Air Force football players, like many athletes, are creatures of habit. So the prospect of playing an early-morning game against the University of Nevada Las Vegas wasn’t exactly greeted with high-fives.

But judging by their 42-7 route of the Rebels Oct. 15, the Falcons may want to re-set their biological clocks.

Fueled by quarterback Shaun Carney’s career-high four touchdown runs and a tenacious defense that held UNLV a paltry 2 yards rushing, Air Force dominated the Rebels before a Falcon Stadium crowd of 30,573.

The win snapped a four-game Air Force losing skid. With four games left in the regular season, the win rekindled post-season bowl talk -- if the Falcons (3-4 overall and 2-3 in the Mountain West Conference) can sweep their remaining games.

For the Falcon players, their day began at 6 a.m. When it was time for head coach Fisher DeBerry’s game day motivational speech, he blew the whistle on his team – literally.

“I jumped up, blew my whistle, blew it loud a bunch of times and said ‘wake up, wake up, by gosh it’s time to go to work,’” the coach said. “We hoped we could jump on (UNLV) pretty quick, and maybe they might not wake up because they’re an hour behind us. I didn’t know if they’re used to getting up as early as we do.”

After the Falcon defense hung a do not disturb sign on Rebel runners for minus 10 yards in a scoreless first quarter, Carney and company began to rise and shine in the second.

Seventeen seconds into the quarter, the sophomore signal-caller capped a 60-yard, seven-play drive with an 11-yard touchdown run.

On the ensuing kickoff, Air Force’s Nate Smith stripped UNLV return man Ronnie Smith of the ball, and Falcon special team captain Mark Carlson recovered at the Rebel 16 yard line.

Two plays later, Carney muffed a handoff to reserve fullback Ryan Williams. But he recovered his own fumble, reversed directions and scampered into the end zone from 8 yards out, giving Air Force its second touchdowns in 47 seconds.

“I’ve never been yelled at so much for scoring a touchdown,” Carney said. “I expected to get hit. It was just a bad exchange. Ryan and I practiced all week but didn’t have it today. When I picked it up and looked around the only jerseys I saw were (offensive tackle) Robert Kraay and (running back) Chad Hall throwing blocks. So it worked out.”

UNLV (2-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference) averted a shutout with some deception. Quarterback Jarrod Jackson threw a lateral to wide receiver Tremayne Kirkland, who found fellow wide out Casey Flair behind the Falcon secondary for a 58-yard touchdown pass.

“That was a well executed play, more power to them,” DeBerry said. “That’s the only way they could have scored because our defense was never in any real trouble with their basic offense.”

The Falcon defense had five sacks and two interceptions.

Air Force reserve fullback Scott Peeples teamed with Williams for a combined 111 rushing yards -- including Peeples’ first career touchdown, a 20-yard run in the second quarter. The score reestablished Air Force’s 14-point cushion at halftime.

“That might have been the slowest touchdown in Air Force history,” Peeples joked about his speed. “I didn’t even get touched, which is rare for a fullback. Our offensive line dominated them all day, enabling Ryan and I to run well.”

Carney tacked on another 8-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter, plus a 4-yarder in the fourth quarter before backup halfback Jim Ollis finished the rout with a 5-yard touchdown run.

Air Force out-gained UNLV 412-217 yards in total offense, including a whopping 316 to 2 edge on the ground. Eight Falcons ran for double-digit yardage.

“At times we looked like a vintage option offense the way we controlled the ball on the ground,” DeBerry said. “Today we showed this is our house.”

The Falcons play Texas Christian University at home Oct. 22. TCU is 6-1 overall with a 4-0 conference record.