Rutgers calls 'Wildcat' play to shake up Syracuse in 35-17 victory
by Brendan Prunty/The Star-Ledger
Saturday November 08, 2008, 8:21 PM
Joe Martinek runs for a touchdown after Rutgers coach Greg Schiano called the "Wildcat" play against Syracuse.NOTEBOOK
Perhaps Greg Schiano was watching a little too much game tape of the Miami Dolphins during the team's bye week.
Looking for a spark to extend his seven-point lead over Syracuse in the third quarter Saturday, the Rutgers head coach called the one play in the playbook that no one had seen: The Wildcat backfield.
RB Joe Martinek lined up behind center, took the direct snap and sprinted 45 yards for a touchdown.
Lead extended. Crowd electrified. Syracuse deflated.
"That's one that we had been practicing during the week," Martinek said. "It's just one of those plays, that once you get the opportunity to run it, you want to make the most of it."
Despite being the fourth-string running back, Martinek is the jack-of-all-trades of the Rutgers backfield. Having played a little bit of quarterback in high school, Martinek didn't feel out of place lining up behind the center.
"It was something different," he said. "It confuses the defenses, because there are so many options out of it. That play, everything worked just like we drew it up."
The Wildcat formation has been a back-page staple of offensive coordinators' playbooks in recent years -- a little trickery to throw defenses off balance. But after Arkansas ran it with success last season with running back Darren McFadden, teams have started to incorporate it more. With Ronnie Brown, the Dolphins have turned it into a fad in the NFL.
But Schiano saw it as another way to get one of his four talented running backs the chance to do something with the ball.
"He's a guy who doesn't really get worked up about stuff and we just felt he was the guy to do that," Schiano said. "It's a way to get him involved. We have some running backs and we want to keep them all playing because they are all good. So we're trying to figure out ways that they all get their touches. It's not easy."