Boise State University #25 (-14) at Air Force Academy

Date: Saturday, October 31st, 2020

Time: 4:00pm MT

Stadium: Falcon Stadium (46,692)

TV:CBSSports Network

Broadcasters: Carter Blackburn and Aaron Taylor

Know Thy Enemy

The Broncos hope it's all treats and no tricks as they hit the road to Colorado Springs to take on the Air Force Academy Falcons. The Falcons (1-1,0-1) were the first team allowed to play from the Mountain West this season when they agreed to only play in the service academy series by playing just two games; one against Navy, which they defeated 40-3 a few weeks ago, and then against Army in November. When the Mountain West decided to join the FBS party, AFA squared off against San Jose State in their conference opener last week. The Falcons fell to the Spartans 17-6 and never could get their offense going.

The Falcons feature a triple option attack which is an offense built on speed and deception. On any given play the quarterback has three options:

1. hand the ball off to the fullback on the dive, 2. pitch the ball to the running back, or 3. keep the ball himself. Air Force is averaging 287 yards rushing on the young season which is good for fifth best in the country.

The Air Force defense has been playing very well through their first two games of the season allowing just three touchdowns and 24 points all season. In their season opener they held Navy to just seven points and last week they held the Spartans to just 17 points. The Air Force defense has also forced three turnovers. If the Falcons have any chink in their armor it would be in their passing defense as the Spartans were able to move the ball down the field through the air with 226 yards passing.

The Falcons are coached by long-time head coach Troy Calhoun. Calhoun is the first coach in the 100-plus year history of service academy football to lead teams to a postseason bid in his first six years. Last year the Cadets went 11-2 the most wins since 1998.

The Broncos and the Falcons will meet for the ninth time on Saturday with the Broncos leading the series 5-3. The Broncos are currently on a three-game win streak. The Falcons are 2-1 at home during this series.

What Happened Last Year

Hank Bachmeier threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns, Robert Mahone rushed for a pair of scores in the fourth quarter, and No. 20 Boise State pulled away in the second half for a 30-19 win over Air Force on a Friday night.

Bachmeier's arm made up for a Broncos' running game that was ineffective until the fourth quarter. He hit CT Thomas on a 36-yard touchdown pass in the first half while getting crunched by a defender, and added a 28-yard TD toss to tight end John Bates late in the third quarter to give the Broncos a 17-13 lead.

Mahone added a pair of 10-yard TD runs in the fourth as the Broncos won their 20th straight conference opener.

Players to Watch

AIR FORCE

JR., TIMOTHY JACKSON, FB #34

Timothy Jackson the junior out of Vacaville, CA is the key cog in the Falcon football machine. The Air Force offense will rely heavily on Jackson as the “dive” option in their triple option attack. His success running the ball will open up all sorts of opportunities for the rest of the offense. Last week, San Jose State held Jackson to just 60 yards on 15 carries. The Broncos will need to do the same if they want to pull out a win in Colorado Springs.

SO.,HAAZIQ DANIELS, QB #4

Haaziq Daniels, from Franklin, MO is in his first year of staring for the Falcons after taking over for Donald Hammond III. Daniels had a solid game in their season opener rushing for 96 yards on 10 attempts but struggled last week rushing for only 25 yards on 13 attempts. He also 9 for 17 with 92 yards and a touchdown through the air against San Jose State.

SR.,ELISHA PALM, CB #2

Palm had a career day last week with his nine tackles and one interception. Palm played in twelve games last season and played in five games as a sophomore. Palm is seeing his first major action as a starter this year and will be put to the test this week going up against the dynamic receiver corp of the Broncos.

BOISE STATE

Rs.JR, ZEKE NOA, MLB #7

Zeke Noa came out this week and said that the Broncos needed to be the more physical team if they wanted to win the game this week. This is coming from the guy who in last seasons match up had to leave the game due to tearing his ACL and breaking his wrist. Noa is a big leader on the defensive side of the ball this year and he and his fellow linebackers will need to play physical ‘down hill’ football this week to support the d-line and stop the Falcons run game.

JR., SCALE IGIEHON, NT #90

Scale Igiehon tips the scales at a slim 293 which will come in handy this week as he tries to plug the middle this week against Air Force. Igiehon has shown flashes of dominance in his two plus seasons, but consistency is key for the big man from Texas. Last week he only assisted in one tackle, but his major responsibility is to eat up blocks and allow fellow defenders to tackle the ball carrier.

So., GEORGE HOLANI, RB #24

George Houdini...er… Holani had a solid showing in the season opener last week, rushing for 100 yards on 14 attempts and a touchdown along with three catches for 33 yards and another score. Holani is set to become the next bell-cow back for the Broncos and look for Boise State to use him both in the run game and catching the ball out of the backfield.

Focus Position Group: Defensive Line

Stopping the run could be used as a key to the game pretty much every week of the season. It’s really important when you face an opponent who is a top five rushing team in all of the FBS. With the Falcons being a run first, second, and third team it is important for the three guys upfront to have solid games. The Broncos had some major turn over on the d-line this year, but after last week, Bronco nation seemed to be very pleased with play from younger guys who are playing major minutes this season. Stopping the run is a top priority this week and the play of the defensive line will go a long way in achieving that.

Rev's Route to a Bronco Win

Win First Down

Usually “winning” first down is a key for the offense to have a better chance of moving the ball, but this week winning first down will be important for the defense. Because of the nature of the Air Force offense, if the Broncos defense can force minimal or negative gains of first down it will force the Falcons into third and long situations which will make them more predictable.

Build an early lead

The Eric Kesau offensive coordinator era started off with a bang on Saturday with the offense exploding for 42 points. Boise State never trailed last week in their convincing win. This week it will be just as important to get off to fast start and force an Air Force team, who are not built to come-from-behind, to play catch up.

Third quarter let down

Again, Boise State had a disappointing start to the second half last week not scoring a single point in the third quarter. This has somewhat become a trend as of late with the Broncos scoring seven points or less in eight of their 14 games lat season. The Broncos need to have a strong third quarter this week, which Hardin did stress by saying, “Regardless of the score we need to start faster.”

Editorial Note

Colorado Springs has been a spooky place for Brian Harsin and the Broncos during his six year stint at the helm of Boise State. Brian Harsin has struggled traveling to the academy but, he may have exercised those road demons with a 38-28 win in 2018. If the Broncos can refrain from playing down to their opponent like they did at times last year there should be no reason why the Broncos couldn’t make Halloween frightening for the Falcons.

The Broncos should be able to expose the Falcons through the air on Saturday afternoon and should be stout enough up front on the defensive line to keep the Air Force rushing attack grounded.

Boise State should be in for a tasty treat come Saturday night.

Boise State 38, Air Force 20

Rev's Rundown

Revs Rundown 2020 Week Two: Boise State at Air Force Academy