UConn & Slide RPO (The Athletic)

[huskymedic]

A few UConn mentions in this article in The Athletic today:

The offensive concept taking over college football at USC, LSU, Texas and beyond

Why the Slide RPO is one of the biggest college football X's and O's trends to watch in the 2023 season.

theathletic.com

(> shortcut <)

-> … Now, it has become the darling of traditional powerhouses like LSU, USC and Texas. At the same time, Group of 5 teams like Connecticut and Western Kentucky have used it as an equalizer to move the ball against better personnel. UConn catapulted from 122nd to 33rd in rushing offense last season, producing nearly a 100-yard-per-game turnaround featuring the outside zone, while the Hilltoppers relied heavily on these schemes to produce the nation’s second-best passing offense (352 yards per game) and 15th-best scoring offense. <-

-> The horizontal stretch produced by an outside zone scheme — rather than an inside zone scheme — produces more lateral movement at the line of scrimmage. So, defensive ends are unable to close and play both the running back and quarterback as they might be able to in zone-read concepts. It places an extreme amount of stress on that C-gap defender, who has a hard time closing down on the back, thus getting out-gapped.

“We gashed a good amount of teams through the A gap on this concept because defenders got too wide,” UConn offensive line coach Gordon Sammis said. (w/ screenshot & video in article) <-

-> Exhibit two: UConn against Boston College. When BC perimeter defenders widened to play the slide route, quarterback Zion Turner tucked the ball for a 25-yard gain, generating the momentum needed for the Huskies’ first win against Boston College in the history of the program. (w/ screenshot & video in article) <-

 

[Husky68]

Two things about this article. First, show how little I know about how these offensive schemes actually work (even after reading not sure I understand how this RPO is so different). Second, seems that if TR is the starting QB this RPO could be a much used concept (especially since seems could utilize TE or RB which should be UConn strength).

 

[Stinger92860]

A few UConn mentions in this article in The Athletic today:

The offensive concept taking over college football at USC, LSU, Texas and beyond

Why the Slide RPO is one of the biggest college football X's and O's trends to watch in the 2023 season.

theathletic.com

(> shortcut <)

-> … Now, it has become the darling of traditional powerhouses like LSU, USC and Texas. At the same time, Group of 5 teams like Connecticut and Western Kentucky have used it as an equalizer to move the ball against better personnel. UConn catapulted from 122nd to 33rd in rushing offense last season, producing nearly a 100-yard-per-game turnaround featuring the outside zone, while the Hilltoppers relied heavily on these schemes to produce the nation’s second-best passing offense (352 yards per game) and 15th-best scoring offense. <-

-> The horizontal stretch produced by an outside zone scheme — rather than an inside zone scheme — produces more lateral movement at the line of scrimmage. So, defensive ends are unable to close and play both the running back and quarterback as they might be able to in zone-read concepts. It places an extreme amount of stress on that C-gap defender, who has a hard time closing down on the back, thus getting out-gapped.

“We gashed a good amount of teams through the A gap on this concept because defenders got too wide,” UConn offensive line coach Gordon Sammis said. (w/ screenshot & video in article) <-

-> Exhibit two: UConn against Boston College. When BC perimeter defenders widened to play the slide route, quarterback Zion Turner tucked the ball for a 25-yard gain, generating the momentum needed for the Huskies’ first win against Boston College in the history of the program. (w/ screenshot & video in article) <-

Love our coaching staff!! Without the change we would still be 2 yards and a cloud of dust.

Thanks @huskymedic, that was a great read!

 

[Palatine]

Great article. It may also explain the late hire of a defensive analyst. Every one is working this offensive upgrade into their game planning. Figuring out how to stop it will be a meaningful adjustment.

 

[ZooCougar]

Two things about this article. First, show how little I know about how these offensive schemes actually work (even after reading not sure I understand how this RPO is so different). Second, seems that if TR is the starting QB this RPO could be a much used concept (especially since seems could utilize TE or RB which should be UConn strength).

The article really needs some video.