Gameplan

Welcome back to The Call Sheet!

Week 3 of the 2024 season didn’t bring any major upsets, as the only two ranked teams to lose lost to higher-ranked opponents. Today, we’ll dive into Kansas State’s win over Arizona on Friday night and Washington’s questionable playcall on 4th & Goal at the end of the Apple Cup. TLDR:

• Cover 2

  • Kansas State Beat Arizona In All Three Phases

  • Washington’s Head-Scratching 4th & Goal Playcall

Cover 2

Kansas State Beat Arizona In All Three Phases

On Friday night, Kansas State showcased why they’re considered one of the top two favorites to win the Big XII. Playing a complete game en route to a 31-7 win over Arizona was a big statement for K-State to make ahead of conference play. Outside of the opening drive, K-State controlled the entire game. The Wildcats won battles in all three phases: returned a punt for a touchdown, forced a turnover in the redzone, and out-converted Arizona on 3rd/4th down (57% for KSU, 33% for U of A).

Special Teams

On the second play of the second quarter, Kansas State running back Dylan Edwards returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown. Since it was 4th & 4, K-State elected to call a safe return, which kept eight players standing near the line of scrimmage, two of whom were four yards off the ball. The four players lined up on the outside shoulders of the guards and tackles were tasked with holding those players up, creating a world of space for Edwards to run into. The two edge defenders ensured Arizona kicked the ball away and then looped around to block the most dangerous coverage man. One of the off-ball defenders held up the long snapper while the other dropped back to the returner to block the most dangerous gunner.

Edwards also greatly benefitted from the fact that Arizona used a “shield” punt. Having three large linemen as part of the coverage unit created significant gaps and allowed Edwards to reach the sideline untouched. The last person he’s seen running past is an interior defensive lineman who doesn’t have the speed to cut off a returner.

Defense

Following their punt return touchdown, Kansas State forced a redzone turnover with a Cover 2 Drop 8 variation. Out of their signature 3-3-5 Stack defense, K-State can run some unique coverage variations, and dropping eight defenders into zones is even easier when there are only three defensive linemen on the field.

On 3rd & 3 from Kansas State’s 30-yard line, Arizona ran a max-protection pass play with a dagger concept (deep dig by the outside receiver and a seam by the inside receiver) to the field. Arizona’s quarterback, Noah Fifita, was late to throw the ball to the inside receiver, running a seam, and the corner to the field was able to undercut the route. Fifita should have thrown the ball to the inside receiver as soon as he cleared the hook defender. It may not have resulted in a touchdown, but it would have kept Arizona’s drive alive.

There are a couple of other reasons why this play resulted in an interception besides Fifita being late with the ball. First, Arizona hurt itself by max-protecting against a three-man rush and only releasing three players on routes. Even if Fifita threw the ball to the correct receiver, given the coverage he faced, the window was smaller as the underneath coverage was not stressed by anything other than the backside drag. Secondly, since the field corner had a deep half responsibility, the dig by the outside receiver brought the field corner toward the seam. Had the outside receiver run a deep out or a comeback, the corner likely would have been held up by a step or two, thus keeping him away from making a play on the ball.

Offense

Kansas State’s quarterback, Avery Johnson, was fully unleashed against Arizona as he rushed for 110 yards and threw for 156 and two touchdowns. His second touchdown pass came from excellent play design in the redzone to ensure he had an easy completion to his tight end Brayden Loftin.

In the third quarter, K-State faced Cover 1 from Arizona’s defense on the 9-yard line. The wildcats dialed up a fake toss into the boundary with a post-wheel concept from the Y and Z. The fake toss heavily influenced the weak safety that matched up with the Y in man-to-man coverage. He aggressively rushed toward the line of scrimmage, which allowed Loftin to run into open space created by the Z’s 1-step post route.

Washington’s Head-Scratching 4th & Goal Playcall

Saturday’s Apple Cup rivalry game was anything but pretty for the Washington Huskies. Although they outgained Wazzu by seventy yards, UW committed 16 penalties (seriously) for 135 yards. Still, with an absurd amount of penalties, the Huskies had a chance to steal a win. But, honestly, Washington did not deserve to win this game, and their 4th & Goal playcall with just over a minute left in the game will leave their coaching staff second-guessing themselves for weeks.

On 4th & Goal from Wazzu’s 2-yard line, Jedd Fisch called a speed option into the boundary. This playcall left me perplexed when I watched it live, and I still don’t understand the rationale.

1. Will Rogers, Washington’s quarterback, is not a dual-threat.

2. If you are going to run a speed option, go toward the wide side of the field.

3. It’s 4th & Goal; the ball absolutely needs to go into the endzone.

4. Rogers previously played in air raid systems; let him throw the ball.

When I saw Washington’s formation, I thought Rogers would throw the ball with a progression that started with the three-receiver bunch to the field before working back to the boundary tight end and running back.

I’m still shocked that Fisch called a speed option to the boundary. His head-scratching playcall robbed the Huskies of stealing a win from their bitter rivals.

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!