College Football is changing by the second, and it’s no secret that coaches are having to adjust accordingly. Gone are the days where schools redshirt entire classes, and build depth that provides them insulation.
Also gone are the days, for the most part, where coaches can run elaborate & complicated systems that take time to learn. Instead, both offensive and defensive coaches are having to put together scheme that is basic enough to allow Transfers, Freshman and newcomers of all sorts to “hit the ground runnin'”.
Mike Gundy calls it the “NFL”, and he’s certainly not wrong on many accounts. But, what College Football has come to most closely resemble, however, is Minor League Baseball, in terms of trying to mesh constantly changing personnel into one system, or culture.
Complicated But Simple
Ollie Gordon went 164 on 25 carries, 3 TDs & added 5 catches. @Ollie_Gordon2 also loaded the bus, mowed the grass & did everything else the team needed him to do. Of all the "All American" aspects of his game, his desire to be a "Workhorse" is the most impressive to me. #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/9dxjI3e96T
— OState Daily (@Ostate_Daily) November 20, 2023
What the best coaches have done, in my opinion, is, they have reduced the amount of “concepts” they are running, but have increased the “presentation” of those concepts.Â
For instance, everyone knows OSU is going to run Counter. That’s no secret, and, with that being the case, why can’t other teams stop it?
Well, because Kasey Dunn has used motion, formations, and different pullers to keep the defense from being able to get a consistent read on it.Â
For instance, as soon as linebackers read our guards pulling, then we pull the center instead. About the time the other team gets a bead on the Guard and H back pulling, then, like we did this past weekend, we’ll put in 2 H Backs. And, sometimes we run it to the field, sometimes it’s to the boundary, sometimes it’s to the strong side and others it’s to the weak.
Then, just about the time you bring down safeties to help stop it, Bowman pulls the ball and hits a slant, a mesh, a hitch or some variation of a “scat” route.Â
That is OSU’s offense in a “nutshell”, but, then, almost in it’s entirety as well.
It’s complicatedly simple!
That is, if “Complicatedly” is a word!
Houston
This was the best job @kasey_dunn has done all year!
— OState Daily (@Ostate_Daily) November 21, 2023
He set up the run with the pass & used motion to identify coverage, get matchups & get guys open. He leaned on Ollie at the perfect times, used formations to get 1 on 1 matchups, then knew when to strike. #OkState #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/JofOcmysG6
Saturday was the best job Kasey Dunn has done all year, and, IMO, maybe since he’s been the OC. With the depth issues, and not having a “Biletnikoff” type receiver to lob the ball to on 3rd down, he has been working with a much more reduced margin for error.
I think that’s something he’s had to grow into, and I think it has forced him to be creatively simple, and, to his credit, he has nailed it.
For instance, Saturday, he set up the run with the pass & used motion to identify coverage, get matchups & get guys open. He leaned on Ollie at the perfect times, used formations to get 1 on 1 matchups, then knew when to strike.Â
He kept the scheme simple, but did so in complicated ways!
Then he found ways to get good matchups, he used his personnel perfectly, and had great timing in terms of when to strike.
It seems like this type of “blue collar” offense that OSU has is right up his alley. Sure Ollie has a lot of “Pretty”, no doubt. But the “Pretty” always comes after a whole slew of “Gritty” that has put he and his team in position to have success.
OSU needs to have success for 2 more weeks to win a Big 12 Title, and that’s a lot to ask, but this team can do it.
#GoPokes!
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