In 1941 Don Faurot's Missouri Tiger's went undefeated in the Big 6 conference finishing the season 8-2 with a 2-0 loss to the Fordham Rams in the Sugar Bowl. Faurot a talented Coach adapted his offense to fit his personnel employed a system different than many T offenses of the time and past utilizing the Split or "Faurot T." This was a shift from the previous year based on his single-wing and short punt offense he had run in the past, and shifted from a pass heavy offense to the #1 rush offense in the country that season.
The basic concept was a called dive to the HB to either side with option action to the same side similar to the triple option which came later. The second part was the split T option. The split T option was a fake hand off reading the front side end where the QB had the option to pitch the ball if the End played him or keep it if the end played the back. They also carried an option pass off it where the QB would pitch it off the same action to the back side HB who would have the option to throw as well usually to the end. The influence of this offense shaped many offenses of the past and still seen today. Assistants who adopted this style of offense include; Bud Wilkinson, and Jim Tatum. The offense helped mold the option attacks of the future including the wishbone, the veer and others.
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