collegefootballtopten.com

It wasn’t a good year for SMU and UNT.  The two combined for the 2 wins, the same number of losses that TCU had on its own.  SMU’s only win was against a Football Championship Subdivision team, and UNT’s

only win was against a FCS team who is transitioning to the Bowl Championship Subdivision.  Does that make UNT better?

June Jones, SMU’s coach, came in with reputation of turning around a program quickly after his one year turn around of Hawaii.  However, he endured all kinds of problems this year.  Can Jones get this program turned around?  SMU ponied up the cash, and now its time to see if June really do “cometh.”

A lot of people around Denton aren’t sure what to make of the Todd Dodge “experiement.”  However, Dodge had an unusual number of bad circumstances to happen this year.  He lost multiple players to suspension, injury or simply leaving the program.  Many of those players were receivers, a position in which numbers are important to the Dodge Spread Offense.  Dodge recruited extra receivers in his first two classes to get the numbers, and then lost several of those.  More importantly, UNT needs to recruit some good offensive and defensive linemen to begin the process of winning the trenches.  To improve his defense, I would recommend that the UNT coaching staff travel south to Fort Worth and take a defensive coaching clinic from Gary Patterson and Dick Bumpas.

What they are saying

UNT

Brett Vito–DRC

Brett Vito–DRC

Brett Vito–DRC

SMU

Bobbi Roquemore

Bobbi Roquemore

Thursday night was the first night of college football, and where was I?  I was watching a high school football game!  I know, blasphemy.  A young man I knew was playing his first game as a varsity starter, and I went to watch him play.  While there, I took the time to practice note taking at a football game.  Subsequently, I wrote a summary of the game for Pegasus News.  You can check it out here.  I am a content partner, and now I am a part-time-for-big-pay (ha ha) writer for Peagasus News.  Here is my contribution page.  I met with the sports editor yesterday to be trained on their system, and I still made mistakes.  Thanks to Erin for being patient with me.

Three games stood out to me when I came home.  UTEP got drilled by Turner Gill’s Buffalo Bulls.  Turner Gill is a rising star in the coaching business, and I still wonder how he would have done given the job at Nebraska.  Gill is also a native of Fort Worth.  In fact, Gill graduated from Arlington Heights, the same team I watched play last night.  The play by Buffalo’s Drew Willy made wonder if I should have put him in my Top Ten Returning QB’s list instead of UTEP QB Trevor Vittatoe.  Next, Baylor lost its opener to Wake Forest.  Well, Wake is ranked number 23, and it may be a long season for Baylor.  If Art Briles turns around the program, it might take a few years.  Finally, NC State just got beat down by the SEC’s South Carolina.  The Gamecocks have a history of starting fast, and it looks like that might happen again this year.  There is another big game this weekend between the SEC and the ACC.  Saturday in the Chick-fil-a Classic, Alabama plays ACC favorite Clemson.  How will that play out?

I have been invited to write at the Nebraska Sports Journal.  I have accepted the invitation given to me by John.  I am not sure what I am going to write about, but it will be fun.  I let the CFTT readers know when I post an article at NSJ.

Tonight, our SMU Ponies take on Rice in Houston.  I will have a Rice preview for the Texas Tour later this evening.  The beginning of the June Jones Era begins at 7 PM.  Rice has an experienced QB and dangerous WR.  They can light up the scoreboard with ease.  Their defense, however, has not been real good.  These two teams might score 100.

Continued from Part 1

5.  June Jones signs with SMU–After leading Hawaii to the greatest season in history, and launching the Warriors all the way to the BCS promised land, a rout at the hands of Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, the Run and Shoot Guru himself was lured away by the SMU Alumni who were willing to Pony Up the cash.  Jones inherits a fairly talented, but downtrodden program which he will make a contender in the Conference USA.  Jones, after moving to SMU, moved Katy, TX QB commit Bo Levi Mitchell to Dallas as well (from a commit to Hawaii), and he, subsequently, went on to be named the starter for the opener against Rice.  June Cometh.

4.  Interesting Coaching Changes–Every year coaching changes happen.  Many happen before the bowl season, therefore, they are not technically offseason.  However, the consequences are felt throughout the offseason as the new staff comes in to their first Spring practices, first recruiting class, etc.  Some of the more interesting hires this year are Houston Nutt from Arkansas to Ole Miss, Rick Neuheisel to UCLA, Paul Johsnon from Navy to Georgia Tech, Bobby Petrino from Atlanta (NFL) to Arkansas, Art Briles from Houston to Baylor, June Jones (see Above) and Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia to Michigan (see Below).

3.  Terrelle Pryor signs with Ohio State–Every year it seems as some kid is the coveted prize of the recruiting world.  Pryor seemed to be wined and dined by the programs and fans who wanted him to sign with their school.  A photo even surfaced of Pryor at a Michigan basketball game talking with Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez.  Pryor delayed his signing, he remained uncommitted, until after he finished his basketball season which went deep because his team won the state championship.  Pryor considered Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State where his father lobbied for him to play.  In the end, the Buckeyes won the prize.  Think Vince Young, only bigger.  Buckeye fans are thinking National Title!

2.  Ryan Perrilloux dismissed from LSU–The highly recruited QB who waited his turn at LSU struggled with off the field probelms.  No need to rehash all of that.  Head Coach Les Miles gave him several opportunities to remain on the team.  Perrilloux showed his abilities last season leading LSU to a win over Tennessee in the SEC Championship game with starting QB Matt Flynn injured.  Without Perrilloux, the Tigers go from defending national champions with a proven QB to defending national champions with no proven QB.

1.  Rich Rodriguez to Michigan and Saga–Rodriguez bailed on the Mountaineer fans.  At least that is how they feel about it.  Rodriguez, a West Virginia Alum, was poised to stay for many years in Morgantown and lead them to the elusive national title.  However, when it was all over, Rodriguez took the Michigan job feeling as if he had been cheated by his employers.  The Hawaii athletic director apologized to fans when June Jones left, no such action from the West Virginia AD.  He and WVU sued Rodriguez for the $4 Million buy out in his contract which Rodriguez claimed was void due to an oral agreement between he and the AD to take out the clause.  Of course, we know, contracts don’t mean anything.  Meanwhile, in Ann Arbor, Rodriguez wasn’t a hit with every player.  QB Ryan Mallet decided to transfer to Arkansas to play in Spread Offense that doesn’t need the QB to run the option like in Rich Rod’s offense.  And, Michigan lineman Justin Boren transferred saying that the “family values” have left under Rich Rod.  And that was only Spring!

Heading into the last week of preseason practices before the college football season starts, the three DFW teams are started to take shape.  Some questions have been answered and surprises have been revealed.

All three of the DFW teams, the TCU Horned Frogs, the SMU Mustangs and the UNT Mean Green have announced their starters for the first game.  In Fort Worth, coaches still insist that it is Andy Dalton at 1A and Marcus Jackson at 1B.  Gary Patterson has always done a good job of having two QB’s ready, but this year he has really outdone himself.  While Dalton will be the starter, Jackson has and will receive playing time.  The Frogs have two QB’s ready to play with extensive playing experience.

In Denton, UNT announced, just days after its first practice, that Sophmore Giovanni Vizza will start at QB in the first game against Kansas State.  This might come as a bit of a surprise to some who were penciling in Coach Dodge’s son and Freshman Riley Dodge as the heir apparent.  With a second QB an upperclassmen, who has the single game passing record for UNT, Dodge might be ordering a redshirt for his son.

Finally, at SMU, where the stars come to watch practice, Head Coach June Jones and his staff announced earlier this week that Freshman Bo Levi Mitchell from Katy (TX) will start in the opener, a big show in Houston against Rice.  This is also somewhat of a surprise as the record holding QB Justin Willis returns for his Junior year.  However, many know that Willis was suspended in the spring missing Spring Practice.  The SMU staff sited accuracy and knowledge as the main reason,  Furthermore, second team QB is Freshman Braden Smith of Rockwall.  The future begins now in Dallas.  Willis, however, is hanging around.

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.

This week marks the beginning of the 2008 season for TCU, SMU and UNT.  Earlier today, TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson met with the media as a part of the Horned Frogs’ Reporting Day.  Among the things that Patterson talked about was the last minute addition of Atoine Hicks and the Texas heat.  The high temperature at DFW Airport on Sunday, August 3rd, was 107 degrees.  The Frogs will have their first practice on Monday, August 4th at 4 PM.  TCU will also host their annual “Meet the Frogs” on August 23rd beginning with Inflatable Games at 10 AM.  There will be an opportunity to meet players, coaches, cheerleaders and showgirls along with free posters and player trading cards.  To find out more about “Meet the Frogs,” visit GoFrogs.com.

In Denton, TX, UNT players report for the first practice of 2008 also on Monday, August 4th.  One of the interesting things in which the Mean Green website is doing is blogging the two-a-days workouts.  If you really want to know what is going at each practice during the next couple of weeks, you can log on to MeanGreenSports.com and follow the live blog.  That’s right, I said live.  Blogging begins at 7 PM Monday.  Check it out.

The Mustangs begin practice on Monday too.  SMU will begin practices for the 2008 season beginning at 9:30 AM.  Players report on Sunday, and the June Jones era will begin.  Fans are welcome to watch practices, but they are asked to watch from behind the “fence for practices on Pettus and from the stands for workouts held in the stadium.”  Jones will usher in a new era of “Pony Express”–by air.

While Phil Steele has TCU’s schedule ranked number 85, it’s hard to believe the Frogs will have an easy time playing Oklahoma in Norman and hosting Stanford.  Add to that what I believe to be the toughest non BCS conference, and TCU will have a challenge to win 10 games.  But, for the Horned Frogs, it is possible that they return to double digit wins in 2008.  Here is TCU’s schedule.

@ New Mexico, August 30, 5 PM

They don’t seem to excited to see TCU in August out in Albuquerque.  And for good reason, the Lobos only return 10 starters from a year ago, including just one on the Offensive Line.  Also gone are the two leading receivers from 2007, both of whom had over 1000 yards receiving.  But the Lobos return Jr. QB Donovan Porterie (6-3, 206) who passed for 3006 yards and 15 TD’s.  They also return Sr. RB Rodney Ferguson (6-0, 229) who rushed for 1177 yards a year ago.  On defense, the Lobos return their top tackler Jr. Lobo Ian Clark (6-0, 210) and their unique 3-3-5 defensive scheme.

Stephen F. Austin, September 6, 6 PM
Not much went right for the Lumberjacks last year as they were 0-11.  SFA, a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA), will need more than a few axes when they come into Amon G. Carter Stadium for their appointment with the Horned Frogs.

Stanford, September 13, 6 PM
One week after Stanford had the biggest upset of the year beating USC in the L A Coliseum, the Frogs overcame a 14 point lead in the second half to beat the Cardinals 38-36 in Palo Alto.  The Cardinals return 16 starters and look to improve on last season’s 4-8 record.  The Cardinals return their top three tacklers from 2007 including Fr. FS Bo McNally (6-0, 208) who recorded 114 tackles.  On offense the Cardinals return So. RB Tony Gerhart (6-1, 228) from a Medical Redshirt in 2007.

@ SMU, September 20, 7 PM
2008 is the beginning of the June Jones era in Dallas.  The Mustangs will have to improve dramatically, but with Jones in charge, SMU may make a big turn around.  This year’s game is being dubbed the DFW Duel:  The Battle for the Iron Skillet.

@ Oklahoma, September 27, TBA
The Sooners cannot forget 2005 when the Frogs went in to Norman and beat OU in front of 80,000 fans.  Not only did the Frogs beat them in 2005, but they beat them in 1996 as well.  The Sooners will run some no huddle Spread Offense this year, but I don’t know how well So. QB Sam Bradford (6-5, 213) moves.  The Sooners return 8 starters on Offense including Bradford and the entire Offensive Line.  The Defense only returns 5.

San Diego State, October 4, 5 PM
There is good news, bad news, and very bad news for the Aztecs which finished 4-8 last year.  The good news is they return 8 starters on Defense.  The bad news is that defense was not good as it gave up 242 yards rushing per game, 257 yards passing per game and 34.4 points per game.  TCU had 694 yards of total offense and 45 points against SDSU in 2007.  Now for the very bad news.  SDSU only returns 3 starters on Offense.

@ Colorado State, October 11, 5 PM
The Rams were really close to being a winning team last year.  They took Colorado to Overtime, the scared Cal when the Bears were ranked 10th, and would not go away against TCU.  On Offense, the Rams return 7 starters, including Sr. RB Gartrell Johnson (6-0, 227) and Sr. RB Kyle Bell (6-2, 231) who combined to rush for 1648 yards in 2007.  On Defense the Rams return 5 starters including 2007 leading tackler Sr. MLB Jeff Horinek (6-3, 234) who had 94 tackles.

BYU, October 16, 7 PM
Heading into 2008, it seems most people think BYU will be great.  The media has tabbed them as their favorite to win the MWC, Jr. QB Max Hall (6-1, 201) is the Preseason MWC Offensive Player of the year and has been added to the 2008 O’Brien Watch List, and Jr. DE Jan Jorgensen (6-3, 256) has been named to the 2008 Ted Hendricks Award Watch List.  Last year BYU began the year losing at UCLA and at Tulsa before going undefeated in the MWC.  The Cougars finished the year 11-2, winning 10 straight games including nail bitters against Utah, TCU and  UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl.  BYU only returns 3 starters on Defense, but 10 of the projected starters are upperclassmen.  The Offensive should be great, led my Max Hall who passed for 3848 yards and 26 TD’s they also return their top 4 receivers and So. RB Harvey Unga (6-0, 243) a big punishing back who averaged 5.0 yards per carry for 1227 total rushing yards in 2007.

Wyoming, October 25, 5 PM
This a game the Horned Frogs want to win to avenge last year’s 24-21 loss in Laramie.  The Cowboys return 8 starters on offense and 6 on deffense.  Sr. RB Devin Moore (5-10, 191) rushed for 965 yards in 2007 and Sr. RB Wynel Seldon (6-0, 219) added 554 yards.  Jr. QB Karsten Sween (6-2, 222) is back looking to improve on his 2028 yards passing.  The Defense returns 2 of its top 5 tacklers.  Sr. WLB Ward Dobbs (6-0, 230) had 98 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 INT.

@ UNLV, November 1, 7 PM
TCU has owned UNLV the past three years, but this Rebels team might be a dangerous one.  UNLV returns 9 starters on Offense that rushed for 141 yards per game and passed for 213 yards per game but averaged only 18.2 points per game.  The top two QB’s return, and that may be the biggest battle in Fall camp, and both are capable performers.  UNLV also returns their top RB, Sr. Frank Summers (5-10, 200) who rushed for 928 yards and 6 TD’s.  The Offensive Line returns 7 with starting experience.  The Defense only returns 5, but their projected starters include 9 upperclassmen.  The Rebels return their number two tackler from 2007, Jr. SS Daryl Forte (5-11, 185) who had 94 tackles.

@ Utah, November 6, 7 PM
The media voted BYU to be the preseason favorite of the MWC, but Phil Steele, the college football magazine guru, has the Utes as his favorite.  One reason may be the return of Sr. QB Brian Johnson (6-1, 205).  Johnson who redshirted in 2006 due to an injury, played much of 2007 injured and only passed for 1847 yards while rushing for 314 (net just 150 yds.).  As a starter in 2005, Johnson passed for 2892 yards while rushing for 690 yards in 10 games missing the last three games due to, you guessed it, an injury.  A healthy Johnson will mean a good Utah Offense as they return 8 starters on that side of the ball including Sr. RB Darrell Mack (6-0, 219) who rushed for 1204 yards and 12 TD’s in 2007.  Defensively, Utah returns 6 starters including 2 of it’s top 3 tacklers from a year ago.

Air Force, November 22, 2:30 PM
This another game the Frogs will want to avenge.  The Frogs,  just 5 days after playing Texas, lost a heart breaker in Colorado Springs 20-17 in Overtime where it seemed the Frogs just ran out of gas.  The Falcons went on to win 9 games and receive a birth to the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth.  The Defense returns 5 starters and the Offense just 3.  The Falcons have to replace a lot of offense from 2007.

Photo Credit:  Keith Robinson Photography

While Phil Steele has SMU pegged number 6 on his most improved list, it’s hard to believe that the Mustangs will be much better at offense.  SMU averaged 170 yards rushing and 252 yards passing for a total of 422 total yards per game.  QB Justin Willis accounted for 3643 total yards, an average of 303.58 yards per game.  SMU had 31 turnovers in 2007, 19 INT’s and 12 fumbles.  Most of SMU’s major playmakers return including Willis, WR Emmanuel Sanders, RB James Mapps (550 yards rushing), RB DeMyron Martin (491 yards rushing), and WR Aldrick Robinson whom the new coaches are high on according Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.  With the arrival of June Jones, the offense should be a little more efficient, and the numbers will increase, especially the passing yardage.

Much of the attention in fall camp will be around who will start at QB.  While Willis is a returning 2 year starter, he was suspended in the spring for undisclosed reasons leaving SMU with one scholarship QB for spring drills, Logan Turner (Springtown, TX).  Turner should have an edge in knowing the offense when practices start in August.  Willis will return for the fall, and don’t count him out.  Joining those two will be freshmen QB’s Braden Smith (Rockwall, TX) and Bo Levi Mitchell (Katy, TX).  Mitchell was headed to Hawaii to play for Coach Jones before switching to SMU after Jones took its Head Coach position.

SMU returns WR Emmanuel Sanders and potential breakout player (see Texas Football) Aldrick Robinson.  The Mustangs also return experienced WR Zach Zimmerman.  The Mustangs will need the help of multiple receivers to operate out of the Run and Shoot Offense, so expect extensive play from several younger receivers.  Nevertheless, Sanders should cross the 1000 yard mark if he stays healthy as he had 889 yards a year ago.

If the Mustangs return the skill players to build the Run and Shoot system in Dallas, their biggest weakness would be the offensive line.  And, the O Line is critical if the Run and Shoot is to be effective.  Pass protection is a must.  One of the ways defenses defend the Run and Shoot is by getting to the QB and either making him hurry his passes or getting a sack.  SMU is slated to return 4 starters on the offesive line, however one was actually a Tight End last year.  If the line, who will be lead by Junior Mitch Enright (Southlake, TX) picks up the protections and gels as a unit, then SMU’s offense should be explosive by the end of the season.

I wrote an article outlining the possibility of a weekly air show in the DFW area earlier this month. Now, if I had a mailbag like Stewart Mandel or The Denton Record-Chronical’s Mean Green Blog, I might have an email asking me about the kinds offenses that are used at UNT (The University of North Texas) and SMU (Southern Methodist University). Some may simply ask, “What kind of offense did you say that was?” Others may ask something like, “What is the difference between the No Huddle Spread Offense and the Run and Shoot?”

Now, as if there weren’t enough teams running a spread of some kind, it seems that the Oklahoma Sooners are going to spread it out next year. The Texas Longhorns have runned some version of the Spread Offense dating back to the Vince Young era. Tulsa runs a high octane version of the Hurry Up No Huddle Spread Offense. Therefore, there are many college football teams in the DFW area running something in the way of a Spread Offense.

SMU runs June Jones’ version of the Run and Shoot. The advent of the Run and Shoot dates back to the 1950’s and 60’s when an Ohio high school football coach developed the offense. Jones himself played QB in the Run and Shoot at Portland State under “Mouse” Davis who popularized the offense. Jones has extensive experience running the Run and Shoot in college, the NFL, the USFL (the United States Football League which no longer exists) and the CFL (Canadian Football League). Jones, the Mustang coach, has brought an offensive system to Dallas that he not only has experience coaching and playing, but one in which he was a major part of its own development. The Run and Shoot uses four receiver sets, or double slots. The key to exploiting the defense is the ability of both the QB and the receiver to read after the snap of the ball to what the defense is doing. Such a tactic is called a “hot read.” The “hot read” is still an important element in the NFL even though the Run and Shoot’s use has largely faded from the NFL playbooks. In fact, just playing EA Sports’ Madden football will leave a fan familiar with the concept of the “hot read.” Some of the subsequent reads happen prior to the snap. Often, the QB knows exactly where he is going to go with ball for it is snapped, or least he knows his best options.

The Spread Offense is very similar in that the offense often employs the use of four receivers. The idea is to spread the defense horizontally and sometimes vertically with deep passes. The Run and Shoot also tries to spread out the defense horizontally. What are the differences? For starters, those that run the Spread Offense are not afraid of using a Tight End. Missouri Tight End Martin Rucker was an All-American at that position for Missouri’s Spread Offense. Usually, a team that uses the Spread likes to use a TE or some kind of H Back. With the need for defenses to have extra defensive backs on the field to cover the spread formations, a TE becomes a major match-up problem. An H Back is usually built like a TE or a Fullback. However, in addition to his ability to block, he has the ability to catch the ball. Imagine an extra Cornerback standing at 5′10″ or 5′11″ and weighing 190 lbs covering someone, by accident, who is 6′6″ 255 lbs. So, while the Spread Offense likes to spread out the defense, at times they use a more TE or H Back type player instead of all four receivers.

Another difference between the two formations is how the Spread Offense uses the QB. The QB is called on to make plays with both his arm and his feet. He is the ultimate playmaker on the field. He uses instincts to make a positive play. Coaches usually make the calls from the Press Box based on what kind defense is being run. Often, teams in the Spread Offense do not use a huddle and look to the coaching staff to make the call based on the defense’s alignment. Reads are made before the snap most of the time. However, some teams use a Hurry Up style of No Huddle Offense in which the object is to snap the ball within 3-5 seconds. Such a philosophy does not depend on what the defense is running, particularly because the defense is out of place because of the quick snap of the ball. Other teams, use the run oriented option out of the Spread Offense. West Virginia has been the best example of this under Coach Rich Rodriguez. Some incorporate what is known as the Zone Read. Vince Young excelled using the Zone Read when he was playing at Texas. All of these variations rely on the playmaking ability of the QB with both his arm and his feet. Such a QB is known as a dual threat QB.

A Run and Shoot is usually more geared toward a passing game. Texas Tech’s Air Raid offense is more of a Run and Shoot offense. Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell averaged 54.8 attempts per game. There was not a lot of emphasis on the running game at Texas Tech. As we have seen, the Spread Offense has several different variations which include a pass oriented, a balanced oriented and a run/option oriented. Todd Dodge’s No Huddle Spread Offense is a little more of a passing oriented attack. However, he does like to use the running game. At Southlake Carroll High School, Dodge enjoyed the use of Texas recruit Tre Newton. Further, all of his QBs were mobile and were considered a threat to run the ball.

Now that you know some of the differences between these two offenses, check out SMU and UNT this fall to see how they are used by each team.

Note: A number of websites and webpages were used to help construct this article. Below is a list of those sites and pages.

Americanfootballmonthly.com
Doubleslot.com
Wikipedia Articles Run & Shoot, Spread Offense, Todd Dodge, June Jones, Mouse Davis
Espn.go.com Bob Davie Column
Maddenscecrets.com
ohsfca.org
scribd.com
smartfootball.blogspot
Video from Espn.go.com with June Jones
sports.espn.go.com
thespreadoffense.com
spreadoffense.com
tulsaworld.com: Oklahoma, Todd Graham
usatoday
Video: Colt Brennan demonstrates Run & Shoot
everything2.com
ezinearticles.com

In a metropolitan area which is home to two of the largest airlines in the country, three NCAA Bowl Subdivision football teams will take the field in 2008 logging as many air miles as any team in the country. It’s an exciting brand of football for the fans to be sure, and with signing of June Jones to be the new head coach at Southern Methodist University, the tickets just might sell. Texas Christian University, Southern Methodist University and the University of North Texas are neighbors in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.

If anyone throws the ball as much as Jones did at the University of Hawaii, it would be Todd Dodge out of his no huddle Spread Offense at UNT (University of North Texas) known as “Dodge Ball.” Last year Dodge’s team averaged 46 passes per game for 3476 total yards on the season.

Jones’ Hawaii team averaged 51 passes a game for a total of 5713 yards on the season. In case you are wondering, that’s about 476 yards per game (12 games). Jones uses the old “Run and Shoot” offense that was used so well at the University of Houston in the 80’s. Jones has the services of two year starter Justin Willis, if he can pull it together and get himself back on the team.

UNT, of course, is located in Denton, TX, just north of Dallas, and SMU is located in Dallas. In Fort Worth, Gary Patterson is the head coach of TCU (Texas Christian University), where the passing game has always helped balanced the usually stellar running game. In the past, TCU has used dual threat Quarterbacks to complement such running backs as LaDainian Tomlinson, Lonta Hobbs, and Robert Merrill. However, in QB Andy Dalton, TCU is starting to benefit from a strong, accurate arm. TCU averaged 34 passes per game for a total of 2881 yards on the season, up from 27 passes per game in 2006 and 29 passes per game in 2005. With a more confident Dalton, will the Frogs throw the ball more? The Frogs have never been afraid to throw the ball when it needed to. In recent years the TCU QB has had big passing games. TCU is not a one dimensional team.

DFW college football may be exciting in the 2008 season. While watching a game, you might look to the skies. However, it may not be just to see the airplanes.