Air Force vs Duquesne Prediction: Can the Falcons Get Rolling?
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It was a weird, strange, bad year for Air Force. Depleted due to a slew of reasons, the defense didn’t work, the offense sputtered, and it all ended up with a second straight losing season.
Before dealing with a dangerous Mountain West opener against North Dakota State, the Falcons host an interesting Duquesne team that should be exactly the team to help tune things up.
Air Force vs Duquesne: Quick Hits
- Duquesne played two FBS teams last season and lost to Pitt and Akron by a combined score of 112 to 16.
- Air Force lost to Tennessee 31-30 to open the 2026 season. Since then, it won 19 straight openers, 18 of them to FCS teams (2020 was the outlier).
- Air Force has allowed more than 14 points just once in the last nine season openers.
How To Watch Air Force vs Duquesne
Date: Saturday, September 5, 2026
Game Time: 1:00 pm ET
TV: Mountain West
Location: Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, CO
Why Duquesne Will Win
The Dukes have a run defense, allowing just 120 yards per game last year.
They might need to tweak things a bit with a few key personnel changes, but they have a nice linebacking corps. They’ll generate plays in the backfield, and there should be enough stops to matter.
Solid in the time of possession battle, the Dukes were great offensively on third downs. Air Force will be better, but it was awful at stopping third down conversions, giving them up over 50% of the time.
Why Air Force Will Win
It’s Air Force. It’ll run the ball, quarterback Liam Szarka – coming off a broken arm – will connect on enough big pass plays to open things up, and it’ll do it all over again.
This will be even more of a focus on a ground game that didn’t do quite as much as it should’ve. The power will be there to be more physical this season.
– Air Force 2026 Preview
Air Force vs Duquesne Prediction, Betting Lines
Again, Air Force owns season openers, and it dominates FCS teams. Duquesne will come up with a few points in the second half, but by then the game will be well in hand. For at least one week, the Falcons will look and play like themselves.
Air Force 44, Duquesne 13
Latest Consensus Line: Air Force, -28.5, o/u: 56.5
ATS Confidence (out of 5): 2
Must See Rating (out of 5): 1.5
Consensus line based on BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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