Head coach Mike Willis’ Red Foxes have had a roller coaster of a season.
They started the season with a defense that ranked among the top in the FCS. Then, more recently, the defense took a step back and the team began to rely more heavily on the offense, the extreme example of that being last week’s 41-40 loss to the University of San Diego.
Down 13-0 going into the fourth quarter against a two-win Morehead State team at home, Marist had to return to form for 15 minutes or they’d add a brutal in-conference loss to their record.
The team flipped the switch and ultimately won the game 14-13, but, while they deserve credit for their play late, it’s difficult to ignore the early struggles.
Play 1
Offensive coordinator TJ Weyl drew up a strong play to create an explosion through the air.
Three eligible receivers — redshirt freshman Jayden Taylor (No. 15), senior Marco Lainez (No. 10) and junior Zach Garmont (No. 5) — line up in a tight bunch, making it difficult for defenders to play overly tight defense because of how easily they can get in one another’s way. Because of this, the route concept develops cleanly.
By the time the receivers separate, Lainez and Garmont are both down field with routes breaking in different directions. Garmont ends up open on his post route because of this.
Nine times out of 10, this pass is completed for a touchdown. Instead, Garmont drops it and the Red Foxes have their first of many scoreless drives.
These miscues were prevalent, as the Red Foxes didn’t score their first points on offense until there was 4:57 left in the game.
Play 2
Come the start of the fourth quarter, the Red Foxes needed to get the ball rolling.
On third-and-32 with the Eagles’ backs against the endzone, defensive coordinator Mike Horan rushes just three defensive linemen.
They run spot-drop cover 4 behind it, but with senior linebackers Kade Werner (No. 29) and Nate Furrow (No. 54) both responsible for the same small zone between the hashes, Furrow is a “free defender.” He is free to be as aggressive as possible because if he overplays something, there’s still another seven defenders to help prevent blown coverage.
Furrow reads the eyes of Eagles’ redshirt senior quarterback Bryce Patterson (No. 17) jumps the checkdown at the perfect time.
The throw Patterson took to avoid risking a turnover became a turnover itself.
Furrow turned it into six points himself and the game changed.
Play 3
The next time the Red Foxes had the football they had a 23 play drive, chewing the clock, but also moving the chains.
They got to the Morehead State 10-yard line with strong runs and quick passes, but they scored by relying on Mannino to make a play with his legs.
When the Red Foxes were in the middle of the field, the Eagles’ secondary had to cover more ground. This allowed players to get open underneath in the quick passing game.
Now, in the redzone, Morehead could get away with playing tighter defense, as there is less space to cover. Because of that, the Marist receivers are unable to get open.
Seeing all the defenders with their eyes on the receivers, showing man-coverage, Mannino knows he can run, makes a move and scores the lead-changing touchdown.
Play 4
The Red Foxes start this play by showing another three-man rush.
It’s what they do with Furrow, however, that makes this play so successful.
Furrow comes in late on a disguised rush, but halfway through his downhill rush he stops to act like he is bluffing the blitz. The offensive line ignores him, assuming he’s now dropping back, and he gets to Patterson scot free to force the punt team out.
Patterson would only complete one more pass for the rest of the game and the Red Foxes took home the victory.
A win is a win, but the reality is that the Red Foxes played down to a lower opponent for most of this game.
The lack of a passing attack from Marist was a recurring theme throughout this game, as Mannino only had 10 completions for 55 yards.
Not every win can be pretty, but to their credit, the Red Foxes rallied in the fourth quarter and took the win. As they look to wrap up their season against two more conference opponents they will need to play cleaner football for all four quarters.
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic and photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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