Nov. 17, 2007
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, COLO. -- San Diego State's defense bottled up Air Force's Chad Hall the first half Saturday, but the rest of the Falcon offense rose up to down the Aztecs, 55-23.
Jim Ollis and Ty Paffett eclipsed the 100-yard mark, which forced SDSU (4-6, 3-3 Mountain West Conference) to alter its defensive strategy. Hall took advantage of the change in scheme and became the third Falcon to reach triple digits rushing.
The Falcons (9-3, 6-2) ran for a season-high 569 yards and seniors Ollis, Hall and quarterback Shaun Carney capped an undefeated home season for the first time since 2000.
"It was a tough preparation for us, that option game," coach Chuck Long said. "We didn't play well against it, and you saw what happened. All of the sudden, they started breaking loose and we had trouble containing it."
The defeat puts a damper on the Aztecs' postseason aspirations. SDSU came in winners of two straight and above .500 in MWC play. With two contests remaining on the slate, the Aztecs must TCU and first place Brigham Young to have any shot at a bowl bid.
The Aztecs opened the day's scoring when quarterback Kevin O'Connell took a keeper for a 1-yard touchdown to cap an 11-play drive. O'Connell was 27-for-43 for 384 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Chaz Schilens had six catches for 188 yards.
The teams combined for 1,176 yards of total offense.