College Football; Shotgun Fatigue

Is there suddenly something wrong with taking snaps from under center on Saturdays?

Going through the weekly routine of the college football appetizer, leading up to the Sunday filet, there was something glaring that finally broke my proverbial camel’s back.

What is up with all of the shotgun formations and Canadian Football League motion in the backfield in college football?

In an effort to ensure objectivity, I would consider myself a casual Saturday consumer, hence the aforementioned appetizer comparison.

Primarily I only watch specific teams, with specific players that clearly have next level ability. So, Marcus Lattimore is a must, the Louisiana State defense is a must, and while contrary to my ultimate point, Denard Robinson, who is a freak, is a definite must.

The understanding is clear; the role of the college football coach is to win games at his respective institution. No coach has the higher responsibility of training any player specifically to play on Sundays, three years removed from high school.

At the same time, is the spread really the best we can do, relying on multiple feigns rather than toughness and good game planning?

Do not forget, the 1990 version of the Denver Broncos consistently ran the ball with an average offensive line weight of less than 300lbs. It is the scheme, not always the size up front that can rule the day.

The game of the week, West Virginia versus LSU, was the now commonplace matchup of 21st century offense, pitted against tamed Southeastern Conference athleticism. Geno Smith of WVU did what he has been doing all season to this point; putting up a load of yards through the air.

Conversely, LSU gave up more yards than most experts probably expected with its current track record of defensive dominance, 533 in total. Still the outcome was only in question for a brief duration in the third quarter, then the Tigers sent the optimistic fans home with a new found respect for the conventional.

At the conclusion, all of those yards netted just 21 points for the home team.

More specifically to this contest, how does anyone expect to beat a top rated team by putting the ball up 61 times? If one team feels that it lacks the athletes to compete with a more traditional power, why not shorten the game?

While watching Arizona State beat up on the Trojan men of Southern California, I could not help but be distracted by the Sun Devil wide outs motioning into the backfield, clearing for a potential screen or masking an apparent dump down option.  Add to that, ASU threw what seemed like 15 passes that were nothing more than extended hand offs, or modified wide receiver screens.

It just felt very underwhelming and overly quirky. It was dangerously effective without question, but very amateurish for big time, big money football.

Based on conventional wisdom, the spread offense allows a team with few potential draft picks to compete on a level with teams that have to actually worry about losing guys prior to their final year of eligibility.

This logic holds water based on the success of mid major schools over the last five to seven years.  Still, consider me a seller of spread offense stock.