Utah State vs. Air Force: How to watch, listen to or stream the game

Air Force (1-0, 0-0) at Utah State (1-1, 0-0)

• Kickoff: Saturday, 7:55 p.m. MDT

• Venue: Maverik Stadium (Capacity: 25,513)

• Radio: Aggie Sports Network (KZNS 1280 The Zone)/Sirius XM Ch. 382

• Series: Utah State trails, 5-7

The trends

For Utah State: The Aggies are coming off a loss at No. 16 Texas A&M last weekend. Outside of the first quarter, Utah State was never really in within striking distance to pull out the win, but the Aggies were competitive throughout and scored the most points in a game by the program — in a game against a Power Four conference opponent — since 2021.

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So far, Utah State’s defense appears improved, the defensive front especially. Offensively, the Aggies’ ground game has been effective, the passing game is something of a work in progress.

For Air Force: The Falcons have played only one game so far this season, against Bucknell, an FCS opponent from the Patriot League. AFA was dominant in that game, winning 49-13, and it wasn’t just ground and pound either, as the team finished with 159 passing yards and two passing touchdowns.

Air Force is a young team for the second-straight season, which led head coach Troy Calhoun to say at Mountain West media days that it might take as many as seven or eight weeks for the team to kind of figure itself out. But there is general optimism surrounding Air Force that the team will build on a strong finish to last season and improve this year.

What to watch for

For Utah State, the game against Air Force could be very revealing.

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For one, has the Aggies’ defense really improved? So far it has faced a UTEP team that is expected to be a lower level Group of Five program and a Texas A&M team that put up 44 points and some of those points came without starting quarterback Marcel Reed.

Air Force offers a unique test, the triple option frequently being a nightmare for defenses that rarely see it.

If the USU defense holds up, there is reason to believe the unit is indeed improved. If Air Force runs wild, that would be more of the same for Utah State.

On offense, the Aggies’ rushing attack has done well, while the passing attack has showed flashes but not consistency. Can Bryson Barnes and company find that consistency for the first time this season? Play a complete game offensively and prove that USU could be a team to be reckoned with in the Mountain West?

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The game isn’t exactly a must-win for the Aggies, but a win against the Falcons would put USU in good position to be above .500 five games into the season. Do that, and bowl eligibility becomes a real possibility.

As for Air Force, the Falcons struggled mightily a season ago, but turned things around late and won five games, including four in a row. There is something of an expectation that Air Force will be a bowl-caliber team this season, maybe not at the top of the Mountain West but definitely not at the bottom.

Right now, Air Force is still figuring itself. The Falcons will play two quarterbacks against the Aggies, Josh Johnson and Liam Szarka, and as the QB goes so goes the triple option. If those two play well, Utah State will be hard-pressed to slow down the Falcons’ attack.

Air Force’s defense is a much bigger unknown right now — young and unproven. A strong showing against Utah State would go far in proving that Air Force is ready to contend in the Mountain West again.

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Key player

Bryson Barnes, senior, quarterback, Utah State: Barnes could be the player to watch most weeks, to be honest.

The sixth-year senior is supposed to be the straw that stirs the drink for the Utah State offense and he has shown flashes of that at times this season.

The issue for Barnes, and the Aggies offense on the whole, has been consistency. For every good series, there has been a bad one. For every smart play made, there has been an instance where Barnes held the ball too long in the pocket and was sacked, or chose himself on a read-option play and made the wrong decision.

Few doubt that Barnes can be one of the best QBs in MWC, Calhoun said so himself. Thus far, though, Barnes hasn’t been as consistent as you’d hope from a player with as much playing experience as he has.

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If Barnes can provide the Aggies a little more consistency on Saturday, Utah State should walk away with a win. If he is up-and-down, the outcome will be in doubt.

Quotable

“Always a unique week when you play the Air Force Academy. Troy (Calhoun) and I go back a long time from our original days in the Mountain West Conference, so I admire and respect the job he does with Air Force every single year. Challenging systems to defend and you can always expect great effort and toughness and resiliency from the kids to play at Air Force.” — Utah State coach Bronco Mendenhall

“We’ve gone through, I mean, this week we spent a good bit of time on (scouting) New Mexico, at least our offense has, and then also BYU, and just seeing (a lot of) carry over. I think if it’s coverage concepts, if it’s just multiple pressures, I think they’ve always done a really good job of whoever their most capable players are making their scheme fit those strengths.” — Air Force coach Troy Calhoun

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Next up

• Utah State: vs. McNeese State, Saturday, Sept. 20, at 6 p.m.

• Air Force: vs. Boise State, Saturday, Sept. 20, at 5 p.m.

Utah State schedule

• Sept. 20 — McNeese State

• Sept. 27 — at Vanderbilt

• Oct. 17 — San José State

• Oct. 25 — at New Mexico

• Nov. 22 — at Fresno State