Former Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said he got out of the ACC just in time. He wasn't looking forward to squaring off against Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson in 2008, Johnson's first season after being hired away from Navy.
It was nothing against Johnson. It had everything to do with Johnson's triple-option offense.
"I remember thinking this is going to be heck on this conference," Bowden said.
Bowden was let go the week before the Tigers faced the Yellow Jackets, making his wish came true in an unfortunate manner. The Yellow Jackets won that game in Death Valley, rolled to an ACC championship a year later and have a chance to play for the conference title again this season. They can take a big step toward that goal in Thursday night's game against Virginia Tech.
In three-plus seasons, the Yellow Jackets are 33-16 running an offense -- the under-the-center triple-option -- once the rage of college football but now faded like yesterday's blue jeans. Just four teams of 120 that play in the FBS run it.
What happened to the running attacks that once powered Nebraska, Oklahoma and Alabama to national championships? Why aren't more schools using an offense that can balance out disadvantages in personnel?
Bowden and other coaches say there are many reasons, most having to do with image. The offense is perceived as boring.
"In this day and age of bubble screens and empty backfields, I think some people would be afraid from a fan's standpoint that you are a little bit behind, not cutting edge," former Notre Dame coach Bob Davie said.
Johnson has countered that argument with data. The Jackets consistently produce plays of at least 20 yards, including four in last week's win over Clemson, bringing their season total to 52. They have 10 touchdown drives that lasted less than a minute this season. They average 328 rushing yards per game and 474.6 in total offense.
"I was there when they beat North Carolina a couple of weeks ago; those fans seemed a little bit excited," said Davie, now an ESPN analyst. "I'm sure they were more excited against Clemson, as well."
Bowden, who hosts The NEW College Football Show on Fox Sports South, said it's hard to recruit for the offense because of the attention media and boosters have put on individualism.
Boosters pay for the coaches' million-dollar salaries and want to be entertained, Bowden said. High school players, who appear in nationally televised games and are profiled in national magazines, are a part of the "look at me" culture.
"High school players watch the NFL; they want to catch touchdown passes," he said. "They want to be the dominant back in the I-formation. Those are things you don't do in those offenses."
Tech's past signing classes have rarely received the same attention or ratings as teams like Oklahoma or Alabama, even when the Jackets have run a more traditional offense and put players into the NFL.
Fisher DeBerry, a former option coach, recognizes the issues, even if he doesn't agree with them.
"The pro game impacts the college game; the college game impacts the high school game," said DeBerry, who turned Air Force into a winning program. "You turn on the TV on Sunday and they are throwing the ball 55 times a game."
Davie says there aren't many NFL teams that run option offenses out of the shotgun, a hybrid of the traditional option, or regularly use four wide-receiver sets. Both offenses are now trending in college football. Still, Bowden said he is a big fan of Johnson and his offense because it wins.
Familiarity is exactly why Davie wonders why more schools don't adopt the option offense, which he said is difficult to prepare for and can balance out any disparities between a five-star defensive tackle and a three-star guard.
"When you use the success that Georgia Tech has had, they don't beat Clemson unless they are doing what they are doing on offense," Davie said. "People want to win. If you are at a place where you can recruit as good as players as those you compete against every week, then take your choice.
"If you are at a place where you want to win a championship, then you have to do something else if it's your athletes against theirs. You are making people adapt to you. The other way, you're saying you are going to be better than the other people doing the same thing."
What will it take to bring the offense back into vogue?
Johnson has said he hopes no one else decides to run it, preserving his advantage of knowledge and familiarity.
DeBerry said more championships would do it. Davie said sprinkling in some more shotgun might help. Bowden said if athletic directors would focus on winning, without the influence of boosters and others, more coaches might be willing to try it, though there aren't as many who know it as well as there used to be.
It is, after all, heck to prepare for.
"I got out just in time," Bowden said.
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