Early bye week gives Boise State chance to prep for ‘really good opponent’

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Boise State football got the train back on the tracks last Friday night, torching Eastern Washington 51-14 in the Broncos’ home opener to get to 1-1 on the season.

But with the wheels realigned and the engine humming again, the Broncos now have to sit in neutral. Their first bye week of the season is here already, leaving 15 days between games.

They don’t take the field again until Saturday, Sept. 20, at Air Force, which also will be the first Mountain West contest of the year.

Kickoff for the game is 5 p.m. Mountain time, and it will air on CBS Sports Network.

The way the calendar fell in 2025, a majority of FBS teams will have two byes, and the Broncos’ first happens to come after only two games.

“Bye week in week three, your body’s not feeling too bad yet. So that week isn’t going to do much for your body,” redshirt senior wide receiver Ben Ford said Friday night.

Ford’s comment rings especially true for a Boise State team that’s listed just one player on its injury report across the first two games of the season: Jambres Dubar.

The junior running back missed much of 2024 with injuries, and despite practicing during fall camp, has remained on the sidelines so far.

Whether a bye is needed yet or not, this one’s here, and the players and coach Spencer Danielson are finding a positive in the schedule: It gives the Broncos plenty of time to prepare for the Falcons and conference play. Danielson said ahead of the season that he expects Air Force to be one of Boise State’s tougher league matchups.

The Falcons’ triple-option offense is always a worry. In 2024, they had the No. 8 rushing offense in the nation, with seven players having at least 40 carries and five players with at least 260 rushing yards.

Air Force has had an even quirkier schedule than Boise State. The Falcons played their opener two weeks ago and then had a bye. They started the season with a 49-13 victory over Bucknell, rushing for 267 yards and surprisingly passing for 159. Three players rushed for at least 52 yards, led by senior wideout Cade Harris’ 66 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.

“Getting the run fits right, the pass fits, the little ones that we get from them. … It’s extremely important to get those things down,” junior safety Ty Benefield said. “Because you have to get your mind right on a different level for Air Force; they’re no joke.”

And Danielson noted that the team now has plenty of time to practice and give attention to areas of concern.

“We’ve got a lot of stuff we’ve got to work on, even outside of Air Force,” Danielson said on Friday. “So we’re going to really focus on ourselves this week to make sure we learn and grow from these first two games, and then we know we’ve got a really good opponent.”