1982 Air Force Falcons football team

The 1982 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Ken Hatfield, Air Force played its home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs and finished the regular season at 7–5 (4–3 in WAC, third), for their first winning record in nine years.

1982 Air Force Falcons football
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record8–5 (4–3 WAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorFisher DeBerry (2nd season)
Offensive schemeWishbone triple option[1]
Co-defensive coordinatorChan Gailey (2nd season)
Co-defensive coordinatorFred Goldsmith (1st season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumFalcon Stadium
Seasons
← 1981
1983 →
1982 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
BYU $ 7 1 0 8 4 0
New Mexico 6 1 0 10 1 0
Air Force 4 3 0 8 5 0
San Diego State 4 3 0 7 5 0
Hawaii 4 4 0 6 5 0
Colorado State 3 5 0 4 7 0
Utah 2 4 0 5 6 0
Wyoming 2 6 0 5 7 0
UTEP 1 6 0 2 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion

Following their upset of #18 Notre Dame on November 20,[2][3] Air Force was invited to play in the Hall of Fame Classic in Birmingham on December 31,[4] where they rallied to upset Vanderbilt and finished at 8–5.[1][5][6][7][8] It was the first bowl appearance for the Falcons in twelve years and their first postseason win.[5][6]

Schedule

edit
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 4at Tulsa*L 17–3529,811
September 11San Diego StateW 44–3223,000[9]
September 18at Texas Tech*L 30–3138,694
September 25at BYUW 39–3864,253
October 2New Mexico
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO
L 37–49
October 9Navy*
W 24–21
October 16Colorado State
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)
L 11–2125,326
October 23at UTEPW 35–728,678
October 30Wyoming
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO
W 44–34
November 6at Army*
W 27–9
November 20No. 18 Notre Dame*
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)
W 30–1746,712
November 27at HawaiiL 21–4540,019
December 31vs. Vanderbilt*W 36–2875,114[5][1][6]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

edit
1982 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
FB John Kreshner Jr
QB 11 Marty Louthan Jr
OL Dave Schrek Sr
HB Jody Simmons So
HB Ted Sundquist
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB Carl Dieudonne Jr
DL Chris Funk So
S Scott Thomas Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P Jeff Kubiak Jr
K Sean Pavlich
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Awards and honors

edit
  • Dave Schrek, guard, 3rd team All-American (AP), 1st team All-WAC

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Hurt, Cecil (January 1, 1983). "SEC strikes out". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). p. 10.
  2. ^ "Louthan, Falcons ground Irish, 30-17". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. November 21, 1982. p. 7F.
  3. ^ "Air Force 30, Notre Dame 17". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 21, 1982. p. 2B.
  4. ^ "Air Force gets bowl invitation". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. November 22, 1982. p. 2D. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "Louthan flies, so do Falcons". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). staff and wire services. January 1, 1983. p. 1B.
  6. ^ a b c "Unsung lads hit high note". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1983. p. 17.
  7. ^ "Football Schedule/Results: 1982-1983". Air Force Athletics. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  8. ^ "1982 Air Force Falcons Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  9. ^ Dave Distel (September 12, 1982). "Aztecs Can't Stop an Air Force Bomb -- or the Wishbone". The Los Angeles Times (San Diego County ed.). Los Angeles, California. p. III-1. Retrieved January 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.