STARKVILLE — It is a one-word play call.
It also is a word Mississippi State offensive coordinator Les Koenning won’t reveal.
“They hear one word and they know who’s in, where to line up, and what we’re doing,” Koenning said. “We don’t use a lot of verb-edges because there’s already a bunch going on in that play.”
Koenning and the Bulldogs broke the play out Saturday in the second quarter of a 24-7 loss to then-No. 4 University of Alabama at Davis Wade Stadium. Sophomore quarterback Tyler Russell had just completed a pass to Chad Bumphis for 11 yards and a first down. Instead of trying another pass with Russell, third-string quarterback Dylan Favre came into the game and orchestrated a unique formation. The play started with Favre and center Dillon Day by themselves. Favre was lined up more than 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, while Day stood in the middle of the tackle box. MSU’s offensive linemen and other offensive personnel all were near the sidelines in a three-point stance on the line of scrimmage.
In a screenshot looking down at the play, the sets of lineman flanking Day on each side could replicate the look of airplane wings.
Days after the play, which went 5 yards to Bumphis, fans and media were still trying to figure out if it was even legal.
“It’s only the end two guys on the line of scrimmage and the three
that are off the line of scrimmage (are eligible),” MSU coach Dan Mullen said Sunday. “There’s always five that are ineligible every play.”
High school associations in North Carolina, West Virginia, Louisiana,, and the District of Columbia banned the use of the formation, referred to as A-11, for the 2008 season.
In February 2009, the National Federation of State High School Association rules committee voted 46-2 to close the loophole allowing the linemen-free formations featured in the A-11 that was supposed to make everybody but the center permitted to catch the pass.
The scheme’s creators have adjusted and ran the new version of the A-11 offense since 2009. The change abides by the numbering requirements of having at least six ineligible receivers and is legal in most levels of football.
According to current NCAA rules, the play is legal as long as there is a minimum number of players on the line and a lineman doesn’t catch the ball.
“You’re taking a chance (on this play), but we’re banking on the defense not knowing what is happening,” Russell said. “It’s a weird formation and as long as it works, we don’t care as players. We had them confused on that play.”
Koenning admitted Monday part of the reason Favre took the field for the play was to get Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban to call timeout. But replays showed Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart substituting more secondary players instead of using a critical timeout.
“They’re a really good defense and we had to get them thinking on the run a little bit,” Koenning said. “By putting them in a formation they’ve never seen before then they’re not just reacting. We really thought they’d call timeout because we even had another formation for them. Trust me, we wanted them to use a timeout.”
After the loss, Russell said MSU had been working on the formation for “at least two weeks” and had Favre take every snap in the package.
Favre said Tuesday he was initially excited to run the offense that was new to him.
“We ran something in high school that had only three lineman in the box, but I’d never seen anything that had just one,” Favre said. “It’s fun to practice.”
Favre is 5 of 7 for 47 yards in his past two games. He holds the state of Mississippi high school record for touchdown passes. When Favre goes into the game, his teammates him to make a play.
“If somebody had run it on us first, we’d have gone completely haywire,” MSU junior cornerback Corey Broomfield said. “Plus we know when Favre is out there, something great is about to happen.”
Asked if MSU would use the formation again this season, Koenning laughed and said he wasn’t sure. The Bulldogs want to keep that a secret.
“We’ve all run it at other places we’ve been,” Koenning said. “It’s not something we invented.”
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