San Diego State-Air Force College Football Prediction And Insights

Air Force is the only team with a 2-0 record in Mountain West play. The Falcons are also just one of two teams in the league to be 4-0 overall.

But they have to take on San Diego State, which began the year 2-0 but is now going to be eager to break a three-game losing streak.

A win for either team could end up being crucial by the end of the season.

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Air Force is a -10.5 college football betting odds favorite against SDSU. The Over/Under for the game is 42.5.

The moneyline for Air Force is -400, and it’s +300 for the Aztecs.

San Diego State appeared to be a Mountain West contender and one of the top teams in the Group of Five after winning against Ohio in Week 0. But all the Aztecs have done since then is beat an FCS team by eight points and lose their other three matchups, including a 34-31 loss to Boise State at home last week.

On offense, San Diego State is 96th in the FBS with 346.2 yards per game and 107th with 21.2 points per game. Jalen Mayden will be key if SDSU wants to improve in those areas.

The Aztecs quarterback has thrown for 942 yards and four touchdowns on a 62% completion rate, but he’s also thrown four interceptions. He leads the team with 278 yards on the ground and has scored three rushing touchdowns. Tight end Mark Redman paces SDSU with 208 yards and two touchdowns on 18 receptions.

SDSU’s defense is 86th in the FBS with 27.2 points per game allowed and 119th with 432.4 yards per game allowed. Zyrus Fiaseu and Tupu Alualu lead that unit with two sacks each, while Cedarious Barfield has a team-high three interceptions.

Air Force is the No. 1 team in the country with 340.5 rushing yards per game. And the Falcons may have a great game against SDSU, which is in the bottom half among FBS teams in terms of rushing yards allowed per game.

And the Falcons aren’t relying on a single person for that rushing production, either. Emmanuel Michel (322 yards and six touchdowns), Zac Larrier (259 yards and three touchdowns), John Lee Eldridge III (254 yards and three touchdowns), and Owen Burk (222 yards and two touchdowns) have all run for at least 200 yards and two scores.

While Air Force’s offense ranks 39th in the country with 34.8 points and 65th with 395.8 yards per game, the Falcons’ defense has allowed the second-fewest yards in the nation (223 per game) and the 14th-fewest points (12.75 per game).

P.J. Ramsey leads Air Force with 3.5 sacks, while Alec Mock and Bo Richter each have two. Mock has a team-best 31 tackles as well.

I predict Air Force will win but SDSU will cover the spread at +10.5. I also expect this game to go Under 42.5 total points.

Both teams’ defenses are better than their offenses, in my opinion. So no matter what happens, I could see this being a low-scoring game.

And if it is, that’s an advantage for Air Force and its potent rushing attack.

SDSU will play Air Force on CBSSN at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will be played at Falcon Stadium in Colorado.