FORMATION NOTES: Another game with a lot of absurd close-ups from both the director and the PSU defense.

That's every PSU defender within seven yards of the LOS, which is old school MSU aggression minus a yard. This happened late; prior to that PSU was going one high a lot. Michigan was their usual spread stuff aside from a couple of under center plays. One was an easy touchdown from inside the five. The second was the QB sneak, which was not as easy.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: At QB, McNamara, then Milton, then McNamara, then Milton. OL was Barnhart/Filiaga/Carpenter/Zinter/Stueber to start, and then Zinter went out. Filiaga flipped to right guard and Trevor Keegan came in.

No Charbonnet. Haskins again got a feature back level of snaps, with Corum and Evans chipping in. Mason got more run than he had recently. All and Eubanks got about equal snaps. Honigford got some bonus OL action.

WR pretty much the usual, except no Giles Jackson.

[After THE JUMP: hope you like hitches]

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even SAM	7	Pass	Hitch	Bell	8
PSU threatens the slot LB and then backs him out; McNamara is firing this in rhythm despite the frippery and finds an open Bell. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, McNamara +0.5)
M33	2	2	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Run	Duo	Haskins	5
Carpenter(+0.5) and Filiaga(+0.5) move out one DT; Zinter(-0.5) moved back by the other one; M fortunate as PSU LB blitzballs into wrong gap. Haskins(+0.5) makes a nice decisive cut.
M38	1	10	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even	6.5	Pass	Flash screen	Bell	5
Bell has no options as a safety at 8 yards is firing down and a LB who moved late is closing down. He has to go to the edge and does. Eubanks(+0.5) does an okay job on the corner. (CA, 3, screen, dot)
M43	2	5	Gun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 even SAM	7	Run	Jet sweep	Wilson	4
PSU hammering at this, no shot of seals. All(-0.5) gets rocked back and Wilson bends well around him. Cut inside this probably better but not certainly so. Schoonmaker(+0.5) flanked but does a good job to harass his guy; Wilson gets a few.
M47	3	1	Pistol offset twins	2	1	2	4-3 even	7	Run	Power O	Haskins	3
Zinter(+0.5) gets a bit of a freebie as DTs twist and his guy runs away but he shoves that guy and seamlessly moves into cutting off the other, possibly by accident. LB splits Stueber(-1) and Honigford as Stueber assumes he’s doubling the DT who stunts away; Filiaga(+0.5) picks that guy up and Haskins(+0.5) cuts behind that to convert.
50	1	10	Wildcat quads	2	0	3	4-3 even	8	Run	Split zone	Haskins	-1
McNamara motions out of the box and then sets up like he’s going to catch the ball on a double pass. PSU more or less 100% ignores this. S shoots into the box. PSU is firing run all the way. Zinter(-1) leaves a 3T early and that guy shoots inside but Haskins(-1) has an opportunity to cut back behind this to a potentially good gain as there’s not much edge back there.
M49	2	11	Gun 2TE twins	1	2	2	4-3 even	6.5	Pass	TE stick	All	8
Quick out to All, who’s running one of those TE option routes based on the alignment of the LB. McN leaves this bit inside and might cost All a couple YAC. (CA, 3, protection 1/1)
O43	3	3	Gun 2TE twins	1	2	2	4-3 over	7.5	Run	Split zone	Haskins	1
Zinter(-2) fired back two yards in the backfield; All picked off as he tries to get his split block. He tries his damndest but there’s just no way. Probably not a real read and it shows. Real difference between PSU runs and M runs.
O42	4	2	Gun empty trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 even	7	Pass	Drag	Johnson	Inc
Flare motion takes Corum from the boundary to the field; M tries to use that to open up guys underneath and PSU spikes this to death. McN is late but the guy he wants has a LB checking the mesh drag underneath him and when he clears the PSU DB is able to react and PBU.This is good from PSU and stands in contrast to M’s broken zones. But also Johnson and Bell are standing next to each other and Johnson should probably moving? (MA, 0, protection 1/1, McN push, Johnson route –)
Drive Notes: Turnover on downs, 0-7, 6 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M32	1	10	Pistol twins	2	1	2	4-3 over	6.5	Run	Power O	Haskins	59
This is a cutback available because Keegan(+2) destroys a DT slanting away from him. This guy ends up two yards downfield and almost on the opposite hash. Mason(+1) IDs a linebacker trying to dive inside and kicks. Barnhart(+0.5) harasses a linebacker; Carpenter(+0.5) shoves a guy moving across his face. Haskins(+2) sees the cutback lane and hits it, then ditches a safety; Sainristil(+0.5) gets in the way of a guy.
O9	1	G	Pistol TTB	2	1	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Insert iso	Haskins	4
Another insert iso featuring Bell as the insert guy. Blocking meh all around; Stueber gives some ground but steps around a DT slanting outside and does enough; Bell gives his all but is -30 pounds on the guy he’s blocking; Mason gets a kickout that’s dodgy but accomplished. Haskins(+0.5) picks to the iso hole with quick feet and maximizes this.
O5	2	G	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Pass	Waggle scramble	McNamara	3
PA, waggle, TE in flat, deeper guy covered. McN(+0.5) takes off wisely and gets more than halfway there, and gets hurt. (SCR, N/A, protection N/A, McN+0.5)
O2	3	G	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even	8	Run	Split zone	Haskins	2
Bell motions in as mini bonus TE late, and then runs back into the flat. PSU LB busts and runs next to a teammate, gap off the left, All(+0.5) gets a good kick and Haskins runs over the late-arriving LB.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-7, EO1Q. Milton in.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M38	1	10	Gun TTE	2	1	2	4-3 over	7.5	Run	Split zone	Evans	13
Filiaga(+1) on a double with Stueber; DT slants hard inside and Filiaga stops to cut him off when he looks up and sees the LB shooting the gap behind. Carpenter(+1) and Keegan(+0.5) double the other guy; Carpenter eventually pancakes the DT after little movement and Keegan goes for a LB. Evans(+0.5) zips through the gap.
O49	1	10	Pistol offset	2	1	2	4-3 even SAM	8	Run	Counter C	Evans	8
Carpenter(+1) pulls after the snap and reads a DE crashing inside hard; he stops to step around and seal. No edge as PSU bites on counter action. Johnson(-1) cracks but got too shallow and his guy runs around him. Replace guy almost runs by Mason(-0.5), who reads it late; Mason gets in a shove but the ankle tackle attempt on Evans(-0.5) is good. RPS +2.
O41	2	2	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Run	Inside zone	Evans	0
Keegan(-1) stood up and fired back. Stueber(-1) gets beat inside; dangerous game for PSU because a block there that gives Evans time to bounce is a chunk play. Eubanks(-1) airballs on the SAM. They meet at RB.
O41	3	2	Pistol offset twins	2	1	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Power O	Haskins	-1
Dumb as dirt no read handoff. Also not blocked well. Honigford(-1) driven back, picks off pulling Filiaga. Stueber(-1) kicks a DE and does not read LB blitz from guy lined up closer to LOS than usual, that guy goes and tackles. RPS -1, blitz worked, no QB threat.
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-7, 12 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M12	1	10	Gun empty	1	1	3	Dime over	5	Pass	Hitch	Bell	21
Milton wobbles an eight yard out to Bell. Bell(+2) is able to turn this into a chunk by running inside the CB and dodging a S. (CA, 3, protection 1/1)
M33	1	10	Gun trips	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Run	Dart draw	Corum	3
M pass sets, mostly, but Carpenter pulls around Keegan. Keegan(+1) moves out his DT, big gap. Carpenter(+0.5) goes for a LB who gives a ton of ground to dodge; Barnhart(+0.5) gets a good kick. Corum(-2) has a giant cutback lane with almost no one in it and runs into the junk. Woof. RPS +1.
M36	2	7	Gun trips	1	1	3	4-3 even	6.5	Pass	Hitch	Bell	Inc
A hitch to Bell to the field; way high, wobbly, insufficiently upfield. (IN, 0, protection 0/2) Barnhart(-2) gets swum inside on a stunt after Keegan correctly leaves for the looper.
M36	3	7	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Exotic	6	Pass	Hitch	Johnson	Inc
Milton turfs it. (IN, 0, protection 1/1, Milton -1)
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-7, 7 min 2nd Q. McNamara back in.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Gun quads	1	1	3	4-3 even	8	Pass	Bubble screen	Henning	6
Covered slot is TE All; bubble at Henning is moderately successful. Slot LB gets a combo block(!) from All and Bell(+0.5), who shoves the guy into a seal position. All(-0.5) leaves him to try to do something to a LB flowing out unimpeded and doesn’t. Sainristil(-1) loses his bock on the corner and that guy is able to tackle. RPS +1. (CA,3, screen, McN dot)
M31	2	4	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Pass	RPO hitch	Sainristil	Inc
Dunno what the trigger is here but a LB is on the balls of his feet and tipping blitz; this is still press coverage with not great upside on a hitch. McN hits it; Sainristil drops it. (CA, 3, RPO, McN+0.5, RPO not judged due to lack of win with it)
M31	3	4	Gun empty	1	1	3	3-3 stack	6.5	Pass	Hitch	Sainristil	Inc
Pore o vision so no idea about anything past the first five yards. Three man rush; hitch that is super covered, miss high and upfield that Sainristil can only stab and and anything else is PBUd. Take your pick. (IN, 0, protection 1/1, McN-1)
Drive Notes: Punt,7-14, 2 min 4th Q. M has a nine yard Haskins run with 10 seconds left in half, not charted.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M35	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over SAM	6	Run	Inside zone	Haskins	9
PSU slants to play. Filiaga(+1) gets a DT across his face and turns him out; gets shed upfield but did his job. Keegan(+0.5) does enough on the other DT. Carpenter(+0.5) turns around on second level to find LB after no resistance; Haskins(+0.5) plunges into gap.
M44	2	1	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even SAM	7	Run	Inside zone	Haskins	0
DT getting doubled gets skinny vs Keegan(-1) and able to fight through. Keegan goes to second level and might get enough if the first block worked but as DT pushes Haskins wide the angle to block LB goes away. Carpenter(-1) also could have stepped around here.
M44	3	1	Pistol offset twins	2	1	2	4-3 even	7.5	Run	Iso	Haskins	0
Carpenter(-2) sets left on an iso to the right. He ends up doubling a DT with no shot at stopping the first down. LB jets through and tackles.
M44	4	1	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	7.5	Run	Inside zone	Haskins	2
Keegan(-2) chucked to the ground and DT through immediately. Carpenter(-1) and Filiaga driven back on a double(!); Fliiaga does peel off on a charging LB. Haskins(+2) is somehow able to pick through this disaster and convert.
M46	1	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	Hitch	Johnson	13
Barnhart(-1) bulled back into McN. He stands in and delivers a field-side hitch to Johnson that can result in some YAC. (CA, 3, protection ½, McN+1)
O41	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Pass	RPO flare	Henning	-3
Henning orbit motion. McN seems to look at a slant first, which has a bracket and can’t be thrown, and then dumps it to the flare. He throws it well behind Henning; Henning catches it and gets tackled by a linebacker. (IN, 2, screen, RPO-, RPS -1, McN-1)
O44	2	13	Pistol offset twins	2	1	2	5-1 nickel	6.5	Pass	FB flat screen	Bell	6
Lots of motion results in Bell in the FB slot. PA, Bell dodges the split block, PSU not fooled. Bell(+1) dodges a linebacker for a solid gain, (CA, 3, screen, RPS -1)
O38	3	7	Gun empty tight	1	1	3	Dime even	5.5	Penalty	Offsides	N/A	5
Oops
O33	3	2	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	8	Run	Inside zone	Haskins	3
PSU puts a gap between the DT and DE to the field as M puts all their skill guys to the boundary. M does the minimum to get this done. Stueber has a kick that his guy comes off to attempt a tackle; DT doubled the whole play and stalemated but just a grinder here; Haskins(+0.5) able to YAC it out.
O30	1	10	Gun TTB	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Pass	Fade	Johnson	Inc
Fade at Johnson is OOB. Johnson(route+) had won over the top and is 3 yards inside the sideline, lot of opportunity here. (IN, 0, protection 1/1, McN-1.5)
O30	2	10	Gun 2TE twins	1	2	2	4-3 even	8.5	Pass	Waggle throwaway	N/A	Inc
Futile waggle attempt blanketed. (TA, 0, protection N/A, RPS -2)
O30	3	10	Gun empty tight	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Pass	Flare	Evans	8
Stueber(-2) beat clean around edge, checkdown, Evans(+1) does what he can. (CA, 3, protection 0/2, McN dot)
Drive Notes: FG(39), 10-17, 9 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M18	1	10	Pistol TTE	2	1	2	4-3 even	7	Pass	Flash screen	Bell	2
McN appears to look at off coverage and decide on this presnap; PSU stems late into a look that ends up with an unblocked guy tackling at the LOS. (CA, 3, screen, RPO-, McN-1)
M20	2	8	Gun twins	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Run	Insert iso	Haskins	3
Haskins cuts away from the intended hole as Filiaga(-1) is driven back and All has an awkward path to a LB who will meet him in the backfield. Cut a good idea. Carpenter(+1) gets some depth on a DT with Keegan(-1) doubling; Carpenter releases to a LB. Keegan releases to no one. Haskins(+0.5) chopped down by DT.
M23	3	5	Gun empty	1	1	3	Okie	6	Pass	Hitch	Evans	Inc
Evans motions out of backfield, much pointing from PSU. LB drops out under this and deflects it; Evans probably getting tackled on the catch anyway. (BA, 0, protection 1/1, RPS -1). All PSU players within seven yards of LOS.
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-17, 5 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M35	1	10	Gun twins	1	2	2	4-3 over	6.5	Pass	Hitch	Johnson	Inc
McN throws a dying duck that Johnson can’t dig out. (MA, 2, protection 1/1, McN -0.5)
M35	2	10	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	Fade	Henning	28
Fade is way short and inside; Henning makes the catch of the year to come over the back of the DB. (IN, 1, protection 1/1, McN -1)
O37	1	10	Pistol TTE tight	1	2	2	4-3 over	7.5	Pass	Dumpoff	Haskins	Inc
McN runs himself into trouble here. He has to move up in the pocket as Stueber(-1) is beat around the edge but Stueber’s attached and pushing; McN can step up and fire something but instead rolls to the sideline after moving up, exposing himself to another rusher. He tries to hit Haskins on an open dumpoff and rifles it way inside. (IN, 0, protection ½,McN -1)
O37	2	10	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even	7	Penalty	Offsides	N/A	1
Oops
O32	2	5	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Run	Pin and pull	Corum	21
Jet one way, PNP the other. Barnhart(+1) seals a DT who is really not fighting to flow at all. LB/S head outside hard, ruining the work of the DE who shot Eubanks(-1) back. Stueber(+1) climbs to second level and shoves a linebacker past the giant gap that Corum(+0.5) hits. More PSU error here than M killing it.
O11	1	10	Pistol offset	2	1	2	4-3 even	8	Run	Counter C	Corum	9
Carpenter(+1) again around and seals the DE inside. Johnson(+1) cracks a LB. Mason comes up and hits the same guy but with this crack happening in the backfield I get it. Corum(+1) on edge vs CB and outruns him until that guy gets in a shoestring. RPS +1.
O3	2	1	I-Form Big	2	2	1	4-3 over	9	Run	Down G	Haskins	3
Stueber(+2) ejects a DT from the premises; Eubanks(+1) stands up a linebacker. Filiaga(-1) gets ducked under dangerously by Haskins able to run by that. Carpenter(+1) gets a second level block that puts his guy in endzone. No one for Mason to hit. RPS +1.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 17-20, 13 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Pass	Hitch	Johnson	Inc
Ball sails to Tacopants. (IN, 0, protection 1/1, McN -1)
M25	2	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 even	8	Pass	Dumpoff	Haskins	Inc
Five man rush picked up. McN leaves good enough pocket and throws a covered dumpoff to Haskins into ground. Had one of two crossers for at least decent yardage. (IN, 0, protection 2/2, McN -1)
M25	3	10	Gun empty	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Penalty	Offsides	N/A	5
Oops
M30	3	5	Gun trips	1	1	3	3-3 stack	6	Run	Inside zone	Evans	14
Hey it’s not just us running stack and getting gashed. PSU DE dives inside of Stueber(+1), who handles it, no edge. Filiaga(+0.5) gets enough of a second level guy; Eubanks(+1) puts a CB in the bench.
M44	1	10	Gun empty	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	Drag	Bell	Inc
Down 10, 7 minutes left, running clock, snap at 5 seconds. Barnhart(-2) beat clean around edge and McN gets hit on throw, into ground. (PR, 0, protection 0/2)
M44	2	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	TE out	All	Inc
Six man rush picked up; McN again takes the shortest worst option, a very covered All. Winged wide. (IN, 0, protection 3/3, McN -1)
M44	3	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Sack	N/A	-10 (Pen +10)
BTN+ action here as McNamara is off screen on pass drop. When we come back he’s getting sack-stripped. CB blitz through clean. McNamara flush, stripped, PSU recovers, penalty on them for batting the ball to keep it in bounds. (PR, N/A, protection 0/2, TEAM -2)
O46	1	10	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Hitch	Johnson	Inc
DB sitting on this, McN doesn’t get it out fast enough, DB rushes in front of Johnson and deflects it; Johnson still has a shot at it but it’s real tough now. (BR, 1, protection 1/1, McN -1)
O46	2	10	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	5.5	Run	Zone read keeper	Milton	8
McN takes himself out, Milton back in. Keep read kept(!), ZR+, slot DB not paying attention to potential keep. Bell(+1) gets a good block; S comes up; kind of want Milton to run through this guy but he extends to sideline, stiffarm’s Bell’s guy, and gets what he would have anyway, probably. RPS +1
O38	3	2	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	6.5	Run	Inside zone	Haskins	1
Carpenter(-1) driven back, awkward cut behind. Eubanks(-1) can’t get across a DE slanting; Stueber(+1) and Filiiaga(+0.5) combo through a DT but charging LB submarines Filiaga.
O37	4	1	Ace 3-wide	1	1	3	Exotic	7	Run	QB sneak	Milton	0
Can’t even run a sneak right. LB inserts right over C. RPS -2.
Drive Notes: Turnover on downs, 17-27, 5 min 4th Q. O does not get ball back.

I notice a suspicious paucity of clips in the chart above!

Yeah, I only clipped 13 plays. I did over 40 for Rutgers, because I am insane. Clearly something other than apathy is factoring in here, because let me tell you I was maximally apathetic about the Rutgers game.

I mean… I have an idea. Hitches don't get clipped.

That's about the long and short of it. Plays need to be moderately interesting to get clipped, and a giant portion of Michigan's offense in a relatively short game were QBs flinging hitches, largely into the ground. There's nothing to say about those plays except "yep, that happened."

So that happened.

It did. Michigan alternated broken quarterbacks and couldn't run the ball with any consistency. We are all aware that McNamara went to the locker room for a shot and then removed himself late in the game after a series of inaccurate throws. I also believe that there's something broken with Milton, because even his completion was a wobbler and further attempts in what was previously his wheelhouse—driven throws to the field—were badly off:

Twitter jabronis have been acting like the above was commonplace. It was not. Milton has missed badly on shots downfield but that kind of stuff was almost unerringly on point even after his performance dropped off.

We have two broken quarterbacks and no one else who is viable?

Yes. Obviously having two QBs who are not two-star true freshmen is a roster management disaster.

By the third quarter Penn State was lining up everyone within seven yards of the LOS. This third down is a trifecta of issues based on the limited capabilities of an injured McNamara:

One: safeties super close to the LOS. Two: LB drops out and deflects this pass because it's predictable. Three: safety is likely to tackle on the catch if there is in fact a catch.

So there's not much else to say. We've become unfortunately familiar with what happens to offenses when the quarterback is nonfunctional: everything else gets shut off. This game featured two throws of more than yards, both of which were badly inaccurate fades. One got caught:

That's going in the Henning section of the preview, and that's why it got a clip.

FWIW, your QB charting:

CADE MCNAMARA

	Good				Neutral			Bad					Ovr			Reads
Game	DO	CA	SCR		PR	MA		BA	TA	IN	BR		DSR	GRADE!		RPOs	ZRs
Wisconsin	3	1								3			57%	+2
Rutgers	2++	20(6)			3	3				5	2		70%	+8.2		4/4	1/3
Penn State		9(4)	1		2	2		1		8(1)	1		35%	-8.2
Maryland
OSU
Bonus

JOE MILTON

	Good				Neutral			Bad					Ovr			Reads
Game	DO	CA	SCR		PR	MA		BA	TA	IN	BR		DSR	GRADE!		RPOs	ZRs
Minnesota		17(6)	1			1			1	2	1		75%	+4		2/2	2/2
MSU (Pending)
Indiana	7	19(2)++++			3	4				6**	4		71%	+10.7
Wisconsin	1	8(1)+				1		1	1*	4*	3*		47%	-7.2
Rutgers	2	3			3	1				3	1		56%	+0.5
Penn State		1								2			33%	-1
Maryland
OSU
Bonus

I'd put zero weight on this moving forward but there are the numbers.

 

 

 

 

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	Total	Notes
Barnhart	2		+2	Didn't really go off the left much.
Keegan	4	5	-1	Had a couple of mashers but also displayed his youth.
Carpenter	7	5	+2	Solid game considering level of comp.
Filiaga	4	2	+2	Flip to right didn't have a big impact.
Stueber	5	3	+2	Issues early, finished strong.
All	0.5	1	-0.5
Eubanks	2.5	3	-0.5	Improvement!
Schoonmaker	0.5		0.5
Mason	1	0.5	0.5	FWD: I am back
Honigford		1	-1
TOTAL	26.5	23	54%	Zinter +0.5 -3.5 in early time.
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Milton	1		1	kept! on a read!
McNamara	0.5		0.5	Scramble was correct but disastrous.
Charbonnet				DNP
Haskins	6.5	1	5.5	Best player?
Corum	1.5	2	-0.5	Missed another cut.
Evans	1.5	0.5	1
Turner				DNP
TOTAL	11	3.5	+7.5	Haskins still going for it.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Bell	4.5		4.5	Other candidate for team MVP.
Sainristil	0.5	1	-0.5
Wilson
Johnson	1	1	0
Jackson
Henning
McCurry
TOTAL	6	2	4	Not much here per usual.
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Protection	17	10	63%	Barnhart –5, Stueber –3, TEAM -2
RPS	7	7	0

I'd consider the blocking number an improvement on last week despite having a near-identical number because PSU is not Rutgers.

The OL did show a little bit of growth. Most issues on the ground were not mis-IDed blocks but getting pushed back at inopportune moments. Some awareness of what the defense is doing has crept into Michigan OL. Here Filiaga stops and walls off a DL when there's no one to block on the second level:

RG #66

Michigan had a nice wrinkle: a counter with Carpenter pulling. On both instances Carpenter saw a DE diving inside and stopped to seal him off:

C #58

 

Unfortunately there were various other things that didn't go as well; here Carpenter sets left on an iso off the right side and lets a linebacker through clean:

C #58

All thought of not hitting bottom with a new OL has been tossed away, in large part because Michigan was down four guys. For this makeshift collection of out-of-position dudes and redshirt freshman to hold on is okay.

Zinter versus Keegan takes?

Zinter's departure came after a thumb injury; he had some trouble before that. Here he gets blasted in the backfield to stymie an attempted third and short conversion:

RG #65

Keegan, on the other hand, was a major factor in the Haskins chunk run. He has a DT slanting across his face and almost shoots him to the opposite hash:

LG #77

Keegan also got major motion on a dart play on which Corum missed the giant cutback lane. He'd later give back those positives but he's got promise because when he gets it right he gets it very right.

It's too early to say anything about Zinter, a true freshman thrust onto the field during the pandemic season. 

Remember when you kept dinging the running backs and saying if they improved the ground game would be a lot better? I miss that now because Haskins keeps coming in for positives and you can't point to one thing and say "HEY FIX THAT WOULDYA?"

Haskins continued his work from last week, when he cut back profitably several times. This third and one conversion is sees a DL split a confused Michigan double; Haskins takes it away from the intended point of attack with no loss of momentum:

Good way to convert on short yardage, something Michigan had huge problems with. Haskins would later miraculously convert a fourth and one on which the blocking got detonated:

He can play.

In contrast, Corum flashed his speed again and had a couple nice cuts but also failed to hit a large pin and pull gap because he rotely followed the play design even as PSU overplayed it.

This is a read he should be able to make:

He did this last week, too. Still has some freshman to coach out. I expect he'll get there.

Got any stuff you clipped just to be mad about?

Michigan's first attempt at  fourth down saw a busted route package that saw Johnson and Bell stop a few yards away from each other:

WR #6 to bottom

That is not the intended route package. I assume that Johnson is supposed to keep moving so he clears the guy on the other drag route faster and runs away from the guy who eventually PBUs. So add WRs to the units that make critical mistakes that prevent Michigan from winning games.

Also another short yardage failure was a combination of suboptimal blocking and a PSU blitz that Michigan's lack of QB ground game made viable. This is again a no-read handoff on which no one on PSU has to check the quarterback:

I think that's done even if the frontside blocking goes better because PSU can spend that LB on the RB. Milton did have a successful pull in his second stint. So what are we doing here?

Preventing the broken QBs from being more broken?

But then you're running an active read? When you're not even trying to win the game? Michigan was down ten points halfway through the fourth and on one play on their final drive they ran the playclock down to five seconds before snapping the ball.

Wide receivers?

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

	THIS WEEK					SEASON
Player	0	1	2	3		0	1	2	3
Bell	2			4/4		10	0/1	1/2	19/19
Johnson	2	0/1	0/2	1/1		6	0/3	2/5	7/7
Sainristil	1			0/1		3	0/4	2/3	2/3
Jackson						4	1/2	2/4	5/5
Wilson						2	0/1	1/3	2/2
Henning		1/1	1/1	1/1		1	1/1	1/2	3/3
McCurry
Eubanks				1/1			0/2	2/2	7/7
All	1			1/1		2	1/2	0/1	6/8
Schoonmaker
Charbonnet									4/4
Haskins	2					2
Corum						1			4/4
Evans	1					1			6/6
Mason						1			2/2

Routes: Johnson +-

Meh.

Heroes?

Haskins. You could say the OL exceeded expectations a bit given the situation.

Maybe not so heroic?

Shoulder separations.

What does it mean for Maryland and beyond?

Nothing. Virtually all second string OL, QBs who cannot throw because they are injured, memory hole this immediately.