Everybody loves high scoring football games. We love seeing the ball aired out for big gains. For some reason we tend to think running the ball is boring. It slows the game down, but it plays an intricate part in offensive and defensive game plans.

A good running back in the Spread Offense will have a field day. Several times defenses are spread so thin there are gapping holes in the middle of the field. Quarterbacks can also recognize this and call audible run plays. This keeps the defenses honest by stopping them from cheating.

The yardage totals of running backs in the Spread Offense usually do not equal there actual value. Take for example Tony Temple, Missouri running back. He finished the year with 758 yards on 162 carries for an average of 4.7 yards per run. Consider this, every time Temple ran the ball he started 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Adding those yards to his existing total and he actually gained 1568 yards.

The Shotgun is the main formation run by the offense. Teams like Mizzou run the Shotgun 100% of their plays. When going for short yardage Mizzou is at a disadvantage. The ball is hiked to Chase Daniel about 5 yards behind the scrimmage line. If Mizzou decides to run it is an uphill battle. Oklahoma showed this in the Big 12 Championship game when they stopped Mizzou three different drives on the goal line. Sometimes the Spread Offense can be its own worst enemy.

The positives of the Spread Offense out weight the negatives. Defenses are spread thin across the field and forced to play man on man. This is where a good quarterback can exploit weaknesses in the secondary. If teams are weak at Linebacker and in the Secondary they are in for a long day. Expect to face 50+ passing plays.

There are ways to beat the Spread Offense (See the Big 12 Championship Game). Oklahoma boasts an exceptional front seven and there secondary is not shabby either. There defensive game plan was to get pressure on Chase Daniel and it worked. Chase Daniel was forced to throw the ball out of bounds and make bad passes. They were able to do this because their secondary was able to handle Mizzou’s wide receivers. Mizzou was not able to adjust to Oklahoma’s pressure.

The "3 Man Zone" is an effective way of beating the Spread Offense. The defense runs a 4-2-5 formation. On passing plays the two linebackers drop back giving the defense 7 defenders on 6 offensive players.

The Spread Offense is an effective offensive game plan when opposing defenses are weak at linebacker and secondary, but it does have flaws. When defenses have a great front four and front seven they are able to pressure the offense into making bad plays. Teams need to adjust to pressure and blitzing. One adjustment would be to run the no huddle offense keeping the defense on the backs of their feet tiring them out. In Mizzou's case, incoporating some plays under center on short yardage or randomly might confuse the defense.