Utah State faces conference foe Air Force in Mountain West opener

Utah State's 14th and final season in the Mountain West certainly has a sense of familarity to it.

You see, USU's football team will kick off conference play against Air Force for the seventh time in the last 13 years. Saturday's opening kickoff from Maverik Stadium is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. and the MW opener for both programs will be televised on FS1.

"Yeah, always a unique week when you play the Air Force Academy," USU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said during his weekly press conference. "Troy (Calhoun) and I go back a long time from our original days in the Mountain West Conference, so I admire and respect the job he does with Air Force every single year.

"So, challenging systems to defend, as well as to to go against defensively, and just you always expect great effort and toughness and resiliency from the kids that play at Air Force. The qualifications for those kids to play there and with what their daily schedule looks like and the rigor is really impressive, and I think that has a lot to do with the history and success at Air Force with coach Calhoun and what they're doing."

Indeed, Mendenhall and Calhoun are very familiar with one another as Mendenhall's BYU Cougars and Calhoun's Falcons squared off six times from 2005-10. BYU won five of those six contests, plus New Mexico beat Air Force by a 52-37 scoreline last October, which was Mendenhall's lone season in charge of UNM's program.

This is Calhoun's 19th season as Air Force's head coach. How similar is AFA's triple option offensive attack now, compared to Mendenhall's tenure at BYU?

"Quite a bit different because the rules have changed and some of the blocking is different, and so Air Force does a really nice job with how creative (they are), so certainly there's option and that's really effective," Mendenhall answered. "But there's also multiple other types of run games and formations and different things that they do, so probably more than anyone their creativity and the way to maximize the personnel they have and how well they adjust in game is really exceptional."

This will only be the Falcons' second game as they had a bye week after blowing out FCS program Bucknell at home, 49-13. Air Force found the end zone twice in each of the first three quarters in its second opener, racked up 426 yards of total offense — 267 on the ground and 159 through the air — and limited Bucknell to 266 total yards.

Air Force is currently on a five-game winning streak as it closed out the 2024 campaign with four straights wins — a very encouraging sign for a team that started the season 1-7. The Falcons finished last season with victories over bowl qualifier Fresno State, plus Oregon State, Nevada and San Diego State.

The Falcons are breaking in a new quarterback this season in Josh Johnson, who played sparingly in '24. Johnson completed 4 of 7 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns against Bucknell. He was one of two signal callers the Falcons used in Week 1 as Liam Szarka completed both of his passes for 47 yards.

Several USU players — especially those from the Beehive State — are familiar with Cade Harris, who is arguably AFA's biggest threat on offense. The 5-foot-8 senior wide receiver and former Roy High star accounted for a trio of TDs, plus 66 yards rushing and 83 yards receiving against Bucknell. Harris burned Bucknell on a 62-yard scoring strike and even returned a punt for seven yards.

"He's a good player and multifaceted and fun to watch, so, again, Air Force does a nice job of maximizing their personnel, and he's a pivotal piece," Mendenhall said of Harris, who contributed with 279 yards rushing and 368 receiving as a junior.

The Falcons have two other experienced playmakers in running backs Dylan Carson and Kade Frew, who teamed up for 860 yards rushing — a team-high 600 by Carson — a year ago. Frew racked up 52 yards on the ground against Bucknell, followed closely by Carson with 51.

All of Air Force's starters in the offensive trenches are juniors or seniors. That unit is anchored by senior Costen Cooley, who was one of 40 centers named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List.

Veteran USU defensive end Enoka Migao has squared off against AFA twice during his time in Logan, and he is confident he knows what to expect from the Falcons.

"Yeah, I've played them a lot, so, I mean, I know what's coming," Migao said during Monday's press conference. "They play the triple option football. I mean, it's not a normal style of football, especially in college, but we know exactly what's coming. They're not trying to hide anything. It's just going to be a physical game, but I think when it comes to practicing and preparing, we just need to do our best to match the intensity that we're going to play with in the game. ... We've got to do our best (in practice) to play exactly how we're going to play in the game, which is going to be physical."

Mendenhall has been pleased about the depth his team has showcased in the defensive trenches, which should come in handy against a team like Air Force. The Aggies rotated in nine different defensive linemen in Week 1 against UTEP and 10 in Week 2 against Texas A&M. Seven different USU D-linemen contributed with at least one tackle in each game.

"I mean, having depth is always a good thing," said Migao, who produced a career-high four tackles against Texas A&M. "… Yeah, our D-line is probably one of the deepest in the Mountain West. We're rotating all of the time, just because we have so many guys who know what they're doing. ... The more people who know their job and the more people that can get in the game, the better."

Only two of Air Force's top 10 tacklers are back from a season ago in junior linebacker Blake Fletcher and 6-7 senior defensive end Daniel Grobe, who accounted for 37 and 31 tackles, respectively. Fletcher came through with 11 tackles against Bucknell.

The Falcons did, however, bring back most of their top defensive linemen, headlined by Grobe and senior nose guard Payton Zdroik. Zdroik has battled injuries during his time in Colorado Springs, but has produced 23 tackles for loss, including 13.0 sacks, since the '22 campaign.

The Falcons racked up six sacks in their win over Bucknell, highlighted by two by outside linebacker Isaac Hulbert and 1.5 by defensive end Grady Forsythe. Cornerback Korey Johnson brought back a fumble recovery 34 yards to the house and safety Roger Jones intercepted a pass for Air Force, which won the turnover battle, 2-0.

Air Force has ranked first in the Mountain West in total defense in each of the past five seasons. Granted, opponents normally get fewer possessions against the Falcons than they do against most teams due to AFA's ball-control offense. Nevertheless, Air Force is typically rock solid on the defensive side of the ball.

"Air Force just plays complementary football and so the style of play, their defense matches the style of play on offense, so they're really well designed, which attributes to their success," said Mendenhall of AFA's defense, which has held eight of its last 13 opponents to 21 points or fewer, including four straight. "In returning to the league a year ago, it was just refreshing and interesting to see just kind of the changes they've made since I left the league quite a while ago, and the league has changed, but they have a clear model and formula for success, and really have gone to great lengths to design it, so it just fits together well."

The Falcons have a new kicker this season in Jacob Medina, who missed a 42-yard field goal against Bucknell. Air Force has a proven punter in Luke Freer, who broke the single-season program record by averaging 47.5 yards a punt during the '24 campaign. Freer would have ranked fourth nationally, but didn't have enough attempts to qualify.

Air Force leads the all-time series against Utah State, 7-5, although the Aggies have won two of the last three. Does entering MW play affect USU's preparation at all?

"I would say no," USU tight end Broc Lane answered during Monday's presser. "Every week is (a) must win (game), but obviously the conference ones, for me and for some of these guys that have been here (for a while), these are some of the dudes you've seen at these schools for a while, coaches you've seen, so it means a little more, but at the same time every week is must win."

Related topics