UConn. Against the Huskies he went 34 for fifty for 374 yards and one touchdown alongside two interceptions. On the ground he also tallied 22 yards and a touchdown to help lead the Pirates to a 31–24 win. The team could not continue the momentum as they dropped the season finale against Tulsa 24–49. 2020 In 2020, due to COVID-19 the team's first three games against Marshall, South Carolina, and Norfolk State were all canceled. Ahler started eight of nine games missing only the game against Navy due to COVID-19 protocol. On the season he finished with 1,921 yards and eighteen touchdowns. He was named to the Manning Award and Wuerffel Trophy watch lists. By Athlon Sports he was a Fourth-Team Preseason All-AAC selection. The team's home, and season, opener against No. 13 UCF was a 28–51 loss. Against the Knights he finished fourteen of 29 for 215 yards and three touchdowns, but the team's defense could not stop Dillon Gabriel as he threw for four touchdowns and over 400 yards. After losing to Georgia State 29–49, the team bounced back against South Florida. In that game he threw for 222 yards on seventeen completions in 26 attempts and three touchdowns. The team would lose four-straight against Navy, the game in which Ahlers missed due to COVID-19, Tulsa, Tulane, and Cincinnati. In his return from COVID-19 he threw for 330 yards on 38 completions in fifty attempts alongside three touchdowns as the team narrowly lost 30–34. In the second-to-last game of the season against Temple, Ahlers led the Pirates past Temple with two touchdowns through the air while tallying another on the ground. To finish off the season he had one of his best performances of the season against SMU. He went twenty of 29 for 298 yards and four touchdowns. The team outscored the Mustangs 52–38 in the winning effort to finish the season with three wins. 2021 In 2021, Ahlers started all twelve games, finishing the season with eighteen touchdowns and 3,126 passing yards. He was named to the Third-Team Preseason All-AAC pick by Phil Steele's College Football Preview and a Fourth-Team Preseason All-AAC selection once again by Athlon Sports. During the season he became one of four active FBS quarterbacks with 10,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards. He was named to the 2021 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl Big Board watch list while also being on