Goal Line Stand: The spread is here to stay

For a couple years now, I have joked that watching West Virginia play football was like the old cliché about eating Chinese food: After the game, I felt hungry for more football. The cause was the Mountaineer offensive scheme, which spread the field from ear-to-ear and created three hours of one-on-one matchups that left me hungry for a little pad-popping SEC football.

Watching WVU quarterback Pat White dashing through fanned-out defenses or drawing folks to him and then giving it up to Steve Slaton was almost like watching AAU basketball. Nobody was hit all that hard, and the points came quickly and continually. When the Mountaineers decided to pass, it was usually a quick strike to the side, a slip screen or a pick. It was effective, but it wasn’t necessarily the version of the game that many from the Bo-Woody Generation had grown up watching.

This year has brought something of an epiphany, thanks to the insight of a few coaches and a further study of the WVU offense, which is considered by many the gold standard of the spread. Break the thing down to its basic components, and you have that old 1970s standard: the wishbone. Sure, there is only one back, and the tear-away jersey is gone, but the guts of the attack remain true to Emory Bellard’s old attack. The QB takes the shotgun snap, reads the defensive end, and acts accordingly. If the defender comes upfield, the quarterback hands off. If the DE moves toward the middle of the fray, the QB keeps the ball and takes off. He can also pass or run the option with a motion man coming from the slot. Voila: the wishbone. Barry Switzer must love it.

A likeness to a cherished football relic isn’t enough to sell me on the West Virginia spread. That came through weeks of analyzing the way successful, winning college football is played in 2007. There is not a universal embracing of the attack, but one can find components of it throughout the top 25, save a few troglodytic outposts which have kept a death grip on tradition and have been embarrassed by teams capable of spreading them out.

The top of the BCS standings certainly proves the point. Missouri is number one, thanks to an offense that sends ‘em wide and then attacks the empty spaces. WVU is second, ‘nuff said. Kansas remains in the top five. Ohio State has kept some of last year’s spread concepts, despite the departure of Troy Smith. Virginia Tech has adopted portions of the scheme, thanks to the emergence of freshman QB Tyrod Taylor. Florida, Hawaii and Illinois are all top-15 BCS clubs and spread devotees. Oklahoma works almost exclusively out of the shotgun and embraces elements of the attack. Had Dennis Dixon remained healthy, we’d still be talking about Oregon. Even LSU used it with Ryan Perrilloux at times in ’07. And so on down the line.

Like it or not, the spread is here and is the best way to counter defenses which (in most cases) are getting faster and more capable of covering large amounts of turf after the snap. The best way to keep the D from dictating tempo is to force defenders out of the box and make them defend by themselves, the better to exploit mismatches and create the opportunity for a big play without a big risk. It’s one thing to send a wideout on a crossing pattern in order to pick up 25 yards, but that can be fraught with peril. Throwing a quick screen to a receiver who need only get past one or two players – with the help of a blocker – can yield a similar benefit with far less chance for trouble.

You might think this is a rather obvious stating of a college football fact: the spread works. But it’s more than that. Its connection to the wishbone proves it’s more than just a fad, and its growing prevalence shows how difficult it must be for defenses to handle it. Just take a look at how Michigan staggered through its first two weeks with slow linebackers and poor-tackling defensive backs and see how the new guard is toying with the Old Way. It’s not unreasonable to believe the next couple years will bring a proliferation of spread hybrids, just as the triple option dominated the college landscape in the 1970s – until the Pac-10 showed the value of the forward pass.

For now, expect to see another spread team in the BCS title game, and another guaranteed spread title, should the Mountaineers and Tigers tangle in New Orleans. And as the ’08 campaign dawns, look for mobile QBs on campuses throughout the countries, not to mention a raft of defensive coordinators graying before our eyes.

GAME OF THE WEEK: Missouri vs. Oklahoma, in San Antonio
Admit it, the last thing you considered back in late August was the prospect of a top-rated Missouri’s being one game away from playing for the big prize. Sure, the Tigers were probably good for eight or nine wins, but 12? No way. Think again. Mizzou stands on the precipice of the BCS title game with just one obstacle, albeit a big one. OU dealt Missouri its only loss, a 10-pointer, back in October. Since then, the Sooners have been staggered by Texas Tech and bumped from championship consideration. But that doesn’t mean a Fiesta Bowl berth isn’t in the offing for OU, which should have a healthy Sam Bradford under center and more than enough impetus to make it two straight over the Tigers. Missouri’s defense was pretty strong against Kansas last week, but it won’t stand up to the more physical Sooners, who won’t freeze in the spotlight the way the Jayhawks did.
Oklahoma 31, Missouri 24

BUMPS AND RUNS:
Don’t think for a second that Houston Nutt’s decision to leave Arkansas for Mississippi was all about the Springdale mess. In the middle of last week, he was informed the Hogs were preparing a buyout for him. After his team beat LSU, Nutt was informed by the school chancellor that an extension was in the offing. Nutt didn’t want any part of that and bolted for Oxford.

Don’t be surprised if Turner Gill is the next Nebraska coach, even though his Buffalo team finished 5-7 this year. Interim AD Tom Osborne wants somebody who understands Nebraska, and Gill certainly has that on his resume.

Brian Kelly may be a candidate for Michigan’s job, but his somewhat abrasive personality won’t necessarily play well there. Expect Les Miles to continue his spot as the alpha candidate, once the SEC title game is over.

The best team in the SEC right now could be Georgia, which will begin next year in everybody’s top five.

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