Thought we could lighten things up a bit.

 

Personally I think Solich was lighter than 158. It was said in those days that he was effective running between the tackles because he was so small the defensive players couldn't see him around the offensive linemen.

As an interesting note, that first play looks for all the world like the triple option, but this is about 3 years before the wishbone was "invented". You have the QB rolling wide, with a HB behind him as a pitch man, forcing the defense to bring two guys to the outside to stop the play, and Solich (FB) took the handoff inside them.

Thanks, Billy. That plays is from before my time, but what you say makes sense. I gather that the option part was a pitch or keep, but it wasn't a triple option in the sense that the handoff was a called play, and didn't depend on the QB reading the defense, and the option in this case was just a fake.

That seems to be the basic T-Formation that Woody Hayes ran a lot. Of course in his later years he ran more I-Formation. If you watch the film of the 1969 Rose Bowl you would see that both USC and Ohio State both had the tailback back up right behind the fullback. By the time Archie Griffin arrived, Hayes had him deeper in the backfield so he could read the blocks better. Most of the schools seemed to mirror the depth of the backs in the 60's and the transition into the 70's.

I assume that most of the old timers know that Bill Hess was an assistant under Hayes. I never saw Ohio play under Hess so I am not sure how much influence Hayes had with his offense at Ohio.

+1 Now wait for the X & O guys who will explain how they are not so identical.

36 Right or Left also was a staple of the single wing. In fact, it was designed to be a long gainer.

My Dad enjoyed going to the Denison games when Keith Piper ran the single wing. He became the head coach in 1954 and started using the single wing in 1962 and quit using it in the late 60's. After a winless season in the mid 1970's he brought it back and ran that until he retired in the 1990's. He stated in a Sports Illustrated article he used it to counter other teams in recruiting and to have something unique for other teams to prepare for. Different offense, but same rationale Grobe had with the triple option.

As for Woody, he always said "Three Things can happen when you pass and two are bad". Ironically it was a failed pass attempt that played a part in his firing. I guess the revised quote should have been, "Four things can happen when you pass and three are bad".