Mini Schemes in NCAA Football 06

There are generally three types of offenses and how their playbooks are constructed:

Many formations but only a handful of plays..
Very few formations but many different plays.
Many formations and many plays. NFL offenses are like this. Most offenses struggle because they have too much in the playbook, especially at the high school and college levels.

I want to talk about the second option. While I like and appreciate most offenses, I tend to gravitate towards the schemes that use very few formations and multiple plays and concepts. When it comes to NCAA 06 (or any game for that matter), I think these types of offenses are more fun in the long run. For video game purposes, I believe you can stick one formation with many great plays from it and still enjoy the game. I like to call these Cycle Offenses.

What Are Mini Schemes?

A mini scheme is an offense where your entire base offense is from just one formation. However, these formations have many great plays that fit together to form a particular type of offense.

There are several reasons why I like mini schemes.

Simple Playbook – Since these offenses only use one formation, you will only need to learn 10 or so plays at the most.
Schematic Fit – All of the plays seem to fit together well which forms a great overall attack.
Quicker Playcalling – One formation means less shuffling through the playbook and quicker timing when selecting plays which means more time making adjustments pre-snap.
Hard to get bored – the more different concepts you run, the less chance you’ll get bored with your offense. Having a dozen or concepts to choose from will keep your offense fresh.
Simpler Playcalling – The ability to simply cycle through the plays!

The fifth point is the most important as this is the reason why I also like to call these “Cycle Offenses”. One great strategy for calling plays is to call every play one after the other, in a cycle. This helps not having to think so much on what to call. For most or all of the game, just call every play in your offense from that one formation and see what happens. You will always keep the defense on its toes while also enjoying repping all of the unique concepts.

One formation + many concepts that fit together = FUN & FOCUSED!

I want to give you eight different types of offenses that fit this idea. All of these offenses attack defenses in different ways yet have simplified playbooks that are easy to learn and are fun to use. I will give a brief summary of the offense and then give you the formation and plays that make up the entire scheme.

Purple are pass plays, red are run plays.

Original One-Back Spread

We’ll start with an offense that sparked the idea of a one formation offense. If you go and read this article on Smart Football, you’ll understand how much fun you can have with a mini scheme. Ryan Leaf and the Washington State Cougars were putting up crazy numbers in 1997 with the Original One-Back Spread offense. Most of the offense was from Ace Spread.

You can run (basically) the same offense in NCAA 06. Ace Spread is a fun formation for those who want to spread the ball out through the air with four WRs but still like a bit of downhill running game to go with it. Again, just cycle through the plays however you wish.

Ace Spread
1. Slot Crosses
2. Corners
3. PA Dive
4. PA Fake Toss
5. Curl Flats
6. Cross
7. Triangle
8. HB Slam
9. HB Dive
10. HB Option (toss play)

Pro Style

I’m not sure if the term “pro style” is even used anymore as the NFL guys run a lot of what the college teams run, but when I think “pro style”, I think of under-center, run the ball, play-action, with Tight Ends and Fullbacks playing a big part of the offense. In 2005 when NCAA 06 was made, that type of offense was still prevalent everywhere so this type of offense is easy to find in this game.

I-Formation Normal is the ideal set for this type of offense as there is a little bit of everything an old-school pro style team would use. This offense tends to be more balanced while also being able to attack all areas of the field.

I Normal
1. PA FB Flat
2. PA Boot
3. Curls
4. WR Post
5. Angle
6. HB Iso
7. HB Slam
8. Power Option (toss play)
9. HB Tackle
10. FB Dive

West Coast

Sticking with the NFL guys, the West Coast offense is more about throwing the ball short and letting your skill players handle the rest. When I think of the West Coast offense, I think of Bill Walsh, the father of the scheme so we will go old school with this set. The San Francisco 49ers dynasty in the 80s is proof enough of how potent that offense was, and still is. The West Coast offense has a bad rap of being too complex as most West Coast disciples tend to use many formations along with many concepts.

Since we are using the mini scheme theory, we can simplify this offense dramatically. The Pro Twins formation has surprisingly more quick passing concepts than one would think, and they are a lot fun to use. Even though this offense is more short passing-based, by all means do what Bill Walsh did and go deep when the defense presents that opportunity. This also gives you a chance to effectively use two running backs at the same time that like to catch the ball.

Pro Twins
1. WR Read
2. Slot Corner
3. RB Clearout
4. RB Crosses
5. TE Corner
6. TE Seam
7. Underneath
8. HB Counter
9. FB Blast
10. HB Off Tackle
11. Power Option (toss play)

Spread Option

Speaking of a loaded backfield, the Spread Option offense allows us to use multiple backs from a spread set to run various things, mainly option plays. Now the term “Spread Option” is used loosely nowadays so for the purpose of this article we will define it as a “Gun offense with multiple receivers that heavily focuses on option football”. I’m not talking about just running Speed Option over and over again. We will use several option plays to attack defenses.

This offense will not only use option but will also use play action as well. Add in some need drop back passing concepts when the time comes and you have the makings of a solid, all-around offense.

Gun 2-Back Slot fits this scheme better than any other set. And just like the West Coast offense, having multiple speedy backs that will touch, along with a dual threat QB, gives you many “options” to work with.

Gun 2-Back Slot
1. Speed Option
2. Dbl RB Opt Lt
3. Double Option
4. HB Direct
5. PA Read
6. PA Corner
7. RB Crosses
8. HB Circle
9. Slot Corner
10. RB Deep
11. WR Middle

Flexbone Triple Option

Speaking of running some option, how about we turn this up to 11 (kudos to those who get the reference) and let’s make the option our little play-thing. There are many different types of option plays and offenses, but only one stands out from the rest. The Flexbone Triple Option offense is a running savant’s delight. The Flexbone Normal formation alone has a multitude of run plays that will keep you interested for seasons to come!

Just typing this makes me want to start a Flexbone dynasty right now! This mini scheme will showcase not only many run concepts but also passing plays that work off of those run schemes. The Flexbone Normal formation is our go-to for unleashing this offense as this is the one set most used my all Flexbone disciples.

Another fun facet of this offense is the ability to use motion to your advantage, just like the real offense. It’s too bad the WB run plays are inconsistent as you could unleash over 10 run plays alone from this formation. Fear not as the set still has seven run plays that work well.

Flexbone Normal
1. Triple Option
2. Triple Option Counter
3. FB Option
4. Quick Option
5. FB Dive
6. FB Trap
7. FB Sting
8. PA Roll Right
9. PA Boot Left
10. Seam Attack
11. WB Corners
12. WB Flats

Air Raid

Ah, the Air Raid Offense, a scheme that warms my bones! As most of you know, I love to throw the football and the Air Raid offense is as fun as it gets in terms of slinging the rock. The Air Raid offense is like the West Coast offense only with more receivers, from the Gun, and simply more passing. It is also about having all five skills players going out for a pass with your HBs getting a lot of touches through the air and on land. If you like to make short, high-percentage completions at a high level, then the Air Raid is for you.

You get to use the screen game to complement everything else as some Air Raid coaches like to use screens as run plays. Just like the West Coast Offense, you can also attack deep when the defense gets tired of you throwing short so much. I could run this offense forever and not blink an eye! Gun Trips is the set we will be using at it gives us a myriad of short and deep passing concepts with just enough of a run game to boot.

Gun Trips
1. Corners
2. All Curls
3. Slot Cross
4. Cross Post
5. Clearout
6. HB Out
7. HB Streak
8. PA Read
9. PA Inside
10. HB Screen
11. Slot Screen
12. QB Choice

Run N Shoot

Maybe you don’t like throwing short passes most of the time. Maybe you want to chuck it deep more than usual. The Run N Shoot is another pass happy offense, but it likes to get more vertical than the Air Raid. The Run N Shoot is fun due to its simplicity and its aggressive nature.

While the real Run N Shoot is heavily based on option routes, we don’t have those in 06 so we have adjust accordingly. This is no big deal as Gun Spread closely matches the actual concepts of the offense. I like to use the June Jones’ version as it just makes sensee to go strictly four-wide from the Gun.

What is even better is that all of the pass plays we will use from Gun Spread are all on the left side of the play call screen! We can not forget about the run game as it is pivotal to the scheme’s success. The run game is also vertical in nature.

I enjoy the run game from the Run N Shoot more than the Air Raid since this offense doesn’t rely on the HB to catch the ball as much (although your HBs will catch the ball at times) and how it emphasizes getting up the field. Even better is the idea of the Superback: having a bigger, stronger running back running people over never gets old. Also, the Run N Shoot (at least the old school version) is known for moving receivers around, Gun Spread lets you do that too!

My first and second Hawaii dynasties show most of the plays in this cycle pretty well.

Gun Spread
1. WR Curls (Slide)
2. Slot Seams (Go)
3. Corner Strike (Switch & Smash)
4. Deep Attack (Choice)
5. Slot Cross (Another form of Switch)
6. Slot Wheels (Switch)
7. HB Direct
8. HB Weak
9. QB Choice

Power Shoot

The Power Shoot offense is one I created that I believe no real team has ever used before. The offense got its name by how the offense is ran, the plays used, and the motions employed. It is essentially a holistic version of the Run N Shoot but with more Tight Ends. You will not all of the same concepts from the Run No Shoot.

However, you will see plenty of deep ball and motions galore. The Ace Normal formation fits this offense to a tee as the plays listed below fit seamlessly together when combining the vertical nature of the routes and multitudes of motions. If you want more power in your offense, love to throw deep, love Tight Ends, while looking cool when moving players on every play, then the Power Shoot Offense is for you. I have an ebook on this scheme too.

Ace Normal
1. Safety Attack
2. TE Streaks
3. TE Crosses
4. PA Rollout
5. PA Counter
6. PA Strike
7. HB Slam
8. HB Dive
9. HB Option (toss play)