# 2020 Air Force Falcons football team

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 |
| Outland Trophy | 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.

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

## Game summaries
### Navy

| 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

| 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

| 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

| 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

| 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

| 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

| 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

| 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: