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FORMATION NOTES: Not a whole lot to note on Michigan's end. Michigan is going legitimately four-wide a lot more often. This is still mostly passing downs but previously there was a tight end on the field all the time; now you have some snaps with 4 WRs.

As for Indiana, you'll have to forgive this week "D form" column, as IU did a ton of late shifting and incessantly blitzed off the corner after lining up in slightly odd ways.

Hint: slot is blitzing, because it is a down. I threw up my hands a bit as the Hoosiers explored new ways to not quite stop Michigan's offense.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: Patterson the whole way, usual Haskins/Charbonnet split at RB with Wilson coming in from time to time, mostly late. OL the usual, with Hayes getting the last drive and some bonus OL snaps.

McKeon got ~every snap that wasn't four-wide; Eubanks got in for a bit fewer than half the snaps.  Usual Collins/Bell/Black/DPJ rotation at WR with Sainristil poking through as #5; Jackson and Johnson both got a handful of snaps. Ditto Mason.

[After THE JUMP: bombs away]

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M20	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Pass	TE screen	McKeon	-2
A rare double CB blitz here. This is supposed to be a fake screen at the RB and then back to the TE but Patterson has no time and throws it before the OL can get out, allowing McKeon to get whacked immediately. (CA, 3, screen, RPS -2)
M18	2	12	Shotgun 3-wide	2	0	3	Nickel over	6.5	Pass	RPO hitch	Collins	9
Counter trey in the backfield with Patterson aborting. I guess he’s reading the S, who shoots down; that means Collins is 1v1. He stops on a hitch; ball gets out but is wobbly as Patterson takes a hit from a DE who ran by Bredeson because he’s run blocking. Collins makes the catch. (CA+, 3, RPO+)
M27	3	3	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 even	8.5	Pass	Improv	Haskins	3
IU creeps their deep S down to 7 yards with the other guy at 5, with the two CBs on the WRs in press. Patterson looks centrally first and then goes to the WR side, where Collins is on a slant with body position but no separation; probably should throw but doesn’t. Eubanks is wide open on a corner to the other side of the field, dunno if there was any indication Patterson might want to look to the TE side. No pressure, Patterson drifts, gets forced way back, and finds Haskins for a conversion. Uh. (CA+, 3, protection 2/2)
M30	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	Dime even	5.5	Pass	Dig	DPJ	18
Two deep S, Haskins motions out, no response, zone indicated. Again no rush and IU MLB inexplicably moves up on no run action, with a safety moving up on a cross and thus opening up a huge gap for DPJ. Throw is a little low and outside, taking DPJ off his feet. Deep enough that it's CA. (CA, 2, protection 2/2)
M48	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even	6.5	Pass	Flare screen	DPJ	-5
M covers their slot, for no apparent reason because they could put the TE on the line and not hint that they’re running or screening. Flare screen, CB pops off Collins in trap coverage and then clobbers DPJ. Collins(-1) has a tough job but when the CB pops off him he holds up like he’s going to wall him off from the sideline. RPS -2. (CA, 3, screen)
M43	2	15	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	6.5	Pass	PA RB wheel	Jackson	50
Jackson in the backfield, engages in token mesh. Onwenu pulls. LB level and IU S all charge at the LOS. S stops at 6 yards and tries to recover but that’s never happening; Jackson is open by literally five yards. Patterson hits him in stride. (DO, 3, protection 2/2, RPS +3)
O7	1	G	Shotgun 2TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	RPO IZ	Haskins	1
Patterson misses an RPO read as the unblocked end turns his hips inside and charges at the RB; Eubanks slips into the flat and is almost certainly going to score untouched if Patterson pulls and flips it to him. Bredeson(+0.5) gets a couple hits in and carves out some space; DE grabs Haskins from behind to prevent 2 yards from becoming 3 or 4. (RPO-, RPS +1)
O6	2	G	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	8	Pass	Corner	Bell	6
Bell(route+) matched up on a safety and wins outside; Patterson hits the corner route in stride. (DO, 3, protection 1/1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-7, 5 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M31	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Run	Pin and pull	Haskins	7
McKeon(+1) seals in the playside end; Onwenu(+0.5) climbs over this and finds a LB who he stalls out; Ruiz(+1) stops for a LB trying to shoot a gap. Haskins(+1) out on the edge against a CB who he trucks.
M38	2	3	Shotgun 3-wide tight	1	1	3	Nickel under	7	Run	Inside zone	Haskins	5
Mayfield(+1) and Onwenu(+1) double and eject a DT, with Onwenu getting out to a LB; McKeon(-0.5) catches a DE and while he seals him out for a second that guy is able to come off that block and tackle from the side. Haskins gets a couple YAC.
M43	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Pass	Wheel	Bell	Inc
TE on line, Bell eligible, flare look with a guy screaming up on DPJ and M trying to hit Indiana deep. This is a really good setup, with one S stepping forward on the run fake and the second trying to get over to cover Bell as M runs a scissors concept; Patterson goes for the wheel but the post also looks good. S doesn’t quite get picked off by the other route and the safety gets over, clearly hitting Bell early without a call. How you call the Hill holding but not this is wtf, refs -3. Throw is up and on point enough for a completion without the PI. (CA, 0, protection 2/2, RPS +1)
M43	2	10	Shotgun twins twin TE	2	1	2	4-3 over SAM	6.5	Penalty	False start	Ruiz	-5
Ruiz(-1)
M38	2	15	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 over	6.5	Pass	RPO sack	N/A	-5
Patterson(RPO-) does not notice the slot LB coming off the WR and into the box, then blitzing, so he ends up reading the wrong guy. Or he reads the right guy and Indiana moving its MLB over the slot wins. Slot LB is charging right at Patterson, who gets sacked. Handoff looked good as Runyan(+1) adjusted to the slant and ejected his guy while Mason(+0.5) got outside of his; without the guy sacking Patterson making a hell of a redirection this is going to be a big chunk. Blackledge blames Charbonnet for a missed pickup, insanely. RPS –1.
M33	3	10	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	Nickel even	6	Pass	Sack	N/A	-12
Mayfield(-1) gets driven too far back into Patterson’s lap; Ruiz(-1) gets off balance as he moves from one IU player to another as their stunt reveals itself and gets knocked back, so my twitter complaint is not actually very valid; Patterson tries to leave the pocket and runs into a guy stunting outside, so he chucks the ball away. Grounding is no penalty at all so a solid decision in case he did get outside the pocket. (PR, N/A, protection 0/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-7, 2 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M37	1	10	Shotgun trips H	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Run	Lead stretch	Haskins	4
Covered slot, McKeon motions away from the trips and acts as a lead blocker as M runs a stretch. Bredeson(+0.5) and Ruiz(+1) reach the playside DT, with Ruiz stepping around. Traffic on the second level but it’s weird that Haskins(-1) cuts behind Ruiz and into a DT who Mayfield(-1) couldn’t cut off after a significant chip from Onwenu(+1), who then cuts off a second level guy. Still a decent gain but when you get a reach use it.
M41	2	6	Shotgun 4-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even	6.5	Run	RPO IZ	Haskins	8
Orbit motion, RPO(+) sees Patterson read that the slot is headed for the flare and an LB is going with him, so M is now up in the box. Mayfield(-1) ducked under and M a little fortunate that this doesn’t get whacked in the backfield, but Haskins(+1) gives him a shimmy and slides by. Now M is in business as Ruiz(+0.5) and Onwenu(+0.5) get a little depth on a DT with Onwenu cutting off a LB. Bredeson gets flung forward into a LB peeling back to fill a gap; he accidentally gets a meh second level block. Haskins runs over a dude to finish. RPS +1, RPO provided even box.
M49	1	10	Shotgun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Pass	Stop and go	Collins	Inc
Collins(route+) downshifts about 15 yards downfield to get cover 2 safety to attack and then jets into nothing but grass. Patterson overthrows him by a couple yards. Protection excellent, with McKeon getting an edge block worthy of a tackle. (IN, 0, protection 2/2)
M49	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide tight	1	1	3	4-3 under	7	Pass	Out	Black	17
Deep out where Black catches off coverage that’s clearly outside leverage but nowhere near him; CB turns his hips inside and Black just runs a wide open out that Patterson finds. (CA, 3, protection 2/2) RPS +1.
O34	1	10	Pistol twins	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Zone stretch	Charbonnet	22
A paving as Mayfield(+2) and Onwenu(+1) put the playside end four yards downfield and sealed while Mayfield gets a LB; Eubanks(+1) did well to ID the slot guy coming off and kick him out. Ruiz(+0.5) gets out to the MLB. Bell(+0.5) allows Charbonnet to cut inside a safety and get a few more.
O12	1	10	Shotgun twin TE	1	2	2	Base 3-4	7	Pass	Fade	DPJ	Inc
DPJ(route +) sets up like he’s blocking and then releases to the outside of a CB who’s burnt to a crisp for a TD; Patterson misses badly. (IN, 0, protection 1/1)
O12	2	10	Shotgun twins	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Bash	Jackson	1
Bash with a QB counter the other way that actually looks pretty good. Not sure if this is a read or not. Eubanks(-1) gets a slot blitz and just kind of hits the guy without any technique; he should be getting around him to cut off the edge. Slot is able to bend Jackson a bit; DPJ(-1) in the slot goes for the S instead of cracking on the LB and I feel like that’s gotta be incorrect; bend plus no LB crack means Jackson gets tackled by his ankle at the LOS.
O11	3	9	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Slot corner	DPJ	11
Mullen with outside leverage, in DPJ’s chest as he breaks to the outside, only a perfect throw and tough catch beat him, check and check. (DO, 1, protection 1/1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 14-14, 11 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M32	1	10	Pistol twins	1	2	2	4-3 over	6.5	Run	Zone stretch	Charbonnet	3
Another plastering of the playside end but this time a LB shoots inside of him and Bredeson(-1) never sees this guy or gets off his block so he gets to shoot the gap and force Charbonnet away from the plastering. Runyan(+1) still gets points on his part because he got the seal. Onwenu(+1) gets most of a seal on the backside DT as Ruiz(+0.5) goes to get a second level block and the couple of yards he got give Charbonnet a window to get something.
M35	2	7	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Run	Pin and pull	Charbonnet	3
Orbit motion from Bell, who reverses field for a flare screen and draws a charging safety to make this pure zero coverage for the WRs. Patterson (RPO+) reading the ILB who holds at 5 yards and hands off. McKeon(-0.5) gives up some depth and Charbonnet has to bend around this. Onwenu goes for a kickout and gets cut by the DB; Ruiz(+1) takes a hard charging LB and kicks him to the sideline for an avenue; Charbonnet cuts up inside of this; Mayfield(-1) flung past his man after a second and that guy is able to close and tackle.
M38	3	4	Shotgun trips bunch TE	1	1	3	5-1 fold	6	Pass	Y Cross	Bell	Inc
Patterson has Bell but comes to this late; this is not his first read but he definitely hitches up after coming to Bell, and only throws right at the sideline after the safety has been allowed to close. Throw is absolutely perfect but safety comes over the top, nearly batting it, and his downswing hits Bell’s arm so he can only use one hand at first. By the time he controls the juggle he’s OOB. (MA, 1, protection 2/2) Charbonnet was wide open on a dumpoff to the other side of the field but the problem here isn’t not finding that, it’s not throwing to Bell sooner.
Drive Notes: Punt, 14-14, 8 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M20	1	10	Shotgun twins	1	2	2	4-3 over	6.5	Pass	Hitch	Collins	8
CB ten yards off, stop, iffy throw from Patterson takes Collins a couple yards upfield but keeps him on his feet. Easy eight yards. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, RPS +1)
M28	2	2	Pistol FB twins	2	1	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Pin and pull	Charbonnet	4 + 15 pen
Charbonnet at FB with Wilson(?) deep, Wilson runs a flare and pin and pull the other way, with Patterson(RPO+) reading the field side OLB, who goes for the flare. This PNP looks it might be a bad line call as Onwenu(+2) gets tasked with a really tough reach block that he makes. Bredeson(+0.5) gets out on a LB in a weird spot and deals with him okay; Charbonnet wants to cut inside this block but can’t because Mayfield(-2) completely whiffed on the backside DE and he’s running down the line unimpeded. Delete that and this is an upfield slash to the S; instead Charbonnet(+0.5) has to bounce back outside, which he does; Ruiz(+0.5) gets a corner and Charbonnet gets the first down, with 15 bonus facemask yards. Runyan(+0.5) and McKeon(+0.5) shoved a DE off the ball but kind of lost that guy and McKeon’s subsequent second level block.
M47	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over	6.5	Pass	PA Dig	Collins	29
IU S starts in a two high look and creeps to the LOS. He stops at 7 yards but doesn’t get a lot of depth off PA; other interior zone guy goes with Sainristil for a step or two, and IU S is terrified of Collins over the top so he’s open with no one within five yards. Patterson nails him. Pocket immaculate. (CA, 3, protection 2/2)
O24	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Pass	Fade	Collins	24
Stealing. Collins gets over the top by a step and Patterson puts it up high and to the outside. Collins does have to fight through a CB rake after the fact to make it count. (DO, 2, protection 1/1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 21-14, 5 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M17	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Pass	RPO hitch	DPJ	8
Counter action from the backfield and that run looks pretty good. Don’t get to find out as Patterson (RPO+) IDs a corner blitz, apparently, and yoinks the ball for a quick throw to DPJ. This ball is well upfield and dangerous, taking DPJ into a DB. (MA, 2, RPO).
M25	2	2	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 under	6.5	Run	Inside zone	Haskins	7
Ruiz(+2) puts the NT well downfield; Onwenu(+2) chips that guy to help and gets a second level block that turns into a pancake outside the numbers. Mayfield(+0.5) slightly dodgy kickout but makes it work, big gap filled by S coming down from 8. Haskins(+0.5) dodges him; this exposes him to a DT on the backside who stunted inside of Bredeson(-1); that guy tackles, otherwise this could have been a chunk. Probably a TD? Feel like the issue on the backside may be more of a technique issue as both guys hinge back, but this is also a run away from a blitz so … eh, RPS push.
M32	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over	6.5	Run	Counter T	Haskins	3
Mayfield(-1) pulls to the far side of the line after Haskins has a counter step; DE to that side of the line dives inside Mayfield; Mayfield doesn’t touch him. TBF he may be expecting this kind of move from the DE to mean a pull from Patterson. Haskins(+0.5) is able to stop and pop around the guy but is almost tackled and job is finishes shortly after. This should have been a pull from Patterson(-2, ZR-) as the DE gave up the edge and there’s no one replacing. Runyan(+1) had turned in the DE so if this edge block gets made probably a good gain anyway.
M35	2	8	Shotgun 4-wide	1	1	3	Dime even	5.5	Pass	Fly	Collins	Inc (Pen +15)
S leaning forward on the snap so no help; Collins (route+) just runs by the CB and he panics, interfering, flag. (not charted, 0, protection 1/1)
50	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	5.5	Run	End around	Jackson	6
Orbit, handoff. Runyan(+0.5) seals playside end inside as he slants away. McKeon(+1) in the slot, gets a late-moving backer who’s out of position and rides him 10 yards downfield. DPJ runs off a corner; Haskins(+0.5) gets enough of the safety to get him off balance and knock him over; MLB just gets Jackson on an ankle tackle. Saves IU 3-4 yards.
O44	2	4	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 under	7	Pass	Slot fade	Black	Inc
Patterson puts this one in the sideline. Nice pickup from Charbonnet. (IN, 0, protection 2/2)
O44	3	4	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	3-3 stack	6.5	Run	Pin and pull	Wilson	1
Runyan(+1) does a nice job to fire in a standup end in a DT spot who redirects after the snap; Bredeson(+0.5) is first puller and gets a kickout. McKeon(-2) releases, looks up a LB flowing down the field, and then leaves for another DB, which is really weird. Hard charging S comes up; Onwenu(+0.5) in in a spot to cut him off; Wilson(-1) is trying to run outside of Onwenu and actually gets hit by this guy when he should be cutting off Onwenu’s butt; 1.5 yards. Mayfield(-1) did not hinge back to get a linebacker blitzing and he helps defeat this as well.
Drive Notes: Punt, 21-14, EOH
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M27	1	10	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	Nickel under	6.5	Pass	TE drag	Eubanks	7
Good protection off a slot blitz, LB bails for the slot with a safety over the top so Patterson checks down to Eubanks for a decent gain. (CA, 3, protection 2/2)
M34	2	3	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Run	Zone stretch	Haskins	-1
Onwenu and Ruiz(+1) manage to reach the NT but Onwenu(-1) goes too vertical after he releases to a LB and that guy beats him; M cannot get any delay on the weakside backer either and he zooms at this; if Onwenu’s guy doesn’t tackle he does. And this play has a fake end around built into it that got zero respect. RPS -1. McKeon(+0.5) with a nice kick. Mayfield(+0.5) buried a DB just trying to hold the edge.
M33	3	4	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	3-3 stack	5.5	Pass	Slot fade	DPJ	42
Clap, IU brings their safeties way up, Patterson knows he’s got zero coverage. DPJ(route+) just blazes by a safety and Patterson puts it on him. Nice block by Bredeson as he fends off a guy who jumped the snap. (DO, 3, protection 2/2) RPS +2, zero coverage with DPJ on S, revealed in part by snap fake.
O25	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 under	6.5	Pass	Throwaway	Black	Inc
Orbit, fake handoff, PA with two guys in the route. Something weird happens with Black’s route just off screen and Patterson appears to dump the ball OOB on purpose. He certainly could have taken a shot at Bell, who has a step on a dig route that has nobody underneath it. (TA, 0, protection 2/2)
O25	2	10	Shotgun 4-wide	1	1	3	3-3 stack	6	Run	Zone stretch	Charbonnet	2
Orbit, handoff on a stretch the other way. This gets jammed up as Bredeson(+1) fires a DL inside and gives Charbonnet a gap but there’s a safety charging from 7 yards on the mesh point and he shows up. Charbonnet(-1) is pretty awkward against this guy in a lot of space and goes down pretty meekly.
O23	3	8	Shotgun trips	1	0	4	Nickel even	6	Pass	Hitch	Black	7
DB falls down on a Black hitch that’s a couple yards short of the sticks so Patterson throws it; ball is well upfield and almost drags Black to the sticks on a tough diving catch; if he doesn’t get taken off his feet a conversion is very likely. (MA, 2, protection 1/1)
O16	4	1	Wildcat twin TE	2	2	2	Goal line	10	Run	Zone stretch	Haskins	2
Weird play to run on fourth and one. Mayfield’s guy shoots upfield and forces Haskins to cut back away from Mason. LB shoots inside of this; threatening. Onwenu(+1) drives a DT a couple yards downfield and Haskins can just burrow behind him to convert.
O14	1	10	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Pin and pull	Charbonnet	5
Excellent edge as Runyan(+1) fires his guy inside and Eubanks(+1) stands up a LB, eventually pancaking him. McKeon(+1) definitively removes another LB. Bredeson(+0.5) gets a kick. Onwenu pulls into space; Charbonnet(-2) does not set this block up at all and runs directly into a guy Onwenu can block if Charbonnet just heads outside. Bredeson’s guy may come back to get in an ankle tackle if this happens but if not Charbonnet scores.
O9	2	5	Shotgun twins	1	2	2	4-3 over	7.5	Pass	RPO TE out	McKeon	Inc
RPO sees Bredeson(-1) wander too far downfield and get flagged; Mayfield is about to go and holds up. IU covers this pretty well; Patterson tries McKeon, who has a guy on his back, missing high (IN, 0, RPO, push on the decision)
O9	3	5	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	Nickel over	6.5	Pass	Dumpoff	Charbonnet	Inc
Patterson misses Collins on an in that is open as DPJ takes two guys to the pylon.This is his first read and he comes off it in a flash, don’t get it. Other side of the field is very covered so he checks down. Charbonnet drops it but was probably dead meat anyway. (BR, 3, protection 1/1)
Drive Notes: FG(28), 24-14, 10 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M20	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Run	Pin and pull	Wilson	4
RPS from the D as they blitz off the slot and slant their line playside, which they can get away with because the backside CB was sent too. This might be an RPO-, it does kind of look like Patterson might be checking out the CB. He gives. IU gets outside the PNP. Onwenu(+2) gets a straight reach block on a DT; McKeon(+0.5) escorts the DE outside, is only option; Mayfield takes the slot guy; Ruiz(-1) does not execute what M did against MD and wastes himself outside. Wilson cuts up as he must and an LB Bredeson had no shot at tackes; Ruiz could have pushed this out a few more yards by hitting this guy. RPS -1.
M24	2	6	Shotgun 3-wide	2	0	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	RPO slant	Collins	76
Slot blitz, mesh, pull from Patterson(RPO+); Bell stops and draws attention as Collins zips behind a linebacker. Patterson nails him and then the IU safety offers M a touchdown. Collins takes him up on the offer. This may not be a true RPO and may be a careful fake? Is that crazy? (CA, 3, RPO, RPS +1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown(2PT), 32-14, 5 min 3rd Q. A swinging gate isn’t gradable but if you want details Seth has them.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M26	1	10	Shotgun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 even SAM	7	Penalty	False start	Bredeson	-5
Bredeson -1.
M21	1	15	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-3 stack	6.5	Run	Pin and pull	Charbonnet	0 + 15 pen
Runyan(-2) tries to butt block an OLB shooting outside of him and whiffs; that guy is able to run down Charbonnet from behind at the LOS. Otherwise this was a chunk. Onwenu(+0.5) kicked out oblig slot blitzer; McKeon(+1) and Mayfield(+1) locked in a DE with McKeon getting to the second level; Ruiz(+0.5) cut off the NT. Bredeson(+1) heads around and cuts a LB to the ground, there’s a path right up the hash that might be six. IU PF after.
M36	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	PA post	Bell	Inc
PA, slot and CB both come up on the action, S vs Bell and DPJ. Patterson picks Bell and mostly hits him; Bell has to extend his hands outside the frame of his body but this clunks off most of a hand, not a fingertip like earlier missed connections. (CA, 2, protection 2/2, RPS +1)
M36	2	10	Shotgun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 even SAM	7	Run	Pin and pull	Charbonnet	7
IU DT appears to bust and slant away; Bredeson(+1) buries him. This means there’s a pretty big gap inside after IU cuts off the outside on PNP again. Eubanks(-0.5) hesitant and doesn’t get much oomph on his block; he’s in the backfield a bit and things have to cut inside of him. This time Ruiz(+1) does make this read and cuts upfield to whack Eubanks’s guy. This along with McKeon(+1) sealing his guy and sticking on him on an attempted hurl gives Charbonnet(+1) a lane; Charbonnet breaks a tackle and almost a second one; not quite.
M43	3	3	Wildcat twin TE	2	2	2	Goal line	10	Run	Zone stretch	Haskins	-3
Mayfield(-2) again gets a guy surging, this time inside of him; he’s shocked and blown back, TFL. I do not like wildcat here, on 3rd and 3 in M territory. IU got to put in a goal line package. If you’re going to do it here put Patterson at WR so they can’t sub like this. RPS -1.
Drive Notes: Punt, 32-14, 2 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O19	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 even	7	Pass	Post	Collins	19
Stealing. Post behind a hitch, S sucks up, outside leverage for CB, over. (DO, 3, protection 2/2, RPS +1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 39-14, 1 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M4	1	10	Shotgun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Pin and pull	Haskins	5
Hayes at RT. Hayes(+1) and McKeon(+1) hit a DE; battle for Hayes but the guy tries to rip him off and fails and gets sealed; McKeon gets a chip and then a kickout. Onwenu(+0.5) gets a kickout; Bredeson(-1) sees no one in front of him but doesn’t stop for a potential LB coming from behind; that guy grabs Haskins.
M9	2	5	Shotgun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Pin and pull	Haskins	4
Haskins decides to abort this play as McKeon(-1) gives up a lot of penetration; still think Haskins might be able to climb over this if he bends. Instead Haskins(+1) makes a decisive cut backside and gets a nice gain.
M13	3	1	Shotgun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 over SAM	7	Run	Pin and pull	Haskins	3
Very jammed up as Eubanks(-2) blocks the SAM who shoots down to the LOS when he should be blocking down on the DE inside of him; DE moves up into the pullers and jams up both of them. Bredeson(+1) able to get playside of a DT who goes over as Runyan and his block get into his legs. Haskins(+1) does an excellent job to keep his feet and find the gap to convert.
M16	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide tight	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Pass	Scramble	Patterson	2
Looks like an arc RPO on which WR doesn’t get the message so Patterson has to take off. (not charted, Sainristil route -)
M18	2	8	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over SAM	7	Pass	Post	Black	Inc (Pen +15)
Damn this PI, because Black(route+) sells the fade and then breaks inside on the post against no safety help and Patterson appears to nail this throw in stride until the DB gives up the 15. (DO, 0, protection 2/2)
M33	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	RPO hitch	Black	6
Flare action from Sainristil, in the backfield, mesh point with Charbonnet, CB blitz, Patterson(RPO+) aborts mesh for quick hitch. (CA, 3, RPO)
M39	2	4	Shotgun 2-back	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	RPO TE in	Eubanks	Inc
Flare action, mesh, Patterson looks at flare and then comes back to Eubanks; he’s got double slants to the field and appears to pick the wrong one since Bell is open after the slot blitz; Eubanks does work his way under a LB; that LB grabs him and prevents Eubanks from using both hands (refs -2) without a call; otherwise catchable. (CA+, 0, RPO+)
M39	3	4	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-3 stack	6.5	Pass	Fade	Sainristil	35
Beautiful fade at Sainristil, who makes a relatively tough basket catch on good coverage. (DO, 2, protection 2/2)
O26	1	10	Pistol FB twins	2	1	2	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	PA slant	Sainristil	Inc
Okay so this is what I mean when I say I don’t know if this is an RPO: this looks like an RPO on the line but Patterson turns around to deliver the play action and isn’t reading anyone. So this looks like RPO bluff PA. Right? Anyway IU guy gets a fingertip on this throw. (BA, 0, RPO?)
O26	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	3-3 stack	6.5	Pass	Pin and pull	Wilson	0
Onwenu(-2) appears to pull when he should not as a LB shifts late and shoots inside of Hayes, who has no chance. That guy pushes Wilson wide and into the guy Onwenu’s trying to kick out.
O26	3	10	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	Exotic	5	Pass	Post	Jackson	INT
Wilson(-2) runs by yet another corner blitz into the flat. Patterson chucks up a back foot duck into coverage. (BRX, 0, protection 0/2)
Drive Notes: Interception, 39-14, 8 min 4th Q. EOG for O.

No.

What?

Don't do this to me.

I'm not doing anything to you.

You're going to talk about the sea change in the offense and the fact they're using their wide receivers and Shea Patterson is throwing the ball to them instead of generally sort of at them and talk about how if you bifurcate the season into portion A and portion B and dismiss portion A as transition costs well boy howdy we're really cooking here and then you're going to glance in the direction of the Ohio State game.

well maybe

Yeah don't do that.

What should I do instead?

…

…chili …takes?

Nope sorry already did those in a mailbag earlier this year sounds like we have to go with Plan A.

Sooooo… yeah. Drives:

• TD drives of 80, 62, 80, 80, and 19 yards.
• A 63-yard drive ending in a field goal.
• A 70-yard drive ending in the Patterson INT.
• The 40-yard drive at the end of the half that ended in a punt.
• 1 three and out, two first-down-and-outs

Indiana's defense is okay-ish and that's putting it on them. The Patterson INT felt a lot like Patterson correctly deciding discretion was the better part of valor up 25 in the fourth quarter the week before OSU; the drive at the end of the half was shaped by Michigan's desire to make that the last possession of the half. It ended on a 4th and 3 from the plus 43 that certainly could have been a go-for-it situation.

Sounds like a … sigh … sea change from 14 points against Army.

It is. This is even a sea change from the early portion of the successful bit, which was a lot of annihilating teams with runs that put people in the wrong gap and finally throwing all the wide receiver screens that were promised. That was doing stuff that made sense and scraping above zero on RPS.

This is something else, and it was announced pretty quickly when Patterson aborted a run play to throw a hitch to Collins:

This is not the standard RPO slant that was revolutionary three years ago and is now pretty hard to get to work consistently. Patterson appears to be reading the boundary safety, and the logic apparently is "if that safety comes up on the run I have Collins 1 v 1 and that's good enough to take a shot."

What followed was a profusion of different RPOs that finally got me to initiate a very alpha project in which I'm going to chart how many RPO reads and how many zone reads seemed right and how many seemed wrong. Michigan threw RPO hitches off corner blitzes, and might be adding a second read to some of these. The long Collins touchdown looks like Patterson is choosing between Bell and Collins:

And later I wonder if this throw to Eubanks is locked in or if Patterson has the outer slant as an option.

WRs to top

 

This project is of course impossible since I can't know if there's a read attached to everything but since Gattis says there's a read attached to almost everything—and it finally feels like that's a reality instead of an aspiration—we're going to soldier forward under the assumption that's true.

The point for the purposes of this section is that this game forced me to initiate this project because I felt I couldn't reasonably analyze the game without it.

That's a lot of RPOs.

It is, even if you gloss over a few because you're still trying to get to grips with this new offense, as I am. One thing that I'm beginning to get a grip on is the further evolution of the RPO game on both offense and defense. For the downside, here's a sack Patterson took on Michigan's worst drive of the game:

Indiana slot LB, MLB

Indiana sends the slot LB, which they did more than anyone I've ever seen, and shoots the MLB out to undercut the slant. Patterson pulls, hesitates, and is sacked. This is why it's hard to win consistently with 2016 RPO slant.

This is a tactical win for Indiana. It's potentially an exploitable one. The slot blitz makes Patterson think he should pull; IU's response makes that a win for them. If Patterson knows this pattern and reads it he hands off, and it's doubtful the slot guy can redirect in time to tackle.

Patterson did in fact make this adjustment on the next drive, albeit with a less blitz-oriented OLB. Here he appears to see the MLB shooting out over the slot and hands off:

IU slot LB, IU MLB

That's a 5 v 5 run surface and Haskins duly gets eight yards. This continues a theme from the second half of the season where opponents are spending extra guys  on folks without the ball:

Draw a line at Mayfield. There are three Michigan players below it and four Indiana players, the nearest of whom is facing entirely away from the play. M still has to do work to make this into a first down; Indiana got a guy back by coming off the boundary WR with their corner. Still eight yards, and at some point these stresses become hard to deal with if you don't have dudes.

Also in this vein: Michigan's OL are now much more aware of how far downfield they are and will often stop when they approach three yards downfield. Sometimes I wonder if the resulting plays are true RPOs or if they're straight play action with an RPO flavor. The Collins touchdown is sort of that vein, with a legitimate downfield read between Bell and Collins that seems like it takes a beat longer than you usually see.

That one was ambiguous; this item towards the end of the game was less so. Here Patterson turns around to playfake and clearly isn't reading anything post-snap; Michigan's OL still appears to block run. So this is regular play action that looks like an RPO.

That didn't work as a DL got a finger on the ball and Indiana was rallying to it anyway, but one of the thing defenses rely on as they seek to defend RPOs is the quick rhythm they necessitate, lest an OL break the plane downfield. If the opposition is sure an RPO throw has to get out, and then you can buy an extra second for the play to develop, well… yeah.

This is the eternal push-pull of football and why the metagame constantly moves. The Ohio State gameplan will be fascinating.

So how did this grading go?

Okay? At least on my end. On Patterson's end, yowza.

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	0/1

Another L for the unweighted DSR since there are eight(!) DOs on this list, and most of the negative events are relatively benign: a batted pass, a few downfield balls that were off, etc.

Patterson did miss his share of throws, most notably when he missed two wide open touchdowns just prior to the very much not open DPJ TD. These were offset by a large number of pinpoint bombs and similarly on-point shorter throws. Speaking as someone who's watched a ton of attempted endzone corner routes, this Bell TD is a lot harder than it looks:

Ditto the Peoples-Jones touchdown, at least as a throw. It's obviously a circus catch but in this case the circus catch is the only avenue Tiawan Mullen provides:

Also.

Also.

You get the idea. Patterson was dealing. A few different DOs didn't make it into this section because they would be repetitive. This was qualitatively different than the MSU game, when most of the dealing was done by Gattis and various Michigan receivers leaving MSU defenders in the dust. Michigan got air yards in this game in bunches.

One thing to note about the DPJ catch just above that I didn't quite clip: Michigan clapped a couple times before snapping the ball and got IU to indicate they were going with zero coverage. Remember the issues with Penn State guys hurling themselves across the line on the snap? Michigan addressed that, and in this game they were almost always at the line with 20 seconds on the playclock, able to bluff snaps at their leisure. There was only one instance of a Hoosier timing up a snap precisely. Bredeson dealt with it.

That combined with Patterson's command of the RPO game, with 8 of 10 events going well, to put IU in a bad spot on a lot of snaps.

One caveat: Indiana made it a little too easy. There were a couple of chunks that seemed to good to be true, at least as they apply to this weekend. The early dig to DPJ was one of them:

Indiana MLB

That's an Indiana MLB in zone coverage wandering up to the line of scrimmage on a play with no running back in the backfield and no run action, so when the level routes come across the middle that decision is blindingly obvious. Patterson was decisive in this game but the windows were so big that I'm cautious about extrapolating this game out into one against a much better defense.

One persistent issue popped up again. That would be Patterson's season-long aversion to keeping the ball even when the run reads are almost certainly there. Haskins has to grind out a few yards here as no one respects the keep:

This went from a major issue to a minor one as Michigan shifted the bulk of Patterson's reads to RPOs. This was in fact the only play on which I thought he had a keep option. Don't get me wrong; this was sensible. Michigan's offense did not need Patterson to expose himself to hits when they could just run their receivers past everyone not named Mullen. I still have concerns that Michigan is going to need Patterson to run several times against OSU and a general unwillingness to keep might turn some chunk plays into two yards.

The optimistic view is that Michigan's been saving Patterson's ribs so that he gets to this game ready for eight carries. That's plausible given the pattern of the season, but also that time against Illinois where they ran arc on consecutive plays because Patterson didn't keep on the first lingers in the mind. 

Other than that one blip more about next week than last week, Patterson's best game of the year, hands-down.

He had some help though? I don't recall an Indiana defensive back doing anything.

Also in this vein: the wide receivers.

[0 = uncatchable, 1 = circus catch, 2 = moderate difficulty, 3 = routine]

	THIS WEEK					SEASON
Player	0	1	2	3		0	1	2	3
DPJ	1	1/1	2/2	2/2		7	3/7	7/7	19/20
Collins	2		1/1	5/5		9	4/7	8/10	21/22
Black	3		1/1	2/2		15	2/4	3/6	17/18
Bell	1	0/1	0/1	1/1		10	2/9	5/10	30/32
Johnson						1	1/1	1/1	1/1
Sainristil	1		1/1			5	3/3	1/1	3/5
Jackson	1			1/1		2	0/1		3/3
McKeon				1/1		5	0/1	2/3	8/8
Eubanks	1			1/1		6	0/3	6/7	16/17
All									1/1
Schoonmaker									2/2
Charbonnet				0/1		4		0/1	7/8
Turner						1			3/3
Mason							0/1
Haskins				1/1					4/4

Routes: Collins ++, DPJ ++, Black +, Bell +, Sainristil -

That's 5/6 on 2s and 1/2 on 1s, one drop, that from Charbonnet on a dumpoff that was doomed anyway, and six route plusses. Nico again sat on a guy's head, at least metaphorically, on a play that was always happening.

20 targets. 30 targets. 50 targets.

Black got a few targets in this game and looked good on them for the second consecutive week. He drew a Nico Collins Trademark Panic PI on Mullen by beating him to the post:

He's been overshadowed this year but is hinting that if the deck clear in 2020 he'll slide back into the #1 role just fine.

Sainristil caught a straight-up fade on which he had to make an over-the shoulder catch:

Only Bell had a slightly iffy day and that was mostly not bringing in a couple of relatively tough catches.

I thought these guys were massively disappointing.

Nope!

In things that were actually a little disappointing: the ground game maybe?

This one is valid, yeah. Michigan had one explosive run all day and didn't display the same level of competence in this game that they had in most of the back half of the season. There were a lot of hiccups.

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	Total	Notes
Runyan	6	2	4	Sealed a lot of edges.
Bredeson	6	5	1	Couple of penalties, some missed IDs backside.
Ruiz	9.5	2	7.5	Did some mauling, one of two minuses was a false start.
Onwenu	13.5	3	10.5	Two reach blocks!
Mayfield	5	9	-4	Too many backside airballs.
McKeon	7.5	4	3.5	Solid.
Eubanks	2	3.5	-1.5	Had a couple of zero-technique blocks that hurt.
All				DNC
Mason	0.5		-0.5	Lesser role.
Hayes	1		1	Last drive as RT
TOTAL	50	28.5	64%	Issues discussed below.
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Patterson		2	-2	One missed read.
McCaffrey				DNP
Charbonnet	1.5	3	-1.5	Didn't set up an important block.
Turner				DNP
Wilson		1	-1	Same as Charbonnet.
Milton
Haskins	5.5	1	4.5	Blasted some guys.
TOTAL	7	7	0	Haskins the #1 right now.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
DPJ		1	-1
Collins		1	-1
Black
Bell	0.5		0.5
Johnson
Sainristil
Jackson
TOTAL	0.5	2	-1.5	No downfield runs and no screens.
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Protection	36	4	90%	Wilson –2, Mayfield –1, Ruiz -1
RPS	13	8	+5	More of this was M WRs just annihilating IU.

 

First to note that there were virtually no hiccups in pass protection. Other than RPOs Patterson faced rushers on two plays. Two.

On the ground, there were more issues. Mayfield came in for a large negative of the sort that hasn't happened at all this year, at least not for an OL. As asserted in the game column, he was very up and down. One of his best moments was on the chunk stretch where Ty Isaac Zach Charbonnet didn't have to do anything until he'd gotten 20 yards downfield:

RT #73

False step from the LB he clocks but the ability to meaningfully impede a DE and then get out to that guy is rare amongst college freshmen. Mayfield is mobile.

But he offset that with a number of plays where he showed his youth. Here he gets a block for a second and then gets flung upfield:

RT #73

This is an airball that allows the backside DE to flow all the way down the LOS and push Charbonnet away from an otherwise well-blocked play:

RT #73

Onwenu got a super-tough reach block there and that play could have been a nice chunk.

There were a couple more plays like this; Mayfield fell off a lot of blocks. This was his worst game of the year on the ground and that's probably a blip, but his down-to-down performance has lagged the rest of the line, as you'd expect, and Chase Young rather looms.

Is that why Michigan couldn't crack any long runs?

It wasn't just Mayfield, but that last play was the theme of the day. Indiana spent the whole day blitzing off the corner and running line games. These were often defeated at the point of attack, but equally as often they got backside guys free. They were able to contain plays.

There are a couple of examples above where Mayfield is the culprit; he was not alone. Even a guy as experienced and good as Bredeson was susceptible. Here Ruiz and Onwenu combine to blast the NT off the line and Haskins is about to take off for an explosive run when a backside end shuts it down:

M RG #74, IU OLB #9

Haskins beat the safety and Onwenu is in the process of putting his block on the ground outside the numbers. Without that OLB intervening this is a touchdown.

Ditto Runyan on this otherwise well-blocked play:

LT #75

Without the intervention of the OLB this too may have been a touchdown as Bredeson chopped down his second level block and there's maybe one guy with an angle:

This was a strange return to "one guy" football where the run game is on point except for one guy. This time the one guy was more often than not way to the backside of the play in the area where I usually don't grade because I take those blocks for granted.

Okay but why are we running at the end of the first half?

It didn't really bother me until the punt after Wilson's run, because running there seems like a good idea mostly if you're willing to go for it. Maybe Michigan would have if it was a yard closer, which it probably should have been. Michigan did enough but again a guy got to run free. This time it was McKeon looking up a linebacker and then passing him up:

TE #84 to top on LOS

That guy widens Wilson into the path of a safety. And even then Wilson should be cutting off Onwenu's butt, probably, but again Indiana is blitzing and gets backside pursuit so Wilson cannot downshift to see what happens in front of him.

This happened to Charbonnet, too. Here he's got Onwenu as a blocker and runs directly into a linebacker instead of setting up the block:

If he tracks outside he's an ankle tackle attempt from the Bredeson kickout away from a TD. Wonder if he's sped up by the thought of backside pursuit even though it's not here on this play.

RB detente recedes further!

That was another issue with the ground game: not a whole lot of Plays made. Wilson and Charbonnet probably left yards on the field between them. Haskins did better. He lowered the boom after breaking outside on a pin and pull:

He also had a couple of short yardage conversions that looked in doubt until he pulled them out. He couldn't do anything on the second wildcat snap; when given cracks he exploited them. Just not for big gains.

I hate the wildcat, they should stop it.

I don't hate the wildcat but they shouldn't run it on third and three on Michigan's side of the field. Are you in a situation where you're going to get a goal line defense? Then wildcat is fine. I don't think IU lines up like this if Patterson's on the field:

If you insist on it then at least leave Patterson on the field so the defense can't sub in their goal line defense.

But otherwise… tactically good?

This wasn't a huge RPS game because Collins running by a WR and then being giant at him doesn't fit the RPS rubrick, but Michigan still came in with a solid win on the day. I had a few nits other than the wildcat. It's probably time to try to strike deep off flare screens because Michigan's going to see some more coverages like this:

But also why is that a covered slot play? If they see it it tips flare/run and I don't see a downside to putting the TE on the line and making Bell eligible. I don't know how aware defenses are about these things since they're not looking from the sideline angle that makes it really obvious, but you'd think these days it's a major coaching point.

Oddly, later Michigan did have a double move off a fake that worked okay with the TE on the line. That ended in an incompletion but to get that incompletion Indiana had to interfere:

(Also Patterson could have taken a post shot with no safety help.)

This didn't get called:

And this was shortly after the holding call on Lavert Hill in the backfield. Seems like every week there are back-to-back pass interference/holding calls that are not internally consistent and cost M.

I want to emphasize that these are a nit, so here's the play right after the flare got annihilated:

Wheel route remains undefeated. I say a lot of things like "he's open by five yards" but on this one he's literally open by four yards.

This is the dream of Dennis and Eddie: to be used as something other than jet-sweep sideshows. I eagerly anticipate watching Michigan slots used in diverse and sundry ways.

Heroes?

Patterson. Collins and DPJ. Everyone in pass protection; Onwenu and Ruiz on the ground.

 

Maybe not so heroic?

Mayfield had a rough outing; Eubanks's blocking was meh; Charbonnet left some yards on the field.

What does it mean for The Game?

Ready as we'll ever be. Patterson executing a heavy RPO gameplan, largely succesfully, and bombing it to his deep and excellent WR corps is what we envisioned before the season. There's a chance.

Transition costs are in the past. This was polished. The snap counts were varied, the reads were constant and mostly executed well.

This is the acid test for the pass blocking. It is on the verge of being the best pass-blocking line I've ever charted, and here's Chase Young aimed at Jalen Mayfield. Chips ahoy. Other than a potential tackle weakness against the #1 pick in the NFL draft this line has been undefeated and should remain close to so next week.

Throw it to Collins. Other guys too but for God's sake throw it to Collins.

The slots hint at being complete slots. Runs, downfield shots, screens. Could all be on the table.

Haskins is #1. Charbonnet was 1A but now seems like 2. I wonder if that injury scare from early in the year is the kind of thing that needs an offseason to truly get right from.