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Cougars try to stay perfect in MWC |
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JaredCowley | Saturday, October 28, 2006, 9:10 am
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Darnell Dickson
DAILY HERALD
Some beatings, you don’t forget.
BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall remembers the first time he faced the Air Force option as a defensive coordinator. It was 1998, Mendenhall’s first year at New Mexico as the DC.
The results weren’t pretty.
“I remember thinking ‘What are they doing, and why are they doing it?’ and getting beat 52-9 or something like that and still not knowing after the game what had happened,” Mendenhall said.
It was actually 56-14, but the loss forced Mendenhall to take a crash course in defending option football.
“We spent an entire summer after that and it has gotten better each and every year since, or at least, understanding what they’re doing,” he said. “It’s now my eighth or ninth year and every one of them brings anxiety.”
BYU travels to Colorado Springs today for a noon meeting against the Air Force Academy, whose players, coaches and fans also remember several beatings at the hands of the Cougars.
BYU routed Air Force 63-33 in 2001, with Gary Crowton choosing to throw a short pass to tight end Doug Jolley to set the MWC receiving record with a big lead late in the game. The Falcons let that injustice boil in them until the following year. With quarterback Chance Harridge yapping all the way (at least until Brady Poppinga decked him and earned a 15-yard penalty) Air Force returned that favor with a 52-9 blowout in Colorado Springs.
Air Force won again in 2003 (24-10) but BYU has dominated the past two meetings, winning by a combined score of 103-65. With the Mountain West Conference lead at stake, both teams plan to do that voodoo that they do this afternoon.
“It’s no secret,” BYU senior tackle Jake Kuresa said. “They expect something similar to what we’ve done. We’ve played a physical, dominant style the past two games. I don’t see us going away from that.
“The disadvantage for them is their size, but they’ll be well prepared and technically sound and disciplined. They’re going to be in the right place, we just have to use our advantages and block how we know how.”
Air Force, which pushed Tennessee to the brink of defeat in the season opener, will counter with cut blocks and deception on offense, otherwise known as the triple option.
“The advantage to running the option is you don’t have to block everybody,” Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry said. “It’s based on split-second decisions and technique. We’re just an offense trying to execute on the run.”
Air Force is third in the country in rushing (279.67 yards per game) and can hold the ball for long periods of time. DeBerry hopes time of possession and a few breaks will go their way.
“Since we stubbed our toe last week and lost our first conference game, this certainly is a big game for us this week,” he said. “We can’t afford to lose another conference game.
“We’ve got to play sound defense and make some plays, which is what we didn’t do against San Diego State last week. We’ve got to control their (BYU’s) scoring but no one’s been able to do that yet.”
BYU learned last season it’s tough to keep Air Force down. The Cougars led 41-7 late in the third quarter but had to keep scoring to finish with a 62-41 victory.
“A few teams we’ve played, we’ve been so physical up front that they’re like ‘these guys are not going to slow down or stop, that stinks for us’ and they give up,” Kuresa said. “You can only get punched in the face so many times before you turn other cheek.
“Air Force is not going to do that. We need to keep going for four quarters, pedal to the metal.”
Option attack: Mendehall said defending the option presents one of the year’s most difficult challenges.
“Not many people do it,” he said. “There are two to three elements per play that have to be defended with precise execution. You have to play assignment sound and you have to play physical and with effort with all 11 players at the same time. Any scheme that asks you to do that is very difficult to stop.”
What Brown is doing: BYU senior running back Curtis Brown should be looking forward to playing Air Force: He’s rushed for 347 yards in the past two games against the Falcons.
Last week against UNLV, Brown passed Jeff Blanc and Lakei Hemuli to move into third place on BYU’s career rushing list. Today, Brown is 253 yards from Jamal Willis for the No. 1 spot.
“Last week, on that play Curtis moved into third, I pulled out there and got to make a good block,” Kuresa said. “I got my guy on the ground and rolled over and heard the announcer. John (Beck) was calling the next play and I went back and gave Curtis five, told him it was a great accomplishment.
“Curtis was my roommate for a couple of years and he’s a good friend. I know what his goals have been and I’ve been in front of him for about 95 percent of his runs. That guy runs hard and plays with passion.”
Who’s that guy? Every year, BYU looks for the right player to simulate the speed of Air Force’s option attack. This year’s scout team quarterback for Air Force week is Reed White, son of former Dallas Cowboys great and current Utah Blaze head coach Danny White.
“He’s a transfer and usually plays receiver,” BYU junior linebacker Markell Staffieri said. “He’s really giving us a good look this week, trying to simulate the speed. That’s important, because Air Force is on you quick. He’s a tough kid.”
The younger White transferred from Arizona State and made the BYU team as a walk-on.
Extra Points: Air Force sophomore halfback Matt Davis played high school football at Box Elder in Brigham City. ... There are three players from the BYU roster from Colorado: Freshman defensive lineman Dan Alleto (Parker), freshman defensive lineman Brett Denney (Thornton) and freshman tight end Andrew George (Englewood). ... As a defensive coordinator, BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall is 5-3 against Air Force. ... BYU plays at Colorado State next Saturday, Air Force is at Army next Friday.
Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at
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Read his blog at blogs.heraldextra.com/darnell |
