When Air Force sits down at its team hotel for a Thanksgiving meal at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, minds won’t be stuck on three three-point losses, a disappointing 3-8 record or any other hardships suffered this year.

Because, first, the thoughts and bellies will be filled with food. The meal is scheduled early in the day “in case they really hurt themselves,” coach Troy Calhoun said, allowing time to walk off the discomfort.

But the meal itself, the last gathering in a dining room for this group, is cause for celebration, the players said.

“One final meal is really important,” offensive lineman Trevor Tate said. “To have that Thanksgiving meal in the hotel and overall have a really positive environment we can all remember for the rest of our lives.”

This doesn’t appear to be a group that needs prodding to find things to be thankful for on the holiday.

Calhoun noted the quality of people he works with on a daily basis in addition to the quality of the institution, as well as family.

Tate noted the work of the coaching staff and teammates.

“The coaches for just guiding us as men and developing us into who we are today,” the senior said. “That’s something I’m really thankful for. My teammates who have motivated everybody, including myself, to push forward when you think things are getting hard. That’s something you really lean on at the academy.”

Linebacker Brody Bujnoch noted faith and family. His large family included many cousins around the same age who marked Thanksgiving celebrations in Texas with a football game that would inevitably continue until someone left crying.

Bujnoch has found a similar sense of camaraderie at the academy.

“They’ve truly turned into family,” the junior said. “You don’t get that many places anymore. Around here it’s real family, the way it’s supposed to be.”

The season has not gone the way Air Force (3-8, 2-5 Mountain West) envisioned. The defense struggled during an early five-game losing streak, giving up 45.4 points per game while the offense was scoring 36.2 per contest. During a 2-3 stretch that followed the defense has allowed just 20.6 points per game, but the offense has averaged just 17.2 points.

The season closes at 1 p.m. Friday at Colorado State (2-9, 1-6), and the players are thankful for a chance to end the season by beating an in-state rival and hoisting the Ram-Falcon Trophy.

“For me, it’s just reminding myself why I play this game,” senior slot receiver Cade Harris said. “I fell in love with this game when I was a little kid. It’s taught me a lot of things in my life, so finishing out as good as I know how is how I’m going to approach things.”