Utes' 'hands full' stopping Air Force option

Kyle Whittingham has tried to stop Air Force as a player, a defensive coordinator and a head coach.

Decades of experience facing the Falcons' option offense haven't made it any easier for the Utah coach, whose 19th-ranked Utes host Air Force on Saturday.

"Every year when you play these guys you've got your hands full," Whittingham said. "That option attack they bring to the table offensively is a headache for your defense."

Utah (5-1, 2-0) takes a 10-game Mountain West Conference winning streak into Saturday's game with the Falcons (4-3, 3-1), the only team in the league with a winning record against the Utes. Even after Utah's five wins in the last six meetings, Air Force still leads the series 14-11.

The Falcons haven't bought in to the popularity of the spread offense. Coach Troy Calhoun still has the cadets running an offense that's more confusing to opponents than overpowering. And it's still pretty effective.

"You have to prepare a special game plan to prepare for this game and you only use it once a year," Whittingham said. "Everybody they play has got to depart from what they do normally week to week defensively and have a special plan ready to try to slow that option game down."

Air Force is No. 4 nationally in rushing with an average over 279 yards per game. The Falcons only average 67 passing yards, but make up for it with the running game and a defense that is holding opponents to 11.9 points per game.

The Falcons ended a two-game losing streak by shutting out Wyoming 10-0 last week, Air Force's first shutout of a conference opponent since 1997.

"What we do best is we run the football on offense and defensively we're pretty good against the run and we come up with simple ways to do a good job in coverage," Calhoun said.

The Falcons had to call on backup quarterback Connor Dietz last week when an injury to starter Tim Jefferson's right ankle flared up again while leading Air Force to just 79 yards in the first half.

Whittingham wasn't worrying much this week about which quarterback the Utes will be face.

"They're both very capable guys. They're both doing a good job of running the offense," he said. "Regardless of who's in there, that doesn't change our mindset or how we approach things."