We're Back: Two Games In and I Already Have Concerns
Alright, so it's been a while. A long while actually. The last episode I put out was the 2025 season preview and then life just kind of took over. Got married, had the bachelor trip, the wedding shower, the planning, every Saturday seemed to have something going on. So Air Force football kind of took a back seat last year and I genuinely didn't watch enough games to feel good about doing a podcast.
But we're back now. 2026 season is underway and I figured it was time to check in.
The Duquesne Game
We opened the season with a 34-0 shutout against Duquesne. Look, I know it's an FCS team. But a shutout is a shutout and after how bad the defense was last year, I'll take it. It felt good. Made you think maybe this year was going to be different.
And then North Dakota State happened.
The North Dakota State Loss
Final score was 38-32 so it looks close on paper. But if you actually watched that game you know it wasn't really that close for most of it. North Dakota State was doing pretty much whatever they wanted especially in the first half. This was their first game at the full FBS level and they came in and pushed us around.
Here's what gets me. This was supposed to be a winnable game. They lost to Colorado a couple years back. They're a top FCS program making the jump. And I honestly thought we'd handle it. We didn't.
The bigger concern isn't just losing the game. It's what it revealed. This offense is not built to come from behind. It's too slow, too methodical. We need to get early leads and keep compounding on them. When we go down early the game plan just doesn't translate to a comeback situation. And that's fine when the defense holds up its end. The problem is the defense isn't holding up its end.
The Thirty Points Problem
I went back and looked at last year and the pattern is honestly painful to look at. There was a stretch where we scored 30 or more points and lost. Multiple times. We put up 48 against UNLV and lost. 48 points. Gone. We scored over 30 against Utah State, Boise State, Hawaii, Navy, UNLV, all losses.
That shouldn't be possible. If your offense can score 30 points in a game you should be competitive against almost anyone. But when your defense is giving up 35 and 40 points regularly it doesn't matter what the offense does. It's just a math problem you can't solve.
The most frustrating part is this keeps happening. Every year it seems like the defense takes half a season to figure it out. That's what the offseason is for. That's what the opener against an FCS team is supposed to do for you. Get the rust off, get comfortable, build some confidence. Instead we're two games in and I'm already having flashbacks to last year.
Looking Ahead to Nevada
Nevada comes in at 1-2. They opened with a big win over Western Kentucky, 49-14, then lost to Montana State 20-7 and dropped a close one to Middle Tennessee 27-20. So they've been inconsistent but they've got experienced guys coming back.
Here's my honest take. A few months ago I would have said Air Force wins this one pretty comfortably. Now I'm not so sure. The game is in Nevada which doesn't help. And until I see this defense do something against a real offense I'm going to have some concerns.
What I really want to see is us hold Nevada under 20 points. I genuinely believe if this defense can hold any team to under 30 we win the game. That's not a crazy bar. That shouldn't be too much to ask. But right now it feels like a bar we're not confident we can clear and that's the whole problem.
What's Coming Up
After Nevada we've got Navy and Northern Illinois on the schedule. I'm actually going to be at the Navy game at the Academy which I'm pumped about. Haven't been to a Commander in Chief Trophy game in a while so that's going to be a good time regardless of result. I'm also going to try to make it to the Northern Illinois game since I'm in Chicago now but we'll see. House projects might win that weekend.
The goal this year is to get back on a consistent cadence. Episode after every game, some bonus episodes sprinkled in when there's a good topic worth diving into. I want to update the recruiting episode since so much has changed with NIL for service academies. That's a conversation worth having.
For now though let's get this Nevada win. Let's see the defense show up early instead of waiting until week eight to figure it out. And let's get this season back on track.
Go Falcons!