BleedGopher
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per Randy:
When Georgia Tech’s offense takes to Detroit’s Ford Field on Wednesday to face the Gophers in the Quick Lane Bowl, don’t be confused. It only seems as if you’ve been transported back to the days of padded neck collars and tearaway jerseys.
The Yellow Jackets are one of a handful of college football teams that use a triple-option offense, which has roots in the wishbone attack that was popular in the 1970s and ’80s. The run-heavy approach features quarterback sweeps, pitches to a trio of running backs, motion and misdirection. Because it’s so rare these days — Army, Navy and Georgia Southern are a few of the other FBS teams that use it — opposing defenses must start from scratch in game-planning for it.
“It’s very different,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. “When you play a more-traditional style of offense, that’s what your defense is made to stop. … When you get a triple-option team, everything changes.”
In Georgia Tech (7-5), the Gophers (6-6) will face an opponent that’s adept at running the triple option. Coach Paul Johnson brought the offense to Atlanta in 2008 after running it at Navy, and the Yellow Jackets have led FBS teams in rushing three times — 2010, ’14 and this year. The Yellow Jackets are averaging 334.9 yards per game this season, and they run the ball an average of 58.4 times per game.
The man who must devise a way of slowing Georgia Tech’s offense is Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi. He took over for the fired Robb Smith and helped Minnesota slash its total yards allowed in Big Ten play from an average of 507.7 in the first six games to 305.7 in its final three. Rossi knows the challenge the Yellow Jackets present.
“They’re good. They’ve been doing it for a long time. The head guy’s been doing it for a very long time,’’ Rossi said of Johnson, 61, who’s retiring after the bowl game. “It’s unique. Anytime something is unique, it presents a challenge because you’re not familiar with it as a player.’’
http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...pping-georgia-tech-s-triple-option/503444772/
Go Gophers!!
When Georgia Tech’s offense takes to Detroit’s Ford Field on Wednesday to face the Gophers in the Quick Lane Bowl, don’t be confused. It only seems as if you’ve been transported back to the days of padded neck collars and tearaway jerseys.
The Yellow Jackets are one of a handful of college football teams that use a triple-option offense, which has roots in the wishbone attack that was popular in the 1970s and ’80s. The run-heavy approach features quarterback sweeps, pitches to a trio of running backs, motion and misdirection. Because it’s so rare these days — Army, Navy and Georgia Southern are a few of the other FBS teams that use it — opposing defenses must start from scratch in game-planning for it.
“It’s very different,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. “When you play a more-traditional style of offense, that’s what your defense is made to stop. … When you get a triple-option team, everything changes.”
In Georgia Tech (7-5), the Gophers (6-6) will face an opponent that’s adept at running the triple option. Coach Paul Johnson brought the offense to Atlanta in 2008 after running it at Navy, and the Yellow Jackets have led FBS teams in rushing three times — 2010, ’14 and this year. The Yellow Jackets are averaging 334.9 yards per game this season, and they run the ball an average of 58.4 times per game.
The man who must devise a way of slowing Georgia Tech’s offense is Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi. He took over for the fired Robb Smith and helped Minnesota slash its total yards allowed in Big Ten play from an average of 507.7 in the first six games to 305.7 in its final three. Rossi knows the challenge the Yellow Jackets present.
“They’re good. They’ve been doing it for a long time. The head guy’s been doing it for a very long time,’’ Rossi said of Johnson, 61, who’s retiring after the bowl game. “It’s unique. Anytime something is unique, it presents a challenge because you’re not familiar with it as a player.’’
http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...pping-georgia-tech-s-triple-option/503444772/
Go Gophers!!