LOGAN — Respect.
You can hear it, clear as day, whenever Utah State head coach Gary Andersen speaks about the Air Force Falcons, the Aggies’ opponent this weekend.
Andersen has nothing but respect for Air Force, respect earned over the course of a coaching career.
“I’ve been against these guys many days in my career as a position coach, as a coordinator and now as a head coach,” Andersen said. “Nothing has changed as far as the respect I have for the guys in the program, whether it’s (former head coach) Fisher DeBerry or coach (Troy) Calhoun and his staff. They do a really good job. They’re at their best when they have really good players, and that’s what they have this year. They have really good players.”
Players who famously run the triple option offense.
The Falcons are one of a number of FBS schools that run the triple option, the most notable being the the other service academies, Army and Navy.
It is an offensive system that is much more complicated than it appears on the surface, and one that requires attention being paid to the most minute details.
“It’s funny because I’ve heard it three or four times in the last week: ‘You’re playing Air Force. How is a team that just runs three or four plays so successful?’” Andersen said. “That couldn’t be any further from the truth. There are a whole bunch of plays in there. It looks like less, but it’s far more than that. It’s very in-depth. It’s an elite offense taught by elite coaches.”
The goal of the attack, ultimately, is to “grind you down and beat you up,” Andersen noted, and it is as good a test as any to determine to just what kind of mettle a football team possesses.
“You have to have on your big boy pants and hop in the trenches and battle those guys. That’s why it’s such a great opportunity, because it is unique,” Andersen said. “You’ll know if you’re a tough guy at the end of that game if you come out of there and you held your own against that offense, especially inside the tackle box. If you’re weak-minded or soft, you’ll get dominated in that game and you’ll get exposed.”
So how does one beat the Falcons’ triple-option attack?
On defense, it is vital to play sound assignment football.
“Everybody has to do their part,” nickel back Andre Grayson said. “It’s about keying in on what we have to do, keying in on your job every snap and every play, and when the time arrives, you have to make those plays, you have to make those tackles and you have to be in those positions to make plays on the ball. It can be a lot of responsibility.”
An effective offensive attack is no less important, per senior running back Gerold Bright, who was a triple option quarterback himself in high school at Escambia High School in Florida.
“(What is) the best way to attack a triple-option team that runs the clock down forever, and (against whom) we will probably have eight or 10 possessions the whole game? Score points,” he said. “Every time we get the ball, we have to score. That’s the best way to attack a team like that.”
Given the Aggies struggles on offense of late, that could prove a tall task, particularly against an Air Force defense that ranks in the top five in the Mountain West conference in both total defense and rushing defense.
Where the Falcons may be vulnerable is in the passing game, where they have allowed 231.6 yards per game, along with 12 touchdowns, the fifth worst mark in conference.
Still, Air Force has proven to be an opportunistic defense this season, with five forced fumbles and four interceptions.
“Their defense is very opportunistic,” Andersen said. “They are physical, they’re big and they’re strong. The thing that they do is they limit snaps. That’s a credit to their defense getting off the field, and that’s a credit to their offense. If they get a lead on you, they’re going to grind you into the ground, and they’re going to let that clock grind away. That’s how they play and when they play like that, they’re going to win.”
Needless to say, Saturday night’s game stands as the Aggies’ most difficult test in conference thus far this year.
Whether they are up to the challenge remains to be seen.
“It’s a huge challenge this week,” said Andersen. “Air Force is not a good team, but a great team, in all areas: offense, defense and special teams. They have a lot of really good players and a heck of a scheme. We have our work cut out for us, but it’s a great opportunity. It’s a big football game and that’s why you play, to get into big moments and big games. We’ll see what takes place.”
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Aggies on the air
Utah State (4-2, 3-0) at Air Force (5-2, 3-1)
Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Saturday, 8:15 p.m. MDT
TV: ESPN2
Radio: KZNS 1280 AM