sports@dailylobo.com
@ThomasRomeroS
Nevada head football coach Chris Ault developed the pistol offense in 2004 looking to incorporate the power running game with the spread formation.
In the pistol offense, a quarterback is 4 yards behind the center and a running back lines up 3 yards directly behind the signal-caller.
When UNM head football coach Bob Davie was hired, he had to decide what type of triple-option scheme he wanted to run. He said it came down to the traditional triple option of Georgia Tech and Army versus the pistol variation of Nevada.
“What I liked about it so much was that it was a shotgun offense, but it was very physical; you have that element of I-formation and power football and the play-action pass,” Davie said of the pistol offense. “I felt we needed some niche, something that made us a little bit different, and I’ve always felt option football is the great equalizer.”
Now as many as 49 college football teams run some aspect of the pistol offense, and Ault said the Lobos (4-7, 1-5 MWC) are one of the few teams that run it close to perfection.
“They do a terrific job of it,” he said. “I think the pistol formation adds to the flexibility, like the teams of New Mexico and Texas State. It’s another facet that the pistol formation brings to college football.”
Thanks to the pistol-offense-based scheme, the Lobos are the fifth-best rushing team in the nation, averaging 311.6 yards per game. But Davie said all the credit goes to Ault for being the first one to come up with the idea.
“There’s no question Chris Ault was the pioneer of this,” he said. “I think with anything, people take what’s really good and add on and make it a hybrid. Everyone is doing a form of it.”
One of the main components of UNM’s vaunted rushing attack is junior running back Kasey Carrier, who is averaging 126.5 yards per game. Ault said Carrier is one of the best backs in the Mountain West Conference.
“He’s a terrific back: tremendous speed, great change of direction and he has excellent field awareness when he gets up field,” Ault said. “He’s a big cog in that triple option; he’s the guy that in most cases initiates it. I think Bob has done a great job with that personnel and matching the option portion of the pistol.”
Nevada’s offense ranks eighth in the nation in yards per game, averaging 511.3 yards. Wolf Pack junior tail back Stefphon Jefferson leads the nation in rushing, grinding out 143.6 yards per game to go with 20 total touchdowns. Nevada sophomore quarterback Cody Fajardo is at the top of the Mountain West in total offense, averaging 323.1 yards per game.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“Their offensive line is really good,” Davie said of Nevada. “They have a fast tailback, real fast; their passing game is where our triple option game is. They are a tremendously balanced team and they are explosive in the key positions.”
The Lobos host Nevada (6-3, 3-3) on Saturday in the final home game for 23 seniors. Davie said these seniors are “his guys” for sticking it out for four tumultuous seasons. Before this season, UNM had only won three games in the last three years.
“I hate to see these seniors leave,” Davie said. “I would love to have another couple of years with these guys — I feel like they’ve been cheated.”
