Steven M. Sipple: Florida offense captures Osborne’s fancy
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Tom Osborne said last week he’s a longtime admirer of Florida coach Urban Meyer and Meyer’s style of offense.
Now, before we go further, Osborne insisted he’s not out combing the countryside in search of possible replacements for slumping Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan. Meyer, by the way, probably wouldn’t be a realistic candidate.
But perhaps Osborne, the Huskers’ interim athletic director, offered a clue as to the style of offense he would prefer should he make a change at season’s end. At any rate, one could see why Meyer’s offense captures Osborne’s fancy.
“What Urban has done is pretty much combined an option style with being able to throw the football,” said ESPN and ABC college football analyst Bob Davie, a defensive assistant at Texas A&M in 1988 when A&M opened the season with a 23-14 loss to Nebraska in the Kickoff Classic.
“Obviously, Nebraska ran option and power football at the time. But where they killed you was the play-action passes to the tight ends. We spent all summer trying to get ready for that stuff.”
Nebraska, of course, now uses a West Coast system in which the quarterback essentially runs only if it’s for his life as the pocket collapses around him. The West Coast offense above all requires a solid passer. It’s more of a two-back set, which makes it easier to keep defenders grouped in a little closer to the line of scrimmage.
As a result, there are fewer opportunities for big plays using quarterback scrambles and designed QB runs, though there figures to be a lot more yard-producing scrambles if Joe Ganz gets extensive time in place of injured Sam Keller. Come to think of it, Callahan has been known to install a few designed running plays for the shifty Ganz.
“I’m not locked into any one offensive system or defensive system,” Osborne said. “You can make most anything work if you have the right people. I think the main thing is coaches have to coach with what they’re familiar and comfortable with.”
Meyer and Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia, for example, obviously have found comfort in running option plays out of a shotgun formation in a spread set. Florida, the 2006 national champion, currently ranks 10th nationally in scoring at 39.1 points per game, and West Virginia ranks No. 7 at 40.8.
Surging Oregon, which defeated Southern California Saturday to improve to 7-1, also benefits from a spread system led by a dual-threat QB.
“I go back to my experiences as a defensive coordinator,” said Davie, Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator from 1989-93 when the Aggies’ defense still legitimately could be called “The Wrecking Crew,” an attacking 3-4 system that became the gold standard in the old Southwest Conference. “Any time an offense could run some form of option football, and also have the ability to throw the football, those are still to me the most dangerous and most difficult offenses to defend.
“Any time you play a team that runs the option, to any degree, it slows down your defensive front because it has to play more of a read scheme,” he said, which helps explain Texas’ reliance Saturday on a zone-read option — which helped slow Nebraska’s frequent blitzing.
Which brings us to Kansas (8-0 overall, 4-0 Big 12), Nebraska’s opponent Saturday in Lawrence, Kan. The Jayhawks, behind sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing of Austin, Texas, use a balanced spread attack that ranks 11th nationally in total offense (479.4) and fifth in scoring (42.5).
Davie was the ESPN color analyst working Kansas’ 19-11 victory Saturday night at Texas A&M. The Jayhawks also have recorded road triumphs over Kansas State (30-24) and Colorado (19-14).
“Because they have an undersized quarterback (Reesing is 5-foot-10, 200 pounds), they’re going to spread the field. They’re going to give you a little option look, but there’s not going to be many predetermined quarterback runs. They’re going to spread you out and the quarterback is going to scramble off passing plays.
“Compare Reesing with Stephen McGee (of A&M). They’re both guys you have to respect running the football. But there’s a major difference. A&M is a veer team. With Kansas, you have to account for the quarterback in passing situations. In passing situations, Reesing will take off and run.
“Either way, it’s all about spreading the field and using the quarterback as the extra guy that a lot of times a defense can’t account for.”
Yes, another headache for Kevin Cosgrove’s beleaguered crew at Nebraska.
Kansas, believe it or not, has legit BCS aspirations.
“Physically, they probably don’t look as good as Oklahoma, Texas, maybe even Texas A&M,” Davie said. “Physically, they just don’t have the same type of guys top to bottom. But because of that offensive scheme, and that quarterback ...”
Davie drifts off, but you understand where he’s going with his thoughts.
No doubt, Osborne understands.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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