1989 Air Force Falcons football team

American college football season

1989 Air Force Falcons football
Liberty Bowl, L 29–42 vs. Ole Miss
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record8–4–1 (5–1–1 WAC)
Head coach
  • Fisher DeBerry (6th season)
Offensive schemeWishbone triple option
Home stadiumFalcon Stadium
Seasons
← 1988
1990 →
1989 Western Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 22 BYU $ 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
Air Force 5 – 1 – 1 8 – 4 – 1
Hawaii 5 – 2 – 1 9 – 3 – 1
Wyoming 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
San Diego State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 1
Colorado State 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 1
Utah 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 8 – 0
UTEP 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 10 – 0
New Mexico 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1989 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. In the Ram–Falcon Trophy match, the Falcons beat the Colorado State Rams to win the trophy.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 2San Diego StateW 52–3644,579
September 10Wyoming
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Air Force Academy, CO
ESPNW 45–744,098
September 16at Northwestern*
W 48–3127,334
September 23UTEP
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Air Force Academy, CO
W 43–2643,898
September 30at Colorado StateNo. 24W 46–2130,955
October 7at Navy*No. 20W 35-735,632
October 14No. 1 Notre Dame*No. 17
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Air Force Academy, CO (rivalry)
ESPNL 27–4153,533
October 21at TCU*No. 19L 9–2723,593
November 4Army*
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Air Force Academy, CO
W 29–352,226
November 11at No. 21 BYUCBSL 35–4466,089
November 25at UtahW 42–3820,119
December 9at No. 23 HawaiiESPNT 35–3537,604
December 28vs. Ole Miss*FOXL 29–4260,128[1]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1989 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OL Kevin Bell
OL Terry Carr
QB 6 Dee Dowis Sr
RB DeShawn Durham
RB Ron Gray
OL Scott Hollister
RB Chris Howard
RB Greg Johnson
RB Jason Jones
WR Lee Jones
QB Charles Kuhl
RB Rodney Lewis
QB Lance McDowell
RB Brian Neal
RB Geoff Rich
WR Steve Senn
WR Trent Van Hulzen
OL Paul Walski
WR Mark Weber
OL Steven Wilson
WR Darryl Woods
RB Ron Worthington
RB Bill Wosilius
WR Dan Zdroik
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL Lane Beene
DB Mike Betance
DL Steve Brennan
DB Eric Faison
LB Randle Gladney
LB Brian Hill
DB Mike Jurries
DL Tom Kafka
DB Bob Lietzke
DB Mario Mathis
CB Carlton McDonald Fr
DL Pat McNielis
LB Vergil Simpson Fr
LB Terry Walker
LB Doug Young
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P Eric Olson
K Joe Wood
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Season summary

San Diego State

  • Dee Dowis 13 Rush, 249 Yds, 6 TD

Wyoming

At Northwestern

UTEP

At Colorado State

At Navy

Notre Dame

#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5–0) at #17 Air Force Falcons (6–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Notre Dame 14 21 3341
Air Force 0 14 01327

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, Colorado

  • Date: October 14, 1989
  • Game attendance: 53,533
  • TV: ESPN
  • Recap/Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • ND – Anthony Johnson 1-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 9:41. Notre Dame 7–0. Drive: 80 yards.
  • ND – Ricky Watters 5-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 0:51. Notre Dame 14–0. Drive: 14 plays, 69 yards.

Second quarter

  • ND – Raghib Ismail 56-yard punt return (Craig Hentrich kick), 14:42. Notre Dame 21–0.
  • AFA – Greg Johnson 61-yard pass from Dee Dowis (Joe Wood kick), 13:36. Notre Dame 21–7.
  • ND – Anthony Johnson 27-yard pass from Tony Rice (Craig Hentrich kick), 9:46. Notre Dame 28–7.
  • AFA – Steve Senn 26-yard pass from Dee Dowis (Joe Wood kick). Notre Dame 28–14.
  • ND – Raghib Ismail 24-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 0:30. Notre Dame 35–14.

Third quarter

  • ND – Craig Hentrich 20-yard field goal, 8:24. Notre Dame 38–14.

Fourth quarter

  • ND – Craig Hentrich 38-yard field goal, 12:42. Notre Dame 41–14.
  • AFA – Steven Wilson 23-yard run (run failed), 9:35. Notre Dame 41–20.
  • AFA – Rodney Lewis 1-yard run (Joe Wood kick), 3:22. Notre Dame 41–27.
Top passers
  • ND – Tony Rice – 9/13, 123 yards, TD
  • AFA – Dee Dowis – 15/24, 306 yards, 2 TD, INT
Top rushers
  • ND – Ricky Watters – 11 rushes, 96 yards, TD
  • AFA – Rodney Lewis – 13 rushes, 58 yards, TD
Top receivers
  • ND – Raghib Ismail – 3 receptions, 25 yards
  • AFA – Steve Senn – 6 receptions, 101 yards, TD

External videos
video icon 1989 Notre Dame at Air Force – Television broadcast

Awards and honors

Dee Dowis

  • Honorable Mention All-American (AP)
  • WAC Offensive Player of the Year
  • 6th in Heisman Trophy voting

Lance McDowell

  • Bullard Award

References

  1. ^ "Rebels fly the friendly skies". The Commercial Appeal. December 29, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.


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