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: The return of McKeon resulted in more two TE sets, and what's this? A fullback? A fullback.

Kudos to ABC director for his wide shots and frequent overhead replays.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: Mostly the usual at QB and OL, with Milton and McCaffrey getting in late. Hayes was used as a tight end in a nameless 80 jersey for a couple goal line snaps. Second-team line remains Hayes/Filiaga/Vastardis/Spanellis/Hongiford.

RB rotation was mostly Haskins/Charbonnet with Wilson getting in towards the tail end of competitive time; Turner and Van Sumeren got some late action. Mason got 5 snaps as a FB/TE.

Eubanks was still TE1 in terms of snaps, because he sticks on the field for passing downs. McKeon got about half the snaps; All got some 3 TE snaps in the redzone and the occasional live-fire snap outside. Bell/Black/DPJ/Collins split WR snaps about evenly, with Sainristil added as pretty much an equal member to the quartet. Jackson and Johnson got some garbage snaps.

[After THE JUMP: a steamrolling]

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M12	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Run	Inside zone	Haskins	3
ND DT does a good job to burrow between Bredeson(-0.5) and Runyan(-0.5); he gets stuck in there and Bredeson ends up coming off when that dude is still filling a gap. Haskins to the outside of Runyan, unblocked LB.
M15	2	7	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	Nickel over	7	Run	Pin and pull	Haskins	3
McKeon(+1) takes on the standup end and gets him a yard downfield and sealed. Eubanks(-0.5) engages a LB and mostly has him until he gets driven back a step or two towards the end of the play. ND force S gets off the Bredeson(-0.5) kickout, which wasn’t forceful, and he’s able to grab Haskins at the LOS. Haskins runs into Eubanks and that costs M some YAC.
M18	3	4	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	TE angle	McKeon	Inc
Bait by ND as it looks like man on McKeon that he sheds but there’s a robber just inside who picks up the coverage and makes this a very hard throw. Patterson misses badly. I’m going to grade this but separate out the rain bit. (IN, 0, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 9 min 1st Q. Michigan gets it right back due to Dumb Stuff.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M33	1	10	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	Nickel even	7	Pass	Out	Bell	Inc
Seven yard out that is another pass that clangs off the fingertips of Bell. This is real high and given the conditions, I mean. (MA, 1, protection 1/1)
M33	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6.5	Run	Split zone	Charbonnet	3
Scrape exchange from ND; again the DTs are able to burrow on doubles. Onwenu(-0.5) and Ruiz(-0.5) get stalled out. The backside double goes better but they’ve only got one guy to deal with with the LB flying out for the QB. Eubanks does get a shoulder to the end crashing down as he comes down to the shuffle but it’s a push block.
M36	3	7	Shotgun trips	1	1	3	Okie one	7	Pass	Fly	Collins	Inc (Pen +15)
ND has an S at the LOS and wants to bait the fade throw down the sideline while using this guy to get over the top to bracket. They get it, but the S doesn’t get his head around on a pretty bad throw that hits just outside the numbers, not towards the sideline. Then he runs over Collins. Oops! (MA, 0, protection 1/1)
O49	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	7	Run	Dart stretch	Charbonnet	8
This column defines dart as an outside zone play on which there’s a quick pull around an OL instead of a combo block. Here Onwenu(+1) turns and stalls a DT; Ruiz(+1) pulls around him and wipes the MLB, who was behind him laterally on the snap. Mayfield(+0.5) and Eubanks(+0.5) get good kicks. Charbonnet(+0.5) has a lane direct to a safety and is able to get around him, mostly; Bell(+1) gets a suddenly relevant, long kickout.  RPS +1, LB's shifted away.
O41	2	2	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	Nickel over	7.5	Run	Counter trey	Charbonnet	2
Signals crossed for M as Onwenu(-1) pulls and gets around a DE, sealing him inside. M can get some work done here if he comes tighter to the line and blows this guy out because another scrape is on. I put the ziggy on Onwenu here because both Mason(+0.5) and Charbonnet seem to expect this to hit at the B gap. Mason does a nice job to come through a DL trying to cut him off and get to the scrape LB; Charbonnet cut inside and gets what he can, which is a first down. Runyan(+0.5) cleared out enough room for that to happen.
O39	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel over	7	Run	Pin and pull	Charbonnet	35
Chunk #1. Sainristil motions to a backfield spot outside Charbonnet and runs a flare. One ILB goes with Sainristil; deep S waits way too long to find the ball because he is also on this. Compounding matters from ND: slant away. Eubanks(+0.5) and Mayfield(+0.5) get enough of those guys to clear the decks. Onwenu(+1) gets a massive kick. Ruiz(+0.5) comes around tight to the gets most of a second level block; Bredeson releases to nobody, he chipped(+0.5) backside DT and Runyan(+1) steps around him to eliminate him entirely. RPS +2, 4 v 3 on flare.
O4	1	G	Shotgun 3-wide tight	1	1	3	Goal line	11	Run	Inside zone	Charbonnet	2
Tempo. ND handles it pretty well. OLB seems to scrape over everything and gets to the frontside of the play; Charbonnet(+0.5) cuts away from this guy. Mayfield(+0.5) fires his guy inside fairly well; Wing Eubanks(+0.5) gets across the face of the standup end. Not a lot of room; Charbonnet might be able to grind this down to the one but that LB gets there and gets an ankle tackle in that robs him of momentum.
O2	2	G	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	Goal line	10	Run	Yakety snap	N/A	-2
Patterson(-2) does get the snap where it should be, weather mitigates the minus.
O4	3	G	Shotgun 3TE	1	3	1	Goal line	10	Run	Split zone	Charbonnet	2
ND uses the cover zero aspect of goal line stuff to win here. Guy jets at Patterson, give. Line slants away so cutback is inevitable; Charbonnet cuts, meets unblocked LB at LOS. He grinds out two. RPS -1.
Drive Notes: FG(21), 3-0, 5 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M41	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Nickel under	6.5	Run	Iso	Haskins	8
Chunk iso on which LB level reacts like it’s IZ, with one guy creeping forward and getting eliminated by Ruiz(+1) while the other guy gets thumped by Mason(+1). Free kickout for Mayfield(+0.5), mostly, and Onwenu(+0.5) gets enough of the playside DT. RPS +1.
M49	2	2	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6.5	Run	Pin and pull	Haskins	1
Onwenu(-3) pulls when he needs to block down on a DT. Haskins(+1) manages to grind out a yard here after getting grabbed in the backfield.
50	3	1	Shotgun 2-back big	2	2	1	4-3 under	9	Run	Down C	Haskins	3
Ruiz pulls, Mason also leads out. ND crams this down pretty well. Eubanks(-0.5) gets no push, stops his feet, but does limit the damage. LB comes down and meets both Ruiz(+0.5) and Mason(+0.5); he gets obliterated. Haskins hits Eubanks in the back and gets stalled out but is able to keep his legs moving and eventually pops outside for the conversion. Mayfield(+1) had a nice second level block to help keep the edge clear.
O47	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Run	Trap	Haskins	25
Backside G pull sends LBs tearing ass for the frontside of the play, expecting PNP. It’s a trap! Ruiz(+1) fires a DT upfield; Bredeson(+1) pops the other guy, big gap, and Runyan(+0.5) and Onwenu(+0.5) barely have to do anything on the second level. They do get their guys. Haskins(+1) runs through backside end’s tackle at 4 yards and jets to the S. RPS +2.
O22	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Run	Pin and pull	Haskins	3
Same flare screen action on the Charbonnet chunk and almost another here. Blitzing LB tries to shoot the interior gap; Ruiz(+0.5) stops and cuts him off. He’s just a little too slow to see it and Haskins has to bend, then cut sharply to get back vertical and attack the gap the LB just ran through. Bredeson(+1) blasts a linebacker trying to redirect and tackle after flowing hard to the outside; a DT who Runyan is harassing but has no real shot to cut off is just able to make the tackle on Haskins as he tries to burst through the second level. Mayfield(+0.5) did fairly well against a DT who never got back to the play.
O19	2	7	Pistol twins	1	2	2	4-3 LB strong slide	8	Run	Dart stretch	Haskins	7
Pull the C, try to get outside, and ND is hammering at the edges now. They’ve slid their whole LB corps to the strong side to attack this. Onwenu(+1) gets a reach block on a guy head up on him, that guy tries to go upfield and is gone. With four guys now outside of Mayfield the cutback is there and Haskins(+1) takes it. Backside DT can’t get there as Runyan(+0.5) pulls the chair on him; he stops leaning against the guy and guy suddenly steps upfield. Runyan then steps around him and cuts him off. Intentional? Mayfield(+1) blew his guy down the line once he declared outside to buy M more room and Bredeson(+0.5) went to go cut off a linebacker. Haskins to an S, who makes the play.
O12	1	10	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	?	?	Run	Zone read keeper	Patterson	5
This is another trap with M using the split zone back to kick a DT. Looks like it’s blocked well but DE is shuffling down; Patterson(+1) pulls. Black(-2) just needs to go stalk block his CB and this is probably inside the 5 but instead goes and hits a guy who is trying to get over Mayfield; this is an easy crack replace because Black is not running anything that looks like a route. FWIW McKeon(+1) got a stopper on this DT and Haskins probably has a lane, minus the DE. RPS +1.
O7	2	5	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 split	8	Run	Pin and pull	Charbonnet	7
Big split between the DTs implies a blitz, LB comes and M is prepped for it. Onwenu(+2) is able to get over on this guy who is hauling ass on the snap; he doesn’t really have an angle but he’s able to block him into a teammate and he’s done. Ruiz(+1) stopped for this as well, and that’s totally justifiable; then he ‘s like dang man thanks and resumes a pull to the one guy currently on the second level, getting a hit on him. Bredeson(+1) gets a tricky kickout he has to redirect on and wins that decisively; Eubanks(+0.5) and Runyan(+0.5) both wash guys down the line to provide Charbonnet(+1) the lane, and Charbonnet picks through the traffic quickly to score. This is a lot of points for 7 yards but it is also a touchdown from anywhere on the field if one CB doesn't get a tackle so yeah.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 10-0, 13 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M40	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Run	Inside zone	Haskins	20
Another blitz picked up, this time by Bredeson(+1), who gets a fairly telegraphed slot LB blitz at him and shoots that guy inside. Good kickout from Runyan(+0.5); Onwenu(+1) seals and eliminates a guy who slanted to him. Ruiz(+1) finds a linebacker absolutely hauling ass for the sideline and removes him; safety also fights outside of Sainristil(!) to leave nothing in the world in front of Haskins(+0.5) except the FS once he breaks through the first level. Haskins hurdles him. RPS +2, two ND guys basically deleted themselves because they’re thinking oh crap sideline.
O40	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Run	Zone stretch	Haskins	0
EMLOS gets outside Mayfield so there’s no bounce. MLB fires hard at this; Ruiz(-0.5) and Onwenu(-0.5) can’t quite combo the playside DT and get to this LB; they eventually do get both guys blocked but there’s no gap. RPS -1, LBs firing so hard at outside action, which is bad on this play.
O40	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Pass	Scramble	Patterson	3
Pocket mostly good but Mayfield(-1) does the thing where he’s not that beat but is beat enough to get his QB moving. Patterson steps up and moves out of the pocket. It looks like he has Sainristil but instead he decides to get what he can on the edge. Understandable. (MA, N/A, protection ½)
O37	3	7	Shotgun 4-wide	1	1	3	Okie two	6.5	Pass	Improv	Sainristil	13
Patterson has Sainristil on an angle route and pumps it; I think because Runyan(-1) gets put right in his lap and he’s worried that something disastrous will happen; he’s spooked. He again breaks out of the pocket to the right, and again has Sainristil. This time he fires it. It’s behind Sainristil but WR is able to make a tough catch on a wobbly, wet ball. (MA, 1, protection ½)
O24	1	10	Pistol FB	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Arc zone keeper	Patterson	22
Wisconsin-esque as DE dives down tight and the scrape backer also bites on the give. So does the slot corner on McKeon. DPJ(+1) is the only guy who has to get a block and Patterson(+1) runs down to the 2. RPS +3, 22 yards, 1 block.
O2	1	G	Shotgun 3TE	1	3	1	Goal line	10	Run	Down G	Charbonnet	1
ND just has an extra guy so while All(+0.5), McKeon(+0.5), and Onwenu(+0.5) get their blocks Charbonnet(+1) gets a LB in his face at the LOS. He spins through and is able to put this at the one foot line.
O1	2	G	Shotgun 3TE	1	3	1	Goal line	10	Run	Belly	Charbonnet	1
Charbonnet finishes it; Mayfield(+0.5) shoots his guy down the line and Hayes(+0.5), wearing 80 as a TE, correctly IDs a LB to hit; Charbonnet falls in easily.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 17-0, 9 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M12	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide tight	1	1	3	?	7	Run	Zone stretch	Haskins	0
Blitzball LBs. This is going to be tough to carve something out of; Onwenu(+1) gets out on his LB and kicks him a good distance but the rapidity with which he had to leave means no way Ruiz can get a seal; cutback behind Ruiz mandatory. There Bredeson(-1) did not get off in time and his guy runs through to tackle. RPS -1, LB posture made this tough.
M12	2	10	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	4-3 even	7	Run	Improv	Patterson	7
Patterson thinks this is an RPO. Nobody else does. Unfortunate as this looks very good. Onwenu(+1) gets a guy sealed and then as he tries to fight it he gets ejected way upfield so a healthy gap; possible the LBs shut it down but also possible Haskins is able to shift right and break into the open field. Patterson pumps, gets his guy in the air, and then scrambles for good yardage. Not charting this weirdness.
M19	3	3	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Pass	Yakety sax	N/A	-13
Excellent pocket, looks like either Haskins on the dumpoff or Sainristil to the boundary is open to convert, Patterson doesn’t find it, starts scrambling around, and then when he’s cut off he throws a left-handed pass backwards. WTF. (BRX, N/A, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 17-0, 4 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M36	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Run	Zone stretch	Charbonnet	0
Why does Michigan keep running this? ND’s linebackers are eating it up. Onwenu(+0.5) gets over the top of a DT; Ruiz releases behind him; LB shoots the gap outside of Onwenu, and Onwenu has a choice of which guy to let tackle the back. He picks LB; Charbonnet(+1) jukes the guy, and then immediately gets lit up by the other LB, who Bredeson(-1) could not even bother; Ruiz(-1) ends up tripping on this LB as he violates Never Turn Upfield instead of blocking the second guy and maybe being useful. RPS –1.
M36	2	10	Shotgun twins	1	2	2	4-3 over	7.5	Run	Split zone	Charbonnet	4
Almost on this one. Arc threat holds a DE outside and draws LB attention; CB held as McKeon releases downfield. Mayfield(+1) helps Onwenu blast a DT inside and then pops off on a LB; Onwenu(-1) cannot step around this guy and he’s able to come through; Eubanks only does an okay job on the DE kick and those guys close down the gap.
M40	3	6	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Exotic	6.5	Run	Split stretch	Wilson	9
Stretch activity works on a passing down as Eubanks goes backside, drawing a guy in man coverage and the only guy on the LB level. He hits backside end, meh. Ruiz(+2) gets a standup guy slanting to him as Bredeson(-1) releases to nobody; if there’s no LB level stop and look for work on the line. Ruiz is able to get around this guy enough to give Wilson(+1) a path around him and inside of a good long kick from Runyan(+1). Bredeson(+0.5) does annoy a guy on the second level eventually. RPS +1
M49	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over	6.5	Run	Zone stretch	Wilson	1
whyyyyyy. Anyway: Onwenu(+1) and Ruiz(+1) successfully combo through a DT and this still isn’t going to get much because both LBs get delivered to this gap. Onwenu peels off to get one and the other one has no blocker. Bredeson(-1) gets hung up and then actually shoves the DT Ruiz has sealed so that he is no longer sealed. Wilson stops and spins off a tackle attempt and has an opportunity to go vertical behind all this mess but heads for the sideline and has to spin around for a yard. Forgot he was a walk-on. Push since he was getting 0 or 1 anyway. RPS –1.
50	2	9	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Run	Pin and pull	Charbonnet	4
Kind of feel like this is an MA from Eubanks(-1), who has a guy outside of him on the LOS and should probably go for the LB level. Onwenu definitely expects to kick out his guy. Mayfield(+1) wipes his downblock out but Onwenu having to redirect and the lateness of the blitzball LB block means there’s no gap inside even though Eubanks does an okay job of kicking out and Ruiz going outside takes a LB with him. Charbonnet grinds out a few.
O46	3	5	Pistol FB tight	1	2	2	Nickel even	6.5	Run	Arc zone keeper	Patterson	3
LBs fly upfield on the playfake and Patterson pulls against a shuffle end, easily beating him to the corner. McKeon(+1) seals a spacebacker inside. Eubanks(-1) sees no one, glances back inside, takes another step, glances back again, and then decides to pick off the LB closest to Patterson. He misses and that prevents the conversion. RPS +1, should have had this.
Drive Notes: Punt, 17-0, 1 min 2nd Q. 22 secs on next drive
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O46	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	Improv	Bell	9
Another kinda L from Mayfield(-1) prevents a rhythm throw. Here he moves up and out, finding Bell on the sideline for a tough toe-tap catch. (CA+, 2, protection ½)
O37	2	1	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Run	Zone stretch	Wilson	-3
M eats a blitz from the LB level and a safety, -1 run surface. RPS -2.
O40	3	4	Shotgun 4-wide	1	1	3	Exotic	6	Pass	Sack	N/A	-8
Mayfield(-2) driven back into Patterson and his back knocks the ball out when Patterson tries to throw. (PR, N/A, protection 0/2)
Drive Notes: 17-0, EOH
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Shotgun twin TE	1	2	2	Nickel over	7.5	Run	Arc zone give	Haskins	2
Shuffle plus a scrape exchange. Eubanks passes on the end and goes to the scrape backer; Patterson doesn’t like it and gives, and I get it since the scrape guy goes outside of Eubanks. End free to tackle, with Haskins spinning through. RPS -1.
M27	2	8	Pistol twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 over	8	Run	Zone stretch	Haskins	1
Runyan doesn’t try to combo through the backside DT and goes direct to second level where he will never get the LB. Bredeson(+0.5) properly gets over this guy, chips him, and leaves for that LB; he gets him, but Haskins isn’t able to cut behind this cleanly because it’s so tight to the LOS. Runyan(+1) actually deletes his minus here by realizing he messed up and hip-checking the DT Bredeson left past the play. Haskins comes through this and gets a backside DE who gave no thought to QB keep. RPS -1.
M28	3	7	Shotgun trips	1	1	3	Exotic	7	Pass	Cross	Sainristil	Inc
Sainristil(route+) gets the slot CB with a decisive break inside and has the first down… and then drops it. (CA, 3, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: 17-0, 13 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M12	1	10	Shotgun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 over SAM	7.5	Run	Short pin and pull	Charbonnet	3
This might be a variant? There was something like this against Nebraska last year that’s sort of a hybrid. Playside D goes way outside; Ruiz(+1) runs like he’s getting outside, and then goes vertical to kick a LB headed outside. Meanwhile Runyan(+2) has obliterated playside DT and put him well downfield as Onwenu and Mayfield(-1) try to scoop the backside end. Mayfield doesn’t step around; he starts like he’s going to drive a guy down the field and thus he’s behind the DT despite an Onwenu chip and this guy tackles.
M15	2	7	Shotgun twins	1	2	2	4-3 even	7.5	Pass	Sack	Patterson	-7
Patterson leaves a perfect pocket and sacks himself. (TAX, N/A, protection 2/2)
M8	3	15	Shotgun trips	1	1	3	Exotic	5.5	Pass	Cross	Bell	Inc
Patterson has Bell for about 12, which is still a punt; he airmails it so high that Bell can’t even touch it and it’s almost intercepted. (INX, 0, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 17-0, 11 min 3rd Q. Rain over about now.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M16	1	10	Pistol twins twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 over SAM	7.5	Run	Dart stretch	Haskins	0
Onwenu(-2) is supposed to block down on a DT and seal him and does; he then sees the blitzball LB and decides to go for him when that’s Ruiz’s job. His DT tackles as these guys get hung up.
M16	2	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over SAM	7	Run	Trap	Haskins	7
Trap seems like a bad follow up to a bunch of stretch because it induces DL to go horizontal and not straight upfield; DT does a good job to go horizontal after being passed up and Bredeson(+0.5) can’t do much more than occupy him. No read here but this should be a keep if it’s a read; DE slides down. Haskins(+1) bumps into Bredeson and is able to slip behind him; Onwenu(+1) got an extended second level block and M gets a little lucky as the other LB whiffs.
M23	3	3	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	Nickel over	7.5	Run	Pin and pull	Haskins	1
PNP downloaded here with two interior rushers and guys shooting outside. Ruiz stops for one and bumps him a bit. Asking a lot for Onwenu(-0.5) to get the second guy but yeah could happen; instead he does normal PNP stuff. Haskins(+1) dodges the first LB tackle and is about to get some yards and then the second guy finishes it as Ruiz(-0.5) couldn’t actually do much with the other LB. RPS -2.
Drive Notes: Punt, 17-0, 8 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Shotgun trips	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Pass	Dig	Collins	Inc
In gets man coverage and Collins (route -) can’t get meaningful separation; DB is able to grab both arms on the catch. Collins damn near makes it but does not. (CA, 1, protection 2/2)
M25	2	10	Shotgun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 over	8	Run	Split zone	Haskins	49
Jet fake, which I’ve stopped even noting because there are lots and never a give. Here it swaps a CB to the FS spot, and that’s relevant. M again swaps the split responsibilities with Mayfield(+0.5) getting a kickout on the DE; Eubanks(+0.5) finds a LB blitzballing outside of Onwenu(+1), who turns out a DT lined up outside of him. Bredeson(+1) and Ruiz(+1) blow up the other DT and Ruiz gets to a LB; Haskins(+2) shoots up in this gap in the middle of the field, gives the S a juke, and then stiffarms his ass to the ground. DPJ(+1) gets a hold(refs +2) in on a guy trying to track Haskins down after he rips past the S and buys him a bunch more yards. RPS +1.
O26	1	10	Shotgun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7.5	Pass	Post	Collins	Inc (Pen +15)
Excellent protection; S pulls up on a shorter route, or at least doesn’t get deep enough to dissuade a throw. This isn’t a great throw but it’s a good one, in the Buttzone with Collins boxing out a a DB. That guy panics and interferes blatantly; Collins can only get a hand on the throw. (CA, 0, protection 2/2)
O11	1	10	Shotgun twins twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Run	Arc zone keeper	Patterson	-3
Scrape again gets M, RPS -2. Both halves of this are goin’ down. Patterson(-1) makes it a little worse both by keeping and not getting upfield of his TE block to save a couple yards.
O14	2	13	Shotgun twins	1	2	2	Nickel over	6.5	Run	Arc RPO give	Haskins	2
RPO on which the guy sitting on McKeon stays so a give. ND sends this triple A gap blitz again. M almost gets it but does not get it. Bredeson(+0.5) and Ruiz(+0.5) get their guys and almost carve out a lane but Onwenu(-0.5) goes too vertical on the snap and can’t quite delay a blitzing LB enough to get this gap open; that guy tackles. Nothing between him and a TD.
O12	3	11	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Exotic	6	Pass	Corner	DPJ	Inc (Pen +10)
ND blitzes two guys and M picks it up decently but this has to get out quickly and Patterson gets it out to his credit; this is also on point. DPJ looks like he’s about to score when a DB who’s not turning his head puts his hands on DPJ and then suddenly his momentum changes so that he’s reaching out for the ball instead of having it hit him in the chest; I think this is a legit call. (DO, 1, protection 2/2)
O2	1	G	Shotgun 3TE	1	3	1	Goal line	10	Run	Zone read keeper	Patterson	-6
I’m all about zone read stuff but on the two? Just Mason it in please. Patterson(-2) probably shouldn’t pull against another scrape and should absolutely not go outside when scrape backer attacks outside All. Cutting up makes this maybe a 1 or 2 yard loss.
O8	2	G	Shotgun twins	1	2	2	Goal line	9	Pass	RPO out	DPJ	8
Yeesh, I don’t get running an RPO from the eight on which there’s no post snap read and it’s just did you get zero against the WRs.M does get zero, run blocking then gets Patterson obliterated and DPJ is running an out against a dude as Collins’s non-route brings a guy to this. Patterson gets blown up, throw is short and low, DPJ digs it out, throw this play in the trash. (MA, 1, protection N/A)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 24-7, 2 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M41	1	10	Shotgun twins twin TE	2	1	2	4-3 under	8	Run	Insert iso	Charbonnet	1
Mason as a wing TE moving backside for an iso, which works for the LB level. Mostly. Mason(+1) thumps his guy to provide a lane but the MLB went downhill so fast that Ruiz can hit him but not move him; Bredeson(-1) gets controlled and put to a knee by a DT. Bredeson actually forces Mason a gap outside of where he wanted to go and whacks Ruiz’s angle.
M42	2	9	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6.5	Run	Trap	Charbonnet	1
Ruiz(+1) and Bredeson(+0.5) crunch a DT, widening him out significantly. Eubanks(+0.5) gets enough of the trapped DT; Onwenu(-2) IDs the wrong LB, stepping to a guy who’s going to the wrong gap and only hitting the MLB after the false step that wrecks the play.
M43	3	8	Shotgun trips	1	1	3	Okie one	5.5	Pass	Hitch	Collins	Inc
Boundary hitch one yard short of the sticks on third and eight seems like a bad idea and indeed this CB is all over it, even the back shoulder bit. He gets a PBU. Not a great decision. (BR, 0, protection 1/1)
Drive Notes: Punt, 24-7 ,14 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M36	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Run	Arc read give	Haskins	4
Belly-ish as Runyan blocks down on a DE and they move that guy out (Runyan +0,5, Bredeson +0.5). McKeon does okay on the standup end but never puts him to one side; S fills late to deal with pull and cutback; Haskins(-0.5) cuts back a little slowly and misses an opportunity to hit this for a decent gain. He does fall forward well.
M40	2	6	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Run	Power O	Haskins	10
Just a basic power but it eats the scrape alive as Onwenu(+1) pulls around and easily staples the shuffle end inside while McKeon(+0.5) kicks the scrape guy. Zip, first down, Haskins(+0.5) mostly dodges a safety for some YAC. Runyan(+1) and Bredeson(+0.5) helped clear the playside. RPS +1.
50	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Pass	Deep out	Sainristil	34
Flood concept finds a gap on the second level as PA sucks in everyone and nobody breaks out for this corner; this is wide wide open but better play is probably just wide open. Patterson with a easy throw he doesn’t mess up. (CA, 3, protection 2/2, RPS +2)
O16	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even	7.5	Pass	Fade	Collins	16
Pure zero coverage, Collins alone to field, go to work son. Patterson’s throw is okay but should be higher and farther in front; Collins(route+) won the route so thoroughly it doesn’t matter. (CA, 2, protection 1/1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 31-7, 11 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O47	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	PA cross	DPJ	20
Pistol, PA. Pocket excellent, Patterson finds DPJ confidently and fires it a couple yards behind DPJ, forcing a tough catch as he’s sliding down to the ground. (MA, 1, protection 2/2)
O27	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Run	Split zone	Wilson	27
Yeah this seems like an MA from McKeon(-2), who is the split blocker and goes for the standup DE Patterson is supposed to hold; Runyan(+2) chipped him and moved on to whack a LB. Bredeson(+1) picked off a blitzing LB; Wilson cuts back and finds a DT in the gap. Wilson(+3) ditches this guy as Runyan pancakes the LB and he bursts into the open field. Black(+1) got a useful block to complete the play as Wilson cuts back behind to score. RPS +1, the chip from Runyan should have gotten M through the line with an ND player spent outside the new force guy.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 38-7, 8 min 4th Q. Backups enter.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O45	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Run	Power O	Wilson	7
Power O against a scrape works again. Hayes(+1) chips and moves to second level. Spanellis(+1) pulls around and pins the shuffle end in. All(+0.5) gets a good kick. Wilson(+0.5) cuts behind a block efficiently. RPS +1.
O38	2	3	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over SAM	7	Pass	RPO slant	Jackson	8
Probably based more on presnap than anything as there’s a big pocket where the slant is. McCaffrey has to stand in against a guy who ripped past Spanellis(-1) too quickly whether it's run or pass and nails Jackson. (CA+, 3, RPO)
O30	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Run	Power O	Wilson	4
Same scrape vs power except MLB goes hard over the top of this to get a decent stop. Spanellis(+1) fires a DT way down the LOS and eliminates him. Filiaga(+0.5) gets a good pull and gets most of the shuffle end. Honigford doesn’t have time to get to the MLB but does harass him; Wilson(+0.5) cuts inside this well but there's’ no one for the backside LB.
O26	2	6	Shotgun twins	1	2	2	4-3 even	7.5	Pass	RPO slant	Sainristil	26
A slick RPO slant that McCaffrey nails; Sainristil(+3) rips through two tacklers and dodges a third to score, because speed in space? (CA, 3, RPO)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 45-7, 4 min 4th Q. Last drive not charted but here is a Turner thing.

/post-coital exhale

dude!

you're the one who put the image of Jimmy Clausen, gigolo, in my mind

well, you see… I was trying to… I mean… it's a very visual podcast?

anyway I'm going to be over here exhaling and no complaints from you

Fine.

…

Ready?

Ok.

So this was the culmination of a process that started with galumphing into the line uselessly against mooks who got to be +1 or even +2 in the box, evolved into a decent suite of related plays, and finally had Notre Dame linebackers chasing ghosts for most of the first half.

Things started off slowly, with Michigan getting three yards on each of their first three runs. These were an inside zone, a pin and pull, and a split zone. On the zone plays ND DTs were able to burrow in against doubles and stick there, leaving Michigan OL unable to leave lest the DT go eat a guy. Both DTs get skinny by turning their shoulders here and are able to hold up enough to make this a meh play:

Notre Dame DTs

Michigan gets a few in part because ND is scrape exchanging, which they'd do much of the day.

Step one towards a functional ground game: muck with what that DT is trying to do. Michigan's first successful run of the day was what I usually call "dart" around these parts. It's a zone play with one short pull that gets the effect of a reach block by blocking down on the DT:

C #51, RG #50

The ND LB level is shifted towards a potential split zone/arc action, which attacks the back of the line, and Michigan quickly flanks ND to the frontside, setting up short yardage. This is a little tweak but it gets Michigan some relatively easy blocks they have angles for.

So much of the moaning about the OL this year is because they've been put in a lot of situations where Michigan is mindlessly running inside zone over and over again—scroll through the Army table and just look at the "play" column if you don't believe me—and hoping that their talent will overwhelm. There's a difference between running a base play that has constraints attached to it (split zone and arc zone are a good base/constraint pair) and pulling the DeBord where you just do one thing a lot and hope to get good at it.

Harbaugh's run offense has always had a lot of stuff in it; this year's run offense was very basic until a shift a couple games ago to go back to a lot of last year's stuff. Dart had not been seen this year except maybe once, and it's a good constraint for split/arc, especially when the LBs are shifted to the backside of the formation.

In a similar vein, here's a plain old iso:

It's eight yards of plain old iso because the LB not in the gap is reading inside zone and just runs right into Ruiz.

Michigan's second chunk on the Haskins trap is remarkable from the endzone cam because the ND linebackers are hauling ass, reading the Bredeson pull and assuming Michigan is again running pin and pull. Neither guy at the second level actually has to touch an ND player to get a block:

ND LB level

That's one level of chasing ghosts; Haskins's second chunk is an entire different level. This is just a regular-ass zone play, and the middle linebacker reacts like the Mongol horde is hauling for the field:

ND MLB

This whole dang UFR is filled with notes to watch not Michigan players but the Notre Dame LB level, because Michigan's playcalling and sequencing had them running everywhere except the ball for much of the first half. The capper was a 2018 Wisconsin-esque arc keeper:

There's a scrape backer specifically tasked with handling this and he blows it, and then the DB further downfield blows it. This one is almost too good to be true and makes me wonder how much of this was the Michigan gameplan doing work and how much of it was Notre Dame LBs being pretty bad.

Certainly a lot of it was the gameplan, which has a vintage Harbaugh number of different run plays speckling the chart.

So Harbaugh/Warinner took everything back and now it's just that again?

No, not necessarily. The first big chunk run, as discussed in the game column, was a speed in space kind of win. Sainristil's flare screen threat eliminates one of ND's ILBs. This isn't a false step that gets you an advantage on a block you have to make. It's not an advantage where the ILB is still relevant to the play and can make a tackle downfield. It's Mike Sainristil getting the equivalent of the Spanellis block, 100% deleting a guy from the play:

ND ILB to bottom

That is what I wanted from speed in space. That is why this space spent half a season bitching about the lack of bubble screens. Michigan ran a butt-ton of them against PSU and the response to them by Notre Dame gets them the first of 6 20+ yard runs on the day. With the backside end unblocked and irrelevant this is now a 6 v 6 situation even if you include the ND cornerback.

I regret to inform that Urban Meyer is very good about talking about this stuff and noted Michigan's improvement against PSU in the This Makes A Lick Of Sense department:

Spread runs are about getting even numbers to run with. Michigan did this very successfully in this game after struggling to do so much of the year.

You still sound a little cheezed off.

I mean, I'm glad they got to this but for the second straight year they've had to change a bunch of stuff midseason. It was especially grating this year because they had a functional system already, only to 1) seemingly add to it with the orbit, 2) never actually give the ball to the orbit guy, 3) scrap the orbit guy entirely, and 4) only add back the rest of last year's rush offense before the Illinois game three weeks ago.

There were severe transition costs when there didn't have to be.

Notre Dame did slow Michigan down for a big chunk of the game after this stuff wore off, what happened there? It felt like they were trying to win 17-0.

I'm not sure if it wore off so much as Michigan started playing into the lunatic LB linebackers' hands.

Michigan started to slow down late in the first half when they started running no-frippery stretch plays. The ND linebackers, horrible in all ways prior to this, consistently whooped these plays because their tendency to haul ass for the sideline was the right approach. Michigan had a hard time trying to combo through DTs, so they'd release a guy downfield with no angle on a LB.

C #51

I feel like that's a violation of Never Turn Upfield and Michigan could have gotten a chunk if Ruiz shrugs and blocks the other LB, but that might be asking a lot.

This was not an outlier. Michigan's worst runs were almost all stretch. Michigan ran six; they gained –3, 0, 0, 0, 1, and 1 yards. Even one on which Ruiz and Onwenu successfully scooped a DT and reached him—almost always a chunk play when you do this—saw both Notre Dame linebackers get to the gap Michigan had just painstakingly carved out:

C #51, RG #50, ND LB level

Running stretch against small super fast guys who were firing to the sidelines all day was a bad move.

FWIW, there was something I called "split stretch" which saw a TE dive backside, taking a guy in man coverage with him on a passing down…

ND LB #21

…but that's a play with no LB level once you get rid of the guy in man on the TE and is a different beast when you're going up against a passing down D.

And then they blew up arcs? I thought those were invincible?

Nothing is invincible but you could be forgiven like feeling like arc was given Michigan's success rate prior to this game. The other major issue with Michigan's ground hiccups was Notre Dame scrape exchanging. This is an attempted arc where the DE is free to crash down on the back and the LB moving out dissuades a keep:

ND DE to top, ND LB to top

When Michigan tried to test this with pulls it didn't go well. The goal line one is a bit of a special case, but this one isn't cover zero and also results in a loss:

This is probably a yard or two if he hands off; neither option is good.

Well, what are you supposed to do about that?

Michigan did it, albeit a little later than you might hope. You go back to plain ol' power:

RG #50

On an exchange the DE runs himself into an easy seal for the pulling G and a linebacker flying outside is easy to kick out.

RG #72

That feels like a tweak Harbaugh or Warinner suggested to Gattis that didn't get used quite as quickly as you'd like.

Anyway, all this adds up to a solid RPS win.

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	Total	Notes
Runyan	10.5	0.5	10	Revenge!
Bredeson	10.5	6	4.5	Stretch issues, otherwise reliable.
Ruiz	13	2.5	10.5	This is the Ruiz we wanted preseason.
Onwenu	14	11	3	Too many mental errors.
Mayfield	7.5	1	6.5	Impressive given competition.
McKeon	4	2	2	Nice to have him back.
Eubanks	3	3	0	Not a lot of push.
All	1		1
Mason	3		3	Back in black.
Hayes	0.5		0.5	Bonus TE.
TOTAL	67	27	71%	Grades from McCaffrey drive: Filiaga +0.5, Spanellis +2, Hayes +1, not in total.
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Patterson	2	5	-3	Fumble.
McCaffrey				DNC
Charbonnet	4		4	No yards left out there.
Turner				DNC
Wilson	5		5	Woop turned into 27 yard TD
Milton
Haskins	8	0.5	7.5	Stiffarm city.
TOTAL	19	5	14	Number of missed cuts this year is minimal.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
DPJ	2		2
Collins
Black	1	2	-1	mistake on Patterson keeper
Bell	1		1
Johnson
Sainristil	3		3	TD out of nothin
Jackson
TOTAL	7	2	5	Bubbles make for actual numbers here.
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Protection	27	5	84%	Mayfield –4, Runyan –1.
RPS	20	14	+6	LB panic vs stretch LB hammering and scrapes.

 

Even with some extended frustrations against the scrape and ND's LBs on stretches that's a big W. If they'd cut out the reads down on the goal line it would get bigger. Zone read stuff doesn't work particularly well because in cover zero situations the D can send someone at the QB and still have an unblocked guy in the hole for the runner:

Honestly if you're going to be in the gun on the 2 this I'd rather just go wildcat and try to beef it in. Michigan got stuffed on their first possession down at the  goal line and had a first and goal at the two lose six yards because zone read stuff loses its advantage when you get inside the 5.

Bit of an inversion on the OL—usually the guards are leading the way.

Yes. In this game Ruiz came to play in a way he had not, both tackles had near-flawless days on the ground—Mayfield did have a few issues in pass pro—and the guards had solid, but not great days. Onwenu was Mouton of the week, combining his usual level of oomph with a lot of mental issues. These included a –3 on a pin and pull on which three guys pulled and Haskins had to cut back for a yard. Michigan tried another dart stretch on which he got his downblock and then left it to go hit a LB who is Ruiz's duty:

RG #50

One of the costs of moving more towards the Harbaugh end of the spectrum is more busts.

On the positive end of Onwenu's day, this looks impossible:

RG #50

That LB is hauling ass at the LOS and Onwenu doesn't' really have an angle, and then that guy just bounces off like he tried to run over a bouncy house.

Harbaugh said this was Ruiz's best game at Michigan and that they gave Mayfield their OL of the game award… yes?

They're both at least in the ballpark. I think Ruiz or Runyan had a better case for OL of the week than Mayfield largely because Mayfield gave up two minor pressures and one severe one—we forget but Patterson got sack-stripped by Mayfield's back on the last play before the half.

On the ground he was very good. Mayfield delivered some pop and was effective comboing through guys. If Onwenu can secure this better this is another chunk run:

RT #73

That kind of movement against a good player bodes well.

Speaking of movement, uh… saw some weird stuff.

What kind of weird stuff?

My brain struggled to process this but I vaguely remember some OL guy on twitter talking about a strange-but-effective blocking method when you've got one of these backside cutoff blocks on a stretch play, and intentionally or not I think Runyan pulled one off.

LT #75

Okay, so he's got a guy who's leaning on him as running downfield; he gives him a little yank and then pulls the chair, so that guy's momentum suddenly takes him a step upfield, and then Runyan steps around him to cut him off. I have googled for this unsuccessfully but I think twitter OL guy called this a "boomerang block." Please advise if anyone has heard of this.

Runyan did something similar on a later stretch, although this one seemed far less intentional:

LT #75

That gets the job done? I guess? That works for a nice gain if the DE is containing the QB.

Lookit those RB numbers! Are you all right? Did Jay Harbaugh put a subtle poison in your drink and now supplies the antidote every week only if the RBs come in with shiny numbers?

After I tallied it up I went back and double-checked because… I mean… yeah. RB minuses get issued when I think yards got left on the field and other than one somewhat dubious half-minus for Haskins I don't think there was a single instance of that. Meanwhile Michigan's guys are hammering dudes.

Particularly Haskins. I'm getting more on more on board with Haskins, feature-back or thereabouts. It should be noted that the guy he stiffarmed to the ground is a corner who swapped to the FS spot because of jet motion:

But if we can go back to the trap, the second half of this replay is an I Be Like Dang moment as he stiffarms Khalid Kareem in the chest and dude just goes over:

Okay then.

Haskins also has three or four instances where he shows good patience and picks through traffic. This trap doesn't trap the DT—he's wise—and Haskins gets hung up, but he calmly finds a lane and goes to get seven yards:

And he's weirdly tough to get down.

Good vision so far, hasn't fumbled, solid breakaway speed. He's a player.

Receivers?

The rain meant they got graded on a curve a bit.

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

	THIS WEEK					SEASON
Player	0	1	2	3		0	1	2	3
DPJ		2/3				5	2/6	4/4	14/15
Collins	3	0/1	1/1			1	2/4	5/6	14/15
Black						9	1/3	1/3	14/15
Bell	1	0/1	1/1			8	2/7	4/8	18/20
Johnson						1	1/1	1/1
Sainristil		1/1		2/3		2	1/1		3/4
Jackson				1/1			0/1		2/2
McKeon	1					5	0/1	1/2	5/5
Eubanks						4	0/2	5/6	13/14
All									1/1
Schoonmaker									2/2
Charbonnet						4		0/1	7/7
Turner						1			3/3
Mason							0/1
Haskins									1/1

Routes: Collins –+, Sainristil +

Helping your QB out looks like this:

For the record I don't get what the RPO aspect of this play is supposed to accomplish other than getting Patterson lit up.

Also:

Tough in any circumstance, but particularly in the conditions.

How about Sainristil?

I don't have anything piercing to say. Lookit that!

In addition to the touchdown he had a tough catch behind him in a driving rainstorm:

He had a drop on a better-thrown ball in a similar situation, also in said driving rainstorm. I don't know what it was that finally saw Sainristil break through to essentially equal snaps with the four guys who have been rotating; he looked like he belonged. Clearly.

There were only 12 attempts, but… Patterson?

Holding steady, for the most part.

SHEA PATTERSON

	Good				Neutral			Bad					Ovr
Game	DO	CA	SCR		PR	MA		BA	TA	IN	BR		DSR	PFF
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%	-

Obviously not much to take from so few targets except perhaps the two-week respite from lots of starred events ended.

Another bad weather game saw Patterson throw a lot of ducks with little or no spiral; there was also the dangerous overthrow to Bell that nearly got intercepted. I think it's safe to say that he's not a mudder. The only thing I really hold against him in the rain section of the game is the backwards pass, which was completely bonkers. As the rain tapered off and Michigan started throwing a little more we got another you-sacked-yourself play and the overthrow.

His only throw of real note was the corner route to DPJ which drew a PI; that was perfect. Patterson did demonstrate that if he gets a shuffle end that is a fine time to pull. This didn't quite work out because Eubanks didn't realize he needed to pick up the linebacker coming from the inside until it was too late but here's a good example:

That's Kareem, an athletic guy with an NFL future, and Patterson still beats him to the corner easily.

And McCaffrey?

A couple of RPO slants zipped in, one of them against heavy pressure:

The other was obviously the Sainristil one. Looks confident in his reads, not enough data yet.

Rabble rabble rabble about the refereeing?

There was really only one moment of controversy other than a potential hold against DPJ on the 49-yard Haskins run. That would be the PI in the endzone. For the record, I don't think the DPJ PI was much of a makeup call. He's running straight when contact is made that clearly changes his direction and then instead of hitting him in the chest it's a much tougher catch:

Can't just shove a guy when you're trailing and don't have your head around. It didn't look like much if you just look at the contact but given how DPJ goes from running straight to not doing that I think the flag is warranted.

Heroes?

The guy who put together the first half gameplan. The OL in general but particularly Ruiz and the tackles. All the running backs.

Maybe not so heroic?

Patterson had a very rough time until the rain subsided, with the fumbled snap, backwards throw, and near-INT. Michigan should have gotten off the stretch plays earlier, so minor ear-boxing for the guy who kept calling stretches.

What does it mean for Maryland and beyond?

Last year's run game is back and slightly enhanced. Traps! Pin and pull! Dart stuff! Iso! Linebackers running the exact wrong way a lot! This should have been what M was doing from the drop.

The running backs are a strength. Haskins emerging is a major surprise; Charbonnet looks good; I thought Turner again demonstrated his value late.

Runyan may have weird boomerang jujitsu. I'll look for more of this, I'm fascinated. In general this OL performance looked like we wanted it to preseason.

Mayfield is pretty good but will give up semi-pressures on the regular. It is a thing: 2-3 times a game a guy is going to get around at 9-10 yards and flush Patterson without touching him. This is opponent invariant so it's good news about Chase Young. That's the ticket.

Sainristil… hello. Touchdown is enticing as Michigan could use a hyper jitter guy to keep those dudes on the outside out there and not tackling RBs.

Collins armpunts are still (almost) undefeated. ND had a call specifically to bait a Collins punt and still panicked it into a first down. Another PI and a TD resulted from Collins fades.