Washington Goal Line Stand
I haven't seen to much discussion of Washington's goal line stand in the first half when Michigan had the opportunity to go up 6-0 or 10-0.
There has been much discussion of Michigan's run oriented strategy which I support given Washington's insistence on playing deep deep safeties most of the time.
However when Michigan got inside the 5 (IIRC the 2 yard line) we went to a straight up run formation with an 8 man line. That brought the entirety of Washington's defense also to the line of scrimmage and now the defense has the numbers advantage. I have no problem running on 1st and goal from the 2 or 3 but why not spread out the formation to create some space? When we got to 2nd and goal the sprint out pass seemed a bit predictable as did a return to the run up the middle on 3rd and goal.
Now we are to 4th and goal. Anyone favor the FG at this point? I supported going for it but again running it up the gut in what essentially was a fullback dive play into a stacked Washington defense doesn't seem too smart.
Overall couldn't be happier with the team and outcome of a great game.
September 14th, 2021 at 7:16 PM ^
I agree and hated the full back dive there. But I had so much fun I forgot all about it till now. Thanks.
September 14th, 2021 at 7:51 PM ^
Washington was going to crash the line anyway so it doesn’t really matter what play you call. You won’t have time for a pass, you won’t have time to get a back out to the edge. At the end of the day your guys have to get enough push on their guys for your back to get in.
As for the decision, it was definitely the right call to go for it. You either get 6 or you pin an offense that had shown very little life deep and force them to drive the length of the field. If not for a bogus roughing the passer call, Michigan probably gets the ball back around midfield.
September 14th, 2021 at 10:37 PM ^
The goal line stand was weird mainly because we got yards on the ground pretty much whenever we wanted but couldn't muster 1 or 2 yards on four tries to break the plane.
September 15th, 2021 at 4:45 PM ^
The two high safeties can't go very high when they're backed up to the end zone. Also, the formations were very bunched, which was the case all game, but again it condenses near the end zone.
September 15th, 2021 at 4:43 PM ^
Here's a question - to you, was there indisputable video evidence? I think there was - even though you couldn't see the football, you saw where it was in relation to the rest of H2's body break the plane. It was one of the shortest reviews I've seen in a while, so I'm assuming the officials said "We can't see the ball, so it stands."