North Dakota State Holds Off Air Force's Late Rally, 38-32
Give Air Force the blocked extra point back. Give them both failed two-point tries too. That is 37-38, and the Falcons still lose. North Dakota State won 38-32 and never trailed, but Air Force made the last 11 minutes a lot more interesting than the first 49.
The visitors were up 14-0 early on a 31-yard run from Myles Mitchell and a 17-yard run from Nathan Hayes, and it was 28-13 at the half after Mitchell scored again from a yard out with 29 seconds left. In between, Air Force got a 29-yard touchdown pass from Mason Hayes to Adam Hrynciw and an 85-yard interception return from Blake Fletcher (the extra point was blocked). Nathan Hayes hit Logan Conklin from 41 yards early in the third quarter and it was 35-13 with the fourth about to start.
Then the Falcons ran. Liam Szarka scored from 2 yards, Kemper Hodges scored from 2 yards, and both two-point passes failed, so it was 35-25 with 4:26 left. Drew Klein kicked a 56-yard field goal with 1:58 to go to make it 38-25. Evan Medders threw a 20-yard touchdown to Matt Long with 50 seconds left, and 38-32 was as close as it got.
The yardage was almost level: Air Force had 386 to North Dakota State's 377, thanks to 51 carries for 207 yards. Each team threw one interception. The difference was big plays: North Dakota State scored on runs of 31 and 17 yards and passes of 44 and 41.
North Dakota State is 3-0. Air Force is 1-1. Fantasy-wise, Nathan Hayes was the top scorer of the game at 28.8, with Mitchell and Szarka behind.