FORMATION NOTES: Michigan used a ton of tight ends.

I charted 10 plays with three tight ends—we're still considering Bredeson a TE and not a hybrid—and another 19 with two. There were almost none with zero. Since there's a chunk of passing downs in there, a majority of Michigan standard downs had two tight ends or three.

Other than that not a whole lot of formation hijinks. Michigan did run a two-back formation out of the gun for the first time this year:

This was the wheel to Corum with Bredeson staying in to protect. You better believe that's going to be the #1 thing opponents expect out of this formation after M put this on tape.

Maryland alternated between a bunch of different fronts but never beefed up to match Michigan beef, with the results you see in the box score.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: Just McCarthy at QB. Almost just Corum at RB; Stokes fumbled his first carry and Isaiah Gash got a couple of runs. OL was Hayes/El-Hadi/Olu/Zinter/Jones the whole way. WRs were the usual at this point: Wilson/Bell/Johnson clearly in front of Henning/Anthony, with cameos from Walker and Clemons. TE was without Erick All, and virtually all snaps were sucked up by Schoonmaker, Bredeson, and Honigford. Loveland and Hibner had cameos.

[AFTER THE JUMP: a palpable opponent]

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O10	1	G	Gun 2TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Pass	PA TE corner	Schoonmaker	10
Jet motion from Bell, mesh point with Corum. Looks like a real RPO(+). McCarthy pulls, S bites, Schoonmaker open, TD. (CA, +1, 3, protection N/A, RPS +1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-0, 14 min 1st Q. Mmm free touchdown.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Gun TTB	1	2	2	Base 3-4	7	Pass	Out	Johnson	6
Tight split from Johnson and real soft from MD so the out is pitch and catch. Wish Johnson had just gone right upfield here, left a couple yards on the field. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1)
M31	2	4	Ace	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Split zone	Corum	3
CB blitz from MD and a run version as CB sets inside of Johnson and kind of posts up to keep the edge. Supposed edge guy dives inside on Schoonmaker(+1) who handles it. Honigford(-1) sees a flash of white and hits the same guy instead of moving around this and blocking someone else. Corum(+1) initially threatens up the gut as Olu(+1) and Zinter(+1) have crumpled the nose with Zinter climbing to backside LB, but the MLB is unaccounted for, so he pops it outside of the Schoonmaker block. S activates on the snap and gets to Corum two yards downfield. RPS -1.
M34	3	1	Gun twin TE	1	2	2	6-1 eagle	7.5	Run	Dive	Corum	2
Wing TE against DE strikes again. I have no idea why this is such a common block. Schoonmaker(-1) loses it but you’re just making the contact point here on the wrong side of the LOS by alignment. Corum(+1) gets two guys at the LOS and is able to Samwise Gamgee this mother up Mount Doom.
M36	1	10	Offset I Big	1	3	1	Base 3-4	8.5	Run	Crack power	Corum	11
Return of the crack (oh my god). Anthony(+1) slides down and walls off the playside LB. The rest of this play looks like a completely conventional power play. I really want one of Bredeson or El-Hadi to arc outside of Anthony eventually. As it is MD has no edge and Corum(+1) gets out there in space against a CB; he threatens vertical and gets the edge. Jones(+0.5) got enough on his downblock; Honigford(+0.5) got a second level block. Bredeson hits the playside end and then passes him up for El Hadi to finish; then he whacks the same guy Anthony is. I guess I’m going to give them a pass here.
M47	1	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	Nickel over	6.5	Pass	Hitch	Bredeson	9
Quick dink in front of the zone. Bredeson(+1) breaks a tackle and adds 3-4 YAC. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1)
O44	2	1	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Flare screen	Wilson	5
Orbit from Wilson and he gets the flare screen. This is press man from MD but the D has a plan for this, rotating the deep S down as the CB rotates back. This guy flies at Wilson(+1) and gets in a tackle attempt in the backfield… that he misses. (CA, +0.5, 3, screen, RPS -1). RPS ding because this was a TFL attempt that just about turned second and one into third and medium. McCarthy gets a half point because the swing pass led Wilson and was important for the success of the play.
O39	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	2	2	Base 3-4	6.5	Pass	Out	Schoonmaker	Inc
Honigford in slot, motions in. Not sure who that’s fooling. Schoonmaker as the lone WR to the boundary against soft coverage, out is open and McCarthy fires it. This is a hair low but really should be caught. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1)
O39	2	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	TE delay	Schoonmaker	5
This is last year’s old delay play but opponents are onto it now so it’s covered. Going to have to move on from this IMO. I assume delay is the primary read here so I’m not going to mention Johnson open at the top of the screen on a hitch. Hayes sort of beat around the corner but at ten yards. McCarthy is able to move up and fire to Schoonmaker after a second for an ok gain. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 2/2)
O34	3	5	Gun 2-back	1	2	2	Odd 5-1	6	Pass	Improv	Johnson	Inc
Oof you get Corum on a linebacker on a wheel route here. JJ does not throw it; this should be out as soon as the LB turns to run with Corum. My dude is doomed. McCarthy has a good pocket but does not step up into it and take either Johnson or Schoonmaker open enough at the sticks. He drifts back and starts going into freshman mode. He does eventually step up and throw as Johnson engages Daylen Baldwin mode but he can’t step into the throw as he gets hit and it comes up short. Johnson can not bring in the heavily contested ball. (BR, -2, 1, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: FG(52), 10-3, 8 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M27	1	10	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	4-3 under	8.5	Run	Split zone	Corum	24
Heavy from M and this wants to go off tackle; it does. Honigford(+1) combos through playside DT with Jones(+1) and gets to MLB. Schoon(+1) fights off a DE despite dreaded wing TE alignment (he’s tighter to LOS this time though) and Bredeson(+0.5) hops around the outside to kick overhanging CB. Corum(+1) dusts S to add ten more. RPS +1, FS nowhere so this is even numbers.
O49	1	10	Ace 2TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7.5	Run	Lead zone stretch	Corum	1
Bredeson(-2) across the formation just before the snap and heads outside of Schoon, who’s a wing TE to the field. Bredeson jets past the MLB; he even checks the guy before deciding to go to the S. MLB tackles. Woof, because this was going to be another huge chunk. Schoon(+1) got a good kick on the nickel. El-Hadi(+0.5) got enough of a DT; Hayes(-1) controlled and gives ground. Olu(+1) got to a weakside LB. RPS +2, this should have been two blocks to the safety.
O48	2	9	Offset I tight	1	2	2	4-3 even SAM	7.5	Run	Counter	Corum	23
This is a very confused D here. Honigford(+1) gets a freebie on the DE, who looks like he’s looping around or something but gets ejected with authority. Jones(+0.5) straight to second level and gets the backside LB. Bredeson(+1) pulls across formation into the hole and gives the MLB the business. El-Hadi kicks SAM, albeit with a dubious glancing blow. Henning(+2) does a great job to crack down on the S who added himself to the box and steps around him to seal him out. Zinter(+1) controls DT. Corum(+1) again dusts the S to add another chunk.
O25	1	10	Pistol 2TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Arc zone give	Stokes	0
Scrape exchange by MD. This sends the DE directly at Stokes. JJ should probably pull this(-1, ZR-) but if he does he’s got the MD LB and a safety moving down late against Bredeson and himself. Stokes(-3) fumbles on the hit. RPS -1, this was dubious either way.
Drive Notes: Fumble, 10-10, EO1Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Base 3-4	7.5	Pass	Drag	Schoonmaker	18
MD drops eight. I have to give it up to this DC, he ran an arc-defeating scrape on the first arc of the day and now he anticipates shot and nerfs it, mostly. JJ looks at a bunch of brackets downfield and eventually comes down to Schoonmaker, who dragged all the way across the field and is now sitting down just outside the numbers. JJ does a good job to set him up for YAC. (CA, +1, 3, protection 2/2)
M43	1	10	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	Base 3-4	7.5	Run	Split zone	Corum	5
This again wants to attack off tackle based on Corum’s path and it does, Schoon(+1) gets two yards of depth handfighting with a DE and stays attached; Bredeson(+0.5) gets his kickout. Honigford(+0.5) engages MLB on free release; El-Hadi doesn’t really have an angle to do anything but annoy the other LB. Corum(-0.5) shoots off the left side and gets tripped up by Bredeson’s legs.
M48	2	5	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Sack	N/A	-3
Jet to Bell into attempted pass. The problem with this: how many jets has M run this year? Zero. Bell is covered on this Y cross and Anthony can’t get off this block he’s faking until too late; Bell should chuck the ball OOB but he’s a WR and tries to get some yards, instead losing a few. (Not charted, N/A, RPS -1)
M45	3	8	Gun trips	1	1	3	Nickel even wide	6	Pass	Slot fade	Wilson	Inc
Not any more complicated than Wilson(route+) just running by his dude easily; JJ misses. (IN, -1, 0, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-13, 11 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M28	1	10	Offset I Big	1	3	1	4-3 under	8.5	Run	Crack Power	Corum	-1
Anthony motions in again, this time M eats a corner blitz off of it. Bredeson(+1) pulls around and clears out a DE crashing down. El-Hadi(-2) does not see the corner and passes him up, running into Bredeson. Olu(-1) gets shed as Corum tries to cut back and that costs M another yard. Anthony(-1) violated never turn upfield. RPS -1.
M27	2	11	Gun trips	1	1	3	Nickel even	5.5	Run	QB draw	McCarthy	4
Flare screen action to Corum. That draws the MLB out of the box and leaves this a five man box; if McCarthy can get past the line he’s getting a ton. El-Hadi(+1) ends up putting his guy on the ground, though it looks like he’s falling somewhat of his own volition. Olu(-1) can’t really do much with the nose and he’s able to come off and arm tackle McCarthy(-3), who ends up fumbling. Michigan gets it back. RPS +2.
M31	3	7	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	Scramble	McCarthy	9
Ishtar 1. So Wilson(route+) gets pure man from Bennett, who bails as Wilson stops at the sticks. You’d think this would be the first read as MD shows cover one but instead McCarthy looks at a fade on the boundary and then Corum before bugging out. Then he goes Family Circus and gets the first down. (SCR, +1, protection 2/2)
M40	1	10	Gun TTB	1	2	2	Base 3-4	7	Pass	Out	Anthony	9
Field side out against soft coverage is pretty much a gimme. (CA, +0.5, protection 1/1, RPS +1)
M49	2	1	Ace twins	1	2	2	Base 3-4	7	Pass	PA TE out	Schoonmaker	13
Shot down, M goes for shot, MD plays in parking lot. Schoonmaker engages a safety and then runs to the sideline; McCarthy comes off the deep routes and lays this in. Schoonmaker has very little separation here so the throw being a little in front is good even though it takes Schoonmaker off his feet. (DO, +2, 2, protection 2/2)
O38	1	10	Pistol 2TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	8	Run	Down GT	Corum	21
Frontside G and T pull around Honigford, which I’m not sure if I’ve seen before. Honigford(+1) seals in the DE. SAM engages Jones and gets to the inside, so Jones just throws him to the ground (refs +2) in a manner that could easily be holding but if it’s off in this game and in this season, Jones+1. Zinter(+0.5) gets out in front and makes the MLB go around him, which is enough. El-Hadi(+0.5) delays the other LB with another borderline hold (refs+1). Bell(+1) gets a downfield block and Corum(+1) dusts another safety.
O17	1	10	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	Base 3-4	8	Run	Split zone	Corum	0
Honigford(-2) beat to the interior clean; his guy shoots into the backfield and forces a Corum bounce that robs the other TE blocks of angles.
O17	2	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Pass	Sack	N/A	-15
Ishtar 2. I’m filing this as a sack, FWIW. McCarthy bugs out of a pocket when he should either be firing the seam to Schoonmaker or coming down to either Corum or Johnson. Protection is fine except for Jones giving a tad too much ground. McCarthy starts wandering around, slips, and then tries to chuck a ball that is a throw but should be grounding; incorrectly ruled a fumble and then reviewed and still wrong. (BRX, -3, N/A, protection 2/2)
O32	3	25	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Exotic	6	Run	Inside zone	Corum	7
Give up and field goal.
Drive Notes: Missed FG(43), 10-13, 3 min 2nd Q. Next drive starts with 1:36 on clock.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M30	1	10	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Run	Arc zone keep	McCarthy	9
DE static and at the LOS so while square this is a keep(ZR+) from McCarthy(+1). Nobody out there after McCarthy high steps through the DE’s ankle tackle attempt. Johnson(+0.5) did get a good block. RPS +1.
M39	2	1	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	TE hitch	Schoonmaker	4
1:29. Option route underneath zone to Schoonmaker to move sticks. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1)
M43	1	10	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Fly	Wilson	Inc
1:20. Four verts here, OK. Wilson has press and so he’s the target instead of the guys who are trying to eat up 7-10 yards of cushion and not breaking off their routes. Wilson releases inside of the DB and the FS is coming over; this is a tight window but an extant one. McCarthy puts it well outside, where the DB has leverage, and there’s some shot at an INT. (IN, -1, protection 1/1) Wilson(route-) needed to release outside.
M43	2	10	Gun trips	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Drag	Johnson	15
1:10. Major error by MD LB as he thinks JJ is about to try to fit it into Bredeson at the sticks and starts running the opposite direction Johnson is. Wide open corner and easy conversion. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 2/2)
O42	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Out	Johnson	6
57. Quick out to the field that mainly serves to stop the clock. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1)
O36	2	4	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	5-1 Nickel SAM	6	Pass	Slot fade	Wilson	Inc
51. M gets zero coverage here so shot on slot fade is good; Bennett does a pretty good job to stay in contact here and give Wilson a suboptimal route to a ball that’s a couple yards long. (IN, -0.5, 0, protection 3/3)
O36	3	4	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Run	Split zone	Corum	3
45. This is pretty inexplicable as Schoonmaker(-2) pulls across the formation, sees the LB shoot upfield to be force, and then Schoonmaker just… stops. He does not block the guy. Looks like he thinks it’s a play action pass. It is not. LB duly tackles Corum short of the sticks. Jones(+1) controlled his guy and got a yard of depth so if this block is made Corum easily converts and maybe has big play.
O33	4	1	Gun 2TE tight	1	1	3	Goal line	9	Run	Dive	Corum	33
35. Tempo off the pervious play, everyone fires off. Olu(-0.5) gives some ground; Hayes(+1) surges through his guy and hits a linebacker; Schoon(+1) puts his guy on the ground, and Corum(+2) has the vision and quick feet to bounce outside for touchdown. RPS +1.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 17-13, EO1H
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel odd	6	Run	Power T	Corum	9
Hayes(+1) pulls from LT and gets across, aided by Schoon(+2) taking on and stalling the playside end and then passing him off to Hayes so he can get a linebacker. Slick. Jones(+1) turns in a DT and Zinter(+1) cuts off the other LB; Corum(+1) cuts up inside of the Hayes block abruptly to set up his blocks. CB blitz comes all the way around from the other side to tackle otherwise its 1 v 1 vs safety for TD. RPS +1.
M34	2	1	Pistol FB twins	1	2	2	Base 3-4	7	Run	Split zone	Corum	9
If this read is live it’s a pull but I don’t think it is because M only seems to pull on arc. Backside end shoots down the LOS and permits no gap. Jones(-0.5) gives ground and it’s awkward for Schoon to do anything with this DE as a result. DE has not actually set an edge though so Corum(+1) just busts it outside and lowers the boom on the overhang CB. Hat +2.
M43	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even	7	Run	Power	Corum	1
The last four plays have been Corum runs and between this week and last week about 95% of pistol snaps are runs, so I’m not real thrilled with running into a -1 box with no read and a heavy run tip. DE crashes again and knocks Jones over(-1) as he’s trying to release to second level and gets blindsided. Olu trips over Jones and can’t do anything so DE to backfield. Even if this guy gets blocked MD is going to have a free hitter right at the POA. Corum does well to juke inside and get back to the LOS. RPS -1.
M44	2	9	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Run	Power	Corum	5
Exact same play except MD has removed a guy from the box and the end doesn’t blow over Jones. Olu(+2) crushes that end, sealing and driving him for a big hole. Schoon(+0.5) pulls and takes on the playside LB; Jones(+0.5 )gets the backside one. Corum(-1) has a rare mistake here as he doesn’t put a foot in the ground and go vertical inside of Schoonmaker, instead running outside and never asking the D to change direction. LB is able to drive the hole closed and MD can rally.
M49	3	4	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel odd	6	Run	RPO split zone	Gash	2
Henning motions in, not much react, likely zone, and then he reverses to go back outside on the snap. MD blitzes off the corner, JJ looks right at it, and gives. (RPO-, -1) Woof. He’s got two guys open to convert. Gash(-1) runs straight ahead into defenders, no cut run. Hayes(+0.5 )got a bit of depth so a cut outside of him and inside Schoon might work. As is Gash just runs straight into a blocked guy.
Drive Notes: Punt, 17-13, 12 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M10	1	10	I-Form Big	1	3	1	Base 3-4	7	Run	Counter	Corum	3
Jet motion from Bell, counter action. Corum cuts away from the design to go up the middle. Design looks ok but not a whole lot better or worse here; Corum gets an arm tackle attempt from a guy El-Hadi is stalemating. That puts him a little off balance so the corner can fill and take him down without YAC. The play design looks about the same with Hayes(-1) not getting to the LB; Zinter(+0.5) and Schoon(+0.5) had probably carved a path there.
M13	2	7	Pistol 2TE	1	2	2	Base 3-4	7	Run	Down GT	Corum	-1
Pistol run tip and Maryland is crashing this. RPS -2. Schoon(+1) blocks down and gets two yards of depth. Jones(+0.5) gets a kick. Zinter(-1) airballs on a linebacker charging his ass off who can only do that because he is 100% run presnap.
M12	3	8	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Exotic	7	Pass	Sack	N/A	-2
What is this route pattern? It’s third and eight and the teeveee gives us 20 yards downfield and all four guys run off it. It doesn’t look like anyone’s open, so McCarthy just sits and sits in the pocket. Corum(-1) eventually gets beat after a marginally effective cut. McCarthy needs to take off, it’s verts-ish and there’s one LB in an acre of space on screen. (TA, -1, N/A, protection 1/2, Corum –1.)
Drive Notes: Punt, 17-13, 5 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M15	1	10	Gun 2TE tight	1	2	2	Base 3-4	7	Pass	TE hitch	Schoonmaker	8
Three step dink that seems like an attempt to get JJ back in rhythm. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1)
M23	2	2	Gun 3-wide	1	2	2	Base 3-4	7	Pass	Sprintout deep out	Bell	19
Super soft coverage with JJ first looking at the single boundary WR and then sprinting to the field. Shortens the throw and CB gets run off so this is just wide wide open. (CA, +1, 3, protection 1/1, RPS +2)
M42	1	10	Ace twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 over	7.5	Run	Inside zone	Corum	8
Anthony motions in next to the two TEs. Hayes(+0.5) and El-Hadi(+0.5) have a playlong double on a DT and blow him a couple yards downfield. Olu(+1) gets a free release but has little angle on a LB and gets to him. Bredeson(+0.5) gets shed but stalled his LB out first; Schoonmaker(+0.5) does enough on a DE. Corum(+0.5) picks through the hole and gets some YAC.
50	2	2	Gun TTB	1	1	3	4-3 under	7	Pass	Post	Anthony	Inc
Jones goes a bit early here, refs +1. We don’t get the critical bit of Anthony(route+)’s route but he gets over the top of a bracket and JJ goes for it, but it’s two yards long. (IN, -0.5, 0, protection 2/2)
50	3	2	Pistol FB twins	1	2	2	Base 3-4	7.5	Run	Inside zone	Corum	4
Zinter(+1) and Olu(+1) blow through a DT and Olu extends to a LB. Jones(-1) gets rocked back and almost gets this blown up. El-Hadi(+1) controls his guy and lives through a push-pull move, getting another yard of depth.
O46	1	10	Gun quads	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Run	Inside zone	Corum	-1
Massively blown read by JJ(ZR-, -2), who gets a DE clearly charging at the back and gives anyway. Quads threat is holding four different guys; McCarthy is going to the safety if he keeps this. Corum dodges the DE but it’s not enough.
O47	2	11	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel odd	7	Pass	Drag	Schoonmaker	14
This is such blatant OPI that I wonder if this is the Colorado drag screen and Schoonmaker is supposed to be behind the LOS. As it is it’s AJ Henning giving a DB in man on Schoonmaker the business and then some (refs +3) and then Schoonmaker(+1) smartly gets vertical to get a chunk of YAC. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1)
O33	1	10	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	Base 3-4	7.5	Pass	Waggle TE flat	Bredeson	7
Bog standard waggle flat. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection N/A)
O26	2	3	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 3-4	7	Run	Power T	Corum	6
MD LBs weirdly away from LOS so Schoonmaker doesn't have to chip and go, he can just go. Hayes(+1) turns in an end; Jones(+1) pulls all the way from tackle and kicks out the SAM. Schoon(+0.5) and El-Hadi(+0.5) get to second level blocks, and Corum slams it up. S gets a very rare win against Corum in space here.
O20	1	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Pass	Y cross	Wilson	20
Man, this is just not happening from MD. They send five. Corum chips and releases; Schoonmaker releases. This takes out the front seven. Wilson is a yard inside of his man, and it’s man to man, and he gets to run across the entire field being fast. Easy TD. (CA, +1, 3, protection 3/3, RPS +1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 24-13, 14 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Ace TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	8.5	Pass	Y cross	Anthony	Inc
MD moves down late to give a zero look, PA, max pro. Protection is good, McCarthy clean to hit Anthony on a deep cross, but he leaves it short. (IN, -1, 0, protection 2/2, RPS +1)
M25	2	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	7.5	Pass	Out	Bell	4
Soft coverage, quick out to boundary. Clearly a presnap decision and probably one dictated from booth if your first read is a boundary out. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1)
M29	3	6	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Fly	Bell	39
Cover 1 look from MD and it is man across the board. Bell just runs right by a DB looking for a hitch at the sticks and this time JJ puts it on him. (DO, +2, 3, protection 2/2)
O22	1	10	Offset I Big	1	3	1	Base 3-4	8	Run	Counter	Corum	2
Almost. Jones(+1) and Loveland(+1!) double through playside end, driving him downfield two yards and getting Jones to a second level block. El-Hadi(+1) delivers a thumping kickout. Bredeson(+0.5) as FB, pulls through and finds LB. Zinter(+1) turns in and controls DT. Gap is there. Gap gets by S in box because backside messed up. Hayes(-2) hinges back when Honigford has the backside end and realizes his mistake late, far too late, so free hitter to Corum after a few.
O20	2	8	Pistol twins	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Split zone	Corum	0
Playcalling issue. Literally 100% of M pistol snaps in this game are runs. M does not use JJ as a runner here, no actual ZR. DE shoots inside of Honigford(+1), who does a great job to get enough of this dude to push him past Corum, mostly; Bredeson(+0.5) kicks. The dive from the DE puts Corum on the backside where a LB no one ever has an angle to tackles. RPS -2.
O20	3	8	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel odd	6	Pass	Corner	Bell	Inc
Another W for the DC here as M goes max pro and MD has natural brackets on two of the WRs, with Johnson on an in that it is covered. M has time, McCarthy steps up, LBs fire out. McCarthy should just dump this OOB but instead throws it directly at a DB covering Bell, and is fortunate that he cannot get a foot in. (BRX, -3, protection 2/2, RPS -2)
Drive Notes: FG(37), 27-19, 6 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M35	1	10	Ace trip TE	1	3	1	Base 3-4	7.5	Run	Duo	Corum	7
Duo == inside zone with two extended doubles. Real extended. Here it’s Honigford(+1) and Schoon(+1) clubbing a DE with Schoon peeling off on a RB. Jones(+1) gets as much depth himself. Zinter(+0.5 )and Olu(+0.5) get a guy ripping through who is dangerous but not dangerous enough; Zinter gets to a LB who’s charging. Corum hops outside and follows his blocks. Bredeson(+0.5) got a free release to a LB.
M42	2	3	Ace trip TE	1	3	1	4-3 under	8.5	Run	Duo	Corum	5
Corum can hit it up inside and get the same yardage probably. NT pops around Olu(+0.5) who locks him out; Hayes(+0.5) gets a pop and moves on to second level. El-Hadi block dubious. Honigford(+0.5) gets depth on DE but gets shed. Corum(+0.5) pops outside where there isn’t a whole lot except a CB, who does get him down.
M47	1	10	Ace 2TE tight	1	2	2	Base 3-4	7.5	Run	Duo	Corum	5
Thing about duo is it’s very threatening right up the field so it sucks in defenders and you can bounce it a lot. That happens here but it only happens if you’re moving guys. Hayes(+1) does that on a DE himself. Olu(+0.5) and El-Hadi(+0.5) get enough on the NT. DE slides inside of Bredeson’s split block; Corum(+0.5) goes around this and then shoots inside of Honigford(+1) getting to a LB; he stumbles himself otherwise this is bigger.
O48	2	5	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	Base 3-4	7.5	Run	Split zone	Corum	1
Pure run blitz from MD that sends the MLB looping around the DE and gets him through. Schoon(+0.5) does a good job to recognize this and come off it to delay the LB a tad and this is the best he can do with no presnap tip. Zinter(-0.5) gets no chip on Jones’s guy and he can fight to the gap that is the only gap because of the playcall. This would be an RPS if M was not up 8 with 3 minutes left.
O47	3	4	Pistol FB 2TE	1	3	1	Goal line	10	Run	Split zone	Corum	47
Well, Maryland sells out against the run and doesn’t set an edge. You can’t really judge the blocks here since they’re set with an expectation of sound D from MD which they aren’t running. Hayes(+1) gets a win on playside DE, who tries to shed and just locks himself out. Honigford(+1) gives him a shoulder and then pops out on the CB who is hypothetically force. I think that if this guy is actually force this still goes. Corum(+2) sees edge, gets edge, fast, the end.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 34-19, 3 min 4th Q. Two kneeldowns are not charted.

OH NO HE'S WEIRD

I mean, no? If we want to go incompletion by incompletion:

• 5 missed long balls, three to Wilson, two to Anthony
• Schoonmaker drop
• Improv bomb to Johnson
• Very bad idea corner route nearly intercepted

On top of that you've got a sack he took when he should have taken off, the 15 yard loss on some wandering, a missed RPO on third and four, and the fumble on the QB draw. So that's a lot to work through there.

Fundamentally, though, this isn't "weird," which for our purposes means that he inexplicably biffs easy stuff. That did not happen in this game. McCarthy's strike rate on anything under 30 yards was still 100%, and calm:

McCarthy has not thrown an uncatchable ball under 30 yards this season, and when presented with the occasional tight window here he laid it in:

Sprinting? Fine.

McCarthy's accuracy has been uncanny until you get to bomb territory. This chart has no inaccurate or even marginal balls except for the five long ones:

JJ MCCARTHY

	Good				Neutral			Bad					Ovr			Reads
Game	DO	CA	SCR		PR	MA		BA	TA	IN	BR		DSR	GRADE!		RPOs	ZRs
Colorado State		4+											100%	oops		0/0	4/4
Hawaii	4	8(1)+											100%	+14		1/1	3/3
UConn	2++	5(6)			1	2							100%	+11		1/1	1/2
Maryland	2	15(1)	1						1	5	3**		67%	+1.5		1/2	1/3

(Run +/- is in the other chart; the above is solely a passing/decisions grade.)

This would qualify as a good game for most quarterbacks.

Okay, but the decisions.

Yeah… okay. Sam Webb has talked with some folks inside the program and was told that Maryland hit Michigan with a bunch of coverages they had not put on film and that a lot of McCarthy's hesitation was because he hadn't seen evolution X of defense Y yet, and that he'd get better down the road. I have no doubt that's true, but that does not explain away everything. Things first started to go a little pear-shaped when McCarthy got Corum on a wheel route against a Maryland DE:

RB #2 flaring to top

That is 260-pound Durrell Nchami trying to run with Corum. This should be dinner-plate eyes time. Also, even if you miss that you have two other guys you can convert with if you step up in the pocket and rifle it in. Here McCarthy has already started drifting back out of the pocket:

Schoonmaker is a conversion; Johnson is almost certainly a conversion. Because of the drift he doesn't really have confidence in either throw and ends up stepping up and hurling a ball to Johnson after he broke deep. That was almost a great play, but it's still a real bad process to get to that throw when you have three better options, none of which you saw.

He's clearly capable of this; he did it later in the first half when Maryland rushed three. It took him forever to get to read five but he got there:

And he knew that Wilson crossing route was going to be there and made no mistake:

When he knew what he was looking at he was basically the same guy who had three straight 100% DSRs to start the year.

Unfortunately, that caveat came up too often, even when good things happened. The wandering scramble I dubbed Ishtar 1 in the chart above may have been a reasonable risk to take given Michigan's spot on the field and the down and distance, but this is not a complicated presnap look:

Clear cover 1 with a giant cushion on your fastest guy, who just torched this defense for what would have been a TD. McCarthy's first read is Johnson on a fade against press, which seems pretty dubious on third and seven. Then Wilson is wide open for an easy first down:

Ishtar 2 was worse both in outcome and process because dude: it is second and ten.

Check it down. Or fire it up the seam to Hibner.

Then McCarthy's post-snap mesh reads seemed to fall apart. Maryland may have RPS'd Michigan here by inserting a safety late but here you've got a DE clearly crashing down on the back and this needs to be a pull:

McCarthy has a better chance of using that Bredeson arc and getting something than Stokes does being pursued by a bear. Later in the game McCarthy missed an even less ambiguous pull read…

…and then the somewhat maddening Gash run turned out to be an RPO on which McCarthy had his choice of open guys who would convert:

…so, yeah, there are some concerns.

Any mitigating factors in there?

Yeah, I didn't particularly like Michigan's tendency to go verts verts verts, which often left McCarthy with not a whole lot else to do. The dubious throw to Roman Wilson that went outside of his guy was one example:

Webb said on the radio this morning that Wilson had to release outside. I still filed this as an IN because he didn't release outside and McCarthy has to see that, but also releasing inside brings the FS into play and this is a potentially dangerous throw if accurate. But where else can he go if he doesn't like the release?

Michigan is not exactly running this with Air Raid precision here. Bell and Johnson kind of jog off the line and neither of them does what a Mike Leach WR would here, which would be to press the DB at full speed and then stop 10-15 yards downfield. This looks like a tempo play railed to Wilson from the snap, and then Wilson doesn't release the correct way.

The third down sack was also something that was pretty close to verts verts verts and nobody's open:

On the other hand:

Run the ball.

Are we concerned with the deep misses?

Probably not. McCarthy chalked them up to his arm being "110%," which is sort of weird until you remember that he had offseason surgery to correct something in his shoulder. If that sapped some power, and then McCarthy adjusted, and now he's back to where he was, that would make sense. His early throws were long and—as Devin Gardner pointed out in WTKA's MMQB segment—featured a sort of exaggerated pitcher-like movement on the follow through. Watch McCarthy's feet:

McCarthy figured it out late. The follow-through was not there on the second attempted deep shot to Anthony, which was the first one to be short instead of long all day:

Two plays later he dialed it in:

We've seen enough deep balls from McCarthy to write this off as an outlier. Meanwhile he's so accurate everywhere else on the field that you have to believe that extends to deeper passes. We'll see. I'm putting my marker on "everything is fine."

EVERYTHING IS NOT FINE

You seem stressed. Can I interest you in some Blake Corum?

Everything is fine.

First, chart:

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hayes	6.5	4	+2.5	One MA, other than that physicality was encouraging.
Keegan				DNP
Oluwatimi	7.5	2.5	+5	Somewhat de-emphasized until late when it was mashin' time.
Zinter	6.5	1.5	+5	Recovery complete?
Jones	9	2.5	+6.5	Right handed for a reason.
Barnhart				DNP
El-Hadi	5.5	2	+3.5	-2 for a targeting issue but pretty good otherwise.
Anderson				DNP
Persi				DNP
All				DNP
Schoonmaker	11.5	3	+8.5	also +1 for a YAC event. My man.
Honigford	8.5	3	+5.5	Sleeper of the Year pays off, no notes
Hibner				DNC
Bredeson	5	2	+3	One –2 targeting issue, also +1 YAC event.
Loveland	1	0	+1	Panoply of riches.
TOTAL	61	20.5	75%	That is a straight up crusher against a Big Ten defense.
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
McCarthy		3	-3	Fumble, one other carry.
McNamara				DNP
Warren				DNP
Corum	13.5	1.5	+12	"What happens when Corum gets 30 carries": this
Edwards				DNP
Stokes		3	-3	Fumble.
Gash		1	-1	No cut run.
TOTAL	13.5	8.5	+5	The man.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Johnson	0.5	0	+0.5
Bell	1		+1
Henning	2	0	+2	Cut off LB on power play.
Wilson	1	0	+1	Fast.
Anthony	1	1	0
Clemons				DNC
TOTAL	5.5	1	+4.5	Screens gone, numbers down.
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Protection	39	1	98%	-1 Corum
RPS	17	12	+5	Lot of guys schemed open, lot of run tips in pistol.

Perhaps the most notable item first: one pass pro minus, that on a Corum attempted cut block that didn't quite work but still provided McCarthy a ton of time to avoid the sack he took.

That is a paving largely driven by the tight ends but with guys chipping in from all over. We had our first reasonable data set for Hayes run blocking in this game and it went pretty well. Hayes, El-Hadi, Bredeson, and Schoonmaker all came in for –2s on missed assignments; this cuts two ways. Obviously you need to clean those up as the season goes a long, but also that deletes almost half of the blocking negatives. Michigan controlled the Maryland DL the whole game. If Michigan didn't screw up any running play was getting a chunk, with one exception we'll get to.

I didn't even mind some of those –2s. El-Hadi's was the way it usually happens for him. It's when he gets something unusual. He's not just brain-farting; like McCarthy he's a young player who hasn't seen everything in a live-fire situation yet. Here Maryland gets an RPS+ for jumping Michigan's quasi-goal line package with a corner blitz. El-Hadi isn't expecting a CB in the backfield and runs by him:

LG #58

Maryland is exchanging here, but El-Hadi wants to get to that linebacker and Anthony is laser focused on the CB. This can work if they swap…

…and I bet you a dollar that this shows up in a game down the line and they make this swap on a corner blitz. It might not go amazingly since you're asking a WR to block a linebacker, but it won't be a TFL.

I was promised Corum.

The video version of the run that featured in the game column:

I want this to be for season preview purposes but alas, the NFL.

As for less valorized items, Corum's theme in this game was bouncing. It was reminiscent of a very bad Ohio State game from a few years back when OSU kept running duo at Michigan. The DTs could hold up so the LBs started firing down inside, so JK Dobbins kept bouncing for 20 yards. This is a power play but it's got 3 tight ends on the field and uses Anthony to crack a linebacker, so there's no edge.

Here's a thing you can't let Blake Corum see:

There's nothing but air to the top of the screen. A cornerback filling that is either going to make a miraculous tackle, give up a touchdown trying to make said tackle, or escort Corum out of bounds after a first down. He took this opportunity every time it was there and never tried it when it wasn't.

Corum's only negatives in this game were a half-point ding for tripping on an OL's feet when he was skittering through a hole and one missed cut on the outside where he should have gone behind his tight end. On 30 carries. He just does everything right.

How about those tight ends though?

This space thought Michigan might load up against a Maryland defense that didn't have a lot of jumbo options and Michigan did. There were a number of off-tackle Corum runs where three different tight ends were the primary graded blocks:

As Ace might say, this screenshot might have been subject to some Film Review After Dark:

from left: Honigford, Bredeson, Schoonmaker

Michigan was down its starting tight end and still spent most run downs in 2TE formations, with a healthy sprinkling of three. How many other programs nationally have a fourth string tight end at all, let alone a very playable one? Hell, Michigan got Colston Loveland a +1.

It was remarkable just how much run responsibility got heaped on those guys as Michigan relentlessly pounded the Maryland edges. Here AJ Henning gets to be an honorary tight end, Honigford ejects a DE trying to slant inside, and Bredeson kicks the edge:

Schoonmaker was the key block on the Corum TD at the end of the first half. He gets the dread WING TE VS SHORT YARDAGE short stick and still puts his guy on the ground.

TE #86 to top of formation

Erick All's talk about Schoonmaker in the offseason now seems like Schoonmaker making a quantum leap over the course of spring and fall camp.

Bredeson is clearly up for it, physically. He moves around well and when he makes contact he brings a certain oomph with him. There were some targeting issues, most painfully when he checked the middle linebacker here and then decided not to block him:

TE #82 motioning to bottom

When not doing that he functioned well as a move tight end and, increasingly, as a fullback. I still want him to be, you know, flatter to fully embrace that role but he's definitely closer to the archetype there than Erick All is.

You mentioned there was an exception? Are you about to get fired up about some playcalling?

Not really. I just have a couple of issues I want to get out there.

Live I was pretty upset by the playcalling, but most of that dissipated on film review. Various seemingly telegraphed runs would have been chunks except for execution issues; McCarthy decision-making was a factor in making certain calls look bad. I do retain a few complaints. One is one Joel Klatt already made: if you're going to run a trick play it should look like something you already run. Michigan jet sweeps this year: zero. So your jet-based trick play is going to be a harder sell:

If they run one jet to Bell earlier in the game I have my money on Andrel Anthony TD there.

The other issue—a much larger one—is that Michigan is tipping their plays pretty hard right now:

Michigan's pistol run rate against UConn: 83%. Under center: 88%. Gun: 53%. 

On some level this is fine given the opponents and the run game success, but late in this game it felt like Maryland was firing off unreasonably hard against pistol in particular. Here we've got a DE blasting over Jones and two linebackers surging forward at what should be a live mesh point:

The DE's play in particular is very much selling out against the run.

Even more explicit was this second and seven, which got TFLed largely because Maryland's LBs were 100% blitzball before the mesh:

Maybe this is setting things up for later, but this was a one-score game until the fourth quarter against what seems like the third best team on the schedule. That's what you set them up for! Meanwhile, I don't like "setting things up" if the setup involves a lot of runs that are worse than they should be. (If it's one or two jet sweeps, ok.) Drop back out of pistol challenge: go.

But they were +5 for the game, so…

Yeah, solid gameplan—one that seems incredible if McCarthy hits another couple open deep balls.

I am enjoying the return of Harbaugh Stuff. Michigan did a couple things in this game that I don't believe I've ever charted before. I'm sure that Wisconsin or Chicago or someone has pulled off some of these "one weird trick" plays—there is nothing new under the sun in football—but I present these oddities for your delectation. For one, here's a "down G"—frontside guard pulls around the tackle—except it's "down GT" with the two frontside OL pulling around Joel Honigford:

Jones gets away with a material hold there but whatever, penalties were off in this game.

Then we're just going to run power by pulling the tackle, as you do.

LT #76 pulling, but also MD LB above top hash

Two main notes here. One: the linebacker over the guard doesn't know what's happening. If he's keying the guard and the guard pulls he's on his horse for the other side of the formation. Two: Schoonmaker makes the dream work here as he engages a DE diving inside, wins that, and then correctly leaves the guy for a linebacker just in time for Hayes to pick up that kickout.

Hmm, that seems pretty good.

Yes, that's our Block Of The Year Of The Week. All qualifying blocks will be added to our list of nominees and a winner will be decided after the season. The current nominees:

1. Olu Oluwatimi, yo-yo end-around against Hawaii.
2. Luke Schoonmaker, power two for one against Maryland.

Have any officiating complaints?

Uh… no.

WR #3 innermost slot

They are fine gentlemen, and upstanding members of the community.

Receivers?

So again this is commentary on McCarthy's accuracy: we have two throws in the circus and tough buckets this week.

	THIS WEEK					THIS YEAR
Player	Uncb	Circus	Tough	Routine		Uncb	Circus	Tough	Routine
Johnson		0/1		3/3		1	0/2	1/2	6/6
Bell	1			3/3		1			10/12
Wilson	3			2/2		3			5/5
Anthony	2			1/1		2			2/2
Henning									1/1
Clemons
Walker
All						1	1/1		1/1
Schoonmaker			1/1	6/7		1		1/1	8/9
Honigford
Hibner
Bredeson				2/2					4/4
Loveland									2/2
Corum									2/2
Edwards								1/1	1/1
Stokes									1/2

Routes: Wilson++-, Anthony +.

MSU rushed for 1.5 YPC against Washington and 2.7 YPC against Minnesota. I give up.