So far it's been a pretty easy transition into the Big Ten for the Scarlet Knights.
As The State university of New Jersey entered its first season of play in the Big Ten, few expected much of a squad that finished 2013 with a record of 6-7. Not only did head coach, Kyle Flood's squad only muster a 3-5 record in the American Athletic Conference, but they managed to find ways to lose to such vaunted programs as Connecticut and Houston along the way.
It certainly didn't help that junior captain and starting quarterback Gary Nova was benched for the final three contests last fall, prompting many to question his ability to carry the offense into 2014. But to his credit, Nova has turned his career around, not only regaining his starting spot, but leading the Rutgers offense to some impressive numbers through the first half of the season.
Buoyed by an aggressive defense that currently sits third nationally with 24 sacks, Rutgers offers Ohio State perhaps their most difficult test since the early season loss to Virginia Tech. Though the Scarlet Knights certainly have their flaws, their strengths match up perfectly against the areas where the Buckeyes have struggled this fall, and Saturday's matchup should give fans of both schools a much better idea of how good these teams actually are.
Offense
As mentioned, Nova is the unquestioned leader of the Rutgers offense. Coming off a big game two weeks ago against Michigan in which he threw for 404 yards and three touchdowns, Nova finds himself near the top of many statistical leaderboards nationally. The senior from perennial national powerhouse, Don Bosco Prep in northern New Jersey leads the nation in yards-per-attempt at 10.7 and is fifth in passer efficiency, just two spots behind Buckeye QB J.T. Barrett.
Nova has all the physical traits that a coach would want in a college quarterback, with good size (6'2", 220lbs), the ability to pick up yards with his feet, and most importantly, a very strong arm. The recipient of excellent coaching while at Don Bosco, Nova shows excellent mechanics and is very accurate when he has the ability to set his feet.
Much of the credit for Nova's success this season though must go to offensive coordinator, Ralph Friedgen. 'The Fridge' came out of retirement this fall, taking the reigns of the Rutgers offense three years after being fired as the head coach of Maryland. With 44 years of experience under his belt, much of it spent leading the offenses at Maryland, Georgia Tech, and the San Diego Chargers, Friedgen seems once again to be getting the most out of his QB.
As you'd expect for a guy that's been calling plays for that long, Friedgen hasn't allowed the Rutgers offense to become reliant one specific scheme or system, instead keeping a diverse playbook that looks to exploit the talent available to him. As the season began, Friedgen looked to maximize the talents of junior running back Paul James, who kicked off the season with 173 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener against Washington State, but tore his ACL against Navy a few weeks later.
In James' place, the Scarlet Knights have split carries between sophomores Desmon Peoples (#6) and Justin Goodwin (#32). Often running out of a classic I-formation or the occasional single-back formation with Nova under center, Friedgen likes to call classic runs like lead-zone (simply a variation of the tight zone with a fullback lead-blocker), power-O, and lead-draw.
With the loss of James, the effectiveness of the Rutgers run game has waned, now acting mostly as a set-up for the play-action pass. In this phase of the game, Nova has excelled. Like you'd expect from someone that's received good coaching for years, Nova carries out excellent fake handoffs that freeze the defense, giving him time to set up and fire a deep ball downfield. Friedgen has a number of such play-calls at his disposal, but his favorite appears to be the "NCAA Pass" which has been around for years.
Whether it's off play-action or not, Nova's favorite target by far is junior wide receiver Leonte Caroo (#4), who leads the team in catches, yards, and touchdowns receptions. Unlike many of the other highly-billed wideouts the Buckeyes have faced this year, Caroo doesn't over-rely on one particular trait like size or speed, instead showing a good mix of size, speed, route-running ability, and hands.
Nova and Caroo showed off their abilities came on the very first play of the season, as they connected for a 78-yard touchdown catch.
As seen in that example, the Scarlet Knights will spread teams out when throwing the ball, often going with a three-receiver look and lining up in the shotgun for long stretches. Additionally, the clip shows another Friedgen tendency, splitting the field into two halves with a 3x1 alignment of the receivers. Caroo is often the only receiver lined up on one side of the formation, with a tight end and two receivers to the opposite side.
Friedgen likes to call a number of concepts like "stick" and "snag" that create triangles to stretch a zone defense on the three-receiver side, hoping the defense will over-compensate and leave Caroo in a one-on-one situation. One such example is the "Trail" concept seen from the bunch formation, using the natural picks that are created by crossing receivers behind one another,which broke for a huge gain against Michigan.
Both the outside and middle receivers look to release to the outside at the snap, but as the Michigan defensive backs start to backpedal with them, the outside receiver immediately breaks on a slant inside.
The two Michigan defenders in the area are now running right into one another, each looking to follow a man in different directions. With the inside receiver running a crossing pattern that takes the inside linebacker with him, the middle of the field is wide open for receiver Janarion Grant to scoot 53 yards before being brought down.
The Buckeyes must avoid the big plays that were given up against a similar attack from Cincinnati, specifically when Caroo is in single coverage. Nova and Caroo would happily exploit the mistakes made by cornerbacks Doran Grant and Eli Apple that allowed Bearcat receiver Chris Moore to break three long touchdowns that evening. The Buckeye defensive backfield must remain disciplined when in man-coverage situations, as well as communicate when facing the three-receiver concepts.
But there are still holes in this offense for the Buckeyes to exploit. As noted earlier, the Scarlet Knight running game has struggled since the loss of James, with an offensive line that has also had some trouble keeping Nova clean. Though they've only given up eight sacks all year, five of them came against Penn State and Michigan, showing that more talented defensive linemen can create problems.
Specifically, Deon Barnes of Penn State had a sack and two hurries in the Scarlet Knights' lone loss of the season thus far, part of a pass rush that rattled and confused Nova all night long. Without much time to set his feet, Nova showed cracks in the armor, throwing five interceptions on a night where he struggled to accurately his targets when he didn't have time to properly set his feet.
Undoubtedly, the Buckeyes will look to expose this flaw, using Joey Bosa to beat the Rutgers tackles on the edge, as well as inside with Michael Bennett and Adolphus Washington. The interior of the Rutgers offensive line has struggled when opposing defenders have bull rushed them straight backward, and the two Buckeyes defensive tackles are capable of providing such pressure.
Defense
As pointed out earlier this week by Ross, every team since Virginia Tech has shown the same "Bear" front with man-to-man coverage that gave the Buckeye offense so much trouble. But unlike Kent State, Cincinnati, and Maryland, the Rutgers defense may actually have the pieces to successfully execute the scheme at the same level as the Hokies.
Though Urban Meyer hinted after that game that only Michigan State would be able to pull off such a game plan, he may want to re-phrase after seeing the Scarlet Knights on tape. While the Rutgers defense is certainly not the most talented, their existing style of play lends itself well to the aggressive approach needed to play the Bear front.
Operating out of a base 4-3 Under alignment, the Scarlet Knights defensive line has caused problems for opponents all year long. Anchored on the inside by athletic defensive tackle Darius Hamilton (#91), and outside by stand-up defensive ends David Milewski (#90) and Kemoko Turay (#58), Flood's defense has lived in opposing backfields, tallying 42 tackles-for-loss through six games.
The numbers back up what is evident on tape: this is an under-rated and athletic defensive front that likes to cause confusion for opposing offenses. Flood and newly promoted defensive coordinator Joe Rossi have relied on a scheme that often calls upon the defensive line to run a number of twists and stunts, taking advantage of this athleticism.
The freshman, Turay leads the group with five and a half sacks, getting the most out of his long frame already with an array of good pass rush moves, in addition to blocking an NCAA-high three kicks.
While this athleticism has allowed them to make plays in the backfield, they do give up a bit of size, and against bigger opponents like Penn State and Michigan, the Rutgers defense has struggled with teams that run straight at them. But Flood and Rossi put their best 11 athletes on the field, regardless of size, looking to make plays before opponent can make their blocks.
Outide linebackers Steve Longa (#3) and Quentin Gause (#50) are likely considered too small for NFL scouts, but the pair often find themselves near the football, and lead the Scarlet Knights in tackles. But the scheme is certainly not designed to funnel all plays to them, instead calling upon defensive backs to make plays against the run as well.
Safety Lorenzo Waters (#21) and cornerback Gareef Glashen (#2) are asked to help out the most, often coming on zone blitzes to create additional pressure and confusion. Such blitzes gave the Buckeyes loads of trouble against Virginia Tech, and the Scarlet Knights already have a number of them in their playbook.
On a critical third down against Michigan, the Scarlet Knights lined up with three down linemen and two linebackers crowding the line, all appearing as if they were to blitz, while the defensive backs appear to be aligned to play man coverage.
But at the snap, Longa and middle linebacker Kevin Snyder (#45) immediately drop back into coverage as the corner and nickelback both blitz, creating an overload to one side of the formation. Though the Wolverines have six blockers to handle five rushers, four of them are coming from one side.
Behind this pass rush, the Scarlet Knights aren't afraid to call a number of different coverages, moving in and out of man and zone coverages. However, they almost always operate with at least one or two deep safeties, looking to keep everything in front of them.
Opponents have been able to play Rutgers' aggressive tendencies against them, often letting them over-run plays in the backfield and giving up cutbacks that can break for long gains. For such reasons, the deep safety is critical for keeping the Scarlet Knights from giving up long touchdowns.
But much like we saw from the Buckeye secondary last year, this group has had trouble mastering any single coverage, and have been prone to giving up long plays. Opponents have broken a pass play for 30+ yards 16 times this season, the tenth-highest total nationally.
Overall, Flood and Rossi have had to rely on an attacking scheme, as they just don't have the pieces in place to stop opponents in more traditional ways. With a pass defense ranked 96th in the nation, the Scarlet Knights have made it clear that their all-or-nothing brand of defense is here to stay in 2014.
With that being the case, one has to expect that they'll trot out the Bear front with man-coverage behind it. Although their defensive backs are nowhere near as well-coached as their counterparts in Blacksburg, the Rutgers defensive front is talented enough to make plays before their secondary has to.
As Ross also pointed out, the Buckeyes are a very different team now though, both in discipline and scheme. J.T. Barrett and his cohorts on the offensive line are much more prepared to take on this scheme now than they were in week two, but this will be their toughest test since then.
If they're able to show yet again that they can handle an aggressive, athletic, and blitzing defense, then the Buckeyes should feel much better about their chances to win the Big Ten. This Rutgers defense is a good proxy for what they'll see down the road in East Lansing, so showing they're prepared Saturday can go a long way towards achieving their goals in 2014.
