Two high-powered offenses will dictate this one as the Air Force Falcons (7-3) meet the Boise State Broncos (7-3). A player to keep an eye on during this game is the nation’s fourth-leading receiver, Thomas Sperbeck (1,210 yards, 7 TDs). Winners of four of its last five, Air Force will be hoping to add to its recent success in this week’s clash. The game starts at 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov 20 and will be available on ESP2.
In last week’s matchup, Boise State was defeated by New Mexico 31-24. Thomas Sperbeck had a big game in the loss, grabbing 20 passes for 281 yards. Brett Rypien also had a great game with 503 yards and two TDs through the air. Air Force is hoping for another victory like last week’s performance, when it defeated Utah State 35-28. Jalen Robinette had an outstanding performance for the Falcons, totaling seven receptions for 210 yards and one TD. Karson Roberts also had a big day, contributing 271 yards and a TD through the air.
The Broncos, a 14-point favorite, will be looking to defend their home field when Air Force visits. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is presently unavailable.
Sitting at 7-3 Straight Up (SU) and 5-5 Against The Spread (ATS), the Broncos will look to improve heading into Week 12. Over their last five games, the Broncos have records of 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS. Boise State’s offense is averaging 538.2 total yards over the last five games. As for the Boise State defense, there are important areas to keep an eye on. Boise State’s defense will look to improve its stats against the pass when the Falcons come to town. Air Force’s 121.7 passing yards per game ranks 125th in the nation. In the first quarter, Boise State is tough to stop, putting up 10.5 points in the first 15 minutes.
On the other side, the Falcons have a record of 7-3 for both ATS and SU. Over their last five games, the Falcons have a SU and ATS record of 4-1 for those betting with them. Hopefully Boise State’s defense is better than its timing. It will be matching up against a Falcons offense that is on fire lately, averaging 500 total yards over their last five games. Moving on to the Air Force defense, it has some favorable matchups that it may be able to take advantage of as well. The Air Force defense has given opposing running backs difficulty this season. Opponents average just 115.6 rushing yards per game against this frightening bunch. The Broncos need to protect their quarterback against the sack-happy Falcons. The Air Force defense ranks 12th in the country in sacks with 2.9 per game. Air Force fans don’t normally have much to complain about when it comes to the refs. The Falcons record very few penalties, ranking eighth with only 4.2 per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Boise State, ATS Winner – Air Force
Notes
Boise State is 16-3 SU in its last 19 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boise State’s last 6 games.
Boise State is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games at home.
Boise State is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boise State’s last 5 games at home.
Air Force is 7-0 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Boise State is 7-1 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Remarkably, Boise State is only 1-3 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet undefeated (5-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
The Air Force rush defense is ranked 15th in the country, and will look to contain the 59th-ranked ground attack of Boise State.
