10 things to know about Utah State at Air Force

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Utah State continues its 2013 season with its second-straight road game as it begins Mountain West play at Air Force (1-0, 0-0 MW) on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 1:30 p.m. (MT).

Here are ten things you need to know to impress your friends as we count you down to kickoff:

• The game will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network (Comcast Ch. 269/753HD, Dish Network Ch. 158, DirecTV Ch. 221)
• Utah State is entering its first year as a member of the Mountain West.
  USU joined the Mountain States/Skyline Conference in 1938 until 1961. USU then played as a football independent from 1962-77 when the Aggies became members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association in 1978. The PCAA changed its name to the Big West Conference in 1988. Following the 2000 season when the Big West no longer sponsored football, USU spent two years as an independent (2001-02) and two years in the Sun Belt Conference (2003-04) before joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2005 for eight seasons.
• Air Force is 11-3 in Mountain West openers dating back to 1999. In fact, the Falcons set a MW record by winning 11 straight from 2000-10. Air Force is 5-2 at home and 6-1 on the road in MW openers.

Utah State (0-1) at Air Force (1-0)

• Utah State (0-1) at Air Force (1-0)
• Date: Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013
• Time: 1:36 p.m. MDT
• Site: Falcon Stadium (46,692)
• TV: CBS Sports Network
• Radio: Utah State Sports Network
• Series Record: Air Force leads, 1-0
• Last Meeting: 1969 (AF 38-13)
• Kickoff Weather: Isolated Storms, temps near 86

Series Snapshot
Utah State and Air Force will be meeting for just the second time in series history this weekend. The Falcons won the only other meeting between the two teams, 38-13, on Nov. 8, 1969 at the USAF Academy.

1. Utah State junior quarterback Chuckie Keeton has rushed for 997 yards during his career and is just three rushing yards shy of becoming the second quarterback in Aggie history to rush for 1,000 yards as Diondre Borel (2007-10) posteda school record 1,398 rushing yards during his career.
2. Air Force's Troy Calhoun and Utah State's Matt Wells are just two of 12 coaches nationally, the only two in the Mountain West, to be the head coach at their alma mater. Calhoun is a 1989 graduate of the Academy while Wells graduated from Utah State in 1996.
3. Sophomore wide receiver Bruce Natson recorded career-highs in both receptions (9) and receiving yards (83) in Utah State's season opener at Utah. Overall, those nine receptions by Natson are the most by an Aggie player since Tony Pennyman had 10 receptions for 97 yards against UNLV during the 2005 season.
4. Utah State coach Matt Wells is no stranger to the Mountain West or Air Force ... Wells coached at New Mexico in 2010 and 2007-08 and was on the Navy staff from 1997-2001 ... Air Force has no current varsity players from the state of Utah.
5. Utah State Junior placekicker Nick Diaz was a perfect 42-for-42 on extra points during his Utah State career before missing his first-ever extra point in the third quarter at Utah. Overall, Diaz is now 42-of-43 on extra points and his career PAT percentage of .976 ranks fifth all-time in school history.
6. Air Force has won 16 straight home openers against unranked teams dating back to 1994.
7. Utah State has won six straight conference road games dating back to the 2011 season, which is its longest conference road winning streak in school history along with the 1995-1997 teams that combined to win six-straight Big West road games. Overall, USU is 7-3 in its last 10 road games dating back to the 2011 season. Utah State has also won three of its last four games played during the month of September and is 3-2 all-time in games played on Sept. 7.

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