giles jackson

[Bryan Fuller]

9/11/2021 – Michigan 31, Washington 10 – 2-0

It is not, in fact, true that the Michigan fanbase is unique amongst fanbase in its capacity to self-immolate amongst news that in any non-sports context would be taken as "good." Take it from someone who spent years writing This Week In Schadenfreude, a trip through the most psychotic reaches of college football's internet underbelly. TWIS often featured teams who had won (in the sense that their team had a bigger number than the opponent) but had lost in a much more immediate and real way (because the third-string cornerback gave up a touchdown that one time). Sports brain always works the same way.

However, your author will concede if there was a national championship for hand-wringing, Michigan would be in the playoff conversation annually. On the one hand, this makes total sense given the last seventeen years. On the other, it is very annoying. The responses I got to this tweet…

…were split between "this tweet is annoying" and replies like "JJ MCARTHY NOW" that I found annoying. Sports tweeting is like driving: the only appropriate speed to be going is exactly the speed you are going. Everything else == jail.

In the cold, hard light of day on this Monday I can see both sides of the equation. Yes, it is pretty good that Michigan took a P5 opponent with some recent history of being a good defense and paved them in a way I haven't seen in a long time. On the podcast I referenced the 2019 ND game, but even that featured a large number of stuffed runs interspersed with big plays based off misdirection. In this game if Michigan didn't get four yards on a run it was a surprise. When's the last time that happened? Probably at some point when honorary captain Steve "Not Aidan's Dad" Hutchinson was roaming the field. And honestly, my recollection of Lloyd Carr offenses doesn't have anything like this in it. This felt like a game from the 70s.

Yes, it is pretty bad that Michigan seemed to have an aversion to passing that was also out of the 1970s. You can say this makes sense given the game context, and maybe it did. But it nonetheless feels bad when you end up in situations that are obviously passing downs and then barely pass. It conjures up ideas about what the offense will look like when it inevitably runs up against a team that doesn't get paved.

You can be forgiven if the internet has beaten this fact out of your head but it is possible to hold both of these thoughts in your head at once. I am not immune to this, either, despite my clucking. On the podcast I said that I didn't think this offense could beat Ohio State, and then immediately apologized because my expectations going into the season weren't "beat Ohio State," they were "ehhhh… bowl eligible?"

This is the grandeur and glory of sports fandom: you literally never have to be sane or happy. You can hop from grumbling about 7-5 to grumbling about 9-3 to grumbling about beating a P5 team by 21 in a game that wasn't actually that close, spiritually. These avenues are open to you, and you can take them, and anyone not going at your speed will seem insane. But also you can literally never be dissuaded from optimism. There was a certain kind of Cubs fan who thought this was the year, every year, and anyone not going at that speed was insane.

So you get these camps of people and give them a common allegiance and a way to communicate to each other and you get a great firestorm of anger in the midst of Michigan grinding a name brand Pac-12 school into a fine dust. Here too there is a choice. This is what is great about sports; this is what is stupid about sports. If you sit very still in a forest for several months you will find they are the same thing.

AWARDS

Known Friends and Trusted Agents Of The Week

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mmm dump truck holes [Fuller]

-2535ac8789d1b499[1]you're the man now, dog

#1 Your Offensive Line. This column generally punts on specific OL for this section because it does not have time to form an opinion on every dang guy; that's a process that requires UFR. So when the OL needs to be in this bit of the column they get it as a unit. Their placement here should be self-explanatory. If you need an explanation: 345 rushing yards on 55 carries.

#2 Aidan "My Dad's Name Is Chris" Hutchinson. 2.5 sacks and down-to-down terror whilst being frequently matched against a tackle that people think could go in the first round of the draft. One of the lingering Qs from the WMU game was whether Hutchinson could be an every-down problem. The answer appears to be an emphatic yes.

#3(t) Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum. 155 and 171 yards, respectively, maybe not a missed cut between them, and plenty of yards generated themselves after the OL set them up. Full points for both! They're made up and don't matter!

Honorable mention: Mazi Smith got a ton of push on the interior. Josh Ross was quite a bit more active and ended up with 11 tackles, a TFL, a PBU, and three hurries. Brad Robbins had 4 punts with a 46 average and one return for four yards. Jake Moody had a 52 yard field goal and put almost all of his KOs out of the endzone.

KFaTAotW Standings.

(points: #1: 8, #2: 5, #3: 3, HMs one each. Ties result in somewhat arbitrary assignments.)

8: Ronnie Bell (#1 WMU), The OL (#1 Wash), Blake Corum (#2 WMU, T3 Wash)

6: Aidan Hutchinson (HM WMU, #2 Wash)

4: Hassan Haskins (HM WMU, T3 Wash)

3: Dax Hill (#3 WMU)

1: Andrew Vastardis (HM WMU), AJ Henning (HM WMU), Mike Sainristil (HM WMU), Brad Robbins (HM Wash), Jake Moody (HM Wash), Josh Ross (HM Wash), Mazi Smith (HM Wash)

Who's Got It Better Than Us(?) Of The Week

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lol nope [Barron]

Blake Corum. Meep meep.

Honorable mention: Pick anything off the third quarter drive that was seven runs, zero passes, and a touchdown. John Donovan calls a run play on fourth and four. McNamara and Cornelius Johnson execute an excellent back shoulder throw to convert third and long.

image​MARCUS HALL EPIC DOUBLE BIRD OF THE WEEK.

This one goes out to the people in the crowd booing when Michigan was up 10-0. Yeah, some frustrating playcalling. Let's get it together.

Honorable mention: Haskins is stuffed on fourth and goal from the one. Various McNamara dropbacks go Not Well.

[After THE JUMP: successful coordination, shirts edition; unsuccessful coordination, football edition]

The story of Saturday night in Seattle [Drew Perine, Tacoma News Tribune]

Soooooo. In case you've been living under a rock, Michigan's marquee week two non-conference opponent, the one for the hyped under the lights Maize Out game, lost to an FCS team in week one. At home. And they scored 7 total points. And not to invoke <<redacted 2007 team that won a game in Ann Arbor>>, but this FCS squad ain't exactly a perennial juggernaut at that level. Montana's a good program, sure, but they're not a powerhouse like an Eastern Washington or a North Dakota State. The Grizzlies have made the FCS Tournament once in the last four seasons. This was, without a doubt, a stunner. Given that Washington's offense and its dismal performance got most of the blame for the upset loss in Seattle on Saturday, this FFFF has more or less one objective: to figure out what the hell happened, and what it means for Michigan. 

As a programming note, this is my first FFFF. I've received plenty of pointers for Seth, but it probably won't be as expert-level as his have been in recent years, since I'm just beginning, so bear with me, and feel free to provide any feedback. 

The Film: Washington has played one game this season, and thus has one game of film to go off of. It's also the only game anyone cares about in investigating this matchup. Even if I wanted to (for no reason) use a game from last season, everyone would be screaming at me to do this one. So Montana it is. 

Personnel: Click for big.

 

UPDATE: Here's the chart.

One story for Washington are its injuries at WR. The Huskies were without their top three WR's in returning production from last season in this game due to injury, and then lost incoming Texas Tech transfer Ja'Lynn Polk to injury on the game's first play. I don't think there's any question that it affected the way the Huskies played the game, but how much having those guys healthy would have affected the outcome is a question will consider later on. With those four players out, Washington leaned heavily on RS FR Taj Davis, who got his first six career collegiate catches in that game, as well as Old Friend Giles Jackson, at the wide out position. At TE they still had star Cade Otton, who, along with Jackson and Davis, got 18 of the team's 27 receptions. Seven of the other nine went to RB's, Richard Newton and Cameron Davis

Washington plays with a lot of TE's on the field. Otton rarely comes off, but in their two TE looks they often turn to Devin Culp. He got one reception and sometimes runs routes. Jack Westover is used in three TE sets as a blocking option. Their offensive line is a pretty set five in terms of who was used in this game. Four are returning starters. LG Julius Buelow beat out last year's starter Ulumoo Ale in camp but let's just say it wasn't the best day for him. Dylan Morris is the QB. He will be discussed frequently in this piece. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: How it all went wrong]

Things discussed:

  • Eli’s return and how it affects the rotation.
  • Portal guys we might be looking at? Options have to be a cultural fit and be interested in a smaller role because unless it’s a star there isn’t 35 minutes to give away.
  • Take a Chaundee if there is one but you can roll with what you’ve got. You’ve got 80 minutes at guard, 30 goes to Eli, which leaves you 50 to get out of Collins, Bufkin, Zeb, and maybe Barnes, or find a transfer.
  • Sam: They might wait to see who doesn’t make it in the NBA. Brian: bench shooter.
  • Maryland got their center and guard: are they good?
  • Change at recruiting coordinator: Dudek to MissSt, Michigan gets Courtney Morgan. “Dudek certainly has a type and it’s weird as f—.”
  • Courtney Morgan: great dude, gotta grab him if you can. Seth says Morgan’s like Hart/Bellamy in that he can survive a coaching change at the top.
  • Strategy: load on on recruiting because the future’s going to be whatever comes after a rough year.
  • Xavier Worthy: best friends on the team were Joe Milton and Giles Jackson, who aren’t saying great things about Michigan right now.

[Hit the JUMP for the player, and video and stuff]

You can catch the entire episode on Michigan Insider's podcast stream.

Segment two is available here. You can also watch the video here:

THE USUAL LINKS

Where else was he gonna go, prison?t

Break a blogger's heart. 

by god I roped curling into this one 

Milton implodes, taking last vestige of hope to the bottom of the sea 

the otter is: depressed

the best case scenario 

barrett go boom

We're chasing you, but what are you chasing?

i heard you like meep in your meep so i meep meep 

ohio state with a competent receivers coach is terrifying