You might have noticed something a little different about IU's run game Saturday. Besides rushing for over 230 yards against one of the best teams in the Big Ten (and the country), Coach Kevin Wilson and his Co-Offensive Coordinators Rod Smith and Kevin Johns unveiled the "diamond" formation that Wilson used occasionally at Oklahoma.
If you didn't see the game on ESPN2 Saturday, you might have trouble picturing this. In the clip below, from the second quarter, you can see quarterback Ed Wright-Baker line up in the shotgun, surrounded by Matt Perez behind him, Max Dedmond to his left and Kofi Hughes to his right.
Here's the clip, courtesy of espn.com:
You'll see both Hughes and Dedmond block to the left in an attempt to create a hole for Perez to run through. Right guard Collin Rahrig also pulls to the left to help. Even though a Wisconsin safety has a chance to stop Perez for a minimal gain on the play, Perez jukes and bounces the run to the outside for a pickup of 21. The blocking didn't work out perfectly, but the result was still very positive for IU.
The formation makes for a bit of a crowded backfield, which draws more defenders into the box. This can result in single coverage on wide receivers.
There is also a fairly extensive playbook for the diamond formation. There are opportunities for play action, misdirection runs, power runs and zone runs. Adding this formation to IU's repertoire undoubtedly added some interesting plays to the playbook.
Oklahoma State was the first team to use this formation under Dana Holgorsen, but it has caught on at a few other places in the country recently. If you tuned in to see Nebraska's impressive __-point comeback against Ohio State last Saturday, you would have seen Bo Pelini's offense run it with great success. On three plays out of the formation, the Cornhuskers scored two touchdowns.
Sophomore running back Stephen Houston, who ran for 133 yards Saturday, said this formation has been a part of practice for a while. After unveiling it seven weeks into the season, he said the offense needs to continue to work on making the plays out of the formation more effective.
