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Should We Switch to Triple Option?

Oct 25, 2021
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Being 100% serious here, so please don't take this as satire. Would this give us any sort of competitive advantage, a la Georgia Tech when they were firing on all cylinders under Johnson? We have a coach who has panic attacks every time a football goes into the air, so I have to imagine this could finally be an offense he is enthusiastic about. Hell, I think it could be kind of fun. We could mask the Tennessee Chattanooga-esque offensive linemen we recruit and just have them focus on chop blocking and taking out knee caps. We could even have a fun nickname for them, like "The Loan Sharks" or something. The students could all wear leather helmets and really embrace this thing. Us fellows could wear suspenders and top hats to the games, whilst our lady friends dress like flappers when the weather cooperates.

I keep hearing that northern teams need to be able to run the ball in the cold weather. It confuses me a bit, as the college season ends in November when the weather here is seldom all that cold and often even balmy, but I'm willing to relent and acquiesce. If everybody wants to run the ball so much, let's freaking do it. But none of this pussyfooting around. Let's go full triple option. I think we could recruit a little better than Navy (unless they, too, have some NIL collective I've not heard about), so we should be able to pull it off at least somewhat successfully (up until a few years ago, they were a decent team). I sincerely believe this could work.
 
No. The recent NCAA rule changes on cut blocks have pretty much neutered triple option teams.

If you want to go all-in on run the ball, manball stuff, there are better options to look to than the service academies. Michigan HATES throwing the ball, and they have a five star quarterback. Georgia HATES throwing the ball, and their quarterback is going to spend the rest of his life selling Tahoes. Michigan State last year hated throwing the ball. Penn State this year hates throwing the ball. Kansas State and Kansas hate throwing the ball.
 
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No. The recent NCAA rule changes on cut blocks have pretty much neutered triple option teams.

If you want to go all-in on run the ball, manball stuff, there are better options to look to than the service academies. Michigan HATES throwing the ball, and they have a five star quarterback. Georgia HATES throwing the ball, and their quarterback is going to spend the rest of his life selling Tahoes. Michigan State last year hated throwing the ball. Penn State this year hates throwing the ball. Kansas State and Kansas hate throwing the ball.

Bennett will play in the NFL, albeit as a backup.

Michigan's OL is a hell of a lot better than ours. I don't think we could ever pull that off. What are the rules now? I know you can't go below the waist of a guy who is already engaged with the next guy over, but hasn't that always been a thing? Can't we teach our guys to only destroy the knee caps of the man in front of them?
 
Hammond getting 3 yards a carry in the the Wildcat is as crazy as this coach and offense needs to get, thanks very much. The option sometimes breaks big plays, after all. Why get first downs and touchdowns any faster than you have to?
 
No. The recent NCAA rule changes on cut blocks have pretty much neutered triple option teams.

If you want to go all-in on run the ball, manball stuff, there are better options to look to than the service academies.
https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/23

Interesting take.. Top 2 rushing teams are service academies with Navy coming in at #10.

There is no better way to run the ball then what the academies do.

Especially when you consider they're roster is a combination of FCS/D2 type kids.
 
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We need to tarp heinz and drop down to the fcs level first.

We need to start a For the Love of the Game League. Us, BC, Wake Forest, Syracuse, James Madison, Coastal Carolina, Temple, etc. NIL will not be welcomed in this league; this is strictly about doing things the right way. Instead of waiting around on the SEC and BIG to break off into a super league, we need to break off into a very unsuper league, like the nerd who dumps the super model for the sole purpose of not getting dumped himself down the line.
 
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Being 100% serious here, so please don't take this as satire. Would this give us any sort of competitive advantage, a la Georgia Tech when they were firing on all cylinders under Johnson? We have a coach who has panic attacks every time a football goes into the air, so I have to imagine this could finally be an offense he is enthusiastic about. Hell, I think it could be kind of fun. We could mask the Tennessee Chattanooga-esque offensive linemen we recruit and just have them focus on chop blocking and taking out knee caps. We could even have a fun nickname for them, like "The Loan Sharks" or something. The students could all wear leather helmets and really embrace this thing. Us fellows could wear suspenders and top hats to the games, whilst our lady friends dress like flappers when the weather cooperates.

I keep hearing that northern teams need to be able to run the ball in the cold weather. It confuses me a bit, as the college season ends in November when the weather here is seldom all that cold and often even balmy, but I'm willing to relent and acquiesce. If everybody wants to run the ball so much, let's freaking do it. But none of this pussyfooting around. Let's go full triple option. I think we could recruit a little better than Navy (unless they, too, have some NIL collective I've not heard about), so we should be able to pull it off at least somewhat successfully (up until a few years ago, they were a decent team). I sincerely believe this could work.

this is heading to Message Board Genius level of posting
 
Well when we were running the wildcat a few weeks back, I thought to myself that Narduzzi must like this so much, why don't we recruit a Pat White or Tim Tebow type QB -- can't really throw all that well but are excellent running the read option.
 
Well when we were running the wildcat a few weeks back, I thought to myself that Narduzzi must like this so much, why don't we recruit a Pat White or Tim Tebow type QB -- can't really throw all that well but are excellent running the read option.

I really think we could win this way. It's silly to throw the ball in Pittsburgh in October and November, when it's as low as 44 degrees at kickoff sometimes. We're asking for trouble if we keep putting balls up into the frigid Pittsburgh Autumn air with swirling winds of 8 mph.
 
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Well when we were running the wildcat a few weeks back, I thought to myself that Narduzzi must like this so much, why don't we recruit a Pat White or Tim Tebow type QB -- can't really throw all that well but are excellent running the read option.
Duz likes a pro style quarterback, except in his mind, it’s the pros of 1973. Where you ran the ball 90% of the time. But decidedly with RUNNING BACKS ONLY. The QB is there to fade straight back in a 10 step drop and throw 15 times a game, but only of necessary. If he runs it’s strictly when the protection breaks down. Certainly not as a designed play. For this brilliance he gets 5 million dollars.
 
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The easiest way to run the ball is to get a fast QB. We've had guys like Voytik who are guys you have to account for on the ground, but no real game breaking threat.
 
It’s funny my son just asked me when the last PITT snow game was … I couldn’t remember anything since that Cinci game where our players made snow angels in the the end zones post game…. Like….2010?
 
It’s funny my son just asked me when the last PITT snow game was … I couldn’t remember anything since that Cinci game where our players made snow angels in the the end zones post game…. Like….2010?

Last truly cold game I remember was UNC 2019 on a Thursday night. At most, we play one or two cold games per year. I think it snowed up here vs Miami in Donalds final year. Probably a few after that, too.
 
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I love running the ball; it’s the tight formation I don’t like. Run 3 wide with 1 TE and 1 back. Spread defenders out. Having 9 offensive guys between the hashes on most run plays = too much traffic. Just use different formations! Especially for Izzy
 
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Hammond getting 3 yards a carry in the the Wildcat is as crazy as this coach and offense needs to get, thanks very much. The option sometimes breaks big plays, after all. Why get first downs and touchdowns any faster than you have to?
Point well taken. The counterpoint to this is that the more plays you run, the greater the chance of a turnover or a major penalty. (After seeing this team play, can you imagine having to score with several lengthy 7-12 play drives and not have a turnover or a costly penalty or two?)
 
Being 100% serious here, so please don't take this as satire. Would this give us any sort of competitive advantage, a la Georgia Tech when they were firing on all cylinders under Johnson? We have a coach who has panic attacks every time a football goes into the air, so I have to imagine this could finally be an offense he is enthusiastic about. Hell, I think it could be kind of fun. We could mask the Tennessee Chattanooga-esque offensive linemen we recruit and just have them focus on chop blocking and taking out knee caps. We could even have a fun nickname for them, like "The Loan Sharks" or something. The students could all wear leather helmets and really embrace this thing. Us fellows could wear suspenders and top hats to the games, whilst our lady friends dress like flappers when the weather cooperates.

I keep hearing that northern teams need to be able to run the ball in the cold weather. It confuses me a bit, as the college season ends in November when the weather here is seldom all that cold and often even balmy, but I'm willing to relent and acquiesce. If everybody wants to run the ball so much, let's freaking do it. But none of this pussyfooting around. Let's go full triple option. I think we could recruit a little better than Navy (unless they, too, have some NIL collective I've not heard about), so we should be able to pull it off at least somewhat successfully (up until a few years ago, they were a decent team). I sincerely believe this could work.
Let the coaching staff know what you decided, the triple option, I wonder why they didn’t come up with that, call duzz and let him know what you came up with
 
Point well taken. The counterpoint to this is that the more plays you run, the greater the chance of a turnover or a major penalty. (After seeing this team play, can you imagine having to score with several lengthy 7-12 play drives and not have a turnover or a costly penalty or two?)
Given we get called for offensive holding every play, I’m not sure other than pick sixes how we ever scored at all this year.
 
I love running the ball; it’s the tight formation I don’t like. Run 3 wide with 1 TE and 1 back. Spread defenders out. Having 9 offensive guys between the hashes on most run plays = too much traffic. Just use different formations! Especially for Izzy
Seems too radical for us. Used to seem that Duz hated hitting big pass plays, now it seems he equally hates hitting big run plays as well. He probably thinks the big TDs by Izzy earlier in the season were harmful to TOP. 11 play drives that stall for FG attempts, those are the bomb.

Ok, much of this is unfair and piling on after an awful program crushing loss yesterday. He isn’t the Neanderthal we make him out to be (but he seems to relish painting himself that way… “I want to run for 400 yards every week,” etc ). The guy is passionate and no doubt in a tizzy about what to do concerning yesterday. The punk was a true ahole for de committing so late, it was no less clear what Duz and Cig were in the summer Vs. now. We should reserve our disdain for the player. It was likely payola more than anything to do with style or scheme.

But it would behoove Duz to make his program more appealing and exciting. And as much as it sucks to match a wrong with another wrong, he better shake this off and get out and steal away some G5’s best commit.
 
Seems too radical for us. Used to seem that Duz hated hitting big pass plays, now it seems he equally hates hitting big run plays as well. He probably thinks the big TDs by Izzy earlier in the season were harmful to TOP. 11 play drives that stall for FG attempts, those are the bomb.

Ok, much of this is unfair and piling on after an awful program crushing loss yesterday. He isn’t the Neanderthal we make him out to be (but he seems to relish painting himself that way… “I want to run for 400 yards every week,” etc ). The guy is passionate and no doubt in a tizzy about what to do concerning yesterday. The punk was a true ahole for de committing so late, it was no less clear what Duz and Cig were in the summer Vs. now. We should reserve our disdain for the player. It was likely payola more than anything to do with style or scheme.

But it would behoove Duz to make his program more appealing and exciting. And as much as it sucks to match a wrong with another wrong, he better shake this off and get out and steal away some G5’s best commit.

I know you're embellishing a bit, but I guarantee there has been a time when Narduzzi has shot Whipple the stank eye for scoring too fast or made a snide comment like, "Are you trying to leave my defense out there all damn day? Jeez."

I sincerely believe he thrives on the validation from doing things his way and has gotten more fulfillment from games like 17-9 over Syracuse than he may have gotten from three-score wins over better teams in the past.
 
I really think we could win this way. It's silly to throw the ball in Pittsburgh in October and November, when it's as low as 44 degrees at kickoff sometimes. We're asking for trouble if we keep putting balls up into the frigid Pittsburgh Autumn air with swirling winds of 8 mph.
It's silly to throw the ball in Pittsburgh in October and November,.. gee, the NFL does not think it silly to do so in December and January in places like Green Bay, Chicago and Buffalo.

Anyways, ManBearPig says these games are a thing of the past. Hell, that November 5th game against Syracuse may have been the most comfortable temperature I remember at a Pitt football game ever. Worst case scenario in a mostly Southern conference is that you have two, maybe three games that are chilly so I'm not sure of the need to go all out JC Watts in the age of super athletic defenders..
 
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I know you're embellishing a bit, but I guarantee there has been a time when Narduzzi has shot Whipple the stank eye for scoring too fast or made a snide comment like, "Are you trying to leave my defense out there all damn day? Jeez."

I sincerely believe he thrives on the validation from doing things his way and has gotten more fulfillment from games like 17-9 over Syracuse than he may have gotten from three-score wins over better teams in the past.
Hey if that worked all the time, great. I’d take 12 victories of 9-6 scores all season long. But everything has to go perfectly right for 12 plays every possession, and in college sports with 2-3 star players against teams with 4-5 star players, it rarely goes right.

On the flip side his philosophy equalizes things for less talented opponents (like Virginia on Saturday). Against a … not so good (trying to be nice in light of Sunday’s tragedy)… opponent like Virginia, we should have been able to muster more than 3 FG in the final three quarters and a half (and yes I realize part of it was his reluctance to show up a coach who seems to be a good buddy based on the embrace at the end). Thanks to him a badly outmatched team played us even for nearly the entire game after the initial shock gave us a (fortunately) insurmountable lead. It was frankly one of the worst 30 point wins one (particularly Minchey) could watch if that is possible … The slow, grim slog, the constant three and outs, especially with the tons of unnecessary penalties also occurring (that’s a whole different story).

It probably would astonish him to hear but he is NOT going to get two pick sixes to start every game, or to end them (like WVU). You need to score score score, and score some more. Or you struggle win 6 games with zero buzz, lose your only noteworthy recruit, and wait hat in hand for your mid December Detroit Bowl bid. While a pass-competent team like UNC likely cruises into the Orange bowl…The one WE should have.
 
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Screw passing and revive the "four horsemen" type of offense. Who even needs a QB, am I right? Get David Tepper to donate a couple billion to the athletic department, bulldoze most of Oakland, and build a tiny little domed stadium that the football team can use when volleyball isn't playing. Of course, tarp everything. Even the parts of Oakland that are still standing. Then sit back and watch this program take off, BABY!
 
Being 100% serious here, so please don't take this as satire. Would this give us any sort of competitive advantage, a la Georgia Tech when they were firing on all cylinders under Johnson? We have a coach who has panic attacks every time a football goes into the air, so I have to imagine this could finally be an offense he is enthusiastic about. Hell, I think it could be kind of fun. We could mask the Tennessee Chattanooga-esque offensive linemen we recruit and just have them focus on chop blocking and taking out knee caps. We could even have a fun nickname for them, like "The Loan Sharks" or something. The students could all wear leather helmets and really embrace this thing. Us fellows could wear suspenders and top hats to the games, whilst our lady friends dress like flappers when the weather cooperates.

I keep hearing that northern teams need to be able to run the ball in the cold weather. It confuses me a bit, as the college season ends in November when the weather here is seldom all that cold and often even balmy, but I'm willing to relent and acquiesce. If everybody wants to run the ball so much, let's freaking do it. But none of this pussyfooting around. Let's go full triple option. I think we could recruit a little better than Navy (unless they, too, have some NIL collective I've not heard about), so we should be able to pull it off at least somewhat successfully (up until a few years ago, they were a decent team). I sincerely believe this could work.
Pitt Football 2023....

 
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Duz likes a pro style quarterback, except in his mind, it’s the pros of 1973. Where you ran the ball 90% of the time. But decidedly with RUNNING BACKS ONLY. The QB is there to fade straight back in a 10 step drop and throw 15 times a game, but only of necessary. If he runs it’s strictly when the protection breaks down. Certainly not as a designed play. For this brilliance he gets 5 million dollars.
Watch Super Bowl X, 1975, at the beginning, Dallas gets their first possession, Dandy Don Meredith is the announcer, and he says something like, "These Cowboys are river boat gamblers, sometimes they even throw the ball on first down" :)

And in 1973, I don't think any players even made $100K yet.And Duzz gets $5million :)
 
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