Final Stats (PDF) | Post-Game Notes (PDF) | Post-Game Quotes | Photo Gallery

LOGAN, Utah – Fresh off its first victory of the season, Utah State had a chance to build even more momentum against Air Force on Thursday night at Maverik Stadium.
 
But, the Falcons had other ideas. Quarterback Haaziq Daniels threw one touchdown and rushed for another to propel Air Force past the Aggies, 35-7 on Merlin Olsen Field.
 
It was the final home game of the season for Utah State, which has lost five of the last six games against the Falcons.
 
Daniels completed 7-of-9 passes for 127 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown pass to Ben Peterson that gave Air Force (3-2, 2-2 Mountain West) the lead for good, 14-7 with 9:32 remaining in the second quarter.
 
Right before intermission, Daniels scored on a 37-yard touchdown run to cap an eight-play, 99-yard drive, giving the Falcons a 21-7 lead at the break.
 
"It's Air Force, so you have to be disciplined," said USU grad student linebacker Nick Heninger. "You don't win games if you're 90 or 95 percent disciplined. If you give up a big play, they score. They capitalized on three of those in the first half. I thought we were doing a good job of shutting them down for the most part, but we didn't get off the field on those third downs and that fourth down at the beginning."
 
Utah State (1-5 1-5 MW) took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in 15 plays, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Andrew Peasley to senior wide receiver Jordan Nathan. It was the Aggies' longest drive of the year as they took more than eight minutes off of the clock.
 
"There are two things – effort and execution. The effort was really good by our guys, the execution wasn't as good," said interim USU head coach Frank Maile. "We started out the game really well, and I was really impressed by the offense being able to eat up eight minutes on the first drive and finish with a touchdown. That was big time. That was the game plan, to be able to control the clock a little bit more and keep the ball away from Air Force. Bottom line is we left them on the field too long. These guys will eat up the clock, that's what they do for a living. It just wasn't good enough tonight."
 
Peasley, the defending MW Offensive Player of the Week, was 17-of-32 passing for 123 yards and the one TD, to go along with a pair of interceptions. He also led the Aggies in rushing with 53 yards on eight carries.
 
Senior wide receiver Derek Wright and sophomore wide receiver Tim Patrick Jr. led Utah State's receiving corps as each caught three passes for 21 yards. Senior wide receiver Taylor Compton and freshman running back Elelyon Noa added three catches apiece for 18 and 15 yards, respectively.
 
Utah State finished with 232 yards of total offense. Conversely, Air Force recorded 461 total yards, including 351 on the ground. The Falcons came into the game with a nation-leading rushing average of 336.5 yards per game.
 
Kadin Remsberg led the Falcons' ground attach with 107 yards and one touchdown on just 11 carries. Brad Roberts added 98 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
 
Heninger, the reigning MW Defensive Player of the Week, recorded a career-high 14 stops to lead the Aggies, while senior linebacker Kevin Meitzenheimer added 10 tackles.
 
Utah State returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 12, when the Aggies conclude the regular season by traveling to Fort Collins, Colo., to take on Colorado State at Canvas Stadium. The game, which will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network, is slated to kick off at 7:30 p.m.
 
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
 
-USU-