Air Force Falcons Finish Season, Streak Past San Diego State Aztecs

The Air Force Falcons football team wrapped up the 2024 season with a four-game winning streak after beating San Diego State.

Nov 2, 2024; West Point, New York, USA; Air Force Falcons quarterback Quentin Hayes (7) carries the ball against the Army Black Knights during the second half at Michie Stadium. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

The Air Force Falcons finished the 2024 football season on a huge run, as they streaked past the San Diego State Aztecs, 31-20, on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif.

The Falcons (5-7, 3-4 in Mountain West) won’t play in a bowl game under long-time coach Troy Calhoun. But they get some solace from the four-game winning streak to wrap up the season, as they lost seven straight games at one point.

The Aztecs (3-9, 2-5) wrapped up the season with six straight losses under first-year coach Sean Lewis.

San Diego State proved unable to stop Air Force’s triple-option offense for most of the game. The Falcons scored on each of their first five drives of the game, which spanned the game’s first three quarters. In that stretch Air Force scored four touchdowns and a field goal as they built an 11-point lead.

The Aztecs defense finally stopped the Falcons on their opening offensive drive of the fourth quarter and Air Force punted to the San Diego State 9-yard-line with 9:31 left in the game.

Given a chance to cut the game to a one-score game, the Aztecs converted a pair of fourth downs — one on a fake punt — just to get to midfield with under five minutes left. But the drive ended on downs on the next series as Air Force sacked San Diego State quarterback Danny O’Neil.

A week after failing to complete a pass last week, the Falcons completed both attempts on Saturday. One, from wide receiver Brandon Engel, went to Jared Roznos for a 52-yard gain to set up a touchdown.

The other was quarterback Quentin Hayes’ 76-yard touchdown pass to Cade Harris.

With that, the Falcons finished with 128 passing yards.

But the rest of Air Force’s 52 plays were on the ground. Running back Dylan Carson wrapped up the season with 125 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Kade Frew rushed for 77 yards on just seven attempts. Hayes added 38 yards. The Falcons finished with 276 rushing yards and 404 total yards.

O’Neil, a true freshman who enrolled with SDSU early finished his first collegiate season with a 24-of-32 performance for 230 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Ja’Shaun Poke led the Aztecs with five receptions for 56 yards.

Running back Marquez Cooper, in his final college game, finished with 94 yards rushing and two scores, along with a receiving touchdown. He is No. 19 in Division I history with 5,135 rushing yards.

This could be the last game between the two teams for some time. They are not scheduled to face each other in 2025 and in 2026 San Diego State will move to the Pac-12 Conference. Air Force was extended an invitation to join but turned it down.