The Virginia football team has dropped four straight games, but hopes to snap that skid when long-time ACC foe Georgia Tech comes to Charlottesville this weekend. The Yellow Jackets are 4-3 after ending a three-game losing streak of its own last week by rolling Syracuse 56-0. The Wednesday Watch List takes a closer look at this week’s contest.

Georgia Tech’s “Standard” Triple Option

Everyone knows that Paul Johnson has built a run-heavy triple option as the base offense in Atlanta. The foundation of this attack starts with the quarterback under center with a ‘B’ back aligned directly behind him in a typical pro-style offense’s fullback spot. There is no deep back, though. The Yellow Jackets also align two ‘A’ backs in wing spots that resemble the H-Back alignment for pro-style teams. Then there are two receivers split wide on each side. This presents the defense with a balanced look from the offense and sets up a variety of potential play calls for GT.

The standard looks begin with the ‘B’ back belly dive. At the snap, the quarterback turns and hands off to the running back quickly up the gut. Some examples follow and stopping this play is the first piece of the defensive puzzle.

• Play 1
• Play 2
• Play 3
• Play 4

The next standard look is the ‘A’ back pitch. Just before the snap or right at the snap, the backside ‘A’ back loops around behind the formation and begins a timed sprint toward the edge but behind his quarterback. The QB fakes the handoff to the ‘B’ back on the belly dive and then pulls the football to begin a rushing play to the perimeter. The quarterback reads the defense to determine whether to keep the ball or pitch it. UVa had some trouble with option style pitches at Maryland recently. Here are some examples:

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