Boise St.-Air Force
Time: 7 PM ET
Spread: BS -13
Total: 55.5
M/L: BS -475; AF +380
Betting Odds courtesy of Bookmaker
Boise State enters this matchup with a 3-1 record and a 1-0 in the Mountain West Conference. This matchup against the Air Force Falcons should help Boise move to 2-0 in the conference. The Falcons are 2-1 on the season, but Air Force punished Georgia State last week 48-38. After this matchup the Falcons will move on to play Navy, Utah State and New Mexico.
The Falcons, like their other armed forces counterparts, rely heavily on the rush. The team has averaged 335 yards through its first three games via the rush.
Jacobi Owens is largely responsible for this dominance. He’s averaged 6.5 yards per carry on 66 attempts, good for 431 yards on the year, as well as having scored three TDs. The Falcons have eight other rushing TDs from the team, with QB Kyle Pearson having accounted for two of them.
Pearson has been good via the pass too, in limited attempts. He’s thrown 32-of-53 for completion (60.4 percent) and hasn’t thrown a single interception all year. While he’s thrown just two TDs, the Falcons are confident Pearson won’t make miscues when passing plays are called. His 147.2 QB rating is as solid as they come, especially for a team so heavily dependent on the run. When Air Force does run a passing play, it usually catches the other team off guard, which has helped Pearson average 8.85 yards per reception.
Boise State has done very well since losing its opening week matchup to then-No. 18 Ole Miss. Week 2-4 victories over Colorado State, UConn and LA-Lafayette have helped the Broncos improve to 3-1 on the season. None of those games were particularly close, either, with the average margin of victory being 21.6 points. The loss to Ole Miss was a bad one, but Boise State won’t face another ranked opponent until Oct 24 when they square off against BYU.
The Broncos have been dominant offensively, and average 30.5 points per game, due to a strong and balanced attack. The team averages 273.3 yards per game via the pass and 193.3 on the ground. RB Jay Ajayi has been the leading rusher, by a good margin. He’s rushed for 494 yards and five TDs on the season, while QB Grant Hedrick also has rushed for 124 yards and a TD.
Hedrick has thrown 73.7 percent of his passes for completion and has 1,086 yards already on the season. He’s struggled with interceptions, but still has five TDs to match his five INTs and a QB rating of 145.1. While Boise State may not be a dominant team, they are formidable within their own conference and should score an easy win this week over Air Force.
