When No. 4 MSU (2-0 overall) takes on Air Force (2-0 overall) Saturday, it will be a challenge unlike any other the Spartans will face this season.
The Falcons run the triple option — an offense powered by running the football and providing the quarterback with three different reads to either keep the ball or give it to one of the other two options.
“Very difficult to prepare for,” head coach Mark Dantonio said. “You have to shift gears from going from an offense like Oregon to an offense like Air Force. A lot of different scenarios there involved with option football.”
Junior linebacker Riley Bullough touched on how difficult it is for the team to shift from playing Oregon to Air Force.
“During camp we went against (the triple option) a little bit just to get used to it,” Bullough said. “It’s a lot different. You’ve got different keys, different reads and different plays that you’re going against, it’s completely different from what we’ve gone against the last two weeks.”
Air Force is a dangerous and highly disciplined team coming off a 10-3 season last year. Dantonio pointed out that this will be the first time a service academy travels to Spartan Stadium.
“(I) have a lot of respect for Coach Calhoun and what they’ve accomplished there,” Dantonio said. “10 wins last season, highly motivated people. When you read their personal backgrounds, on quite a few ... it says, ‘completed survival training July of 2013 or June of 2013.’ When you’re doing things like that, you’re used to being in situations that are highly competitive.”
Air Force is the No. 2 rushing team in the country in Division I FBS football through two weeks with 822 yards on the ground. They are also tied for No. 2 in rushing touchdowns with 10. The only team ahead of them? Georgia Tech — another team that runs the triple option.
“They have great players,” Dantonio said. “I’m telling you, what they do, they do extremely well.”
Senior linebacker Darien Harris talked about the misdirection in the backfield and what it will take to stop the run.
“The misdirection in the backfield means we have to keep our eyes where they are supposed to be at all times,” Harris said. “You have to practice against it. You have to watch a lot of film and know exactly what you’re doing out there.”
Dantonio had high praise for the Falcons’ offense, stating Air Force is who coaches study to learn the triple option.
“What they do from a formation standpoint, the variations of option football is textbook,” Dantonio said. “It’s where people go to learn about option football. They go to Navy, they go to Georgia Tech, they go to Air Force.
“High school coaches all across the country who run this type of offense, that’s where they go, that’s where they go to find out exactly how it’s done at the highest level. So we’re going to play against that.”
