UCLA Football: Play call/outcome analysis from the USC game

Personnel and RB Alignment

Chip broadened the personnel lens this week, featuring more than 2 personnel for the first time since the Cal game.  The last four games (Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Az St) relied on only 2 personnel groups.

Passing from 12 and 13 was especially bad this week, but it wasn’t for lack of trying . That lone (unsuccessful) pass play from 12 personnel was the 3rd quarter play action Speight arm punt (interception) into the end zone. Even though 12 personnel had been a 100% run tell, the USC secondary was disciplined enough to hang in there  on pass coverage. The same was true on the cute statue of liberty-esque ball hiding play fake to Asiasi.

Maybe that opposing defense discipline in the Pac-12 is why Chip is able to be so run dominant from 12 (95% run) and 13 (79%) without negative repercussions of the super obvious tell. Just out of morbid curiosity, I want to see an opposing defense put 9 or 10  in the box and go cover 0 to see what would happen, and how Chip would adjust.

The fun thing to note about RB alignment this week was the 3 straight Pistol plays in a goal to go situation in the 2nd quarter.  Using the pistol there makes sense, as you get the RB better momentum going straight ahead when you only need a yard or two.  We hadn’t seen UCLA use the Pistol at all since the Arizona game (it was gone for 3 whole games).  Like most of these kinds of observations, this could be situational (the situation they planned to use it didn’t come up) or schematic (planned to not use it based on scouting).

2 QB Personnel 

I made a 100% throwaway joke on twitter after the Arizona game suggesting chip use 2 QB personnel with Speight and DTR together on the same play.  Now I get to be smug about it as if it was serious commentary! Chip reads Go Joe Bruin: CONFIRMED.  Here’s a snip of it.

In terms of the play log, this is just 11 personnel, Speight was technically playing running back.  DTR correctly kept the ball, as USC #56 crashed Speight. If Speight got the ball, he likely would have had a run pass option with 3 WRs running routes together on the left side. The DTR keep was a power/sweep run outside to the right, which was all the offensive line was worried about. The LT, C, and RG pulled while the LG, RT, and right TE blocked inside.

One of the TV commentators said they saw more variations in practice, and I want them all. If you put DTR at RB you’d have to design the QB keep to be primarily pass oriented; this is how they wound up at the initially counter intuitive choice to play Speight at RB.