Film Study: Breaking down Cal’s ‘Bear Raid’ offense

Arizona State’s defense has already gone through the gauntlet of facing the Air Raid in what head coach Todd Graham called its “purest” form against Texas Tech.

With Cal coming to Tempe Saturday, the Sun Devils could be seeing a 2.0-version of the same scheme. Davis Webb is a former Tech signal-caller himself, and former Mike Leach protégé Sonny Dykes is at the helm.

The production offensively is amongst the best in the country, ranking second (behind Tech) in passing yards with 453 yards per game and third overall in total offense at 580.3 yards per game. Only Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the guy who beat out Webb for the job two seasons ago, has thrown for more yards than Webb’s 1,359 this season.

Of course, while the parallels are there with an opponent ASU has already defeated, it’s not like the Sun Devils had much success stopping Texas Tech. The Red Raiders totaled 55 points, and despite stiffening against the pass in the second half the ASU secondary still wound up yielding 540 yards through the air.

Also, this isn’t the same offense. Each “Air Raid” offensive scheme has its own tricks and intricacies, and Dykes’ specialized “Bear Raid” is just another example of this.

For one, Cal has succeeded where Tech didn’t in being able to establish the inside run. The Bears have 382 net yards rushing on 97 carries, something that is respectable given the team’s offensive scheme. Most of the responsibility will fall on a pair of backs in Vic Enwere and Khalfani Muhammad. But even when Cal runs the ball, it’s based on what the offense has been able to do in the passing game.

Cal made this clear from their first possession of the season, where an expectedly aggressive crew elected to go for it on fourth down against Hawaii. They elect to go inside run with the play, lining up with 11 personnel (one tight end, one running back) in a split offset formation. In this offset, there’s a pair of receivers on the strong side at the top of the screen, with a tailback lined up behind and to the left of Webb. The tight end is working as a H-back in this set, with most of his responsibilities mimicking those of a fullback.

Webb hands off to the tailback, and pulls a reverse play-action in then faking a throw to the top of the screen. Each of the outside receivers had flared their hips back to the quarterback instead of blocking, copying the action of a quick screen to plant a quick seed of doubt in a confused defense while the run picks up the first down.

To be fair, much like Texas Tech, much of Cal’s offense runs horizontally and relies on quick screens that are effectively running plays. ASU defensive backs coach TJ Rushing agreed, saying doing so puts even more pressure on fixing issues in tackling.

“When I say stop the run, that’s an extension of stopping the run to me,” Rushing said. “Just getting the ball outside. Their receivers to a great job in space, so we have to do a good job of coming up and making tackles in space.”

Part of their width is in how wide they line up, as shown above, prompting redshirt senior corner Gump Hayes to say the Bears “have their receivers dang near out of bounds.”

Another factor of the running game is relies on Webb to use his feet on speed options. Like Mahomes on Texas Tech, Webb’s large frame (6-foot-5) makes him hard to bring down, and while he may not be as fleet of foot he can still be effective in the red zone.

Cal tried this towards the end of the half in the season opener against Hawaii, setting up with a trips look (as highlighted) that mimics a lot of their passing looks. The back lines up slightly behind Webb and to the right.

The Bears execute a simple speed option to the right side of the formation, and when the linebacker commits to the ball, Webb fakes the pitch and keeps going. It’s not the right decision, but with his size he manages to slip and tackle and bowl his way into the end zone.

Much of the Cal running game bases off of three principles: the inside zone, the quick screen, and the speed option. If the Sun Devils can’t keep Cal honest in those three aspects, each can be as impactful for big plays much like the passing game.

“They operate, and if you commit too much to stopping the pass they can run the ball, too,” Rushing said. “They’re a little different because they’ll come in and they can run the ball if you allow them too. We need to take that away first, and then play the pass.”

The passing game, however, is the Cal bread and butter.

Much of this plays off of the success of Webb, who has successfully taken the reigns from No. 1 draft selection, Jared Goff. He’s had success against the Sun Devils in the past, throwing for more than 400 yards and four touchdowns in a Holiday Bowl win while with Texas Tech as a freshman. It’s something Rushing, who was on ASU’s staff during that game, remembers all too well.

“Great operator,” Rushing said of Webb. “Great, strong arm that can make all the throws. Most of the guys, you can just cut off half the field because their arm talent isn’t good enough to go to that half of the field, but his is. He can go to the field or boundary with great accuracy, and he throws a great deep ball.”

Webb showcased that deep ball, as well as Cal’s ability to take advantage of coverage busts, last week against Texas.

Cal again lines up in its split offset formation, with the outside receiver running a deep post, the slot man running a wheel to the left sideline and the near side receiver on a curl. This is one of the rare cases when the H-back doesn’t stay in to block, with him running a delayed curl. The running back runs a screen into the flat, something Dykes had been using all game to set up this play.

Webb fakes the screen to the back, as highlighted, and finds the slot receiver down the sideline (highlighted in gold) for a score on a beauty of a deep ball. The play’s success is dependent on how well they can confuse the defense.

This, of course, means that Cal will likely target this in the ASU defense. With the lack of experience in this unit, that can lead to some devastating big plays on busts. Among the least experienced is Hayes, who about to start just his fourth game at the position after moving over from running back.

“When I came into my first game [at corner], I have to admit I wasn’t comfortable at all,” Hayes said. “After Texas Tech and the interceptions, I feel like that boosted my ego a lot. I felt very comfortable against UTSA and I feel I needed to step up and I did. I felt like I had been playing there forever.”

This will also play a role at the SPUR linebacker spot and Bandit safety spot, each of with are uncertain given the fact that the coaching staff is still trying to work Laiu Moeakiola back from injury. Rushing said communication will continue to be stressed, especially since Cal’s offense is engineered to take advantage of this. Having redshirt senior Salamo Fiso, the team’s primary communicator on defense, back for the first time this season after a suspension, should help.

ASU also faces another problem, and his name is Chad Hansen. The Cal receiver, who was passed upon by the Sun Devils along with every other FBS program, leads the nation with 40 catches for 546 yards and five touchdowns.

“He’s a competitive joker,” Rushing said. “Make no bones about it, he’s a kid that deserved more than one scholarship or walk-on offer.”

Much of what Cal does in the vertical passing game is based off the “Four Verticals” concept, which would have four wide receivers running “go” routes. Against San Diego State, they played off this a bit to be able to attack different types of coverages. The slot receiver on the bottom part of the screen is typically the first read against a zone defense, taking advantage of the pockets in the defense. The two receivers at the top of the screen look to pick off defensive backs in man coverage and Hansen sits at the bottom of the screen (highlighted) in man-to-man coverage. If there’s no safety help over the top, the highlighted area is the place where Hansen is going to try to beat the corner to.

There’s a receiver open at the top of the screen (highlight), but the golden opening is there when Hansen has a whole yard of separation on the deep route. Webb’s throw is a little wobbly, but the amount of separation Hansen has makes it an easy touchdown regardless.

Hansen routinely beats man coverage, which makes it just about impossible for ASU to leave its defensive backs on an island, as they typically do. The Sun Devils will still have to find a way to impact Webb and force him into turnovers, though that’s something that’s been difficult to come by this season.

“We need more production in pass rush,” Graham said. “We were impacting the quarterback [against UTSA], but we were just missing tackles. Obviously, we’ve not pressured as much, and that’s had a big toll on that, but you’ve got to impact the quarterback. That’s something where we’ve got to get better with our four-man rush.”