The End of Running the Football

[AlabamaTimberwolf]

I was listening to Edgy's video on YouTube last week when he had the Farmington Head Coach (I believe) on and Edgy asked him "if he were the Czar of Illinois football what changes would he make?" He answered with something like "I would end teams running the ball (Wing-T, Wishbone)!" At first I just giggled but as I though on what he said I became a bit unsettled because I love running the ball and of course I love teams that run the ball. In life, if you give Thoughts words, they seem to become reality.

College football hamstrung running teams with blocking restrictions and many coaches were against this because it limits their running ability, but in reality, BlueBlood teams hate playing these teams because they are difficult to stop due to the demand on players (today) being disciplined against the run.

So my question is: Will the IHSA ever end teams from running the ball under the guise of "Safety?" Before you giggle like I did please give this question some thought.


College example: 2021 The Citadel upset Georgia Tech 27-24 OT. Citadel ran the ball 71 times for 320 yards. Completed 1/4 passes for 30 yrds.

When I looked at the Service Academy's from 2004-present I checked what Power 5 teams they played and either won or lost close games:

Army (4508) 8-11
Navy (4528) 22-14 Beating Notre Dame in 2007, 09, 16
Air Force (4124) 12-13 They were in a conference while Army and Navy were mainly Independent.

There were many more running teams but the NCAA made changes that directly hurt schools that run the Triple Option last season. I know why and its not good for the game.

Back on the high school level. We see what Cary Grove, Prairie Ridge have done over the last few seasons and we see what Byron does year in and year out.

Will the IHSA make such a rule that bans teams from running the ball in the future?

 

[crusader_of_90]

I sure the (heck) hope so!

Looking at you, CG!

 

[PowerI66]

No.

 

[doctor_d]

What are we talking about here?

Outlawing certain “running” formations?
No more QB under center?
Banning running plays altogether or limiting them to ‘X’ number per game?

None of it makes any sense.

 

[BRIANBOOGIE32]

Nobody wants to watch all passing. Having no running game is not Football sorry.

 

[JCHillmen]

What are we talking about here?

Outlawing certain “running” formations?
No more QB under center?
Banning running plays altogether or limiting them to ‘X’ number per game?

None of it makes any sense.

I believe the premise he is suggesting is that as the rules to run the ball have gotten harder at the college and NFL levels, passing games have overtaken run heavy offenses. I would disagree with the premise as I don't think there have been many rules to make running harder as much as there have been rules to make pass defense more difficult and, therefore, the offensive focus has shifted to the pass at the NFL and even college levels.


I always see there being a strong component of run heavy teams at the HS level. It is often hard to find multiple talented receivers along with a QB who can deliver the ball with regularity. If many small teams have rosters of 16-30 kids, the carnage brought to a pass happy offense when one QB or one WR goes down is enough to entirely derail it. You can pretty much coach anyone to play QB in a wing t offense. Not triple option where they have to make a lot of decisions each play, but straight wing t misdirection or I or wishbone where they are just executing a set play each time you can get by with a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th stringer and not lose too much if you have a running back or two.

 

[johnndoe]

FWIW, this past Friday, Andrew beat then-ranked, pass-heavy Sandburg on the road with the aid of 350+ yards of rushing via an option attack. It is good once in a while to see something other than 2 teams basically playing 7-on-7 against each other.

 

[SiuCubFan8]

no