RPO in Texas vs. Baylor 2013

The Baylor Bears ran this RPO 9 times by my count during the de facto Big 12 Championship versus Texas in 2013.

What's interesting, however, is that they only threw the ball off it one time — the first time.

Here are the results:

Pass (1 Attempt): 8 yards

Run (8 Attempts): 39 yards, 4.9 yards/attempt

Here's a drawing of the first one that resulted in the throw to the Y on a little get-out-there-and-get-open route.

What's not visible on the drawing but a major factor is the tempo Baylor ran up to the line with on this play. There's a reason Texas had a Nickel and Safety covering the F for no real reason. The Will also looked confused as he dropped out after the snap and didn't play the run at all. My guess is he might have been anticipating a choice route to the X and was looking to get underneath it. The CB over the X also bailed out at the snap too, so that's another reason that supports what the Will was doing.

Anyways — I bring this play up because the Bears ran it about 9 times by my count. That's quite a bit. They obviously saw something on film to love this play this game. And if you watch the full cut up (linked below), you'll see how the Longhorns adjusted with their front.

The Mike was constantly pulled out of the fit and they had to use their remaining 5 up front to make the stops. The play didn't result in any huge plays, but was consistent which is sometimes all you need in a tough game like this one was. Baylor was mostly limited in reaching the end zone and kicked a bunch of FGs.

When watching a full game, these plays always stand out because sometimes they are more important than the big, one off plays.

Check out the full cut up here:

Emory Wilhite