One of the reasons football is such a great game is because of the many different ways things can be accomplished. Georgia running back Nick Chubb’s two touchdown runs on Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe were perfect examples.

The Heisman Trophy candidate had touchdown carries for 14 and 23 yards in the game on plays that looked similar and yielded exact results but were quite different in execution.

Chubb’s 1st Touchdown Run

***Here you see Georgia lined up with “22” personnel (two running backs and two tight ends) in the I-formation. Louisiana-Monroe has nine defenders within seven yards of the line of scrimmage in the box and one more who is between the tackles but 10 yards off the ball. Georgia can’t get hat on hat here because there are simply too many guys in the box to block. The call here appears to be your basic lead play. Quayvon Hicks is attacking off-tackle and looking for a linebacker. Nick Chubb is pressing the off-tackle gap from the snap -- even before he gets the handoff.

***This play is meant to cut back, though. Instead of working inside of their nearest man and up to the next level to get into the play as blockers, Jackson Harris and Kolton Houston execute a perfect combo block to the backside. Just about every successful run scheme relies heavily on well-timed combo blocks. Here you see Houston engaging the guy in front of him at the snap, giving Harris time to initiate contact with and gain position on that defender. From this position Houston is going to try and work up to the backside box defender while Harris is going to try and put himself between the the four-technique (the defensive lineman lined up over Houston) and the backside rush lane.

***Both Harris and Houston take care of their blocks in textbook fashion. Because Chubb pressed his track to the play side, ULM’s defenders flowed to their right in order to fit against the play side run. Their over-pursuit allowed Chubb to walk into the end zone. Had they been able to redirect and get back, they’d still be dealing with a 225-pound tailback with a full head of steam headed downhill.

Also notice how there are two unblocked defenders for ULM, numbers 4 and 24, who aren't factors in the play. The credit goes to Chubb there as his ability to press the gap on the play side run long enough to force those two defenders to flow to the football took them completely out of the play when it bent back to the backside.

Chubb’s 2nd Touchdown Run

***You’ll notice a difference in the two touchdown runs right to start with here. Georgia has different personnel in the game and they are in different alignment. Now the personnel is “12” with two tight ends and one running back. You’ll also notice that there are twin tight ends to the left out of this single-back formation. The play is different as well. It's a stretch play, which is also known as outside zone.

The stretch play is a run that is directed toward the perimeter at the snap where the offensive linemen are in a zone blocking scheme. The offensive linemen are essentially work a track, or path, and block whatever comes across their face while the running back also has a track and he presses it as long as he can until he finds a rush lane.

During his post game press conference Richt spoke about this play. He said that Brian Schottenheimer “got some help” from upstairs on the defensive alignment and was able to get Greyson Lambert’s attention to change the play. While I can’t be certain of what caused UGA to check here, I believe it is the huge bubble on the left side of the line of scrimmage. ULM lines up with a zero technique (head up the center) and what appears to be a nine technique (a yard outside of the tight end). That’s a three-gap bubble, which is huge, but Georgia is also loving the numbers situation to that side as well. It’s four-on-four, something the offense will take every time.

***I’d like to point out the zone steps here. Notice how the entire offensive line and the tight ends are in unison with their movements to the play side. The timing is good. There’s cohesion in the steps. It’s the recipe for a successful play.

***Here you’ll see another major difference in the two plays. Yes, they both ended up on the backside. But they are blocked completely different by those backside linemen. Houston and Greg Pyke have good angles to work with on the backside, so a combo block isn’t as necessary. Instead, both lineman can just focus on getting their guy on the ground. In order to do that, they both decide to cut block, opening up a huge hole to the backside and a one-on-one matchup between Chubb and the safety. Game over.

You should also notice that it is blocked really well to the playside. So well that when the safety redirects on Chubb’s cut back, John Theus, the play side tackle, ends up with no one to block. It would have been a productive play to the play side, too. The Denver Broncos rushed for distances that could probably be measured in miles with this blocking scheme under Head Coach Mike Shanahan, offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, and offensive line coach Alex Gibbs.

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