oudavid1
11/2/2010, 04:19 AM
Linkage (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303362404575580273867540424.html)
^The Original Article has a chart of the fastest teams.
Like any endeavor, college football has a number of traditions and standard practices that don't make perfect sense.
Take, for instance, the pace at which most teams run their offenses. On average, it takes about 34 seconds from the end of the previous play for a conventional college team to start the next one—an interlude in which players walk to the line of scrimmage, catch their breath and convene a short staff meeting known as the huddle.
Then there's the approach taken by the Oregon Ducks.
Based on a sampling of recent games, Oregon's average time between plays is 23.2 seconds—32% faster than the norm. And for them, that's just third gear.
In their most recent game at home against UCLA on Oct. 21, the undefeated Ducks were doing 23 seconds between plays during their first possession until they reached the Bruins' eight-yard line. Then they ripped one off in 14 seconds, while UCLA's players were still getting set. The result: an eight-yard touchdown run that met almost no substantial resistance.
During Oregon's next possession, UCLA called a timeout to slow things down. Which worked: The Bruins returned and held Ducks running back LaMichael James to a three-yard run. So Oregon responded by starting the next play in 9.9 seconds. Mr. James burst through UCLA's flat-footed defense for 14 yards. The Ducks, who are ranked No. 1 in the college-football polls, went on to win, 60-13.
[oregon]
Oregon coach Chip Kelly was coy this week when asked about the thinking behind his team's frenetic pace. "It's just for television," he said. But as the 7-0 Ducks roll through their schedule, exhausting the opposition with their running game and their tempo, it's becoming apparent that Oregon's fast-paced style of play is potentially the next great evolution in the sport.
There always have been three ways to win in college football: better players, better schemes and better conditioning. The first two get the most attention, but championships have nevertheless been won via the third.
Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant turned around Texas A&M in the 1950s and won six national titles at Alabama in the 1960s and 1970s because of how ruthlessly he worked his players. Those who didn't quit became tougher than the opposition. "I know we put a lot of gravel in the craw of a lot of people because we were able to beat them physically," Bryant wrote once in Sports Illustrated. "I ask my boys to hit them as long as they can see them, to gang-tackle, to get up and hit them again."
Around the same time, Nebraska began revolutionizing strength and conditioning when it became what's believed to be the first team to have a paid strength coach, in 1969. The Cornhuskers' vaunted weight program became the backbone of their powerhouse teams, which went on to win or share five national championships.
Over time, the chances of gaining an edge through training have shrunk, as schools have caught on. Seemingly every major program these days has a spacious, state-of-the-art weight room. But clearly, Oregon has hit on something: Practicing and playing at a faster pace than opponents are used to can wear them down.
Against Stanford, the Ducks broke a 76-yard touchdown run on their last play. Oregon's season-low point total so far is 42. "We were having a hard time keeping up," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said.
As games wear on, "teams aren't as aggressive as they were at the beginning of the game," said Mr. James, Oregon's star running back. "They put their hands on their hips. They don't rush as hard."
Oregon is hardly the only team in college football that plays up-tempo. Schools that use "spread" offenses are generally more inclined to play this way. Oklahoma State, which scored 41 points Saturday against Nebraska's acclaimed defense (albeit in a loss), gets its plays off in just under 23 seconds. Auburn, which is ranked No. 1 in the Bowl Championship Series standings, averages about 27 seconds, which is faster than most. Rival Alabama, meanwhile, takes 35 seconds between plays with its more conventional offense. The Scuderia Ferrari of college football is Oklahoma, which takes just 21 seconds from the end of the previous play to start the next one. Two years ago, Oklahoma scored an NCAA-record 716 points and reached the national-title game.
But today, the combination of Oregon's fast pace, its speedy players and its confusing, who-has-the-ball suite of running plays has created the sport's pre-eminent attack. The Ducks are scoring 55 points a game; no one else on any level in college football is averaging 50.
"We're playing at a pretty good clip now because our players have a pretty good idea what we're trying to do," said Mr. Kelly, the Oregon coach. "We just try to eliminate that time between plays. Just go play."
More
.
Mr. Kelly, a 46-year-old New Hampshire native who coached for 17 years in the sport's lower levels before joining Oregon, is in his fourth season with the Ducks, second as the head coach. The Ducks' tempo, he says, is simply an extension of the ultrafast-paced way the team conducts its practice sessions. So even though Oregon's quarterback, redshirt sophomore Darron Thomas, is in his first season as the starter, the Ducks' offense runs faster now than it did last season under former quarterback Jeremiah Masoli because of the team's increased familiarity with Mr. Kelly's system.
On Saturday, the Ducks face perhaps their biggest remaining obstacle to a perfect regular season and a spot in the national-title game: a road trip to Southern California, which won or shared seven straight Pac-10 Conference titles before Oregon unseated the Trojans last season. But because the Trojans' pro-style "Tampa 2" defense is ill-suited to defending Oregon's run-based offense, it's USC that has to adjust. "You've just got to do the best you can," said USC coach Lane Kiffin. "The style they play is like nothing that anybody's ever seen."
And for the man in charge, Oregon's style has further benefits. "As a playcaller, you can call a lot of really bad plays and people will forget about them," Mr. Kelly said, "because we're on to the next one."
According to Top Gun, there are no points for second place.
Whatever.
^The Original Article has a chart of the fastest teams.
Like any endeavor, college football has a number of traditions and standard practices that don't make perfect sense.
Take, for instance, the pace at which most teams run their offenses. On average, it takes about 34 seconds from the end of the previous play for a conventional college team to start the next one—an interlude in which players walk to the line of scrimmage, catch their breath and convene a short staff meeting known as the huddle.
Then there's the approach taken by the Oregon Ducks.
Based on a sampling of recent games, Oregon's average time between plays is 23.2 seconds—32% faster than the norm. And for them, that's just third gear.
In their most recent game at home against UCLA on Oct. 21, the undefeated Ducks were doing 23 seconds between plays during their first possession until they reached the Bruins' eight-yard line. Then they ripped one off in 14 seconds, while UCLA's players were still getting set. The result: an eight-yard touchdown run that met almost no substantial resistance.
During Oregon's next possession, UCLA called a timeout to slow things down. Which worked: The Bruins returned and held Ducks running back LaMichael James to a three-yard run. So Oregon responded by starting the next play in 9.9 seconds. Mr. James burst through UCLA's flat-footed defense for 14 yards. The Ducks, who are ranked No. 1 in the college-football polls, went on to win, 60-13.
[oregon]
Oregon coach Chip Kelly was coy this week when asked about the thinking behind his team's frenetic pace. "It's just for television," he said. But as the 7-0 Ducks roll through their schedule, exhausting the opposition with their running game and their tempo, it's becoming apparent that Oregon's fast-paced style of play is potentially the next great evolution in the sport.
There always have been three ways to win in college football: better players, better schemes and better conditioning. The first two get the most attention, but championships have nevertheless been won via the third.
Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant turned around Texas A&M in the 1950s and won six national titles at Alabama in the 1960s and 1970s because of how ruthlessly he worked his players. Those who didn't quit became tougher than the opposition. "I know we put a lot of gravel in the craw of a lot of people because we were able to beat them physically," Bryant wrote once in Sports Illustrated. "I ask my boys to hit them as long as they can see them, to gang-tackle, to get up and hit them again."
Around the same time, Nebraska began revolutionizing strength and conditioning when it became what's believed to be the first team to have a paid strength coach, in 1969. The Cornhuskers' vaunted weight program became the backbone of their powerhouse teams, which went on to win or share five national championships.
Over time, the chances of gaining an edge through training have shrunk, as schools have caught on. Seemingly every major program these days has a spacious, state-of-the-art weight room. But clearly, Oregon has hit on something: Practicing and playing at a faster pace than opponents are used to can wear them down.
Against Stanford, the Ducks broke a 76-yard touchdown run on their last play. Oregon's season-low point total so far is 42. "We were having a hard time keeping up," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said.
As games wear on, "teams aren't as aggressive as they were at the beginning of the game," said Mr. James, Oregon's star running back. "They put their hands on their hips. They don't rush as hard."
Oregon is hardly the only team in college football that plays up-tempo. Schools that use "spread" offenses are generally more inclined to play this way. Oklahoma State, which scored 41 points Saturday against Nebraska's acclaimed defense (albeit in a loss), gets its plays off in just under 23 seconds. Auburn, which is ranked No. 1 in the Bowl Championship Series standings, averages about 27 seconds, which is faster than most. Rival Alabama, meanwhile, takes 35 seconds between plays with its more conventional offense. The Scuderia Ferrari of college football is Oklahoma, which takes just 21 seconds from the end of the previous play to start the next one. Two years ago, Oklahoma scored an NCAA-record 716 points and reached the national-title game.
But today, the combination of Oregon's fast pace, its speedy players and its confusing, who-has-the-ball suite of running plays has created the sport's pre-eminent attack. The Ducks are scoring 55 points a game; no one else on any level in college football is averaging 50.
"We're playing at a pretty good clip now because our players have a pretty good idea what we're trying to do," said Mr. Kelly, the Oregon coach. "We just try to eliminate that time between plays. Just go play."
More
.
Mr. Kelly, a 46-year-old New Hampshire native who coached for 17 years in the sport's lower levels before joining Oregon, is in his fourth season with the Ducks, second as the head coach. The Ducks' tempo, he says, is simply an extension of the ultrafast-paced way the team conducts its practice sessions. So even though Oregon's quarterback, redshirt sophomore Darron Thomas, is in his first season as the starter, the Ducks' offense runs faster now than it did last season under former quarterback Jeremiah Masoli because of the team's increased familiarity with Mr. Kelly's system.
On Saturday, the Ducks face perhaps their biggest remaining obstacle to a perfect regular season and a spot in the national-title game: a road trip to Southern California, which won or shared seven straight Pac-10 Conference titles before Oregon unseated the Trojans last season. But because the Trojans' pro-style "Tampa 2" defense is ill-suited to defending Oregon's run-based offense, it's USC that has to adjust. "You've just got to do the best you can," said USC coach Lane Kiffin. "The style they play is like nothing that anybody's ever seen."
And for the man in charge, Oregon's style has further benefits. "As a playcaller, you can call a lot of really bad plays and people will forget about them," Mr. Kelly said, "because we're on to the next one."
According to Top Gun, there are no points for second place.
Whatever.