Auburn Football: A Simplified Version Of Offensive Tempo

I was encouraged to do this article by questions asked about part of the Gus Malzhan offensive strategy.  I will attempt to explain game tempo and play count. I will also try to explain the two differing extremes.

There are 60 minutes of play time in a college football game. There are two types of time control used in the game. One attempts to use up the clock and limit plays. The other attempts to insert as many plays as possible within the time.

On average it takes a good, no huddle offense 18 seconds to run a play. If you are wondering where I got this number, it came from the 2009 Outback bowl and was the average time per play for Northwestern. 

For the average ball control offense that tries to limit plays they can take around 30 seconds per play to run. If you are wondering where this information came from, it was the Alabama average in the 2009 South Carolina game. 

In the game with UT Chattanooga in 2009, Alabama held the ball an unheard of 37 minutes of playing time. This was as close to a perfect ball control game as was played in 2010. That left 23 minutes for the opponent to have the ball.

If this had been a good no huddle team they could have got off 76 plays in that time. Remember this was a game where Alabama won 45-0 and UT Chattanooga only earned 5 first downs. They actually ran 48 plays.

Gus Malzhan has stated on several occasions he would like to get the game tempo for Auburn up to 85 to 95 plays per game. Many have said this is unreasonable. This is simply not true.

A good no huddle offense would need 28:30 of possession time to run 95 plays. Auburn had 28:49 in their worst game in 2009. While some say it would take a tremendous amount of first downs, that is not true either.

A team would need 24 possessions to run this many plays without a single first down. Auburn had 14 possessions against Alabama and 12 against LSU in 2009. That is 48 plays minimum, against the best ball control teams Auburn played in 2009, without a single first down. 

Even in these games, against these extreme ball control teams, Auburn would only need 12 first downs to reach 95 plays. Auburn gained 15 first downs in their poorest performance in 2009. Thus this goal is easily attainable.

Why would a team want to run 95 plays in a game? The answer is both simple and complex. The simple reason is, the more plays a team runs the more chances for success. Of course the opponent has an equal amount of possessions. 

The more complex answer is the heart of the theory. If a team is playing another team with superior talent and needs to even the playing field, they must change the game dynamics.

If you challenge a sprinter to a race, you are likely to lose unless you are a better sprinter. If you challenge that sprinter to a race and make him run a marathon before you race them, then your chances are much better.

An extreme ball control team with a strong offense would ideally hold an opponent under 70 plays per game. A well conditioned defensive tackle can perform well for 40 to 45 plays per game.

If they play more than this there is a significant fall off in performance. That is why this is a rotated position on most defenses. Defensive ends are similar. Now run that play count up to 90-95 plays.

This would force a team to play a tired player or the third man on the depth chart. Either way it is an advantage to the offense late in the game. This is an unavoidable factor that can be inserted into every game.

Now add in a second factor. Run plays from side to side causing opposing linebackers to pursue. Do this for 90-95 plays and the linebackers get much slower. It adds to advantage number one with the line.

Put in several deep routes by receivers to force the corner backs to sprint every play. Repeat this process 90-95 times and you have a defensive backfield that is gassed even with rotation.

How does the offense keep fresh? In effect you must play a lot of players. You do not have to have a great receiver to run a long route. The simple fact that the corner must follow is enough.

This is why Auburn could not run this full tempo in 2009. There simply were not enough players. In 2010 Auburn will have the depth to fully implement this strategy. It will not change the basic offense or its effectiveness. It will simply add another 20-25 plays of that offense.

This is why Auburn uses so many receivers. The strategy of using five and six running backs becomes apparent. The need for two backups for every offensive lineman becomes clear.

Auburn will have a fresh offense playing a gassed defense in every game next year. While this strategy is usually used to equalize a talent differential, Auburn will be using equal or greater talent to maximize the effect.

One might ask what happens if the defense is good and deep on talent? The answer is simple. The offense is at an inherent advantage in this situation. It is much easier to run a freshman receiver down the field as a decoy, than to cover a receiver with a freshman corner.

No defense has three backups that are experienced, and good at every position. All eleven defenders have to be good, only a few offensive players have to be good. This strategy will create opportunity. It simply must be found and exploited.

Now we must remember that Auburn is not counting on this alone. Auburn can score points on any team in the nation. This strategy will simply magnify the effect of a very, very good offense.