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Even though Ohio State is ranked number 1 in my preseason poll, there are 3 SEC teams in my top ten and another that just missed it.  I do respect the Big Ten, but I think that right now there is little competition for Ohio State.  However, you might just laugh at this Ryan Parker song.

Thanks to da Wiz for the tip. Check out his new website.

Our Preview of the University of Texas at El Paso is brought to us by The Red Zone Report.  The Red Zone Report is a comprehensive, mega football site covering NCAA and the NFL.  They are all your all things football site  with reviews and commentaries on a daily basis.  Make sure you check them out during the football season.  The author of the UTEP Preview is Mark Scott.

2008 UTEP Miners Preview: QB Vittatoe looking to strike gold

The 2007 season was a roller-coaster ride that came to a crashing end for UTEP. After starting 4-2, the Miners lost six straight games to finish the season, with their final three losses coming by 15 or more points. Defense was a big reason for the strugglers, as they had a tough time trying to replace 13 of their top 17 tacklers from 2006.

Read the Preview Here

Continued

5.  Georgia–The Bulldogs are number 1 in the AP poll finishing the 2007 season as the nation’s hottest team.  The Dawgs routed Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl to finish the year.  Georgia struggled early before realizing that Knowshon Moreno was the answer at RB, and the defense rose to dominate once again.  Georgia returns QB Matt Stafford of Dallas’ Highland Park and Moreno at RB along with the core of their defense.  While the Bulldogs return some high profile players such as Stafford and Moreno, they have some holes to fill particularly on the offensive line.  To make matters worse, LT Trinton Sturdivant went down in a preseason scrimmage, and he is out for the season.  The Dawgs also need to find players at WR.  Nevertheless, Coach Mark Richt is one of the best, and the Revival of the Dawgs has been hard to ignore.

4.  Florida–The Gators return All World WR Percy Harvin and All-Around-Great-Guy Tim Tebow, and with an improved running game by an actual RB, their offense may be even more explosive.  The defense was very young in 2007, but if they gained valuable experience they might become much improved by the end of the year.

3.  Oklahoma–The Sooners return all of the players needed to make a run at the National Title.  Sam Bradford has proven himself a good QB, and the defense is usually stout.  Oklahoma will have to overcome the disappointment of their Fiesta Bowl loss to West Virginia, but should be rolling by the Red River Rivalry in Dallas.

2.  USC–Same song, second verse.  That’s how you could describe USC’s preview every year.  The Trojans will have a new QB, but the objectives will be the same.  Win the Pac 10, and have a shot at the National Title.  Mark Sanchez suffered an injury in preseason practice, but he plans on being back.  Few have a better group at Linebacker that USC.  And, Joe McKnight is just beginning his big-play era.

1.  Ohio State–Last year the Buckeyes snuck up on everyone, this year the Ohio State University will be watched closely.  They return their starting QB and RB, and their offensive line is experienced.  The linebacker unit is one of the best in the country led by James Laurinaitis.  They have one of the top 2 or 3 secondaries, and everything has come together for the Buckeyes to make their way back to a third BCS National Title Game.  Even though they lost the first two, the third time might be a charm.  Look for Ohio State to give QB Todd Boeckman more responsibilities in the passing game, and he should reward the coaches by cutting down on the mistakes.  And then, there is the Terrelle Pryor factor.  The coaches may use him like Florida did Tim Tebow his freshman year.  Pryor may become the ultimate change up for the Buckeye offense.

Summary: CFTT Preseason Top Ten

1. Ohio State
2. USC
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida
5. Georgia
6. Clemson
7. LSU
8. Oregon
9. Missouri
10. South Florida

I have worked the past few weeks narrowing down the teams that we debut in the CFTT Preseason Poll.  Of course, we narrow it down to the Durty Dozen, and now it is narrowed down to the top ten.  Just like the last couple of years, we will list the teams in descending order, numbers 10 through 6 in the first post, and then numbers 5 through 1 in the final post.

My philosophy is trying to decide who I think is the best team as the season starts based on a number of factors.  So, without any further chatter, here we go.

10.  University of South Florida–These guys burst on the scene in 2008 winning 6 straight to debut number 2 in the BCS Rankings.  That’s right, I said number 2.  They eventually stumbled down the stretch to finish with 9 wins which were the same as the year before.  The Bulls return QB Mike Grothe and CFTT Defensive Player of the Year George Selvie.  A little more experience (62 returning lettermen) just might put USF in a place to win the Big East title.

9.  Missouri–The Tigers return Heisman Trophy candidate Chase Daniel to a team that drilled the Razorbacks in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on New Year’s Day.  They also have among the most talented receivers in Jeremy Maclin and TE Chase Coffman.  You can learn more about Missouri football here and here.  Follow Inthebleacher’s podcast preview of the Big 12 here.

8.  Oregon–The Ducks were on their way to a national championship game appearance and a Heisman Trophy presentation when QB Dennis Dixon went down.  Oregon struggled to find a QB, but finally, one emerged and the Ducks went on to beat USF in the Sun Bowl.  The Ducks have made the switch completely to the Spread Offense led by Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly and have been explosive.  Their secondary begins the season as one of the best.

7.  LSU–The Tigers are the reigning National Champions, and they return a lot that could help them be a top ten team.  Most notably, the offensive (Ciron Black) and defensive lines are among the best, not just in the SEC, but the entire country.  That should be helpful in easing in a new QB.  The defense just might be nasty.  While they lose Glen Dorsey, they return DE’s Tyson Jackson and Kirston Pittman along with DT Ricky Jean-Francoise who was a monster in the BCS Title Game.  They are deep in the backfield, and LSU will find an adequate QB when they name either Jarrett Lee or Andrew Hatch the starter.  You can keep up with the Tigers here, here and here.

6.  Clemson–Tommy Bowden’s Tigers are the favorites to win the ACC, and with good reason.  Everyone thinks that Clemson’s skill positions are as loaded as any in the country.  They return a very good duo at RB and QB Cullen Harper came on to be one of the most dependable in the country.

To Be Continued

So what teams run the Spread Offense?  Before answering that question, it’s important to know where the Spread came from.  The Spread Offense, by all indications, seems to be a family of football offenses.  Many people credit Rich Rodriguez with inventing or developing the Spread, but he really just invented the version that he runs, an option oriented.  There are many different ways to run the Spread, and for most coaches, it is an attempt to level the playing field against teams with bigger and stronger players.

The beginning of the Spread, or at least a precursor of it, started with coach Rusty Russell of the Masonic Lodge High School football team in Fort Worth, TX according to Jim Dent in his book Twelve Mighty Orphans.  When Russell arrived at the school in the late 1920’s to a begin a football program, he realized his team was undersized and all he had was about a dozen players.  He needed an equalizer.  The offenses he had used previously were not going to work.  Ever the innovator, Russell devised an offense that would help “level the playing field.”  In essence, it was what we call the Spread today.  He utilized space and speed along with an uncommon amount of guts by the small boys to play an offense that did actually depend on power at times.  The Mighty Mites did pass the ball, but not with the kind of frequency you see in many of today’s Spread Offenses.

It is unclear whether anything like the Spread was used between Russell and the Ohio coach that developed what is now referred to as the Run and Shoot.  It is important to note that many years between the 1950’s and 1960’s saw teams use the passing game.  But as the 1960’s began to close, several coaches, especially in the college ranks began to depend on strength and athleticism and settled on strong running games.  They would put their best athletes on defense to stop the other team, and they would control the clock with a strong, methodical running game.  This could seen in such dominant programs as Texas, Alabama, Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State.  The preferred the “three yards and a cloud of dust” mentality.  In fact, the legendary Woody Hayes was credited with the quote, “There are three things that can happen when you pass, and two of them ain’t good.” That is not to say that teams didn’t throw the ball during that time.  Such “finesse” teams as USC used the pass to be very successful.  It just wasn’t the dominant philosophy.  The 1980’s began to change that.  The option became a popular offense out of either the Wishbone or a I Formation.  While Oklahoma and Nebraska were dominant using an run option game in the 1980’s and 1990’s, it questionable as to whether the option might be considered a Spread Offense.  Even more, the passing game began to re-emerge with the advent of Howard Schnellenberger’s Miami Hurricanes.

Modern day versions of the Spread are very different.  Offensive innovators took key elements from the early Spread Offenses and made them unique.  Coaches such as Hal Mumme (New Mexico State), Mike Leach, Rich Rodriguez and Todd Dodge created various hybrid versions of the original.  The idea of the Spread Offense, no matter what version is used, is to spread the defense across the field using wide splits on the offensive line and spread the wideouts all the way to the sidelines creating big running lanes or space for the players to make plays.  At the popular site theSpreadOffense.com, the site claims as its motto, ” Make ‘em defend 53 yards and 6 athletes every play!”

Mumme was the creator of the “Air Raid” and the father of that tree which includes Texas Tech Mike Leach and Tony Franklin (Auburn).  He developed his offense studying the playbooks of former BYU legendary coach LaVelle Edwards.  While I believe that Leach’s Air Raid looks more like a Run and Shoot, it does try to spread the defense across the field.  It is a more pass happy offense, using little or no Tight Ends or Fullbacks.  This offense depends on backs and receivers.

The Run and Shoot was revolutionized by “Mouse” Davis after modifying Ohio high school coach Glenn Ellison’s offense which was created beginning in 1958.  Mouse had a young QB he could polish his offense with by the name of June Jones (SMU Head Coach).  Jones later took the offense with him when he became a head coach after spending some time coaching with Davis for the USFL’s Denver Gold.

Who is the innovator of the Spread Option Offense?  Most people point to Rich Rodriguez, Head Coach at Michigan.  The Spread Option is a hybrid combination of the traditional Spread Offense in terms of formation (three or four receivers and QB in the shotgun) and the Option Offense.  The QB runs the option from the shotgun.  The key is to have a “dual threat” QB, one who can run as well as he can pass.  Rodriguez helped to guide Tommy Bowden’s Tulane Green Wave to a undefeated season in 1998.  The main option is usually called the Zone Read, and Texas’s Vince Young executed it perfectly as a Longhorn leading the Horns to a national championship in 2005.  At West Virginia, Rodriguez led the Mountaineers to three BCS bowls in four years with Heisman Trophy candidate Pat White leading his offense.  Rodriguez’s offenses use a no huddle approach, keeping the defense off balance like in a 2 minute offense.  The other guru of the Spread Option Offense is Urban Meyer who led the Florida Gators to a national title in 2006.  Meyer also led the Utah Utes to a BCS bowl and undefeated season in 2004.  Meyer’s present QB, Tim Tebow is the returning Heisman Trophy winner for the Florida Gators.

Often the Spread takes on a more balanced approach.  While some teams (Texas Tech) pass much more and some teams (West Virginia) run the ball more, some teams are more balanced.  Florida under Meyer is more balanced as underscored by Tebow’s famous 20 TD passes and 20 TD rushes in 2007.  Bobby Petrino, the new Arkansas Razorback coach, claims to have a balanced version of the Spread.  Todd Graham’s Tulsa team was fairly balanced, while leaning slightly toward the pass, in 2008 when they rushed 562 times and passed 564 times.  Compare that with Texas Tech who rushed 246 times, but passed a whopping 763 times.  These teams’ coaches are looking for some balance to the offense, and they usually have a QB is capable of running.  Some of these teams such as Tulsa and Todd Dodge’s University of North Texas Mean Green run a no huddle, and in Tulsa’s case, a hurry up no huddle which was crafted by Offensive Co-Coordinator Gus Malzahn while a high school coach in Arkansas.

Another very different version of the Spread Offense is Chris Ault’s Pistol Offense ran at Nevada.  The QB operates out of a Shot gun formation, but the QB is only 2-3 yards behind the line.

Therefore, the Spread Offense has different family trees.  First, there is the “Mouse” Davis tree which has led to the Run and Shoot version of the Spread Offense.  Then, there is the Hal Mumme tree which has led to the “Air Raid” version of the Spread Offense.  Tony Franklin, who is member of this tree is the new Offensive Coordinator at Auburn and will use more run than the other members of Hal Mumme’s family tree.  The Hal Mumme family tree is preceeded by LaVelle Edwards, former legendary coach for Brigham Young University.  Then, there is the Spread Option family tree.  It really is unclear who the real pioneer is of this offenese.  More than one coach has been given credit for using the “Read Option” or “Zone Read” to develop the Spread Option Offense.  Rich Rod, of course, has gotten credit for the Spread Option, but so has Bill Snyder and Urban Meyer.  What follows is a tree of coaches with eclectic Spread Offense Origins.  Coaches took offenses or particular trends and modified and refined their systems.  Coaches such as Bobby Petrino, Chris Peterson, Dan Hawkins, Steve Spurrier (Fun and Gun),  Gary Pinkel, Todd Dodge, and Gus Malzahn all have influences which come from different places like Bill Walsh’s West Coast Offense, Dennis Erickson, and, frankly, each other.

Given the different types of Spread Offenses that prevail and the various family trees from which they come, which teams will employ the use of the Spread Offense in 2008?

We will list the teams in the next post.