Boise State-Air Force report card: Grading the Broncos’ cathartic 48-38 road win

Getting a win at Air Force on Saturday was big on its own, but the way the Boise State football team did it made those previous losses get farther into the rearview.

The Broncos’ 48-38 win at Falcon Stadium was their first in three all-time visits, and it wasn’t exactly pretty, but they came up with some clutch plays in all phases. They didn’t turn the ball over, kept drives alive and got the defense off the field after a slow start.

“I thought they played with heart tonight and it showed up,” Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said. “They had a lot of guts, and they made it happen.”

Boise State (6-2 overall, 4-1 Mountain West), which received two points in the USA Today coaches’ poll and none in the Associated Press Top 25, will host BYU (4-4) at Albertsons Stadium for an 8:15 p.m. kickoff Saturday on ESPN2. Two other November opponents — Utah State and Fresno State — made their AP debuts Sunday at No. 18 and 20, respectively.

OFFENSE: A-minus

The Broncos had an 800-yard game earlier this season, but Saturday’s performance was almost as impressive, even if the Broncos had almost 300 fewer yards (530).

Senior quarterback Brett Rypien was outstanding with 399 yards passing, tying his career-high with five touchdowns and did not have an interception. He converted two third-and-10s, a third-and-16 and a fourth-and-10 through the air. Three of those four came on one drive in which Rypien was 4-for-11, but finished with a 35-yard touchdown to CT Thomas that tied it up 5 seconds before halftime.

“I thought that was probably my worst drive of the game as far as accuracy and different things going on,” Rypien said. “I was seeing it really well, just didn’t make a couple throws but on some third and fourth downs when we needed it we were able to get the plays.”

The Broncos didn’t score on only two of their 10 full possessions. Though their 121 yards rushing on 33 attempts is hardly awe-inspiring, junior running back Alexander Mattison’s season-high 136 yards was a big positive. Air Force came into the game 13th nationally in rush defense. Harsin said “we were two or three leg pulls away from just exploding on some runs, having some 80-, 60-yard runs.”

DEFENSE: C-plus

In the Broncos’ most recent games against Air Force, they had done a good job of bottling up the Falcons, but for most of Saturday, they were out of sorts.

The Falcons threw for 242 yards on 11-of-16 passing, taking advantage of Boise State having its eyes in the backfield. They scored touchdowns on four of their first five drives.

Air Force rushed for 201 yards on 51 carries, never breaking a run of more than 20 yards, as Boise State was solid keeping the Falcons in check. It was the first time since Nov. 15, 2016 they had more passing than rushing yards. The Broncos had six tackles for loss, including two sacks. Air Force was held to 165 total yards in the first half after racking up 278 in the first half.

“I know overall, they’re going to look at it and say ‘that’s not to our standard,’” Harsin said. “What I will say about our defense and our defensive staff, they made second-half adjustments, and I think really good teams do that.”

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

It was another very good performance from the Broncos in the kicking and return game after being one of the worst in the nation the first month of the season. And they did what they had never done at Air Force — avoided having a kick or punt blocked.

Punt returner Avery Williams’ 67-yard return to the Air Force 5-yard line set up a 1-yard Mattison touchdown in the third quarter, and the Broncos avoided a blocking penalty, which had been frequent. Kicker Haden Hoggarth hit both field goals, including a career-best 47-yarder that put Boise State up 41-31 with 12:14 remaning. Punter Quinn Skillin’s lone punt was a 46-yarder.

“The other big part (the game), on special teams, Avery with the big return ... that was another momentum swing in the game I thought was huge,” Harsin said.

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