Hokie Football 101: The Triple Option

Alright class we're back in session. I hope you did your homework on the spread offense, it will show up again next week against UNC.

This week we are playing the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. I couldn't possibly do this section this week on anything other than their signature offense, the triple option. Let's begin shall we?

The Basics

Well, like the spread offense, the triple option is sort of self-explanatory. The idea is to have multiple options for one single play and the quarterback will make the decision of which option to take by reading the defense. Let's take a look at how they set it up:

The quarterback is under center and he has, what is essentially, three running backs lined up behind him. There are also two wide receivers, each split out wide on either side of the field.

The play will go either left or right. If it goes left the running back on the left side of the formation becomes a blocker and vice versa. So for the sake of simplicity, the play only involves two of the three running backs. Occasionally you will see the Jackets set up using only two running backs with the third either moving up to the line of scrimmage and playing more of a tight end role, like you see below, or the running back will be subbed out for a wide receiver, giving the formation three receivers.

This type of formation basically gives away which direction the run will go (opposite side from the second running back or B-back), but you can't just assume they will run it because this is also a formation they like to pass out of; we'll get to that part in a minute.

How It Works

It's called the triple option simply because the quarterback will have three options to take during this play.

Option one is a simple hand off to the running back located directly behind the quarterback who then runs it straight up the middle:

Option two is for the quarterback to keep the ball and run a sweep, run the ball toward the outside edge of the field. If the quarterback is covered and sees no chance to gain good yardage he can use his third option and pitch it to the B-back.

There is a fourth option where the quarterback can drop back and pass which doesn't happen often with this offense but it can be deadly when they decide to pull a pass play out of their back pocket. GT runs the ball 82% of the time this year, and believe it or not, that's low for them. To give you an idea of how crazy that is, most teams try to balance run and pass out, so they don't want their percentage of one or the other to be above 60%. So when GT drops back to pass, they usually have the element of surprise. They've passed more than normal this year and Vad Lee, their quarterback, has some impressive stats. But he's still not a top caliber QB and can easily make mistakes.

How to Defend It

Well, it's not easy. The triple option is unique in today's game. Georgia Tech is one of the few schools that run it. About the only others are the military academies (Army, Navy, and Air Force). The reason the military schools run it is due to their personnel. To be in a military academy you have to be able to do all the things that military training requires, so you won't see any 300 lb linemen here, but you also won't see any scrawny speedsters. This offense sets up well for a team that is strong but mobile.

Georgia Tech is probably the best school in the nation at running this offense and because of this, they are normally one of the top rushing attacks in all of college football (they are currently ranked 4th). VT spends a lot of time preparing for it. Some players have even admitted this week that they have been spending Sunday practices all fall getting ready for this offense. Bud Foster takes this game very seriously and knows how tough it is to stop these guys.

Like the spread option, the tripe option offense does a good job of giving the playmakers on offense one-on-one match ups. So again, tackling will be huge! I'm no X's and O's guy but if you want more details French wrote a pretty amazing article here if you want to go deeper.

Cut Blocking & Chop Blocking

You're going to hear these words a lot this week and it's important that you know the difference. You can sum it up like this though: Cut Block = Legal & Chop Block = Illegal & Penalty

Cut blocking involves an offensive linemen diving at the legs of our defenders to either knock them down or slow them down. It's important for our defenders to protect themselves against these blocks, it's easy to have your knee taken out. But it is legal and Georgia Tech isn't the only team that does it.

Chop blocking is when a defensive player is "engaged", or actively battling the block of an offensive player, and another offensive player comes in and takes the defender out at his legs. This is illegal and extremely dangerous. It's a fifteen yard penalty if it's caught. Keep an eye out for it on the line this week.

Conclusion

This is a tough test for us. We only have a four day turnaround from our game against Marshall and our defense has to basically change their entire strategy. The option offense is fun to watch, and it usually is one of the easiest games to get into when we're on the defensive end. You're going to get tired of running, trust me.

It's also going to be important for us to not fall behind. The nature of GT's offense causes it to take a lot of time off of the clock since they rarely pass and they only get a few yards at a time. If we get too far behind it will become nearly impossible to catch up. We need to be within one score at halftime to have a realistic shot.

This is a huge game for our football team. It's our first ACC game and GT is a considered one of the top teams in the Coastal Division this year. If we can win this one then we set ourselves up well as conference play begins.

Below is a video of GT's offense from our game with them last year to get you ready along with some other useful links to stories to get you ready for this week's game.

Georgia Tech Gets a New Defensive Coordinator

Virginia Tech's Offense Is Best Defense for Georgia Tech's Attack