Formation/Terminology Notes: Going to clean up my terminology for power running because Michigan runs so many variants. A guide:

• Buck: Pin & Pull is now “Buck” because they’re really the same thing. That is when the frontside guard is one of the pullers.
• Power: If the backside guard pulls to the frontside it’s “Power.”
• Counter: If they pull to the backside it’s “Counter” regardless of backfield action (because Michigan often substitutes a false read for its counter step).
• Down _ is when they pull a frontside blocker as the kickout, e.g. Down G.
• Fold is a two-man combo where the player named folded around the guy inside him. If it’s not a G going around a T I’ll note the downblock then the pull-around.
• Trap is when the puller kicks an unblocked interior defender instead of the edge. 

When two guys pull I’ll list the kickout blocker first.

Also there was some question about “Cover 0” and “0” in my “Hi” column. I will start using “NA” for goal line and save 0 high for the times when it looks like they’re running Cover Zero (pure m2m, no safety help), like so:

NIU did this a lot. They also used a lot of these wide splits to deal with Michigan’s powerful off-tackle running game. In course there were a lot of runs that cut back inside, where Michigan’s interior OL were blowing up the DTs and ILBs on the regular.

Also I added Expected Points Added (EPA) to the offensive chart now as well.

Substitution Notes: Filiaga replaced Keegan after the first drive until halftime when Keegs returned. Baldwin returned to the lineup and was the #2 WR. Schoonmaker got all the 2nd TE snaps until backup hour so he’s passed Honigford, and after this game probably for good. Second team OL was (left to right) Barnhart-Filiaga-Crippen-Atteberry-Jones.

[After THE JUMP: Competency >>>> Ol’ That’s Six.]

Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
O48	1st	10	Pistol Str	4-3-4	425 Over	1	Pass	6	Hitch	Baldwin	14	0.75
Lucky I snapped a photo of the first snap because the TV missed this. NIU in the parking lot, Baldwin(+1) is the first read under pillow soft coverage, gets extra up the sideline. (CA, 3, Prot 1/1, McN+1)
O34	1st	10	Pistol Str	4-3-4	4-3 Wide	1	Run	7.5	Arc Read Give	Haskins	1	-0.50
NIU pinching wings into the box, motion Sainristil right, Arc read left and there's an extra edge who's shuffling (read+1, RPS-2). Keegan(-1) late coming off double of DT that set up outside him. Good job NIU, you ran the play that defeats arc.
O33	2nd	9	Offset Wk	4-3-4	4-3 Wide	1	Run	7	Buck CG Z-Counter	Haskins	13	0.82
Z motion pulls the S way high (RPS+1). Schoonmaker(+2) demolished this DE so bad it blocks the backside reach attempt Zinter(-1) was losing. Hayes(+0.5) gets a pancake on his DT. Keegan(+1) monster kick on the OLB, Vastardis(+1) pops the Mike. Haskins glides for what's there but S catches him.
O20	1st	10	Gun Trips 3TE	4-3-4	4-3 Under	2	Play-Action	8	TE Cross	Schoonmaker	Inc	-0.37
Haskins subs out late for Corum. Vastardis(-2, Prot-2), can't get to a DT lined up in a 4i tech. McNamara avoids the sack and throws it away in the direction of Schoon. (PR, 0, Prot 0/2, McN+1)
O20	2nd	10	Pistol Trips F	4-3-4	4-4 Over	1	Run	8	Counter Trey	Corum	16	1.30
NIU stacking the box (RPS-1) for this and Zinter(-1) gets dove under as he tries to turn, so All(+1) has to use himself up to seal. However Hayes(+2) blew out a DT and then turned out the MLB who was replacing the crashing edges while Keegan(+1) continues the maned DT's donkey ride for another 8 yards and a pancake that gets the CB caught behind it. Room to burrow becomes a whole new backside lane as Vastardis(+1) drives his DT 6 yards downfield, catching the wash. Henning(+0.5) gets a short pop on a safety and Wilson(+0.5) has a CB as Corum(+1) bounces into the secondary.
O4	1st	Goal	Pistol 2TE Tight	4-4-3	Goal Line	NA	Run	NA	Belly	Corum	3	-0.21
No read, All and Schoonmaker(+2) double a DE that Schoon puts in the endzone under the knees of two low safeties, while Hayes(+1) found and turned out a LB. However Henning(-1) lets an LB dive through his block and Corum(+1) has to bounce away from the TD lane then back inside the two guys who weren't checking the QB, turning a TFL into sneak range.
O1	2nd	Goal	Goal Line	4-4-3	Goal Line	NA	Run	NA	QB Sneak	McNamara	1	1.90
Zinter(+1) swallows his DT and McNamara(+1) angles his fall that way.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 7-0. 11 min 1st Q. It was a teenage wedding and the old folks wished them well.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M24	1st	10	Pistol Str	4-3-4	425 Over	2	Run	6.5	Reverse	Henning	26	2.30
RPS+2 gets a LB and S to bite. Other S is tracking but Vastardis(+1) gets out on him and that guy has to take a very long angle to catch Henning(+1) who dusts a bunch of Huskies. Sainristil(+1) had a play-long block on his CB.
50	1st	10	Pistol Heavy Unbalanced	4-3-4	4-3 Under	1	Run	7	Power CF	Haskins	11	0.70
Honigford(+1) moves his DE 3 yards off the line but Vastardis(-1) targeted the kickout that Wilson got. Also Keegan(-1) got ripped through by a DT. Hayes(+2) to the rescue, as he swallows a LB and another gets stuck behind him. Haskins(+1) hops behind a good late-arriving kick from All(+1). Safety ran himself needlessly to the edge, VT vs Stanford style, so this goes 8 yards to the deep one, and four more because H2 does his thing.
O39	1st	10	Gun Twins	4-3-4	4-3 Even	1	Pass	7	Post	Johnson	Inc	-0.81
"Deep" safety now at 10 yards so they take a shot. Orbit motion with Wilson, puts it where CJ can get it but on the hash where he had lots of MoF to test over that safety. Refs-2 let the CB get there early and jump on CJ's back. Don't hate the non-call because of ball placement. (CA-, 1, Prot 2/2, McN-0.5)
O39	2nd	10	Pistol Quad Unbalanced	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1	Run	7	Split Zone	Corum	8	0.64
Now S is at 9 yards. Honigford(-1)'s kickout goes under him, he can't turn and rolls over it, backside closed. Schoonmaker(-2) lets his kickout dodge under him, frontside closed. Keegan(+1) moves out a DE who shot into the backfield, Hayes(+1) rode a DT, Vastardis(+1) climbed and turned out an LB. Middle open enough for Corum(+1) to dive for four. He stays on his feet while diving for an extra 4, turning 3rd and 6 into 3rd and 2. This guy.
O31	3rd	2	Pistol Trips F Flex	5-3-3	5-3 Under	1	Run	7	Split Zone	Haskins	3	0.56
Motion Schoon into the split. This is all Vastardis(+2) who got his hat across to reach a DT lined up playside of him. Keegan(-1) got ripped down by that DL again in a way that looked like bad defensive holding but might be TK embellishing. No call, too late to stop Haskins from hitting a LB.
O28	1st	10	Ace Empty	4-3-4	4-3 Even	1	Pass	7	Hitch	Baldwin	4	-0.04
CB sitting on this (RPS-1) but ball is out quickly and Baldwin hangs on. (CA, 2, Prot 1/1, McN+0.5)
O24	2nd	6	Pistol Trips Y	4-3-4	4-3 Even	1	Run	8	Split Zone	Edwards	8	0.24
RPS-2 except NIU safety blows it. All(+1) does the best he can to keep the edge out until Schoonmaker(+0.5) arrives to kick. Still an unblocked S and CB to deal with...they stay there. Vastardis(+1) got down and caused havoc among the LBs. Edwards(+0.5) got a few extra after contact.
O16	1st	10	Gun Empty	4-2-5	Nickel Over	2	Pass	6	RB Hitch	Corum	13	1.10
First read is open under soft coverage, I guess because most teams don't throw to the RB when they go wide? Corum(+1) twists his feet like a WR can't, defense goes from tackle to corral mode and 7 more yards ensue. (CA, 3, Prot 1/1, McN+1)
O3	1st	Goal	I-Heavy	5-3-3	Goal Line	NA	Penalty	NA	Offsides	NA	Pen+1	0.53
Oops.
O1	1st	Goal	I-Heavy	5-3-3	Goal Line	NA	Run	NA	Down G	Corum	1	0.94
Keegan(+1) turns DE, All(+1) in Ben Mason kicks the LB who shows. Corum through a S for the score. Also Jones(+2) took his DE on a tour of the whole formation. <--Click that!
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 14-0. 2 min 1st Q. You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M36	1st	10	Gun Ace Tight	4-3-4	4-3 Even	0	Run	8	End Around	Henning	24	2.08
NIU safeties now rolled up on the LBs' butts. Filiaga(-1) in at LG and misses the scoop but Stueber(+2) pancakes a S, Honigford(+2) deports the edge who was coming inside him, Haskins(+1) removes a CB, and Vastardis(+1) got around the MLB to escort Henning to the 40. S gets up mad and shoves Sainristil in front of ref.
O40	1st	9	Pistol Str	4-3-4	4-3 Under	2	Run	6.5	Counter Trey	Corum	24	0.50
This should have been a TFL, people. NIU slants at this (RPS-2), to overwhelm the backside, Stueber(+2) cuts off his release to the LB and rides the DE well out of the way, Filiaga(+1) gets a strong kick, but there's an extra edge guy so hole must be hit before All(+1) has finished his lead block, which did put the MLB on his ass. Corum(+3) hits it, running through extra edge's dive, in between All and the on-assed MLB, and uses his hand to keep himself up as Sainristil(+1) goes by with a moon-walking safety. Another safety is there, ankle attempt doesn't bring Corum down either, and Baldwin(+0.5) is downfield harassing a CB but pursuit is coming so Corum stiffarms and goes out. DE gives him a shove several yards OOB and refs really needed to flag that--Refs-2, TV Crew(+2) probably prevented an injury by laying down the coil and stepping on the end so it couldn't get tugged back up into a trip-wire.
O16	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-3-4	4-3 Under	2	RPO	7	Stretch	Corum	0	-0.33
RPS-1 NIU slants into this and rolls a S to prevent the bubble that looked viable pre-snap, RPO+. Vastardis(-1) rides a double that's already past Filiaga and going down instead of popping the MLB who can pop the C over then make the play.
O16	2nd	10	Gun Wk Tight	4-3-4	4-3 Under	0	Play-Action	9	A.R.O.	Johnson	12	1.21
Safeties at 6 yards, rollout out. DB gets a grab at a shoulder pad but CJ(+1) shakes it off, stays in bounds, and gets 6 extra. Crowd thought it was a facemask but clearly wasn't. (CA, 3, Prot n/a, McN+1)
O4	1st	Goal	Pistol Trips	4-3-4	4-3 Over	NA	Run	NA	Belly	Haskins	3	-0.21
RPS+2, NIU slanting into this and doing the Army shuffle with a CB and S. McNamara(-1, read-1) gives, which allows FS safety to shoot and get into Haskins's legs. It's all DBs vs Haskins(+1) though so it gets 3/4 to goal.
O1	2nd	Goal	Single Wing	5-3-3	Goal Line	NA	Run	NA	Dive	Haskins	1	1.90
Wilson(-1) lets a DE inside. Vastardis(+0.5) and Filiaga(+0.5) burrow, Zinter(+1) blows a DT to the letters, and Haskins(+1) can leap over Wilson's mistake to put it over the line, tapping the Zintered DT's butt with the ball for emphasis.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 21-3. 13 min 2nd Q. And when the young madame et messieur had rung the chapel bell.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M29	1st	10	Gun Twins	4-3-4	4-3 Under	0	Play-Action	8.5	PA Post	Johnson	Inc	-0.83
Cover zero (RPS+2) meets PA deep shot and CJ(route+) has his CB dusted. Six-man run blitz is picked up by 7-man protection. Ball sails just past his CJ's fingertips because he slowed a bit. Does this hit him in stride if CJ didn't slow? Don't know so it gets the don't know grade. (MA, 1, Prot 3/3, McN-push)
M29	2nd	10	Gun 2TE	4-3-4	4-3 Under	2	Pass	7	Quick Out	Wilson	14	2.14
Blitz picked up, OLB showed pressure and has no chance to get back on this. On time, and placed where Wilson can get extra. (CA+, 3, Prot 2/2, McN+2)
M43	1st	10	Gun Str	4-3-4	4-3 Wide	0	RPO	8	Buck GC Z Counter	Edwards	3	-0.43
NIU is +2 in the box so McNamara(-2, RPO-1) should throw the flare to Wilson, gives. Filiaga(+1) and Vastardis(+1) dominate their kickout blocks and Hayes(+.05) and Keegan(+.05) have the inside blocked well but safety who didn't follow the Z motion is unblocked. Edwards(-1) tries to go outside the guy Vastardis is now pancaking instead of trying that guy in the huge gap.
M46	2nd	7	Gun Trips	4-3-4	4-4 Wide	1	Pass	8	Fade	Baldwin	Inc(Pen+15)	1.76
NIU jumps offsides so Vastardis(+1) snaps for a free shot at 3 verts except refs(+/-) didn't call it. Singled guy is Baldwin(route-), McN puts it in a Go Get It spot. CB does a good job but doesn't turn around and gets a weak PI for mutual handfighting. Ball goes off Baldwin's hands. (CA, 1, Prot 2/2, McN+1)
O39	1st	10	Gun Trips	4-3-4	4-4 Wide	2	Run	8	Buck GC	Corum	3	-0.26
Slant and Zinter(+1) gets his DT past the PoA. Filiaga(-1) and Vastardis(-1) both chase the same CB kickout—Vastardis is trying to tap Filiaga's butt since he's inside though kick is usually the G's assignment—works if they both know the drill but leaves a LB unblocked. Stueber(+0.5) had his guy bottled, Hayes(-0.5) got ripped past after RB went by.
O36	2nd	7	Gun Wk F Wide	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2	Run	7	Split Zone	Corum	9	0.66
Zinter(-2) doesn't see the blitzing MLB, Corum(+2) dodges that guy then has loads of space because Hayes(+1) donkeyed a DE whom Corum stiffarms to the ground before getting hewn down by a CB Wilson(-1) failed to bother.
O27	1st	10	Pistol Str	4-3-4	4-3 Wide	1	Run	8	Stretch	McNamara	-8	-1.77
McNamara(-3) fumbles the snap.
O35	2nd	18	Gun Ace	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1	Pass	7	TE Deep Seam	All	23	1.98
That's the Erick All Problem we thought we recruited. Has the seam and on the money over a LB, and where All(route+) can sit on a safety's chest and pull it down. (DO, 2, Prot 2/2, McN+2)
O12	1st	10	Gun Twins	4-3-4	4-4 Over	1	Run	8	Counter Trey	Corum	3	-0.10
RPS-2 down a man in the box because a fake read isn't on the same side as the Orbit motion and NIU runs its LBs to the backside. Filiaga(-1) lost his downblock upfield, Hayes(+1) drove his across the whole formation. Vastardis(+1) and All(+1) both get extra on their kicks and that gives Corum room to run up All's back for a few.
O9	2nd	7	Pistol Trips F	4-3-4	4-4 Over	1	Run	8	Power GF	Corum	4	-0.02
RPS-2 down a man in the box with no read and the unblocked FS DE is crashing. It's all Zinter(+1) can do to kick him back, holding up All(+) vs a LB. Want Corum to try to bounce off the All block because that LB came inside, but after the delay I get why you just scoot for the four that are there instead of trying to bounce for a TD so no minus.
O5	3rd	3	Pistol Ace F Flex	4-3-4	4-4 Under	NA	Run	9	Split Zone	Haskins	5	2.65
NIU slants and twists the LBs which is an anti-split gamble that works, RPS-2. Schoonmaker(+1) erases a DE to make a big gap Hayes(-1) whiffed on the MLB downfield but delivers a free S to the hole. All(+1) shoulders the OLB for enough gap for Haskins(+2) to step around the SS. He then meets the CB and Hayes's MLB at the 1st down marker, and stretches through them for the score.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 28-3. Not even a little mad about the RPS stuff—Michigan invited it so they could practice adjustments to different looks. C'est la vie said the old folks.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M13	1st	10	Gun 2TE	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1	Pass	7.5	Out and Up	Johnson	87	6.70
"Deep" safety back at 10 yards and first step is down—he's useless (RPS+2). CJ(+2, route+2) puts a double move on his CB and that guy is cooked. Doesn't miss. (DO, 2, Prot 3/3, McN+2)
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M30	1st	10	Pistol Ace	4-3-4	4-3 Even	1	Run	7	Split Zone Z Kick	Haskins	15	1.42
McCarthy in now. Even formation and run to the F side screws with NIU's plans but not totally because they’re blitzing the backside gap this is supposed to hit. Keegan(+2) calmly IDs the blitz and kicks him safely by. Vastardis(+2) reaches his DT, Hayes(+0.5) turned his kickout. Haskins(+1) jukes the safety for an extra handful.
M45	1st	10	Pistol Trips Unbalanced	4-3-4	5-3 Under	1	Run	8	Counter CF	Haskins	4	-0.16
Vastardis(+1) turns the edge and buries him, All(+1) gets all of his kickout. Hayes(-1) doesn't properly seal the MLB who fights through to grab one of HH's legs or else this breaks big as well.
M49	2nd	6	Gun Trips Stack	4-3-4	4-3 over	1	RPO	7	Dart	Corum	51	4.44
Dart is an outside run that usually reads the backside edge but they're reading the other side and this DE forms up anyways. RPO+1 I guess? He's dead against Corum(+2) who gets the edge and jets past the poor NIU safety who had 10 yards of cushion he couldn't do anything with. Hayes(+1) planted his LB face-first into the sideline. Isn't there supposed to be a CB out there, you ask? Glad you asked. Schoonmaker(+3) took that guy into the sideline and then, literally, to the bench. Have a seat young man, and watch Michigan play some football.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 42-3. 13 min 3rd Q. We can't run with the starters because they don’t burn enough clock. Had enough? Okay sickos. Next drive starts at midfield because Henning nearly housed it.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
O48	1st	10	Pistol 2TE Tight	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2	Run	9	Arc Read End Around	Wilson	10	0.59
Backup OL in. DE crashes, Arc give to Wilson (McN+1, Read+1). Honigford(-1) lets his blockdown shoot up but Wilson(+1) is too fast for this SS who had the worst Sunday film session in history this week. All(+2) got to the CB way downfield and kicked him to the sideline and Sainristil(+1) drove the other S to his buddy's film session, so the decks are clear if Wilson can survive a desperation dive attempt by the SAM. He gets an calf and it's just enough.
O38	1st	10	Pistol Twins F	4-3-4	4-4 Over	3	Run	8	Split Zone	Edwards	3	-0.25
Cutback opens as Crippen(+2) caught a blitzing LB and ran him into the backside to fix an edge loss by Jones(-1) and Filiaga(+1) has rocked back his DT. Edwards(-2) does't see it and tries frontside, where Seltzer(-0.5) and Barnhart(-0.5) double can't get to the LB—Maybe Hayes is better than you think, PFF. Honigford(+1) kickout connects and there's room to bounce but Edwards burrows into the LB that the double couldn't get to for a minimal gain.
O35	2nd	7	Gun Twins	4-3-4	5-2 Wide	3	Play-Action	8	A.R.O.	Baldwin	5	0.08
That's a different arm than the last one to throw this; Baldwin has a chance for extra but gets run OOB. (CA+, 3, Prot n/a, McC+1)
O30	3rd	2	Pistol Twins FB	4-3-4	4-3 Over	NA	Run	9	Split Zone	Edwards	3	0.52
RPS+2 NIU sold out to the other side. Nearly blown because Atteberry(-2) gets shoved into the backfield and Jones(-0.5) only barely got enough of his DE. Honigford(+1) gets down to our SS and adds to that kid's terrible horrible no good very bad day. Seltzer(+0.5) chips to get his kickout and it's enough. Edwards(+0.5) gets around the Atteberry/Jones situation but gets tripped on an LB's desperation ankle tackle or that day gets worse.
O27	1st	10	Pisto Twins FB	4-3-4	4-4 Over	1	RPO	8	Arc/TE Read	Edwards	8	0.49
That TE read from WMU and the DE grabs Honig's shoulder and yanks him (refs-1) so it's a give (RPO+1). Crippen(+0.5) late on a blitzer but goes back to get him. Filiaga(+1) did better. Jones(-1) waits to engage long after RPO then goes wrong side of Atteberry(+1) who is driving his DT. Edwards(+1) wiggles through all of this and just barely gets tripped up after a solid gain.
O19	2nd	2	Gun Y Flex Wk	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1	Run	6.5	Zone Read	McCarthy	16	0.79
Just a ZR by McCarthy(+2, read+1) vs two guys trying to do the Army. JJ dusts a FS that Sainristil got wrongsided on and wisely raised his hands to avoid a block in the back, and it gets inside the five.
O3	1st	Goal	Pistol Trips	4-3-4	4-3 Over	NA	Run	NA	Arc Read Give	Corum	2	-0.44
Crippen(+0.5) and Atteberry(+1) double a DT and Corum(+0.5) burrows for an extra little. Read+1.
O1	2nd	Goal	Single Wing	5-3-3	Goal Line	NA	Run	NA	Belly	Corum	1	1.90
Honigford(+1) gets enough push for Corum to go over. He fumbles after the ball crosses the plane. Read=push; shuffling CB.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 48-3. 7 min 3rd Q. One more drive? TWO? Okay but only because this was my daughter's first game and she was still watching intently. Also the next drive starts at the NIU 3 after the Green INT.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
O3	1st	Goal	Pistol Twins F	5-3-3	Goal Line	NA	Run	NA	Stretch	Edwards	-1	-0.87
Just a good play by the WLB who tracked Edwards through a big gap btw Jones(+0.5) and Honigford(+0.5). Think Edwards(-1) can try to take this outside the Honig block.
O4	2nd	Goal	Pistol Heavy	5-3-3	Goal Line	NA	Run	NA	Split Trap	Edwards	4	2.33
Schoonmaker(-1) is losing DE inside so All(+2) kicks that guy instead. Planned? Edwards(+1) sees it and hits it through a couple of surprised back 7s.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 56-3. 6 min 3rd Q. Next drive is 2 plays so okay.
M24	1st	10	Gun Ace	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2	Pass	7	Hitch	Johnson	18	1.58
Coverage is softer than [REDACTED], CJ(+2) makes a CB go plop then dances down the NIU sideline. (CA, 3, Prot 1/1, McC+1)
M42	1st	10	Pistol Trips Unbalanced	4-3-4	4-3 Wide	1	Run	7.5	Counter Trey	Edwards	58	4.56
Jones(+2) caves the DE and seals the LB. Hibner(+1) got a good pop on the DE, and Edwards(+2) is alone with our friend the strong safety wearing #6, whose jersey choice is once again on point.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 63-3. 4 min 3rd Q. End of full charting but I'll do McCarthy's throws from the next drive.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M20	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-3-4	4-3 Under	2	Pass	7	Slot Out	Wilson	12	0.87
Ball is a little high but across the field and gets there fast. (CA, 2, Prot is turned off. McC+1)
O39	2nd	16	Gun Empty	4-2-5	425 Wide		Pass		Hitch	Dixon	7	0.46
First read under soft coverage is made. Ball is fast, YAC opportunity. (CA, 3, McC+1)
O32	3rd	9		4-3-4			Pass		Rollout Out	Dixon	Inc	-0.89
Blitz flushes, maybe didn't have to. Desperation sideline throw too high. (TA, 0, McC-1)
O32	4th	9		4-3-4			Pass		Slot Fade	Dixon	Inc	-1.92
Probably not normally the playcall. Dixon(route-) gets no separation, can't get to the ball which is placed where hypothetically separated Dixon would be. (BR, 1, McC-1 didn't have to throw this.)
Drive Notes: Turnover on Downs. 63-3. 13 min 4th Q. Now end of charting. So you don't feel cheated, here's Dunlap's long run and Franklin's called back TD(?).

I’m not supposed to take this seriously, right?

Right.

Bill Connelly is.

He isn’t. He explicitly said don’t take this seriously.

I almost never share this because people overreact to it and it has no predictive value, but I CAN'T HELP IT, THIS IS THE WORLD I WANT TO LIVE IN.

SP+ top 5 if all preseason projections were taken out:
1. Michigan
2. Georgia
3. Ole Miss
4. Texas Tech
5. Florida

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) September 19, 2021

And I promised him we wouldn’t overreact.

Okay then what is something you can you tell us, definitively, without a shadow of a doubt, that we learned from this game?

Michigan scored a touchdown on all 9 drives they had their starters in.

Yeah, that is pretty comprehensive.

I wouldn’t be surprised if NIU finishes in the bottom 130 of FBS teams in defense this year, and that was true before they went down a rare experienced body in the secondary against GT. I don’t think we are going to face anyone else this year with a player I want to nickname ‘ol Six.

So we’re competent.

Looks like. Brian pointed this out in the game column, but Michigan’s offense thus far has shown a consistent ability to handle its business even when presented with weird stuff. This is the first play of the 2nd half, NIU desperately wants to kick Michigan off the field and get it to something respectable like 35-10, and they think they’ve cooked up something to generate a thunderous TFL against the “base” play of Split Zone. Trevor Keegan, the newest member of the offensive line, who was absent for most of the last half, came in and calmly handled the blitzer, Graham Glasgow-style.

#77, the LG, 2nd from the bottom on the line

Also Andrew Vastardis, the lineman I thought Michigan wanted to replace with Zinter as soon as possible, ends up on the playside of the DT lined up way playside of him. Also the Thunder-Lightning running back duo had zero negatives. Also the one time NIU did manage to deliver a blitzer to the backfield, Corum just dodged that guy anyways.

The same thing (Blake Corum) happened when they ginned up a way to beat all the backside attacks, as you could see Michigan figuring out how to crack them in real time. This one is a Counter Trey, and you’ll remember which play it is a few seconds in. But let’s focus on the blocking.

Let’s try to remember our Counter Trey rules. If you block this straight up, Stueber’s got a tough job to get to the LB. But NIU slants, and as soon as Stueber recognizes the helmet going across him, he stops being a 2nd level blocker and turns into a block-down guy, riding the end out of the way.

Filiaga pulls around for the kickout and there’s a new guy to kick, the WLB #38. There’s also a CB blitzing off the edge, delivering an extra defender to the backside. Meanwhile MLB#2 is sliding over to fill the gap. He’ll arrive shortly.

Filiaga decides he can’t do anything about the extra blitzer and pops the WLB who showed on the edge. It’s up to the 2nd puller, Erick All, whether he wants to take out the blitzer with his lead block, leaving an unblocked MLB in the hole, or lead into the hole and hope Corum can dodge the edge. That’s what he chooses. Corum feels the CB coming and has to speed up his entry into the hole. At the moment of truth here’s what we’ve produced.

None of this is what they thought it would be. But Michigan has adjusted to a lot of things on the fly, and just need to survive the tense moment of a guy in Corum’s feet and All trying to get that MLB moved in time to give Corum a lane. They pop him together…

That guy goes down, Corum does not, and we’re off to another big play.

I’ll tell you what else was missing from this game entirely: Speed in Space!

Yeah, there wasn’t one screen. Michigan had them planned as RPOs, but once again they faced an opponent determined to take that away, and this time they didn’t burn any downs forcing it. There was #SpeedinSpace though. This play is called “Dart” in some circles or “Bash” if that backside is a read. Here the read is a screen to the top of the formation, but just like the last Huskies, these are super keyed on making sure nothing gets going in space.

So Gattis found some on the other side. The ends are so used to getting cracked by split zone and pin & pull and power and counter by this point they’re stepping in as soon as they get in the backfield. Michigan doesn’t even have to block that guy. He’s just out there, watching as Blake Corum goes by.

Also you have Ryan Hayes and Luke Schoonmaker reducing the population of NIU Huskies on the field by 18 percent.

Chart?

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hayes	10.5	2.5	+8	Does PFF hate the mashing or the face?
Keegan	6.5	3	+3.5	Missed most of the first half. Calm.
Vastardis	14.5	5	+9.5	Beats LB to edge, NIU DTs were easy mode.
Filiaga	4.5	3	+1.5	YMRMFSPA Trevor Keegan with less upside.
Stueber	4.5	0	+4.5	Quietly holds backside and protects well.
Zinter	4	4	0	Missed some blitzers, good kicks.
T.Jones	4.5	2.5	+2	When he gets you you're got.
Crippen	3	0	+3	Freshman has Graham Glasgow sense of blitzers.
Barnhart		-0.5	+0.5	Not Hayes.
Atteberry	2	2	0	Got shoved twice, got 'em back twice.
All	13	0	+13	Michigan has a fullback.
Honigford	6.5	2	+4.5	Lost his job to Schoonmaker because...
Schoonmaker	8.5	3	+5.5	There be donkeying here.
Seltzer	0.5	0.5	0	Only played late.
Hibner	1	0	+1	One good debut pop. Still looks skinny.
TOTAL	83.5	27	+56.5	Got bored at the end.
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
McNamara	2	6	-4	No doubt sneak. Keeps were off; fumbled snap half of minuses.
McCarthy	3	0	+3	Keeps were on, edged NIU guys.
Villari			DNC	Sorry, I didn't chart the 4th Q.
Haskins	7	0	+7	On 9 carries!
Corum	11.5	0	+11.5	On 13 carries!!!
Edwards	5	4	+1	Missed some cuts, always a positive gainer.
Dunlap			DNC	Sorry. Here's that run again.
TOTAL	28.5	10	+18.5	On 22 Haskins/Corum carries.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
C.Johnson	5	0	+5	The son also rises.
Sainristil	3	0	+3	On three downfield chances.
Henning	1.5	1	+0.5	Fast, not a goal line blocker.
Wilson	1.5	2	-0.5	Fast, not a blocker.
Baldwin	1.5	0	+1.5	WR#2.
Anthony			DNC	Sorry sorry.
TOTAL	12.5	3	+9.5	Johnson is trending towards Hemingway.
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Protection	18	20	90%	Vastardis thought he could kick a 4i, was incorrect.
RPS	11	15	-4	Most of the negatives were invited to blood the starters.

That is a substantially less impressive chart than I was preparing for! Where’s all the mashed face?

So I was trying this whole time not to over-grade the interior for things that were happening against the DTs. Ror the most part a lot of the OL were just blocking down and keeping their guys away from the action taking place off the tight ends. Erick All, Ryan Hayes, and Luke Schoonmaker had big days because it was their gaps that most of the runs went through. If you checked in on Zinter he was collecting pancakes on the backside that I didn’t bother charting. He featured on the two goal line TDs, however.

Ditto Stueber. My grading isn’t comprehensive; it tries to say what happened on the play. If I noticed someone else it was because someone shot their gap and it was messing with the play. I also gave guys a negative for allowing a defender to shoot under them, and that was the one thing NIU practiced.

The other thing that happened this game is NIU was bringing their safeties way up to stop the run. This did not work—I shudder to think what a hypothetical UFR would look like of the NIU safety who’s now named “Six” in my memory. Their cornerbacks wanted no part of the run game.

Also Michigan had runs of 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 16, 24, 24, 26, 51, and 58 yards in this game. Whereas Washington saw a steady diet of 4- and 6-yard runs attacking various gaps, NIU was so gashable that Michigan could run the same five plays and let the yards disappear into the self-imposed limit I put on running backs in open space.

Why are your scores for Ryan Hayes so high when PFF thinks he’s bad?

I think they are wrong, but I also think it has to do with their method of grading versus ours. PFF is looking at assignments and grading if you missed it, got it, or dominated it, and then grade the result on things like did the guy you were supposed to block make the tackle. These are simple enough, and PFF is so valuable because they apply the same standards to way more trials.

Our grading method is way more granular. I look at what made this play work or not work, with a point worth roughly five yards or the equivalent in importance. Hayes is the pointman of Michigan’s rushing attack, so he is getting a lot of opportunities to do something that gets Michigan 5 yards or more.

Here’s a play that I’m guessing PFF gave Hayes a “satisfactory” grade or thereabouts:

LT #76 second from bottom of the line

To me that’s a +2. He moved the frontline defender well off the spot where he wanted to be to create a running lane, left the guy where Keegan could wall him off, and then popped a linebacker. I think Keegan (who’s grading out better than Hayes on PFF) got credit for that.

Any other starting OL making you want to trot out the ludicrous comps?

Andrew Vastardis is a poorer man’s David Molk. Look at the play above again and watch the center. Caveat NIU but that seems like an awfully long way to move a lineman who doesn’t want to be moved in such a way. There were also two more instances in this game when he got out on a WR edge run before a linebacker could.

#68 the center

And he had a couple of reach blocks. One on the Keegan adjustment I mentioned earlier, and this underrated 3rd and 2 play that Duerr noticed:

If there are any doubters left about Andrew Vastadis, feast your eyes on this.

The Nose Guard is shaded IN THE HOLE that Michigan wants to run. Vastardis gets his head across the bow, engages the NG, swings his hips, creates a wall of friendly butts, AND serves pancakes.
LFG! pic.twitter.com/YQGbaLfwqD

— Due# (@JDue51) September 19, 2021

The right side of the line didn’t get to do as much but they were consistently moving guys and usually adjusting well. Stueber had a bunch of positives for so few mentions. Zinter was the guy they ran behind in goal line situations.

Speaking of the goal line, I noticed we didn’t putz around with long-pulling plays down there.

There was a Down G but yeah, after Washington’s goal line stand last week I think Michigan went back to the stuff that worked in the past, and by the past I mean Fielding Yost.

That’s a double-wing. They also ran Single-Wing, and lead Down G (which is a short pull) with a fullback lead. NIU is NIU but all of these got good push, as they were designed to do.

Did you say we have a fullback?

Erick All is continuing to do all the things that we did not expect him to do beyond an adequate level. For example Ben Mason things.

#83 the Fullback(!)

He’s still a guy who bounces back a bit when he hits a guy, but he is by far Michigan’s most consistent non-OL blocker on those kickouts that have become Michigan’s favorite way to run this year. He also made that long catch to convert a 2nd and long after McNamara’s fumbled snap put them in a rare passing down.

I’m not sure what to make of Schoonmaker’s Big Day but bumping him up to 2nd string TE seemed to put a jolt in his step.

#86 the TE at the bottom of the formation (not in motion)

This is one of those clips I can watch on replay all day:

This was a better day than usual for Honigford as well, but he’s still a lot stiffer than Schoonmaker and not as fast. This was the lowest bar for competition, but Schoonmaker’s pep was noticeable. With so many hands to feed who knows when he’ll get an actual opportunity against a safety on a contestable ball, if ever. I’m happy he’ll be on the field more often now.

I appreciate you doing a find-replace so I’m not reading about “Schoon” all the time, but I still don’t understand some of your initialisms.

Like what?

A.R.O.?

America’s Rollout Out.

Oh yeaaaaaaaahhh. Man that’s a pull from the Henne era!

It’s in the MGoBlog Glossary of Terms and Memes.

Where’s that?

Under the “About” tab.

Where’s that?

Under the MGoBlog banner at the top of the page.

Wow I haven’t looked at those…well since Henne.

That’s cool; we haven’t updated some of them since then. For those who weren’t around, this rollout was a common tactic used by all teams against defenses that play soft with their corner. The reason we associate it with the Henne era is Michigan became a stretch zone team in 2007 to take advantage of Hart’s vision and cuts, and America’s Rollout Out is a play-action off of stretch zone.

Michigan is running a lot more zone stretch. This was a point Brian made on the podcast: almost every team runs inside zone as one base run and then get good at one other concept. This offense is running split zone and power as its base run plays, and then stretch zone as its changeup. They will also run split stretch:

Having a third base pitch is something only NFL teams usually do because who has time to run that many concepts in college? Run blocking is hard enough without having to learn all the nuances of three systems. And yet there are VERY few missed assignments with anything Michigan runs.

Stretch is also a very good changeup to have in the repertoire. Their power plays and split zone, which serves in place of inside zone, are often both attacking the direction the crosser is swinging. They both invite an overreaction from a defense using slants. If you slant a stretch zone you’re asking for it—either your DL can’t stop their own momentum or every block at the point of attack is a lineman versus a linebacker. Stretch is also a more effective play down near the goal line. Wisconsin is a power team, and they run a lot of stretch in short situations because zone blocking deters overreactions and a good washout creates a crease right away.

Michigan is also running the counters to it. America’s Rollout Out is one, but the reverse was another:

The actual stretches run in this game weren’t that effective; the three attempts went for zero yards because a safety was playing in the gap, –6 yards because McNamara fumbled the snap, and –1 yards with the backups when a WLB shot the gap near the goal line. They were all blocked correctly however, so we don’t have to trust that sample size.

But America’s Rollout Out is a…fahs? Pahss?

Right, there was a passing game. It was extant and everything. And the way I grade it came out even better than the results on the field, for the starter at least.

CADE MCNAMARA

	Good				Neutral			Bad					Ovr			Reads
Game	DO	CA	SCR		PR	MA		BA	TA	IN	BR		DSR	GRADE!		RPOs	ZRs
Western Mich	3+	3(3)-						2			1		67%	+5		4/5	2/7
Washington	1	3(2)-			2	(1)			3	1(1)	2		40%	-8		5/5	4/9
NIU	2	7+ -			1	1							100%	+11		1/2	1/2

I tried to get Brian to talk me into calling the highly marginal pass that went over Johnson’s outstretched fingers…

…an “IN” so I wouldn’t have to report to you that our QB’s downfield success rating was 100% but there it is, staring us right in the hairy eyeball. His other downfield shots were off the receivers’ hands, or in them. And this is a gorgeous seam to Erick All:

I couldn’t talk myself into doing the 4th quarter, but I did McCarthy’s passes.

JJ MCCARTHY

	Good				Neutral			Bad					Ovr			Reads
Game	DO	CA	SCR		PR	MA		BA	TA	IN	BR		DSR	GRADE!		RPOs	ZRs
Western Mich	1+++	2				3		1x		1			60%	-2		0/0
Washington														DNP
NIU		4+							1		1		67%	+4		2/2	3/3

That’s a very good day, plus an extant read game that set up another goal line grind/TD.

I don’t know if it was on purpose, but Michigan had both quarterbacks run the same plays so we got a few live one-to-one comparisons of the same throws.

Here’s McNamara on a slot out:

That’s smooth, on time, and on target once the safety clears out. McCarthy’s slot out was thrown two beats later, and arrived one beat faster.

Cade gave Daylen Baldwin a better chance than McCarthy gave Cristian Dixon on the 4th down fade. Their hitches under soft coverage both resulted in YAC opportunities.

I know everyone wears #1 these days but does Michigan have a receiver they trust without Ronnie Bell?

I can do the receiver chart.

Receiver Chart.

The scale still goes like so: [0 = uncatchable, 1 = circus catch, 2 = moderate difficulty, 3 = routine] but I changed the headers.

	THIS WEEK					THIS YEAR
Player	Uncb	Circus	Tough	Routine		Uncb	Circus	Tough	Routine
Johnson		0/2	1/1	2/2		1	0/2	3/3	3/3
Baldwin		0/1	1/1	2/2			0/1	2/2	2/2
Sainristil							0/1		2/2
Henning								1/2	1/1
Wilson			1/1	1/1			0/1	1/1	1/1
Dixon	1	0/1		1/1		1	0/1		1/1
Anthony
x Bell x	x	x	x	x			1/2	1/1
All			1/1			1	0/1	2/2	2/2
Schoonmaker	1					1	0/1
Honigford						2
Seltzer								0/1
Hibner
Corum				1/1					6/7
Haskins									1/1
Edwards						1			1/1

Routes: Johnson +++, All +, Baldwin-, Dixon-

So Cornelius Johnson is emerging. The double move was confirmed slick:

He’s also now had a few games where he’s added Hemingway-esque YAC when it looked like there was none to be had, because Johnson’s too strong to go down to a standard cornerback effort.

I thought he maybe slowed up on the first bomb, or at least lost a few steps adjusting, when McNamara put it where he’d have to keep stride. But if you’ve beaten a guy by that much, you expect some cushion, and maybe a little more air.

McNamara also tried to get Baldwin involved, resulting in one pass interference and a sideline fade that I wanted Baldwin to play better—he tried to basket it over his shoulder with a CB going up with him, which was probably quite effective in the SWAC and would have worked against any other member of the secondary but Gandy. Those were nitpicks; his day was as effective in the charting as Johnson’s. He was out with an ankle (I didn’t know that) last week, so he may still be ginger, but he’s clearly the #2 receiver now.

Sainristil was his usually blocking bad-ass self. They took AJ Henning off the field when JJ McCarthy was out there so he wouldn’t just lock onto his old 7-on-7 buddy. So he locked onto his other old 7-on-7 buddy, going to Dixon three times on the final drive I charted.

It really wasn’t fair—NIU really doesn’t have an FBS-quality player in the secondary after Gandy. Their options were coverage so soft that you could a talking teddy bear with a blankie between the DB and the guy he’s covering…

…or press coverage that tested Michigan’s resolve to keep running into stacked boxes for 8 yards a pop because that would run more clock. There were three four shots. One could have been PI, one got a flag I thought was light when the DL jumped offsides, one was just a bit too long for the amount Johnson had his CB beat by, and one was an 87-yard TD. Just 17 passes sounds like a deemphasized passing game, but there weren’t that many plays total because Michigan couldn’t string five together without getting to the goal line.

Why do we keep covering receivers? I thought you hated that.

There were four instances of unbalanced lines. One was the Donovan Edwards touchdown.

You may remember we stuck our noses up about these plays when Hoke turned the gimmick into an offense against Minnesota in 2013, then tried to do the same to Penn State for 27-for-27. Harbaugh has consistently sprinkled these plays in to force the defense to practice for them. NIU didn’t get the memo. The tight end (Carter Seltzer) is counted as on OL for this play and the RT can’t be eligible because his number isn’t 0-49 or 80-99.

On the other hand it messed with the way NIU was scheming to get numbers to the edges to shut down Michigan’s counter and split zone run game. They have one fewer than normal, so they play it pretty vanilla. Filiaga turned the edge, which was an easy read since the guy mostly buried himself, and Hibner got a good kick on the WLB who’s usually not doing this unless he’s got help (as in the Corum hand dance example). Once the blocking has resolved there’s only one safety, #6, against Donovan Edwards.

Ohio State and Maryland used to do this too in their days of many scatbacks, because a lack of defensive backs meant there was no speed to catch anyone who made it past the initial defense.

Did you learn anything about the backups?

Trente Jones has big numbers whenever he gets on the field. He still screws things up, but when he latches onto a guy, that guy goes places.

#53 the OL playing left TE on the bottom of the formation

Anything else?

Yes. We haven’t discussed, you know, THE RUNNING BACKS.

Haven’t we?

I think I would have notic…

I have always been here.

You seriously peppered the entire article with examples of the RBs doing insane things.

Not on purpose. It was hard to find a running play where they didn’t. Both had positives on way more carries than not. Corum continued on a Heisman pace. Haskins had one of his best runs yet. We can watch it again:

NIU finally RPS’d the Hayes/Schoonmaker combo that was ripping them apart all day, and delivered three guys to the backside unblocked. One of them is Good ol’ Six, but after Haskins has piled on that poor kid he meets the MLB and FS, and just uses them as a platform to launch his latest touchdown venture.

Donovan Edwards came in and missed a few bounces but if we’re choosing between going straight for a few yards or chancing a bounce late in a 63-3 game, grind them out.

Heroes?

The whole dang line, especially Hayes and Vastardis. Luke Schoonmaker. Cade McNamara. Cornelius Johnson.

Maybe not so heroic?

Good ol’ Six.

What does it mean for Rutgers and beyond?

Very little. NIU was one of the least talented, worst-coached, worst-behaved, worst-planned defenses Michigan has faced in decades. The gameplan was vanilla, allowed NIU to do unsound things, and beat them anyway. 2010 Bowling Green or 2009 Delaware State are the only other games I can remember when the competition level was this far below FBS. It wouldn’t surprise me if they finish dead last in defense this year.