Saturday football and Sunday football are two different games for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is that NFL offensive systems aren't nearly as diverse as the college game, where the triple-option still breathes amid a sea of spread variations.
So it always catches the eye when a popular college wrinkle -- the Wildcat offense, for example -- gets a test drive in the NFL. That happened when Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll revealed Russell Wilson's pop pass touchdown against the Green Bay Packers last week had come directly from Gus Malzahn's playbook at Auburn.
Malzahn, in turn, was pleased.
"It was pretty neat to see the plays we run here work at the next level," Malzahn said during his weekly SEC media teleconference. "I was pretty impressed with the way they executed it."
The official Twitter feed for Auburn athletics posted this split Vine video showing the play executed by both teams:
At top is a key Auburn touchdown from last year's Iron Bowl thriller, a 34-28 upset of rival Alabama that helped push the Tigers to the national championship game. Quarterback Nick Marshall faked a handoff on the zone read and turned upfield as a rusher, drawing defenders, only to find star receiver Sammie Coates for a 32-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 28. Carroll's adaptation resulted in Russell Wilson's 33-yard touchdown strike to Ricardo Lockette against Green Bay.
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