Around the Horn

Presented with options, the Big Ten declines

Then, on a typical dive play, you see the fullback breaking through the line. You come up with a full head of steam, ready to flatten the unsuspecting brute who happens to be twice your size.

Then the collision - the full forces of speed, power and physics at work - a momentary flash of white light, and then your senses return to find yourself on top of the ball carrier.

Wait a minute ... he isn't even carrying the ball! What's going on? After a second of panic, you know it - the option.

SHARAT RAJU Sharat in the Dark

The dreaded option. Meanwhile, the quarterback has pitched to the tailback in the flat - the same tailback that you were assigned to tackle in the event of an option play.

The above scenario - although it varies from one defensive scheme to another - has been common for Michigan and its Big Ten allies.

The option is super-popular this season. The Wolverines have been left in the dust trying to scramble to find where the hell the ball was against Syracuse and Notre Dame.

This week, Michigan will not face the option, since Eastern Michigan doesn't run it. But Ohio State will have to face a pretty tough one this week against Missouri.

Missouri quarterback Corby Jones "is the best option QB we'll see all year," Ohio State coach John Cooper said. "We don't have one in our league, and they do a good job at it."

Actually, Ohio State employed the option last year, as part of its two-headed quarterback monster.

So why is everybody scared of the option? It's a relatively easy offense to teach a team, one that is utilized by high school teams around the nation. It stands to reason that if it is so simplistic, then how come teams can't figure out a possible defense to stop the option cold?

With limited scholarships now, "probably the most difficult thing is to have a scout team impersonate the other team," Iowa coach Hayden Fry said. "You just don't get a good picture in practice."

Last week, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr joked about playing the part of Syracuse Donovan McNabb as part of the option in practice. Perhaps there's more truth in that than meets the eye...

With the 85 limited scholarships and an inadequate scout team, is the option unguardable? Well, after witnessing last Saturday's thrashing of the Fighting Irish, apparently Michigan State can guard it. So the answer is no, the option is not invincible.

"You always worry when you don't play the option much, whether you'll be able to stop the option," Michigan State coach Nick Saban said. "And the fact that we got ahead in the game and they got out of their game a little bit, they had to throw the ball a little bit more in order to catch up."

So the best defense against the option might be a good offense. Two pass-happy teams will pick on the Big Ten this weekend. Indiana will have to face Tim Couch and Kentucky. Couch, a Heisman Trophy favorite, has been tearing up opponents, benefiting from a four-wideout set.

And to hear Indiana coach Cam Cameron tell it, he'd rather face an option team than a 'real' quarterback.

"I went back and looked at all 11 games last season," Cameron said. "And (Couch) is the most accurate quarterback I have seen as of late. This kid is just so sharp."

Purdue faces the same scenario, having to play Daunte Culpepper's cannon arm and Central Florida.

The problem defending the option might just lie in the tradition-bound Big Ten. Other conferences seem to have more dynamic coaches who know their talent level and manufacture their offense in such a manner.

Whatever the case, 'option' is the word around the nation, and other teams have no option but to shut it down.

- Sharat Raju can be reached at sraju@umich.edu

09-16-98