Woody Widenhofer was defensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Steel Curtain Defense in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

He was head coach in the U.S. Football League.

But those jobs did not offer as many strategic problems as the ones he faces every week as New Mexico State's defensive coordinator.

"In college football," Widenhofer said, "each team runs a different offense. Last week, we played the read option. You don't see the option in pro football. This week we play the run-and-shoot. It's harder to prepare every Saturday in this league than in pro football. In pro football, there's a lot of carry-over value."

Hawai'i defensive coordinator Greg McMackin, whose team hosts NMSU tonight, said: "Woody's completely right. I think it's much easier in the NFL."

McMackin said there are few differences in offenses among NFL teams.

"In the pros, everybody has the same amount of money for the guys," said McMackin, who coached for the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. "They put it into different positions. It becomes a match-up game. They have the standard offenses, but they work to put their best on your worst."

With free agency and the need to replace injured players during the season, McMackin said, it makes it easier for NFL teams to run the same schemes "so they don't have that extra teaching time."

Here's a look at tonight's matchups:

NEW MEXICO STATE OFFENSE

POS.—PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

LWO—18 A.J. Harris 6-0 208 Jr.

H—19 Derek Dubois 5-8 174 Sr.

LT—69 Mike Martinez 6-4 350 Sr.

LG—76 Chuck Taylor 6-3 345 Fr.

C—63 Richie Bolin 6-1 291 Jr.

RG—65 Polo Gutierrez 6-2 304 Jr.

RT—55 James Farrelly 6-4 290 Sr.

TE—40 Nick Cleaver 6-4 248 Sr.

RWO—81 Kenneth Buckley 5-9 191 Jr.

QB—12 Chase Holbrook 6-5 240 Jr.

FB—38 Brandon Perez 5-9 233 So.

RB—34 Justine Buries 6-0 211 Jr.

Outlook: With an effective quarterback and head coach Hal Mumme's background with creative offenses, the Aggies have been labeled as a pass-dominant team. The Aggies, in fact, rush 40 percent of the time, and 43 percent on first down. And many of Holbrook's completions are on hitch screens, which should be regarded as running plays.

After sitting out most of the Boise State game and all of the Louisiana Tech game, Holbrook rebounded last week by throwing for 404 yards and three touchdowns. In the WAC, he is a distant second to UH's Colt Brennan, averaging 303.3 passing yards per game.

Holbrook is most effective on first down, completing 74 percent of those passes and averaging 9.4 yards per completion. He has not thrown a first-down interception in his past three games. His success can be traced to band exercises designed to strengthen his right arm, and a maturing offensive line. Holbrook has been sacked once every 26.7 pass plays.

Holbrook will be without his favorite receiver, Chris Williams (56 catches, team-best 11 TDs), who is out with a broken collarbone. Williams also was effective on reverse runs.

Buries is the starting tailback, but speedy Tonny Glynn (5.7 yards per carry) is a terror on draws and lead options.

NEW MEXICO STATE DEFENSE

POS.—PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

LE—97 Ryhan Anderson 6-4 280 Jr.

NG—50 Ray Manumaleuna 6-2 321 Sr.

RE—44 Brandon McKinney 6-4 273 Sr.

LOLB—52 Nick Ply 6-3 236 Sr.

MLB—42 Dante Floyd 5-10 244 Sr.

WLB—24 Kramer Winingham 6-1 238 Sr.

ROLB—59 Michael Brewer 6-2 230 Sr.

LCB—4 Davon House 6-0 168 Fr.

FS—22 Derrick Richardson 5-11 190 Jr.

SS—36 Alex Bernard 5-11 190 Sr.

RCB—32 Chris Woods 5-10 180 So.

Outlook: Unlike most successful structures, the Aggies rely heavily on the middlemen. Manumaleuna is one of seven 500-pound bench pressers on the team. Floyd has a team-high 74 tackles, including four in the backfield, one interception and three pass breakups. "He's very instinctive," said Widenhofer, who once coached Pittsburgh Steelers' middle linebacker Jack Lambert. Widenhofer said Richardson, who has a team-best 39 open-field tackles, "understands the game very well. He studies it. And he's a smart player."

Against UH last year, Widenhofer created an innovative 3-2 scheme in which as many as eight defenders dropped into pass coverage. The scheme works if Manumaleuna can hold the point, and the Aggies can establish any sort of pass rush. They average a sack every 17.1 pass attempts. "There should be more," Widenhofer said. The Aggies will rotate defensive linemen after every third play.

NEW MEXICO STATE SPECIALISTS

POS.—PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

K—3 Paul Young 6-3 182 So.

P/H—5 Jared Kaufman 6-1 182 Sr.

DS—1 Dan White 6-1 225 Sr.

KR/PR—19 Derek Dubois 5-8 174 Sr.

KR/PR—2 Wes Neiman 5-10 185 Fr.

Outlook: The bad news is Chris Williams, who averaged 16.7 yards per punt return, is not available. The ho-hum news is the Aggies rarely induce punts. They had seven in the first eight games.

The Aggies also hope to improve their kick returns. Their average field position following a kick return is their 28. Only once in 49 tries has a kickoff return crossed midfield.

HAWAI'I OFFENSE

POS.—PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

LWO—84 Jason Rivers 6-2 189 Sr.

LSB—7 Davone Bess 5-10 190 Jr.

LT—62 Keith AhSoon 6-1 315 Jr.

LG—65 Hercules Satele 6-2 293 Sr.

C—55 John Estes 6-2 292 So.

RG—73 Larry Sauafea 6-2 294 Sr.

RT—78 Keoni Steinhoff 6-3 282 Jr.

RSB—1 Ryan Grice-Mullins 5-11 180 Jr.

RWO—2 C.J. Hawthorne 5-11 168 Sr.

QB—15 Colt Brennan 6-3 201 Sr.

RB—21 Kealoha Pilares 5-11 190 Fr.

Outlook: If the Aggies again drop eight defenders into coverage, that could open the way for Pilares, who is proving to be a physical runner. With his quick-cut ability, Pilares was portrayed as a glider. Instead, most of his runs in the past two games have been through the tackle box. "I don't mind getting hit," Pilares said. "If I'm near the sideline, I'm not going to run out of bounds. I'm going to try to get that extra yard." He has not been slowed by a sprained MCL.

Pilares has become skilled in receiving shovel passes from Brennan. He averages 12.6 post-catch yards on such plays, comparable to Nate Ilaoa's average last season.

Grice-Mullins is living up to his reputation as a strong second-half player. He leads the receivers with a yards-after-catch (YAC) average of 6.46.

The Warriors hope to get Hawthorne more involved in the offense. Only 21 passes were thrown in his direction in the past three games; in comparison, Rivers was the target 22 times against San Jose State.

HAWAI'I DEFENSE

POS.—PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

LE—54 Amani Purcell 6-4 277 Sr.

LE—74 David Veikune 6-3 252 Jr.

LT—96 Fale Laeli 6-1 292 Jr.

RT—67 Michael Lafaele 6-1 302 Sr.

DT—93 Keala Watson 6-3 300 Jr.

RE—12 Karl Noa 6-4 251 Sr.

SLB—43 Brad Kalilimoku 5-10 221 Sr.

SLB—53 Blaze Soares 6-1 239 So.

MLB—17 Solomon Elimimian 6-0 218 Jr.

WLB—44 Adam Leonard 6-0 236 Jr.

LCB—23 Gerard Lewis 5-9 175 Sr.

LS/NB—35 Keao Monteilh 5-11 193 Jr.

RS—31 Jacob Patek 6-0 204 Sr.

RCB—3 Myron Newberry 5-9 174 Sr.

Outlook: The best way to counter the taxing effect of an offensive line that averages 317 pounds a blocker is to go with an extensive defensive rotation. The Warriors are prepared to use as many as 12 defensive linemen. "If you consider the fact that they can throw the ball 60 times a game, that's a lot of pass rushing," defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold said. "That's a lot of work. You're pushing against big bodies. It's going to take everybody to contribute and play well."

Holbrook has a quick release, and the majority of the Aggies' routes are within 10 yards. "He's really an efficient passer," Noa said. "We have to try and disrupt him as much as we can."

The Warriors' have the nation's seventh-best pass rush. They have 25 sacks, a ratio of one every 11.68 pass plays. In contrast, through the first seven games last season, the Warriors had 13 sacks, or one every 19.23 pass plays.

The effectiveness of the corners has helped the pass rush. Newberry, in particular, often does not have support from a safety. "I don't worry about it," he said. "We get challenged every game. That's part of being a DB. It's 'man up, and play ball.' " Newberry said several relatives have played cornerback. His mentor is former NFL cornerback Kevin Mathis, who calls before every game.

Nickelback Ryan Mouton, who missed the past two games because of a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, is set for a cameo appearance. Desmond Thomas or Dane Kealoha Porlas will enter as the fifth defensive back in nickel packages. Safety Erik Robinson, who has been impressive in practice the past two weeks, might get some playing time.

HAWAI'I SPECIALISTS

POS.—PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

K—86 Dan Kelly 6-3 202 Jr.

P/H—49 Tim Grasso 5-11 221 Jr.

S—57 Jake Ingram 6-4 234 Jr.

KR—89 Malcolm Lane 6-2 184 Sr.

KR—5 Michael Washington 5-7 173 Jr.

PR—7 Davone Bess 5-10 190 Jr.

PR—3 Myron Newberry 5-9 174 Sr.

Outlook: The unpredictable Dennis Mc-Knight, who co-coordinates kick returns, has this prediction: "I don't think guys will kick (Lane) the ball the rest of the year. I wouldn't kick it to him. I would kick it to somebody else." With seven returns in seven games, Lane does not meet the minimum of 1.2 per game to earn a listing in the NCAA statistics. Lane has two returns for touchdowns, and he is averaging 46.0 yards per runback — 9.9 more than the credited NCAA leader, Fresno State's A.J. Jefferson. On the five returns Lane did not take to the house, UH's average drive started on its 39. In the 42-35 overtime victory over San Jose State, Lane sparked the comeback with a 43-yard return that gave the Warriors' offense the ball at the 50. "I'm determined every time I touch the ball to make something happen," Lane said. "I'm not too big of a finesse guy. If I see a lane, I take it. I don't think twice about it."

McKnight said: "The great ones are like that. They don't worry about nothing but hitting daylight. Guys who dance around, they're not kickoff-return guys. They're possession guys. They'll catch it, and give it to the offense. Every time Malcolm gets it, he legitimately has a chance to go all the way."

Newberry is the punt returner in midfield situations, when there's a possibility of a fake. Bess is the punt returner under normal circumstances.

Visit Tsai's blog at www.HawaiiWarriorBeat.com.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.