Air Force will open with an FCS opponent for the 10th straight year under Troy Calhoun. It’ll be the 11th such foe the Falcons have hosted under Calhoun.

If the game follows the pattern set by the first 10, Air Force will win big (51-13 avg.), run like crazy (446 per-game avg., 6.96 per-carry avg.) and throw infrequently but effectively (avg. line 7-for-11 for 118 yards).

Most teams utilize the NCAA rule that allows one win over an FCS team to count toward bowl eligibility, but not all do. Boise State, for example, this year is playing at UL Lafayette and Oregon State and hosting BYU and Washington State. [

Before Calhoun arrived, Air Force played Power Five opponents in five out of six years to open the season. They went 2-3 in that span against No. 11 Tennessee, Washington, No. 12 California, Northwestern and No. 3 Oklahoma.

“None of it’s in my hands,” Calhoun said in late July. “I do want to play at home on Parents Weekend. … I just think it adds to the flavor of the weekend.”

A Mountain West official said the Falcons were a major roadblock against adding a ninth league game to the schedule in an attempt to raise the strength of schedule and reduce the number of non-conference opponents that must be found (and paid, in the case of home games) from four to three. Air Force insisted it wanted to open at home, so the league said it would guarantee a league home game to open, but the Falcons balked at that.

So, for now, Air Force figures to continue its scheduling pattern of an FCS team to open, a wild-card FBS opponent in the second game, Army, Navy and eight Mountain West games.

The tradeoff of opening with an FCS opponent is that Air Force has gained bowl eligibility in eight of Calhoun’s nine years. So, while they play down to open, that has allowed them in many cases to play up to close.