Previously: Offense. This matchup last year.

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Formation Notes: I called this Nickel Wide when Rutgers did it so I kept that.

Michigan spent much of the game in 5-1 personnel. (Moten is covered by the Big Noon Saturday logo). If the OLB was Harrell they might move him to WLB and run out a 4-2-5 with Morris or Jenkins as the DE.

Substitution Notes: They were subbing down-to-down on the DL, with only Hutchinson remaining until garbage time. Turner II got more run in this one (and held up). A lot more Ojabo as they went to 5-1-5 personnel instead of 4-2-5 often. Jenkins started with Smith and Hinton but there was a lot of Morris and Jeter, more than usual Speight, some late Welschof, and one snap of Whittley that made it into my charting. Kolesar was the first safety in for garbage time, then Moore (for Hill).

[After THE JUMP: A comprehensive arse-kicking, and 40 more minutes.]

Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
M46	1st	10	Ace 12	5-2-4	5-2 Over	2	Run		Pin & Pull	Jenkins	3	-0.34
I have charted this play a thousand times and I don't think anyone's done THIS to Michigan. Smith(+1) discarded the G who blocked down on him. Bye. Jenkins(+1) put a TE a yard in the backfield. Harrell(-1) got kicked out pretty hard and NHG(-1) got wiped out by the LT but Green(+1) sticks his nose in to stop the 2nd puller. They've now got 2TEs, 2Gs, and the RB compressed in a standing pile and this all lurches to the ground.
M43	2nd	7	Gun Trips	5-1-5	5-1 Odd	2	Run		Power Stretch	Morris	3	-0.52
Green(-1) is on the wrong side and is told right before the snap, lucky it's not a pass. Morris(+2) stood up a T and soaked up the puller but Smith(-1) got moved by a double and this can fall down behind that for a couple.
M40	3rd	5	Ace 3w H motion	5-1-5	5-1 Over	2	Play-Action	5	TE Screen	Smith	Inc	-1.08
RPS+2 since M has Morris and Smith(+2, Cov+2) dropping back to bat away screens and UW has an RB and a TE to throw to. Mazi read it and PBUs like a CB. Counts!
Drive Notes: Punt. 0-0. 10 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O34	1st	10	Ace FB wide	5-1-5	425 Over Levels	1	Play-Action	5	PA Throwaway	Jenkins	Inc	-0.99
M has Harrell at LB. Nobody is fooled by PA (RPS+1) and Jenkins(+1, PR+1) threatens so Mertz chucks it OOB near one red shirt and 3 white ones. Cov+2 it would seem.
O34	2nd	10	425 Even	4-2-5	425	2	Pass	4	ARO	Hill	Inc	-0.57
Hutchinson(+1, PR+1) is coming upfield and Hill(+1, Cov+1) is on this but an accurate throw maybe is a short gain. Mertz is not accurate.
O34	3rd	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	Okie	1	Pass	5	Doom	Colson	Inc	-0.28
M flips the safeties right before the snap, threatening blitz. Almost a delay of game so C snaps it high. Protection ends up with two guys on Hinton, one RB for Colson(+1) and Moten(+0.5) and a dead LT for Hutchinson(+1) and RT for Ojabo(+1). RPS+2, PR+3 and Mertz throws it in a direction where Turner(+1, Cov+1) goes all the way up to bat it. Ferguson lays him out while he's up there and Turner is down after the play.
Drive Notes: Punt. 0-0. 7 min 1st Q. That was mean, Mac.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Split	1	Run		ZR OZ Give	Hinton	3	-0.30
Hutchinson(-0.5) set up shuffled but expecting a keep and is late to react. NHG(-0.5) activated at the mesh but got slammed down by the RT. Ross(+1) literally pounces on the C, but this has already cut back to Hinton(+1) who ropes him down.
O28	2nd	7	Gun Wk	5-1-5	5-1 Odd	1	Run		ZR Power	Ross	-2	-0.70
Ol Pounce...err Ross(+2, tackling-1) times his blitz and slices into the backfield in the gap as the RG pulls out of it. RPS+1 for guessing the right spot. RB bounces off that but Hutchinson(+1) is now able to race up from his ZR spot at the same time Smith(+1) discards the LG toy he was playing with at the LoS and joins in. Replay.
O26	3rd	9	Gun Empty	4-2-5	Nickel Wide	2	Pass	4	Curls	Hutchinson	-4	-0.26
Hutchinson(+2, PR+3) is wearing both the RT and RG, whose film sessions he just ruined, as a belt and is still dragging these dufuses right to the QB. Hinton(+0.5) stunted around the LT and the turf monster gets Mertz as he tries to get through that. Flag does come out after much gesticulating.
Drive Notes: Punt. 7-0. 2 min 1st Q. This quarter was a comprehensive ass-kicking.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Ace Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	2	Run		Split Zone	NHG	2	-0.35
Smith(+1) puts the C in the backfield, which cuts off the frontside after Ross(-0.5) at LG. Hinton(-0.5) got moved back by a double but productively so NHG(+2, tackling+1) can get in and stick for no gain. Hutchinson(+1) made this hole really small by shuffling to the hashmark and halting the kickout.
O27	2nd	8	Gun Wk	5-1-5	5-2 Odd	1	Run		Split Zone	Morris	1	-0.50
Hutchinson(+1) does it again. Smith(-1) got comboed to Hawkins(-0.5) who's the WLB here but it doesn't matter because Morris(+2) rode the RT across the formation and runs it to where Hinton(+0.5) has the LG in the backfield.
O28	3rd	7	Gun Str	5-1-5	Nickel Wide	1	PEN		Delay of Game	NA	-5	-0.28
Oops. Bird girl gives them one out of five.
O23	3rd	12	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Split	1	Pass	4	Sack	Ojabo	-8	-0.18
Simple twist, Ojabo(+3, PR+3) is around the new UW LT at 7 yards. Mertz doesn't know it until he's covered in Scot but couldn't step up anyway because Hutchinson(+2) decided to deposit this hapless RT in front of the QB.
Drive Notes: Punt. 10-0. 10 min 2nd Q. Upvoted Bird Girl's review. Review was helpful: better helped me understand the product.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O6	1st	10	I-Form Heavy	5-2-4	5-2 over	2	Play-Action	4.5	PA TE Post	NHG	19	0.82
The more I watch the more incredible it is they pulled this off. Both LBs sucked in a little by PA. NHG(-1, cov-1) is the one picked on but he gets back enough and this is floated right between him and Hill(push) who gets there in time to lay a lick, avoiding a minus. Ferguson holds on. Smith(+1) and Hinton(+1) break through the line; Mazi gets in a lick and Hinton had a shot at batting it. Also Turner was blitzing (PR+2). Good play by the QB and TE.
O25	1st	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Run		ZR OZ Give	Ojabo	4	-0.11
Hinton(+1) kept his LB clean but Colson(-2) is slow to react when he can just shoot and stuff from that. Want Ojabo(-0.5) to play this less conservatively—it's Mertz.
O29	2nd	6	Gun Wk Tight	4-2-5	4-3 Over	1	Pass	4	Z Out	Gray	5	0.09
Soft coverage by Gray(-1, cov-1) would give up the 1st on a more accurate throw.
O34	3rd	1	Bone	5-2-4	Goal Line	NA	Run		Wham	Speight	2	0.95
Speight(-2) blown out by a double and they get it.
O36	1st	10	Gun Wk	5-1-5	5-1 Odd	2	RPO		Power/H Cross	Jeter	2	-0.50
Jeter(+2) two-gaps the C, gets behind the puller and eats the RB, who isn't Chez or Burger unfortunately. Hinton(-0.5) got moved by the LG, Ojabo(+0.5) came off the LT to help.
O38	2nd	8	Gun Str	5-1-5	5-1 Odd	2	Pass	4	Z Smoke	Turner	7	0.45
Turner(-1, tackling-1) gets distracted by the Slot release, which means he's in Cov2 and has to help inside I think. That leaves the WR waiting at the LOS alone. That should be like 3 yards but he stiffarms Turner to get to 3rd and short.
O45	3rd	1	Gun Wk X Tight	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	1	Run		Inside Zone	Speight	0	-1.04
Speight(+2) digs under a double and Ojabo(+1) blasted Ferguson and Morris(+1) stood up the LG too. Comprehensive stuff.
O45	4th	1	I-Form Heavy	5-2-4	Goal Line	NA	Run		FB Dive	Hinton	2	2.15
Jeter(+1) got under Ferguson and connects, but Hinton(-1) was moved out by the double and that's space for a fullback to power through.
O47	1st	10	Gun Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Under	1	Pass	5	Z Out	Gray	13	0.91
Hutchinson(+2, PR+2) into the backfield like lightning, LT and RB can't prevent him from getting to Mertz who throws it up. Gray(-2, cov-2) is playing WAAAY off this WR and gives up a 1st down. Sawwwft.
M40	1st	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Pass	4	TE Out	Ross	9	0.84
Ojabo(+1, PR+1) got around the LT but then blew a tire and Upshaw(-1) tried to do the Aidan but gets blown too far upfield and Mertz can step up. Hinton might have sack but he's yanked back by as an OL accidentally grabs his chinstrap (refs-1) and Mertz can roll around him. Smith(+1) breaks free and chases Mertz who gets a toss off to Ferguson coming back under Ross(-1, cov push) in the flat.
M31	2nd	1	I-Form Heavy	5-2-4	5-2 Over	2	Run		Iso	NHG	7	-0.33
Jeter(-1) moved out by a double and doesn't have his head facing the play. NHG(+1) pops the LT but falls down after impact. It's done its job, which is take out the extra blocker but Hill(-1, tackling-1) isn't big enough to bring down a 260-pound short yardage RB with a head of steam and gets dragged for a few.
M24	1st	10	Ace 3w H motion	4-2-5	425 Over	1	Play-Action	4	PA Rollout	Green	Inc	-0.43
Ojabo(+1, PR+1) was on the edge, sees the Jet is just a fake, and closes the distance quickly. Ball has to be out and Green(+1, cov+2) is on the RB in cov2 and nobody else is remotely an option with the rest of the coverage all on a deep trail, so Mertz throws it away.
M24	2nd	10	Gun Str F Flex	4-2-5	425 Over	1	Pass	5	Fade	Turner	Inc	-0.58
Colson brought late, nobody gets home (PR-1) to disrupt this throw. Turner(+2, cov+2) is handfighting with the WR. First angle looked like PI and the UW WR complains but replay shows this is just good coverage and contact was mostly by the WR, who twists himself around at the end to try to sell what the smart ref ain't buying. 1st Act Gordon Bombay the Team.
M24	3rd	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	425 Under	2	Pass	5	RB Screen	Turner	8	0.44
RPS-2 as Michigan feints a Ross dropback then blitzes him. He gets in free bc it's a screen at Turner(+1) who beats a WR's block to get to this but the RB can fall forward to bring up 4th and 2, which feels like a go for it situation. They don't go.
Drive Notes: FG. 10-3. 2 min 2nd Q. This was all moonballs under soft coverage and short gains on X&short, then they opt not to go for it on 4th&2, which FWIW the field goal is a -0.75 EPA play. Next drive starts with 27 seconds after M pooches and the upback muffs.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O37	1st	10	I-Form Heavy	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	2	Run		Iso	Ross	9	1.38
M is a little sloppy here as they expect to walk into halftime. Specifically Hutchinson who does his job but normally he wrecks a TE like this. Hinton(-1) moved back by a double, NHG(-0.5) a beat late to attack the FB lead Ross(-1, tackling-1) lets the RB squirt from 5 yards to 9, which might also be the difference if they keep going.
O46	2nd	1	Gun Str	4-2-5	425 Over	1	Pass	4	Slot Seam	Hill	36	1.08
Morris(+1, PR+1) got free on a stunt so ball has to be out now. Hill(+1) has his hand in the way and only a perfect throw gets to Dike. Also Hawkins(-1, cov-2) is way under this like what is an 8-yard pass going to do man? Bracket the deep ball. RPS-2.
M18	1st	10	Gun Empty 01	4-2-5	326 Dime	2	Pass	4	Slot Fade	Hill	18	2.54
Again, why is Hawkins(RPS-2) doubling a guy running a route 5 yards short of the sticks when that's halftime? Hill(-1, cov-1) in push but doesn't turn, perfect throw beats him.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 13-10. EoH basically. I have questions.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun Wk H Motion	5-1-5	5-1 Odd	2	Pass	5	Sideline Fade	Gray	Inc	-0.70
Ojabo(+0.5) gets a free run (RPS+1) and affects the throw. Morris(+1, PR+2) beat a double and was into Mertz's knees. Gray(+1, cov+1) has the receiver into the sideline and guy has no play so he grabs Gray's arm and tries to draw a bad flag. Again, ref ain't buying it. This woman has made the O'Neill crew so much better.
O25	2nd	10	Gun Str	5-1-5	5-1 Over	2	Run		ZR Stretch	Hutchinson	1	-0.29
Smith(+0.5) is making a good mess of the stretch blocks, but Morris(-1) got blown way down. Hutchinson(+2) popped Ferguson whose only move is to grab the shoulderpads and jump on his back (no call, refs-1), but Hutchinson's arm can still catch the RB's legs.
O26	3rd	9	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nickel Wide	2	Pass	5	Sack	Hill	-9	-0.31
RPS+3 as the late safety rotation doesn't register. Mertz thinks he's got a hot route to Ferguson but Ojabo(+1, cov+1) has that covered for as long as it takes. There's only time for that one read before Hill(+2, tackling+2) is into his ribs. Ross(+2) feinted through the RB's block and joins. Flag is because UW lined their OL way off the LOS again (last time was a warning).
Drive Notes: Punt. 13-10. 14 min 3rd Q. Mertz leaves the game so it's all Chase Wolf from here.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Ace Heavy Z Jet	5-2-4	5-3 Under	1	Run		Jet Fake Power G	Ross	6	0.33
Jenkins(-1) gets ripped out of the gap by the RT as the RB goes by, Ross(-1) eats a TE, Green(+1) and Hill(+0.5) and Hawkins(+0.5, tackling+2) arrive in succession to turn an RB in the secondary situation into a modest gain.
O31	2nd	4	Ace 3w H motion	5-1-5	5-1 Over	1	Run		Power G	Hutchinson	3	-0.36
RPS+1 gets Hutchinson(-0.5) slanting deep into this but the puller thunks him and he can only get a swipe at the RB's ankle. Morris(-2) got ejected across the formation so the frontside has room that's closed by Hinton(+1) working back quickly.
O34	3rd	1	Goal Line	5-2-4	Goal Line	NA	Run		FB Dive	Hutchinson	1	0.86
Hutchinson(-1) tries to time it but goes over so he has no leverage when the double at him comes. Jeter(+0.5) was left unblocked and Ross(+1) popped the pile with full force for a momentary stuff with Hawkins(+0.5) squeezing back there but a Fullbackian second effort gets it. Seth pines for fullbacks.
O35	1st	10	Gun Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	2	RPO		Counter Trey	Hutchinson	0	-1.01
Missed RPO read by our double agent Cha..I mean True Badger QB Chase Wolf (+2, RPS-2). Hutchinson(+3) gives every coach in America some teach tape on how to defend Counter, setting up the kick then diving under him to take out the puller. Hill is coming outside after not being read so there's nowhere else to go as Jeter(+0.5) shouldered into a double and both LBs are clean. They never get there because Speight(+1) threw the C into the ballcarrier.
O35	2nd	10	Gun Str	5-1-5	5-1 Odd	1	Run		ZR Power T	Ross	5	0.06
Speight(-0.5) goes down as he tries to shoot his gap. Morris(+0.5) fought back into this gap and Ross(+0.5) popped the lead and helped tackle for a meh gain.
O40	3rd	5	Gun Str	4-2-5	Nickel Wide	2	Pass		RB Screen	Green	9	2.27
I thought it was an RPS at first since M is rolling Moten down late to blitz but they've got the right guys here. What they did is use the slot to pop Ojabo(-1) who didn't see this. That's fine if Green(-2, tackling-1) replaces but he is in man and it doesn't register that the WR blocking means replace. He gets stuck behind the block and the RB gets a free first down.
O49	1st	10	Gun Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	1	Play-Action	NA	Throwaway	Hutchinson	Inc	-1.13
Hutchinson(+2, PR+2) ricochets off the pulling G and is alone in the backfield with Wolf. Smith(+1) also came through the C. The LG then shoves Hutchinson in the back (refs-2) as he's about to sack and Wolf stumbles out of the pocket at flips the ball toward the sideline, close to but probably behind the LOS.
O49	2nd	10	Gun Str	5-1-5	5-2 Under	1	Pass	4	TE Out	Ross	Inc	-1.01
This attacks the cov3 hole between Ross and Hawkins and catch grade the coverage because Dax(+2, RPS+1) flew in off the edge unblocked after M rolled late and has Wolf's arm. Pass route was good to beat Cov3 but sending Hill was a gamble that worked.
O49	3rd	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	Nickel Wide	1	Pass	6	TE Corner	Hill	Inc	-0.67
Ojabo(-1) overran the QB and Ross(-1) got knocked down. PR-2. Upshaw(+1) might get there but he gets facemasked back (refs-2). Good pass at the right time that Hill(+2, cov+2) breaks up inside-out.
Drive Notes: Punt. 20-10. 4 min 3rd Q. I think the end of last half angered Dax Hill.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O19	1st	10	Ace Tight Z Jet		5-2 Odd	1	Run		Jet Sweep	NHG	13	0.92
Fools NHG(-2) who's still stepping at the LOS when Pryor's already turning the edge. McGregor(+0.5) got an arm on a shoulder. This is Wisconsin's last first down until the garbage drive fyi.
O32	1st	10	Gun Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	1	Pass	4	Scramble	Smith	5	0.11
Smith(-1) opens up a lane by trying to swim inside the LG and getting driven out. EO3Q. Michigan jumps around.
O37	2nd	5	Gun Wk H Motion	5-1-5	5-1 Odd	1	Run		Jet Fake Power G	Hawkins	1	-0.81
RPS+2 as Michigan rolls Hawkins(+2) into this and has Dax traveling with the Jet now which means M has numbers. Slot can't get a crack on Hawkins who sneaks into the backfield, comes around behind the RB, and SURPRISE!
O38	3rd	4	Gun Wk	4-2-5	425 Split	2	Pass	4	Sack Fumble	Ojabo	-5	-4.68
Ojabo(+3, PR+3) and Hutchinson(+2) beat their Ts, Ojabo knocks the ball out, Hinton falls on it.
Drive Notes: Fumble. 20-10. 14 min 4th Q. We now have their juice.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	2	Pass	4	TE Corner	Hill	INT	-4.95
Hutchinson(+1, PR+2) is around at 7 yards and Jeter(+1) has his RG deep in the pocket and his arm up, so this goes now or Wolf dies. Hill(+3, cov+3) baited it and picks off the desperate man.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Ace 12 Tight	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	2	Run		Jet Sweep	NHG	4	-0.11
Not as fooled this time. Harrell(+1) is outside the RT who gets a tug in on his collar. NHG(+0.5) read and tackles for a short gain. Refs-1 spot them an extra yard.
O29	2nd	6	Gun Str	4-2-5	425 Over	1	Pass	4	TE Out	Jeter	Inc	-0.65
Speight(+1) is running the RG into the backfield and Ojabo(+1, PR+2) is immediately around the RT so Wolf has to rush his first read that Ross(+1, cov+1) has covered in Cov3. Jeter(+2) gets up and bats it anyways.
O29	3rd	6	Gun Str	4-2-5	425 Split	1	Pass	4	Sack	Hutchinson	-6	-0.48
Weird to see Wisconsin's line in such a state. Hutchinson(+2, tackling-1) has a solo sack but Wolf elects to spin into Ojabo(+1) and Morris(+0.5)
Drive Notes: Punt. 31-10. 8 min 4th Q. One backup drive for the sickos but these are backups and RPS and stuff is off here.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	425 Split	1	RPO		Power CT	Colson	5	0.09
Welschof(-1) and Speight(-1) locked out by single blocks so LBs in tough. Colson(+1) stones the first puller, disengages and tackles.
O30	2nd	5	Gun Wk Tight	4-2-5	425 Over	2	Run		ZR Belly	Moore	2	-0.48
Lied about RPS+ because this Nickel Safety blitz is a ZR killer. Moore(+2) pays it off by getting a give and wrapping up the RB in the backfield. Inside guy was Mullings(+1) who basically did the same thing. Frontside was a little open because Welschof(-1) got knocked back.
O32	3rd	3	Gun Str	4-2-5	425 Split	1	Pass	4	Sack	Ojabo	-7	-0.82
Whittley is in FYI. Ojabo(+1, PR+1) spooks Wolf into spinning away, Upshaw(+2) lays him out.
Drive Notes: Punt. 31-10. 3 min 4th Q. Haven't seen a Mad Scot chase an enemy into a Taylor like that since WW2. End of charting.

Alright let’s hear it.

Hear what?

Your excuse. Your caveat. You always have one. It’s just a MAC team. John Donovan. It was a quiet dinner with the grandkids. What is it?

Well, this passing offense sucked,

There it is.

and it went to hell when Chase Wolf came in,

Right, blame the backup quarterback.

and this isn’t a vintage Badger front, especially when it comes to the tackles in pass protection,

Oh, I see we’re disrespecting [checks notes] Wisconsin offensive linemen now.

but that was an ASS KICKING! I mean right out of the gate, Michigan’s defense had possession of Wisconsin’s lunch card and was showering their friends with fruit rollups. The first four drives were three-and-outs, and not one time in those twelve plays did it remotely feel possible for Wisconsin to move the ball. The statistically the most positive outcome for the Badgers offense in the 20 minutes of this game was when they took a delay of game. That outcome also earned this legendary review.

The start was absolute wreckage from both an X’s and O’s and play perspective. The way I grade is I try to match the +/- to the value of the play, e.g. a tackle for loss is +3 for the defense and then I figure out where the points went (e.g. -1 to Player A, +2 to Player B and +2 to Player C=+3) that caused it. When the positives outweigh the play value it’s because someone did something crazy awesome that turned out to be superfluous because of the other guy’s crazy awesome thing. For example when David Ojabo whips the left tackle for a solo sack, and the right tackle is also in the quarterback’s lap when this happens.

There were a lot of plays in that sequence that wouldn’t have looked place in a [mid-2000s Notre Dame quarterback] for Heisman video on YouTube.

Someone started humming the Benny Hill Theme and Brady Quinn was having flashbacks on the sideline. And because you can’t have one without the other, Wolf came on, and somewhere Jimmy Clausen coughed up another football.

There was even a linebacker with a neckroll.

It was a trouncing. The cumulative scoring for those 12 plays: +34/-7.5 for the players, and +8/-0 in RPS. That’s like fruit rollups for the entire second grade and enough they can share with their kindergarten siblings. My only regret is I neglected to put anyone on Muppets Duty this year. That won’t happen again.

And then we backed off?

Is that a segue to our soft coverage? Because yeah, the issue on The one sustained drive Wisconsin had before the You Attacked Dax Hill/Oh Noes You Angered Dax Hill sequence wrapped around halftime was the now-familiar one-two punch of soft coverage on 1st/2nd down and a mass of bodies on 3rd/4th down as Michigan sat in its spot drop zones. Here’s DJ Turner II doing it in Cover 2:

#5 the cornerback at the bottom

And Vincent Gray also got in on the act.

CB #4 in coverage on the far left

As we saw, Mertz isn’t a Vedral who can’t hit anything past the line of scrimmage. I showed the cornerbacks here but if Wisconsin had a spot they wanted to exploit it was Jake Ferguson versus the linebackers on play-action. Macdonald’s RPS wins and the pass protection problems short-circuited those until both Mertz and Ferguson left the game. As with the offense, Michigan was winning high-leverage plays.

Live it felt like luck that Michigan had two DTs notice the screen setup and stop in time for one of them to bat it away. On review, it probably wasn’t luck. The weird personnel group (they spent most of the day in a 5-1-5), and the way they seemed to have an answer for everything Wisconsin’s put on film in the Alvarez era showed they were more prepared for this game than the previous four combined. If the offense wasn’t sputtering, the defensive performance was enough to launch one of those 28-0 beginnings. A drive chart:

• One 3-play, 20-second, 63-yard TD drive right before halftime.
• One 15-play, 78-yard field goal drive.
• One 9-play, 24-yard drive that pittered on the ground until Chase Wolf had to drop back.
• One four-and-out that ended on a 3rd down fumble-sack.
• A one-play interception drive immediately after that.
• Seven three-and-outs

Wisconsin bunched their three best plays of the day into a drive when any kind of failure meant halftime. The only other sign of life was floating a pass between the levels to a leaping Ferguson while taking a shot from Dax.

I felt like the defense was doing Ravens-y things.

Yeah, there were too very Baltimore strategies they brought out for this game. We talked all offseason about 3-4/zone philosophy that Macdonald was going to bring, where the surety that we had the right guy for each job was going to be replaced by sowing confusion as to which guy is where.

One way they did this was flipping the strength of the defense right before the snap by rotating the safeties.

Safety rotations are normal these days. It’s Saban’s whole deal, and common for any team that spends a lot of time in two-high, because it adds a layer of confusion to the offense. We saw it all the time from Brown because it was his response to the offense moving someone across the offense. What’s unusual is doing it without provocation.

The thinking behind blitz coverage isn’t that you’re going to be sound on the back end. It’s about how much time can you buy your pass rush by taking away reads. Variables in this formula are how well you can cover those reads, how quickly the QB can make them, and how well his arm and the receiver can connect where the defense isn’t. College quarterbacks and young quarterbacks HATE it when you take away their first reads, especially when you’re blitzing, because it takes time to get to the next one.

The Ravens do this sort of thing a lot, because the whole concept of their defense is having different guys appear in different places in coverage to screw with quarterback reads and protection schemes (which is why they still tend to feast or famine based on the savvy of the opposing QB). Hit play on the above, and watch. The roll happens with fewer than 10 seconds on the clock, at which point Mertz points at RJ Moten with 2 seconds to snap. But they didn’t shift the protection, which was set based on the pre-roll look, which looked like a pressure off the (offense’s) left side. Instead it’s Hutchinson off the left side and four dudes coming on the right. They double one of them, and the running back(!) is left with two of them.

Mertz collects the snap and throws it in the direction he was supposed to have an out route to Ferguson with leverage against a safety. When the football-hatin Fox cameras follow the football to the coverage, Michael Morris is hopping and DJ Turner II is skying to either side of Ferguson.

The same thing happened on the blitz that took out Mertz:

Moten bails from this one at 5 seconds on the clock. Mertz again thinks he has a hot to Ferguson running between the zones. But we’ve got David Ojabo shadowing that read. Ian Boyd went into more detail on this play in Technical Flyover yesterday:

The reason Michigan loves to line up their inside linebackers ("M" and "W") here on the line of scrimmage on blitz downs is to confuse the protection schemes. Wisconsin has to answer questions like, "do we treat these guys as down linemen or linebackers?" How they identify them determines who is primarily responsible for blocking them among the linemen. running back, and quarterback (the quarterback "blocks" blitzers by throwing hot routes).

Since they do tend to drop back in coverage a fair bit, as the Mike linebacker did here, it makes sense to identify them as linebackers and not down linemen. They do so, and when the running back sees the Will charging into an A-gap, he heads there to pick him up while the offensive linemen focus on the defensive linemen.

They clearly didn't expect Daxton Hill to blitz.

The answer to that kind of defense is to smoke it out and throw where the pressure came from, in this case the H curl route that Dax was over right up until the snap. Mertz realizes Hill isn’t where he thought he’d be is the moment hill is entering Mertz’s rib cage.

This trick worked against runs of course—technically you’re just delivering more defenders to the line of scrimmage. Here Agent Hawkins used his rolldown to sneak behind enemy lines and cut the running back’s circuits.

#2 the safety rolling down on the top

Wisconsin did get some yards by running a screen against these looks, but even that was a bust, not a weakness of the defense.

Wisconsin invites the extra pressure, but the screen was supposed to be covered by the OLB, and if the OLB is cracked the cornerback replacing him. Ojabo got cracked and Green didn’t replace him. It’s far from the first time the cornerbacks haven’t replaced on a crack this year, but that’s just a young players screwing up a thing you do in all defenses, not something related to scheme Michigan’s running.

The other thing they did this game was roll with a base 5-1-5 for their nickel. Boyd wrote about that too. The point of doing this against a team like Wisconsin is they’re not going to attack you on the edges that much (I think they had two jet sweeps, both on the rare times Hill-Green was on the field as a second true LB). They want to run gap schemes, and gap schemes hate it when you put linemen in the gaps they want to run into. They check against fronts, and practice ways of handling slants all the time, just to get around having linemen in their precious gaps. So what does Michigan do? Puts five linemen over five linemen, and says “Okay guys, pick a gap.”

Nope, not that one. That one has a beefy lineman in it.

When Wisconsin removed a tight end, Michigan removed a middle linebacker and kept the five-man line of scrimmage with an DE on the outside each time to set the edge. Not a 230-pound OLB but a DE, strong enough to set an edge so if you try to outflank the DTs they can just ride your back to the wall and then collect. Watch Ojabo at the top of this formation, then on second watch keep an eye on Morris, the backside DT, who’s one man inside Hutchinson.

Better luck next down. Oh, and feel free to run at Hutchinson any time.

Kin we blether aboot th' defensive ends noo?

Yeah, Hutchinson is the reason Michigan’s defense can play this way. One of the effects of doing the offense first every week is I spend all this time critiquing Michigan’s power running game and then defend my cornucopia of +1s for Erick All and Zak Zinter kickouts. Then I turn over to the defense and Hutchinson does this to a perfectly innocent Counter Trey:

The kickout gets nothing because he thinks Hutchinson is going to be high and Hutch goes low and inside. Strike one. The puller arrives to lead through the gap that Hutchinson is now occupying, and now it’s a double play. The running back joins what is now quite the congregation forming at the mound and is soon breathing through his eyeballs.

By “play this way” I mean stockpile meat inside without the need for any viper-like specialists to fly out to the edges when something spills. Hutchinson is so good at holding the edge of run plays that I have to pull instances when he was held to demonstrate why this is supposed to be dangerous. Hutchinson is on the top of the formation here and gets deep in the backfield and engages the TE, Ferguson.

As Ferguson claws at a shoulderpad and then goes on a piggyback ride to prevent Hutchinson from closing the door, for a moment there you can see all the green behind it. Then Hutchinson gets a hand into the RB’s legs and the way is shut.

Running towards that is suicide, so the offenses tend to leave him on the backside. He still finds a way to be a menace, especially when the guys on the other side hold up, as they did on this 3rd and 1 stuff near midfield.

And then we talk about his pass-rushing, and if it took the grabbiest sumbitch in the Big Ten to almost open a running lane against Hutchinson, it took two guys acting weighted belts to prevent this sack.

Having Ojabo, the pass rushing specialist of the OLB troupe, out there a lot this week meant quarterbacks were running into sacks instead of the usual throwaways. Without taking anything away from Ojabo’s sackfest, Hutchinson was the engine of Michigan’s pass rush.

A'm weel aware o` yer loue fur that Sassenach son o’ Chris. Ah meant mah wee laddie.

Oh Ojabo!

Aye. Thare hud better nae be ony slandering o' him 'ere neither.

Thare’ll be naw… there will be no Ojabo slander. This was Uchean.

Hutchinson did his part by shoving the RT into the only conceivable place the quarterback could escape, but that is some shoulder-bendy pass rush work right there. The slowdown feature (press the left button on your keyboard if you’re reading this on a desktop) helps here so you can see the deliberation in causing this fumble. Yes, a better quarterback takes better care of the rock, but if you haven’t watched enough NFL film to feel it, maybe you once saw a second grader say “See this hand? See it? You know what it is? It’s a decoy SWIPE!”

And then your fruit rollup is gone. I also want to point out, while we have this play up, that Wisconsin was starting to move their tight end out to try to buy time in the pass rush against Hutchinson, and that—damn you Alex’s good scouting—the left tackle for Wisconsin is the weaker of the two in pass pro. But if you’re crediting Hutchinson for Ojabo’s stats, you might as well give Ojabo credit for running Wolf into an Upshaw here.

I’m sure ye hae some extremely clever way o' specifying exactly howfur muckle credit goes whaur.

What’s chart in Scot?

It’s “chart.” Weer spekin th’ same leid ye ken.

Defensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hinton	5	3	+2	Quiet day as the Hutchison-side tackle they ran away from.
Smith	8.5	3	+5.5	The OLBs kept getting there as he was ripping through.
Jenkins	2	1	+1	The Morris of the DTs because he can anchor too.
Jeter	7	1	+6	A bat, a two-gap, and a new shoulder technique for doubles.
Speight	4	3.5	+0.5	The anti-Jeter. Gets low, isn't strong enough to last.
Whittley			0	DNC
Welschof		2	-2	Still not a DT.
Hutchinson	25	2	+23	Gonna go out on a limb and say we missed him last year.
Morris	8	3	+5	Think he's our #3 DT and #2 or #3 DE right now.
Ojabo	15	2.5	+12.5	That's a bonny, bonny day.
Harrell	1	1	0	Enough of an LB they can be 5-1-5 or 4-2-5 with him.
Upshaw	3	1	+2	Hutch—>Ojabo—>Upshaw—>Suffering.
McGregor	0.5		+0.5	I swear they thought he was Hutchinson and held.
TOTAL	79	23	+56	Let's say this again: Against WISCONSIN.
Linebacker
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Ross	7.5	4.5	+3	Ol' Pounces likes to pounce.
Hill-Green	3.5	5	-1.5	5-1-5 left him out for most runs, on the field for hard stuff.
Colson	1	2	-1	Ditto.
Mullings	1		+1	Showed some bend off the edge.
TOTAL	13	11.5	+1.5	Could have played with zero LBs given the DL.
Secondary
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hill	9.5	2	+7.5	You angered Dax Hill how did that work out for you?
Hawkins	3	1.5	+1.5	Boring.
Moten	0.5		+0.5	Platonically boring.
Kolesar			0	DNC
Moore	2		+2	Little Dax.
Gray	1	3	-2	Soft coverage and little else to do.
Gem.Green	3	3	0	Didn't crack/replace on the one screen. Rarely tried.
Turner	4	1	+3	UW went at him and he held up.
TOTAL	23	10.5	+12.5	The Daxxine.
Metrics
Pressure	30	3	+27	Somebody make a Benny Hill video I'm serious.
Coverage	18	7	+11	First read is covered. Second re—TOO LATE THEY HERE
Tackling	5	6	-1	I would like a fullback.
RPS	15	8	+7	Strategic, not tactical ass-whooping. See Pressure.

Do we have a dominant defensive tackle, I ask again?

The DTs all came out positive but rotated too much for me to feel like one was making a super consistent impact except Mazi Smith was tearing through Kaden Lyles, who got a star in last year’s FFFF.

The nose.

He still got rocked back by some doubles but he stays engaged enough that linebackers can usually pick around them. Hinton was mostly left alone this game, and that contrasted with Jeter, who got in, got run at, and racked up a few +2s. One of them was another batted ball; the guy can get up.

We also saw more rotations from Speight and after a play when he got shoved back by single blocking he was part of a 3rd and 1 stuff, and generally a pain in the ass, or more accurately, the knees.

We saw some Jenkins early, and though he was the only DT to really get wrecked by a double-team he also did his part to establish control of the line of scrimmage from the first snap.

The guy who impressed the most was probably Morris, who as I mentioned in the podcast, was racking up points at DT this game. I embedded this already but it belongs here too. Watch Morris, the DT one spot above Hutchinson from the bottom of the formation.

When Wisconsin tried running power to the DE/DT’s gap they found a dude willing to take on both a T and a pulling G.

#90, the DT next to Hutchinson.

Why so little scoring for the linebackers and non-Dax safeties?

Mostly by design, but also because nothing was getting past the front. The fears of linebacker play in this system were based on an assumption that Michigan’s linebackers would need to cover for the defensive line, as they had in years past, but now in more space. The line play turned the LBs into bit roles, to the point where Michigan was often running only Josh Ross out there. When he got to have an impact it was usually in blitzing, which he is very good at.

He still ate some blocks, but just like his brother when Ross sees something and is moving forward he’s a wrecking ball. He earned the prospectin’ name Ol’ Pounces because he literally pounced on a guy.

Shoulders square: check. Neck roll: check. Front paws extended to deliver the full force to the prey’s shoulders: check. Prey is now prone. Mufasa would be proud.

The lion cubs were out there but the most notable thing any of them had to do was chase down the jet sweep twice. Hill-Green bit on the running back coming down the first time, not the second time. Colson got to take part in the Benny Hill stuff but was otherwise as bored as the safeties except on that one drive.

Who’s to blame for the end of half drive?

The problem here is not coverage from Dax Hill. Here are the hands as the ball is arriving. Yes, Chimere Dike (he’s good—it’s weird they don’t throw to him more) outnumbers Dax Hill’s hands 2-to-1. I still consider having a top two hand in the closest to the ball rankings as good coverage. He didn’t get a plus for it but neither was this a negative.

Our question is about the other guy in this shot. Brad Hawkins is watching uselessly as this happens because he was taking a robber zone underneath. He’s the deep safety on the right.

What are you going to do there? If Ferguson (TE#84) stems that route in at worst you’re tackling him on the 40, which is still a very long field goal. However Michigan’s coverages aren’t designed that way. We see it again. Watch #2, the deep safety on the left.

The way Michigan has designed their coverage, Dax Hill is left to handle his business and Hawkins/Moten are out there to support the other guys. That makes total sense from a holistic standpoint. Situationally however they may want to break that tendency when the route being run at Dax is the only one likely to lead to points.

Michigan used to have a doubles coverage that was built to bracket the two most dangerous receivers, and made it really hard to throw on them in long situations. It seems that was not retained, and my best guess is that we’re not yet well versed enough in the base coverages to start adding extra situational rules.

We still have a sky coverage that’s meant to result in brackets over deep receivers as long as there’s only one of them to that side. We caught it on one of the Ojabo-Hutchinson sacks.

Again, this is not a knock. I’m saying the likely explanation is Michigan is still in Year 1 of a transition to being a mixed zone team, and while they get the basics down there probably will still be circumstances like these that are not getting a response geared precisely to the moment. I’m trying to pull an example and keep coming to Mel Pearson’s first Michigan hockey team using a regular zone entry to start a 19-second 5-on-3. Probably haven’t gotten to that page yet.

Did they try to edge Dax Hill this week?

They didn’t, but they threw at him a couple of times with Chase Wolf.

They did? How did that work out?

He took all their juice. Remember the thing about being ranked in the top two of closest hands? Well if your close third can knock off a #2, you’re the new #1.

And this time he actually got to catch the interception he baited in zone coverage. Joe Klatt took my thunder so you can just listen to him:

He also ended Mertz’s day while blitzing all the way from the slot. Most nickel blitzes tip their intentions by trying to get a few extra steps in before the snap. Hill trusted his speed, and it got him there. Monster game.

You said you’d check in on the O’Neill Crew?

There was usual ref stuff but what I noticed especially was the latest addition to the O’Neil crew is making the correct call on pass interference despite all the ref-baiting acting by receivers and booing by the home crowds trying to convince her to make the wrong one.

The sideline judge she replaced on this crew was the one who made the phantom PI call on Michigan’s clean interception in the 2019 Notre Dame game that precipitated all the towels. There are still some yahoos out there, including O’Neill himself (he missed another facemask), but they got the most ridiculous hold on Hutchinson, and called Wisconsin’s illegal formation after giving them a warning. On the road in Madison it could have gone so much worse. More new blood please.

Who’s Mr. Worldwide this week?

As a reminder, our criteria here are versatility, the ability to make your teammates better, being cool against long odds, and enjoying time spent under highway overpasses. This is decided after the second UFR. Your top three this week:

1. Aidan Hutchinson. Too easy, but returning to Michigan when he could have gone in the draft, and recovering from that injury to be an utter terror, were long odds. He was such a difference in this game we can go back to his absence last year and blame that. They routinely set the line so that there’d be a side with Hutchinson and a side where everybody who’s not Hutchinson could get single (or half) blocks. Contributed to all of Ojabo’s sacks and directly caused at least one. Built his own highway overpass out of a Counter Trey and hung out underneath it. Zero sacks on a rampant day = Mr. Worldwide.

2. Josh Ross. Who was Mertz worried about when he wasn’t looking at Daxton Hill? Ross screaming up the gut. Who was the ONLY linebacker hanging out behind the line to make sure anything they missed would get cleaned up? Josh Ross. Who returned full strength and played almost every snap against Wisconsin after missing half of Rutgers with a shoulder injury? Ross. Who played a 3rd deep safety on the fade at Dax? Ross. What animals love to hang out under highway overpasses so much they won’t build them in some areas? Large predatory cats. Did I make that last part up because the highway overpass bit is hard to think of at the end of a long week of UFRing? Josh Ross.

3. Cade McNamara. Long odds indeed after his 2nd half against Rutgers, but McNamara solidified his starting role by paying off Michigan’s few scoring opportunities with his deep accuracy. Escaped many pockets, took no sacks, and had zero interceptions while facing long downs against the #3 defense to fancy and non-fancy stats. Likes highway overpasses so much he’s thinking about them instead of reading crashing edge defenders, which is very bad for the offense, but a credit in Mr. Worldwide scoring.

3-2-1 point system so our standings are:

7: Aidan Hutchinson
5: Erick All
3: Ronnie Bell, Ryan Hayes
2: Mike Sainristil, Hassan Haskins, Junior Colson, Josh Ross
1: Nikhai Hill-Green, Cade Kolesar, Andrew Stueber, Cade McNamara

All complaints about these selections should be directed to Scott Frost’s mom.

Heroes?

Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, Daxton Hill, preemptively whoever makes me that Benny Hill video.

Maybe not so heroic?

20 seconds of what the hell.

What does it mean for Nebraska and the future?

It was an ass-kicking. Don’t go kicking Lucy’s football but you can start feeling confident that if she did hold it you probably wouldn’t break her hand. Not all of Wisconsin’s OL are as butt as the LT is at pass pro, and this was comprehensive.

Nebraska will be a very different kind of test for this DL. Michigan was rotating their defensive line every down because Wisconsin let them. Nebraska isn’t going to do that, so the 5-1 stuff might have to go back on the shelf.

You don’t want Mike Macdonald mad at you. He saved some nasty stuff that played to Wisconsin’s weaknesses and tendencies. Masterful plan, executed nearly flawlessly, and it doesn’t show in the RPS because it mostly put the players in positions to do what they do well.

The simple zone coverage remains a feature. They’ll work it out as the season goes along. Progress from guys like Turner gives me hope they can be at least a middling zone team when the big test comes. The soft coverage will stick awhile longer. They may move quasi-prevent up the priority tree.

Graham Mertz is bad; Chase Wolf is badder. Thinking specifically of the two turnovers, and how Wisconsin ran 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense while down two scores rather than put the ball in his hand.

Don’t give your second grader unlimited lunch card funds. They will corner the market on fruit rollups.