1997 Air Force Falcons football team

Summary

The 1997 Air Force Falcons football team competed for the United States Air Force Academy in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by 14th-year head coach Fisher DeBerry and played its home games at Falcon Stadium. It finished the regular season with a 10–2 record overall and a 6–2 record in Western Athletic Conference games. The team was selected to play in the Las Vegas Bowl, in which it lost to Oregon.[1][2]

1997 Air Force Falcons football
Las Vegas Bowl, L 13–41 vs Oregon
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 25
Record10–3 (5–2 WAC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeWishbone triple option
Co-defensive coordinatorCal McCombs (8th season)
Co-defensive coordinatorRichard Bell (3rd season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumFalcon Stadium
Seasons
← 1996
1998 →
1997 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Mountain Division
New Mexico x   6 2     9 4  
Rice   5 3     7 4  
SMU   5 3     6 5  
Utah   5 3     6 5  
BYU   4 4     6 5  
UTEP   3 5     4 7  
Tulsa   2 6     2 9  
TCU   1 7     1 10  
Pacific Division
No. 17 Colorado State x$   7 1     11 2  
Air Force   6 2     10 3  
Fresno State   5 3     6 6  
Wyoming   4 4     7 6  
San Diego State   4 4     5 7  
San Jose State   4 4     4 7  
UNLV   2 6     3 8  
Hawaii   1 7     3 9  
Championship: Colorado State 41, New Mexico 13
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule edit

DateOpponentRankSiteResult
August 30Idaho*W 14–10
September 6at RiceW 41–12
September 13UNLV
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO
W 25–24
September 20at No. 23 Colorado StateW 24–0
September 27San Diego State
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO
W 24–18 OT
October 4The Citadel*No. 23
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO
W 17–3
October 11at Navy*No. 19W 10–7
October 18Fresno StateNo. 18
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO
L 17–20
October 25at San Jose StateL 22–25
November 1at HawaiiW 34–27
November 8Army*
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)
W 24–0
November 15Wyoming
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO
W 14–3
December 20vs. Oregon*No. 23L 13–41
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings edit

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP231918242323
Coaches252318172423212125

Personnel edit

1997 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
Sr 67 Rob Evert Sr
OT 68 Karl Faulk Sr
WR 6 Matt Farmer So
FAL 8 J. T. Felton So
QB 14 John Flynn Jr
OL 74 Frank Mindrup Jr
OT 78 Troy Monson So
QB 11 Blane Morgan Jr
WR 9 Dylan Newman Jr
OT 79 James Norman So
QB 15 Stephen O'Neill So
FB 33 Ryan Paroda Jr
C 52 Jeff Parr Sr
C 50 Brian Phillips Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
OLB 56 Steve Fernandez Sr
OLB 91 Sean Finnan Sr
DT 78 Bryce Fisher Jr
LB 51 Chris Gizzi Sr
LB 99 Michael Yanovitch So
LB 54 C. J. Zanotti So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

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

Roster
Last update: 1997-10-25

Awards and honors edit

  • Frank Mindrup, 1st Team All-WAC

References edit

  1. ^ "Football Schedule/Results: 1997-1998". Air Force Athletics. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  2. ^ "Air Force Yearly Results 1995-1999". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.