Triple-option offense? What Boise State can expect from unique Air Force attack
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Boise State prepares for Air Force's flexbone triple option offensive scheme
- Only three Bronco defenders have prior experience facing the Falcons' offense
- Coaches stress eye control and technique amid defensive reset from bye week
Boise State football’s defense has a unique challenge on its hands this coming weekend when it travels to Air Force for its Mountain West opener.
Air Force runs its signature flexbone triple-option offense that tries to overwhelm defenses by presenting three possible ball carriers.
The challenge of facing the Falcons’ triple-option offense isn’t that the coaching staff doesn’t have the experience — Boise State head coach and former defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson has faced Air Force seven times since arriving as a graduate assistant in 2017.
The tricky part for the Boise State coaching staff is getting their defense on the same page. Among the expected Bronco starters on defense for Saturday evening’s game at Falcon Stadium, only three have faced Air Force before — fifth-year cornerback A’Marion McCoy, senior defensive tackle Braxton Fely and redshirt junior edge Jayden Virgin-Morgan.
Even team captain and redshirt senior linebacker Marco Notarainni was injured when the Broncos last played Air Force in 2023.
The Broncos have two weeks to prepare for Air Force thanks to an early bye week, which may have been good timing, with defensive coordinator Erik Chinander saying Monday that it takes “going back to square one” to prepare for the Falcons.
“It’s different than regular football … and it’s like it was starting over from scratch, so the bye (week) was huge for us,” Chinander said. “Up front, we’re going back to do cut-block drills. And some of these guys, especially the newer guys, they look terrible on the first day. I’m like, ‘Oh man, there’s gonna be body parts lying on the floor if we can’t get this corrected.’
“So all the techniques,” he continued, “all the eye control you take for granted when you play them every single year, you have to go back to square one.”
What will the Air Force offense look like?
What does a triple-option offense actually look like?
Air Force’s flexbone triple option typically employs a quarterback, fullback, two slotbacks, and two wide receivers. After reading the defense, the ball is more likely than not to end up in three scenarios: a fullback dive down the middle, the quarterback keeper, or a pitch to one of the slotbacks.
“They have so many good answers off of it, so many different run schemes, pass schemes, reverses. If you overplay a run, you’re getting reversed out the backside,” Danielson said Monday. “The second you don’t have great eye control, the second you’re not fitting exactly where you should be, it is going to be an explosive for them.”
Air Force isn’t afraid to take after its namesake and lean on the passing game, either.
In Air Force’s 49-30 loss to Utah State last weekend, the Falcons attempted 23 passing plays between their two quarterbacks, going 11-for-23. Sixteen of those 23 attempts occurred in the final quarter as the Falcons were chasing the game, completing 10 for 143 yards.
But even if the Falcons aren’t in a hole, they’re still capable of lulling opposing defensive backs into a false sense of security before ripping a pass over the top. Bronco fans with a good memory may note Air Force’s 24-17 win over Boise State on The Blue in 2021; Air Force QB Haaziq Daniels completed just one pass all game, but it was a 59-yard play down the middle that helped set up the Falcons’ third and final touchdown.
“The corners are going to be part of the run fit, but when those corners are kind of out on an island, it’s just ‘got to do my job, do my job, do my job,’” Chinander said. “Even if it means I’m just covering that guy for 40 snaps in a row.”
Boise State at Air Force
- When: 5 p.m. Saturday
- Where: Falcon Stadium (39,441, turf), Colorado Springs, Colorado
- TV: FS1 (Jason Knapp, Robert Turbin)
- Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
- Records: Boise State 1-1; Air Force 1-1
- Series: Boise State leads 8-4
- Vegas betting line: Boise State by 10.5
- Weather: 79 degrees, mostly sunny, 4% chance of rain
