The most called play in key short yardage situations nowadays is the quarterback sneak. Unless your team has an extremely small quarterback (or one who is injury prone), there is no more reliable way to get a yard than tunneling forward behind your offensive line — and now most teams have running backs and tight ends pushing the quarterback from behind.
While it is an extremely reliable way to pick up a needed yard or two, the quarterback sneak is not usually a way to pick up an explosive play. The QB usually is falling to the ground as he ducks behind the line, trying to reach for a couple yards, move the chains, and move on. However, Florida State managed to turn a first half sneak against Miami into their biggest play of the game, as they were aided by what appeared to be a botched snap that caught everyone, including the Miami defense, so off guard it created a big play for freshman quarterback Luke Kromenhoek.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) October 27, 2024
Kroemenhoek somehow is able to hold on to what was clearly an early snap, and then as Miami’s entire defense bursts through the line of scrimmage because FSU’s line wasn’t ready to block yet, he somehow slips forward being held up by his own guys and ends up in wide open space. I think the fact that he trips over his own guy’s feet downfield makes this even funnier, but the Noles would go on to cash this in on another 4th down play from the goal line to cut the deficit to 14-7 against their rival. I don’t think anyone will be gutsy enough to draw up the botched snap/delayed sneak on purpose, but it is clearly extremely effective.
