Sometimes it is fun to know something that others don't.  Or perhaps you would like to win a few free drinks at your local watering hole during the semi-final game this coming weekend.  Either way, here is an almost sure thing...when Clemson aligns in this formation, they run the ball twice as much as they pass the ball.  Here it is:

While we have all heard of Deshaun Watson, some Ohio State fans may not be familiar with Clemson's very talented TE, Jordan Leggett #16.  When Leggett aligns as a wing, as shown in the formation above, the Tigers ran the ball almost 70% of the time against Florida State, Louisville and Virginia Tech, three of Clemson's toughest opponents. The running plays can be jet sweeps, zone reads, or QB follows.

So, if you are a betting person, each time you see this formation you can shout out, "I bet the next play is a run!"  For every three times this happens you should expect to win twice and only lose once.  Those are pretty good odds and your winnings should be bountiful.

Unfortunately, some fans are pretty smart.  They will be able to figure out your pattern rather quickly, and soon will refuse to bet against you. But you can have an ace in the hole.

It turns out, Clemson uses this TE/wing formation for play action pass plays quite often.  The Tigers want you to believe they are running the ball and hit a big play against you for a TD. If you pay attention to where the ball is on the field and the down and distance, you should be able to call out the pass play before it happens. These big play action passes seem to be called on 1st or 2nd down and the plays are called (almost always) on the opponent's side of the field.  Check it out.

1st & 10 at Virginia Tech's 22 yard line.

2nd & 7 at Louisville's 20 yard line.

1st and 10 at Louisville's 37 yard line.

1st and 10 just shy of mid-field.

If you have ever wondered what graduate assistant coaches do or quality control coaches do, this will give you a small glimpse. These coaches spend lots of hours cutting film up by formation and plays so that coordinators and position coaches can see tendencies by formation and down & distance. Of course there is software these days that helps organize and process it all. 

Me and my assistant (my labrador retriever) still use paper and pencil.

Go Bucks.