Coach .
Week 9 of the college football season and it’s sure to be another fun one. With shake ups in the top 25 every week, I am sure this one will be no different. Caleb Hopkins is back to bring you this week’s featured match-up pitting two variations of the Air Raid against each other.
Coach Grabowski
Undefeated #19 SMU travels down highway 45 to meet the University of Houston for this week's featured matchup.
The Mustangs are 7-0, 4-0 in the conference, averaging more than 525 yards a game on offense. But the Cougars are 6-1, 3-0 in the conference, and are absolutely stuffing teams on defense, only 277 yards a game allowed so far this season.
Can the Mustangs stay undefeated and jump ahead in AP poll? Or will Houston pull off the upset and bust into the top 25?
Let's break it down.
SMU
Head coach Sonny Dykes and the SMU Mustangs have been untamable on offense coming into week 9 of the college football season. Their quarterback, Tanner Mordecai, is averaging 333 yards through the air, with 27 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions.
The spread offense is built for the quarterback having quick reads and anticipating open windows for throws, while the receivers are reading the coverage, “throttling down” in open space, and outrunning man coverage. Throttle down? Settle? Same thing right? Wrong.
Coach Dykes brought up this idea of throttling down as a receiver at the Texas High School Coaches Association football clinic
“You don't want receivers to settle, you want them to get under control… Stay on the run against man coverage, settle in the open space against zone.”
This is a must for wide receiver in-route adjustments, and the Mustang offense is going to have to throw the ball against the stellar run defense that Houston has.
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Sonny Dykes, SMU: How to Put Together An Offense
Jim Leavitt knows their defense is going to have to be a stone wall against the Mesh offense of Houston. The Cougars averaged over 11 yards per play in 2018, with an 83% conversion rate on critical downs.
But the SMU defense has been stingy, allowing 147 rush yards a game. A huge part of Houston’s offense is their run game, with big running back Alton McCaskill.
Coach Leavitt gives you 2 drills for better form tackling, emphasizing keeping the head out of the tackle, keeping the players safety above all
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Defensive Fundamentals of SMU Football - Sonny Dykes & Jim Leavitt, SMU
Houston
The Cougar offense is going to have to be firing on all cylinders to pull off this upset. The SMU defense is allowing an average of 22 points a game. But Head Coach Dana Holgorsen runs an efficient, high percentage play offense, leaning on Air Raid concepts like the Mesh.
His goal is to get 5-6 yards a play, paired with their larger receiving core and hybrid tight ends to open up the passing game. Coach Holgorsen dives into the QB read progression in the video below
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Return of the Mesh -Dana Holgorsen
Watch this American Athletic Conference matchup this Saturday at 7:00PM EST on ESPN2
Never. Stop. Learning.
Coach Hopkins
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