While technically not a wishbone offense (they call it a "flexbone" - whatever), Coach Paul Johnson's Triple Threat Option Attack requires tremendous discipline on both sides of the ball. The formation, which is based on the old school Wing-T (made famous by Arkansas State in the 60's with it's speedy halfbacks), may look very different to many college football fans. For our part, guys like Toal and Herzlich are going to be crucial in stopping Georgia Tech's triple threat attack.
On plays where QB Josh Nesbitt opts out of the first option between the tackles and tries to take it to the edge, one of the most important aspects of stopping the Triple Threat Option is for the Defensive end to "stay at home" and commit to the ball carrier - the QB - forcing him to pitch it outside. Hopefully the speed of our D-Backs will also help eliminate long runs by the backs on the outside.
The base flexbone offensive formation looks something like this:
The flexbone formation, which is derived from the wishbone, includes the quarterback, five offensive linemen, three running backs, and varying numbers of tight ends and receivers.
Before coming to Georgia Tech, Coach Johnson has been successful at running this triple option offense both at Georgia Southern (62-10 record with two I-AA National Championships) and, as many BC fans will remember, Navy.
This game definitely poses a challenge on both sides of the ball for BC, but in the end, I think that our front seven is just too strong and Paul Johnson's system too new to beat BC.
Boston College wins the ACC opener 24-14.
