by: Daniel House (@DanielHouseNFL)
When the Gophers’ rushing attack is clicking, everything changes. Minnesota can control the time of possession, pick up first downs and create favorable perimeter matchups for its wide receivers. Dating back to his days at Western Michigan, P.J. Fleck and his offensive staff have always valued time of possession. The Gophers currently rank 11th nationally (33:49) in this category. All of the necessary ingredients have been coming together to execute Minnesota’s offensive philosophy at a high level.
This week, the Gophers’ coaching staff mixed up a recipe for success and the players executed. Throughout the night, Minnesota varied rushing concepts between outside, inside and stretch zone. It was clear the outside zone would be effective because it helped get Nebraska’s stout defensive line moving horizontally. The linebackers were getting run out of gaps and the Gophers’ guards were doing a tremendous job of reach blocking defensive tackles inside. By executing all of the responsibilities up front, the running backs had backside creases to cut into.
In the next couple clips, I’m going to walk through some of the running game wrinkles Minnesota used in Saturday’s 34-7 win over Nebraska.
In the first example play, the Gophers ran an inside zone play. Tight end Jake Paulson swipes down and whams the backside. Right guard Curtis Dunlap clears out the defensive tackle. The weakside linebacker gets too far up the field and out of his run alignment. Right tackle Blaise Andries delivered a keep backside block and running back Shannon Brooks had a big hole to explode through.
A little later, Mohamed Ibrahim’s 15-yard touchdown was the result of a well executed outside zone play. The offensive linemen are all moving laterally to the sideline. Tight end Jake Paulson did an excellent job of blocking the edge and Blaise Andries reached into the second level to block the strong safety. Andries had a big game and did a fantastic job of sealing running plays. These are the type of concepts that got Nebraska’s defensive line on the run. As the game progressed, it was easy to see Nebraska’s defensive line wearing down. When that happened, the Gophers kept pounding the football inside. The amount of physicality displayed by Minnesota’s offensive line was the biggest difference maker in this game.
Although it’s difficult to tell completely without an end zone angle, it looks like the Gophers used a stretch zone (sometimes called mid zone) play in the below example. This type of play is often grouped into the outside zone family because the offensive line is moving laterally and trying to “stretch” the defense. As we discussed in previous posts, the main three reads for the running back on outside zone are bang (hit the hole), bounce (kick it outside), or bend (back to the A-gap). The same reads are available here and running back Rodney Smith is reading the C-gap (gap to the outside shoulder of the tackle). In this instance, he doesn’t see any opportunity to bounce or bang. John Michael Schmitz and Conner Olson did a nice job of reaching the defensive tackles. This helped created a backside crease after Smith decided to bend. Again, Jake Paulson did a nice job of blocking the backside and Sam Schlueter washed out the backside linebacker. The patience and elusiveness displayed by Rodney Smith allowed this run to thrive. Smith is really tough to bring down in space and it’s why backside creases often lead to so many explosive plays for him.
There were many instances where the Gophers forced linebackers and safeties out of alignment because of the rushing schemes. Nebraska was moving sideways and Minnesota’s interior did an excellent job of reaching defensive tackles. They also created situations where defenders had to make a play in space.
One of the keys to executing the zone running scheme is having interior offensive linemen that can reach defensive tackles inside. With right tackle Daniel Faalele out, we had the chance to see redshirt sophomore John Michael Schmitz at center. He played at a very high level in his first start. When I talk about reach blocking, I’m referencing an interior player blocking a player who is lined up on the playside of him. He takes a 45-degree step and is aiming for the outside shoulder of the defender. The center or guard will swivel their hips and cross the defender.
John Michael Schmitz plays with tremendous leverage, technique and physicality. In the clip below, he reaches nose tackle Darrion Daniels, which helped spark the explosive run by running back Rodney Smith. I also pulled out a second clip below where he managed to reach Carlos Davis inside and opened a rushing crease.
When you have an athletic, smart and physical center, it changes the entire offense, especially in a zone blocking system. I’ve always been of the belief that having a center who can move and reach like this is the single most important part of having a successful offense. Michael Schmitz is developing at a rapid rate and should continue to see rotational snaps moving forward.
I also thought this was the best game by Curtis Dunlap Jr. He was pushing into the second level and finishing blocks consistently. There was one goal line play where he pulled off his man and gave a second effort push for Mohamed Ibrahim. When he consistently plays with this type of effort and intensity, it changes the entire unit.
The physicality during Saturday’s game was very similar to performances we saw at the end of 2018. The offensive line and tight ends are executing the schemes at a high level. Not only that, but the wide receivers have been consistently doing an excellent job of blocking on perimeter to extend explosive plays.
The Gophers have also added modifications to the Wildcat package. This time, they attached some jet motion to it and direct snapped the ball to Rodney Smith. Seth Green became the lead blocker and Smith plunged into the end zone for a score. These are the type of wrinkles Minnesota can continue adding to the Wildcat look in order to limit predicability.
As a whole, despite needing to reshuffle the unit, this was the most cohesive game by the entire offensive line. Each player made key contributions to the 322-yard outburst. At left tackle, Sam Schlueter might be the most improved player on offense. He continues to impact the ground game and has progressed in pass protection. We’ve watched the offensive line group take positive steps forward every single week, which is encouraging. The Gophers’ offense is balanced and can win through the air or on the ground. Most teams have been trying to play with lighter boxes early in the game, but commit more defenders as the game progresses. Not only that, but the RPO and play-action game opens up. Teams have to decide how they want to defend the Gophers because they are balanced and have so many playmakers at both running back and wide receiver.
To start the second half, the Gophers dialed up an explosive passing play. In the clip below, I want you to watch how hard the strong safety bites on the play-fake. Minnesota got man-to-man coverage across the board and Tyler Johnson ran a post. He got separation up the seam and made an electric play after the catch. This is the perfect example of sucking seven or eight players in the box and hitting over the top in the RPO game.
Later in the game, the offense aligned Tyler Johnson in the slot and Rashod Bateman was at the X. Bateman appeared to run a post and Johnson stressed the defense with a wheel route. The safety gave attention to Bateman’s route over the top and Johnson beat the nickel back over the top. These type of plays are going to be available, especially if teams are unable to stop the run and need to commit defenders to it.
The balance and multi-dimensional features of the offense will help the Gophers compete against high-caliber teams down the stretch. They can play a variety of different styles and have the personnel to make adjustments based upon week-to-week matchups.
credit: Fox Sports and the NCAA for video (intended for fair use)