No. 15 Air Force leads the nation in rushing with the triple option
By CHRIS FEDERICO
Sports Editor
Every time Notre Dame plays a service academy, the question comes up again: How will the Irish stop the option?
In the late `80s and early `90s, this wasn't as much of an issue. The Irish coaches consistently faced teams that ran the option and ran it well. Notre Dame itself ran the option, and the scout team could present a good semblance of how the system was to be run against the first defense in practice.
As football has changed in recent years and most teams have scrapped the triple option offense defending those few holdovers that do still run it can be a difficult situation for defensive coaches.
"I think it's been well-noted over time that this is a very difficult offense to prepare for," Irish head coach Tyrone Willingham said. "You don't get the opportunity to really simulate the blocking schemes in the manner that [Air Force] will do it, even though we'll do our best job of trying to reproduce what they do. But there's no way you can probably get the speed and the confidence that they bring to it in practice."
Notre Dame's almost entirely revamped coaching staff under Willingham is not one with great option experience, coming out of Stanford and the Pac-10 Conference.
Defensive line coach Greg Mattison the lone holdover from the Bob Davie coaching era and linebackers coach Bob Simmons, who spent 13 years in the Big 12 with Oklahoma State and Colorado, are the only two assistants with significant coaching experience against the triple option attack.
"The last time we played an option team like this was a while ago about 10 years ago against Oregon State," Irish defensive coordinator Kent Baer said. "It's a whole different ball game going in this. You really have to limit what you do. Greg [Mattison] knows a lot about it, and so does Coach Simmons, and we definitely hope to tap into what they know."
The Falcons present a special threat to Notre Dame. They don't just run the option they run it to perfection.
Air Force leads the nation in rushing this year, averaging 339.2 yards a game. The 15th-ranked Falcons have scored 40.2 points a game on their way to a 6-0 record this season, including last week's 52-9 drubbing of rival Brigham Young University.
"They basically run the option to perfection," Irish safety Glenn Earl said. "If you want to watch a training tape on how to run the option, watch what they're doing."
One thing that can make a triple option offense deadly is the quarterback who runs it. He needs to be smart, quick and calm on the field to read opposing defenses and exploit missed assignments for the big plays.
Air Force has one of the best in Chance Harridge. The junior averages 102.5 yards per game on 20.4 carries and leads the nation in scoring with 15 touchdowns just one fewer than Notre Dame's team total.
"When you see option teams have success, it's usually because there's an assignment breakdown," Mattison said. "That's what makes the wishbone such a good offense with a quarterback like Air Force has, because every one of the 11 guys has to play their technique, or he's going to find a crease and break it off for big yardage."
If the Irish are to stop the option Saturday, they are going to need to limit Harridge.
"Their leading ball carrier is the quarterback, and he seems to want to carry the ball more than pitch it," Baer said. "I don't think you can defend everything in this. You've got to get off blocks, get off the ground and get after the ball, and that's basically how we're approaching this."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, October 16, 2002
