Game 9: Air Force (1-7, 0-4 MW) vs. Fresno State (5-4, 3-2 MW)

Game 9: Air Force (1-7, 0-4 MW) vs. Fresno State (5-4, 3-2 MW)
Saturday, Nov. 9, 7:45 p.m. MT, Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, CO (USAFA)

THE GAME
• Air Force football is honoring Air Force Special Operations Command with the 2024 edition of the Air Power Legacy Series uniform, which the team will wear this week vs. Fresno State. The Falcons debuted the uniform for the Navy game earlier this season. Please turn to page 15 for more information/photos.
• Air Force and Fresno State are meeting for the 11th time overall, 10th as conference foes. The Falcons lead the overall series, 7-3, including a 6-3 mark in conference games. Air Force is 3-1 at home, 3-2 at Fresno and 1-0 in neutral site games.
• Falcon Stadium has the second-highest elevation (6,621 ft) among FBS programs, trailing only Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium, which is at 7,220 ft.

THE MATCHUP
Category                                              Air Force                              Fresno State
Current Streak:    L 7                                          L 1
Rankings (Coaches/AP): --/-- --/--
Last week: L 20-3 at #21 Army L 21-20 vs. Hawaii
Next week: vs. Oregon State vs. Colorado State

Head Coach:                                       Troy Calhoun Tim Skipper
Alma Mater (Year): Air Force (1989) Fresno State (2001)
School Record (Years): 131-89 (18th year) 5-4 (1st year/interim)
Career Record (Years): Same Same
Record vs. Opponent: 3-1 First Meeting

THE SERIES
• Air Force and Fresno State are meeting for the 11th time overall, 10th as conference foes.
• The Falcons lead the overall series, 7-3, including a 6-3 mark in conference games.
• Air Force has won three straight and four of the last five meetings dating back to 2000.
• Air Force is 3-1 at home, 3-2 at Fresno and 1-0 in neutral site games.
• Air Force defeated Fresno State, 43-24, in 2019 the last time the two played.
• The teams first played in 1993 in Fresno, resulting in a 33-20 Bulldog victory.

All-Time Results
1993      FS 33-20 (A)
1994     AF 42-7 (H)
1995     AF 31-20 (A)
1996      AF 44-38 OT (A)
1997     FS 20-17 (H)
2000     AF 37-34 (N) - Bowl Game
2012     FS 48-15 (A)
2015     AF 42-14 (H)
2016     AF 31-21 (A)
2019     AF 43-24 (H)
Site () is for AF

LAST MEETING
(Oct. 12, 2019) Air Force defeated Fresno State, 43-24, to improve to 3-0 at home. The Falcons used a dominant defense in the second half to secure the win. Air Force held Fresno State scoreless, to one first down and 25 total yards on 13 plays while adding a score. The teams exchanged scores throughout the first half, each scoring on every possession. Fresno State kicked a field goal in the final seconds to take a 24-22 halftime lead. The second half was all-Air Force. Taven Birdow scored on a three-yard run to give Air Force the lead for good, 29-24, midway through the third. Donald Hammond III added a scoring run early in the fourth quarter and Kyle Johnson returned an interception 24 yards for the final score on the next FS drive. Air Force held the ball for 24:25 of the second half, including 11:27 on the third quarter and 12:58 of the fourth. The Falcons held the ball for 39:29 overall. Air Force finished with 421 total yards, including 340 rushing. Timothy Jackson led the way with a career-high 117 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Kadin Remsberg added 89 yards and Birdow 73. Johnson led the defense with six tackles, while Garrett Kauppila chipped in with six. Fresno State finished with 268 total yards, including 209 passing.

AIR FORCE AT HOME
• Air Force is 77-28 in Falcon Stadium under head coach Troy Calhoun.
• Air Force had a school-record 15-game winning streak from 2014 to Oct. 22, 2016.
• Air Force went 20-4 at home from 2014-17, posting the most wins in a four-year span, breaking the record of 19 set from 1982-85 and 1998-2001 when the program went 19-4.
• Air Force set a record for the best three-year run from 2014-16 with a 17-1 record, breaking the mark of 15-2 from 1983-85.
• The Falcons have finished undefeated at home six times overall in school history, four coming under Calhoun.

AIR IS RARE
• Falcon Stadium has the second-highest elevation (6,621 ft) among FBS programs, trailing only Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium, which is at 7,220 ft.
• Four of the top five elevations belong to Mountain West schools. The MW also has the largest gap among FBS programs, as Hawaii's T.C. Ching Complex sets at just 18 ft. San Diego State's Snapdragon Stadium is just 46 ft, and San Jose State's CEFCU Stadium is at 82 ft.

LAST WEEK
Army defeated Air Force, 20-3, in West Point. The Black Knights took a 6-0 lead on a pair of field goals by Trey Gronotte before Air Force answered with a Matthew Dapore 32-yard field goal to make it 6-3 at the half. Army opened the second half with a 12-yard touchdown run by Kanye Udoh to take a 13-3 lead. Udoh would add his second touchdown, a 25-yard run with 1:46 remaining in the game to make up the final margin. Udoh finished with 158 yards rushing on 22 carries to lead Army. The Black Knights rushed for 207 yards and had 255 total yards. Air Force was led by quarterback Quentin Hayes, who rushed for 61 yards on 22 carries. He also hit 7-14 passes for 54 yards. Cade Harris had five receptions for 52 yards. The defense was led by Lincoln Tuioti-Mariner, who had a career-best eight tackles.

LAST WEEK'S NOTES
Team Notes
• Air Force held Army to a field goal on its first possession, marking the first time this season the Black Knights failed to score a touchdown on its opening drive.
• Air Force also held Army to 152 yards below their season average of 359 yards rushing per game.
• Air Force held Army to six first-half points, its lowest output of the season.
• Senior WR Cameron Breier made the first start of his career. Air Force has had 42 players make the first start of their career this season, which leads the nation. The next closest team is Troy with 26.
• Air Force held the ball for 31:51, winning the time of possession battle for the fifth time this season and third straight.
• Air Force game captains for the Army game were senior DB Camby Goff and senior OL Alex Moore.

Individual Notes
• Sophomore QB Quentin Hayes set career highs for passing attempts and completions, going 7-for-14 for 54 yards. His previous highs were five completions on seven attempts against Navy. Hayes also led the Falcons in rushing, gaining 61 yards on 22 carries.
• Sophomore QB Josh Johnson set career highs for passing attempts and completions, going 3-for-6 for 38 yards. His previous highs were 2-for-4 passing against New Mexico.
• Junior WR Cade Harris tied his career high with five receptions, good for 52 yards. He tied his previous high against Wyoming earlier this season.
• Senior DB Jamari Bellamy recorded seven tackles to go over the 100-tackle mark of his career. Bellamy has 106 tackles in his career which is the second most among active Falcons.
• Senior PK Matthew Dapore hit one field goal in the second quarter. The field goal moved him into second place alone on the Air Force career field goal list with 44.
• Senior WR Jared Roznos had two catches for 15 yards, marking his fourth-career game with multiple catches and first since the Wyoming game in 2023.
• Senior WR Brandon Engel recorded one catch for 14 yards. His catch went for a season long 14 yards and was his first since the San Jose State game earlier this season.
• Sophomore DB Lincoln Tuioti-Mariner had a game- and career-high eight tackles. He also had eight against New Mexico earlier this season. He also recorded his second-career sack and had a career-best 1.5 TFL.
• Sophomore LB Blake Fletcher recorded a career-high seven tackles. His previous high was six against Colorado State
• Sophomore OLB David Santiago made the first solo tackle for loss of his career. Santiago finished the game with four tackles.

Game 9: Air Force (1-7, 0-4 MW) vs. Fresno State (5-4, 3-2 MW)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamari Bellamy

Cameron Breier

Matthew Dapore

Brandon Engel

Blake Fletcher

Camby Goff

Cade Harris

Quentin Hayes

Josh Johnson

Alex Moore

Jared Roznos

David Santiago

Lincoln Tuioti-Mariner

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