The key stat of the first half comes in the turnover department as BYU has two fumbles and an interception thrown by Jake Heaps where Air Force has zero turnovers. Of the three turnovers Air Force was able to convert one into the go ahead touchdown late in the first half. There is no surprise that Air Force is out rushing BYU, but the Falcons are also have more passing yards then the two BYU quarterbacks combined; 68 to 47.
The BYU offense is running much better when Riley Nelson is in the game because his ability to run allows him to extend the play, where Jake Heaps is not the elusive type. In the first half Nelson leads all with 69 yards and with J.J. Di Luigi has 66 yards.
The best player in the game looks to be Air Force quarterback Tim Jefferson who has 68 passing yards -- one that includes a 38 yard touchdown pass -- while running for only four yards. The ability of Jefferson to throw the ball is keeping the Air Force offense that is traditionally heavy on the run is now able to be more balanced which opens up both their running and passing. The only real concern for Air Force is the amount of penalties they accumulated in the first half. They racked up eight penalties for 95 yards with four of those being the big 15 yard penalties.
Air Force gets the ball to start the second half, and one thing to look for is if BYU will stick to Riley Nelson at quarterback over Jake Heaps since he has been the better of the two today.