Air Force Football Preview 2025: Can Troy Calhoun Bring the Falcons Back?

Originally posted on College Football News
By Pete Fiutak | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 3:15 AM ET

Sometimes it just doesn’t quite work.

Like the other military academies, there’s a fine line between the system working and it all breaking down, but under head coach Troy Calhoun, it’s become a given that Air Force will be good enough to inflict its will on the way to ten wins.

The Falcons won nine games or more four times in five years from 2019 to 2023, with the six-game 2020 the lone outlier. They were 4-for-4 in bowl games, were in the College Football Playoff rankings, and then came last season.

So what went wrong in the 5-7 season?

Air Force Falcons College Football Preview 2025

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Air Force Offense Breakdown
Air Force Defense Breakdown
Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season

The offense couldn’t control games, the defense had a hard time getting off the field, there were a few special teams breakdowns, and then …

It all started to kick in.

Part of the good and the bad for all the military academies is their total reliance on the Next Man Up. They don’t get the talent of other schools, so they build up their players for a few years - especially on the lines - and when it’s your time, you have to produce.

The rushing attack ran for 2,688 yards, when the year before it ran for 3,660. The defense couldn’t hold up, and then, again, Air Force started winning.

It started 1-7, closed 4-0, and now it returns a veteran offense, and the defense should follow the lead if the O is running like it normally does.

There aren’t any Power Four teams on the schedule, the coaching staff knows how to overcome past issues, and the last time Air Force finished 5-7, it went 11-2 in 2019 in the program’s most successful season ever. However …

There was a problem with several Falcons being investigated for Honor Code violations, and that’s about the mess up the …

Air Force Offense Breakdown
Air Force Defense Breakdown
Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season

This article first appeared on College Football News and was syndicated with permission.

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