The spread offense is the best thing to hit football since Monday nights.
The best thing since the forward pass.
The best thing since instant replay and Bill Walsh.
It might be the best thing since Erin Andrews.
What could be better than an offensive scheme that gives teams an increased chance to compete at the highest levels of the game?
Since the proliferation of the spread offense the last few years, more and more teams have challenged college football's bluebloods and threatened their monopoly on the game.
"No question, it's changed the game big time," says BYU assistant head coach Lance Reynolds.
The current Top 20 includes BCS outsiders Texas Tech, Boise State, TCU, Utah (all in the top 11), BYU and Ball State (and Tulsa until this week).
Sign of the times: On Thursday night, TCU and Utah will play a late-season game with a possible BCS bowl bid on the line.
The spread has contributed to all of this. It also has fostered more upsets and made it even more difficult to rank teams and make the BCS's elitist system work. Three No. 1-ranked teams — USC, Oklahoma and Texas — have lost. So did No. 3 (at the time) Georgia, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 4 Florida, No. 3 LSU and No. 3 Missouri.
It's the continuation of a trend. Remember Central Florida's win over Michigan last season? Or Utah's crushing win over Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl? Or Boise State's thrill-a-minute win over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. All those wins were courtesy of the spread attack.
The spread has affected the game this decade the same way LaVell Edwards' passing offense affected the game in the '70s and '80s. Reasoning that he couldn't
recruit the big, blue-chip linemen against the likes of Nebraska, USC and Oklahoma — players necessary for the traditional I-back and option running attacks of the day — he decided the way he would compete was with finesse — a passing attack. It leveled the playing field and BYU became a perennial Top 20 team. Following the lead of BYU and a handful of other teams, the collegiate game went pass crazy.
The spread offense is the next step, combining elements of the '60s option game and the run attack, but with the ability to throw the ball. It has leveled the playing field even more.
The rationale for the spread attack is simple. Against traditional offenses, the defense outnumbers the offense in the box. The spread attack gives the advantage to the offense.
More receivers are split wide, forcing a safety or a linebacker to line up outside the box; the backside defensive end is unblocked on running plays (freeing another blocker) and the quarterback is a running threat, the equivalent of an extra running back. Voila, the offense now outnumbers the defense in the box.
On running plays, for instance, the quarterback reads the backside end — if the end comes high, the quarterback hands off; if the end comes too flat, the quarterback keeps the ball and runs. With linemen taking bigger splits, more running lanes and better blocking angles are created.
Now a premium is placed on finesse and execution instead of brawn. Now it's speed and the ability to tackle one-on-one in the open field. Defensive coordinators are tearing their hair out trying to stop it. They're going to smaller, faster linemen who can, as Reynolds puts it so well, "cover more grass."
"It's changed everything," Reynolds continues. "Offenses are doing all kinds of things out of the spread and linemen don't have to be as big. It has option principles and misdirection while having the capability to throw. Everyone on defense is stretched. The impact on the game is large."
As Reynolds notes, the possibilities of the spread attack depend on having a quarterback who can run and pass, and whether a coach is willing to expose him to the increased risk that comes with running the ball.
"It's difficult to get a quarterback who can do both and keep him healthy," says Reynolds.
In 2001, BYU had that quarterback in Brandon Doman. This year's quarterback, Max Hall, has the skills to be a running quarterback and option threat, but the Cougars haven't been willing to expose him to the risks. Utah uses Brian Johnson as a running threat, but prefers to bring in backup quarterback Corbin Louks or employ a direct snap to running back Matt Asiata for such duty.
The spread has become an amalgam of offenses. It can morph into almost any type of scheme. And yet it certainly won't be the end-all for innovation. Some high schools are using a scheme called the A-11 offense, which utilizes all 11 players as eligible receivers and employs mostly skill players, making linemen obsolete. You can check it out on YouTube. Who knows, the A-11 might be the next step in the evolution of the offense.
E-mail: drob@desnews.com