Formation Notes: Very Multiple today. Michigan ran an even 2x2 front.

By my accounting they’re now just a Double Eagle away from true multiple. I called this a 4-3 stack—Harrell is the 3rd LB standing up at the bottom:

And this was the Ace-11. There are only five guys on the line of scrimmage once the RT stands up, which is double illegal.

Also I should have mentioned earlier: on RPOs I will list the play they ran then the option not taken, e.g. IZ/Bubble is an inside zone run that had a bubble read.

Substitution Notes: Morris got the start at non-Hutch OLB, which then went Harrell-McGregor-Ojabo, with the latter and Upshaw in for passing downs. Kalel Mullings inherited Ross’s minutes as Hill-Green and Colson rotated, though they also played together at times. DTs were Hinton-Smith, Jeter-Jenkins, Speight-Welschof, with Hinton getting the most snaps, and Speight playing some nose in place of Whittley.

[After THE JUMP: Kids gyot alligyator blood.]

Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun Trips	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Pass	4	Bubble Screen	Hill	-1	-0.80
No wait this week before they try to edge Dax Hill(+1, tackling-1) who fights through a block to almost TFL on his own. Ross(+1) arrives to ensure it doesn't work out for them.
O24	2nd	11	Gun Stacks	4-2-5	515 Over	2	Run		Midline Read	Hutchinson	2	-0.19
M is bringing Dax off the edge RPS+1 and Hutch(+2) plays both sides of the read. Pacheco spun down manages to crawl for a gain of 2.
O26	3rd	9	Gun Trips	4-2-5	515 Odd	1	Pass	4.5	Backshoulder Fade	Green	24	3.23
Hutch(+1, PR+1) driving the RT directly into Vedral so the fade is the only option. Green(-2, cov-2) doesn't get his head around on a major underthrow and can't contest.
50	1st	10	Gun 12	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Play-action	n/a	Fake Pitch Swing	NHG	9	1.09
Hutch(+1, PR-1) is the only one to provide pressure but downfield coverage (Cov+2) holds up, RPS+1. Only option is a swing to the end-around guy who's still hanging out 8 yards in the backfield. NHG(-2) is convinced this is a throw downfield and forgets he has this guy as Vedral chucks it (backwards so it's in the stats as a run) and Melton can scoot up the sidelines, extra because Hawkins(-1) fell asleep. Goofy.
M41	2nd	1	Pistol Bone	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Run		Split Zone	Hinton	2	-0.39
Hinton(+2) fights through a double and sticks this, Pacheco can power for the 1st down because Smith(-1) got blown out by his.
M39	1st	10	Gun Trips Stack	4-2-5	515 Over	1	Pass	5	Bubble Screen	Hutchinson	Inc	-0.81
You tried to edge Hutch(+1, cov+1) who's the flat defender while M blitzes 2 safeties off the back. RPS+2 this is going to end in a bloody thunderdeath in the backfield but Vedral wings it over his guy's head.
M39	2nd	10	Pistol Bone	4-2-5	425 Over	1	Pass	4	RB Flare	Ross	9	0.82
Ross(-2, cov-1, tackling-1) watches Pacheco leave the backfield and reacts a beat late. Baiting this maybe? Morris(+1, PR+1) is coming through and this is Vedral's only option. Ross sets up way inside and then gets edged. RPS+1 this was the right coverage and the MLB just needed to get on his horse to bring up 3rd and long. ARgh.
M30	3rd	1	Gun Trips	5-2-4	5-2 Split	0	Run		Inverted Veer Midline	Hawkins	-2	-1.32
Look at RU pulling out the Rich Rod stuff. Hawkins(+3, tackling+2) gets on his horse and takes down Pacheco for a 2-yard loss on 3rd and short. RPS+1, NHG(-0.5) and Ross(-0.5) Michigan was set up for this after Hutch and Ross had to move the DTs over (senior leadership+1) but Pacheco is dangerously faster than both our ILBs.
M32	4th	3	Gun Empty Flex RB-F	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	0	Run		QB Dive	Ross	3	1.67
Just Langan Tebows over Ross(-1, tackling-1) as Jeter(+0.5) takes a double to keep his MLB clean. Smith(-0.5) rocked back his G but couldn't get unstuck in time to help. Contact is made two yards short of the sticks and the QB stretches for the 1st. Can't get too mad but want Smith to just fall inside and just be a body instead of wasting time fighting.
M29	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Over	2	RPO	4	QB Draw/Bubble	Hinton	4	-0.05
M defending bubble with Dax so keeps. Hinton(+2) two-gaps his G and is sticking this alone but NHG(-1) shot past a C and unfortunately takes out Hinton's legs mid-tackle so this can now stumble forward. Hutch(+0.5) fought through his G and joins. Speight(+0.5) was singled and had his guy bent backwards so there was no accessing the backside. You know it's a silly-ass Rutgers game when they gain 4 yards because we have too many guys beating blocks.
M25	2nd	6	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Pass	4	Split Flow	Hill	Inc	-0.57
Hill(+2, RPS+1) mis-times his blitz but he's still in so fast that he's able to force a throwaway. Cov+1 this was basically a screen but Moten was close enough it would have been a 3-yard gain if not for that.
M25	3rd	6	Gun Str Tight	4-2-5	4-4 Even	2	Run		Inverted Veer	NHG	3	-0.25
Ojabo(-1) takes away the give but then goes to tackle the RB who doesn't have the ball. NHG(+3) in tough, pops an OL and comes through to make the tackle himself. RPS-2 they had Dax and everyone else fooled too. Helluva play!
Drive Notes: FG(40). 7-3. 1 min 1st Q. Frustrating drive with multiple opportunities to get off the field and happy they let us off the hook here. FWIW the EP tracker says the field goal on 4th and 3 here was worth -0.34 EP.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O30	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Run		Power Option	Ross	5(+15)	1.42
Moten(-1, tackling-1) can't get Pacheco down, Ross(-2) is slow to get out there and then hits OOB. These refs aren't the NIU refs and call it.
O45	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Even	2	Pass	4	Hitch	Moten	8	0.94
The question is why are we playing off vs Vedral and the answer here is a cornerback blitz from Green (RPS-1) and Moten(-1, cov-1) is slow to rotate.
M47	2nd	2	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Even	2	RPO		Counter Trey/Bubble	Hutchinson	0	-1.43
Running this play at Smith(-2) who gets doubled and buried but Colson(+1) was able to step around and could hold to a fair gain. Doesn’t have to because Hutch(+3) teleported through the RT and over to this side of the play.
M47	3rd	3	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Even	1	Run		Arc Read Give	Morris	6	1.53
Morris(-1) plays the QB 100% for an easy read and no edge (RPS-1). Colson(+1) engages the RT and somehow dissuades Pacheco to give up his lead blocker and hitting the gap that Ross(-2) has abandoned. Hinton(+1) had the LG in the backfield and tackles to limit the gain.
M41	1st	10	Pistol Wk	4-2-5	425 Under	2	Pass	4	RB Flat	Colson	5	0.09
Why are we off pt 2. Pacheco flares out, they run a rollout PA to nobody, and Colson(-1, cov-1) is watching this instead of getting on his horse to cover Pacheco. Gray(+1, tackling+1) comes off his WR and sticks, losing his helmet in the process.
M36	2nd	5	Gun Empty	4-2-5	425 Even	2	Pass	4	Hitch	Turner	Inc	-0.90
Why are we off pt 3. Turner(-2, cov-2) is giving a 15-yard cushion for...reasons. Jeter(+2) gets up and bats it. Gray returns immediately.
M36	3rd	5	Pistol 12 Trips TE	4-2-5	425 Over	1	Run		Power Fold	Colson	4	-0.15
Want to steal this play where they power and fold the F inside but M has an extra safety in the box (RPS+1) to account for it. Jeter(-1) stood up by a double—really this guy's entire problem is pad level—so they can bull over Colson(-0.5, tackling-1) and Hawkins(-0.5) who aren't aggressive enough, turning 4th and kick into 4th and go.
M32	4th	1	Exotic	4-2-5	Pinch	n/a	Run		RB Sneak	Hutchinson	0	-4.17
RPS+2 as M plays into the confusion and then stuffs it, with Hutch(+1) leading the way with Hinton(+1) shifting late and getting underneath. Ball is fumbled and Pacheco gets a second chance but Moten(+1) cleans up.
Drive Notes: Turnover on Downs. 14-3. 11 min 2nd Q. Hope we're done playing off coverage now. Robbins's punt bounces sideways so this next drive starts at the RU3.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O3	1st	10	Gun 12	5-2-4	5-2 Over	2	Play-action		Sideline Fade	Gray	Inc	-0.26
PR-1 as nobody gets through vs max pro (Hutch+1 for being tripled). IN at Gray(+2, cov+2) who's in position to break it up if it's anywhere close. Big LOL at the whiny RU coach asking for a penalty.
O3	2nd	10	Gun 12	5-2-4	4-3 Stack		RPO		Dive/Smoke Screen	Ross	-1	-0.13
Smith(+0.5) and Hinton(+0.5) get to share a point for occupying doubles and enabling this JOSH ROSS(+3, tackling+2) KERPLOW moment.
O2	3rd	11	Gun 12 Twins	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Run		Arc Read Give	Ross	5	0.01
They run an Iso but M called TO. Come back and it's an Arc read vs a crack/replace (RPS+2) and Vedral has a bad read. Ross(-1, tackling-1) gets the free stick and gets run over by Pacheco, who is managing to stay up until Hill(+1) comes all the way through the garbage and kills it.
Drive Notes: Punt. 14-3, 6 min 2nd Q. That's more like it.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	3-4 Odd	2	RPO		Iso/Smoke Screen	Ross	1	-0.59
M has tightened up outside. Smith(+0.5) and Hinton(+0.5) stand up single-blocking and Ross(+2, tackling+1) stops the non-Pacheco RB dead in his tracks after that guy left his lead blocker (Langan).
O26	2nd	9	Gun Str F-Flex	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Pass	4	Dumpoff	Hutchinson	7	0.37
Hutchinson(+2, PR+2) blows through the LT who has to tackle to avoid a thundersack, and Refs-2 let it go. Outrageous non-call turns a sack into a rollout. Hill(-1, cov+1) suddenly thinks there's a comeback behind him and falls off Langan allowing a completion. Very mad about the holding. Replay guys pull up the previous play so we get to see light holding on that one too. Ross leaves with a stinger.
O33	3rd	2	Ace-11	4-2-5	425 Even	2	PEN		QB Lead	Hiill	-5	-0.64
The goofy formation tries to edge Dax Hill(+1) who's screaming in (RPS-1) but chases all the way outside with help from Mullings(+0.5) but Turner(-2) has completely left his gap but McGregor(+1, refs-1) came through a guy and forced another obvious hold that I thought was the flag (refs-1) but actually it's just an illegal formation.
O28	3rd	7	Gun 2T Trips Empty	4-2-5	515 Okie	1	Pass		Dumpoff	Mullings	12	2.18
RPS+2 they dial up a blitz that gets Hill(-2, tackling-2) in free because Hutch(+1) is tripled again. Dax whiffs Brandon Harrison-style and Vedral can float one to his slot WR while Bo Melton sets an "accidental" basketball screen on Hawkins. Mullings(-2, tackling-1) could get out there faster. He whiffs and Turner(-0.5, tackling-0.5) and NHG have to finish it. Not negging refs for missing a weird OPI but on replay it's almost certainly on purpose--interesting cheat.
O40	1st	10	Gun 12 Twins	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Play-action	n/a	RB Checkdown	NHG	16	1.34
RB pops Hutch who's getting bad held (PR+1, Refs-1) again. NHG(-1, cov-2) is curl/flat defender, takes seam very deep and can't get to the checkdown before this guy gets 10 easy ones. RPS-1 they're running Cov3 vs a 2.5-man route.
M44	1st	10	Gun 12 Trips	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Pass	4	SL Checkdown	Hill	-3	-1.65
Nobody open (cov+3), PR-1 finally comes from Hutch(+1) who beat his T and is going through the RB. Vedral pumps at the slot then throws it which is not how you edge Dax Hill(+2, tackling+2). RPS+1 to Michigan for catching RU in a change and then taking an extra long time to complete their change while the clock is running.
M47	2nd	13	Gun 4w	4-2-5	425 Even	1	QB Run	4	Scramble	Hutchinson	3	-0.39
Cov+2, RPS+2 as M catches them trying to run an OPI circle screen to the RB and has a coverage with two robbers to take it away. Hutch(+1) played chicken with the RT then rushes and gets blocked in the back of the neck.The other T is literally tackling McGregor(+1 for inducing this I guess) by the shoulderpads. Refs-3 and I can't wait to hear the bullshit reason they weren't downgraded for this play. Colson(+1) is there to make sure Vedral gets nothing for it.
M44	3rd	10	Gun trips tight Unbal	4-2-5	515 Split	2	Pass	3	ARO	Green	Inc	-0.89
M has this play dominated despite Rutgers going full cheatin ass. Three-man rush vs a 7-man protection (RPS+2) and man coverage. RU has a covered TE and is using one receiver to blatantly block the whole way downfield. Green(+2, cov+3) stays with the out the whole way and could intercept if it's remotely on target. Two TEs are blockign Hutch(+1) who caused the pressure even though one of them is ripping the back of his jersey off. He's also putting his hands in the air. Refs-2 having one hell of a drive.
M44	4th	10	Gun 12 Twins	4-2-5	425 Odd	1	Pass	4.5	Slants	Gray	Inc	-3.27
Wondering now if "The stripes will bail us out" wasn't part of the thinking. It's slants with the inside receiver bonking Hill then looking at the ref. The ball goes to the second slant, is behind him and 2 yards short of the sticks anyways, and Gray(+2, cov+2) plays it perfectly.
Drive Notes: Turnover on Downs. 17-3. 1 min 2nd Q. Why would you do this?
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun Ace Trips	4-2-5	425 Even	2	PEN	NA	Delay of Game	NA	-5	-0.74
Cosmic.
O20	1st	15	Gun Stacks	4-2-5	515 Over	1	Run	4	QB Draw/Bubble	Hinton	0	-0.33
Morris(+0.5) and Hinton(+2) blast their T and G into the backfield, blowing up the running lane. Mullings(+1) popped an RB to make sure there's an edge. Refs-1 spot this a yard forward, robbing Hinton of a sack (yes I know it's a called run...still).
O20	2nd	15	Gun Trips	4-2-5	425 Under	2	Pass	4	Wheel	NHG	Inc	-0.15
Hutch(+1) comes through on a stunt made possible by Hinton(+1, PR+1) and ball has to go. It's inaccurate at Pacheco who's covered step for step by NHG(+1, cov+1)
O20	3rd	15	Gun F Flex Str	4-2-5	515 Split	2	Pass	5	Screen	Moten	Inc	-0.07
Don't have a clue who's supposed to check the RB—Morris(-2) I guess since he's closest. This was blocked a long way if caught; Pacheco drops it. RPS-2 being generous bc NHG and Gray are around and can maybe get this down after 10.
Drive Notes: Punt. 20-3. 14 min 3rd Q. This is what we expected. Bad feels start next drive.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O9	1st	10	Pistol Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Over	1	RPO		Power/Bubble	Mullings	1	-0.28
M shifts towards this so RPS+1 but Jenkins(+2) arms the LT into the backfield then catches the puller so Mullings(+0.5, tackling-0.5) can stuff but he's bowled over turning a TFL into a gain before the guys can rally. Smith(+1) took on a play-long double that left Colson clean so no cutback.
O10	2nd	9	Gun Trips Unbal	5-2-4	5-2 Split	1	Run		Inverted Veer Midline	Hill	7	0.20
They try to edge Dax Hill(-1, tackling-1) and it works!!! despite Hill stacking and shedding a because Pacheco stiffarmed him in da face. RPS-1 no MLB because M was blitzing him. Gray(+1) stacks his WR and knocks this OOB before the sticks.
O17	3rd	2	Gun Trips Unbal	5-2-4	5-3 Under	1	Run		Inverted Veer Midline	Hill	16	1.48
They do it again. Same play, different side. RPS-1 because this time they catch M in man coverage. Jenkins(-1) needs to force a keep here because he's got an extra man in the box (Mullings(+0.5) beat a block and is ready to stop). Also Hill(-2) shoots inside to try to TFL instead of setting an edge, wasting the one Harrell(+1) set to force a deep bend by Pacheco. Hawkins(-1, tackling-1) misses and it gets a few more before Colson(+0.5) arrives. He's fast.
O33	1st	10	Gun 12 Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	1	Play-action	5	Sack	Hutchinson	-2	-1.23
Hutch(+3) takes the TE way out on the edge, sheds him, and sacks all by himself. Incredible play.
O31	2nd	12	Ace Bone	4-2-5	425 Even	2	RPO		Dive/Split Flow	Morris	11	1.18
One of those plays Brian calls "Some college bullshit" (RPS-1) and I think I understand how Michigan's playing it is to have Morris take away the TE by getting up in the QB's face. He does and forces a give but Mullings(-0.5) willingly accepts a C block he should fight through, and Moten(-1) stays in coverage long after the give. Also think Dax or one of the LBs are in the wrong gap bc M has an extra guy backside after the TE crossed. Colson popped the LT inside but has control and is about to pop out and end but the LT yanks him back in by the shoulderpad (refs-2) which turns 3rd and 9 into 3rd and 1. This is getting ridiculous.
O42	3rd	1	Goal Line	5-2-4	Goal Line	n/a	Run		Power	Mullings	3	1.20
RPS+2 Michigan has two free guys in the backfield for the option but NHG(-1) guesses at a give and takes the RB that Hutch is ready to stop. Mullings(-2) could still fly up and stick but he's hesitantly watching the puller who pulled to nowhere for so long that Smith(+0.5) can actually flow in ahead. But that was the time they had to close it down.
O45	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Pass	4	Hitch	Green	8	0.94
Green(-1, Cov-1) is playing off WHY ARE WE PLAYING OFF IT IS RUTGERS RPS-1
M47	2nd	2	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Run		Counter Trey/Bubble	Hutchinson	1	-0.99
Refs-1 miss a false start by the LG. Good. Ojabo(+2) shoulders under the kickout eating two blockers, Hutch(+2) spun inside the the backside, and this makes up for Smith(-1) getting beat back by a double momentarily.
M46	3rd	1	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Under	2	Run		ZR Belly Give	Ojabo	3	0.98
Ojabo(-2) is the guy being read, makes it a really long mesh, but then backs up further like he's going into coverage when shooting forward gets the stuff after Smith(+2, RPS+1) hopped out to stonewall the double on him.
M43	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Under	1	Play-action	4	Hitch	Hill	10	0.59
Hill(RPS-1, cov-1) is c/f in Cov3 and has to respect the SL's release, is why this is RPS not him. WHY ARE YOU RUNNING SOFT COVERAGES IT'S RUTGERS. Green(-1) is so afraid he's backing up on the catch still so there's YAC too. You guys! Also they ran a hitch on the last 1st and 10. You GUYS!
M28	1st	10	Pistol Wk	4-2-5	425 Over	1	Pass	5	RB Flat	Hawkins	5(+15)	0.22
Rollout to nobody and Hawkins(+1, cov-push) runs it down after NHG(+0.5) and Hill(+0.5) put pressure. Refs-2 throw a horseshit roughing flag. Disagree with Brian this was payback for missing a block in the back. These guys have their thumb on the scale.
M14	1st	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Play-action	6.5	RB Circle	NHG	14	2.55
RPS-1 Dax is blitzing at this and plays the Jet. NHG(-3, cov-3) sucks in on play-action and lets the RB in free.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 20-10. 6:30 3rd Q. Offense then goes 3-and-out, turning 4th and 1 on their 43 into a punt that sets up Rutgers on their 35.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O35	1st	10	Gun Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Split	1	RPO	5	Bubble/Power	Hill	7	0.71
Hill(-1) is playing in, gets RPO'd and they edge Dax Hill again.
O42	2nd	3	Gun 12 Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	1	Run		Power	Mullings	4	0.35
RPS-1 Michigan is spreading the DTs and having the LBs take the A gaps. NHG(+1) comes in hard and low and allows Smith to help; Mullings(-1, tackling-1) takes it soft and gets bowled over by Pacheco.
O46	1st	10	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	1	Run		Arc Read Keeper	Gray	3	-0.42
RPS+1 as M has a Cov2 CB out here to run this out after NHG(-1) overplayed inside.
O49	2nd	7	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	5-2-4	5-2 Split	1	Pass	5	Hitch	Hill	6	0.37
RPS-3 this weak-ass two-man route could only work against Cov3 as Hill has to take away the seam and then Green gets atop it and Hill(-1, cov-2) is late to get the hitch under it. PR-2 nobody getting home vs an 8-man protection. Charmin out here. And then the announcers share that Mac told them he'd never seen a team with fewer intermediate throws. WHAT ARE WE DOING?
M45	3rd	1	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	0	Run		Inverted Veer Midline G Fold	Welschof	5	1.05
Welschof(-2) takes a pop from the G and moves 2 yards because he small. Then he runs out the other way when he needs to just stand there. Makes it easy. Speight(+0.5) moved as well. Where is Whittley?
M40	1st	10	Gun Str Tight	4-2-5	425 Under	2	Play-action	4	PA Veer pop pass	NHG	16	0.51
More good college bullshit as they run everyone behind the line but a clearout WR and a drag that NHG(-1, cov-1) actually manages to tip into the receiver's hands when he tries to get back.
M24	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Even	2	Play-action	4	Hitch	Green	8	0.47
[redacted] Green(-2, cov-2) is sitting way back in man. Upshaw was unblocked (RPS+1) and Morris(+1, PR+2) was deep and almost got a hand on this so any coverage by Green here and it's a sack. [redacted]. [redacted]! [redacted]?!!!?!!!!. [tweet redacted].
M16	2nd	2	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Under	2	Run		Counter Trey/Bubble	Colson	5	-0.31
Smith(+0.5) put his G in the backfield and Hinton(+2) drove his double back so Colson(-2, tackling-1) is free to stick for a big loss. He comes in hesitantly, and high, and gets shrugged off, giving up the 1st. Quarter mercifully ends and the guys get to take a breath.
M11	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Under	2	Run		Arc Read Keeper	Morris	4	-0.02
Morris(-2) crashes into the backfield, takes the RB. What is with this program and Zone reads? As we all know this means a QB and a TE escort, but Moten(+1) came down to set an edge, Hill(+1) beat a block to erase the TE, and NHG(+2) came around from the backside to close it down because Mullings(-1) was hung up on a T.
M7	2nd	6	Pistol Wk	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Pass	4	Tons of OPI Out	Hill	Inc	-0.30
Two RU WRs are straight up blocking all the way to the ez to try to clear out this deep out vs Mullings(-1). Hill(+2, Cov+3) comes off his guy and nearly intercepts. RPS+1 for calling a zone here since I negged the zones earlier. Refs-3 the only way this play works is blatant cheating.
M7	3rd	6	Gun Str	4-2-5	425 Under	0	Play-action	4	Corner	Green	Inc	-0.32
M comes out in an Okie zero and RU takes a TO. They come back in a normal formation but both S's down. Green(+2, cov+2) is step for step and this is out of bounds. He did grab the jersey but it's really just a tap never a tug, and this is uncatchable. Also Ojabo(+1, PR+1) was forcing the issue even with a T grabbing him. Schiano complaining about it is precious.
Drive Notes: FG(25). 20-13. 14 min 4th Q. Qtr break and TO helped, especially because they're right back on the field after another 3&Out.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O30	1st	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Run		Power Fold/Bubble	NHG	26	2.28
M flips Mullings/Moten on the edge trying to induce a bubble but no dice and now their "MLB" is coming off the wrong edge (RPS-2). Jeter(-1) moved back, Hutch(+2, you'll see) is closing the gap but his whole jersey's being ripped off (refs-1) and can only wave an arm in the gap. NHG(+1) takes a gamble trying to shoot at the RB's legs inside the folded TE and induces a stumble so Gray(-2) can clean up. He gets stiffarmed by Pacheco, who might go all the way but Hutchinson!!! catches up. Infuriating Rutgers stan announcers are knocking Hutch after the play--"Pacheco ran right by him." Show the replay cowards (there is no replay).
M44	1st	10	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	4-2-5	425 Split	1	Run		Inverted Veer Midline	Mullings	9	0.93
M's weird formation gets them all caught weakside (RPS-2) on the Veer so that Hinton(+1) can't make a play despite fighting through. Mullings(-1, tackling+1) overruns the QB but just manages to reach back and trip him up.
M35	2nd	1	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Run		Power Fold	Mullings	5	-0.33
Jeter(-2) stands up (Malkovich!) and gets washed out of the hole by a double that combos to NHG. Morris(+1) fights back and closes it down after Mullings(-1) too gingerly approached the puller. Hutch(+1) had beaten his T inside and was coming around back to help if Mullings gets anything.
M30	1st	10	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	4-2-5	5-2 Over	1	Run		Arc Read Give	Moten	19	0.29
Moten(-2) is down as an OLB and here's why you need a DE to do this job. He gets in the wrong gap vs this TE who hasn't had a successful non-holding block all day and it's the same on Hill is taking on the Nk/M exchange. Hutch forms up to force the keep and Hinton(+1) has squeezed through his double and Morris(+0.5) burrowed into his. NHG(-1) compounds things by stepping to the backside because he doesn't know the RB kept it, and Mullings(-0.5) does as well. Then Turner(-2) gives up the bounce and 1st down on the 20 becomes 1st down on the 10. Courage, if you've made it this far. This is the nadir.
M11	1st	10	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	4-2-5	425 Stack	1	Run		Power Read	Morris	4	-0.02
RU checks, M goes back to the stack. Morris(+0.5) finally plays both sides of a read for a moment though he waits a beat on the QB. Colson(+2) comes around a blocker and tracks this down from the backside, with Moten(+0.5) assisting.
M7	2nd	6	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	4-2-5	5-2 Under	0	PEN		False Start	n/a	-5	-0.34
Oops.
M12	2nd	11	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	5-2-4	5-2 Under	1	Run		Power/Slant	Colson	1	-0.23
Smith(-1) moved out by a double, Jeter(-1) stood up and also escorted out, but LG pulls and the RB doesn't follow. Jenkins(+0.5) has rocked his block back and Colson(+1) sticks the freebie with help from Hutch(+1) who blasted his T in the backfield and got into the RB's legs. LG looks back sad.
M11	3rd	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Over	1	Pass	4.5	Corner Fade	Hawkins	Inc	-0.46
Another TO burned before this. Morris(+2, PR+2) is cocked and dents the entire middle of the line. Hey, neat trick RU. Colson(+0.5) comes on a late blitz when he sees the RB stay in and the fade has to be out now. Gray(+1, cov+3) has the WR's arm and is step for step when Hawkins(+2) flies in and bats it away from the other hand.
Drive Notes: Missed FG(29). 20-13. 9 min 4th Q. Let us all thank our nearest Rutgers guards for ending this. Also it's another 3&Out so we're back in under a minute of gametime.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O34	1st	10	Gun 12 Twins	4-2-5	425 Split	2	Run		Bash	Hill	6	0.39
I like how McGregor(+1) plays the mesh so much better than Morris—he leaves some room and makes it hard then explodes as he sees the ball and he gets edged but he makes it hard. They're trying to edge Dax Hill who blitzed into a TE. That guy catches and bear hugs (refs-2) which gives up the edge. Dax tries to disengage and this TE gives him another yank by the arm before letting go. Must be nice to be able allowed to do that. Mullings(+1) turned on the jets and it's not quite a Devin Bush play but he gets enough to get Pacheco out at after 5.
O40	2nd	4	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	4-2-5	425 Split	2	Run		Inverted Veer	Mullings	13	1.33
Reading McGregor(+0.5) and it's a long read but again Mullings(-2) doesn't stay in his lane—he's behind McGregor when they turn around. This time Colson(-1) got hit with a releasing G and can't help. Moten(+0.5) worked back and stops this after a solid gain. Stay with me.
M47	1st	10	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	5-2-4	5-2 Split	1	Run		Arc Read Give	McGregor	4	-0.13
Hutch(+0.5) forces a give then gets inside where he can be useful. Hinton(+1) has things covered by standing up to a double. McGregor(+0.5) has his G behind the LoS as well and the two can converge despite Colson(-1) letting an OL slip out to meet him Ezeh style after a meh gain.
M43	2nd	6	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	5-2-4	5-2 Over	1	Pass	5	Hitch	Hill	5	0.10
Cov3 (RPS-2) still weak against this but Hill(+2, tackling+1, cov-1) leaves the seam early to stop this short of the sticks. Good gamble, bad coverage. PR-1 gets nowhere vs 8-man pressure.
M38	3rd	1	Gun 12 Trips Unbal	5-2-4	5-2 Split	1	Run		Power	Jenkins	-1	-1.35
Jenkins(+2) blows this up, taking the LG into the backfield and smashing into the puller. M was slanting so this was the gap they wanted. NHG(+2, tackling+2) is clean, shoots the gap behind Jenkins, stuffs with no YAC. Harrell(+0.5) set a good edge too.
M39	4th	2	Gun 4TE	5-2-4	Goal Line	n/a	Run		Power Read	NHG	1	-4.00
The read is NHG(+1) who makes this mesh go so long that Colson(+1) can get in there and take away the RB. Also lots of room as Jeter(-1) stood up vs his double and thus got moved to block Hill's access. Smith(-1) jumped into the backfield and got buried for his efforts, and it looks like it's going to just be a race between Vedral and NHG. Hinton(+2) however had a single block, swam through it, and arrives just as Vedral has made his pull and begun his push for the line. Stuffed. Meanwhile Hutch(-1) went down on Colson's feet earlier, and his TE does some jersey rippin and pancaking and talking. But he has to leave the field.
Drive Notes: Turnover on Downs. 20-13. 5 min 4th Q. Offense gets two(2!) first downs and we're at 1:44 with no timeouts after a missed FG.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O29	1st	10	Gun Trips	4-2-5	425 Split	2	Pass	4	Corner	Hawkins	Inc	-1.17
Slot comes in and blindsides Hutch at the start of the play. Uh, clever I guess? PR-1. They're running a high-low on Green who chooses the low because Rutgers and Hawkins(-2, cov-2) who is slow to get over despite no threat from the other two guys in routes. It's way overthrown and Hawkins arrives too late for a chance to intercept, but he'll get one.
O20	2nd	10	Gun Trips	4-2-5	425 Split	2	Pass	4	Sack	Ojabo	4(Fum)	-4.40
CB blitz off the backside never gets close because Ojabo(+4) spun inside the LT and strip-sacked. Ball bounces to Colson who runs it a little.
Drive Notes: Fumble.

I feel tired.

You just read it. There were people who were on the field for every snap of that.

Do I stand and clap? I kind of want to relearn to breathe first.

Well here’s a drive chart, in order of felt bad:

• 12-play, 91-yard touchdown drive in the 3rd Q.
• 12-play 58-yard FG drive right after that, mostly in the 3rd Q.
• Opening 13-play field FG drive that was a three-and-out before Green gave up that fade and featured loads of what Brian (respectfully) called College Bullshit™
• 8-play, 59-yard drive after the two scoring drives that ended on a missed FG.
• 8-play, 43-yard drive that ends on a 4th and 1 attempt at the M32
• 6-play, 28-yard late drive that Michigan stuffed on 4th and 1 on the M39.
• 8-play, 31-yard two-minute drill that ended on a 4th and 10 attempt.
• Final two-minute drill that’s an uncatchable downfield pass to a guy who was open and the fumble.
• A three-and-out that started under the RU goal post.
• A 2nd half three-and-out that began with a delay of game penalty.

That too felt like Army.

It was very Army. The full list of Rutgers’s downfield throws when they didn’t have to throw is a sideline fade they tried against Gray that was out of bounds and probably a Brad Hawkins interception if it was on target, and The Seven Angry Hitches. For the most part Rutgers was grinding away with 4-yard runs off of College Bullshit™ that works because the quarterback is an extra player in the run game.

What do you call this defense? Multiple? Multiple Soft? 5-2 Multidupliple?

Bend don’t break.

Ahhh. Well it sure is bendy.

Oh my GAWD the soft coverage.

How many “Michigan’s defense is so conservative…” jokes did you redact from this post?

So yeah, the count was six of seven hitches given up under soft coverage in this game when Noah Vedral is the worst downfield passer Michigan is going to face all year. Most of them were on 1st down. There were two issues I thought they were causing them:

The first issue was Michigan plays a lot of Cover 3, and got caught in it. You remember our Cov3 talk from the Washington UFR:

Cover 3 is about how you get there as much as where you’re going, because it covers the seams by having the curl/flat defenders buzz them on their way to the flats. While the c/f defender is buzzing he’s behind any quick outs in the flats.

Rutgers was running a vertical seam with their slot receiver paired with a hitch from their outside receiver (usually as a high-low concept) to occupy the curl/flat defender long enough for the hitch to come open:

Hill’s first job is to cover the release of that slot receiver until he gets somewhere that one of the other defenders can account for him, and THEN he can break on a route in the flats. The deep sideline defender is getting deep.

Rutgers had this scouted and was putting only so many guys into routes as they needed to stretch the curl/flat defender’s two jobs, IE two routes. Michigan has spread their coverage out all over the field, but Rutgers is only using as much material as they need to stretch the one guy’s job.

#30 Dax Hill, the Nickel on the bottom hash

Michigan was changing up the defenders who covered which zones, of course, but these attacks are plain zone-beaters, and don’t really care who’s got that zone. For example this one was a cornerback blitz that put the safety in a deep sideline third and Junior Colson in the curl/flat zone. He could have played it better but he must check that TE for a release up the seam before heading to his flat. If you are running this route versus a CB blitz it’s almost always an automatic 8 yards:

Michigan’s answer to this, finally, at the very end, was just to have Hill go off-script. He knew they were attacking the flats, so he came off the seam early and attacked the flat, keeping this to a crucial 3rd and short that the defense ultimately converted into a turnover on downs. Note the ball hasn’t left the QB’s hand and he’s already let the slot receiver inside the seam. If this ball isn’t high and away Dax might even have a chance to pick-six it:

#30 nickel, second guy down from the top on the 40 yard line:

I didn’t clip two RB checkdowns at the sideline that got close to first down yardage because the coverage was sitting back like Noah Vedral was going to Joe Milton a rocket between their deep zones. Mike Macdonald told the announcers before the game he’d never seen a team run so few intermediate throws, and then ran pass coverages specialize in taking away intermediate throws. What are we doing?

What Michigan never tried was the aggressive answer that Pattern-Match teams use to take this away: Have the cornerback hand the flat until the curl/flat defender can get there. That means bringing your cornerback down into press coverage, and having him cover that WR in man unless he stems into another guy’s zone. The downside of that is you’re exposing your cornerback to getting beat deep. Saban has the big fast cornerbacks to handle it, and Michigan’s plan is to acquire as many as they can get their hands on.

The frustrating thing is they have the guys right now to do that against Noah Vedral and his not-good receivers. Those guys can also take this away by playing man. They have Cover 1 in the playbook, were recruited for it, and yes, they got burned crispy against Michigan State with it last year but you can’t make that your life.

My guess is this was part of the greater holistic issue of Michigan treating Rutgers more like practice than a real opponent. They wanted to get in their Cover 3 practice, and lo Hill finally learned how to do some of the subtle things you do in Cover 3 to dominate with it (IE read the QB’s intentions and do something unsound to cover the weaknesses). What Michigan did not do was adjust their tactics to the team they were playing, even when the team that they were playing was threatening to beat them.

On the other hand, playing a lot of zone has its advantages. It should lead to more turnovers because zone defenders get to break on the ball when it’s thrown instead of following their guys everywhere. On this play Rutgers is basing its entire execution on the referees’ infinite tolerance for offensive pass interference. WRs #7 and #18 are doing everything they can to block their man defenders away from the front corner of the endzone so WR#2 can push off a linebacker (Mullings) and get there free. But Hill is facing the play, sees the ball go in the air, and nearly picks it off the receiver’s head.

The 2nd problem causing the charmin coverage on hitches was Gemon Green. He got hit with an underthrown back-shoulder fade early in the game and said NEVER AGAIN to the point of absurdity. This is in Cover 2, where the hitch route is supposed to be his first look and primary concern:

#22 the cornerback on the top:

I have yet to see Green drive well in any sort of zone coverage. It may just be beyond him. Again, as with Cover 3, in Cover 2 you can work around that by having him play some simple coverages that treat the cornerback as a man defender unless the guy stems (MOD or MEG if you want to read up).

Or you could play a man coverage like Cover 1. Except Green was doing the same thing when he was in man:

He’s going to come in for another terrible score this week, a major comedown from some preseason hopes that he was going to be as fine for a season as he was last year against Not MSU. He’s still a very good man defender. Rutgers wanted a flag for a little tug at the very end of this route (despite taking maximal advantage of The Sleepy Crew) but even if you want to give them the tetchy tug after the ball was already uncatchable, Green had to make it all the way to the back corner of the endzone in phase.

#22 the cornerback on the bottom

I can only theorize—and I will get mad if you take this as “knowing” when it’s really just a guess—but my best explanation for why Green isn’t doing the thing he’s good at very often is the coaches want him to get good at the thing the rest of the defense is getting good at. Vincent Gray has taken to zone coverage like a fish takes to a good state’s water. Green needs the practice. Rutgers was practice.

What about the other play Rutgers was running at us again and again?

This was more of a package—not far from the things Michigan runs if you replaced the punching oneself in the face out of arrogant risk aversion with some cleverness. Brian called the whole thing “Some college bullshit” in the podcast, and we say that as adoringly as “boring safety.” The exotic version (which Michigan stopped by having an extra safety who ran Pacheco down) they debuted was a full-on Counter GT for the QB keep, with a loose Pacheco on the edge with many gaps to plug for the give:

For the long second half drives they went back to an unbalanced formation that did this more conventionally, threatening Pacheco’s speed on the edge with no speedy edge personnel, a wad of bodies on the side with all the speedy edge personnel, and a hard cut up the gut by a big quarterback for the little linebackers who were anxious to get to those two edges. Ohio State fans have a t-shirt of this when Ezekiel Elliott ran it to break Alabama’s back. It was The Thing That Worked for Michigan with Devin Gardner in 2013. I have taken to calling it Power Read if there’s a puller or Inverted Veer if they run the stretch zone version of it.

Rutgers was running it from the old Single Wing, which puts all the material to one side and a lot of space on the other. There are no eligible receivers on the top, and lots of gaps to try on the bottom:

This particular example was one of a stretch in the 2nd half when they ran this formation on 10/12 plays. It was working, so why change it up. I used this example of it because Michael Morris (#90) actually played the option part correctly, which extended the mesh and meant more time for the defense to rally to it. Junior Colson used all of that time to come around, through a block, on the backside to hold it to just a modest gain.

Unfortunately it took awhile for Morris to start playing both sides of the option. Here’s an arc read (remember THAT play?) where Morris is giving the quarterback an easy give read.

#90 the DE at the top of the formation

That was in the first half, and Pacheco fortunately didn’t take the gift of a free arc blocker to try a bounce for more than the first down. After halftime though their coaches saw it and used this to overwhelm one side of the defense:

#90 the DE at the bottom of the formation

This play got dangerous because Michigan’s edge plan was (I think) Colson popping back outside the RT. He was held so I didn’t neg him, but that’s a bad plan with a lot of guys going out the frontside of the play and not enough backside defenders moving over. One reason they have numbers though is because Morris went 100% for the QB.

Some teams do want to force one side of a read—it’s a RPS thing and also a choice of ballcarriers, since every option play is an opportunity for the defense to choose its poison. Michigan however didn’t seem to be doing this with a plan. I can’t remember a game since Braylonfest when a Michigan defense was trying to guess the right side of an option as if the whole point of an option wasn’t to make every guess wrong. And it’s here where you think back to how Michigan’s own options are pre-snap reads, and wonder if the 1980ness of this program isn’t a holistic problem.

The other main difference between the way Rutgers was running their offense versus how Michigan was running some of the same concepts with the same formations was they always had an edge check built in. This play is a Power Fold, which is just Power but they reverse the frontside kick and downblock by having the tight end fold inside. (I bet Michigan has this in their playbook already because it’s a natural counter to all the split zones and counters they run). But Michigan doesn’t have a (live, as best I can tell) post-snap bubble read to keep extra safeties away from it. Rutgers does:

Where was the adjustment?

Clearly, there wasn’t one unless it came on the last couple of possessions. Sam’s explanation on WTKA today was that the coaches didn’t have time to go in and coach the adjustments they wanted because by the time you got the whiteboard out the punt team was being summoned. That tracks with me. The first drive of the 2nd half was all in passing downs, so the 12-play, 91-yard drive after it was when Rutgers pulled out their halftime adjustments. A  few minutes later they were back out there, and that drive was still going at the end of the quarter. After the quarter break the defense stiffened and forced a field goal attempt.

Weirdly, the first adjustment was to just take the running back, which if you remember your arc read rules is a Bad Idea.

#90, the DE at the bottom of the formation

And it looks bad:

But then Colson (the ILB on the top) swung around and got this down for a minimal gain. It looks like Michigan’s response was similar to their response to the holes in Cover 3: Make a play! This goes back to the preseason discussions about how linebacking is hard in all circumstances but especially when you’re playing for Mike Macdonald.

But the more the linebackers freed themselves to attack this aggressively, the more they were pulling themselves out of coverage. The touchdown was off play-action that used a jet sweep to threaten one of these attacks while the RB was flaring out as a blocker, the circled behind Nikhai Hill-Green and was wide open. I’m sure you’ve seen it enough by now.

Was this a Josh Ross thing at all?

I think that’s a plausible explanation, although Ross was making Ross mistakes still when he was in. Overall I feel ambivalent between the Ross mistakes—where he’s guessing at the wrong gap or trying to fix someone else’s problems—to the Mullings mistakes, which was a general hesitancy to attack when it was time to. When facing a team like Rutgers that needed to stay on schedule however, I would take the ups and downs of Ross, since the ups are going to put them in passing downs.

Also this was one of them:

That is a PLAY! So was the one where Ross forced a long mesh and Hawkins was able to chase down Pacheco on the edge.

More of the Ross effect was unseen, but felt. This was a stop when Ross was in and directing various guys, and tapping butts to get them in position. I also think Hill-Green was playing more aggressively and theorize this was because Ross was there to make him right if this gamble of shooting through the guard’s legs goes awry.

Ross had a few blips but also Michigan was substantially better when he was in there. You can look at the drive charts—especially late when Rutgers was just running the same four plays out of their unbalanced formation—and see the difference even if I can’t grade it in the tape. The RPS was decidedly in Michigan’s favor until the 2nd half, when Ross wasn’t out there. The instances of guys moving over gaps or aligning because they saw something in the offense went from often to seldom.

Also Kalel Mullings is not there yet. It’s too late now to grab clips but there were a bunch of late-game Power Read runs when all he had to do was stay in his lane to keep the mesh thinking, but took two steps towards the edge Pacheco was threatening and that was enough for Vedral to pull and come up the gut.

Colson is getting there. I showed the “Make a Play” play above. There’s also a suddenness to Colson that’s not part of any other linebacker’s game, and which is starting to translate to plays where he’s the extra guy around the ball even when the DT in front of him is getting buried.

Sometimes I think Hill-Green is there. He was the guy responsible for giving up the touchdown, but he was also the guy making plays in the most crucial situations, most notably the last two plays. The one on 3rd and 1 was even better than the one on 4th down.

He needs to play more responsibly before his points start climbing deep into the positives, but you can have a good defense with Hill-Green on the field, and given our expectations at linebacker in the preseason that’s something worth celebrating. He’s a Guy. Wisconsin is going to be a new kind of challenge, but he’s in a spot now where one or two fixable mistakes are between him and Dude.

I sense we are coming to the chart.

The chart.

Defensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Smith	5	6.5	-1.5	Up and down versus doubles. Couldn't stay on the field.
Hinton	17	0	+17	Breakout performance vs doubles, freebies vs a very bad LG.
Jenkins	4.5	1	+3.5	Wins the initial punch, not strong enough to do more yet.
Whittley			0	DNP
Morris	6.5	5	+1.5	Made some DT plays, learned about mesh points today.
Jeter	2.5	6	-3.5	Strong enough, quick enough, enough with the standing up.
Welschof		2	-2	Responsible for a 3rd and short conversion.
Speight	0.5	0.5	0	The Speight.
Hutchinson	24	1	+23	5th overall pick? Sure. Didn't come off the field in the 2nd half.
Harrell	1.5	0	+1.5	Set some good edges, few chances to pass rush.
Upshaw			DNC	He's in the racecar package but behind McGregor now.
Ojabo	7	3	+4	On like six plays. Uche specialist and it showed.
McGregor	4	0	+4	Seeing more time, makes very few mistakes. Hutch heir?
TOTAL	71.5	25	+46.5	Hinton is the story. Can it last vs Wisconsin is the question.
Linebacker
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Ross	6	8.5	-2.5	Presence felt, absence also felt.
Hill-Green	12.5	11.5	+1	TD was a -3. Made big plays after Ross was out.
Colson	7.5	6	+1.5	Starting to see it. Picked on in curl/flat coverage.
Mullings	3.5	12	-8.5	One drive was just him getting picked on with College Bullshit
Barrett			0	DNP
TOTAL	29.5	38	-8.5	Ross isn't a star but he was the difference.
Secondary
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hill	12.5	8	+4.5	Up and down day. Huge plays when they were needed.
Hawkins	6	4.5	+1.5	Got bored. One coverage bust was way downfield.
Moten	3	5	-2	Boring when not asked to be a DE.
Moore			0	DNP
Kolesar			0	DNP
Paige			0	DNP
Gem.Green	4	6	-2	Why are YOU playing off against Rutgers?
Gray	7	2	+5	Michigan's best CB, RU knew to stay away (except Pacheco)
Turner	0	6.5	-6.5	Played off coverage, still terrible run defender. Nobody better?
Johnson			0	DNP
TOTAL	31.5	32	-0.5	Why are we playing soft against Rutgers?
Metrics
Pressure	11	7	+4	Fought max pro, max holding.
Coverage	26	22	+4	Hitches, the TD, and nothing. Worried about stiffer tests.
Tackling	12	14	-2	Every single minus was Pacheco. Dude is legit.
RPS	26	24	+2	M got to bring their safeties to bear. RU was gambling early.

Do we have a dominant defensive tackle?

The difference between Hinton and the rest of the DTs was visible on my second re-watch but I didn’t think it would come to a score like this. I think this is because he was off the field for several rotations when Rutgers was moving the ball, and because a lot of the plays he made were the “congrats you held a 2nd and 1 to two yards” variety.

#15 the nose tackle

That is until he did something when the game was in the balance.

#15 the third guy down from the top of the formation

You could say this was against Rutgers’s bad offensive line, but the other guys weren’t doing the things Hinton was, like blowing up a draw by shoving one of those Rutgers guards into the backfield and chasing down the QB:

#15 the 2nd guy from the bottom

Time and again when I went to see how an awesome linebacker play happened there was Hinton stopping the line from getting to the linebackers.

#15 the 2nd guy down from the top of the line

Unless it was Jenkins, who if you scroll up you can see featured in one of the Hill-Green plays at the end. The typical Jenkins play is the guy in front of him gets rocked back, then Jenkins gets rocked back. That’s often enough for Michigan’s needs.

I continue to assert that he’s on a path to being a good piece, because this year was supposed to be a bulk-up year. If he’s stronger with that explosion we’ve built ourselves a bear.

Speaking of carnivores, how’s the hunt for the next Hutchinson going?

That’s not going to be a fair comparison, because This Hutchinson is rampant. You can watch any of the clips above and you’re likely to see him either soaking up attention or finding his way into the backfield to be useful. A lot of this game was a cat and mouse routine of Rutgers seeing where Hutchinson lined up and trying to get to a play that stays away from him. This one had a lot of that audibling and switching of sides before Aidan blew past a TE aligned to have a better angle NOT to get edged, messed up the RB’s route, then sacked the quarterback.

Ultimately Rutgers just chose to burn extra players in creative ways (see: the two-man routes attacking Cover 3) to prevent Hutchinson from terrorizing whichever tackle was the unlucky one this play. One of those creations was blindsiding him with a running back lined up in the slot. I wish we had this idea when the Bosas were terrorizing us.

He also stayed on the field through all of that, forcing Rutgers into several 4th and go for it situations, then doing his part to have a few end drives. The Pacheco fumble was both goofy and a play made by Hutchinson leaping into the backfield. The announcers were trying everything they could to prop up Rutgers this game, but the one time I really got mad about it was when they tried to make this play all about Pacheco “running by” Hutchinson.

1. He’s two-gapping this LT.
2. He only gets “run by” because that LT’s hand is inside Hutchinson’s chest plate.
3. Look who catches up and runs Pacheco out of bounds.

Hutchinson rules.

Okay, but where are we on the hunt for a starting OLB opposite Hutchinson?

I think the rotation is what it is this year. You’ve got your pass-rusher in Ojabo, who had +2 and +3 plays using his athleticism. The +2:

top DE

And then the +4 spin sack to end the game once and for all:

For the record a “+3” is if you do something alone that results in a TFL or a similarly big-time play. A “+4” is when you do something that completely changes the game, e.g. spin inside for a game-ending strip-sack on the second snap of a one-score two-minute drill. For some guys this is a talent. They talked about him having more of a specialist role. I love that. He’s a weapon.

Michael Morris is the every-down guy now. He got the start, he learned how to play zone read options on the fly, and he also got to show off more of his versatility, this time as a pass-rushing nose tackle:

#90, third guy down who’s cocked like a Rutgers NT:

Been a minute since we’ve had one of those.

Speaking of hybrids, let’s leave R.J. Moten at safety please. OLB at the top here:

What happened when they tried to edge Dax Hill this week?

 

Actually it worked a few times. We figured going in that Rutgers would have to try, because they can’t go vertical and can’t afford to run inside into stacked boxes all day. The first play from scrimmage they tried to edge Dax Hill. It did not work:

 

It did not work even harder when Vedral pump-faked to his slot receiver then threw it anyways.

However it did work when Hill got to Pacheco and Pacheco was like “I’m a big honkin tank back and you’re a future NFL cornerback.”

Rutgers went right back to it the next play and this time Hill let them outside by trying to jet through the wrong gap.

And then the third time the got him because he stuck his hand in the cookie jar.

Dax had a very up and down game in general as Michigan tried to have him be everywhere and he learned some of his limitations. Like if you have a ludicrous speed button on your spaceship you have to gear down before you get to the Winnebago.

Your google watch says you walked a lot of miles this week somehow.

Well the weather’s been gorgeous. I am not a person with a high tolerance for bad officiating, I accept this about myself, and my healthy way of dealing with it is to stomp around the neighborhood instead of stomping around the house where there are forks and various foods not meant for this time or person to destroy with the forks. This was a skill picked up as a Detroit Lions fan, and honed when doing FFFFs because the O’Neil Crew and the Sleepy Crew were regular occurrences. The O’Neil Crew experience is one of incompetence matched only by people who are purposefully incompetent for a living. The Sleepy Crew is easier to take, because they’re just here to wear striped pajamas and collect a paycheck.

The galling thing about it this game was something I was aware of from FFFFs past: though not on the level of Mark Dantonio, Schiano is one of the cheap ones, and when he gets paired with the Sleepy Crew that means getting away with penalties is going to be part of the gameplan. Paul Chryst is the king of this. At least the weather’s holding up.

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. Aidan Hutchinson. Clobberated. Only came off the field for one series and never in the 2nd half, as a defensive lineman! Made his teammates look good because he was getting triple-teamed; Rutgers used a perfectly good frontside receiver on their final two-minute drill drive just to clock him. Also there were so many instances when a guy got a stuff when you looked back and Hutchinson had snuck in from the backside and grabbed the dude’s legs. Did this despite not drawing a single holding call, which makes you wonder why then Hutchinson kept having to put his pads back in his jersey after every play. Hung out on this brick wall after, which you can build highway overpasses out of bricks right? Right.

2. Erick All. He’s the chef you brought aboard the longship because your raiding party hasn’t had a great topman since Jake the Butt, then he grabs a blade and a shield and becomes the tip of your shield wall, to the point where it seems rude to ask him climb the rigging. As I stated before, split zone is the highway underpass of football plays.

3. Andrew Stueber. Quietly kept the backside nice and clean so Michigan’s fuddered offense could slorp its way to points. Was the key block when they finally went to Bash. Spent much of the game practically a tight end as Michigan covered the real ones. From Darien, CT, which is the the overpass above the highway that is Long Island.

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

5: Erick All
4: Aidan Hutchinson
3: Ronnie Bell, Ryan Hayes
2: Mike Sainristil, Hassan Haskins, Junior Colson
1: Nikhai Hill-Green, Cade Kolesar, Andrew Stueber

All complaints about these selections should be directed to Steve “I’m not his dad; do I look like a doctor?” Hutchinson.

Heroes?

Hutchinson, Hinton.

Maybe not so heroic?

Kalel Mullings came in for Ross and got picked on. Gemon Green played so conservative he [redacted], and DJ Turner did that without the good plays to offset it. The Sleepy Crew.

What does it mean for Wisconsin and the future?

Conservatism is cowardice. Play up on your competition, not down to it. If Graham Mertz is going to beat us with zip bang bullets to the middle distance so be it.

Dax Hill can be edged in certain circumstances. They should keep trying it.

Donovan Jeter should be moved to Floor 7½ of South Quad. There’s a player in there but some guys just can’t do pad level and Jeter’s probably going to go down as the canonical example of that.

Chris Hinton can destroy a Rutgers line. Don’t know if that’s real but it’s a start.

Josh Ross is important to this defense in mysterious senior leadership ways. Might be replaceable in the future but there’s a different feel of competence from the others when he’s in there.