[StatTiger]

One of the keys to success by the Temple offense in 2011 was the frequent shifts and motion just before the snap. Scot Loeffer utilized this method to obtain a personnel advantage over the defense. Sometimes he would overload one side of the formation to obtain a "numbers" advantage. On other occasions he would balance out the line with a tightend on both ends to stretch the opposing defense. He took full advantage of his personnel, which included traditional "I-formations", zone-read, one-back sets and QB draws. Having a mobile quarterback, allowed him to be more creative, when it came to the running game

The play...



On this particular play, Temple initially comes out in a 3-WR & 2 TE formation. Before the snap, Bernard Pierce shifts into the backfield to the left of the quarterback. At the snap, the QB makes an inside hand off to Pierce, who initially slides to his right before cutting up field. The quarterback rides the hand off to Pierce, which slows down the pursuit of the defense. The play results in a 6-yard gain on first down.

During the 2011 season, Temple ran the ball 86 percent of the time on first down yet still averaged 5.82 yards per rush. Bernard Pierce averaged 5.43 yards per rush on first down, Matt Brown averaged 7.07 yards and Chris Coyer (QB) averaged 7.74 yards per rush.