Previously: Rutgers Offense

On Wednesday, we looked at Rutgers' offense and it was quite grim. Today we flip to the other side of the ball, which is seemingly in a much better place, accumulating a nice statistical profile through the team's 3-0 start. They've allowed just 31 points through three games, playing with confidence and they have some impact players on this side of the ball. Is it real, or is it a function of playing Temple, Syracuse, and Delaware as their first three games? Let's take a look: 

The Film: Still looking at the Syracuse game, because it remains the only P5 team that the Scarlet Knights have played. Syracuse was bad on both sides of the ball last season, but their offense was considerably worse than the defense, and that's something to keep in mind as we delve into these clips. In fact, the Orange finished 118th out of 128 teams in scoring offense last season, the fourth-worst mark among any P5 school (only Arizona, Kansas, and Vandy were worse), and it gets even worse when you look at total offense. At 265.3 yards per game in 2020, Syracuse was the 3rd worst offense in the entire FBS, with only Kansas and UMass finishing below the Scarlet Knights. So what you are about to witness is the Rutgers defense matched up against a very, very bad offense. 

Personnel: The usual chart

[NOTE FROM SETH: Cornelius Johnson and Erick All are on Star Watch. Blake Corum is on Shield Watch if he continues on this pace]

Rutgers has heavy rotation along its defensive line. They have four players at end and four at tackle that all see a healthy amount of snaps. Mike Tverdov is the traditional DE who logs the most snaps, with Wolverine For A Brief Moment In Time Aaron Lewis as his replacement option. The other DE is referred to as a "Jack" and sees a near 50/50 distribution in snaps between CJ Onyechi and Mohamed Toure. The wrinkle about the Jack position is that the Jack normally plays from a standup stance and will drop into coverage every so often, as that position is a DE/OLB hybrid. Onyechi, though, is more of a pass rush specialist and so Toure was the one I saw dropping into coverage more between the two. 

At NT they have returning starter Julius Turner, who is supposed to bog down the interior and create windows for their DT to get a rush. Turner plays most of the snaps but Jamree Kromah comes on when Turner needs a breather. Temple transfer Ifeanyi Maijeh is the Dwumfour replacement at DT (3 Tech), which has more pass rushing responsibilities than the NT. He rotates with Mayan Ahanotu, with the two playing roughly equal snaps at that position. 

At LB the defense is built around Olakunle Fatukasi, who plays nearly every snap. He has big responsibilities in the system (cleaning up the edges in particular) and regardless of the opponent the Scarlet Knights are facing, Fatukasi is going to be out there often. He led the B1G in tackles per game last season and has drawn some NFL attention. The other LB spot is typically held by Tyreek Maddox-Williams, although he rotates a good bit with Tyshon Fogg. Against one RB and one TE (11 personnel), Rutgers runs with 4 DL, 2 LB, and 5 DB's, which was the case for the entirety of the game I watched (since Syracuse seldom uses two TE's). With the way Michigan plays, though, you're likely to see three traditional LB's and four DB's, and if a third LB is on the field, it is probably either Old Friend Drew Singleton or Dieon Jennings. 

At CB, Rutgers relies a lot on Tre Avery to log snaps, as well as Max Melton, the latter of which though will not be available for this game after being suspended due to "an incident involving a paintball gun", which is a very Rutgers thing to have happen. In his place, Kessawn Abraham, who already sees the field a lot as the third corner, is likely to get more snaps, and the team will have to delve deeper into the depth chart if they need to play with five DB's, potentially calling upon Alijah Clark. The safeties are pretty fixed and sturdy, with FS Avery Young and SS Christian Izien playing basically all of the snaps. The other option for the fifth DB would come from the safety position and Naijee Jones, who only plays sparingly in ordinary circumstances due to the presence of Young and Izien. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: A GOOD Rutgers defense? Mirage or TRUTH? Click here to find out]

Base Set: In the game I observed, the base set looked something like this: 

Here you can see the defensive front, with the three linemen who have a hand in the dirt and the Jack playing standing up. You can also see the two LB's, and then the five DB's, playing the way Rutgers wants them two, corners giving a healthy cushion and two deep safeties. However, again, this is their 11 personnel defense, and Michigan plays either 12 or 22 (meaning there are two TE's out there or two TE's and one of them is called a "fullback"). Thus, you are likely to see something looking more like this from Rutgers on Saturday: 

Again you have the defensive front looking similar and the two safeties back, but instead there are three traditional LB's and only two corners on the field. On this play it's Singleton as the LB closest to the bottom of the screen, with Maddox-Williams in the middle, and Fatukasi on the far side. Those are basically the two looks Rutgers goes to as their base defense, fitted to whatever kind of opponent they're playing. 

What is consistent across the base defensive alignments is Rutgers' heavy reliance on stunts along the defensive front. You will see this pop up in many of the clips I will highlight and it was one of the primary reasons they walked out of Syracuse with a win. The Orange were consistently unable to pick up the stunts, and Michigan initially struggled against this last year. The reason I bring it up is to showcase that it wasn't a neat trick that was doing damage against Syracuse, but rather that it is what the entire defense is built around. The NT (normally Turner) slants inside and mucks it up, and then someone (sometimes the Jack, sometimes the other DT, sometimes an LB) stunts inside. It is as much a part of Rutgers' base defense as their formations are. Here's how Seth drew it up in last year's FFFF: 

If you want a more thorough explainer, feel free to go back and read that section of the 2020 FFFF here, because he explains it in a better and more detailed manner than I can. One thing I should note about this year's team compared to last year is that they have yet to find the ideal Dwumfour replacement for the 3-tech DT spot, as his burst was a perfect fit for that role and replicating it has not been easy. 

Man or zone coverage: Rutgers plays zone defense, particularly Quarters but also with some other zone varieties thrown in. As you saw from the first base set image, the slot corner plays with a huge cushion and the two safeties are both very deep. The outside corners play closer to the line but generally are ready to release back into zone coverage, while the linebackers (if not being rushed) have to be ready to track the underneath routes and make the big tackle to shut the play down should the QB go there with the football. It's a very preventative defense and it's the one they go to most often, but Cover 1 is thrown in if they blitz the safety (more on that later) and Cover 2 pops up occasionally as well. 

Pressure: Rutgers checks in with 4.29 rushers per play this week, less than NIU last week, and their pressure is really quite patterned. If it's a standard down, or they're playing pure prevent defense late in a game, it'll be a four man rush. If it's a passing down, then they'll send five. I charted 45 plays for pressure (some were cut off because ACC Network refused to upload them to YouTube or the incompetence of the camera crew made it impossible to discern) and on just one play did Rutgers bring less than four rushers and on only one did they bring more than five. When they send four, it's going to be their defensive line that you saw from the base set. If they bring five, it'll be either one of the LB's or a safety. Corner blitzes were non-existent in the game I saw. 

Dangerman: I came into this one expecting to nominate Fatukasi for the Dangerman position but instead I was more impressed with the other starred player on the FFFF diagram, Avery Young. Young is the free safety for Rutgers, yet I liked seeing him involved in blitzes and run defense the most. Here he is executing the safety blitz (my apologies that this clip starts kinda late, that's the ACC Network doing its thing again): 

#2 rushing towards the bottom of the screen

Syracuse doesn't see it coming and though he initially whiffs on what should've been an easy sack, he bothers the QB enough to disrupt the play and then recovers to help finish it off. Young's speed allows him to get quickly from the deep safety position to the backfield without telegraphing to the opposition that the safety blitz is coming. Fellow safety Christian Izien does it too, and it's one of the better wrinkles in the Rutgers defense. Here it is again, except on a running play: 

#2 deep safety towards the top of the screen

Assisted by great push from the 3T Maijeh, Young is able to zip into the backfield and bring down the runner for no gain. He's a solid tackler, which leads us to another highlight of him wrapping up a play on the perimeter (again infuriatingly cut off by ACC Network): 

If Michigan wants to get the ball to playmakers on the perimeter again, they're going to have to account for Avery Young. He's not perfect in coverage and can be beat over the top by high-level athletes, but his three-pronged abilities as a run defender, pass rusher, and coverage safety make him the dangerman for this week. 

Overall

Rutgers held Syracuse to 258 yards of offense and just seven points in this one. How did they do it? Well, let's dive right in with a deeper dive on their stunting defensive line, because it was the biggest key to success in this one. Syracuse was routinely and consistently unable to even come close to picking up the stunts that Rutgers threw at them along the defensive line, putting their QB(s) under frequent pressure and blowing up the whole rhythm of the offense. This first clip shows a pretty standard look at their 4-3 stunt in action, with the NT Turner slanting inside and allowing the Jack Onyechi to stunt around: 

#26 to bottom of screen loops around and hits the center

Onyechi drives the center right back into the QB's lap, causing him to bug out and abandon the passing play. Here it is again, this time with Onyechi stunting inside and Turner getting to loop outside, pressuring the QB to.... well, just watch the clip: 

That humiliating belly flop forward pass sums up my experience in having to watch this wretched football game (they actually ruled his knee was down before he shovel passed it forward). 

Let's take a look at another instance of the stunt, this time in a 3rd & long situation: 

In this example, Rutgers has their rush package out there on third down, keeping the NT Turner but using three DE's, going with two Jacks (both standing up) and playing DE Tverdov as a 3Tech on this play. They show an overload blitz with both LB's lining up close to the line, but then they both drop back into coverage over the middle once the ball is hiked. Meanwhile, the actual defensive line events are simple: both defensive tackles drive outside, taking the guards and tackles on each side with them, allowing both Jacks to stunt inside, leaving only the center to defend against both rushers. Both get home and sack the QB. One more, looking almost identical to the preceding play: 

This was happening often. But it's important to point out that Syracuse's issues weren't just limited to the stunts. This is a bad offensive line who had trouble blocking even routine plays against Rutgers. Here's one rushing play that goes awry: 

Not great. Most all teams should be better than that last clip at blocking, which is why Rutgers goes to the stunt as a base defense. They need to allocate as many players possible to solving the secondary, while still also needing to get home on their rushes often, because of the fact they play Quarters. In a zone like that, easy yards are always going to be available underneath, which is why they have to stunt to try and stop the opponent from taking those easy yards. Easy yards like this: 

The problem is that even though they play Quarters to avoid getting beaten over the top, there were plenty of examples where Syracuse had opportunities to beat it. They just rarely converted. Here's the one time they did: 

That's CB Tre Avery getting toasted down the seam, and Avery Young wasn't able to get over in time (shoutout to Rutgers for copying Michigan and having several players on defense with similar names). Several more of these were available, but Syracuse could rarely count on either Garrett Shrader or Tommy DeVito to hit on those passes. Often times it was Tre Avery getting burned, which is why he was cyan'd, though almost every member of the Rutgers secondary had an "uh oh" moment at least once in this game. 

The Orange's inability to hit those passes was the other reason (in addition to the DL whipping the OL) that Rutgers won the battle of this matchup, and eventually, Syracuse just stopped trying, leading to a simply pathetic showing in the closing minutes of the game. The 'Cuse got the ball back down 10 with under 3 minutes to go and basically threw in the towel. This was their 3rd & 10 play: 

That's tackling machine LB Olakunle Fatukasi bringing down the RB, which is often the responsibility of the LB in this Quarters defense. But back to the play call, come on man. The color commentator described it as "performative offense" which is an incredible roast, made even worse when you remember this was an ACC Network broadcaster tearing into an ACC team on air, which I always understood to be a thing you could not do if you work for a conference network.

As I said previously, Syracuse is offensively challenged. They lacked the passers to push it down the field, instead settling to try and dink and dunk into the LB level, which is where Rutgers has some of their most veteran tacklers, who were not allowing many yards after the catch. And then on the offensive line, they were totally dominated. This "wowza" play from backup Rutgers DT Mayan Ahanotu sums up the issues for the Orange: 

DT #92 bull-rushing the guard

It was that kind of day for Syracuse, and the teams who Rutgers has played thus far (them + Delaware and Temple) have also been teams who are overmatched at the line of scrimmage. Michigan should not be, which means we should see more of this: 

That + the deep bomb were the only two good plays for the 'Cuse in this game and they were back to back, constituting Syracuse's only scoring drive. The vulnerabilities are there for Rutgers, not just the talent imbalance compared to a team like Michigan, but the wobbliness in the secondary and some issues they have on the edge. Due to how they stunt their DL, they require Fatukasi and [Insert Other Rutgers LB here] to clean up the edge. If you can draw up a way to get a clean block on the LB, big gains are possible. Syracuse did not get a clean block here (called for a holding thanks to that Academy Award winning acting job from Fatukasi) because they are a bad football team, but imagine that's Erick All setting a firm block on Fatukasi: 

LB #3 towards top of the screen

Since Rutgers plays Quarters, if they're not bringing a safety up to blitz, there's a massive chasm of green grass between where the LB's are on the edge and where the last line of defense is down the field. Get past the LB-level and you're in business. That should be Michigan's objective on the ground. No team that Rutgers has played yet has the talent or competency to slice open their weaknesses.

That's an upgrade from just a few years back, when Chris Ash led a team that was the "any FBS team can slice open our weaknesses" variety, and it's a testament to Greg Schiano's coaching that they've returned to competency. He just doesn't have anywhere close to the level of players you would need to hang consistently against high-level B1G competition (which we think is roughly what Michigan is). Luckily, he might be getting those in the near future thanks to that cold hard Piscataway cash. For now, though, this should be an easy win at the Big House for the Wolverines. 

How do you feel after having to watch and analyze a full game of RUTGERS vs. SYRACUSE? 

Frankly, not good. I feel like I need a bath and some Advil to get rid of this dirty feeling I have garnered and to heal my headache that I acquired by banging my head against my desk 54 times every time Syracuse looked like they'd never seen a stunt before. Also just the experience of seeing all the stupidity. I mean, LOL: 

That's a throw so terrible that it goes to a different defender 15 yards past the target, who doesn't even realize he has caught the football for a second before kneeling it down. Combine that with the aforementioned bellyflop sack and the clip of the Rutgers RT napping when the ball is hiked from the previous FFFF and I have already made a 2022 New Year's Resolution to never watch a Rutgers vs. Syracuse game again. 

What does this mean for Michigan? 

This feels a lot like last week, where some people were like "hey, NIU beat a Power 5 team, they could be interesting!" and then I sat down to watch the film and concluded "nah", and then the game bore out what I wrote in this column. Similar story to this, where yeah, Rutgers was only a few plays away from being bowl eligible in last season's bizarro pandemic season, and yes they're 3-0 for the first time since 2012, but a review of their offensive film on Wednesday was gruesome and the film today suggests that any team with a half-competent OL and a QB who can hit an open receiver underneath should be able to move the ball consistently on Rutgers. 

That's the trap Michigan fell into last season, with an OL decimated by injuries and therefore cursed by inexperience that had many of the similar problems that Syracuse did in this one when it came to dealing with Rutgers' defensive front, and also a QB who played the first half and *ahem* had many problems getting the ball to open receivers. We don't need to say his name, but fans in Knoxville, TN, will be very quick to mention it right about now. Once Cade McNamara came into that game near halftime and proved he could hit the screamingly open guy underneath consistently, Michigan's offense started to move. With Cade at QB from the start and a vastly improved OL/RB situation, Michigan should be able to shovel on the points. 

Pave them on the ground, scheme to take out the LB's and punish the edges, and have Cade hit a few open passes and take a few deep shots when they're open. Get the lead early, put pressure on Rutgers' hapless offense, and make this uncompetitive by halftime.