If you hadn’t heard I’ll be your new UFR guy.

Formations:

WMU responded to Michigan’s heavy stuff by setting up with their MLB down off the butt of the NG. Usually that resulted in that guy eating a face full of guard several yards downfield. I called this “3-4 Mike.”

Michigan’s 4th and 1 formation had 3 TEs and 6 OL: Trente Jones was the rightside TE, Honigford and Schoonmaker were on the left, and All is the H-back.

I called it “Beef.”

[After THE JUMP: Beef.]

Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	CovLook	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1st	10	Gun 2TE Twins	3-4-4	3-4 Mike	2-high	Run	8	Power	Haskins	4
TEs are Zinter(+.5) and Honigford(+.5) and they run Power there. They and Filiaga(+1) blow out one edge and ILB who set up inches off. Keegan(-1) has to kick edge who set up inside and whiffs. HH(+1) runs through that guy for 4 yards. RPS-1 there's a safety coming down to hit too because everyone knows M wants to run here.
M29	2nd	6	Pistol 2TE Unbalanced	3-4-4	3-4 Mike	2-high	Run	8	Split Zone	Haskins	3
All back in for Zinter. Unbalanced with Honigford covered on the short side will All(-1) lined up wide. He and Honigford(-1) get wiped out by that WMU DE I like after Hayes chipped him as well. Vastardis(+.5) and Keegan(+.5) wiped out the NG with a double. HH(+.5) fights for a couple extra.
M32	3rd	3	Gun 5-wide	3-3-5	Okie	1-high	Pass	6	TE Slant	All	11
DE in coverage and McN(+2) sees it and slips it to All(route+) before that guy can back out. Or safety over him can react. Sain(+) had Nk beat on a fade; file that away. (DO, 3, Prot 1/1)
M43	1st	10	Pistol 2TE Twins	3-4-4	3-4 Mike	2-high	Run	7	Power Lead	Haskins	2
Same as before, the FS DE isn't read so he crashes and Keeg(-1) can't dig him out. Leaves little room for Honig as lead to squeeze through and HH can only dive into the mess. (RPS-1)
M45	2nd	8	Gun 2TE Twins	3-4-4	3-4 Mike	2-high	Pass	8	Comeback	C.Johnson	10
WMU jumps but no downfield routes. McN(+.5) puts it high so CJ has to jump when he comes back. Still a 1st down and since it's a free play I don't mind that this is a beat late in case something opened. (CA-, 2, Prot 1/1)
O45	1st	10	Pistol 2TE	3-4-4	3-4 Crowd	2-high	Run	7	Split Zone	Corum	18
M motions Bell and then brings Schoon as well (RPS+) WMU has entire front rolled close to the LOS and a LB loses track of his gap with all the motion. So Ravens! Vastardis(+.5) and Keegan(+.5) help by making big walls and Corum(+2) blows by this guy and a safety until guy C.Johnson(-1) lost gets him.
O27	1st	10	Gun 2T Flex	3-4-4	3-4 Mike	1-high	Run	6.5	Zone Read Give	Corum	2
Think this is a real read? WMU brings down a S and McN(read+) can't test him. WMU has 6 guys at LOS and slanting hard frontside, Honig(-1) doesn't recognize he can pop the S so Corum can only burrow.
O25	2nd	8	Gun 3-wide	3-4-4	3-4 Mike	2-high	Run	7	Power Lead	Corum	3
Fake read of the PS DE doesn't stop him from crashing the kick. (RPS-2). Filiaga(-1) can't budge him, Corum(+.5) cuts back into the extra LB in the box and falls forward. Some room because Vastardis(+1) cleared out the NG.
O22	3rd	5	Gun 4-wide	2-4-5	Eagle 7	1-high	Run	7	Arc Give	Corum	4
McN(RPO+) gets S to stay outside, Vastardis(-.5) takes a shot from NG and can't redirect to blitzer. Corum(+1) runs through that guy into air created by Stuebs(+1) then gets stuck by MLB 2 yards short. Refs(+1) give them one.
O18	4th	1	Beef	3-4-4	3-4 Crowd	1-high	Run	9	Split Zone	Haskins	4
All(+1) shoulders edge, Schoon(+1) blows out the edge, not academic bc Filiana(-2) thrown back and lets a DT under him. HH(+1) runs through him and unblocked edge (no read).
O14	1st	10	Pistol Tight	3-4-4	3-4 Mike	2-high	Pass	8	Flare screen	Corum	14
“That's a Touchdown!” we collectively thought the moment it was thrown, on target by McN(+1). Bell(+1) and Sainristil(+1), erase blockers, Corum(+1) has a safety he eludes. (CA, screen, prot n/a)
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 7-0. 10 min 1st Q. Corum and his Sainristil escort also set up M on the WMU21 next drive.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	CovLook	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards
O21	1st	10	Pistol Heavy	4-4-3	4-4 Under	2-high	Penalty	8	False Start	Vastardis	-5
Everyone goes on the clap, Vastards(-1) didn't snap it. Oops
O26	1st	15	Gun 3-wide	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2-high	Pass	7	Curl	Bell	Inc
Clean pocket, Bell is getting harassed and McN(-1) might see a free flag. Batted at the line so must of the grab ends up legal. (BA, 1, prot 2/2)
O26	2nd	15	Gun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3-5 Even	2-high	RPO	7	RPO Power	Haskins	0
RPS-3 they have this play dead to rights with a S high over the slant and all three LBs blitzing the frontside. Filiaga(-.5) for letting a well-coached DE get low and spin off I guess. McN (RPO+) I guess.
O26	3rd	15	Gun 4-wide	3-2-6	3-2-6 Eagle	1-high	Run	6	Split Zone	Corum	8
Give up and kick. Bring All(+1) all the way across to pop the HSP. WMU WLB tracks this and is in his gap but Corum(+2) dodges and picks up most of the long yards to shorten the FGA.
Drive Notes: FG(37). 10-7. 4 min 1st Q. Know you like to run coach but feel like you're a bit too committed to the bit.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	CovLook	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards
M17	1st	10	Gun trips tight	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2-high	RPO	8	OZ/Bubble	Corum	0
This is #SpeedinSpace but McN(read-1) gives on shuffling end when he has numbers outside to the S to CJ. Honig(-1) stood up by DE, unblocked Fayad tracks him down.
M17	2nd	10	Gun 5-wide	4-2-5	4-2-5 Over	2-high	Pass	6.5	TE Snag	All	Inc
Keegan lets a DT inside him and ball has to get out. Other DT gets arm up. All is crossing a LB and getting a little interfered with, ball loops over him. McN(-2) low arm angle is going to cause some INTs (BA, 0, Prot 0/1, Keegan-1)
M17	3rd	10	Gun Flex	3-3-5	3-3-5 stack	1-high	Pass	6	Fade	Bell	33
Worst officiating crew of all time ruins one of the greatest catches of all time. McN(+2). Refs-4. (DO, 1, Prot 2/2) Replay so they can’t memory hole this.
M9	3rd	18	Gun 5-wide	3-2-6	Dime	1-high	Pass	5	Slant	C.Johnson	5
GUAP. Slant underneath connects, gets no YAC. McN(+.5) (CA, 3, Prot 1/1)
Drive Notes: Punt. 10-7. 13 min 2nd Q. Announcers fill time while waiting for Robbins punt to land by continuing to go off on that call.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	CovLook	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards
M17	1st	10	Gun flex trips	4-2-5	4-2-5 Under	2-high	Run	6	Zone Read Give	Corum	1
Rich Rod ZR with ignored Bubble. End shuffles, McN(Read-1) gives, DE tackles because you're supposed to read him. Honig(-2) gets stood up to smush this dead. Bubble was open, WMU was slanting playside. Do I RPS this? Does Michigan read?
M18	2nd	9	Gun flex trips	4-2-5	4-2-5 Even	2-high	Pass	7	TE Bash	All	6
Calling this a screen in the charting but really it's M running bash with a flip to the TE instead of a jetting RB/WR outside. McN(+.5) (RPO+) never looks at Henning coming wide open because there's an unblocked DE he's probably reading. He does throw off his back foot and put it where All(+1) can twist to turn upfield, then grind out yards bc guy who left Henning arrives immediately. (CA+, 2, screen)
M24	3rd	3	Gun Trips	2-4-5	Eagle 6	1-high	Pass	8	Slot Fade	Bell	76
The guts to throw this on 3rd and 3. WMU shows 8 and sends 3, Bell gets a step on the Nk and McN(+3) launches it right where it needs to be. 111,000 people send "Don't you dare OPI that" to the line judge...he does not OPI that, nor DPI the late shove from a dying DB that makes this a bit harder of a catch. Bell celebrates with the basketball team, who had their shot and can't have him back. (DO+, 2, Prot 1/1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 17-7. 9 min 2nd Q. Bell's season ends on the next punt return.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	CovLook	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards
O31	1st	10	Pistol 2TE Unbalanced	3-4-4	4-2-5 Over	2-high	Run	7	Power	Haskins	9
Well look at that: WMU's safeties aren't lined up in our nose hairs anymore. Zinter(+2) as covered inline TE inside Hong(+1) and they obliterate edge. M trying to lure WLB into backside gap but he doesn't bite (RPS-1). Huge win on frontside doesn't matter. Filiaga(+1) solid kick and HH (+.5) runs through one guy for a few extra.
O22	2nd	1	Pistol TE Twins	3-4-4	3-4 Over	2-high	Pass	8	Dumpoff	Haskins	0
Zinter gets crossed, immediate pressure. WMU bust downfield has Wilson SCREAMINGLY wide open but McN(-1) dumps to HH who's immediately tackled. Harsh since this could be PR or even CA for saving a sack but that's for people who can get Wilson running all alone out of their heads. (BR, 3, Prot 0/2, Zinter-2)
O22	3rd	1	Beef	4-4-3	4-4 Under	2-high	Run	9	Split Zone	Haskins	22
Honig(-1) lost on edge to the DE I like but backcut is open bc Keegan(+2) reached a DT, Vastardis(+1) locked out his, and Zinter(+.5) and Stueber (+.5) moved theirs. 1st down achieved, HH(+3) trucksticks a safety, keeps his footing, and walks in.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 24-7. 6 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	CovLook	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards
M35	1st	10	Pistol Trips Tight	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2-high	Pass	7	Flare screen	Corum	8
Works again. McN(+.5) on target, Zinter(+1) reached Fayad, Sainristil(+2) escorts CB to the sideline, Wilson(-1) loses his guy and gets away with a grab (refs+1). That stretches it out so WMU DBs can rally. (CA, screen, Prot n/a)
M43	2nd	2	Pistol FB Unbal	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2-high	Run	7.5	Split Zone	Corum	10
Keegan(-1) gets spun by Holley, Corum(+1) bursts past that into a lane created by Vastardis(+.5) and Filiaga(+.5), and through an ankle grab by the SAM. Hayes(+.5) watched his LB go outside and turned around, and this helps bc Fayad was coming back.
O47	1st	10	Pistol FB	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2-high	Run	7.5	Power Lead	Corum	5
Extreme #EstablishingTheRun (note the clock). WMU expecting exactly this and it works anyway, which makes Harbaugh happy and gets an RPS-2 for delivering an unblocked LB to the hole they're attacking. Vastardis(+.5) does a better job against Holley, Filiaga(+1) and Stueber(-1) double a DT but Stuebs turns around instead of trying to get out at the trailing WLB. Schoon(+.5) halts the MLB, All(+1) thunks the crashing DE inside this time (adjustment!) and Keegan(+.5) kicks a CB. Corum(+1) sidesteps the MLB and turns the corner. Stueber's guy and S arrive to hold this down.
O42	2nd	5	Pistol 3-wide	4-3-4	4-3 Under	2-high	Run	7	Belly	Corum	8
Fake read (block read?) of the SAM who chucks Henning(-1) after setting up outside. All(+1) blew out DE but WMU LB exchanges. Corum(+2) bounces off that guy, carries AJ's guy through a safety for 3 yards. RPS+/- here since "read" wrongsided SAM but gap exchange should have worked.
O34	1st	10	Gun TE Flex	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2-high	Run	6.5	Arc Give	Haskins	12
McN(read+) as WMU tries the Army flip without the slant. Filiaga(+1) controls Holley who tried to slant by him, Vastardis(+1) locks out a LB who waited for it. Big gap.
O22	1st	10	Gun Twins Tight	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2-high	Run	6.5	Dive	Haskins	2
This could be IV and McN reads the safety who's coming down but I think the read is 100% fake because that S and everybody is focused on the RB. Nobody blocks backside (RPS-2) so HH has Fayad on his back and can't get outside despite Schoon(+1) crushing his DE, and a run support S if he did get out of that. My apologies to Drain: M did have all 3 timeouts. 1:18 left and they don't use one.
O20	2nd	8	Gun 3-wide	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2-high	Run	7	Counter Trey	Haskins	7
Timing of this is messed up. There's a fake backside read and no counter step, so All and HH(+2) collide while Keegan(+1) is turning in his DE. All is wasted but exchange LB guns for that gap and Haskins stomps that dude then hurdles a fool. 2021 Fools Hurdled Count: 1. RPS-1.
O13	3rd	1	Goal line	4-3-4	4-3 Over	0-high	Run	9	QB Sneak	Cade	2
Tempo. They get it. Vastardis(+1) gets to LB, HH pushes McN over.
O11	1st	10	Gun Trips	4-3-4	4-3 Over	0-high	Run	9	Counter Trey	Corum	7
Counter Trey with Sainristil motioning to become the TE. Fake read on the other side, shuffle, Keegan(-1) gets two-side by DE and Corum(+1) has to stop then cut past a safety behind Filiaga(+2) who kept feet moving and pancaked DT he and Vastardis doubled. Walk-in TD if Hayes(-2) didn't stop blocking and turn upfield instead of locking out the S. Guessing that one gets called out in film session. RPS-1, and hat tip to how the WMU DEs are coached (by DC Lou Esposito (not THAT Espo)).
O4	2nd	3	Pistol 2TE trips	4-3-4	4-3 Even	0-high	Run	9	Dive	Haskins	3
No read, WMU slanting. Filiaga(+1), Vastardis(+1), Keegan(+1) go to the IHOP buffet, HH gets what's there. No RPS because goal line.
O2	3rd	1	Gun 2TE Flex	4-3-4	Goal line	0-high	Run	9	Arc Give	Haskins	-1
McN(read-3) or RPS-3 depending on whether they told him to read or burn a down. Unblocked DE gets a free shot at the handoff. Only excuse is 4 points don't matter in this game.
Drive Notes: FG (20). 27-7. 6 seconds 2nd Q. Good thing our coaches only do this against WMU amirite?
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	CovLook	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards
M20	1st	10	Gun TE Flex	4-3-4	4-3 Even	0-high	Pass	6.5	TE Bash	All	6
Works better because Sainristil(+2) is lead blocker. Puts a S into the sideline then goes looking for more. Other S has arrived though so All runs into the first one. McN(+.5) (RPO+). (CA, Screen, Prot n/a)
M26	2nd	4	Pistol 2TE trips	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2-high	Run	7.5	End Around	Henning	74
My first day on the job I +3 two guys on the same play. Looks like P&P with C and BS TE/WR all crossing the formation after the snap. WMU LBs are focused on RB. Vastardis(+3) reaches and cuts LB, Hayes(+.5) takes out the other. CJ(-1) loses his CB and All(-1) whiffs on S but Henning(+3) leaps over that and jets past CJ's guy and last LB and puts on the afterburners. HH(+1) hustled downfield to make the last block.
O3	2PC	3	Villaricat	4-3-4	Goal line	0-high	Run	8	QB Split Zone	Villari	2
Villari and All in the backfield, Keegan(-2) tries to do too much, gets only a glancing blow on his LB and can't really help on the S coming in. Block your guy and let Villari deal with the DB; that's the point right?
Drive Notes: Touchdown (2PC failed). 33-7. 10 min 3rd Q. Backups come in, end of serious charting.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	CovLook	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards
M23	1st	10	Pistol 2TE	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2-high	Run	7	Arc Give	Edwards	5
Sainristil(+1) leads outside followed by Honig, JJ(Read-1) has a 3-on-1 outside but gives to Edwards(+1). WMU is pinching so he patiently gathers, then Vastardis(+1) and Hayes(+1) create a late backside gap to the S.
M28	2nd	5	Pistol FB Unbal	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2-high	Run	8	Power Lead	Edwards	4
Honig(-.5) chucked on his kick, Filiaga(+2) heady play to pick up the DT who slanted past Keegan and turn. Edwards(+1) steps around a blitzing (RPS-1) LB. CB blitzing but can't arrive in time.
M32	3rd	1	Beef	4-4-3	4-4 Under	0-high	Run	11	Power Lead	Haskins	3
Honig(+2) drives DE so well Stuebs(+.5) gets an LB, All(+.5) gets his kick, Keegan(-1) misses but Haskins(+1) cuts decisively and leaps between the now-closing gap between 84 and 83. (Gap 83.5!!!) for an academic 1st down.
M35	1st	10	Pistol Trips TE	3-4-4	3-4 Crowd	0-high	Pass	10	Flare screen	Edwards	3
WMU S's at 7 yards and one blitzes. All(-1) turns around when his blitzy LB won't matter, refs(-2) miss a nasty both hands to the face on Sainristil(+1) who still made room to the sideline while carrying this guy clutching his face like a zenomorph. Last S runs it OOB. RPS+1. Seriously, Big Ten, this line judge needs to be taken out of the rotation immediately. McN(+.5) (CA, screen, Prot n/a)
M38	2nd	7	Pistol FB	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2-high	Run	7	Split Zone	Edwards	3
JJ changes play at the line. Stuebs(-.5) and Filiaga(-.5) get hung up on DT and let MLB in unmolested. Edwards(+.5) mostly dodges that guy to turn a loss into a short gain.
M41	3rd	4	Gun 2TE trips Unbal	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2-high	Pass	7	Bubble Screen	Sainristil	-3
RPS-3 M takes a lot of yelling to get set up in unbalanced and WMU is laughing. They run the world's most obvious bubble screen and WMU blows it up. Arm strength sort of an issue here perhaps. McN(-2) bc he should have called TO.
Drive Notes: Punt. 33-7. 2 min 3rd Q. Robbins's punt is still up there as far as I know.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	CovLook	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards
M13	1st	10	Pistol 2TE trips	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2-high	Run	8	End Around	Wilson	43
RPS+1 DL crashes on RB, Wilson started in a TE spot so no idea this is coming. Hayes(+1) escorts a DB to the backfield, Schoon(+1) kicks the edge, Vastardis(+1) bodies a LB, Corum(+1) got downfield to block. All(+.5) and Baldwin(+.5) doing work downfield bleeding yards as their guys just want to end this. Wilson(+1) also turned on the jets for a second to make the LBs give up.
O44	1st	10	Pistol Heavy	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2-high	Run	7.5	Power	Corum	3
RPS off. Fee edge and slant gets a DT past Vastardis(-1). Zinter(+1) turns edge and Schoon(+1) turned out LB, but unblocked guy and Hayes(-1) whiff on another LB close this down.
O41	2nd	7	Gun trips tight	4-3-4	4-3 Under	1-high	Pass	7.5	Curl	Henning	11
A PASS! This is the first non-screen since the Bell toss. Pocket clean-ish, JJ(+1) (results-based) can step up as Filiaga runs his DT upfield (Prot+1). Could find a screaming wide open Wilson but this probably sped him up so he rips it to AJ Henning under the safety who let Wilson go. (CA, 2, Prot 1/2, Filiaga-1)
O30	1st	10	Pistol FB Twins	4-3-4	4-3 Under	1-high	Run	7.5	Arc Give	Corum	30
WMU slants frontside and this puts an unblocked LB Zinter couldn't get to. RPS-1. Corum(+3) makes that LB look like me out there. Hayes(+1) picks off a safety and speed does the rest.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 40-7. 13 min 4th Q. Garbage time, but one more drive for the Sickos.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	CovLook	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards
M20	1st	10	Gun Heavy	4-3-4	4-3 over	1-high	Run	8	Split Zone	Corum	12
Line is (L->R) Barnhart-Filiaga-Crippen-Zinter-Jones, for you depth chart watchers. Fake read of DE of LB who's way out there, WMU gets three guys to playside, don't care RPS is off. Also Filiaga(+1) authoritative kickout, Honigford(+1) buries a LB, Seltzer(+2) holds two guys outside while Trente Jones rides a DT's back right in front of the refs(+1) for pancake #3. Corum(+1) runs through that and then an arm tackle. White flags.
M32	1st	10	Pistol Heavy	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2-high	Pass	7.5	TE Bash	McCarthy	-16
Huge def hold (refs-2) as DE isn't going to let the Schoon get loose and yanks him in a circle. Arm is sorta moving forward but can't because there's a defender's arm in the way so Brady/Woodson call on the forward pass (personally I side with Woodson). JJ(-3) wants to throw it at this but waits too long for guy he read to get into his chest and throws it backwards. (BAx, screen, Prot n/a)
M16	2nd	26	Gun 3-wide	3-4-4	3-4 Mike	2-high	Run	6.5	Counter Trey	Edwards	2
Fake Read, Zinter(+1) turns edge, Seltzer(-1) overruns, Edwards gets what he can.
M18	3rd	24	Gun flex 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3-5 stack	2-high	Pass	6.5	Deep cross	Henning	15
Offsides, free play. Three man rush vs six is all day. Prot+1. Has Seltzer quite open on the other side but instead goes to Henning, who gets tackled by the safety. Refs throw the flag so late I'm sure the crowd reaction caused it. (Not charted, 0, Prot 1/1)
M33	1st	10	Pistol 2TE Unbalanced	4-3-4	4-3 Under	2-high	Run	6.5	Split Zone	Edwards	9
A-gap blitz and Filiaga(-1) (RPS-1) doesn't pick it up. Edwards(+2) goes around Zinter's guy and drags him along until the guy can't hold jersey any longer. SPRONG! 9 yards. Rootin for ya in UCLA Zach.
M42	2nd	1	Pistol 2TE FB	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1-high	Run	7.5	Power Lead	Edwards	4
Safety at 9 yards. Zinter(+1) crumples the end w Jones(+.5) who comes off late but does take down his LB outside when Seltzer(-1) can't get movement on his kickout. Filiaga goes outside instead of clogging that up further, pile lurches for a couple.
M46	1st	10	Gun trips tight	4-3-4	4-3 Even	1-high	Pass	7.5	Deep cross	Henning	Inc
CB blitz but JJ doesn't see Anthony immediately wide open on the fade. Does see AJ but AJ stops and JJ(-1) zings outside his body. (MA, 2, Prot 2/3, TEAM-1).
M46	2nd	10	Gun 3-wide Flex	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2-high	Pass	6.5	RB Flat	Edwards	-15
Barnhart knocked a guy's helmet off and also got shoved by that guy. JJ(-2) chucks when a gentle wheel could be a chunk. Coming back anyway. (IN, 0, Prot 0/1, Barnhart-1)
M31	2nd	25	Gun 3-wide Flex	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2-high	Pass	6.5	PA Seam	Seltzer	Inc
JJ(-1) puts it a little behind Seltzer—wrong side of the same hash actually—and Seltzer has to turn around. Drops it. (MA, 2, Prot 2/2). Anyway we're just here for...
M31	3rd	25	Gun 3-wide Flex	3-3-5	3-3-5 stack	2-high	Pass	6	Henson Special	Baldwin	69
The Unicorn. Zinter's club hand is useless, RB Leon Franklin should stay bc not like a dumpoff can do much. JJ(+4) sheds the LB, drifts to within 5 yards of the sideline, and puts it 5 yards inside the numbers and 7 yards past the line to gain. Baldwin(route+2) adjusts to a thing we've never seen before. (DO+++, 2, Prot 1/3, Zinter-2)
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 47-7. 8 min 4th Q. Last drive starts at 3 min and is Villari and Leon Franklin so we're done here.

Mike Hart but fast!

My aren’t you chipper this week.

I got some good football feels back; just don’t show me anything negative.

Well I’ve got some good news re: The running backs. MAC caveats need apply but Corum’s tape was even better than the feels. When coach types talk about “bring your own blocking” they usually mean setting up defenders so your linemen can clear them out. Escaping a linebacker who’s sharing your phone booth without him getting a hand on you is a thing we have not seen much of.

It’s impossible to avoid invoking the Great Little One’s name. The way Corum stutters his feet so the linebackers can’t figure out where to attack (nope, not there!) was a vintage Mike Hart trait.

As is the acceleration. If you get a little bit out of your lane he’s going to take it from you, at which point your only solace is you’re not going to be the only back seven defender called out in this film session.

And then he is fast. The first touchdown was THE THING we’ve been pining for from this offense (other than reads with the starting QB), a quick swing pass that puts Corum in space. Watch how fast he gets from the 15 yard line to the 10 yard line. As soon as that happens it’s ovah!

MAC caveats apply—big running back days correlate with bad linebacker play and the Broncos have a few very bad linebackers. But that caveat takes us from “You can rely on Corum to score all the points” to a mere “defenses are going to have to do unsound things to account for this guy.” Star goes on the FFFF chart.

So you’ve already moved on from Hassan Haskins? I thought he was your dude.

Hassan Haskins remains my dude. There is a Magic: The Gathering concept called “Trample” where if you manage to sacrifice one of your poor creatures to stop the other player’s rampaging beast, they still do damage after your pawn’s been run through. If Haskins was a MTG monster he would have Trample.

This isn’t just a BRRRUUAAH strength thing. Haskins sees things before they happen, and uses Step #2 to set up what he’s going to do on Step #8. THEN he is too strong to bring down. He also uses that and tools like his lethal jump cut to time his attacks just right. The holes look bigger than they are because the moment the pulling guard impacts the guy setting the edge is the moment Haskins uses to pop through. This ability saves Michigan from getting bottled up when the blocking gets messed up, or the timing of the play is thrown off.

I used to watch the MSU games with my Sparty little brother and some local HS coach friends of his, and during Le’Veon Bell’s years they had a “Fools Hurdled” tracker. I’m starting one for Haskins in 2021. Fools Hurdled: 1. Haskins also hustled downfield to make the final block that sprung AJ Henning.

As Brian wrote in the game column yesterday, Haskins and Corum are going to get about even carries and I’m happy with that. A thunder-lightning duo is one of those football tropes that actually comes from a real thing. Getting hit sucks, and the more it happens the more mental effort it takes to convince your body to go through it again. It physically wears you out. And then when you need that extra juice to make an all-or-nothing grab at the Lightning, you don’t have it.

Speaking of Lightning-Thunder combos, how was Donovan Edwards’s debut?

Delicious. When Edwards came on the field Michigan was already up 33-7 and had not thrown the ball past the line of scrimmage since the Ronnie Bell fade 18(!) offensive snaps prior. The WMU safeties had retaken their positions nine yards off the line of scrimmage, Michigan’s QB read game was completely off. Almost all of his 4.5 YPC this game was also YAC.

Michigan also had him moving around the offense in various wideout roles, which he did in high school as well. No need to show what their plans are in this game, but there are plans.

So are you ready to declare the running backs the greatest in modern history?

You know what rhymes with Hart?

HARTCHART.

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hayes	4	3	+1	Blocked backsides they never ran off.
Keegan	5.5	6	-0.5	Puller, WMU was coached to beat his kickouts.
Vastardis	12	1.5	+10.5	Reached a LB on the Henning end around. OL of the day.
Filiaga	10.5	3	+7.5	His kind of game.
Stueber	2	3.5	-1.5	Quiet day in the downblock mines.
Zinter	7	0	+7	Can't pass pro one-handed but can club people.
T.Jones	0.5		+0.5	Extra TE sometimes.
Crippen			DNC	Center #2.
All	6	3	+3	Used as a fullback. Good at Mason things.
Honigford	3.5	4.5	-1	Pointman, no pass threat, got beat up by (good) WMU DEs.
Schoonmaker	4.5		+4.5	Caved a few edges.
Seltzer	2	2	+0	Blocked 2 guys.
TOTAL	57.5	26.5	+31	Beat up WMU inside.
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
McNamara			DNC	Zero carries.
McCarthy			DNC	Not here either.
Villari			DNC	Villaricat 2PC
Haskins	9.5		+9.5	Solid jersey investment.
Corum	16.5		+16.5	Mike Hart but fast.
Edwards	4.5		+4.5	Enticing debut.
TOTAL	30.5		+30.5	Enjoy Pasadena, Zach.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
C.Johnson		2	-2	Not Bell.
Sainristil	7		+7	Michigan's best tight end.
Henning	3	1	+2	Zooooooom!
Wilson	1	1	-1	Fast. Also not Bell.
Baldwin	0.5		+0.5	Did work on Wilson end around.
Anthony			DNC	Didn't get to block much.
TOTAL	11.5	4	+6	Sainristil is a Weapon. Bell was +1/-0 fyi.
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Protection	15	23	65%	Zinter—4, Filiaga, Keegan, Barnhart, TEAM—1
RPS	3	22	-19	Didn't have to be clever, definitively wasn’t.

Thing is I think I believe that.

So I’m not just an insane homer who buys running backs’ jerseys?

That +30.5 for the RBs is some kind of record right?

I looked it up. For sheer volume of things plussed (since 2008) this game came in 7th all time. It is the only one in the top 12 that wasn’t a Denard game.

But those games had offsetting negatives. By half a point, this one edged out the +38.5/-8.5 of the Fritz/Denard Jet game vs Minnesota in 2011—the one where Vincent Smith threw a touchdown--for the highest total ever. Corum’s +16.5/-0 is up there with Toussaint vs 2011 Nebraska and Higdon vs 2017 Indiana in greatest RB days in charting history.

It’s also half a point under the contribution from the offensive line.

Here I get to eat my crow, because all offseason my downer takes about Michigan’s OL were:

• Filiaga should be replaced by a younger OL.
• Vastardis is a weak spot.

Those guys were Michigan’s best linemen in this game. With Zak Zinter wearing a club on his right hand, Filiaga got the start at RG and got to do his thing, which was blow up a puny MAC DT on doubles or moving with slants. Trevor Keegan got the start at LG and went off when the rest of the ones did. He also got the majority of those kickout pulls when WMU was setting up their DEs inside and making them hard to kick. He also reach a DT on the truckstick Haskins touchdown.

#77 the LG

That was the very bad non-Holley DT so extra MAC caveats apply. Overall it was a pretty solid debut, and I can see why the race between him and Filiaga was so tight.

The guy who passed expectations and then left hopes in the dust was Andrew Vastardis. The key block on the AJ Henning end-around wasn’t Haskins at the end; it was Vastardis reaching a linebacker.

Only a few of his points were from doubling the afore mentioned nose. WMU was slanting a lot and Vastardis was picking up what was happening and finding his guy on the second level or locking out Holley to give his RBs a shot.

Zinter couldn’t play much pass pro—he had two –2s when he couldn’t do anything about a DT going to his right to account for the bulk of Michigan’s low protection day—which I attributed to the club on his hand. He rotated with Filiaga some, and this probably figured into why they chose not to pass at all for long stretches of the game. They also used him as a sixth OL in their heavy and unbalanced formations, since they couldn’t exactly use him as a full-time OG. That sucks because in the run game he is…well he’s the kind of guy the coaches notice because when he blocks a guy the guy ain’t there no more.

#65, the second “tight end” from left.

There was a weird lack of scoring for the tackles.

Yeah that was weird. Most of the action on the OL took place at the tight ends and the trenches. This came down to the two teams’ game plans I thought. I’ve been going on about WMU’s DE#1, Ali Fayad, since I was so impressed with that guy in 2018 I walked down to give him an ovation (only other time I’ve done this was for Antoine Brooks Jr. of Maryland in 2018). It took just two snaps for Fayad to make his presence felt, beating three(!) blocks to shut down Michigan’s attack.

DE#1 on the top

Michigan’s main rushing strategy was to try to run off tight end, bringing a puller from the backside to kick out the edge. WMU’s strategy was to keep the ends outside where they could crash on the running game and make sure those kickout blocks took place where there was no space to escape, replacing the DEs inside with roving linebackers. Michigan often had the quarterback fake reading that DE to try to get him to hold up, but the Broncos quickly realized the Michigan “reads” were as fake as unofficial forty time. The result was a lot of cutbacks into the interior blocks.

Later on Michigan adjusted by looping around the DE and sealing him inside:

Watch #83 Erick All, who lines up at fullback

The WMU response to that was to start doing the Army thing where the one DE crashes and the other reads that block and exchanges gaps.

Michigan’s running backs were routinely turning these LB collisions into solid, clock-draining four-yard gains, but they too adjusted to this adjustment by having the backs start cutting into the A gaps, where 3T Ralph Holley kept trying to blitz the backfield and Filiaga/Vastardis did a good job of sealing him.

But I saw a lot of tight ends.

Right, this too was stra…[eyes narrow].

What?

You were making a sophomoric Honigford joke there.

Guilty.

Yeah, so dropping down to 259 from 300 didn’t do him any favors I think. Michigan still didn’t use him at all in the passing game—he was ignored by the QBs and defense alike the few times he ran a route—and his past effectiveness as a sixth OL was nerfed. Michigan’s RUN BY GOD game plan meant to feature Honigford heavily, but WMU’s decision to put the DEs on edge duty was the kind of matchup that should have gone Michigan’s way if they were running out a Hoss and didn’t because Honigford was just sort of a tight end:

#84 at the top of the formation

I thought Erick All did a much better job at the violence—his shoulders came with ferocity and budged guys. Schoonmaker didn’t get as many kickout opportunities as the other guys, but he was more effective as the end guy who blocks down the inside of those plays. He got his man, and his man stayed put. He still hasn’t been used in the passing game; by the time they even bothered to have one he was off the field for walk-on Carter Seltzer.

All was also the designated target on Michigan’s odd take on BASH. Bash is a counter for teams that run a lot of arc/zone-read/split zone, which looks like the above at first but flips the QB/RB jobs so the running back is speeding out the backside while the QB gets the inside keep. Michigan’s “Let’s not have our QBs run ever” take on this was to use a quick throw to the TE in the flat as the “outside run” read and a handoff as the dive. The best it got was a play where All had to make most of the yards himself, and at worst it put a guy on top of McCarthy while the guy they were supposed to be reading was towing the intended target around by the shoulder pads.

[Hot take voice] MIKE SAINRISTIL IS MICHIGAN’S BEST TIGHT END

That’s what I should have gone with. The guy is a Matchup Problem™ because he does this to your CBs:

#5 WR at the top

This could be Michigan’s base play this year because these guys are so dangerous. Bell’s blocking made it lethal; their other receivers don’t really have that capability.

Michigan already recognizes what they have here. That TE Bash play that worked was essentially using the TE as a slot receiver and the slot receiver as a TE, because Sainristil blocks like one.

#5 the slot receiver on the top hash

Opponents are going to have to adjust for Sainristil mountain goat contributions or get screened to death by Michigan’s RBs, and that should open up other things.

Didn’t we have a guy who was the highest-graded player in the country this week or something?

Oh right, the passing game.

In fairness, there were a few people who forgot we had one this week.

I guess a chart?

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

Not a lot to grade here. The low sample size messes with us but Cade was efficient when he wasn’t getting the ball batted because of his low release point, though that’s an issue that probably isn’t going away. What you get in return is a guy who knows the offense well enough to feel where there’s going to be an opening, and gets the ball there before the defense can react. Here the defense shows an Okie alignment on 3rd down. McNamara recognizes one of those LBs at the bottom has to be the guy responsible for All and gets it there before that guy can recover from threatening blitz.

Game. Managed. That is until he showed a Michigan quarterback can actually throw a slot fade.

Let’s stay positive by not remembering all the games that could have been altered the last several years if any of our quarterbacks could make that throw consistently. McNamara also placed the other THE BELL CATCH where his receiver had room to grab it on the sideline and the cornerback didn’t have a chance to do anything more than interfere.

As for the seven “reads” I think they were fake anyways—the two “correct” ones were early handoffs (more on that later). The little we saw of the passing game showed why McNamara’s been out ahead.

However the little we saw of his backup showed why that might not remain the case forever.

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

Other than THAT, what we saw of McCarthy was a ton of zip and a lot of JJ Hearts AJ, to the point where McCarthy was ignoring wiiiide open receivers to lock in on his fellow Chicagoan.

Two were productive (11 yards and a DPI) and the other a miscommunication. Those were chosen over open bombs to Roman Wilson, Carter Seltzer, and Andrel Anthony. In all three instances Henning was the guy to McCarthy’s left (frontside) while the ignored routes were on the backside, so it’s reasonable to assume he was working sideways and threw the first thing open. It’s still a very quick trigger for a favorite. Here’s the All-22 on the pass interference. AJ Henning is the 2nd WR from the top and about to cross this safety with a LB hanging out in the lane. Look down however and the next two reads are Carter Seltzer ten yards from anybody, and Andrel Anthony behind all those guys who realized they let Seltzer get that open.

Perhaps an icebreaker is in order?

There was also THAT:

Wide receivers?

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

	THIS WEEK					LAST YEAR
Player	Uncb	Circus	Tough	Routine		Uncb	Circus	Tough	Routine
Bell		1/2	1/1			12	0/2	4/7	20/20
Johnson			1/1	1/1		6	0/3	2/5	12/12
Sainristil				1/1		4	0/6	2/3	3/5
Henning	0		1/2			1	1/1	1/2	4/4
Wilson						3	0/1	5/7	3/3
Baldwin			1/1
Anthony
All	1		1/1	2/2		2	1/5	0/2	9/12
Honigford
Schoonmaker
Seltzer			0/1
Hibner
Hansen
Haskins						2
Corum				2/2		1			6/6
Edwards	1			1/1

It really REALLY sucks to lose Ronnie Bell.

Depending on your view of referees, that side judge deserves to be Clockwork Oranged to a chair and forced to watch Ronnie Bell’s catch replayed for him every half hour for the rest of his life, or something worse.

Daylen Baldwin’s adjustment to his route portends good things. Roman Wilson got past the second level so fast that safeties won’t be able to play that far up in a real game. That’s about it. Michigan got its two long TDs through the air and those kept them on schedule to keep playing clugball.

Routes: Baldwin++, All+

So speaking of clugball, why is “Punch Self in Face” still in the playbook?

Right, so Michigan was not going to run the quarterback in this game. What they wanted to do was have the defense THINK they might run the quarterback so the DE would form up outside and get clonked by a kickout. Early in the game that was still a possibility.

By the end of the second half WMU wasn’t going to be fooled. Which okay, you can run offense without reading guys. You can’t run offense by fake reading guys, however, because once they know what you’re up to that guy is just a dude you’re not blocking.

WMU DE#1 on the far left

That was the penultimate play of the first half on 3rd and 1 at the three. Your chances there of a first down or a TD are extremely high if you just block everyone and send Haskins into a safety. I don’t get the point. If you’re not going to read, why are you running it? If you are going to read then why can’t your quarterback get it right on the most obvious plays? If you’re practicing getting it wrong why do you think they’ll get it right when four points matters? If you’re converting these into RPOs then why isn’t your quarterback at least throwing those?

And yet here they are, running Rich Rodriguez’s base play: spread them out, check the alignment for a bubble screen so that SAM can’t bother the QB, then read the edge. That’s part of the play.

I don’t know man, but if Jim Harbaugh ever asks me what’s the #1 thing he needs to fix about his coaching I’m going to tell him to stop being afraid to get his QB hit. If this was 2015 we could say “Oh, it’s just WMU why risk it?” and if they didn’t do this sort of thing all the time it would even be fair. Michigan has their QB read guys who are being blocked. They have his back turned to guys they leave unblocked. They stopped their end-of-half MANBALL drive dead in its tracks. I agree with Brian (on the podcast): If Michigan was a read offense they would be using the tune-up game to practice their read offense.

Best guess—and this is just a guess—is that Greg Roman seems to get away with making his reads pre-snap instead of options, so Harbaugh thinks he can do the same. I don’t know what Gattis thinks or how involved he is in those decisions, but he coached under James Franklin for a long time, and Franklin makes this same miscalculation. You can say these guys all make way more than me, and that Shea Patterson got hurt on the first play of 2019 on a QB run, and McNamara probably isn’t near the athlete that Shea was, and the fact that the players were often able to overcome these disadvantages is also attributable to their coaching, and yeah I’ve grasped at all of those things too. I’m not smarter than these people and won’t pretend to be. I just grade the plays and try to understand why they worked or didn’t, and when I graded their gameplan against WMU the broken read option game was the one major thing keeping the score closer than the play deserved.

Also Michigan’s coaches told Sam Webb we’ll probably see more read option stuff from the backup QBs. Since they did that with Patterson, and did it with Milton, and now they’re doing it with McNamara, the most likely explanation is Michigan’s coaches have convinced themselves that it’s better to have their starters make fake reads than actual reads. This layman with a computer thinks this makes Michigan worse at football.

Any Ravens Stuff from Matt Weiss?

Yeah, I really like how they had multiple guys motioning across the formations. They put the fancy stuff away as the score got out of hand, but this play was created by messing with this linebacker (#6) by having Bell’s motion be followed by a tight end pull. Watch that LB freak out as all the bodies are flying to one side, then realize his mistake at the same moment he realizes Blake Corum is entering his world.

WMU#6 the LB on the bottom

The Roman Wilson end around also did this, but Wilson was the trailer and he took the ball.

Heroes?

Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins. The interior OL especially Vastardis. Ronnie Bell was starting to put a Heisman reel together before it.

Maybe not so heroic?

Harbaugh/Gattis burned a lot of downs by fake reading people, paying off a popular preseason take that the offense’s biggest issue is the coaches are trying to run a modern offense without running a modern offense. Andrew Stueber didn’t get to mash face. Zak Zinter couldn’t pass pro with his club on. I ignored Brian’s advice not to clip too many plays for these.

What does it mean for Washington and beyond?

The fact that they did that with absolutely nothing from the quarterback running game is insane. Interior OL might be good. Zinter should be a terror once he’s healthy again. The coaches really do like to run. All the stories you heard about the running backs? They’re real (against a MAC foe).