Formation Notes: Michigan didn’t have much respect for Indiana’s passing game. I called this Michigan formation “4-4 C” because Barrett is hanging out as a 4th LB in the C gap. The IU formation went in as Pistol 2TE Twins Covered. You’ll note it’s unbalanced (the TE next to the RT is covered and an ineligible receiver). They used that look, from Pistol, Gun, Empty, or Offset, a lot since QB Power is their base play.

Personnel was sometimes included in the OForm, e.g. “Empty 023” means zero RBs, 2 TEs and 3 WRs.

Substitution Notes: Michigan had Barrett at—for lack of a better term—Viper for much of this game, with Hill moving back to safety and Moten on the bench. Morris got a lot of the snaps at…well we have to call it Anchor. For nickel situations they went back to Hill in the slot and Ojabo at DE, so I’ve used 4-3 as the D-Pack for Barrett in the slot and 4-2-5 for Dax. User trueblueintexas has been keeping track of snap counts. I’m going to start including his numbers in the chart.

[After THE JUMP: Indiana does not want it in the face.]

Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun Wk Tight	4-3-4	6-3 Under	0	Run		Jet Sweep	Ross	1	-0.59
We both start tricky, Michigan by rolling down to a goal line, IU with a jet sweep that has post toss action. Ross(+2) isn't fooled even a little and Barrett(+1) set a solid edge.
O26	2nd	9	Pistol Wk Y-Flex	4-3-4	Nk Over	2	Run		Split Zone	Smith	4	-0.07
Morris(+1) isn't suspended :| but pops the TE at the hash so it has to go outside. Smith(-1, tackling-1) fought through a double, but whiffed on the tackle, slowing the RB enough for Hawkins(+1, tackling+1, RPS-1) to come down and hold this to a small gain despite Michigan not having a player until him for that gap.
O30	3rd	5	Empty Wk-Tight	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Run		QB Power F Fold	Smith	5	1.49
What did Alex tell you about 3rd and 5 you guys? Also what did I tell you about folds? Gray(-1) doesn't activate when his TE folds inside and there's a big gap to run through. Backside had a chance to blow it up, as Hinton(+2) went under a guard and then that guy just bear hugs from behind like he's preventing his boy from getting into a fight (Refs-2 and laughable). Hutchinson(+2) came inside his T to get McCulley's legs as Smith(+1) holds up to one double and ends up doubled by the puller. Colson(-2) is shifting around unsure of what to do as the RG pulls across his face and doesn't funnel that back to Moten so it was up to Smith and Hutchinson to hold this down.
O35	1st	10	Pistol 2TE Twins Covered	4-3-4	4-4 C	1	Run		Sprint Option	Colson	0	-1.01
Hutchinson(+3) ruins this play by setting a high edge and keeping the LT and the pitchman with him. Colson takes the freebie, could recognize it earlier and get a better shot.
O35	2nd	10	Gun Wk F Motion	4-2-5	Nk Even	1	Run		QB Draw Power	Ross	5	0.06
IU is cheating like mofos but gets and RPS+ win by running this away from a double blitz. LT lines up a yard in the backfield but this doesn't help because Smith(+2) hops up to the edge and throws him back—this dude can only collar-grab as Mazi collects the pulling guard. That still leaves an RB lead that Ross(+2) blows up and halts the QB's momentum. Colson and the blitzers clean up.
O40	3rd	5	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Even	2	Pass	4	TE Snag	Ross	6	2.01
Ross(-1, cov-1) has nowhere else to be but breaks too slowly on this sit route and gives up the 1st. PR-1 nobody got close before this is out.
O46	1st	10	Empty Z Jet	4-3-4	Nk Over	2	Pass	4	TE Flat	Colson	4	-0.16
Hutchinson carries the TE to the flat then attacks as the QB is lobbing it over him. I think Colson(-1, cover-1) should be breaking on this by now but Hutchinson could also have stayed on this guy as the QB is winding up to throw. TE drops it, refs(-2) call it complete. This sideline judge man.
50	2nd	6	Offset Twins	4-3-4	5-2 Odd	1	Play-Action	5	RB Flat	Hutchinson	11	1.20
This time it's on Hutchinson(-2, cov-2) who thinks he can bat this instead of covering the RB. He can't and they pay.
M39	1st	10	Offset Wk Y-Flex	4-3-4	Nk Over	2	Pass	4	RB Flat	Gray	Inc	-0.81
QB never looks for anything else. Ball is tossed over the RB's head before Gray(+1, cov+1, RPS+2) can light him up for a TFL. Sad Inc.
M39	2nd	10	Offset Wk Y-Flex	4-3-4	4-3 Even	1	RPO	5	TE Flat/ZR	Morris	Inc	-1.01
This is sad, IU. M blitzes Barrett and Dax blitz the frontside (RPS+2) so he has to keep and run away as fast as he can, which means there's no space between the QB and the TE out option so Morris(+1) covers both then gets a hit on the QB as he runs out of room.
M39	3rd	10	Empty 023	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	4	Fade	Hill	Inc	-2.04
Hutchinson comes around wide to get a little step-up and Ojabo(+2, PR+2) is left with only a TE that he leaves on the ground and pressures as the OL release way downfield. Throw is a...wow...slot fade whose route Hill(+2, Cov+3) is running and Moten nearly intercepts over the top. RPS+1 since Dax was set up with leverage and help over the top on this.
Drive Notes: Punt. 0-0. 10 min 1st Q. Settle in folks, it's going to be a late night.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O31	1st	10	Offset Twins	4-3-4	Nk Over	2	Play-Action	5	PA TE Flat	Hutchinson	7	0.68
LT. Hutchinson is maybe supposed to tag the TE and doesn't get out there. Gray(-1, cov-1) is dropping into a 3-deep and also not breaking on this so even a bad throw gets a soft 7 yards. RPS-1.
O38	2nd	3	Gun 2TE Twins Covered	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1	Run		Power Read	Morris	3	0.27
Morris(+1) forces a keep then gets into McCulley's legs but Hinton(-2) got blown out of the gap by a double (mostly Carpenter) so there's somewhere to fall forward despite Ross(+1) beating a block to stick at the marker.
O41	1st	10	Gun 2TE Twins Covered	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1	Run		Zone Read	Smith	2	-0.53
Hinton(+1) does better against the double this time (Carpenter is such a handful). Smith(+1) gets a double but the C leaves before he's taken care of. That was a freebie. Morris(-1) got blown out by a TE on the other side in the process of staying with this slant but Dax is back there because of the slant (RPS+1) so the RB tries to go frontside again and meets Smith.
O43	2nd	8	Gun 11 Trips	4-3-4	Nk Over	2	Run		QB Power	Colson	2(-12)	-1.73
M ready for it this time. Gray(+1) sets an edge vs the RB lead and Colson(+2) shoots up to tackle for minimal gain. Hutchinson(+1) picked up a holding from the TE who needlessly grabbed him as he tried to pursue.
O33	2nd	18	Gun 12 4w	4-2-5	Nk Under	2	Pass	4	Slip Screen	Colson	Inc	-0.27
Colson(+1, cov+1) reads the screen as the QB's arm goes back and jets forward so that there's a good chance he TFLs this if caught. It's not because Ojabo(+1, PR+1) came in so fast he forced the throw way upfield.
O33	3rd	18	Empty 11	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	4	Mesh	Hill	Inc	0.19
Hutchinson(+1, PR+1) coming through on a stunt so QB dumps it behind a crosser at the LOS who's lucky he reached out and tapped it or else Ross(+1) was going to INT. If it's accurate Dax(+1, cov+2) lights him up.
Drive Notes: Punt. 0-0. 6 min 1st Q. Crazy that IU has run 18 plays to M's three at this point and it already feels over.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O30	1st	10	Gun Ace Z Jet	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2	Play-Action	n/a	Rollout TA	NHG	Inc	-0.86
Everyone is well-covered (cov+3) with NHG(+1) and Gray(+1) in phase with their guys and Hawkins over this while Hutchinson(+1, PR+1) applies pressure. Throwaway
O30	2nd	10	Gin Twins	4-3-4	4-3 Split	1	Run		ZR Stretch	Ross	6	0.21
Ross(-1, RPS-1) shoots into Carpenter and gets deposited in the backfield. That's good for a little gap, then NHG(-1) gets caught on the wrong side of the other G's release. Hutchinson(+2) breaks off and tackles for a minimal gain that could have been really ugly.
O36	3rd	4	Empty Wk-Tight	4-2-5	Nk Under	1	Penalty		False Start	Carpenter	-5	-0.59
RB goes outside and whispers something to Fryfogle. Agent Carpenter(+1) jumps to cancel whatever that was.
O31	3rd	9	Empty 023	4-2-5	Nk Under	1	Pass	4	Sack Strip	Ojabo	-7	-4.38
Ojabo(+3, PR+3) puts the RT in a blender, spinning inside for the strip sack. Hutchinson(+1) was also coming in and getting held. Michigan recovers. Replay.
Drive Notes: Fumble. 3-0. 13 min 2nd Q. Gemon Green injured his shoulder on this play, leaves the game.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Offset 2TE Twins Covered	4-3-4	Nk Over C	1	Pass	6	RB Flare	Colson	Inc	-0.70
There's a window to throw this though Colson(+1) is coming across at speed. McCulley pulls it down. This is what the kids refer to as a bad idea. For one Hutchinson(+1) is around his RT and two Ross(+1, PR+2) is through the LG and about to thundersack first. QB chucks it and takes a lick. Split second away from Aidan stripping it.
O25	2nd	10	Gun Twins	4-3-4	Nk Under	2	Play-Action	4	PA Durham	Gray	13	1.83
No PR-1 because everyone believed the PA off the QB draw look. Colson(-1) doesn't carry the TE long enough with eyes for the flat RB who's not going to do much on 2nd and 10, and Gray(-1, cov-2) is bracketing the seam TE two steps too long instead of breaking, opening a comfy zone the QB can hit, if low. I don't want to imagine this guy's Hennechart.
O38	1st	10	Wildcat Empty	4-3-4	4-3 Split	2	Tricky	4	Reverse Backshoulder Fade	Barrett	20	1.66
RB under center is a sign it's a trick. He tosses to the end-around who tosses back to the QB who throws to his TE that Barrett(-1, cov+1) was covering the whole time and turns around in time to intercept, but weirdly he doesn't break on the ball when it comes, letting the TE go up, then trying to swipe it from below, then above, and finally tackles. Minus to the player plus to the coverage.
M42	1st	10	Gun Wk F Motion	4-3-4	Nk Over	2	Play-Action	n/a	PA Bubble	Barrett	8	0.67
Don't think it's an RPO with the QB Draw but may be a presnap read. RPS-1 as they catch Barrett well inside the numbers and Hutchinson diving inside the puller. Gray(-0.5) gets blocked on the sideline so it gets a few extra.
M34	2nd	2	Offset 12 Stacks	4-3-4	Nk Over	2	Run		ZR Belly	Colson	2	-0.25
They read Hutchinson and double Jeter(+0.5) who keeps them occupied enough for Ross(+1) to shoot in but Colson(-1 ) hesitates behind that and lets them get the 1st down.
M32	1st	10	Offset 12 Trips	4-3-4	Nk Over	2	Run		Split Zone	Ross	3	-0.19
Hutchinson(+1) shoves a TE into the flow guy to take out both and force this inside a gap. Jeter(+0.5) is eating a double here but getting moved a lot but leaves Ross(-0.5) free to shoot up. He waits instead and that's a few yards.
M29	2nd	7	Empty 023 Z Orbit	4-3-4	Nk Even	2	RPO		QB Power/Bubble	Smith	3	-0.21
This reads Dax then QB powers. Hutchinson(+2) throws off the TE on him and puts the puller inside the hash. Smith(+1) has his C under control and collects the RB as he tries to hit up a gap Colson(-0.5) is waiting a little too long to attack.
M26	3rd	4	Gun 12 4w	4-3-4	Nk Under	1	RPO		QB Power/Hitch	Colson	24	2.06
Here's the play that makes this drive that's been diddling down the field until now. McCulley reads a hitch that Gray(+1, cov+1) has—the OL are blocking 5 yards downfield where they've put Smith(-2) and caught Ross. Colson(-2) should use this as his cue to shoot into the RB instead of catching him. Morris(+1, tackling-1) had a good pass rush but can't bring the QB down and Hinton gets run by after getting by the C. Colson throws off the RB but gets edged. Then Turner(-1) and Moten(-1, tackling-2) bounce off and this is heading to the endzone when Dax Hill(+1, tackling+2) steps up and upends McCulley at the 2.
M2	1st	Goal	Offset Str	4-3-4	Goal Line	NA	Run		ZR Belly	Hutchinson	1	-0.69
RPS+1 they're ready for Belly with Hutchinson(+2) outside the TE who wants to double. He blows that TE inside so far this has to bounce and Hill(+1) is there to help stuff.
M1	2nd	Goal	PistolAce Jet	4-3-4	Goal Line	NA	Run		Dbl Split Zone	Whittley	1	1.85
Dangerous as they chop Smith while he's engaged up top. Whittley(-1) gets shoved down the line and no amount of Hutchinson(+1) squeezing from behind can fix that.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 10-7. 8 min 2nd Q. Nobody here is nervous.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun Twins	4-3-4	Nk Over	2	Run		Power Read	Smith	2	-0.35
Michigan pulls the old Don Brown slant and stunt on this power attempt, bringing the viper off the edge and stunting the DTs to deliver Smith unblocked to the puller (RPS+2). Hutchinson(+1) shuffled but forced a give and got into the QB's legs so he's got this for a TFL even if Smith doesn't.
O27	2nd	8	Offset 2TE Twins Covered	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1	RPO		ZR/TE Bubble	NHG	10	1.38
Smith(+1) stands up to a double, NHG(-2) is free and runs himself into the same double when that's Ross's gap. It's unbalanced so Gray(-1) should be slamming down on run action with no pass threats to that side, but he's dropping and thus allows a 10-yard run. Fans want a hold for the RT on Ojabo but that's a rubbin's racing kind of call I wouldn't expect to get flagged on either team.
O37	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-3-4	Nk Split	2	Pass	4	Coverage Sack	Upshaw	-2	-1.40
Smith(+1) and Upshaw(+1, PR+2) versus the LT and RB both get push into the pocket. 7-man protection means just three in coverage and Hawkins(+1) and Gray(+1), cov+2 are over and dominating two of those routes. McCulley tries to sneak out and Mazi/Taylor sack.
O35	2nd	12	Gun Twins	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Run		ZR Stretch	Hinton	1	-0.43
Teach tape defense of OZ. Ojabo(+1) gets his blocker turned and can use that to set an edge. RB cuts and Hinton(+1) owns his gap.
O36	3rd	11	Empty 023	4-2-5	Nk Split	1	Pass	5	Comeback	Turner	Inc	-0.13
Hutchinson(-1) decides to go inside when there's a stunt on the other side, a bad gamble that allows McCulley to roll to the field. Ojabo(+1, PR+1) accelerates to LB speed to force a throw that's low on a guy Turner(+2, cov+2) is all over, knocking the ball out on the backswing of a perfectly executed M.Bison psycho crusher.
Drive Notes: Punt. 17-7. 4 min 2nd Q. I can't believe we're not at the half yet.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O11	1st	10	Gun 2TE Twins Covered	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1	Run		Duo	Ross	7	0.39
1:13. Smith(+1) stands up to a double but Ross(-1, tackling-1) is slow to fill and lets the RB spin through for a decent gain.
O18	2nd	3	Gun 2TE Twins Covered	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1	Run		Duo	Ojabo	2	0.94
0:40 so not really trying. Smith(+1) again stands up his double and Ojabo(+2) two-gaps the edge, dissuading a cut inside the T then tackling behind the LOS outside. IU has a 3rd down and short on their 20 and M has two timeouts so teams agree to head to halftime.
Drive Notes: EoH. 17-7.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O33	1st	10	Offset Ace Twins	4-3-4	Nk Splits	2	Pass	5	TE Out	Colson	Inc	-0.96
Bring five but Upshaw(-1) and Ross(-1, PR-2) are stonewalled and there's lots of time. McCulley bails his clean pocket anyway and overthrows a guy Colson(-2, cov-2) didn't get enough depth on.
O33	2nd	10	Pistol Wk Y-Flex	4-3-4	Nk Under	2	Play-Action	3	Flood	Colson	Inc	-0.54
Levels read that's well-covered especially Colson(+1, Cov+3) who's taking away two of them until help arrives while Hutchinson hangs in the flat (RPS+1). Upshaw(+0.5, PR-1) finally breaks through and pursues, and if he's any faster this is a strip-sack; as it is he falls off the QB who chucks it OOB. Refs take pity and say it was past the LOS. Probably wasn't.
O33	3rd	10	Empty 023	4-2-5	Nk Even	2	Pass		Scramble	Hinton	4	-0.07
Hutchinson(+2, PR+2) goes inside the LT and all the held (refs-2). That chases McCulley from the pocket and Hinton(+2) gets on his horse, pursuing OOB after a minimal gain. Refs do make a good non-call as McCulley was trying to tiptoe down the sideline as Hinton gives him a shove that sends the QB into the bench--announcers note that kind of thing gets flagged often. Good coverage by Gray(+1, cov+2)
Drive Notes: Punt. 17-7. 11 min 3rd Q. If the plan was to get the NFL to take Taylor Upshaw instead it's not working.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Offset Twins	4-3-4	Nk Splits	1	RPO		IZ/TE Flat	NHG	3	-0.30
M slants Smith inside and brings Ross(+1) into the B gap. He gets by the G then gets held (refs-1) which allows the RB to cut by him into a C gap that NHG(-0.5) was slow replacing.
O28	2nd	7	Offset Wk Y-Motion	4-3-4	Nk Splits	1	Run		Split Zone	Ross	5	0.08
Hinton(+1, RPS+1) steps around a double and puts the crosser in the RB's path. NHG(-1, tackling-1) slanted inside the LT but misssed his tackle. Ross(-1) is late replacing him and Hill(-0.5) got stuck on a block so this gets a few yards.
O33	3rd	2	Offset 2TE Twins Covered	4-3-4	Double Eagle	1	Run		QB Dive	Barrett	0	-0.70
The C snaps it on one clap and nobody else is ready to go. Uh, RPS+1? Smith(+1) beats single blocking and gets the RB "lead" blocker, NHG(-1) got his nose in there but gets pancaked by the LG. Hutchinson(+1) two-gaps the LT to close the gap behind that, then Barrett(+2) reads the bounce and beats the QB to the sideline to bring up 4th down. Hawkins(+1) is there to help. It happens on the M sideline which is already bulging here because of the tent and players and coaches come on the field to celebrate, which earns a sideline warning.
Drive Notes: Punt. 20-7. 4 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Offset Twins	4-3-4	Nk Over	2	Pass	4	Scramble	Hill	6	0.33
Upshaw(-1) goes way too high around and Smith(-1, PR-2) gets out of his lane which opens up a scramble. It looks like McCulley will get most of the 1st down straight ahead but he tries to go around Barrett and finds Dax Hill(+2) shooting up like a laser to bring this down after just a gain of six. Why did you try that? Edging Dax Hill I mean? You shouldn't have tried that.
O31	2nd	4	Pistol 2TE Twins Covered	4-3-4	Nk Even	1	Play-Action	5	Throwaway	Colson	Inc	-0.87
Michigan brings five with no concern for the PA as Colson(+1) jets untouched (RPS+2) through the gap left by the puller. McCulley backs up to the 14 and throws it nowhere near the LOS or the TE coming back but they take pity on the kid and don't give him the grounding, claiming he was out of the pocket (he wasn't--he was in between the hash marks, refs-2)
O31	3rd	4	Empty 12 Twins+	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2	Run		QB Power F Fold	Turner	1	-0.39
Michigan finally listens to Alex, blitzing Turner(+1, RPS+2) at the QB power run and pulling him down in the backfield with help from Smith(+2) who threw his blocker to the ground and set up.
Drive Notes: Punt. 23-7. Eo3Q. As in Indiana wants it not in the face so bad they let 37 seconds tick off and go to the quarter break.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Empty 023 Trips	4-3-4	Nk Even	2	Pass	4	TE Out	Colson	Inc	-0.70
Trying to hit the flat under Cov3 can't tell if it would be open because the throw sucks.
O25	2nd	10	Gun Wk F Motion	4-3-4	Nk Over	1	Play-Action	4	Bubble	Moten	8	0.48
Moten(-1) is late on a rotation and thus late to get to this. Gray(-1) also doesn’t contest the WR's block. Colson(+1) fights through his to knock OOB.
O33	3rd	2	Gun Wk	4-3-4	Nk Split	1	RPO		Dive/TE Bubble	Upshaw	-2	-0.70
Lol. The QB barely reads his RPO and doesn't see Barrett is blitzing. The RT does but Carpenter doesn't hear him, doubling Jeter instead. Taylor Upshaw(+1, RPS+3) is like "Well that's a freebie.")
Drive Notes: Punt. 29-7. 13 min 4th Q. It's so much funnier when someone else does it.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O42	1st	10	Gun Twins		Nk Split	2	Run		ZR Stretch	Smith	5	0.11
Double on Hutchinson, Smith(-0.5) and NHG(-0.5) leave a little bit too much gap between them and the RB slashes through for an okay gain.
O47	2nd	5	Gun Twins	4-3-4	4-3 Split	1	Run		Zone Read	Ross	2	-0.71
M leaves a huge split between Hinton at 0-tech and Upshaw outside two TEs (9-tech). Ross(+2) impacts the RT, gets off, and tackles for no gain
O49	3rd	3	Gun 2TE Twins Covered	4-3-4	4-3 Split	1	Play-Action	5	QB Counter Pop Pass	NHG	10	1.92
Two pullers so no reason for NHG(-1, cov-2) to be staying inside. Pop pass works (RPS-2) as a screen. IU's first 1st down in 2 quarters.
M41	1st	10	Gun Twins	4-3-4	Nk Split	2	Run		ZR Stretch	Ross	4	-0.10
Slant helps the DL but Ross(-1) is late getting to his gap. Hutchinson(+1) sets an edge, Jeter(-1) went downfield a bit, Upshaw, the guy who got read, finally collects.
M37	2nd	6	Gun Twins	4-3-4	Nk Split B	1	Run		Power Read	Hutchinson	7	0.52
Hutchinson(-2) wants to take away the keep real bad and gives up the edge. Colson(+0.5) speedraces to stop this close to the marker.
M30	1st	10	Ace Trips Tight	4-3-4	5-2 Over	1	Tricky		RB Pass	Hutchinson	Inc	-0.56
Under center is a tipoff it's a trick play. Also a QB in the backfield. They toss it to him and he floats it to McCulley, who's blanketed by [checks notes] Hutchinson(+2, cov+2) who breaks it up.
M30	2nd	10	Gun 2TE Twins Covered	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1	Play-Action	4	PA RB Flare	Hutchinson	Inc	-0.76
Hutchinson(+2, PR+2) slows for a second on PA then flies around the LT who barely puts an arm out. Who cares at this point, right guy? Upshaw(+1) also beats his guy. Hutchinson impacts the sold down the river McCulley as he's throwing it and it hits the turf near the RB, who was kind of open under Barrett(-1, cov-1). Barrett then picks up the obvious forward pass they haven't blown dead and we all stand in the cold (well, you did I was in the Boring Box) while he returns a ball everyone knows is getting overturned. It is.
M30	3rd	10	Empty Trips Z Orbit	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Pass	4.5	TE Screen	Hinton	1	-0.65
Blitz leaves two guys on the edge for the screen (RPS+2) but Hinton(-1, tackling-1) can't get Hendershot down and Ojabo(-1) is hanging 5 yards back where he can't help. TE escapes inside then triest to edge Dax Hill(+2) who shoots past the lead blocker and ends this at the LOS.
M29	4th	9	Empty Trips	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	4	Fly	Gray	0	-3.43
Takes a shot at Gray(+2, cov+2) who's step for step the whole way with Fryfogle. Pass is inside and low so Gray just knocks it down and Fry never had a chance. Sad team.
Drive Notes: Turnover on Downs. 29-7. 6 min 4th Q. Last drive is backups and they miss the start of one play and we should have gone home hours ago and basketball is about to start as I chart this. Next CB in is McBurrows if you're wondering. End of charting. Let's go watch basketball.

There’s something very familiar about all this.

When did you realize?

After you said Michigan was using an anchor and a viper, before you said they were in cover 1 all day, leaving the same personnel on the field except in dime, stunting on passing downs, and only bringing out Ojabo in a Josh Uche role.

They solved their problems with regression!

Good one. Question: Why are we going back to literally the Don Brown defense when we brought in Macdonald to be Not Don Brown?

That’s a presser question, not a UFR one, but if I had to guess it was 10% reacting to ways Michigan State exposed the one-linebacker/switch all the DTs stuff they were doing, and 90% that going full “Dr. Blitz” was the right move against against a moribund offense that mostly wants to run power and options, and never throws unless they absolutely must.

If you recall two coordinator changes ago, one of the reasons we were excited about Don Brown was D.J. Durkin got destroyed by Ohio State’s power read option game. That happened because his frontside safety was lining up in the parking lot. Brown’s promise was to always have an edge—namely the Viper—and defensive linemen who could execute hard stuff on the fly to ruin the blocking angles of pullers trying to pry open a gap in a stretched out edge.

This play gets blown up by Hutchinson covering both sides of the read, but the interesting thing is the backside (bottom), where Upshaw hops over a gap late, Smith stunts around Hinton, and they backfill by bringing in Michael Barrett.

I’m making whooshing noises that Rivals’ Adam Schnepp should transliterate.

The reason Hutch can get to the QB is the intended lane has an unblocked Smith in it, and that was drawn up. It’s the exact Don Brown response to the exact play that Urban Meyer rolled to a national title.

So was it was a one-off, or are we going back to Vipers and Anchors?

Since that version of Ohio State is gone now, I think it’s safe to assume Macdonald’s plan for The Game won’t be copying the predecessor who was let go for getting consistently torched against Ohio State.

Except last year.

Dan Villari’s hypothetical career day excepted. What I can say is it makes sense as a one-off. Remember, Brown’s defense would be elite all season until it met teams that could exploit player mismatches. If we use 2018 Indiana as the prelude to the program-disintegrating Ohio State game, you will note that Tom Allen’s second team had some key attributes they could bring to bear:

1. An interior OL that could stand up to Michigan’s DTs in single blocks while they doubled the DEs (until their T injured Winovich on a dirty play).
2. Little fast receivers like Luke Timian and Reese Taylor who were going to create separation on a majority of footraces versus Brandon Watson.
3. An accurate quarterback in Peyton Ramsey who could hit those WRs in stride over interior pressure.
4. A bowling ball RB in Stevie Scott who could turn 3-yard stuffs into 5-yard chain-movers.

Let’s compare that to the attributes that stand out most about 2021 Indiana’s offense at this point in the season:

1. Ty Fryfogle is still around.
2. Our true freshman QB who was a basketball player last year and has no idea what’s going on can run a little.
3. Zach Carpenter can move people.
4. We gon’ die.

There’s no Whop Philyor or anything like him, their interior OL is shit, and McCulley can hit water 25% of the time he falls out of a boat, and also doesn’t know what a boat is. Also Michigan held IU to 20 points and won in 2018. When you outmatch your opponent at every level, a system that’s all about winning matchups is just good strategy. I mean, this drive list:

First half:

• 75-yard touchdown drive.
• Scripted dinky 11 plays for 36 yards, and a punt from Michigan territory.
• Five-and-outs of 13, 11, and 2 yards.
• Three-and-sack strip fumble on the IU 31.
• Two plays and let the clock run out.

Second half:

• 9-play, 29-yard drive that ended on downs.
• Five three-and-outs.

If we’re going to keep the Dr. Blitz stuff in the garage for these situations, I’m all for it. Remember the 42-7 game against #14 Penn State when we broke Tommy Stevens? Good times.

So Michigan won because Indiana is crap. Is our 8-1 team, top-ten team ever going to win a game because they’re good?

Being able to swap systems from a 5-1 amoeba to a hybrid 4-3 in a week isn’t nothing. To these aged eyes, boy, this is what good looks like. From the drop Michigan was doing things that say “We don’t respect you; try to punish us for this if you wish” and Indiana was saying “No, you are right not to respect us because we suck.”

They are a beaten, broken, deflated team that half-assedly does super-cheaty things in the hopes they won’t be the guy who gets embarrassed this time. Except the cheaty things work against them. They set the LT two yards behind the line of scrimmage then pulled that way and lost the puller to the guy invited to set a high edge. They released linemen five yards downfield on a fade into double coverage while leaving David Ojabo in the care of a tight end.

I gives me no pleasure that Nick Sheridan is not (yet anyhow) very good at this, though Michigan in the latter half of the 2000s was probably the worst place in the country to have gotten an education on the cheaper side of football.

 

Did they try to do anything?

Yeah, Indiana basically had two things they thought they could do. One was running QB power to the boundary with some kind of pre- or post-snap read to pull the OLB (Hutchinson, ever time) away from the edge and overwhelm Michigan’s front with one more blocker than we had run defenders. Sometimes they inserted a TE to add a gap inside, sometimes not.

The second was to option off Aidan Hutchinson as much as humanly possible. Indiana routinely put threats to Hutchinson’s side to make him play outside linebacker in the flats instead of the defensive end role at which he’s the best in the country. That option could be an RPO too. Hutchinson tried to play both sides of that by cutting off the pass until the QB was close enough to block. He misjudged McCulley’s height though and they got some short bloops to the flat out of it.

(Also that wasn’t a catch.)

Michigan’s answer to that was to have Hutchinson on the boundary side, thus constricting how much space Indiana would have to do that. This did have the effect of ruining anything speed-based to the outside, since Hutchinson could set an edge for the QB and push the pitch-man so high and to the sideline that he was no longer an option, effectively playing both sides.

But for the dinks that’s not really an “answer” so much as a mitigation strategy. They were still saying “Look, you outnumber us on this side, so come at it if you wish,” and overwhelming the field with Barrett and whoever was in at Anchor. This left Indiana with the dinks.

Hutchinson contributed to the Hoosiers’ hell of course, wrecking what he could and refusing to be baited into selling out for anything. They even tried to hit him up the seam with a pass back to the quarterback, and Hutchinson was like “okay if you want me to play cornerback too.”

Indiana wasn’t wholly ignoring the backside; the problem was Michigan was an extra player up to the field all game, and using that extra player to be a total dick to Indiana’s running game. Here’s what happened when they tried to change that tendency with a zone read meant to hit backside:

On one hand, yes, this is an offensive coordinator getting his ass handed to him. On the other, you’ve got no semblance of a passing game because you’re playing the equivalent of Isaiah Barnes at quarterback, so “Run the hell away from that” isn’t the worst idea in the world. I mean, what are you going to do, run towards it?

See? That didn’t work.

The way out of this for a normal college offense is to pass, but Indiana wasn’t about to have McCulley sit back and read a defense. Even the anti-Don Brown play they did have—a couple of crossing routes under a couple of fades—was run barely past the line of scrimmage, and met linebackers prepared for it. And they couldn’t risk passing downs, because once Barrett came off for Moten and Upshaw left the field for Ojabo, the best play Indiana had was to get rid of it and put their faith in Big Ten replay.

That play was the median Expected Points Added play of the game, FYI. Half of the outcomes were worse. This was defense on Rookie mode, and Macdonald chose the defense that generally dominates that setting. This all led to a big RPS day, which was only a bit unfair because of the trying circumstances Indiana faced.

Would you like to represent that in some form of organized data?

With pleasure.

Chart.

Defensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Snaps	Notes
Hinton	7	3	+4	34	Showed some wheels, needs more wiggle.
Smith	12	4.5	+7.5	32	Matters which OL he goes against. Next year breakout.
Jenkins				0	DNP
Jeter	1	1	0	25	In there plenty, plenty quiet.
Welschof				13	DNC
Whittley		1	-1	3	One (bad) goal line snap.
Speight			0	3	Got in late.
Hutchinson	27	5	+22	57	The usual plus a lot of coverage grades.
Morris	4	1	+3	32	Don Brown anchor got to ply his trade.
Ojabo	10	1	+9	17	Uche role: Few snaps, much destruction.
Harrell				0	DNP
Upshaw	3.5	2	+1.5	23	Don Brown anchor was a big downgrade in pass rush.
McGregor				0	DNP
Newburg				2	DNC
TOTAL	64.5	18.5	+46	58	Indiana OL is poop, Michigan DL is just plain good.
Linebacker
Player	+	-	T	Snaps	Notes
Ross	11	6.5	+4.5	58	Great early, seemed to lose interest with the rest of us.
Colson	7.5	9.5	-2	44	Oh the speed. Oh the mistakes. Oh the potential.
Hill-Green	1	7	-6	17	Bad game, routinely wasn’t finding his gap on pulls.
Mullings			0	3	DNC
Barrett	3	2	+1	45	His day! Spent it mostly covering slots IU ignored.
Velazquez				0	DNP
Solomon				0	DNP
TOTAL	22.5	25	-2.5	58	Needed to solve more problems with aggression.
Secondary
Player	+	-	T	Snaps	Notes
Hill	8	0.5	+7.5	51	Got to play safety with Barrett at nickel. Is pretty good at it.
Hawkins	3	0	+3	49	Safe and boring.
Moten	0	2	-2	17	Barrett got his snaps, two bad events.
Kolesar				0	DNP
Moore				19	DNC
Paige				1	DNC
Gray	8	5.5	+2.5	61	Unbeaten in coverage, uncharacteristically passive in run defense.
Turner	3	1	+2	50	Left alone until he finally blitzed.
Gem.Green				4	Get well soon.
McBurrows				7	DNC.
TOTAL	22	9	+13	58	Like taking candy from a small forward.
Metrics
Pressure	17	7	+10	-	Enjoy it while it lasts.
Coverage	25	11	+14	-	Three guys to cover, did so until it got boring.
Tackling	3	7	-4	-	He was a *wily* small forward, okay?!
RPS	22	6	+16	-	Was not expecting the Don Brown.

Are these defensive tackles who keep grading out well in the positive on an our 8-1, top-ten team good, or are you going to say this offensive line was too butt to grade them again?

I think both things are true—it’s just really hard to be definitive about the one because the other is so apparent. Smith needs a game against better competition for me to believe he’s really become a star, but the signs are there. I was surprised the one time a double managed to get enough movement on him to grade negatively. And it’s not like Zach Carpenter is a meatball; that’s a country strong hoss and Michigan is poorer for his loss. Smith just wasn’t doing it against Carpenter much.

He also tends to be hit or miss in pass rush. He’s often the guy coming through when Hutchinson or Ojabo is sacking, but when he does get an opportunity to collect the quarterback, he gets washed by as often as not. Another year of development and I think Mazi is on a stardom track. It’s good that he got the extra years from COVID and a redshirt before that; his best days are coming.

Hinton appears to be closer to what he is. He showed some of the speed that made him a five-star recruit when he was being rated as a 16-year-old DE in a tough Georgia league.

And flashed the agility inside as well. This generated the kind of hold only Big Ten refs can ignore.

The “whoa” plays aren’t there. Compared to what we’ve been living with, I’ll take a Hinton and be glad for him.

A'm fair puckled at whit's become o' th' scots laddie

I think you’d better get your best Scot bits in now because there won’t be an opportunity to next year.

Whit's fur ye'll no go by ye!

I don’t know what that means. But this is speed, which for some reason is valued extremely highly by the people who make decisions on NFL personnel.

And this is ridiculous.

We’re not able to hide it anymore, even if he’s only brought in for passing downs like he was this game. I know that NFL scouts don’t watch all the film, but Mel Kiper had to have seen that when he put Ojabo 10th on his board. That is silly athleticism, and pro teams don’t really care about much else—my own once took Ezekiel Ansah, a very similar player, 5th overall—because football coaches believe they’re football geniuses who can develop any player better than anyone else. Ziggy gave the Lions one learning year and then five years averaging 20+ QB hits before his body gave out (immediately after they franchised him, because Loins). Ansah is now a very rich guy who is a lot younger than I am. Ojabo is probably going to be a rich man soon as well.do

Now, he only got 17 snaps in this game as Michigan went back to the Brown defense that plays a quasi-tackle at one end position. Unfortunately for 2022 Michigan, in those 17 snaps Ojabo wrecked shit. And it wasn’t just the passing game. It’s become common, and thus less remarkable, when Hutchinson two-gaps a tackle to set an edge then come inside of it for the tackle. It shouldn’t be, because it takes a lot of strength and agility and timing to do this, and a lot of faith in one’s athleticism to try it.

 

The big things are what’s driving the draft talk now. The little things are adding up to the kind of player who makes whoever drafts him look smart for it.

Mony a mickle maks a muckle!

What he said.

You weren’t thrilled with the linebackers?

Josh Ross was the same player he was under Don Brown. You get the good:

And then you get plays where he’s sucked in by play-action, or inexplicably Obi Ezeh’ing around when he’s got a gap to attack. He is the most Brandon Johns player on the football team, by which I mean they ask him to do a lot of things and there’s a huge difference in his game based on aggressiveness. On the other hand when he does uncork the inner Tasmanian devil, it doesn’t always go where it’s supposed to, and is hard to get back under control. That almost happened one time this game, on a stretch play where Carpenter turned his blitz upfield and Hutchinson had to fight back inside quickly to avoid a big gash.

And then passive Ross returned. Also once Michigan was up to a big lead I think it’s wholly defensible that he let off the gas and ate a few more 4-yard runs rather than risk IU breaking anything big. There were a lot of 3rd and <5 downs this game, but a lot of those turned into punts. Conservative was the way to go. He was also, quite clearly, one of just a few guys they trusted to be on the field all game. I like Ross. I just want to see him harness all of his powers before he’s gone instead of constantly reminding us that the potential is there.

I thought Hill-Green had his worst game though his and Colson’s job was the one changed most by the flip in scheme. The WLBs got the bulk of “MLB” duty because of the direction Indiana was taking their running game, and both were generally slow to process the puller and adjust to the new gap reality. Colson made up for more of those because he can turn on the extra jets; Hill-Green got trapped. Colson also needed to be better briefed on the opponent’s one thing. When you get linemen releasing downfield like this, you’re not supposed to care about the pass anymore.

But someone had to be responsible for Indiana’s one good play I guess. Best it’s the rawest true freshman. Colson’s the starter now.

How was Barrett compared to Dax?

So so, to be honest. This role is a much better fit for him than WLB because he’s just too small to make an impact when he throws his body places. However he’s also not really a defensive back, as we saw when he had perfect coverage on Peyton Hendershot and gave it up as the ball arrived.

It’s probably been something that’s lapsed as he’s been more of an underneath than man to man cover guy. If they’re going to continue to use him in this role, he’ll have to get back up to speed on the safety aspects of the job. It was also just a one-off.

What happened on the one drive?

Just two negative Colson plays strung together and a little bit of IU luck to not get sacked or strip-sacked or stopped just outside of field goal range. At the end of it the score was an uncomfortable 10-7 but the general fan sentiment was “Go ahead, try that again.” When they tried it again they hit a string of three-and-outs.

Did we learn anything about our secondary versus Ty Fryfogle, legitimate receiving threat?

Not really, because McCulley was putting up, hypothetically, the most miserable Hennechart since broken Tommy Stevens. Vincent Gray’s final knockdown showed he can run with Fryfogle:

That’s good, but it’s like JT Floyd vs Marvin McNutt/AJ Jenkins/BJ Cunningham/Kenny Bell, which was great but not a sign he could hang when DeVier Posey was reinstated.

It was hard to gauge anybody else however because Indiana couldn’t do anything in the run game to generate leverage in the passing game. You remember one of the issues with Don Brown’s defense was slot fades. Well not only do we have Dax Hill covering those in this setup, but Dax Hill also got to set up with perfect leverage to kill a slot fade, because inside throws weren’t in the quarterback’s cliff notes of a playbook.

Dax Hill got to play safety-flavored-safety instead of the nickel role for 75 percent of this game, and showed on several run stops why he was considered a five-star recruit at that position. Hawkins, and the most snaps yet from Moore all went untested. Turner had a videogame move to break up a low pass, but I know know how repeatable that is. All the opponents left on the schedule are better at passing than anyone Michigan has faced so far—Western Michigan might be the next best but they went most of the game without their one star receiver. So we’ll find out.

Did they try to edge Dax Hill this week?

Strategically no, because Hill wasn’t playing the nickel role that asks a guy to take the slot and participate in the run game and thus gets every smart coach thinking he can finally exploit it. But occasionally an individual associated with the University of Indiana-Bloomington would take it upon himself to attempt this passage around Mr. Hill.

And how did that work out for them?

As it does.

Will they try to do that again next w… what am I saying it’s James Franklin.

We’ll see how it works out for him.

Who’s Mr. Worldwide this week?

As a reminder, our criteria here are versatility, the ability to make your teammates better, being cool against long odds, and enjoying time spent under highway overpasses. This is decided after the second UFR. Your top three this week:

1. Luke Schoonmaker. Started for All, looked like All, caught like All, had that one-hander at the pylon that All never has anything like. Two touchdowns, solid in blocking versus tons of weird stuff going on around him, made a dead end-around look cool with one of those blocks. At 6’8” he is a highway overpass.

2. Aidan Hutchinson: Played DE, OLB, LB, and cornerback one time as Indiana emptied their bag of tricks—okay it was more like a sock of tricks—to get him the hell away from their run game. Soaked up double teams and holds so Ojabo could join him in the 1st round of the next draft. Stayed on the field all game despite doing a lot of this heavy lifting. Against all odds, got the Big Ten to admit they made an officiating mistake when they stole his touchdown that was the difference in the final score of last week. A highway overpass over a parkway that shares his name did this to a truck:

This role ruined half of Indiana’s game plan, set up long downs, and then Barrett exited the field so Dax and Ojabo and Hutchinson could look cool.

3. Hassan Haskins: Ascended to PFF’s #1 RB in the country despite: a) being teammates with the previous #1 RB in the country, and #2 coming off a game against the guy people think is the best RB in the country. Bailed out a running game that was dealing with all sorts of Tom Allen crap, turned a checkdown into a 20-yard pass on 3rd and long, outran most of Indiana’s defense, hurdled a fool, and turned down cutback lanes because the aiming points for his stretch zone runs had so many guys piled atop each other he though they were highway overpasses.

HMs (half points). Michael Barrett was a lost and forgotten man until suddenly he was reinserted to play a defunct role that’s specifically geared for versatility. David Ojabo launched into draft boards in a game when he got just 17 snaps. Ryan Hayes and Trevor Keegan proved (in Keegs’s case surprisingly) adept at stretch zones. Smith(+0.5) holds up to a double.

3-2-1 point system so our standings are:

• 9.5: Aidan Hutchinson
• 6: Hassan Haskins
• 5.5: Erick All
• 4: Cade McNamara, Luke Schoonmaker
• 3.5: Ryan Hayes
• 3: Ronnie Bell, Daxton Hill, DJ Turner II
• 2.5: Andrel Anthony, David Ojabo
• 2: Mike Sainristil, Junior Colson, Josh Ross
• 1.5: Andrew Stueber.
• 1: Nikhai Hill-Green, Cade Kolesar, Cade McNamara, Julius Welschof, Chris Hinton, Mazi Smith
• 0.5: Blake Corum, Joel Honigford, Chuck Filiaga, Donovan Jeter, Trevor Keegan

Heroes?

Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, Mazi Smith, Mike “Don Brown” Macdonald

Maybe not so heroic?

Nikhai Hill-Green, Junior Colson, Jordan Whittley

What does it mean for Penn State and the future?

The tackles are ready to take into battle against…Dammit Alex stop cyaning every OL we face. At least we’re not worried about this matchup anymore?

Be mad at UK customs. If they’d let Ojabo come back to the States in time we probably would have enjoyed this breakout sooner. Now that he’s on Kiper’s board the secret’s out, and that’s a position where his particular talents mean NFL teams will overlook development.

Junior Colson is happening, ready or not. He’s getting starter snaps now, and he’s only going to keep getting better.

Daxton Hill can still play safety. He’s been magnificent as a nickel, but tell me it wasn’t a little cool to see him flip McCulley after the one long run.

Game 10 will be when we find out if we have cornerbacks I swear! Gemon Green’s injury comes at a bad time since he’s their man defense maven.

Dr. Blitz was probably a one-off. Indiana didn’t need the fancy zone blitzes to get their quarterback all confused. Good strategy to bring out, playable because all of these guys have done it, probably not a solution for the remaining three pass-happy offenses.

Moment of Zen:

We’re both alive, and for all I know that’s what hope is.