GAME 11: Air Force (7-3, 4-2 MW) at Nevada (7-3, 4-2 MW)

GAME 11: Air Force (7-3, 4-2 MW) at Nevada (7-3, 4-2 MW)
Friday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m. MT, Mackay Stadium, Reno, NV

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• Television: FS1
Alex Faust (play-by-play), Petros Papadakis (analyst)
• Radio: KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs, CO; XM 389, Internet 979
Jim Arthur (play-by-play); Jesse Kurtz (analyst)

STORYLINES
• Air Force and Nevada are playing for the sixth time, all as conference foes. The Falcons lead the series, 3-2, including a 1-1 mark at Nevada.
• Air Force leads the nation in rushing with a 310.3 average. The Falcons are one of only two teams in the nation averaging over 300 yards. This is the eighth consecutive week the Falcons have led the nation, which is the program's longest streak since weeks 1-8 in 2010. Air Force has out-rushed its opponent in every game this season.
• Air Force ranks in the top three of the MW and top 20 nationally in four defensive categories. The Falcons lead the MW and rank fourth nationally in total defense with a 287.5 norm. Air Force trails only Wisconsin, Georgia and Oklahoma State in total defense.

THE SERIES
• Air Force and Nevada are playing for the sixth time, all as conference foes
• The Falcons lead the series, 3-2
• Air Force is 2-1 at home and 1-1 at Nevada
• Nevada defeated Air Force, 28-25, in 2018 in Falcon Stadium in the last meeting
• Air Force defeated Nevada, 45-42, in the last meeting in Reno in 2017
• The team's first played in 2012 in Falcon Stadium, resulting in a 48-31 Air Force win

Year by Year
2012 - AF 48-31 (H)
2013 - Nevada 45-42 (A)
2014 - AF 45-38 (H) OT
2017 - AF 45-42 (A)
2018 - Nevada 28-25 (H)
(H/A) is for AF

LAST MEETING
(Nov. 16, 2019) Nevada defeated Air Force, 28-25, in Falcon Stadium. Ty Gangi hit 24 of 33 passes for 259 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Wolf Pack. Toa Taua rushed for 76 yards on 13 carries to lead the ground game. Nevada finished with 436 total yards and a 31:07 to 28:53 edge in time of possession. Air Force, who had just 24 total yards in the first half, finished with 250 total yards. Kadin Remsberg led the Falcons with 71 yards rushing on 13 carries. Sophomore quarterback D.J. Hammond III added 28 yards and a touchdown on seven carries and hit six of 15 passes for 71 yards and his first-career TD pass. Nevada took a 21-7 lead into halftime while shutting out the Air Force offense. The Falcons' score came on a Zane Lewis school-record 99-yard interception return for a score. Jake Koehnke cut the lead to 21-10 with a field goal to open the third quarter, but Nevada answered with a Gangi and Elijah Cooks TD connection to extend the lead to 28-10. Hammond entered the game for the Falcons at quarterback and hit Marcus Bennett on a two-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-17 with 3:36 left in the third. Hammond called his own number and scored on a nine-yard run. The failed two-point conversion made it 28-23 with 6:48 left. The Wolf Pack took a safety and kicked the ball away with 17 seconds left. The game ended with a Hammond desperation toss into the end zone.

LAST TIME AT NEVADA
(Sept. 29, 2018) Air Force defeated Nevada, 45-42, in Reno. Luke Strebel kicked a 30 yard field goal as time expired to provide the winning margin. The Falcons took the lead for good, 21-20, on the touchdown run by Tim McVey in the second quarter. Nevada answered each Air Force score from that point with the last coming to tie the score at 42-all with 3:57 remaining. Air Force drove the ball from its own 25 on the game's last drive to set up Strebel's game-winner. Air Force finished with 591 total yards on a then-school-record-tying 98 total plays. The team rushed for a season-best 550 yards on a school-record 91 carries. Air Force had three players rush for 100 or more yards for the first time since 2007, led by McVey's 139 yards and a touchdown. Ronald Cleveland added 118 yards and a score on eight carries while Taven Birdow added 100 yards and a TD on 20 carries. Nevada finished with 424 total yards, including 267 passing. Kelton Moore led the Wolf Pack with 101 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Ty Gangi hit 17 of 33 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns.

LOOKING AT NEVADA
Nevada is 7-3 overall and in third place in the MW West Division with a 4-2 mark ... Nevada lost 23-21 at San Diego State last week ... The SDSU loss snapped a two-game winning streak ... Nevada averages 34.9 points per game while allowing 24.2 ... Quarterback Carson Strong is among the nation's leaders in passing, hitting 323-458 passes for 3,547 yards with 28 touchdowns and just seven interceptions ... Romeo Doubs leads the team with 64 catches for 853 yards and seven touchdowns ... Nevada has three players with 50 or more catches and six with 30 or more ...Daiyan Henley leads the team in tackles with 82 ... Dom Peterson leads the team with 9.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks ... Nevada is coached by Jay Norvell, who is in his fifth season.

AN AIR FORCE WIN WOULD
• Air Force would improve to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the Mountain West
• Air Force would post eight wins for the ninth time in Troy Calhoun's 15 seasons
• Air Force would post five MW wins for the 10th time in Troy Calhoun's 15 seasons
• Air Force would improve to 4-2 in the series vs. Nevada, including a 2-1 mark on the road
• Air Force would win its second straight at Nevada

LAST WEEK
Air Force defeated Colorado State, 35-21, in Fort Collins to register its fifth straight win in the series and 13th in the last 15 meetings. The win improved Air Force to 3-0 in Canvas Stadium. John Lee Eldridge III and Brad Roberts powered Air Force with first quarter touchdown runs while quarterback Haaziq Daniels hit Brandon Lewis with a school-record 92 yards pass to give the Falcons a 21-7 lead. Colorado State scored at the end of the half to cut the lead to 21-14 at halftime. Dane Kinamon and Roberts added third quarter touchdowns around a CSU score to make up the final margin. The Falcons ran out the clock in the fourth quarter with a 15-play, 60-yard drive that used the final 8:08. Roberts led the way with 151 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries, while DeAndre Hughes chipped in with 108 yards on eight carries. Daniels finished with 121 yards passing and two scores. The defense was led by Camby Goff, who had a career-high 10 tackles. Air Force had 509 total yards, including 388 rushing while holding CSU to just 308 total yards.

AIR FORCE LEADS THE NATION IN RUSHING FOR SEVENTH STRAIGHT WEEK
• Air Force leads the nation in rushing with a 310.3 average...the Falcons are one of only two teams in the nation averaging over 300 yards
• This is the eighth consecutive week the Falcons have led the nation, which is the program's longest streak since weeks 1-8 in 2010
• Air Force has out-rushed its opponent in every game this season
• Air Force rushed for 400-plus yards three consecutive weeks, averaging 430.3 per game, earlier this season...Air Force rushed for 437 vs. Utah State, a season-high 446 vs. FAU and 408 vs. UNM
• Air Force won the national rushing title in 2020 with a 305.7 per-game average...the title is the second in program history and first since 2002
• Air Force has ranked among the nation's top 10 seven straight years and 33 of the last 34 overall.

2021 NCAA Rushing Leaders
#    Team (Conf.)                      Avg.
1. Air Force (MW)                  310.3
2. Army (Ind.)                          301.8
3. Ole Miss (SEC)                   239.8
4. Baylor (Big 12)                    237.5
5. Syracuse (AAC)                  236.7

DEFENSE NOTES
• Air Force ranks in the top three of the MW and top 20 nationally in four categories
Category                 Stats        MW     NCAA
Scoring Defense    17.6 2nd       11th
Passing Defense    184.2       3rd     13th
Rushing Defense   100.3 2nd       12th
Total Defense    287.5       1st      4th
• Air Force leads the MW and ranks second nationally in first down defense (141)
• Air Force is allowing just 16.6 points per game over the last two seasons
• Air Force has held 12 of the last 13 opponents to 21 points or less
• Air Force has held its opponent below 300 yards of total offense in six games...the Falcons have won five of the six games when doing so
• Air Force has forced a punt on the opponent's opening drive of the game in eight games

GAME 11: Air Force (7-3, 4-2 MW) at Nevada (7-3, 4-2 MW)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Haaziq Daniels

John Lee Eldridge III

Camby Goff

DeAndre Hughes

Dane Kinamon

Brandon Lewis

Kadin Remsberg

Brad Roberts

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