Air Force football-related Tre ‘Bugg’s favorite photo is Jordan Jackson pouring a box of Cheez-It’s all over his face after a win in the named snack bowl game.

Hearing one of the remaining Falcons who lived the game relive the experience of the Arizona era with their teammates is clearly a career highlight.

But for most Air Force personnel (9-3), there is no memory of a bowl game. Still.

That will change soon, with the team ready to learn their bowl mission on Sunday. Projections continue to vary. Brett McMurphy of Action Network took the Falcons in the First Responders Bowl on Dec. 28 in Dallas against Louisville. The most common assumption has them in the Frisco (Texas) Bowl on December 21 against Missouri or Houston. The Armed Forces Bowl (December 22) is one of the many other possible destinations.

Asking the Falcons on the subject for the past few weeks, they don’t seem to care where they’re going.

“It’s going to mean everything,” said senior center Ben Mercer, who was injured in 2019 when the Air Force beat Washington State 31-21 in the Cheez-It Bowl. “I’m just excited.”

The Air Force played nine bowl games in 10 seasons between 2007 and 2016 before 5-7 consecutive seasons in 2017 and 18 thwarted that streak. Coach Troy Calhoun’s team rebounded with an 11-2 season in 2019 that took place in downtown Phoenix, and then came the COVID-19 season which did not include a bowl.

The only Air Force starters in this game who remain on the team are Bugg, Jackson and linebacker Demonte Meeks. Other active players who participated in the game are safety back Corvan Taylor, wide receiver Dane Kinamon, linebacker Vince Sanford, cornerback David Eure, tight end Nathan King, guard Hawk Wimmer, tackle Isaac Cochran and wide receiver Jake Spiewak.