Last Practice Before Bowl Game-Air Force Academy

An Air Force football practice before heading to the Cheez-it Bowl in December 2019.

Air Force doesn’t look like it will have the same issue with scheduling that has Navy scrambling for a new opponent.

At least not for the opener. Right now.

“At this point, Duquesne is following a schedule that would allow the opener at Air Force on Sept. 5,” a Duquesne spokesman told The Gazette on Monday.

This is in contrast to Lafayette, which like Duquesne competes at the Football Championship Subdivision level. Lafayette’s scheduled start to camp, pushed back by the coronavirus, would not allow it to complete the required number of practices before it was to visit Navy on Sept. 12. So the game was canceled and the Midshipmen are looking for a foe to fill the void.

Air Force is opting not to comment on any aspects of the season, as it remains purposeful about not adding to speculation. And at this point, it would all be speculation as COVID-19 numbers are again rising. The feasibility of a season. What a game day might look like at the stadium. These are issues that the academy and athletic director Nathan Pine are not yet addressing publicly.

Life is certainly not at a standstill at Air Force. The cadets are back at the academy and on Monday the freshman class reached the halfway point of basic training. How that translates to playing a football season — and other sports — remains to be seen. But one roadblock will apparently not be a lack of opponent in Week 1.

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