Nebraska runs five basic types of option: Arc, Belly, Sprint, Veer and Wall. Each of these options are run from a variety of formationsand offer variations in footwork and blocking schemes. Each has its own companion plays that take advantage of simiar backfield and line actions.
Option football is what makes college football the most exiciting level to watch. NFL teams feel that option football opens up high-priced quarterbacks to too much punishment. It must be true because those guys would do anything to win. Still, though, it always seems wierd to me that option QBs are considered to be in too dangerous situations and drop-back passing QBs who have to stand and take blind-side hits are not considered too big a risk. Option quarterbacks certainly take a lot of punishment, but they seldom take the career-ending thumps that passers take from behind. I'd be very interested in any study that would examine the option vs. the drop back in terms of injury cost to the teams. Any such study would have to factor in the bumps and bruises a QB takes that affect effectiveness. This might be where the option hurts more.
Belly Option |
Sprint Option |
Wall Option |
Veer (dive) Option |
Arc Option |
I love option football because it attacks. It puts the defense in the position of having to have eleven men play in synch and within their own assingments, because one man out of place will kill. The option forces the defense to worry about its timing, something that is usually a problem only for the offense. Against the option defenses must not only all do their jobs, they must do them in coordination with others.
The option also allows the offense to use all eleven players to attack, since the QB by reading the pitch key, becomes a de facto blocker.
Option football is a numbers game. Nebraska often audibles options to the side of the field where the Huskers can get hte best blocker/defender ratio possible. This is one reason that the Huskers run so many options to the short side of the field, because defenses will often shift a man over to the wide side of the field.
Nebraska runs mostly double option, not triple option like the Oklahoma teams of yore or the Air Force cadets of today. NU usually reads only the pitch during the play, not the handoff. The handoff give is called during the huddle in most cases. In 1999 the Huskers ran a few triple options, especially against Texas A&M. I have theorized that Osborne ran a couple triple options in his final game in the Orange Bowl vs. Tennessee, but have never been able to confirm this. If you run into him on the campaign trail, ask him for me.
Nebraska's option package is integral to thge Osborne attack. It creates another package of plays (along with power, counters, play-action, drop-back passing and trick plays) for the opponent to prepare for. It is one of the primary reasons thaat football people marvel at the amount of offensive variation that Nebraska brings into every game.
Belly Option |
Sprint Option |
Wall Option |
Veer (dive) Option |
Arc Option |