Final: Air Force 24, Boise State 17; mistakes prove costly in third loss on The Blue
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‘Self-inflicted wounds,’ Air Force ground game leave Boise State in home losing skid
Broncos fall to Falcons
Boise State’s roller coaster of a game with Air Force ended poorly Saturday night for the Broncos, with quarterback Hank Bachmeier throwing an interception on the first play after BSU recovered an onside kick to try to cap a rally.
Down 21-14, the Broncos forced a punt with 4:55 left in the game, only to watch it bounce off of Kekaula Kaniho and be recovered by Air Force. That led to a field goal that gave the Falcons insurance, a 24-14 lead with 2:49 to play.
Boise State then drove 53 yards in 11 plays but stalled at the Air Force 20, and got a field goal from Jonah Dalmas to make it 24-17 with 49 seconds to play. The onside kick followed, with Dalmas faking and punter Joel Velazquez kicking a bouncer that deflected off the Falcons and was caught in stride by Riley Smith.
But on the next play, Bachmeier was intercepted trying to carve a pass into Octavius Evans along the sideline.
Boise State has now lost three straight home games and is 3-4 on the season.
SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
BSU — Stefan Cobbs 8 pass from Hank Bachmeier (Jonah Dalmas kick), 11:15. Key play: A deep ball from Bachmeier to Cobbs on third-and-7 from the Air Force 46-yard line put the Broncos in striking distance on the 7. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 3:45. Boise State 7, Air Force 0
AFA — Brad Roberts 4 run (Anthony Rodriguez kick), 4:29. Key plays: The Falcons had five runs of 5 or more yards on this drive. But the most pivotal play came on first-and-10 from the BSU 19-yard line when QB Haaziq Daniels attempted what was either an incomplete pass or fumbled pitch to Micah Davis. BSU’s Riley Whimpey recovered the fumble. The call on the field was a forward pass, and it was confirmed after an official review, extending the Falcons’ drive. Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, 6:46. Boise State 7, Air Force 7
Second quarter
AFA — Haaziq Daniels 25 run (Rodriguez kick), 13:53. Key play: The Falcons’ largest gain on this drive was courtesy of a 15-yard face mask penalty by Boise State. Daniels called his own number on the scoring play, scrambling to his right and running untouched until around the 5-yard-line, where BSU safety JL Skinner was unable to keep him out of the end zone. Drive: 10 plays, 76 yards, 4:19. Air Force 14, Boise State 7
BSU — Andrew Van Buren 11 run (Dalmas kick), 10:04. Key plays: Khalil Shakir caught a 22-yard pass on the first play of this drive and then hauled in a 12-yard reception on third-and-10 to set up Van Buren’s TD run. Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 3:41. Boise State 14, Air Force 14
AFA — Roberts 1 run (Rodriguez kick), 6:12. Key play: On third-and-8 from their own 27, Air Force attempted just its third pass of the game. The result was a 59-yard completion from Daniels to receiver Brandon Lewis to the BSU 14-yard line. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:52. Air Force 21, Boise State 14
Fourth quarter
AFA — Matthew Dapore 28 field goal, 2:49. Key plays: Air Force started this drive on the BSU 15-yard line after a Falcons punt touched Kekaula Kaniho and resulted in a fumble, which Air Force recovered. Boise State limited the Falcons to three straight 2-yard runs, and Air Force settled for the field goal. Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 2:06. Air Force 24, Boise State 14
BSU — Dalmas 37 field goal, 0:49. Key plays: The Broncos completed six pass plays on this drive, the longest a 15-yarder to Octavius Evans. But the drive stalled on the Air Force 20, and the Broncos had to settle for a field goal. Drive: 11 plays, 53 yards, 2:00. Air Force 24, Boise State 17
BSU misses seven players
Boise State will be without seven players — one more than last week — when the Broncos take the field against Air Force (7 p.m., FS1), a spokesperson for the program announced about 45 minutes before kickoff.
The Broncos will face the Falcons without their top two running backs, George Holani and Cyrus Habibi-Likio.
Holani will miss his third game of the season. He was sidelined for Boise State’s season opener at UCF because of a leg injury and didn’t play last week at BYU after aggravating the same injury in the Broncos’ loss to Nevada.
Habibi-Likio led Boise State with 75 yards at BYU last Saturday, but he left the game early in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury and didn’t return.
Senior Andrew Van Buren will carry the load Saturday, and he’ll be backed up by former walk-on Tyler Crowe and junior college transfer Taequan Tyler.
Cornerback Tyric LeBeauf will miss his second straight game, and guard Garrett Curran is sidelined for the third week in a row.
Backup cornerback Damon Cole is also out, which may mean redshirt freshman Kaonohi Kaniho will make his first career start.
Sixth-year senior Jake Stetz likely will replace Curran at left guard again, while Ben Dooley fills in at right guard after beginning the season at right tackle.
Nose tackle Jackson Cravens is also out for undisclosed reasons, and center Kekaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez will miss his seventh straight game.
The Broncos also remain without nose tackle Scale Igiehon, who took a leave of absence in September for personal reasons, and defensive end Aisa Kelemete, who medically retired.
Boise State does not have any players out because of COVID-19.
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NEWS & NOTES
Military flyover follows national anthem
The 34,446 fans at Albertsons Stadium were treated to a military flyover at the conclusion of the national anthem.
The joint operation featured F-15 E Strike Eagles from Mountain Home Air Force Base and A-10 Thunderbolt II planes from the Idaho Air National Guard at Boise’s own Gowen Field.
The fighter jets rumbled over Albertsons Stadium flying north to south just before kickoff between the Broncos and Falcons.
Commissioner attends Boise State game
Craig Thompson was in Albertsons Stadium on Saturday night, and he stopped by the FS1 broadcast booth at the start of the second quarter to talk about the Mountain West.
Play-by-play announcer Cory Provus asked Thompson what the dialogue was like with coaches and athletic directors as he made his way around the conference sites.
“We’re really excited,” Thompson said. “As I’ve said a number of times, the league’s a lot deeper, a lot stronger. The 5th-, 6th-, 7th-place teams are very competitive. We’re having a really good season, the nonconference was phenomenal in September.”
Much of college football is focused on conference expansion these days, as well as an expanded College Football Playoff that seems inevitable down the line. That playoff expansion is intended to help Group of Five conferences break into the CFP, and commentator Mark Helfrich, a former head coach at Oregon, asked what the Mountain West’s path was.
“We discuss who we’re playing,” Thompson said. “San Diego State has a couple of Pac-12 wins in the nonconference. We play really good nonconference schedules. I think that 10-2, 11-1 team is going to be a (Mountain West) conference champion, and we’ll be one of the hopefully expanded playoff top six conferences.”
BSU receiver Khalil Shakir made a big play while Thompson was in the booth, allowing him to join those praising the wideout this season.
“He’s really something, and they’ve had some good receivers up here the last couple years,” Thompson said. “He’s had a phenomenal career in a very short period of time here.”
Quick hits
The Broncos wore blue jerseys, blue pants and blue helmets. ... Team captains Khalil Shakir and Kekaula Kaniho were joined by linebacker Riley Whimpey and running back Andrew Van Buren as game captains. ... Boise State won the coin toss and elected to receive. ... Boise State was led onto the field by safety Alexander Teubner, who carried the Dan Paul Hammer. ... Center Will Farrar carried the American flag and defensive tackle Scott Matlock carried the Bleed Blue flag.
WHERE TO FIND THE TV BROADCAST
Boise State will be on Fox Sports 1 (FS1) this week. That’s channel 146 on Sparklight, 219 on DirecTV and 150 on Dish Network.
AIR FORCE AT BOISE STATE
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Albertsons Stadium (36,387, turf), Boise
TV: FS1 (Cory Provus, Mark Helfrich).
Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State 3-3, 1-1 MW; Air Force 5-1, 2-1
Series: Boise State is 6-3 all-time against Air Force, and the Broncos have won four in a row.
Vegas line: Boise State by 3.5
Weather: 65 degrees at kickoff, 0% chance of rain, 9 mph winds
THIS WEEK’S COVERAGE
Boise State’s oft-criticized offensive line finds confidence, and needs it vs. Air Force
Family tradition: This Boise State cornerback is following in his brother’s footsteps
Keys to victory, betting line and prediction for Boise State’s home game vs. Air Force
‘Opportunity is everything’: This Boise State cornerback took a long road to The Blue
Boise State loses starter in secondary; two players retire; update on backfield injuries
Idaho ties in the NFL: McNichols credits Snoop Dogg for giving him ‘hope’ as young kid
Kickoff time announced for Boise State’s home tilt vs. Mountain West foe Air Force
Falcons, Tiger and Bear, oh my! Boise State QB hosts special guests vs. Air Force
This story was originally published October 16, 2021 at 6:42 PM.
