Air Force will face Boise State on Saturday, September 20, at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs. Both teams enter the game with a 1-1 record, but Air Force is 0-1 in Mountain West play while Boise State has yet to play a conference game this season.
This matchup marks the 13th meeting between the two programs, all as conference opponents. Boise State leads the series 8-4 and has won six of the last seven games against Air Force. In their last meeting on November 24, 2023, Boise State defeated Air Force 27-19 in Boise to secure a share of first place in the Mountain West. During that game, Air Force finished with 337 total yards—206 of them rushing—and Dylan Carson led with a career-best 132 yards and a touchdown.
At home, Air Force holds a 2-3 record against Boise State. The last contest at Falcon Stadium ended in a 19-14 victory for Boise State on October 22, 2022. Despite being held to -1 total yards in the first quarter and trailing by as much as 16 points, Air Force narrowed the gap late but was unable to complete the comeback.
Boise State enters this week’s game after an open date and is beginning its Mountain West schedule. The Broncos are coached by Spencer Danielson and are coming off back-to-back Mountain West championships. Last season they finished with a 12-2 record and earned a berth in the College Football Playoff.
So far this year, Boise State averages 29 points per game while allowing an average of 24 points. Dylan Riley leads their rushing attack with 143 yards on just 13 carries and one touchdown. Quarterback Maddux Madsen has thrown for over five hundred yards through two games.
Air Force continues to rely heavily on its running game. The Falcons have set a new Mountain West record by rushing for at least 250 yards and three touchdowns in six straight games—a streak extended during their season-opening win over Bucknell (267 rushing yards) and continued at Utah State (266 rushing yards). They also hold the nation’s longest active streak of consecutive games with more than one hundred rushing yards at eighty-seven games; Boise State ranks second nationally with forty such games.
In last week’s loss to Utah State (49-30), Air Force produced several individual highlights despite falling behind early. Senior punter Luke Freer became Air Force’s career leader in punting average after recording his fiftieth career punt. Sophomore quarterback Liam Szarka scored his first career touchdown and rushed for three scores overall, while junior linebacker Blake Fletcher recorded eleven tackles for the second consecutive week.
If Air Force wins Saturday’s contest, it would move to 2-1 overall and even its conference record at one win apiece. It would also snap Boise State’s two-game winning streak in head-to-head matchups and extend Air Force’s home winning streak to four games dating back to last season.
The Falcons currently lead the Mountain West Conference in scoring offense (39.5 points per game), rushing (266.5 yards per game), third down conversion rate (.519), time of possession (34:55 per game), red zone efficiency (100%), and average yards per completion (19.88).
Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. MT at Falcon Stadium.
