BOISE, Idaho — Boise State closed out its regular season with a 27-19 win over Air Force on Friday to inch closer to a potential Mountain West title game appearance.
The Broncos' second consecutive victory under interim head coach Spencer Danielson was powered by a dominant rushing attack and defense that limited the Falcons to just 131 yards in the first half. Friday's win eliminated Air Force from title contention and marked its fourth straight loss after starting 8-0.
Computer rankings will determine whether Boise State competes in the conference championship game after San Jose State upset UNLV 37-31 on Saturday to create a three-way tie atop the standings. If the Rebels had won – as Bronco Nation hoped – they would have earned the right to host the title bout against the Broncos at Allegiant Stadium.
The Spartans' victory creates a three-way tie between Boise State, San Jose State and UNLV, which will be settled by a computer algorithm to determine the top-two teams. The Mountain West will announce the championship host and participants Sunday morning at an undetermined time.
One week after making his return from injury, sophomore running back Ashton Jeanty put on a show Friday on The Blue. He became the first FBS player with more than 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in a single season since 2019, and surpassed 200 yards from scrimmage for the fourth time this fall.
Boise State (7-5, 6-2 MW) dominated the majority of game, but failed to capitalize on a few offensive opportunities to open the floodgates. The Broncos opened the contest with a nine-play, 54-yard drive that came to a halt and resulted in a 38-yard field goal from Jonah Dalmas.
Air Force (8-4, 5-3 MW) failed to answer trailing 3-0 and quickly went three-and-out after a sack by defensive end Ahmed Hassanein on third down. The Bronco standout has recorded a sack in eight consecutive games and is up to 12 on the season.
The Falcons' 31-yard punt set Boise State up at its own 45-yard line and the Broncos neared the red zone in a hurry following a 25-yard pass from quarterback Taylen Green to tight end Riley Smith, who was honored during Friday's senior day ceremony.
Another promising drive stopped when Green was intercepted by Air Force's Jalen Mergerson at the goal line with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Green had started the game 5-of-5 for 60 passing yards and Boise State limited Air Force to -1 total yards, but the score remained 3-0.
On its third drive, Boise State finally found the end zone on a 12-yard touchdown run by Green. The possession consisted of two 18-yard grabs by tight end Matt Lauter and a heavy dose of Jeanty. The 12-play, 90-yard drive consumed six minutes of the second quarter and put the Broncos up 10-0.
Photos: Boise State vs. Air Force
Air Force put together an eight-play, 42-yard drive, but Andrew Simpson came up big with a sack on 3rd-and-5 at Boise State's 33-yard line. Matthew Dapore's 50-yard field goal made it 10-3 with 5:22 left in the first half.
Following the kickoff, a short pass from Green to Jeanty resulted in a 75-yard touchdown on the Broncos' first offensive play. Jeanty showcased a combination of speed and vision on the screen, making a handful of Falcons miss on a pair of cuts before outrunning the entire secondary.
Jeanty finished with 107 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries (7.6 YPC), in addition to 118 receiving yards and a score on five grabs. His family made the 24-hour drive from Texas to watch him play in Friday's game and to see him on Thanksgiving.
Trailing 17-3 with 5:07 before halftime, Air Force put together a classic triple-option drive with only two passing attempts until the final play. With nine seconds remaining, John Busha hit Brandon Engel for 20 yards to set up a 45-yard field goal from Dapore to enter the locker room down 17-6.
The Broncos outgained the Falcons 253 yards to 131 yards in the first 30 minutes and averaged nearly twice as many yards per play. However, Air Force stayed within striking distance due to Green's interception in the red zone, forcing a field goal on the opening drive, and winning time of possession.
Friday's contest became a high-anxiety battle for Bronco fans when the Falcons opened the second half with a five-play, 47-yard touchdown drive. Dylan Carson roared out of the gate with a 68-yard run, before Busha's quarterback sneak on 4th-and-1 made it 17-12.
Boise State came up big with an impressive effort on the failed two-point conversation, as captain and linebacker DJ Schramm made his presence felt with a booming hit on John Lee Eldridge III.
In just four plays, the Broncos widened the margin to 24-12 with 10:51 left in the third quarter. Following a 17-yard pass from Green to Jeanty and a pair of carries from George Holani, the sophomore standout found paydirt again, this time from 50 yards out.
Following another Air Force three-and-out, Boise State looked to go over the 30-point mark once again with 8:50 remaining in the third quarter. Green completions to Holani and Smith got the Broncos to midfield, but he was once again intercepted – this time by Jayden Goodwin on first down.
Outside of the two interceptions, which were certainly costly, Green had a nice outing in the regular-season finale on paper. The Texas native finished 13-of-17 for 228 yards passing with a touchdown. Green also turned seven carries into 25 yards and a score.
Air Force capitalized on the turnover and short field, going 60 yards in seven plays and four minutes to cut the deficit to 24-19 on a two-yard trot from Carson. After moving to Boise State's 22-yard line on a 38-yard pass from Busha to Wilson, the Falcons ran the ball on the scoring drive to wind the clock to 1:49 left in the third.
For the first time all day, James Ferguson-Reynolds was brought out to punt on the second-to-last play of the third after Boise State went three-and-out. The standout booted it 70 yards to put the Falcons at their own 7, which proved to be huge in a five-point game.
Halfway through the final frame, each team had only converted one first down. A 15-yard toss to Prince Strachan from Green and an 11-yard run from Jeanty got Boise State within striking distance, and Dalmas hit a 52-yard field goal to make it 27-19 with 4:31 to play.
Down by eight points, Air Force had one last opportunity to potentially tie the game with 26 seconds left. However, Boise State closed the door as Kaonohi Kaniho grabbed an interception to start the celebration.
Friday's game was a sellout crowd of 36,390, the largest ever for a regular season finale at Albertsons Stadium. Boise State averaged 35,867 in attendance this season, breaking the previous school record of 35,404 set in 2012.
Busha finished 8-of-17 for 131 yards passing with the interception, while Carson ran for 132 yards and the score on 12 carries. Engel led the Falcons with 57 receiving yards.
Air Force entered Friday's game with the No. 2 rushing offense among all FBS teams, averaging 281.7 yards per outing. The Falcons were also ranked No. 6 nationally in rushing defense, giving up just 88.5 yards per game, and 11th in passing yards allowed.
Boise State held Air Force to 206 rushing yards, while posting 181 yards on the ground and 228 yards through the air. Holani finished the game with 52 yards on 16 carries, while Lauter and Smith led the way with 36 and 32 receiving yards respectively.
Safety Alexander Teubner led the Broncos with 14 total tackles and added a pass breakup. Schramm posted seven tackles, while Rodney Robinson, Seyi Oladipo and Hassanein each had six. Braxton Fely forced a fumble one week after forcing a pair in Boise State's 45-10 win over Utah State.
Watch more on Boise State Football:
See all of our Boise State football coverage in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.