Inside the Playbook: Minnesota's Basic Run Game Attack

Originally published by Maize n Brew on May 29, 2014

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Minnesota is one of the most popular teams not only in B1G, but in all of college football. Not only are they tough when it comes to how well they manage their football, but they are also the core of a team that wants to be strong runners. Most of their runs are between dives, like the inner belt from Power O to RB or Power O QB. With such strength on the field, there is no speed to threaten the team. So the way to take their football to the extreme is not to switch others or activate the WR screen, but to use WR in a different way to activate the whip. Not only did humiliation become commonplace to them, but they used it to make another escape. In this article, we'll take a quick look at the main Golden Gophers games and take a closer look at how they work with the rest of the gamebook.



On power:
The main form of the Golden Gophers is the traditional Power O game, but rather than being annoying, Minnesota often takes it with a shotgun or shotgun.
They will also use different versions of Power O such as One-Back Power, Two-Back Power QB Power. The blocking model is more or less the same for each of these games, the difference is usually in the background.

For example, there is back strength here.

Compared to the power of two rounds.

Note that the difference is that the blocking power in Power with one defender will be TE online, not RB. Now they are using the power of QB here.

Notice how CB does the initial calculations. This allows RB to take the lead, acting as a blocking leader, as well as allowing drawn OG to hit the hole in front of GB.

Read the inner rope
The deep zone is a key element of Gopher's attacks. It works well when combined with power, but also attacks when dropped. In this case, Minnesota usually associates it with the QB reading.

One of the things that Minnesota has done for mobile QB is to run a game similar to a reading game, but instead of cutting FB, it tends to bend blocks to the second level.

At first glance, it looks like an inner circle for all intents and purposes. However, to prevent the QB from escaping, the DE is taught to push the inner belt while maintaining its limits. When FB accepts the remaining angle with inclusion, it essentially closes the section with DE, which is very active inside, isolating the second tier inside the QB. This is a great way to fight DE-sent discounts and LB-sent "for DE-traders" discounts. Both players are now out of the game, which is why Minnesota was so successful last year.

inkjet cleaner
What is clear, Minnesota loves to dive. To hit the edge a little faster, they pushed the WR and passed the ball through the jet swing.

Overall, the locking scheme here is the same as the inner zone. The idea is that an already active WR would be too fast for the DE to stay inside and allow attackers to attack from the outside. But if Minnesota wants to attack from the side, but the DE doesn't shrink or expand (or the defense tries something like a cancer swap)

In this case, Minnesota simply blocked the front, taking RB by RB. Minnesota RBs must not only be able to hit the ball from deep, but also be good blockers, use good levers, and use the right angles to block defenders in or out, depending on their position and angle of attack.

Fake rocket
As we've seen above, reactive whipping is often accompanied by other play, either inner belt or counterattack. As such, a fake whip can be used to "close" the finish line at the collision line, as the defender will be instructed to hastily hold WR.

In this case, you see Minnesota leaving EMOL to block WR, and QB reading the next defender inside. These are two players that must be blocked to act, not to attack.

Theoretically, the same could be done to power the Power O in the form of a rotating jet engine.

Or less commonly, the theory is similar. And here is the standard power of RB with reactive action. Note that a faulty transmission to a reactive receiver acts as a blocking unit in this power connection.

And as per the main game mentioned above, Minnesota can also use reverse play. Although the blocking pattern is different (Power O is now an example, not a simple game), it has the added advantage of being WR's main blocker option.

Fake Jet Sweep Ticket:
And none of this prevented Goffers from passing the ball. One of the problems many teams face is that they rely too much on running to keep the defense fair. Of course, the receiver, with the exception of the start-off, is basically out of the transfer game, but the defense must advance for two or three different dangers during the flight, they must spread horizontally on the short belt.

Open the case.

As you can see, apart from the regular PA, which would be effective for jogging outdoors, there are different routes designed to attack different starting scenes that don't result in the transfer of the WR plane to the RB. In addition to the traditional running game PA, they can concentrate defense on vertical locks, as well as turn them sideways to surprise with big air pieces.

Packing:
Nothing Minnesota does is overly complex or innovative. What's this. This is a very simple theory that works together to attack the defense in the middle of the blow. There will be some breaks in this team, but it makes QB easier to read; Having lots of people on the ball keeps them all fresh, if your RB is dynamic enough to be a good universal player it will be hard to keep up the many options that the same staff always provide.