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CU Buffs hire former Minnesota OC Mike Sanford as their new OC

Good point, but USC is 20-13 running the Air Raid. Why? They are loaded with talent. And with all that, the run about .600.

Sure, you could probably get an extra win or two out of the Air Raid in Boulder....until it snows.

So, put me down for a read-option based run offense, please. Leave the PlayStation offense to Mississippi St.
I'm not really advocating for the Air Raid and so I don't want to go too far down that road. I just hate the logic of "you can't win a championship doing X and so we shouldn't consider it".
 
I get your point, but since Barnett, CU has a .322 winning percentage, so .600 sounds pretty good. Maybe CU football is at a point where a niche offense is the best way to get to 6+ wins/year with the occasional 9-10 win season.

None of it really matters, though, because KD and RG aren't going that direction
Fair. If I have a binary choice, between the suckitude now and the Air Raid, sign me up for the Air Raid. I just think there are offenses better suited for CU, and none of them have the initials WCO.
 
I'm not really advocating for the Air Raid and so I don't want to go too far down that road. I just hate the logic of "you can't win a championship doing X and so we shouldn't consider it".
I don't think CU will ever compete for championships again. I just think there are other offenses that are better than the Air Raid.
 
Because the Air Raid is not a solid offense. If it was USC would not do so poorly. The Air Raid is an equalizer offense, like the triple, but it has serious limitations. That is why none of the big boys, even with superior talent like SC, go anywhere with it. Mike Leach, the Air Raid's most accomplished practitioner, is a .590 coach. It will take a team off the floormat pretty quickly, but the ceiling is pretty low.
We need to get off the floormat though. I don’t disagree I don’t think the Air Raid is the best O ever but I’m advocating we pick a modern non pro style system and stick to it. I mentioned Harrell because he checks all those other boxes. If there is someone out there available that has an RPO scheme with similar check boxes I’m ok with that guy too.

6-8 wins a year with the Air Raid for the next few years sounds ok to me if that’s the floor. At least it’s bowl games
 
We need to get off the floormat though. I don’t disagree I don’t think the Air Raid is the best O ever but I’m advocating we pick a modern non pro style system and stick to it. I mentioned Harrell because he checks all those other boxes. If there is someone out there available that has an RPO scheme with similar check boxes I’m ok with that guy too.

6-8 wins a year with the Air Raid for the next few years sounds ok to me if that’s the floor. At least it’s bowl games
All of what you say is true. It is a short term fix, with an identifiable ceiling. Thing is, once you go there, and start recruiting to it, it is very hard to shift away from. OL are not traditional (i.e. gigantic persons, not very mobile, built to rock back on their heels and manhandle pass rushers), a bunch of smallish shifty WR, and a couple of scatback RB's. QB is definitely easier to manage since some very average passers end up being stars. Not many of those players go on to the NFL, which means you are recruiting, and living and dying, on guys who are somewhat outliers at their positions. Look at where Leach has been, TT, WSU and now Miss. St. They remain Air Raid based teams. It is sort of like herpes apparently, once you get it, it doesn't go away. There are other offenses that offer a little more flexibility and could be just as useful to the Buffs.

EDIT: plus if CU went Air Raid, what do we do with the 17 TE's CU has recruited?
 
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I’m advocating we pick a modern non pro style system and stick to it.
It really is a pretty good formula:

Consider these two formations, lined up in virtually the same spot in the same stadium by the same team.

SidebySide-OKState.png

ABC, FOX

These are two Oklahoma State plays run with one decade and five offensive coordinators between them, one led by Brandon Weeden in 2010 and the other with Spencer Sanders at the controls in 2020.
 
I don't really care what the offensive philosophy is as long as it isn't West coast and as long as it well coached. At this point the simpler the better.
How do we get ‘the next new offensive scheme’? Every scheme discussed has had its heyday, and defenses caught up and figured out the flaws and how to slow them down. RPO is moving in that direction, too.
How do we become Oregon when Chip moved to video game speeds? At least, it was fun and inspired recruits.
Sure, it’s a pipe-dream. I also agree NO WCO!
 
How do we get ‘the next new offensive scheme’? Every scheme discussed has had its heyday, and defenses caught up and figured out the flaws and how to slow them down. RPO is moving in that direction, too.
How do we become Oregon when Chip moved to video game speeds? At least, it was fun and inspired recruits.
Sure, it’s a pipe-dream. I also agree NO WCO!
If you get out athleted, it doesn't matter much what your scheme is. Which brings us full circle, CU needs to up the recruiting.
 
All of what you say is true. It is a short term fix, with an identifiable ceiling. Thing is, once you go there, and start recruiting to it, it is very hard to shift away from. OL are not traditional (i.e. gigantic persons, not very mobile, built to rock back on their heels and manhandle pass rushers), a bunch of smallish shifty WR, and a couple of scatback RB's. QB is definitely easier to manage since some very average passers end up being stars. Not many of those players go on to the NFL, which means you are recruiting, and living and dying, on guys who are somewhat outliers at their positions. Look at where Leach has been, TT, WSU and now Miss. St. They remain Air Raid based teams. It is sort of like herpes apparently, once you get it, it doesn't go away. There are other offenses that offer a little more flexibility and could be just as useful to the Buffs.

EDIT: plus if CU went Air Raid, what do we do with the 17 TE's CU has recruited?
Fair point on the teams not being able to get out of Air Raid once in it. I don’t know, maybe I want a short term fix. I need some good old fashioned hope with this program.
 
Fair point on the teams not being able to get out of Air Raid once in it. I don’t know, maybe I want a short term fix. I need some good old fashioned hope with this program.
You can run the Briles offense to get that. It's basically a melding of a power beer with air raid. K Briles, Sowder and others run that very well and we've seen them turn around programs quickly. Respectively. Arkansas & Kent State both went from inept to high-scoring within two years.
 
What about Blake Anderson for OC, with a wink and a nod toward the impending vacancy at HC.
 
What about Blake Anderson for OC, with a wink and a nod toward the impending vacancy at HC.
I have to imagine that Dorrell is done coaching after this gig, no matter what happens. Wouldn't he be ok with hiring a HC in waiting? I know it's not apples to oranges, but Boeheim had a HCIW for like 15 years, so it's not a ticking clock
 

WTF?

Wikipedia:

As a coach:
 
I have to imagine that Dorrell is done coaching after this gig, no matter what happens. Wouldn't he be ok with hiring a HC in waiting? I know it's not apples to oranges, but Boeheim had a HCIW for like 15 years, so it's not a ticking clock
That doesn’t work if the HCIW is better than the HC from day one
 
WTF?

Wikipedia:

As a coach:

You're being awfully derisive- how do *you* know that a P5 WR coach can't be a successful OC at the P5 level?
 
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