How and what to watch for Air Force vs. Utah State

It’s been a bit of a lost season in a variety of ways for the Utah State Aggies, but they are coming off of their first win of the season when they host the Air Force Falcons on Thursday night.

Utah State parted ways with head coach Gary Andersen earlier this season, as his return to the program lasted a little more than a year. As a Wisconsin fan, I’m familiar with the Gary Andersen business, and Utah State was wise to move on before things got even worse. After an 0-4 start, the Aggies got win No. 1 last weekend against winless New Mexico. You’d have to search for a while to find the statistic that favors Utah State offensively or defensively. The Aggies check in at No. 115 among 127 teams in the latest SP+ rankings.

Air Force checks in at 2-2 overall this season including 1-2 in Mountain West play. Just like Utah State, the Falcons’ last game was a victory over New Mexico back on Nov. 20. Offensively, Air Force ranks No. 36 offensively in yards per play. As you might imagine, the Falcons strength comes with their running game on offense. Air Force checks in as the fourth best year-per-rush team in all of college football at 5.8.

The last time these two teams matched up, Utah State got the win 42-32 at home in 2018.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

You can watch Air Force vs. Utah State on Thursday, December 3rd at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network, or you can stream it via the CBS Sports with a cable or streaming service login.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends

Point spread: Air Force (-11.5) vs. Utah State
Point Total: 51
Money line: Air Force (-435) vs. Utah State (+330)

• Air Force is 9-2 straight up in its last 11 games, and Utah State is 1-5 in its last six.
• The total went under in four of Air Force’s last five games, and Utah State hit the over in four of its last six.
• Air Force is 4-1 straight up and against the spread in the last five meetings between these teams.

Betting splits

Air Force: (88% of handle, 80% percent of bets)
Utah State: (12% of handle, 20% percent of bets)

The Best Bet

There’s probably no team in America that’s playing out the string more than the Aggies. A win over a godforsaken New Mexico doesn’t show anything, and Air Force has shown to be one of the best teams in the MWC over a larger sample. This is a triple-option pick, though we liked it more at -10 earlier this week of course.

Pick: Air Force -11.5

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