1985 Air Force Falcons football team

1985 Air Force Falcons football
WAC co-champion Bluebonnet Bowl champion
Bluebonnet Bowl, W 24–16 vs. Texas
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 8
Record	12–1 (7–1 WAC)
Head coach	Fisher DeBerry (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone triple option
Captain	All seniors
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium
Seasons ←  1984 1986  →

1985 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Air Force +	7	–	1	–	0			12	–	1	–	0
No. 16 BYU +	7	–	1	–	0			11	–	3	–	0
Utah	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Hawaii	4	–	3	–	1			4	–	6	–	2
Colorado State	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
San Diego State	3	–	4	–	1			5	–	6	–	1
New Mexico	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Wyoming	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
UTEP	1	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by second-year head coach Fisher DeBerry, the Falcons compiled an overall record of 12–1 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the WAC title with BYU. After beating the Texas in the Bluebonnet Bowl, the Air Force was ranked No 8 in the final AP poll.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	UTEP		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 48–6	38,500	[1]
September 14	at Wyoming		War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY		W 49–7	29,134	[2]
September 21	Rice *		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 59–17	33,868	[3]
September 28	at New Mexico	No. 19	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM		W 49–12	27,124	[4]
October 5	Notre Dame *	No. 17	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)	ABC	W 21–15	52,153	[5]
October 12	at Navy *	No. 13	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 24–7	35,663	[6]
October 19	at Colorado State	No. 10	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO (rivalry)		W 35–19	31,127	[7]
October 26	Utah	No. 8	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 37–15	32,269	[8]
November 2	San Diego State	No. 7	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 31–10	36,503	[9]
November 9	Army *	No. 5	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 45–7	51,103	[10]
November 16	at No. 16 BYU	No. 4	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		L 21–28	65,393	[11]
November 23	at Hawaii	No. 13	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI (rivalry)	Prime	W 27–20	50,000	[12]
December 31	vs. Texas *	No. 10	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (Bluebonnet Bowl)	LSN	W 24–16	42,000	[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Further information: 1985 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	19	17	13	10	8	7	5	4	13	11	10	10	8
Coaches Poll	—	—	—	—	18	15	12	9	6	6	4 (2)	4 (3)	10	7	8	7	5

Game summaries

No. 15 Notre Dame

See also: 1985 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

^{[14] [15] [16]}

Army

See also: 1985 Army Cadets football team

Army Cadets (7–1) at #5 Air Force Falcons (9–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Army	0	0	0	7	7
Air Force	7	7	14	7	35

at Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, Colorado

• Date: November 9
• Game attendance: 52,103
• ^[17]

Game information
Army Rob Healy 4/7, 18 Yds Clarence Jones 7 Rush, 39 Yds, TD Doug Black 1 Rec, 10 Yds Air Force Bart Weiss 4/9, 105 Yds, TD 19 Rush, 114 Yds, 2 TD Ken Carpenter 3 Rec, 93 Yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP ARMY AFA 1 Air Force Greg Pshsniak 1-yard touchdown run, Tomislav Ruby kick good 0 7 2 Air Force Ken Carpenter 64-yard touchdown reception from Bart Weiss, Tomislav Ruby kick good 0 14 3 Air Force Bart Weiss 54-yard touchdown run, Tomislav Ruby kick good 0 21 3 Air Force Bart Weiss 1-yard touchdown run, Tomislav Ruby kick good 0 28 4 Air Force 22-yard field goal by Tomislav Ruby 0 31 4 Army Clarence Jones 7-yard touchdown run, Craig Stopa kick good 7 31 4 Air Force Chris Vellanti 57-yard touchdown run, Tomislav Ruby kick good 7 38 4 Air Force Marc Munafo 1-yard touchdown run, Tomislav Ruby kick good 7 45 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 7 45

At BYU

#4 Air Force Falcons (10–0) at #16 BYU Cougars (8–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Air Force	14	7	0	0	21
BYU	0	7	14	7	28

at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah

• Date: November 16, 1985
• Game weather: Cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)
• Game attendance: 65,393
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter AFA – Randy Jones 22-yard pass from Bart Weiss (Tom Ruby kick). Air Force 7–0. AFA – Tom Rotello 25-yard interception return (Tom Ruby kick). Air Force 14–0. Second quarter BYU – Mark Bellini 22-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick). Air Force 14–7. AFA – Dwan Wilson 58-yard interception return (Tom Ruby kick). Air Force 21–7. Third quarter BYU – Vai Sikahema 72-yard punt return (kick failed). Air Force 21–13. BYU – Mark Bellini 25-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (pass good). Tie 21–21. Fourth quarter BYU – Vai Sikahema 69-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick). BYU 28–21. Top passers AFA – Bart Weiss – 9/18, 101 yards, TD, INT BYU – Robbie Bosco – 29/49, 343 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT Top rushers AFA – Pat Evans – 18 rushes, 65 yards BYU – Tom Tuipulotu – 3 rushes, 15 yards Top receivers AFA – Randy Jones – 2 receptions, 25 yards, TD BYU – Mark Bellini – 9 receptions, 143 yards, 2 TD

^[18]

Vs. Texas (Bluebonnet Bowl)

See also: 1985 Texas Longhorns football team

Roster

1985 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR Hugh Brennan QB Troy Calhoun Fr WR 83 Ken Carpenter Sr RB Pat Evans WR 1 Tyrone Jeffcoat Jr QB 6 Brian Knorr Sr RB Marc Munafo RB Greg Pshsniak RB Kelly Pittman FB 38 Mark Simon Jr RB Chris Vellanti QB 4 Bart Weiss Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 60 Mike Chandler Sr NG 52 Dick Clark Sr LB Brady Glick DT 85 Chad Hennings So LB Terry Maki Jr LB 48 Pat Malackowski Jr CB Tom Rotello Jr DB A. J. Scott S 29 Scott Thomas Sr DB 23 Rod Vernon Sr DT 74 John Ziegler Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Tom Ruby P Mark Simon	Head coach Fisher DeBerry Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Awards and honors

• Pat Malackowski, Bullard Award

Team players in the NFL

• Sophomore Chad Hennings' rookie season in the NFL was in 1992 with the Dallas Cowboys. ^[19]

References

1. "Air Force blitzes UTEP 48–6". Anderson Independent-Mail. September 1, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Falcons dive-bomb Wyoming". The Abilene Reporter-News. September 15, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Air Force flies past Rice Owls". Wichita Falls Times. September 22, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Air Force overwhelms Lobos, 49–12". The Salt Lake Tribune. September 29, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Air Force uses blocked field goal to keep Notre Dame in tailspin". The Grand Rapids Press. October 6, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "13th-ranked Air Force sinks Navy". Wichita Falls Times. October 13, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Stubborn Colorado State squad nearly grounds Air Force's Falcons". The News-Leader. October 20, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "No. 8 Air Force soars over Utah 37–15". San Angelo Standard-Times. October 27, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. Steve Dolan (November 3, 1985). "Aztecs' passes are gone with wind in Air Force loss". The Los Angeles Times (San Diego County ed.). p. III-1. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Air Force captures 13th straight win". The Salisbury Post. November 10, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "BYU stuns No. 4 Air Force". Courier-Post. November 17, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Air Force shares title with BYU". Reno Gazette-Journal. November 25, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Air Force downs Longhorns, 24–16". The Victoria Advocate. January 1, 1986. Retrieved April 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Air Force Stops Notre Dame Again, 21-15". Los Angeles Times . October 6, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
15. "AIR FORCE BEATS NOTRE DAME". The New York Times . October 6, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
16. "NOTRE DAME KICKS ONE AWAY TO AIR FORCE". Chicago Tribune . October 6, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
17. Gainesville Sun. 1985 Nov 10. Retrieved 2019-Jan-29.
18. "BYU Beats the Air Force". The Washington Post . November 17, 1985. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
19. "Chad Hennings Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com .