Utah State University prepares extra to face Air Force

Week after week, the Utah State Aggies prepare for their next opponent — coverages, percentage of run versus pass plays, how good is the quarterback, etc. All this in an effort to make sure they have the best possible chance to pick up a win that week.

But prep for Air Force is just different. At every possible moment this season, coach Gary Andersen has gone over some aspect about the Falcons during a practice, even weeks ahead of Saturday’s matchup against the best overall offensive team in the Mountain West Conference.

“Camp, spring ball, bye weeks, the day after Christmas,” Andersen said. “Whenever we find an opportunity to squeeze in a few moments of Air Force, we’ll absolutely do it. You have to in my opinion."

The reason the Aggies “have to” is Air Force just happens to be one of the most unique teams in college football. To the untrained eye, it appears the Falcons don’t run many plays. But nothing can be further from the truth, Andersen said. Hidden in Air Force’s seemingly simple offensive scheme is plenty of misdirection.

“What appears to be the triple option, many times is not the triple option,” Andersen said. “It may be a trap that the normal eye won’t catch. It may be a zone play. It may be a dive play. It may be a cutoff on the away zone on the back side where they’re running the triple option phase of it, but they’re going to hand the ball off.

“There are a number of different ways that they attack you.”

It will be possibly the biggest test for the Utah State defense, which is ranked fourth in the MWC in scoring defense at 23.0 points per game allowed. Sophomore cornerback Andre Grayson said Air Force’s triple option offense will force the defensive backfield to defend both the pass and the run effectively.

“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, you have to be in those positions to make the plays on the ball when it’s in the air,” Grayson said. “It can be a lot of responsibility, but I feel that everybody on our defense is up for the task of going against this offense.”

But it’s no secret that the most prolific part of Air Force’s offense is its run game. The Falcons 304.6 yards of rushing yards per game, good for first overall in the MWC.

And although the Falcons only average 133.7 passing yards per game (second-to-last in the conference), Grayson has noticed that they pass more than in recent years.

"One of the receivers had over 100 yards receiving, and that’s not typical of Air Force, so that just adds to their explosive offense,” Grayson said. “That’s just one more thing that we’ve got to pay attention to during the week [of practice].”

Andersen said playing the Falcons is a “great opportunity” for the Aggies, and he seems eager to see how his team comes out in what might be the biggest game of season so far.

“It’s a big football game and that’s why you play, is to get into big moments and big games,” Andersen said. “We’ll see what takes place.”