Utah State Aggies vs Air Force Falcons Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/15/2023

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Friday, September 15, 2023

Venue:  Falcon Stadium, Air Force Academy, CO

Where to Watch:  CBS Sports

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  USU +9.5, AFA -9.5; Over/Under:  47 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  USU +9.5, AFA -9.5; Over/Under:  46.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  USU +9.5, AFA -9.5; Over/Under:  46.5 points

Utah State Aggies:  1-1 (0-0) (5th place, MWC)

Air Force Falcons:  2-0 (0-0) (3rd place, MWC)

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Utah State Aggies:  won their last game at home against the Idaho State Bengals 78-28.

Air Force Falcons:  won their last game on the road against the Sam Houston State Bearkats 13-3.

Utah State is entering this game with a 1-1 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Idaho State 78-28. Cooper Legas was the starting QB and he completed 14/16 passes for 125 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Robert Briggs led the team in rushing yards with 101 and 1 TD. Terrell Vaughn led the receivers with 73 receiving yards on 11 receptions and 2 TDs. Anthony Switzer led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles while Paul Fitzgerald and Cole Joyce each led the defense in sacks with 1. Jaiden Francois and Ike Larsen each came away with 1 interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

Air Force Academy is entering this game with a 2-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 1-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against Sam Houston State 13-3. Zachary Larrier was the starting QB and he completed 1/3 passes for 14 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Owen Burk led the team in rushing yards with 75 and 1 TD. John Eldridge led the receivers with 14 receiving yards on 1 reception. Alec Mock led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles while Bo Richter led the defense in sacks with 2. No one on the defense came away with an interception in that game.

The current betting odds have Utah State listed as a 9.5 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Utah State lost their season opener in Iowa but they still played well in that game to keep it close against a much better team. They will have some momentum now after beating Idaho State in their last game and even though it was only a win over a team from the FCS, they still put up 78 points in that game as their offense got going. Now they are playing their 1st conference game of the season and they will be sure to bring their best effort for this road game since Air Force is now dealing with the new rules around the triple option. AFA hasn't been bad this season with 2 wins in a row now but their offense hasn't looked good as their defense has kept them in games. They won their season opener against a team from the FCS and won their last game at a neutral site against Sam Houston, but they only won that game 13-3 against a team that was in the FCS just last year and scored no points against BYU in their season opener. Air Force will continue to struggle offensively against this better defense and they don't have the offense to keep up with Utah State if they get going again. Air Force is not blowing Utah State out in this game and USU is definitely a live underdog to win this game. The best way to place a bet here is on Utah State to cover the spread in this game. 

Utah State Air Force Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, September 15, 2023 (8:00 pm ET start time) is USU 20 AFA 13.

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Utah State Aggies: 6-3 ATS as a road underdog. 9-5 ATS after 1 or more consecutive wins against the spread. 10-2 UNDER in a road game where the total is between 45.5 and 49. 15-6 UNDER after playing a game where 80 total points or more were scored. 

Air Force Falcons: 18-35 ATS off 2 or more consecutive unders. 8-15 ATS after playing 2 straight non-conference games. 13-7 UNDER as a home favorite of 7.5 to 14 points. 28-19 UNDER off a no-cover where the team won as a favorite. 

Utah State Aggies:  J. Sterzer (TE) Late Sept - Undisclosed.

Air Force Falcons:  None.

“It starts up front. We needed to control the line of scrimmage and the offensive and defensive lines took the challenge… You’ve gotta give the big guys credit.” - Blake Anderson after his team’s win against Idaho State in their last game. 

“We’ve had some guys that have played a good number of snaps in some of these seasons who might be somewhat of an anomaly at an academy.” - Troy Calhoun on preparing his team to face Utah State.

WR Royals, Jalen 

WR Tia, Otto 

WR Vaughn, Terrell 

TE Sterzer, Josh 

QB Legas, Cooper 

RB Briggs Jr., Robert 

WR Roznos, Jared 

WR Harris, Cade 

TE Bryant, James 

QB Larrier, Zac 

RB Eldridge III, John Lee 

FB Burk, Owen 

Passing: C. Legas (338)

Rushing: R. Faison (154)

Receiving: T. Vaughn (166)

Touchdowns: T. Vaughn (3)

Passing: Z. Larrier (109)

Rushing: Z. Larrier (164)

Receiving: J. Roznos (95)

Touchdowns: O. Burk (2)

Coaches:

Utah State Aggies: Blake Anderson (3rd season)

Air Force Falcons: Troy Calhoun (17th season)