The Idaho offense prides itself on controlling possession of the football, and not giving the defense any opportunities to capitalize on mistakes. The Vandals have put this into action the past two seasons by controlling possession of the football for over 56% of their games during that span (that’s 34 minutes per game!).
One of the biggest reasons that Idaho is able to dictate the game script is because of how dominant and efficient their rushing attack is.
That’s why today, we’re going to talk about one of Idaho’s favorite run schemes, broken down by Idaho’s OC/QBs Coach Luke Schleusner!
See all of Idaho’s core run schemes broken down in detail in our latest release: The Idaho Offense – The Complete Series
Idaho’s Pistol Mid Zone Run Scheme
Above is Idaho’s base design for their pistol Mid Zone run scheme.
Idaho likes to run Mid Zone because they believe that it’s easier to move defenders laterally than vertically. This is especially true when facing defenses with large interior defensive linemen that make it difficult to move the LOS forward.
This run scheme also gives the offense the advantage that they don’t have to block the backside defender in a +1 box because they’re able to hold them with the threat of their QB run game or a naked threat. This is something discussed in much more detail in the video series.
By attacking laterally, it also gives the RB the potential to have multiple rushing lanes when he sticks his foot in the ground and turns upfield, which makes it much harder for the defense to defend!
When blocking the scheme the OL is attacking for the play side armpit of the down defender. In the pistol variant shown above, the RB aims his path for the butt of the Tight End.
What coach Schleusner loves so much about the Mid Zone is the amount of variation they can create by drawing it up in different ways. This includes changing the blocking scheme by pulling linemen and changing assignments up front.
Learn how you can model and incorporate key elements from Idaho’s dominant run game into your playbook with The Idaho Offense – The Complete Series.
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