Game Ten

#25



Game Story

--- After escaping with a last second victory against Boise State the week before, the challenge would not get any easier for Utah State in week 10 as we headed one state over to visit Air Force. This game, barring any major upsets in the final games of the season for both teams, would potentially decide the winner of the Mountain Division and the division representative in the conference championship game. After thinking the Boise State game was a challenge, this would be a whole other experience. Air Force entered the game boasting the #38 total offense, the #4 rushing offense, the #25 total defense and the #11 passing defense. Yards would likely be at a premium today, and rushing would likely be our only savior if those passing defense numbers were accurate. On the flip side, our high rated rushing defense would get their biggest test and workout of the season. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A touchback on the opening kickoff would give Air Force the ball at their 25 yard line to start the game. The game got off to a GREAT start as the defense was tagged with an offside penalty before the first snap of the bloody game, giving Air Force free yards and first and 5 from their 30. Justin Morris would keep the snap on first down as he tried to roll out for an option play, but he was quickly brought down by our blitz for a three yard loss. Morris would torch us on the next play as a missed assignment on the option play allowed him to break open and keep the ball for a 19 yard gain and a first down near midfield. Craig Williams would take the ball on first down, picking up 6 yards on the run, followed by a 5 yard carry for a first down at our 43 yard line. Our defense never had a chance on the first down play as Patrick Kirby would get the ball, find a hole, cut back and forth multiple times while our defenders dived at his feet, and race 43 yards untouched for a touchdown, giving Air Force a 7-0 lead with 8:16 remaining in the first quarter.

A 38 yard kickoff return by David Douglas would give Utah State the ball at the 34 yard line. Brian Paris would show off his own running skills as he got the ball on first down, racing for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down close to midfield. Another first down carry would pick up four yards, followed by an 8 yard gain by Paris to move the chains to the Air Force 43 yard line. Paris would keep driving forward with a 6 yard carry on first down, followed by a 9 yard rush up the middle for a new set of downs at the 27 yard line. The Falcons defense had no answer for Paris, who turned a potential two yard carry into a gain of 8 yards thanks to some well timed spinning on top of the bodies of defenders. Paris would then fight forward for a three yard gain on the next play to gain a first down at the 16. The Air Force defense would come alive on first down as Paris was limited to just a two yard gain. It would end up even worse on second down as he was held for a one yard gain to bring up third and 7. Taking a chance through the air on third down, Jason Barnes would find Aaron Allen open in the flats for an easy completion and a 14 yard touchdown to tie the score a 7-7 with 4:30 left in the first quarter.

Instead of taking a touchback on the kickoff, Tyler Jackson would return the ball, fighting his way to a 29 yard return to set the Falcons up at their 26 yard line. Our defense would properly read the option play on first down, tackling a sitting duck Morris in the backfield for a two yard loss on the play. Williams would take a handoff from Morris and try to go straight up the middle in between our oncoming blitz, but he would only gain a single yard on the play before being dragged down to bring up third and 11. Air Force would go into the air on third down, but a rushed, off target pass by Morris, intended for T. Jackson, would be easily intercepted by safety Kyle Mitchell and returned four yards to give us the ball at our 48 yard line.

Sitting pretty near midfield after the interception, our offense got right back to work on the ground as Paris took the ball on first down. Unfortunately for us, Air Force was more than ready for our run game this time, as a pair of rushes by Paris would go for gain of just two and three yards to leave third and 5. Trying to catch the defense off guard with a play action pass, instead, the Falcons would return the favor as outside linebacker Stephen Jackson would intercept a low pass intended for tight end Jack Long at the line of scrimmage, giving Air Force the ball right back at their 47 yard line.

The Falcons would get the ball moving initially this time around, as Morris kept the snap and rushed for a four yard gain around the right end, but a failed option play on second down would result in Morris going backwards for a three yard loss, the Falcons left facing third and 9. We would get some news between plays, it turns out Brian Paris broke his thumb during his last run in the previous drive. It was being considered a minor injury that wouldn’t even see him out for the rest of the game. With a low re-injury risk, we decided to leave Paris in the game and take our chances. Air Force would again try to pass on third down, but the throw would be again off the mark, resulting in an incomplete pass. A 51 yard punt would bounce into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Lining up at the 20 following the punt, Paris’ broken thumb would get tested right away, as he took the first down handoff for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 7 yard carry to pick up a quick first down at the 32. Another rush by Paris would gain 6 more yards, following that up with a gain of four to move the sticks to the 43. Air Force was having no more of that on first down, as they brought the house and tackled Paris for no gain on the play, leaving second and 10. That would be the final play of the first quarter as the clock hit all zeroes, the game deadlocked 7-7.

Opening up the second quarter, Utah State got lined up at our 43 yard line. Coming out under center, Barnes dropped back to try and pass, but the throw intended for Long was broken up, leaving us with third and distance. Barnes would throw from the shotgun on third down, but the pass to a wide open Allen was overthrown and incomplete, forcing us to punt on fourth down. An 8 yard return by T. Jackson on the 41 yard punt would leave Air Force starting from their 23 yard line.

Taking over on offense following the punt return, Air Force again got off to a rocky start as our defensive line blew up a first down option play, tackling Morris in the backfield for a three yard loss before he had any hope of even trying to pitch the ball. Taking advantage of a hole in our defense, Morris would avoid a potential sack on the second down pass play and take off scrambling, gaining 16 yards and a first down before anyone on our defense could close in and grab him. Another first down option play would see Morris tackled for no gain on the play, but Williams would more than make up for it on second down with a 9 yard carry, leaving the Falcons with just third and one. Williams would finish the job on third down with a four yard carry for a first down near midfield. Morris would try to run an option reverse on first down, but would again be quickly met and tackled for a one yard loss on the play. Running out of the I-formation on second down, Williams would be met in the backfield for a loss of three yards on the play, forcing third and 14. Morris would try to find a first down through the air on third, but forced to rush his throw to avoid the closing pocket, his pass would again be overthrown and off target, resulting in another visit by the punt team. A 13 yard return by Jesse Breedlove on the 40 yard punt would give us the ball at our 28 yard line.

Coming out on offense following the punt, we tried to once again get our running game going as Paris took the ball on first down, dashing forward for a 7 yard gain on first down, followed by an 8 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 44. Keeping at it on the ground, Paris would rush for gains of four and three yards to leave us with third and three. With midfield seemingly being a black hole for offensive success for both teams, our drive would again collapse on third down as Paris would be brought down for a gain of just two yards on the play, leaving fourth and one at the Air Force 47 yard line. The overpowered punt would sail 47 yards straight into the end zone for a touchback.

Air Force would come out surprisingly running a screen pass on first down, but even that would implode as Morris failed to get rid of the ball in a timely matter, ending up sacked for a 9 yard loss back at the 11 yard line. Williams would receive the ball on the ground on second down, but would gain just a single yard on the carry, leaving Air Force facing third and 18. Morris would again fail to complete a pass today as he dropped back on third down, only to be hit as he went to throw, the incomplete pass leaving fourth and long. A 12 yard return by Breedlove on the 40 yard punt would give us the ball at the Air Force 40 yard line.

Paris would again try and get us going on the ground on first down, but he would be quickly dragged down for just a two yard gain on the play. Another rush attempt would pick up four yards to leave us with third and four. Taking a chance on third down, Paris would again come up just short of the marker, gaining three yards on the carry, but still leaving us looking at fourth and one from the 32 yard line. Settling for three points, the 49 yard field goal by Doug Marcus would sail through the uprights, finally breaking the tie and giving us a 10-7 lead with 2:37 left in the second quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff would give Air Force the ball at their 25 yard line. Williams would get the ball on first down, rushing for a 6 yard gain on the play. Then the shit would hit the fan as another blown assignment would leave Morris WIDE open on the second down option play, allowing him to break loose and race down the sideline for a 69 yard touchdown, giving Air Force a 14-10 lead with 2:02 left in the second quarter.

Our special teams would answer right back with their own response, as Leonard Hart received the kickoff, found some great blocking and raced up the right sideline for a 67 yard kickoff return, giving our offense the ball to start at the Air Force 35 yard line. A first down carry by Paris would gain just two yards. Going into the air on second down, a play action pass to Gerald Woods would gain us six yards, leaving us facing third and two. Taking a chance with Paris on third down, he would get the first down and then some with a 7 yard gain on the ground and a first down at the 20 yard line. Limited by time, we went into the air on first down. Lining up in the shotgun, Barnes dropped back and rifled a pass to Adam Washington, good for a gain of 11 yards and a quick first down at the 9 yard line. Going no huddle on first down, a wingback dive by fullback Raymond Watson would pick up 5 yards, leaving second and goal from the four yard line and our second timeout called to stop the clock with 32 seconds remaining. Taking a shot on the ground, Paris would receive the second down handoff, fighting for a two yard gain down to the two yard line. Racing back to the line, going no huddle with the clock ticking, Paris would again get the call on a last shot play before having to settle for the kicking game, receiving the handoff with 11 seconds left and plunging into the end zone through a hole on the right side, scoring a two yard touchdown to give us a 17-14 lead with 9 seconds left until halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff would leave Air Force starting at their 25 yard line. A four yard rush by Scott White would be Air Force’s only attempt, settling for heading into the locker room with a three point deficit. That would send us to halftime, Utah State leading 17-14 in a back and forth slobber knocker.

Opening up the second half, a 23 yard kickoff return by Douglas would give Utah State the ball at our 17 yard line to start the third quarter. Trying to relight the ground game, Paris would take the handoff on first down for a gain of three yards, followed by a short two yard carry to leave us facing third and 5. Allen would come through for us on third down as he pulled in a 14 yard pass from Barnes, good for a first down at the 37 yard line. Staying in the shotgun on first down, Barnes would throw a perfectly timed rope to Washington on a curl route. An ill stutter step would break the cornerback’s ankles, allowing Washington to race deep down the field before being dragged down from behind for a 49 yard completion and a first down at the Air Force 14 yard line. Hoping to find a looser defense following those big plays through the air, Paris took the ball on first down, managing to avoid the blitzing linebackers and stumbling and falling his way forward for a very lucky gain of 10 yards, giving us first and goal at the four yard line. Benjamin Silva would finish the job on first down, avoiding the stacked middle and bouncing outside to the right for a four yard touchdown, giving us a 24-14 lead with 7:55 left in the third quarter.

Another kickoff led to another touchback and another Air Force drive starting at their 25 yard line. Morris would again be left open due to a failed assignment, allowing him to keep the option and race up the field for a 20 yard gain, thankfully running right into one of our defenders and getting wrapped up before he would break into the open, saving what otherwise would have been a 75 yard touchdown. Nonetheless, the damage was done and Air Force had a first down at their 45 yard line. Williams would follow that up with a 15 yard gain of his own, moving the chains once more to our 40 yard line. Morris would follow with a 12 yard run, continuing to punch our defense right in the mouth. We would get a miraculous break on first down as the Falcons for some reason decided right then to pass. Morris dropped back on a play action pass, only to be hit from behind and fumble the ball, the fumble recovered by safety Cole Brown to give us back possession at our 34 yard line and kill what likely would have been a touchdown scoring drive by the Falcons.

Starting our next drive on the ground, Paris would pick up four yards with the first down carry. Lining up under center on second down, Barnes would connect with a semi-open Long over the middle for a quick 19 yard strike in the heart of the Air Force defense, giving us a first down at the Air Force 43 yard line. Going back to the ground on first down, Paris would reel off another four yard carry, followed by a 9 yard pass to Allen in the flats to move the chains once more at the 30 yard line. Staying in the shotgun on first down, Barnes tried to connect with Washington over the middle, but overthrew the pass for an incompletion. Another pass intended for Washington, this time on a quick comeback route, got knocked away by an alert cornerback, leaving third down. Allen would again come through in the clutch with a 12 yard reception on the opposite side of the field, giving us a first down at the 18 yard line. Returning to the ground, Paris would take the handoff for a 6 yard gain, followed by a two yard carry to leave us with third and two. Despite picking up two yards on the play, Paris would come up just inches short on third down, leaving us facing fourth and one at the 8 yard line. While everything was shouting GO FOR IT, we would instead play it safe and take the sure points, the 25 yard field goal by Marcus splitting the uprights to give us a 27-14 lead with 3:55 left in the third quarter.

The kickoff would again be kneeled for a touchback, Air Force taking over at their 25 yard line. Morris, somehow shaking off four defenders who were practically body hugging him, would fight his way to a 7 yard gain, multiple times nearly breaking loose and free. He would follow that up with a 5 yard rush for a first down at the 37. For some reason, Air Force elected to run a screen pass on first down, almost instantly throwing the ball away to avoid being sacked by our blitz. Regardless, Air Force would make up that lost play as a perfectly defended Morris would pitch the ball to an imperfectly defended Williams, who would race up the sideline for a 13 yard gain before being shoved out of bounds for a first down right at the 50 yard line. Morris would continue to torch our defense on first down, weaving his way through multiple defenders for a 15 yard gain and a new first down at our 35 yard line. Morris would find himself covered on first down, opting to pitch to Kirby, who would shake his way out of five tackles and just moon walk right into the goddamn end zone for a 35 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 27-21 with 2:35 left in the third quarter.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Hart would give us the ball at our 26 yard line. Paris would get us started on first down with a 6 yard carry up the middle, followed by an 8 yard dash to pick up a quick first down at the 40 yard line. Paris would keep rumbling right along on first down with a 7 yard gain. Silva would come in on second down, just bulldozing right through a linebacker and plowing his way straight through the defense for a 10 yard gain and a new first down at the Air Force 43 yard line. Paris returned on first down, picking up 6 yards on first down, before being flattened for a gain of just a single yard, leaving us looking at third and 5. Attempting a play action pass on third down, it would never have a chance as the pass intended for Long was intercepted by cornerback Joe Patterson, giving the Falcons the ball at their 33 yard line. That would also be the final play of the third quarter as clock expired during play, Utah State leading 27-21.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Air Force got lined up at their 33 yard line following the interception, a sole touchdown needed to retake the lead. Scott White would get a direct handoff on first down, only to be instantly tackled for a one yard loss. The very next play, the biggest pile of bullshit would happen, as White would follow the exact same route, straight through the dead center middle heart of our defense, juking his way past more than 6 defenders in his path without even slowing down, and racing all the way untouched for a 67 yard touchdown, giving Air Force a 28-27 lead with 9:28 left in the fourth quarter.

After being on the receiving end of the biggest ever pile of bullshit horsefucking by the AI, Utah State wouldn’t have to wait, at all, for revenge, as Hart received the kickoff a couple yards into the end zone, finding a wall of blockers and racing up the field for a 103 yard kickoff return for a touchdown to steal the lead right back. We would gamble and go for the two point conversion, but the pass was poorly thrown and incomplete, leaving Utah State only up 33-28 with 9:17 remaining in the game.

Another touchback would start Air Force from their 25 yard line. Williams would start the drive straight up the middle for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 39 yard line. Running a screen pass on first down, Morris would again never throw the pass, instead ending up sacked for a 10 yard loss to leave second and 20 at the 29. White would take the ball on second down, fighting for a 6 yard gain to bring up third and 14. Morris would drop back on third down and tried to throw a rocket down the right sideline intended for Michael Davis, but the ball would be underthrown, straight into the arms of Hart, for an interception and possession of the ball at our 42 yard line.

Lining up after the interception, Paris would get the call on first down, fighting his way to a 5 yard gain, followed by a three yard carry that would leave third and two. Leaving it in the hands of Paris on third down, he would drive his way straight up the middle for a 5 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Air Force 46 yard line. Paris would keep us moving with an 8 yard rush on first down, followed by a two yard carry by Silva would pick up a new set of downs at the 35. Continuing to take it right at the Air Force defense, Silva would get the first down carry and rush for a gain of 6 yards, before a four yard carry would pick up yet another first down. Silva would continue to just simply overpower the Air Force defenders with raw strength, rushing for a 7 yard gain on first down, before a blitz by the Falcons would see him trapped for a gain of just a single yard, leaving us with third and two. A three yard gain by Silva would extend the drive, giving us a first down at the 13 yard line. Silva would try to run again on first down, but would be quickly shut down for another single yard gain. Going into the air on second down, the pass intended for Washington would be intercepted underneath by defensive tackle Josh Carter, giving Air Force the ball at their 7 yard line with 3:24 left in the game.

Taking over at the 7 yard line following the interception, Williams would start the drive with a two yard rush up the middle, followed by a one yard gain that would leave the Falcons facing third and 7. Amazingly, Morris would complete his first pass of the entire game, as well as actually throw the ball on a screen pass for the first time of the entire game, on a third down dump to Williams, who would race up the right sideline for a 25 yard gain and a first down at the 35 yard line. Kirby would get a first down pitch from Morris, running for 6 yards on the play, before an option keeper by Morris would result in a four yard loss. Rushing to the line on third and 8, Morris would fumble the ball as he was being sacked, the fumble jumped on by an Air Force lineman, while the play would officially be ruled as a sack for a four yard loss on Morris, leaving Air Force with fourth and 12. And the hits just keep on coming. On fourth and long, Morris would hit a one in a million shot over the outstretched arms of a jumping cornerback, right into the hands of Nathan Reed who would sprint down the sideline untouched for a 67 yard touchdown. Air Force would take a shot at the two point conversion to try and go up by three points, but Morris, trying to scramble up the middle, would be hit and dropped for a four yard loss, leaving Air Force only a 34-33 lead with 1:07 left in the game.

Another HUGE 53 yard kickoff return by Hart would set our offense up in fantastic position, starting our drive from our own 47 yard line with 1:01 remaining. A quick pass to Allen would pick up 10 yards, though leave us short of the first down. Rushing to the line, an incomplete pass intended for Long would bring up third and inches, just 34 seconds left on the clock. Going to the ground to sustain the drive, Silva would plow his way forward for a four yard gain, giving us a new set of downs at the Air Force 38 yard line, our first timeout called with 30 seconds remaining. In probably the worst moment in the history of Utah State football, Allen would pull in a pass from Barnes, be instantly hit and lose the football. The refs would call it a fumble, which was promptly jumped on and recovered by an Air Force safety, essentially giving Air Force the victory. In a rare moment where the game would actually allow you to challenge the play for a change, and actually allow you to challenge the key moment of the play that you WANTED to challenge, we immediately threw the red flag on the field and challenged the fumble. As Allen was hit and lost the ball almost instantaneously after catching it, not even being able to turn up the field, it should have been ruled a simple dropped ball and incomplete pass. In epic screw job fashion, the refs would uphold the fumble, and Air Force was literally given a stolen victory with 27 seconds left.

Taking over after the ref aided BLATANT THEFT, Morris would take the snap at the 22 yard line and drop to a knee. Even though there was absolutely no point, we would call our final timeout anyways in one last act of flipping the middle finger to Air Force and the refs, stopping the clock with 23 seconds remaining. One more drop to a knee by Morris and that was the end of the game, the referees blatantly stealing this game right out from under us and gift wrapping a victory shrouded in collusion! This contest was nothing more than a clown car of lies! Air Force would walk off the field with a 34-33 victory, in a game that will forever contain an asterisk in Utah State record books.

With the loss that was really a STOLEN WIN, we drop to 7-3, 5-1 in Mountain West action. With the STOLEN WIN that was really a loss, Air Force improves to 6-3, 4-1 in Mountain West play. Up next, we take a week off for a bye week, before closing out the home schedule for 2023 with a visit from UNLV. UNLV enters the game with a record of 3-7, 3-3 in Mountain West action. UNLV opened their season with a 37-34 overtime loss to FCS Northwest, before losing 41-10 at Central Michigan and 42-21 to Idaho. The Rebels would get their first wins of the year with a 41-14 victory over Wyoming and a 23-14 upset of Air Force. They would follow that with a 38-22 loss at San Jose State, a 31-17 loss at BYU and a 37-14 loss at #6 Fresno State. They would get their third win of the year with a 42-35 upset victory of Hawaii, before losing 24-7 to Nevada ahead of our game.


Final Score

34*, #25 33




Stats of the Game:

Utah State Offense - Piss poor day for Barnes, finishing 10-18 for 159 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Rushing, Paris led the charge with 206 yards and one touchdown on 45 carries. Silva ended with 42 yards and one touchdown on 10 rushes. Receiving, Allen was the leading receiver in both yards and catches with 74 yards and a touchdown on six receptions. Four receivers today caught at least one pass, three of them ended with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Great when they forced the two interceptions and a fumble from Air Force. Otherwise, they sucked! Giving up 448 damn yards of offense, 356 bloody yards on the ground in only 42 damn carries. Absolutely pitiful. The entire damn defense should be shot!

On the other hand, special teams was a highlight today, as Leonard Hart finished with 249 yards and one touchdown on four kickoff return, an insane 62.2 yards average per return. David Douglas also had a good day with 59 yards on two returns

Utah State Kicking – Another perfect day for Marcus, going 2-2 in field goal with kicks of a 25 and 49 yards, while also going 3-3 in extra points.




Scoring Summary

Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score
7 10 10 6 33
7 7 7 13 34*


Time Team Result Play Score
First Quarter
8:16 Touchdown P. Kirby, 43 yard run (A. West kick) 7-0
4:30 Touchdown A. Allen, 14 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick) TIED 7-7
Second Quarter
2:37 Field Goal D. Marcus, 49 yard field goal 10-7
2:02 Touchdown J. Morris, 69 yard run (A. West kick) 14-10
0:09 Touchdown B. Paris, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick) 17-14
Third Quarter
7:55 Touchdown B. Silva, 4 yard run (D. Marcus kick) 24-14
3:55 Field Goal D. Marcus, 25 yard field goal 27-14
2:35 Touchdown P. Kirby, 35 yard run (A. West kick) 27-21
Fourth Quarter
9:28 Touchdown S. White, 68 yard run (A. West kick) 28-27
9:17 Touchdown L. Hart, returned kickoff 103 yards (2-point failed) 33-28
1:07 Touchdown N. Reed, 67 yard pass from J. Morris (2-point failed) 34-33




Game Stats

Utah State Stat Air Force
33 Score 34
22 First Downs 12
412 Total Offense 448
56 - 253 - 2 Rushes - Yards - TD 42 - 356 - 4
10 - 18 - 1 Comp - Att - TD 2 - 8 - 1
159 Passing Yards 92
0 Times Sacked 4
8 - 14 (57%) 3rd Down Conversion 2 - 8 (25%)
0 - 0 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 1 - 1 (100%)
0 - 1 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 1 (0%)
5 - 3 - 1 (80%) Red Zone - TD - FG 0 - 0 - 0 (0%)
4 Turnovers 3
1 Fumbles Lost 1
3 Intercepted 2
25 Punt Return Yards 8
308 Kick Return Yards 29
745 Total Yards 485
2 –44.5 Punts - Average 3 - 44.0
1 - 5 Penalties 1 - 5
23:47 Time of Possession 16:13




Utah State Coach Goals

Goal XP Reward Completed
Score a Touchdown 25 x4
Kick/Punt Return Touchdown 50 x1
Force a Turnover 25 x3
45+ Yard Field Goal 10 x1
Rush for 100 Yards 25 x1
3+ Sacks 50 x1
Play in an ESPN Classic Game 75 x1
Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards 50 x1
Pass Completion Over 50% 30 x1
Score 21 or More Points 50 x1
350+ Offensive Yards 50 x1
10+ First Downs 50 x1
4+ 3rd Down Conversions 25 x1




Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal Expectations Progress
Target Wins Per Season 8 7




Job Security Status

100%