#17/17 Air Force vs. Army West Point

#17/17 Air Force vs. Army West Point
Saturday, Nov. 4, 12:30 p.m. MT, Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, CO

THE GAME
• #17/17 Air Force hosts Army West Point on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 12:30 p.m. at Empower Field at Mile High in the second game of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy series.
• Air Force leads the Army series, 38-18-1. The Falcons are 22-4 at home, 14-12 at Army and 2-2-1 in neutral site games. Air Force is 35-16 in Commander-in-Chief's Trophy games vs. Army dating back to 1972.
• The 2023 season marks the 52nd year of Commander-in-Chief's trophy competition. Air Force owns a series-best 66-37 record in CIC competition. The Falcons can win their series-best 22nd title with a win over Army this week.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• Television: CBS Sports Network
John Sadak (play-by-play), Randy Cross (analyst), Tina Cervasio (sidelines)
• Radio: KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs, 104.3 the Fan in Denver, SIRIUS XM 159 or 206
Jim Arthur (play-by-play), Jesse Kurtz (analyst)
• Live Stats: statbroadcast.com

GENERAL INFORMATION
Category........................ Air Force .................................................................. Army West Point
2023 Record.................. 8-0 (5-0 MW)............................................................ 2-6
Current Streak............... W 13......................................................................... L 5
Rankings (AP/Coaches).. 17th / 17th.............................................................. NR / NR
Last Week..................... W 30-13 at Colorado State......................................... L 21-14 vs. UMass
Next Week.................... at Hawaii (11/11)...................................................... vs. Holy Cross (11/11)

Head Coach.................... Troy Calhoun............................................................. Jeff Monken
    Alma Mater (Yr).......... Air Force (1989)........................................................  Millikin (1989)
    School Record............. 129-78 (17th season)................................................ 66-55 (10th season)
    Career Record............. Same......................................................................... 104-71 (14th season)
Record vs. Opp............... 11-5.......................................................................... 4-5

AIR FORCE VS. ARMY AT EMPOWER FIELD AT MILE HIGH
Empower Field at Mile High will play host to Air Force's home football game against Army on Saturday, Nov. 4, the 75th anniversary of the Air Force. Since the building opened in 2001, Empower Field at Mile High has hosted 18 Division I college football games. The game on Nov. 4 will mark the first time the stadium has hosted the Air Force-Army rivalry.

THE SERIES
• Air Force and Army are meeting for the 58th time overall and sixth time at a neutral site.
• Air Force leads the series, 38-18-1.
• The Falcons are 22-4 at home, 14-12 at Army and 2-2-1 in neutral site games.
• Air Force is 35-16 in Commander-in-Chief's Trophy games vs. Army dating back to 1972.
• The Falcons are 21-3 at home, 13-12 at Army and 1-1 in neutral sites in CIC games.
• Air Force defeated Army, 13-7, last season in Arlington, Texas, in the Commander's Classic.
• The teams first played to a 13-13 tie in Yankee Stadium in New York in 1959.

LAST SEASON
(Nov. 5, 2022) Air Force defeated Army, 13-7, in the 2022 Commanders' Classic in Arlington, Texas, at Globe Life Field. The victory secured the Academy's record 21st Commander-in-Chief's Trophy and first since 2016. Matthew Dapore opened the scoring with a 35-yard field goal to give Air Force a 3-0 lead. Army took a 7-3 lead into the half with a Jemel Jones three-yard rushing touchdown. Air Force opened the second half with a defensive stop, then took the lead for good with a Haaziq Daniels 17-yard touchdown run to make it 10-7. Dapore added 26-yard field goal to make up the final margin with 12:06 to play. Camby Goff ended the game with an interception in the final moments. Air Force held Army to just 145 total yards, including just two first downs and 20 total yards on 15 plays in the second half. Air Force limited Army to just 78 yards rushing on 35 carries. Air Force had 324 total yards, including 226 rushing. Brad Roberts led the way with 135 yards rushing on 33 carries.

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF'S TROPHY
The 2023 season marks the 52nd year of Commander-in-Chief's trophy competition. The trophy goes annually to the winning academy with the best record in the round-robin competition. The winning team goes to the White House to receive the trophy from the President of the United States.
Air Force opened the series with a 17-6 victory at Navy, Oct. 21. The Falcons can win its series-best 22nd title with a win over Army Nov. 4 at Empower Field at Mile High.

Team       Record    Titles       Last
Air Force 66-37-0 21             2022
Navy        52-50-1 16             2019
Army        35-66-1 9    2020

Air Force outright CIC title years:
'82, '83, '85, '87, '89, '90, '91, '92, '94, '95, '97, '98, '99, '00, '01, '02, '10, '11, '14, '16, '22

AIR FORCE VS. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
• Air Force is 3-0 this season and is 12-1 over the last three seasons vs. non-conferences foes.
• The Falcons have won nine straight.
• Air Force is 51-27 against non-conference opponents under head coach Troy Calhoun.
• The Falcons are 31-4 at home, 11-17 on the road and 9-6 in neutral site games.

ROAD STREAK AT EIGHT
Air Force has won eight straight away from home overall and five straight in true road games dating back to last season. Air Force's last true road game loss came last season at Utah State, 34-27, Oct. 8, 2022.

Date................ Opponent (Site).................... Result
Oct. 28, 2023... at Colorado State................. W 30-13
Oct. 21, 2023... at Navy................................. W 17-6
Sept. 23, 2023. at San Jose State................. W 45-20
Sept. 9, 2023... vs. Sam Houston (NRG)....... W 13-3
Dec. 22, 2022.. vs. Baylor (Fort Worth, TX)... W 30-15
Nov. 26, 2022.. at San Diego State................ W 13-3
Nov. 5, 2022.... vs. Army (Arlington, TX)........ W 13-7
Oct. 15, 2022... at UNLV................................ W 42-7

AIR FORCE'S 13 GAME STREAK FOURTH BEST NATIONALLY; SCHOOL RECORD
Air Force has won 13 straight games dating back to last season which is the fourth longest active streak in the nation. The streak ties a school record, matching the mark of 13 in 1984-85.

Longest Current FBS Winning Streaks     Longest Air Force Winning Streaks
#   Team               Streak #   Years               Streak
1. Georgia           25 1. 1984-85    13
2. Washington 15   2022-23 13
3. Florida State 14 3. 1998-99 11
4. Air Force        13 4. 1983-84 10

AIR FORCE ONE OF EIGHT UNDEFEATED TEAMS
Air Force is one of eight undefeated teams in the nation. The Falcons are the only Mountain West team and one of just three Group of 5 undefeated teams. Air Force is joined in the ranks of the undefeated by Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State, Liberty, Washington, Georgia and James Madison.

AIR FORCE 39-8 LAST FOUR SEASONS
• Air Force is 39-8 the last four full seasons, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Air Force is 8-0 this season and finished 10-3 in 2022 and 2021 and 11-2 in 2019.
• Air Force, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Utah and Oregon are the only teams to win 10-plus games the last three full seasons (2019, 2021, 2022).
• The Falcons are 23-6 in conference play during the same stretch. Air Force is 5-0 this season and was 5-3 and finished second in the Mountain Division last season. Air Force shared the Mountain Division title with a 6-2 mark in 2021 and finished second with a 7-1 mark in 2019.

AIR FORCE OFF TO BEST START SINCE 1985
Air Force's 8-0 start is its best since a school record 10-0 start in 1985. This season marks just the fourth time in program history the Falcons have started 8-0 or better.
The Falcons are 5-0 in Mountain West play for the first time in program history. The conference start is the second best in program history, trailing only the 6-0 start in 1985 in the WAC.

Best overall starts in Air Force history    Best conference starts in Air Force history
#   Year............... Record                             #   Year (Conf.)....... Record
1. 1985.............. 10-0                                  1. 1985 (WAC)....... 6-0
2. 1958.............. 9-0-1 2. 2023 (MW)........ 5-0
3. 1970.............. 8-0                                     3. 1997 (WAC)....... 4-0
4. 2023.............. 8-0                                          1989 (WAC)....... 4-0

NATIONAL RANKINGS
• Air Force is ranked 17th in both the Associated Press and AFCA Coaches poll this week, which is its highest national ranking since being 15th on Oct. 13, 2002. This week marks the third straight week the Falcons have been nationally ranked, which is the longest streak since being ranked four straight weeks in 2002. This season marks the first time Air Force has been ranked since 2019 when the team was 22nd in the AP poll and 23rd in the coaches poll.
• The regular season ranking is the first since Oct. 3, 2010, when Air Force was ranked 25th in the AP poll. The ranking in both polls in the regular season is the first since Oct. 10, 2010, when the Falcons were 23rd in each poll. Air Force received votes in the AFCA Coaches poll since the beginning of the season and in the AP poll the previous two weeks.
• Air Force won its third consecutive game and fourth in the last five as a ranked team with its 30-13 victory at Colorado State Oct. 28.
• Air Force is 52-24-2 all-time as a ranked team.

2023 AF Week-by-Week Poll Rankings
Week     AP         Coaches
Oct. 29   17th     17th
Oct. 22   19th     19th
Oct. 15   22nd    22nd

LAST WEEK
Air Force defeated Colorado State, 30-13, to record its seventh straight win in the series. Dane Kinamon and Zac Larrier connected on a nine-yard touchdown pass to give Air Force a 7-0 lead. The Rams answered with a Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi to Justus Ross-Simmons 61-yard TD pass to tie the game at 7-7. Colorado State took the lead on a 40-yard field goal. Bo Richter then responded with the defensive play of the game, recording a strip sack and fumble recovery that set up a John Lee Eldridge III 10-yard scoring run to put the Falcons in front 13-10. CSU added another field goal to tie the game at halftime. Larrier added a touchdown run and Matthew Depore a field goal to put the Falcons up 23-13 at the end of the third quarter. Emmanuel Michel iced it for the Falcons with a five-yard touchdown run with 8:51 remaining. Air Force had 293 total yards, including 261 rushing. Michel led the way with 130 yards and a score on 20 carries. The defense was led by Jalen Mergerson, who had a career-high 13 tackles. Trey Taylor added 10. The Falcons held Colorado State scoreless in the second half and to 339 total yards, including 42 rushing.

LAST WEEK'S GAME NOTES
Team Notes
• Air Force improved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Mountain West. The 8-0 start is the best since the 1985 team opened 10-0 and is tied with the 1970 team as the third best start in program history (1985: 10-0; 1958: 9-0-1; 1970: 8-0). The 5-0 is the best in program history in the Mountain West and is second all-time in program history, trailing the 1985 team's school-record 6-0 start in the Western Athletic Conference.
• Air Force improved its winning streak to 13 games dating back to last season, which is the fourth-longest active streak in the FBS. The streak ties the school record of 13 shared with the 1984-85 teams.
• Air Force improved to 39-21-1 overall vs. Colorado State, including a 28-15 mark in conference games. The Falcons improved to 17-10 at Colorado State, including a 4-0 mark in Canvas Stadium. Air Force has won seven straight and 15 of the last 17 in the series.
• Air Force retained the Ram-Falcon Trophy and improved to 28-15 all-time in Ram-Falcon Trophy competition.
• Air Force Head Coach Troy Calhoun improved to 129-78 overall in his 17th season. The coach improved to 77-51 in Mountain West play and is now 14-2 all-time vs. Colorado State.
• Air Force has held 29 of the last 34 opponents to 21 points or less the last three seasons.
• Air Force has gone five straight games allowing seven points or less in the second half.
• Air Force won the time of possession battle for the sixth time this season (35:58-24:02). The Falcons held the ball for 20:57 in the second half.
• Air Force had out-rushed all eight opponents this year.
• Air Force held Colorado State to 42 yards rushing, marking the fifth time this season holding a team below 54 yards rushing in a game.
• Air Force game captains were seniors Thor Paglialong (OC), Caleb Rillos (TE), Adam Karas (OL) and Trey Taylor (DB).

Individual Notes
• Senior QB Zac Larrier was 4-of-7 passing for 32 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 13 times for 34 yards and one touchdown. Larrier recorded a touchdown pass and run in the same game for the third time this season. He has thrown a touchdown pass in four straight games. Larrier improved to 8-0 as a starter which ties the best start for a quarterback in program history, matching Rich Mayo (1958) and Bob Parker (1970).
• Senior FB Emmanuel Michel carried 20 times for 130 yards and one touchdown. It was his third game over 100 yards rushing this season and the fifth of his career. Michel had a season-long 53-yard run, which was two shy of his career-long of 55 against Utah State in 2021. Michel also ran for his team-leading ninth touchdown run of the season in the fourth quarter.
• Senior DB Jalen Mergerson recorded career high of 13 tackles and two pass breakups. His previous best for tackles was four vs. UNLV last season. Mergerson also had nine solo tackles, the most by a Falcon this season.
• Senior OLB Bo Richter had one tackle, a sack, a forced and recovered fumble and quarterback hurry. He has recorded a sack or tackle for loss in four straight games and seven of eight this season.
• Senior DL PJ Ramsey tied a career-high with five tackles. He also added a sack and two quarterback hurries. The sack gives him a team-leading 6.5 on the season. It was his third consecutive game with a sack.
• Senior DB Trey Taylor tied a season-high with 10 tackles for his fifth-career double digit tackles game. Taylor also recorded a pass breakup.
• Junior DB Trey Williams had a career-high two pass breakups. He entered the game with one career PBU, coming against Utah State.

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Players Mentioned

Haaziq Daniels

Matthew Dapore

John Lee Eldridge III

Camby Goff

Adam Karas

Dane Kinamon

Zac Larrier

Jalen Mergerson

Emmanuel Michel

Thor Paglialong

PJ Ramsey

Bo Richter

Caleb Rillos

Brad Roberts

Trey Taylor

Trey Williams

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