Michigan Monday up at the Ozone

Submitted by StephenRKass on

Michigan Monday is up at the Ozone. LINK:  OSU Clearly Inferior to U of M.

Most of you are familiar, but this is a regular take on Michigan's weekly game from an Ohio State blogger. Here are a few snippets.

Overview:

This was a very predictable outcome, as proven by the fact that I had Michigan winning this game 34-7. Oregon State started a freshman quarterback and a soft defense, so this one wasn't too hard to figure out. Still, this was a confidence-building outing for the Wolverines and it was exactly what Jim Harbaugh and his players needed to see. The key will be to build off of it and carry it forward into their game against BYU in a couple of weeks.

When Michigan was on Offense:

Running game:

It was not a dynamic running game for the Wolverines, but it was certainly effective. Michigan rushed for 225 yards on 48 carries (4.7 avg), but the longest carry was just 19 yards. The Wolverines are one of just 13 teams in the nation who do not yet have a carry of at least 20 yards, and their six carries of 10+ yards is 106th in the nation.

OL:

Despite the lack of big hits, the running game was remarkably consistent. Only one carry by a running back was stopped in the backfield, which is a tremendous accomplishment for this offensive line.
This may have been the best game of right guard Ben Braden's career, which is long overdue.

Passing Game:

Quarterback Jake Rudock went 18-26 passing for 180 yards and an interception. The pick was a bad throw and very late. It wasn't a deep throw or anything like that, it was a routine pass, and that's just as concerning as the three interceptions he threw last week.
While the Wolverines have yet to find a 20-yard run, they did have four receptions of at least 20 yards, though only one of them came from a wide receiver. Tight ends Ian Bunting and A.J. Williams had receptions of 21 and 22 yards, respectively, and tailback De'Veon Smith had a 20-yard reception.

When Michigan was on Defense:

Chris Wormley:

Wormley was equally effective at crashing down the line of scrimmage as he was reversing field and chasing the ball toward the sideline. And when he wanted to, he would simply blast his way directly into the backfield because he didn't feel like dealing with all of the small talk. Wormley showed flashes at times last year, but right now he's not flashing at all — he's straight neon.

Jabrill Peppers:

While he continues to have struggles in coverage, redshirt freshman defensive back Jabrill Peppers is extremely fun to watch. He has incredible makeup speed and can cover a ton of ground, and when he gets to the ball somebody is going to pay for it. It may be sacrilegious for me to say this, but he reminds me of 3-time Ohio State All-American safety Mike Doss, but much faster.

What Does it All Mean:

It means that Michigan pounded a team that they should have pounded, and that's something that they were rarely capable of last season.
I have not bought into this running game, and I probably won't until it stops looking so difficult for them even against mediocre teams. A seven-yard run looks like a 20-yard run relative to what we have seen from this team over the last few years.
I am expecting a little bit larger margin of victory next week against UNLV, but the BYU game after that is very intriguing. I can see the Wolverines heading into the October 17 game against Michigan State at 5-1, and I can also see them at 3-3.
If they are at 5-1, however, then 6-1 wouldn't seem like such an outrageous thing to imagine, especially in the Big House.

There's a lot more at the link. Gerdeman usually gives a good read on Michigan, especially on a slow news day before Brian has the UFR up.

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Michigan Monday

Brandon_L

September 15th, 2015 at 6:36 AM ^

The comment that Michigan's run game is "not dynamic"? I would like to argue that Michigan and Ohio State run a lot of the same power running schemes, Ohio state spreads you out and Michigan tightens the box and plays a more physical brand of offense that focuses on controlling clock and wearing a defense down. His comment about TE having the only catches of over 20 yards as being a concern also shows his knowledge of what Harbaugh wants to do on offense. Come November a week after Ohio state faces a physical Sparty, they will have to face a physical Michigan on the road. By November I expect a 3 yards and a cloud of dust attack that grinds opponents into dust.

Joined: 11/23/2009

MGoPoints: 2467

DenverBuckeye

September 15th, 2015 at 8:55 AM ^

Even if the schemes were identical, the scheme alone doesn't make a run game dynamic. The OL needs to open holes and the RB needs to hit the hole with suddenness and quickly get to the second level. Zeke is fantastic at this and has the speed to turn a typical up the gut play into a 75 yard TD. Smith doesn't have that.

Joined: 02/10/2011

MGoPoints: 797

LSAClassOf2000

September 15th, 2015 at 6:52 AM ^

Speaking of the last few years, we have also seen this kind of output, only for it to disappear against the next good defense they face. For Michigan, that next good defense will be in a few weeks, so they will need to not only build up confidence, but consistency. You can't have one without the other, and the latter is much more important than the former.

It goes back to something myself and others mentioned in the thread where people were asked to predict Michigan-MSU off the MSU-Oregon game, and the theme was pretty clear - yuo have to be able to achieve a scaled version of what was done against Oregon State. You won't get the long runs, but you have to get them to go far enough that it opens up the defense and allows Rudock to do some work. On defense, similar deal - MSU will make some plays, but Michigan's defense should be able to snuff them out sooner than Oregon could. Bring the confidence from Saturday into UNLV, into BYU, and into the conference schedule and 5-1 is possible. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130610

MFanWM

September 15th, 2015 at 7:21 AM ^

Michigan has not shown that consistent improvement for years so I think that is  going to be Harbaugh's challenge.  Can they continue to improve and to BELIEVE that they can win.

Many times over the last few seasons it looks like the first mistake or two and the confidence is gone and the team responds like they have seen this before and their heads drop, etc.  I think that getting them to believe they can win is one of the big differences.  

I am hoping they can gain some confidence in the passing game and get a hot streak going into BYU and then maintain the two phases.  There have been a few streaks, but it still does not feel like Rudock and the receivers are in synch, which is what they need to be hitting on.  

Need Rudock in the high 60%-70% range consistently w/o the turnovers and they can be very effective if not explosive.

Joined: 09/19/2010

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Moonlight Graham

September 15th, 2015 at 8:47 AM ^

aberrations ("...we have also seen this kind of output, only for it to disappear"), but I would be curious to know exactly what games he was referring to and how recent. Notre Dame and The Game '13? Sure. The Game '14? Yes again, but nothing "disappeared" the next game because there was no next game. Or was he going back to some of the more dominant performances of '11 and '12? Disappearances against the next good defense goes all the way back through Hoke and Rich Rod, so I hope he isn't using that past as prelude to the Harbaugh era. This is a New Day. 

Joined: 09/12/2011

MGoPoints: 7559

StephenRKass

September 15th, 2015 at 6:57 AM ^

I loved his quip that Wormley showed flashes last year, but is now solid neon. If the DL can continue to rotate in fresh legs and get after the other team's OL, that bodes well.

Also find it fascinating that Gerdeman sees 5-1 as a real possibility. And if we do that, a possible win against Sparty, especially in the Big House. The thought of being 6 - 1 is mind-boggling after the last 7 years.

Joined: 07/15/2008

MGoPoints: 23004

Sideline

September 15th, 2015 at 9:38 AM ^

3-3 doesn't seem likely... 2-1 after UNLV... BYU should be a tough game but still a W... Maryland and NU should also lead to W's or a 1-1 at WORST. 4-2 going into Sparty seems the most realistic... With 5-1 really not being far off...

Joined: 12/09/2009

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Avant's Hands

September 15th, 2015 at 9:47 AM ^

Have you watched Maryland play? We will be favored against Maryland. PSU will be favored against Maryland. Hell, Rutgers might be favored against Maryland. All you have to do to beat Maryland is punt the damn ball out of bounds. They almost literally have no other way to produce points.

Joined: 10/22/2011

MGoPoints: 9271

MotownGoBlue

September 15th, 2015 at 8:13 AM ^

RG Ben Braden? I have a feeling this guy didn't watch the game, rather just scanned the boxscore and game summary, after viewing the highlights. "Dynamic" may not come to mind upon checking the stats but "punishing" does while witnessing our backs run, especially Smith. Even our TEs and WRs will lower their shoulders and deliver a message.

Joined: 08/09/2014

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FauxMo

September 15th, 2015 at 8:59 AM ^

I hate to give a Buckeye credit for anything (except when he gets my pizza order right and delivers it on-time - HEEYYYYYOOOOO), but this guy does an excellent analysis of the Michigan game each week. Really, he is about as unbiased and straightforward as you can be...

Joined: 06/17/2010

MGoPoints: 137529

M-Dog

September 15th, 2015 at 9:09 AM ^

He does a very good job.  If you followed him long enough, you can see how he constructs these articles:  He does a core of solid unbiased research and then later adds some snark comments to feed the Buckeye homer dweebs that he has to appeal to.  But that core of solid research is still there.
 
He keeps us honest against our own homer tendencies with factiods like:  The Wolverines are one of just 13 teams in the nation who do not yet have a carry of at least 20 yards, and their six carries of 10+ yards is 106th in the nation.  
 
It's not time to invoke the ghost of Bo just yet.
 

Joined: 07/06/2008

MGoPoints: 257398

lilpenny1316

September 15th, 2015 at 9:26 AM ^

We don't seem to use much misdirection, if any.  No reverses, fake handoffs to the WR in motion.  Even Sparty uses that from time to time.  If you put guys on defense in motion at the snap and get them out of position, you might be able to get some of those 20+ yard runs.  Maybe it will come as the games get more difficult, and I'm fine with working on the fundamentals during the softer side of our schedule.  But I do hope there's some variety in the run game by October 17th.

Joined: 11/19/2009

MGoPoints: 61787

EGD

September 15th, 2015 at 3:53 PM ^

Not sure if serious, but I was actually a little surprised by it because the game basically seemed well-in-hand at that point.  It was certainly the correct call, but usually when a team feels like it's up by enough points they just kick the PAT.

Joined: 09/16/2009

MGoPoints: 35199

Blue Durham

September 15th, 2015 at 4:10 PM ^

I know that the announcers (Speilman, I think) mentioned this, as did this Michigan Monday article, that Michigan doesn't have a run over 20 yards and we don't have that big play back. I am probably one of the few in that this doesn't bother me in the least. I really, really liked all of the yards after contact. Turning a lot of 3 yard gains to 6 or 7 yards is much more important than getting that one 45 yard gain every few games. One gets you one first down, the other gets you a lot of first downs. I kept thinking of the old Washington Redskins with John Riggins at RB. They were so punishing and just unstoppable.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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