Air Force vs. Boise State: Report Card Grades for the Broncos Win

Boise State got their first scare of the season and passed the test. Air Force showed Chris Petersen he’s got some holes in his defense but in the end, they came through with help from Kellen Moore, Doug Martin and special teams. Moore tossed three touchdown passes to up his career total to 123, good for fourth all-time and notched his 45th win as a starter. He sits tied atop that list with Colt McCoy and will have two weeks until he becomes the leader alone against UNLV on November 5.

This could very well prove to be Boise’s lone test of the year with unpredictable TCU and San Diego State the only two teams capable of knocking the Broncos off left on their schedule. If that is the case, they are poised to make a championship run with the four teams ahead of them clashing in the coming month. Win out, and Boise may get exactly what they wanted, a shot at the national title.

Offense

Kellen Moore and the Boise State offense scored on their first drive of the game for the third straight week and didn’t look back. Moore threw for 57 yards and a touchdown on the first drive and finished with 282 yards and three touchdowns. He threw his first interception since Week 4 and improved his record as a starter to 45-2. One more win and he will pass Colt McCoy for the all-time lead in wins by a quarterback.

Doug Martin looked lightning quick as usual and the muscle hamster scampered for 125 yards, caught a touchdown pass and ran for one as well. He had a whoops moment and fumbled in the first half, but his defense was able to bail him out.

Wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker put in another fine performance coming up two yards shy of his third 100-yard game of the season and freshman Matt Miller made an acrobatic 24-yard catch on the sideline, finishing with 67 yards and a touchdown.

420 total yards of offense, 37 points and 5-for-8 on third down conversions makes up a good day on offense.

Grade—A

Defense

The Air Force triple option against the Boise State defense was by far the most intriguing matchup of the day. Air Force came into the game averaging 336 yards per game on the ground and Boise has held its opponents to 112.8. The Falcons topped Boise’s season average in the first half alone with 152 yards and finished with 275, by far the most Boise has allowed all season. Tulsa had previously gained 155 yards against them back in Week 3.  

Tim Jefferson did not throw the ball often, but when he did, Boise seemed ill-prepared. The interception did not do justice for him and he had his fourth highest passing game of the season (132 yards) on only six completions.

Air Force dominated time of possession. They held the ball for nearly 13 more minutes than Boise and the Bronco defense proved their worth, spending more than half the game on the field.

Grade—B+

Special Teams

Air Force managed to block the extra point of the go-ahead touchdown for the Broncos in the second quarter and it’s moments like that which always seem to come back and haunt you, but the Boise special teams redeemed themselves later that quarter. Air Force tried to fool everyone and run a fake punt on 4th and four from their own 31-yard line. Mikel Hunter fumbled and Boise’s Hunter White returned it 16 yards for six points.

Boise State returned the favor later in the game by blocking an extra point of their own and many laterals later fell about 30 yards short of the end zone. Those two plays were the difference makers in the game and get the game ball from me.

Grade—A

Coaching

The announcers at one point claimed that if Boise State were not in the Mountain West with Air Force, Chris Petersen would never want to play them. Their triple option offense confuses many people on a weekly basis, including the camera man, and Petersen prepared his team well. They were able to tame Tim Jefferson and his fellow cadets on their home blue turf and come out with the victory. That’s all that matters. They have a lot to work off and proved very vulnerable to the running power of Air Force. TCU and San Diego State have powerful running games, albeit not as good as Air Force, but they will work off this and be ready for their two remaining tests.

Grade—A

Overall

Boise State had a scare for a while but was able to pull away safely from Air Force behind Kellen Moore and Doug Martin’s performances. Their defense got run on all day but was able to withstand the powerful Falcon running game and scarce Tim Jefferson throws. Their special teams accounted for seven big points and prevented one on a blocked extra point and as a whole; Boise State proved their worth against an underrated Air Force team.

Coming up next, the Broncos have a bye week and travel to UNLV on November 5. They should have no problem handling the 1-5 Rebels, who passed for only eight yards against Nevada this season. A win over UNLV will propel Boise upwards in the BCS standings after the game of the century ends and either LSU or Alabama get their first loss of the season.

Grade—A