Boise State Football: Game-by-game predictions for the 2018 season
By Zach Bigalke
Air Force, unlike Colorado State, has been a regular nemesis for Boise State. From 2014 through 2016, the Broncos lost three straight against the Falcons. The first loss, a 28-14 stumble in Colorado Springs, didn’t prevent Air Force from winning the Mountain West and then the Fiesta Bowl as the Group of Five representative.
But the 2015 and 2016 losses, each by a touchdown, played a major role in preventing Bryan Harsin’s squads from reaching the Mountain West championship game. The 2015 game, coming in the weekend prior to Thanksgiving, served as a de facto division championship game. Air Force’s win allowed them to play San Diego State. In 2016, losing to the Falcons meant that Wyoming and not Boise State went to the conference title game.
Last year, Harsin’s team broke through that losing streak and climbed back to the top of the Mountain West. The decisive 44-19 takedown of the Falcons showed the gulf opening up between these two teams. As Boise State restores itself to prominence, Air Force is regressing back to the mean in the conference.
This year Air Force suffered its biggest losses on defense. A group that gave up more than 32 points per game last year could end up being even worse this year. That doesn’t bode well against a team like Boise State, that will help push those averages further up in 2018.