Hit him hard and often.

We used this strategy in 1992 against BYU, where their receivers, Rex and Drage, were allowed to get the short passes in the 1st half, only to be hammered by our defense, which was just finally starting to come together as a pretty good unit. We gave up a lot of yards in the 1st half, but closed the noose around their necks in the second half. The linebackers (Dubose, Peterson, and Smith) played about as good of a game as I could remember, and they were laying some savage hits on those receivers.

In the second half, those receivers couldn't hold onto the ball after being pounded so many times.


Now, that being said, I know what everyone is thinking... Easier said than done, and I certainly don't disagree.