The Boise State Broncos were challenged by Air Force on Friday night before picking up a 42-20 win.
Air Force vs. Boise State 2013 final score: Broncos survive brief scare, 42-20
The Broncos started off slowly, but Chris Petersen got his defense together in the second half to pick up Boise’s first conference victory of the year.
Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports
The Broncos went into halftime with just a 21-17 lead after an unimpressive first 30 minutes of play. They were unable to stop the Falcons on a handful of lengthy drives, and they even trailed at one point late in the second quarter. Head coach Chris Petersen and BSU made plenty of adjustments at halftime and rolled in the second half, dominating Air Force on both sides of the ball.
With the score 35-20 late in the fourth quarter, Air Force had one final shot at making things interesting. An errant pass from quarterback Jaleel Awini was intercepted by the Broncos, essentially ending things in Boise.
Box Score Hero: Joe Southwick was just about perfect on Friday night, completing 27 of 29 passes for 287 yards and a touchdown. He threw just one incompletion in the first half and saw his lone incompletion of the second half get intercepted. Awini was awfully impressive, carrying the football 23 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
You won't find this in a box score anywhere, but here's Boise State back Jay Ajayi, who had four touchdowns, drinking pickle juice. Yes, drinking pickle juice while running all over the field on a warm night. Pickle juice. Pickle. Juice.
Rankings Ramifications: Boise’s loss to Washington to open the season knocked them out of the top 25, and it seems unlikely the home win over Air Force does much in the eyes of voters. They’ll need to run the table in the Mountain West if they hope to enter the rankings once again.
But Did They Cover? Boise State opened as 24-point favorites, according to Odds Shark. They failed to cover the spread.
For More On This Game:
For more on Broncos football, visit Boise State community OBNUG.
For more on Air Force football, visit MWC community Mountain West Connection.
Next Week’s Schedule:
Boise State: 9/20, @ Fresno State, 9 p.m. ET
Air Force: 9/21, vs. Wyoming, 10:15 p.m.
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