I took a look at Ohio State facing off against Clemson in the 2020-21 College Football Playoff Semi-Final. Rather than look for specific things, I tried taking in the game as a whole to look for things worthy of breakdown. Enjoy
OSU-Clemson Breakdown. 1st play of the game. Jet sweep into boundary pic.twitter.com/3MAz7z7adC
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
Taking advantage of C3 tendency and push reaction to motion, Clemson can leverage LB by cracking with LB and a false pull holding the MIKE pic.twitter.com/1GnPLfMX1E
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
2nd play. 2nd and short pic.twitter.com/amieT2tXAL
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
Get Lawrence going, again attack soft CB. Motion to empty helps ID the coverage, simply high-low read and get the ball out pic.twitter.com/bYl7iv8EAS
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
3rd play. Mesh concept from Clemson pic.twitter.com/1JuBYXs85c
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
OSU heavy C1/C3 team, mesh a good concept vs either. OSU caught in man, MIKE steps up and takes himself out of play vs wheel pic.twitter.com/DZuhRAxbI2
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
O play successful, but want to see if we have a trend with this SAM taking in blocks. Violent block engagement, drives blocker into backfield, forces ball really wide pic.twitter.com/Sbqzd2hV0c
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
Big pressure from OSU pic.twitter.com/Qy8yugq0fu
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
Clemson trying to sequence within the opening script. The WILL here does a great job recognizing the pass set and working his blitz back inside to get a clean shot at the QB. Otherwise an explosive play pic.twitter.com/9hARScYDTZ
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
FIB, weakside zone run pic.twitter.com/TNTH0spThS
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
Great patience by the RG here. Stay on track, eyes on the safety. Clemson uses safeties to fit a lot of interior gaps, that’s hard on OL. OL does a great job handling 2nd level and RB is untouched until 4 yards with full head of steam pic.twitter.com/gUjRtxwJoc
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
Great patience by the RG here. Stay on track, eyes on the safety. Clemson uses safeties to fit a lot of interior gaps, that’s hard on OL. OL does a great job handling 2nd level and RB is untouched until 4 yards with full head of steam pic.twitter.com/gUjRtxwJoc
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
A sort of A gap Q power here in short yardage. Instead of YY doubling to backside LB, wing works straight to PSLB who dodges. Makes pull a little harder for BSG to BSLB as he’s a bit harder to see and really has to wrap back if double doesn’t get movement. He gets submarined pic.twitter.com/QdmGROb7v3
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
My guess is OSU went with this because of the movement and speed up front for Clemson. LBs that attack quick in short yardage are hard for pull to get to before they hit the hole. Slants/stunts can be tough to get off combos with angles. So A gap it
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
Clemson trying eye candy and formation to at least test between the tackles and keep OSU honest. This is why they didn’t try often pic.twitter.com/eHnVVKNF8P
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
OSU really bailed out here. SIM pressure C3 Buzz behind it. FS gets cheating on #2 and TE goes wide open on the post. OL/RB pick up the rush really well, but Lawrence holds the ball too long, MIKE leaks past RB, and QB fades on throw pic.twitter.com/Bk0JPfI1PR
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
For those unfamiliar with SIM pressure, I explain a bit here pic.twitter.com/AZauiPlchF
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
So I don’t have to tweet it tomorrow. Gets blown out then manages to reset in one foot and push the blocker back once the combo left to 2nd level https://t.co/bC6SApSY0i
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 9, 2021
Back for night 2. OSU comes out their 2nd drive with a little motion. Runs their Air Raid All Curl staple pic.twitter.com/dzgQPRt4Wa
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Clemson comes out in Cover 3. All Curl will kill that ball day. Really easy read and throw to get Fields going pic.twitter.com/8LNjWQucxC
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
3 verts with a smash fade. We’ll come back to that in a bit. Maybe don’t hurdle next time though 😬 pic.twitter.com/V4BdHqe4rL
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Motion likely results in a bust in Clemson’s coverage, as their C3 is down a man to the field. Results in a dump off and a nice gain pic.twitter.com/9XnRR0kEGG
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
I have some things to say here pic.twitter.com/oAlkXXggyK
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Pace pre-snap with the quasi sugar huddle and line up before Clemson. But phenomenal post snap patience by the OL. Wait for the threat to come to you then use his momentum and your angle to open it up. Awesome execution pic.twitter.com/PRnJWLYNLc
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Slide RPO pic.twitter.com/bfrGMiI5ss
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Slide RPO reading the field LB. Stays in the box, slide wins to the edge. Goes to flat to defend the 3, run numbers are better equated pic.twitter.com/ax3aXHf0Tw
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Same side BASH Counter CT pic.twitter.com/U5nDFOzNzV
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Great play by the CB here. Playing bail C3, but IDs the crack that they didn’t earlier and immediately attacks. Forces H to arc to CB, who submarines, forces play back inside to MIKE pic.twitter.com/ybEWXc9Oip
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Clemson still in script. Great sequencing from 1st drive. Catches the rotation with a lack of boundary flat defender on the screen pic.twitter.com/dx2qK1bLkP
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Great sequencing. Saw how OSU defensed on 1st drive and knew the BSLB was likely to be out of position to defend this pic.twitter.com/Lny0qa1k3z
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Out RPO - Bama base play here pic.twitter.com/Hi4sEHir1D
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Arc read vs Fire Zone pic.twitter.com/1eNVc0hoCw
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
This seems heavily Mattison influenced on D. Fire Zone in short yardage. Safety has a play but misses the tackle, and once that happens there is room for the RB pic.twitter.com/QFg7kVXzpm
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
FIB hurts OSU in red zone. 4 guys to boundary, FS stays field side, but his post snap gap is back to the back side D gap when accounting for Q run. In the process of going there he over runs the play and it’s an easy TD pic.twitter.com/DVEaIRCgmQ
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Really cool design. Basically Tare motion OZ read pic.twitter.com/1t2YURkMPf
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Love this design from 11 personnel. Basically makes use of Tare motion threat into a now screen RPO. Tare motion presnap makes it easier to get into zone read, Fields reads the end and has a big alley to run through pic.twitter.com/QLHPUWiW2l
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
FIB OZ into the boundary. Numbers, leverage, light box. Unless D can make a great play it’s easy yards https://t.co/1fw7Uv4KoJ pic.twitter.com/TShYUqN1Ph
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Back to the slot fade, but this time combined with FIB pic.twitter.com/DSQdo7V6BW
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
So FIB puts pressure on Clemson run fits as we’ve seen. Similarly it’s typically a run formation. With the slot pushed to outside numbers, he can work straight vertical and beat the deep 1/3 over the top. Use of formation and personnel to get an explosive pic.twitter.com/BuvSI9Ques
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
FIB double arc zone read. Clemson charges the mesh point and gets a stop. Given Fields health, probably won’t see this anyway on Monday pic.twitter.com/lu6dc7LEVi
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Nice to have a QB that can pick up 10 yards on a broken screen play pic.twitter.com/o5CBhsZZUi
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Want to play 2 high? It helps when you get this play from your DL pic.twitter.com/ma7KIPdoEu
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Don’t get a lot of defenses that box well anymore. OSU does here and gets 2 for 1 on the designed Q Counter OH pic.twitter.com/Y7hbgAPkwz
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Nothing special about the design. Simple Now RPO. But it’s a personnel win, TE on CB washes the CB into the sideline. With all the grass to cover to the field, despite the safety playing it well at the snap, he can only hold it to 10 yards pic.twitter.com/7v9nstQPta
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
The threat of RPO can impact defenses even when you don’t run it. Here, the D gap defender buzzes a non-existent slant pic.twitter.com/O3GYijOYLo
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Like all teams, OSU has some well defined tendencies. You don’t need to show a tendency to break it when it’s well established on film. Short motion from this formation signals mesh, OSU uses presnap and stem to catch Clemson flat footed and essentially high low the outside 1/3 pic.twitter.com/ed147xihJA
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
This whip concept is the same progression for the QB as mesh (RB 1, scan away). But as a fake mesh, it messes with the coverage trying to wall or identify crossers. Ends up with 2 defenders in the same zone defending the mesh and the RAM behind it getting open pic.twitter.com/JviLgTdcEC
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Not a true Leak play, more traditional TE throw back. Again, tendency breaker pic.twitter.com/eSS5LTXudo
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Noting a few other things that OSU does to set up the throw back here pic.twitter.com/lzPfkZoUvW
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
1st time we see weak Cover 3 from OSU pic.twitter.com/EH5J4xTz28
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
OSU got a few early hits on Lawrence and he was really sped up all game. Weak C3 again for OSU, 2 in mesh progression is open, but QB rushes it to RB who is well covered pic.twitter.com/5SOwjolmVj
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 10, 2021
Throwing to the single man side in FIB. Limited safety help, have to play safe, if you have a QB with an arm, can make these sorts of plays simple pic.twitter.com/mYUTgT62Mm
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
This is something you saw often from OSU this year, taking the free leverage to #1 in trips to the wide side of the field. Few QBs make this throw, being able to buys you free yards pic.twitter.com/WDi8auI2Z1
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Example of the sugar huddle OSU utilized as Clemson continued to struggle to get aligned to it pic.twitter.com/kCqPkiC14h
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
And the downside of the sugar huddle if you lose the chess game pic.twitter.com/hdVwETrcqU
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
A good look at how Venables uses pre-snap movement and position to really confuse reads while staying relatively generic post snap pic.twitter.com/coqXdY6EfE
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Give your best receiver space and make plays pic.twitter.com/B8HWwasA9z
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Out-and-up to comeback. Get the defender in the top side and it’s similar to back shoulder but with better separation.
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
I forget who I had the conversation with, but notice he turns out on his final break, some prefer that final turn to be an in-breaking turn (I prefer former) pic.twitter.com/DcjxVhj07M
Arc read with H from opposite pic.twitter.com/vF8qeUeGWY
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Nice initial play by the DE but have to finish. Q able to make him miss and weave for yards pic.twitter.com/8O7NP9qg38
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Double screen. Swing-Tunnel. Throw away from safety rotation pic.twitter.com/ksxz8NNr65
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Great play by the SAM beating the TE block and tracking this down. Had a lot of potential if he’s sealed because there is a vertical alley forming. pic.twitter.com/BEibqeyGkd
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Just suffered a 5 yard presnap penalty. Come back with a Dog-Crash concept and get stopped short pic.twitter.com/yJb0sv2Ybl
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Cover 3 Buzz is much easier on 3rd and 18, and really hurts this play. Good job modifying the out, but buzz safety forces him to make a move and defense can rally pic.twitter.com/p87h7UBmvE
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Venables has the MIKE fall back to fit this, maybe missing their starter. Gets caught in a wrong gap and play gets out the back door pic.twitter.com/xL4PRR44hW
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
3 verts off the orbit motion pic.twitter.com/Un41gRMTnM
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Good stunt from Clemson gets home, not sure Fields is reading the post snap coverage here to hit the open TE anyway pic.twitter.com/ZgqtPuJy5k
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Sped up presnap leads to being sped up post snap. Missed either a big gain on the post or a TD opposite pic.twitter.com/wqsNEHN7oU
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Nice design to motion across the formation into stack (on the move). Clemson fails to communicate on the back end and what should be a fairly straight forward C3 SIM has two defenders in one zone pic.twitter.com/tfAVol0lJ0
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Really good job all around here. Attack leverage on the stem, widen the coverage just enough so the MOF can’t get over, and what a throw pic.twitter.com/m174FTZSIH
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
I could probably end it here if a TE is going to drive out a DE this much on the backside of a zone run pic.twitter.com/PxWKL7LIrs
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Gonna stop clipping Clemson busts that aren’t brought out from OSU design. Rough game for them pic.twitter.com/517y99Wn7h
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Drag and go concept. I wrote about it here: https://t.co/7Zr2NvWG5j pic.twitter.com/UrJH8Ba5mK
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Good design, poor decision though on well covered play pic.twitter.com/fcUZ6Iy7Ts
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
OSU comes with a boundary CB blitz, a good way to stop the outside attack to the boundary they were being hit with early. Interesting that I’m really not seeing why Clemson went away from it for most part other than moving off script pic.twitter.com/wph20r9AnB
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
First time Clemson has gotten movement on DTs pic.twitter.com/nRTr5OIVEy
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
1T swims over top of the down block which kills this play, but notice the MIKE shooting the vacated area from the puller. Bama tips their pullers quite a bit, this’ll be something to look for pic.twitter.com/ttlEmh6Brr
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Good route design vs C3. Shake route gets CB to bite inside. pic.twitter.com/Zb6TYx9Y5O
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Clemson hasn’t successfully blocked Counter yet. 1T this time gets penetration and wraps around in backfield pic.twitter.com/jdARFGfSPu
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Nasty HOT blitz design pic.twitter.com/KBcQYVOgfn
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Losing my mind Clemson blocking counter. OSU DEs doing a good job squeezing before the box (playside bluff may help). And with that aggressive squeeze they loop the LB. But outside arm is free for the DE, kick him with authority and go inside of him pic.twitter.com/2cDHL8HWwS
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Here’s my thoughts on Bama O.
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021
Overall, I expect OSU to mostly stay in C3, but they have to mix it up and try to steal some downs (C1, some nickel, Cloud, Fire Zones, etc) to get Bama off schedule. Those will be boom or bust, but C3 alone won’t force Bama into long drives https://t.co/ZsTDmhFubp
In game vs Clemson, I still don’t feel OSU changed a lot defensively other than CBs eyes backfield and triggering quicker on outside runs/screens. Blitz package was run about same frequency, had some Cloud/CB blitz in 2nd half to counter some issues, but mostly Clemson abandoned
— Space Coyote (@SpaceCoyoteBDS) January 11, 2021