SBN Reacts: Readers Are Confident That Air Force Will Win The CIC Trophy Again in 2023

The race between the service academy football programs adds a nice little spice to the college football season. When Army, Navy, and Air Force get together, it’s typically a very physical game with major bowl implications for at least one team. There’s also a trophy at stake with the team that manages to beat the other two taking it home.

We recently polled the Underdog Dynasty audience about which of the three teams would take the trophy in the upcoming season. The Falcons took 45% of the vote, with Army taking 30% and Navy took 25%. The Falcons also won the trophy in 2022, taking it home for the 21st time.

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Let’s Think About This

Thanks to their dominant runs in the 1980’s and 1990’s, Air Force lead the trophy count in this series by a significant margin. Head coach Troy Calhoun has won five CIC trophies since he took over the program in 2007. Calhoun was recently extended through 2028.

Since 2019, Air Force have won at least ten games three times, and they only played six games in 2020. That stretch has also included three bowl wins. It feels relatively safe to say this is one of the better eras for the program since its inception in 1957. It makes complete sense why people think that success will continue.

If we’re going to play devil’s advocate, consider this: Air Force has to replace the national rushing leader in Brad Roberts, their first All-American in decades in Isaac Cochran, and a three-year starter in quarterback Haaziq Daniels. Can it be done? For sure, but replacing that much offensive talent at once is a difficult task anywhere.