What to Study as a Coach from the New Years Six Bowls: ☁️🍊🍑
Dec 30, 2021 6:03 pm
Coach ,
As always, it’s been an incredible bowl season with plenty of games that have been fun to watch. Now we get into the games that have top billing - the College Football Playoffs and the New Year’s Day Six.
With some new names in the playoffs, this may be the most awaited College Playoffs yet.
Let’s take a look at the first three games starting with the Peach Bowl tonight.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021 | 7pm ET, ESPN
(10) Michigan State vs. (12) Pitt
Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta, Ga.
This season the Panthers (11-2) won the ACC title, the program's first outright conference title. The Panthers look to accomplish their second 12 win season in program history. They finished 12-0 in 1976 and won the national championship.
Michigan State is looking for its sixth 11-win season and to cap a dramatic turnaround under second-year Coach Mel Tucker from a 2-5 pandemic-shortened 2020 finish.
Though he moved on to Nebraska as the new OC, Mark Whipple’s version of the Air Raid made a big impact on the Panthers' offense.
Here is Coach Whipple explaining Pitt’s “Drive” concept on game film. He shows how they put their X on the Mike backer to create a 2 on 1 (click on image for video):
It will be interesting to see if WR Coach Brennan Marion’s influence on the Pitt offense. He ran a version of the spread which he has termed “Go-Go offense” as the OC at his previous stops at William and Mary and Howard. If you see the “duo” formation with two backs on one side of the QB, it’s definitely something unique to the Go-Go (click on image for video):
Coach Pat Narduzzi faces his former team where he made a name for himself as the defensive coordinator. On the defensive side of the ball, the secondary will be under attack by the Spartans, but defensive backs coach Archie Collins has been preparing his unit. For him, it’s about making plays, and he shares his philosophy in this video:
Goodyear Cotton Bowl
Friday, Dec. 31, 2021 | 3:30pm ET, ESPN
(4) Cincinnati vs. (1) Alabama
AT&T Stadium – Arlington, TX
There are two strong cultures facing off in the Cotton Bowl. Let’s take a look at each.
“Embrace Who You Are and Build on It”
Embrace the environment that you live in and building on it allows your program to have the best chance to thrive.
This is the strategy that Luke Fickell used to build the Cincinnati Bearcats football program. He calls it “Clifton Style.
In our copy and paste world, it’s easy to get caught up trying to be something we are not. Coach Fickell took a deep look at who they were and built on it. He explains it here:
Learn more from the Bearcats from these clinics:
Clifton Style by Luke Fickell, HC
Chaos Kills - Cincinnati Punt Block Fundamentals and Schemes by Brian Mason, STC
TE Driven RPO by Mike Denbrock, OC
Run Game Fundamentals by Ron Crook, OL
Nick Saban, Alabama, “Be Process-Oriented; Outcomes are a Distraction”
After he won this last National Championship, he is the GOAT with more than any other coach in history.
The result has never been the focus for Coach Saban. He believes in the process and explains that in this video:
Learn more from the Crimson Tide from these clinics:
Empty Protections and Routes by Bill O’Brien, Offensive Coordinator
Outside Linebacker Play by Sal Sunseri, OLB Coach
Fundamentals to Covering Kicks. The when, why and the how - Drew Svoboda, STC
Fundamentals in Pass Protection - Doug Marrone, OL Coach
Capital One Orange Bowl
Friday, Dec. 31, 2021 | 7:30pm ET, ESPN
(3) Georgia vs. (2) Michigan
Hard Rock Stadium – Miami Gardens, FL
While the Bulldogs’ offensive attack gets overshadowed by their outstanding defense, they do play complementary football. Having an efficient passing game (they are #6 in FBS) is important when the defense can shut teams down.
What’s critical in complimenting a defense that doesn’t allow many points is not turning the ball over in the passing game and getting completions that move the chains is as well.
A key to minimizing risk and playing complementary football is to get good looks for the quarterback and allow receivers to attack defenses and create better angles for them.
By utilizing bunch and stack concepts, the same route structure from spread sets can stress defenses and give defensive coordinators headaches.
That’s part of the plan for the Bulldogs’ passing game under the direction of Coach Hankton. He explains why here (click on image for video).
Creativity is greater than volume. Coach Hankton recognizes that they don’t have to recreate the wheel; it’s about creating a different presentation.
Coach Hankton explains how they bring this philosophy to life in their passing game:
Next, it comes down to application. He explains how the stack alignment gives one of the most popular pass concepts in football, the smash, a different dimension in attacking a defense.
As the Bulldogs face off against a staunch Wolverine defense, having multiple ways to attack will be critical. You most certainly see the creativity of Coach Hankton and the rest of the Bulldog offensive staff at work.
In addition to playing great defense, the Wolverines look to control the ball with a strong running game. Georgia certainly has become known for the use of their Tite front, but Michigan OL Coach Ed Warriner certainly has a plan to attack it with multiple concepts.
Here he explains how they utilize the Split Zone to defeat the Tite front (click on image for video):
Of course, when a defense jumps into the Tite front, the angles and the space outside make it conducive to run Pin & Pull. Coach Warriner explains it here (click on image for video):
With extremely talented rosters and coaching staffs, the Georgia-Michigan Orange Bowl is going to be a great one.
We will cover the New Years Day bowl games tomorrow.
Enjoy the time with your family and some exciting football!
Always be growing!
Coach Grabowski