For those of you who have been Warchant members for a while, you know I’m a geek for football.

Years ago on this site, I enjoyed breaking down film with the likes of former Seminoles Ernie Sims and Dr. David Castillo. Other seasons included in-depth opponent previews based upon concept research and reviewing hours of previous game footage.

Every project was a blast.

Now that we’re on the brink of Mike Norvell’s first real crack at a home opener, full offseason and all, my “geekdom” has been piqued by a rematch of sorts.

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman and Norvell know each other quite well, dating back to Freeman’s four years as defensive coordinator at Cincinnati.

Norvell’s Memphis Tigers and Freeman’s Bearcats actually squared off in back-to-back weeks in 2019. Here are the scores from those games:

11/29/2019: No. 18 Memphis 34, No. 19 Cincinnati 24

12/7/2019: No. 18 Memphis 29, No. 20 Cincinnati 24

The first matchup determined Memphis’ fate for an AAC Championship Game berth, and after the Tigers won at home, the second was a rematch for the conference title (also taking place in Memphis).

This is where we’re going to have some fun today. Sure, the programs have changed and the personnel will be far different on Sept. 5, 2021, than it was in the final weeks of the 2019 season. But if you’re like me and you love to study what makes these coaching minds tick, there’s definitely something to learn about those two games in eight days in Memphis.

Shortly after he was hired at Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman told media in South Bend that his defense was devised to be multiple up front, with fewer coverage wrinkles in the secondary.

Simply put: In a perfect world, Freeman will throw three-lineman fronts, four-lineman fronts and all kinds of alignments at an offense to confuse blocking schemes and checks.

Norvell, offensively speaking, is much the same. In both his shortened season at FSU and his time at Memphis, you see formations that are all over the place. Three-back sets (including an H-Back/tight end), four-wide, wildcat … then you have the motion to consider. Pulling guards and tackles, pre-snap motion, the works.

What a beautiful mess. It’s like watching dueling slot machines, levers pulled at the same time. Who knows if one coach will land his haymaker just as the proper opening presents itself?

And now, a brief word from your author.

For today's feature, a few rules:

1) I'm not getting into the weeds here. Don't overthink it, just try to enjoy yourself!

2) The examples below are in neutral down-and-distance leverage situations, meaning the defense has to be alert for both the run and the pass.

3) In these 2019 games, Norvell was in the shotgun or pistol pretty much all the time. In turn, Freeman was lined up with three down linemen pretty much all the time. (But ... judging by Notre Dame practice footage from our friends at Blue & Gold Illustrated, there may be some four-man fronts to contend with on Labor Day Weekend. So keep that in mind.)

4) I'm already breaking my own rule ... don't overthink it, just enjoy!

In the images below, since we know three Bearcat linemen will have a hand in the turf, disregard them for today.

Instead, study where the Cincinnati linebackers are before the snap. How many of them are near the line of scrimmage (in the box)? How deep are the LBs in their drops? Are the corners aligned with their receivers, and if so, how many are challenging those receivers by pressing up close to the line of scrimmage?

(Note that Cincinnati is wearing white jerseys in both games.)

If variety is the spice of life, then the snapshots above are soaked in ghost pepper sauce. My favorite snapshot is two spots above this paragraph. Both teams could have fit on an arena football field on 2nd-and-7! Freeman is telling Norvell, "You want bodies along the boundary? You got bodies along the boundary, pal!"

Here's where it gets fun, again. Take another look at those formations above, but instead look at all of the alignments from Norvell's Memphis Tigers.

See what I mean? These looks are so multiple, they may as well be exponential.

Let's shake off that terrible math joke and pivot to some neat plays that help show how Mike Norvell can make life difficult on a defensive coordinator and easy for his quarterback.

Coach Norvell said it over and over again when he first arrived in Tallahassee. His offense is, "built for playmakers," by creating matchups that make a quarterback's job easy. Here is one such example of creating a favorable matchup.

As the GIF describes, motion helps create a no-brainer read for the quarterback. One of Mike Norvell's most talented playmakers at Memphis was receiver Damonte Coxie. The 6-foot-3 target racked up over 1,200 receiving yards in 2019 and was a man to key on for every opposing coordinator in the AAC. So when some pre-snap movement puts the Tigers' stud on a linebacker, there is nowhere else to go with the ball.

Now in this second play, Norvell outnumbers Freeman's defense with a wildcat variation that should seem familiar to those who watched closely last year:

Vintage Mike Norvell here. A pulling left guard, combined with the lead blocking back, pave the way up the boundary for a big play. If you're a war buff, you've heard the word "flank" more times than you can remember. That's what Norvell does here. The tight end to the top of the screen seals off the linebacker and two escorts pave the way to first-and-goal. Numbers and leverage.

Now I get it. From Norvell's playbook, none of the above is necessarily new to FSU fans. We've seem these formations and wrinkles to a degree already.

But these two games also offered a few takeaways that should catch the eye of 'Nole fans:

* In a lot of ways, I don't know how the heck Memphis won the two games. Quarterback Brady White was spotty at best, completing under 58 percent of his passes in the first matchup and just *45 percent* of his passes in the AAC Championship. He wasn't a runner, either.

* The throws White made with purpose had similar characteristics. If Cincinnati played soft coverage on Coxie or another target, White would cut it loose as the Tiger receivers broke underneath the defenders. This happened at various depths and with various routes.

* Trench for trench, Cincinnati's defense had the advantage up front (sound familiar?). But Norvell found ways to work around the Bearcats, creating leverage (like the above GIFS) and putting playmakers like Coxie and Antonio Gibson into favorable spots. Much like his FSU offense, screens and motion/misdirection were frequently observed.

* Because of the advantage up front, Freeman was able to drop Bearcat linebackers a bit deeper to free them up to make plays on the perimeter. For context: Freeman is a former NCAA/NFL linebacker and the linebackers coach, so they are the emphasis of his defense.

* Special teams was a big factor. Norvell's kicker had great range, and the Tigers took back the opening kickoff for a touchdown in the first game. We know the Seminoles have been working plenty on special teams this preseason. Could Norvell find more hidden yards and points this time around?

As we noted above, the uniforms have changed, as have the personnel. So the game plans might be different. But I hope this little snapshot gets you perhaps a little more excited about the matchup on Sept. 5.

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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council