Boise State loses third straight game on the blue: Air Force defeats the Broncos 24-17

BOISE, Idaho — For the first time since the 1996-1997 season, the Boise State Broncos have lost three games in a row on the blue as Air Force defeated Boise State 24-17.

The Broncos fall to 3-4 on the season and 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference and now they are two games behind Air Force in the standings.

A key play in this game came on a 4th and goal from the two with five minutes to play in the third, Air Force would stuff Hank Bachmeier and on the play, BSU only had ten players on the field after calling a timeout before the play.

"There is no question that is a critical error in that situation that is my fault," said head coach Andy Avalos. "I’ve got to make sure there are eleven guys who run on the field."

Boise State's next opportunity came with under five minutes to play in the game but the offense never got on the field as Kekaula Kaniho who was playing in his 55th game, a new Bronco's record, got blocked into the ball on a punt and Air Force recovered.

"We did not do a good job making sure our players understood the situations and how to handle those situations," said Avalos.

Miraculously, Boise State would get one more opportunity after Riley Smith recovered a well-executed onside kick.

However, on the next play, Air Force would intercept Hank Bachmeier as Boise State committed two turnovers while the Falcons had one, penalties also hurt as Boise State had eight for 75 yards stalling drives and having big plays reversed.

"Eliminating penalties, eliminating negative yardage plays it’s very difficult to play from behind the chains and to get the other team off schedule when we are consistently putting ourselves behind the chains," said Avalos.

Boise State only scored three points in the second half, but they did get off to a good start scoring two touchdowns on their first three drives.

However, Air Force did find the endzone on all three of their first drives and although the BSU defense held the Falcons to three points in the second half the Broncos lost their third consecutive game on the blue.

“Frustrated, disappointed and angry I’m sure you could name them all," said defensive lineman Scott Matlock. "That’s not what we wanted to do and they played better than we did."

Coach Avalos also told the media some players were late to meetings this week, BSU has a bye next week to get things ironed out before they travel to Colorado State in two weeks.

Attendance for the game against Air Force was 34,446.