I watched Kyle's Film Review and noticed the same schematic things that Kyle noticed on our final scoring drive. Chip Kelly did what he needed to do to protect Howard. Lots of TE and RB delays and simplified scheme for the offensive line. Start Kyle's film review at 7:55:
This caused me to look at our other scoring drives.
First Scoring Drive (Start at 01:51)
- On 2nd and 4, Henderson delay releases to protect our LT.
- On the ensuing 1st and 10, we have a similar simplified protection, Judkins delay releases to protect our RT.
Second Scoring Drive (Start at 04:00)
- Barely any plays, but on Smith's TD, Thurman delay releases as the TE to help our LT. We also have a play-action here. Add it up and Howard has the time to drop back and throw a bomb to Smith. (Start at 04:01 in video).
Putting it all together, it seems like our staff was trying to adjust to the new OL just as much as the players were. When it came to crunch time Chip Kelly knew exactly what to dial up to protect Howard and march Ohio State down the field. We did so against a top 10 SP+ defense with zero problem. I am expecting the same for Saturday.