For decades, Air Force swaggered as mighty big brother in its service-academy football rivalry with Navy and Army. Most seasons, muscular big brother pounded scrawny little brothers.

Payback has arrived as little brothers developed their own swagger. Tangling with service-academy brethren never has been more perilous.

From 1982 to 2002, Air Force soared to a 36-6 record, winning or retaining 17 Commander-in-Chief’s titles in 21 seasons. In 1998, nearing the twilight of domination, the Falcons outscored Army and Navy, 84-14.

In 2003, the dominance vanished, starting with a dramatic loss at Navy. In the past 15 seasons, the Falcons are 16-14 in the C of C rivalry with a 6-6 record since 2012.

Last season, the Falcons were swept by Army and Navy for only the fourth time since 1978. Air Force surrendered 69 points in the two-game C of C rivalry in the same season Army allowed 13.

Is the 2017 sweep a motivating factor as the Falcons prepare for 2018?

Predictions for Air Force, Army and Navy football in 2018

“No, sir,” answers coach Troy Calhoun as he walks off the practice field. “I hope what it is, is we’ll see how we play this year.”

Calhoun says the C of C rivalry is “cyclical.”

“There are ups and downs and ebbs and flows,” he says. “There are peaks and valleys and hopefully in between is a little closer to the top of the hill than the bottom of the basin.”

Calhoun is seeking an up tide in the ebbs and flows of 2018. Last season, Air Force dwelt at the bottom of the C of C basin.

The programs are remarkably similar. All three run variations of a run-obsessed option offense that harkens back to football from long ago. When Army defeated Air Force, 21-0, in November, the Black Knights did not even bother to pass.

Jemal Singleton served as captain for the 1998 Air Force team that beat Army and Navy on its way to 12-1 record and a No. 13 national ranking. He’s now running backs coach for the Oakland Raiders.

On Dec. 9, Singleton was working out in a hotel weight room with Army and Navy teams tangling on the TV. Watching the game, he realized, was not much different than watching his Air Force teammates in 1998 or watching Air Force play in 2018.

“Mirror images, at the end of the day,” Singleton says. “It’s going to be the same because they are all recruiting the same exact guy. The same leadership. The same intelligence.

“You could change the uniforms, even in a game, and not see much of a difference. Literally, it’s the same guys.”

The question who recruits the finest football talent from the limited list. In 2011, Calhoun recruited Keenan Reynolds, a running quarterback from Tennessee. Reynolds visited the Air Force campus, and it came down the Falcons or . . . Navy.

Reynolds chose Navy, where he scored 88 touchdowns, gained 4,459 yards and beat the Falcons three times.

In 2014, newly hired Army coach Jeff Monken flew to Illinois to talk with high school quarterback Arion Worthman. Monken wanted Worthman to run his option offense at West Point.

Worthman instead chose Air Force and led the Falcons to a 28-14 victory at Army in 2016.

“We’re all slugging around for the same guys,” Monken says. “Good high school football players with the academic credentials to compete in one of the toughest academic environments anywhere but players who also have the spirit to serve.

“It’s push and shove for the same kids, and it stands to reason that we’re going to have very similar football teams.”

For decades, Army coaches lost this game of push and shove. From 1997 to 2015, Army lost 34 of 38 games to Air Force and Navy.

Monken worked as an assistant on the Navy coaching staff (2002-2005) that started the Midshipmen toward dominance in the C of C coaching rivalry. He transformed the football culture at Army, alma mater of such tough guys as football stars Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard and presidents U.S Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower (who started at linebacker).

Retired Air Force coach (1983-2006) Fisher DeBerry enjoyed a long reign as king of service-academy football. He’s impressed with the current king.

“Look at what he’s doing,” DeBerry says of Monken. “He changed the mindset in how tough they’re playing. Remember, he’s running an offense that requires physical toughness.”

Monken has won three of his last four C of C games, toppled Navy twice in a row and on Nov. 4 handed the Falcons their first shutout in 306 games. For decades, Army’s football team resembled a zombie: Alive, but only kind of. Under Monken, the Black Knights are fully breathing.

The service-academy trio appears entrenched. Monken says he’s committed to Army. Navy coach Kenny Niumatalolo has won nine or more games five times since 2009, which inspired job offers from Brigham Young and Arizona. He turned both down to remain in Annapolis. Calhoun, heading into his 12th season, looks at home at Air Force, his alma mater. The trio earns a combined total of more than $4 million per season.

“I can see us going at it another decade,” says Niumatalolo says of the trio. “I can see us going at it for a long time.”

The struggle for an elusive prize has intensified. In the lobby of Air Force’s Clune Arena rests a big trophy case built specifically for the majestic Commander- in-Chief’s Trophy, which weighs 170 pounds. The case is currently empty, as it’s been for 11 of the past 15 years.

Former Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh recently walked through the lobby and looked at a case with nothing in it.

“Ah, to see that empty trophy case is sobering,” Mueh says. “And that’s deliberate. It means a heck of a lot to have that Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. When we had it there forever, when we had it constantly, it lost its importance. Now that it’s competitive, it’s very important.”

Yes, it is. But seizing the trophy back from Army, and Monken, will require a vicious struggle, the kind of battle you expect between brothers.

Get ready for mirror images, all close to the same might, pursuing the same recruits, employing the same offense, and chasing the same trophy.