They'll stop the triple-option Sooner or later
Published: 9/10/2006 11:24 PM
Last Modified: 9/10/2006 11:24 PM
This is just a layman's observation, and I can probably be talked out of it.
But I think the Sooners do a lot better defending a quarterback they know is going to run than they do against a quarterback that, really, nobody knows is going to run.
Remember when Vince Young came off the bench in 2003? Young replaced Chance Mock and strafed a remarkably good Sooner defense for 127 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
But in the two seasons Young started in the Red River Shootout, he couldn't get his fleet feet moving in the right direction. In 2004 – again, versus a pretty good defense – Young ran for 54 yards on 16 carries. In 2005 – against a defense that wasn't all that great in a lot of places – Young rushed 17 times for 45 yards. In two starts against OU, Young averaged 3.0 yards per carry. In his career, he averaged a Big 12 record 6.8.
Of course, there was a tradeoff in 2005.
Young completed 14-of-27 passes for 241 yards and three TDs.
"Yeah, we made sure we made him beat us with something other than his legs," OU linebacker Zach Latimer said last week. "Of course, that's what he did last year."
Texas A&M's Reggie McNeal is another example. In 2003, McNeal had 11 rushes for a career-low minus-18 yards. In '04, he netted just two yards on nine carries. And last year, he ran seven times but was held to minus-2 yards. Reggie McNeal's career rushing against the Sooners: 27 carries, minus-18 yards. This is a guy who rushed for 1,889 yards in his career and averaged 4.6 yards per carry.
But here's the catch: bring in a backup QB to run the triple option and the Sooners can't seem to tackle him.
You saw it last year against Texas A&M. McNeal tried the zone-read running game, but with no success. He left with an ankle injury, and unknown backup Stephen McGee comes in and runs the triple-option to perfection. He not only gained 67 yards on 10 rushes, but he got speedy tailback Courtney Lewis going for 146 yards on 15 carries. Big fullback Jovorskie Lane also got into it, running eight times for 48 yards.
You saw it again last week against UAB. Athletic scrambler Chris Williams goes out having done nothing, and unknown backup Sam Hunt comes in, runs the triple option and gashes the Sooners for 65 yards on 15 rushes.
Last Saturday, the Sooners feared fleet-footed Washington QB Isaiah Stanback. This guy, we all know, was a Pac-10 sprint medalist, running 10.3 seconds in the 100 meters. That's faster than Vince Young, Reggie McNeal and Sam Hunt combined.
Hunt, Latimer said, was "real shifty. A lot of it, too, was they were running that little zone read and a little veer option. All it took was for somebody to get out of place and he was off to the races. Not to take anything away from him. He went out and got it done."
Stanback, however, never did get it done. He tried to run the zone read. He tried to scramble. He tried to take off on draws. He gained only 18 yards on 12 carries.
Co-defensive coordinator said ahead of the Washington game, "I'm sure they're licking their chops because they run a lot of the zone-read option game that UAB ran. I'm sure they're looking at that thing saying, 'Oh boy.' And I'm looking at it and going, 'Oh my God.' Because this guy (Stanback), when he pulls it down, he's running a whole lot faster than that guy from UAB was, and he did a good job."
One guy only fits the mold partially. Brad Smith was Missouri's starter but hadn't gotten a whole lot of attention before stinging the Sooners for 213 rushing yards on 26 carries in 2002. And he didn't exactly sink against OU once he'd made his name. In 2003 he gained 50 yards on 17 rushes. And, he didn't run a whole lot of triple-option either time. He just ran.
You'd think Washington would have wanted to run the triple-option if only a little against OU – Latimer said he expected the Huskies would, and so did safety Keenan Clayton.
And you'd think if any college football program would know how to defend the triple option, it would be OU.
Maybe there's room for Barry Switzer as a defensive consultant.
– John E. Hoover
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
