The Tulsa offense is fun to watch, and it’s clear Tre Lamb is leaning on his creativity to push this offense forward. And although they lost to Army last Friday night, that did not stop them from putting up five touchdowns and accounting for over 400 total yards. Let’s break down the formations and tags that got them there.
Rushing Game
Outside Zone Insert
These are two interesting run concepts, and I didn’t see Tulsa come back to them later. It’s zone front side with an insert, and base blocking or iso backside. It creates a weird flow for the defense and leaves creases for the running back. Both times this hit for 7+ yards. I like the design.
Power Read
We see power read every week, and it’s because it’s now a staple of offenses. What I like about this version is running it into the tight end and wing side, with those two players arc releasing along with the running back. It simplifies the read, and here they get big bodies on the edge versus defensive backs, which is a winning recipe.
Slot Reverse
Now we get into the creative tricks. A direct snap into a reverse, which on its own is creative, but what I really like here is the formation and the leverage it creates. Tulsa is unbalanced into the boundary with an extra offensive lineman. Everything about this play screams run into the boundary, then they flip it to a receiver who has a tight end lead blocking in front of him and a lot of space. We always talk about scheming your athletes into space, and Tulsa does a great job of that here.
