Air Force Football: Why is no one talking about the Falcons?

The Mountain West Conference garnered a ton of attention this last college football season, but Air Force Football seemingly got a rather small cut of it.

Especially by Group of 5 standards, the Mountain West Conference was not one to be trifled with last season.

The league saw multiple powers rise to the challenge of keeping up with the big boys, including Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State. However, there was one more name that stood out, and that was Air Force.

The Falcons had some noise of their own to make in 2021, donning a final record of 10-3. Of their three losses, none of them were decided by more than six points.

And while they didn’t face any Power 5 competition throughout the course of their regular season, they faced Louisville in the First Responder Bowl–and won.

With all of that in mind, the question has to be asked: why is no one talking about Air Force Football?

Don’t forget about Air Force Football

A deciding factor has to be the weakness of their slate, as all three of the other aforementioned MWC members–FRST, SDSU, and USU–played bigger competition. Their out-of-conference opponents included names like BYU, UCLA, and even Utah (who was one play away from downing Ohio State in the Rose Bowl).

However, if that’s what is holding people up on giving Air Force Football some love, then next season should hopefully win them over.

In 2022, the Falcons will be hosting Colorado of the Pac-12 Conference, along with facing rivals Navy and Army again (the latter of which wasn’t too shabby last year, either). Not only that, but they will also be visiting the Aztecs and Aggies in league play this time around.

Another cause for concern in the eyes of doubters probably revolved around who Air Force lost to. Sure, a 10-3 record isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. But when the three losses came to Utah State, San Diego State, and Army (their three toughest 2021 foes), it’s a tad difficult to be taken seriously.

But remember, none of those defeats were dealt by more than six points, meaning that each loss could have very easily gone either way.

In other words, while some may see it as the Falcons falling just short at every opportunity to get a big win under their belts, some others may see it as them falling just short of finishing their run at 13-0.

Nobody is saying that Air Force Football is going to be a dark horse for anything too special next season, and nobody is saying that the Falcons deserve more spotlight than that of any other promising MWC power. But one thing is a guarantee: 2022 will be a year for the Falcons to remember just like 2021 was.