If you're into this kind of stuff, I wrote an eight-page feature that dives deep into the offense in the first season under Gattis, with lots of diagrams and charts, in Hail to the Victors 2020, which Kickstarter ends at 4pm this afternoon. If you like that I can do this for a living, well, so do I. Two big reasons are HTTV, which was what let me take this job full-time in 2012, and HTTV's/UFR sponsor Matt Demorest, proprietor of HomeSure Lending and Five Shores Brewing in Beulah.

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I did Ohio State already—no there won't be a defense because this was done mostly to gather data for my HTTV article. Why would any person want to relive this? Well I wanted to know things about #SpeedInSpace, how it matches up against elite defenses, and how they adjust to it. While I was at I figured I'd complete our data on the season, especially for the guys returning. I didn't dwell too long on scores that affected those who weren't.

Formation notes: When Michigan had all of their receivers in I called it "tight" and when they had just one of them split out I called it "bunch." This is tight:

Alabama was mostly in their 3-4. "Even" for the 3-4 means the nose is over the center, the DEs are on the tackles, and the LBs line up behind/inside those DEs. "Tite" is normally when the WLB is lined up behind the nose guard, the MLB is over the TE, and the SAM is a nickel safety way out in the slot, but Bama ran it without moving the WLB at all because #99 NG Raekwan Davis counts as two players.

[After THE JUMP: a 16-play punt drive]

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
50	1st	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Pass	Verts	Collins	0
Clean pocket (PROT+) Collins has a step, but Patterson puts it a little short and Jobe can rake it out. (MA, 1, Prot 1/1)
50	2nd	10	Shotgun Bunch	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Run	End-Around	DPJ	2
RPS+ sweet play design they ran for a TD vs OSU, with DPJ orbit becoming the handoff and McKeon/Haskins as the kickout and puller. (Neck Sharpies)
O48	3rd	8	Shotgun Bunch	1	1	3	2-3-6 Okie		Pass	Verts	Collins	0
Collins (route+2) has 2 steps and Patterson overthrows badly. 6-man protection for 5 guys holds. (INx, 0, Prot 2/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 14 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M20	1st	10	Shotgun Trips	1	1	3	3-4 Tite		Pass	Angle	Jackson	7
Routes clear space for angle to Jackson (route+), Mike blitzes late nobody to cover him but ball out by design. Definition of borderline 2 or 3 pressure. (CA, 3, Prot 1/2). RPS+ takes advantage of Bama's system. Neck Sharpied.
M27	2nd	3	Shotgun Offset	1	1	3	3-4 Tite		Run	Split Zone	Haskins	3
Bell Orbit motion, Mason+ at TE digs out edge. Mayfield- gets stuck on DL so Onwenu is useless, that guy tackles but Haskins+ spins through.
M30	1st	10	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	3-4 Tite		Run	Zone Read Give	Jackson	3
Edge is crashing Patterson (Read-2) gives. Still this. That guy gets into Jackson's feet while Bredeson- is shed. Jackson dives into space made by Onwenu+
M33	2nd	7	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Under		Play-action	PA TE Wheel	McKeon	0
Jackson jet fakes a bash read, Bama rolled their S down who isn't fooled and nowhere else to go on a 7-man protection: RPS-2 play is DOA (PR, 0, Prot 1/3, Eubanks-, Haskins-)
M33	3rd	7	Shotgun Trips	1	1	3	2-3-6 under		Pass	Dig	Bell	0
Bring six and Haskins ignores a safety to release. Patterson feels it and shorts it to open Bell who nearly comes back to make it. (IN, 1, Prot 2/3, Haskins-)
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-7, 12 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M15	1st	10	Shotgun 2RB	2	1	2	3-4 Even		Run	Triple-Option P&P	Charbonnet	12
Brilliant play design that's nevertheless RPS- because Bama is slanting playside and blitzing the space the puller left. Quick thinking by Bredeson+ to peel back and cut off the blitzer, mostly. Ruiz- lost his guy who later releases and prevents Charbonnet from turning this into 40 but that's a tough ask with a 0-tech, Runyan+.5 stretch block the DL over them and Mayfield+2 gets all the way around his. 1st rounder play. Onwenu+ kicks the SAM past the hashmarks and Mason+ blasts a CB into Tuesday, then yanks him back to Monday after the whistle. McKeon+.5 good extended block on MLB. Safety arrives late because he had to roll with the motion and respect Sainristil orbit. (Read+). Neck Sharpied.
M27	1st	10	Shotgun Tight	1	1	3	3-4 Tite		Pass	Mesh	Collins	0
Want this more in front bc LB breaks it up. So much protection two DBs running into each other doesn't open anything. McKeon might be breaking open downfield. Not RPS- because it is a LB on Collins and if Shea lets this develop it could break. (BR, 2, Prot 1/1)
M27	2nd	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Over		Run	Zone Read Give	Charbonnet	9
OLB he's reading crashes inside so far Charbonnet+2 can bounce into where Patterson (read-) should keep. RPS+ Bama not ready for zone read here. McKeon+ uses DE's hesitation to give room back there.
M36	3rd	1	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Run	Split Zone	Charbonnet	12
Onwenu+ and Ruiz+ blow out a DT, RPS+ an LB was freaking out about Arc read. Mayfield+.5 controls a DE who fought back inside, borderline hold he gets away with
M48	1st	10	Shotgun Tight	1	1	3	3-4 Over		Pass	Flea Flicker	DPJ	34
RPS+3 Bama fooled. Line gives him time to find wide open DPJ. Mason+ gets a downfield block. (CA, 3, Prot 3/3)
O18	1st	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Over		Run	Counter Read	Haskins	11
Same play I Neck Sharpied above. Onwenu+/- overruns play but gets a + for assisting Bredeson- (RPS-) who was struggling to kick an edge who played this very well. Want McKeon to peel off on WLB but understandable. Haskins+2 runs through that guy and Onwenu's guy, knocks off a safety's helmet too. RB1 yo!
O7	1st	Goal	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	Goal line		Play-action	PA TE Out	Eubanks	7
Jet motion RPS+2 makes a S freak out, pitch and catch. Patterson+ for faking out Edge. (CA, 3, Prot 1/1). Neck Sharpies. Replay.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-7, 7 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M1	1st	10	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Even		Run	Split Zone	Haskins	7
Mason blows back edge playing both sides, got enough depth from it not to get a minus for getting discarded. Haskins+ powers through that guy, DPJ+.5 cracked a safety to give him room to RAGE.
M8	2nd	3	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Even		Run	Counter Read	Charbonnet	11
Tweak to the Pin & Pull with two-backs we Neck Sharpied: with Bell orbit motion plus FB wham on backside instead of going for a frontside lead block. McKeon-2 popped back into Onwenu's pull but Onwenu+2 pushes him back to get around and seal. Bredeson+ arcs and gets to CB. RPS+ sending the FB backside fooled the LBs keying Mason because of last time. (Read+)
M19	1st	10	Shotgun Trips	1	1	3	3-4 Over		RPO	Pin & Pull Read/RPO	Charbonnet	2
Backside edge left unblocked but pull is an RPO slants, Onwenu-2 dodged on kickout which too bad bc Ruiz+ and McKeon+ had fixed a bad downblock by Mayfield-
M21	2nd	8	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	3-4 Tite		Pass	Snag	Sainristil	8
Clean pocket, easy read (Sainristil route+). (CA, 3, Prot 1/1)
M29	1st	10	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Over		RPO	Counter IV	Charbonnet	11
Keep option has slants to counter side. Mayfield+ gets LB and Onwenu+ seals DT, Bredeson+.5 solid kick on guy being read, Mason+2 boss, Charbonnet+ stiffarms LB for extra. RPS- running into 8-man box
M40	1st	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Over		Play-action	PA Wheel	Jackson	40
RPS+3 double slots, this was set up so well. Runyan and McKeon let rushers in so Patterson has to fall back and throw off back foot. Lays it in there (DO, 3, prot 0/2, Runyan-, McKeon-)
O20	1st	10	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Over		Play-action	Scissors	Patterson	0
Bredeson washed back, want Shea to be aware of that but too much Ben's fault. Hit on throw. (PR, n/a, Prot 0/2, Bredeson-2)
O20	2nd	10	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Even		Pass	Flood	Patterson	2
Just a three-man rush and Onwenu- and Ruiz- get split by DT which that's going on his highlight reel. Patterson has to bail (PR, n/a, prot 0/1, Onwenu-1, Ruiz-1)
O18	3rd	8	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	2-3-6 Split		Pass	TE Fade	Eubanks	0
Send six picked up, Patterson spooked anyway throws early off back foot, no chance for Eubanks (IN, 0, Prot 3/3)
Drive Notes: FG(36), 10-7, EO1Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M20	1st	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Run	Inside Zone	Charbonnet	6
Two guys unblocked on backside edge RPS+2 they're useless even with QB's back turned. Bredeson+ gets enough to shove slant by, McKeon+.5 solid edge, Ruiz+2 moves his LB out of the way, Mayfield- needs to seal backside instead of trying to get guy Runyan-1 whiffed. Charbonnet+2 dances around that guy and gets extra
M26	2nd	4	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Even		Run	Down G read	Charbonnet	7
Bama scrape (RPS-), give (Read+) is the best move, Charbonnet+2 quick cuts past scraper bc Bredeson+ has a sweet kick, Runyan+.5 and McKeon+.5 comboed to 2nd level, and Mason+ popped a safety. Tight fit because Ruiz- pushed back by that DT. Decisive cut is so key here.
M33	1st	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Pass	TE Out	Eubanks	7
3-man rush after LB backs out, finds easy yards but shorts it. Eubanks digs it out. (MA, 2, prot 1/1)
M40	2nd	3	Shotgun Flex 84	1	2	2	3-4 Over		Run	Arc read Give	Charbonnet	-1
RPS-2 Bama blitzes MLB right into this
M39	3rd	4	Shotgun Bunch	1	2	2	2-3-6 Even		Pass	Scramble	Patterson	7
Haskins missed read, Shea gets it. (SCR, n/a, prot 2/3)
M46	1st	10	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Even		Run	Pin & Pull Read	Haskins	7
Easy give read (Read+), All-2 soft seal uses up Onwenu, but Runyan+2 pinned a DE and McKeon turned out an LB and Haskins+ hit it hard to the safety.
O47	2nd	3	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Even		RPO	Counter Duo/Slant	Haskins	2
Run to the B gap, Patterson (RPO-) misses throw read to wide open Sainristil. Bredeson+ and Mason+ get good kicks, Onwenu+ gets LB, Ruiz- lost DT
O45	3rd	1	Shotgun Flex 84	1	2	2	3-4 Even		Run	Belly Keeper	Patterson	5
Mason+ and Onwenu+ blow out guys, RPS+ LB goes inside not suspecting a keep (Read+). Shea impatient; could let Haskins get a block and still be running but instead charges ahead and dives. No neg bc it's 3rd and 1 get it.
O40	1st	10	Pistol 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Even		Play-action	Levels	Bell	-10
Runyan takedown is called but guy fell to draw it. Shea abandons otherwise clean pocket, tries to get signal guys open, underthrows Bell (TA, 0, prot 1/2, Runyan-)
50	1st	20	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Over		RPO	Pin & Pull/Slant	Bell	22
Easy read pulls immediately and zings, a bit low but Bell(+3) digs it and gets all the YAC. (CA, 2, Prot 2/2)
O28	1st	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Under		Pass	Fade	DPJ	0
Bell's going to be open, even signals, but Patterson locked in. Puts the ball where DPJ can get it but would be tough. Charbonnet misses blitz pickup. CB has DPJ's jersey all the way (Refs-2). (MA, 1, prot 1/2, Charbonnet-)
O28	2nd	10	Shotgun Twins	1	2	2	3-4 Over		Run	Pin & Pull Read	Charbonnet	4
Ruiz+ reaches DE, Runyan+ zone blocks slanting DT, RPS-, Charbonnet+ jump-cuts past that. McKeon's guy reaches out and gets a lucky hand into ZC's collar that stops him.  (Read+)
O16	3rd	6	Shotgun Trips	1	1	3	2-3-6 Even		Pass	Deep Cross	Bell	8
Shea abandons clean pocket instead of stepping up. Bell (route-) puts a foot OOB. Blaming Shea (TA, 2, prot 2/2)
Drive Notes: FG(42), 13-7, 7 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1st	10	Shotgun Bunch	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Play-action	Arc/Fade	Collins	18
Meant to be a QB run outside off PA or a throw downfield. RPS- Bama has it covered, but Nico is Collins. (CA, 2, prot 1/1)
M48	1st	5	Shotgun Twins	1	2	2	3-4 Over		RPO	Inside Zone	Haskins	3
Runyan- misses kickout and then turns around like it's pass pro? I think Shea's reading the WLB vs TE out. Bredeson-2 shed by DT (always Raekwon Davis) and can't regap. Haskins+ dances for a few
O49	2nd	2	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Under		Run	Zone Read Give	Haskins	4
Perfunctory, correct (Read+), Ruiz+ Onwenu+ combo DE to LB, Bredseson- beat back by blitzing WLB but combo was enough.
O45	1st	10	Shotgun Trips	1	1	3	3-4 Even		RPO	Pin & Pull/Snag	Haskins	5
LB held, Onwenu buries kickout who went under him but that takes out Bredeson. Mayfield+ and McKeon+ have boss downblocks so Haskins alone with CB who just gets his foot. RPS+ the RPO took out trailing LB.
O40	2nd	5	Shotgun Trips	1	1	3	3-4 Even		RPO	Outside Zone/Dig	Haskins	2
Edge is blitzing and m2m on outside so Patterson (RPO-) should pull and throw it to Collins underneath or DPJ(route+2) who got 2 steps on the slot fade. Sigh. Bredeson- and Ruiz- shed by LB and that DT. Own face: punched
O38	3rd	3	Shotgun Trips	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Run	Outside Zone Read	Haskins	1
Come back late bc announcers are pissed about not throwing the fade. Looks like the same play except this time backside read is a keep Patterson (Read-) turns down on shuffler. Same LB is blitzing, Ruiz has no chance. RPS-2 double sigh.
O37	4th	2	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Over		Run	SPlit Zone	Haskins	2
Onwenu+ and Ruiz+ combo to create a gap
O35	1st	10	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Under		Pass	Quick post	McKeon	0
McKeon should be his first read and gets open on his double-move but Bredeson lost DT and Shea ain't waiting around. He rolls and rolls then tries to Buttzone it to McKeon in a ton of traffic. McKeon goes up and almost brings it in. (BR, 1, 2/3)
O35	2nd	10	Shotgun Trips	1	1	3	3-4 Over		Pass	Flood	Patterson	-4
Patterson-2 bails. Balls. (TAx, n/a, Prot 2/2). 57-yard FG that would have been good from 57.
Drive Notes: Nordin's kick woulda been good from 57.3. FG(57), 16-14, EOH.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M37	1st	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Tite		RSO	Pin & Pull/Orbit Flare	Bell	9
Patterson reading FS at hash who to his credit is making it hard but Shea is right to take this if it's there. Bell+ gets around DPJ's block which is a borderline hold Refs+ that Saban is bitching about, but Refs-3 do let a horrific targeting go. Guy launched right into Bell's head. Right in front of Saban. Michigan tempo might have wiped out review decision. (CA, 3, Screen, Prot n/a)
M46	2nd	1	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Play-action	PA Bubble	DPJ	0
PA split zone to bubble to Bell, batted by DE (BA, 0, Prot n/a)
M46	3rd	1	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Even		Penalty	False Start	Mayfield	-5
Bama DE shifts and Mayfield-1 jumps
M41	3rd	6	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	2-3-6 Under		Pass	Quick out	Jackson	8
Makeup call? Refs+ this could be reviewed and declared a fumble; it is a catch. Took Giles off his feet is why the -. (CA-, 2, prot 1/1)
M49	1st	10	Shotgun Tight	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Pass	Fade	DPJ	0
Shea spooked in clean pocket, CB had position, ball overthrown because I guess he thought DPJ would shake this guy. (IN, 0, Prot 2/2)
M49	2nd	10	Shotgun Trips	1	1	3	3-4 Over		Run	Pin & Pull	Haskins	1
Bama has an answer to the Pin & Pull; RPS-. SAM dives under Bredeson- which Onwenu- can't get over and Haskins trips over the two of them. Ruiz-.5 had trouble with the DT. Runyan+ and McKeon+ had good seals.
50	3rd	9	Shotgun Trips	1	2	2	3-4 Even		Pass	Flood	Patterson	-8
Safety blitz and Haskins never looks at it. It's Xavier McKinney so no escape. (PR, n/a, prot 1/3, Haskins-2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 16-21, 11 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M18	1st	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Even		RPO	Outside Zone/Slant	Charbonnet	6
Bama rolls coverage to that side so slant pops open after read is made. RPS-. Mayfield+2 passes off his guy to Onwenu to get a slammin' seal on the MLB. Good shit! Charbonnet sees and cuts for a good gain.
M24	2nd	4	Shotgun Trips	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Run	Arc H	Jackson	-1
Jackson motions to SB, this is supposed to fake SZ and get Jackson outside or else Patterson would give when the DE sets up. That guy Jake Ryans McKeon- all the way to the sideline so Charbonnet- is wasted. Want him to target the CB McKeon ultimately gets around and leaves him because there's a CB coming up. Want Charbonnet to get that CB
M23	3rd	5	Shotgun Stack	1	1	3	2-3-6 Okie		Pass	WR out	Bell	6
Patterson backs up a bit but stops and makes a perfect throw so excused for making his own life harder? Tight window and Bell brings it in. (DO, 2, Prot 3/3)
M29	1st	10	Shotgun Trips	1	1	3	3-4 Over		Pass	Flags	Bell	0
Collins is wide open at the sticks bc the CB on him reacts in Heisman mode time to Shea horking back for the blomb. Decent window downfield is nowhere near where it lands, which is way long. (IN, 0, prot 2/2)
M29	2nd	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Run	Outside Zone	Charbonnet	2
Runyan-2 good combo with Bredeson+ ruined bc he doesn't see the CB coming to get the edge and tries to help Collins's crack instead. Senior WTF. RPS- fake read holds nobody on the backside
M31	3rd	8	Shotgun Trips	1	1	3	2-3-6 Okie		Pass	Dig	Bell	0
Bell has a step, Patterson wings it high (IN, 1, Prot 3/3)
Drive Notes: Punt, 16-21, 7 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M4	1st	10	Shotgun Twins	1	2	2	3-4 Over		RPO	Counter C/Slant	Haskins	5
Bama SAM steps down but S is ready to drive on Slant: give. Sigh RPS-2 extra guy in the box so Mason+ can only try to go inside and Haskins+ follows to eke out a few.
M9	2nd	5	Shotgun Twins	1	2	2	3-4 Tite		Run	Arc/Split Zone	Haskins	2
RPS- the Tite is made for this because the SAM is coming in but deters keep. Two guys outside so Haskins- goes for the gummed up middle. Bounce outside would have gotten Mason's block.
M11	3rd	3	Shotgun Tight	1	1	3	3-4 Over		Pass	Mesh RB split	Haskins	19
RPS+2 the mesh gets the WLB caught, Runyan whiffs, Patterson throws it a bit upfield but Haskins gathers and keeps balance. (CA, 2, Prot 2/3, Runyan-)
M30	1st	10	Shotgun Tight	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Play-action	Flood	Patterson	8
Nobody on Collins, turns down a TD. Tucks and runs and gets 9 but he's gone and I'm salty. (TA, n/a, prot 1/1)
M38	2nd	2	Shotgun Twins TE	1	2	2	3-4 Over		Run	Trap Read	Charbonnet	3
This is supposed to go A gap but Ruiz- lost the DT. HSP is there but HSP vs Charbonnet+ equals YAC. (Read+)
M41	1st	10	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	3-2-6 Eagle		Play-action	Fly	Bell	0
Ruiz shed, Charbonnet picks it up but Bredeson's guy now loose too. Ball out. Bell(route+) has a step and a half, Shea is long again (IN, 0, prot 2/3)
M41	2nd	10	Gun Offset 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Over		Penalty	False Start	Collins	-5
Refs-2 the CB jumps into the neutral zone and Collins moves to draw the flag; flag on Collins. Not giving him a minus for that.
M36	2nd	15	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Over		Penalty	False Start	Mayfield	-5
Oops. Mayfield-
M31	2nd	20	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	3-2-6 Stack		Pass	Drag	Bell	17
3.5 sent, everyone covered, Patterson has to move after 3 seconds, not charging Bredeson and Mayfield but Runyan- stopped blocking. Shea slids and floats to Bell. (DO, 2, Prot 1/2, Runyan-)
M48	3rd	3	Shotgun Tight	1	1	3	3-2-6 Okie		Pass	Comeback	Collins	12
All day vs 5-man pressure, fires to Collins(route+) on comeback. (DO, 3, prot 3/3)
O40	1st	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Under		Run	Outside Zone	Haskins	2
McKeon-2 tries to kick and instead is shoved bac. His guy makes the tackle.
O38	2nd	8	Shotgun Twins TE	1	1	3	3-4 Under		Run	Arc Read Keeper	Patterson	7
Lol. Mayfield- can't get to LB but Patterson (Read+) pull fakes out the shuffling edge and that LB is too surprised to get out. M has Eubanks and Collins for a S and a CB but gives up and goes OOB short of the sticks.
O31	3rd	1	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Even		Run	Split Zone	Haskins	1
Nine in the box, maybe PA? RPS- they're jamming up the backside. Bredeson+ made just enough space.
O30	1st	10	Shotgun Bunch	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Pass	O'Korn	Patterson	-13
Bring five, pressure picked up for two beats, no throw, Patterson-3 panics, runs backwards into pressure, fumbles, Charbonnet falls on it. Mayfield gave him an escape route so no minus for losing #33 inside. (TAx, n/a, Prot 2/3, Charbonnet-)
O43	2nd	23	Gun Offset 3-wide	1	1	3	2-4-5 Nickel		Play-action	Slant	Bell	0
Eubanks loses outside to guy who doesn't buy PA on 2nd and 23. Shea zings to Bell(route+) who got free with 5 Tide around. Can't haul it in. (CA, 3, Prot 1/2, Eubanks-)
O43	3rd	23	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	2-3-6 Eagle		Pass	Swing	Jackson	2
Worse ideas than a dumpoff to Jackson here but clean pocket there has to be more to read?
Drive Notes: Punt, 16-28, 12 min 4th Q. Yes, a 16-play drive that ends on a punt. Maybe 2020 won't be so great after all.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M34	1st	10	Pistol Bunch	1	2	2	3-4 Over		Run	Split Trap	Haskins	4
Think it's planned to wham block guy who goes inside Mayfield- so he should get down to the LB? RPS+ I guess.
M38	2nd	6	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Over		RPO	Inside Zone/Slants	Collins	11
IZ blocked well so I'll hand out pluses to Onwenu+ and Eubanks+.5 and Mayfield+.5 but LB comes down so pull and chuck to Collins(route+) who made room for himself vs tight cov. (CA, 1, Prot n/a)
M49	1st	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-4 Even		Pass	Bail	Collins	0
Ruiz just loses the DT. Hope his parents are in attendance. Shea rolls and tries to hit Collins for minimum at the sideline, dropped. (PR, 3, Prot 0/2, Ruiz-2) Michigan's GAF is dying here.
M49	2nd	10	Shotgun 2-wide	1	2	2	3-4 Over		Run	Split Trap	Haskins	-1
Haskins- looking right at the blitz and doesn't try to go inside of it where there's actually a gap forming? RPS-2 the blitz beat this.
M48	3rd	11	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	3-2-6 Eagle		Pass	Fade	Sainristil	0
Lobs it up waaaaay too long for Sainristil(route-) who has no separation and gives up 6 inches on Surtain. DPJ(route+) broke free on his out and is open for the 1st down. Why does Michigan death have to look so face-punchy? (BRx, 0, 2/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 16-28, 8 min 4th Q. Michigan gets the ball back in the same spot with 6 minutes left.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M48	1st	10	Shotgun Twins TE	1	2	2	3-4 Even		Play-action	Deep Out	Patterson	0
Patterson thinks it's a deep out, Eubanks sees all the fade grass. (BRx, 0, Prot 2/2). Put in McCaffrey!
Drive Notes: Interception, 16-28, 6 min 4th. Alabama runs Najee Harris 11 times, M gets the ball back with 26 seconds and no timeouts. End of charting. End of season.

That wasn't depressing until the end. Then it was depressing.

Michigan was in scoring position down five in the fourth quarter. Also this drive chart:

• One TD drive of 85 yards
• FG drives of 81 yards (10 plays), 56 yards (13 plays), and 36 yards (10 plays)
• A 55-yard, 16-play drive that ended on a punt
• A six-and-out, two five-and-outs, and one three-and-out
• Late one-play interception drive.

A 16-play drive that ended on a punt.

A 16-play drive that ended on a punt.

A 16-play drive that ended on a punt!

So yeah this was a very field position game in which Michigan was grinding its way downfield and Bama got all of its points on a handful of big plays. The 16-play punt drive began at the Michigan four. The 81-yard FG drive began at the one.

Where are the big plays? Maybe a play-action?

Gattis got a few chunks from catching Bama overreacting to the Armyness. The flea-flicker to DPJ was one. The wheel to Giles Jackson was a "back the hell off" moment against the WLB that used Giles Jackson at running back.

That's a bit of a gimmick unless Jackson can do all of the other RB things. Michigan didn't have a Blake Corum or Chris Evans in 2019 to be that A-level receiving threat out of the backfield.

I counted 11 plays RPOs and another 11 as pure play-action, and for the most part Saban was content to let Michigan grind away rather than open up an opportunity for a chunk. Here's what happened when Bama wasn't fooled:

Neither Eubanks nor Haskins did much good in pass protection here, and when Raekwan Davis breaks through up the middle there's no time left to see if the Giles Jackson wheel against a (very good) HSP came open.

Note that this is one of the features of a 3-4 defense—you can try to play-action the middle linebackers, but one of the strengths of the defense is it starts with two OLBs in good rush position and a five-man front, leaving not much to double the DL. And Alabama has some DL you cannot single-block.

Raekwan Davis was depressing.

Seth's Defensive Tackles Theorem states that very good DTs are the one thing no offense has an answer for. Michigan tried to mitigate Davis, who was ridiculous in this game and was expected to be, by mostly running off-tackle. Of all the new issues to pop up in the Citrus Bowl that are probably irrelevant for the future, how Ruiz/Onwenu/Bredeson fared against a guy who's going to do that to a lot more NFL interior blockers is up there with Patterson's accuracy.

Yeah about that.

Chart.

SHEA PATTERSON

	Good				Neutral			Bad					Ovr			Reads
Game	DO	CA	SCR		PR	MA		BA	TA	IN	BR		DSR	PFF		RPOs	ZRs
MTSU	2	14(3)	3		4	3(1)		1	2	4(2)*	2*		70%	-
Army	1	17(2)+++	1		1	3		-	6*	5	-		61%	-
Wisconsin	2	15(3)++	1		7	7		1*	2*	5	2*		63%	-
Rutgers	4	11(1)+	1		1	5		-	1*	3	-		79%	-
Iowa	-	15(4)+	2		2	1		-	4**	3	3*		56%	-
Illinois	-	10+	1		-	3		-	1	7	1(1)		58%	-
Penn State	2	25(5)++	2		1	8(2)		-	3	7(1)	2		69%	-
Notre Dame (rain)		2+			1	4		-		1	1*		50%	-
Notre Dame (clear)	1	4				2		-	1*	1*	1		62%	-
Maryland	1	10(2)				3		1	-	6*	-		56%	-
Michigan State	3+	18(5)+			2	6		-	3	5(1)	1		66%	-
Indiana	8	14(2)+++			1	3		1	1	4	2*		71%	-		8/10	0/1xxxx
Ohio State (seth)	7	16+			4	3		-	2*	7**	1		70%	-		4/6	1/4xxx
Alabama (seth)	4	9(1)	1		5	3		(1)	6**	6*	4**		47%	-		9/11	10/13x

Okay, say it.

Patterson lost this game with his inaccuracy and lack of pocket presence.

True, but the downfield inaccuracy was extreme by his standards. Even in the wind at Illinois or the rain of the Notre Dame game Patterson wasn't this off-target. Given we have two seasons on him, I call that an unfortunate aberration. You can tell because Michigan came out with a gameplan to test their receivers against Josh Jobe—a Miami transfer they recruited as hard as Alabama—and won those battles but for Patterson's overthrows.

The pocket presence…well it was bad. The infamous 16-play drive could have been over on Play Four:

Patterson fell apart at the end, again, and wasn't drafted. I think we've bagged on the guy enough now. I would more like to know if his backslide was something always there, whether it was because he lost his edge somehow, and how much the coaches are at fault.

How was Patterson suddenly 10/13 on zone reads after Michigan took them out of the game-plan most of the back end of the season?

I don't want to spend too much time on it because he's gone but we should note these reads were not like Army or Wisconsin when the plays were designed to break big on a QB keeper and Patterson just wouldn't take it. Only five times all game did Alabama give him a pull read, and he still flubbed a majority of those.

Most of his reads were more like this:

Michigan was counting on Shea giving unless he was offered a blindingly obvious reason not to, and put the point of attack for the running back far away from the edge being read.

But the receivers didn't help him!

There were some uncanny drops but on the whole it was fine?

[0 = uncatchable, 1 = circus catch, 2 = moderate difficulty, 3 = routine]. Grayed: gone.

	THIS WEEK					SEASON
Player	0	1	2	3		0	1	2	3
DPJ	2	0/1		1/1		10	4/12	7/10	23/24
Collins	1	1/2	1/2	1/2		12	5/11	10/14	23/25
Black						15	2/4	3/6	18/19
Bell	3	0/3	4/4	1/2		13	3/15	13/18	31/35
Johnson						1	1/1	1/1	1/1
Sainristil	1			1/1		6	3/3	1/1	4/6
Jackson			1/1	2/2		2	0/1	1/2	5/5
McKeon	2	0/1				8	0/1	3/4	11/11
Eubanks	2		1/1	1/1		8	0/4	8/9	18/19
All									1/1
Schoonmaker									2/2
Charbonnet						4		0/1	7/8
Turner						1			3/3
Mason							0/1
Haskins			1/1			1		1/1	5/5

Routes: DPJ++, Collins++++, Jackson+, Bell++, Sainristil+/Bell-, Sainristil-

That's a lot of route positives offsetting the drops. Bell dropped a zinger that Shea put into traffic after Bell used a nifty move to get

The order of things can sometimes change your perception. This game started with a ball Patterson shorted and the cornerback was able to punch away.

It bothered that Collins didn't go up more for it, but how many times has a Brandon Watson or Vincent Gray done that to somebody else and we credit the cornerback. Patterson then left it long on 3rd and 8 when Collins beat Jobe again. These plays happen in the NFL too.

Bell's drop also doesn't look so awful on replay:

When you factor in it was 2nd and 23 with Michigan down less than a touchdown in the early 4th quarter however that one goes into the memory books. The drop does, not the route. The route is perfection. The Collins drop was on a late scramble drill and would have been 2 yards at most.

But they should have bailed Patterson out! That's how you beat Alabama!

The receivers were just 1/6 on circus catches. That's an average rate for any receiving corps. Sure, on a day your quarterback is uncharacteristically sub-.500 on downfield passing you don't beat Bama unless your receivers turn lemonballs into highlights. That's how Michigan State has played offense the last two years: Lob it up to Felton Davis or Cody White and see if he comes down with it. Let's assume that's not Michigan's preferred strategy.

So what is Michigan's strategy?

Use every spread trick in the book to keep Bama from fixing their matchup problems with Michigan's best blockers.

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Runyan	5	5	0	Won on athleticism, mistargeted, dodged by HSP
Bredeson	7.5	6	+1.5	Raekwan victim #1, Submarined on PnP kickouts
Ruiz	7	4.5	+2.5	Raekwan vic #2, Moved everyone but Davis
Onwenu	12	3	+9	I'll miss him the most.
Mayfield	5.7	7	-2.5	Looked like a *future* 1st rounder
McKeon	5	5.5	-0.5	Not strong enough to kick these guys
Eubanks		0.5	-0.5	Mostly a receiver
All		-2	-2	Not ready for this
Mason	7.5	0	+7.5	Get him on the field as much as possible!
TOTAL	50	31.5	+18.5	Popped Bama's 5* OLBs in the mouth when they could catch them
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Patterson	2	6	-4	Put in McCaffrey
McCaffrey			0	DNP
Charbonnet	9	1	+8	Najee who?
Turner			0	DNP
Wilson			0	DNP
Milton			0	DNP
Haskins	7	2	+5	The usual rage, pass pro exploited
TOTAL	18	9	+9	If the QB could run they've got something.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
DPJ	0.5		+0.5	A few cracks
Collins	1		+1	Long arms are nice
Black			0	DNP
Bell	4		+4	Subtle routes create space in traffic and for YAC.
Johnson				DNC
Sainristil				DNC
Jackson			0	A few carries but nothing came of them.
TOTAL	2.5	0	+2.5	One drive had some bubbles, otherwise ancillary to Pin & Pull games
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Protection	60	82	73%	Runyan-4, Haskins-4, Ruiz-3, Bredeson-2, Onwenu-1, Eubanks-2, Charbonnet-2, McKeon-1
RPS	20	22	-2	Luke had his moments until Vader started chucking large objects at him, then cut off his hand.

The blocking numbers high amplitude for any game and extremely high for an underdog trying to get a signature win to reestablish their program against an elite. For most of the afternoon this offense was a match for a (slightly undermanned) Alabama defense. That's one hell of an accomplishment when you think back to what Army and Wisconsin were able to do them early in the season. Gattis recognized he could lean on his guards to drive the offense, and except for the odd escaped squirrel or a few adjustments by Bama in the fourth quarter, Michigan moved the ball with good ol' pin & pull.

What's so Speed in Space about that?

Lots actually, and I've Neck Sharpied quite a bit of it. They started the game by testing one-on-one matchups with four verts, used slot and Z receiver motions to threaten the width of the field, and subtly worked in stretch zone concepts to their base power play. Gattis used his formations and motions to hunt matchups and lock them in with numbers. When Bama brought their linebackers too far in they were swiftly reminded what could sneak out behind them:

For all of that though, Michigan planned on the ball going to the running backs, and that's what they got. Compare the play from Neck Sharpies this week…

…to a play at the start of the next drive. In that article I wrote how Michigan gained an advantage by matching Ben Mason with a cornerback. The next time Mason was sent backside. Watch the linebackers:

What are you going to do, NOT follow the flow of a lead blocker? And if you don't, won't the play just go that way?

Alabama did finally adjust to all of this. To stop getting their OLBs kicked to next Tisha B'Av by Onwenu/Bredeson they had them play the pin & pull like a split zone, crashing inside and getting into the kickout blocker's knees. Watch the SAM #33, the OLB on the bottom:

The other thing they did was to use a walk-out hybrid space player to account for the quarterback read while still getting an edge defender running at the ball. This is nickel personnel and a Tite front. Notice the OLB on the bottom. That's their nickel safety on the fiend in place of a SAM, and he's set up nearly on the opposite hash.

When he blitzes, Patterson can't wait for that guy to get all the way into the backfield to make his pull read, so he gives, and the rest of the defense knows that's about to happen and has fought their way to the frontside. The safety behind him rolled down on the snap in case the offense was going to try to get out of that with a quick slant underneath.

The way to get out of this is to have your slot receiver run a sluggo (slant-n-go) and bomb it to him. I'm sure Gattis knew it.

Heroes who are still with us?

Ronnie Bell, route artisan. Jalen Mayfield had zero pass minuses and held up in the run with some eye-opening plays. Ben Mason should be on the field. Onwenu and Charbonnet were rampant.

Maybe not so heroic?

Haskins got lost in pass pro.

What does it mean for 2020?

Find a quarterback. Duh.

Mayfield is on track for the NFL. That doesn't mean he's there yet. He had two false starts at terrible times in this one, and Runyan's & Haskins's bad pass pro grades suggest Mayfield was getting a lot of help.

Probably not going to be so heavy P&P next year? This was a gameplan based on having a great interior OL who could get to and therefore abuse matchups outside. Are the new guys going to be as good as two longtime starting seniors and five-star center who went higher than them in the draft? Well, no. I expect they'll make more of it out of the arc again.

Ronnie Bell is DPJ. Wish his drops weren't so memorable because there really aren't that many. And he can get open.

#SpeedInSpace should have a fullback in it. McKeon was 79% blocker and Eubanks/Schoon/All are still mostly just willing blockers. You can do the same things with fullbacks.

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