I am writing this under the assumption that Matt Canada will no longer be LSU's OC next year, although I sincerely hope that he is. Coach Ed Orgeron has stated that he prefers the West Coast style offense. Considering that is what he ran at USC, Ole Miss, and LSU; he would likely continue to run this style of offense if Canada were to leave.

What follows will be my opinion on why we should look to incorporate a progressive down-hill spread offense going forward.

There is seemingly one game per year that is not only the most important game to our fan base, but one that likely decides our fate in the West year in and year out. What follows is a list of every Alabama loss and the winning QB from the last six years:

2016
@ Auburn 26-14 Jarrett Stidham

2015
vs Ole Miss 43-37 Chad Kelly

2014
@ Ole Miss 23-17 Bo Wallace

vs Ohio State 42-35 Cardale Jones

2013
@ Auburn Tigers 34-28 Nick Marshall

vs Oklahoma 45-31 Trevor Knight

2012
vs Texas A&M 29-24 Johnny Manziel

2011
vs LSU 9-6 (OT) Jordan Jefferson

Five out of the six teams listed above run some sort of spread offense. All six teams had a QB with the ability to not only run when needed, but extend plays as well. When LSU and Jordan Jefferson beat Alabama in 2011, we successfully ran the option with Jordan Jefferson and made Alabama defend sideline to sideline.

“One of the most important things was trying to beat them sideline to sideline, because of the fact that they had kinda heavy-set linebackers that were more run fit,” Jefferson said. “Like A-gap, B-gap run stoppers.
“So our plan of execution was to attack them on the outside and get the linebackers to run sideline to sideline. We were pretty efficient the first time with the option, the stretch or outside zones plays that we used that were pretty successful for us.”

Jordan Jefferson

"Anybody who has the ability to spread you," said Jackie Sherrill, a former Alabama player who coached at Texas A&M and Mississippi State. "I don't think anybody can stack, meaning two tight ends. You're going to have to spread them, get people out of the box and hope you can create a mismatch somewhere. The only way to do that is if you have a quarterback that can really throw and also has the ability to run."

Jackie Sherrill

“We got the ball out quick, spread ’em out, and we played well,” Johnson said. “Got off to an extremely hot start, converting some critical third downs, and played great defense.

Brian Johnson (Utah QB - 2008)

We can still have a power run game out of the shotgun incorporating a spread offense. Urban Meyer has run this style of offense very successfully for years:

“Many coaches, including Meyer, have said that zone blocking plays are “finesse” runs. Meyer has always viewed his offense as a power attack, albeit one run from the spread, but Herman helped convert him, resulting in Ohio State building its offense around the inside zone, with quarterback reads and receiver screens coming off that same basic action. Meyer bought in because the Buckeyes’ version is all about power: It’s a true gut shot right up the middle, with the runner aiming for the “A” gaps next to the center.”

Inside Zone

Ohio State was able to defeat Alabama by spreading them out and then running on the edge:

Ezekiel Elliot vs Alabama - Sweep

I want to address the misconception that up-tempo spread offenses always have bad defenses:

2017 Scoring Defense

1 Alabama
2 Wisconsin
3 Virginia Tech
4 Clemson
5 Georgia
6 Washington
7 Penn State
8 TCU
9 Auburn
10 Troy

I didn't highlight Alabama, although they do run some spread as well.

I do like Matt Canada as an OC and I believe the future is bright if he stays, but if he were to leave, we should look at Sterlin Gilbert as a top choice.

At Texas, with a true Freshman QB, he put together an offense that rushed for 239 yards per game and threw for 3,024 yards with 21 TDs and 12 interceptions. At USF this year, they have rushed for 265 yards per game and thrown for 2,676 yards with 21 TDs and 6 interceptions. He runs the Veer and Shoot offense he learned from Art Briles.

"Sterlin Gilbert has had the keys to USF's ever-accelerating attack since the spring after averaging 505.3 yards and 36.8 points per game with his last four offenses at Texas (2016), Tulsa (2015), Bowling Green (2014) and Eastern Illinois (2012-13)."

You can read more about the offense here.