With the Air Force Falcons preparing to meet California in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday, first-year AFA coach Troy Calhoun is 1-for-1 in his quest to have his team in a bowl game every year.
“I think there are ways — maybe I’m assuming too much — that we could find a bowl that would be glad to have a bowl-eligible Air Force team,” said Calhoun, the Mountain West Conference coach of the year for guiding the Falcons to a 9-3 record. “We also have the four bowls that are tied to the Mountain West Conference, but I don’t know that we should depend just on those tie-ups.”
Calhoun was impressed with the work done by Navy’s administration to get an affiliation with the Poinsettia Bowl for the Midshipmen. The San Diego bowl is one of four postseason games affiliated with the MWC, and Navy played Utah there this month. The Poinsettia Bowl’s selection committee chose the Utes over the MWC runner-up Falcons because it didn’t want an Air Force-Navy rematch. Navy defeated the Falcons 31-20 in Annapolis, Md., on Sept. 29.
Calhoun’s desire to gain a predetermined bowl slot for Air Force will have to wait as the Falcons focus on their 18th bowl appearance in 52 years of varsity football.
Air Force’s 8-8-1 bowl history started in the Cotton Bowl, where the 1958 Falcons played Texas Christian to a 0-0 tie that completed their 9-0-2 season. That was Ben Martin’s first of 20 seasons as Air Force’s coach.
The Falcons played in only three bowl games through the 1981 season.
There could have been a fourth bowl game in the early years of the program, but the 1968 Falcons (7-3) weren’t allowed to accept an invitation to the Liberty Bowl. The Air Force hierarchy in Washington derailed the appearance because of the Vietnam War.
“It was presented to us that we couldn’t accept the bowl bid because of the war,” said Dick Swanson, a team captain for the 1968 Falcons, whose victories included a 58-35 rout of Colorado in Boulder. “We felt we earned a chance to play in a bowl. We were disappointed.”
Air Force’s Bowl History
(8-8-1 record)
Season Bowl Site Opponent Score
1958 Cotton Dallas TCU T 0-0
1963 Gator Jacksonville N. Carolina L 35-0
1970 Sugar New Orleans Tennessee L 34-13
1982 Hall of Fame Birmingham Vanderbilt W 36-28
1983 Independence Shreveport La. Mississippi W 9-3
1984 Independence Shreveport La. Va. Tech W 23-7
1985 Bluebonnet Houston Texas W 24-16
1987 Freedom Anaheim Calif. Arizona St. L 33-28
1989 Liberty Memphis Mississippi L 42-29
1990 Liberty Memphis Ohio State W 23-11
1991 Liberty Memphis Miss. St. W 38-15
1992 Liberty Memphis Mississippi L 13-0
1995 Copper Tucson Texas Tech L 55-41
1997 Las Vegas Las Vegas Oregon L 41-13
1998 Oahu Honolulu Washington W 45-25
2000 Silicon Valley San Jose Calif. Fresno St. W 37-34
2002 San Francisco San Francisco Va. Tech L 20-13
Fourth time a charm
Air Force won its first bowl game on its fourth try, beating Vanderbilt 36-28 in the 1982 Hall of Fame Bowl before 75,114 on New Year’s Eve at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. Air Force quarterback Marty Louthan directed a wishbone offense that produced 315 yards rushing and 136 yards passing. AFA fullback John Kershner rushed for a game-high 132 yards on 32 carries and Louthan scored two touchdowns. The Falcons outscored Vanderbilt 19-0 in the fourth quarter, including a 3-yard touchdown run by fullback Ted Sundquist (now the Broncos’ general manager), and finished 8-5.
Shootout in San Jose
After leading 34-7 at halftime of the 2000 Silicon Valley Classic, the Falcons had to hold off David Carr and Fresno State to win 37-34. With 14 seconds to play, the Bulldogs faked a field goal, but the holder’s pass was overthrown in the end zone. Carr passed for 391 yards and five touchdowns. AFA quarterback Mike Thiessen passed for 201 yards and rushed for 99.
Weiss’ dandy double
Bart Weiss quarterbacked the Falcons to victories in the 1984 Independence Bowl (23-7 over Virginia Tech) in Shreveport, La., and the 1985 Bluebonnet Bowl (24-16 over Texas) in Houston. Weiss rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries against Bruce Smith-led Virginia Tech in Fisher DeBerry’s first of 12 bowl games as Air Force’s head coach, and the Falcons finished 8-4. The next year, the Falcons completed a 12-1 season by beating Texas. Weiss contributed a touchdown and fullback Pat Evans rushed for 129 yards on 18 carries, including a 19-yard scoring run.
Ducks soar
Oregon had too much speed for the Falcons in the 1997 Las Vegas Bowl, scoring on plays of 69 and 76 yards the first two times the Ducks touched the ball on offense. Oregon led 26-0 at halftime and won 41-13. The Ducks outgained the Falcons 543-211 in total yards. Blane Morgan scored for Air Force on a 1-yard run, but the quarterback was ineffective after suffering an injury during the Falcons’ last practice at the academy before they flew to Las Vegas.
Falcons look familiar
Air Force went to Memphis, Tenn., to play in the Liberty Bowl four consecutive years (1989-92) and went 2-2. Rob Perez quarterbacked the Falcons to two of the biggest wins in AFA history, a 23-11 upset of Ohio State in 1990 and a 38-15 rout of Mississippi State in 1991. Perez had a total of 207 yards rushing in those two games. Carlton McDonald, a consensus All-America cornerback in 1992, returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown with 2:31 left against the Buckeyes, and Shannon Yates returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown against the Bulldogs.
A sour Sugar Bowl
Tennessee dominated the 1971 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, holding the Falcons to a minus-12 yards rushing in a 34-13 rout. The Volunteers raced to a 24-0 lead in the first quarter and finished with 392 total yards.
The Falcons fumbled seven times, losing four. Bobby Parker was the only bright spot for the Falcons, completing 23-of-46 passes for 239 yards.
