Kickoff: Saturday, September 5 at 12:00 PM CT
Location: Falcon Stadium
TV: MW+
DraftKings line (Aug. 30): AF -30.5
Over/under: 58.5

The setup

Air Force is 29-0 all-time against FCS teams, with every game played at Falcon Stadium. Troy Calhoun personally owns 19 of those wins.

What I’m watching

The thing to watch is how quickly Air Force’s rebuilt offense settles in. Air Force averaged 39.3 points per game last season and returns 3 offensive starters.

Personnel snapshot

• Duquesne: Jerry Schmitt enters Year 22 as head coach.
• Duquesne quarterback: Tyler Riddell is Duquesne’s most experienced returning passer. Last season, he threw for 2,016 yards, 25 TD and 7 INT.
• Air Force: Troy Calhoun enters Year 20 as head coach. 11 starters return—3 on offense and 8 on defense. Key defenders back include Dallas Daley, Blake Fletcher, and Isaac Hubert. The Falcons defense allowed 423.2 yards and 30.3 points per game last season.
• Air Force quarterback: Liam Szarka returns after rushing for over 900 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2025. He also completed 62.5% of his passes with 9 TDs and 5 INTs.

Two quick analysis points

• The opener trend: The Falcons have won 19 straight season openers, the third-longest active streak in the country, and 20 of their last 21 home openers. This calendar slot has become almost ceremonial.
• The roster reset: Air Force and Texas Tech are the only FBS programs that lost zero 2025 game participants to the transfer portal. At a time when continuity is rare, the Academy literally did not lose a snap.

How the game is decided

Can Dequesne slow the triple-option enough to keep it close for a while? You’d expect a well disciplined game from Air Force, but in week 1, it’s hard to be in sync.

Prediction

I make my final predictions on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook at @uthinkuknowsports.

Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.