History of the Split-T Formation
The Split-T is a formation used by the offense in football games in the 1940s and 50s and a variation on the T formation. Developed by Missouri Tigers head coach Don Faurot, the Split-T was first used in the 1941 season and allowed the Tigers to win all but their season-opening match against the Ohio State Buckeyes and in the 1942 Sugar Bowl versus Fordham University[1]. It is most well-known for helping the Oklahoma Sooners win a record-setting 47 straight games and two national titles between 1953 and ’57.
History
In 1941, Don Faurot of the University of Missouri developed the Split-T by doubling the space between the offensive linemen (causing the line to stretch 14 instead of 7 yards from end to end) and “splitting off” a wide receiver to one sideline while keeping a tight end in close. When he combined this new formation with the athletes he had at running back and quarterback, Coach Faurot created an offensive juggernaut. In that year, the Missouri Tigers finished the season 8 and 1 and received a bid to play Fordham (then an elite football program) in the Sugar Bowl. The Tigers lost that bowl game 2–0 because rainy conditions and a wet field did not allow the Split-T to be used effectively.
Faurot got the idea from the “two-on-one” fast break in basketball when he was a player at Missouri in the 1920s. He knew that these types of plays forced the defensive player to make a decision about whom to guard and “that made [him] wonder if the same thing couldn’t be done in football.” The idea worked and teams using the Split-T were able to run into gaps created in the defensive line by those decisions.
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