LAS VEGAS — Jeff Choate expects A.J. Bianco to play Friday. Getting a quarterback through the week would be a welcome change for Reno. Getting the offense moving will require more than that.
The Wolf Pack were shut out 27-0 at UCLA and now have six days to prepare for a New Mexico front Choate considers the best in the Mountain West. Their quarterbacks have been in and out. Tight end D.J. Asiasi is missing, taking several blocking assignments and a receiving threat out of the offense with him.
A visit from the league leader is a rough time to be relearning which parts of the offense still work.
“I think A.J. is going to be fine,” Choate said at his Monday news conference. “I think he’s going to be able to go.”
Bianco moved well in practice, Choate said, although the staff still needed to protect him. Carter Jones remained a possibility after this week. Choate described the uncertainty at quarterback as one of the most frustrating situations he has handled.
It has complicated the running game before Reno even hands the ball off. Defenses must respect Jones keeping it in a way they do not necessarily respect Luke Duncan, Choate said. A defender watching the quarterback cannot close on the back as freely. When that threat changes, the offense has to find another way to occupy him.
Reno has been trying to make those adjustments with less help at tight end.
Asiasi could block at the line, move across the formation to handle a defender on the other side or release into a route. Reno could ask him to do those jobs from the same formation, giving the defense less certainty about what came next.
The replacements are learning, and Choate acknowledged that the Wolf Pack did not have enough experienced depth at the position. The staff has to account for what those players can handle now.
“That doesn’t mean we can’t do some of the things that we were doing and be productive in the run game,” he said. “It means that it’s going to look a little bit different.”
New Mexico will have considerable influence on what remains available. The Lobos enter at 7-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play, ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press poll. They allow 11.9 points per game and have intercepted 17 passes.
Choate traced those interceptions back toward the line of scrimmage. An experienced front moves, disrupts blocking and lets linebackers pursue without having to fight through as much traffic. Pressure then produces hurried throws and tipped balls. The Lobos have been catching them.
That puts Asiasi’s replacements in the middle of Bianco’s assignment. A useful first-down run lets Reno keep the handoff in play. A loss gives New Mexico’s front another chance to attack a quarterback the staff is already trying to protect.
New Mexico also has a quarterback who can change a game with his legs. Choate pointed to Toa Fa’avae’s running as a way the Lobos have finished close games. A defense can spend a possession trying to take away the backs and still lose it to the quarterback.
At 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the conference, Reno needs three wins in its last four games to reach six. Its returners can help by shortening the field. Gerick Robinson averages 12.8 yards per punt return, and Ky Woods averages 32.3 on kick returns. Woods returned a kickoff 90 yards against San José State before being stopped at the 8. That is a much friendlier place to begin than Reno’s own end of the field.
The defense has also been doing more than the UCLA score suggests. It held the Bruins to 303 total yards, including 125 rushing. Opponents have converted 30.3% of their third downs against Reno this season. EJ Smith has 85 tackles, giving the Wolf Pack an experienced player in the middle of the work needed to contain Fa’avae and the backs.
What has not followed consistently is the takeaway. Choate said the opportunities have been there, including at UCLA. New Mexico has been catching its chances; Reno has been leaving too many on the ground. He said the staff has emphasized the issue enough that he now wants players to stop overthinking it and finish the catch.
There is little time to linger over UCLA. Choate said Monday’s practice had effectively become Tuesday’s on the accelerated schedule, with the staff balancing preparation against keeping a depleted roster fresh.
He said the defensive players have resisted blaming their teammates for the scoring problems. He credited the staff with keeping the units together, even as the burden on the defense grows.
“I feel like they’re like, hey, look, if we got to shut them out to win, that’s what our job is,” Choate said.