Air Force 48, Georgia State 38: Jacobi Owens and Kale Pearson each rushed for two touchdowns as the visiting Falcons held off the Panthers in the first ever meeting between the schools.

Owens ran for 122 yards on 25 carries while Pearson went 12-for-15 for 224 yards and two passing scores for Air Force (2-1), which secured its 100th win as a member of the Mountain West Conference. Garrett Brown added six catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore Jalen Robinette collected a career-high 118 yards receiving on four receptions.

Nick Arbuckle ran for a short score and finished 26-of-42 for a career-high 414 yards and two touchdowns for Georgia State (1-2), which outgained the Falcons 549-539. Kyler Neal amassed 171 total yards (team-high 80 rushing, 91 receiving) and Joel Ruiz paced the Panthers with 95 yards on six catches.

Owens capped Air Force’s opening drive with a 2-yard run before Pearson connected with Brown for a 37-yard score to give the Falcons a 14-point lead less than 10 minutes into the game. Neal cut the deficit in half with a 25-yard sprint early in the second quarter, but an interception by Jordan Pierce on the first play of the Panthers’ next possession allowed Owens to restore the 14-point margin from 7 yards out moments later.

Georgia State closed to within 14 points three times in the second half after Air Force took a 31-10 lead into the break, but the Falcons answered with a score of their own each time. Air Force gave up a quick touchdown to Duvall Smith after Will Conant kicked a 40-yard field goal to make it 48-31 with 5:31 remaining, but the Falcons were able to run out the final 4:57 to preserve the victory.