SPONSOR NOTE: Upon Further Review is sponsored by HomeSure Lending and Matt Demorest. Rates are the lowest they've been in three years so it can't hurt to check whether you can save money on a refinance. Or you could buy a house in Ann Arbor! Good luck with that!

Matt's relocated the bus to Pioneer this year, BTW, and invites everyone to stop by and say hi. There's beer. I mean, obviously. Matt. Matt and beer: a good pairing.

FORMATION NOTES: Rutgers, bog standard spread. Michigan had some interesting snaps somewhat reminiscent of the Army game in which they had three guys on the safety level:

Usually one of these guys would zip down presnap, but predicting who was difficult. Like everything else for Rutgers. 

Also note the personnel here: Three down linemen: Kemp, Danna, and Paye. Uche as a standup DE. Hudson withdrawn as safety #3.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: DL was Kemp, Paye, Hutchinson, and then a wildcard. Sometimes that was Dwumfour, sometimes it was Uche, sometimes it was Danna, and sometimes it was a combination of the three. Jeter was relegated to just a few snaps. Backup time saw Jess Speight as the first NT off the bench—ominous. Upshaw and Vilain were the DEs; Hinton did make a late appearance for a few snaps.

Hudson/McGrone/Glasgow at LB until very late; Glasgow was the one sacrificed on dime downs. Your second string LB corps is Barrett/Anthony/Gil, with Ross out.

DBs were mostly the same:  a close-to-even rotation between Thomas, Lavert Hill, and Gray at CB, Hawkins and Metellus near omnipresent at S. Dax Hill got about half the snaps, usually as a bonus defensive back but sometimes substituting for starting safeties. Kelly-Powell and walk-on Hunter Reynolds got late snaps.

[After THE JUMP: infomercial dot gif]

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O22	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	3-3-5	4-3 over	Press one high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Kemp	4
Kemp(-1) moved out by a single block, looked like he timed the snap, too. Paye(+0.5) and Glasgow(+0.5) are most relevant other defenders and collapse this enough such that RB hits the OL blocking Glasgow.
O26	2	6	Shotgun 4-wide tight	4-2-5	4-3 over	Off two high	Pass	4	Waggle flat	L Hill	2
M shows zone and runs zone; a flat route is always going to get blown up and does. Can’t quite tell but Sitkowksi may have the deeper route in front of Metellus, but checkdown city baby. Hill(+0.5, tackling +1). RPS +1, I guess.
O28	3	4	Shotgun empty	Jetpack S	5-0 double fold	Off one high	Pass	4	In	Hawkins	3
Pocket clean enough on a one yard throw, but guys are coming, pressure push. Hawkins(+1) climbs over a pick route and is able to hit and stick this short of the line to gain (tackling +1) with help from Hutch(+0.5), who dropped into a short zone. RPS +1.
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-0, 11 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press two high	Run	N/A	Inside zone	McGrone	-1
Odd setup from M with Metellus the SAM to the TE side. Rutgers gets the snap count wrong so easy for Paye(+1) to leap into the backfield and muck up three gaps. Hesitation is enough for a lightning quick McGrone(+1), who was sent on a backside blitz, to get around and TFL.
O24	2	11	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press two high	Pass	4	WR tunnel	Glasgow	15
Not a full on tunnel but clearly a play where Rutgers fakes the flare screen, runs an in with Blackshear, and then relies on the #2 WR to pick off the guy in man coverage. M zones. McGrone(+0.5) sent on a blitz and just about pulls the Uche here. Dude is fast. Hudson(-1) doesn't read the WR pattern and ends up taking false steps outside when QB doesn’t look at the outside. Glasgow(-1, tackling -1) comes up and gets dusted by Blackshear. This wouldn’t be that bad if Hudson was a couple steps closer; he is not. At least Glasgow held contain so the rest of the D can rally.
O39	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 even	Press two high	Pass	5	In	Hudson	6
The definition of a push short throw: QB has to get rid of it because pressure is coming; tackle after five yards. Hudson(-0.5) could react faster and hold this down a bit more.
O45	2	4	Shotgun 2-back	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press one high	Pass	4	PA flare screen	D Hill	3
Weird time to bring in your pass rush package for M. Rutgers doesn’t notice and runs a screen. Dax(+1, cover +1) is able to read the screen and explode to it for a solo tackle; he does leak a yard or two of YAC.
O48	3	1	Shotgun empty	4-2-5	Nickel over	Press one high	Pass	4	Drag	Glasgow	17
Five man rush and this takes a little bit to develop in a clean pocket ,pressure -2. Glasgow(-2, cover -1, tackling -2) is the guy on the spot as Rutgers runs two guys at him. He’s able to climb over this okay but does get knocked off balance a little. Then he’s with Blackshear in space and badly loses the stop-start battle, during a 10 yard gain into a bigger chunk. RPS -1.
M35	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	4-2-5	4-3 over	Press two high	Pass	4	Hitch	Hudson	7
Kemp(+1, pressure +1) is able to rip past the C and get decent pressure up the middle; unfortunately M’s zone is nowhere near (cover -1) the interior hook bit of this concept and Hudson(-0.5) again takes an iffy route to the WR, leaking some YAC.
M28	2	3	Shotgun trips H	4-2-5	Nickel under	Press zero	Run	N/A	Split zone	Hutchinson	6
Covered slot from RU, M moves the safeties up to 6 and 8 yards. RU runs up the gut and mostly gets stuffed. Danna(+0.5) gets some depth; Kemp(+0.5) stunts around and shoves his guy back as well. Jeter does okay; RB runs into a pocket surrounded by these guys. He can spin out of it as no one wins enough to make an immediate tackle. Hutch(-1) loses sight of the back and goes into pursuit mode. He runs himself out of the force gap and Pacheco is able to spin to it and rescue the play. Kind of just one of those things.
M22	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 even	Off two high	Pass	4	Waggle throwaway	L Hill	Inc (Pen +10)
PA; McGrone(+1, pressure +1) blitzing and able to smoothly transition from interior run to waggle; he gets quick pressure and forces a dump. Hill(-1, cover -1) gets a holding call that we only get a meh replay on; kind of looks like Hill was blocking the guy with his body and not grabbing him. I can’t see enough to totally discount the call.
M12	1	10	Ace trips tight bunch	4-2-5	4-3 under	Half press one high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Kemp	2
Kemp(+1) gets some penetration and picks off the H-back, sort of. It’s enough to erase frontside gaps; cutback is into Metellus(+0.5) and Dwumfour, who force him OOB with help from Thomas.
M10	2	8	Shotgun 4-wide tight	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press one high	Pass	4	Throwaway	McGrone	Inc
McGrone(+2, pressure +3) gets a free run up the gut because he times his blitz perfectly, coming from LB depth but getting a step or two in presnap and then hauling ass at the QB. QB just dumps it long, nobody in the area. Hudson(+1) over the top of the wheel this might be targeting. Also Metellus(+0.5, cover +2).
M10	3	8	Shotgun 4-wide	Jetpack S	Dime under	Press two high	Pass	4	In	Metellus	5
Another dink hoping for man that gets zone; Paye(+0.5) is able to drive an OG on a stunt and force a throw off the back foot. Metellus(-0.5) is the DB drawn in on the in route and while he does tackle he’s giving up YAC before Hawkins(+0.5) comes in to end that emphatically.
M5	4	3	Shotgun 4-wide tight	Jetpack S	5-1 split	Press zero	Pass	4	Waggle scramble	Hutchinson	0
Jet fake away from this. Glasgow(+1, cover +1) clearly wants to go after this and blitz but recognizes the RB coming to him and converts into very good coverage. Flat is gone. That is the only read Sitkowski makes before taking off; I think a WR may have gotten DHIll and will be open, but we never find out. Hutchinson(+0.5) is flowing down the line and makes the hit; would like to see a wrap up. Hawkins(+0.5) in the area to make sure if necessary.
Drive Notes: Turnover on downs, 14-0, 14 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O39	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press two high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Paye	0
Exchange from M on which McGrone pops outside and Paye(+1) slides down. Tackle appears to read it and try the butt block but it’s ineffective as Paye pushes the gap shut. Kemp(-0.5) got shoved pretty far down the line. McGrone(+0.5) got around the split zone block quickly and helped force to Paye. RPS +1.
O39	2	10	Shotgun 4-wide tight	4-2-5	5-1 split	Press one high	Pass	5	Drag	Paye	Inc (Pen -10)\
Jailbreak on which Paye, Uche, and Danna(+1 each) all bust through and force a quick throw(Pressure +3); this is kind of alarmingly open as Hawkins(-1, cover -1) is in no position to tackle before the sticks if completed. Outside leverage, drag route, no rub. He seems to have gotten a different call because he’s looking around like WTF at his teammates post-snap, but they’re all in man coverage. Paye draws a holding call.
O29	2	20	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Pass	5	Screen	Uche	Inc
The screen on which Uche(+1, pressure +1) is let go and crunches the QB before he can get the ball out. Might need to develop this one a bit faster, or chip the guy first.
O29	3	20	Shotgun trips	Jetpack S	Dime even	Off two high	Penalty	N/A	Delay	N/A	-5
oops
O24	3	25	Shotgun trips H	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Paye	-1
I mean it’s third and 25 don’t go in the we’re definitely running formation. Paye(+3) with a solo TFL after beating the backup LT inside and driving two yards in the backfield.
Drive Notes: Punt, 14-0, 12 min 2ndQ.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O23	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Short jet	McGrone	4
M shifts late to bring Hudson and Uche down; Hudson(+0.5) keeps contain and the WR cuts it inside. McGrone(-0.5) flows over and is there to tackle but mostly misses. He forces it back to help and does grab the guy but leaked a few YAC.
O27	2	6	Pistol 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack weak	Press two high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Paye	5
Three man line shifted way left, with Paye in a NT spot and Kemp outside the G. Glasgow is a standup end to the TE side, giant bubble between Paye and Glasgow, so RU runs at it. Easy yards as Paye(-0.5) suffers a double, a long one, and loses ground. Not sealed, he can pursue, but not fast enough. Glasgow does a weird thing where he feints back and then moves up to be force; Uche ends up left as the LB filling, which he does. RPS -1, this is a little too cute.
O32	3	1	Shotgun trips tight bunch	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Inside zone	Hutchinson	4
Also weird with a big gap between a three-tech Hutchinson and a very wide Uche. No one blocks Uche so he’s able to run to the backfield and blow up all the backside gaps, where the weak bit is. Should be good but Kemp(-1) gets too far upfield and Hutch(-1) is stuck at the LOS, no push.
O36	1	10	Ace twin TE	4-2-5	4-3 under	Press one high	Run	N/A	Jet sweep	Hawkins	4
Hudson(+0.5) is able to induce a little bend in the WR before he clears the box; Hawkins(+0.5) is able to get over the top of a blocker and tackle, with Hudson providing support to the inside.
O40	2	6	Shotgun trips	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press one high	Pass	5	Seam	Thomas	Inc (Pen -5)
Five man rush picked up(pressure -2); comfortable throw for QB. WR has a step on Thomas; Thomas(+0.5, cover +1) in a spot to get an arm grab in; he also gets his head around, would be a narrow window to hit. QB misses. Rutgers had too many men in the backfield, too.
O35	2	11	Shotgun empty	Jetpack S	Nickel even	Half press three high	Pass	4	Hitch	Paye	Inc
Stunt pays off as Paye(+2, pressure +2) sells the OT on an outside move and then jets in a gap to the interior for a hit on the QB and errant throw. This was open as it appears Metellus(-1, cover -1) fell down as he tried to jump up on the route.
O35	3	11	Shotgun 4-wide tight	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press three high	Pass	4	Sack	Uche	-9
This is Paye’s sack but Uche(+2) drives it. He puts the LT back into the QB’s lap and forces him to hesitate on the throw; Paye(+1, pressure +2) is able to come around at 9-10 yards and pay that off. Cover +2.
Drive Notes: Punt, 21-0, 4 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press one high	Pass	5	Drag	Glasgow	13
Pocket mostly holds(pressure -1) but is breaking down just before the throw with three guys coming through. Ball is a three yard drag route that Glasgow(-1, tackling -1) gets beat on; he can’t tackle on the catch and gives up a first down on a hesitation move. Catch is understandable since Hawkins had to leave for a post (cover –1); RPS –1 as RU route concept beats Michigan's coverage.
O38	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide tight	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Off two high	Run	N/A	Inside zone	Kemp	3
Kemp(+1) shoves a guard a couple yards in the backfield, awkward for back. Metellus sent on a blitz, takes it a little too vertical, and is a step away from the TFL. Back breaks the other way. Uche(-0.5) was hesitant and didn’t go hit an OL releasing to him so there’s a pocket of space; Metellus(+0.5) comes around to tackle from behind at the LOS.
O41	2	7	Shotgun trips tight bunch	3-3-5	Dime even	Press three high	Pass	4	Cross	Uche	Inc
Uche(+2, pressure +2) around at eight and hits on the throw. Ball is turfed as a result. Danna(+0.5) pushed the pocket to prevent any idea of a step-up. Looked like Thomas(+0.5) was going to step up on this and hit on the throw or maybe PBU; instead he dives for the errant ball.
O41	3	7	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5	Dime even	Press two high	Pass	4	Dumpoff	McGrone	Inc
QB drops to 11 yards like a bad Madden player. The pocket has collapsed but he’s five yards behind it, so still time. Paye(+0.5) comes through after a moment; QB tries to dump it to the RB. McGrone(+2, cover +2) is in dominating position here; there is zero window and anything on target it at least a PBU.
Drive Notes: Punt, 31-0, 13 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O4	1	10	Shotgun twin TE	4-2-5	4-3 even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Inside zone	Dwumfour	1
Nowhere to go as Dwumfour(+1) and Kemp(+1) hold up; McGrone(+0.5) runs up to stick his nose in. One of the guys on Kemp peels off for him. Kemp is able to paw through the other guy to tackle at the line.
O5	2	9	Shotgun 4-wide tight	4-2-5	4-3 even	Off two high	Pass	4	Drag	Dwumfour	3
Dwumfour(+2, pressure +2) swats away a guard and gets immediate pressure up the middle; QB dumps it to a two yard out Hudson(+1, tackling +1) immediately sticks on.
O8	3	6	Shotgun empty	3-3-5	Dime even	Press one high	Pass	4	Drag	D Hill?	17
The OPI drag play on which McGrone gets hammered without a call(refs -2). Wouldn’t really matter since McGrone isn’t going to get through this traffic to stop the first down. BUT! I think this is a bust from Dax Hill(-2, cover -2) since Metellus comes up and sits on the hitch in the middle of this mesh. Hill is nominally in man coverage on this guy but unless Metellus is wrong, and he almost never is, this looks like a switch for Hill onto the drag that he doesn’t execute. Danna(+0.5) getting there on the rush FWIW.
O25	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	Dime even	Press two high	Run	N/A	Inside zone	Uche	3
Dwumfour(-1) does something weird by taking a step, backing off, and then going back upfield. Did he think he was stunting? Probably. He gets locked out upfield and the weird thing means McGrone gets an OL direct to his face. Uche(+1) is able to rescue it by coming back off his force gap and getting to the ballcarrier. Back took it too close to him and didn’t need to, -1 for him.
O28	2	7	Shotgun trips	2-3-6	Dime even	Press one high	Pass	4	Out	McGrone	2
This DL is Glasgow, Paye, Kemp, Uche, FWIW. McGrone(+1, pressure +1) blitzes and gets through, mostly; QB backs off and throws off his back foot; easily could have drawn a hold(refs -1). Ball is at Thomas(+1, cover +1), who is all over it but can’t prevent a circus catch at the WR’s feet.
O30	3	5	Shotgun empty quads	3-3-5	Dime under	Half press three high	Pass	4	In	McGrone	Inc (Pen +2)
Weird situation as RU motions out the RB to quads and then throws to him but doesn’t bother to pick McGrone(-1, cover -1). McGrone comes up to hit the RB and gets there early, drawing a deserved flag. But not a horrible sort of error for a young guy.
O32	1	10	Shotgun empty	3-3-5	Dime over	Press two high	Pass	4	Tunnel screen	McGrone	7
This looks like McGrone(-0.5) is looking for this all the way; he moves presnap and stares directly at the WR who’s getting the tunnel. And then he attacks and gets washed, in part because two guys take shots at him as he runs by. He did delete two blockers and cause a little bend, push. Vilain(-1) gets swatted as the OL releases past him and loses his balance; he is the nearest DL and is a step short of a tackle near the LOS because he went over a bit. He does show impressive explosion to make up the ground but not before a solid gain.
O39	2	3	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	Nickel even SAM	Press two high	Run	N/A	Inside zone	Kemp	2
Danna(-1) gets a double and gets flung out of the gap. Kemp(+1) beats his block and gets to it; McGrone(+0.5) flows as well; Hawkins(+0.5) comes up to hit the growing pile and stop the RB short of the line to gain.
O41	3	1	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Danna	-1
Stunt with Mason heading outside is probably wise. Danna(+2) dives inside and is upfield of a guard in a flash, able to start a tackle in the backfield. Paye(+1) slants in as Glasgow replaces outside and gets push on his guy; he is able to make the Danna play count by preventing YAC. Cavalry arrives to finish.
O40	4	2	Shotgun trips tight bunch	4-2-5	Nickel even	Half press one high	Pass	5	Flat	Thomas	0
Happy feet by QB, does not need to get this out as fast as he thinks, has a couple guys who are decent options because you need two yards. Dumps it to FB in flat, Thomas(+1, cover +1) is a hard corner and comes up to hit on the throw.
Drive Notes: Turnover on downs, 31-0, 4 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Shotgun trips bunch	4-2-5	Nickel even	Half press two high	Pass	4	In	L Hill	Inc
Pressure push as Dwumfour(+0.5) pushes the pocket enough to annoy and force a throw after a moment. Hill(+2, cover +2) gets a PBU on the quick throw.
O25	2	10	Shotgun trips tight	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press two high	Run	N/A	Edge pitch	Danna	1
Danna(+1) forms up and is cautious; he’s able to run out and pursue for a tackle after a minimal gain; Hill(+0.5) did well to hold the edge.
O26	3	9	Shotgun 4-wide	3-2-6	Dime even	Press one high	Pass	4	Throwaway	N/A	Inc
Danna, Dwumfour, and Uche(+0.5 each, pressure +2) all come through; Sitkowski just punts it off his back foot to no one.
Drive Notes: Punt, 38-0, 1 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel over	Press one high	Run	N/A	Counter	Kemp	0
Kemp(+1) drives an OL back into the pullers. Paye(+0.5) and Glasgow(+0.5) come up to hit the delayed OL; Danna(+0.5) is unblocked and comes around the backside to tackle.
O25	2	10	Shotgun 2-back	3-2-6	Dime under	Press three high	Pass	4	RPO RB flat	Metellus	-4
Pull; Metellus(+1, cover +1) flies up presnap and covers the RB in the flat; at this point Paye(+0.5) and Uche(+0.5) are closing, unblocked, and Sitkowski decides discretion is the better part of valor.
O21	3	14	Shotgun trips	3-2-6	Dime even	Press three high	Pass	4	Screen	McGrone	0
OL release late so McGrone(+1, tackling +1) has a free run.
Drive Notes: Punt, 45-0, 11 min 4th Q. Deep rotation for both teams on next drive, charting ends. Except for this Dax Hill thing.

Another game against Rutgers.

Screen, drag, 0 yard run, repeat.

No 80 yard touchdown this time though!

No points of any description.

Poor damn Insert Quarterback Here.

Indeed.

A futile exercise in getting money from people who don't care about football.

On third and twenty five, Rutgers decided to run. They came out in the covered slot formation that's all the rage, thus more or less telling Michigan it was a run.

Cancel Rutgers.

Any nuggets to glean?

A couple. While the defense proved nothing other than they can thunk an offense that doesn't have an OL for the Nth consecutive year, there were a couple of individuals who stood out. You can probably name them without any hints.

MCGRONE

Let's check that chart first.

Defensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Paye	12.5	0.5	12	bounce back, but context
Dwumfour	4	1	3	Gotta get back all the way.
Kemp	6.5	2.5	4	Didn't get irresponsibly upfield much.
Hutchinson	1	2	-1	Nonfactor.
Danna	6	1	5	Consistent push.
Uche	8	0.5	7.5	Uche snap watch: ~50%.
Jeter				DNC
Mason				DNC, just one snap
Hinton				argh needed him to be college ready
Vilain		1	-1	good to see him out there at least
TOTAL	38	7.5	30.5	OL, more like NO-L
Linebacker
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hudson	3	2	1	eh
Ross				DNP
Glasgow	2	4	-2	dusted by Blackshear some
Gil				DNC
Anthony				DNC
McGrone	10	2	8	Bush-like!
Barrett				DNC
TOTAL	15	8	7	McGrone a revelation.
Secondary
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Metellus	2.5	1.5	1	I don't have any DB takes because Rutgers.
Hawkins	3	1	2	No takes.
Lavert Hill	3	1	2	One PBU.
Thomas	3		3	Tackled in flat as cover 2 corner.
Gray				DNC in like 50% of M snaps!
Dax Hill	1	2	-1	One nice tackle in space, one probable bust.
Woods				DNC
TOTAL	12.5	5.5	7	No downfield passing game to speak of.
Metrics
Pressure	20	3	+17	Every year.
Coverage	14	9	+5	hope you like drags
Tackling	4	4	0	Leaked some yards.
RPS	3	3	0	Nobody's trying.

Low secondary numbers, as you'd expect; DL bounces back in a major way after a horrible outing against the Badgers. Sustainable? Don't know.

But McGrone?

Yes, then, McGrone. Devin Bush comparisons have followed McGrone around ever since his commitment and ahyup, this is a rabid squirrel of a blitz:

MLB #44

Unblocked, yes. The previous two guys who perked ears up early in their careers because they looked shot out of a cannon when unblocked were Devin Bush and Josh Uche, so it's not nothing. McGrone's acceleration and anticipation paid off:

MLB #44

McGrone did work in addition to being unblocked a couple times. He was able to attack half a guy on a blitz that actually got picked up and could have drawna hold:

This may have been the most encouraging play of his day:

MLB #44

There's no window there. Bush was excellent in coverage and got sideline to sideline. Between the above blitzes, last week's out-of-nowhere Coan stick, and that coverage McGrone has at least hinted he has the full package.

His main error was one of youthful aggression:

Clearly early, but it's easier to get a guy to not be early because he's fast than catch up because he's slow.

McGrone certainly showed enough to continue getting snaps.

…by bumping Ross to WLB?

I think people are dumping on Glasgow too much. Did he look bad in this game? Yes. Was he one of Michigan's best defenders in the first three games? Also yes. But… yeah, he may have opened up some playing time at WLB with a rough day in space. I will stick up for him a bit on the first one. Here he's able to keep contain and if Hudson doesn't take some false steps outside he probably tackles shortly after Glasgow doesn't:

LB #7, LB #29

Still a minus but understandable. The ankle breaker was less defensible:

LB #29 over slot to top

The first down is a given when Michigan runs straight man at mesh. The tackle attempt… er. Later Glasgow would get outrun to the corner on a drag route; that was at least a zone where Hawkins got pulled deep by a post and not necessarily his area.

Brown made no bones about the fact that his coverage was a problem at viper and this was bad matchup against a "running back" in Blackshear who's really a slot receiver with some skill. Oddly I think Glasgow, the lightest M linebacker, might be more of a two-down guy.

Where did all the beautiful Dax Hill points go?

I mean, he's a secondary member against Rutgers. It's impossible to rack up numbers. But speaking of cannons and being shot from them, Dax Hill:

S #30 rotating down on jet motion

Hill's explosion allowed him to skip a block on a flare screen and tackle, though he did leak some yards after contact:

slot S #30 to top

I dinged him for a probable bust discussed below. He's a true freshman, that'll happen, hopefully Michigan can continue to work him in.

Impact day from Kwity Paye!

well

don't be a sourpuss

Paye's pass rush in this game was an order of magnitude more impactful than it's been in most games, even ones against podunk teams. Some of this has be to chalked up to the opposition. That instant edge rush he drew a holding call on was against a left tackle trying to tough out an injury who immediately left the game. The rush up the gut was a redirect on a stunt:

That's good but also reliant on Rutgers's LG not recognizing the situation. His sack did feature him taking on a block and getting through it…

…but he gets around at ten yards. Uche drove the LT all the way back to the QB to force him to pull the ball down, and thus the sack.

Most of this points to Paye being a good team rusher who can help pay off other moves and will get his gaps right—Wisconsin notwithstanding—but even when he's in the backfield a lot it doesn't look like Uche getting in the backfield.

standup DE #6 to top

Around at eight yards is a different world than around at ten. I'd imagine Paye goes back to Clark Kent against Iowa's OTs.

buh, you're no fun

I could be relatively positive about another DL person?

is he a DT?

yes!

i'll take it

Mike Dwumfour's return was welcome, if somewhat limited. We're currently looking for any evidence he can be an every-down DT. A whisper of a hint:

DT #50 to bottom

Just Rutgers but putting a play-long double team in the backfield is pretty decent against anyone. On the next play he provided the interior rush that he and only he brought last year:

DT #50 to top

If the defense is going to bounce back from the Wisconsin game, Dwumfour has to be a big part of that. This was one bit of data that he might live up to the offseason talk. Next week will be a real test.

So we still suck at mesh. We're gonna die?

It was frustrating to see but I think the issues here are more about execution than walking blindly into doom with an absurd quantity of man-to-man that gets ripped. Michigan is doing some things in an attempt to defuse crossing routes. Michigan's stop on the first Cable Subscriber drive saw Aidan Hutchinson back out into a short zone and help tackle an in route short of the sticks:

NT #97

And I suspect that one of the catch-and-run mesh incidents was a bust. Metellus comes up on a hitch route here; Dax Hill follows the same guy:

S #30 over slot to bottom, S #14 deep

One dollar that's a bust by Hill and he's supposed to find and wreck the crossing route coming to him. This would be dead to rights if this swap is on.

The alternative is Metellus busting, and since that never happens and this makes more sense anyway it's probably on Hill.

A similar incident may have transpired earlier in the game. Here Hawkins has outside leverage on a drag route that's open for a catch and run; afterwards he looks askance at the rest of the secondary. Pattern match gone wrong?

S #20 moving down pre-snap to top

It would be better if Michigan was executing their mesh/crossing route defenses more than once out of every three attempts but it looks like there's a plan—that Hill bust in particular is a potentially excellent cross-up because the QB is going to see man coverage get picked; Hill should be coming out of nowhere.

Heroes?

Paye. Uche. McGrone.

Maybe not so heroic?

Glasgow did have some pratfalls.

What does it mean for Iowa and beyond?

Paye is probably somewhere between last week and this week. Even this week his pass rush was not the dip-around-the-corner variety. He's not an All Big Ten player, probably; he's a solid cog.

Cumong Dwumfour. If he can be a guy who wins against doubles even some of the time the equation on D changes quite a lot.

McGrone has earned more playing time. Bush-like. Glasgow might cede some WLB snaps to Ross when he gets back; I would not mind a three-man rotation there if Ross can deal with playing both spots.

Dax Hill is probably your nickel for the rest of the year. Too much talent to keep him off the field much longer.

There's a plan for mesh, just have to execute it. Michigan is much more of a two-high team this year, one that mixes in man and zone looks.