What's wrong with the Big Three's Ground Games?

Three yards on the ground. That's all Florida State and Miami could manage combined in their highly anticipated matchup last week. Add to that Florida's constant trouble running the football since Urban Meyer arrived from Utah and you have a looming crisis among the state's big three college football program.

The three schools all have different reasons for their inaptitude on the ground. Here are some thoughts on each.


Florida

While Florida's spread option offense is almost impossible to defend from a passing standpoint, it's not designed for a power runner like DeShawn Wynn, whom Urban Meyer inherited when he took over the team. Meyer's constant calling out of Wynn in the media has been damaging to the psychology of not only Wynn but of the entire Florida running game. Meyer seems to like runners who can move outside with ease, especially since the vast majority of the Gator offense is run from the shotgun. Kestahn Moore has excellent quickness and gets outside quicker than does Wynn, but he doesn't have the power nor the breakaway speed that Wynn has. Nonetheless, both he and Marcus Manson are better fits for the type of running plays Dan Mullen and Urban Meyer prefer. Moore did show some breakaway speed on a nice late first half TD run against UCF this past Saturday. Hopefully he can continue this development and become a big time back for the Gators.

Florida will not be an effective running team against top caliber SEC opposition until Meyer either gets the type of back he needs to compliment all of the motion in the spread offense or he makes a concerted effort to run a consistent number of snaps from under center. Florida does have a better passing game than the other two major schools in the state, so while an inability to run the football is annoying for the Gators it is not fatal.

Florida State

Jeff Bowden's lack of understanding of the running game is appalling. Since Bowden took over as offensive coordinator he has had an excellent stable of backs including Greg Jones, Leon Washington, Nick Maddox and Lorenzo Booker. Problem is, unlike his predecessor Mark Richt who understood that you could set up an aggressive passing game with an effective running attack, Bowden seems to see the running game as a hindrance to an exciting open passing offense.

FSU's willingness to abandon the running game early in games the past two years has led directly to the late season breakdowns of FSU's defense. Even when Florida's State's offense is effective they tend to score too quickly, leaving the defense on the field forever and ever. Too often Bowden resorts to "street ball" where the QB is forced to make amazing plays and WRs are counted on for their size and leaping ability. If Bowden took advantage of the type of backs he has at his disposal and their multi-dimensional abilities, FSU would be as good as any team in the nation, save Ohio State.

Bowden's reliance on the shotgun has impeded the development of both Booker and Antoine Smith, FSU's current up and coming back. The Noles rely too much on trap plays and an occasional draw to stimulate a ground attack. This year's offensive line for the Seminoles should be better than the patchwork line of the previous two or three seasons, yet the attitude towards the run has not changed. Hopefully FSU's late game heroics against Troy are a sign that the running game is coming together.


Miami

You could argue the Hurricanes have the most talented stable of runners in the nation. Prior to Tyrone Moss' season ending injury last year, Miami was primarily a running team who could not throw the ball in critical situations. That did not matter because Moss and the UM ground attack was arguably the best in the ACC in the clutch despite being behind a shaky offensive line. In Miami's one loss last season with Moss in the lineup, The Canes dominated Florida State on the ground and were unlucky not to win. (Moss cramped up with Miami on the 2 yard line late and thus UM could not pound the ball into the end zone) Following that loss, riding Moss while an inexperienced Kyle Wright played QB, the Canes won 8 in a row including defeating 3 ranked teams. Since Moss was hurt, Miami has lost three games, including twice at home. His return from injury and suspension is the best news Miami has had in a long time.

While Coach Larry Coker has been unappreciative for four years of Tyrone Moss' ability, his injury was a devastating for Miami. (Coker seems less interested in having a clock controlling power back and more interested in having a small shifty home run hitter.....but with a bad passing game, Miami's one real trump card is Tyrone Moss) Following his injury Miami went from a National Title contender to ACC also ran. Miami's stable of talented running backs playing behind Moss including Charlie Jones (who has gotten the bulk of work in the absence of Moss), Derron Thomas and Andrew Johnson all have limitations and seem to have been retarded in their development by the turnover in the Miami coaching staff. Freshman Javarris James has Miami fans excited but now that Moss is healthy and is not skipping study halls anymore, Miami must feed him the ball 20 plus times against Louisville to have any reasonable chance of winning.

Unlike the other two major teams in the state, Miami runs a pro style offense which is geared towards pounding the ball between the tackles. Tyrone Moss, a power back whose chief asset is his ability to break tackles and keep his feet moving was a perfect back for such a scheme. Charlie Jones has power and speed as well but is step slower than Moss and less powerful as well. With a poor offensive line, Jones was unable to get on track. Miami has five talented runners all of whom could start at most program throughout the country. But given the current circumstances around the Miami team and the inability of the Canes to control the clock largely due to an inexperienced offensive line, Larry Coker should commit to Tyrone Moss (even at 240 pounds) as his feature back for the rest of 2006, and hope that this helps to stop the bleeding which threatens to overwhelm his coaching staff and the rest of the Miami program.