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Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009
Fresno State football: Turlock quarterback powers Nevada attack
FRESNO -- The best running game in college football doesn't belong to some triple-option or power-I team.
Nor is it owned by any traditional run-oriented program or a team with a behemoth offensive line.
Rather, the nation's most effective ground attack is Nevada and its pistol offense that's firing 288.8 rushing yards per game.
Even Fresno State, which loves to run and features the nation's top running back in Ryan Mathews, can't beat its Western Athletic Conference rival's production. The Bulldogs rank fifth at 275.2 yards. (If you want to mark your calendar, the Fresno State-Nevada collision is Nov. 14 in Reno.) Credit dual-threat quarterback Colin Kaepernick of Turlock for putting the ammunition back in Nevada's pistol, especially after struggling during the first three games.
But also give props to Nevada's unique offensive formation and playbook that features option, veer and tradition I-formation run principals -- mainly out of a passing-offense look.
"After I watched it the past 48 hours here, my biggest question is: 'Why aren't more people doing it?' " said first-year Utah State coach Gary Anderson, whose Aggies host the Wolf Pack on Saturday.
With its quarterback four yards back in shotgun (instead of the typical five) and the running back a couple yards directly behind (rather than to the quarterback's side) to disguise the play's intended direction, Nevada's pistol allows the Wolf Pack to attack with a run game similar to Fresno State's up-the-middle methods and Oregon's zone-read, option strikes.
"It's not just the schemes," said Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley, whose Bulldogs were gouged Friday by the Wolf Pack for 345 rushing yards and lost 37-14.
"It's also an offensive line that's extremely physical and a quarterback who is a phenomenal, elite athlete who is perfect for that offense."
Dooley knows good running games: his team has faced three of the nation's top seven in Nevada, No. 6 Navy (270.3 average) and No. 7 Auburn (251.8). Nevada is averaging 6.8 yards per run powered mainly by three players: Kaepernick (76.8 yards per game) and running backs Luke Lippincott (78.6) and Vai Taua (79.0).
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