Attn: D-1 college football writers

Thanks, Long Snapper. Added three more to my list. Also, thanks to everybody for the answers. Keep them coming if you can think of any other teams besides these below that run the 3-4.

Hawaii
Houston
Kent State
Lousiana Tech
Maryland
Navy
New Mexico State
North Texas
Stanford
Toledo
Southern California
Virginia

 

Clemson, which was one of the top scoring defenses last year, uses a mixture. Most of the time it's like the Dallas Cowboys. three down linemen and a hybrid end the Tigers call a Bandit. The defensive coordinator came from Troy, where they used the same defense and their Bandit, Marcus Ware, was drafted in the first round by the Cowboys a year ago.

 

Whoa, whoa, not so fast there grasshopper.

NMSU might have the nation's longest I-A losing streak, but the longest I-A or I-AA losing streak belongs to mighty Indiana State, currently at 18 losses.

Feel the tree.

 

Not to mention that among those losses is a loss to an NAIA school. Yeech!

 

My apologies. It is a mere 13 games... not the logest, just longest current I-A, you are correct.

How about bowl games? NMSU's last one was in 1960. And it was the Sun Bowl in El Paso... a whole 40-mile trip away.

 

And yet, Texas Tech still felt they were a worthy opponent.

 

Is it any coincidence that several of those programs (NMSU, Kent State, now Virginia) are struggling? The 3-4 requires big linebackers and with the present fascination with the spread offense in the college ranks, getting more speed on the field is a must. Besides, there are a lot more 6-1, 190 pound kids who can run out there vs. 6-4, 250-pound kids. Big run-stuffing nose guards are very hard to find. Alabama and several other teams run the 3-3-5 for a good reason.

Wouldn't Dom Capers be a good guy to talk about the 3-4?

 

Bama ran a rightous version of the 3-4 back in the day, with Eric Curry and John Copeland serving as human road graders up front for the 92 champs.

Of course, that defense could have probably run a 1-1-9 and gotten away with it.

 

Bama ... good point on big schools and the 3-4.

The coach of the I-AA I cover thought the defense translates well to that level because it's a lot harder to develop depth up front and run a 4-3. He's stacked at linebacker and just so-so on the DL, so it makes a lot of sense. You're not getting a lot of capable 300-pound d-linemen at the I-AA level, so play to your strengths.

 

Florida State uses a 3-4 quite a bit, much like Clemson that was stated earlier in this thread

but their base is a 4-3

 

Dom Capers would be a great guy to talk to, but since he's an assistant under Nick Saban, he ain't allowed to talk to that evil media.

 

Agree with this. It's too inside football.
I prefer features, where we'll learn fun things like the nugget about Chris Simms getting his teammates initials tattooed onto his ankle.
I saw John Clayton mention the change to the 3-4 this week. He crammed it into 2 paragraphs and that was all i needed to know.

5.
Hybrid defenses: Teams are getting tricky, and the improving athletic ability of defensive players is giving coaches plenty of ammunition. More and more teams are using a 4-3 defense that can become a 3-4. It isn't that hard. In Baltimore, for example, the Ravens are back to a 4-3 scheme but defensive end Terrell Suggs can become a linebacker by taking a step back and not putting his hand on the ground.

More and more teams are copying that look. Highy touted rookie Mathias Kiwanuka gives the Giants those options. Some of the league's best defenses -- Steelers, Chargers, Patriots and Cowboys -- use a 3-4. The Dolphins are a hybrid defense moving to a 3-4. Though it might be easier to stock a 4-3 defense, the 3-4 look is much more complicated for quarterbacks to pick up the extra rusher or two. More coaches are compromising. They are switching their 4-3 personnel into 3-4 looks just to drive quarterbacks crazy. And it's working.