2010 purdue

Formation notes: We've already given a lot of time to Purdue's banzai cover zero that they spent most of the game in. It started like this…

…and usually went to this…

…and Michigan was all like "I'm feeling like a light brigade, yo." Michigan didn't do anything special other than bring out the double TE set we saw briefly earlier in the year on their final drive.

Substitution notes: Huyge played almost the entire game but Dorrestein came in late for a series. He got blown up twice and Huyge returned. Shaw went out early with a concussion-type thing, leaving almost all of the snaps for Smith. Hopkins got a few and Fitzgerald Toussaint made an appearance on one fourth quarter drive. WR rotation was the usual, though Stokes returned. You are aware of the QB flipping.

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M35	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	Base 4-3	Pass	PA out	Roundtree	18
Purdue comes out in a two-deep with a slot LB, then moves that LB down to blitz. Michigan immediately exploits this by going at the slot receiver. Outside receiver runs off the corner, Roundtree runs a three yard out and has acres of space to pick up YAC. (CA, 3, protection 1/1) Roundtree gets some extra by making the safety whiff. RPS +1.
O47	1	10	Shotgun trips	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Pass	PA hitch	Roundtree	Inc
Exploiting the same hole in Purdue's alignment, though the safety is in a better position to hold this under first down yardage in the event of a catch. Roundtree drops it. (CA, 3, protection 1/1)
O47	2	10	Shotgun trips	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB draw	Robinson	11
Purdue shifts the linebackers over the slot to cover the play, bringing a safety down from the other side of the field. Michigan fakes the same play and runs a draw off of it, catching Purdue out of position again. That safety drops back on the pump fake expecting pass, so when Omameh(+1) and Schilling(+1) get Robinson a lane he's got a ton of space and can just run away from the MLB. He heads outside for the first down, whereupon the corner strips the ball. Boo. RPS+1.
RUN+: Schilling, Omameh							RUN-:
Drive Notes: Fumble, 0-0, 12 min 1st Q. Magee had Purdue straight trippin' here. Unfortunate fumble.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O38	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Zone stretch	Smith	9
Corner blitz to the playside so the linemen are slanting away from the stretch. Molk(+1) and Omameh(+1) immediately release downfield and get thumping blocks on the two MLBs. Huyge(-1) gets slanted under but Koger(+1) reads the blitz and kicks out the corner; Smith(+1) has a big lane he hits, managing to stay on his feet by falling on some detritus and grabbing a few extra yards.
RUN+: Molk, Omameh, Smith							RUN-: Huyge
O29	2	1	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Zone stretch	Smith	2 + 12 sax
Safety rolls up and the other safety is only about eight yards off the LOS. Playside DE slants under Lewan(-2) and gets right in the running lane. This is really unusual because if the DE doesn't do this successfully he's just given up the edge and a big play. This guy--not even Kerrigan--is ballin', though. (The difference between this and the picture-paged play that's similar is that Lewan's guy shoots into the backfield; in the PP play he's pushed past the action.) An excellent driving block from Molk(+1) gives Smith room to cut upfield or the first down but only just; Smith cuts and fumbles. Lewan scoops it up and picks up another chunk of yards. Just that kind of year for Purdue.
RUN+: Molk							RUN-: Lewan(2)
O15	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	PA TE flat	Koger	4
Playside DE is unblocked and screams at Robinson. Robinson WOOPs him. This opens up the TE flat, which Robinson throws. Throw is high and wobbly and seems to delay Koger that half step that's the difference between seven yards and four. Still, with the dodge this is a good play. (CA, 3, protection N/A, RPS -1)
O11	2	6	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Run	QB lead draw	Robinson	2
Late move after a check sends a safety and a nickel guy into the box for eight; obvious man zero. Nickel guy picks off Shaw and leaves a linebacker unblocked in the hole; Kerrigan stood up Lewan and comes off to tackle when Robinson is forced to cut back upfield due to the LB. Not really anyone's fault; Michigan got caught by the late Purdue check. RPS-1.
RUN+: N/A							RUN-:
O9	3	4	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Pass	PA rollout cross	Roundtree	9
Another late shift; Roundtree sees a safety shift as he's running his crossing route and as both those guys suck up to the threat of Denard on the edge he appears to take his route vertical as an adjustment, sticking his hand in the air as he does. Robinson sees it and flicks it to the now vastly open 'Tree for six. (CA, 3, protection 2/2, RPS +1). Good by Shaw to get a block on a ravenous Kerrigan.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 14-0, 4 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M30	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Run	Inside zone	Shaw	1
Another late move to an eight man front. This doesn't have to matter because the interior line appears to get decent blocks save Lewan, who allows his DE to set up in a place where he might be able to come off and tackle. We never find out because Kerrigan has destroyed Huyge(-2) and flows down the line to tackle as the cutback is forced by a charging nickelback blitz. ZR+1 as the safety came up to contain, RPS -1 for getting suckered by the late shift again.
M31	2	9	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Fly	Hemingway	Inc
Hemingway has a step or two on the DB; ball is thrown on a line and ten yards inaccurate. Turrible throw, this. (IN, 0, protection 2/2)
M31	3	9	Shotgun empty	1	0	4	3-3-5 nickel	Pass	Hitch	Stonum	Inc
Robinson finds Stonum for first down yardage and zings it in there; Purdue has excellent coverage and hits Stonum as the ball arrives. Catchable and frustrating this was brought in but not a pure drop. (CA+, 2, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 14-3, 14 min 2nd Q. Purdue three and out followed by Gallon being insane, not fielding a bouncing ball at the 20, and giving up 25 yards of field position.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M6	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB lead draw	Robinson	1
Guh. This opens up nicely as Molk(+1) gets a good seal on the playside DT as Michigan runs away from the line shift. Lewan again does not get a kick on the DE and gets driven back so that Robinson has to cut inside, but since this is a backup he can't peel to tackle like the previous guy did. So Robinson can hit it up, except for Schilling(-2) completely whiffing on the playside LB. Free release, running right at him, and took a bad angle so that he can just shoot inside. Smith tries to change direction and pick him off but can't.
RUN+: Molk							RUN-: Schilling(2), Lewan
M7	2	9	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	PA Out	Roundtree	16
Safety rolls up. Purdue does not have a guy over Roundtree and has a single high safety 11 yards off, so Michigan goes back to the stuff from the first drive and hits a wide open Roundtree for 3 yards plus epic YAC. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, RPS +1)
M23	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	Inside zone	Smith	6
Good handoff with a contain guy coming upfield(ZR +1). Playside DE slants under Huyge(-1), forcing a cutback. There is one this time because Lewan(+1) blew Kerrigan off the LOS and the contain guy was way up on Robinson. Smith zips back behind all the blocking and is running to get outside the WLB for Purdue. He can't quite make it, a step slow. Omameh and Molk had killed the playside DT but the slant-under made it irrelevant.
RUN+: Lewan, Smith, Omameh(0.5), Molk(0.5)							RUN-: Huyge
M29	2	4	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Run	QB stretch	Robinson	4
Safety rolled up and the SLB basically in the box. Michigan runs right at this and away from the strength of the formation. Right side of the line does a great job of scooping the Purdue line, getting playside DE and DT sealed and popping a lineman off onto a linebacker but math means there's an extra linebacker, who tackles easily. Reminds me of Debord, this play, and pretty much only this play.
RUN+: Molk, Omameh, Huyge							RUN-:
M33	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB power off tackle	Robinson	0
Schilling pulls around Lewan(-2), who had a downblock assignment on a DT lined up well inside of him and didn't even come close to sealing the guy away. He flows, Schilling has nowhere to go, there's no crease, and Robinson does well just to get back to the LOS.
RUN+:							RUN-: Lewan(2)
M33	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	???	Pass	Hitch	Hemingway	10
Purdue very late getting lined up and they are not in position as the ball is snapped. M rolls out and Robinson hits Hemingway about four yards downfield; Hemingway is taken inside by the throw and then steps outside a charging Purdue DB, who slips. Free of that guy he can pick up the first. He's huge and not that fast but he's got a knack for making yards after the catch. (CA, 3, protection 1/1)
M43	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	Inside zone	Hopkins	3
Michigan does not have a response to this DE slanting inside as M runs against a lot of eight man fronts. If they're going cover zero M has to pass. Here Huyge gets slanted under, as does Schilling, but Schilling pushes the DT past and he trips to the ground. Webb is headed outside; Lewan is playside of the backside DE but just barely. With the contain guy one on one with Webb Robinson should pull (ZR -1), but doesn't. Hopkins has to dance around the Schilling mess and hits Lewan. He keeps his feet driving forward. Pile gets four. RPS -1.
RUN+: Hopkins							RUN-: Robinson
M46	2	7	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Inside zone	Hopkins	0
Purdue slants against the grain, which gets a linebacker in the hole unblocked. Hopkins sees this and cuts back, where Schilling(-1) and Lewan(-1) are ineffectively doubling a guy who slanted under Schilling. Hopkins does not have the quickness to get past the DT, who dives to tackle just as Hopkins looks like he's going to bust it into the secondary. RPS -1, ZR +1.
RUN+:							RUN-: Schilling, Lewan
M46	3	7	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Pass	TE seam	Webb	29
It's third and seven and Purdue has eight guys in the box. Odd. Michigan goes at the rolled up safety. Webb gets a step on him but not much more; he's well covered. Robinson drops in a gorgeous touch pass over the top of said coverage for a first down and a big gain. Ridiculously good pass. (DO, 3, protection 2/2)
O25	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	Zone stretch	Hopkins	1
Michigan tries to scoop the playside DT here but Molk(-1) does not get enough of a push on the guy and leaves Schilling a tough task. He can't manage it. This is at least somewhat his fault, too. His DE flows down the line. Hopkins tries to cut it upfield but by the time he can do so there is literally no gap. He hits Schilling, then the DT Huyge is blocking, and squeezes through for a few yards. Great downfield block by Omameh for naught.
RUN+: Omameh							RUN-: Schilling, Molk
O24	2	9	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Deep slant	Roundtree	15
Purdue shifts its linebackers to the RB side, expecting a PA fake and half-roll. They get it, blitzing right into Michigan's protection, slating a guy past Omameh, and generally making this play look doomed. Robinson comes off a quick out, his first read, and shoots a ball to a well covered Roundtree as he gets hit. Tree reaches up to grab it and is immediately tackled. Bad ass. (DO, 3, protection 0/3, team, Omameh 1, RPS -2)
O9	1	G	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	QB lead draw	Robinson	1
Again with the slanting. This time Michigan is running the lead draw at the slant, which should be good. Playside DE runs inside Huyge and there are three linebackers on the two lead blockers and Molk. Molk is trying to double the Purdue DT and pop off; Purdue DT chucks him in the direction of his momentum and he flies by the LB. This will never be called but that seems like a penalty to me. -1, unfortunately. Two playside guys get kicked out by lead blockers and Robinson has to head inside; Huyge(-1) let the slanting DE spin off him and hammer Robinson after a minimal gain. Robinson gets 2-3 more without that even with the Molk issues.
RUN+:							RUN-: Molk, Huyge
O8	2	G	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	QB stretch	Robinson	3 (Pen -10)
Flag is iffy, as the playside DT shoots right upfield and falls with very little assistance from Molk; Molk lays on him. After that it's Schilling and Lewan doubling Kerrigan. They drive him downfield but the playside LB does a nice job to hit it up and get outside of Lewan; no hole. Robinson can't cut it back because no one tried to block the DE on the backside and he's flowing down the line in the right spot. He plows it up behind the Schilling/Lewan block for okay yardage.
O18	2	G	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	Base 4-3	Pass	Slant	Roundtree	Int
Michigan runs double slants (ie, the New Math play) and both linebackers suck in on the Roundtree one, giving Robinson what should be an easy read to take Hemingway deeper. He doesn't. He fires it at Roundtree, well behind him. If accurate a LB bats it or picks it off, as it is it looks like the guy tips it slightly. Ball is still headed directly at a safety, who picks it off and returns it for a TD. GUUUURUURUURGUURUGUG. (BRX--the X is for EXTREME, 0, protection 2/2) BWS picture-paged this. I agree that there was a small window for the Roundtree slant that he came to late but he should have thrown the deep slant to Hemingway, who is wide open and the first read. The linebacker who needs to undercut the Hemingway slant is on the LOS. BRXXXXX.
Drive Notes: Defensive TD, 14-10, 8 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M20	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Base 4-4	Run	Power off tackle	Smith	17
Late move brings a safety into the box and M is again running against 8. This time Michigan blocks down and pulls Schilling. Kerrigan is the playside DE and responds to the down block like it's a stretch, running himself out of the play and opening up a big hole on the outside. Huyge(+1) escorted him out of the play. Hopkins kicks out the blitzing slot LB and Schilling(+1) gets a good open field block on the MLB, giving Smith a wide open lane to the outside. Roundtree(+1) doesn't actually have to block his safety but does get in the way and forces the guy to dance around, giving ground, so that Smith doesn't cut to one side of him and break into nothing but grass. No RPS plus because if the Purdue guy who's blocked by Schilling gets outside Smith has to cut up into unblocked guys. This could have been defended by Purdue but a linebacker made an error.
RUN+: Huyge, Schilling, Smith, Roundtree							RUN-:
M37	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Base 4-4	Run	Zone stretch	Hopkins	-1
They try to hit Purdue with the exact play they anticipated on the last play, and Purdue crushes it. Omameh(-1) runs by the backside DT too fast to get a scoop and Molk(-1) is blown back as well, so Hopkins has to try to cut upfield into nothing. Even if he does get a good cut the backside DE is flowing hard down the line. Eight in the box allows a safety to contain Denard and thus lets Purdue slant hard to the playside without fear of a cutback. Meanwhile Purdue's spent most of the quarter in cover zero with DBs ten yards off the outside WRs and Michigan has not run the constraint plays to get them out of this formation. Frustrating. RPS -1.
RUN+:							RUN-: Omameh, Molk, Hopkins
M36	2	11	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Base 4-4	Run	Power off tackle	Smith	3
Same play as earlier and this time Purdue is much better prepared, with the guy getting blocked by Schilling getting outside and another player hitting the hole to the inside. Smith has to bounce and bounces into a linebacker for a minimal gain. RPS -1.
RUN+: N/A							RUN-:
M36	3	8	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Pass	Tunnel screen	Roundtree	7
Man on the WRs with one high safety. Michigan does catch Purdue in a blitz—they send five. Four of those guys are gone as Robinson flips a screen out to Roundtree (CA, 3, screen). Molk and Schilling release downfield, with Molk(+1) picking up a block on a guy who'd gotten inside the slot receiver and Schilling running upfield with no one in particular to hit. The fifth Purdue player peels back and gets a diving ankle tackle on Roundtree that slows him and allows Purdue to get him down just short of the sticks. Great play by that guy. Robinson's throw was a little high but I don't think it materially slowed Roundtree.
M43	4	1	I-form twins	2	1	2	Base 4-3?	Run	Iso	Hopkins	0
Michigan gets to the line and snaps it before the nose tackle even gets in his stance; a sneak is guaranteed. Frustrating. Even so it looks like they should get the first down except for Hopkins fumbling, which makes him slow up and allows Kerrigan, unblocked on the backside, to plow him. Purdue recovers the fumble anyway and while it's not a big deal because Michigan didn't make the fourth down, the reason they didn't make the fourth down was the fumble, so this is a real turnover. Not charted due to 'sax.
Drive Notes: Fumble, 14-10, 6 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M20	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Base 4-4	Pass	PA Sack	?	-8
Michigan is rolling the pocket away from a weak zone fake and Lewan(-1) hands Kerrigan off to Schilling(-2), which turns out to be a very bad idea as Kerrigan rips through the line and eats Denard. (PR, N/A, protection 0/3, Lewan -1, Schilling -2)
M12	2	18	Shotgun trips	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB draw	Robinson	17
Omameh(+1) shoves his DT inside and with the DEs tearing upfield that gets Denard through the line. Smith(+1)is out there as a lead blocker; he picks off one linebacker. Roundtree(+1) hits another inside, providing a cutback lane. Denard(+2) runs past a charging safety and turns it up, cutting it inside when a corner eludes Grady. Corner makes a desperate diving grab at Robinson's legs that is successful at hewing him down at the sticks.
RUN+: Omameh, Smith, Roundtree, Robinson(2)							RUN-:
M29	3	1	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Run	Inside zone	Smith	2
Nowhere to go as Omameh(-1) gets blasted back and the rest of the OL can only stalemate guys. Smith(+1) has an opportunity to cut back as Huyge(+1) managed to not get shoved back by Kerrigan and his aggressive crash opens up a small window. Smith is agile enough to dance through it for the yard.
M31	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Pass	Hitch	Stonum	12
Straight dropback and Robinson has forever. Michigan has max pro against a four man rush. Robinson comes off two reads to find Stonum alone about ten yards downfield. (CA, 3, protection 3/3)
M43	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Zone stretch	Smith	6
I'm not sure if this is a concession to Kerrigan's awesome or the eighth guy in the box or a mistake, but here Huyge blocks the backside DE on a stretch, which rarely happens. Molk(+2) gets one of those killer reach blocks on the playside DT, Omameh(+1) gets his helmet across the backside guy and drives him downfield, and Schilling(+1) kicks out the playside LB. Smith has a spectacular hole it hit and does so, and if he was Mark Ingram or something maybe he runs through a tackle but he's not so the totally unblocked MLB makes a diving ankle tackle and holds this down. RPS -1? Yeah. Picture paged.
RUN+: Molk(2), Omameh, Schilling							RUN-:
M49	2	4	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB power off tackle	Robinson	4 (Pen -10)
Molk gets called for a hold or quickly popping out on the DT and grabbing him around the shoulder. A legit call, and really frustrating since Michigan was running a power off tackle and it doesn't really matter how Molk blocks this guy because he's going to have to have a hovercar to make a play here. Stupid. Robinson decides to cut it upfield because Omameh(+1) destroyed the other DT and Huyge got a block on a linebacker; Koger(-1) couldn't do much with Kerrigan and he comes off to tackle from behind, robbing M of a couple extra yards.
RUN+: Omameh, Lewan							RUN-: Molk(2), Koger
M39	2	14	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Pass	Rollout hitch	Hemingway	23
Still eight guys in the box for Purdue on second and long, and they pay for it. Michigan rolls the pocket and throws a quick hitch to Hemingway that pulls him inside and past a diving corner who is on an island. That guy on the ground, Hemingway can pick up the first down easily. Pass was very low and a tough grab. (MA, 2, protection N/A, RPS +1 I guess)
O38	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Run	Zone read keeper	Robinson	-6
Very bad decision to keep with the slot LB lined up well inside and another LB heading backside. Robinson has nowhere to go and gets tackled for a major loss. By doing this Purdue is opening the bubble up extensively, but Michigan hasn't thrown it once. RPS -1, ZR -1.
RUN+:							RUN-: Robinson(2)
O44	2	16	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Base 4-4	Run	Power veer	Shaw	2
Odd play. Line blocks down and Omameh pulls. Playside DE is left unblocked as Lewan and Molk release downfield. Molk blocks no one. Lewan erases the MLB. Smith draws the slot guy outside, leaving Omameh one on one with the last LB with the playside DE and DT, who beat Schilling(-1) really fast, in pursuit. LB does a good job to get into Omameh at the LOS and get outside and because of the pursuit Shaw doesn't really have a cut behind him; he runs at the LB and gets tackled.
RUN+:							RUN-: Schilling
O42	3	14	Shotgun trips	1	0	4	3-2-6 dime	Pass	Fly	Hemingway	Inc
Lewan(-2) beaten by the non-Kerrigan DE on a three man rush and that guy hits Robinson as he throws a deep ball to Hemingway. Resulting pass is overthrown but not really Robinson's fault; Hemingway had a step on the DB but just a step. In this situation might as well throw it up. (PR, 0, protection 0/2, Lewan -2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 14-13, 40 second 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M17	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	Base 4-3	Pass	PA rollout cross	Roundtree	Inc
Weird split in the Purdue LBs implies a slant with LBs filling behind but Michigan goes PA so we don't get to find out. Robinson rolls out, decides against a well-covered Grady circle, and tries to come back underneath to Roundtree. Pass is batted. Roundtree was covered and this could have been a good idea or a bad one. Hard to tell. (BA, 0, protection 1/1)
M17	2	10	Shotgun trips	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Run	Hitch	Roundtree	4
Playside Purdue LB is the contain guy and maintains depth on a PA fake. Roundtree's quick hitch is open but that LB is in position to tackle immediately as Purdue adjusts to a play that had flummoxed Illinois. (CA, 3, protection 1/1)
M21	3	6	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Pass	PA rollout hitch	Hemingway	6
Robinson rolls out as M goes max protect, comes off a deep route, and zings one to Hemingway about a yard short of the first. Hemingway catches it and turns it upfield for about seven yards but gets a terrible spot one inch short of the first down. He's well past the 32 when he goes out, but no review. Michigan could have/should have challenged, I guess, but spots never get overturned. (CA, 3, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 14-13, 14 min 3rd Q. Hagerup MIND LASERS get Michigan the ball right back.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O32	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Run	Reverse	Grady	13
A lovely playcall that features Lewan and Webb doing jab steps and then peeling off to get blocks on backside defenders. Webb has no one to block as the backside DE screws up and doesn't read the play but Lewan(+1) takes out the WLB. Purdue's MLB reads the play and displays impressive speed to make it a question on the corner but is a step slow; Grady(+1) gets by him and heads up the sideline. Excellent block from Stonum increases the damage. (RPS +1)
RUN+: Lewan, Grady, Stonum							RUN-:
O19	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Power off tackle	Smith	19
Purdue blitzes both MLBs and moves the safety up as a cleanup guy but this is seven in the box, not eight. Purdue shifts its line one way and leaves a gaping hole between the NT and Kerrigan. Lewan(+1) and Omameh(+1) double the playside DT and destroy him. The two blitzers come free up the middle but hesitate on the mesh point in case Denard keeps; he hands it off (ZR+1). Smith gets past them and runs just past a diving Kerrigan; now he's in space with Schilling leading him. Schilling(+1) picks off the designated cleanup safety and Smith(+1) subtly cuts past the charging FS, walking into the endzone.
RUN+: Robinson, Schilling, Huyge, Omameh, Smith							RUN-:
Drive Notes: Touchdown(missed XP), 20-13, 13 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M20	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Base 4-4	Run	Zone stretch	Smith	0
Purdue slants its line against the stretch, which means Molk has an easy time sealing the playside DT but the playside DE slants under Lewan. Lewan does okay with this, shoving him past the play, but the POA has changed and this robs Schilling of any chance to block the playside LB, who's flying into the hole. Again, I believe this is a front possible because Purdue is running eight men at six blockers. A safety in the box is outside and absorbs Hopkins, leaving no one to get the linebacker who eventually tackles. Smith almost cut past him as Lewan had done his best to make a hole outside of him; if he does that Huyge is shoving the other LB past the play and Smith could have a big gainer. RPS -1. Picture paged.
RUN+: N/A							RUN-:
M22	2	8	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	?	Pass	Yakety Sax	?	-11
Fumbled snap. We come to it late. Looked like the slot out was wide open, too.
M11	3	19	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	3-2-6 dime	Pass	Yakety Sax	?	Int
Three man rush; Kerrigan comes upfield of Huyge and forces Robinson to step up in the pocket. He does. He has to dodge the NT. He does. He finds Stonum open for the first down and throws it so high that Tacopants is like "wow, that's high." A safety picks it off. (INX--the X is for XTREME, 0, protection 1/2, Huyge -1)
Drive Notes: Interception, 20-13, 10 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M18	1	10	Shotgun trips	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Inside zone	Smith	0
Forcier in. Omameh(-0.5) and Molk(-0.5) try to double the playside DT and don't get any push or create any creases; Huyge(-0.5) gets shoved inside by the playside DE. Kerrigan beats Lewan(-1) to the inside and when Smith tries to cut back he's swallowed.
RUN+:							RUN-: Omameh, Molk, Huyge (halves), Lewan
M18	2	10	Shotgun empty	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Scramble	Forcier	7
First hitch is covered, Forcier comes off on a Smith slant that is also jumped, and now he's in scramble mode. He comes through the line and decides to pull it down quickly, running OOB after a decent gain. (SCR, N/A, protection 2/2)
M25	3	3	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Flare	Smith	Inc
Michigan runs a snag concept and gets the flare route wide open for a massive gainer -- there is no one that can stop Smith before he runs 20 yards up the sideline… but Forcier throws it way long. Sigh. (IN, 0, protection 2/2, RPS +1)
Drive Notes: Punt, 20-16, 8 min 3rd Q. Michigan put back on the five after the penalty on Gallon for not making a fair catch signal.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M5	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	QB power dive	Robinson	8
Robinson back. Michigan pulls Schilling around and attacks right upfield. Omameh(+1) crushes the playside DT off the ball. Huyge(+1) releases downfield immediately to get a linebacker and Schilling comes around to pop another linebacker and though Koger(-1) couldn't do anything with Kerrigan the good blocks from everyone else give Robinson a crease for decent yardage. Hard-filling safety takes Robinson down short of the sticks.
RUN+: Omameh, Schilling, Huyge, Robinson							RUN-: Koger
M13	2	2	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	Inside zone	Smith	6
Looks sort of like a stretch but this is an inside zone with both DTs getting doubled. Lewan(+1) kicks out the other DE like whoah and Schilling and Molk(+0.5 each) kill the playside DT so Smith has a huge gap to hit outside. He does, and is then taken down by the filling safety. Just seven in the box this time, which gave M the window to double the DTs without getting someone killed.
RUN+: Lewan, Molk(0.5), Schilling(0.5)							RUN-:
M19	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB power dive	Robinson	8
Two deep and the slot blitz is threatened but not brought, so just six in the box. This time the playside DE slants outside; Huyge(+1) does a good job adjusting and Schilling(+0.5) takes his pull inside that block to blow the LB in the hole. Omameh(+1) also adjusted on the fly to wall off the DT threatening to slant under Molk. Robinson has a crease since there's no unblocked guy for the LB to funnel him to. Schilling's guy comes under him to make a diving tackle, so no full plus.
RUN+: Omameh, Huyge, Schilling(0.5)							RUN-:
M27	2	2	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Run	QB stretch	Robinson	9
Back to the eight man front. Backside DT gets upfield too fast and Schilling(+1) slices him to the ground with a cut block. Playside DE drives upfield of Huyge and Molk's in a stalemate with the playside DT so the cutback lane is where it's at; Robinson(+1) hits it. Lewan(+1) gets a downfield block on an MLB caught out by the move and Robinson is one block from Koger(-1) from being set free; Koger's lame cut attempt is stepped over and his safety prevents a one-on-two matchup between the FS, Robinson, and Roundtree.
RUN+: Robinson, Lewan, Schilling							RUN-: Koger
M36	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	Midline stretch	Smith	19
DT does a good job to form up and force a handoff but he's not out of the play so he can flow down the line and cut off the inside. Robinson maybe should have kept but Lewan(-1) just ran by his LB and he's sitting in the hole unblocked, too. Smith has to go outside, where a filling safety should chop him down for no gain. Smith(+3) makes a little juke, though, and runs through the tackle attempt to the outside. No one's left and he's headed for a big gain. Um, ZR+1, RPS-1.
RUN+: Smith(3)							RUN-: Lewan
O45	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	QB power off tackle	Robinson	9
Playside DT gets upfield fast and is walled off by a down-blocking Lewan(+1). Webb(-1) cannot handle Kerrigan and his downblock gets powered through, but because of the DT ownage there's a big cutback lane. Molk gets out on a linebacker and gets a shove on him, allowing Robinson to hit it upfield quickly and past that guy. Aggressive safety fill holds it down. RPS +1; this was easy pickings for Lewan.
RUN+: Lewan, Robinson, Molk							RUN-: Webb
O36	2	1	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB stretch	Robinson	0
Michigan successfully scoops Kerrigan, getting him sealed by Schilling. Lewan moves to the second level but can't get a block on a fast-reacting Holland, who is just screaming down the line at the snap. Not really Lewan's fault, as there was no way he could help scoop Kerrigan and get out on a linebacker moving this fast. He gets a push but the guy is right in the hole and Denard can't make a move on him, going down for nothing. Kerrigan also shoved Schilling back so far that there was no cutback lane. Good play from Purdue here. RPS -1.
RUN+: N/A							RUN-:
O36	3	1	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	QB power dive	Robinson	4
Omameh(+1) crushes the playside DT and one of the PU linebackers heads outside the hole despite having help; Huyge(+1) blows up the last remaining LB and Denard has an easy four yards before the safety shows up.
RUN+: Omameh, Huyge							RUN-:
O32	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	Midline stretch	Smith	2
Smith(-2) misses a cut here. Lewan's guy has set up outside two yards deep and the angle he has to take outside assures that he'll get run down. Inside he's got a shot if he cuts back hard because Molk's guy flowed down the line and the linebackers have gone to the frontside; the DT probably can't run him down. Koger lost Kerrigan again and he might tackle, but that would be from the side two yards downfield. ZR+1.
RUN+:							RUN-: Smith(2)
O30	2	8	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Run	QB stretch	Robinson	-2 (Pen -15)
Kerrigan does not get scooped here; Huyge(-1) and Omameh(-1) can't handle him. He fights playside and as he does so falls, taking out Huyge accidentally from behind. Slot LB hits Smith in the backfield and stands him up; nowhere to go as Michigan gets swarmed. (RPS -1) Lewan get a meaningless clip on the backside for cutting a guy, but I don't really blame him. The guy falls awkwardly but what's he supposed to do when his job is to cut the backside DT two seconds after the snap?
RUN+:							RUN-: Huyge, Omameh
O45	2	23	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Pass	Fly	Stonum	Inc
Fly route is covered well but he's got room long and outside; ball is short and inside. Stonum gets a super bonus facemask call, too. (IN, 0, protection 2/2)
O45	3	23	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-2-6 dime	Pass	Sack	?
Come on, it's third and twenty three and you've got max pro against three rushers and you somehow let Kerrigan go single blocked? Fail. (PR, N/A, protection 0/3, team -1, Huyge -2, RPS -1)
Drive Notes: Fumble, 20-16, 2 min 3rd Q. Sigh.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O41	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Base 4-4	Run	Zone read stretch	Hopkins	2
Forcier back. Molk(+1) gets an easy seal as the Purdue DT is headed upfield. This should be good but frickin' Kerrigan is occupying both Omameh(-1) and Huyge(-1), driving them back, cutting off the outside, and preventing either from getting a second level block. Huyge eventually releases but he's to the outside and two Purdue linebackers are inside; no chance. Hopkins makes the right cut. Schilling couldn't get much more than a delay on one LB and the other guy is totally free so Michigan picks up little.
RUN+: Molk							RUN-: Omameh, Huyge
O39	2	8	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Base 4-4	Pass	Fade	Hemingway	18
Gah, this is finally M looking to take advantage of the overly aggressive Purdue D by throwing curl/flat at the two guys to the twins side. Flat is wide open for an easy first but Forcier's like eff it and throws a fade route to Hemingway. He's got like five yards to the outside so Forcier hangs it up a little short and out there and Hemingway adjusts to grab the ball at the sidelines. Intentional given the weather? Maybe! Results based charting. (DO, 3, protection 2/2)
O21	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Zone read keeper	Forcier	-4
This ends up looking like midline but I don't think it is. Purdue puts six in the box with one guy a standup DE. They slant hard away from the playside, and Forcier(ZR -1) sees a big gap between Lewan(+1), who adjusted to kick out a slanting DE, and Schilling. He keeps. It doesn't matter because Huyge(-1) and Omameh(-1) got split by Kerrigan, who eats souls as per usual. Baited into the keeper, as the handoff was right. RPS -1.
O25	2	14	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Fly	Hemingway	Inc
Excellent coverage on a quick fly route; Forcier puts it away from the DB but this is also away from the WR. (MA, 1, protection 2/2)
O25	3	14	Shotgun empty	1	0	4	3-2-6 dime	Pass	Improv	Hemingway	Inc
Forcier's first read is covered and then Kerrigan comes through Huyge(-2) despite this being another three man rush. Forcier scrambles out, pumps, has no one, and tries a desperate heave to Hemingway that's almost intercepted. (BR, 0, protection 0/2, Huyge -2)
Drive Notes: Missed FG(42), 20-16, 14 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M24	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Base 4-4	Run	Power off tackle	Smith	0
Kerrigan crushes Huyge(-2) back, which cuts Schilling off on his pull. Extra guy in the box means there are now two Purdue player unblocked; tackle is inevitable. (RPS -1)
M24	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	QB lead draw	Robinson	2
Purdue all over this, getting a linebacker past Smith(-1) to make a tackle at the LOS; Robinson falls forward. RPS -1.
M26	3	8	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	3-2-6 dime	Pass	Sack	?	-1
I'm seriously like not so much: third and eight and they're running the PA fake that pulls Schilling around and leaves Kerrigan unblocked until he gets out there. That's a lot of ground to give against a beast. Robinson steps up but heads outside, failing to read the stunt of the DT that means he should shoot upfield and scramble. He rolls himself into trouble since no one is open and when he does try to scramble he slips; Kerrigan eats him. (TA, N/A, protection 1/2, Schilling -1, RPS -1)
Drive Notes: Punt, 20-16, 10 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O36	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Base 4-4	Pass	Scramble	Forcier	4
Forcier in. Michigan goes max protect and gets Forcier a ton of time. He can't find anyone and decides to scramble out of the pocket. Still no one so he runs for a decent gain. Borderline TA/ SCR. (SCR, N/A, protection 2/2)
O32	2	6	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Base 4-3	Run	Zone stretch	Hopkins	-2
Purdue slants under again, this time using a corner blitz as the contain guy to create another eight man front despite showing two deep. Dorrestein(-2) has checked in and completely loses Kerrigan to the inside; Molk(-1) and Schilling combine to not block the playside DT, and Omameh(-1) whiffs on a linebacker so Hopkins just gets swarmed. RPS –1.
RUN+:							RUN-: Dorrestein(2), Molk, Omameh, Schilling
O34	3	8	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	3-2-6 dime	Pass	Sack	?	-4
Again a three man rush and Kerrigan obliterates Dorrestein(-2), coming around from the edge to get a very BG sack on Forcier. Forcier fumbles, two Purdue guys fail to dive on it, and Hopkins eventually gets it back.
Drive Notes: Punt, 20-16, 8 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O49	1	10	Shotgun 2H	1	2	2	Base 4-4	Run	Inside zone	Smith	1
With bonus overhang safety for essentially a nine man front(!). Michigan doubles the playside DT and drives him back (0.5 Schilling, Molk); Omameh(-1) loses the backside guy to the inside. Smith(-1) should probably cut back and hug the backs of his OL for a decent gain but misses it and heads to the frontside, where Lewan(-0.5) did not get a good kick and there is a constricted hole. Purdue LB screwup allows Koger to hit Omameh's guy but the outside contain guy was able to hop inside Webb because of Lewan's iffy block, where he tackles with help from the DE spinning inside.
RUN+: Molk(0.5), Schilling(0.5)							RUN-: Omameh, Smith, Lewan(0.5)
O48	2	9	Shotgun 2H	1	2	2	Base 4-5	Run	Zone counter	Smith	3
Designed cutback sees Omameh(+1) engage and blow up the backside DT, shoving him way out of the hole. Webb(+1) comes across to kick out Kerrigan effectively and there's a big hole. Huyge blocks a linebacker that Schilling couldn't get to because the Omameh block actually got in his way, leaving two guys to tackle Smith after a modest gain.
RUN+: Omameh, Webb							RUN-:
O45	3	6	Shotgun 2H	1	2	2	Base 4-4	Pass	PA rollout TE seam	Koger	24
Hey, finally. Michigan pairs the usual PA rollout TE-flat thing with Koger going vertical against a nine-man box and four Boiler linebacker type objects run at Denard on the edge with zero trying to cover Koger. Robinson tosses an ugly underthrown duck that still sees Koger make the catch five yards clear of any Purdue player; he turns it up for a first down and more. CA because in the situation you really really just want the completion and erring on the safe side is correct. (CA, 3, protection N/A, RPS +2)
O21	1	10	Shotgun 2H	1	2	2	Base 4-4	Run	QB lead draw	Robinson	2
Smith heads out of the backfield before the snap, pulling the overhang safety. Robinson looks over there but that's a decoy as he runs upfield. This is well blocked and should get a chunk of yards but for Schilling(-2) letting the DT lined up outside of him inside; this is not a tough block and it wasn't made. Molk(+1) and Omameh(+1) doubled the playside guy, got him way off the LOS, and then Omameh peeled to pick off a linebacker; Webb(+1) bashed another one, and this is good for a bunch but for the DT flowing down the line and forcing Robinson into Kerrigan.
RUN+: Omameh, Molk, Webb							RUN-: Schilling(2)
O19	2	8	Shotgun 2H	1	2	2	Base 4-3	Run	Inside zone	Smith	0
Purdue backs out a tiny bit with both safeties about eight yards off the LOS, so technically a seven man box but those safeties are in run mode still. Purdue shoots a DT directly upfield past Schilling(-1) and Lewan(-1) right into the path of the play and kills Smith at the LOS. RPS -1.
RUN+:							RUN-: Lewan, Schilling
O19	3	8	Shotgun 2H	1	2	2	Base 4-3	Run	QB stretch	Robinson	10
Same deal with the safeties. Molk(+1) gets across the playside DT but eventually releases him because he's expecting that Michigan will scoop him; Schilling is well behind the guy and so this just releases him. Kerrigan's shot upfield quickly, which takes out two blockers but also opens up room outside. Robinson cuts out there, getting a bump from Webb(+1) on the two DTs coming from the inside. Molk(+1 again) has gotten a great open field block on a linebacker as Omameh(+1) crushes another one to the sideline. Smith(+1) hits the safety and Robinson weaves through everything to pick up a huge first down.
RUN+: Molk(2), Robinson, Smith, Omameh, Webb							RUN-:
O9	1	G	Shotgun 2H	1	2	2	Base 4-3	Run	Inside zone	Smith	3
Molk and Schilling double one DT, getting decent but not great movement(+0.5 each). Schilling pops off to cut off a guy blitzing through the B gap. The other DT steps outside so Omameh releases and Huyge(-1) can't get across him as he's passed off. Omameh gets downfield to block a guy and does okay; DT slides under to tackle after a decent gain.
RUN+: Molk(0.5), Schilling(0.5)							RUN-: Huyge
O6	2	G	Shotgun 2H	1	2	2	Base 4-3	Run	QB stretch	Robinson	4
Kerrigan slides inside presnap and in doing so likely tips Omameh(+1) as to his intent; he slides inside on the snap and Omameh seals him. Schilling's trying to block the other guy and actually hits Kerrigan in such a way that he can use the momentum to spin past Omameh's block. Playside LB shoots outside, taking out both Huyge and Koger; Robinson hits the gap but maybe a little too fast because Webb is next to him. This allows a linebacker to attack unblocked; he tackles but a slight shimmy from Robinson(+1) gets him 2-3 extra yards.
RUN+: Omameh, Robinson							RUN-:
O2	3	G	Shotgun 2H	1	2	2	Base 4-4	Run	Inside zone	Hopkins	3
Plowing forward here. Lewan kicks out Kerrigan as all four other linemen head straight upfield. Molk and Schilling(+1 each) batter a DT into the endzone. The other DT stunts outside. Omameh(+1) plugs the guy moving into the vacated space; a linebacker tries to shoot the gap between the DT block and Omameh and can't because there's not enough room; he trips to the ground, and Hopkins just has to run up the back of the crushed DT for an easy touchdown.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 27-16, 1 min 4th Q. Functional EOG.

This definitely didn't mean anything.

Why so?

Because it hurts my heart.

Ah so. It wasn't that bad considering, you know.

Considering what? 27 points against Purdue? I had to go to the doctor. I have an EKG. The doctor comes up to me and says I'm looking at your—

CHART!

Damn you.

Chart.

DENARD ROBINSON

Opponent	DO	CA	MA	IN	BR	TA	BA	PR	SCR	ZR	DSR
2009, All Of It	1	7	6(2)	3(1)	4	4	-	-	?	-	44%
UConn	2	15(6)	-	-	3	2	-	-	2	-	68%
Notre Dame	3	25(8)	3(1)	4	1	-	4(1)	2	-	-	71%
UMass	4	10(3)	-	1	1	-	1	1	-	-	73%
BGSU	1	4(1)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1/1	N/A
Indiana	2	8(2)	1(1)	5(1)	-	-	-	-	-	9/11	66%
Michigan State	4	14(3)	1	7(1)	1	-	-	2	2	N/A	68%
Iowa	1	11(3)	2	3(1)	2	-	1	-	-	3/4	64%
Penn State	3	12(3)	1	4	2	-	1	-	-	6/10	63%
Illinois	4	9(1)	1	4	1	3	1(1)	-	-	3/4	60%
Purdue	2	12(1)	1	3	1	1	1	3	-	8/10	68%

TATE FORCIER

Opponent	DO	CA	MA	IN	BR	TA	BA	PR	SCR	ZR	DSR
Iowa	3	14	1	2	4	-	-	1	1	N/A	74%
Illinois	2	11	-	-	2	3	-	-	1	3/4	72%
Purdue	1	-	1	1	1	-	-	-	2	N/A	N/A

Robinson wasn't bad overall but when he was bad he was disastrously so. He's got one IN and one BR but those were full on Brawndo INX and BRX—THE X IS FOR XTREME—passes, the two brutal interceptions that led directly to 10 of Purdue's 16 points. Both came in long yardage situations where Purdue was actually playing pass defense and both had open receivers. On the pick six Robinson came off his first read, an open deep slant by Hemingway, in favor of Roundtree underneath and did that thing we talked about last week where he throws a ball to the right spot a second too late. This time it was a smaller window and a later throw so a linebacker got a finger on it and a safety looked like the intended recipient. On the other interception he had to scramble around because Kerrigan was set loose on a play where Michigan went max protect against a three man rush*, this time found Stonum for first down yardage, and zinged it five feet above his head. It was the most Tacopants throw of the year for him.

The frustrating thing about that first interception are the two passes that preceded it. One was the beautiful touch lob for Webb:

Two was a second-read zinger to Roundtree with three guys in his face:

Wow! Wow! Wow, but in the totally opposite sense!

*(This happened like three times and every time I got so mad but if you go back to last year, how many times did Brandon Graham do that exact same thing? A dozen, probably. So this is not a thing unique to M. You can threaten blitz and get your beastly DE singled up without rushing more than three.)

So you're saying…

Not much. I don't put a ton of stock into the second interception since that's not the kind of thing we've seen from him and it was likely a rain thing. The second one was a pattern last week and now it killed a scoring drive and is a level two pattern with extra hitpoints.

Other persons of interest?

The receivers came back to boring after a schizophrenic game against Illinois:

	This Game					Totals
Player	0	1	2	3		0	1	2	3
Stonum	-	-	0/1	1/1		9	2/7	7/12	19/19
Odoms	: (	-	-	-		1	1/1	3/4	11/11
Hemingway	3	0/1	1/1	3/3		7	3/4	4/6	22/26
Stokes	-	-	-	-		-	-	1/2	-
Roundtree	1	-	-	5/6		11	2/3	5/8	31/34
Grady	-	-	-	-		4	1/1	3/3	8/9
T. Robinson	-	-	-	-		-	0/1	-	2/3
Gallon	-	-	-	-		1	-	-	4/4
Koger	-	-	-	2/2		-	-	2/3	9/9
Webb	-	-	-	1/1		2	-	-	4/5
Smith	1	-	-	-		3	-	0/2	12/12
Shaw	-	-	-	-		1	0/1	0/1	5/6
McColgan	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	1/1
Hopkins	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-
Toussaint	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-

Just one drop, that on Michigan's first drive when it was dry, and few opportunities for anything magical. For the second week straight Hemingway displayed a crazy knack for breaking tackles and picking up YAC despite being built like a dump truck, and that was about the only interesting thing that happened to the receivers.

Okay, so the passing game sucked—weather, etc. But what about the runs?

Earlier in the week I said Michigan averaged 4.3 YPC once you take out sacks, but I forgot to take out Lewan's 11 yard fumble fun run and I think I divided by the wrong denominator, so your new baseline to ballpark the overall effectiveness of these metrics is 4.0 YPC. That's not good. The NCAA average is 4.3 before you take out sacks. When you do, the average jumps to 4.9. That's optimistic for any individual game since those numbers take cupcakes into account and… oh let's just save ourselves a bunch of time and point out that Michigan's run performance against Purdue was two points better than an average team. I'm still calibrating this metric but I'd like it to correspond to that number, so we should see Michigan come out only slightly above average on… er… average.

To the--

Chart!

Chart.

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Huyge	7	10.5	-3.5	Major problems with Kerrigan, and some with the other DE.
Lewan	8	9.5	-1.5	Had serious issues with the slanting. Also Kerrigan.
Schilling	8	9	-1	Usually had the much tougher matchup against Short.
Molk	15	6.5	8.5	Another series of good reach blocks but some were easy because of the Purdue calls.
Omameh	16.5	7.5	9	Thought he did well as Purdue played into his strengths by giving him releases much of the day
Khoury	-	-	-	DNP
Dorrestein	-	2	-2	Kerrigan.
Webb	3	1	2	The usual
Koger	1	3	-2	Also the usual.
TOTAL	58.5	49	9.5	Worst day o the year by a considerable—OH GOD NOT KERRIGA—
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Robinson	7	1	6	Limited opportunities to actually make yards, but made them..
Gardner	-	-	-	DNP
Forcier	-	-	-	Didn't score here.
Shaw	-	-	-	Left early.
Smith	9	4	5	Another good day but man I wish he broke more tackles.
Cox	-	-	-	DNP
Toussaint	-	-	-	Like three snaps.
Hopkins	1	1	0	Limited by footing.
McColgan	-	-	-	DNP.
Jones	-	-	-	DNP
TOTAL	17	6	11	Somewhat quiet day because opportunities were rarer due to blocking whatnot.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Stonum	1	-	1	--
Odoms	-	-	-	--
TRobinson	-	-	-	--
Roundtree	1	-	1	Throw this man a screen?
Grady	1	-	1	--
Gallon	-	-	-	--
Hemingway	-	-	-	--
TOTAL	3	-	3	--
Metrics

The other bit that needs to show up here to get the full picture is Rock Paper Scissors, which I had at 9 – 21 = –12. That's a really, really big, bad number. I said earlier in the week it's because Michigan kept hurling itself at cover zero overloaded boxes. I get why it happened,  but it happened.

So… that seems about right from a holistic standpoint. OL slightly positive but essentially a stalemate, positive but not outstanding day from the tailbacks, poor/restricted playcalling drives the YPC down.

Individually, I don't have to explain what happened to the tackles. His name is Ryan Kerrigan and he is 2010 Brandon Graham and he's a holy lock for this blog's completely symbolic and meaningless DPOY award. Jesus. Ryan Kerrigan. On the interior, I think that's because Purdue usually undershifted its line and left Omameh free to head downfield and pop guys, which he's good at; in other instances he got to double the freshman NT as Schilling tried to cope with a very good three-tech in Kawaan Short.

So are we getting back to preseason Vincent Smith excitement levels?

I'm always going to wish he was faster or bigger so he could break more tackles, and before the season I thought he was faster, so no. I am getting behind him as a consistent contributor as a third-down guy and change of pace back even after Dee Hart arrives to make the Michigan backfield a crowded place. He made about 30 yards on his own against Purdue, getting tough yards inside a couple times and delivering two subtle hesitation moves that slid him past defenders, turning zero yards into 20 and ten into a touchdown. If Michigan goes away from running back by committee in the next two years it won't be because he's locked down all the carries, but he's a reason that's not likely to happen.

Heroes?

Smith, for chugging along in terrible conditions. Molk for being Michigan's most consistent lineman.

Goats?

Considerably mitigated by their opponent but both tackles got worked. Robinson had three crippling turnovers on a day when he didn't make up for it in other ways.

What does it mean for Wisconsin and beyond?

If the Badgers go with eight in the box and it rains they're not going anywhere.

But seriously folks, JJ Watt is probably the other DE who ends up first team All Big Ten despite the existence of Adrian Clayborn and if he does what Kerrigan did, Michigan is in trouble. If he does half of what Kerrigan did Michigan is in trouble. Hopefully the field conditions had something to do with Michigan's struggles—we did see a Huyge/Lewan tag team mostly erase Clayborn—and they will bounce back Saturday. This is only a possibility.

Denard has to stop turning the ball over. This is analysis that could come from Chris Martin, but seriously at this point the main problem with the Michigan offense is Denard fumbling and throwing picks. At this point you have to expect at least one turnover from him a game. This isn't something that's likely to get fixed in the next two weeks. True sophomore and all that.

side note: 10k words again.

[Sorry about the delay. Internet issues this morning.]

To continue a theme on Michigan's suddenly mediocre run game: dude, it was all Purdue's cover zero approach. Here's a play that's beautifully blocked all around and still ends up with meh results. It's Michigan's final drive of the first half; the Wolverines have the ball first and ten on their own 43.

Standard three wide from Michigan; Purdue moves their nickelback over the slot receiver and has their safeties in that no-mans-land between deep and shallow:

 

By the snap they're still in that shallow range; the deeper guy is only seven yards off the LOS—that's where WVU's stack keeps its middle linebacker. Michigan's going to run a stretch:

 

As usual the key block is the one in the center of the field, where Schilling and Molk are working to seal the playside DT. you can see above that the playside DE is not slanting inside this time and will get kicked out. Michigan is doing something weird, though: they are blocking the backside end. They've done this a lot this year but in almost all cases they've done it on inside zone plays where a cutback is one of the main ways to gain yards. On a stretch this guy is usually set free to fruitlessly chase.

At the mesh point Robinson gets contain from the safety no jk lol linebacker and hands off. Molk has already gotten across the playside DT, who is dead:

That is a dead DT. With Lewan getting a kickout Smith will have a hole to cut into. Schilling releases downfield and gets a good block on the playside LB; Koger heads outside and pulls the other safety no jk lol lb with him. Hurray yards?

Yes, but issue in the middle of the field wearing #45:

This linebacker is the guy Huyge would have released into if he wasn't blocking Kerrigan. He's totally unblocked and can run down the line as Smith zooms past dead DT and Omameh drives the backside guy yards downfield; Schilling and Koger have picked up eliminating blocks on the other LBs.

Through the hole, Smith is one on one with the LB…

…who tackles.

The end result is a play where all six Michigan offensive linemen get blocks between good and great… and Michigan gets six yards.

Video:

Object lesson type objects:

• Generic stretch stuff. This is another example of how the stretch usually works when it works: Molk seals that DT, Lewan kicks the DE, Schilling releases into a linebacker, a lead blocker takes another one outside, and running back hits a big gap.
• Cover zero problem reinforcement. In this particular instance blocking that backside end is a bad idea, but with eight guys in the box Michigan knows they'll leave contain to a safety and send Kerrigan tearing down the line. If Smith has to cut behind Molk he will be swallowed at the LOS. There's a nonzero chance Kerrigan manages to grab Smith from behind even if the blocking plays out like this. Michigan has a choice between leaving the MLB free or leaving a guy they know will crash down the LOS free. In this particular instance getting a block on the MLB, even a crappy-push-by-the-RB-forcing-a-cutback block, is a touchdown unless Smith gets run down from behind.
  
  The fundamental math is still the same: there is going to be an unblocked guy in the box and Purdue can slant and shift its defense in an effort to get the ballcarrier to an unblocked guy. On the previous example Purdue did this effectively; here they hang on by the skin of their teeth but do get it done.
• Weather allows cover zero. BWS did a post on Michigan's only successful gotcha play, the fourth quarter completion to Kevin Koger that jump-started Michigan's final touchdown drive and was so wide open Denard could throw a wobbly underthrown duck and still have it easily complete. The pass on that play and about a dozen other hilariously misthrown balls by all four quarterbacks goes a long way towards justifying Michigan's resignation to pounding its head into the wall repeatedly. I'm sure Michigan won't do this again—not that they'll have an opportunity against Wisconsin and Ohio State, two teams that won't run cover zero much if at all.

Formation notes: Against a bad spread rushing attack Michigan went with the stack most of the game, with occasional changeups to a slanting four-man front and extremely rare eight man fronts as Michigan spent the entire day in a two deep for the first time in a while. They got away with this despite not having Martin or Mouton, but I don't think that will hold up against non-Purdue offenses.

This got pulled out occasionally. It's more of a 3-4 look with the stack linebackers pulled to the strong side and Gordon coming down from his position over the slot:

When Michigan moved that DE inside to be a three-tech I called this "4-3 light".

Substitution notes: Mostly Patterson with some Sagesse at NT. Black and Banks got spot duty replacing Roh and RVB at DE. Demens went the whole way at MLB with Ezeh, Moundros, and Fitzgerald rotating through the OLB spots. Cam Gordon got almost all the time at spur with a few plays from Johnson; the secondary was Rogers/Avery/Vinopal/Kovacs the whole way.

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	I-form twins	3-3-5 stack	Pass	4	PA scramble	Van Bergen	3
Siller at QB with Henry the I-back. Woo Purdue 2010. Not sure what to call the formation as it's a 3-3-5 that slides the linebackers to the strong side and has Fitz on the line as a standup DE next to Roh. I'm just going with stack. Van Bergen(+1, pressure +1) reads the rollout and gets upfield of the pulling guard, forcing Siller back inside. He then threatens to sack and Siller has to scramble. It looks like he might get five before Roh and Kovacs converge; he pulls up lame and falls about three yards downfield.
O28	2	7	Shotgun 2-back	3-3-5 stack	Run		Midline keeper	Gordon	6
I can't tell if this is midline or if they just set Roh free. Probably midline. Roh attacks the tailback and that seems to be the right play because M has more players to the QB run and does not want this going backside. Patterson successfully fights inside of his blocker, the playside guard, and I think that's right too because this forces Henry outside where Gordon and Vinopal are with just one blocker. Gordon(-1) needs to attack this hard one way or the other but hesitates, throwing a lame shoulder into the blocker two yards downfield and allowing Henry a lane inside. Demens and Vinopal converge to tackle just short of the sticks.
O34	3	1	Shotgun empty	3-3-5 stack	Run		Jet sweep reverse	Kovacs?	0
Jet sweep to a reverse that catches Michigan because RVB(-1) did not read the play and flowed down the line too close to the LOS. Moundros is also gone to the frontside but I think he has to be. This could get some major yards but as Henry comes back to block RVB he hits the runner, robbing him of his momentum and allowing Kovacs to come up. Kovacs(-0.5, tackling -1) misses the tackle but the cavalry has arrived.
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 12 min 1st Q. Lucky break there.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O36	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Patterson	2
Michigan clearly not afraid of Henry throwing as they run a corner blitz, something I don't think they've done all year. Avery has backside contain so Roh can slide down the line hard, getting inside of the backside blocker, a FB, and erasing cutback lanes. Patterson(+1) gets doubled and manages to hold up okay. He chucks the guy going playside, hurling him off balance. This allows Demens(+0.5) to fill unmolested for an easy tackle. RPS+1.
O38	2	8	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Pass		PA rollout out	Rogers	Inc
Kovacs rolls up and the LBs are shifted over so this is more of a 3-4 look. Purdue runs a rollout pass that Ezeh(+0.5) cuts off the outside on, forcing a throw. This is a receiver well-covered by Rogers, and while the throw is upfield it kind of has to be because Rogers(+2, cover +2) appears to break this up despite the upfieldness of the throw. Huh.
O38	3	8	Shotgun 2-back	3-3-5 stack	Run		QB draw	Avery	8
Patterson(-0.5) gets shoved way out of the hole, opening up a difficult amount of space. Moundros(+1) actually gets outside a block quickly and forces a bounce outside, where Avery(-1) got too far inside to string the play out appropriately and Kovacs(-0.5) can't arrive at the right angle to tackle Henry straight on, possibly halting him before he picks up the two yards he needs here.
O46	1	10	Shotgun 2-back TE	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inverted power veer	Banks	2 + 15 pen
Line blocks down except for the playside DE, who kicks out Fitzgerald, and the backside G, who pulls around to block Banks. Banks(+1) reads the pull and does not shoot down the line as expected, instead changing course to block the lead blocker. Ezeh flows up on the RB fake, Henry keeps, and his hole is constricted because of Banks and Demens(+0.5); Banks comes off to tackle after a short gain but grabs a facemask, drawing a call. Good play otherwise.
M36	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	4-3 Light	Run		Inside zone	Banks	1
Michigan shifts its line down as Ezeh rolls up into a standup DE position; Banks slides in to be a three tech and this is a 4-3 under line with two LBs behind it and Gordon flexed over a slot receiver. This catches Purdue, allowing Banks(+1) to slant under the RG instantly. He's drawing two guys and not even getting blocked. A cutback must happen; Ezeh(+0.5) has flowed down the line to tackle with an assist from Purdue's LT. RPS+1.
M35	2	9	I-form big	4-3 Light	Pass	N/A	PA rollout hitch	Demens	7
Blitz up the middle from Moundros; pocket rolls and Michigan rolls with it. Ezeh(+0.5) hits the edge and cuts off the rollout, forcing a pullup and an uncomfortable throw for Robinson. Demens(-0.5) was in good position but actually got ahead of the TE a bit so a throw behind the guy is makeable and made; Demens does tackle immediately.
M27	3	2	Shotgun 2-back	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inverted power veer	Roh	-5
This must be a missed assignment or a missed read or maybe just a terrible playcall they needed to get out of but didn’t, because Roh(+1) is totally unblocked and can tear upfield at the exchange point, nailing the RB as he gets the ball and forcing a fumble. If Robinson kept he was going to get destroyed by a blitzing Ezeh(+1), who flew past a tackle too quickly to react, and a blitzing Gordon. Ball hits the turf and Gordon(+1) has the presence of mind to scoop and score. RPS+3--very hard for a D to get a +3, but this play was a guaranteed five yard loss in the best case scenario for Purdue with a serious danger of worse.
Drive Notes: Defensive TD, 7-0, 9 min 1st Q. Announcer exclaims "he's got a chance!" as Gordon crosses the 15 with no Purdue guy within 10 yards. Ya think?
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O20	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Run		QB power off tackle	Banks	4
Johnson in at spur—I thought he was a deep safety now? Purdue has the TE block down on Banks and pulls the two guys inside around. RB means three lead blockers. Banks(+1) gets outside the downblock, which is good because Demens(-1) sucked way up on an end-around fake and is gone. If this breaks through the line it's a big gain. Fitz(+0.5) gets outside a tackle, forcing Henry to bounce it all the way out; Johnson takes a double and ends up falling, allowing a cutback lane; Rogers and Kovacs converge for a tackle.
O24	2	6	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 nickel	Run		Down G stretch	Demens	14
Or something? I don’t know if a good run offense can do this because you never rep any individual play enough to make it a base but lord Purdue does a lot of stuff on the ground. It's fun to watch even if it never does anything. Here the Purdue line blocks down as Michigan runs the same slant they did to get a one-yard gain on the previous play. Slant usually means linebackers flowing the other way to pickup cutbacks; here Demens(-2) pulls an Ezeh and sits. Purdue pulls a guard around, another tip for Demens to GTFO, but the C can just roll downfield and get a block on him--there's no way this should happen, Demens should be playside of the C easily. He gets crushed and there's a huge gap that's taken for a first down.
O38	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	3-3-5 stack	Run		Down G	Demens?	4 (Pen -15)
What is Demens doing? Here it's a simple stretch that he's seen a million times before and instead of flowing hard he hops upfield of the guy attempting to block him. He's gone. Black(-0.5) is effectively sealed by the downblock. Moundros(+0.5) comes up to whack the pulling G and forces it inside, catching Kovacs(-0.5) coming too far outside and Demens in nowhereville, except... Demens ran down the line like a mother and actually helps tackle? Gah. I had a minus for him but am forced to erase it. I don't understand what happens here at all. Sagesse is chopped, anyway.
O23	1	25	I-form	4-3 Light	Pass	5	Screen	—	Inc
Blitz; Moundros was in the area of the screen but it looks like if the QB just calms down and throws an open pass this is a good chunk. No RPS- because it's first and twenty five.
O23	2	25	I-form twins	3-3-5 stack	Run		Draw	Patterson	-1
A draw play to Rob Henry. Sure. Patterson(+1) takes a momentary double, then fights inside his blocker instead of getting way out of the middle of the field. This forces a bounce. Demens(+1) fills the next hole, leaving Henry on the edge with Johnson(+1), who makes a solid tackle(+1) on the edge.
O22	3	26	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5 nickel	Pass	3	TE out	—	6
Give up and punt. Two tacklers in the area (cover +1).
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-0, 6 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O36	1	10	I-form twins	3-3-5 stack	Run		Down G	Roh	3
Man, Purdue seems to chop block again, this time on Patterson. Roh(+1) does a good job of refusing the down block and holding his guy at the LOS. Kovacs cuts off the corner and Moundros(+1) hits the pulling G in the hole. Moundros and Roh close the hole off with their bodies as the RB enters, creating a pile. OL shoving pushes it forward.
O33	2	7	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Roh	5
Roh(-1) slants under the tackle like whoah but takes an angle too far upfield and instead of murdering the play he lets it playside; LBs are shifted backside and waiting for a cutback so Purdue has room. Demens takes on a block that he's got no chance of defeating; Vinopal(-0.5) fills w/ help from Ezeh pursuit, but not that well.
O38	3	2	Shotgun 3-wide	4-3 Light	Run		Zone read keeper	Van Bergen?	26
This is a bust on someone's part as RVB flows down the line and Ezeh hits it up inside, no scrape. I find this incredibly frustrating since this keeps happening in every game and it is never clear whose error it is. Henry is clean into the secondary for a big gainer. RPS -2, RVB -2 because my default is that the DE is the guy.
M36	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	4-3 Light	Run		Inside zone	Demens	27
Henry again except this time as a tailback. Michigan moves the LBs before the snap, sending Moundros into the line as a blitzer and having Roh tear after the QB to force a handoff. Demens(-2) has help to the outside in the form of Roh and is totally unblocked but wanders to the backside of the play and is in no position to tackle. It looks like they're using Moundros as a blitzer because they don't trust him in space and would like to get all their guys single blocked, allowing Demens to read and tackle. Here Moundros stands his guy up at the line and funnels it back at Demens and he's just not there. Vinopal(-2) whiffs a tackle, turning 15 into 27. (tackling -2)
M9	1	G	Shotgun 3-wide	4-3 Light	Run		Zone stretch	Roh	4
Michigan stunting Roh and Sagesse; Roh(-0.5) bumps Sagesse as he slants inside, delaying him and opening up a crease. The stunt does pick off a pulling guard and get Demens a free run at the hole, which he takes, tackling; Moundros(-0.5) got kicked out too far and gave the RB room to build up momentum before the contact.
M5	2	G	Shotgun 2-back	4-3 Light	Run		QB lead draw	Roh	-1
Michigan stunts and gets both Fitzgerald(+1) and Roh(+1) in the hole. One blocker, two guys, no screwup, good play. (RPS +1)
M6	3	G	Shotgun trips TE bunch	4-3 Light	Pass	4	TE cross	Johnson	3
Robinson has time but does not let his routes develop, chucking a quick TE cross that Johnson(+1, cover +1) is in position to tackle on immediately.
Drive Notes: FG, 14-3, EO1Q
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O26	1	10	I-form twins	3-3-5 stack	Run		Delay	Sagesse	6
Delay sees a backside tackle pull around as Sagesse is doubled. Moundros and Demens get outside of blockers, funneling it back to help that never comes because Ezeh got cut off by a center peeling off Sagesse(-1). Excellent example of why you need your nose to demand a double in this D.
O32	2	4	I-form twins	3-3-5 stack	Run		Power dive	Van Bergen	-1
Van Bergen(+1) slants inside the tackle and picks off a pulling guard. Sagesse swam through a double and managed to hold his ground okay, though he's still getting blocked a yard downfield. Demens and Ezeh are in the area and convince the RB to bounce. Gordon(+0.5) has set up in the right spot so there's no hole and Ezeh(+1) is unblocked but read the play quickly to make a tackle at the LOS.
O31	3	5	Shotgun 4-wide tight	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	Hitch	Ezeh	Inc
Robinson drops back and throws a quick hitch into an eight man coverage that Ezeh(+1) bats down. This is a super easy breakup as Robinson stares down his WR and Ezeh barely has to move to get the PBU, so no +2 this time. (cover +1)
Drive Notes: Punt, 14-3, 13 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
M45	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5 stack	Pass	6	Bubble screen?	—	Inc
Michigan sends the house as Dierking motions from the slot into the backfield, and Purdue throws a… something. I think it was supposed to be a bubble screen but the two receivers went downfield and seemed to be blocking. That's fine for the outside guy, but not so much the slot.
M45	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Run		Down G	Moundros	15
Just six in the box but M blitzes Avery to provide a seventh. TE blocks down on Roh and two OL pull around. Avery(+0.5) does a good job to come up quickly and get outside of one a yard in the backfield, constricting a hole. Moundros(-2) can fill it by himself if he takes on a block in the right spot but runs way too far outside and actually bashes into the Avery block, giving Dierking a big lane just past the outstretched arm of a spinning Roh. Demens didn't flow down the line because he saw a big cutback lane caused by Patterson(-1) getting cut and hit that. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Kovacs has to get outside a WR to force it back to Vinopal; Vinopal(+0.5) closes and tackles(+1).
M30	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Roh	0
Roh(+2) can't quite slant under the Purdue tackle trying to block him but does get him pushing really hard to get his helmet across. He responds by chucking the lineman past him, coming under, and pounding Dierking at the LOS. Patterson(+0.5) and RVB(+0.5) had cut off the frontside, forcing the cutback.
M30	2	10	Shotgun 2-back	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Patterson	1
Michigan comes out in a 4-4 cover zero and checks into the stack after Purdue checks. Patterson(+1) takes a double and holds up; Demens(+0.5) hits the hole quickly and meets the peeling C at the LOS; Moundros(+0.5) is unblocked and tackles at the LOS. Multiple Purdue linemen were wandering around wondering who to block after the check. RPS +1
M29	3	9	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	Improv	Avery	Inc
Robinson has forever and a day in the pocket but can't find anyone (cover +2) and eventually has to roll out as Roh comes free. Pressure only -1 because RVB got a holding call… eventually. Robinson rolls out and throws a bad idea to the sideline that Avery(+1, cover +1) is all over. He should really intercept but it's a little low and it falls to the turf. Hooray freshman QB.
Drive Notes: FG(46), 14-13, 4 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O31	1	10	I-form	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	Screen	—	Inc
Overthrown. Outcome unknown if on target.
O31	2	10	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	Tunnel screen	Van Bergen	4
Van Bergen(+1) reads the screen when the offensive lineman Olé! blocks him and comes from behind to tackle with some help from Demens.
O35	3	6	I-form twins	4-3 Light	Run		Delay	Avery	0
Late move to a four man line. Roh(+1) gets under his blocker and refuses to be down-blocked as Avery tears off the corner on a blitz. Patterson(+1) gets playside of his blocker, forcing a cutback into Roh; Avery(+1) tackles from behind.
Drive Notes: EOH, 14-13. Hail Mary not charted.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O34	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Fitzgerald	5
I'm not sure what the Purdue OL are attempting to do but I think it's scoop the two playside DL. They get neither, so +0.5 Patterson and RVB. RB has to bounce; he can because a hesitant Fitzgerald(-1) got hit by a TE a yard downfield instead of at the LOS or in the backfield and the RB has a lane outside. Gordon closes it down and Demens scrapes from the inside to help.
O39	2	5	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Pass	N/A	Bubble screen	Vinopal	2
This is less a bubble than just a slot screen since the WR is standing instead of orbiting outside. Michigan blitzes from the playside so it's Vinopal(+2, tackling +1) one-on-one with the WR. He attacks, gets in the right spot, forms up, forces the WR inside, and sees his tackle attempt almost run through but not quite; WR goes down for two and even if he stayed up Kovacs was going to light him up.
O41	3	3	Shotgun 2-back	4-3 Light	Run		QB draw	Van Bergen	-2
Yakety sax from Purdue as McBurse does not get the play call and goes for a mesh point with Henry. They bump and there's no lead blocker. I don't think it would have mattered because RVB(+2) slanted under the OG in a flash and was either going to destroy McBurse and force Henry into an unblocked Gordon or just destroy Henry. RPS+1.
Drive Notes: Punt, 20-13, 11 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
M24	1	10	I-form	4-3 Light	Run		Iso	Roh	6 (Pen -8)
I can't tell who this is on. Michigan stunts its DTs, which isn't relevant. The relevant bit: Roh slants hard under the strongside tackle, which leaves a TE and FB with great angles to block Demens and Gordon. If Roh was supposed to do this the linebackers need to flow hard behind him to pick up the slack on the strongside. They don't. There's two of them and one of Roh so I think it's on him(-1). Demens should still get outside the TE and has an opportunity to do so but doesn't, so the RB can zip off tackle quickly. This is dangerous but Vinopal(+1, tackling +1) fills quickly and makes a solid tackle to hold the gain down. He's pretty good when he's taking on guys his size. Problem: he is tiny. Play comes back on a holding call on the guy blocking Demens, so he avoids a minus.
M32	1	18	I-form twins	3-3-5 stack	Pass	4	Throwback TE screen	Moundros	9
Moundros(+1) reads it and shoots out into the play. He can't make the tackle but he does suck up a blocker and force the play inside. With a TE four yards behind the LOS and no blockers that should be a win. He's got some room; Avery forms up to force him into Ezeh(-1, tackling -1), who does tackle but lets the TE inside off him and turns five yards into nine.
M23	2	9	I-form	3-3-5 stack	Pass	4	Wheel of doom	Moundros	Inc
There are people vaguely in the area code this week but Moundros(-2, cover -2) is at least five yards away from the tailback and probably can't prevent a TD if ball is accurate. Ball is not, it's short and outside. Ezeh(+1, pressure +1) came up hard and made life difficult. Still RPS -1.
M23	3	9	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	Rollout throwaway	Ezeh	Inc
Purdue rolls away from the pocket; no one immediately open (cover +1). Ezeh(+2) avoids a cut block, keeps his feet, gets outside the pulling guard, and shoots up to sack Robinson, except Robinson chucks the ball out of bounds at the last second. (Pressure +2.)
Drive Notes: FG(40), 20-16, 9 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O36	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	3-3-5 stack	Run		Zone read keeper	Kovacs	12
Kovacs(-2) is rolling up to the LOS and must be the contain guy with the LBs sticking inside; Black is blocked on the backside. He sucks inside, lets Henry outside, and gives up a big gain.
O48	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-3 Light	Pass	N/A	Long handoff	—	Inc
Dropped.
O48	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Run		TGDCD	—	8
That Goddamned Counter Draw. Avery(-1) is blitzing to the eventual playside and Purdue's WR lined up over him actually drives down to block him, and does so effectively. Have not seen that before. Moundros(+0.5) finds himself in space and can cut past OL to force a bounce but with Avery both inside and blocked the corner's open; RB takes it until Kovacs comes up to make an okay tackle. RPS -1, but I'm not mad, just impressed with the little adjustment from Purdue.
M44	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	Fade	Avery	Inc
Check from 4-3 to stack after a Purdue check. Avery(-1, cover -1) beaten on a fade route that must have had a double move because he gets shook like whoah; ball is way overthrown.
Drive Notes: Punt, 20-16, 6 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O46	1	10	I-form twins	3-3-5 stack	Run		Iso	Demens	2
Deception on this play as it looks like Purdue is down-blocking and sending players to the frontside but the path of the RB is straight upfield. Given the blocking if Demens(+1) doesn't fall for it the play is dead; he doesn't and attacks unblocked to tackle at the LOS. Ezeh(+0.5) took on the FB and came off to help, as well. BTW: possible this is a Purdue bust.
O48	2	8	Shotgun 2TE twins	3-3-5 stack	Pass	4	Sack	Johnson	-2
First read covered(+1) and then Ezeh(+0.5) is out on the corner, forcing more scrambling outside. Robinson decides to take off; Johnson(+1) fills nicely to bang him out of bounds for a sack(!) short of the sticks. Pressure +1.
O46	3	10	Shotgun trips TE	3-3-5 stack	Pass	4	Yakety sax	Rogers	Int
Rollout to the trips. Van Bergen(+1) is immediately upfield and gets outside the RB's attempted chop. He's also outside the pulling G. Robinson slows up and then heads to the sideline as RVB gets smashed to the ground by the G. Roh(+1) has spun past the other tackle and is now charging from behind. As he's about to sack Robinson runs up; Ezeh(+0.5) fills and Robinson chucks it directly at James Rogers(+1, cover +1), who intercepts. Not so good. Pressure +2.
Drive Notes: Interception, 20-16, 1 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O26	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	3-3-5 stack	Run		Pin and pull zone	Moundros	3
Playside TE blocks down on Roh and the entire left side of the line pulls. Moundros(+1) shoots up into the play and takes a double from the pullers; Kovacs fills and gets help from Patterson(+0.5), who bounced off a cut attempt and flowed down the line to prevent YAC.
O29	2	7	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Pass	5	Hitch	Gordon	9
Gordon's actually blitzing here and his issue is getting cut to the ground(-1, pressure -1) as the part of the five man rush that gets a free run at the tailback. He's out, and this opens up a guy on the sidelines between Vinopal and Rogers (cover -1).
O38	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Run		Down G	Patterson	2
They block down on Black and get him(-0.5), pulling two guys around and shooting a lineman off Patterson and at Demens immediately. This is tough for M because Moundros has to run out to get the outside shoulder of one lead blocker and Demens is getting shoved past the play by the immediate release of the C. Purdue's banking on getting Patterson out of the play, then. Reasonable, and wrong. Patterson(+1) again bounces off the cut and flows down the line to tackle thanks to the good Moundros(+1) fill and forced inside cutback.
O40	2	8	Shotgun 2-back	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	TE Hitch	—	Inc
Five yard route zinged five yards wide.
O40	3	8	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	Screen	Moundros	5
Moundros(+1) is on top of it, shooting past one of the releasing blockers and getting tackled. He draws a flag. Avery(+0.5) is also there to attack at the LOS. His tackle(-1) is run through but does delay Dierking quite a bit, allowing three Wolverines to rally and tackle.
Drive Notes: Punt, 20-16, 12 min 4th Q. Hagerup's 72-yard bomb precedes the next drive.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O3	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Pass	N/A	Long handoff	Avery	39
Avery(-3, tackling -3) completely whiffs on a simple WR screen, turning five or six yards into many many yards.
O42	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Run		Yakety sax	—	-6
Aaaand Purdue fumbles it right back without a single Michigan player breathing on anyone. Thanks, dude.
Drive Notes: Fumble, 20-16, 10 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O20	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	3-3-5 stack	Run		Triple option pitch	Moundros	0
Henry pitches way too fast and does not eliminate Moundros(+1), so Moundros runs out to the edge and forces the pitch guy back inside of him, where five Wolverines gang-tackle. More bad play from Purdue than anything awesome M did.
O20	2	10	Shotgun trips TE	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	Flare	Avery	1
Nowhere to go on a three man rush(cover +2) so Henry checks down to a covered Dierking, who is again gang tackled after bouncing off Avery.
O21	3	9	Shotgun trips bunch	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	Scramble	Patterson	1
Michigan gets a stunt to work as Roh drives into the middle of the line and Patterson(+1) loops around to pressure(+1) Henry. He starts scrambling around; Patterson peels back and engages behind the LOS; pile falls forward, robbing him of a sack. Que sera.
Drive Notes: Punt, 20-16, 6 min 4th Q. Purdue's funny/sad final drive is not charted.

So did that mean anything?

No. Let's just get that out of the way. No, it did not mean anything. Purdue's offense has now scored 19 meaningful points over the last four weeks and while OSU, Illinois, and Wisconsin all have much better defenses than Michigan so many of the stops Michigan got were Purdue shooting itself in the face that it's impossible to tell if anything got better in a real sense.

If you look at the—

Chart.

Chart, you'll see this in numbers:

Defensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Van Bergen	7	3	4	May have been unfairly blamed for the big Henry keeper.
Martin	-	-	-	DNP
Banks	3	-	3	Did well in limited time.
Sagesse	-	1	-1	Ceded most of his time to Patterson for a reason.
Patterson	7.5	1.5	6	!!! Happy to see him get a start and he did legitimately well with it.
Black	-	1	-1	No pass rush necessary so ate bench.
Roh	7	2.5	4.5	Good day.
TOTAL	24.5	9	15.5	Fine day given a limited number of plays and only three guys.
Linebacker
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Ezeh	8.5	1.5	7	Very effective containing rollouts.
Mouton	-	-	-	DNP
C. Gordon	1.5	2	-0.5	Has absorbed the tao of spur.
T. Gordon	-	-	-	DNP
Johnson	3	-	3	Played spur. Please stop moving these people back and forth it annoys my charts.
Leach	-	-	-	DNP
Moundros	8.5	4.5	4	Got lost on a wheel of doom, effective against the run.
Demens	4	5	-1	Lost on a couple of big Purdue runs.
Herron	-	-	-	DNP
Fitzgerald	1.5	1	0.5	Limited playing time.
TOTAL	27	14	13	Holy OLB play when they never have to defend the pass, Batman.
Secondary
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Floyd	-	-	-	DNP
Rogers	3	-	3	One legit breakup, one INT thrown into his chest.
Kovacs	-	3.5	-3.5	Removed from the run game and when he showed up had some iffy tackles.
Talbott	-	-	-	DNP.
Christian	-	-	-	DNP.
Avery	3	6	-3	Gave up the big screen.
Ray Vinopal	3.5	2.5	1	OMG FS +1
TOTAL	12.5	12	0.5	Hardly involved.
Metrics
Pressure	8	2	6	Small numbers.
Coverage	13	4	9	Tiny numbers.
Tackling	4	8	-4	Not so good.
RPS	8	4	4	Amazing what playing a true freshman in a monsoon can do for you.

[RPS is "rock, paper, scissors." Michigan gets a + when they call a play that makes it very easy for them to defend the opponent, like getting a free blitzer. They get a – when they call a play that makes it very difficult for them to defend the opponent, like showing a seven-man blitz and having Penn State get easy touchdowns twice.]

The pressure and coverage numbers are incredibly low, as are the overall secondary numbers, which points to the thing you already knew: Michigan's weak point had virtually no pressure on it all day. How much is this going to matter when Michigan plays Tolzien and Pryor in (probably) dry conditions on turf? Probably not at all.

I see Demens didn't grade out well.

No, not so much, as two of Purdue's long runs seemed to be directly on him. The first:

This is similar to the Purdue run that was picture paged this afternoon with the line slanting one way but whereas on the Purdue play the MLB tears outside to fill the hole here Demens doesn't and gets clunked by a blocker, opening up a big gain. You can argue that Fitzgerald and Roh didn't do Demens any favors but they are slanting and that means Demens has to get behind them.

The second is just bad:

Moundros blitzes up the middle and when the handoff comes he fights to funnel the guy back to Demens, but Demens has wandered out of the middle when it's clear Roh is tearing at the QB and Kovacs has that space.

And then I'm not sure how I feel about this. Watch Demens hop outside the tackle on a stretch:

He does tear down the line and gets in on the tackle, so maybe that's okay. It gives me the heebie-jeebies, though.

Ezeh did, though, and you are an avowed Ezeh hater who really really hates Ezeh and would like to see him dipped in acid, right?

Er. I just think he hasn't been a very good linebacker.

You are also an avowed GERG hater who wants GERG dipped in acid and he's got a +4 RPS, right?

I would appreciate it if you stopped claiming I have a bias for or against certain players and coaches by using UFR numbers that contradict previous UFR numbers. This makes me want to stab you. Performances vary, and collecting those performances gives you a picture of a player. I try very hard to be systematic about the numbers handed out and as a result sometimes disagree with those numbers in the very UFR they are published in. They exist as a sanity check and a guide.

You're defensive, so it must be true.

ARGH STAB

Anyway, as to GERG. In this game the 3-3-5 seemed to make sense. This is because the linebackers were all at linebacker depth and Michigan did occasionally stem to different fronts that gave Purdue trouble. Here's an RPS +1 that sees Michigan move Banks down to a three tech, slant him under an unprepared guard, and force the play back into unblocked contain:

That's a concrete example of a "multiple" look being an asset. But it's against Purdue and their ramshackle lean-to of an offense. It's too little too late unless the team really surprises in the last three games.

You clipped a punt?

Damn right.

What was the best part of the game, and perhaps any game ever?

Sarcastic Hurray Guy after the Cam Gordon touchdown:

Win.

Heroes?

Obi Ezeh and Adam Patterson for filling in admirably for downed starters.

Goats, or as much of a goat you can be when the opposing offense scores six points?

Demens got lost a few times and opened up most of Purdue's successful runs; Avery made a big mistake that turned into Purdue's best play of the day.

What does it mean for Wisconsin and beyond?

Nothing. Seriously.

If you really want to stretch you can slightly downgrade your Demens enthusiasm, upgrade your Roh enthusiasm, and maybe vaguely hope Patterson is functional when he fills in for a (please God be) healthy Mike Martin. Ezeh may be okay as an OLB the last couple games, and will almost certainly be better than Roh was. But this was a terrible team playing in terrible conditions and Michigan's performance rested largely on their lack of competence. Wisconsin will probably bring Michigan back to earth with a thump.