It will be strength versus strength when the run defense of the UNM football team takes on the option offense of the Air Force Academy Saturday at University Stadium during the annual homecoming game.
The Lobos (2-4, 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference) are coming off of their bye week eager to corral one of the most potent running attacks in the nation. The Falcons (4-2, 2-1) annually have one of the best running attacks in the country and this year is no different. The Falcons' ground game is ranked number one in the conference and fourth in the country, averaging 269 yards a game.
"They are a triple option offense, which means they play with three backs the majority of the time, but they are not all in the backfield," defensive coordinator Bronco Mendenhall said. They have motion and there is misdirection and play action pass that goes with it. Besides that, the fourth running back is the quarterback, who runs the ball the most."
That quarterback, freshman sensation Keith Boyea, is fifth in the conference in rushing with 102.7 a game and fifth in passing at 120 yards per game.
"He is very feisty, loves to carry the ball and makes a lot of plays in the passing game," head coach Rocky Long said. "He operates the offense to a high degree of success. He throws the ball enough to keep you honest, but I think the thing you see that comes out on tape is he is a great competitor."
Long said Boyea is one of many great option quarterbacks that Air Force has developed over the years, which is why the offense is usually one of the elite teams in terms of rushing the ball.
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"They've seen everything you can do against them and they have a plan to attack you at all times and in the process gain a lot of yards and score a lot of points," he said. "They keep the other team's offense off the field because it is a ball consuming offense. They run a lot of 13-, 14-, 15-play drives and that is why they have been successful."
The Lobos have been very solid on the defensive front versus the run this season. UNM is allowing a measly 78.5 yards rushing a game, which is the best in the conference and ranked ninth in the country.
However, Long said the rushing numbers are deceiving considering that the Lobos have only played one team that has tried to run the ball.
The reason teams have not tried to rush the ball too much on the Lobos is because of their weak pass defense, which has been torched repeatedly this season. UNM is ranked last in the conference in defending the pass, giving up 273.7 yards a game through the air.
The one team that tried to run the ball versus the Lobos had some success. The University of Utah displayed a powerful running game that ran over the Lobos for 255 yards in the Utes' 37-16 victory over UNM on Sept. 29.
Mendenhall said Air Force creates different problems because its running game has more finesse and is predicated on confusion. He said the one thing that the defense needs to do well against the Falcons is tackle.
"What they do is they force you to end up only having one defender on each assigned player, which means you have to tackle well," he said. "Emphasis on tackling is what is going to become a premium this game."
UNM will also try to stop Falcon wide receiver David Fleming, who had a field day against the Lobos in last year's game. In last season's meeting between the two teams, the Lobo defense hounded the Falcons all game long, helping the team pull out a 29-23 win on the road. UNM's defense held Air Force to 145 yards rushing, but Fleming had 10 catches for 104 yards.
Mendenhall said he was satisfied with the defensive performance in that game and hopes his defense can duplicate its performance against the ground game this time around.
The Lobo offense will also try and match its performance from last year's victory when they amassed 421 yards of total offense, including 251 yards on the ground.
Long said he thinks the Falcons might try and stack the line of scrimmage to prevent the Lobos from running the ball with the same kind of success.
That would leave the ball in the hands of sophomore quarterback Casey Kelly, who has rejuvenated the Lobo passing attack. He has started the previous two games and has completed 37-of-63 pass attempts for a 59 percent completion rate with one touchdown and four interceptions.
"I think we've gotten better over the last two weeks (on offense) and I think a lot of that has to do with Casey Kelly throwing the ball well, but our receivers have caught the ball better the last two weeks and that helps the passing game," Long said. "I think if Casey continues to get better, our offense will continue to get better."
Long said the one thing his team must avoid is turnovers, which have plagued the Lobos for the first half of the season.
"Against Air Force it is going to be close, so if we cause turnovers or gain turnovers we are going to have a good chance to win," he said. "If they create turnovers or we give them turnovers they are going to have a good chance to win."
Long said the week off will help the team because the practices were very similar to training camp in which the Lobos were able to hone their fundamentals, like tackling and blocking.
