Liam Szarka stayed true to the scouting report, carrying 21 times for 88 yards and a touchdown while completing just 5 of 10 passes for 103 yards. The triple option remains a one-read operation for opposing defenses to prepare for, and it very nearly worked again — Air Force just couldn't get enough traction through the air to finish what its ground game and defense started.
Myles Mitchell did the finishing work for NDSU, running 15 times for 61 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 31-yard burst that had the Bison up big before the Falcons ever found their footing. NDSU led 28-13 at the half, the kind of cushion that made everything after the break a survival exercise instead of a shootout.
Air Force didn't fold. Kemper Hodges punched in a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter, and backup quarterback Evan Medders hit a 20-yard scoring pass with under a minute left to pull the Falcons within 6. By the time the onside kick and final possession played out, Air Force had scored 19 fourth-quarter points and NDSU's cushion had shrunk to exactly the margin it needed.
It's the first Mountain West game either program has ever played, and NDSU leaves Colorado Springs with the outright win its résumé demanded — even if the offensive-line questions that followed it up from the FCS level showed up in flashes, most notably on the interception that briefly swung the game. Air Force, meanwhile, proved its triple option can hang with a program carrying 10 national titles, just not quite finish the job against it.