Here’s how Oklahoma fooled Clemson into leaving a tight end wiiiiiiide open

Oklahoma ran a sweet fake on their first drive against Clemson, and Clemson bought it 100 percent:

That completion was a 21-yard gain to tight end Mark Andrews, putting the Sooners a yard from the end zone and allowing them to open the game with a touchdown.

So what exactly did they do? They lined up Andrews, a tight end and eligible receiver, two spots over from the center, where the ineligible right tackle usually stands.

The rulebook requires teams line up with seven players on the line of scrimmage. The two closest to the sidelines are considered eligible to catch the ball. The five linemen in between them are ineligible. Typically, teams surround the center with his four ineligible buddies to make for a conventional offensive line.

But the rulebook doesn’t require that alignment. The rulebook just requires seven players on the line of scrimmage, and states that the two on the end are eligible and the five in between are not. Now look at how Oklahoma lined up:

You see how the wide receiver at the top of the screen is a step back from the line of scrimmage? That means Andrews is the person on the line of scrimmage at the end of the line, and that means he’s eligible to catch the pass.

But Clemson comes out, sees a player lined up where a right tackle normally lines up, and don’t think twice about him. When Baker Mayfield faked a handoff, they bought the run fake totally and nobody stuck with a completely eligible receiver.