kalen deboer
FORMATION NOTES: The UFR Glossary is here and you may want to brush up because DeBoer made me bring out rare formations like a true under-center Single-Wing, and weird notations like Z->Y means the WR and TE have switches spots. This is the Go Go setup (aka Single-Wing RB) that UNLV was running way back in September.
I put covered players in parentheses, but Washington also managed to get away with some illegal formations where nobody was covered, in which case I just put a question mark in there, e.g. Go Go Right (?).
"Hide H" was a trick where Rome Odunze hid out at tight end and got M to align in a mismatch. That's him trying not to be noticed as the H-back on the top of the formation (where all the Michigan players are pointing).
I'm using "Flex" for a TE split out wide for a 2x2 set. "Demi" means the TE isn't tight but neither is he in the slot (see #37 on the left). Also we were treated to a skycam version of this game, so I can provide a few canonical examples of terms we're often flinging around, and some new ones. Michigan in the above is in an G front, which means the nose is head up over the guard. Sometimes he was over the tackle, which I call Wide, where the DT is lined up over a tackle.
Letters or numbers (A, AA, 0) in the defensive front that means they've added LBs on the line of scrimmage in that alignment (A gap, both A gaps, head up on the center, etc). Another nuance I can capture with greater accuracy than usual is the difference between Kirby Smart's "Mint" front and a true 404 where the DL are heads up on the tackles—I think a lot of the Tites I charted this year were actually Mint. Michigan got creative too. This is "Crable":
I'll also try to note in the text when Michigan used sim pressures, since that's going to be relevant.
[After THE JUMP: Winning a natty.]
Faced with 2nd & 7 on the Washington 12 yard line, leading 20-13 midway through the fourth quarter, Michigan gave the ball to Blake Corum. With three TEs to the bottom of the formation, the Wolverines pulled AJ Barner across, along with left guard Trevor Keegan running to the right. Barner hit his block but Keegan wasn't quick enough to get to Washington LB Alphonzo Tuputala, who had a free run at Corum. The diminutive running back saw Tuputala to his outside and cutback inside. Tuputala whiffed on his tackle attempt and with no proper safety help behind him, Corum had a free run to the end zone. Once free, #2 sprinted into the end zone, snapping a long Michigan offensive drought and giving the Wolverines the 27-13 lead.
Washington got the football and drove into Michigan territory, but as they had all night, they encountered resistance. Pressure and good coverage slowed the Huskies down, eventually forcing star QB Michael Penix Jr. to attempt a 4th & 13. They got two cracks at it due to offsetting penalties on the first attempt, but the second ball was an interception, sailed into the arms of Mike Sainristil, who returned it 81 yards to the Washington 8 yard line. Two plays later Blake Corum punched it in again. 34-13 and this one was on ice. Bring down the confetti, pop the champagne.
For the twelfth time in history, the Michigan Wolverines Football team are national champions.
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[AFTER THE JUMP: the narrative]
And then there were two. The last two unbeaten teams in the 2023 college football season, #1 Michigan and #2 Washington, will do battle in Houston on Monday night with the national championship on the line. For Washington, the offense has carried them to this point, including a dazzling performance against Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Today we will be profiling that star-studded offense, looking at its strengths, tendencies, and any possible vulnerabilities:
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