In the ever-evolving chess game that is college football, coaches are constantly trying to develop new schemes to combat the latest trends. In 2017, opposing teams found an especially effective method of slowing down the prolific Texas Tech offense, an extreme zone coverage often labeled “cloud coverage”.
Early in the season, Tech was able to beat man coverage and defenses that sent extra rushers after Shimonek. Using a soft zone coverage that at times dropped as many as nine men into coverage, Big 12 teams were able to befuddle the Red Raider passing attack as the season wore on.