to slow it down. By 2000, almost all major college programs had abandoned option attacks for "pro-style" offenses the utilized more passing and attract athletes who had aspirations to play in the NFL, where option offenses had fallen out of favor decades earlier. While very few teams run pure option attacks, some option concepts and plays have been incorporated into newer offensive schemes in recent years. In the early 2000s, Urban Meyer and other coaches found success with the spread offense, which incorporates elements of an option-based running game while utilizing the shotgun formation and including much more of a passing game than a traditional option scheme. Meyer visited Kansas State University's Bill Snyder and learned the principles of his system. These combine elements of the West Coast offense and the single wing with sorted elements of the flexbone and the wishbone. Meyer used his spread option offense with great success at Bowling Green, Utah, and Florida, where he won two national titles, and at Ohio State, where he won an additional national championship. Meyer's version is based on the spread attack developed by then-West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez. Rodriguez earned "pioneer" status for incorporating wishbone principles, such as the zone-read and option pitches, into the primarily passing-oriented spread offense. However, it is unclear whether Rodriguez developed the system, Kansas State coach Bill Snyder developed the zone-read philosophy with QB Michael Bishop in the late 1990s, or whether the two coaches coincidentally developed the system at the same time. The option remains popular at mid-major levels as well. The Appalachian State Mountaineers, who won three consecutive titles in Division I FCS from 2005 through 2007, rely on the spread option offense. Additionally, the Cal Poly Mustangs achieved success with its flexbone-style option offense under former head coach Rich Ellerson, who has since installed the offense at Army. Lenoir–Rhyne played for an NCAA DII National Championship in 2013 running the flexbone. Carson–Newman, Eastern New Mexico, and Harding have had a great deal of success running the triple option at the NCAA Division II level. Option offenses are considered to be "equalizers" on the playing field – allowing less athletic teams to compete with larger and faster defenses, particularly since there are few teams that run the scheme and defensive players and coaches may not be adept at stopping it. Appalachian State proved this theory by defeating the heralded Michigan Wolverines at