Welcome back to “Breakdown,” where we’ll look at some KU plays each week and try to go a little more in-depth into why they did or didn’t work.

For this blog, I have consulted a Div. II offensive assistant coach, someone we’ll just call “Coach.”

This week, I’ve put together Oklahoma State’s two goal-line stands from the 1-yard line during its 48-14 victory over KU last week.

Let’s start with the first play: KU’s third-and-goal from the 1.

Coach says that the Jayhawks are using a “pin and pull” scheme on the left side of the offensive line — the direction where this run is supposed to go.

What does that mean? Well, it’s basically a read play at the line by KU left tackle Tanner Hawkinson (No. 72) and left guard Sal Capra (No. 59).

Once the two players get to the line, it’s a matter of determining who is “covered” and who is “uncovered.”

The lineman who is “covered” — or has a defensive lineman in front of him — will simply block that man.

The lineman who is “uncovered” — or does not have a defensive lineman in front of him — will end up pulling around the edge for a block.

In this case, Hawkinson is covered and Capra is uncovered, meaning Hawkinson will “pin down” his defender while Capra “pulls.”

The key block here is going to be Capra attempting to block Oklahoma State’s stand-up linebacker. Coach says the running back is probably supposed to hit this run just to the inside of Capra.

So what ends up happening? Coach says the linebacker uses “wrong-shoulder” technique to bust up this play.

Because this linebacker doesn’t have outside contain, he jumps to the inside of Capra to try to stop the running play.

When the linebacker gets penetration, KU running back Angus Quigley is forced to run back to the inside instead of the outside.

The inside part of this play has much more traffic, and Quigley is stopped before he gets to the goal line.

“(The linebacker) doesn’t end up making the tackle, but he’s the one who really forces a big pile right in there,” Coach says. “If the left guard does a better job of getting up into the line of scrimmage and getting this guy kicked out, then the running back will cut right off his butt right into the end zone.”

We’ll talk more about what Capra could do better in a second.

Though the second play looks very similar to the first, Coach notices some subtle differences in the blocking.

The most important of which is the tight end, Tim Biere.

On the first play, Biere ignores the stand-up linebacker on the outside, instead going to the second level to block a defender.

On the second play, Biere blocks the stand-up linebacker — the same player Capra tried to block on the previous play.

Once again, Capra’s job will be to pull around to get the key block, this time on the outside linebacker.

But, once again, an OSU linebacker is able to get penetration to derail the running play.

“Oklahoma State’s defenders are doing a good job of being aggressive, working downhill,” Coach says. “Low man on the goal line wins. They’re playing with good pad level, good leverage. They’re doing a nice job of rallying to the ball.”

Meanwhile, Coach says Capra could have done a better job of putting KU in a position to succeed.

For one, Capra is taking a long time to make his pulling block.

“He takes four steps and he’s still not really working downhill,” Coach says. “He’s working parallel to the line of scrimmage. He could really just take two steps and stick his left foot in the ground and get going downhill so they can create some movement on Oklahoma State’s defensive line.”

Because Capra didn’t get to the line of scrimmage quickly, Coach says OSU’s defenders were able to bring the punch to him.

The other problem for Capra is that he’s running extremely high, which makes it difficult to get any leverage on a defender.

“You teach defenders, when you see pullers like this, to get downhill and get into the line of scrimmage,” Coach says, “because the offensive lineman is going to have a lot more momentum if he gets his shoulders turned and is able to come downhill.”

At 6-foot-2, 295 pounds, it’s going to be tough for a defender to keep Capra from clearing a path if he has his pads down and his momentum going forward.

Unfortunately for KU, Capra starts high on his block and never gets low, allowing the Cowboys to get to him before he gets to them.

Going back to the first play, we can see that Capra runs a bit high there as well. In fact, he finishes his block almost standing straight up and down.

Coach says Capra isn’t the only KU blocker who doesn’t use leverage to his advantage.

On the second play, KU fullback Steven Foster uses a similar technique to Capra.

“See how high he is when he comes in there?” Coach says. “Watch the Oklahoma State linebacker bring it to him and stand him up.”

The bottom line? Playing with low pad level and good leverage is not just important for running backs.

“It’s your whole offensive front and your offensive line. They’ve got to be low,” Coach says. “They’ve got to be able to play with good leverage, good hands and good drive of their feet.”

Though KU offensive coordinator Chuck Long might be questioned by fans for his play calls here, the simple fact is that better blocking technique most likely would have given the Jayhawks the touchdown.

“If you know you don’t have the horses up front to go get a yard, then you might think about running a different play on third down then trying to stuff it in there on fourth down, or vice versa,” Coach says. “Then again, you also might want to challenge your offensive line, your fullback and your tailback to just go get one yard.”