"In the Weeds": Keys to Victory for OU Football's Offense vs. the Texas Longhorns' Defense

Gabe Ikard (0:00)

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Teddy Lehman (0:54)

Yeah, they're good. They got really good players at all three levels.

Gabe Ikard (0:58)

They may be the best defense in the country, but let's break it down. Key to victory number one, in my mind, Ted. Now let's start with the question.

Since the UTEP game, have the Sooners had much success getting into the 12th personnel stuff and just running it right at people?

Teddy Lehman (1:20)

No.

Gabe Ikard (1:22)

So let's not do that.

Key to victory number one for OU's offense, spread them out, spread them out. And you see, yeah, honestly, and you can still spread them out with both tight ends on the field. Yep. But I do not think condensed formations, bringing a bunch of bodies near the line of scrimmage is going to help our run game get going in this game.

Teddy Lehman (1:50)

And it doesn't seem like we've had much of a willingness to, to roll with that. You know what I'm saying?

Gabe Ikard (1:56)

So, so nothing elaborate from Texas State here. They're spreading them out. They're in 11 personnel. You can see this is a tight end up here, right? They're in 11 personnel. They're just running what I always call like you have your five box place in the run game. They're just running a simple play here, right? We're man at tackle. We're man at left guard. We've got this combination between the center and the right guard up to this backer. It's a five man box. You got five offensive lineman.

It's as simple as it gets, right? You are five for five. Let's run our five man box play and let's see how it goes. And Texas State, that's Crease.

Nice little natural Crease. Interesting at right tackle, right? Kind of a pass set on Colin Simmons to draw him just up the field. Give him a pass indicator. Really you're running it underneath them.

Really nice movement on that double team on Condu. I mean, puts him right in Crier's lap, Ted.

Teddy Lehman (3:01)

Yeah, that's what I see. And to me, if you freeze it at the very beginning of the formation, it just it looks like quarters to me, right? Boom, boom, boom. And you got a corner down here. These three have the interior three, one, two, three, right? Now, this guy's got to come help on run support, right?

That's the guy that's got to be there. He's a little late. But you see like this backer, essentially has two gaps here, right? He's got to decide what way he's going to commit.

And when a double team comes into your lap like that, you you're cut off when you're too gapping, you are cut off. Now, in my mind, there's a way to help yourself out. You go flash one side right now, get the double off and fall back the other way. And then you gain that that nose guard in that gap right there. But he's just kind of waiting for the run to declare. And it ends up right in his lap. Look, he's got his hands on the defensive lineman. Not a good sign.

Gabe Ikard (4:02)

Not how you want to, not how you draw it up. But this is Texas State. Spread them out. Five man box run.

Make it. That's a lot of space. Look at all that space that that safety has to make the plan. Like, is this running back going to cut it outside? Is he going to cut it back inside? Like that is entirely too much space.

Texas State rips off. He's still running. Texas State rips off. Nice physical finish. Bam!

Teddy Lehman (4:34)

Right in the chest.

Gabe Ikard (4:35)

But this is the type of stuff, if you spread this Texas defense out, you just create naturally, you create a little more run, a little more space for your run game. You know what I mean? Yeah.