Harasymiak Said Knowing RU's Run Game Was Helpful

Bueller · Sep 9, 2026

Asked by admins if he would alter game plan vs a UMass, since Harasymiak knew RU's playbooks, GS (Coach Banzai Charge) said "We're not in the business of tricking people." Oh well.

Iin a post interview Harasymiak said a UMass goal was to make RU one dimensional on offense. He assumed Duff would "get his" and that stopping the run was the goal. He said "If we can stop the run against Rutgers offense - where I had familiarity with that - its going to set us up."

The tv commenter Anthony Heron said that Lonergan had decision troubles with the shifting UMass zone defense that was confusing Lonergan. Heron was pretty good and also saw that Duff's trademark DB shove was "a good non call." Duff is so good at that. Looking back at RU's OL again I have to say they looked slow and weak and couldn't get to blocks or keep them.

3:20 - 3:55

Can't name another RU WR who could do this practically every game and get away with it (because he's good at it)

Fellas losing blocks all over

Screen tackler runs between TWO RU blockers not doing anything

RUGuitarMan1 · Sep 9, 2026

You can be assured BC is using the Mass defensive concepts in their game plan. RU needs to make some adustments to get their run game going which is essential. The RU defense is a whole other discussion.

RUShea · Sep 9, 2026

"We're not in the business of tricking people."

This is the crap that drives me insane about GS. That's so dumb. He acts like we're Saban era Alabama. You SHOULD be trying to trick people. You SHOULD be trying to scheme things.You SHOULD be trying to adjust gameplans when things aren't working. All that stuff is called coaching. It's pure insanity to do otherwise.

kupuna133 · Sep 9, 2026

Who doesn’t know RU’s run game at this point. Kirk doesn’t exactly mix it up. Limited formations. And limited play calls. Very easy to predict.

rosenst2 · Sep 9, 2026

As Mike said on TKR, they use the least amount of pre-snap motion of any program which is a crime. The players overlooked UMASS and so did the coaches in their play calling/prep . Very arrogant.

Greg acts like we are Ohio State and can just line up and say try to stop us. SMH. Football is physical chess and Greg just got checkmated.... possibly for his coaching career.

Bueller · Sep 9, 2026

RUShea said:
"We're not in the business of tricking people."

This is the crap that drives me insane about GS. That's so dumb. He acts like we're Saban era Alabama. You SHOULD be trying to trick people. You SHOULD be trying to scheme things.You SHOULD be trying to adjust gameplans when things aren't working. All that stuff is called coaching. It's pure insanity to do otherwise.

What's funny is that on defense, kick blocks etc GS can be a trickster. On offense he's just one of those plodding defensive coordinators who thinks "if you execute you win" on offense. That worked in the late 1900s. Some players have "tells" or giveaways that a team coach can know. Sometimes its about match-ups that a couple of films don't show but four months of practice do. People had fits over Michigan maybe stealing signals but for me an ex--coach has more tricks up his sleeve.

RU#1fan · Sep 9, 2026

RUShea said:
"We're not in the business of tricking people."

This is the crap that drives me insane about GS. That's so dumb. He acts like we're Saban era Alabama. You SHOULD be trying to trick people. You SHOULD be trying to scheme things.You SHOULD be trying to adjust gameplans when things aren't working. All that stuff is called coaching. It's pure insanity to do otherwise.

That’s why Schiano will probably go 2-10 this season

Rutgers Chris · Sep 9, 2026

kupuna133 said:
Who doesn’t know RU’s run game at this point. Kirk doesn’t exactly mix it up. Limited formations. And limited play calls. Very easy to predict.

They’re like my high school football coach. Block the veer/zone read correctly and it should be 6-8 yards every play. If only it was that easy

Anon1751565407 · Sep 9, 2026

RUShea said:
"We're not in the business of tricking people."

This is the crap that drives me insane about GS. That's so dumb. He acts like we're Saban era Alabama. You SHOULD be trying to trick people. You SHOULD be trying to scheme things.You SHOULD be trying to adjust gameplans when things aren't working. All that stuff is called coaching. It's pure insanity to do otherwise.

Fair criticism when GS thinks he has matchup advantages.
Worked for Lombardi though.

A seal here…and a seal here…

AreYouNUTS · Sep 9, 2026

Pee-wee football coaches could knows how to defend our O and beat our D.

Ru-baby · Sep 9, 2026

Not sure why so many think GS dictates everything to KC when we have seen how predictable KC has been over the years, and our O has his fingerprints all over it. WHile he may dictate philosophy GS is not calling plays and so much of Umass positioning was based on expectations that came true of what KC would do. Really what innovative play calls have we seen from KC in the last 3 years---outs to Strong and Duff and have them fight for the ball.

This week GS should get involved with the O and dictate heavy runs for a few reasons--we have Raymond, it helps an OL to drive forward and we have a new QB.

RUTGERS95 · Sep 9, 2026

rosenst2 said:
As Mike said on TKR, they use the least amount of pre-snap motion of any program which is a crime. The players overlooked UMASS and so did the coaches in their play calling/prep . Very arrogant.

Greg acts like we are Ohio State and can just line up and say try to stop us. SMH. Football is physical chess and Greg just got checkmated.... possibly for his coaching career.

sounds like cause and he admitted to overlooking things he knew better to and the team ( specifically did not prepare them) was not ready

cause

RUBlackout · Sep 9, 2026

Ru-baby said:
Not sure why so many think GS dictates everything to KC when we have seen how predictable KC has been over the years, and our O has his fingerprints all over it. WHile he may dictate philosophy GS is not calling plays and so much of Umass positioning was based on expectations that came true of what KC would do. Really what innovative play calls have we seen from KC in the last 3 years---outs to Strong and Duff and have them fight for the ball.

This week GS should get involved with the O and dictate heavy runs for a few reasons--we have Raymond, it helps an OL to drive forward and we have a new QB.

No!!! We only run in between the tackles and clearly watching all the highlights we cannot block for sht!!!
Stick to throwing and let that open up your run game as we need to soften a defense up. Stop with all the fly patterns and slants and throw some WR screens, quick 5yd hitches. Essentially turn your passing game into your run game until defense softens.

**im well aware we will continue to the same gameplan and crap we have seen for years**

Bueller · Sep 9, 2026

Anon1751565407 said:
Fair criticism when GS thinks he has matchup advantages.
Worked for Lombardi though.
A seal here…and a seal here…

Lombadri/Bryant era is where a lot of the crazy crept in (Junction Boys, no water on sweltering summer days etc). In the late 50s- 60s the glamourous NFL stars were on offense. Defenders were often bouncers, farmers, moving men etc in off-season. They were smaller, slower didn't lift weights etc. Lombardi ran his Packer Sweep with many repetitions so that it was perfected and could steamroll defenders even when they knew it was coming. That's where that "execute and you win" stuff came from. Lombardi called the play 6-10 times a game and he said that if he called the Packers Sweep twenty times in a game, he expected it to work twenty times. Obviously 6-10 Packer sweeps wouldn't work today.

RU Cheese · Sep 9, 2026

Ru-baby said:
Not sure why so many think GS dictates everything to KC when we have seen how predictable KC has been over the years, and our O has his fingerprints all over it. WHile he may dictate philosophy GS is not calling plays and so much of Umass positioning was based on expectations that came true of what KC would do. Really what innovative play calls have we seen from KC in the last 3 years---outs to Strong and Duff and have them fight for the ball.

This week GS should get involved with the O and dictate heavy runs for a few reasons--we have Raymond, it helps an OL to drive forward and we have a new QB.

Perhaps because the offense was equally as predictable in all the years before KC

RU Cheese · Sep 9, 2026

RUShea said:
"We're not in the business of tricking people."

This is the crap that drives me insane about GS. That's so dumb. He acts like we're Saban era Alabama. You SHOULD be trying to trick people. You SHOULD be trying to scheme things.You SHOULD be trying to adjust gameplans when things aren't working. All that stuff is called coaching. It's pure insanity to do otherwise.

Agree. It's a quote that sums Greg up well and in a financially unconstrained environment should be a fireable offense. It's unbelievable how dumb he is.

Bueller · Sep 9, 2026

Ru-baby said:
Not sure why so many think GS dictates everything to KC when we have seen how predictable KC has been over the years, and our O has his fingerprints all over it. WHile he may dictate philosophy GS is not calling plays and so much of Umass positioning was based on expectations that came true of what KC would do. Really what innovative play calls have we seen from KC in the last 3 years---outs to Strong and Duff and have them fight for the ball.

This week GS should get involved with the O and dictate heavy runs for a few reasons--we have Raymond, it helps an OL to drive forward and we have a new QB.

The "skeleton" of the offense has been basically the same for years - lots of safer sideline passes and passes into the zone defense dead spots (big one usually in center of the field between zones and close to LOS). Passes keep DBs out of box and good RB/OL can gain yds. Then in the short/dense red zone things go vanilla and RU has to settle for FGs. In 2025 RU was 105th for scoring percentage. AK, Duff, Raymond and 105the for red zone. Kirk probably added the slow mesh which was from Wake Forest and made a lot slower. The Tush Push was right up GS's alley since it was safe turnover wise,

College Football Stats - College FB Team Red Zone Scoring Percentage (TDs and FGs) | TeamRankings.com

College Football red zone scoring percentage (tds and fgs), by team.

www.teamrankings.com

drewbagel423 · Sep 9, 2026

rosenst2 said:
As Mike said on TKR, they use the least amount of pre-snap motion of any program which is a crime. The players overlooked UMASS and so did the coaches in their play calling/prep . Very arrogant.

Greg acts like we are Ohio State and can just line up and say try to stop us. SMH. Football is physical chess and Greg just got checkmated.... possibly for his coaching career.

Which is crazy because during the 2006 run we did a ton of pre snap motion and shifting.

RUboston · Sep 10, 2026

Translation: “We’re in the business of running a mundane, predictable, easy to defend offense.”

RUboston · Sep 10, 2026

GS in the locker room at half time of the UMass game:

Knight Shift · Sep 10, 2026

This is a segment in the second quarter right before UMass was about to score to go ahead. Joe looks like he is having a good time and knows the game is in the bag.

Knight Shift · Sep 10, 2026

Pad level, Coach Harasymiak says? What is this concept?

jsol_05 · Sep 10, 2026

RUShea said:
"We're not in the business of tricking people."

This is the crap that drives me insane about GS. That's so dumb. He acts like we're Saban era Alabama. You SHOULD be trying to trick people. You SHOULD be trying to scheme things.You SHOULD be trying to adjust gameplans when things aren't working. All that stuff is called coaching. It's pure insanity to do otherwise.

He doesn't have to make adjustment because the powers that be aren't holding him accountable. Why coach, when after the game all he gives you is sound bite( we got licked tonight, keep chopping, we were out coached and outplayed, violence and physical dominance. People keep hoping while he keeps grifting more and more $$$$ from the State of NJ, it has gotten so good that he decided to get his sons paid. Hey I can't be made at him, if the administration keep writing the check, well damn he should keep cashing them. This is a low ball figure GS has received about 37 million in just base salary from Rutgers, that is just base I am not talking about total compensation. A coach base salary can be a small fraction of his total compensation package, so when all is said and doneGA and his family will probably pull around 80-100 mil from the State. Now I ask you what has he done to deserve that kind of $$$.

RUboston · Sep 10, 2026

jsol_05 said:
He doesn't have to make adjustment because the powers that be aren't holding him accountable. Why coach, when after the game all he gives you is sound bite( we got licked tonight, keep chopping, we were out coached and outplayed, violence and physical dominance. People keep hoping while he keeps grifting more and more $$$$ from the State of NJ, it has gotten so good that he decided to get his sons paid. Hey I can't be made at him, if the administration keep writing the check, well damn he should keep cashing them. This is a low ball figure GS has received about 37 million in just base salary from Rutgers, that is just base I am not talking about total compensation. A coach base salary can be a small fraction of his total compensation package, so when all is said and doneGA and his family will probably pull around 80-100 mil from the State. Now I ask you what has he done to deserve that kind of $$$.

GS will be like George Costanza when he worked for Play Now. “Good morning, Kelli.” “Go to Hell!” “Heard that one already.”

RUfan1977 · Sep 10, 2026

kupuna133 said:
Who doesn’t know RU’s run game at this point. Kirk doesn’t exactly mix it up. Limited formations. And limited play calls. Very easy to predict.

No other coach knows what Kirk is going to do as well as Joe a Harasymiak. He also knows GS and how much leeway he will give an OC and DC. It made a difference that Joe knew what they were going to before they did it. GS was an idiot for not trying to be the least bit deceptive.

kupuna133 · Sep 10, 2026

RUfan1977 said:
No other coach knows what Kirk is going to do as well as Joe a Harasymiak. He also knows GS and how much leeway he will give an OC and DC. It made a difference that Joe knew what they were going to before they did it. GS was an idiot for not trying to be the least bit deceptive.

Agreed. But Kirk’s offense is easy to predict for any coaching staff. Much less one that has work experience. It’s been discussed on this board and written about nationally for years.

RUfan1977 · Sep 10, 2026

kupuna133 said:
Who doesn’t know RU’s run game at this point. Kirk doesn’t exactly mix it up. Limited formations. And limited play calls. Very easy to predict.

No other coach knows what Kirk is going to do as well as Joe a Harasymiak. He also knows GS and how much leeway he will give an OC and DC. It made a difference that Joe knew what they were going to before they did it. GS was an idiot for not trying to be the least bit deceptive.

kupuna133 · Sep 10, 2026

RUfan1977 said:
No other coach knows what Kirk is going to do as well as Joe a Harasymiak. He also knows GS and how much leeway he will give an OC and DC. It made a difference that Joe knew what they were going to before they did it. GS was an idiot for not trying to be the least bit deceptive.

What are you reposting the same exact response 40 minutes after you originally posted? And it’s already been responded.

RUfan1977 · Sep 10, 2026

kupuna133 said:
What are you reposting the same exact response 40 minutes after you originally posted? And it’s already been responded.

So you have something against repetitive people who repeat themselves and redundant people who say the same thing over.

Better to repeat myself here than to my wife of 40 years who has heard me tell some of the same stories since before we were married.

Fair point though, I will try to restrain myself.

kupuna133 · Sep 10, 2026

RUfan1977 said:
So you have something against repetitive people who repeat themselves and redundant people who say the same thing over.

Better to repeat myself here than to my wife of 40 years who has heard me tell some of the same stories since before we were married.

Fair point though, I will try to restrain myself.

Sounds good. Was wondering if it was a glitch. But now I know it’s intentional. I guess

LotusAggressor_rivals · Sep 10, 2026

RUGuitarMan1 said:
You can be assured BC is using the Mass defensive concepts in their game plan. RU needs to make some adustments to get their run game going which is essential. The RU defense is a whole other discussion.

The only adjustment needed is more violence.

Knight Shift · Sep 10, 2026

RUfan1977 said:
So you have something against repetitive people who repeat themselves and redundant people who say the same thing over.

Better to repeat myself here than to my wife of 40 years who has heard me tell some of the same stories since before we were married.

Fair point though, I will try to restrain myself.

It was worth repeating, intentional or not.

Your wife and my wife should talk about how to handle a husband who does this.

kupuna133 said:
Sounds good. Was wondering if it was a glitch. But now I know it’s intentional. I guess

I have had this glitch happen when posting from my mobile phone, but as I said above, it was a very worthwhile thought. I'd like to see it posted a few more times.

kupuna133 · Sep 10, 2026

Knight Shift said:
It was worth repeating, intentional or not.

Your wife and my wife should talk about how to handle a husband who does this.

I have had this glitch happen when posting from my mobile phone, but as I said above, it was a very worthwhile thought. I'd like to see it posted a few more times.

I’ve had the same glitch. But it was immediate. Not 40 minutes later.

DHajekRC1984 · Sep 10, 2026

RUShea said:
"We're not in the business of tricking people."

This is the crap that drives me insane about GS. That's so dumb. He acts like we're Saban era Alabama. You SHOULD be trying to trick people. You SHOULD be trying to scheme things.You SHOULD be trying to adjust gameplans when things aren't working. All that stuff is called coaching. It's pure insanity to do otherwise.

He's a block head dinosaur who's teams lack any creativity. The ultra conservative style is so 30 years ago .. is it Kirk or GS who never screen, trap, or hit the tight end (after the first series). ? Pass into the red zone tgen run, run, run or try 3 consecutive push tush from the 7?

DHajekRC1984 · Sep 10, 2026

Knight Shift said:
It was worth repeating, intentional or not.

Your wife and my wife should talk about how to handle a husband who does this.

I have had this glitch happen when posting from my mobile phone, but as I said above, it was a very worthwhile thought. I'd like to see it posted a few more times.

It happened to me 15 mins ago via phone on the bball forum. Unfortunately u can no longer self delete.

kupuna133 · Sep 10, 2026

DHajekRC1984 said:
He's a block head dinosaur who's teams lack any creativity. The ultra conservative style is so 30 years ago .. is it Kirk or GS who never screen, trap, or hit the tight end (after the first series). ? Pass into the red zone tgen run, run, run or try 3 consecutive push tush from the 7?

Watch the offense that Kirk ran at Minnesota versus what he runs here and all that will be answered for you. Kirk in Minnesota challenged the middle of the field. Used the TE regularly. Especially in the red zone. And had multiple screen both inside and outside in his repertoire.

Ru-baby · Sep 10, 2026

And he relied on Ibrahim almost more than any team relied on a rb. His Minny time was not a bastion of offensive creativity.

BTW there was at least one screen against Umass--that wasnt the issue--no pre snap motion, utter predictability on most fronts etc.

Caliknight · Sep 10, 2026

kupuna133 said:
Watch the offense that Kirk ran at Minnesota versus what he runs here and all that will be answered for you. Kirk in Minnesota challenged the middle of the field. Used the TE regularly. Especially in the red zone. And had multiple screen both inside and outside in his repertoire.

The ball is the program. When you don't turn it over, you get to punt. That's Schiano ball.

Bueller · Sep 10, 2026

kupuna133 said:
Watch the offense that Kirk ran at Minnesota versus what he runs here and all that will be answered for you. Kirk in Minnesota challenged the middle of the field. Used the TE regularly. Especially in the red zone. And had multiple screen both inside and outside in his repertoire.

Schiano looked good in 2006 when he got lucky with players. Kirk had some similar luck on Minn for a brief bit. He ended-up at Penn St and got exposed for the same problems RU ad Minn had and have - cant score in red zone

As Sean Clifford launched a pass 12 rows deep into the empty Memorial Stadium seats on third-and-11 in the first quarter, the Nittany Lions’ struggle deep in opponent territory continued.

Penn State settled for a field goal, something it would do two more times in the red zone in its 30-23 loss to Nebraska Saturday.

Penn State’s offense continued its inconsistent play from the opening three weeks with quarterback performance as well as questionable play-calling coming to the forefront.

The team is facing a quarterback dilemma while trying to get used to the new play style of first-year offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarocca.

But what has been perhaps the unit’s biggest problem is the red zone offense, which was magnified in the Nittany Lions fourth straight loss to start 2020.

But Penn State still didn’t capitalize on some of the opportunities it received, scoring just 16 points on six total red zone drives.

While much of the struggles can be pointed to the inconsistent abilities of both Levis and Clifford, blame can certainly be put on new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, who has had a less than stellar start to begin his Nittany Lion tenure.

The former Minnesota coordinator came to Penn State with hopes of thriving under James Franklin and replicate what he did with Tanner Morgan and the Gophers in 2019.

But the play calling has been questionable to say the least, and James Franklin is well aware that Ciarrocca, as well as himself, have plenty of room for improvement.

And taking an even greater look at the deficiencies inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, Penn State scored just one touchdown in its six red zone trips, which certainly isn’t a recipe for success in terms of winning games.

“We have got to be more detailed and we’ve got to be better in the red zone offense,” Franklin said. “Some of those balls we’ve just got to make, put them in a position where our guys have the chance to go get it. But that's that's kind of the story.”

The Nittany Lions did all the hard work by getting down the field, but continued to make critical mistakes which led to the team not receiving the benefits for getting in the red zone.

Whether the guy is Levis or Clifford, there is drastic room for improvement with this offense and it starts with scoring touchdowns in the red zone and goal-to-go scenarios.

“There's room for improvement all across the board, especially in the red zone,” Levis said. “It means nothing if you get the ball the way down there and then don't score. And that's something that I take full credit for and it's just something that we need to work on in the future and just dial down for next week.”

Like when do RU fans wake-up - GS and KC run a hideous offnese that chokes in the red zone - a lot - A LOT!!

Inexcusable mistakes in the red zone cost Penn State football in fourth straight loss | Opinion

As Sean Clifford launched a pass 12 rows deep into the empty Memorial Stadium seats on third-and-11 in the first quarter, the Nittany Lions’ struggle deep in opponent territory continued.

www.psucollegian.com

kupuna133 · Sep 10, 2026

Bueller said:
Schiano looked good in 2006 when he got lucky with players. Kirk had some similar luck on Minn for a brief bit. He ended-up at Penn St and got exposed for the same problems RU ad Minn had and have - cant score in red zone

As Sean Clifford launched a pass 12 rows deep into the empty Memorial Stadium seats on third-and-11 in the first quarter, the Nittany Lions’ struggle deep in opponent territory continued.

Penn State settled for a field goal, something it would do two more times in the red zone in its 30-23 loss to Nebraska Saturday.

Penn State’s offense continued its inconsistent play from the opening three weeks with quarterback performance as well as questionable play-calling coming to the forefront.

The team is facing a quarterback dilemma while trying to get used to the new play style of first-year offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarocca.

But what has been perhaps the unit’s biggest problem is the red zone offense, which was magnified in the Nittany Lions fourth straight loss to start 2020.

But Penn State still didn’t capitalize on some of the opportunities it received, scoring just 16 points on six total red zone drives.

While much of the struggles can be pointed to the inconsistent abilities of both Levis and Clifford, blame can certainly be put on new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, who has had a less than stellar start to begin his Nittany Lion tenure.

The former Minnesota coordinator came to Penn State with hopes of thriving under James Franklin and replicate what he did with Tanner Morgan and the Gophers in 2019.

But the play calling has been questionable to say the least, and James Franklin is well aware that Ciarrocca, as well as himself, have plenty of room for improvement.

And taking an even greater look at the deficiencies inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, Penn State scored just one touchdown in its six red zone trips, which certainly isn’t a recipe for success in terms of winning games.

“We have got to be more detailed and we’ve got to be better in the red zone offense,” Franklin said. “Some of those balls we’ve just got to make, put them in a position where our guys have the chance to go get it. But that's that's kind of the story.”

The Nittany Lions did all the hard work by getting down the field, but continued to make critical mistakes which led to the team not receiving the benefits for getting in the red zone.

Whether the guy is Levis or Clifford, there is drastic room for improvement with this offense and it starts with scoring touchdowns in the red zone and goal-to-go scenarios.

“There's room for improvement all across the board, especially in the red zone,” Levis said. “It means nothing if you get the ball the way down there and then don't score. And that's something that I take full credit for and it's just something that we need to work on in the future and just dial down for next week.”

Like when do RU fans wake-up - GS and KC run a hideous offnese that chokes in the red zone - a lot - A LOT!!

Inexcusable mistakes in the red zone cost Penn State football in fourth straight loss | Opinion

As Sean Clifford launched a pass 12 rows deep into the empty Memorial Stadium seats on third-and-11 in the first quarter, the Nittany Lions’ struggle deep in opponent territory continued.

www.psucollegian.com

Preaching to the choir. I’ve pointed out Kirk’s issues in the red zone for years. Serviceable between the 20’s. Awful in the red zone. But his offense prior to Rutgers is noticeably different than what is run here. Rarely utilizes his TE’s now. Scared to take advantage of the center of the field. And screens have disappeared from his play calling sheet.

Harasymiak Said Knowing RU's Run Game Was Helpful

Senior

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-American

Junior

Senior

Heisman

All-American

Sophomore

Heisman

All-Conference

Heisman

All-American

Senior

All-Conference

All-Conference

Senior

All-Conference

All-American

All-American

Heisman

Heisman

All-Conference

All-American

All-Conference

All-American

All-Conference

All-American

All-Conference

All-American

All-American

Heisman

All-American

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-American

All-Conference

Hall of Famer

Senior

All-American