Utah State fell to BYU last weekend for their fourth straight loss of the season. In the loss to BYU, Cooper Legas went 19 for 31 (61%) and threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns in addition to two interceptions. Calvin Tyler Jr. went for 104 yards on 18 carries.

Utah State (1-4) vs Air Force (4-1)

When: Saturday, October 8th

Where: Maverik Stadium, Logan, Utah

TV: FS1

Series History: Air Force leads the series 6-4

Last game: Utah State went into Colorado Springs and made a 49-45 comeback victory in a late September game

When Air Force has the ball

Look out for Air Force quarterback Haaziq Daniels. He can throw the ball deep when not expected and has completed 17 of his 35 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns. The Falcons score about 32 points a game and hold opponents to just 14. The offense, while potent with Haaziq Daniels, goes through running back Brad Roberts, who has rushed 95 times for 573 yards and seven touchdowns this season. The Falcons average 369.8 yards rushing yards per game and 460.6 yards per game.

Air Force is 30-62 on third down conversions (48%) and are 15-17 in the red zone this season, converting 88% of red zone attempts. Air Force’s only loss this season came to Wyoming in a 17-14 game, but the Falcons have beaten Colorado (41-10), Nevada (48-20), and Navy (13-10).

When Utah State has the ball

Logan Bonner has been out injury for the past two weeks and the Aggies need to figure out something offensively. Calvin Tyler Jr. has rushed 96 times 396 yards but hasn’t scored a touchdown. Utah State as a team has managed two rushing touchdowns. The Aggies’ top receiver is Brian Cobbs, who has caught 28 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns this season. The only other receivers to gain over 100 yards so far are Justin McGriff with 232 yards and Terrell Vaughn with 173 yards. The Aggies have eight total receiving touchdowns this season.

There are several factors that have impeded Utah State offensively, such as losing big play receivers from last year and a lack of production in the run game. The two biggest factors though are the turnovers and the penalties. Through five games, Utah State has turned the ball over 15 times, which is last in the nation. Utah State has thrown 11 interceptions and have fumbled the ball four times. Utah state has committed an incredible 47 penalties for 432 yards through five five games. Utah State has an average of 86 penalty yards per game.

The statistics tell an important story: Utah State needs to find consistency offensively. Less turnovers and penalties. More rushing and receiving yards. The Aggies must find answers offensively in order to stay competitive in the Mountain West.

Prediction

Utah State has just one win on the season against UConn, which also happened to be their best offensive performance. All four of Utah State’s losses have come by double digits and the bad sign for Utah State is that they give up a lot of rushing yards.

Air Force ranks first in the nation and has rushed 294 times for 1849 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. The Aggies defense ranks 108th in the nation, giving up 188.4 rushing yards per game. The Falcons’ defense ranks 14th in the nation while Utah State ranks 100th in the nation. This doesn’t bode well for the Aggies, who haven’t been able to quite figure out the offense yet.

Air Force takes this one 38-24.