The football team will see a different wrinkle it will not see anywhere else when it faces the Akron defense.

Against every other team on CMU’s schedule, the defense aligns with four down linemen. Akron only uses three down linemen in most situations.

“They difficulty with (Akron) is they do both (alignments),” said coach Butch Jones. “There just not a three-down football team or what some people refer to as an odd front.”

Jones said because of different blitz schemes and patterns Akron uses, the pass protection is forced to be mentally sharp.

Along the defensive line is junior defensive end Almondo Sewell (6’1”, 280 pounds). Sewell had 62 tackles, two sacks and six tackles for loss last year.

“You always have to be conscientious of where he is, but you can’t let one person dictate to you,” Jones said. “That’s why it’s going to be critical that we do some different things offensively in terms of schemes.”

Senior offensive guard Allen Ollenburger said Akron tends to blitz more than other defenses.

“They bring a little bit more pressure than most teams do with the four linebackers so you just have to be a little bit more technically sound,” he said.

The 3-4 front is more prevalent in the National Football League than at the collegiate level. The standard 3-4 front uses bigger defensive linemen to take on double teams and allow the four linebackers to make plays freely. The defensive ends are more like defensive tackles in a 4-3, where outside linebackers can be used to rush the passer like a prototypical defensive end or they can drop back into coverage.

Senior quarterback Dan LeFevour said he has to recognize the amount of people in coverage.

“They have the capacity to drop another guy into coverage more often,” he said. “It makes running the ball a little bit difficult (too).”

The key to beating a 3-4 front is shedding the defensive linemen and blocking the linebackers. Ollenburger said CMU will use its athleticism to its advantage.

“You have to put a little emphasis on getting to the second level,” he said. “We do pretty well already getting to the second level because we are smaller and faster.”

Redshirt freshman Brian Wagner leads the team in tackles through three games with 30. He earned the attention of CMU’s offensive line.

“He flies around, he really gets to the ball,” Ollenburger said. “He reminds me a lot of (CMU junior linebacker) Nick Bellore. He has a nose for the football and when he brings his blitzes, he really comes hard.”

Making the switch

Before 2009, Akron implemented an even more unusual defensive front — the 3-3-5. In this scheme, the three down linemen occupied the same roles, but there were only three true linebackers.

“There’s a lot of similarities, it’s a little bit different,” Jones said. “I think it’s evolved a little bit more to probably be a little bit more multiple.”

Along with the two cornerbacks and two safeties, Akron used a rover, which is safety/linebacker hybrid. Junior outside linebacker Mike Thomas filled the role last year. Thomas is an undersized linebacker in the new scheme, at 5’11”, 215 pounds.

“(He’s) all over the place,” Jones said. “He’s just a football player. He’s got great instincts. You can tell a player who has great instincts because they’re always around the football.”

E-mail the author: Andrew Stover