1983 Air Force Falcons football team

1983 Air Force Falcons football
Independence Bowl champion
Independence Bowl, W 9–3 vs. Ole Miss
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 13
Record	10–2 (5–2 WAC)
Head coach	Ken Hatfield (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Fisher DeBerry (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone triple option
Defensive coordinator	Fred Goldsmith (2nd season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium
Seasons ←  1982 1984  →

1983 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 7 BYU $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 13 Air Force	5	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Wyoming	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
New Mexico	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Hawaii	3	–	3	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Utah	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Colorado State	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
San Diego State	1	–	6	–	1			2	–	9	–	1
UTEP	0	–	8	–	0			2	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their 5th season under head coach Ken Hatfield, Air Force played its home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs and finished the regular season at 9–2 (5–2 in WAC, runner-up). The Falcons were invited to play in the Independence Bowl and defeated Ole Miss 9–3. ^{[1] [2]} With a 10–2 record, Air Force climbed to thirteenth in the final AP poll.

After the season in December, Hatfield left for Arkansas, his alma mater, ^[3] where he succeeded Lou Holtz as head coach. ^{[4] [5]} Days later, offensive coordinator Fisher DeBerry was promoted, ^[6] and was the Falcons' head coach for the next 23 seasons. ^[7]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	at Colorado State		Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO (rivalry)		W 34–13	28,652	[8]
September 10	Texas Tech *		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	ABC	W 28–13	26,800	[9]
September 17	at Wyoming		War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY		L 7–14	30,194	[10]
September 24	BYU		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		L 28–46	34,255	[11]
October 8	at Navy *		Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)		W 44–17	34,257	[12]
October 15	UTEP		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 37–25	27,474	[13]
October 22	Utah		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 33–31	23,248	[14]
October 29	Army *		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)		W 41–20	47,032	[15]
November 5	Hawaii		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)		W 45–10	26,501	[16]
November 19	at Notre Dame *		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 23–22	59,075	[17]
December 3	at San Diego State	No. 17	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA		W 38–7	8,444	[18]
December 10	vs. Ole Miss *	No. 16	Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA (Independence Bowl)		W 9–3	41,274	[19]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1983 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class FB John Kreshner Sr QB Bart Weiss	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 96 Chris Funk Jr DL 50 Steve Kelly Jr DL 62 Larry Nicklas Jr DL 74 John Ziegler So LB Terry Maki Fr CB Tom Rotello Fr S Scott Thomas So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Ken Hatfield (5th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Fisher DeBerry (OC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Notre Dame

Chris Funk blocked a field goal in the final seconds to preserve the win for Air Force.

Awards and honors

• John Kershner, 3rd Team All-American (Football News)

References

1. "Football Schedule/Results: 1983-1984". Air Force Athletics. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
2. "1983 Air Force Falcons Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference . Retrieved April 7, 2017.
3. "Air Force's Hatfield hired by Razorbacks". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 23, 1983. p. 22.
4. "Tired, burned-out Holtz quits as Arkansas coach". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 19, 1983. p. 21.
5. "Holtz will take on Big Ten's worst". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 23, 1983. p. 22.
6. "AFA hires DeBerry to replace Hatfield". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 28, 1983. p. 4C.
7. Stapleton, Arnie (December 16, 2006). "DeBerry decides it's time to fly". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. B2.
8. "Air Force Falcons bomb Colorado State". Camarillo Star. September 4, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Air Force bombards Texas Tech". The Shreveport Times. September 11, 1983. Retrieved December 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Pokes win wishbone showdown". The Billings Gazette . Associated Press. September 18, 1983. p. 3B. Retrieved May 2, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
11. "BYU downs Air Force 46–28". Star Tribune. September 25, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. Jackson, James H. (October 9, 1983). "Mistake-prone Middies fall, 44-17, to Air Force". The Baltimore Sun . p. C13. Retrieved May 2, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Air Force drops UTEP". The El Paso Times. October 16, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Falcons come back". The Daily Spectrum. October 23, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
15. "Air Force Clobbers Army 41–20". The Daily Herald . United Press International. October 30, 1983. p. 11. Retrieved May 2, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
16. "Streaking Air Force bombs Hawaii". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. November 6, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
17. "Air Force blocks field goal to beat Notre Dame". The Kalamazoo Gazette. November 20, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
18. Steve Dolan (December 4, 1983). "Aztecs Finish Their Year Appropriately". The Los Angeles Times (San Diego County ed.). Los Angeles, California. p. F-1. Retrieved January 17, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
19. "41,000 see AFA win stormy Indy, 9–3". The Shreveport Times. December 11, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023– via Newspapers.com.