Utah is now 4-0 in the D1A West after beating Air Force 41-30 Saturday.

The game wasn’t quite as close as the score implies, as Air Force scored two late tries to close the gap.

Utah ran out to a 14-0 lead and never trailed.

“Air Force tackled in the midfield better than anything we have seen in quite some time,” said Utah Coach John Law. “They also had quite good continuity and that really fatigued our guys. But we moved the ball and created space well. When we had space we took advantage.”

Six tries from six different Utah players paced the Utes victory, while Gabe Rufflin again led from the front, and freshman Nate Asper came on as a sub at scrumhalf and did very well. Taylor Thomas was outstanding in defense. However, Law saw plenty to improve on.

“We had a lot of missed tackles and handling errors,” Law said. “We had five missed tackles in the first half and ten in the second half. We did squander some opportunities, so we have things to improve on.”

Colorado edged Wyoming 29-24 to move to 3-2 and sit in 2nd place. But it seems that the D1A West is Utah’s to win. Meanwhile, the rest will perhaps be pushing for a DIA at-large playoff spot. 

Next up, Colorado State (2-2) visits 0-2 New Mexico, and then Air Force (also 2-2) travels to play the Lobos a week later. That should wrap up the DIA West fall season.