Veteran Air Force defender Camby Goff brings perspective to chaotic, disappointing start to season

Camby Goff has seen Air Force football from all angles, making him uniquely qualified to speak to the current state of the team.

Goff was a freshman who saw time on defense during the 2020 COVID-ravaged season. He was then a starter for teams that won 10 games in 2021 and 2022. He was injured in the 2023 opener and left on turnback, watching from afar as his longtime teammates started 8-0 and then lost four straight.

Now, Goff is trying to help his teammates remain confident as the Falcons (1-4, 0-2 Mountain West) are enduring another four-game losing streak.

“I’d say the big difference is just experience,” said Goff, contrasting this year with others he’s seen at the academy. “Obviously we can’t blame it on that entirely, but the previous years we were all together the whole time from sophomore year to junior year to build that chemistry. We’re still trying to develop that chemistry now. I think it’s right around the corner. We’ve just got to keep pushing.”

Air Force’s experience entering the year ranked at the bottom of college football. The offense had lost the full offensive line, the quarterback, fullback, tailback and tight end. The defense had a new strong safety and only one player in the front seven with significant starting experience.

Going into Game 6, that might no longer be as big an issue under normal circumstances. But injuries have made this anything but normal.

When the ball is kicked off at New Mexico (1-4, 0-1 Mountain West) at 5 p.m. Saturday, only three of the 11 positions on defense will have been spared an injury-related change in starters.

Four players have started at strong safety, and three have started at one of the inside linebacker positions and spur linebacker.

The offensive backfield has seen similar injury-related rotation, with four players starting at fullback in five games and three at tailback.

The Falcons had 16 players make their first starts in the season opener, and 14 have made their first starts in the four games that have followed.

It’s definitely complicated things a little bit,” Goff said. “Just because we worked together from the start of fall camp, that same person over and over again and developing that confidence and chemistry with that person. Then all of the sudden another person jumps in you’ve got to develop that chemistry again.”

Goff has seen enough to know this is a unique situation, but he’s also seen Air Force teams rally.

“It’s just the mindset,” he said. “In order to be better on Saturday, you’ve got to be better today, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday…”

There have been multiple players only meetings as Air Force does what it can to overcome what it is facing.

Goff knows the only answer is where the team is keeping its focus.

“We can’t fix the past, we can only look to the future and take every day as really important and actually believe that we are a team that can actually do something and win games,” he said. “Just don’t ever lose confidence.”