I hear about various strategies while watching/talking football; many discussed on this forum.

Recently saw a post that highlighted how multiple/dynamic the offense has been these first two games, and all the different ways Will Stein is attacking. My untrained eye watching the first two games would confirm that the offense looks way more varied than last year's version.

This got me thinking. What is better?:

To Reveal: Open the playbook and get real, live reps against competition. Would be a challenge for opposing defenses to prepare for that multiple of a defense, but future opponents will see what the offense has to offer. May be easier to implement misdirection for defenses that are overloaded and "think" they've seen this before.

Not To Reveal: Keep the playbook vanilla throughout the year except for more meaningful games, and then unleash on unsuspecting foes. Downside to this, IMO, is the lack of live game reps for essentially introducing a significantly new offense (not completely new). And this was suspected to be happening last year, but didn't really materialize, so perhaps this is harder to implement?

What are your thoughts?

The B1G Reveal: 9/27/25 Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania. 4:30 PM NBC.

Dress for a White Out!

At this moment, I'm thinking that if our blocking continues to be like it has been over the last couple games, that it almost won't matter if the defense even knew the play that was coming at them.

But regarding whether to reveal the 'special' stuff, or not, my preference would be to save it for postseason, unless we get into a jam before then.

8 minutes ago, Desert Duck said:

if our blocking continues to be like it has been over the last couple games, that it almost won't matter if the defense even knew the play that was coming at them.

The entire team blocking has been fun to watch.

I used to only rewind big offensive plays / TDs. Now I rewind to watch off the ball blockers, haha

It seems to me that Will Stein is showing upcoming defensive coordinators as many formations and plays as possible. This gives the defensive players lots of things to think about. Reading a formation pre-snap, continuing to recognize what is happening after snap, communicating what adjustments need to happen takes time.

All of this must happen to get players to react. This takes time. The more things that a college kid must be coached for creates more things to process. Making the process more difficult during the game. Advantage Offense!

I am trusting Coach Will Stein!

51 minutes ago, Smith72 said:

It seems to me that Will Stein is showing upcoming defensive coordinators as many formations and plays as possible. This gives the defensive players lots of things to think about. Reading a formation pre-snap, continuing to recognize what is happening after snap, communicating what adjustments need to happen takes time.

All of this must happen to get players to react. This takes time. The more things that a college kid must be coached for creates more things to process. Making the process more difficult during the game. Advantage Offense!

I am trusting Coach Will Stein!

I agree with you on this. That was my thought when I was seeing a much more diverse offense.

There's a third option... Reveal to Mess with Opponents.

Oregon put some stuff on tape that now opponents have to use some of their limited time to practice against.

Oregon put Sadiq in the wild-cast (or maybe QB, it kinda looked like he had the option to throw it). Now teams have to prep for that scinario.

Oregon did a 2 point look... now teams have to prep for that, even if it failed against Ok State.

All those runningbacks... opponents have to prepare for.

I'd have to imagine that every DC this year will ask the analyst about the scouting report for Oregon, then the analyst will take a really, really deep breath...."So...

4 hours ago, Smith72 said:

It seems to me that Will Stein is showing upcoming defensive coordinators as many formations and plays as possible. This gives the defensive players lots of things to think about. Reading a formation pre-snap, continuing to recognize what is happening after snap, communicating what adjustments need to happen takes time.

All of this must happen to get players to react. This takes time. The more things that a college kid must be coached for creates more things to process. Making the process more difficult during the game. Advantage Offense!

Last year, I believe Chip kept his best plays close to the vest and waited to unleash his full set of plays in the playoffs. It explains the close games after losing in Eugene in my mind. Penn State, Nebraska, and Michigan had no business staying close in the regular season last year, and I believe Chip just let the defense do its thing, and baited the physical teams into believing they had a shot in the playoffs (Georgia and OBD come to mind).

I believe Stein is serving notice he not only has the talent, but he also has multiple offenses that DCs will have to prepare for. It still hinges on a powerful running game, but one thing that stands out in my mind is Stein is getting Moore out of the pocket. That is going to wreck havoc on pressure oriented schemes. Not only does it mean Stein is looking to buy time, but it messes with coverage rules (because now Moore is also a running threat). Getting Moore out of the pocket also disrupts blitz strategy as Stein has already shown multiple ways he will get Moore rolling out (left, right, bootleg looks, and he hasn't had Moore simply roll left or right yet).

Stein is also designing plays for his talent. He now has three reliable WRs he can get the ball to in the 8-12 yard range. He is using the TEs more creatively, and he hasn't really shown what he is going to do with Sadiq yet. Moore is a slot receiver, but he can stack Moore behind a blocking WR, or like he has already shown, the WR screens are no longer a feature, they are a foundation for getting the ball downfield. I believe Stein is providing information overload, as now, he is showing looks that don't tip off what they are actually going to do (like they did last year).

The best aspect of it is I am not as concerned about WRs having cruise missile speed anymore. WR Moore is enough, because Sadiq is also lightening fast, so Stein can occupy Safeties using either Sadiq or Moore. And he is throwing formation looks that make it difficult to determine what he is up to. That he has simplified the packages to the degree he has with more formations is awesome. Not only am I impressed, I am not even sure what he has pocketed for future use.

5 hours ago, Smith72 said:

It seems to me that Will Stein is showing upcoming defensive coordinators as many formations and plays as possible. This gives the defensive players lots of things to think about. Reading a formation pre-snap, continuing to recognize what is happening after snap, communicating what adjustments need to happen takes time.

All of this must happen to get players to react. This takes time. The more things that a college kid must be coached for creates more things to process. Making the process more difficult during the game. Advantage Offense!

I am trusting Coach Will Stein!

I completely agree with this post; as quickness in a defender can be recruited and trained, but it can be slowed down by hesitation created from so MUCH preparation needed when facing Oregon.

I am in the camp of running all the offense, but continue to add unseen elements out of the back of the playbook, as Helfrich did often as OC. Throw lots of stuff out there that requires defensive preparation, but pop new wrinkles on big 3rd downs....

Will our OC do that? This is a new element of entertainment to watch for in upcoming games. How much will be the same? How much will be new? You can score easily from tactical components, not just with raw talent, and we saw a ton of that last Saturday.