Wednesday January 06, 2010

Iowa proves that stopping option comes down to playing assignment football

Midway through last night’s Orange Bowl between Iowa and Georgia Tech, I got a text from a friend who said, “I hope Dabo and Steele are watching this and taking notes!”

“This” was of course referring to the Iowa defense almost completely shutting down Georgia Tech’s option attack and walking away with the BCS win. Georgia Tech came into the game with the nation’s No. 2 rushing offense, averaging 307 yards per game and with 46 touchdowns. But the Yellow Jackets finished with just 143 yards on 41 carries, their second-lowest total of the season.

Before halftime, Georgia Tech was forced to punt six times—tying their season-worst for a game—as well as being outgained 257 yards to 32 and failing to gain a single first down on their first three possessions.

However, I think that Dabo and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele have plenty of notes on how to stop the option – the difference between what Iowa was able to do and what happened to Clemson came down to execution. The Hawkeyes got great play from two defensive end Adrian Clayborn and defensive tackle Karl Klug, who both stayed home and played assignment football while continually disrupting the flow of the Yellow Jacket offense.

Another key was middle linebacker Pat Angerer, who stayed home and played Nesbitt on almost every play, hitting the quarterback even if he pitched it, and never fell for the ball fakes that cost Clemson in their ACC Championship loss. Angerer trusted his defensive teammates to make a play if Nesbitt didn’t have the football.

The Hawkeyes played nine men up on the line of scrimmage, and then instructed their corners to stay with the wide receivers no matter what they thought was happening. As a result, Nesbitt wasn't allowed to get into any kind of rhythm, constantly being harassed by Clayborn and Klug, and finished just 2-of-9 for 12 yards.

Granted, Iowa had a month to prepare for Tech, and Iowa’s defense practiced against a scout team that ran the option with quarterback Dakota Getz, a freshman who played that position in high school but is now a tight end. However, there was no special recipe – it all came down to playing in the gaps and staying with assignments.