1970 Air Force Falcons football team

1970 Air Force Falcons football
1970 Air Force Falcons football
Sugar Bowl, L 13–34 vs. Tennessee
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
AP	No. 16
Record	9–3
Head coach	Ben Martin (13th season);
Captain	Cyd Maattala, Virgil Staponski
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium
	Seasons ← 1969 1971 →

1970 NCAA University Division independents football records
v t e	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	–	0
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
Holy Cross		–		0	–	10	–	1

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy as an independent during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. Led by thirteenth-year head coach Ben Martin, the Falcons compiled a record of 9–3, outscored their opponents 366–239, and finished No. 16 in the AP Poll. They won their first eight games and were ranked seventh in the AP Poll for three weeks.^[1] Air Force played their home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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 No. 9 Missouri,^[2] and No. 6 Stanford, led by Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett.^[3] Stanford went on to upset No. 2 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

For the first time in seven seasons, the Falcons appeared in a bowl game, but lost by 21 points to No. 4 Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on New Year's Day.^[4] The favored Volunteers jumped out to a 24–0 lead in the first quarter and the Falcons could not make up the difference.^[4] Through the 2021 season, this is the Falcons' most recent appearance in a major bowl game.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	Idaho		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 45–7	25,000	^[5]
September 19	at Wyoming		War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY		W 41–17	24,541	^[6]
September 26	at No. 9 Missouri	No. 20	Busch Memorial Stadium St. Louis, MO		W 37–14	43,118	^[2]^[7]
October 3	Colorado State	No. 10	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)		W 37–22	29,030	^[8]
October 10	Tulane	No. 8	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 24–3	31,508	^[9]
October 17	vs. Navy	No. 7	RFK Stadium Washington, DC (rivalry)		W 26–3	46,414	^[10]
October 24	Boston College	No. 7	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 35–10	38,032	^[11]
October 31	at Arizona	No. 7	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ		W 23–20	36,000	^[1]
November 7	at Oregon	No. 9	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR		L 35–46	24,700	^[12]^[13]^[14]
November 14	No. 6 Stanford	No. 13	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 31–14	41,638	^[3]
November 21	Colorado	No. 10	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		L 19–49	45,447	^[15]
January 1, 1971	vs. No. 4 Tennessee	No. 11	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	L 13–34	78,655	^[4]^[16]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[17]

Personnel

1970 Air Force Falcons football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB		Brian Bream	Jr
WR	`22`	Ernie Jennings	Sr
C	`58`	Orderia Mitchell	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DL	`70`	Eugene Ogilvie	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Ben Martin (13th year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Source:^[18]

Postseason

NFL draft

The following Falcon was selected in the National Football League draft following the season.^[19]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
10	257	Ernie Jennings	Wide receiver	San Francisco 49ers

References

^ ^a ^b "Air Force, 23-20". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 1, 1970. p. 7B.
^ ^a ^b "Air Force bombs Missouri". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 27, 1970. p. 6B.
^ ^a ^b "Air Force upsets Stanford, 31-14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 15, 1970. p. 5B.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Tennessee rips AFA". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1971. p. 2B.
^ Payne, Bob (September 13, 1970). "Air Force blitzes Vandals". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
^ "Passes lead Falcons past Wyoming '11'". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 20, 1970. p. 7B.
^ "Country's major collegiate football yardsticks". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 27, 1970. p. 6, sports.
^ "Air Force blitzes CSU, retains undefeated record". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 4, 1970. p. 7B.
^ "Greenie fumbles help Air Force win". Sun Herald. October 11, 1970. Retrieved October 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Unbeaten Air Force Academy overcomes Midshipmen, 26-3". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 18, 1970. p. 2B.
^ "Air Force survives slow start to overcome BC". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 25, 1970. p. 6B.
^ Cawood, Neil (November 8, 1970). "Ducks shoot down Air Force, 46-35". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
^ "Ducks stun Air Force". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 8, 1970. p. 3, sports.
^ "Oregon beats Air Force, spoils perfect record". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. November 9, 1970. p. 8.
^ "Colorado shocks Falcons, 49-19". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 22, 1970. p. 7B.
^ "Tennessee demolished Air Force defense". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. January 2, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1970 Air Force Falcons Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
^ "Sugar Bowl rosters". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 1, 1971. p. 34.
^ "1970 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.