‘A close one’: CBS Sports announcer breaks down Boise State’s trip to Air Force
Boise State football kicks off its quest for a third straight Mountain West title on Saturday when it opens its 2025 conference slate with a road trip to Air Force.
The Broncos enter the matchup with a 1-1 record and plenty of questions surrounding the team. Who will the Broncos’ offense run through? Will the kicking game fix itself? Are the Broncos still in the conversation for a College Football Playoff spot?
One person in a position to have some knowledge on the Broncos is CBS Sports Network announcer Robert Turbin. The former Utah State running back and Super Bowl XLVIII winner began his broadcasting career in 2022 and has primarily covered the Mountain West.
He’ll be on the call for Boise State’s trip to Air Force this weekend, and spent some time this week talking to the Idaho Statesman about his thoughts on the Broncos and the upcoming game.
The immediate good news for Bronco fans? Turbin thinks Boise State will beat Air Force.
“I think this is going to be a close one all the way through, but I can see Boise sort of pulling away in the fourth quarter,” Turbin said.
Turbin said he expected Boise State to be in the CFP conversation again going into this season. However, he is concerned about how the Broncos will rotate their three primary running backs: redshirt freshman Sire Gaines, sophomore Dylan Riley and sixth-year Malik Sherrod.
While acknowledging that all three players bring different skill sets, he said that it can be tough for a player to find a rhythm when not consistently being handed the ball.
Through two games this season, Gaines has 23 carries (142 yards), Sherrod 18 carries (69 yards) and Riley 13 carries (143 yards). Riley’s numbers are pumped up by a 77-yard rushing touchdown late in the Broncos’ 51-14 win over Eastern Washington.
“Sometimes it’s a play in the third quarter that sparks you. You just never know when it just clicks for you,” Turbin said. “And you get into this zone where you kind of feel somewhat unstoppable, and it’s very difficult to find that as a runner when you’re rotating behind two other guys.”
He was also more impressed with Air Force than its current record and trajectory projects. The Falcons, under 19th-year head coach Troy Calhoun, went 5-7 last year and have started the season 1-1, defeating Bucknell 49-13 before losing 49-30 to Utah State last weekend.
The Falcons, known for almost exclusively running the ball in their triple-option offense, threw the ball 23 times for 179 yards in their loss to Utah State.
“They’re again leading the Mountain West in rushing yards, they’re playing the style of football that they always played, that they want to play,” Turbin said. “They’ve even opened it up more, I think, in terms of being productive in the passing game and taking some shots down the field. Their issue is that they have a veteran offense outside of the quarterback, but they’re young on defense.”
Air Force may have to take to the air more than it would like against Boise State this weekend.
While the triple option will present plenty of challenges for the Broncos, the defensive front seven has enjoyed success at tackling runners quickly — the primary concern is when an opposition runner gets into the Boise State defensive backfield and the Broncos’ poor open-field tackling is exposed.
“The way to beat Boise is you really have to out-physical them,” Turbin said. “You’ve gotta attack, you’ve gotta impose your will, and you can’t make mistakes.”
Boise State at Air Force
- When: 5 p.m. Saturday
- Where: Falcon Stadium (39,441, turf), Colorado Springs
- TV: FS1 (Jason Knapp, Robert Turbin)
- Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
- Records: Boise State 1-1; Air Force 1-1
- Series: Boise State leads 8-4
- Vegas betting line: Boise State by 10.5
- Weather: 75 degrees, partly cloudy, 20% chance of rain
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
