The Rivalry Classics - Life's a Pitch

A Short History of the Option

Formations are vital in life. Whether formatting an argument for a legal brief or doing backyard landscaping, creating some kind of cohesive foundation is key. In 2008, this analogy holds true in college football, but not in the traditional sense. Offensive formations are more important than ever, but they are being skewered like never before. "Anything goes" is the philosophy in the many spread offense formations that exist. Ingenius coaches strive to go against traditional offense philosophies. Example: Up until a couple years ago, everyone knew that running effectively out of the shotgun was a challenge, much less having a run-based offense out of the shotgun. Now? Watch West Virginia (a team that runs 75% of the time) ride their shotgun offense all the way to the top of the Big East.

But 30 years ago, one formation unequivocally dominated the landscape of college football. Known simply as "The Option," the philosophy of power running and multiple threats led programs like Nebraska and Michigan to perennial success. Discussing the specifics of the option would take an entire book, so I will settle for a short history of this groundbreaking offense, including discussion of the best players to run the offense and the evolution of the option philosophy.

The option has always intrigued me. The pitching, the misdirection, the grainy footage of Mike Rozier running over and around defenders...it all pulls me in. The quickness needed for decision making? Thrilling. A typical thought bubble for an option QB:

Take the snap. Turn to fullback; is the defensive tackle too far outside the center? No. Fake the dive, sprint outside. Is the defensive end taking the RB, going for me, or hedging his bets and waiting? He's hedging his bets; keep sprinting out wide. Is the cornerback blocked? No, he's focusing on the RB. Fake the pitch and follow my blockers. (SMACK) Damn, forgot about the outside linebacker.

Longhorn Enginuity and The Big O

Creating a solid offensive formation before the 1970's was no groundbreaking feat. The Wing T and the Single Wing (created by the iconic Pop Warner, pictured on the right) offenses dominated almost every level of football. Teams concentrated on running effectively, with the running back's either receiving the snap directly from the center or the quarterback carrying out multiple fakes to each running back. Much of the offensive action was concentrated between the tackle's; spreading out a defense was left to the vaunted sweep.

When Emory Bellard, the Offensive Coordinator at University of Texas in 1968, created a version of the wishbone/option, skepticism didn't even have a chance to rear its ugly head because success came so quickly. The Longhorns overran their competition on the way to two National Championships in the next 3 years.

Naturally, all the top programs followed suit. The Oklahoma Sooners set the all time NCAA team rushing record in 1971, using a wishbone/option offensive formation. The Michigan Wolverines followed the option to a 96-16-3 record in the 1970's. This link gives a great example of Michigan running their version of the option and the overloaded wishbone. At the 1:22 mark, watch the quarterback go down the line, waiting to make his decision to pitch or run. This link also gives a great visual of how coaches still used the quarterback to block, an idea laughed at now. At the :28 mark, watch the quarterback pitch back and then dive into the line, looking for someone to hit.

I call the original version of the Option "The Big O" because of its overloading qualities. Sometimes (if penetration was cut off by the offensive line) 4 running backs would end up sprinting to the exact some place, three as blockers and one carrying the ball. But the overloading advantages were not the only quality of this formation that made it so effective. Each running back was an option on every play, making it harder for the defense to key on one threat.

The real key was the fullback though. The fullback, typically lined 2-3 yards behind the quarterback, was an option to dive on every play; as one coach commented, "The fullback’s aim point is the crack of the play side guard’s rear end." The defense had to expend 1-2 players to stop the fullback on every play. And if you couldn't stop the option, your day was over, because the fullback was going to keep coming, getting 3-7 yards on every play.

Turner Gill

The evolution of the option continued into the 1980's with the introduction of an athletic quarterback into the option offense. This new option was best exemplified by the athleticism and ingenuity of the 1983 Nebraska Cornhhuskers. Mike Rozier, the Heisman winner, headlined this team, but what will really jump out at you is the way quarterback Turner Gill is used. At the 3:02 and 3:47 marks, watch the Huckers line up in a typical option formation, only to have Gill fake option dives and pitches to the backs and throw downfield passes, normally reserved for I-Form or Pro-Form offenses. This altered option alleviated the need for three running backs in the backfield and opened up the chance for downfield passes.

Veering On

The Veer Option was just another step in the evolution of this never simple offensive formation. The Veer is by no means easy to run, but the concept is simple. Take the running back (who in the traditional option was behind the quarterback) and place him on the wing. Pre-snap, put the RB in motion and then run the typical option.

Georgia Southern, a I-AA powerhouse, put the Veer on a national level in the 1990's, and the service academies followed suit (Navy Pounding Notre Dame with the Veer, pictured to the right). And although it has never been popular at the top BCS schools, most programs instituted some of the Veer into their option formations during the heyday of the option. The magic of the Veer is that is creates great, gashing angles; the running start that the running back gets allows him to cut violently around the edge of the defense.

The Rich Rod Specialty

One can see that the option refuses to be a static offense. Just when you think you have got the concept, a new wrinkle is thrown in. This is exactly what that coaches that run the option want. Rich Rodriguez, the Michigan head coach, created an option attack from the shotgun spread. Rodriguez's offense instituted veer components, but stuck to the main idea of the option: dive option, outside/inside QB run, pitch to RB. (Watch Pat White at the :17 mark).

Defending the Formation

How does one defend this quick-hitting offense? The same way you defend any other offense: Bigger, faster athletes. The option dive is a whole lot less intimidating when teams like Miami (FL) put 300 lb. nose tackles to clog up the middle and stop the dive. And the pitch is a lot less devastating when fast cornerbacks can keep the running backs from getting to the outside.

The option has been much less popular in college football since the early 1990's. This is true for a number of reasons.

1. Teams began instituting huge lineman to stop the dive.
2. The rise of the spread passing offense.
3. Top QB recruits want to go play in the NFL and the NFL likes passing QB's. Top QB recruits would lean towards a program that passed more.
4. Modern athletes can recover quicker from a misdirecting offense than athletes in the 1970's.
5. The option offense is much more effective for the run.

Giving it the Ol' College Try

The programs and spirit of college football are becoming more like the NFL each year. College offenses can rival their NFL counterparts in complexity. College football recruiting is a multi-million dollar business and team facilities are 100 million dollar wonderlands. But while the professional teams sit in their spread passing offenses and I formations, many college programs choose to wind back the clock to the 1970's and allow their philosophy to be influenced by the spirits of the wishbone, the triple option, and the fullback dive. Judging by the respect given to the option by coaches like Bill Walker, Urban Meyer, and Rich Rodriguez, the option will not just exist on ESPN Classic, but continue to be a dynamic and important part of college football.

The Rivalry Classics - Coach, but no Cigar

Left: President John F. Kennedy enjoys a petite Corona from his fifth-row seat at the 1963 Orange Bowl.

Everyone needs a good vice.  For my part, there are few things in life more endearing than watching a Thursday night football game out on the front patio of my Victorian home with a cold micro-brew, a thick cigar, and the faint tingle of ragweed and honeysuckle in the air.  There's something about the milky draw of a tightly-packed blend and a straight burn that begs contemplation.

The cigar is a fixture of a lost era -- the days of sideline bowler hats, neckties, tweed blazers and real grass playing surfaces.  The legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant used to pass out victory lonsdales to his Alabama teams after wins over rival Tennessee.  There was even a Cigar Bowl in Tampa, Florida that featured smaller namesakes from 1946-1954 (although it can boast hosting the Florida State Seminoles in their first postseason appearance -- a 19-6 win over Wofford).  And who can forget Lloyd Carr's simple, but triumphant walk into retirement after an unlikely 2007 Capital One Bowl upset of Florida  The consummate professional unbuttoned his collar and headed for the team bus with a bottled water and a lit Churchill in hand.  (If you'd like to share a short story with Carr, he's rumored to keep a private locker at Smoky's in Ann Arbor).

To invoke material Freud, sometimes a cigar is just that.  But when it comes to coaching, perhaps these simple products of hand and sunlight can tell us something about the flavor and personality of the game.  John Galsworthy's famous observation, "By the cigars they smoke, and the composers they love, ye shall know the texture of men's souls," is not lost on this fan.

What follows is a tongue-in-cheek review of four modern coaches at top ebb and their predicted smoke of choice.

Above: Rich Rod drags on a torpedo during the "Champions for Children's Hearts" celebrity golf tournament May 18th in Ann Arbor.

RICH RODRIGUEZ

Indianhead Dynamite 652 Maduro (6'' x 56)

    

With its dark-oily wrapper, thick ring-gauge, and orange power band, Indianhead's Dynamite has a slightly foreboding, explosive appearance just like RR's spread em' out and run em' over offense.

The hand-rolled exterior is veined and dimpled, and the cigar lights quickly and burns balanced.  It's a big hotheaded smoke, thick with Appalachian mountain coal, and toasted almond.  This isn't the kind of stick you light to celebrate a new birth -- but might be just right to toast the settlement of a contract dispute with your former employer.  

NICK SABAN

Gurkha "His Majesty's Reserve" (HMR) (7.5'' x 52)

This royal entry holds the distinction of being the most expensive cigar in the world.  At $750.00 a piece (a box of 20 is available for $14,999.95 at Cigar.com) the HMR is accessible to only a handful of elites.  Fortunately, Nick Saban's paycheck at Alabama just qualifies him.  

An aged Dominican-leaf is loaded with a proprietary filler blend flown in from four corners of the world.  An entire bottle of Louis XIII Cognac is involved in an infusion process that rivals great triumphs in modern engineering.  

Fewer than 100-boxes of HMR are released each year with Gurkha Cigars President Kaizad Hansotia exclusively responsible for their distribution.  Fortunately for Nick, Hansotia is a Crimson Tide fan.  There are some things money can't buy, and other things that just aren't worth the price.  We know Saban isn't the former -- the later remains to be determined.

BOBBY BOWDEN

Padron 1964 Anniversary Series Natural (4 1/2'' x 46)

This perennial 10-best legend is named for the year Cuban refugee Jose Padron opened up his cigar factory in Miami.  By then Bobby Bowden had already been coaching for almost a decade.

Both men have been labeled the best in their business, and this box-pressed cigar is worthy of the distinction.  Filler tobacco, aged for four years, is uncannily balanced with warm pleasing hints of vanilla, wet leather, fresh-ground black pepper,

and coffee.  

Each band is individually numbered and perforated in a familiar motif: garnet and gold.

Right: Bowden's office overlooking his namesake field at Doak Campbell Stadium.  Check out the humidor on the right side of the desk...

JIM TRESSEL 

Sabor Cubano Grand Torpedo (7'' x 54)

Those who think of Senator straightforward as having a political demeanor more akin to Ronald Reagan than the slippery-rock antics of Bill Clinton might be surprised to discover he shares one key habit of leisure with Mr. "It Depends." 

As the Columbus Dispatch reported in January: "Tressel's vices appear to be few.  He might sip a glass of red wine from time to time, but he's not a big drinker...He smokes the occasional cigar but is just as likely to chew on the unlit stogie as he listens to contemporary country music and mows the yard...a favorite pastime."

Tressel...really?  It's true.  I know first hand.  The mom-and-pop cigar shop where Tress' buys his stogies happens to be my favorite study nook: Barclay Pipe & Tobacco in Upper Arlington.  This hidden gem, leftover from the old Lane Avenue Mall 10 minutes from campus is a timeless retreat.  Neatly framed and inconspicuously hung next to the door (so that you might miss it if you weren't looking) is an autographed extra glossy photo of Jim: "To my friends at the Barclay..." it reads plainly.

The Sabor Cubano is a natural maduro -- no fancy leaf treatments here -- that burns slow and sweet, with easy subdued notes of nutmeg and freshly cut grass, and transitions into a long, white ash.  Simple and elegant like the man himself.

Editor's Note: This story has since been rebanded and featured on Rivals.com's Fanblogs site under the title "Choose Your Weapon: Cigars of the Coaching Elite."  Webmaster Kevin Donahue added a few more coaches to the list.  You can get the full coverage at www.fanblogs.com.