COLORADO SPRINGS • North Dakota State walked into the Mountain West like it owned the place.

The Bison topped Air Force 38-32 before a Falcon Stadium crowd of 25,970 that included large patches of yellow and green on hand for the team’s conference debut.

The dominant team at the FCS level for the past two decades, North Dakota State carried that mojo into its new FBS league and did so immediately. The Bison drove for touchdowns on their first two possessions, held Air Force to three and out on its first two to kick off a dominant first half and then held on as the Falcons cut into a deficit that had grown as large as 22 points.

Bison quarterback Nathan Hayes threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns and Myles Mitchell ran for two touchdowns.

Ultimately, the slow start — Air Force was outgained 307 to 105 in the first half — and two penalties proved to be major blows.

On the game’s opening possession, strong safety Cade Paterson was flagged for targeting as he delivered a hit that broke up a pass on third and long. Paterson was ejected, the drive continued and was capped with a 31-yard touchdown run from Myles Mitchell — who broke a tackle from Roger Jones Jr., Paterson’s replacement, on the way to the end zone.

On the first possession of the second half, with the Falcons trailing by 15 and a chance to cut the deficit to one possession, a chop-block call on guard TJ Tarascio wiped out a third-down conversion and led to a punt. North Dakota State scored just two plays later.

Also hurting Air Force was a blocked PAT that led to the team chasing points with 2-point tries, both of which failed. Sophomore kicker Carter Cremascoli also misfired on a 28-yard field goal attempt.

Linebacker Blake Fletcher put Air Force back in the game late in the second quarter when he returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown.

However, North Dakota State answered after Air Force’s ensuing kickoff went out of bounds and the Bison quickly marched 65 yards in six plays and expanded their lead to 28-13 at halftime.

Fletcher led Air Force with 14 tackles, 12 coming in the first half.

Air Force was led by quarterback Liam Szarka, who threw for 103 yards and ran for 88 and a touchdown.

Sophomore Evan Medders replaced Szarka after a brief injury and also closed the game, finishing 3-of-4 passing for 47 yards and a touchdown with 1:10 remaining that gave Air Force a chance until an attempted onside kick went out of bounds.

Medders also ran six times for 31 yards.

The Mountain West lost Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State this season to the Pac-12. The departures left no teams that had won a conference football title in a non-COVID year. The Bison, which entered the conference alongside Northern Illinois and UTEP, had the look of a team that might fill the power vacuum left at the top.

The program certainly has the pedigree, having won 18 national championships – including 10 FCS crowns since 2011.