{"id":89123,"date":"2026-07-13T12:47:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=89123"},"modified":"2026-07-13T12:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:47:12","slug":"air-force-falcons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2026\/07\/13\/air-force-falcons\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force Falcons 2026 Season Preview, Odds, Win Total & Prediction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Air Force enters the 2026 season<\/a> trying to climb out of a rare slump. After two straight losing years \u2014 something Troy Calhoun<\/a> almost never experiences \u2014 the Falcons are looking for a reset. Last season was a strange mix of extremes. The offense was vintage Air Force: top\u2011three nationally in rushing, near the top in time of possession, and still explosive enough to lead the country in yards per completion. But none of that mattered because the defense simply couldn\u2019t stop anyone. Opponents converted more than half of their third\u2011down chances, one of the worst marks in the nation, and too many late\u2011game collapses turned winnable contests into frustrating losses.<\/p>\n

Air Force Falcons 2026 Season Preview, Odds, Win Total & Prediction<\/h2>\n

The good news is that Air Force has been here before. Calhoun\u2019s program has a long history of bouncing back after down cycles, and the Mountain West\u2019s<\/a> new, weakened structure gives the Falcons a real chance to make noise if both sides of the ball stabilize. The staff believes last year\u2019s youth movement \u2014 especially on defense \u2014 cost them in close games but will pay off now that those players have real experience.<\/p>\n

Current Odds & Win Total<\/h3>\n

To Win The Mountain West Conference – +600<\/strong><\/p>\n

Win Total – Over 7.5 (-114)\/ Under 7.5 (-105)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Air Force’s Offensive Outlook<\/h3>\n

Offensively, Air Force feels much better about its identity heading into 2026. Quarterback Liam Szarka<\/a> returns after flashing star potential before a wrist injury cut his season short. He was one of the most dangerous dual\u2011threat quarterbacks in the conference, leading the Mountain West in rushing touchdowns and ranking near the top in rushing yards per game. His ability to turn broken plays into chunk gains gives Air Force a dimension most option teams don\u2019t have.<\/p>\n

The backfield is, as usual, deep and reliable. Fullback Owen Allen<\/a> returns after posting multiple 100\u2011yard games, and the rotation behind him \u2014 Rocco Conti<\/a>, Jalen Rashad Turner<\/a>, and Gage LaDue<\/a> \u2014 gives Air Force plenty of fresh legs to keep the ground attack rolling. The receiving corps is thin on experience, but that\u2019s rarely a major concern in an offense that runs the ball roughly 80 percent of the time. Jonah Dawson<\/a> is the top returning pass catcher, and the staff hopes a couple of younger players emerge to keep defenses honest. The offensive line loses a few all\u2011conference players, but Air Force typically reloads well up front.<\/p>\n

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Air Force’s Defensive Outlook<\/h3>\n

Defense is where the real work begins. The line was gutted by graduation, leaving Air Force with a room full of unproven players who now need to grow up fast. Names like Grady Forsythe<\/a>, Bennett Williams<\/a>, and Chaz Barnett<\/a> will be watched closely to see who can become a consistent disruptor. The linebackers, however, are the strength of the team. Blake Fletcher<\/a> returns after leading the Falcons in tackles and earning All\u2011Mountain West<\/a> honors, and he\u2019s flanked by Dallas Daley<\/a> and Isaac Hubert<\/a> \u2014 a trio that gives Air Force one of the better linebacker groups in the conference. The secondary is experienced and should be the most stable part of the defense. Safety Roger Jones Jr.<\/a> is an all\u2011conference candidate, and the cornerback group has logged plenty of snaps.<\/p>\n

Special teams should improve as well. Kicker Jacob Medina<\/a> struggled enough to lose his job last season, but a strong spring has him back in position to start. Will Duncan<\/a> takes over punting duties, giving Air Force a fresh leg in the field\u2011position game.<\/p>\n

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Air Force’s Final Outlook<\/h3>\n

The final outlook is cautiously optimistic. Air Force has a proven head coach, a star\u2011caliber quarterback, and a run game that will once again be one of the best in the country. The question is whether the defense can climb from \u201cliability\u201d to \u201ccompetent.\u201d If the young linemen develop and the secondary holds up, the Falcons have enough experience and stability to return to bowl season \u2014 and possibly contend in a reshaped Mountain West. After two down years, the pieces are finally in place for Air Force to look like Air Force again.<\/p>\n

Final Win Total Prediction – Over 7.5 (-114)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Air Force enters the 2026 season trying to climb out of a rare slump. After two straight losing years \u2014 something Troy Calhoun almost never experiences \u2014 the Falcons are looking for a reset. Last season was a strange mix of extremes. The offense was vintage Air Force: top\u2011three nationally in rushing, near the top […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5785,"featured_media":89134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,2],"tags":[9486],"class_list":["post-89123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mountainwest","category-featured","tag-air-force-football"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5785"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89123"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89129,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89123\/revisions\/89129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}