Gameplan

Welcome back to The Call Sheet!

Week 1 of the 2024 season will likely be remembered by some tremendous offensive performances. Still, we need to pay close attention to a few: Penn State creating explosive plays, Miami executing at a high level in the redzone, and Arizona’s dynamic duo picking up where they left off (Can someone tell me what New Mexico’s defensive gameplan was?). TLDR:

• Cover 3

  • The U Flexed Some Redzone Creativity

  • Penn State’s Offense Taking Shots Downfield

  • Fifita and McMillan Embody the Perfect QB/WR Relationship

Cover 3

The U Flexed Some Redzone Creativity

Miami Hurricane fans are riding a high following Saturday’s monstrous 41-17 victory over the Florida Gators. This wasn’t just a statement win on the road against an SEC opponent; it was an offensive showcase, a warning shot to the rest of the country that The U is for real this year. Cam Ward’s skillset was on full display as he threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns and tacked on thirty-three yards on the ground.

His first touchdown pass only went for nine yards, but it was clear that the Canes had some creativity dialed up in their redzone gameplan.

Miami’s opening drive was a beautiful mix of run and pass. They marched 75 yards while only facing a single third down, and Shannon Dawson saved one of his best calls of the drive for 2nd & Goal from the nine. In the redzone, space is scarce, so finding ways to create it is imperative. Dawson called a mesh concept out of a 12-personnel formation with a reduced split from the X receiver. Florida, in turn, called a five-man pressure with man coverage behind it, which resulted in Cam McCormick catching a lofted ball from Ward with five yards of real estate to stride into the endzone.

Dawson wasn’t done being creative after the first score. Utilizing another tight 12-personnel formation, Dawson called a Sean McVay-esque run (circa 2018). Florida’s defense was beaten before the ball was even handed off to Mark Fletcher Jr. First, the Z receiver’s jet motion across the formation placed the edge defender responsibility on the strong safety, who was aligned too far inside. Second, the misdirection forced every second and third-level defender to take at least one step to their left, thus putting themselves out of position. Lastly, the Canes blocked this up perfectly, with the F and left guard having easy access to block the interior linebackers, and the X receiver was able to loop around for the SS. Fletcher made it to the one before being touched, and he’d fall into the endzone to put the Canes up by two scores with just over six minutes remaining in the first half.

Miami checked many boxes from a personnel standpoint coming into the season. On Saturday, they checked a few more related to putting it together and executing on gameday. Don’t be surprised if the Canes continue leveraging some creativity to ensure they score touchdowns in the redzone rather than settling for field goals.

Penn State’s Offense Taking Shots Downfield

One of my pressing questions coming into the season revolved around how Penn State would look offensively. While I won’t rush to say I have an outright answer after one game, one thing was obvious: the Nittany Lions are taking shots downfield again.

After a quiet and sloppy first quarter, Andy Kotelnicki said enough was enough and opened the second quarter with a play-action shot. West Virginia called a five-man pressure with three deep/three under firezone coverage behind it, creating a massive window for Drew Allar to deliver a strike to Harrison Wallace III. The scissors concept, coupled with a bad angle from the weak safety, left Wallace III with a world of space to catch the ball at the thirty-one and reach the endzone untouched.

After West Virginia scored their second field goal, Penn State would start their final drive of the first half at their own twenty-seven with thirty-two seconds remaining. On second down, with the clock running, Kotelnicki called another shot out of an unbalanced formation. The Nittany Lions max protected and gave Allar plenty of time to fling the ball 55 yards downfield to Omari Evans. Penn State ran a variation of shock (stick routes by the #1 and #3 receivers with a slot fade from #2), giving Evans plenty of room to adjust to a back-shoulder throw. If you pay close attention to the X receiver, you’ll notice his stutter n’ go route keeps the corner from helping the strong safety.

On the following play, with ten seconds left in the half, Kotelnicki didn’t hold back. He stayed aggressive and trusted his quarterback to put the ball in a spot where only his receiver could catch it. Allar stepped back and delivered an even better back-shoulder fade, this time to Wallace III. Penn State’s redzone verticals concept had mandatory outside releases (MOR) for the X and Z since the corners were pressing them.

Similar to Miami, Penn State showed incredible flashes in their opener. And if history is any indicator, Kotlenicki will stay aggressive throughout the season.

Fifita and McMillan Embody the Perfect QB/WR Relationship

I imagine that most people reading this didn’t stay up late Saturday night to watch Arizona beat New Mexico 61-39. But I bet you saw Noah Fifita’s and Tetairoa McMillan’s stat lines. Fifita threw for 422 yards and four touchdowns, while McMillan caught ten passes for 304 yards and claimed all four touchdowns for himself.

The connection Fifita and McMillan have is well documented. However, the third touchdown pass truly highlighted how in tune these two are with one another. Although Fifita wasn’t scrambling, the typical scramble rule of running to open space applies when a quarterback sits in the pocket for four or more seconds. So McMillan obliged and found himself running free for six points.

McMillan found most of his success operating from the slot, and New Mexico consistently opted out of re-routing or pressing him. On this play, he ran his over-the-ball (OTB) route without being touched, but McMillan ran to green grass after making eye contact with Fifita and having a zone defender cut underneath him.

It was awe-inspiring to see Fifita and McMillan operate at the same wavelength, and it’s abundantly clear that they’ve known one another since middle school. The Big 12 has its hands full with this dynamic duo storming in. I have a feeling McMillan will be a Biletnikoff Award winner this year if he stays healthy.

If you’re new, you can catch up on previous posts here. Thank you all for spending a little bit of your day with me. See you next week!