Broncos Still in Hunt for MW Championship After 27-19 Win Over Air Force

Friday, November 24

Boise, Idaho

2 p.m.

Boise State

7-5 , 6-2

Air Force

8-4 , 5-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Air Force

Boise State

Photo by: Boise State University

Broncos Still in Hunt for MW Championship After 27-19 Win Over Air Force

11/24/2023 8:02:00 PM | Football

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Jeanty records 100-plus yards receiving, rushing in game

BOISE, Idaho – Ashton Jeanty continued to record history and the Boise State defense slowed down a talented Air Force offense in a 27-19 win in front of 36,390 fans at Albertsons Stadium Friday afternoon.

The win keeps Boise State (7-5, 6-2 Mountain West) in contention for the MW Championship game, pending Saturday's San Jose State at UNLV result and possibly the weekly release of the computer rankings. Air Force (8-4, 5-3 MW), which started the season rattling off eight consecutive wins, dropped its fourth straight to close the regular season.

Don't fault the Falcons, there aren't many teams that can stop Jeanty. The sophomore tailback became just the sixth player in school history to record 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a single game. He finished the day with 225 yards in total, vaulting him to second in the country with 1,650 yards from scrimmage despite missing 2 ½ games due to injury.

Jeanty led the way with his 225 yards while no other player in the game collected more than 150 yards. On the defensive side, Alexander Teubner led all players with a career-high 14 tackles. Ahmed Hassanein registered a sack for a national-leading eighth consecutive game while Andrew Simpson's 3.0 tackles for a loss finished just one shy of Air Force's 4.0 tackles for a loss as a team.

Ray Guy Award semifinalist James Ferguson-Reynolds averaged an astounding 53.7 yards on his three punts, with two landing inside the 20. While his first punt of the game, which did not occur until near the end of the third quarter, traveled a game-high 70 yards, it was his shortest punt of the night - a 44-yard boot - that might have been his most impactful punt.

With less than 30 seconds on the clock, Boise State couldn't not convert on 3rd-and-6, forcing a punt as the Falcons had two timeouts remaining. But the kick by Ferguson-Reynolds pinned Air Force back on their own 17 with just 26 seconds to go. Two plays later, Kaonohi Kaniho picked off John Busha and the Bronco offense knelt to seal the win.

As befitting a (regular) season finale, the drama was thick. Jonah Dalmas nailed a 38-yard field goal on the opening drive then Taylen Green scampered 12 yards for a touchdown to cap a 90-yard drive for a 10-0 lead. Immediately following Air Force's 50-yard field goal to get on the board, Jeanty took a swing pass from Green 75 yards to the house with nearly five minutes remaining in the half. The Falcons would eat up the remainder of the clock before intermission, hitting a 45-yard field goal as the half expired to send the teams to the locker room with a 17-6 score.

The Falcons gained 68 yards on the first snap of the second half, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by Busha. The two-point conversion attempt was stuffed by the Broncos, keeping the score at 17-12. On the ensuing drive, Jeanty hit big again, running for a 50-yard touchdown. Air Force refused to yield as Dylan Carson plunged in from the 2-yard line for a 24-17 score.

Dalmas nailed another long field goal - this time a 52-yarder - with 1:49 left to put the Broncos up 27-19. Air Force would fail to convert on fourth down on their ensuing drive before Kaniho's interception ended the threat.
Quotable

Top Broncos

Ashton Jeanty totaled 115 receiving yards, 107 rushing yards, and two touchdowns.
Taylen Green had 228 passing yards, 25 rushing yards, and two touchdowns.
Alexander Teubner had 14 tackles and a pass breakup.
Andrew Simpson recorded 3.0 TFLs.

Notables

The attendance of 36,390 at the game marked the largest crowd to ever watch a regular season finale at Albertsons Stadium. It is the 15th-largest crowd in stadium history.
That attendance brought the season average attendance to 35,867, setting a new school record for average attendance breaking the old record of 35,404 in 2012.
Jeanty finishes the game with 1,650 yards from scrimmage, ranking him second in the nation this season despite him missing 2 ½ games to injury.
Ashton Jeanty has become just the sixth Bronco all-time and the first since Jeremy McNichols in 2016 to record 100 or more yards both rushing and receiving.
Ahmed Hassanein recorded his team-best 12th sack, tying the sixth-highest single-season total in program history. He has 10.5 sacks since Sept. 30 and has recorded a sack in eight-straight games, the longest streak in the FBS this season. He has recorded a TFL in 10-straight games and ranks second in the MW with 15.5 this season.
Andrew Simpson matched his career-high with 3.0 TFLs, extending his season total to 15.0, which ties him for third in the MW.
Alexander Teubner had a career-high 14 tackles, the highest single-game total for Boise State this season.
James Ferguson-Reynolds is the first punter in the Mountain West this year and just the third punter nationally (along with Eastern Michigan's Mitchell Tomasek and Arkansas's Max Fletcher) to have multiple punts of 70 yards or more.
Jonah Dalmas made a 52-yard field goal, his third field goal over 50 yards this season. He is the first Bronco with multiple 50-yard field goals in a season since Kyle Brotzman made two in 2018. He has 18 this season, tying for the seventh-most in a single-season in Bronco history.

What's Next
The Broncos finish the regular season at 7-5 (6-2 MW) and in the top two places in the Mountain West. Boise State now awaits the results of Saturday's San Jose State at UNLV game. Should UNLV win, the Broncos will play at UNLV in the MW Championship Game. A San Jose State win over UNLV would result in a three-way tie for the regular season championship between Boise State, San Jose State and UNLV. The average of the computer rankings will determine the two teams advancing to the championship game and will be released by the conference office no later than Sunday.

For complete coverage of Boise State Football, download the Bronco Sports App or follow the team on social media on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X.

--BroncoSports.com--