Game 9: Army

Army's football program has not been very good for about 15 years now, but make no mistake: they are a handful to deal with. Their triple option offense is difficult to defend, they are as physically and mentally tough of a team you will face, and they are always a well disciplined team that will not make mistakes and beat themselves. Rutgers should be more prepared than most teams facing a military academy, as they are coming off a bye week and have played Army and Navy a lot recently, so they should not have too much of a problem against them. But as we have seen over the years (including 2 weeks ago), Rutgers is more than capable of blowing games they should win.

Get to Know Army
The Cadets are 2-7 so far this season, coming off their upset victory over Air Force. They have only been blown out twice this year, against San Diego State and Stony Brook, and have other wise been competitive in their other losses (including against Kent State and a very good Northern Illinois team). They also have a win against Boston College.

Head coach Rich Ellerson is in his 4th year at West Point, and he has a 17-29 record thus far. He led the Black Knights to their only winning season since 1997 in 2010, going 7-6 and winning the Military Bowl over SMU. Ellerson's background is in defense, and he has installed a triple option offense, in the Black Knights' attempt to emulate the two military academies who have had more success on the football field.

The triple option offense is led by senior four year starter, Trent Steelman, who leads the team in rushing yards with 911. He is a classic option quarterback, a quick, slippery runner who makes lightning fast decisions, but is not much of a passer. Army uses a plethora of slot backs, most notably Raymond Maples, who leads the team in carries and Malcolm Brown, who is their most explosive back. Larry Dixon is the fullback running up the middle. Army came into the season with an inexperienced line, but they have nine games under their belts at this point, so that should no longer be a big issue. This unit is undersized, and will cut block a lot. Those types of lines can be a pain in the ass, but you can over power them.

Defensively, Army runs a some what odd style of defense, what's known as the "Desert Swarm" which was run most notably by Ellerson at Arizona in the early 90's. In this type of defense, they move guys around A LOT. It looks like they run a three man front, but it's actually a 4 man front with the three technique tackle a few yards off the ball. The weak side defensive end is also lined up unusually, a few yards outside of the end man on the line of scrimmage. The strong side linebacker lines up on the line, and the other two linebackers are free to roam, and move around often. They will also bring the safety down into the box most of the time, and play cover 3 in the secondary. They bring a lot of pressure as well. Army's defense is undersized and has given up a ton of yards on the ground this year, but this is an unusual defensive scheme that can be tough to prepare for.

Rutgers on Offense
Gary Nova needs to have a bounce back game after the Kent State disaster. He needs to have a strong game to keep his confidence, and show that last week was a fluke. He should expect Army to zone blitz him a lot, as it confused him and his offensive line a great deal in their last game. The Desert Swarm defense can be beat when you spread them out and pass. The offensive line should have a good game against Army's front 7, and Jawan Jamison should be able to use his speed and elusiveness to run for a lot of yards. Rutgers has a massive size advantage on the line and at receiver, and they should exploit that.

Rutgers on Defense
The triple option is extremely tough to defend, but Rutgers has an experienced defense who has seen this offense multiple times. The biggest thing you have to do to stop a flexbone offense is shut down the fullback on the belly play. Scott Vallone has done this through out his career, and today should be no different. He should be able to beat Army's offensive line all day, and force the quarterback to keep the ball. When the play goes to the the outside, Rutgers has the personnel to make plays in space and shut that down as well. Khassem Greene will need to shadow the quarterback and force him to pitch the ball. Fumbles can happen on those pitches, and if the slot back runs it, corners Logan Ryan, Marcus Cooper and Brandon Jones should be able to handle them, a they are all strong tacklers. In the past, Rutgers has gone to a nickel defense to stop this type of offense with a rover (it was Pat Kivlehan last year) roaming into the box. My guess is Lorenzo waters will be the rover, and Mason Robinson and Wayne Warren will play back at strong safety. Even though Army is #1 in rushing and last in passing, you need to be wary of the deep ball. Once they suck you up, they will take shots over the top. Warren and Duron Harmon are senior who should be ready for this and not fooled. You can read a little bit more about the flexbone offense an defending it in this post I wrote last year before the Navy game. Bottom line is the defense needs to play with discipline.

Injuries
Federico probably won't kick once again, and all the guys who have been out all year will still be out. Nothing really new on this front.

Prediction Army 7 Rutgers 31
Rutgers should be able to run the ball all day on offense, and I think the veteran defense can handle the option offense well. The big thing in this one is to see how Nova bounces back. I think he needs to have a solid game to keep his confidence, and hopefully he is more prepared to face zone blitzes.

I have all the respect in the world for the Cadets. I hope I didn't come across as too hard on them in this post. They are just not a very good team.