FORMATION NOTES: PSU is generally a standard 4-3, but they show a lot of different fronts and get weird even on standard downs. Michigan added a fair bit of Pistol with a fullback in the backfield (invariably Bredeson). Some of these plays were tackle over, and here's all three things mentioned in one screenshot:

Schoonmaker is the "left tackle" to the bottom of the screen, and PSU has just put five guys to the left of the center when the run strength is to the right. More discussion below.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: Nothing of note. Barnhart continued playing RT in Jones's absence. I don't think AJ Henning played. Andrel Anthony was very marginal, it looks like they're heavy in on Bell/Wilson/Johnson. Edwards got more run in this game than previous; CJ Stokes is not rotating in for real snaps.

[After THE JUMP: best RPS ever?]

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Motion	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Pistol TTB	1	2	2	4-3 even	8.5	Pass	Hitch	WR	Johnson	4 + 15 pen
Pistol! Throw! No play action? Even so the LBs get to within a couple yards of the LOS before bailing out; tight man to man on a bunch of dink routes and JJ fires it into Johnson, who is immediately tackled. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1). PSU DB slams Johnson to the ground after the play.
M44	1	10	Pistol FB	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Run	Iso	N	Corum	6
Iso up the gut and our first regap to the backside. PSU firing hard at this, still expecting run from pistol. Zinter(-0.5) stood up and gives a little ground; Honigford(+0.5) and Barnhart(+0.5) double a DE who fires off hard but gets put on the ground eventually. Schoon(-0.5) gets rocked back a little as the LB hits him at the LOS. Corum(+1) turns down the intended gap, which is probably 3-4 yards and cuts backside. Olu has no shot at a LB shooting upfield of him pretty irresponsibly but is able to get a little bit of a shove and it’s enough as Keegan(+1) takes the initial shot from the DL and is able to stabilize and drive that guy a yard downfield. That’s the room Corum needs to zip off the backside.
50	2	4	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even	7	Pass	Hitch	WR	Wilson	9
Wilson motions from the boundary to the field and PSU simply declines to cover him? This may even be improvised to some extent since Wilson just stops when he realizes no one is around him. Easy conversion. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1, RPS +1)
O41	1	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Run	Pin and pull	N	Corum	12
PNP is good against DL firing straight upfield like PSU just did and this works and will continue to work. Schoon(+1) turns in the playside end. Zinter(+1) and Olu(+1) get out quick and get sealing blocks on their guys. Barnhart(+1) gets initial depth and as the DT gives ground to get around he harasses him enough to give Corum the lane. On the backside Hayes hinges back, which may be a MA given what we’ll see later, but not sure. M has not established JJ as a threat here.
O29	1	10	Pistol FB twins over	1	2	2	Nickel even	6	Run	Power	N	Corum	5
Tackle over, for those who don’t remember that one Minnesota game where Al Borges made it the base offense, is putting two tackles next to each other on one side of the line while a TE nominally becomes a tackle on the other. Barnhart(+1) crushes a DT as Keegan(+1) gets off that double in a flash when a PSU LB tries to shoot the gap inside. Bredeson(-1) is supposed to kick the DE and mostly misses. This forces Corum back inside a bit, where he can still get yards thanks to the Barnhart block, but this pushes Corum into a guy Zinter(-0.5) is about to block a few yards downfield. Would like to see Zinter be more proactive about going and getting this block instead of letting it come to him.
O24	2	5	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Pass	Drag	RB flip	Bell	4
Mesh against man here but PSU is able to avoid getting hung up on the other drag route and tackles immediately. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 2/2)
O20	3	1	Gun 2TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	8	Run	Dive	TE*	Corum	3
Bell motions across to become an extra TE and takes on the SAM; gap here is from Hayes(+0.5), Keegan(+0.5), and Olu(+0.5) firing their guys back.
O17	1	10	Ace twin TE	1	2	2	4-4 even	8	Run	Split zone	TE*	Edwards	1
Bell in again and is a split zone blocker here. PSU slants hard to the playside and drops an end; this ends up with some confused blocking assignment from M. Zinter(+2) does a great job to see a DL jump over a gap and threaten to shoot by Olu; he crunches that guy, Olu(+0.5) finishes him off, and Zinter moves downfield. This creates a huge gap. Bell(-1) thinks he’s headed for the DE and cannot adjust enough when the DT flashes up; he mostly runs by the dude. Edwards(-1) ends up cutting inside of this guy but doesn’t take up the huge amount of space Zinter carves out.
O16	2	9	Pistol trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 under	7	Run	Power	TE*	Edwards	5
This time it’s Wilson(+0.5) being used as a bonus blocker, and he zips across the formation to kick out the SAM. Keegan(-1) pulls and goes way too wide; he is able to redirect and get a hit on a charging LB but he’s forced Edwards(+0.5) into the guy Wilson has blocked. Edwards takes contact near the LOS and still bashes out a nice gain. Schoon(+1) shoved his guy way out of the picture.
O11	3	4	Gun empty quads tight bunch	1	1	3	Exotic	5	Pass	Flare screen	WR	Edwards	Inc
PSU blitzes off the corner with a LB, leaving M 4 on 3 to the field. This is 100% a first down and probably six, but JJ airmails it. (IN, -2, 0, screen, RPS +2)
Drive Notes: FG(28), 3-0, 9 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Motion	Player	Yards
M17	1	10	Pistol FB 3-wide	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Pass	PA Corner	WR	Johnson	35
Pistol, PA, hallelujah. Entire LB level crosses the LOS. Charging DE forms up to take on pulling Keegan, allowing JJ outside. Edge guy coming up has to redirect as Schoon leaks into flat. JJ has everyone open and goes for the big one, nailing Johnson on the sideline from a dead run. Giggity. (DO, +2, 2, protection N/A, RPS +2)
O48	1	10	Offset I Big	1	3	1	4-3 even	8	Run	Power	N	Corum	9
Another cut away from the POA as a PSU LB hammers at this and Zinter(+1) has to redirect and pick him up inside of Schoon’s block on the outside. Keegan(+1) and Hayes(+1) double a DT and eject him with Hayes climbing to the other ILB. Olu(+0.5) walls off Mustipher. Corum(+1) sees the interior gap and hits it.
O39	2	1	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even	6.5	Run	Split zone	TE	Corum	7
Bredeson(+0.5) motions from slot into box and acts as kickout on split zone. Keegan(+1) blows a DT down the line; Hayes(+0.5) gets a free release to the LB level. LB takes a wide route to LOS to check McCarthy and is barely able to recover before Corum gets sent to the safety level.
O34	1	10	Pistol twins	1	2	2	4-3 even	8	Pass	Waggle throwaway	TE	N/A	Inc
PA, McCarthy turns around and has a DE right in his face and neither TE open. He boots it OOB. (PR, N/A, protection N/A, RPS -1)
O34	2	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Pass	Bubble screen	N	Wilson	7
Two DBs playing off to the field and a safety at 12 so JJ aborts the mesh(RPO+) and throws the screen. CB takes a risk trying to shoot the gap inside of Johnson(+1) and Johnson gets him so Wilson has the edge until the safety comes down. (CA, +0.5, 3, screen, RPS +1)
O27	3	3	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Pass	RB flat	WR	Corum	9
Jet motion from Henning, fake mesh with Corum, Corum leaks into flat. LB in man coverage is flat footed as he’s reading run on third and short and conversion is easy. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection N/A, RPS +1)
O18	1	10	Gun trips Te	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Pass	Improv	N	Edwards	Inc
This is weird as M runs a triangle package to the boundary and Wilson is wide open but JJ never gets there. He thinks Schoon will be open presnap but PSU inserts a safety into the underneath zone who undercuts Schoon. He takes too long to get off this and then does flick his helmet to Wilson but doesn’t throw it. He continues hanging out in the pocket until the pressure finally breaks through; his attempt to dump it to a covered Edwards is off as he’s hit and goes into the turf. (BR, -1, 0, protection 3/3)
O18	2	10	Pistol FB trips	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Run	Double arc keeper	TE*	McCarthy	5
Wilson jet motion into leading out on the arc. DE dives inside, good pull(ZR+) even with PSU scraping behind this; Schoon(+1) IDs and stops to cut that guy off. Barnhart and Zinter are doubling a DT and Barnhart gets a hit on the backside LB but he has no idea where the ball is so can’t expect him to try to cut this guy off. He’s got an angle to force JJ out. Scrape is sort of an RPS+ for PSU here but it still gives up 5.
O13	3	5	Gun trips	1	1	3	Okie	7	Pass	Angle	WR	Wilson	7
PSU sends seven and is trying to zone behind it(!) so momentary hesitations from a couple defenders checking other routes means this is an easy pitch and catch underneath. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 3/3, RPS +1).
O6	1	G	Gun twin TE	1	3	1	4-3 over	9	Run	Split zone	TE	Corum	4
This is all Corum(+2) as PSU throws an exotic stunt at this that causes problems. Keegan(-2) does not ID a DL slanting under Hayes and lets that guy go free as the DT he’s trying to block vacates and loops around. Barnhart(-1) is shoving a guy down the LOS on a slant but loses him after some motion; he’s able to spin off. Looping DT comes around and Corum shimmies past him. Honigford(+0.5) got a good second level block and Bredeson(+0.5) had to blast a DE who shot Schoon(-1) back. RPS -1.
O2	2	G	Goal line	1	3	0	Goal line	11	Run	Down G	N	Corum	-3
Ok… Corum(-2) gives this back. El Hadi(+0.5) is in as a bonus OL and is at LG. He gets the S firing at him and stalls him out. Hayes(+0.5) and Keegan(+0.5) have gotten enough on their downblocks that it looks like a cut right behind El Hadi is probably a TD, but Corum wants to press the outside when El Hadi’s block is two yards in the backfield.
O5	3	G	Gun trips	1	2	2	Okie	7	Pass	Shovel flip	N	Corum	-1
Rollout with Corum coming underneath into the flat looking for the shovel. PSU sends six, backing one guy out into man on Corum, and with JJ getting heavy pressure he throws off his back foot, so the shovel is a little delayed. Corum does not have time to execute magic. (not charted, 3, protection N/A, RPS -2)
Drive Notes: FG(23), 6-0, 2 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Motion	Player	Yards
M30	1	10	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Pass	Flash screen	PTG	Bell	5
2 v 2 to boundary and DBs playing at 10 and 7 so abort into screen (RPO+). PSU handles it pretty decently but still gives up five. (CA, +0.5, 3, screen). Bredeson(+1) got a thump on the CB.
M35	2	5	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Run	Split zone	WR	Edwards	1
PSU bust but M can’t take advantage. Two guys chase Wilson’s jet motion. DE who’s taking on the split zone block hammers down on this and meets Schoonmaker on the hash, which means there’s no gap despite Barnhart(+0.5) and Zinter(+0.5) putting their DT on the hash and cutting off the MLB. Edwards is surprised by this and ends up running up the backs of his OL. He miiiight have a bounce here but that’s asking a lot. RPS -1, DE was not held by JJ threat. Not sure if this is live but if it is it’s a missed ZR.
M36	3	4	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	5-1 split	6	Pass	Pivot	WR	Bell	15
Well timed blitz from the LB level smashes into Keegan(-1) and eventually gets through, although it’s possible I should be dinging Olu here, hard to tell. Zinter passes off a guy looping outside, knocking him down, and pancakes Olu’s rusher, FWIW. The delay on the blitzer is enough for Bell to complete a pivot route (ie, run a slant and then break it back outside) that beats King(Bell route+) even though PSU has dropped a DE right under this slant. Bell has a nice catch and run after JJ stands in and delivers. (CA+, +1, 3, protection ½, RPS +1)
O49	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Improv	N	Corum	7
Which of the field WRs is on the LOS? Neither, probably, refs +1. PA, three deeper routes, safeties stay deep, Bell is WIDE open in the middle of the field but JJ doesn’t get to him despite having five seconds in the pocket. Pressure eventually comes through, JJ scrambles, and then hurls up a duck that Corum miraculously catches. I do not think this is intentional, I think JJ is bombing the ball OOB but gets yanked back as Robinson tries to tackle him and the ensuing throw is a horrific floater. (BR, -1, 3, protection 2/2)
O42	2	3	Gun TTB	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Pass	Bubble screen	TE	Bell	1
I wonder if this is an error by Bell, who runs a bubble as the outside guy from the bunch when it seems like giving your blockers more time to set up is right. Throw by JJ is dubious, forcing Bell to 360 and removing time for him to cut upfield and inside the two guys hammering on the outside. (IN, -1, 3, screen)
O41	3	2	Ace trip TE	1	3	1	4-3 even	8.5	Run	Dive	N	Corum	5
PSU sells out to jam up the front and does; Corum might be able to burrow to convert but it’ll be tight. Instead he just cuts(+0.5) backside where there’s a nice gap with Keegan(+1) staying attached and crumpling a DL inside as he tries to shoot a gap and Hayes(+0.5) getting a kickout. LB level is blitzballing so no one is scraping over the top.
O36	1	10	Pistol FB twins over	1	2	2	4-3 under	6.5	Run	Power	N	Edwards	12
PSU shows a light box and then blitzes off the slot with a safety shooting down; zero blitz, sorta. Blitzing slot is wiped by Bredeson(+1); Barnhart(+0.5) and Hayes(+1) double through a DL, with Hayes popping out to cut off a linebacker who was sort of pass dropping off the snap and is absolutely not reading and reacting. The other LB bails to cover for the slot who blitzed and is not a factor. Keegan(+0.5) eventually takes care of him. Edwards hits the gaping hole and is fast(+0.5). RPS +2, I guess, because M didn’t have to block three different guys until 10 yards.
O24	1	10	Pistol TTB	1	3	1	4-3 over	8.5	Run	Double arc keeper	TE	McCarthy	8
Sheeeeit, this should be a touchdown. DE hammers down on split motion and pull(ZR+) is easy; a second PSU LB hesitates on Corum and is passed up. Other LBs have buried themselves in the line; Barnhart(+0.5) did get out to a guy. S is charging but Bredeson(-2) and Schoon(-1) both miss him and he’s able to make a TD-saving tackle. RPS +3.
O16	2	2	Ace TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Run	Power	TE*	Corum	5
Bell motion, added to box. PSU scrape exchanges, so Honigford really just has to follow his guy as he runs himself out of the play and Shoon(+1) has a tougher job than usual because LB is hauling for him on snap; he cuts the guy off without giving ground. Bell(-0.5) kind of gets run through but delays a bit, Keegan is headed out to the CB but not enough room with the dubious Bell block.
O11	1	10	Ace TTB	1	3	1	Exotic	7	Run	Inside zone	RB in	Corum	7
Gun with quads, then JJ to LOS and Corum to RB spot. Slant from PSU with a LB inserting up the A gap and a DE dropping out; M crushes this. Keegan(+0.5) fires his guy down the line. Hayes(+2) first IDs the blitzer after his hypothetical guy is gone and then engages him, driving him to the endzone by play end. Schoon(+1) has that dread wing TE block on a guy slanting under him and actually does it; he gets some help from Hayes’s positioning. Wide open B gap with no one to fill it. Gap, no one until S, Corum hits it. RPS +1 I guess?
O4	2	3	Pistol FB big	1	3	1	Goal line	10	Run	Iso weak	N	Corum	2
PSU dumps 4 LB/S types to the backside of the LOS and gets it right this time. I think this is supposed to be an iso because Honigford(+2) does a great job to hop inside of a DE and kick him out, which he would not do on split, he’d just fire that guy inside. Bredeson(-2) then hits the same guy, so he’s not blocking anyone else. Hayes(+0.5) moves to second level and picks off one of three guys; Corum(+1) able to get low and get under a tackle attempt for a critical tw o yards.
O2	3	1	???	1	3	1	Goal line	10	Run	Dive?	N	Corum	2
We miss most of this play; Corum drives over the top and is just short.
O1	1	G	Gun 3TE	1	3	1	Goal line	10	Run	Dive	N	Corum	1
PSU is way too tight and M should probably down G off the right but after what happened they may be hesitant. Insead Corum(+1) into a wad of bodies shooting straight upfield and just deadlifts two dudes into the endzone.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 13-0, 8 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Motion	Player	Yards
M26	1	10	Gun twins	1	2	2	4-3 even	7.5	Pass	Slot fade	N	Bell	Inc
Everyone forgot about this because it was incomplete but hot damn this is a dime. DB does a great job to redirect Bell all the way to the sideline and McCarthy puts it right where it needs to be, but Bell’s foot leaves the ground a hair early and his other foot stabs down in the white. (DO, +2, 1, protection 2/2, Bell route -)
M26	2	10	Pistol TTB quads	1	2	2	4-3 over	8	Run	Split zone	WR	Edwards	25
Anthony jet motion just before the snap to threaten double arc, but it’s split. The jet motion takes a S out of the box, he motions to the FS to take Anthony but that guy doesn’t move until after the snap. Same effect here, Anthony occupies S. Loveland’s guy stays back in RPO defense land. Barnhart releases to the second level and ends up chasing a guy who is 100% JJ focused; probably has to do that. Zinter(+1) controls DT and stays attached on swim, puts him to one side. Schoon(+0.5) get a kickout. Keegan(+0.5 )and Olu(+2) double a DT, putting him to one side of Keegan as Olu pops off on a linebacker charging and puts him away. Edwards(+2) sees that gap and hits it as the MLB, who is free hitter, buries himself in the line. Loveland(+0.5) gets enough of that dropper and Edwards jets to second level, breaking a CB tackle. Johnson(+1) then turns and gets in the way of a safety; Edwards has to dodge the dude who screwed up. Argh! RPS +2.
O49	1	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	Bubble screen	WR	Wilson	Inc
This is a bit low and in front but I have some sympathy for JJ here as this is off coverage so he should be leading Wilson to the LOS so he can catch it on the move and go. Still… (IN, -1, 1, screen). This looked pretty good, RPS +1.
O49	2	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Run	Inside zone	N	Corum	8
This should probably be a pull since the DE is not square, he’s cheating to the back, but that’s a hard one. M has a busted line call here as DT inside of Keegan(-1) pops in the B gap, which means M has to combo through him; they don’t and Hayes(-1) has to try to chase a LB into the A gap with no angle. Corum(+3) should get nailed for nothing but runs through the LB tackle in no space… no idea how. Olu(+0.5) and Zinter(+1) have controlled guys on the backside so there’s no help coming and Corum spins through another tackle to add a couple more.
O41	3	2	Ace twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Pass	RB flat	WR	Corum	INT
I usually don’t pass pro these but Barnhart(-2) has a DT inside of him who he just needs to block down on; that dude swims past to the outside and gets in JJ’s face. Also JJ stumbles coming out from under center. So he turns around a little late and he’s got a guy in his face. Also Schoonmaker(-1) let his guy penetrate; JJ fires a bullet at an open Corum but it goes off the guy’s helmet, ping pong, pick six. (BA, -1, 0, protection 0/3)
Drive Notes: Interception, Defensive TD, 13-7, 4 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Motion	Player	Yards
M35	1	10	Pistol FB twins over	1	2	2	4-3 under SAM weak	7	Run	Power	N	Corum	11
M in tackle over, PSU shifts both the LB level and the DL away from run strength. Then they slant away from run strength. Oooookay? Bredeson(+0.5) kicks DE. Hayes(+0.5) and Barnhart(+0.5) both get free releases to LBs and make those blocks; Zinter(-1) gets hung up on the Hayes block. Bell(+0.5) gets enough of a DB to give Corum(+0.5) the edge and he gets to the sticks. RPS +2, I guess?
M46	1	10	Pistol TTB quads	1	2	2	4-3 even	8.5	Run	Double arc give	WR	Corum	0
PSU DE three yards upfield and square so must give(ZR+). That guy can collapse on Corum. I think Corum(-1) needs to run away from this dude instead of basically right into him; MLB is free hitter and M does have a hole to the inside so if he regaps he’s probably got something here. Keegan(-0.5) could have helped him out with some depth on a DT but he’s given a half yard. RPS -1, the arc got played such that neither answer was right. Olu(+0.5) and Keegan(+0.5) again carve a hole to the other side.
M46	2	10	Gun trips bunch TE	1	1	3	Nickel under	6.5	Pass	Flash screen	N	Johnson	4
Looks like this is soft enough to try but the bunch is inside the hash so PSU can drop a DE out in to the flat and the MLB can rally to this. Still four yards so push. (CA, 3, screen)
50	3	6	Gun trips	1	1	3	Okie	6	Run	Bash QB counter	WR	McCarthy	13
Oh man vintage JT Barrett OSU here and it’s real nice. Jet motion from Edwards, handoff threat to him as Corum leads it out. DE way upfield, pull(ZR+). There’s six guys in the box. One just got optioned. Schoonmaker is close enough to LOS to get a second. Now you are plus one. Zinter(+1) ejects DT. Keegan can’t get the other DE because he’s ripping upfield but he gets enough of a shove to push him past McCarthy. PSU LB insanely just runs to the sideline as Barnhart(+0.5) chases him; Hayes(-2) chases that guy. With Olu(+0.5) mirroring and cutting off the last guy, if Hayes gets a block on the safety this is a 50 yard TD. Alas. RPS +3. Hot.
O37	1	10	Pistol FB twins over	1	2	2	Nickel over	6.5	Run	Split zone	N	Corum	-2
Both DTs firing hard upfield as the guessing game continues; this time they’re right. Barnhart(-2) gets shoved in the backfield and then ripped through; Corum does not have time or space to make a decision and can only get TFLed. RPS -1.
O39	2	12	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Pass	Back shoulder fade	WR	Bell	Inc (Pen +15)
Late move down by spacebacker and blitz; picked up. Fade against press into a back shoulder bullet that’s a slick conversion except for some very obvious PI. (DO, +2, 0, protection 2/2)
O24	1	10	Ace twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 over	8	Pass	Improv	WR	Schoonmaker	Inc
Great coverage by PSU as none of the four guys is open. Schoon turns his drag upfield as he reaches the sticks and JJ is correct to take a shot at him but this is not the right throw. He tries to fire it hard and low and it’s not on frame; even if it was it’s probably hitting the LB in the back. If he lofts this up at a panicking LB he’s got a fair chance of a buttzone completion or a PI. (IN, -1, 0, protection 2/2)
O24	2	10	Pistol trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel even?	6.5	Run	Counter	TE*	Corum	11
Counter action here as the handoff is to McCarthy’s left and the guys pull to the other side; this holds the LB level and gives M good angles. Schoon(+2) crushes and pancakes the relevant end. Zinter and Barnhart turn in a DT; Barnhart can’t get loose in time to cut off the backside LB but gets in a shove, push. Keegan(+1) pulls around and seals the playside LB; Wilson(-1) does not get his kick and almost lets his guy inside on Corum(+1), so he runs into the LB Barnhart shoved and runs through that tackle.
O13	1	10	Pistol FB big	1	3	1	4-3 even	8.5	Run	Split zone	N	Corum	3
This would have been a good time to throw an iso in. Honigford(+0.5) is trying to pass up the DE so Bredeson can get him but DE goes after Honigford; he is able to set and hold his ground. Keegan initially shocked back and then recovers to drive a bit, push; Hayes also has a push block on the LB. Corum able to grind out a bit.
O10	2	7	Pistol FB Big	1	3	1	4-3 over	9	Run	Power	N	Edwards	5
PSU has five guys to the left of the C and adds a sixth by slanting a DT, which is one guy too many for this blocking scheme. Also they’re hammering at it. Someone’s got to be free and I kind of think Bredeson(-0.5) needs to take the interior guy because he’s more dangerous but it’s jammed up either way. Edwards(+1) sees a cutback lane and hits it as Keegan(+0.5) got a little depth on that NT and Olu(+0.5) cut off a blitzing LB. Hayes(+1) had an excellent seal of a DT, FWIW.
O5	3	2	Ace trip TE	1	3	1	Goal line	10	Run	Inside zone	N	Corum	0
I think Schoonmaker(-2) is just lined up too wide here; there’s a definite gap between him and Hayes and when a DE slants inside of him he gets all the way through. If he can get this block I have money on Corum running through the CB tackle from the side to convert as Bredeson(+0.5) and Honigford(+1) both whack their guys to the interior.
Drive Notes: FG(22), 16-14, EOH.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Motion	Player	Yards
M19	1	10	Pistol TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even	7.5	Run	Counter	N	Corum	0
Heavy run blitz from PSU and it works, though Olu(+2) does his damndest to fix it. First he takes out a blitzing LB and then hops off that guy to get the DT who is over Zinter when he pulls. He’s able to stall out the LB and get enough of the DT to get Corum through the first level. Keegan(-2) does not read his DT looping around to the other side and lets the LB through after Olu stalls him. With Zinter(+1) getting a moving kickout against a DE and Schoon getting enough of a LB that failure to get the LB is the difference.
M19	2	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Pass	Hitch	N	Wilson	6
Quick pitch and catch under the zone, but I wish McCarthy had looked up Edwards coming out of the backfield. Edwards does too, he’s apoplectic he didn’t get this ball. (CA, 0, 3, protection 1/1)
M25	3	4	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Pass	Scramble	WR	McCarthy	8
Orbit motion from Wilson. This play wants to have Schoon rub Johnson’s guy but Schoon(route-) gets out of the way at the moment of truth, nobody open. Edwards(-1) gets sort of run over in pass pro so McCarthy(+1) takes off and converts. (SCR, +1, protection ½)
M33	1	10	Gun twins	1	2	2	4-3 even	7.5	Run	Pin and pull	N	Edwards	67
Michigan strikes back against those DTs firing upfield. This is an RPO(+) like the Schoon TD last week, but OLB goes with TE so handoff. PNP means you can run away from an unblocked DE if he forms up at all and he does. Now you are +1 in the box. Barnhart(+1) and Schoon(+0.5) seal in their guys, though Schoon gets spun off. Zinter(+1) and Olu(+1) are out quick and create a big hole, and Hayes(+2) is out in a flash to cut off a hesitant backside LB. Edwards(+2) mostly gets to run fast but he is very very fast and he dusts the S. RPS +1.
O3	2PT	2PT	Ace trips TE	1	3	1	4-3 even	7.5	Pass	Flash screen	WR	Bell	3
TEs in slot, Bell motions into them,Bredeson(+1) clubs his guy, easy. (CA, 3, screen, RPS +1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown(2PT), 24-17, 11 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Motion	Player	Yards
M39	1	10	Pistol twins	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Split zone	N	Corum	61
JJ legs on arc are key here as they hold the corner outside for the whole play. If this is McNamara the CB or the S tackles after a first down. Anyway: This goes right at the gap between a shaded nose and a guy lined up as a five tech outside of Barnhart. This looks insane with the NT slanting away from the gap, Olu(+0.5) duly escorts him out of the gap. Zinter(+0.5) gets a free release to the MLB; Barnhart(+1) and Schoon(+1) double through a DE and then the other LB insanely overcommits. SAM is way upfield so Loveland(+0.5) barely has to do anything with him. Corum(+1) mostly just has to run past the safety and then not get caught. RPS +2.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 31-17, 7 min 3rd Q.
M33	1	10	Pistol TTB quads	1	2	2	4-3 over	7.5	Run	Split zone	WR	Edwards	3
Bell in motion again as double arc is threatened; he hits a DE and mostly gets run over. Schoon passes that DE up and goes to the LB level, where he ends up hitting the same guy Barnhart is chasing. This is more of a system issue than a personal one for Barnhart, I can’t see anything useful he can do. Edwards has to cut away from the Bell block; Zinter(+0.5) has gotten a yard of depth and Olu(+0.5) gets a second level block, so there’s a small crease for Edwards to get a few. RPS -1, asking Bell to make this block was asking for it, free hitter at/near LOS.
M36	2	7	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel over	7	Run	Pin and pull	N	Edwards	1 (Pen -10)
First of two horrible holding calls on M(refs -2) as DT shoots upfield on Keegan(+1) and gets pancaked. Schoon(-1) blown back by a DE so no gap; Zinter(-0.5) also gives ground on his edge block and his guy comes through. Edwards(-1) doesn’t see the big cutback lane behind him for a long time and when he does he’s just able to grind out a yard.
M26	2	17	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Run	Split zone	TE	Edwards	5
Close to creasing but Keegan(-0.5) can’t prevent a DT from flowing down the line and Olu gets a reasonable block but one that allows his guy to come around the outside and help out after Edwards gets slowed up by the DT. Edwards(-3) coughs the ball up but Michigan recovers.
M31	3	12	Gun 3-wide	1	2	2	Okie	6	Pass	Drag	TE	Bell	14
I mean this should not work at all, Bell’s on a drag and gets a safety trying to tackle him at five yards. Safety’s angle is a little too aggressive and Bell(+2) gets the edge on him but he has to run through a tackle attempt and does. Schoon(+1) gets a key block. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 2/2)
M45	1	10	Ace TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Zone bounce	TE*	Corum	4
Bell motions to wing TE and is the split blocker… sort of? I think this play is designed to bounce because the blocking makes no sense otherwise and it’s more than one guy messing up so it’s probably planned. Bell’s supposed to run to the overhang CB but gets hung up as Keegan(-1) gives up penetration to his guy. Loveland and Schoonmaker are firing their guys inside; there is no attempt to combo the DE and get to the interior. Corum has to cut away from that and into the all the guys getting blocked inside. He’s got some room because a DT just tries to cut(?) Zinter and Olu(+1) drives his DT a couple yards downfield.
M49	2	6	Gun TTB	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Pass	Bubble screen	N	Anthony	-3
RPO into the screen and this looks like it’s hypothetically good since it's 2 v 2 but we’re again running a bubble where the outside guy is getting the ball and M has no shot at getting this block. Weird stuff, instant TFL, run play looks real good FWIW. (CA, 3, screen, RPS -2)
M46	3	9	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Okie	5	Pass	Scramble	N	McCarthy	8
Six man pressure from PSU with a guy coming from the LB level and M just about picks it up but Keegan(-1) leaves his guy to get a looper when Corum has that guy lined up. Still got most of a block there and with the PSU contain guy diving inside (how do you do this on a six man pressure?) JJ(+1) can break the pocket and scramble against man coverage to convert. (SCR, +1, N/A, protection 2/3). JJ extends the ball over the line at the end of the play and gets it swatted out, setting up a fourth and inches. No -3 here because this fumble can never be recovered, it’s a fine risk to take.
O46	4	1	Gun 3TE	1	3	1	4-3 over	9	Run	Dive	TE	Corum	2
DT hammers after this but PSU just doesn't have enough guys on the LOS so Olu(+0.5) and Keegan(+0.5) dump him downfield and the rest is academic.
O44	1	10	Pistol FB	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Run	Split zone	N	Edwards	6
DT slants outside as LB charges; Keegan(+1) does well to read that and pick up the blitzer. Hayes(+0.5) fends off that DT. Olu(+1) gets a blitz from the other LB and deletes it. Edwards(+0.5) to second level, S coming down makes contact at three yards and gets blasted over.
O38	2	4	Pistol trips TE	1	2	2	Nickel even	6.5	Run	Split zone	TE	Edwards	5
Bredeson in short slot, motions early, split blocker. JJ threatens wide so that DE gets upfield and Bredeson(-1) kicks him but really just bounces off, no sustainment. Other side of the line also shoots upfield so there’s a huge gap but a safety is rolling up late and is probably going to get a tackle attempt in at the LOS; LB is sliding over as well. Olu(+1) pops off on that guy and Edwards(+1) can probably burrow underneath that block but regaps all the way to the back in a flash and is threatening a chunk when Bredeson’s guy tackles from behind. Loveland, Hayes, Keegan all +0.5 for driving the pile to open this cutback.
O33	1	10	Ace TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even	8	Pass	Waggle TE corner	TE*	Loveland	17 (Pen -5)
Bell motions in, PA, Bell into flat. PA wipes the entire front so this corner route is open and nailed. (CA, +1, 3, protection N/A, RPS +1). This comes back as Bredeson is not far enough back for official’s taste, extremely ticky-tack, refs -1.
O38	1	15	Pistol TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	7.5	Run	Speed option	N	Corum	3
This one does draw in the DE enough to get the edge quickly and is set to be a big play but Loveland(-2) goes way too vertical on his block and gets shed to the outside. Hayes(+0.5) cuts his guy off and Bredeson(+0.5) gets a corner; if Loveland gets his block, lookout. RPS +1.
O35	2	12	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Pass	Seam	N	Loveland	Inc (Pen +5)
Free play as PSU jumps. JJ has forever in the pocket and I don’t mind him taking the free play shot here, but I do mind him throwing at a massively covered Loveland when he’s got Wilson on a much better bet. (BR, -1, 0, protection 2/2)
O30	2	7	Ace TTB	1	3	1	4-3 over	7	Penalty	False start	N	Bredeson	-5
Bredeson -1.
O35	2	12	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Pass	Wheel	N	Edwards	21
King just elects not to regard Edwards as a threat out of the backfield, which is a choice you can make. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1). Hat -2.
O14	1	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even	7.5	Run	Split zone	WR	Edwards	1
If these reads are live on split zone this is a missed keep(ZR-) as DE is clearly cheating give, but he’s upfield so split works okay. Hayes(-2) does not see a linebacker rand goes to double a DL, free hitter in the hole; two since Olu(-1) also passed up a LB; at least he’s going for a relevant player.
O13	2	9	Ace TTB	1	3	1	4-3 even	7	Penalty	False start	N	Hayes	-5
Both Keegan and Hayes flinch here and the DE celebrates like he just did something so this is probably disconcerting signals that the refs(-1) miss. Harbaugh loses his mind.
O18	2	14	Gun trips	1	1	3	4-3 under	6.5	Pass	Sack	N	N/A	-5
Keegan(-2) gets put on skates and driven back into JJ, shed, sack. Maybe JJ could get this out to Wilson for like three yards. (PR, N/A, protection 0/2)
O23	3	19	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Okie	7	Run	Inside zone	N	Corum	4
Up 14 with 11 minutes left give up and FG is the right decision.
Drive Notes: FG(36), 34-17, 11 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Motion	Player	Yards
O47	1	10	Pistol TTE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Split zone	TE	Corum	-1
PSU slides a DE inside a gap and puts a SAM out so M will have to double through that end, but Barnhart(-2) just goes to the second level immediately, and then compounds the error but going after the same LB Olu is. Double through the DE and see where that other LB is going and you might get something here; as it is Schoon(-1) is in tough and can’t get a difficult block done; even if he does Corum’s getting hit at the LOS.
O48	2	11	Pistol TTB	1	3	1	4-3 over	8.5	Run	Double arc keeper	TE	McCarthy	21
Ok, so this is JJ pulling(ZR+) in a bit of a gray area situation where the DE is technically squaring up in the backfield but cheating RB and the pull is deadly because three different PSU players are hammering at Corum. Pull, JJ beats those guys to the corner; Bredeson(+0.5) gets a safety but that safety is able to close the gap between himself and the CB Anthony(+1) is blocking; Schoon(+1) gets out to the other S. JJ(+1) runs through a CB tackle. RPS +2.
O27	1	10	Gun twins	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Run	Pin and pull	N	Corum	15 (Pen -10)
Horrible holding call #2. This one is on Schoon(+1), who just turns and pancakes a dude, ridiculous call. Zinter(+1) paves a CB on his kickout; Olu(+1) ends up mostly running by a key LB but gets enough of him to allow Corum(+2) to run through his tackle attempt; Olu then kicks out a DT who Barnhart couldn’t reasonably contain as he just disengages and runs to the sideline. Hayes(+1) chases a LB all the way across the formation and fires him into the sideline. Corum then dusts another tackler and picks up a chunk.
O37	1	20	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Run	Inside zone	RB flip	Edwards	10
DE flies upfield for pass rush so huge gap between him and the DT. Double on that DT isn’t going anywhere with Keegan(-0.5) and Olu(-0.5) having a hard time; Edwards(+1) does a good job to press that gap and get a LB to commit before breaking back into the open space and getting a nice chunk. RPS +1.
O27	2	10	Pistol FB twins	1	2	2	Exotic	7	Run	Power	N	Edwards	-4
This is confusing as PSU is disorganized before the snap but Barnhart(-2) is blocking down on a guy shaded inside of him and gets beat outside badly. That guy surges upfield and tackles. No way to cut this back as Zinter(-1) also left when a guy was slanting to him.
O31	3	14	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Dime even	5	Run	Inside zone	N	Edwards	28
Well you can put five guys in the box, ok. PSU thinking pass so guys get upfield; Olu(+0.5 )and Keegan(+0.5) get an easy double on the nose as Zinter(+0.5) walls of a guy getting upfield. Edwards(+2) jets through the gap and is fast, then dusts a safety. RPS +2.
O3	1	G	Pistol FB twins over	1	2	2	4-3 over	8.5	Run	Split zone	N	Edwards	3
PSU does shoot a guy through the line here but Edwards(+1) slows and hop steps a cut to the backside to score. Zinter(+1) blows his guy upfield; Olu(+1) picks out a second level block.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 41-17, 5 min 4th Q. Final two minutes is four Stokes runs that are against a clearly demoralized PSU D and aren’t charted.

400 yards! Rushing! Just the rushing!

Yes. Before we—

You're gonna be a downer and talk about the Penn State defense being butt trash, aren't you?

Well… no? Sort of. Maybe? I don't know. PSU just held Mo Ibrahim to about three yards a carry, with much of that damage done after PSU put that game away, so clearly they're not total mugs. I don't know if it was a matchup thing or lack of prep or whatever—the latter seems unlikely with PSU coming off a bye—but Michigan eviscerated a defense that is real, at least on some level.

But!

I am rolling my eyes right now.

Great. But: let's talk about Penn State's defense under Manny Diaz. On the Iowa-Indiana spectrum they are much closer to Indiana, by which I mean they are a team that prefers to gamble in the hopes of getting you in a passing down. Penn State throws a lot of weird stuff at you, and they also coach their players to be aggressive to the point of unsoundness… sporadically. There were a lot of plays on which the DTs or DEs would just blaze upfield. Ditto the linebackers. Sometimes this was productive; sometimes it got Penn State gashed. Michigan's first run in this game saw Corum regap and this is a good example, particularly because one four-yard pass to start the game didn't dissuade PSU from thinking pistol == run:

PSU LB on top hash

That is an iso play. 90% of the time it's going right where the fullback does, and the PSU linebacker to the top of the screen is flinging himself at a backside gap such that Oluwatimi has no shot at him. And then when the play does come to him he's come in so hot that Corum just runs by him. Normal human linebackers scrape over to the intended gap.

The other thing you might notice about that play is the Penn State DLs firing hard upfield. This was not universal and when Michigan ran pin and pull—their main edge-testing run in this game—the DTs sometimes showed good awareness to disengage and get to the edge in support. But when guys over PSU DL didn't pull they mostly fired hard upfield, leading to easy seals.

TE #86 to bottom of line

This was relevant on the Edwards touchdown.

Diaz also loves to put guys on the LOS and back them out, which is a common tactic on passing downs that tends to get your second level players hammered against the run because instead of reading run from LB depth and then firing forward they have to backpedal, stop, and then try to get some forward momentum.

both PSU LBs

That's first and ten against a team that would finish this game with a 75% first down run rate. Manny gonna Manny sometimes.

Manny gonna Manny?

Yeah. You gotta fill the gaps. Or you could be Manny Diaz, get presented with an eight-man blocking surface, respond with a six guy box, and then drop out a defensive end into the flat while inserting ~nobody in to the wide open B-gap you presented pre-snap.

Or you could do… this.

PSU NT lined up over C

That is a defensive line shifted away from the run strength that slants away from the giant gap they've left in the line. Your guess is as good as mine. Even if that's a missed stunt from a DT that guy isn't getting to the gap in time. Manny gonna Manny sometimes. Third and fourteen, down three scores, six minutes left? How about a five-man box?

Sometimes it feels like Diaz is playing a video game in real life.

But Ibrahim?

Yeah even after Michigan obliterated these guys the PSU run defense has pretty decent metrics. They're 27th in line yards, 60th in opportunity rate, 23rd in stuff rate. Michigan's opportunity rate in this game was an incredible 56% on 54 rushes, so they had 30 5 yard rushes in this game alone—against the rest of their schedule PSU is probably around 20th-30th in that stat.

So I'm chalking this up to a really good gameplan, good play from Michigan… and a likely un-repeatable matchup advantage in which Harbauffense is rock to Diaz's glass scissors.

Good caveatin'.

I'm just saying that you probably shouldn't expect 400 rushing yards against OSU.

Great yes understood now can we talk about cool things?

Yes, okay. Can I start with the thing I already talked about?

I suppose.

This was the platonic ideal of quarterback ground game, IMO. Michigan did not unduly expose McCarthy on plays with four or five yard upside. (His one five yard gain ended with JJ going out of bounds.) It sprinkled in hugely dangerous McCarthy runs that were chunk plays. "Never bunt, hit dingers" is an excellent philosophy for your QB run game because it has high leverage both when your QB has the ball and when he doesn't.

Net result: McCarthy had the biggest day of his starting career as a runner, picking up 62 yards on six carries and missing a 100 yard game by the barest of margins. Michigan dialed him up two touchdowns, one on double arc and the second on a play that used to torment Michigan when JT Barrett was running it at Ohio State: bash QB counter.

The jet sweep fake holds the backside of the defense, eliminating two box defenders and giving Oluwatimi a really easy block on the third. Two guys dropping into coverage are easy outs and the DE sells out on pass rush. Your QB has the ball and one PSU safety is bailing to the other side of the field, so if Ryan Hayes just runs at the safety instead of thinking "this is too good to be true" that is a 50 yard touchdown.

McCarthy's reads are very good for anyone, let alone a new starter who didn't do a ton of zone read stuff in high school and has just a smattering of it in the gameplan now. It's one thing to pull when you're getting the Full Patterson from the defensive end—ie, he's charging at the back without compunction. McCarthy's first carry was that, as PSU was scrape exchanging:

PSU standup DE to bottom

It's another to get a guy in the backfield, relatively square, and be able to suss out where he's leaning. This was a matter of some controversy in the Patterson days, because he would get a DE in relatively good position and give the ball, whereupon the DE would go mess up the running back. McCarthy did some of that in this game. Here Michigan get some Corum wizardry to get out of it, but this DE is leaning RB and this should be a pull:

PSU DE to bottom

Sometimes that's going to be wrong but you can't let them dictate who gets the ball just by putting a guy in a square position a yard or two in the backfield. Patterson never pulled when he got this look.

McCarthy perked the ol' ears up late in this game when he got a plausible give read from the DE, saw that the DE was leaning, and yoinked it:

This is non-obvious.

LFG.

The one question I have in this regard is whether the read is live on actual bonafide non-arc split zone. I think it is not, because we have not seen McCarthy pull the ball once on it. I issued an RPS –1 instead of a McCarthy zone read minus on this one-yard Edwards run where the DE hammers the split zone gap closed:

PSU DE to top

I understand that Michigan doesn't want to lean too heavily into zone read stuff but I hope this gets live for OSU and only OSU.

And then your whole deal about how it changes your run game etc.

I mean… right? I already talked about this in the game column but both of Michigan's home runs in this game went from 10-20 yards to touchdowns because Penn State was concerned with JJ McCarthy's legs. The Hayes block on the Edwards run is great but it is eased by the fact that the backside LB isn't tearing after a pin and pull. PNP is not subtle. It features two different OL pulling. Neither is it something you can reasonably abort into play action. There's zero reason you wouldn't go after it immediately unless you were worried the QB might have the ball:

PSU LB #43

Hayes gets his Mason Cole on and it's the combination of the hesitation step and that block that gets Edwards past the second level fast enough that he can cut back behind the crumpled safety and go the distance.

The ensuing Blake Corum run sees Kalen King spend the whole play checking McCarthy:

You have to have the blocking to get to the safety level whether or not you've got a QB run game; QB run game makes those chunk runs much more likely because it takes a guy out of the equation. In the end, PSU was freaking out about Edwards and Corum when McCarthy had the ball and vice versa.

Soooooo… RPS kind of day?

God yes.

This was absolutely crushing, tactically. As a general rule, the more times the "look at this guy" italics references an opposition player, the more RPS is happening. This post is littered with PSU italics and they're about 99% positive. Our RPS number for this game is +24. In a word: lol.

Michigan got free blockers everywhere, and things culminated in the back-to-back long touchdown runs. On another day it easily could have been five. We've already discussed the two McCarthy runs that got blocked all the way to the safety, and Edwards had another. This looks like arc again, is actually split zone, and the linebacker who got lost on arc is now checking up on McCarthy as Edwards jets to the second level:

PSU LB to top of screen

This doesn't get blocked to the safety but Edwards makes a guy miss, and then the thing that hurts is that PSU's bust helps them here. At the beginning of the play one safety is frantically motioning to the other to pick up Wilson's jet motion; that guy doesn't do a damn thing, so he's there to be a second dude on the sideline; Johnson can only block one. Edwards has to cut back and the pursuit gets him.

Meanwhile Michigan threw the kitchen sink at PSU. I've got twelve different labels in my chart and that doesn't account for the blizzard of different ways Michigan got into power, or subtle distinctions between inside zone and duo, or what may have been potentially intentional cutback plays that used the aggressiveness of PSU linebackers against them.

PSU LBs were constantly throwing themselves into the wrong gaps, or sitting still for fatal seconds. This isn't nuclear physics here but by the last drive of the second half PSU's LBs were in a special hell trying to figure out what they were looking at. This handoff from pistol goes to the left of McCarthy, but the play is a counter that relies on Corum's ability to change direction in a flash. So those insane reckless PSU LBs are watching, and by the time Keegan wraps around on his block the playside guy has no shot:

Pulling G #77

Michigan was able to block up PSU LBs when they went into shoot-all-the-gaps mode, and when they were in read and react the reads were too slow.

Also in kitchen sink: Michigan sprinkled in some "tackle over," a formation that puts the two OTs next to each other and has a tight end as an eligible receiver in a spot that usually has an ineligible-by-number OT.

Tackle over messes with the rules you use to set your defense and can be difficult to line up against if you're not prepared for it. The second "Manny gonna Manny" play above is a tackle over, and that may have contributed to what looks like a completely insane approach.

(You may remember an Al Borges game against Minnesota in which tackle over was the base offense, leading to exactly one (1) week where people thought it might be a viable way to play, and then whoever Michigan played next was prepped for it and obliterated it. It's useful for testing your opponent's readiness, but making an offense out if it is like trying to build a plane out of the black box.)

In addition to the big plays Michigan ripped off there were a number of RPS wins that didn't actually win like they should have because of player errors. The McCarthy airmail on the first drive caught a blitz off the slot, for one, and blocking issues cropped up on plays that otherwise looked set to rip off yards.

And then the thing! The sexy new thing!

Seth informs me that Michigan used what we refer to as "double arc" last year, but here it was not a one off but a frequent part of the gameplan. Michigan had a dozen or so plays on which a receiver would motion across the box and add himself to the run game either as a split zone blocker or as a second guy leading out McCarthy. When it was the latter this looked devastating. I have often talked about blocking a play to the safety—ie, winning your play so much that the defense does not have a relevant unblocked player. I have never seen Michigan get two guys to the last unblocked opponent player. Then that guy didn't get blocked, but I'll take it:

The power of the split/arc combo is highly evident there. Michigan gets to pass up the DE, and that linebacker also has to respect the threat of a give. Later in the game a double arc would see Michigan get to ignore three defenders on the gray-area-JJ-keep play embedded above. Combining the two, and running split very well, puts opposition defenses in a terrible bind.

Anyway remember that time Michigan ran split zone exactly three times against Army? I wonder whatever happened to that coordinator. Miami returned their QB and went from 25th to 56th in SP+ offense? Hmm.

Can I grumble about redzone issues?

No?

I am relatively unconcerned about last year's redzone frustrations rearing their ugly head once more. Michigan had an easy TD if McCarthy does not airmail Edwards on the first drive, and then the second drive is mostly an uncharacteristic error from Corum. Presented with this…

…you should cut off the friendly butt, especially from the two yard line. Do that and you're diving it in from the one, worst case. The third FGA was a single TFL based on a Schoonmaker error, and #4 was set up by what Harbaugh thought was a false start that should have been disconcerting signals.

Since we've seen JJ be really accurate on screens and Schoonmaker block very well this year I think you have to write these off as one-offs. Michigan's power success rate is 22nd nationally, and they're clearly not a team that suffers too much as the field gets constricted. I'm putting this in the "not a thing" bin.

Speaking of things in bins!

Here is chart.

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hayes	11.5	5	+6.5	Crucial block on Edwards TD.
Keegan	13	8.5	+4.5	3 pass pro minuses, otherwise very good.
Oluwatimi	16.5	1.5	+15	Aaargh have three more years of eligibility
Zinter	13	3.5	+9.5	Excellent game at POA and as puller.
Jones				DNP
Barnhart	6.5	7	-0.5	Three big mistakes, otherwise good.
El-Hadi				DNC
Anderson				DNP
Persi				DNP
All				DNP
Schoonmaker	11	4.5	+6.5	YMMV on holding call, which would take 3 off this total. I think it's preposterous.
Honigford	4.5		+4.5	Sleeper of the yeaaar.
Hibner				DNP
Bredeson	5.5	7.5	-2	Had a hard time staying attached on kickouts.
Loveland	1.5	2	-0.5	Whiff on speed option was painful.
TOTAL	83	39.5	68%	Lower blocking percentage grade offset by ludicrous RPS.
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
McCarthy	2		+2	Didn't make a whole lot of yards himself, good decisions.
McNamara				DNP
Orji				DNP
Corum	14	3	+11	Heisman? At least in NYC if he does some stuff against OSU.
Edwards	11.5	5	+6.5	Home run hitter given at bats.
Stokes				DNC
Gash				DNP
TOTAL	27.5	8	+19.5	Rabbling above.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Johnson	2	0	+2
Bell	2.5	1.5	+1	Key third and twelve YAC.
Henning
Wilson	0.5	1	-0.5
Anthony	1		+1
Clemons
TOTAL	6	2.5	+3.5	Could dump those Bell –2s in the OL metric above since they were basically TE blocks.
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Protection	25	7	78%	-3 Keegan, –2 Barnhart, –1 Schoonmaker, –1 Edwards
RPS	34	10	+24	Manny gonna Manny.

PSU had a number of wins against Michigan blocking; we still cleared our 66% goal with a little room to spare. If you're wondering why a demolition like that didn't come in for bigger scores, just check out the possibly-a-record RPS number and the running back scores.

So PFF isn't crazy?

I would say that there is some reason that Michigan's OL wouldn't come in for 99s in this game. I would not say that ranking Michigan's OL behind MSU's qualifies anyone as sane.

The running back scores… are you going to talk about them?

The Corum ones… no.

What?

I have very little analysis about Blake Corum at this point. He's the best back this site has charted. I love his little dinosaur legs. Words can only do harm. The end.

But Edwards… is this Edwards détente?

Getting there.

It will be uncontroversial to assert that Edwards had a much better game here than he did against Indiana. I still have moments where I'm like THE BIG HOLE GO IN THE BIG HOLE. Like… I feel like this should not turn into one yard.

Bell is going to get a very ineffectual block on 97 there and Edwards just runs right into him. Meanwhile Zinter's just put up a +2 by IDing a slant and absolutely clobbering the guy who Oluwatimi is currently sealing, and a cutback is cash money, as the kids say.

However, on a number of other plays Edwards did make yards for himself. He's beginning to display a fair bit of oomph on his runs; he's not Hassan Haskins but don't tell this PSU safety:

He also ground out five yards on a redzone carry where he took contact at the LOS, albeit from the side. And when you put him in space he's gone. I think he's faster than Corum.

Man you love you some Oluwatimi.

I do. He's up there with the smartest guys I've charted, and I am a sucker for split second decisions that salvage things going very badly.

I love this block from Oluwatimi, who's got Zinter pulling next to him. Normally he needs to block down on the DT, easy, generally not graded. Here PSU blitzes a LB, so Olu 1) reads that, 2) stones the LB, and 3) pops off of him to get enough on the DT. Unfortunately Keegan is chasing a guy stunting away from him and doesn't pick up the LB; that's the difference between zero yards and another blaze to the safety and possibly beyond:

C #55

That's tough, of course, and why Diaz can get away with being so wild much of the time. You really have to be an A+ information processing guy to be consistent against defenses that are sending guys from everywhere and stunting all the time.

Olu is that guy. One bonus-bonus point to him for demonstrating our Never Turn Upfield mantra on a Corum run that got called back due to a ridiculous holding call on Schoonmaker. Here he's leading out and a linebacker shoots inside of him. Once that guy's gone Oluwatimi just moves on to the next guy, so when Corum breaks that tackle he's got a chunk:

C #55 pulling

The shove there on the guy shooting the gap is material as well. He did what he could, he made the guy run around him, and when the guy ran around him he did something else that was useful.

So was that our block of the year of the week?

No, that is still Ryan Hayes on the Edwards touchdown. That block never gets made, and it's a huge swing in the game. Deservedly his. I do want to issue a number of honorable mentions, all of them to Zak Zinter. One is that Zinter +2 mentioned above. Look at this beautiful read and then obliteration:

RG #65 just below C

And then he looks for work downfield that he will get if Edwards cuts to the interior.

I also liked Zinter's awareness on this power play where a linebacker shoots a gap to the interior. The point of attack is outside of the tackle here but Zinter is able to adjust when PSU gets aggressive:

RG #65 just below C, pulling

Also in Zak Zinter, can I interest you in a double pancake?

RG #65 just above C

Flapjacks for everyone!

Did we detect some holes, though, against the relatively talented front seven of the opposition?

Er… yeah. Barnhart's day was iffy given the demolition job. He came in for multiple –2s, which are usually missed assignments or blocks that are so roundly defeated that the opposition is likely to TFL, and a couple of them were head-scratchers. This was relatively late in the game:

M RT #52

Barnhart did move some guys and he's obviously not a problem that is going to stall Michigan's offense out, but he was a step back from the other starters. I don't think Trente Jones is going to get Wally Pipped here.

The tight ends also sprung a leak or two, mostly Bredeson. He missed a few blocks that are usually pretty rote. Here his kickout on the PSU DE more or less gets run through:

FB #82

He was also the guy leading out shoulda-coulda JJ touchdown #1

Schoonmaker also had some hiccups. (Not on the hold, which was ridiculous and got him a +1.) The third and two stuff just before halftime is him, and it looks like he's just a step wide as he lines up:

TE #86 inline to bottom. Since Michigan this means third from bottom.

 

Loveland continued to get meaningful time. His catch came back but was some insight into why Michigan's so high on him:

His mobility jumps out. Unfortunately, he is a freshman tight end and is not a superhero from beyond time:

TE #18 inline to bottom, ie second from bottom

There are going to be costs for putting Loveland out there but he's clearly receiving TE option #2 with All out of the picture.

What's the other thing you can do with the ball?

Throw it?

Yeah, throw it. Did we do any of that?

Some.

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
Iowa	3+	11+(4)			3	3			1	3			78%	+8		1/1	2/3
Indiana	2	22++(3)	1		1	1				2*	3		83%	+16		4/4	4/5
Penn State	3	9(5)	2		2	1		1		1(3)	2		78%	+4.5		5/6	3/3

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

This game sees our "downfield success rate" metric sort of backfire, as it's meant to eliminate screens on which you're not really reading from the equation. These days you are actually reading, at least presnap, on many screens, and also three of McCarthy's seven negatively graded events were inaccurate screens. FWIW.

Anyway: McCarthy's stats do not pop off the page, as they inevitably could not given the ground and pound. Without some whiz-bang to offset errors, the main pundit vibe coming out of this game is "I don't know what happens when Michigan has to rely on McCarthy." These takes are reasonable but I do not personally share them.

There was an unusual wobbliness to McCarthy's ability to throw simple swing passes. He airmailed a screen to Edwards that was almost certainly six points on Michigan's first drive:

He also threw a bubble in front of Wilson and forced Bell to turn all the way around on another WR screen. That's three INs on screens when he had a total of ten on the season entering the game.

What about the TOTAL HORRIBLE DISASTER ALMOST?

That was also an unusual sub-theme. There were a couple incidents where McCarthy held the ball way too long. Here Michigan's got a triangle concept to the boundary. PSU disguises its coverage and sends a safety directly underneath Schoonmaker's route. I get why McCarthy thinks Schoonmaker is the read presnap, I get why he doesn't throw it. I don't get why he looks at Wilson and then doesn't get the ball out:

And then when you don't it's time to take off and get what you can get.

Similarly on the nononoyes floater to Corum, McCarthy has two guys going deep against split safeties and is running PA from pistol that again sees the LB level cross the LOS. This feels like a really easy read to get to a blitheringly wide open Ronnie Bell:

The safeties are now 30 yards downfield! Throw the ball!

I do absolve him of the seemingly insane decision to throw the ball to Corum. He's clearly trying to heave the thing out of bounds and the tackle attempt takes the steam out of the ball. It should never have gotten there.

And yet, the positive grading?

Well, aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, the play was pretty rad. When Michigan finally ran play action out of pistol the entire PSU LB level crossed the line of scrimmage and McCarthy had his choice of targets. He dialed up 33 air yards, on the run, on the sideline:

And Bell gets forced into the sideline here but this is also a downfield dime:

McCarthy's pedestrian numbers don't have that Bell dime, two scrambles, or a chunk play to Loveland in them; they do have eight different screen attempts that naturally bring your YPA down. Since we've seen McCarthy excel on everything short of bombs this season all of this should be filed under "is paving, didn't need anything else."

Receivers?

	THIS WEEK					THIS YEAR
Player	Uncb	Circus	Tough	Routine		Uncb	Circus	Tough	Routine
Johnson				3/3		2	1/3	1/2	12/13
Bell	1	0/1		5/5		4	2/3		27/9
Wilson		0/1		4/4		3	1/3	1/1	11/11
Anthony				1/1		2			6/6
Henning									2/3
Clemons
Walker
All						1	1/1		1/1
Schoonmaker	1					1	1/1	3/4	18/19
Honigford
Hibner
Bredeson									4/4
Loveland	1			1/1		1			3/3
Corum	1			3/3		1			5/5
Edwards	1			1/1		1		2/2	7/7
Stokes									1/2

Routes: Schoonmaker –, –; Bell –.

Michigan's receivers were only peripherally involved in the gameplan for obvious reasons. Ronnie Bell did pop up on a couple of third down conversions, the first of which was an excellent counter to the slants they usually run with him. PSU goes so far as to drop a DL into the expected route only for Bell to break it back out and convert on a catch and run:

Bell's other major non-blocking contribution was the unlikely third and long drag conversion:

Other than that, no non-routine catches and only two attempts. McCarthy.

We're almost to the end of this column and you have not complained at all.

Can I do that?

I don't know.

Better not risk it. I have a complaint. It's this weird bubble screen Michigan ran a couple times to poor effect:

I don't get running your WR outside of the two blockers, because that seems inevitable, or at least likely. The other time they ran this I thought Bell messed up; apparently not. That play got one yard. Maybe back to the drawing board with that one.

Heroes?

Offensive coordinator collective. McCarthy mesh decisions. Corum, Edwards. Oluwatimi.

Not so heroic?

Barnhart and Bredeson didn't hit our 2:1 blocking ratio.

What does it mean for MSU and beyond?

They've got the whole QB run package in there, and it's perfect. They aren't using it when they don't have to, but they are mixing it in to devastating effect in this game. Said package wants to hit home runs on occasion, demanding the opposition pay attention but not getting into ulnar-nerve destroying territory. A+.

Oluwatimi should not be a Rimington finalist. He should win it. (Probably.)

Zinter is rounding into projected form. Zero pass pro minuses and a +9.5 against Mustipher approximately half the time, plus three blocks I wanted to highlight in the column.

Barnhart did not win the right tackle job for a reason. He's functional but more error-prone than Jones. The gap here is larger than I was hoping for.

Edwards is not Corum but he's enough of a running back to be a running back. His interior cuts and shoulder-lowering toughness should make him a functional lead back when the time comes. I am still a little frustrated with his vision but I am comparing to Corum and this may be unfair.

McCarthy's just fine. I assume the screen blips are just that, blips, and otherwise he made some mild mistakes against a very good pass D.

Maybe someone else should have won the Broyles last year. JayBaugh or bust.