Re: OFFICIAL GAME 8 THREAD: SMU vs. TULANE
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 9:58 am
Go SMU. I actually like this uni combo.
Against the triple option or any variant, you break it down in three phases.
1) Stop the dive. SMU has been pretty effective this season. Our tackle play is much improved over last season, which helps. What SMU does a lot is blitz the MLB and Will in order to close gaps inside. When we don't blitz, we tend to either stop the run at the line or give up a 7+ yard gain because our linebackers struggle in space. Keep your eye on whether we play conservative or aggressive here, because it really impacts our ability to stop this play.
2) Take the QB. This is where SMU has been outstanding this season. our DEs routinely free up and are able to hit the QB. Lawler and Pruitt do extremely well at this. Gary coming on in the last game was really important because he has the size to give us depth. It will be very interesting to see Badejo and Scott in these types of games, because they don't have a frame to stand up to power. We may see a lot of rotation where instead of rotating lines for a series we see Badejo and Scott as third down and long situations.
3) Take the pitch. This is our major struggle point. Because we blitz both the SAM and WILL to stop the inside run, running the pitch to the Will side creates a lot of problems. Our linebackers as a whole have struggled to get out wide. Keep your eye on Carrol. He was outstanding against Houston, especially getting out wide and making plays in space. I expect the SAM/Star will be used on one side to take the pitch and then a safety will be used on the other side. Our outstanding corner play with H Rich and Wyatt should allow us to man up with one free safety.
One thing to watch - if Tulane runs a triple option with a slot receiver instead of a TE, that makes it much more dangerous to play the pitch with a safety. It keeps you from blitzing your Will and have the Will take the pitch, which IMHO puts our speed at LB at a disadvantage.
In this game our coaches have a choice - aggressively play the safety and blitz the WILL in order to create a lot of one yard plays but risk the home run with a broken tackle or a pass. Or you play conservative and hope the Will can cover the pitch.
It will interesting to see which approach we take, or if we take a hybrid where we are conservative until they get to the 40 and then go aggressive.
My personal opinion - the conservative approach is what was used in the past and was death by paper cut. We will have a breakdown in each set of downs that allows a 5 yard gain or more on the dive or the pitch. I would like to see us stay on the front foot we established against Houston and risk the home run by playing aggressive.
