john donovan is bad

Formation Notes: Michigan responded to Washington bone look with this front I called 4-2 Eagle.

John Donovan likes his tight WRs and TEs off the line where they can crack. I think that opens you up to safety blitzes and the like, but what do I know—I have never coordinated anything. This play was a double safety blitz that delivered Hill to the RB at the handoff.

I don’t know what to call this, which came out on passing downs:

We went with “5-1 split” but that’s Ross between the nose in the frontside A-gap and Hutchinson in a 7-technique on the weakside.

OForm/Fronts. I gave up on the numbering for techs because it wasn’t enough detail for coaches and too much for the laymen so we’re back to “Even”/”Odd” stuff. But I’m adding personnel numbering to the offensive formations so I can track O-Pack. The first number is how many RBs and the second is how many TEs, and you subtract from 5 to get the # of WRs. So 22 personnel is 2RB, 2TE, 1WR, and 11 personnel is 1RB, 1TE, 3WR, etc. If not mentioned it’s standard: 11 for Shotgun, 12 for Ace, 21 for I-form. “Wk” or “St” refers to where the slot receiver is in 3-wide sets. “F” means the lone TE is off the line. “[ ]-Flex” means that box positions is split out wide, or if they all are I’ll just say “5-w.”

Substitution Notes: The starting line was Morris (WOLB), Hinton, Smith, Hutch. Still plenty of rotation on the line: Morris plays both T and OLB, Smith is the N or a T, Jenkins is the next T in, then Welschof, then Speight. Jeter the first one out. Whittley came in as a nose a few times and wears #3. Rod Moore was the dimeback and non-Dax Hill nickel, and got meaningful snaps. Junior Colson rotated possessions with Nikhai Hill-Green. Michigan debuted a pass-rushing front of Hutchinson, Morris, Upshaw, and Ojabo that I called “Racecar.”

On with the show.

[After THE JUMP: What did I say about John Donovan?]

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

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

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

Personnel: Click for big.

UPDATE: Here's the chart.

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

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

[AFTER THE JUMP: How it all went wrong]