Air Force Picks Up First Mountain West Win of Season Against Fresno State

The Air Force Falcons grabbed their biggest win of the season with a home victory over the Fresno State Bulldogs

Danny Wild-Imagn Images

The Air Force Falcons picked up their first Mountain West Conference win of the season and their first victory since August after defeating the Fresno State Bulldogs 36-28 on Saturday. 

Fresno State continues to struggle at Falcon Stadium. They have not won on the road against Air Force since the 1997 season. That streak will continue after the loss on Saturday. 

Both teams scored on their opening drive to begin the first quarter. Air Force answered back nicely when it capped off a 19-play, 75-yard drive to begin the game for the offense. Junior running back Dylan Carson, who had nine carries on the opening drive, picked up the score with a one-yard touchdown. 

The Falcons continued the momentum on the following drive as they picked up their fourth passing touchdown of the season. Sophomore quarterback Quentin Hayes found senior wide receiver Cade Harris for a three-yard reception for a touchdown.

Fresno State took the lead and held it, heading into the locker room for halftime. Air Force picked up a field goal as time expired in the second quarter to make it 21-17 Bulldogs after two. 

The second half continued to favor Air Force, especially with the time of possession. Fresno State was only held to seven offensive snaps in the third quarter, as the Falcons scored nine points to take the lead. The program scored another field goal and a rushing score by Hayes. The team failed on the two-point conversion try.  

Hayes picked up his second touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter as the Falcons took a 12-point lead. They wouldn’t lose the lead after this as they would hold on to win by eight points in the contest.  He finished the game with 91 yards on 25 carries. Carlson led the team in rushing with 120 on 33 touches. 

Air Force finished the game by controlling the time of possession by more than 30 minutes. They had the ball for 45:08 in the 60 minute contest. 

They were an impressive 10-19 on third down and 5-6 on fourth down conversions, helping the offense stay on the field longer and extending those drives in authentic service academy style. 

They dominated on the ground, rushing for 344 yards in the contest. Fresno State rushed for negative 5 yards on the night. 

It’s fitting that Air Force won on Veteran’s Day weekend. It was the first time since the first week of the season that all three service academies were victorious. 

Air Force will be back in action next Saturday when they host the Oregon State Beavers at Falcon Stadium. The kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be on CBS Sports Network.