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Week 2: "Did you see that play that [insert team name here] ran last night?"

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Every Sunday and Monday morning, as coaches gather to game plan for the next week, the one topic of conversation that always comes up, almost without fail is: "Did you that play [insert team name here] ran last night?" Maybe it was a trick play in college football that caught your eye, or a creative spin on a classic play from a high school game.

Well now we have a place for those moments. With this reoccurring feature article I'll highlight some of the more interesting plays and creative schemes from the weekend at the beginning of every week for all of us to study, reflect on, and maybe even install with our own respective squads.

Moving forward, think of this article as a coaches "think tank" of sorts where we can come to get better and share ideas.

If you saw something I happened to miss over the weekend (and when you see something creative worth sharing from here on out) shoot me an email with video / a screen shot / or picture to doug@footballscoop.com or you can reach me on Twitter @CoachSamz or via text at 231-769-3982.

  • FAU utilizes the old "TE fall down" play: Florida Atlantic paired jet motion with a slant route from the #1 receiver on the offense's far left with "TE fall down" play to score their first touchdown of the game against Miami.
  • Lindenwood-Belleville (NAIA - IL) went with extra, extra, extra wide splits: In an effort to open up some running lanes, Lindenwood-Belleville used splits that stretched their tackles out almost as wide as the hash marks. With an Air Raid offensive philosophy, they ended up rushing for 161 yards on 37 carries (4.35 yards per carry).
LindenwoodBellevilleSplits
  • Michigan States shifts their entire offensive line: Against Oregon on Saturday, Michigan State used an offensive line shift to shift everyone from right to left. So instead of center Jack Allen snapping to Connor Cook, the offensive line would crouch down, and then shift all at once, leaving left guard Brian Allen to snap after the shift, giving the Spartans an unbalanced three-man offensive surface to the right side (RT, RG, C), with just the tackle and tight end on the other side of the left guard-turned center on weak side.Take a look at the pre-snap shift play out below.
  • Oregon's fake screen: On a 1st and 10 from the -45, Oregon split three receivers bunched to the right, with two running backs in the backfield, and then motioned one of the backs toward the three receivers and threw the ball down field after a fake screen. Oddly enough, if you watch closely, the one receiver selling the screen (the #3 WR in from the right side) actually turns his back to the defense for a good number of steps before selling the bubble.The play was well designed, but a Michigan State safety didn't bite and ended up coming down with an interception.