Falcons travel to Utah State for Mountain West showdown
10/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Air Force travels to Logan, Utah, to take on Utah State on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 8:15 p.m. MT on ESPNU.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION: ESPNU
Mark Neely (play-by-play), David Diaz-Infante (analyst)
RADIO: KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs, CO; The Fan 104.3 in Denver; goairforcefalcons.com. Jim Arthur (play-by-play), Jesse Kurtz (analyst)
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Air Force's 4-1 overall record is tied as the best in the Mountain West ... Colorado State is also 4-1. • Air Force is on a three-game winning streak, it's longest since a three-game October streak in 2012. • The Falcons won the first leg of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy race with last week's 30-21 victory over Navy ... Air Force must win at Army Nov. 1 to win the trophy. • Air Force is 3-0 at home this season after last week's win...the Falcons have not trailed at home all season. • Air Force has led heading into the fourth quarter in every game this season ... The Falcons are 47-8 under head coach Troy Calhoun when doing so. • Air Force has scored first in every game this season ... The Falcons are 34-10 under head coach Troy Calhoun when doing so.
THE SERIES: Air Force and Utah State are playing for the third time overall and second as conference members. The series is tied 1-1 overall and the Aggies lead 1-0 in conference games. Air Force defeated Utah State, 38-13, Nov. 8, 1969 at home in the initial meeting. Utah State beat Air Force, 52-20, last season in Falcon Stadium.
AIR FORCE - UTAH STATE CONNECTIONS: Utah State coach Matt Wells is no stranger to the Mountain West or Air Force ... Wells coached at New Mexico in 2010 and 2007-08 and was on the Navy staff from 1997-2001 ... Air Force has no current varsity players from the state of Utah.
LAST SEASON VS. UTAH STATE: Utah State defeated Air Force, 52-20, in Falcon Stadium in the Mountain West opener for both schools. The Aggies scored on their opening drive to take a 7-0 lead, then recovered a fumble on Air Force's first offensive play and added another touchdown to take a 14-0 lead with 11:17 to play in the first quarter. Utah State extended the lead to 24-13 at the half. The second half was all-Aggies, fueled by a 21-point third quarter. Utah State added another touchdown early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 52-13. The Falcons closed the scoring with a touchdown midway through the fourth to make up the final margin. Chuckie Keeton led the Aggies, hitting 32-of-40 passes for 360 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for 77 yards. The Falcons were led by Jaleel Awini, who made his first-career start, with 48 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. He also hit four-of-12 passes for 61 yards.
AIR FORCE LAST WEEK: Air Force took the first step in regaining the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy with a 30-21 victory over Navy in Falcon Stadium. Kale Pearson threw for a career-high three touchdowns and the Falcons had four as a team, including one from receiver Jalen Robinette to Garrett Brown to put the Falcons in front 14-7 late in the first quarter. The Falcons opened the scoring on a Pearson to Alex Ludowig one-yard TD pass. Navy scored late in the second to tie the score at 14-14 at halftime. The Falcons took control when Pearson hit Garrett Griffin with a TD pass in the third and Will Conant added a 22 yard field goal to make it 24-14. Navy added a late touchdown pass, but Robinette recovered the onside kick and the Falcons clinched with Pearson's third TD pass, a 13-yard toss to Brown on fourth-and-two in the final minute. Air Force finished with 364 total yards, a balanced attack with 198 rushing and 166 passing. Navy finished with 393 total yards, including 251 rushing. The Falcon defense held Navy, who entered the game ranked second nationally in rushing, to just 63 yards rushing in the second half. Jordan Pierce led the defense with 12 tackles while Christian Spears had a season-high 10 and an interception in the end zone. Pearson led the offense, hitting 11 of 16 passes for 112 yards and rushed for 61 yards. Jacobi Owens rushed for 78 yards on 23 carries.
