1985 Air Force Falcons football team

American college football season

1985 Air Force Falcons football
WAC co-champion
Bluebonnet Bowl champion
Bluebonnet Bowl, W 24–16 vs. Texas
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 8
Record12–1 (7–1 WAC)
Head coach
  • Fisher DeBerry (2nd season)
Base defenseWishbone triple option
Home stadiumFalcon Stadium
Seasons
← 1984
1986 →
1985 Western Athletic Conference football standings
  • v
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Air Force + 7 – 1 – 0 12 – 1 – 0
No. 16 BYU + 7 – 1 – 0 11 – 3 – 0
Utah 5 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Hawaii 4 – 3 – 1 4 – 6 – 2
Colorado State 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 7 – 0
San Diego State 3 – 4 – 1 5 – 6 – 1
New Mexico 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Wyoming 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
UTEP 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. After beating the Texas Longhorns in the Bluebonnet Bowl, the Falcons ended the year 12–1 and ranked #8 in the country.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 31UTEPW 48–638,500
September 14at Wyoming
W 49–729,134
September 21Rice*
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Air Force Academy, Colorado
W 59–1733,868
September 28at New MexicoNo. 19
W 49–1227,124
October 5No. 15 Notre Dame*No. 17
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Air Force Academy, Colorado (rivalry)
ABCW 21–1552,153
October 12at Navy*No. 13W 24–735,663
October 19at Colorado StateNo. 10W 35–1931,127
October 26UtahNo. 8
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Air Force Academy, Colorado
W 37–1532,269
November 2San Diego StateNo. 7
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Air Force Academy, Colorado
W 31–1036,503
November 9Army*No. 5
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Air Force Academy, Colorado
W 45–751,103
November 16at No. 16 BYUNo. 4
L 21–2865,393
November 23at HawaiiNo. 13PrimeW 27–2050,000
December 31vs. Texas*No. 10W 24–1642,000
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1]

Roster

1985 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR Hugh Brennan
QB Troy Calhoun Fr
WR 83 Ken Carpenter Sr
RB Pat Evans
WR 1 Tyrone Jeffcoat Jr
QB 6 Brian Knorr Sr
RB Marc Munafo
RB Greg Pshsniak
RB Kelly Pittman
FB 38 Mark Simon Jr
RB Chris Vellanti
QB Bart Weiss
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 60 Mike Chandler Sr
NG 52 Dick Clark Sr
LB Brady Glick
DT 85 Chad Hennings So
LB Terry Maki Jr
LB 48 Pat Malackowski Jr
CB Tom Rotello Jr
DB A. J. Scott
S 29 Scott Thomas Sr
DB 23 Rod Vernon Sr
DT 74 John Ziegler Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Tom Ruby
P Mark Simon
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt


Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP————191713108754131110108
Coaches Poll————1815129664 (2)4 (3)107875

Season summary

No. 15 Notre Dame

[2] [3] [4]

Army

Army Cadets (7–1) at #5 Air Force Falcons (9–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Army 0 0 077
Air Force 7 7 14735

at Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, Colorado

  • Date: November 9
  • Game attendance: 52,103
  • [5]
Game information
Army
  • Rob Healy
    4/7, 18 Yds
  • Clarence Jones
    7 Rush, 39 Yds, TD
  • Doug Black
    1 Rec, 10 Yds
Air Force
  • Bart Weiss
    4/9, 105 Yds, TD
    19 Rush, 114 Yds, 2 TD
  • Ken Carpenter
    3 Rec, 93 Yds, TD

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP ARMY AFA
1 Air Force Greg Pshsniak 1-yard touchdown run, Tomislav Ruby kick good 0 7
2 Air Force Ken Carpenter 64-yard touchdown reception from Bart Weiss, Tomislav Ruby kick good 0 14
3 Air Force Bart Weiss 54-yard touchdown run, Tomislav Ruby kick good 0 21
3 Air Force Bart Weiss 1-yard touchdown run, Tomislav Ruby kick good 0 28
4 Air Force 22-yard field goal by Tomislav Ruby 0 31
4 Army Clarence Jones 7-yard touchdown run, Craig Stopa kick good 7 31
4 Air Force Chris Vellanti 57-yard touchdown run, Tomislav Ruby kick good 7 38
4 Air Force Marc Munafo 1-yard touchdown run, Tomislav Ruby kick good 7 45
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 7 45

At BYU

#4 Air Force Falcons (10–0) at #16 BYU Cougars (8–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
Air Force 14 7 0021
BYU 0 7 14728

at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah

  • Date: November 16, 1985
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)
  • Game attendance: 65,393
  • Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • AFA – Randy Jones 22-yard pass from Bart Weiss (Tom Ruby kick). Air Force 7–0.
  • AFA – Tom Rotello 25-yard interception return (Tom Ruby kick). Air Force 14–0.

Second quarter

  • BYU – Mark Bellini 22-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick). Air Force 14–7.
  • AFA – Dwan Wilson 58-yard interception return (Tom Ruby kick). Air Force 21–7.

Third quarter

  • BYU – Vai Sikahema 72-yard punt return (kick failed). Air Force 21–13.
  • BYU – Mark Bellini 25-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (pass good). Tie 21–21.

Fourth quarter

  • BYU – Vai Sikahema 69-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick). BYU 28–21.
Top passers
  • AFA – Bart Weiss – 9/18, 101 yards, TD, INT
  • BYU – Robbie Bosco – 29/49, 343 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
Top rushers
  • AFA – Pat Evans – 18 rushes, 65 yards
  • BYU – Tom Tuipulotu – 3 rushes, 15 yards
Top receivers
  • AFA – Randy Jones – 2 receptions, 25 yards, TD
  • BYU – Mark Bellini – 9 receptions, 143 yards, 2 TD

[6]

Vs. Texas (Bluebonnet Bowl)

Team players in the NFL

Awards and honors

  • Pat Malackowski, Bullard Award

References

  1. ^ College Football @ Sports-Reference.com
  2. ^ "Air Force Stops Notre Dame Again, 21-15". Los Angeles Times. October 6, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  3. ^ "AIR FORCE BEATS NOTRE DAME". The New York Times. October 6, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  4. ^ "NOTRE DAME KICKS ONE AWAY TO AIR FORCE". Chicago Tribune. October 6, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  5. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1985 Nov 10. Retrieved 2019-Jan-29.
  6. ^ "BYU Beats the Air Force". The Washington Post. November 17, 1985. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  7. ^ "Chad Hennings Stats".
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Western Athletic Conference football champions
I-A/FBS
I-AA/FCS
National championships in bold
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