A Look at Montana State’s Power Running Spread Attack

Nov 07, 2023 5:01 pm

Coach ,

#3 ranked Montana State has been at the top of the FCS rankings now for these past three seasons under head coach Brent Vigen.

Coach Vigen now owns 32 wins (currently 8-1) in his first three seasons leading the Bobcats, the most victories in any two-season stretch in program history and the best start to a head coaching career in MSU history. He is the program’s first head coach to lead the team to back-to-back appearances in the FCS Playoff semifinals.

The Bobcats excel on the offensive side of the ball with a Power Spread offense.

Current Rankings:

#2 Scoring 42.3 ppg

#2 rush 305.1ypg

#3 TTL 482.2ypg

Today we take a look at the Bobcats offense.

QB Friendly

Though they are a run heavy team, for Offensive Coordinator Taylor Housewright, it still starts with having a QB friendly offense with simple reads, and understanding of the defense and allowing them to play to their strengths.

He explains it here -

Video: QB Friendly

Power Read

Power Read is a big play for the Bobcats. They rely on the inside zone and gap scheme runs. With the Power scheme they can read either the DE or the LB. Coach Housewright explains it here with digram and game film.

Video: Power Sucker

Flock RPO (Flat & Block)

Having a strong run game necessitates having things to protect it. A favorite is off of their split zone look where the TE will run a flat with wide receiver blocking on the edge. He shows a number of clips of it in this video:

Video: Flock

Play Action - Y-Up

With Power Read being a scheme used often, having a solid play action concept off it helps the play when the defense starts to try to cheat the run. Y-Up is a concept that has multiple facets where they can go with the ball. He explains it with diagram and game cut-ups in this video:

Video: Y-Up

The Tight End

Having a strong running game relies on having well coached and talented tight ends. TE Coach Tyler Walker explains how their hybrid tight ends are their best offensive weapon as well as their TE expectations in this video:

Video: Intro and TE Expectations