Anatomy of a play

North Texas quarterback Derek Thompson had 72 rushing yards in Saturday’s game against Ball State. Twenty-six of those yards came on one play.

“We knew he was a good quarterback coming in,” Ball State senior cornerback Jeffery Garrett said. “We studied him. I wouldn’t say he surprised us, but he made plays with his feet that we didn’t see on film.”

It was clear that by the second half, the Cardinals’ defense was exhausted. That fact was no more evident than in the middle of the fourth quarter.

With the game tied at 27, North Texas had the ball at Ball State’s 26-yard line.

Thompson found a running lane up the middle and scored the go-ahead touchdown to give his team the late lead.

“We were there when there was a play to be made,” Garrett said. “We just missed the tackle. I think we prepared well for him. The coaches prepared us well, and the players didn’t make a play.”

1. Before the snap, North Texas quarterback Derek Thompson was in the shotgun with the ball at the left hashmark. His running back was to his right. He had three wide receivers on the play, with two out wide to the right and one left. North Texas also had a tight end in the three-point stance on the right side of the offensive line.

2. At the snap, both Ball State defensive ends tried to go wide around the offensive tackles while the Ball State defensive tackles didn’t push the interior offensive linemen backward, leading to a clean pocket for Thompson to step up into.

3. North Texas’ tight end and slot receiver both ran routes more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, clearing out the linebackers and keeping them away from Thompson. The running back ran parallel to the line of scrimmage to Thompson’s right, creating a checkdown option for the senior. The running back also took a linebacker to the sideline for coverage.

4. Thompson looked over the middle of the field and considered throwing to one of his targets. He raised the football up to begin his throwing motion. As he did that, a Ball State defensive tackle saw an opportunity to knock the pass down at the line. The lineman leapt up and was immediately pushed to Thompson’s right side.

5. Thompson brought the ball back down when he saw the hole that had opened up by the lineman jumping and getting pushed. He tucked it away and ran through the hole. Ball State sophomore defensive end Michael Ayers recognized the play, but it was too late. He leapt at Thompson’s midsection, but couldn’t grab enough to make the tackle and fell onto the field.

6. Just after Ayers’ miss, junior linebacker Julian Boyd ran from his coverage spot to make the tackle on Thompson, who planted his left foot in the ground and made a sharp cut up field. Boyd extended his left arm out to try and get a hand on the now fast-moving Thompson, but he had too much momentum and fell onto the ground, also.

7. Thompson now had an open field in front of him. He accelerated right past Ball State freshman safety Martez Hester and ran into the end zone, scoring what would be the difference in the game.