For the first time since Ball State University coach, Brady Hoke, came to Muncie five years ago, the Cardinals will play a team with a true triple-option offense when it meets the Naval Academy Saturday.
Hoke said Navy is one of a small handful of teams, including Army, Air Force and Rice, that continue to run a triple-option offense. During the past two games, Navy has averaged 307.5 rushing yards compared to 56.5 passing yards.
Though Ball State expects to play the run throughout Saturday's game, Hoke said, that doesn't make preparation for Navy's offense any easier.
"They are so good at what they do it is difficult to stop," Hoke said. "There are so many different formations they use. So you've got to be basic and sound in your game plan defensively. The trick is for your guys to know the offense enough that they feel comfortable."
Quarterback, pitch and dive were the three words ingrained into the minds of the players on Ball State's defense during practice this week.
The triple offense is a scheme in which the quarterback reads the defense and has three decisions to make based on what the defense is playing. The quarterback can either hand the ball off to a fullback, pitch it to a running back that is running parallel to the line of scrimmage or keep the ball and run.
Defensive nose tackle, Amara Koroma, said the key to hindering Navy's offensive production is keeping it from being successful with the option.
"That's their bread and butter so if you don't stop that it's going to be a long day," Koroma said. "Thinking about it, we've got to put our hard hats on and be ready to go. It's going to be a physical, long day."
Koroma, who was in the prep school at Navy before changing his mind and transferring to Ball State, said the biggest challenge is preparing for an offense the players haven't seen during their collegiate careers.
"I think high school is probably the last time people have seen a true triple-option team," Koroma said. "But this is what [Navy's] been doing for years and years. So it's going to be different and we have to be on our key and know what we're doing. The littlest missed assignment can hurt you."
Though the pressure will be primarily on the Cardinals' defensive front seven, Ball State's defensive backs will be forced to fight the urge to cheat against the run. Though Navy has averaged less than 60 passing yards per game, cornerback B.J. Hill said the Cardinals' defensive backs have to be ready when Navy does throw the ball.
"This is going to be the most unique offense we're ever going to face," Hill said. "They're a running team and as defensive backs our first priority is the pass. So we've got to be ready if they go deep. They'll try to lull you asleep by running the ball and then they'll try to go deep. That's what we're trying to prevent."
Last week Ball State was able to win the battle on third down against Eastern Michigan University. The Cardinals' offense converted 11 of 20 third downs while the defense was able to hold the Eagles' offense to three of 13 on third down. With Hoke expecting his team to receive minimal possessions, he said it's critical for Ball State to win the third-down battle against Navy.
"Third downs is huge because we'll do a real good job of stopping the option if our defense is sitting on the sidelines and our offense has the football," Hoke said. "I think it's important that we perform well in the early downs, but on third downs - those are what we consider money downs - those are critical."
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