FISHER'S IMPACT. Entering the New Mexico game AFA's all-time
record stands at
294-241-13(.548)
in 548 games. Fisher's tenure as head coach spans
44%
of the total number of games the Falcons have played in their history, yet has
produced
53%
of the academy's victories. Another mark of Fisher's success is that his teams
have registered only
35%
of the academy's all-time losses while having played
44%
of the total number of games in AFA's football history. DeBerry has already won
18 more games than all other head football coaches in AFA's history
combined.
DEE-FENSE, DEE-FENSE? From November 18, 1999, through this
season's Army game, Air Force has played forty-six games against division 1-A
opponents. In
29 (63.4%)
of those games Air Force has allowed 24 or more points to the opposition. In
those 29 games when allowing 24 or more points AFA has gone
12-17(.413).
In the seventeen games in which the defense has allowed fewer than twenty-four
points AFA has gone
15-2(.882).
When AFA limits the opposition to fewer than 24 points it wins. When AFA allows
twenty-four points or more its chances to win decrease rapidly and the figures
support this assessment.
In these forty-six games against division 1-A opponents Air Force has
compiled a
27-19(.586)
record. The last time AFA allowed a team to score at least twenty-four points
and still posted a victory was September 20, 2003, at home, against Wyoming when
AFA beat the Cowboys, 35-29.
On October 19, 2002, Notre Dame became the first team to defeat AFA when
scoring fewer than 24 points since Utah beat the Falcons, 21-15, in the Snow
Bowl on October 16, 1999. The only other game Air Force has lost since November
18, 1999, when allowing fewer than twenty-four points is the 2002 San Francisco
Bowl to Virginia Tech by a, 20-13, score.
A CHANCE TO ADVANCE. Here is a look at the leading rushers
in AFA history through the Army game of the 2003 season. Harridge had a strong
game versus Army and contributed 80 yards on a dozen carries in the team's,
31-3, victory. Harridge inched his way closer to the tandem of Brian Bream and
Pat Evans. By gaining sixty-five yards Harridge will create a three way tie for
fourth place on the academy's career rushing yardage list.
1. 3612 Dee Dowis
2. 3379 Beau Morgan
3. 2726 John Kershner
4. 2284 Brian Bream
4. 2284 Pat Evans
6. 2219 Chance Harridge <==
7. 1993 Greg Johnson
8. 1860 Marty Louthan
9. 1762 Jason Jones
10. 1760 Rodney Lewis
11. 1702 Rob Perez
12. 1677 Bart Weiss
13. 1633 Terry Issacson
14. 1630 Ken Wood
15. 1551 Shelby Ball
16. 1534 Mike Thiessen
17. 1478 Jake Campbell
18. 1470 Leotis Palmer
19. 1406 Qualario Brown
20. 1400 Scotty McKay
21. 1371 Mike Quinlan
22. 1354 Spanky Gilliam
23. 1347 Larry Thomson
24. 1296 Nakia Addison
25. 1242 Keith Boyea
26. 1233 Johnny Smith
27. 1129 Blane Morgan
28. 1103 Anthony Butler <==
29. 1091 Curtis Martin
30. 1074 Bill Berry
31. 1005 Joel Carlson
32. 1002 Darnell Stephens <==
Anthony Butler continues his climb up the chart of career rushing leaders
at the academy. He added 15 yards against Army to pass Curtis Martin and now
stands in twenty-eighth place, a scant 26 yards behind Blane Morgan. In his
career Butler has carried the ball 203 times for 1,103 yards, 10 TDs and a 5.43
yards per carry average.
The newest name to be added to the list of career rushers to have met or
surpassed the 1,000 yard mark is Darnell Stephens. His seven carry, 52 yard, 1
TD performance against Army enabled Stephens to become the thirty-second player
in AFA history to reach the milestone. Stephens' career slate shows him having
carried the ball 177 times, for 1002 yards, a 5.66 yards per carry avaerage and
5 TDs. By gaining another four yards he will pass Joel Carlson on the career
rushing list. The simultaneous presence of Chance Harridge, Butler and Stephens
on the roster gives this year's AFA team three of the program's top thirty-two
ground gainers in its distinguished hoistory.
The next player to join this elite company could be current sophomore HB
Matt Ward. After gaining 65 yards on 6 carries and scoring a TD against Army,
Ward's career ledger now shows he has 93 carries for 617 yards, a 6.63 yards per
carry avaerage and 6 rushing TDS.
AND JUST FOR KICKS. PK Joey Ashcroft continues his assault
on establishing himself among the most accomplished kickers in AFA history. He
did not attempt a field goal in the CSU game. Have a look where he stands in
some prominent categories in AFA place-kicking annals.
AFA Career FG Percentage Leaders
FGM-FGA PCT.
1. Jackson Whiting-1998-99 19-23 .826
2. Joe Wood-1989-91 39-49 .796
3. David Adams-1998-2000 26-34 .765
4. Carlos Mateos-1984 12-16 .750
5. Joey Ashcroft-current 26-36 .722 <==
Career Field Goals Made
1. Dave Lawson 51 (1972-75)
2. Sean Pavlich 42 (1980-83)
3. Joe Wood 39 (1989-91)
4. Dennis Leuthaser 27 (1967-69)
5. Dave Adams 26 (1998-2000)
5. Joey Ashcroft 26 (2002-present) <==
7. Jim Sturch 25 (1978-79)
8. Randy Roberts 22 (1994-95)
Field Goals Made in a Season
1. 19 Dave Lawson 1974
1. 19 Dave Adams 2000
3. 17 Joe Wood 1991
4. 16 Jim Sturch 1978
4.
16 Joey Ashcroft 2002
AFA AGAINST THE POINTS. From 2001 to the present here's
look at how the Falcons have fared against the point spread. Bear in mind that
Las Vegas does not set a line for a game matching a division 1-A team against a
division 1-AA team. In 2001, Air Force went 3-8 against the spread. In 2002, AFA
went 9-4 against the point spread. The Falcons are 4-5 against the spread this
year. The Falcons were 26 1/2 point favorites against Army and covered the
spread.
LOOKING BACKWARD AND FORWARD. Wofford is 9-1 on the year.
Northwestern is 5-5; North Texas 7-3; Wyoming 4-5; BYU 4-6; Navy 6-4; UNLV 5-5;
CSU is 5-5; Utah is 7-2 and army is 0-10. The aggregate record of the teams Air
Force played through the first ten games of its schedule is
52-46(.530).
Here are the records of AFA's remaining regular season opponents in 2003:
New Mexico 6-4 and San Diego State is 5-5. These teams' composite record is
11-9(.550).
Thus far the combined records of teams on AFA's schedule in 2003 is
63-55(.533).
IS LESS MORE...or is it really less? Here's a brief
comparative look at Chance Harridge's offensive production through the first ten
games of the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
2002 Rushing: 191 carries for 928 yards 17 TDs and a
4.85
yards per carry average.
2003 Rushing: 148 carries for 809 yards 12 TDs and a
5.46
yards per carry average.
2002 Passing: 50 for 105 and 744 yards/ 3 ints/ 7 TDs and a
47.6%
completion mark.
2003 Passing: 65 for 128 and 815 yards/ 5 ints/ 6 TDs and a
50.7%
completion mark.
2002 Total offense: 1,672 yards and 24 TDs with a team record of
7-3.
2003 Total offense: 1,624 yards and 18 TDs with a team record of
7-3.
In 2002 Harridge ran 234 times for 1,159 yards in the regular season and
carried the ball, on average, 19.5 times a game. In 2003, Harridge is averaging
14.8 carries a game through the team's first ten contests and is on a pace to
register 177 rushing attempts in the regular season, or about five fewer carries
per game.
ANOTHER MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB. It might be too much of a
challenge for him to move into the top rungs of this list, but have a look at
where Chance Harridge stands in relation to the all time total offense leaders
at AFA.
1. 6,627--Beau Morgan 1994-96
2. 6,482--Dee Dowis 1986-1989
3. 5,511--Dave Ziebart 1976-1979
4. 4,997--Marty Louthan 1980-1983
5. 4,740--Rich Haynie 1971-1973
Entering the New Mexico game on November 15th, Harridge has amassed
2,219
yards rushing and
1,995
yards passing for a total offensive output of
4,214
yards. He would need to account for
526
yards over the course of the remainder of his career to tie Rich Haynie for
fifth place on the total offense chart in AFA football history. Assuming a best
case scenario--that Harridge remains healthy and that AFA earns a bowl bid--he'd
need to average
175.33
yards a contest over the next three games to move into a fifth place tie with
Haynie. When Harridge adds five more yards to his career passing total he will
have gained at least 2,000 yards in his career both in rushing and passing at
the academy.
OUTPACING THE OPPOSITION. Since the start of the 2001
season and before facing New Mexico this coming weekend, the Air Force Falcons
have played thirty-five games. AFA has compiled a
21-14 (.600)
in those games. Here's a game by game look at the yards gained and allowed by
the Falcons in this time and a look at how this perfomance correlates to AFA's
record over the time span.
2001
AFA 249 Oklahoma 398 Loss 44-3
AFA 379 Tenn Tech 268 Win 42-0
AFA 427 S.D. State 403 Win 45-21
AFA 371 Navy 412 Win 24-18
AFA 524 Wyoming 516 Win 24-13
AFA 502 BYU 611 Loss 63-33
AFA 278 New Mex. 620 Loss 52-33
AFA 282 Army 486 Win 34-24
AFA 481 CSU 300 Loss 28-21
AFA 336 UNLV 353 Loss 34-10
AFA 603 Hawaii 572 Loss 52-30
AFA 274 Utah 543 Win 38-37
2002
AFA 523 N'western 221 Win 52-3
AFA 360 New Mex. 362 Win 38-31 (OT)
AFA 317 California 335 Win 23-21
AFA 287 Utah 290 Win 30-26
AFA 536 Navy 347 Win 48-7
AFA 463 BYU 304 Win 52-9
AFA 161 N. Dame 447 Loss 21-14
AFA 424 Wyoming 484 Loss 34-26
AFA 250 CSU 341 Loss 31-12
AFA 531 Army 330 Win 49-30
AFA 468 UNLV 469 Win 49-32
AFA 538 S.D.State 398 Loss 38-34
AFA 318 Va. Tech 278 Loss 20-13 (S.F. Bowl)
2003
AFA 469 Wofford 175 Win 49-0
AFA 409 N'western 452 Win 22-21
AFA 427 N. Texas 260 Win 34-21
AFA 510 Wyoming 486 Win 35-29
AFA 328 BYU 306 Win 24-10
AFA 362 Navy 326 Loss 28-25
AFA 324 UNLV 250 Win 24-7
AFA 430 CSU 564 Loss 30-20
AFA 362 Utah 459 Loss 45-43 (3OT)
AFA 446 Army 199 Win 31-3
In their past thirty-five games the Falcons have outgained their
opponents 18 times and posted a
13-5 (.722)
record in doing so. In the remaining 17 games the Falcons have been outgained
and posted a record of
8-9 (.470).
It has been a crapshoot for AFA when being outgained since the start of the 2001
season. On the other hand it's clear that the Falcons' ability to pile up
yardage has led to an increased likelihood of victory.