So tomorrow (Saturday, April 25) at 1pm, here or on my twitch stream (https://www.twitch.tv/mgoseth/) we're going to be re-watching the 1995 Ohio State game with Dr. Sap, Jarrett Irons, and Rod Payne (set your calendars).

Remember that game? A refresher:

One of the questions I had going into this was what did Michigan run to break Biakabutuka so wide open so much. This was the offense coordinated by Fred Jackson, who inherited Gary Moeller's modernized version of Bo's. The run concepts are not that different from what you see today up front. They were also different from what Michigan ran most of the year. The '95 offense leaned heavily on Power (when you pull a backside guard), and Counter Trey. In this game they came out with Inside and Stretch Zones, Down G, and a Counter play that Wisconsin still runs where they pull the guard and tackle.

I only had time today to get the first two drives done, but it's a good setup and if I need to revisit later I wonder if you'll mind.

The First Crack: Lead Zone

This is an inside zone with a fullback that goes backside after loading up the frontside with tight ends. You'll have to remind me to ask Rod tomorrow what they saw after flipping the tight ends.

The key to this play is the right guard, offensive captain Joe Marinaro, who came off his not-finished double on the backside DT (Luke Fickell!) with Payne to kick out the middle linebacker (Greg Bellisari). It's also FB Chris Floyd controlling the WLB (Ryan Miller), and Biakabutuka having the patience and agility to get around that in the backfield, running over a prone Fickell, and breaking another tackle. Imaginary RPS-2, this was supposed to catch Fickell slanting, instead it got an activated linebacker directly in the gap.

You can also blame Fickell for falling down after he was blown back by the double.

Yards: 22 (total: 22)

[After THE JUMP: If you're a fan of offensive line play you may need a kleenex]

2. This Was the Plan: Down G

Ohio State's defense was predicated on their tremendous talent in the secondary that allowed the linebackers to fire off at any run action. As soon as they had you in 3rd and long you were dead, what with Mike Vrabel and Matt Finkes coming off the edge. Jackson's plan to attack this was the same play Harbaugh used to counter the aggressive LBs they faced in the first half of 2018: Down G.

The Harbaugh way is to pull the frontside guard as the kick-out and crack down with the tight end; that's usually how you run it. Here Ohio State is slanting to the backside and TE Jay Riemersma makes that count by riding Vrabel inside and sealing him good. This should convert the MLB to the kickout guy, but OSU's LBs are playing to spill. That puts two linebackers in the gap between Riemersma and slot receiver Tai Streets for left guard Zach Adami. Adami adjusts his block to a chip on the MLB so Biakabutuka can step around it, and Streets plants and seals that whole mess inside. Now it's a Biakabutuka versus a safety (Rob Kelly) he stiff-arms, running over All-American CB Shawn Springs after another big chunk.

Replay:

Yards: 18 (total: 40)

3. Give Up and Kick

This is just a draw on 3rd and 12.

Marinaro lost his block here but has Bonhaus tied up enough that Biakabutuka can just run by that. Jansen (a redshirt freshman at this point) couldn't keep Vrabel locked to give Tim a chance. Good play by Vrabel.

Yards: 5 (total: 45)

4. Stretch Zone

Stretch or Outside Zone is pretty straightforward and pretty hard to run. Ideally your offensive line will all get playside of the defenders attacking their gaps until one of those defenders overplays or under-pursues and the back will see it and cut.

This is one of many moments in this 1st quarter that caused every O-line coach in the state to tear up: Runyan reached Vrabel, Streets locked the OLB's arms outside, and Rod Payne travels with Bonhaus, just barely getting his back around the DT's waist so a backwards fall can create a reach block and thus a gap. Riemersma's job is to pick off the MLB but Bellisari ran too far upfield. Cool; Riemersma looks for work and finds Vrabel coming back. Biakabutuka has to leap over the mess of Runyan's block and is off-balance, but manages to fall forward for some steps before Springs catches up.

Yards: 16 (total: 61)

5. Good Lord Jansen

They're back to Down G, but they're kicking out the DE with Riemersma and using that frontside puller as a lead blocker. Also of note: Ohio State has a nickel back (Antoine Winfield) on the field in place of their normal strongside linebacker, Kevin Johnson. The left side of that gap is erased by Jon Jansen escorting a DT into the backfield and over the hash.

Also Riemersma held up against Vrabel, Marinaro made his block count by lining up the playside LB engaging, and pancaking the dude. Rod Payne and Zach Adami blew Fickell out so badly the backside linebacker got caught a yard behind it. That delivers Biakabutuka to a mass of defensive backs, whom he discards.

Replay? Replay.

Yards: 43 (total: 104)

6. Inside Zone

This is a straightforward Inside Zone play designed to get what it got. OSU has gone to a 5-2 Quarters look. It's blocked really well on the backside between Adami and Runyan to deliver Biakabutuka to the safety level, but here in the red zone the safeties are activating against the run and backup SS Damon Moore made a great play to wrap up after a minimal gain.

Yards: 3 (total: 107)

1st Quarter Things:

1. I was hopeful this would be more of an X’s and O’s thing but if anything Ohio State was prepared for most of this. No, Fred Jackson and Lloyd Carr didn’t out-game John Cooper and Larry Coker. But they did hold their own, mostly because of a personnel move. On the last play above the linebackers reacted terribly to the pull—the LB on the right (#30) shot his gap early while the LB on the left (#43) played far too passively. That’s the kind of thing Down G invites, because zone blocking on the backside gets the backside LB in an “attack my gap!” mentality, and the frontside LB could be thinking he’s got to watch for the tight end coming down, not the puller himself.

The other X’s and O’s win for Michigan at this point in the game was removing Chris Floyd for freshman slot receiver Tai Streets. Ohio State didn’t change their base 4-3 personnel when Michigan did this—OSU’s response instead was to go from a Cover 1 to a Cover 2, pulling one of the safeties away from the box and setting up the SLB outside.

Look at the setup for the first play again:

At the snap the Buckeyes had the WLB charge into his gap, effectively a fifth lineman, while the strong safety rolled down and the free safety backed out over the top. This gave OSU an eight-man front and ensured Chris Floyd’s block would occur in the backfield.

From there Michigan mostly pulled the TE and FB for two receivers, the ‘90s version of spread football. The Down G play that gashed OSU on the second drive isn’t that different from the one on the first play from scrimmage: split the end and the DT and run a lead blocker through it. Except by spreading everyone out they've turned Ohio State into a nickel shell defense with six defenders in the box instead of a 4-3 with a quasi eighth man in the box.

A vital component of that was Tai Streets occupying multiple defenders from the slot. The true freshman was money on several plays, and here he wipes out a defender by being a pass threat. With both safeties back and Winfield chasing Streets OSU is a gap short in the running game.

2. This was total domination by Michigan’s OL. It’s impressive enough to see the elders like Rod Payne and Joe Marinaro and Zach Adami making key blocks on the fly as they adjust to Ohio State’s different looks. It’s downright freakish when you see a still-barely-270-pounds Jon Jansen winning against Mike Vrabel.

3. Biakabutuka is making this happen himself too. The line is usually getting Tshimanga to the secondary, but when they do he makes a guy miss. And he also made that sharp deceleration-acceleration on the first play to get around the LB who attacked Chris Floyd.