Pavia Factor: Previewing Vanderbilt's New Offensive Philosophy

The Vanderbilt Commodores enter their season opening matchup with Virginia Tech as a double-digit underdog. However, the Commodores' longtime status as SEC dormats belies some major program changes that will present Virginia Tech with problems in Nashville. The Commodores added former Hokies consigliere Jerry Kill, who turned around the New Mexico State football program, in a similar role. Coming with Kill are offensive coordinator Tim Beck, an innovative mind who won a DII national championship as the head coach of Pittsburgh State, and diminutive and dynamic quarterback Diego Pavia. Beck's offensive philosophy coupled with Pavia's playmaking ability and elusiveness will cause headaches for a Tech defense which has been at their best playing aggressively.

The Philosophy

Beck's offensive scheme is an RPO-driven, run-first attack which pressures the defense at multiple points and relies on Pavia's keen ability to read the defense to find the correct option. The NMST Aggies rushed for 198.67 yards per game with this approach, good for fourteenth overall nationally. Beck used multiple backs, a variety of jet and rocket motions, and a multitude of formations to confuse and confound defenses. That philosophy causes the defense to sit back and react, allowing the offensive ball carriers to get downhill before the defense can pursue.

This play against Liberty highlights how challenging it is to defend Beck's offense. The Aggies aligned in a two back formation with an H-Back split to the field. The left halfback motioned to the right just prior to the snap, forcing the Liberty outside linebacker to widen and account for the halfback on a wheel route.