Film preview: What to expect from Western Michigan
Pitt hosts Western Michigan today following the Panthers' victory at Tennessee. The Broncos, facing their second Power Five team in three games, are coming off a victory of their own. Let’s take a look at what WMU is bringing to Heinz Field on Saturday.
The Offense
Western Michigan is led by quarterback Kaleb Eleby, the sophomore quarterback who is completing 60% of his passes this season. The Broncos' rushing attack looks, at least early in the season, that it will be a two-headed approach. Sean Tyler and La'Darius Jefferson have combined for 53 carries and 277 yards on the ground for the Broncos.
The offense is a typical college spread offense with a zone heavy scheme, 11 personnel formations and a no huddle philosophy. Here’s a couple of clips from their game against Michigan in the opener.
This was a big play for the Broncos in their opener against Michigan. If you look at the clip above, you can see WMU in a 2x2 set with the slot receiver going in jet motion. They are running a play-action scheme off of jet-action but the running back is escaping into the flat. Michigan is in a man-coverage scheme and with the back going into the flat it is an easy pitch and catch for the quarterback to get the ball in space to one of their better players. This is a big play and leads to their first score of the game.
Eleby’s got great poise in the pocket and even when he’s pressured, he’s able to stay in the pocket and deliver balls down the field. In the clip above, you can see Michigan is in just a 4-man rush but they are getting pressure with a stunt. WMU is running a version of 4-verts and Eleby stays in the pocket and is able to deliver a strike to the inside receiver over the middle for a big gain.
Going back to Eleby’s poise in the pocket, the clip above is yet another example of how he can buy time to allow his receivers to get open. In this example, WMU is running a drive scheme which is a shallow route and a dig route coming to the same side. Eleby feels the pressure but moves just enough to allow him to get the ball off underneath on the shallow route. This is where the Panthers have to get pressure and not allow him to buy time for his receivers.
Eleby is also pretty good in the RPO game. Here’s an example of the Bronco offense running a glance post on the backside of their inside zone scheme. The quarterback is reading the backside safety and once he comes down in the box to be a run-fitter, Eleby pulls the ball and throws it right behind him for a touchdown.
The Defense
The Western Michigan defense will attack in a number of different ways. Against Illinois State, the Broncos were got a shutout. The week prior, the defense struggled and Michigan gashed them with big plays. There are two familiar faces for Pitt fans as both Therran Coleman and Bricen Garner play for the Broncos. Let’s take a look at a few examples on the WMU defense.
A familiar face on the defense is WMU safety Bricen Garner, the former Central Catholic grad who attended Pitt prior to transferring to WMU. In the clip above, Garner undercuts a route on the sideline and is able to get an interception early in the first quarter.
Western Michigan wants to cause some havoc on defense but that also allows them to gashed in the run game at times. For example, in the clip above against Michigan, the defensive line and linebackers have a stunt on and the linebacker comes unblocked into the hole. While the player does not make the play because he gets over top of the running back, the WMU defense is in good position otherwise. The movement that they will show can give offensive lines issues and allow free rushers, like the one above. Instead, the ball carrier makes a cut and it creates a big run for the opposing team.
Pitt likes to use its running backs and receivers in the passing game as an extension of the run game. For example, bubble screens or quick screens to the running back are something Mark Whipple is prone to use. One of the ways Michigan was able to create an explosive play for a touchdown is create a bunch set and throw the ball to the running back on a swing route. The WMU defense was out leveraged and a couple of good blocks on the perimeter led to a score.
Overall Thoughts
Western Michigan has some talent that can hurt you if you’re not careful. Pitt has to be ready to stop the RPO and beat them at the line of scrimmage. Eleby is a very poised quarterback that can make the hard throws and put them in position to score points. The defense is also a unit that can make plays. Turnovers from the defense got them going last week and the Panthers will need to protect the ball on Saturday. Pitt’s defensive line will need to be dominate once again, but they have an opportunity to win the line of scrimmage and cause havoc for the WMU offense. I expect the Panthers to win up front and make big plays on both offense and defense.