SportsDecember 25, 2019

Dale Grummert, of the Tribune
Receiver Dezmon Patmon (second from right) and backup quarter-back Trey Tinsley (right) disem-bark from the plane as a maria-chi band welcomes the Cougars to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Tuesday.
Receiver Dezmon Patmon (second from right) and backup quarter-back Trey Tinsley (right) disem-bark from the plane as a maria-chi band welcomes the Cougars to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Tuesday.Dale Grummert/Tribune

PHOENIX — When Mike Leach agreed to co-teach an extracurricular seminar on football strategy and insurgency warfare last spring at Washington State, he formulated an essay question that prospective students needed to answer as part of their audition.

“Is the wishbone a potentially viable offense for the NFL?”

There was no right or wrong response. But Leach himself would answer in the affirmative.

That’s one reason the Cougars coach is expecting a big challenge when his team plays in the Cheez-It Bowl against No. 24 Air Force (10-2), which runs a triple-option offense derived from the wishbone. The ESPN vehicle on Friday will start at 7:15 p.m. PST at Chase Field in Phoenix.

The Cougars (6-6) arrived on their charter plane to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Tuesday, three days after Air Force hit town, and they practiced that evening about 25 miles southeast of the airport, at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert, Ariz.

A stretch of pleasant weather had given way to rain and drizzle earlier in the day, and cornerback Marcus Strong gave onlookers at the airport a scare when he slipped on one of the top steps of the plane’s damp airstair. He landed on his backside but checked his fall by clutching the handrail, and was later said to be fine.

For years, Leach has expressed his admiration for the triple-option rushing attack, which employs three running backs who work in concert with the quarterback to attack the defense in unpredictably aggressive ways.

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In terms of run-pass ratio, it’s the polar opposite of the Air Raid offense that Leach and Hal Mumme co-authored three decades ago and that Leach is still employing in its purest form. But in terms of philosophy, Leach insists the approaches are similar. Both teams Friday will try to spread the field and keep the defense guessing by distributing the ball to as many skill players as possible.

Even at the college level, the wishbone and similar attacks aren’t as popular as they were a few decades ago. They’re used primarily by the military academies, which employ them partly to overcome a disparity in talent — a goal often ascribed to the Air Raid as well. In any case, one of the prime assets of both offenses is their distinctiveness. Opposing defenses aren’t accustomed to such tactics.

The unfamiliarity factor is one reason Leach thinks the triple-option would work at the next level, despite the fact that many observers would answer “No” to his question about the viability of the wishbone in the NFL. Among other factors, they would cite the league’s shallower rosters and inability to absorb multiple injuries. Leach acknowledges the wishbone can be tough on quarterbacks.  

“I think it would work in the NFL,” he said recently in Pullman. “I think it would be very difficult for teams to prepare for a triple-option team. I do think you go through some quarterbacks, and you’d have to make sure your quarterbacks can run. However, you can get some great options quarterbacks because there’s not a big value on them in regard to the NFL. You’d definitely have the pick of guys that would have that skill set, and honestly it wouldn’t be very expensive to draft them — if you even had to draft them.

“It’s not if they get injured, it’s when they get injured,” he said. “You’d better have another guy that’s able to do that sort of thing. I don’t think you’d want to have quarterbacks where it’s mixed, where you’ve got the dropback guy and the option guy. I think you want all three of them to be option guys. And yeah, I do think it would work.”

Hence a theme of Friday’s game. Because each offense uses unusual schemes, each defense will be trying to adapt on the fly. The Falcons rank third in the nation in rushing yards, and the Cougars average 60 more passing yards than any other team in the country.

“Both offenses are quite explosive,” Leach said at a news conference Tuesday at the airport. “Then, of course, they (the Falcons) do such a good job rushing the football. Both defenses are going to try to get the offenses off the field, so I do think how each defense responds is kind of the key.”

Grummert may be contacted at daleg@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2290.

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