FOOTBALL: Anatomy of a Play: Toledo Rockets

Trailing 13-3, Ball State had a chance to stop Toledo and get the ball back, possibly swinging momentum. Facing third and twelve, Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside took the snap and ran a draw up the middle, gaining 14 yards and picking up a first down.

The Rockets went on to score a touchdown, putting the Cardinals in a deep hole.

“I thought he made a really good play with the quarterback draw,” Ball State head coach Pete Lembo said. “We had a blitz and thought it was the perfect call but we didn’t make the play.”

There’s 2:20 left in the first quarter, and Toledo has the ball on the right hash of the Ball State 45-yard line. Woodside is in the shotgun, his running back to his right. Three wide receivers line up on the left side, while one is on the right.
Expecting a pass and wanting to provide adequate coverage, Ball State has just three defensive linemen. This proves key, because even with a blitz called, Ball State has too few players on the line of scrimmage, allowing Woodside to break through.
At the snap, linebackers Avery Bailey and Ben Ingle rush the quarterback from the left side. Bailey tries to curl around the outside and Ingle goes up the middle, but both are stuffed by Toledo linemen. Woodside quickly slides to his left and sees open running room in front of him, as his lineman have separated all the Ball State defenders to the sides.
Woodside takes off. Martez Hester has one of the best shots to take down Woodside before he can reach the first down, but is stopped by a block and Woodside runs past him.
Sprinting past the first down line, Woodside recognizes that he’s accomplished all that he needs to. He quickly falls to the ground and absorbs a hit from safety Gilbert St. Louis as the play comes to an end.

View the footage at 03:16:00