BYU NewsNet - Cougars hope to stifle potent Falcon option attack

While San Diego State didn’t put up much of a fight last week, Air Force should prove to be a more formidable opponent for No. 15 BYU.

The Falcons enter the game with an 8-2 record and are tied with BYU and TCU for second place in the Mountain West Conference. They also currently sit just outside the top 25 in every major poll.

“Air Force is a good team and they’ve proven it this year,” quarterback Max Hall said. “They’re tied with us in the conference and are going to give us everything we can handle. We’re working hard in practice and are focused on going in there and getting a win on the road.”

On offense, the Falcons won’t surprise anybody schematically, yet their tricky triple-option attack has been giving opposing teams fits for years. They are a disciplined and athletic team, but each line averages barely more than 250 pounds on both sides of the ball.

“I have a lot of respect for the type of young men that go to Air Force,” coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “I like how they play and I think their coaches do a nice job of matching scheme to the type of young men that they have.”

While the Falcons are known for their spread rushing attack, they have been able to catch a few opponents off-guard with a surprisingly efficient passing game. Freshman quarterback Tim Jefferson has stepped in and provided a vertical threat to the previously grounded Falcon offense.

Jefferson has put up numbers that Falcon fans are unaccustomed to seeing from their quarterback, completing 6-of-7 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns against UNLV a few weeks ago, then nearly repeated his effort by completing 6-of-8 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns against Colorado State last week.

“When Air Force scores the most points is when the play-action is working well as a compliment to their running game,” Mendenhall said. “They execute very well and don’t ask their players to do too much, which has helped Jefferson. He is confident and poised, and seems very sure of himself for a freshman.”

To prepare for the Falcons’ spread attack, the Cougar coaching staff has assigned freshman receiver Matt Marshall to split snaps with Stephen Covey as the scout team quarterback. Both players ran the option as high school quarterbacks and are effective in giving the defense a preview of what they’ll see Saturday.

“The tough thing about the option is that we only see it once a year,” linebacker Matt Bauman said. “Most other teams run variations of the same offense, but Air Force is completely different. We have a very good scheme in place, though, so as long as we play assignment sound and trust each other we should be in good shape.”

Air Force ranks 17th nationally in total defense by allowing only 17 points and 167 passing yards per game. They’ve been able to be so successful this season by controlling the flow of the game and not allowing teams to jump on them right off the bat. Because of their ball-control style of play, the Falcons have had a tough time coming back from large deficits to win games.

BYU has an all-time record of 22-6 against Air Force, but is just 6-5 since the 1995 season. Mendenhall is 3-0 against the Falcons, with his teams winning those games by an average of 21 points.