Fresno State football faces another option vs. New Mexico
By Bryant-Jon Anteola - The Fresno Bee Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 | 11:22 PM Modified Fri, Oct 26, 2012 New Mexico presents a challenge Fresno State has not faced since then-No. 4 Oregon. It's not that New Mexico is stockpiled with blue-chip athletes the way the Ducks are. Or that the Lobos play at a hurry-up tempo like Oregon. In fact, the Lobos are the exact opposite and prefer to play at a slow pace. But what sticks out most about New Mexico (4-4, 1-2 Mountain West) is that its offense is based around the triple-option -- potentially confusing concepts that Oregon also uses to some degree. And Fresno State (5-3, 3-1) has not fared well against it in recent years. "Clearly they're an excellent running team," first-year Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter said of New Mexico. "It's always difficult to go against a triple-option team. It tests a defense's trust in one another." New Mexico, which hosts Fresno State at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, ranks fifth in the nation with 296.9 rushing yards per game. Lobos running back Kasey Carrier, who ranks second in the nation with an average of 138.3 rushing yards, is coming off a a Mountain West record 338 rushing yards against Air Force last week. Recent Fresno State history shows the Bulldogs have struggled defending the option or running quarterbacks (see games against Nevada, Ole Miss). Those, however, were before DeRuyter's arrival. But even under the defensive-minded DeRuyter this season, Fresno State had its worst defensive performance against an option-based team. Granted, it was Oregon and the Bulldogs outplayed the Ducks in the second half. But as a whole, Fresno State gave up 366 rushing yards to Oregon, including 67 yards to quarterback Marcus Mariota. New Mexico's quarterbacks are averaging 5.5 yards per carry while combining for 546 rushing yards and six touchdowns. True-freshman quarterback Cole Gautsche is expected to start Saturday, with B.R. Holbrook suffering a concussion during New Mexico's 28-22 loss at Air Force. DeRuyter, who was an assistant at two triple-option based programs (Air Force and Navy), is well aware of the offense's dangers beyond the quarterback rush. The triple-option typically consists of a running back rushing up the middle on the dive, the quarterback potentially keeping the ball or the quarterback running toward the perimeter then pitching the ball to another running back. New Mexico differs from other triple-option programs as it runs out of an array of formations, including the quarterback in shotgun and with a running back at each side. "You've got to have someone for the dive, someone for the quarterback, someone for pitch and someone for the play-action pass," DeRuyter said. "You can't just say you're going to take away one guy. You've got to play assignment-sound. "What they're going to do is shift and motion and give you some unusual sets, some unbalanced sets, trying to find a formation out of a shift or motion that's going to give them a gap. Then once they have an opening in a gap, like they did last week, Carrier can take it to the house. They'll just keep pounding it and trying to find different ways until they find a one-on-one or find an open gap." And if there has been a softer side to Fresno State's defense, it's been against the run. The Bulldogs rank 17th nationally in pass defense, allowing 177.3 yards per game; the run defense ranks 56th while allowing 150.1 yards. Add the need to play assignment-sound defense and Fresno State could be in for a tough day. "We're looking forward to this task," Bulldogs noseguard Tyeler Davison. "I just like stopping the run. I'm not going to say it's more fun than getting to the quarterback. But the mark of a good defense is its ability to stop the run. If everybody plays their assignments, we should be good."
Fresno State football faces another option vs. New Mexico
By Bryant-Jon Anteola - The Fresno Bee Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 | 11:22 PM Modified Fri, Oct 26, 2012 New Mexico presents a challenge Fresno State has not faced since then-No. 4 Oregon. It's not that New Mexico is stockpiled with blue-chip athletes the way the Ducks are. Or that the Lobos play at a hurry-up tempo like Oregon. In fact, the Lobos are the exact opposite and prefer to play at a slow pace. But what sticks out most about New Mexico (4-4, 1-2 Mountain West) is that its offense is based around the triple-option -- potentially confusing concepts that Oregon also uses to some degree. And Fresno State (5-3, 3-1) has not fared well against it in recent years. "Clearly they're an excellent running team," first-year Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter said of New Mexico. "It's always difficult to go against a triple-option team. It tests a defense's trust in one another." New Mexico, which hosts Fresno State at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, ranks fifth in the nation with 296.9 rushing yards per game. Lobos running back Kasey Carrier, who ranks second in the nation with an average of 138.3 rushing yards, is coming off a a Mountain West record 338 rushing yards against Air Force last week. Recent Fresno State history shows the Bulldogs have struggled defending the option or running quarterbacks (see games against Nevada, Ole Miss). Those, however, were before DeRuyter's arrival. But even under the defensive-minded DeRuyter this season, Fresno State had its worst defensive performance against an option-based team. Granted, it was Oregon and the Bulldogs outplayed the Ducks in the second half. But as a whole, Fresno State gave up 366 rushing yards to Oregon, including 67 yards to quarterback Marcus Mariota. New Mexico's quarterbacks are averaging 5.5 yards per carry while combining for 546 rushing yards and six touchdowns. True-freshman quarterback Cole Gautsche is expected to start Saturday, with B.R. Holbrook suffering a concussion during New Mexico's 28-22 loss at Air Force. DeRuyter, who was an assistant at two triple-option based programs (Air Force and Navy), is well aware of the offense's dangers beyond the quarterback rush. The triple-option typically consists of a running back rushing up the middle on the dive, the quarterback potentially keeping the ball or the quarterback running toward the perimeter then pitching the ball to another running back. New Mexico differs from other triple-option programs as it runs out of an array of formations, including the quarterback in shotgun and with a running back at each side. "You've got to have someone for the dive, someone for the quarterback, someone for pitch and someone for the play-action pass," DeRuyter said. "You can't just say you're going to take away one guy. You've got to play assignment-sound. "What they're going to do is shift and motion and give you some unusual sets, some unbalanced sets, trying to find a formation out of a shift or motion that's going to give them a gap. Then once they have an opening in a gap, like they did last week, Carrier can take it to the house. They'll just keep pounding it and trying to find different ways until they find a one-on-one or find an open gap." And if there has been a softer side to Fresno State's defense, it's been against the run. The Bulldogs rank 17th nationally in pass defense, allowing 177.3 yards per game; the run defense ranks 56th while allowing 150.1 yards. Add the need to play assignment-sound defense and Fresno State could be in for a tough day. "We're looking forward to this task," Bulldogs noseguard Tyeler Davison. "I just like stopping the run. I'm not going to say it's more fun than getting to the quarterback. But the mark of a good defense is its ability to stop the run. If everybody plays their assignments, we should be good."
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