New Mexico ended a 25-year Falcon Stadium losing streak against Air Force last November — now the series shifts to Albuquerque, and the Lobos want the sequel to look just as one-sided.
Bush’s Picks
AFUNM
AFUNM
OverUnder
Best BetNew Mexico
New Mexico is the significantly better program right now, coming off a bowl season under a coach who just signed a 5-year extension, and that's the roster with the better outright case here. Air Force is mid-rebuild, its option offense already survived a serious quarterback injury last season, and a 4-8 finish doesn't inspire much confidence heading into a road trip. Back the Lobos to win outright as the deeper, more stable program.
Air Force
+Szarka returns healthy after a breakout sophomore year
+Troy Calhoun brings 20th-year staff stability
+Returns a young, experienced defensive core
−Finished 4-8 with no bowl game in 2025
−Blown out by UNLV, Boise State, Utah State, Hawaii
−Lost last meeting 20-3, ending a 25-year home streak
New Mexico
+Went 9-4, first bowl bid since 2016
+Jason Eck just signed a 5-year extension
+Won last year's meeting on the road, 20-3
−Both 2025 starting quarterbacks left via transfer portal
New Mexico rolls into this one off the best season the program has had in a decade, and Saturday, November 28 sets up as a potential measuring-stick finale in a suddenly competitive Mountain West race. Air Force is on the other end of that arc — a proud program trying to prove 4-8 was a blip and not a preview of where things are headed under longtime coach Troy Calhoun, now entering his 20th season on the sideline.
The bigger swing factor for New Mexico by kickoff is whatever answer emerges at quarterback. Cole Welliver and Isaiah Chavez, who split snaps in 2025, both left for the transfer portal this offseason, leaving Oregon transfer Luke Moga as the presumptive frontrunner for a job that's still his to win. Air Force already got its version of that question answered the hard way last year, when a broken wrist knocked out breakout sophomore Liam Szarka and forced converted fullback Kemper Hodges into extended action.
Show fees
3:30 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
AF Air Force
UNM New Mexico
However those competitions shake out over the next several months, this is a series that just flipped its home-field script. New Mexico snapped a 25-year Falcon Stadium losing streak with a 20-3 win in Colorado Springs last November, and now gets the rematch on its own field for the first time since that drought started.
Air Force Falcons
Nov 20?vs UTEP—
Nov 14?vs San José State—
Nov 7?@ Army—
Oct 31?vs UConn—
Oct 23?@ Wyoming—
Oct 17?vs UNLV—
Oct 10?@ Northern Illinois—
Oct 3?vs Navy—
Sep 25?@ Nevada—
Sep 12?vs North Dakota State—
Sep 5?vs Duquesne—
New Mexico Lobos
Nov 21?@ Wyoming—
Nov 14?vs UNLV—
Nov 6?@ Nevada—
Oct 30?@ San José State—
Oct 16?@ Hawai'i—
Oct 2?vs UTEP—
Sep 26?@ New Mexico State—
Sep 19?@ Oklahoma—
Sep 11?vs Mercyhurst—
Sep 5?vs Central Michigan—
Recent form.
The numbers behind that flip say plenty about where these programs are trending. New Mexico went 9-4 and made the Rate Bowl for its first bowl trip since 2016, falling to Minnesota in overtime, and enters 2026 mentioned alongside UNLV as the Mountain West's top contender. Air Force finished 4-8 and out of the postseason picture entirely, with ugly losses to UNLV, Boise State, Utah State and Hawaii mixed in with a one-score defeat to rival Navy.
Air Force Falcons
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
New Mexico Lobos
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Health and depth will matter plenty for both sides by the time this one kicks off. Szarka's wrist injury exposed how thin Air Force's option offense gets without its top playmaker, and New Mexico is replacing several key pieces — including starting tackle Travis Gray and linebacker Mihalis Santorineos — after bringing in 27 transfers to reload. Whichever team is healthier in late November should have the edge in what's shaping up as a legitimate Mountain West statement game.
