A rainy, morning game against Samford in November doesn't sound like a prime situation for strategic experimentation.

Yet it was perfect in some ways.

Coach Gus Malzahn, who doubles as the Tigers' play-caller, unveiled a new (to him) RPO concept last weekend. And he debuted it in a somewhat high-pressure situation to boot.

The situation? It was 4th-and-4 with the heavily favored Tigers ahead by just two touchdowns in the second quarter.

Malzahn needed something special. He came up with a shovel pass, something Auburn hasn't used at all recently, and disguised it with a trips set and an unusual (for him) machinations at wideout.

Here's how it looked on paper:

This generally is considered an RPO, but since a shovel pass is a pass, it's technically a PPO; a pass-pass option.

Auburn leaves the End Man On Line (shaded in red above) unblocked and it's quarterback 10 Bo Nix's job to read the EMOL. If he crashes upfield, Nix shovels the ball to tailback 28 Boobee Whitlow. If that defensive end holds his ground, Nix continues his rollout in search of an open receiver toward the field side.

This passing concept is called 'snag' and it's been popularized by former Auburn offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, who teaches it as part of his "NZONE" system.

The outside receiver (11 Shedrick Jackson) runs a 'snag' route — 45 degrees to the hash and squat. It's a route, sure, but it also creates a rub/pick to release the inside receiver (12 Eli Stove) on a flat route.

The middle receiver (18 Seth Williams) heads downfield on a corner route to draw safety attention away from the snag.

Here's how it looked in real time:

So CLIP 1 was the shovel pass variant — the EMOL rushed upfield and Nix read that as a give. Whitlow turned it into a 10-yard gain. And a first down. That's a win.

CLIP 2 shows what happens when the EMOL sits. Quarterback Cord Sandberg eschews the shovel and instead rolls out in search of the flat route, which is being run by 19 Matthew Hill in this case. Watch how the 'snag' route (run by 17 Marquis McClain) creates a roadblock that frees Hill out wide.

Malzahn incorporated this call for Sandberg initially; it's a read he likes and he also likes throwing on the run to his left. Nix also grew to like it.

Why would Auburn "waste" a call like this against Samford? Three possible reasons.

1.) Running this against Samford gives Auburn a good chance to run it effectively since, let's be honest, Samford's defense isn't going to offer Alabama-level resistance. There is some room for error. When/if Auburn goes with this call again, it can lean on game experience to help the call succeed.

2.) Getting this on film means Alabama has to spend time on it.

3.) This sets up a tendency, which also means it sets up a tendency breaker. Could Auburn target the corner route next time? Yes. Could Auburn do something different with the back-side tight end that makes him a threat? Yes. Could Auburn fiddle with the shovel play-action in a different way out of the same formation? Yes.

Malzahn often catches grief from fans for running the same stuff every week, but he's done a "solid" job this season incorporating some new ideas into his run/play-action paradigm. His dalliance with the pistol formation a few weeks back was one. This shovel/snag concept is another.

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