Can Head Coach Brian Kelly Make the Spread Offense Work for Notre Dame?

Can head coach Brian Kelly make the spread offense work for Notre Dame football in 2010? 

The spread offense, which uses the no-huddle attack and starts with the quarterback in the shot gun formation, is designed to do just what its name indicates: force the defense to spread itself out.

By using up to five receivers, the offense forces the defense to spread wide, which creates openings or weak spots, in the middle of the field. The idea is to exploit the weak spots through either the run or the pass.

The spread offense exploits the defense in another way. By using the no huddle, defenses can get very tired quickly. Instead of 35 seconds between plays, they may have to be ready in 10 or 15.

When I think of the spread offense, I remember Pat White running Rich Rodriguez's version at West Virginia.

Pat White was always comfortable carrying the ball. With Steve Slaton in the backfield, the defense never knew if White was going to run, hand off, or put the ball in the air.

It's not necessary to have a fast quarterback run the spread. In 2007 the New England Patriots used a version of the spread offense with Tom Brady. They ran the no-huddle and opened up the field by sending out Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth, and Jabar Gaffney.

Last year at Cincinnati, Brain Kelly had 6'6" quarterback Tony Pike running the offense for all but three games. The Bearcats ran the spread and the tall Pike, who didn't run, could see over most linemen and connect with his receivers before the defense adjusted.

In three games, when Pike sat out due to a hand injury, Zach Collaros ran the spread. In each of these games Collaros averaged over 100 yards on the ground.

Kelly brings Notre Dame his high-powered Cincinnati spread offense. It's an offense that enabled him to go 24-6 in his three-year stay. He also brings along offensive coordinator Charley Molnar. Molnar has been working with Kelly for the last four years.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the 2010 Notre Dame team is quarterback Dayne Crist, who has many similarities with Pike. Crist is tall (6'4"), and like Pike doesn't appear to be the running quarterback that Collaros, and especially Pat White were.

Crist suffered a torn ACL in last year's Washington State game but is supposed to be fully healed. According to a recent interview Crist gave the Sporting News, his recovery was quick.

The magazine also mentioned Crist's "quick assimilation into new coach Brian Kelly's spread offense."

There's no doubt Crist is intelligent, and has picked up things in a hurry, but his lack of playing time has to be a concern. Tony Pike and Zach Collaros had the luxury of being in the Cincinnati program a good while, before they stepped in to run things.

On the opening day of the 2008 season, Kelly took his Bearcats into Rutgers Stadium as a seven-point underdog. Rutgers, which ended up as one of the best defensive teams in the country, was stunned. Cincinnati scored on almost every first half possession and won the game 45-17.

Rutgers had seen Kelly's spread offensive in 2007 and 2008, and they had the whole summer to prepare, but they were totally lost. Kelly wants to do the same thing at Notre Dame; he wants to score as quick as he can, as often as he can, and play with the lead.

Last year his team averaged 39 points per game. They were 12-0 before being defeated in the Sugar Bowl by Florida. Of course, the Florida game was the only one Kelly did not coach.

Surprisingly, Scott Engler, who writes for Notre Dame Nation , thinks hiring Kelly was the right move but says "his offense in my biggest concern about his ability to succeed at Notre Dame." Engler wonders if a pass-first offense will work. He considers himself of the Holtz era, where the line controlled the game and big backs pounded the ball inside.

But Engler admits, "Football is constantly evolving, and three of the last four BCS Champions ran a version of the spread.

I think Engler and all Notre Dame fans will be surprised to see that Kelly will develop a running game.  Crist isn't going to tuck the ball under his arm, but Armando Allen and Robert Hughes will carry the ball and the Irish will try to come close to, or improve upon the 1,800 running yards Kelly's Bearcats posted last season.

Notre Dame's offense should develop over the course of the season. A lot of the pieces are in place already. Michael Floyd is going to make his catches no matter what offense the Irish run, and Theo Riddick should catch a lot more passes than the six he caught last season.

So far Kelly hasn't recruited any wide receivers in the 2011 class. That could be a sign that he's satisfied with the depth at this position. With Floyd and the "3R" combination of Rudolf, Ragone, and Riddick, there is no doubt the Irish have plenty of talent.

There are fine points of the spread that Notre Dame will have to master, if they want to run it right. Receivers will have to have to be able to hold blocks, and lineman are going to be asked to do more with all those receivers downfield.

It's going to be an exciting season for Notre Dame because the offense is going to be less predictable than a year ago, but if the Irish are going to win eight or nine games, they're going to need big seasons from Dayne Crist and three new starters on the offensive line.