FORT COLLINS –– Especially in today’s age of modernized football, opposing programs often find themselves feeling like foreigners when preparing for Air Force’s triple-option offense.
However, Colorado State head coach Steve Addazio first gained exposure to a similar scheme when operating inside an option attack during his collegiate playing days at Central Connecticut. He eventually utilized a related philosophy while coaching at the high school level three decades ago.
The list goes on. Simply put, Addazio is no stranger to AFA’s structure. Instead, his ties run deep.
“I’ve got a lot of experience in the option football game,” Addazio said. “I came into this profession in that offense. I was in that offense when I played. So I have good background in it. I understand it. But systematically, itap different.”
Unlike many coaches across the collegiate realm, one could say Addazio knows Troy Calhoun’s methodology like the back of his hand.
Nevertheless, it isn’t as if CSU fans should expect hindering the Falcons offense to materialize as a walk in the park at Canvas Stadium on Saturday.
Despite Addazio’s knowledge, the task of drastically adjusting practice objectives to brace for AFA’s unique game plan always provides notable difficulty for players. And on top of burdensome defensive modifications, the Rams remain substantially hobbled after added themselves to CSU’s at Wyoming last week –– starting middle linebacker Dequan Jackson and two reserves in Bam Amina and Sanjay Strickland.
Thatap not all. Influenza has also begun claiming victims of the roster while decreasing practice participation.
“Everything’s changed (when preparing for Air Force),” Addazio said. “Itap all different. We’ve been working on this for a long time now. We prepped for this game a year ago. And then we had a lot of time this summer. But we haven’t executed it yet. And we’re hoping to get some guys back, but I don’t know. We’ll be short-bodied, to say the least, and thatap problematic.”
At least from a health standpoint, a case of Murphy’s Law seems to be tormenting the Rams –– who currently sit at 3-6 overall and 2-3 in the Mountain West Conference amid a three-game slide.
Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. There’s never a convenient time for such phrase to prove relevant in terms of a team’s player availability. But for plenty of the reasons already mentioned, AFA week could constitute the least favorable timing for said scenario.
After conceding an abysmal 385 rushing yards at Wyoming (6.8 per carry), CSU must scramble to position itself properly for a Falcons’ attack which currently leads the nation in rushing yards per game (302.4). Of course, AFA’s dominant ground game has assisted the squad in draining a defense’s energy with lengthy drives –– 36:05 of possession time on average (3rd in the FBS).
“The scout team has to do some crazy stuff (this week),” linebacker Cam’Ron Carter said. “Itap really fundamental football. So we really have to have good practices. You take one wrong step, they’re hitting for six yards out the gate. You have to knock them back to second- and third-and-long because they play a four-down game.”
Indeed, while frequently refraining from punting, the Falcons lead the Mountain West in both fourth-down offensive attempts (30) as well as conversion rate (73.3%).
And speaking of CSU’s scout team –– the key for contributors acquiring a sense of AFA’s style of play –– the green and gold’s overall short-handedness has limited Addazio’s possibilities in this crucial domain.
“They get you out of your routine completely,” Addazio said. “Thatap why you can see lopsided things happen against these kinds of teams. The scout team has to be the mainstay for the defense this week. But we’re not gonna get the same speed-of-the-game reps for two reasons –– the scheme and really, us being down some numbers.”
“If you had a perfect world, you’d have long drives and score touchdowns,” the coach continued. “Keep the defense off the field.”
If AFA successfully demonstrates its identity, CSU might rarely touch the ball as the Falcons scamper all over Canvas the Canvas Stadium grass –– a recent theme in the Ram-Falcon Trophy series.
Currently, Calhoun’s team holds a four-game winning streak against CSU, during which AFA has averaged 380 rushing yards and 36 minutes of possession per battle.
Hence, Addazio’s perfect world may represent the only world where the Rams come away victorious.
“Our challenge is getting back on track short-handed with personnel issues against an outstanding team,” Addazio said. “We’ll be lucky to get eight to nine possessions in the game. So you’ve really got to maximize your possession.”
The Rams certainly have their work cut out for them in hopes of satisfying their coach’s ultimate goal. Namely, AFA enters Saturday boasting a rock-solid defense that ranks top-10 in the FBS in a plethora of per-game categories –– such as points surrendered (17.2), rushing yards allowed (99.8) and passing yards yielded (185.4).
Evidently, snapping its skid versus the in-state rival won’t be easy. But CSU still feels poised to battle.
“Our issues are the amount of guys that are out sick and all that stuff going on right now,” Addazio said. “Itap very distracting. But itap not a mindset problem. We haven’t had any issues with that. Thatap the good news. Every week we’re going hard both from a practice standpoint and a mental grind standpoint. We have to rally together and figure out a plan to sustain that grind now.”
Game at a glance
Matchup: Colorado State (3-6, 2-3 Mountain West) vs Air Force (6-3, 3-2 MW)
Kickoff: 5:00 p.m. (Saturday)
Where: Canvas Stadium (Fort Collins)
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: KARS 102.9 FM
