Why Ferris State’s Power Read Is a Nightmare for Defenses
The top-ranked Ferris State Bulldogs football team won their first-round NCAA Division II playoff game against Northwood with a dominant 65-14 victory. In that win, Ferris State ran Power Read 24 times for 200 rushing yards. So, today I wanted to dive into a couple of formation variations that Ferris State used and give you a good cutup of their execution of the concept.
As part of its multi-option spread offense, Ferris State University has utilized the power read to great effect, leveraging a hybrid of traditional power blocking and a read-option scheme. By spreading the field with 10 and 11 personnel sets, the Bulldogs create room for their quarterbacks to make reads and get the ball to playmakers in space. This approach forces defenses to defend both a perimeter run (horizontal stretch) and a quarterback power run (vertical stretch), creating a difficult assignment for the defense.
2x2 with Jet Motion
A classic power read look her from Ferris State. They are in a 2x2 set where they motion the boundary slot receiver on a jet sweep motion. They run power read into the field where the running back becomes the lead blocker on the defender that is walked down in the alley. The Bulldogs also run the same play with the WRs in a stacked position (not shown in this article).
On this rep, the running back gets just enough of the walked down defensive back to spring the running back to the edge. I liked the slot WR noticing man coverage and running a post to take the safety with him on the route. Up front the NT stunts away, leaving the play side guard with little work.
Here is another example of the same concept, but being run into the boundary. Now we get a clear man coverage look from the defense with 3 high safeties and some sort of 3-3 look in the box. The WR’s into the boundary crack on the boundary safety and play side linebacker, leaving the corner for the RB. I like how once the play side tackle feels the squeeze, he engages the end and attempts to keep him occupied.
3x1 with Jet Motion
Nothing much different here schematically except that its out of a 3x1 set. However, the execution is much different due to the creativity given by the defense. Their odd front gets odder when both box linebackers stack the weak side B gap. Both linebackers then scrape over the top with the motion. The play side offensive tackle realizes this and boxes out the end. The play side guard blocks down for the field side alley defender and the guard pulls into wide open space. Power is hard to stop with 3-4 guys in the box.
Unbalanced Wing with Jet Motion
I love how Ferris State makes the defense uncomfortable down in the goal line area with unbalanced sets. Here they have two receivers on the ball to the field, with a wing and running back set to that same side. The motion comes from the lone WR to the boundary, which forces the CB to get down into the box as a defender. The play side tackle does an excellent job and the RB is singled up with the CB. Touchdown Bulldogs.
Orbit Motion
Thats enough jet motion, lets look at some of their other designs. Here, we have an orbit motion from the slot WR where he is going to be responsible for the playside CB. The wing in the 2x2 set is still blocking the alley defender, just from a different angle. I love the stretch look it gives the defense. The offensive line gets a huge push and keeps a nice wall for the QB to sprint for a 54 yard TD.
Entrance Motion
Here’s a bonus look! It only gives Ferris a 3 yard gain, but I love the design. Here the slot WR motions across the backfield and settles on the opposite side of the QB. The bulldogs then run power read back to where the motion came from with a RB and wing leading the way. The EMOL goes a great job staying square then collapsing in on the QB. I still love the play design.
Why Power Read works for Ferris State:
A run-first mentality: The Bulldogs’ commitment to the QB run game, in conjunction with other power and zone schemes, wears down defenses. Head coach Tony Annese believes in building a championship culture that relies on a consistent and effective running game.
Creates a defensive dilemma: The play stresses a defense’s discipline by forcing players to honor two separate threats: a quick outside run and a powerful inside QB run.
Ferris State’s championship culture and offensive success are, in part, built on the effective execution of schemes like the power read, which maximizes the talents of its running quarterbacks and creates consistent dilemmas for opposing defenses.The use of the power read, along with other option plays and run-pass options (RPOs), makes the Ferris State offense difficult to defend.