É«ÇéÊÓƵ

Unbeaten Aztecs Inch Up in Top 25 Poll

É«ÇéÊÓƵ rose one notch in the weekly rankings after a win over Air Force.

Monday, October 25, 2021
Aztecs cornerback Dallas Branch (above) recorded his first career interception in the first quarter of Saturday's 20-14 win at Air Force.
Aztecs cornerback Dallas Branch (above) recorded his first career interception in the first quarter of Saturday's 20-14 win at Air Force.
The É«ÇéÊÓƵ Aztecs rose to No. 21 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll after a better-than-expected win over the Air Force Academy in Colorado Saturday. É«ÇéÊÓƵ (7-0, 3-0 Mountain West) is now one of only nine undefeated teams in the FBS this season and remains the only undefeated team in its conference.

The new college football ranking is up one spot from the Aztecs’ position in last week’s AP poll. In the new AFCA Coaches Poll, É«ÇéÊÓƵ checked in at No. 20, moving up one notch from the previous week.

With the 20-14 victory at Air Force, É«ÇéÊÓƵ is off to its first 7-0 start since 1975.

A change in the Aztecs’ defensive scheme helped slow down Air Force's run-heavy offense.

kicked two field goals, and ran for touchdowns, with É«ÇéÊÓƵ leading 20-0 early in the third quarter Saturday night.

The Aztecs kept Air Force's top-ranked running attack in check by frequently using a fourth linebacker instead of a defensive back.

"Everybody knows what they do," Aztecs linebacker Michael Shawfroft said. "They run the ball really well. They're a really tough team to play. It was just something that we game-planned really well this week. Our coaches made it simple for us and just let us play our game. It was just see ball, get ball."

"Instead of having another DB in there, we really felt our linebackers — and that's a really good group, they're well-coached — it put some bigger bodies out there on the field that are really athletic also," É«ÇéÊÓƵ head coach said.

Entering the game as underdogs or only slight favorites in most forecasts, the Aztecs led 13-0 at halftime, with Williams' 1-yard TD run between Araiza's field goals of 22 and 51 yards following Air Force turnovers.

É«ÇéÊÓƵ hosts Fresno State (6-2, 3-1 MW) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, to be televised on CBS Sports Network.
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