(AP photo)

By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

How did Rutgers manage only 234 all-purpose yards and three points — both not even season lows — on Saturday at No. 11 Michigan State?

A combination of predictable play calling, lack of different personnel groupings and ineffectiveness passing did the Scarlet Knights in.

For the second consecutive week, offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen went with a season-low nine formations — another three in garbage time — and ran a combination of plays the Spartans were clearly ready for.

In all, Rutgers ran only three personnel groupings, though head coach Kyle Flood wasn't in the mood Sunday to retract anything.

"When plays don't get executed, it's easy to second guess play calling," Flood said. "Some of those play sequences were run-pass checks and got run a certain way for a reason."

The one new wrinkle Friedgen displayed was a consistent receiver bubble screen — a staple in most offenses these days — leading to John Tsimis seeing six targets.

The play call comes with an option package in which quarterback Gary Nova can dummy the screen and throw deep to a second read. Rutgers tried it once for an incompletion.

Nova finished 11-for-26 for 108 yards and two INTs. Glove or no glove, his QB rating was 61.82.

"Yeah, they're good," Nova told the Associated Press afterward. "But every team is vulnerable. They had some vulnerable areas. I missed a lot of throws and didn't take advantage of it. We made them look a lot better than they were."

NOTES: With Andrew Turzilli out, Andre Patton's stock continues to trend upward. He played a season-high 55 snaps Saturday and is averaging seven targets the last two weeks ... Janarion Grant did not appear on offense until the fourth quarter. He has earned 14 snaps in the last month. ... Robert Martin played twice as many snaps as Josh Hicks, due in large part to the lengths of his drives and Hicks's fumble.

Rutgers' unofficial formation count against Michigan State:

-shotgun with 11 personnel: 18 plays
-off-I-formation: 11 plays
-trips with base personnel: seven plays
-I-form heavy: five plays
-shotgun with 20 personnel: four plays
-shotgun in trips: four plays
-I-form: three plays
-11 personnel: three plays
-shotgun with 11 personnel, tight end Tyler Kroft flexed out: two plays
-shotgun empty: one play
-Maryland I: one play
-shotgun in trips with base personnel: one play

Rutgers' unofficial snap chart for skill-position players:

Player	Kroft	Carroo	Patton	Burton	Martin	Tsimis	Hicks	Arcidiacono
Snaps	59	56	55	40	32	26	16	7

Player	Grant	Agudosi	Goodwin
Snaps	6	4	4

Rutgers' unofficial target chart in the passing game: 

Player	Patton	Carroo	Tsimis	Kroft	Burton	Grant
Targets	10	6	6	5	3	1