Even passing teams need an effective running game
Now, I realize Guy Morriss has installed a pass-oriented offense down at Baylor. But if this next bit of information is really what he’s after, then the ability to run the football effectively truly is becoming a lost art.
“Jay Finley also had a solid game as he led the Bears with 22 yards rushing on eight carries. . .”
That nugget appeared in Sunday’s Waco (Texas) Tribune-Herald, and to be fair, it went on to note Finley’s 24-yard touchdown reception. But, come on, there isn’t a running back in the country who would be happy averaging 2.8 yards per attempt. Not even at Colorado, where such a number would have been a significant improvement from what the Buffs were able to generate against Florida State on Saturday night. That ugly total was 19 yards on 21 designed running plays.
Kind of makes you wonder when those will get deleted from the playbook. I mean, is the challenge to produce an effective ground game these days that much greater?
“It just depends,” Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said Monday. “That’s a combination of the five guys blocking for him and the one guy carrying it, and all those people being very consistent and effective and efficient in what they do.
“There’s no question there’s been an evolution on defense, but those things can affect the throwing game as well. It’s a question of having all five (linemen) — seven, if you’ve got a couple of tight ends working in the thing, too — being as effective with what their performance is and getting all that dialed up.”
Three games into the season, Colorado is far from being the only Big 12 team needing to get its running game in gear.
Would you believe that Texas ranks seventh in the league, and just 46th nationally, in rushing? And that’s with Jamaal Charles ranked ninth nationally and becoming just one of two Longhorns in the past 10 seasons to rush for more than 100 yards in each of the first three games.
Against Central Florida on Saturday, Texas ground out 229 rushing yards in a 35-32 win. But the Longhorns had to settle for five field goals, two of which came about because they couldn’t run the ball in the red zone. Along with the struggles the offensive line was having, Charles also lost a fumble when Texas was trying to milk the clock at the end.
Then, there’s Nebraska. Yes, against USC on Saturday, the Huskers got out of their game plan because they were playing catch-up from late in the second quarter on. But their 26 called running plays netted just 50 yards.
The amazing thing is NU still ranks fifth in the Big 12 and 38th nationally in rushing.
But really, what does an effective running game matter any more? Hasn’t the influx of spread attacks changed the way college football teams try to move the chains?
“Running the ball means you’re breaking the defense’s will,” NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “If you can run the ball, you can do anything you want.”
Consider this. Four of the Big 12’s six teams that are still unbeaten — Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri — rank Nos. 1 through 4 in the league in rushing. And the latter three are among the top seven teams nationally in total offense.
“The offensive line, we love the running game,” Oklahoma center Jon Cooper told The Oklahoman after the Sooners averaged nearly 9 yards a rush while pounding Utah State on Saturday. “We were getting good blocks and getting guys on the ground.”
No one’s benefitted more from that effective aggression than freshman quarterback Sam Bradford, who leads the nation in passing efficiency. No wonder OU has scored at least 51 points in every game this season.
“When you can run the ball and protect the quarterback, that sure helps,” OU coach Bob Stoops said.
Even if you’re running an attack that’s built around the pass.
As Morriss reminded reporters, “I’ve been in this offense for seven or eight years at three different sites, and we’ve had three 1,000-yard rushers (while) throwing it 600 times a year. So I know it can be done. We’ve just got to keep working on it, recruit better offensive linemen and keep dialing it.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
“Jay Finley also had a solid game as he led the Bears with 22 yards rushing on eight carries. . .”
That nugget appeared in Sunday’s Waco (Texas) Tribune-Herald, and to be fair, it went on to note Finley’s 24-yard touchdown reception. But, come on, there isn’t a running back in the country who would be happy averaging 2.8 yards per attempt. Not even at Colorado, where such a number would have been a significant improvement from what the Buffs were able to generate against Florida State on Saturday night. That ugly total was 19 yards on 21 designed running plays.
Kind of makes you wonder when those will get deleted from the playbook. I mean, is the challenge to produce an effective ground game these days that much greater?
“It just depends,” Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said Monday. “That’s a combination of the five guys blocking for him and the one guy carrying it, and all those people being very consistent and effective and efficient in what they do.
“There’s no question there’s been an evolution on defense, but those things can affect the throwing game as well. It’s a question of having all five (linemen) — seven, if you’ve got a couple of tight ends working in the thing, too — being as effective with what their performance is and getting all that dialed up.”
Three games into the season, Colorado is far from being the only Big 12 team needing to get its running game in gear.
Would you believe that Texas ranks seventh in the league, and just 46th nationally, in rushing? And that’s with Jamaal Charles ranked ninth nationally and becoming just one of two Longhorns in the past 10 seasons to rush for more than 100 yards in each of the first three games.
Against Central Florida on Saturday, Texas ground out 229 rushing yards in a 35-32 win. But the Longhorns had to settle for five field goals, two of which came about because they couldn’t run the ball in the red zone. Along with the struggles the offensive line was having, Charles also lost a fumble when Texas was trying to milk the clock at the end.
Then, there’s Nebraska. Yes, against USC on Saturday, the Huskers got out of their game plan because they were playing catch-up from late in the second quarter on. But their 26 called running plays netted just 50 yards.
The amazing thing is NU still ranks fifth in the Big 12 and 38th nationally in rushing.
But really, what does an effective running game matter any more? Hasn’t the influx of spread attacks changed the way college football teams try to move the chains?
“Running the ball means you’re breaking the defense’s will,” NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “If you can run the ball, you can do anything you want.”
Consider this. Four of the Big 12’s six teams that are still unbeaten — Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri — rank Nos. 1 through 4 in the league in rushing. And the latter three are among the top seven teams nationally in total offense.
“The offensive line, we love the running game,” Oklahoma center Jon Cooper told The Oklahoman after the Sooners averaged nearly 9 yards a rush while pounding Utah State on Saturday. “We were getting good blocks and getting guys on the ground.”
No one’s benefitted more from that effective aggression than freshman quarterback Sam Bradford, who leads the nation in passing efficiency. No wonder OU has scored at least 51 points in every game this season.
“When you can run the ball and protect the quarterback, that sure helps,” OU coach Bob Stoops said.
Even if you’re running an attack that’s built around the pass.
As Morriss reminded reporters, “I’ve been in this offense for seven or eight years at three different sites, and we’ve had three 1,000-yard rushers (while) throwing it 600 times a year. So I know it can be done. We’ve just got to keep working on it, recruit better offensive linemen and keep dialing it.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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