No matter what kind of spread a team runs, there are three plays which are largely the bread and butter of any spread offense package.

The three are the speed option, the zone read and the bubble screen. All three are predicated around getting playmakers out in space and forcing a defense to tackle effectively in the open field.

All three are used by Porters Chapel, which relies on a similar spread attack as used by Southern Miss.

“Some of the plays Southern Miss runs are designed to make one defender make one decision,” PCA offensive coordinator Jerry Bourne said. “You capitalize on that decision. That decision isn’t necessarily the wrong decision, we have something to do no matter what he does.”

The thing that separates these plays from most is that they force defenses to make a decision and the offense has a response to every possible decision path.

With that multiplicity, it allows playbooks to be reduced considerably.

“I’d rather have a perfect eight or 10 plays than 40,” PCA coach John Weaver said. “It’s a tradeoff. As a defense, you have to sacrifice this or sacrifice that.”