If you were to read our preview of the past two Air Force games, you could of skipped the game and got to the conclusion in nearly identical fashion. Only on this Saturday, you would do so much more heartbroken
a fan of the Falcons. In what has become a completely alarming trend, Troy Calhoun and the Falcons are simply not up tot he task against their military brethren. Despite owning by far the best record of the three Military Academies in the series history, Air Force has fallen behind and is being lapped in recent years.
I don’t want to lose sight of what was a very entertaining game. Despite late game breakdowns that ultimately centered the final nail in the Air Force coffin, the Falcon defense did plenty to give them a fighting chance. If you were to say that Air Force would commit three turnovers to Army’s zero, miss a field goal and fail to return points on three red zone trips, yet tie the game with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, it would come as a surprise to nearly all. That was the case though.
The Falcons battled all game long, even getting a crucial fourth down stop in Army territory, after turning the ball over for a third time, via a Liam Szarka fumble. But despite the late score that followed that stop, one more possession was just too much to ask of this young defense. One of multiple big plays that Army was able to drum up came in the most back breaking of times, as Cale Hellums hit Brady Anderson on a 42 yard pass to set the Jeff Monken’s crew up for a walk off chip shot.
This game followed the exact same outline nearly every game against Army has over the last five years. Uncharacteristic turnovers from otherwise really good quarterbacks, followed by resolute execution from that team from West Point resulting getting first crack at the mic for Air Force as the clock hits 00:00.
It’s incompressible to think that Air Force hasn’t won a Commander-in-Chief’s game since early in the 2023 season. I was fortunate enough to be at that game, and fondly reflect on Zach Larrier connecting on a 94 yard pass play to Dane Kinamon. I’m not sure there is a positive reflection that can be drummed up in the Commander-in-Chief’s series after that fall afternoon in Annapolis.
If Troy Calhoun wants to get his team those precious extra practices in December that are rewarded to teams that are bowl eligible, they will now have to run the table for the balance of their schedule. There is no telling how many of the underclassmen playing today will be in this locker room in 2026, but for those that will be, those bowl week practices and game experience are valuable. To keep those bowl aspirations on life support, it will start with a game against an all too familiar foe, in Ken Niumatalolo at San Jose State.
