January 1st, 2024 at 9:38 PM ^
Roman, Boom!
January 1st, 2024 at 9:40 PM ^
It is so hard to catch a tipped ball like that - in a program with a long history of illustrious catches, that one has to rank very highly!
January 1st, 2024 at 9:56 PM ^
Absolutely! That will be a catch shown on replays for years. Total season changer.
January 1st, 2024 at 10:46 PM ^
Christ, Lawson must have a 10 foot wingspan. I'm happy to be done with that guy.
January 1st, 2024 at 11:59 PM ^
Most insane part of that play is the safety probably INTs that if Roman doesn’t make the play. Unreal.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:38 PM ^
Blake Corum in Rose Bowl Overtime >> Blake Corum last season. Wow!
January 1st, 2024 at 9:39 PM ^
Trente Jones rt >>>> Barnhart at rt
January 1st, 2024 at 9:54 PM ^
Yes, but credit Barnhart for playing a solid game in place of Zinter.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:56 PM ^
Barnhart cleared the way for the OT TD. Whoever called Barnhart a turnstile last week, eat shit.
January 1st, 2024 at 10:11 PM ^
He's a much better guard then tackle.
January 1st, 2024 at 10:24 PM ^
It's a blessing in disguise that circumstances forced Michigan to move Barnhart back to guard, which honestly seems to be his natural position in the offensive line.
January 1st, 2024 at 10:32 PM ^
I mean, they could also have just benched Barnhart and started Jones if Zinter were healthy. That seems like an option...though it's one that for some reason they never took.
January 2nd, 2024 at 3:14 AM ^
He is a turnstile at OT. He’s a guard.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:56 PM ^
Trente was mauling guys jn the running game. I remember him taking Bamas #30 for a ride 8 yards downfield on one of Blakes runs
January 1st, 2024 at 10:17 PM ^
He also blew the pick up on the flea flicker but it doesn’t mattter because I love everybody right now.
January 2nd, 2024 at 3:17 AM ^
That was scheme rather than execution. Stupid call at a stupid time asking OL to do stupid things against elite players.
This year’s equivalent of the Philly special. Unnecessary. Don’t get bored doing things that work. Sherone got bored and we almost got got.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:39 PM ^
seemed like they played scared most of the game... until they had to ball out at the end.
What a great game, though, and Blake MF Corum!!
January 1st, 2024 at 10:24 PM ^
In what way did they play scared? They weren’t running into stacked boxes. They were getting players open. A couple guys were a bit wound up early and special teams was obviously sloppy, but I loved the offensive gameplan and the guys did well. Against an elite D, too.
January 1st, 2024 at 10:43 PM ^
I agree with everything you said except the special teams part. They were very middling, bordering on bad. Semaj also had a couple crucial drops.
January 1st, 2024 at 10:54 PM ^
Yeah, not Semaj's best game but considering he was in a high school classroom not long ago, he had to be nervous. Crazy big stage.
January 2nd, 2024 at 3:19 AM ^
Not his best game? He was a disaster.
January 2nd, 2024 at 2:50 PM ^
Honest question: what did you like about the offensive game plan? I was disappointed in it, but maybe my football eyes aren't so educated or sharp? What I saw were two designed runs for JJ, when I thought we needed more, a usual amount of play action (not enough IMO), only one attempt to Edwards in the passing game, and a lot of the same looks (Bredeson coming in typically means a run) that we've seen all year. I did note from the broadcast that we lined up far less in "12" personnel than usual. But beyond that I saw little change to what Brian called in the preview "playing OSU every game."
January 2nd, 2024 at 5:55 PM ^
I was also pretty happy with the offensive philosophy in this game.
I liked all of the motion and pre-snap movements. I think that messed with them more than it lead on (sure they weren't scrambling around when we moved but it forces them to move their eye...and further think versus just react).
I thought some of our route trees were a little congested but overall we schemed guys open. Would've been nice to use the TEs more but they weren't going to let us connect with them all the way down the field. During the slog of the 2nd half, we had guys open and either JJ missed or Semaj dropped a 1st down. Make a couple more plays to extend some drives from our side of the field versus punting, go get TD or some FGs and it wasn't as dire as it was seeming...we really shot ourselves in the foot last night on offense and ST.
I don't have a deep dive into our ground game but it was pretty effective. I thought some of our 2 yard runs were 3-4 actually and I recall at least one where we were a half block from busting Corum on a loooong run.
Our pass-pro was...really good?!
I get the lack of JJ runs but I think early on they were keying on those. He had a couple and they worked. To keep forcing them I don't think was in the cards. Again, we had plays schemed up to work. We weren't running into loaded boxes for 1yard gains and TFLs. Things were functioning well...minus the execution on some key 3rd downs and plenty of gitters.
Also I have to note, how ridiculous of a catch by JJ on Edward's lateral?! One handed...maybe the catch of the game and the throw to Wilson was house money. That was insanely close to being and maybe should've been a game-changing turnover.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:40 PM ^
Came through when it mattered most.
And That's all that matters.
Blake Corum is so goddamn special.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:41 PM ^
They didn’t use Edwards in the passing game and they rarely used play action, but they didn’t play conservatively or like they were afraid of making mistakes, which is what was needed. It wasn’t perfect, but it was beautiful.
January 1st, 2024 at 10:48 PM ^
...except for the pass he dropped when it hit him in the belly... no idea where his focus went this year. He does need to be the guy on the flea flicker pitch back if they decide to run that in the NC game.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:41 PM ^
Sherrone kicked ass. Players less so, but did what needed to be done in the end. Corum surpassed Hart as my favorite Michigan back (Hart was the back when I was in undergrad).
January 1st, 2024 at 9:41 PM ^
Blake = Heart
January 1st, 2024 at 9:49 PM ^
Blake = Hart, but fast!
The one the prophet Jackson foretold…
January 1st, 2024 at 9:42 PM ^
The Alabama defense played well, and we were missing Zak. But came up clutch when we had to, with some excellent play calls late in the game. This offense is good enough to win the National Championship.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:42 PM ^
The Alabama defense played well, and we were missing Zak. But came up clutch when we had to, with some excellent play calls late in the game. This offense is good enough to win the National Championship.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:42 PM ^
Blake Corum is the man! AC has always been my favorite Wolverine but for many reasons, I think Blake has become my all timer.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:42 PM ^
They could have run the ball the entire game. Bama could not stop it, yet they tried everything but that……….after a season in which they ran it even when they should have
January 1st, 2024 at 9:46 PM ^
They couldn’t run it at all for most of the second half.
January 1st, 2024 at 10:27 PM ^
Didn’t get many attempts. Those early second half drives only had a handful of runs; execute one or two of those missed conversion passes and I think they’d get more running going.
Once that initial first down gets the offense moving it’s harder to stop, a particular truth for both teams this game.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:42 PM ^
Offense have to stop playing scared. Left the defense hanging out there but they came thru finally in the end. Lets Go Blue
January 1st, 2024 at 10:27 PM ^
What does it mean to play scared? Be specific.
January 1st, 2024 at 10:52 PM ^
I think they played more "unfocused' than scared when they were having their problems.
This didn't have the familiar and frustrating conservative harbaugh that we've seen at times.
They honestly looked like they wanted to come out kicking ass and had a ton of unconventional plays all set to go in their back pocket.
but for me that seemed to be part of the problem. As delicious as continuing to run the ball over people up 20 pts was this season i think they sacrificed some much needed reps for more creative things. More Orgi, more Edwards passing, JJ runs, etc.
I appreciate the creativity on offense, but they often looked like some plays were installed 4 days ago vs 4 months ago.
Overexcited, & tight at times? sure. but scared? not this fucking team.
January 2nd, 2024 at 1:20 AM ^
agreed. plenty of nerves, missed tackles, etc on the field but they also made a ton of plays and were poised when it mattered
the staff was excellent this game though. plenty of offensive approaches this year/years past have driven me mad but they were well prepared this game. good run/pass balance, tried to stress the entire field, had a few new/adjusted concepts specific to bama, early down throws, etc. overall did a nice job vs one of the best ever defensive coaches.
January 2nd, 2024 at 3:23 AM ^
Yeah, the offense isn’t allowed to tackle, that’s generally frowned upon by the refs…
January 1st, 2024 at 9:43 PM ^
Clutch plays. OL did enough. JJ did enough. Corum did enough. The receiving core and TEs did enough. I love that this group doesn’t care who gets targets and stats. Wins are a team stat and this team is The Team.
January 2nd, 2024 at 3:25 AM ^
#corps
January 1st, 2024 at 9:43 PM ^
We won. Let’s do it again.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:44 PM ^
The old guard came through in the end. I really thought that JJ was going to be the scapegoat, but he's HIM for a reason.
That botched flea flicker almost disconnected my body from my soul, though.
January 2nd, 2024 at 3:26 AM ^
JJ was not great. No idea how he gets nod over Corum for MVP
January 2nd, 2024 at 3:02 PM ^
JJ is in the conversation for MVP for saving the otherwise-certain-to-be-botched double pass alone. And he wins it on the 3 TD passes.
Both JJ and Blake had savior moments, thank goodness.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:44 PM ^
Clutch plays. OL did enough. JJ did enough. Corum did enough. The receiving core and TEs did enough. I love that this group doesn’t care who gets targets and stats. Wins are a team stat and this team is The Team.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:44 PM ^
They could have run the ball the entire game. Bama could not stop it, yet they tried everything but that……….after a season in which they ran it even when they should have
January 1st, 2024 at 10:10 PM ^
This is true. And thank God I am reading this post after a comeback win as opposed to the alternative.
January 1st, 2024 at 9:44 PM ^
Offensive line looked really good live. Trente played very well. JJ is so good at not getting in his own head after mistakes.
surprised there weren’t even more JJ runs.
Corum is on the Mount Rushmore of Michigan players and Michigan men.
Excellent gameplan for a good chunk of the game. Alabama made some really good adjustments in the 3rd quarter.
I live in Tennessee and every Tennessee fan here was rooting for Michigan. I got dozens of “way to pull it off!” texts since I’m the resident die hard, obviously obsessed Michigan fan.
im on cloud 9.