Boise State Remains Undefeated After Defeating Air Force
Deep dive into the Broncos win.
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Broncos use second half to seal the win.
Boise State opens up Mountain West play against a 2-0 Air Force Falcon team that looks poised to pull off another upset. Air Force is coming off an overtime road win against in-state Power 5 opponent Colorado. The Falcons head coach was all business after the win, making sure that the message was out early that Air Force would be focused on their upcoming game in Albertsons Stadium.
Boise State is coming off a win over FCS Portland State and still look to have some issues to overcome along their injured offensive line. True Freshman Hank Bachmeier gave way to Chase Cord for most to the second half last week after getting hit on 16 plays in the first half of last week’s game.
On the line tonight is Boise State’s 19 game conference home opener winning streak, and they look to get their 3rd straight win over the Falcons, which would tie the longest win streak in the series.
First Quarter:
Boise State started off with the ball and we at a faster tempo than we are used to seeing. The quicker tempo looked effective on the first play as the Broncos converted a first down with a quick wide receiver screen on the opening play. They weren’t able to get much more to materialize after that though and punted shortly after.
Air Force took over and started rolling with the oldest play in the book, the quick dive option to fullback Taven Birdow for a 3 yard gain. Per their usual, they ran the ball, chewing up clock, converted a couple of first downs, but were not able to get anything going as the Boise State defense stayed disciplined on their assignments.
After trading punts, a Chase Cord appearance, and a bad punt, Air Force started getting some traction towards the outside of the Broncos defense after focusing on inside runs on their first two drives. Getting the ball on Boise State 40-yard line, the Falcons moved the ball and started getting some chunk plays of 8 yards or more but were unable to get in the end zone before the end of the first quarter.
Boise State 0, Air Force 0
Second Quarter:
The Falcons were, however, able to get into the end zone on the first play of the second quarter. Quarterback Donald Hammond was able to gain 8-yards on the left side of the Boise State defense to score after lining up with the line overloaded to the right combined with the option fake to the right as well.
This appeared to light a fire under the Boise State offense. Keeping with their uptempo offense the Broncos moved the ball quickly down the field in an effort to respond. Focusing primarily on passing the ball, Boise State used big plays to get into the end zone with only two play going to less than 10 yards. While still getting hit on virtually every play, Bachmeier continues to impress, completing 5 out of his 6 pass attempts including the 36-yard touchdown to CT Thomas.
Air Force was not able to produce much on their next drive and were forced to punt the ball back to the Broncos after only 4 plays. The offensive line was able to keep Bachmeier a lot cleaner on the ensuing drive, giving him ample time to complete 19 and 29-yard passes to CT Thomas before the drive stalled out at the 23-yard line. With it being 4th and 7, Coach Harsin elected to go with kicker Eric Sachse to convert a 40-yard attempt. There was a review of the third-down play, giving Sachse a little time to think about the kick, but he was able to convert with ease giving the Broncos a 3 point lead, 10-7.
Looking to close out the half with a score and continued to take time off the clock, the Falcons moved the ball well on their final drive of the half. Using 13 plays and taking that final 5:53 off the clock, the Falcons moved down to the Bronco 13-yard line before they called on kicker Jake Koehnke to attempt a 30-yard field goal. Koehnke converted the chance easily to tie the game, making him 2 for 2 on the year.
Boise State 10, Air Force 10
Third Quarter:
The second half started with a new Air Force quarterback, Isaiah Sanders, in for Hammond, who was limping around towards the end of the first half. Sanders started off well going 2 for 2 on the drive for 30 yards, including 19 on the first play of the half. Boise State only allowed that one first down and was able to force a Falcon punt 3 plays later. The Broncos were unable to produce anything on their drive returning the ball to the falcons after only taking 38 seconds off the clock with 3 plays.
The slow beat of the Air Force offense started to take its toll on the Broncos on the following drive. The Falcons, who started on their own 43, quickly got into Boise State’s territory with a Timothy Jackson 20 yard run and continued to thump their way down to the Bronco 14-yard line over the next 7 plays before Boise State could hold them to a field goal. Koehnke converted his second attempt of the game, this time for 31 yards, which were the first points Boise State had given up in the second half this season.
Playing from behind again the Broncos set out to put a good drive together. Trying to get some balance Boise State called on George Holani and Robert Mahone early on the drive. The running game was not able to get a foothold and produced only 7 yards on four carries over the drive. The Bronco line did keep Bachmeier cleaner on the drive, but he was still sacked once, almost fumbling the ball.
On the plays where he was given a good pocket Hank was incredibly efficient completing all 4 attempts, including a 4th and 10 conversion to Akilian Butler. The drive ended with a Bronco score to take the lead after Bachmeier completed a 28-yard pass to tight end John Bates for the touchdown to put Boise State back in front.
Boise State 17, Air Force 13
Fourth Quarter:
Feeding off of that drive the Bronco defense came out ready to get off the field as soon as they could. After giving up a 16-yard pass from Hammond to Gerald Sanders, the Falcons wanted to keep the game on their schedule, but Boise State held and forced a 4th and 1 from the Bronco 48 yard line. Air Force went to Taven Birdow for his 17th carry of the game and the Broncos held him 5-inches short, giving the offense good starting field position.
The Bronco offense kept the momentum going moving the ball through the air and on the ground as well, on their way to extend their lead. Holani, Mahone, and now Andrew Van Buren, all got touches on the drive and picked up almost half of the 52 yards on the ground. Mahone fought his way off the left side on the final play to get the last 10 yards and touchdown increasing the Bronco lead. Boise State was only able to add 6 to the lead though as Sachse’s extra point attempt was blocked. The Broncos now had a 23-13 lead.
Air Force moved the ball well to start their next drive, gaining 19 yards on just 2 plays. That success turned out to be short-lived when Kekaula Kaniho stepped in front of a Hammond pass, intercepting the ball and returning it 50 yards, giving the Broncos the ball at the Air Force 27 yard line.
Now with the lead, the Broncos kept the ball on the ground to take as much time off the clock while looking to extend the lead. With only 27 yards to cover, there wasn’t much work for the offense to do. Alternating between Mahone and Van Buren the Broncos were able to take only able to take 2:42 off the clock before Mahone broke free for his second 10-yard touchdown run.
Now trying to play catch up, Air Force came out throwing to try to cut into the 17 point Bronco lead, gaining 20 yards in their first two plays through the air. After two runs and a short completion, the Falcons hit a 31-yard completion from Hammond to Sanders, for a touchdown. In a drive that would usually take them 7 or 8 minutes, the Falcons covered 75 yards in just 2:08.
The ensuing onside kick attempt was easily covered by Avery Williams for Boise State allowing the offense to run the clock out to end the game.
FINAL: Boise State 30, Air Force 19
Moment Of The Game:
0:34 Left in the 3rd Quarter: Hank Bachmeier completed a 28-yard pass for a touchdown. This culminated an 11 play 77-yard drive that included a 4th and 10 conversion that would put the Broncos in the lead for good. The defense fed off of the momentum as they forced a turnover on downs on the following drive and an interception on the one after that, both leading to Boise State touchdowns.
Player Of The Game:
This was a tough one with Bachmeier and Mahone having a solid game, but this goes to wide receiver CT Thomas with 5 catches, 119 yards, and 1 touchdown.
Final Thought:
There were some flashes of improvement in pass protection and the return of Ezra Cleveland was likely a big part of that. Bachmeier still got it way too much, but for the first time the season he also had some clean pockets to work in while Air Force consistently brought pressure.
This is a good time for the bye week to come for the Broncos who now have a chance to recover from an incredibly physical game and to work on their weaknesses before getting back into conference play.
Up Next:
Bye Week
At UNLV on Saturday, October 5th at 8:30 PM MT
