I hear ya Bluu. It may not exist exactly as we remember it as most teams mix in read option and some pro set but the core is still there and that is to use the pass to set up the run and the pass AS the run and spread the field to make defenses chase your athletes in space. With tempo used to keep defenses off balance.
The original "air raid" had very little down field passing involved and very little straight run plays either. It was mostly short outs, curls, delays, screens, drags, that said to the defense you may know what we're running but see if you can cover and stop it because we're throwing quick. And the runs were 80% draws where the defense wasn't sure if it was a pass or run and Anthony White had natural lanes made by the pass rush lanes.
But what made it work and what makes the others today work is HOW they execute this. I remember Couch talking about how they would drill hundreds of reps at an unreal tempo over and over until it was second nature to them. Even to the point the neglected defensive reps it turned out! There was just another level of urgency, tempo, crispness whatever that makes the difference. Heck Malzan, GA Tech, even West Virginia and others used the same style and made it work with a primarily run oriented attack.
This is what Dawson needs to work on in the off season IMO. Develop a style of execution that is just faster than the rest and we will see better results with the same players we have now. If the other guys are going to have bigger and faster than us, it's the only way for us to compete IMO.