Jaden Sutton	7 carries, 38 yards
	Receiving	Julius Young	8 receptions, 147 yards, 1 TD
Air Force	Passing	Haaziq Daniels	3/5, 50 yards
	Rushing	Brad Roberts	25 carries, 111 yards
	Receiving	Micah Davis	2 receptions, 27 yards

at Navy[]

Air Force at Navy
(Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)

1 2 3 4 Total • Falcons 0 7 7 9 23 Midshipmen 0 3 0 0 3 Date: September 11, 2021 Location: Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD Game start: 3:44 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 8 minutes Game attendance: 36,997 Game weather: Temperature: 78 °F (26 °C) • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Wind: S 6 MPH Referee: David Alvarez TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler (play–by–play), Gary Danielson (analyst) and Jamie Erdahl (sideline)

Scoring summary 2 10:36 NAVY Bijan Nichols 23–yard field goal (7 plays, 32 yards, 3:32) NAVY 3–0 01:09 AF Brad Roberts 3–yard run (Matthew Dapore kick) (9 plays, 43 yards, 3:26) AF 7–3 3 00:32 AF Haaziq Daniels 28–yard run (Matthew Dapore kick) (9 plays, 54 yards, 4:09) AF 14–3 4 13:33 AF Team 23–yard safety AF 16–3 09:13 AF Brad Roberts 2–yard run (Matthew Dapore kick) (7 plays, 58 yards, 4:20) AF 23–3

Pregame line	Over/under
AF –6	39.5[4]

Statistics	Air Force	Navy
First downs	14	6
Total yards	225	68
Rushing yards	176	36
Passing yards	49	32
Turnovers	1	3
Time of possession	36:48	23:12

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Air Force	Passing	Haaziq Daniels	3/10, 49 yards
	Rushing	Brad Roberts	29 carries, 97 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Micah Davis	1 reception, 27 yards
Navy	Passing	Maasai Maynor	3/5, 32 yards
	Rushing	Xavier Arline	16 carries, 31 yards
	Receiving	Mychal Cooper	1 reception, 15 yards

Utah State[]

Utah State at Air Force

1 2 3 4 Total • Aggies 7 6 21 15 49 Falcons 10 14 14 7 45 Date: September 18, 2021 Location: Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO Game start: 5:35 p.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 35 minutes Game attendance: 20,264 Game weather: Temperature: N/A • Weather: Sunny • Wind: N/A Referee: Cal McNeill TV announcers (FS2): Cory Provus (play–by–play) and Devin Gardner (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 11:46 AF Micah Davis 5–yard run (Matthew Dapore kick) (6 plays, 75 yards, 3:14) AF 7–0 05:34 AF Matthew Dapore 15–yard field goal (9 plays, 75 yards, 4:11) AF 10–0 01:17 USU Calvin Tyler Jr. 1–yard run (Connor Coles kick) (13 plays, 71 yards, 4:12) AF 10–7 2 10:16 USU Brandon Bowling 6–yard pass from Logan Bonner (Connor Coles kick blocked) (11 plays, 92 yards, 3:45) USU 13–10 08:19 AF Micah Davis 56–yard pass from Haaziq Daniels (Matthew Dapore kick) (5 plays, 71 yards, 1:55) AF 17–13 00:56 AF Dane Kinamon 3–yard run (Matthew Dapore kick) (16 plays, 75 yards, 6:52) AF 24–13 3 13:26 USU Justin McGriff 24–yard pass from Logan Bonner (Connor Coles kick) (7 plays, 69 yards, 1:28) AF 24–20 11:17 AF Emmanuel Michel 51–yard run (Matthew Dapore kick) (5 plays, 75 yards, 2:09) AF 31–20 07:48 USU Carson Terrell 5–yard pass from Andrew Peasley (Connor Coles kick) (10 plays, 75 yards, 3:29) AF 31–27 03:18 USU Brandon Bowling 37–yard pass from Andrew Peasley (Connor Coles kick) (6 plays, 56 yards, 1:39) USU 34–31 00:52 AF Emmanuel Michel 55–yard run (Matthew Dapore kick) (5 plays, 75 yards, 2:26) AF 38–34 4 10:37 AF Haaziq Daniels 39–yard run (Matthew Dapore kick) (4 plays, 50 yards, 1:49) AF 45–34 09:51 USU Deven Thompkins 72–yard pass from Andrew Peasley (rush) (3 plays, 75 yards, 0:38) AF 45–42 03:54 USU Calvin Tyler Jr. 61–yard run (Connor Coles kick) (6 plays, 85 yards, 2:02) USU 49–45

Pregame line	Over/under
AF –9	54[5]

Statistics	Utah State	Air Force
First downs	26	23
Total yards	628	619
Rushing yards	180	437
Passing yards	448	182
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	26:01	33:59

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Utah State	Passing	Logan Bonner	21/34, 253 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Calvin Tyler Jr.	19 carries, 132 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Deven Thompkins	9 receptions, 188 yards, 1 TD
Air Force	Passing	Haaziq Daniels	6/12, 182 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Emmanuel Michel	11 carries, 133 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Micah Davis	4 receptions, 110 yards, 1 TD

Florida Atlantic[]

Florida Atlantic at Air Force

1 2 3 4 Total Owls 0 7 0 0 7 • Falcons 14 10 7 0 31 Date: September 25, 2021 Location: Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO Game start: 6:05 p.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 45 minutes Game attendance: 19,763 Referee: Rodney Burnette TV announcers (FS2): Cory Provus (play–by–play) and Devin Gardner (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 8:47 AF Haaziq Daniels 4–yard run (Anthony Rodriguez kick) (8 plays, 68 yards, 4:20) AF 7–0 1 5:35 AF Haaziq Daniels 94–yard run (Anthony Rodriguez kick) (1 play, 94 yards, 0:13) AF 14–0 2 11:48 AF Brad Roberts 3–yard run (Anthony Rodriguez kick) (14 plays, 82 yards, 7:26) AF 21–0 2 5:10 AF Anthony Rodriguez 23–yard field goal (9 plays, 50 yards, 5:00) AF 24–0 2 3:42 FAU N'Kosi Perry 34–yard run (Aaron Shahriari kick) (4 plays, 74 yards, 1:23) AF 24–7 3 3:30 AF Micah Davis 6–yard run (Anthony Rodriguez kick) (12 plays, 97 yards, 6:39) AF 31–7

Pregame line	Over/under
AF –3.5	54[6]

Statistics	Florida Atlantic	Air Force
First downs	10	24
Total yards	219	516
Rushing yards	141	446
Passing yards	78	70
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	19:03	40:57

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida Atlantic	Passing	N'Kosi Perry	11/33, 78 yds, 1 INT
	Rushing	Johnny Ford	8 car, 66 yds
	Receiving	Jequan Burton	2 rec, 28 yds
Air Force	Passing	Haaziq Daniels	2/4, 70 yds
	Rushing	Haaziq Daniels	17 car, 164 yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Brandon Lewis	1 rec, 46 yds

at New Mexico[]

Air Force at New Mexico

1 2 Total Falcons 0 Lobos 0 Date: October 2, 2021 Location: University Stadium Albuquerque, NM Game start: 5:30 p.m. MDT Television network: FS2

Pregame line	Over/under
AF –11.5	45.5[7]

Statistics	Air Force	New Mexico
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Air Force	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
New Mexico	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Wyoming[]

Wyoming at Air Force

1 2 Total Cowboys 0 Falcons 0 Date: October 9, 2021 Location: Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO Game start: 5:00 p.m. MDT Television network: CBSSN

Pregame line	Over/under
AF –6	47[8]

Statistics	Wyoming	Air Force
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wyoming	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Air Force	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Boise State[]

Air Force at Boise State

1 2 Total Falcons 0 Broncos 0 Date: October 16, 2021 Location: Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID Television network: Fox/FS1/FS2

Pregame line	Over/under
N/A	N/A

Statistics	Air Force	Boise State
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Air Force	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Boise State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

No. 22 San Diego State[]

San Diego State at Air Force

1 2 Total No. 22 Aztecs 0 Falcons 0 Date: October 23, 2021 Location: Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO Game start: 5:00 p.m. MDT Television network: CBSSN

Pregame line	Over/under
N/A	N/A

Statistics	San Diego State	Air Force
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
San Diego State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Air Force	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs. Army[]

Air Force vs. Army
(Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)

1 2 Total Black Knights 0 Falcons 0 Date: November 6, 2021 Location: Globe Life Field Arlington, TX Game start: 10:30 a.m. CDT Television network: CBS

Pregame line	Over/under
N/A	N/A

Statistics	Army	Air Force
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Army	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Air Force	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Colorado State[]

Air Force at Colorado State
(Rivalry)

1 2 Total Falcons 0 Rams 0 Date: November 13, 2021 Location: Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, CO Game start: 5:00 p.m. MST Television network: CBSSN

Pregame line	Over/under
N/A	N/A

Statistics	Air Force	Colorado State
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Air Force	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Colorado State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Nevada[]

Air Force at Nevada

1 2 3 4 Total Falcons 0 17 7 0 24 Wolf Pack 3 0 7 14 24 Date: November 19, 2021 Location: Mackay Stadium Reno, NV Television network: FS1

Pregame line	Over/under
N/A	N/A

Statistics	Air Force	Nevada
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Air Force	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Nevada	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

UNLV[]

UNLV at Air Force

1 2 Total Rebels 0 Falcons 0 Date: November 26, 2021 Location: Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO Game start: 1:30 p.m. MST Television network: CBSSN

Pregame line	Over/under
N/A	N/A

Statistics	UNLV	Air Force
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UNLV	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Air Force	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

References[]