BOISE — There’s no shying away or denying it for the players and coaches on the Boise State football team. Playing Air Force just feels different.

Whether it be the impact on the Mountain Division race, the sting of losing to the Falcons each year from 2014-16 or just the crazy battles the two teams have had the past five years, it’s a game the Broncos have had their attention on for quite some time.

“We talk about these guys all year long and we know they talk about us all year long,” Boise State defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson said.

“You get it for one day, once a year, where it’s on. Our guys know it, they know it. That’s exciting.”

Boise State is 2-3 against Air Force under coach Bryan Harsin. Here’s a look back at the previous five matchups with the Falcons:

2014: Air Force 28, Boise State 14

Boise State committed seven turnovers for the first time in more than a decade and suffered a stunning 28-14 road loss at Air Force in 2014.

The Broncos had five interceptions and lost two fumbles. It was the first time since a 41-14 loss at Arkansas in 2002 that Boise State committed seven turnovers in a game.

“I wish I had an answer for the seven turnovers,” Harsin said after the game. “They really hurt. When you have that many, you’re putting yourself in a bad situation…it’s going to be very difficult to beat anybody.”

Boise State’s two most important players were the main culprits. Quarterback Grant Hedrick tossed four interceptions and running back Jay Ajayi lost two fumbles. Backup quarterback Ryan Finley, who took over late in the third quarter, threw an interception on fourth down in the final minutes.

The Broncos fell behind 28-0 and didn’t score until an Alec Dhaenens 2-yard touchdown catch from Finley with 9:55 remaining in the game.

Boise State dropped to 3-2 on the season with the loss, but won the next nine games to finish the season – including wins in both the Mountain West Conference title game and the Fiesta Bowl.

2015: Air Force 37, Boise State 30

Boise State lost for a second straight year to Air Force, this time on the blue turf, thanks to the Falcons’ passing attack.

Air Force went to the air as quarterback Karson Roberts threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Air Force scored on touchdown passes of 67 and 51 yards to lead 31-13 early in the third quarter.

The Broncos rallied and made things interesting late, but lost for the second straight week at home (they were upset by New Mexico the previous week) for the first time since 1997.

The loss eliminated the Broncos from the Mountain Division race with a week to play.

“There’s a problem in execution and there’s a problem in going out there and just doing our jobs,” Harsin said after the game. “We’re not sneaking up on anybody anymore. We just have to go out there and be more consistent.”

Air Force finished the game with 607 yards of offense.

2016: Air Force 27, Boise State 20

Boise State completed just three passes in the first half, had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown and couldn’t score on four chances at the goal line late in the game in a third straight loss to Air Force.

It was the first time the Broncos lost to the same team three years in a row since falling to Nevada from 1996-98.

Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien was 3 of 16 in the first half and the Broncos finished the game 1 for 12 on third down.

The Broncos rallied in the second half and had a chance in the final minutes to tie the game, but were stopped four times near the goal line. Two other times the Broncos also got the ball to the Air Force 5-yard line or closer, yet they settled for field goals both times.

The group of seniors that graduated in 2016 went 1-3 against Air Force.

“Not even the division race, but these guys have beat me in my career more than I’ve beat them, and that’s tough to deal with,” defensive end Sam McCaskill said after the game.

At the time Harsin dropped to 0-3 against Air Force and 31-5 against everybody else in his three seasons at Boise State.

2017: Boise State 44, Air Force 19

Brett Rypien passed for 300 yards and three touchdowns and Boise State’s defense forced three turnovers on senior night to end a three-game losing streak to Air Force.

“I had never beat Air Force since I’ve been here,” wide receiver A.J. Richardson said after the game. “We just wanted to beat Air Force and send the seniors off right.”

The Broncos got up early and rolled to a seventh consecutive victory. Boise State built a 27-10 lead at the half and led 37-10 early in the fourth quarter.

Cedrick Wilson had five catches for 107 yards and Richardson had three catches for 123 yards and a touchdown for Boise State.

Sonatane Lui recovered a botched Air Force snap on the second play of the game, Gabe Perez recovered a fumble on a bad pitch and Jabril Frazier forced a fumble that Tyler Horton picked up and returned 21 yards for a touchdown.

The offense did the rest, including an 87-yard passing touchdown from Rypien to Richardson.

2018: Boise State 48, Air Force 38

Boise State, losers in both previous trips to Air Force in 2014 and 2016, rallied from a late first-half deficit and topped the Falcons in a barnburner to pick up the program’s first-ever win at Falcon Stadium.

“This is a big moment,” Harsin said after the game. “I remember in 2014 and how painful that was to be part of. I remember in 2016 we were so close, and then here we are in 2018 and we found a way to win. We talked about just finding a way. We hadn’t done it. My hat’s off to the 2018 Broncos. They are the team that got it done.”

Rypien passed for 399 yards and five touchdowns. He needed six stitches at halftime after being hit on a 35-yard touchdown pass to CT Thomas with five seconds left that tied the score at 28.

Air Force scored with 5:24 to cut the Boise State lead to 41-38. But instead of trying to run out the clock, Rypien found Hightower for a 61-yard touchdown with 3:21 left to put the game away.

Hightower finished with eight catches for 182 yards and three touchdowns in his best game at Boise State. Riley Whimpey had a career-high 13 tackles to lead the Boise State defense, which allowed more passing yards (242) than rushing yards (201).