• Michigan State scored 30-plus points for the 11th consecutive game, extending a school record (previous: eight straight from 1978-79) . . . The Spartans have scored 30-plus points in 14 of their past 16 games.
• The Spartans are 3-0 for the second time in the last three years as part of the fourth time under head coach Mark Dantonio . . . It is also the 29th time in school history that MSU has started a season 3-0.
• Michigan State improves to 55-19 (.743) in games played against non-conference opponents since 1999 . . . Dantonio is 32-11 (.744) against non-conference foes, including 24-2 (.923) in Spartan Stadium . . . Overall, the Spartans have won 38 of their last 50 non-league games (.760), including seven of the last eight over the past two seasons.
• Saturday’s game marked the first meeting between Michigan State and Air Force . . . The last time that the Spartans faced a service academy was in the 1984 Cherry Bowl, losing to Army, 10-6 . . . Overall, MSU improves to 1-2 against service academies.
• With Saturday marking MSU’s first game against Air Force, the Spartans have now played six different teams from the current 12-team Mountain West Conference, improving to 10-2 overall against the league (1-0 vs. Air Force, 1-0 vs. Boise State, 0-1 vs. Colorado State, 1-0 vs. Fresno State, 4-1 vs. Hawai’i, 3-0 vs. Wyoming) . . . Saturday also marked the second-straight year and third in the last four years, playing a MWC foe after beating Wyoming, 56-14, in 2014 and Boise State, 17-13, in 2012.
• As a ranked team, Michigan State improved its record to 31-1 against unranked opponents under Mark Dantonio (only loss vs. Notre Dame, 2011).
• Freshman LJ Scott’s 2-yard run on a fourth-and-1 play early in the second quarter was MSU’s third fourth-down conversation of the season . . . On the next play, Connor Cook hooked up with Aaron Burbridge for a 28-yard scoring play as MSU built a 21-7 lead . . . The Spartans are now 3-for-4 on fourth-down conversions this season, as MSU was 2-for-2 in fourth down conversions against Oregon last week . . . Conversely, MSU’s opponents are 4-for-9 on fourth down this season, including the Falcons going 0-for-1.
• Michigan State is 27-3 (.900) in its last 30 games since the beginning of the 2013 season.
• Under Dantonio, the Spartans are now 58-7 when leading at halftime and are 3-0 this season when holding the lead at the intermission.
• Michigan State won the time possession battle, 33:01-26:59 . . . The Spartans are now 60-10 (.857) when leading in time of possession under Dantonio.
• Senior Shilique Calhoun started for the 30th-straight game, extending his team-lead consecutive games started mark, while classmate Connor Cook made his 29th start in a row and fellow senior Jack Conklin started for the 26th-straight game . . . Fellow seniors Donavon Clark and Lawrence Thomas both made their 16th-consecutive starts.
• Senior Aaron Burbridge’s three TD receptions tie MSU’s single-game record (last player: B.J. Cunningham vs. Wisconsin, 2011) . . . He recorded his fourth 100-yard receiving game of his career and third in as many games with a career-best 156 yards on eight catches against Air Force on Saturday, topping the 100-yard mark in the first half alone with five catches for 112 yards and two TDs . . . He also had eight receptions against Oregon, matching his career high (eight for 134 yards vs. Indiana in 2012) . . . Against Western Michigan, he had four catches for 117 yards.
• With his first quarter touchdown, junior Josiah Price ties Chris Baker (1998-2001) for the Spartan record for most TD catches by a tight end with 13 . . . Price has caught a touchdown pass for the third-straight game . . . This is the third time in his career that he has had TD passes in consecutive games (10/11/14 vs. Purdue; 10/18/14 vs. IU) and (11/23/13 vs. Northwestern; 11/30/13 vs. Minnesota; 12/7/13 vs. OSU).
• Senior RJ Williamson’s 64-yard fumble return for a touchdown was the Spartans’ first defensive TD this season.
• Williamson’s 64-yard fumble return for a touchdown was the third defensive touchdown of his career . . . Last season, he returned interceptions for scores against Michigan (29 yards) and Maryland (22 yards) . . . In the fourth quarter, Williamson also added his second interception of the season and the eighth of his career . . . He also recovered Drew Oehrle’s on-side kick attempt with 2:10 left in the fourth quarter.
• Senior Connor Cook earned his 26th career win, closing in on former Spartan signal-caller Kirk Cousins’ school-record mark of 27 career victories for MSU.
• Cook’s four touchdown passes match his career high (vs. Youngstown State, 2013).
• Cook recorded his second 200-yard passing game of the season and 20th of his career, hitting 15-of-23 throws for 247 yards with four TDs Saturday . . . Cook is just the third Spartan QB with 20 or more 200-yard passing games, along with Kirk Cousins (26) and Jeff Smoker 23).
• Cook’s 26 career wins keeps him atop the most wins by an NCAA FBS active starting QB list, taking the lead ahead of Stanford’s Kevin Hogan as the Cardinal takes on USC later Saturday night.
• With 247 yards passing Saturday, Cook now has 6,758 career passing yards, passing Drew Stanton for the No. 3 spot on MSU’s career passing yards . . . Stanton ended his MSU career with passing yards 6,524.
• With four TD passes, Cook now has 55 for his career . . . He is just the third QB in MSU history with 50 or more career TD passes, joining Jeff Smoker (61) and Kirk Cousins (66).
• Cook has now thrown at least two TD passes in all three games this season and Saturday was Cook’s fourth-straight game with multi-TD passes and his 19th career game with two or more TD tosses.
• Cook’s 15 pass completions Saturday give him 494 for his career . . . He is now six completions away from passing Brian Hoyer (2005-08), who had 500 completions during his Spartan career.
• With 23 pass attempts Saturday, Cook now has 848 career pass attempts, passing Drew Stanton (2003-06) for fourth in career attempts . . . Stanton had 846 career pass attempts, while at MSU.
• Junior R.J. Shelton set career highs for receptions (5) and receiving yards (68) against Air Force.
• Junior Riley Bullough registered a career-high and a game-best 16 tackles, bettering his previous top career mark for the third-straight week after 14 tackles last week against Oregon and nine in the season-opener against Western Michigan.
• True freshman Andrew Dowell posted a season-high seven tackles against Air Force . . . Dowell also recovered a fumble in the third quarter.
• Sophomore Malik McDowell recorded a career-best six tackles against Air Force . . . McDowell also was credited with a quarterback hurry.
• A total of four true freshmen saw action against Air Force: wide receiver Felton Davis III, Linebacker Andrew Dowell, safety Grayson Miller and running back LJ Scott. It marked the first appearances of the season for Davis and Miller.
• With two fumble recoveries and an interception against Air Force, the Spartan defense has forced at least two turnovers in all three games this season.
• Air Force rushed 51 times for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Air Force’s 279 rushing yards are the most allowed by Michigan State since Nebraska gained 313 yards on 40 carries in 2012.
• Michigan State managed 77 yards on 42 rushing attempts against Air Force. It marked MSU’s lowest single-game rushing total since the 2014 Rose Bowl (35 carries for 65 yards vs. Stanford).
• Junior Michael Geiger extended his school record consecutive PAT streak to 95 with his five extra points Saturday.
• Freshman Jake Hartbarger punted a season-low three times on Saturday, but had two punts over 50 yards, giving him eight 50-yard plus punts in three games this season.
• The Spartans are 3-0 for the second time in the last three years as part of the fourth time under head coach Mark Dantonio . . . It is also the 29th time in school history that MSU has started a season 3-0.
• Michigan State improves to 55-19 (.743) in games played against non-conference opponents since 1999 . . . Dantonio is 32-11 (.744) against non-conference foes, including 24-2 (.923) in Spartan Stadium . . . Overall, the Spartans have won 38 of their last 50 non-league games (.760), including seven of the last eight over the past two seasons.
• Saturday’s game marked the first meeting between Michigan State and Air Force . . . The last time that the Spartans faced a service academy was in the 1984 Cherry Bowl, losing to Army, 10-6 . . . Overall, MSU improves to 1-2 against service academies.
• With Saturday marking MSU’s first game against Air Force, the Spartans have now played six different teams from the current 12-team Mountain West Conference, improving to 10-2 overall against the league (1-0 vs. Air Force, 1-0 vs. Boise State, 0-1 vs. Colorado State, 1-0 vs. Fresno State, 4-1 vs. Hawai’i, 3-0 vs. Wyoming) . . . Saturday also marked the second-straight year and third in the last four years, playing a MWC foe after beating Wyoming, 56-14, in 2014 and Boise State, 17-13, in 2012.
• As a ranked team, Michigan State improved its record to 31-1 against unranked opponents under Mark Dantonio (only loss vs. Notre Dame, 2011).
• Freshman LJ Scott’s 2-yard run on a fourth-and-1 play early in the second quarter was MSU’s third fourth-down conversation of the season . . . On the next play, Connor Cook hooked up with Aaron Burbridge for a 28-yard scoring play as MSU built a 21-7 lead . . . The Spartans are now 3-for-4 on fourth-down conversions this season, as MSU was 2-for-2 in fourth down conversions against Oregon last week . . . Conversely, MSU’s opponents are 4-for-9 on fourth down this season, including the Falcons going 0-for-1.
• Michigan State is 27-3 (.900) in its last 30 games since the beginning of the 2013 season.
• Under Dantonio, the Spartans are now 58-7 when leading at halftime and are 3-0 this season when holding the lead at the intermission.
• Michigan State won the time possession battle, 33:01-26:59 . . . The Spartans are now 60-10 (.857) when leading in time of possession under Dantonio.
• Senior Shilique Calhoun started for the 30th-straight game, extending his team-lead consecutive games started mark, while classmate Connor Cook made his 29th start in a row and fellow senior Jack Conklin started for the 26th-straight game . . . Fellow seniors Donavon Clark and Lawrence Thomas both made their 16th-consecutive starts.
• Senior Aaron Burbridge’s three TD receptions tie MSU’s single-game record (last player: B.J. Cunningham vs. Wisconsin, 2011) . . . He recorded his fourth 100-yard receiving game of his career and third in as many games with a career-best 156 yards on eight catches against Air Force on Saturday, topping the 100-yard mark in the first half alone with five catches for 112 yards and two TDs . . . He also had eight receptions against Oregon, matching his career high (eight for 134 yards vs. Indiana in 2012) . . . Against Western Michigan, he had four catches for 117 yards.
• With his first quarter touchdown, junior Josiah Price ties Chris Baker (1998-2001) for the Spartan record for most TD catches by a tight end with 13 . . . Price has caught a touchdown pass for the third-straight game . . . This is the third time in his career that he has had TD passes in consecutive games (10/11/14 vs. Purdue; 10/18/14 vs. IU) and (11/23/13 vs. Northwestern; 11/30/13 vs. Minnesota; 12/7/13 vs. OSU).
• Senior RJ Williamson’s 64-yard fumble return for a touchdown was the Spartans’ first defensive TD this season.
• Williamson’s 64-yard fumble return for a touchdown was the third defensive touchdown of his career . . . Last season, he returned interceptions for scores against Michigan (29 yards) and Maryland (22 yards) . . . In the fourth quarter, Williamson also added his second interception of the season and the eighth of his career . . . He also recovered Drew Oehrle’s on-side kick attempt with 2:10 left in the fourth quarter.
• Senior Connor Cook earned his 26th career win, closing in on former Spartan signal-caller Kirk Cousins’ school-record mark of 27 career victories for MSU.
• Cook’s four touchdown passes match his career high (vs. Youngstown State, 2013).
• Cook recorded his second 200-yard passing game of the season and 20th of his career, hitting 15-of-23 throws for 247 yards with four TDs Saturday . . . Cook is just the third Spartan QB with 20 or more 200-yard passing games, along with Kirk Cousins (26) and Jeff Smoker 23).
• Cook’s 26 career wins keeps him atop the most wins by an NCAA FBS active starting QB list, taking the lead ahead of Stanford’s Kevin Hogan as the Cardinal takes on USC later Saturday night.
• With 247 yards passing Saturday, Cook now has 6,758 career passing yards, passing Drew Stanton for the No. 3 spot on MSU’s career passing yards . . . Stanton ended his MSU career with passing yards 6,524.
• With four TD passes, Cook now has 55 for his career . . . He is just the third QB in MSU history with 50 or more career TD passes, joining Jeff Smoker (61) and Kirk Cousins (66).
• Cook has now thrown at least two TD passes in all three games this season and Saturday was Cook’s fourth-straight game with multi-TD passes and his 19th career game with two or more TD tosses.
• Cook’s 15 pass completions Saturday give him 494 for his career . . . He is now six completions away from passing Brian Hoyer (2005-08), who had 500 completions during his Spartan career.
• With 23 pass attempts Saturday, Cook now has 848 career pass attempts, passing Drew Stanton (2003-06) for fourth in career attempts . . . Stanton had 846 career pass attempts, while at MSU.
• Junior R.J. Shelton set career highs for receptions (5) and receiving yards (68) against Air Force.
• Junior Riley Bullough registered a career-high and a game-best 16 tackles, bettering his previous top career mark for the third-straight week after 14 tackles last week against Oregon and nine in the season-opener against Western Michigan.
• True freshman Andrew Dowell posted a season-high seven tackles against Air Force . . . Dowell also recovered a fumble in the third quarter.
• Sophomore Malik McDowell recorded a career-best six tackles against Air Force . . . McDowell also was credited with a quarterback hurry.
• A total of four true freshmen saw action against Air Force: wide receiver Felton Davis III, Linebacker Andrew Dowell, safety Grayson Miller and running back LJ Scott. It marked the first appearances of the season for Davis and Miller.
• With two fumble recoveries and an interception against Air Force, the Spartan defense has forced at least two turnovers in all three games this season.
• Air Force rushed 51 times for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Air Force’s 279 rushing yards are the most allowed by Michigan State since Nebraska gained 313 yards on 40 carries in 2012.
• Michigan State managed 77 yards on 42 rushing attempts against Air Force. It marked MSU’s lowest single-game rushing total since the 2014 Rose Bowl (35 carries for 65 yards vs. Stanford).
• Junior Michael Geiger extended his school record consecutive PAT streak to 95 with his five extra points Saturday.
• Freshman Jake Hartbarger punted a season-low three times on Saturday, but had two punts over 50 yards, giving him eight 50-yard plus punts in three games this season.
