[shooter135]

Quote: Originally Posted by huskerpower14

Hey, I do the same thing. I use Air Force's playbook with Nebraska. I actually started a Nebraska dynasty with the roster from 2004 with the idea that Solich was never fired but continued coaching. Kind of setting history right. Anyway, yeah, the load option is super tough to run because the OL and FB do not block it correctly no matter what their run blocking or awareness attributes are set to. BUT I will say this, it totally depends on the defensive front. Running the option in general against a 3 man front is almost impossible. If you are running the load option the OLB and DE are in your face before you can even pitch the ball. The triple option is worse because you have 1/2 a second to read the DE and then see who the OLB is covering. 90% of the time you are either tackled before you can pitch it or the pitch is wide and is fumbled. Running the option against a 4 man front is much easier. If the LB's are playing straight up then you can run any option you want with a good chance of success. If an OLB is on the line of scrimmage pre-snap, audible and run the option the other way (don't actually flip the personnel, just the direction the play is being run). That way you are running toward the weak side of the formation against fewer defensive personnel. This also has a good chance of success. If you are dead set on running the option from under center against a 3 man front, use double TE's to widen the line of scrimmage and create more gaps. The problem is that on the higher levels, AA and Heisman, the CB's and S's are really really good at coming downhill in run support and your OL just can't get to the second and third levels no matter how good they are. Don't be afraid to run the load and triple option out of the shotgun. I know it's not the same but it's at least effective. Finally, IMO you should feel free to cheat and increase your WR's run blocking attributes. I do this by bumping up their run blocking attributes and decreasing their catch and route running attributes to balance it out. Nebraska's WR's back than (Matt Davison, Sean Applegate, Wilson Thomas, and John Gibson were elite run blockers but average at route running and catching the ball). Sorry for the novel, I could talk Nebraska option football all day.

Awesome post. I’ve tried to run the under center option but can never quite get it going. Any additional tips or strategies would be greatly appreciated.