Air Force offense enjoying success through air, ground thus far in 2025

Air Force football is often the topic of notable statistical nuggets, but few that include the word “receiving.”

Then along came Cade Harris.

The Air Force senior is not only the only player in FBS football with 300 receiving yards (323) and 100 rushing yards (153), but he’s the only player this century to hit 320 receiving and 150 rushing through his team’s first three games.

“I think it speaks to Cade’s will, his drive, his maturity,” coach Troy Calhoun said.

It also speaks to the multiple ways in which Air Force has been able to attack offensively, as it features the highest-scoring offense in the Mountain West (38.7 ppg) and over the past two games it has thrown for an average of 210.5 yards and rushed for an average of 267.5 yards.

Some of this passing offense has been driven by game situations. In losses at Utah State and Boise State over the past two weeks the Falcons have had zero first-half passing yards but have aired it out while playing catch up.

But that also means that yardage came in situations where the defense was looking for the pass, and the Falcons have been able to move the ball anyway.

For a program that has finished in the top 10 nationally in rushing each of the past 11 years and all but once since 1987 but hasn’t averaged more than 100 yards passing since 2019, this versatility is unique.

“We have had some deeper throws,” Calhoun said. “Will that be frequent? I don’t know if that necessarily is a given.”

The Falcons rank first nationally with 19.47 yards per completion and 21st with 165.88 passing efficiency. While the passing yardage places it down on the list nationally (94th), it is near the middle of the pack in the Mountain West.

And this hasn’t come at the expense of the running game, which ranks sixth in the nation at 267 yards per game.

Quarterback Liam Szarka broke out against Boise State, as the sophomore completed 13-of-18 passes for 242 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

“Just shows how capable we are across all aspects of the offense,” said receiver Quin Smith, who caught four passes against Boise State for 65 yards and a touchdown.

Smith said he knew the ball wouldn’t be frequently coming his way when he committed to Air Force. He came to the academy to follow a family path. His father was a pilot in the Marine Corps, and his older sister is a 2023 Air Force graduate who is also a pilot.

Smith will enter pilot training following graduation.

But while he didn’t expect to make catches in great quantity, he was hoping for the quality.

“I was told, when you get your chance it’s going to be big,” he said.

So far, the stats reflect just how big Air Force’s offense has cashed in on those plays – by air and by land.