FINAL: Air Force 31, San Diego State 20

SAN DIEGO – Year one of the AztecFAST era comes to a close as the San Diego State Aztecs close out the 2024 regular season facing the Air Force Falcons at 7:30 p.m. at Snapdragon Stadium.

SDSU (3-8, 2-4 Mountain West Conference) has dropped their last five games, with back-to-back losses by 41-20 finals on the road at UNLV on Nov. 16 and most recently at Utah State on Nov. 23. Air Force (4-7, 2-4) has won three straight after dropping their Commander In Chief trophy game at Army on Nov. 2, with wins over Fresno State 36-28 on Nov. 9, a 28-0 wipeout of Oregon State on Nov. 16 and a 22-19 win in Reno over Nevada on Nov. 23.

Marquez Cooper became the 23rd player in NCAA FBS history to top the 5,000 yard plateau when he ran for 118 yards against the Aggies. He became the first player in FBS to rush for 1,000 yards with three different teams, as he topped the 1,000-yard mark at Kent State and Northern Illinois before accomplishing it on The Mesa.

Freshman quarterback Danny O'Neil has thrown for 1,951 yards with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions, a 125.2 efficiency rating. Receivers Ja'Shaun Poke (45) and Jordan Napier (43) lead the team in receptions, while Louis Brown IV tops the team with 560 yards receiving. Rush edge Trey White has 12.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss, ranking second in FBS in total tackles for loss as well as tackles for loss per-game and fourth in total sacks as well as sacks per game.

SDSU ranks 118th in FBS with an average of 201.00 rushing yards allowed per game, and are facing a Falcons offense that averages 213.27 yards per game — good for 12th in the nation with the trademark triple-option formation. They've accomplished this despite leading the nation with 42 players making their first ever start this season, the next closest team is Tory with 26 first-time starters. Over the past three games AF has averaged 310.7 rushing yards while limiting their opponents to 52.7 yards per game.

Sophomore quarterback Quentin Hayes has orchestrated the Air Force offense for the past four games, averaging 21 carries per game and 76 yards rushing while scoring a total of five touchdowns. Junior fullback Dylan Carson leads the Falcons with 475 yards rushing and three touchdowns on114 carries — sophomore fullback Owen Allen is coming off a 23 carry, 107 yards rushing game against Nevada with a score.

Catch up on coverage leading in to Saturday:

• Utah State defeats San Diego State, 41-20 in final road game
• 5 Things to Watch: Aztecs looking to finish with a flourish in season final against Air Force (San Diego Union Tribune)
• Aztecs Game Preview: SDSU vs Air Force (East Village Times)