Nick Aliotti isn’t trying to start anything.
He’s not out to offend anybody, or disparage any of his fellow Pac-12 coaches. But when Oregon’s defensive coordinator is asked about how Nevada’s famed pistol offense compares with that of UCLA, he demurs.
“I went back and looked at that game (against UCLA last year),” Aliotti said. “And with all due respect, because I don’t want to dog anybody, they weren’t nearly as proficient at running that last year (as Nevada).”
Indeed, UCLA’s offense is inspired by the very pistol formation that Nevada head coach Chris Ault invented back in 2004. If UCLA’s Rick Neuheisel is a student of the pistol, Ault is the tenured professor, and Oregon’s defense is preparing accordingly.
“It’s his offense, so he knows it inside and out,” Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said. “When you play someone like Coach Ault, he has the answers to the questions before you ask the questions. So, he knows if you take this away, he’s coming back with that.”
The Ducks have been successful against the pistol in the past, holding the Bruins and fellow pistol user Portland State to a combined 13 points last season. But coaches and players alike stress that this is a challenge unlike any others.
“You’re talking about a team that invented this thing, that majors in it,” Aliotti said. “So UCLA, we did OK, I mean we ended up winning that game pretty easily, but I don’t think this is gonna be the same animal.”
The pistol is commonly known as a mixture of the shotgun and single-back pro offense. The quarterback lines up four yards from the center, with the running back placed directly behind him. The unique looks created by the formation have led Ault and the Wolf Pack to great heights, including an 11-1 record in 2010 and a nation-best 344.9 rushing yards per game in 2009.
Star quarterback Colin Kaepernick may be gone, along with leading rusher Vai Taua (1,610 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns in 2010), but the deadly formation remains in place. Though Aliotti’s defense undoubtedly edges Nevada on a talent scale, he believes that such a unique offensive approach could even the playing field.
“It can make you a step slower if you’re hesitant on your keys and stuff,” Aliotti said. “I’ll say it this way: I have a lot of respect for Nevada … I think they’re excellent at what they do and we’re going to have to play very well on defense to slow them down.”
For defensive linemen such as Dion Jordan, that means staying patient and reading the field.
“You’ve got to be a lot more disciplined,” Jordan said. “Because they got a lot of things going on in the backfield between the receivers, the quarterback and the running backs. You’ve got to be real disciplined, and other than that, you’ve just got to hustle and everybody’s got to get to the ball.”
Taking over at the helm of Nevada’s offense will be Tyler Lantrip. The fifth-year senior saw limited time last season behind Kaepernick, but Kelly has seen enough for him to know that he presents a threat.
“He’s a fifth-year senior that’s been in the system for awhile and has run this offense,” Kelly said. “He’s big like Colin (Kaepernick) was, can run, looks like he’s got some athletic ability and throws the ball really, really well. So I don’t think they’ll change that much.”
By the looks of it, the players are taking Lantrip just as seriously as their head coach is.
“We know they had a great quarterback in Kaepernick last year,” senior linebacker Josh Kaddu said. “And this guy was pretty good too. He just had Kaepernick in front of him, but we know he’s a skilled guy, so we’ve just got to prepare for that.”
Dealing with the pistol certainly adds a wrinkle to Oregon’s preparation, but the desired end result for the defense remains the same.
“You know, every week is the same with us,” Jordan said. “We’ve got to keep at it with the effort and intensity and try to get the ball. That’s what we want to do as a defense — get our hands on the ball.
“The more opportunities that our offense has to score, the better chance we have to win the game.”