Defenses accustomed to practicing vs. option Their option offenses confound opponents, except when they play each other. For the defenses of Navy and Air Force, familiarity with the option breeds solutions.
In 2009, Navy won 16-13. Last year, Air Force captured a 14-6 victory. Neither team is used to playing defensive games. Of the last 33 games for Air Force, only three have included two or fewer touchdowns, two of them against Navy. Of the last 32 games for Navy, five have included two or fewer touchdowns, two against Air Force.
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“They practice against the option so much, it’s hard to fool them,” Navy fullback Alexander Teich said. “They play good assignment football. They’ve been doing it all through camp and the spring.”
| UP NEXT |
| Air Force at Navy |
| When » Saturday, noon |
| Where » Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis |
| TV » CBS |
| Radio » 1500 AM |
When the teams meet Saturday in Annapolis, expect more of the same, even though Air Force leads the nation in rushing (412 yards per game), while Navy ranks No. 4 (358 ypg).
“It’s just the way it is,” Navy senior safety Kwesi Mitchell said. “We both have option offenses. Both of our defenses play the best offenses in the country. When we play each other, it usually comes down to which defense gives up the points.”
The Falcons show much more variation in their option offense, mixing designed runs and play-action passes. Senior quarterback Tim Jefferson has thrown 37 times this year to 23 for Navy quarterback Kriss Proctor.
“They run more zone plays and power plays than we do,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “But they still have a lot of elements of the option.”
Air Force also runs the option out of many more formations. Navy defensive coordinator Buddy Green says a lot of homework is required.
“I don’t think we’ll play a team all year long with the variation of offensive sets we’ll see and the different personnel groupings,” Green said. “They do a lot of things extremely well — a lot of motion out of different formations. They can do so many things out of each look. That versatility is what makes them so tough to defend.”
Air Force (2-1) and Navy (2-1) have had similar seasons. Both have two wins against overmatched foes. Both also suffered tough losses to ranked opponents, Navy falling to South Carolina 24-21, and Air Force losing to TCU 35-19.
While Navy’s historic rival is Army, its games with Air Force have been more hotly contested. Seven of the last eight meetings have been decided by one possession. Navy won all of the games until last year, when the Mids surrendered their seven-year stranglehold on the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
Niumatalolo believes the recent games have been low scoring for reasons beyond each other’s familiarity with the option offense.
“We’ve seen each other a lot over the years,” Niumatalolo said. “It’s like the seventh game of an NBA series or a baseball series. When it gets to Game 6 or 7, you’re not tricking each other. You’ve got to make shots, hit the ball. For us, you gotta block and tackle.”
