Masoli Runs versus USC
I will circle back to this game when the season is over and look at every drive in detail for both the offense and the defense. I don’t have a lot to say about this game except that it was a complete victory for Oregon. USC seemed to play with confidence the first part of the game then fall apart as the game progressed. Credit to the victors for the biggest loss margin of the Pete Carroll era.
One of the keys to the game for Oregon was the play of QB Jeremiah Masoli and his ability to run the zone option read play. Oddly USC defended the play quite well for the first quarter as you can see below. The first six times Masoli ran the ball in the first quarter it did not net much yardage for the Ducks. From the middle of the 2nd quarter on however he had his way running the ball winding up with 164 yards in the contest. Two of the larger running gains however were simply QB scrambles and not even designed runs…
In the 3rd and 4th quarter Masoli had success running the inside zone option play with the read on the 3 technique defender instead of the 5 technique defensive end. The last three times he ran the play it gained 18, 20, and 28 yards. The game was lost by that point so it hardly matters but the play is a good one and gives lots of teams fits.
Here are Masoli’s runs organized by gain instead of by sequence.
Here is the video of just the Masoli runs…the running back did immense damage as well on the occasions that Masoli gave on the read instead of keeping. Oregon RB James gained 184 yards on 24 carries. USC will have to learn to defend this play better if they hope to beat Oregon next time around. In total Oregon ran 80 plays in the game and averaged 7.7 yards per play.
I was at the game and the Trojan’s were sucking wind. They just got tire. The Trojan’s were bigger, stronger and faster, but not quicker and definitely not in shape to keep up.
That comes from how they practice. The Trojans have better players, but the ducks practice 10^14 times better in just about every way. I don’t have a link but there are plenty of articles all around about it…
I seem remember that the USC defense played a lot in a Double Eagle/Solid front alignment. It seemed more than normal for USC. If it was part of our gameplan to play this front as our base defense against Oregon, what types of advantages/disadvantages does this front give against a zone read run offensive attack?
Not to rub salt in the wound, but a couple of those no or short gainers were busted plays resulting from bad snaps. Our D-line and LB’s got worked. LaMichael James is dynamite.
A couple of questions here.
On Masoli’s first TD run up the middle, isn’t Malcom Smith tackled on his way in to make the play
as Masoli goes right by him? How is this not a tackle right at the point of attack? It seems so obvious?
He’s wrapped up and taken to the ground isn’t he?
While the refs were decent in this game, I saw multiple infractions by Oregon that were never called.
lastly, can you explain the 3 technique read vs the DE read? I understand the DE read, but I was unaware the
QB in this spread has another read-option on the inside guy?
thanks!
I thought that first one could have been a penalty as well but I guess the refs did not see it that way. Most spread to run teams read the 5 technique DE for the QB give or keep key. Vince Young of course ran it up and down the field versus USC in the Rose Bowl a couple of seasons ago. Oregon runs the same play but also they have a twist to keep you off balance. They block the 5 technique DE out and let the 3 technique DT penetrate untouched. The QB reads him as to whether the DT heads for the RB or the QB. If he takes the RB the QB pulls the ball and keeps. If the DT heads for the QB then he gives the ball to the RB. It is the same principle as reading the defensive end…in this case they just read the player one position to the inside. It is the same principle as the Midline Option play but purists will argue it is blocked differently. Either way it is an effective change of pace and keeps the defense guessing.
It’s pretty obvious after watching this how poorly the front 7 played.
#23 just killed us. #90, #8 and at times Everson…just overran plays and gaps, immediately
putting themselves way out of the play.
For me, it can’t be emphasized enough how the inexperienced players had trouble with maintaining their
assignments. Too eager to make a play. This comes with inexperience and against this Offense and the way it was clicking,
spelled disaster.
Thanks for the video. Yeah, it’s hard to discern #s, but it is really apparent that the front 7 played very undisciplined. The LBs are taking all of the criticism, but how many times to the DEs not hold their edge and overrun the play by charging upfield for a sack? And, then, Masoli makes some great reads on the option, and gets past the line of scrimmage into wide open space. The LBs were taking the fake on most plays too. Granted, they were beautifully executed plays by the Ducks. But, this video makes it so easy to see the overaggressive play of our front 7. Just stay HOME and we would have been fine. I guess that is really hard to break an aggressive defense of their habits in one week. Patience seems to be the key to defending this spread option. Stay home and wait for the play to develop. This was not all on the LBs. The front line got toasted too.
A few guys seemed to play well. Malcolm Smith, Jurrell, Tupou and even Everson seemed to stay home pretty well. Thanks for the post!
Question for defensive gurus; Why not send the 3 tech or 5 tech (whichever is unblocked) right to the QB mesh point and force him to give the ball when you have a guy like Masoli running the read? The front side has everything “fitted” for the zone, and if the backside backers/safeties know the QB won’t pull the ball they can flow hard and/or take away cutback. Obviously it is a case of pick your poison, but I’d rather know the ball is going where I have numbers and the gaps are constricted.
What did Oregon average with the IZ and stretch play?
I’ll crunch the numbers on the average for the different plays during the off season. I suspect without re-watching that Oregon mainly just ran inside zone, read inside zone option, and the version where they read the 3 tech defender. Very little of their other stuff like counter, draw, fly sweep, or even outside zone. I’ll get back to it in January or February.
I don’t know the game plan but 5 tech DE has backside containment on the normal inside zone plays. The 3 tech gets put in a bind mentally in the version were he is unblocked. He normally chases down the ball carrier on run plays and attacks the QB on passing plays. He is not forced to reorient and try and take the QB on run plays. USC might have had the responsibilities correct on the play and the players simply failed to execute. This sort of stuff we may never know.
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