FORMATION NOTES: Hello, it's Iowa. Iowa loathes putting guys in the box:

This play has Edwards in the backfield and has the Iowa safeties rolled up inside of ten yards. This was an occasional change up; this was more frequent:

Split safeties at 12, six guys in the box. Michigan severely cut down the number of multiple TE snaps. They had 43 snaps with 1 TE, 17 with two, and six with three. Half of those 3 TE snaps were Michigan's last drive.

Later in the game Iowa started firing up their blitzes and got aggressive, but until it was desperation time the light box was near-universal.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: With Keegan back the OL did not deviate from Hayes/Keegan/Olu/Zinter/Jones. RB was Corum/Edwards exclusively. TE lacked All, had a ton of Schoonmaker, and was relatively limited otherwise. Until late Michigan's TE density was relatively low, for reasons discussed above. WRs as usual except Wilson went out later in the game after taking what looked like a hit to the eat.

[AFTER THE JUMP: a thousand cuts]

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Ace 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	7	Run	Duo	Corum	4
Doubles on both DTs. Schoon(+1) gets a DE from that wing TE position and gets depth; Jones(+0.5) kicks the other DE. DTs go backwards. Hayes(+0.5) and Keegan(+0.5) drive their dude three yards downfield. MLB pops up on the outside so Corum heads inside; Zinter(-1) and Olu get split, with Zinter falling; they did drive that DT downfield so Corum(+0.5) meets him after two and grinds out two more.
M29	2	6	Gun 4-wide	1	2	2	4-3 wide	5	Run	Inside zone	Corum	7
Wide splits and screens threatened on both edges with a TE leading the way. Iowa flares their LBs so this is a light box. Olu(+0.5) and Keegan(+0.5) get some movement on a DT with Olu getting to the MLB. Hayes(+0.5) gets enough of the DT. Corum is able to zip through this gap and eats some arm tackles as he passes. RPS +1.
M36	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Out	Wilson	7
Soft CB and S who’s a little rolled up and not on the hash indicates man; McCarthy reads it and fires a quick out to Wilson for a solid gain. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1)
M43	2	3	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	5.5	Run	Power zone keeper	McCarthy	6
DE tears after Corum, pull, ZR+. Absolutely no one out on the edge from the box so as long as the WRs don’t screw it up, nice gain. They don’t Schoon(+0.5) and Bell(+0.5) do their jobs. McCarthy(-2) has a lane right to the safety but opts to get out of bounds instead of getting 10-15 more yards. It is possible this is tactical but if you’re going to be this ginger about your QB you shouldn’t be running him at all. RPS +1.
M49	1	10	Gun TTB	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	Rollout deep out	Wilson	14
Sprintout and a flood concept with Johnson going deep and Wilson running an out underneath that. This throw is a hair late and the Iowa CB reacts to it really well considering that Johnson just flashed by his face going deep. McCarthy puts it inside and away from the CB, allowing Wilson to have a relatively comfortable catch but also not letting Iowa do Iowa things at it. (DO, +2, 2, protection 1/1)
O37	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Flare screen	Edwards	3
Looks like quarters from IA here with both safeties at 8-9 yards, which is unfortunate for this playcall. Iowa S is charging at this with no deep responsibility; Edwards(+0.5) has to dodge him at the LOS and gets ankle-tackled; even if he escapes this he’s been pushed wide enough that his blockers no longer have angles. RPS -1. (CA, 3, screen)
O34	2	7	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Run	Inside zone	Corum	6
Jet motion from Bell and a JJ fake to a flare screen draws one of the two LBs pretty wide so this is once again functionally a five man box. Olu doesn't get much chip on one DT; Keegan(+1) mostly puts him two yards downfield by himself. Zinter(+0.5) doesn’t get a lot of movement but gets a vice grip on the chest plate of the other DT and he can’t come off; Jones(+1) gets a crumpling kickout. LB recovers to get this down but at the sticks. RPS +1.
O28	3	1	Gun TTB	1	2	2	4-3 even	8	Run	Dive	Corum	2
Corum goes off the right behind Honigford(+0.5 ) and Hayes(+0.5) doubling a DE. Schoon again gets wing TE in short yardage and his guy almost comes around to stop this but cannot.
O26	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Wheel	Bell	Inc
Orbit motion from Wilson, fake the flare. That sucks up the nickel into the flat; CB passes off a Johnson post into the safeties and then starts trying to backpedal to keep up with Bell. Bell thinks he’s got a TD over the top; McCarthy throws a back shoulder that Bell isn’t prepared for. Klatt sides with JJ and so do I. (CA, +1, 0, Bell route -, protection 2/2)
O26	2	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	Nickel even	6.5	Run	Split zone	Edwards	10
Split motion from Schoon but Hayes blocks the end instead of leaving him for Schoon; Schoon just dives inside of Hayes into a pile. This does induce the MLB to go after Schoon, allowing Olu(+1) to fire him out of the gap but M is a bit fortunate that IA shifts the LB to the two TE side and the other LB buries himself in the B gap. No one in the A gap and Edwards(+1) zips through just enough of a gap between Zinter(+0.5) and Keegan(+0.5). RPS +1.
O16	1	10	Ace tight	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Run	Yo-yo end-around	Bell	16
Schoon pulls across formation, following Keegan, who pulls like it’s power. This erases the LB level and when Schoon reverses course he’s got no one until the S. Olu(+1) manages a similar version of his Hawaii block here but less oomph-laden; Johnson(+1) gets the cornerback and lifts his hands at a key moment to prevent a holding call; Schoon(+1) gets the safety. RPS+2.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-0, 10 min 1st Q. Now that’s what I call music.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M21	1	10	Gun trips	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Pass	TE hitch	Schoonmaker	12
One of JJ’s more impressive throws of the day because this is not a big window; MLB chases Johnson and hits the ump, which slows him; he tilts his hips, though, and Schoonmaker sits down just behind him. JJ rifles this in. (CA, +1, protection 2/2)
M33	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Run	Edge counter	Corum	7
Counter play with just one puller; wing TE is playside. Heavily dependent on WR blocks; Wilson(+0.5) and Bell(+1) both shoot down off the edge to hit guys; Wilson gets a LB. Schoon(+1) nukes a LB; Jones(+0.5) gets enough of a DE. Keegan(-1) pulls through all this and ends up kicking a DB Bell already has instead of pulling through. Corum(+0.5) runs through a diving tackle attempt and grinds out some more.
M40	2	3	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	TE slant	Schoonmaker	5
Edwards in, flare motion presnap. IA sends a LB and tracks Edwards with the other guy; S replaces on Schoon. This is a binary choice between the flare and Schoonmaker’s route; the outside WRs are blocking. McCarthy makes the right read(RPO+) but leaves this ball significantly behind Schoonmaker, who bails JJ out a little. (MA, 2, +0, protection 1/1)
M45	1	10	Ace TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even SAM	7.5	Run	Inside zone	Corum	6
Bell in jet motion and adds himself to the blocking scheme, kicking the overhang CB to the field. Honigford(-1) driven into the backfield so Corum has to move outside. Schoon(+1) engages and stays attached on a tricky play; Hayes(+1) gets a chip on a DT and then extends to an aggressive LB. Corum’s threatening outside so both those guys fight outside, and then Corum(+1) puts the hammer down with a cut directly upfield. Olu has some trouble getting out to another LB but does get there; guy is able to run around and shed and tackle.
O49	2	4	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Run	Insert iso	Corum	4
Schoon pulls and then fires up in the A gap. Olu(+0.5) and Zinter(+0.5) double a DT, control him, and then Olu gets to a linebacker. Keegan(+0.5) mostly controls a DT and gets a little depth. Schoon(+0.5) shoots up in the gap and stalls out the MLB. Corum runs up their backs to convert.
O45	1	10	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	4-3 over	7	Pass	Yakety sack	N/A	-5
This is going to be a PA shot but Zinter steps on McCarthy as he gets out from under center and JJ falls. Looks like Schoonmaker will be open on a dig if the deeper stuff is covered, FWIW. (not charted)
50	2	15	Gun trips	1	1	3	30 nickel SAM	6	Pass	Dumpoff	Edwards	3
Iowa loops a LB three gaps inside and he comes free. Olu(-2) gets ripped down by a DT and is unable to come off on the LB at all even as Keegan picks up that DT fully. JJ has no choice but to check down immediately to a well-covered Edwards. Shot to Wilson on the table otherwise. (CA+, +0.5, 3, protection 0/2)
O47	3	12	Gun TTB	1	2	2	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	Scramble	McCarthy	3
Hayes(-2) gets beat around the corner at eight yards and McCarthy bugs out. He has no time to consider downfield and tries to run, unsuccessfully. (PR, 0, protection 0/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-0, 3 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M20	1	10	Pistol trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Run	Corum	Pin and pull	5
Iowa is so numbers averse in the box that M puts up their 100% run tip and nada. Wilson motions in and then back out; MLB is over the slot and not relevant. M blocks this to the S, with Schoon(+1) sealing in the playside DE despite serious resistance; Keegan(+0.5) gets a kick; Zinter(-1) trips over Keegan as he tries to get inside. Jones(-0.5) probably can’t do a ton to prevent the backside end from disengaging and flowing down the line but a little yank would help; Corum cuts up inside the Zinter quasi-block and the DE grabs him. RPS +1.
M25	2	5	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	5.5	Pass	Hitch	Bell	9
Corner blitz with S moving down over Schoon, so cover one here; DB on Bell just bails deep and the hitch is easy. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1, RPS +1)
M34	1	10	Gun TTB	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Pass	RB flat	Edwards	7
Edwards sprints to boundary flat; Iowa LB chases as best he can but can’t cut off the corner. Just slow v fast. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1, RPS +1)
M41	2	3	Ace twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	i8	Run	Inside zone	Edwards	5
Bell motions in to essentially become a third TE to the boundary. Iowa with one high and loads the box, M just runs it right ahead. Hard to tell if this is duo or IZ because the LBs fire and M has to get off hypothetically extended doubles. Keegan(+1) and Olu(+1) blow up the NT and Keegan gets to a LB. Honigford(+0.5) and Hayes(+0.5) get less movement but Hayes has to pop off on a LB immediately and they do get a yard of depth. Schoon(+0.5) gets a kick. Edwards runs up the back of the Honigford/Hayes double for a first down. He probably does better if he goes over a gap but eh.
M46	1	10	Pistol twins	1	2	2	4-3 over	6.5	Run	Insert iso	Edwards	12
Iowa loads up the boundary by shifting over, using an overhang CB, and having a LB move down to SAM spot. They’ve got two safeties back and two guys over the WRs to the field. M runs an insert to the weak side and the edge is blindingly wide open. Zinter(+1) tracks and escorts a penetrating DT out of the picture. Jones(+0.5) does enough to control a DE who is not hold the edge; Schoon gets rocked back by the MLB. Edwards(+1) sees the gaping backside and hits it. Kind of feel like he gives away some yards by gently arcing outside and getting chopped by the safety instead of either jittering past him vertically or just smashing upfield. RPS +1.
O42	1	10	Gun trips	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Pass	Post	Wilson	Inc
Excellent playcall as this catches quarters. Iowa S at Dantonio MSU depth. Wilson(route+) just runs by the nickel corner, eating up a seven-yard cushion and getting three yards of separation. McCarthy misses long by a yard. Miss short! (IN, -1, 0, protection 2/2, RPS +1)
O42	2	10	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	4-3 over SAM	7.5	Run	Zone stretch	Corum	7
Stretch to the weakside at the NT/5-tech gap in an over front. Olu(+1) doesn’t exactly reach the NT but dude buries himself upfield and Olu manages his decline. Iowa not boned because they fling both LBs in this gap. Zinter has no shot at his guy so he just yoinks him back for a blatant uncalled hold(refs+3); Keegan(+1) locks on and drives the other LB; Hayes(+0.5) and Loveland(+0.5) get a big kick on a DE with Loveland getting to a S trying to hold the edge. Corum cuts up in the gap and is this close to a big play but the backside DT manages to track him down. Jones should be cutting him, right? Any cut on this guy removes him and probable DT ensues but maybe that clipping call spooks them? RPS –1, without the hold this is probably a minimal gain.
O35	3	3	Gun TTE	1	2	2	Nickel over SAM	6	Run	Duo	Corum	3
This is a -1 box on third and three from the 35! M just doubles both DTs and grinds forward. Corum(-0.5) makes a questionable decision to jump forward like he’s at the goal line instead of keeping his feet and grinding; think this is ruck time if he doesn’t do this. Movement here on DTs is push level.
O32	4	IN	Gun 3TE tight	1	3	1	4-3 even	9	Run	Dive	Corum	2
They get it.
O30	1	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over SAM	7	Run	Insert iso	Edwards	2
Olu(+0.5) and Keegan(+1) double through NT with Keegan taking a charging LB and standing him up the ngetting a yard of depth. Hayes(+0.5) locks his guy up and stays with him as he tries to disengage, getting some depth. Edwards follows Schoon(+0.5) who zips through the hole and hits the other LB and then gets hewed down just before everyone can lurch forward. Zinter(-2) got shed immediately and backside DT is tackling.
O28	2	8	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 under	7	Pass	Out	Wilson	4
Nickel comes down to blitz presnap so he’s a wee little SAM backer. JJ sees this, it seems, and reasonably thinks he’s got man and the out to Wilson against a safety is money. He catches trap coverage and Wilson is blown up on the catch. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1)
O24	3	4	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 under	7	Run	Speed option	Corum	-1
I’m going to assume that if you call this the keep is live because otherwise this is like RPS -4 since your option game so far has been no keeps and you've got a ton of Iowa defenders in the area because you aligned your twins to the boundary. JJ(ZR-, -2) is never a threat to keep so linebacker just deletes Corum. A keep here is a first down to the S and maybe a TD if JJ can sell the pitch and slash inside.
Drive Notes: FG(44), 10-0, 8 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M22	1	10	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Flare screen	Corum	8
Flare motion from Corum presnap; M is 2 v 2 to field with a safety at 12. Bredeson(+1) able to wall off a slot linebacker and Johnson(+1) gets a long stalk block. Corum has to bend around the Bredeson block and the S is able to rally at about six yards; Corum(+0.5) grinds out another two. (CA, ,3, screen)
M30	2	2	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Run	Counter	Corum	3
Schoon(+1) buries a DE trying to slant inside of him. Keegan(-0.5) and Hayes double a DT but Keegan can’t really get off that block and falls so the backside LB is free. Zinter(+0.5) pulls around and thwaps the other LB. Kiiind of want Corum to bounce around this but he takes an immediate hit up the middle to convert.
M33	1	10	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Pass	Dumpoff	Corum	1
Man, Iowa safeties are really flat here. Bell and Johnson are both running fade routes and you’d hope McCarthy takes the shot here; he does not. Everything underneath is covered. (TA, –0.5, 3, protection 2/2)
M34	2	9	Ace TTB	1	1	3	4-3 over SAM	7	Run	Inside zone	Corum	11
Trip bunch for more gaps to field. You could argue this is insert iso with Anthony, the outside WR, acting as the lead blocker? Henning(+0.5) pops out to kick out the overhang LB and Anthony(-1) goes right to the safety. Hayes is trying to work through a double to get to the MLB but that’s very far fetched and AA getting to this guy gives Corum a crack. It’s not there so Corum(+3) finds a tiny gap to cut back into as Keegan(+0.5) and Hayes get just enough movement on a NT to provide a lane. Also NT gets confused and sheds to the hole. Zinter pretty much airballs on the other LB but Corum meets that guy while he’s flat footed and Zinter goes Bush push on him; Corum gets flipped around backwards and still grinds out a huge chunk of YAC.
M45	1	10	Gun trips	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Pass	Go	Anthony	29
Time starting to be a factor, snap at 1:19. Our one bonafide cover two hole shot of the day; AA runs past the cover two corner and JJ lays in a dime that goes a couple feet over the hand of the DB and into Anthony ‘s chest. (DO, +2, 3, protection 2/2)
O26	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	???	7	Run	Zone read keeper	McCarthy	3 (Pen -7)
Nickel guys blitzes off the edge and is not containing; pull(ZR+). McCarthy is in a ton of space and could either shoot up inside the hash and take on a safety for near first down yardage and maybe a big play… or he can navigate OOB. He chooses the latter, which I guess is defensible but M has 3 TOs here. Also this decision induces a tenuous hold from Clemons. -1.
O33	1	17	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Throwaway	N/A	Inc
57 seconds. Schoon(route-) falls down on his out, causing McCarthy to pump; Hayes(-1) has given up penetration and when McCarthy does fire he’s getting hit and the ball gets turfed. (PR, 0, protection ½)
O33	2	17	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Slant	Bell	Inc (Pen +4)
Quick slant to Bell that I either hate or think is great depending on whether this DB can make a tackle on the catch. We never find out because he grabs Bell and yanks him back a yard as the ball whizzes by. (CA, +0.5, 0, protection 1/1)
O29	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	7	Run	Insert iso	Corum	8
49 seconds. Zinter(+1) and Olu(+0.5) blow out a DT. Keegan(-0.5) gets stood up a bit and shed but not quite materially. Loveland(-1) pulls through and is the iso guy; he takes the contact and goes backwards, allowing a desperate diving tackle attempt on Corum. TO. RPS +1.
O21	2	2	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Run	Counter	Corum	6
43 seconds. Still six in the box here, this is nuts. Schoon(+0.5) less emphatic here but controls DE mostly. Playside double on DT drives him back but nobody can get off to get the backside LB. Zinter(+0.5) gets around to cut off the MLB and this time Corum(+0.5) does dart outside this, which gives the other LB farther to go before he can track Corum down. RPS +1.
O15	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Pass	Rollout out	Wilson	3
31 seconds. Rollout with three guys in the pattern, all of whom are covered. Wilson has a little bit of room; McCarthy unleashes a bolt of lightning that’s outside of Wilson’s frame and gets M a few, but a better throw here probably picks up 6 maybe as Wilson can fall forward. (MA, -0.5, 1, protection 1/1) TO.
O12	2	7	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Pass	TE hitch	Schoonmaker	Inc
This is just late. JJ sees what he wants to do with this early and starts rolling to it to make the throw shorter but that process means the ball is out later, and Schoon gets hit on the catch and cannot reel this in. (MA, push, 2, protection 1/1)
O12	3	7	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Exotic	7	Penalty	Delay of game	N/A	-5
oops
O17	3	12	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Pass	Corner	Wilson	Inc
This is there with Bell running a nothing route that stays at the LOS so the corner is not a threat. Ball needs to go to the pylon here but it’s inside and deep so the DB can significantly disrupt and Wilson is reduced to trying to stab it with one hand. (IN, -1, 1, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: FG(34), 13-0, EO1H
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M33	1	10	Pistol trips	1	2	2	Nickel under	6	Run	Split zone	Corum	4
Originally a tight formation, motion out the TEs, have Bredeson come back in. Iowa stunts the backside end and T; Bredeson(+1) picks up the stunt but Hayes(-1) loses his balance and can’t do anything with the DE. On the frontside Olu(-0.5) doesn’t really do enough with the NT, hits him but then kind of fends him off with an arm as he watches for the time to release to the backer; Keegan cannot do much with this and that DT gives ground and is able to tackle; Jones(+0.5) and Zinter(+0.5) got solid but easy blocks.
M37	2	6	Gun 2TE	1	2	2	4-3 over SAM	7	Run	Insert iso	Corum	5
Split look into attack on backside. Hayes(+0.5) walls off a DE; double on DT doesn’t really move him but it’s enough; Keegan(+0.5) stalemates the guy. Schoon(+0.5) whacks the MLB; Corum(+0.5) drives for two yards after contact.
M42	3	1	Gun TTB	1	2	2	4-3 over	8	Run	Dive	Corum	3
Stuffed up pretty good up the middle but there’s a crack in the line to the backside as Schoon(+1) runs through a guy Jones(+0.5) stood up, knocking him back and letting him go to the LB level. Corum(+0.5) finds the crease.
M45	1	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Drag	Schoonmaker	18
Iowa blitzes from LB depth, which would mess up a run but is too slow for a pass. Edwards’s cut on the MLB is weak but gets the job done. One high look from Iowa, though ambiguous, and McCarthy finds Schoon on a drag route that is open for a big chunk of YAC. Ball is a hair behind and bobbled. (CA, +0.5, 2, protection 2/2, RPS +1)
O37	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	30 nickel SAM	6	Pass	Triple option flare	Bell	10
ZR pull as DE crashes. Scrape exchange for Iowa puts MLB in a bunch of space but definitely tracking JJ. JJ then fires the flare screen to Bell, who was in jet motion. Wilson(+1) and Johnson(+1) get blocks and Bell(+1) spins through a tackle for a first down but this was dodgy. (CA, +0.5, 3, screen)
O27	1	10	Ace TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even	7.5	Run	Inside zone	Corum	3
DT alignment is a bit different for Iowa and that messes M up. DT shaded outside Keegan dives inside of him; if this guy was head up Olu(-1) is going to whack him and help out but instead he thinks he’s going direct to second level and Keegan(-1) gives up penetration and this DT is in the backfield erasing gaps. Corum(+0.5) going vertical so asking for the cut behind this is deep into fairy godmother territory. He has to bust outside, where he’s tracked by the MLB; after threatening bounce he cuts it up to cut his losses. RPS -1.
O24	2	7	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Pass	TE out	Schoonmaker	9
Flare motion from Edwards to field; MLB drags out there a bit so it’s deep safety and two on two to the boundary; Schoon easily beats an LB dropping out and this is an easy conversion. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1)
O15	1	10	Ace 3TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	8.5	Run	Inside zone	Corum	0
Ok, Iowa is finally desperate. Six guys on the LOS, no quarter given. Honigford(-2) has an MA here, I’m pretty sure, as a DE is between him and Jones. Jones whacks the guy pretty hard and moves to the second level but Honigford is firing at the LB outside of this, who may well shoot inside of Schoonmaker if let go but if that happens you live with it. Honigford lets a DE through and he tackles at the LOS. Zinter(+1) crumpled Olu’s(+0.5) guy to the ground before getting to a linebacker; Jones(+0.5) does get his LB so if the DE is handled Corum is going directly up the middle for a nice gain.
O15	2	10	Gun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 even SAM	7	Run	Insert iso	Corum	2
DT hops outside of Keegan(-2), who airballs. Schoon is blindsided by this guy and impacts him before moving on to the LB he needs to get, probably a wash; DE tackles corum at LOS, folks fall forward. Zinter(+1) did a very good job to get contact on a DL and get a charging LB on the other side. RPS -1.
O13	3	8	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Improv	Edwards	13
Inexplicable bust by Jones(-2), who just lets a DE go when he’s got no help. He must think Schoonmaker is staying in. MLB blitzes and M has Edwards on an angle route that is 95% TD, but the snap is low and the DE is free so McCarthy doesn’t have time to find even the quickest route in the universe. McCarthy beats the DE to the corner, finds Edwards(route+) in the back of the endzone, and hits him. Iowa DB gets a fingernail on the ball to make this a tougher catch. (DO+, +2, 2, protection 0/2, RPS +1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 20-0, 8 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M21	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Pass	Flare screen	Edwards	3
Same deal with earlier flare screen to Edwards: Iowa S at Dantonio MSU depth firing down here and this play doesn’t have much upside when that happens. Blocks here are fine, but Edwards has to deal with guys and etc. (CA, 3, screen), RPS –1.
M24	2	7	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	5.5	Pass	Sack	N/A	-20
Second consecutive drive Jones(-2) just lets a DE scot free to the QB. This time it’s not great. MLB blitzes, Iowa drops a DE directly into the hot read. JJ wants to throw it and wisely doesn’t. He comes off it to the Edwards flare and gets lit up by the DE, ball goes backwards, Edwards goes and gets it. (PR, 0, protection 0/2)
M4	3	27	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	7	Run	Counter	Corum	5
Give up and punt.
Drive Notes: Punt, 20-0, 3 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Ace 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 under	7	Run	Inside zone	Corum	2
All right: now things are getting bad. This is an under center run where M is -1 in the box, so no ability to read a guy off. Iowa shifts late to add another LB to the box. Hayes blocks a guy, comes off of him to get the LB, DE goes to RB. Hayes is just choosing unblocked guys at this point. Corum might get a few more by going frontside. RPS -2. This is not a blocking issue.
M27	2	8	Gun trips	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Hitch	Bell	7
Quick timing route with the ball out just as DB chucks slot WR; Bell grabs it and gets a couple YAC, but reach the ball out my dude. (CA, +0.5, 3, protection 1/1)
M34	3	1	Gun TTE	1	2	2	Goal line	9	Run	Dive	Corum	0
Pure goal line D from Iowa at the 34. No double available. Keegan and Olu seem to get enough push; Zinter(-1) and Hayes(-1) do not. Nowhere to go for Corum. RPS -1.
Drive Notes: Punt, 20-7, 13 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M5	1	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	Nickel even	6	Run	Split zone	Corum	2
S added to box late and that almost doesn’t matter but it does. Blocking is quite good here for situation where IA is hammering down. Keegan(+1) gets a guy shooting inside of him and escorts him out of the play. Hayes(+1) goes direct to a LB and stalls him out and moves him; Olu(+1) crunches another LB. Schoon has not shot at a guy lined up inside of him and slanting in; Bredeson does come in to pick him off. Corum(-1) bust this outside into the S, who needs to hold outside for JJ’s threat; if Corum takes this inside this is a decent gain.
M7	2	8	Gun twins	1	2	2	4-3 under	7.5	Run	Inside zone	Corum	1
Keegan(+1) again gets maniac NT and shoots him upfield; Corum(-1) trips over Keegan’s feet. Hayes(-0.5) doesn’t chip the DE but needs to get to the LB so understandable; Olu gets to the other LB. This is probably another decent chunk without the trip.
M8	3	7	Gun trips	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Out	Johnson	Inc
This looks like it slips out of JJ’s hand or something because it goes into the sideline in a way that is not attempting to complete an out, and Johnson isn’t running one anyway, this is supposed to be another hole shot. It’s nowhere near. (IN, -2, 0, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 20-7, 4 min 4th Q
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O28	1	10	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	4-3 even SAM	10	Run	Zone stretch	Corum	4
Reaction to that third and one; M expecting push right upfield and runs a stretch. Blocked pretty well but free hitter gets delivered. Zinter(+2) gets a full reach; Honigford(+1) gets a huge kickout. Keegan(+0.5) gets a second level block. Want Corum to cut this up more decisively than he does but he’s able to grind out some YAC so push.
O24	2	6	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	4-3 even	10	Run	Zone stretch	Corum	3
Stretch the other way; dodgy. Hayes(+1) gets an excellent chip and moves on; Keegan(-2) does not pick up that DE and also moves on. Don’t know how you are the back guy on a scoop and don’t execute the scoop. Olu gets a guy shooting straight upfield who’s inside of him and can’t do much, but he does enough, and then puts his hands up in the no hold gesture after he knows it. DE running inside out forces Corum(+1) to edge and he’s got it , but he slows down and goes down in the field of play; reasonable given circumstances.
O20	3	2	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	Goal line	10	Run	Zone stretch	Corum	20
Same deal as previous third and one from Iowa; M takes advantage of Iowa firing upfield by running another stretch. Zinter(+1) and Jones(+1) turn in DL; Schoon(+1) gets a massive kick. Corum(+2) dusts LB for six. RPS +1.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 27-7, 1 min 4th Q.

I feel… uncertain about this.

I haven't broken out one of these in a while, so let's group up some drives:

• TD drives of 75 and 67 yards.
• FG drives of 54 and 61 yards.
• 35 yard drive put behind the eight ball by the Zinter/JJ convergence.
• Three three-and-outs.
• One gravy 28-yard TD drive.

The first three-and-out was a great Iowa playcall that deleted Michigan's hot read and a missed assignment on the OL that got McCarthy blown up. Iowa gets a touchdown, it's 20-7, and Michigan gets the ball back up 20-7 with 14 minutes left. Corum gets stuffed on third and one, Iowa goes on Ishtar drive that comes up with no points, and then they're up 20-7 with 5 minutes left and dorf dorf pass punt is legitimate football.

That seems pretty good?

Yes. Michigan isn't going to turn a flamethrower on a really good defense just yet; this is about the best-case scenario, give or take some pratfalls and late-game game-theory turtling. Could Michigan have chucked an out to Ronnie Bell on that third and one? Yeah. Did it make sense to plow ahead and live with what happens? Also yeah.

Those drives were just so smooth, man.

This was partially a Hawkeye thing. I've charted Iowa games before but I don't recall this level of passivity from the Hawkeyes. With limited exceptions, Iowa sat in bend-but-don't-break until the score was 20-0. Michigan runs were a little weird to chart because I often hand out RPS+1 when you've got a hat for a hat for everyone in the box… but this wasn't exactly schemed, most of the time. Sometimes Michigan motion/outside threats even gave them situations where they were +1, without even involving the QB. Here the Iowa MLB gets held by the threat of Bell until Corum is burrowing into the sticks next to him:

Michigan didn't even have to threaten anything to get a functional +1 box on second and ten later in the drive. This corner at the top of the screen does nothing except hang out:

Michigan wastes a blocker here with Schoonmaker running into a wad of Michigan OL and it still goes to the safety. This mitigates our live "wow, OL" takes. When Iowa finally started ramping it up in the second half Michigan spat out a bunch of 0-2 yard runs.

Meanwhile when Iowa did take a chance on something other than two high safeties they usually paired it with parking lot coverage on the outside:

At no point did Iowa want to test out anyone's ability to run. And, yeah, you can see why:

Wilson ate up a seven-yard cushion there and was open by ~4 yards by the time the ball got there. Also good lord Ronnie Bell is wide open here because his guy does not have safety help and is therefore in the parking lot.

Is this a defensible approach?

Iowa's defense is beloved by all statistical measures and is consistently very good, so I guess so. I think it falls apart when you get to higher levels of football and the opposing quarterback isn't going to chuck a hitch into the ground periodically.

The theory here is that you can bleed them down the field and then stiffen in the redzone, which sort of worked out. Iowa forced field goals on two of the three drives that made the redzone, and the one they didn't saw the return of that nasty end-around from the Hawaii game:

Love that dagger at the end of a drive featuring a ton of split flow action, right after Michigan has crossed the Rubicon of the 20 and Iowa is about to ramp up the aggressiveness.

The problem with this approach is that once you're behind this approach is just bleeding away your time to respond. The Hawkeyes had all of three first-half drives, two of them three-and-outs.

Is it sort of concerning that when Iowa loaded up Michigan's ground game kind of fell flat?

Not really. Michigan responded to the third-and-one failure—which was just Iowa surging upfield after removing all possible doubles—by running three consecutive outside zones, the last of which was the Corum TD:

The juke there is unnecessary for the first down.

Also even when Iowa was loaded up and Michigan had an unsuccessful play, most of the time it was a mental error instead of guys getting beat up. Joel Honigford picks the wrong guy here, I'm pretty sure:

TE #84 third from top

If that error on the double doesn't happen the interior here is wide open, give or take what Honigford can do with that DE:

Also in bad events that probably don't mean a whole lot, Corum tripped on Zinter's legs on a second and eight carry that otherwise looks pretty solid.

There was one play I thought was just doomed schematically, when Michigan ran up in a three-wide under center and Iowa shifted to put seven in the box. Sometimes you can run away from –1 in the box on a zone stretch, but going directly upfield on an IZ just delivers a free hitter to your back.

Between these various things I would not get too worried the blocking is going to fall apart when opponents turn up the heat.

FWIW, Iowa was generally more aggressive with Edwards in the game. Both time he got a flare screen Iowa was in quarters and Edwards got a Dantonio-era MSU safety in his grill at the LOS:

If future opponents are also getting nosy about those flare screens that sounds like an opportunity to shoot Wilson down the seam.

Sounds like Michigan isn't remaining a static target?

They're not. Michigan added a larger dose of insert iso in this game than they had previously. Insert looks pretty similar to split zone for a step or two and when you get DL who have been getting gashed on conventional IZ they start getting very vertical. Here Zinter's guy just deletes himself because this is insert; if this was split zone he's getting work done:

RG #65 just below C

At that point Iowa's either holding the edge and Edwards is flashing past the one LB or they're not and the above happens. Even when Iowa DL didn't overpenetrate there wasn't a whole lot Iowa could do to deal with this. On this one Michigan's double deals with one DL; the playside LB just cannot possibly read iso on this and get over when he's already eaten so many second-level blocks on inside zone:

Michigan just ground out 5, 6, 7 yards over and over again. In other circumstances the defensive response to this will be ruthlessly exploited.

Also in new stuff, here's McCarthy getting a triple option of a sort:

Maybe the most important thing here is Michigan's comfort level with having McCarthy make a tricky throw (this is backwards) on the move. He's not Patrick Mahomes; if he's got a little bit of that in him he's going to be a bear to deal with on the edge.

Also, if you're wondering why Iowa would risk those backside cut blocks that they got nailed for clipping on, 1) that's not clipping, at all, and 2) here's an example of what the backside DT can do if you just run after him:

Iowa DT just below hash, also Michigan RT #53

That play is one cut block on that DT from getting to the safety. (And required a hilariously blatant hold, er.)

 

How about our noble warrior-poet?

McCarthy managed the dickens out of this game.

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

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

Methodically efficient. The wildness from the Maryland game was gone, along with every BR. There were no wild sojourns behind the LOS; the only time McCarthy left the pocket aside from designed rollouts was absolutely necessary and a touchdown:

McCarthy did not put a single ball in harms way, and occasionally flashed the ability to find and hit small windows. This throw to Schoonmaker is a read based on the alignment of the LB's hips. If they aren't flipped to follow Johnson this throw isn't on, but they are so it is:

And the solitary hole shot went a couple feet over the defensive back's outstretched arm:

I think there was the occasional missed opportunity but in a game where the logical thing was to shove the slider all the way to "terrified and cautious" the decision-making was largely excellent. You cannot be mad at the fumble play, IMO, as McCarthy first avoids a throw into coverage when Bell's slant is bracketed by a dropping DE:

WR #8 in slot to bottom

No way can he anticipate that slant isn't going to be open presnap and then when he comes off it he gets lit up.

Surely our heroic warrior-poet was not flawless?

McCarthy had a few blips, emphasis on few. A couple of his throws were a hair late. One of these was complete anyway as McCarthy held up Wilson a bit and didn't give the relevant corner a play on the ball…

…but the other was the Schoonmaker incompletion near the goal line:

This is the right play. It's past the sticks and it is there, but when McCarthy decides on it he tries to move to it to make the throw shorter when he should just be hammering it in. At this point ball needs to be coming out:

By the time it does come out the safety is driving on the ball:

This is the worst decision I have this week? Probably? The Controversy Of The Week is who was supposed to do what on the miscommunication on the first drive:

Bell thinks he's headed for the back pylon and will be open; McCarthy takes the thing that is obviously open right now. I think Bell's probably right that DeJean isn't going to be able to keep up since he just chucked another WR and is trying to get his feet right, but I don't really want McCarthy attempting to throw over an Iowa zone corner in a full backpedal even if this instance will probably work out.

The other negatives were the obvious ones: a couple of misses. In addition to the Wilson bomb, I think this is a touchdown if it's thrown to the front pylon:

Wilson has a lateral edge that will likely expand by a step if he's led outside.

Given the quality of defense Michigan just went against—and the aforementioned passivity, this was a tremendous performance. Except!

You're going to grouse about the runs out of bounds.

I am. As mentioned in the game column, McCarthy was oddly averse to maximizing his run opportunities:

Michigan's end-of-half drive had a setback on another open McCarthy keeper where this turned into a three-yard play out of bounds:

Both of those seem really unnatural. You're running right into defenders who have blockers. (I don't buy the argument that this is a good play because it's a two-minute drill. At this point Michigan has three timeouts and a minute on the clock at the Iowa 26, ie, forever. Get yards.)

Finally, I'm maybe the only Michigan fan who doesn't hate the speed option call on third and four. Well: either I think it's great or I hate it beyond belief. I like it if the pitch is actually read out and you get to option the LB. I don't if this is completely dead. It could be either because it doesn't really feel like McCarthy is reading the linebacker. His helmet wings never align on the guy. If he does actually read this guy with his hips tilted almost perpendicular, he cuts inside the dude and is easily converting:

When Michigan ran this against CSU, the DE went for McNamara—sort of—and barely recovered to prevent a huge play. But he's square to the QB here:

Iowa's LB is not square. If you run this again you have to run it assuming the keep is the play.

I get that you don't want to expose your quarterback to unnecessary hits but surely there's a middle ground between going full Sean Clifford and trying to avoid all contact. Michigan had three plays in this game where McCarthy was the (or a) designed ballcarrier, and IMO if you're going to run these a better way to keep your QB from getting hit too much is just run for as long as you can and then slide down headfirst. (Baseball slides should be banned.)

This is such a nit.

It's… well… I mean, ok. It's a nit. But against Penn State if McCarthy's running the ball I want him to run it.

Speaking of nits…

Do you mean charts?

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hayes	6.5	2.5	+4	Lots of +0.5s, like everyone.
Keegan	9.5	7	+2.5	Up and down.
Oluwatimi	7.5	1.5	+6	DTs didn't make tackle attempts, mostly.
Zinter	10	5	+5	Full reach block late.
Jones	5	0.5	+4.5	Run game not as right handed anymore.
Barnhart				DNP
El-Hadi				DNP
Anderson				DNP
Persi				DNP
All				DNP
Schoonmaker	11		+11	Inserts upped his blocking usage a bit. Not beat once.
Honigford	2	3	-1	Late game MA… probably.
Hibner				DNP
Bredeson	2		+2
Loveland	0.5	1	-0.5	No redshirt.
TOTAL	54	20.5	72%	Take it and run.
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
McCarthy		4	-4	Missed pull on speed option, ran OOB.
McNamara				DNP
Warren				DNP
Corum	10.5	2.5	+8	OFF GAME IT HAPPENS
Edwards	2.5		+2.5
Stokes				DNP
Gash				DNP
TOTAL	13	6.5	+6.5	Rabbling above.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Johnson	3	0	+3
Bell	2.5		+2.5
Henning	0.5		+0.5
Wilson	1.5	0	+1
Anthony			0
Clemons		1	-1	Hold, but I get it.
TOTAL	7.5	1	+6.5	Productive day on limited opps.
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Protection	28	9	76%	-4 Jones, –3 Hayes, –2 Olu. Would have been pretty great without the Jones MAs.
RPS	17	8	+9	Passive passive passive from Iowa.

So, first: Schoonmaker is still giving them the business:

Wing TE #86 to top of line

The only times his guy made a tackle in this game is when he stood up Jack Campbell and then Corum ran into him, driving him a couple yards downfield.

Larger trends: you can see the TE dropoff in the Bredeson/Honigford numbers a week after they were extremely prominent against Maryland. It is a great advantage to be able to jam it so far over to man-tank one weekend and then go almost exclusively three-wide the next. Also the pass protection was basically two inexplicable mental errors from Jones and otherwise very good.

The OL continues to methodically grind guys down. I had an absolute boatload of +0.5s this week because while Michigan didn't exactly blast Iowa DL off the line they did enough to control them and prevent them from making any impact. Iowa had two TFLs in this game, neither of them from the DL; no DL had more than two solo tackles. I don't know what that corresponds to on PFF but around here if the running back zips by you and the DL you're blocking at the LOS can't do anything about it you get a half point.

TERRIBLE GAME FOR CORUM

A mere +8. Appalling. Corum's officially reached Hutchinson status where talking about him is kind of boring because it's just "he's still really good." This game did not feature any long runs until the zip-zap-zoop on Michigan's last real offensive play…

…but that was just a platform upon which Corum could demonstrate his improved YAC ability. This is every bit the Mike Hart rugby scrum against Penn State:

The initial hit by a very good, veteran linebacker drives that guy backwards two yards and then when Zinter starts pushing Corum is able to keep his feet despite being turned 180 degrees, and then he slips off a safety to fall another two yards forward. That did not exist last year.

My favorite Corum event from the game was this run, which is a perfect one-cut run that sets up and maximizes his blocks:

Perfect human.

Pass protection was… I mean… except for…

Michigan's pass pro was very good except when Iowa guys were inexplicably running free. Trente Jones twice let a defensive end run right at McCarthy, which Michigan got away with once on the Edwards TD. The second time not so much:

RT #53 to top of line

Both of these incidents were extremely weird. There was almost nothing from Iowa to indicate that Jones was going to need to come off an actual bonafide DE, and on neither play did Michigan have a back in so it's not like he expected a protection slide. I don't get it.

The unfortunate trip that put Michigan behind the chains on their second drive allowed Iowa to get a little tricky and Oluwatimi didn't see the loop so that guy got through completely free:

Frequently this pass pro minus goes to "TEAM" but here it's real clear that four guys are blocking four DL and there's only one option to get this blocked up. Hayes did get beat straight up on the next play, forcing a scramble.

But that's about it. I'd take that as a win assuming Jones doesn't keep doing this stuff.

Receivers?

	THIS WEEK					THIS YEAR
Player	Uncb	Circus	Tough	Routine		Uncb	Circus	Tough	Routine
Johnson	1					2	0/2	1/2	6/6
Bell	2			3/3		3			13/15
Wilson		1/2	1/1	2/2		3	1/2	1/1	7/7
Anthony				1/1		2			3/3
Henning									1/1
Clemons
Walker
All						1	1/1		1/1
Schoonmaker			2/3	2/2		1		3/4	10/11
Honigford
Hibner
Bredeson				2/2					4/4
Loveland									2/2
Corum									2/2
Edwards			1/1	4/4				2/2	5/5
Stokes									1/2

Routes: Wilson +, Bell –, Schoonmaker –.