1970 Air Force Falcons football team

The 1970 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season as a University Division Independent. They were led by thirteenth–year head coach Ben Martin and played their home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They outscored their opponents 366–239 and finished with a record of 9 wins and 3 losses (9–3), ranked 16th in the AP Poll.

1970 Air Force Falcons football
Sugar Bowl, L 13–34 vs. Tennessee
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
AP	No. 16
1970 record	9–3
Head coach	Ben Martin (13th season)
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium

1970 NCAA University Division independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Notre Dame			–					10	–	1	–	0
Villanova			–					9	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Air Force			–					9	–	3	–	0
No. 13 Georgia Tech			–					9	–	3	–	0
Boston College			–					8	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Houston			–					8	–	3	–	0
West Virginia			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Tulane			–					8	–	4	–	0
No. 18 Penn State			–					7	–	3	–	0
West Texas State			–					7	–	3	–	0
Cincinnati			–					7	–	4	–	0
Florida State			–					7	–	4	–	1
Virginia Tech			–					5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse			–					6	–	4	–	0
Dayton			–					5	–	4	–	1
Pittsburgh			–					5	–	5	–	0
Rutgers			–					5	–	5	–	0
Utah State			–					5	–	5	–	0
Colgate			–					5	–	6	–	0
Southern Miss			–					5	–	6	–	0
New Mexico State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					3	–	8	–	0
Northern Illinois			–					3	–	7	–	0
Marshall			–					3	–	6	–	0
Buffalo			–					2	–	9	–	0
Navy			–					2	–	9	–	0
Army			–					1	–	9	–	1
Xavier			–					1	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

This was the last season that Army was off of the Falcons' schedule; the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy was introduced two years later which matched the three academies annually. Previously, Air Force played Army in odd years and Navy in even years.

Behind the passing of quarterback Bob Parker, the Falcons' notable wins were over #9 Missouri,[1] and #6 Stanford, led by Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett.[2] Stanford went on to upset #2 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

For the first time since the 1963 season, the Falcons appeared in a bowl game, but lost by 21 points to #4 Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on New Year's Day.[3] The favored Volunteers jumped out to a 24–0 lead in the first quarter and the Falcons could not make up the difference.[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result
September 12	Idaho		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 45–7
September 19	at Wyoming		War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	W 41–17
September 26	at No. 9 Missouri	No. 20	Busch Memorial Stadium St. Louis, MO	W 37–14
October 3	Colorado State	No. 10	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)	W 37–22
October 10	Tulane	No. 8	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 24–3
October 17	at Navy	No. 7	RFK Stadium Washington, D.C. (rivalry)	W 26–3
October 24	Boston College	No. 7	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 35–10
October 31	at Arizona	No. 7	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	W 23–20
November 7	at Oregon	No. 9	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	L 35–46
November 14	No. 6 Stanford	No. 13	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 31–14
November 21	Colorado	No. 10	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	L 19–49
January 1, 1971	vs. No. 4 Tennessee	No. 11	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	L 13–34
Rankings from AP Poll

Source:[4]

Personnel

1970 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Brian Bream Jr WR Ernie Jennings Sr C Orderia Mitchell So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL Eugene Ogilvie So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Ben Martin Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Air Force bombs Missouri". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 27, 1970. p. 6B.
2. "Air Force upsets Stanford, 31-14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 15, 1970. p. 5B.
3. "Tennessee rips AFA". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1971. p. 2B.
4. "1970 Air Force Falcons Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2017.