OSU’s offense: What we know, or don’t
Right: Senator Sweater Vest with my wife who acts as a spy to get privileged information.
Roughly 12,000 Buckeye fans made the odyssey to college football’s mecca known as Ohio Stadium to watch a two-and-a-half hour practice. While that’s considerably more than the 5,500 that showed up last year, it’s a far cry from the 28,000 that made the trip to the ‘Shoe in 2006.
One activity that was subtracted from the equation this time around was an autograph session. I think was a good idea.
Two years ago with my then five-year old son, we were nearly trampled to death when the gates opened just after 5:00 p.m., as fans stormed through in hopes of getting whatever they had in tow signed by the likes of Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr.
Waiting on the west side of the stadium, as soon as the gates open we walked in. Unfortunately, as we made it to the main concourse under “A” deck, thousands were running by us in all directions, which at that point I picked up my son and carried him up the ramp to avoid getting run over by a bunch of crazed autograph-seekers.
On Saturday as reported here on BuckeyeBanter.com, I pulled some resources together to give you some perspective on Ohio State’s jersey scrimmage held at the stadium.
Now I never claimed in my recap that I saw anything in person, since my jet pack malfunctioned and I crashed near the dairy barn on Carmack Rd., nearly a mile west of the Les Wexner Football Complex at The Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
But here’s a quote from Coach Tressel prior to Monday night’s practice as reported by Rusty Miller of the Associated Press and seen on bigtennetwork.com:
“We had a supposedly closed scrimmage on Saturday and some of our people brought in little blog sites (that said) ‘We saw this’ and ‘We saw that.’ Our coaches work hard on what we’re trying to prepare and would rather not have their thoughts and ideas and game plans out there kicked around until they get to showcase them.”
This is what I know about Ohio State’s possible offensive football schemes for the upcoming season, and it isn’t much:
Pistol Offense
The Buckeyes have been rumored to be implementing the pistol offense, which was originated by Chris Ault, head coach at Nevada. It is essentially a shotgun variation, or better yet, a cross between a shoutgun and singleback formation where the quarterback lines up three yards behind the center, and the running back lines up four yards directly behind the QB. Three wide receiver sets with a tight end are generally the norm.
The running game is more effective in this formation since the exchange happens closer to the line of scrimmage. It also works well with dual-threat quarterbacks, like Terrelle Pryor, who can throw and run.
The versatility of the formation can be utilized in a variety of ways. Because the quarterback is closer, he can see over the line and make downfield reads. He will also get the ball snapped to him faster, which can alter timing patterns greatly for a preparing defense.
One problem Ohio State had against LSU in the BCS National Championship game was that in the traditional shotgun formation where Todd Boeckman stood seven yards behind the line of scrimmage, it took longer for the plays to develop, which resulted in him getting sacked a season-high five times against the Tigers. One thing the Buckeyes are trying to work on (from what I hear) is a quicker passing game using shorter routes.
The pistol can also effectively use draw plays, counters, and options.
LSU used a version of the pistol last year.
I really have a better idea of what Ohio State won’t use offensively this year:
A-11 Offense
The A-11 offense is an offensive scheme developed by two high school coaches in California. It offers the appearance of having all 11 players in the field eligible to catch the ball, and any six of the eleven players can interchangeably become eligible on any given play with two quarterbacks in shotgun formation.
The base offense consists of a center and two tight ends surrounding the football, three receivers split right, three receivers split left. The number of players on each side of the center can vary, as long as there are at least seven players on the line of scrimmage.
Ohio State will not use this because it’s an illegal formation in NCAA football.
Wishbone Offense
Could you imagine Terrelle Pryor, Beanie Wells, Brandon Saine and Maurcie Wells or Boom Herron in the backfield at the same time, running the triple option made famous by Oklahoma in the 1970s?
I can, but that’s never going to happen.
Single-Wing Offense
This offense, developed by Pop Warner at the University of Pittsburgh back in the 1910s, lost its popularity after World War II, though it could be considered a precursor to today’s shotgun and spread offenses.
Back in the day, the single-wing offense consisted of an unbalanced line of seven, a quarterback, halfback, fullback, and a wingback. Sometimes the direct snap didn’t go to the quarterback, but rather the halfback or fullback. In this old-school offense, the quarterback had to be a good blocker.
While Florida coach Urban Meyer uses some aspects of this offense, I don’t think Ohio State will.
One thing that I can guarantee you is that you will see several new wrinkles to Ohio State’s offense against USC, compare to the rather tame play-calling you will see in the Buckeyes’ first two games against Youngstown State and Ohio.
