Roberts, Eldridge help Air Force race past UNLV 42-7

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Brad Roberts had four short touchdown runs, John Lee Eldridge III opened the scoring with a 60-yard run and Air Force Academy cruised to a 42-7 victory over UNLV on Saturday night, beating the Rebels for a fifth straight time.

Eldridge gave Air Force (5-2, 2-2 Mountain West Conference) the lead for good midway through the first quarter. Roberts had a 5-yard touchdown run on the Falcons’ next possession before adding scoring runs of 5 and 3 yards in the second quarter to give Air Force a 28-7 lead at halftime.

Roberts’ final touchdown was a 3-yard run that capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive on the Falcons’ first possession of the second half. Emmanuel Michel scored on a 1-yard plunge to make it 42-7 after three quarters.

Haaziq Daniels completed 1 of 2 passes for 14 yards for Air Force. Daniels and the Falcons didn’t attempt a pass in a win over the Rebels last season.

Cameron Friel completed 8 of 10 passes for 108 yards, including a 31-yard scoring strike to Ricky White with a minute left in the first half.

Air Force had a 43:10 to 16:50 advantage in time of possession. The Falcons finished with 406 rushing yards on 76 carries. UNLV was held to 179 yards of offense.

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