The Air Force Falcons travel to Albertsons Stadium to face the Boise State Broncos in a crucial Mountain West Conference matchup on Friday night. The Falcons sit at the top of the Mountain division at 5-1 in conference play in the MWC. Boise State is 7-3 on the season and only sits a game behind the Falcons at 4-2 in conference play this season, so whoever wins Friday night can take control of the top spot .
The Broncos will look to bounce back after a tough loss to the New Mexico Lobos last week, and will need to win out and have New Mexico lose one of their final two games to win the division. Boise State won the MWC Championship game last season, and is looking to repeat as champions again this season.
Freshman quarterback Brett Rypien leads the Broncos offense, and has struggled at times this season. Rypien threw for over 500 yards last week against the Lobos, but had three interceptions in the loss and will need to be careful with the football against Air Force's defense.
Broncos head coach Bryan Harsin will make sure that wide receiver Thomas Sperbeck gets plenty of opportunities Friday night. The junior wideout leads the team in receiving yards with 1,210 yards on the season, with seven touchdowns. Sperbeck had his biggest game of the season last week, catching 20 passes for 281 yards and he'll look to produce big numbers against the Falcons on Friday evening.
Air Force will need to contain the Broncos' high-powered offense, and have won four straight going into Friday's matchup. The Falcons will look to control the time of possession, as head coach Troy Calhoun will want to keep the ball out of the Broncos hands.
Senior quarterback Karson Roberts leads the Falcons offense, and the Air Force quarterback keeps defenses on their heels with his dual threat ability. Roberts has thrown for 965 yards this season, and has also rushed for 463 yards and scored eight rushing touchdowns. The Falcons quarterback has struggled throwing the ball, as he has four touchdowns to four interceptions on the season, but is coming off his best game of the year throwing for 271 yards and a touchdown against Utah State.
Running back Jacobi Owens will get plenty of carries on Friday night, as he leads the team in rushing yards this season. Owens scored two rushing touchdowns last week against Utah State, and will try to find the endzone against the Broncos. The Falcons junior running back is averaging 4.8 yards per carry and has scored six touchdowns this season.
Friday night's game looks to be a crucial matchup between two MWC opponents, and could have a major impact on who wins the Mountain division in the conference.
The game starts at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time, and you can watch the live broadcast here. To listen to the Broncos' radio broadcast, click here, and for the Falcons' radio broadcast, go here.
