Gary Nova looked cool, calm and in control while operating at this high speed, completing 9-13 passes for 120 yards with a touchdown on those two drives. Watching how easy it was for them to move the ball was almost hilarious. And it made me think: should Rutgers start going up tempo more? Tom Luicci of the Star Ledger asked Kyle Flood about picking up the pace on offense, and he pretty much dismissed that idea. But I think he needs to reconsider his stance on this topic.
Rutgers tried running an uptempo spread offense in 2009 and 2010, and it was an unmitigated disaster. The offensive line could not pass block at all, and no running back could run the ball with out being embarrassed. It was so bad that Tom Savage was kept off the field to keep from being injured, and it may have been a big reason why he decided to transfer (even though Rutgers switched back to pro style before he left). That experience understandably soured the program and presumably Flood on this philosophy, but let's consider why it didn't work on the banks like it did in most other places.
There were two major reasons why this offense didn't work at Rutgers, and one of those reasons no longer applies. The main factor why the offense didn't work was Kirk Ciarocca's incompetence as an offensive coordinator. Don't think I need to add much more to that, just look at how he's doing at Western Michigan. He's not here anymore. The other reason I think it didn't work was the entire coaching staff (including Flood, the offensive line coach at the time) did not buy into this scheme. This may still be an issue, but really who knows? Ron Prince has done a pretty solid job so far at Rutgers, and he seems open minded to trying new things. He does have some experience with no huddle/uptempo offenses from his time on the Colts coaching staff when they had Peyton Manning.
Luicci went on to say that he believes Flood does not want to change the offenses identity of a run first, grind it out offense, but these two ideologies are not mutually exclusive.They can still rely heavily on the power running game, while playing at this accelerated pace. I have wanted to see a team deploy this strategy for a while, but it hasn't happened yet. Imagine how broken a defense's will would be in the fourth quarter if they were getting body blow after body blow like they were playing Stanford, while playing at the frantic pace Oregon makes their opponents play at.
Considering how good the offense and Nova specifically has looked going fast paced against the likes of not only Temple, but Fresno State, Arkansas and SMU as well, it needs to be a bigger part of their offense. Maybe there can be a compromise and they could go fast paced some of the time, but not all the time, similar to what you see in the NFL. The offense has looked stagnant at times, and the fast paced style of play could give them the jolt they need. They have plenty of receiving options, and if they can spread a defense out, throw the ball around and then substitute and go to the power game, they may catch some defenses off guard* and create a numbers advantages inside or match up advantages on the outside.
*You have to allow the opposing team to substitute when you substitute, but if the other coaching staff is unprepared for the fast pace, they could be caught off guard and make a mistake.
I don't see Rutgers going uptempo in a non two minute drill anytime soon, but it's certainly something fun to think about. Considering that the temperature on Flood's seat is rising, he should give this more thought. The easiest way to appease a frustrated fan base is scoring points. There are some draw backs to going uptempo, namely wearing out your own defense, but the risk is worth the reward in my opinion. I think that the fast pace style of play should be a bigger part of Rutgers offense, but they should not run it exclusively.
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