1989 Air Force Falcons football

Liberty Bowl, L 29–42 vs. Ole Miss
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	8–4–1 (5–1–1 WAC)
Head coach	Fisher DeBerry (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone triple option
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium
Seasons ← 1988 1990 →

1989 Western Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 22 BYU $	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
Air Force	5	–	1	–	1			8	–	4	–	1
Hawaii	5	–	2	–	1			9	–	3	–	1
Wyoming	5	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
San Diego State	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	1
Colorado State	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Utah	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	8	–	0
UTEP	1	–	7	–	0			2	–	10	–	0
New Mexico	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1989 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. In the Ram–Falcon Trophy match, the Falcons beat the Colorado State Rams to win the trophy.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	San Diego State		Falcon Stadium Air Force Academy, CO		W 52–36	44,579
September 10	Wyoming		Falcon Stadium Air Force Academy, CO	ESPN	W 45–7	44,098
September 16	at Northwestern*		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		W 48–31	27,334
September 23	UTEP		Falcon Stadium Air Force Academy, CO		W 43–26	43,898
September 30	at Colorado State	No. 24	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO (Ram–Falcon Trophy)		W 46–21	30,955
October 7	at Navy*	No. 20	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 35-7	35,632
October 14	No. 1 Notre Dame*	No. 17	Falcon Stadium Air Force Academy, CO (rivalry)	ESPN	L 27–41	53,533
October 21	at TCU*	No. 19	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX		L 9–27	23,593
November 4	Army*		Falcon Stadium Air Force Academy, CO		W 29–3	52,226
November 11	at No. 21 BYU		Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	CBS	L 35–44	66,089
November 25	at Utah		Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT		W 42–38	20,119
December 9	at No. 23 Hawaii		Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI (rivalry)	ESPN	T 35–35	37,604
December 28	vs. Ole Miss*		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	FOX	L 29–42	60,128	^[1]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1989 Air Force Falcons football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OL		Kevin Bell
OL		Terry Carr
QB	`6`	Dee Dowis	Sr
RB		DeShawn Durham
RB		Ron Gray
OL		Scott Hollister
RB		Chris Howard
RB		Greg Johnson
RB		Jason Jones
WR		Lee Jones
QB		Charles Kuhl
RB		Rodney Lewis
QB		Lance McDowell
RB		Brian Neal
RB		Geoff Rich
WR		Steve Senn
WR		Trent Van Hulzen
OL		Paul Walski
WR		Mark Weber
OL		Steven Wilson
WR		Darryl Woods
RB		Ron Worthington
RB		Bill Wosilius
WR		Dan Zdroik

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DL		Lane Beene
DB		Mike Betance
DL		Steve Brennan
DB		Eric Faison
LB		Randle Gladney
LB		Brian Hill
DB		Mike Jurries
DL		Tom Kafka
DB		Bob Lietzke
DB		Mario Mathis
CB		Carlton McDonald	Fr
DL		Pat McNielis
LB		Vergil Simpson	Fr
LB		Terry Walker
LB		Doug Young

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P		Eric Olson
K		Joe Wood

Head coach

Fisher DeBerry

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Season summary

San Diego State

Dee Dowis 13 Rush, 249 Yds, 6 TD

Wyoming

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2022)

At Northwestern

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UTEP

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At Colorado State

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At Navy

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Notre Dame

#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5–0) at #17 Air Force Falcons (6–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	14	21	3	3	41
Air Force	0	14	0	13	27

at Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Date: October 14, 1989
Game attendance: 53,533
TV: ESPN
Recap/Box Score

Game information

First quarter

ND – Anthony Johnson 1-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 9:41. Notre Dame 7–0. Drive: 80 yards.
ND – Ricky Watters 5-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 0:51. Notre Dame 14–0. Drive: 14 plays, 69 yards.

Second quarter

ND – Raghib Ismail 56-yard punt return (Craig Hentrich kick), 14:42. Notre Dame 21–0.
AFA – Greg Johnson 61-yard pass from Dee Dowis (Joe Wood kick), 13:36. Notre Dame 21–7.
ND – Anthony Johnson 27-yard pass from Tony Rice (Craig Hentrich kick), 9:46. Notre Dame 28–7.
AFA – Steve Senn 26-yard pass from Dee Dowis (Joe Wood kick). Notre Dame 28–14.
ND – Raghib Ismail 24-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 0:30. Notre Dame 35–14.

Third quarter

ND – Craig Hentrich 20-yard field goal, 8:24. Notre Dame 38–14.

Fourth quarter

ND – Craig Hentrich 38-yard field goal, 12:42. Notre Dame 41–14.
AFA – Steven Wilson 23-yard run (run failed), 9:35. Notre Dame 41–20.
AFA – Rodney Lewis 1-yard run (Joe Wood kick), 3:22. Notre Dame 41–27.

Top passers

ND – Tony Rice – 9/13, 123 yards, TD
AFA – Dee Dowis – 15/24, 306 yards, 2 TD, INT

Top rushers

ND – Ricky Watters – 11 rushes, 96 yards, TD
AFA – Rodney Lewis – 13 rushes, 58 yards, TD

Top receivers

ND – Raghib Ismail – 3 receptions, 25 yards
AFA – Steve Senn – 6 receptions, 101 yards, TD

External videos
1989 Notre Dame at Air Force – Television broadcast

Awards and honors

Dee Dowis

Honorable Mention All-American (AP)
WAC Offensive Player of the Year
6th in Heisman Trophy voting

Lance McDowell

Bullard Award

References

^ "Rebels fly the friendly skies". The Commercial Appeal. December 29, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e Air Force Falcons football
Venues	DU Stadium (1955–1961) Falcon Stadium (1962–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Army (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) Colorado State (Ram–Falcon Trophy) Hawaii (Kuter Trophy) Navy (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)
Culture & lore	History The Bird "Falcon Fight Song" "The U.S. Air Force" United States Air Force Academy Band
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
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