UNM football: How are the Lobos approaching Air Force's triple-option scheme?

At the very end of Tuesday’s practice, Spence Nowinsky called for one more.

“Last play!” New Mexico’s defensive coordinator called out from the end zone.

By that point, the offensive starters had already wrapped up and were walking to the middle of the field. But UNM’s scout team offense lined up against the defensive starters and got another play off, bringing practice to a close.

Sort of.

“Last play!” Nowinsky yelled again.

Welcome to Air Force week.

Among defensive coaches playing the Falcons, there is a common lament: There’s simply not enough time in a week for a team to get prepared for Air Force’s vaunted triple-option scheme. For starters, it’s completely different from what teams like UNM see on a week-to-week basis. Every play, every rep matters a little more than usual.

“It’s almost like putting a new defense in in one week’s time,” Nowinsky said.

It’s also a chore to replicate, and a near-impossibility to do so at the speed Air Force plays. That this has been a particularly potent Falcons’ offense (271.1 rushing yards per game) doesn’t help the Lobos either.

So how is UNM approaching one of the league’s perennial challenges?

Ironically, just how Nowinsky has approached nearly every offense this year — by playing “sound” defense, tackling well and (perhaps most importantly) limiting big plays.

“You can’t bleed out on (one play),” he said after Tuesday’s practice. “They can’t have a pass for 76 yards — you know, run, run, run, run, run, shot over the top. Or, you fall asleep a little bit and you don’t fit their fullback trap up, and next thing you know it’s a 50-yard gain.

“That’s what can’t happen. They’re gonna have some passes for 18. They’re gonna have some runs for 12. We just can’t (let them) have a bunch of runs for 40.”

To that end, Nowinsky said the Lobos have to subtly tweak some things to ensure the Lobos aren’t in a spot where Air Force can get a step ahead and knock them for an explosive play.

“You can’t totally get off the Richter scale with what you do,” he added, “but you can’t sit in the same thing every down either. That’s what they want (and) then they can pick you apart. Like, they’re not watching film of us right now.

“They do what they do. They’re gonna see what front we have in, they’re gonna see what coverage we’re playing (and) they say, ‘yep, this is what we’re gonna do against that’ … You can’t sit like ducks in a pond or they’ll shoot you right off the water.”

A former defensive coordinator at Memphis and Miami (Ohio), Nowinsky has coached against traditional option teams in Army and Navy in the past. Despite that experience, he said he’s reached out to coaches that have seen Air Force this season, whether they be from fellow service academies or previous opponents.

And, sure, there might not be enough time. But Nowinsky admitted there’s something enjoyable about going up against the Falcons.

“It’s fun to look at something different,” he said. “It’s exciting because it’s not something you really know … We’re gonna learn, we’re gonna go, and our guys on defense are really tough. But how disciplined, how smart, how resilient can we be?”

Ball security

It wasn’t exactly a secret why Damon Bankston tucked a football when he spoke with a reporter long after practice ended.

After UNM lost four fumbles Saturday — Bankston accounting for two — securing the football has been an emphasis this week. Head coach Jason Eck said UNM re-taught some of the “training camp stuff” on carrying the ball in an offensive meeting this week, a message that’s been received by players like Bankston.

“When you hold the ball the most, you have the majority of the responsibility (for) ball security,” he said Wednesday. “And (it’s) knowing that that just can’t happen. Putting the ball on the ground is unacceptable. We really have to take more pride (in) ball security. This week, that’s been a point of emphasis, and I’ve been focused on it.”

Eck added he’d also like for UNM to force more fumbles, adding a period to Tuesday’s practice focused on just that.

“I told the team in camp that turning around our turnover margin (-9) was going to be a big part of how we turned around this program,” he said, “and we really haven’t. I think last year (UNM) was about -9. So I do think it’s certainly a way that if we improve on that, we can improve as a team.”

Notes and quotes

FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE: Starting linebacker Mercury Swaim played quarterback in an option offense at Bedford (Penn.) High School, but admitted it’s a challenge from the other side.

“It’s very different just getting used to our keys and getting used to our (run fits),” he said Wednesday. “But I think we’ve gone about it well, and we’ve been preparing well throughout the week so far.”

NOT DISAPPOINTED: After calling for “27,000 to 30,000” fans against Colorado State, Eck said he wasn’t disappointed with UNM’s announced attendance of 27,526.

“I thought (fans) did a darn good job turning out … We’ll have to gather them up next week (against San Diego State),” Eck said. “A little Black Friday (game), you can drop the shopper in your family off (and) you can watch football. That’s perfect timing. You give them three hours of shopping, then go pick them up.”