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Much awaited match-ups in the Semifinals - Coaching Points for Success

Jan 09, 2025 9:37 pm

Coach ,

The College Football Playoff Semifinals feature two exciting matchups. In the Orange Bowl, Penn State and Notre Dame will clash in a defensive battle, while the Cotton Bowl will see a high-octane affair between Texas and Ohio State, pitting a potent offense against a stifling defense.

THE SEMIFINALS

Doubling down this week, as we approach the first expanded CFB Playoff final the feature will be on the full compass of the teams and these staffs. The final four, with expansive libraries for each team from CoachesClinic, there is plenty to learn from all the coaches. Package that with bundles and the off season studying will be off to an incredible start. Now let's get into it ……

Thursday, January 9th - Orange Bowl - 7:30pm

Penn State vs Notre Dame

Continually a topic of the Penn State team is their QB play from Sean Clifford and Drew Allar to Hackenberg and McSorley. The bottom line is Penn State really has had some good quarterbacks developed through various OC’s and coaches in Coach Franklin’s time but, there has always been that desire to get them over the top and Allar has appeared to be just the guy to have done it coupled with Coach Kotelnicki’s system.

Training the QB

It’s a process and they didn’t get Allar here overnight. Coach Franklin presents a plan for how they develop their QB’s. Drew Allar's ability to exploit mismatches in coverage with his strong arm will be key for Penn State's success against Notre Dame's talented secondary. Limiting turnovers and making smart decisions under pressure will be paramount for Allar to guide the Nittany Lions to victory.

Pre-Snap Recognition & Post Snap Confirmation

Allar is truly and effectively going to need to read the defense and get a grasp of what Al Golden and company are throwing his way. The game plan curated by Kotelnicki and any tendencies that they found from body language to actually within the scheme are going to be important. Couple this with Kotelnicki’s innate ability to distort a defense and we could be on our way to seeing Penn State in the final.

Notre Dame

On the other end of the spectrum Notre Dame hasn’t scored in heaps but, they have been playing complete games and very much in control.

Fundamental Linebacker Play

For the LBs at Notre Dame there is a combination and variety of skills put into their identity but measuring yourself on whether you were disciplined to the teachings, were you aware and did you anticipate and when you did were you violent or otherwise erased any mistakes or advantages your team or the opposing team created is how they measure themselves. Knowing they are getting an offense built on confusion, the communication from these cogs of the defense is going to be key.

LB Pass Fundamentals

The LB position has become such a hybrid animal in recent years due to the nature of the RPO. The ability of these athletes to influence in the run game and disrupt windows regardless of movement is going to be vital in getting their unit off the field and providing field position and opportunities to Denbrock and the offense.

Friday, January 10th - Cotton Bowl - 7:30pm

Ohio State vs Texas

The Cotton Bowl will be a showcase for Jim Knowles's masterful Ohio State defense against the high-powered offense orchestrated by Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. The Buckeyes, known for their aggressive and disruptive schemes, will face a formidable challenge in containing the explosive Texas offense, led by a dynamic quarterback and a talented receiving corps. Knowles's ability to generate pressure and limit big plays will be crucial in determining the outcome of this highly anticipated clash.

Stacked Alignment

The ability and complexity for rushes and pressure that Ohio State has provided in recent weeks has been contingent on the multiplicity of their defense as well as the ability of their DL to get pressure. The fact of the matter is their movement of players from safeties to backers and allowing them to factor into various pressure schemes has proved problematic. Stacking alignment like this is an example of the kinds of items you look to implement in defenses that have this kind of nature about them.

Twist

Situations and abilities of this athlete can additionally allow you to create pictures that are uncommon for the offense and creates a lot of confusion or atleast required communication to handle. Mugged positions and movements out of these situations are almost second nature to the individual especially if he possesses a DL/DE build and athleticism.

Sometimes these are more backers and maybe you play more of an edge presence and give a 3-4 look. Creativity is really the key point with this and what allows you to take the offensive. Movement and non-base or stationary looks can give you the ability to dictate to the offense instead of vice versa.

Texas

Figuring into the idea of this offensive guru vs defensive aggressor battle, Head Coach Steve Sarkisian now has a bevy of games to watch and plan around. With the pressure Ohio State has been getting expect a healthy combination of screens, quick game and any other nuances he can come up with. But don’t expect them to let up at all on their attacking nature.

All Gas, No Brakes!!!

One thing that is clear the more you hear these coaches talk about their programs is this. Elite programs communicate better than anyone else, whether that be on the field or between coach and player or any other circumstance.

For the Longhorns to operate at an elite and fast paced level this needs to be primed and on display this weekend starting with the players and coaches but, possibly in no bigger way than between Coach Kyle Flood and his offensive line both in the run and pass game.

These should be some great games in the semi-finals!

Enjoy!

Coach Grabowski, Coach Kauffman, and the Coaches Clinic Team

P.S.

To really dive into these staffs, here is comprehensive list of all their resources individually:

PENN STATE

Andy Kotelnicki Offensive Bundle