SAN DIEGO — Quentin Hayes passed for a touchdown and ran for another, Dylan Carson had 125 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 24 carries and Air Force beat Sand Diego State 31-20 Saturday night in the regular season finale for both teams.
Air Force (4-7, 2-4 Mountain West) took the opening kickoff and went 81 yards in nine plays, including a 52-yard catch and run by Brandon Engel to the 1, and Carson ran it into the end zone and the Falcons used a 10-play — all runs — 75-yard drive to take the lead for good when Hayes scored from a yard out to make it 14-7 with 29 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Falcons won their last four games following a seven-game losing streak.
Hayes hit Cade Harris at midfield and he raced to the end zone for a 76-yard touchdown with 8:03 left in the third quarter and Carson added a 14-yard TD run that made it 31-14 about 7 minutes later.
Marquez Cooper, who finished with 94 yards rushing, ran for a 7-yard touchdown that tied it 7-all with 6 minutes to go in the first quarter and his 2-yard scoring run just before halftime trimmed San Diego State's deficit to 17-14.
The Aztecs (3-9, 2-5) closed the season with six consecutive losses.
