Thursday night, the San Diego State Aztecs are scheduled to visit the Air Force Falcons. Both sides lost their respective matches last weekend and will be hoping to recover from those setbacks. An immediate midweek game following their losses last Saturday means that both the teams haven’t had a full week to prepare.

This has been a good series over the past ten years, with both the sides even at 5-5 in their previous 10 meetings. Air Force had put together a streak of three consecutive victories in this series before dropping one to SDSU on the road last year.

The latest odds have listed a line of Air Force -7 and a total of 59 points.

 

 

Air Force

 

The Falcons (3-2) head to this game after taking a comprehensive beating from Notre Dame in a 59-33 road defeat. Their other loss this season came in Week 2 against TCU. Two of their three victories have come against lowly opposition like South Dakota and Tennessee State. The only game where they looked formidable was their 35-34 overtime road win over Navy.

Last Saturday, Air Force actually had more yardage than Notre Dame, but a large chunk of those yards came in the fourth quarter and by that time, the Irish had effectively put the game to bed.

Notre Dame’s 59 points is the highest total for the Irish in the last decade and a half. They managed to score in all six first half possessions, which gave them a massive 42-16 lead at halftime.

The Falcons’ offense has been one of the best in the country this season. Their rushing average of 364.2 yards per game is the second best in the country, while they rank eighth in total offense with an average of 523.8 yards per game.

Their weakness has been on the defensive end, as they are rank 104th in total defense, allowing an average of 439.6 yards per game.

Quarterback Tim Jefferson is the star of the Air Force offense as 63.4 percent of his passes have found their intended targets this season. He also has 630 yards and six touchdowns to his credit.

He is also one of his team’s leading rushers, scampering for a total of 232 yards and five touchdowns.

Running back Asher Clarke leads the team with 484 yards (9.3 per carry) and three touchdowns.

Their main man on the receiving end is Mikel Hunter, who has grabbed seven catches for 162 yards and two Touchdowns.

 

 

San Diego State

 

The Aztecs started the season in fine form, dispatching their first three opponents—Cal Poly, Army and Washington State—with relative ease. They then suffered their first loss of the season when their offense stalled against Michigan, eventually losing 28-7.

Last week came a 27-14 home defeat at the hands of TCU, a game in which San Diego State got dominated by the Horned Frogs in the first half and found themselves trailing 17-0 at halftime.

In the second half, Ryan Lindley threw two touchdown passes, which reduced the deficit, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a second successive defeat. Both sides turned the ball over four times, while TCU gained 446 yards to the Aztecs’ 296.

The Aztecs are an average team on both the offense and defense. They are currently ranked 63rd in total offense (391.2 yards per game), with their best asset being a ground game that has them ranked 40th in the country with an average of 175.0 yards per game.

Their total defense average of 401.6 yards per game has got them ranks them 79th in the nation. They have allowed a healthy average of 172.6 yards per game in pass defense, however, their run defense gives up an average of 229.0 yards per game and has been a major problem for the Aztecs.

Lindley hasn’t found his passing range this season and he has only completed 48 percent of his passes. He currently has 1,076 yards and 10 touchdowns with four interceptions.

Second-year running back Ronnie Hillman, who has 661 yards and eight touchdowns to his credit, is enjoying a fine season.

Colin Lockett (22 receptions, 376 yards and three TD) and Dylan Denson (19 receptions, 252 yards and two TD) have grabbed a majority of Lindley’s passes. 

 

Betting Trends

 

The underdog in this series is 7-3 against the spread in the last 10 meetings.

The under has hit four out of the last five times when these two have met, however, when the series moves to the Falcons’ territory, the over is 4-1.

When they are favorites of between 3.5 and 10 points, the Falcons are 5-1 against the spread in this their past five meetings against San Diego State.

In their last seven matches played in the immediate aftermath of a defeat against the spread, SDSU is 6-1 against the spread.