It was like someone dropped us in front of a television 20 years into the future. The crazy helmets and neon socks. Quarterbacks bigger than most linebackers and yet still able to outrun them. Crazy offensive formations. Coaches in a national title game faking punts and going for it on 4th-and-goal early in the game. Woody Hayes is rolling in his grave. Bear Bryant wants to know what happened to his beloved sport?
Once the most conservative of games -- three yards and a cloud of dust -- college football has been transformed in recent years. What we saw Monday night when Auburn beat Oregon in the BCS championship game is a lot closer to what we're likely to see in 2031 than what we've become accustomed to even in the last two decades. It started with the varied spread offenses made famous by Urban Meyer at Florida and Mike Leach at Texas Tech. Chip Kelly's Ducks employ a form of the spread option used by Meyer to win two BCS titles in Gainesville. Whatever game Hayes and Bo Schembechler were coaching -- or Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno, for that matter -- is fading into the sunset.
And it isn't just the new offenses. The decisions these coaches make are revolutionizing football, too. The percentages say going for it on 4th down is actually the smarter move in most cases. Kelly did so on 4th-and-goal, which would seem insane to coaches of a previous generation if the game wasn't on the line. He went for a two-point conversion in the first quarter, faking an extra point in the process, and ran a reverse on a kickoff.
But are we surprised? This is the same guy who called a fake punt in his own territory down by one score in the third quarter. And Kelly was not apologetic afterwards. He believes those play calls will win him more games than not.
As time goes on and not only wins but also championships follow this philosophy, more coaches will embrace it and the sport will be completely transformed.