Letter from the Editor

The first college football game was played in 1869. This fall will mark the 137th year of this annual autumn ritual. The game has obviously changed dramatically over time – the rules, the officiating, the coaches, the size, strength, and speed of the players, the turf and equipment, and the information age with more games – high school, college, and professional – being broadcast via, radio, television, and the internet. What has also changed over the years is the evolution of the offense. When Knute Rockne, the legendary Notre Dame coach was asked where he got all his offensive formations, he responded, ‘I got them from (Amos Alonzo) Stagg.’ Then, when Rockne was asked where Stagg got his plays and formations, he bruskly said, ‘He got them from God.’ Base offenses have certainly evolved over the last 100 years. In this issue, AFM takes a strategic look at what makes basic