The win over Northern Illinois looked better on the scoreboard than it did underneath. It ended a 2-game skid, and Viliami Teu scored twice, but he needed 17 carries to get 42 yards against a winless team. That's a problem when Air Force's offense controls the clock. If San José State can't run, Rolovich has to keep the chains moving by himself in thin air, and the Spartans have to make every possession count.
These two have played 2 of the same opponents this season. Both lost to Wyoming. San José State lost 16-13 at home and Air Force lost 28-14 in Laramie. Both beat Northern Illinois, but Air Force won 28-7 on the road while the Spartans needed a late touchdown to pull away at home. Neither offense has scored much in its losses. The Spartans haven't scored more than 16 in any of their 3 losses over the last 5 games.
The forecast is 52 degrees, cloudy and about 10 mph of wind, which is decent for mid-November in the Colorado mountains. The bigger question is emotional. Air Force just spent a week getting ready for Army and came home with the trophy it plays for every year. San José State is a 5-5 team that hasn't had a big result to celebrate, and it is still playing for a bowl. A Falcons team that wins on the ground the way it did at West Point controls this game. If the Falcons come out flat, the Spartans' passing game is good enough to keep it uncomfortable.
