Air Force 35, New Mexico 31
AIR FORCE ACADEMY – Kale Pearson completed a 50-yard pass to Jalen Robinette for the go-ahead touchdown and ran for an earlier score, and Air Force hung on to beat New Mexico 35-31 on Saturday.
D.J. Johnson added touchdown runs of 1, 3, and 6 yards among his 51 yards to help Air Force (5-2, 2-2 Mountain West) remain unbeaten in four games at home. The Falcons beat New Mexico (2-5, 0-3 Mountain West) for the sixth time in seven meetings, overcoming a standout performance by running back Jhurell Pressley, who had touchdown runs of 50 and 42 yards and finished with 148 yards rushing on the day.
Teriyon Gipson shook free for a 28-yard touchdown run to give New Mexico a 28-21 lead midway through the third quarter, but Air Force responded with two quick scores to take a 35-28 lead into the fourth quarter.
No. 22 USC 56, Colorado 28
LOS ANGELES – Cody Kessler set a school single-game record with seven touchdown passes, throwing five in the first half of No. 22 Southern California’s victory over Colorado.
Nelson Agholor caught three touchdown passes from Kessler, who broke the mark previously held by Matt Barkley. He passed the record on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Steven Mitchell, who made a diving catch in the third quarter of a blowout victory for the Trojans (5-2, 4-1 Pac-12).
Kessler also became the first Pac-12 quarterback to throw seven touchdown passes in the first three quarters of a game, and the junior tied the conference record for touchdown passes in a non-overtime game. He finished 17-of-24 for 318 yards.
Shay Fields and Nelson Spruce each caught touchdown passes for Colorado (2-5, 0-4 Pac-12).
CSU 16, Utah State 13
FORT COLLINS – Jared Roberts kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired, and Garrett Grayson threw for 243 yards, including a long pass to get Colorado State into field-goal range, as the Rams rallied for a victory over Utah State.
The Rams (6-1, 2-1 MWC) appeared poised to let the game go to overtime with the ball deep in their end. But Dee Hart rattled off a 17-yard run, then Grayson hit Rashard Higgins for a 46-yard completion to set up Roberts, who tied the game on a 46-yarder with 1:50 remaining.
Utah State (4-3, 1-1 MWC) had its 11-game conference road win streak snapped, which dated back to Oct. 15, 2011, when the Aggies were members of the Western Athletic Conference.
Grayson became Colorado State’s all-time passer in this game, breaking the mark held by Kelly Stouffer. Grayson now has thrown for 7,250 yards in his career.
Associated Press
