@Kcmatt7 Army is 1-3 this year, they're not a good team this year despite scaring OU. That was probably the worst game we'll see from OU all year. If KU tried that system against OU and other B12 defenses with the speed those defenses have, it wouldn't go well most of the time. KU would pull the occasional upset, but they still wouldn't rise above middle of the pack in the B12. B12 defenses have too much speed and enough teams run a variation of the inverted wishbone formation in the B12 that switching to a triple option offense wouldn't take much adjustment to for those teams.
You speak of Duke like they're a bad team. They're 4-0 including a 20 point win over the same Army team that just took OU to OT. They also have a road win over Northwestern as well this year and would be my pick to win their division right now.
If you want to rise up in the B12, you have to look at how other programs in the B12 were able to do so. Oklahoma State and Baylor are the two models for that. Both of those teams did so using variations of the spread offense.
Those of ya'll that want to see KU in a run based offense, the flexbone is not the way to go because we saw what happens yesterday when even bad teams stack the box against KU with even the best RB in the conference in Pooka. It just doesn't work to sustain success, it will pull the occasional upset, but KU would never finish higher than mid pack except in extreme down years for the conference. In the old B12 North, I'd be all for it because KU could that division on a regular basis because it was bad for the most part after 2003 until it's end.
For those that want some variation on a run based offense that would actually work in the B12, this is what I would do. I would make the base offensive formation a 3 receiver/2 back and have the zone read and other option plays be the staple. My ideal personnel for this system is a speedy QB with a big arm, two speedy, Pooka Williams type backs as the RB's, a speedy receiver to line up in the slot on the wide side of the field and a big receiver to line up on the outside on the wide side of the field. I would have another speedy receiver line up on the short side of the field. The outside receivers would line up on the numbers and the slot receiver would line up on the hashes. This forces coaches to make a decision with their safeties. Play the safeties up stop the run and leave at least one of the receivers in one on one coverage and opens them up to play action.
Or the defense can leave the safeties back to cover the pass and open up the running attack. An easy way to find out what the safeties are doing to is motion the short side receiver over into a trips look with nobody on the short side of the field and see how defenses play that. If they keep the corner over there run the option at him and force him to choose his responsibility. If he goes, run sweep to that side.
That's how you create a run based offense in the B12 these days. Not a flexbone formation that puts 10 guys around the ball and invites defenses to stack the box. It's also easier to find a 5-9 receiver with tons of speed in the B12 recruiting area than it is to find the Olinemen you would need to run a flexbone formation effectively.
