Lobos Pack: Air Force Game Preview and Prediction

What:

Air Force Falcons vs. New Mexico Lobos

Where:

Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado

When:

Saturday, November 12^th, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. Mountain Time

Coverage:

The game will be broadcasted on CBS Sports Network. On the radio waves it will be carried on the Lobo Sports Radio Network, 96.3 FM/770 AM in Albuquerque.

Series:

This is the 40^th all-time meeting between AFA and UNM. Air Force has a 25-14 lead in the series including a 38-10 win over the Lobos last season.

Breakdown:

The New Mexico Lobos will bring their six-game losing streak to Colorado Springs on Saturday to battle the Air Force Falcons.

New Mexico enters the contest with a 2-7 record overall and a 0-5 mark in the Mountain West Conference. Last week the Lobos fell to Utah State in Logan, by a final of 27-10 The Lobos actually led that game 10-7 at halftime, but as has been the case this season, the offense was nowhere to be found in the second half.

Air Force is 6-3 on the season and 2-3 in the MWC. The Falcons got back on the winning track last week with a 13-7 victory over Army. That win sewed up the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for the first time in six seasons for the Falcons and got them bowl eligible on the season.

What to watch for:

New Mexico’s putrid offense found a bright spot last week against Utah State, going for 216 yards on the ground. That was 76 yards above their season average for rushing.

Nathaniel Jones had a career high 146 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown for UNM in that contest. Needless to say, the Lobos will need more of that this week against the Falcons.

The New Mexico defense broke a two-game sackless streak by tallying four sacks in the contest with Utah State.

A fake field goal that resulted in a touchdown and two fumbles lost were a huge difference in the Lobos loss.

Air Force gutted out a tight win over Army last weekend. The Falcons were led by their workhorse tailback in Brad Roberts who went for 135 yards on 33 carries. Haaziq Daniels added another 89 yards on the ground on 14 carries with a touchdown. It was the defense, however, that came up big for AFA.

On a day when the offense had a tough go scoring points, the Falcons defense held Army to 145 total yards offense. That was the lowest output by any opponent this season for Air Force. With a struggling Lobos offense coming to town, one has to believe the Falcons are sharpening their beaks for this one.

Crazy Stats:

In nine games this season, not one team has rushed for over 200 yards against Air Force. The Lobos offense has accomplished that feat only twice this season.

The last time the Lobos won in Colorado Springs was back in 2000 when a Rocky Long coached UNM team won 29-23.

Final Thoughts and Prediction:

The Air Force defense should be able to make quick work of the Lobos offense throughout the contest. The real question will be how much the Falcons offense will be limited to by the Lobos defense that has been better this season than in the past.

Right now, the Falcons are favored by 21 on DraftKings Sportsbook, however, I think it might be closer than that given the defense of UNM. I like the Falcons in this one by a final of 27-7.