Countdown to Camp: Air Force

WACO, TX ( FOX 44 ) — Week three of the college football season will bring a rematch of the 2022 Armed Forces Bowl, as the Baylor Bears will host the Air Force Falcons.

The two teams last met in Fort Worth in a game that went down as the coldest bowl game on record, which saw the Falcons grind out a 30-15 win.

Coming into the 2024 season, Air Force is a carbon copy of that 2022 team, as the Falcons continue to lean on their run game from the opening kickoff to the final snap. In 2023, Air Force finished second nationally in rushing offense, with 3,660 rushing yards, finishing just behind Liberty.

In order to recreate that level of success this season though, Air Force will need some new guys to step up, as the top three leading rushers on last year’s team all graaduated.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side of the ball, the Falcons will also face roster turnover, especially in the secondary. The best defensive back in the country last season, Trey Taylor, is on to the NFL after the Las Vegas Raiders selected the Jim Thorpe Award winner in the seventh round.

As a result of the large graduating class, Troy Calhoun’s team is expected to take a step back, at least in the eyes of the media. Air Force enters the 2024 football season as the pick to finish fourth in the Mountain West, with zero Falcons on the All-Mountain West Preseason team.

Despite the change in roster makeup, this will still be a game that should present challenges for the Bears, as Air Force is a program that has been as consistent as any in the country. The Falcons enter 2024 off three straight seasons with at least nine wins, as Baylor will look to break through against Air Force for the first time with hopes to even up the all-time series.

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