Meet Your Insider
Good evening from the hangar. I mean the press box. I'm Lt. Col. Marissa Okonkwo-Hale, retired, your Air Force insider at The Cover Window. I spent my career as an instructor pilot, and now I fly through option reads at Mach speed. I travel and live with this team, and everyone I work with gets a call sign. My editor is "Red Pen." The Wyoming insider is "Quiet Man."
Pre-flight checklist for this column. Every number is sourced, like a verified flight plan. If I don't know something, I'll report it as unknown instead of guessing. I celebrate these cadets as people and future officers first, I respect every opponent, and I give thanks to God for the privilege of serving alongside them. Call sign: correct.
The School in 60 Seconds
Air Force represents the U.S. Air Force Academy and plays home games at Falcon Stadium, north of Colorado Springs. CFBD lists it as built in 1962 with 46,692 seats, at an elevation of about 2,025 meters. The Falcons have been in the Mountain West since the league was founded in 1999. The three service academies compete for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy each year.
The last five seasons: 10-3, 10-3, 9-4, then 5-7 and 4-8. This year's 5-1 start already beats last season's win total. We're climbing back to cruising altitude.
The Coach and the Scheme
Troy Calhoun has led the program since 2007, and CFBD records his hire date as Dec. 22, 2006. Twenty seasons in the cockpit is a rare thing in this sport.
The Falcons fly the option, and the gauges prove it. Air Force runs for 343.0 yards per game, 2nd in FBS. It passes for 65.0 yards, 138th, entirely by design. The offense converts 52.9% of third downs (10th) and holds the ball 36:22 per game, 2nd in FBS. It's disciplined, too, at 43.2 penalty yards per game (20th). And here is the stat I love most in this whole report: Air Force hadn't fumbled in 431 plays this season, a streak of 549 plays dating to 2025.
The defense flies in formation. It allows 295.7 yards per game (23rd) and 172.3 passing yards (24th). It gives up 123.3 rushing yards (43rd) and 19.7 points (38th). The red-zone defense ranks 30th. Air Force is +3 in turnover margin (34th).
Players to Know
QB Liam Szarka: 391 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, plus 296 passing yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. Call sign: "Workhorse."
QB Evan Medders: ran 18 times for 152 yards and three touchdowns against UNLV, including a 32-yard score that put Air Force ahead for good. With two quarterbacks producing, I don't know who starts Friday, and I won't guess.
RB Rocco Conti: 12 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown against UNLV.
RB Owen Allen: 96 yards and a touchdown against UNLV.
WR Simon Kibbee: team-leading 121 receiving yards on seven catches.
Blake Fletcher: team-high 63 tackles. Call sign: "Everywhere."
Max Mustell: team-high two sacks.
The Conference Picture
Air Force is 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the Mountain West. The Falcons are 3-1 at home and 2-0 on the road. They beat Duquesne 34-0 and lost 38-32 to North Dakota State. Then came four straight wins: 36-33 in double overtime at Nevada, 14-9 over Navy, 28-7 at Northern Illinois and 41-31 over UNLV. The Navy win counts toward the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy.
After Wyoming, UConn visits on Oct. 31. Then comes the trip to Army on Nov. 8, followed by San José State and UTEP at home and New Mexico on the road.
This Week: Game Preview from Both Sides
Air Force (5-1) at Wyoming (4-3) · Friday, Oct. 23, 9:00 p.m. ET · War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, Wyo. · The CW
Last time out. Air Force beat UNLV 41-31 on Oct. 17. UNLV led 24-20 late in the third quarter, but the Falcons scored on Medders' runs and Allen's 2-yard touchdown. Wyoming beat Northern Illinois 41-23 the same day.
Air Force's offense vs. Wyoming's defense. Clear skies ahead. Wyoming allows 172.1 rushing yards per game, 101st in FBS. Opponents convert 37.6% of third downs against the Cowboys (71st), and our offense converts 52.9%. The plan is simple: hold the ball, move the chains and keep their offense on the bench.
Wyoming's offense vs. Air Force's defense. Tyler Hughes is dangerous. He ran for a career-high 183 yards and four touchdowns against Northern Illinois. AP lists his season rushing at 470 yards and ESPN at 459, a small conflict. Wyoming runs for 186.7 yards per game (42nd), so our run defense (43rd) has work to do. But Wyoming scores only 18.3 points per game (127th), passes for 146.4 yards (133rd) and is -7 in turnover margin (131st). Hughes has seven interceptions.
Series. CFBD shows Wyoming 5-4 against Air Force from 2016 to 2025. Close, and Wyoming has the slight lead in that stretch.
Availability. No official conference availability report has been published. The starting quarterback is unknown, with both Szarka and Medders producing this season.
Three questions that decide it:
1. Can Air Force's ground game exploit Wyoming's 101st-ranked run defense?
2. Can our defense contain Hughes as a runner?
3. Can the Falcons keep that fumble-free streak alive?
Local Flavor
Laramie sits at about 2,200 meters, by CFBD's stadium elevation figure. That's higher than Falcon Stadium, so even our altitude-trained cadets will notice. It's a late Friday kickoff in the Rockies in late October. Pack layers, drink water, and say a prayer for safe roads. I'll share confirmed tips for the Falcon faithful before kickoff. Not an ad. Fly, fight, win.
My call: Air Force Falcons 26, Wyoming Cowboys 20.