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Skill or scheme: Similar calls, different outcomes on fourth-down plays
By Chris Wright
Published:
Games are won in the film room, unless they are lost on the field.
A key sequence during the Ole Miss-Auburn game last week demonstrated the point perfectly.
Auburn led 10-3 and had driven from its 11 to near midfield when it faced a critical decision on 4th-and-2.
The Tigers broke the huddle with a stacked backfield before sending Marcus Davis in motion. At the snap, Davis turned upfield for a 5-yard hitch. Simple stuff against a corner who wasn’t pressing.
Sean White’s pass, however, sailed high and wide, and Davis was hit as he tried to bring it in.
The pass fell incomplete.
Ole Miss took over, and four plays later found itself in almost the exact same situation: 4th-and-2, ball at Auburn’s 41.
Ole Miss came out in a 3-1-receiver set and ran the two outside receivers deep, while slot receiver Evan Engram ran a quick out.
The coverage was tighter, but Chad Kelly’s throw was better than White’s.
Engram made the catch, picked up the first down, and two plays later, Ole Miss scored to tie the game.
In a one-possession game in which Ole Miss won 27-19, two fourth-down play calls, almost identical in concept, produced game-changing results.
Both schemes were solid, but only one had the skill to execute it.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
