1987 Air Force Falcons football team

1987 Air Force Falcons football
1987 Air Force Falcons football
Freedom Bowl, L 28–33 vs. Arizona State
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	9–4 (6–2 WAC)
Head coach	Fisher DeBerry (4th season);
Offensive scheme	Wishbone triple option
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium
	Seasons ← 1986 1988 →

The 1987 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Falcons offense scored 405 points while the defense allowed 269 points. At season's end, the Falcons appeared in the 1987 Freedom Bowl. In the Ram–Falcon Trophy match, the Falcons beat the Colorado State Rams to win the trophy. Air Force also won the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, emblematic of beating both Army and Navy.

1987 Western Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Wyoming $	8	–	0	–	0	10	–	3	–	0
BYU	7	–	1	–	0	9	–	4	–	0
Air Force	6	–	2	–	0	9	–	4	–	0
UTEP	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
San Diego State	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	7	–	0
Hawaii	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	7	–	0
Utah	2	–	6	–	0	5	–	7	–	0
Colorado State	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	11	–	0
New Mexico	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	at Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY		L 13–27	28,071
September 12	TCU*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 21–10	41,000
September 19	San Diego State	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 49–7	35,035
September 26	at Colorado State	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO (Battle for the Ram–Falcon Trophy)		W 27–19	23,137
October 3	Utah	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 48–27	35,108
October 10	at Navy*	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 23–13	35,622
October 17	No. 11 Notre Dame*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)		L 14–35	51,112
October 24	UTEP	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 35–7	36,922
October 31	at BYU	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	ESPN	L 13–24	65,384
November 7	Army*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 27–10	49,183
November 14	at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM		W 73–26	15,309
November 21	at Hawaii	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI (rivalry)	ESPN	W 34–31	43,340
December 30	vs. Arizona State*	Anaheim Stadium Anaheim, CA (Freedom Bowl)		L 28–33	33,261
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1987 Air Force Falcons football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB		Troy Calhoun	Jr
QB		Dee Dowis	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DT	`87`	Chad Hennings	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Fisher DeBerry

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Season summary

At BYU

Air Force Falcons (6–2) at BYU Cougars (4–3)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Air Force	10	0	3	0	13
BYU	0	14	10	0	24

at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah

Date: October 31, 1987
Game attendance: 65,384
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

AFA – Steve Yarborough 32-yard field goal. Air Force 3–0.
AFA – Anthony Roberson 3-yard run (Steve Yarborough kick). Air Force 10–0.

Second quarter

BYU – Mike O'Brien 3-yard run (Leonard Chitty kick). Air Force 10–7.
BYU – Fred Whittingham 5-yard pass from Sean Covey (Leonard Chitty kick). BYU 14–10.

Third quarter

BYU – Leonard Chitty 26-yard field goal. BYU 17–10.
BYU – Mike O'Brien 2-yard run (Leonard Chitty kick). BYU 24–10.
AFA – Steve Yarborough 32-yard field goal. BYU 24–13.

Fourth quarter

No scoring

Top passers

AFA – Dee Dowis – 2/7, 25 yards, 3 INT
BYU – Sean Covey – 18/29, 294 yards, TD

Top rushers

AFA – Quinton Roberts – 15 rushes, 85 yards
BYU – Mike O'Brien – 16 rushes, 73 yards, 2 TD

Top receivers

AFA – Tyler Barth – 1 reception, 13 yards
BYU – Rich Zayas – 3 receptions, 118 yards

Army

Army Cadets (3–5) at Air Force Falcons (6–3)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Army	0	3	7	0	10
Air Force	7	7	7	6	27

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Date: November 7, 1987
Game attendance: 49,183
^[1]

Air Force wins Commander-in-Chief Trophy

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Army	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Air Force	Passing
	Rushing	Dee Dowis	129 Yds, TD
	Receiving

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	ARMY	AFA
1		10	86		Air Force	Anthony Roberson 1-yard touchdown run, kick good	0	7
2	7:02				Army	32-yard field goal by Bit Rambusch	3	7
2	0:30	16	83		Air Force	Dee Dowis 3-yard touchdown run, kick good	3	14
3	7:25				Army	Mike Mayweather 46-yard touchdown reception from Tory Crawford, kick good	10	14
3	3:59				Air Force	Albert Booker 1-yard touchdown run, kick good	10	21
4					Air Force	Interception return 24 yards for touchdown by Kevin Hughes	10	27
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							10	27

Postseason

NFL draft

The following Falcon was selected in the National Football League draft following the season.^[2]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
11	290	Chad Hennings	Defensive tackle	Dallas Cowboys

Awards and honors

Rip Burgwald, Bullard Award
Chad Hennings, Outland Trophy^[3]

References

^ Bote, Terry (November 7, 1987). "Air Force 27, Army 10". UPI Archives. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
^ "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
^ "Do You Know Which Team Has the Most College Football Championships?". Archived from the original on May 3, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2009.

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[1] Bote, Terry (November 7, 1987). "Air Force 27, Army 10". UPI Archives. Retrieved December 26, 2022.

[2] "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.

[3] "Do You Know Which Team Has the Most College Football Championships?". Archived from the original on May 3, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2009.

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