The Air Force Falcons are the team with the momentum going into their matchup with the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday.

The Falcons and the Wolf Pack kick off at 8:30 p.m. mountain in Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nev. The game is set to be broadcast on FS1.

Momentum is a relative term in this contest. The Falcons (3-7, 1-4) are on a two-game winning streak after they lost seven straight games. But at least they’re winning.

Nevada (3-8, 0-5) has lost its last four games and is trying to salvage what it can going into their in-state rivalry game with UNLV next week.

So how does Air Force win this game? Here are three keys to the contest.

Air Force runs a offense similar to the other service academies that keeps the football on the ground and helps the Falcons dominate time of possession.

Against Oregon State, the Falcons held the ball for more than 42 minutes and enter Saturday’s game No. 14 in the country in rushing yards per game at 209.4 yards per game.

No team has attempted more rushes this season than Air Force’s 554. But the run game hasn’t been as effective as it could be, as the Falcons average less than four yards per carry. So there’s some work to do there.

But, this is a favorable matchup for the Falcons as Nevada is No. 96 in rushing yards allowed per game.

Both teams are struggling with turnover margin.

Nevada enters the game No. 71 in the nation at minus-1. The Wolf Pack has forced 11 turnovers and committed 12. Air Force is No. 88 and the Falcons have forced 11 turnovers and committed 14 turnovers.

The takeaway is that neither team is creating a lot of mistakes this season, which means that one turnover either way can turn this game.

At worst, Air Force wants to break even here. At best, the Falcons want to end up in the positive here, even if it’s by one turnover.

One area Oregon State struggled in against Air Force was in creating first downs. The Beavers had just nine in the game. Part of the reason for that was that OSU went 2-of-10 on third down.

Now, Oregon State was having issues at quarterback, but this is an area where Air Force excels on a national level.

Entering the Nevada game the Falcons are No. 38 in the country in third-down defensive efficiency as they allow opponents to convert 35.1% of the time.

The Falcons’ opponents have converted 40 times on 114 attempts. If Air Force is hoping for a third straight win, getting the Wolf Pack off the field on third down at this rate can help make it happen.

Playoff season wraps up in Nevada high school football.

The postseason concludes early next week, as the Nevada playoffs reach the state championship round.

>>Nevada high school football playoff brackets

Stick with High School on SI for all of the matchups, game times and scores throughout the 2024 NIAA football playoffs.

Nevada high school football playoffs 2024 brackets

Here are the Nevada high school football playoff brackets, with state championship matchups and game times from NIAA Classes 1A-5A:

Championship matchup

(1) Bishop Gorman vs. (2) Arbor View

7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26

2024 NIAA Division 5 DI State bracket

Championship matchup

(1) Faith Lutheran vs. (1) Bishop Manogue

1:30 p.m. Saturday

2024 NIAA Division 5 DII State bracket

Championship matchup

(1) Galena vs. (1) Centennial

12 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25

Class 5A Division III state bracket

Championship matchup

Mojave vs. Canyon Springs

3:40 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26

Class 4A State

Championship matchup

(1) Sports Leadership and Management vs. (1) Truckee

12:15 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26

Class 3A State bracket

Championship matchup

(1) Pershing County vs. (2) Incline

10 a.m. Saturday

Class 2A State bracket

Championship matchup

(1) Tonopah vs. (3) Pahranagat Valley

9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26

Class 1A State bracket

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Rio and Dublin, Norway and Normandy, are popular tourist destinations. They are also locations of “legislative leaders study tours” taken by a leader of Nevada’s Assembly last year.

The trips, paid for by outside groups, were among those reported by Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager in a financial disclosure statement required under Nevada law.

Yeager, a Las Vegas Democrat, disclosed about $15,500 in expenses for sponsored travel outside the U.S. in 2023, as well as $11,000 in sponsored travel within the country.

“These working trips are never funded by taxpayer dollars, obviously,” Yeager wrote in an email to the Review-Journal.

The National Conference of State Legislatures sponsored legislative leaders study tours to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Bayeux in Normandy, France; Dublin, Ireland; and Mexico City, Mexico. The State Legislative Leaders Foundation sponsored a study tour to Oslo, Norway, according to Yeager’s disclosure statement.

“National nonprofit, non-partisan groups such as NCSL and SLLF support state legislators with leadership development seminars as well as information sessions and legislative updates from around the country,” Yeager wrote.

NCSL’s mission includes advancing the effectiveness of legislatures and fostering interstate cooperation, according to its website. SLLF is dedicated to professional development for current and future state legislative leaders, it states.

The speaker reported trips in the United States for training, meetings and summits sponsored by the aforementioned groups as well as by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. The locations included Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and Newport, Rhode Island.

Yeager also disclosed $12,100 in expenses for tickets, food and beverage related to a Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee fundraiser in Las Vegas. The DLCC works to elect Democrats to state legislatures.

Asked for specifics on the fundraiser, he said it was in connection with the 2023 Formula 1 race.

“As an unpaid member of its national board, I attended a DLCC fundraiser in Las Vegas around last year’s F1 race,” he wrote. “F1 tickets have a high retail face value, no question about it, and I disclosed that value to maintain transparency. The race was, and remains, an event important to Las Vegas’ local economy.”

He also disclosed $1,500 in expenses for a leaders in technology program sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association. The trade group owns and produces the CES trade show.

Yeager and his counterpart in the Nevada Senate – Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas – were both re-elected earlier this month.

Cannizzaro disclosed $9,100 in expenses for tickets, food and beverage for the DLCC fundraiser. She also reported $2,200 in expenses for a summit in Vail, Colorado, sponsored by the DLCC

She reported accepting gifts of $2,900 in tickets to events and non-profit dinners, including $1,600 in tickets from Allegiant Stadium to two unspecified events.

In October, the ethics commission required training for the executive director and staff of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District in connection with accepting free Super Bowl tickets. An ethics commissioner also urged government officials not to accept tickets to sporting events offered in Las Vegas.

Among the leaders across the aisle in the Nevada Legislature, Sen. Robin Titus, R-Wellington reported $500 in sponsored travel to attend the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education annual meeting in Phoenix. She was named the Senate minority leader in January when state Sen. Heidi Seevers Gansert, R-Reno, stepped down from the post.

Gansert and Assembly Minority Leader P.K. O’Neill, R-Carson City, reported no sponsored meetings, events, travel or gifts.

The Review-Journal has reported on the disclosed gifts and sponsored travel of Nevada’s constitutional officers, Clark County commissioners, Las Vegas City Council members, and Henderson City Council members.

Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on X. Hynes is a member of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing.