Spread Offense in the SEC

[AUBourne 425]

I don't doubt the stats but there's one BIG intangible - Recruits that expect to go Pro want to learn to play in a Pro set offense .... Maybe Chip Kelley can help change that paradigm...

We recruited some of our best offenses classes in AU history when Gus was here as OC. Our offensive line recruiting was as good as any in the country. Texas A&M recruiting class is ranked top 10 this year. A lot of guys want to play in offenses that score a lot of points and make big plays. I have a lot of faith in our current staff to recruit great players and coach them up.

[augolf1716 21,216]

Where do you get this stuff, StatTiger??? Great stuff. Thanks.

I was wondering the exact same thing! Crazy the stats that he can find, calculate... wherever they come from they're really interesting stuff. Thanks Stat!

Me

[doc4aday 1,887]

As was previously mentioned, it all comes down to running the play correctly. THis involves all 11 players doing their assignment 110% correct. IF this happens, the end result is usually positive yardage on each play. All it takes is for one player not doing his assignment correctly, of which results in lost yardage, no yardage gained, a penalty, and worse, a turn-over. Once each player on offense understands this and is willing to do his part to make the play a success, good things have a much higher percentage of coming to fruition.

[Always4Auburn 8]

Where do you get this stuff, StatTiger??? Great stuff. Thanks.

I was wondering the exact same thing! Crazy the stats that he can find, calculate... wherever they come from they're really interesting stuff. Thanks Stat!

Me

That's what I figured.

[tsande07 271]

Where do you get this stuff, StatTiger??? Great stuff. Thanks.

I was wondering the exact same thing! Crazy the stats that he can find, calculate... wherever they come from they're really interesting stuff. Thanks Stat!

Me

Omg, I think I cracked a rib! Lmbo

[Rootin'FromArkansas 0]

Not looking forward to playing A&M / J. Football for the next two or three years.

Love watching Johnny Football. In fact I had been sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to watch the Cotton Bowl this year since the day I heard of the match up.

Johnny "Football" Manziel did not let me down, LOL. Especially that first drive.

But....

I told my neighbor the other day that with Johnny Manziel being the first Freshman ever to win the Heisman that he could have a shot at being the only 3 time winner.....only if Auburn hadn't hired Gus.

I'd be willing to bet that with the hiring of Gus that his shot at probably even a 2nd Heisman is blown.

WAR EAGLE!!!

[alexava 6,973]

I don't doubt the stats but there's one BIG intangible - Recruits that expect to go Pro want to learn to play in a Pro set offense .... Maybe Chip Kelley can help change that paradigm...

We recruited some of our best offenses classes in AU history when Gus was here as OC. Our offensive line recruiting was as good as any in the country. Texas A&M recruiting class is ranked top 10 this year. A lot of guys want to play in offenses that score a lot of points and make big plays. I have a lot of faith in our current staff to recruit great players and coach them up.

other than the qb and the center being in the shotgun all the time football players are football players.

[AUpocalypse 12]

Taking SEC games only from 2000-2012, here is an offensive comparison of spread offenses vs. traditional offenses in conference games only.

Points per game: Spread (27.9 PPG) / Traditional (23.4 PPG)

Yards per game: Spread (381.8 YPG) / Traditional (348.4 YPG)

Yards per play: Spread (5.63) / Traditional (5.23)

Rushing: Spread (181.2 YPG) / Traditional (142.8 YPG)

Rushing per carry: Spread (4.47 YPC) / Traditional (3.88 YPC)

Passing Yards: Traditional (205.6 YPG) / Spread (200.6 YPG)

Yards per pass attempt: Spread (7.35 per att) / Traditional (6.89 per att)

Pass Efficiency: Spread (132.9) / Traditional (121.7)

I'd be really interested in seeing 1st Downs, 3rd Down Conversion %, and Red Zone TD % (Sputter Factor) ...and these numbers with Johnny Aggie and Cam Newton taken out of the equation

Nice Work Stat

[aubfaninga 16]

Wins vs. Losses?

This is the stat that I would like to see.

Since 2000 let's see what has won championships. I am going to use modern over spread for this. Feel free to change a few labels around.

The East has had 13 champions since 2000. Only 4 times can I see a "modern" type offense. *2000,06,08,09 Florida teams. Now if you want to say that South Carolina was running a "modern" offense you can but I think the ole ball coach got soft in 2010 and looked more "traditional".

I can only find 2 from the West. 2006 Arky and 2010 Auburn.

*Steve Spurriers offense at Florida was more "Air raid" than "spread" but it still can be thrown into the category of "modern".

I am not for or against the spread. I have just not seen where this trend will last. The more SEC teams that turn to the spread the defenses will start relying on 3-3-5 and 4-2-5 schemes. Doesn't this play right into LSU and Alabama's strengths? Yes the spread will give teams a fighting chance to win but a very good power running game will eat these defenses(built to stop the spread) alive.

That makes 4 SEC champions since 2000 that have employed a "modern" style offense.

[RunInRed 16,433]

Some rebuttal points which were made by a fan on the AUFAMILY Facebook page...

Traditional offense takes more time to score, less T.O.P. for the opponent, therefore not a big deal if it averages 4.5 points less. Also, these stats do not give any indication of success of the teams. Those offensive gains by the spread mean nothing if your defense also gives up 5 more points per game.

...

Need better statistics in football, something to realize the differences in offensive types and variation in speed of play by these teams. The spread should be expected to score more and have more yards just because a team running the spread should have more offensive plays per game.

[aubfaninga 16]

I don't doubt the stats but there's one BIG intangible - Recruits that expect to go Pro want to learn to play in a Pro set offense .... Maybe Chip Kelley can help change that paradigm...

I am interested to see what exactly Chip Kelly is going to bring to the NFL. Having only 53 players on a roster could get tricky while trying to run 30 to 40 more plays per game.

[StatTiger 3,188]

Some rebuttal points which were made by a fan on the AUFAMILY Facebook page...

Traditional offense takes more time to score, less T.O.P. for the opponent, therefore not a big deal if it averages 4.5 points less. Also, these stats do not give any indication of success of the teams. Those offensive gains by the spread mean nothing if your defense also gives up 5 more points per game.

...

Need better statistics in football, something to realize the differences in offensive types and variation in speed of play by these teams. The spread should be expected to score more and have more yards just because a team running the spread should have more offensive plays per game.

The defenses teamed up with the spread offenses allowed 352.9 YPG, 24.1 PPG on 5.33 yards per play.

The defenses teamed up with the traditional styled offenses allowed 351.8 YPG, 23.8 PPG on 5.27 yards per play.

Win Pct of spread offenses: .524

Win Pct of traditional styled offenses: .496

[AU64 10,122]

Great work Stat.

I love the numbers and of course you really have to be careful with what you take from a bunch of averages as those numbers alone don't tell us much about the range. A few outstanding teams/years can skew the averages. No doubt that Cam and Manziel pulled the average up quite a bit for spread teams.

And of course the opposite can be true. My observation is that most of the reallybad SEC offenses in recent years were running the traditional offense...AU this season, UF last year for example. And look at the past season. We had AU and Bama both running the traditional offense and in your analysis, if you plotted the teams' performances, they were probably at the opposite ends of the "bell" curve for offensive production. It was more about the Jimmys and Joes than the Xs and Os in that case.

In fact, my basic conclusion is that a team can be quite successful in either situation with the right players though I'm currently of the opinon that the traditional offense is more QB dependent than the numerous versions of the spread. Ole Miss ripped Pitt up,down and sideways yesterday using a couple of QBs...neither or whom would be confused with Johnny Football. These were two teams that were about equal but the game did not look that way...and Ole Miss's defense was adequate to shut down Pitt's traditional offense.

And noting Ole Miss's success....it's my view that when the Jimmys and Joes are about equal on both sides of the line, the traditional offense is easier to stop. Again, just my opinion but the spreads (in whatever form) with the HU component seem less dependent on the QB....though a really good QB makes them much tougher to stop.

One last observation....most HSs are playing spread offense these days and schools looking for a Pro-Style QB have to shop all over the nation to find a a really good QB. Our nationwide QB search under Loeffler last year, and Bama's list of QB targets is pretty typical. If you don't get one of those top guys...look out. On the other hand, there are excellent spread QBs all over the southeast, and thus far we have two of them committed to AU.

I like direction Gus is headed.

[tsande07 271]

Wins vs. Losses?

This is the stat that I would like to see.

Since 2000 let's see what has won championships. I am going to use modern over spread for this. Feel free to change a few labels around.

The East has had 13 champions since 2000. Only 4 times can I see a "modern" type offense. *2000,06,08,09 Florida teams. Now if you want to say that South Carolina was running a "modern" offense you can but I think the ole ball coach got soft in 2010 and looked more "traditional".

I can only find 2 from the West. 2006 Arky and 2010 Auburn.

*Steve Spurriers offense at Florida was more "Air raid" than "spread" but it still can be thrown into the category of "modern".

I am not for or against the spread. I have just not seen where this trend will last. The more SEC teams that turn to the spread the defenses will start relying on 3-3-5 and 4-2-5 schemes. Doesn't this play right into LSU and Alabama's strengths? Yes the spread will give teams a fighting chance to win but a very good power running game will eat these defenses(built to stop the spread) alive.

That makes 4 SEC champions since 2000 that have employed a "modern" style offense.

I think the key stat you're looking for is the one I bolded for you.

Seriously, no team has come closer that '09 Florida to winning a NC while running a pro-style offense (UGA came 'as close' this year). I'd take '09 Florida over '12 UGA, but that's a matter of opinion. What's not a matter of opinion is that only two teams from the East have won a NC in that span, and they were both spread teams. (Florida also fielded some punishing defenses while deploying those spread offenses.) Fielding those great pro-style offenses hasn't seemed to earn the East too many SEC Championships in that stretch, at any rate.

[StatTiger 3,188]

Great work Stat.

I love the numbers and of course you really have to be careful with what you take from a bunch of averages as those numbers alone don't tell us much about the range.

I posted the numbers not to say a spread variation is the best offense in college football but to say it does work in the SEC. It has been so successful, we are seeing more of it within the NFL and across the country at the collegiate level. 2 teams from the SEC have won a BCSNC running it and 4 QB's since 2007 have won the Heisman trophy operating in it. Great execution and consistency can allow any type of offense to thrive but I do feel a spread variation with a running quarterback puts more pressure on opposing defenses right now.

[DivisionN 102]

I noticed the SEC's "spread" teams, especially the no-huddle versions have been have a lot more success offensively than our "traditional" offenses. LSU certainly laid an egg. Their offense sucked. Ole Miss, Vandy and A&M looked very impressive.

[Rednilla 5,391]

great stuff. can't we call it something other than spread? how about modern offense vs traditional offense?

That doesn't really work, either, though, because Malzahn runs essentially the Single Wing, which is around three quarters of a century old...

[AU64 10,122]

Great work Stat.

I love the numbers and of course you really have to be careful with what you take from a bunch of averages as those numbers alone don't tell us much about the range.

I posted the numbers not to say a spread variation is the best offense in college football but to say it does work in the SEC. It has been so successful, we are seeing more of it within the NFL and across the country at the collegiate level. 2 teams from the SEC have won a BCSNC running it and 4 QB's since 2007 have won the Heisman trophy operating in it. Great execution and consistency can allow any type of offense to thrive but I do feel a spread variation with a running quarterback puts more pressure on opposing defenses right now.

I understand....just surprised that there was any question about it after AU's trip though the conference in 2010 and the general success of other teams running various "spread" type offenses. I do have the feeling that some folks think that if Bama does it, that must be the right (and only) way.

Again, thanks for all the grunt work to pull the numbers together.

[au4lyfe 0]

i think the spread will be effecive since our players were basically recruited to run the spread. i think the turnaround will be short.

[Sig Sauer 0]

Great work Stat.

I love the numbers and of course you really have to be careful with what you take from a bunch of averages as those numbers alone don't tell us much about the range.

I posted the numbers not to say a spread variation is the best offense in college football but to say it does work in the SEC. It has been so successful, we are seeing more of it within the NFL and across the country at the collegiate level. 2 teams from the SEC have won a BCSNC running it and 4 QB's since 2007 have won the Heisman trophy operating in it. Great execution and consistency can allow any type of offense to thrive but I do feel a spread variation with a running quarterback puts more pressure on opposing defenses right now.

The NFL has a lot of teams running some version every weekend. It is a moot point with me. Just win.

[bdc81 90]

I did not take the NFL long to stop the Tebow spread. But as stated, it depends on talent, coaching and execution. Best I can recall, it was the HUNH that upset cns and CEJ.

Little doc

[aubfaninga 16]

Great work Stat.

I love the numbers and of course you really have to be careful with what you take from a bunch of averages as those numbers alone don't tell us much about the range.

I posted the numbers not to say a spread variation is the best offense in college football but to say it does work in the SEC. It has been so successful, we are seeing more of it within the NFL and across the country at the collegiate level. 2 teams from the SEC have won a BCSNC running it and 4 QB's since 2007 have won the Heisman trophy operating in it. Great execution and consistency can allow any type of offense to thrive but I do feel a spread variation with a running quarterback puts more pressure on opposing defenses right now.

I understand....just surprised that there was any question about it after AU's trip though the conference in 2010 and the general success of other teams running various "spread" type offenses. I do have the feeling that some folks think that if Bama does it, that must be the right (and only) way.

Again, thanks for all the grunt work to pull the numbers together.

I am not for or against any offense. All can work and football is all about how teams match up and execute on gameday. I just enjoy seeing the numbers compared.

[aubfaninga 16]

great stuff. can't we call it something other than spread? how about modern offense vs traditional offense?

That doesn't really work, either, though, because Malzahn runs essentially the Single Wing, which is around three quarters of a century old...

Putting labels on these schemes is very difficult. Can we just say that the way Malzahn uses his version of the Single Wing/pistol looking I hybrid is "modern". I don't think that single wing teams in the 50's were trying to run plays every 10 seconds while executing zone read bubble screens.

Malzahn runs a hurry up no huddle balanced spread option attack. The HUNHBSO!!!

[AU Counsel 64]

Gus can call it whatever he wants, but we run a spread. It doesn't need a fancy name...I'm just looking forward to the results. Spread, single wing, HUNH, Eagle's Wing, Hurry up and fly, whatever...as long as we score lots of points.

[Rednilla 5,391]

I did not take the NFL long to stop the Tebow spread. But as stated, it depends on talent, coaching and execution. Best I can recall, it was the HUNH that upset cns and CEJ.

Little doc

Tebow took a team that began the season at 1-5 before he became the starter into the playoffs during his second season in the NFL, then got traded to the train wreck that is the New York Jets the following off season. I'd say he's got a little bit of time to prove he belongs.