Ohio State to emulate Oregon's offense
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/60771/ohio-state-offense-modeled-after-oregon
"All you've got to do is look at Oregon," Meyer said. "We're committed to it. We're still going to pop a huddle once in a while, but we're committed to it."
"I've never run the triple-option until this year," Miller said. "It's neat. There are a lot of things that go into it. I can't wait to run it."
We knew he was moving to the spread, but I thought some people predicted he wold run a hybrid for a while or mold his system to his players. Obviously, if he is fully committed to a full no-huddle spread with the triple option, there are a number of questions:
1. Does he have growing pains similar to RichRod? I know Miller can run, but the team overall is not designed for this.
2. What was all that talk to Bri'onte Dunn about using "big backs"? Doesn't that seem more unlikely in this type of offense? Is it possible Meyer wasn't up front with recruits?
3. I know Oregon had a pretty good defense one year and WVU too, but have any no-huddle spread teams ever consistantly had a good defense? Will the top defensive players in the midwest notice this?
April 19th, 2012 at 11:23 AM ^
April 19th, 2012 at 11:23 AM ^
Hopefully they aren't successful. If Brian starts talking about Ohio like he talks about Oregon I'm going to be sick.
Even if Brian starts talking about Ohio State like he talks about Northwestern, I'll be sick.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:25 AM ^
April 19th, 2012 at 11:26 AM ^
Maybe I'm the only one (neg away if I am), but Oregon's offense is very, very scary and I would rather OSU not run it (or at least not run it well). Oregon's offense is much more intimidating than Meyer's at Florida under Tebow was, IMO. Yikes.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:36 AM ^
We just need to give my good friend and yours Les Miles a call to learn how to beat destroy that Oregon offense.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:49 AM ^
LSU (and Cal the year before) had success against Oregon by disrupting - or, in the case of LSU, manhandling - the Ducks' offensive line.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:04 PM ^
Auburn also slowed it down by having Nick Fairley kill everything that even resembled an inside run. Having a disruptive D-line is good no matter what, but the benefits are increased when it seems like that is the one thing that can slow the Oregon offense down.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^
The good news here is that it will likely take several years to get the system down and Ohio State fans don't strike me as a patient bunch.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:58 AM ^
Since OSU has a postseason ban this year, Urban has a full season to concentrate on installing his system with no real pressure to win (other than the Michigan game, of course). I think he'll be able to do it in 2 years, and make a serious run for a B1G title in '14, maybe even MNC if the cards fall right.
Also, from reading Tom Herman's comments, I think he's referring to speed more than playcalling. They'll be getting up to the line and snapping, but I'd expect it will be the same spread as at Florida, with a few new tricks here and there.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:18 PM ^
Is that how Ohio fans feel? No sarcasm intended - I'm just curious what the sentiment is out there with the sanctions applied and then having Meyer come in as a savior. I have a sneaking suspicion that we might hear some grumbling from the Ohio fanbase if the team doesn't win several more than it loses . . .
April 19th, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^
They have Michigan and Nebraska at home, and their toughest non-conference game is against Cal.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:49 PM ^
Most fans have written off this year since there's no bowl game. As long as Urban doesn't lose to UCF or UAB, I think he'll be OK. OSU's offense needs about a season long tune-up; the Bucks have no real O-line talent thanks to the Bolrus, and the receivers are still suspect. If OSU wins 7-8 games this year, one of them being Michigan, and the offense shows steady improvement throughout the season, Urban will be fine.
This is assuming that the defense continues to produce and Urban doesn't do anything stupid like start [unathletic white walk-on] in front of Braxton. If Urban comes in and the defense goes to hell, it could get really ugly fast.
His offense could lead to a lot of time on the field for the defense. I don't see their defense taking a complete crap, but my quick prediction would be that they aren't going to look elite by any stretch of the imagination.
Most Michigan fans didn't expect a good season in 2008, either. When it happens, it's not quite so rational. And Buckeyes aren't know for being rational, anyway.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:36 PM ^
While a 1st year may be pressure-free, a bad season undermines goodwill and fan patience for future disappointments.
The worst thing about the post-season ban, long-term, is missing out on several weeks of practice.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^
True about the bowl practices, which will hurt a bit, but I think that's offset by freeing Urban up to focus on recruiting for '14.
It's not just Michigan fans who can spin almost anything into a positive.
The importance of that Dec-Jan timeframe for recruiting seems to be diminishing a bit with all the early commitments. I don't think this is just my Michigan-biased perspective, but it could be. I'll stand corrected if Meyer flips a handful of high profile recruits.
I think our '13 class will be long since filled; we already have 10 commits for 15-17 scholarships. I wouldn't be surprised if we fill the class by August. No bowl gives Urb a chance to start recruiting for the next class (2014) and get a leg up on the competition.
And you can't do a lot of recruiting during the bowl practice period because of good deal of it is a dead (or at least quiet) period.
December 12: Quiet Period (for junior college prospects enrolling mid-year only) December 13-16: Dead Period (for junior college prospects enrolling mid-year only; staff may have contact with recruits who have been admitted for mid-year enrollment) December 17-18: Quiet Period (for junior college prospects enrolling mid-year only) December 19: Quiet Period December 20-January 3: Dead Period (staff may have contact with recruits who have been admitted for mid-year enrollment) January 9: Quiet Period January 10-13: Dead Period (staff may have contact with recruits who have been admitted for mid-year enrollment)
http://collegefootball.about.com/od/rulesofthegame/a/rec-calendar.htm
So, unless you're saying Urban is contacting players illegally, which, well, you know....
April 19th, 2012 at 11:38 AM ^
Modeling an offense off Oregon doesn't make them scary. Would you be intimidated if Indiana suddenly said they are going to emulate Oregon? If he instills the offense and then successfully recruits over the next four years to execute it like Oregon, it will be scary.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:34 PM ^
Indiana =/= tSIO.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:46 PM ^
Ohio has the caliber of player, the quarterback and the coach to make them scary.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:45 AM ^
TSIO won't be able to magically become Oregon on offense overnight anyway. In order to run that no-huddle system, they'll either need different offensive linemen or put their existing ones on the stairmaster for the next 6 months to get them into better shape. And I don't believe they have that kind of speed yet at the RB or receiver positions. This makes Dunn's decision all the more questionable. Besides, our ace-in-the-hole is still Mattison. He'll come up with a D to stop whatever Meyer comes up with.
Scary yes, but I'd be more scared if he said we're going to emulate Alabama's style of recruiting a pro team every year (isn't that Hoke's new strategy?). Oregon has yet to win a national championship, which to me says their system, while very frightening, is not the best system. You also have to take into account that it's going to be harder to run that offense in the Midwest than it would be in Florida or on the west coast because it's going to be cold as balls in November. This both slows down the speed guys (cold muscles) and hurts the stamina of the whole team (cold lungs). The offense will never be as potent as Oregon's, even if he matches it perfectly. Oh yeah, also the defenses in the Big Ten are a hell of a lot better than they are in the Pac, namely one Greg Mattison led Michigan defense. I definitely think Urban will have success, but it seems to me from all the comments he's made since going to Ohio, that he's got the blinders on when it comes to recognizing a different recruiting landscape, different types of opponents, and different pathway to the championship.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:27 AM ^
The "Oregon style" obviously refers to the speed of the offense, not the structure of it. It sounds like it's going to be a reasonably familiar Urban offense (there were certainly triple-option looks at Florida, even if they were uncommon) run at a break-neck pace. And I hate to say this, but Dunn will probably be just fine in it; while Oregon currently features a host of speed guys, Chip Kelly's offense really started differentiating itself with LaGarrette Blount, who was and is a massive bruiser.
Expect to see Dunn get a lot of dive looks with Miller being the speed guy around the corner.
And, unlike RR's first year, expect the OSU offense to do well. He may not have every component, but he has a quarterback who is blazing fast. Don't think it makes a difference? Watch some Denard highlights.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:57 AM ^
to crown them, then crown their ass.
You know what stops the spread/triple option really well? A bad ass linebacker corp. I'd say from what I've seen Mattison will have the guys ready to counter that. And if that doesn't work, Bolden will just distract them with his flow.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:19 PM ^
Yeah and URB has an Ok D unlike RR. I fully expect our D to be handing out snot bubbles that game.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:29 AM ^
Good thing he's got a year to work on it before they can play for anything.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:30 AM ^
In high school, we ran the triple option. It's extremely easy to defend. It's always fun being able to blast the pitch-man right when the ball's getting pitched his way. He never sees you coming.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:40 AM ^
The top four rushing teams from last year are all triple option teams (and number four Navy averaged 20YPG more than five Oregon). GT and AFA also scored more than Michigan did last year, with Navy back 3PPG and Army scoring 25PPG.
Given the talent level at the service academies, that seems pretty effective.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:03 PM ^
Yea but 178 of GT point where scored against Kansas, Western Carolina and middle Tennesee. They managed 7 against Miami (YTM) , 26 VS. VT and 17 against Georgia so it's not like GT is a world beater offense by any means.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:22 PM ^
You can't just compare yards per game. Why? Because Navy only passes the ball only a couple of times per game!!! Of course they're going to have more yards on the ground compared to a balanced offensive attack.
Yards per carry would be a slighty more interesting statistic - then compare that against the average ranking of the opponent's defense, and you'll really have something there. But just saying "they had more rushing yards" when not factoring in all the variables, doesn't really hold a lot of weight, IMO.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:27 PM ^
The original claim was "extremely easy to defend". Teams that easy to defend don't rack up more rushing yards than anyone else in the nation or score more than an offense with Denard at QB.
I never made the claim that Navy, Army, AFA or GT had superior offenses to anyone in the country, only that they were effective offenses that are far from "extremely easy" to go up against.
I'd also add that it's easier to put up big numbers passing than rushing, so pass heavy teams will dominate the total yards comparision, even if everything else is totally equal.
1. All based on the teams you play. Troy, Western Kentucky and Delaware - pretty easy to pad the stats there. If we really wanted to do a deep dive (that is, if we really cared) - we could look at each individual game over the last couple of years, compare this to the ranking of the defense played on that day, and compare that to see if the stats were really out of whack by just pummeling a school named after an ancient city in modern day Turkey.
2. "Extremely" is indeed a relative term and no point in arguing about semantics. But I will say a talented defense with solid LB corp can pick apart a one-dimensional running team. Hence, you don't see any top teams in the country that are one-dimensional. You didn't make that argument, but just a generic statement there.
3. Agree. Again, all the more reason to compare yards per carry.
I don't think we're in disagreement about points two and three, although I will say that a talented defense with a solid LB corps will do well against the run in general, obviously including a triple option team.
As to point one, I'd argue that a team like Army or Navy has more or less equal talent to the bottomish teams on their schedule each year, so you could use the argument that, with roughly equal talent to other teams Troy played, they performed at a higher level. Again, I don't have the numbers to back this up (as it goes back to your statement that we don't really care) but I do suspect it's the case.
That obviously isn't the case for GT, although they finished fourth in ACC-only scoring (28.0PPG [UNC was third at 28.1]) which seems to indicate pretty solid performance against teams with roughly comperable talent.
I have no more disagreements with your statements.
Go blue! And since we're talking about the armed services schools - I hope we crush Air Force week 2 this year.
You just don't see the triple option in college football after the spread became popular. A lot of high schools still use the triple option tho. If you play 5-6 teams a year who run the triple option you'ld be more suited to shut it down because you are more familiar with that offense. That what I took from the "easy to stop" poster
April 19th, 2012 at 12:33 PM ^
won't we when Air Force comes into town this year?
April 19th, 2012 at 11:41 AM ^
Tell that to some of the teams that have faced Georgia Tech the last few years.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:07 PM ^
If Norm Parker and a bunch of 3* Iowa players can figure it out, I assume Mattison and Michigan can do so.
Skip to ~2:00 for first of Iowa's defense.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^
About two thirds of my high school league ran a form of option ball. Our linebackers and safeties were experts at shutting it down. Then we played the one team in the league that ran a deep strike passing offense and they aired it out for 300+ yards on our sorry rear ends.
There is nothing superior about option ball, it is all what you prep for in practice. As long as Michigan keeps some speed in the LB level we'll be fine. You start running into trouble when you start using SDE sized guys at LB that can shut down the power run, but not the outside plays.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:03 PM ^
Maybe it's easy to defend in the UP (which is where I'm presuming you're from based on your username) where it's a lot of 5'10", 170 lb white kids running it. It's a whole other animal when it's D-1 college players
I'm from the UP, and you may overestimate the size of the players. My HS team had 5'10", 170 lb linemen. Although that was a few years ago. They probably grow 'em slightly bigger nowadays.
I've never seen them in action live, but I hear Menomonie runs a pretty sweet single wing-type offense.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:31 AM ^
Nothing in that article suggest that OSU's offense will be "modeled" on Oregon's. In fact the only thing about Oregon's offense that seems relevent is the uptempo no-huddle nature of it. They might as well have said it's modeled on Okie State's offense.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:45 AM ^
...that it will be modeled after Oregon? Look at the references by Buckeyes to Oregon as an example. You think it is just tempo? How about Miller talking about running the triple option and all you can run with it. Is that like Okie State? Do you think they are going to run a no-huddle offense that does a lot of things out of the triple option and still be mainly "pro style"?
Maybe they won't adopt the Oregon playbook verabtim, but this seems pretty similar to me.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^
The only thing the article says about Oregon is that Meyer wants to run his offense faster - like Oregon. It doesn't say that Meyer is changing his offense to be like Oregon's, as the headline stupidly suggests. Miller says that's he's going to run the triple option because that's Meyer's offense. It's the same offense he used at Florida. It's not Oregon's offense.
I didn't say that it would be like Okie State. I said that in as much OSU's offense will be "modelled" on Oregon's in the form of up-tempo, they might as well have said that it's "modelled" on Okie State's also very up-tempo offense.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:43 AM ^
if he said they were modeling their offense after the Texas State Armadillos first 6 or so games.
BAKULA AIR MAIL TO FEATHERSTONE - DROPPED AGAIN!
April 19th, 2012 at 11:45 AM ^
according to Jason LaCanfora. Probably worth someone starting a thread. Shocking, I know.