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COLORADO SPRINGS — Utah State fell 39-21 to Air Force Friday in a night the Aggies would like to soon forget.
"Extremely disappointed," Aggies head coach Blake Anderson said of his team's performance. "Just in all phases got our tails kicked."
Utah State, for much of the game, couldn't get anything going on either side of the ball. Anderson said numerous times that there was almost nothing positive to glean from the game, adding that his team hardly did anything right.
On defense, the front seven got bullied by the physical Air Force triple option offense, which ran for 344 yards on 5.4 yards per carry. Sophomore linebacker Cole Joyce, in his first start for the Aggies, totaled a career-high 11 tackles and one sack, tied with Ike Larsen for most tackles on the team.
Joyce said Utah State struggled to adapt to Air Force's dive plays, and it was a "little too late" before the team figured out out to defend it. He credited the Falcons' offensive line, which ultimately helped four individual Air Force players tally more rushing yards than the entire Aggies team combined.
When the Falcons did choose to pass, they caught the Aggies off guard and racked up 84 yards on just four pass attempts. Everything was seemingly available for the Falcons, and the Aggies' defense gave up 32 points in the first half alone.
"Occasionally, we looked like we knew what we're doing, but mostly, we dug a hole early and looked really, really frustrating offensively," Anderson said.
That "frustrating" offense behind starting quarterback Cooper Legas, who went 2-of-7 for 46 yards in the first half, struggled immensely. Legas was responsible for two of Utah State's turnovers, fumbling the ball once under pressure and throwing an interception on what was arguably Utah State's first promising drive.
Legas' struggles led Anderson to insert true freshman McCae Hillstead in the second quarter. Anderson said Legas looked "jittery" and "indecisive," so after giving him every chance to settle down and get the offense moving forward, the coaching staff knew they had to make a change.
Hillstead went 18-of-27 for 202 yards and tossed three touchdowns as he led the offense for the remainder of the evening. The freshman was listed as the third-string quarterback going into the game, but brought a spark to the offense and helped the Aggies outscore the Falcons 14-7 in the second half.
"I feel like (Hillstead's skill set) is the skill set that fits our personnel the best and gives us the best chance to win, and quite possibly going to be that for the rest of the season," said Anderson, who made the decision to bring in Hillstead over Wyoming transfer Levi Williams.
Anderson said a decision on the quarterback will not be made until he reviews game film, as to avoid making an emotional decision after a tough loss that was not solely on Legas. The entire team struggled, including the coaching staff, Anderson added.
The Aggies' ball carriers and offensive line, who helped Utah State to 380 rushing yards last week, finished with just 54 total yards on 26 rushing attempts Friday night. Terrell Vaughn, who has been an important figure in the Aggies' offense this season, caught only six of his 13 targets, and finished with 61 receiving yards and a touchdown.
With the win, Air Force extends its current win streak to eight and improves to 3-0 on the season, while Utah State drops to 1-2 on the season.
The Falcons' win marks Anderson's first loss to the program during his tenure at Utah State. The Aggies will turn their attention toward a challenging home contest next Saturday against James Madison and will not face another Mountain West team until Oct. 7, when the team faces Colorado State at home.
