SPONSOR NOTE: Upon Further Review is sponsored by HomeSure Lending and Matt Demorest. Rates are the lowest they've been in three years so it can't hurt to check whether you can save money on a refinance. Or you could buy a house in Ann Arbor! Good luck with that!

Matt's relocated the bus to Pioneer this year, BTW, and invites everyone to stop by and say hi. There's beer. I mean, obviously. Matt. Matt and beer: a good pairing.

FORMATION NOTES: Michigan played a plurality of its snaps in a 3-3-5. This was sometimes a stack…

…and sometimes a regular nickel or dime front with an even line that put Hutchinson at three-tech. The latter was almost always a passing down D.

This held up to ND's run game way better than you'd expect. It was 60-40 3-3-5 with a pretty even split between stack (or close enough) on standard downs and pass rush stuff ranging from standard even fronts to okie stuff.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: Hutchinson, Kemp, and Paye all got 70-80% of the snaps, with Mike Danna spotting the DEs frequently and Kemp getting pulled off the field for Jetpack snaps. Dwumfour was absent much of the day since there were a lot of passing downs and Michigan's 3-3-5 was effective; he got about 20 snaps. Uche was out there about two-thirds of the time.

Vilain, Speight, Upshaw, Hinton, and Jeter got in late.

At LB, omnipresent McGrone/Glasgow/Hudson save for some extreme passing downs where one of them would head to the sideline. Barrett/Anthony/Gil was your garbage time crew (for three snaps). Notable that Josh Ross dressed but did not play. He's only gotten in three games, so the possibility of a redshirt is there.

DBs the usual. Dax Hill got about a third of the snaps. Gemon Green and Sammy Faustin got in for the final drive.

[After THE JUMP: rain demolishes QB before Michigan can even get there]

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O21	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Paye	5
Glasgow drops out from a spot folded inside Paye and Hudson becomes the fourth guy on the line. TE kicks him. Paye(-1) gets passed up by the RT, who doesn’t read the Glasgow/Hudson switch and assumes the TE has Paye. Paye unblocked in the gap and ends up catching the back, shoulders turned, at LOS. Back spins through. Hudson(+0.5) gets off a block to clean up. RPS +1, stack machinations should have got a TFL.
O26	2	5	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Pass	4	Corner?	Uche	Inc
Come to this late; Uche(+1, pressure +1) send from the LB level, with Kemp stunting behind him. Uche drives through the center and forces a throw as Hutch(+0.5) and Glasgow(+0.5) are keeping the pocket closed. Back-foot hopeless chuck at no one, this is probably grounding but they never call this.
O26	3	5	Shotgun empty	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off two high	Pass	4	Slot fade	Thomas	18
Quick slot fade to the boundary. Thomas(+0.5, cover +1) in good position with his head around and gets got by a throw that turns Claypool all the way around and forces him to stab his foot down an inch inside the sideline. Golf clap.
O44	1	10	Ace 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 over	Press two high	Run	N/A	Pin and pull	Danna	-1
TE motions to Danna(+1), who sees the tackle pull and wins v the TE, stringing the play out; Thomas(+1) gets that puller and submarines him at the LOS; back has to stop and the blocker is gone. Metellus(+0.5) cleans up.
O43	2	11	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Split zone	McGrone	2
M twists their DTs and ND finds it. Dwumfor gets cut off by a G as he tries to flow down the line, inevitable. That is a 2 for 1 for the D, though. Danna(+0.5) sticks at the LOS against a double-ish and McGrone(+0.5) finds the gap and gets a stick with help from Danna. RPS +1; twist left no one for McGrone.
O45	3	9	Shotgun trips	Jetpack S	Dime over	Press two high	Pass	4	Drag screen	D Hill	Inc
This isn’t just a drag, it’s one of those drags behind the LOS where you can block downfield with impunity. This is fine as far as it goes but Dax(+1, cover +1) is in a zone so he just goes around the slot guy blocking Hudson and lights him up. RPS +1.
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 12 min 1st Q. Roughing puts D back on the field immediately.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
M40	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Yakety snap	N/A	-4
M00N tribute for ND as their snap hits the TE in motion.
M44	2	14	Shotgun trips TE	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press two high	Penalty	N/A	False start	N/A	-5
oops
M49	2	19	Shotgun 4-wide	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press two high	Pass	4	Flare screen	McGrone	4
So You’ve Decided To Edge Cam McGrone. This should work for ND as McGrone(+1, tackling +1) is shaded outside the RB and loses a step in reaction time, but then he just makes it up. Dax(+0.5) up to force it back at the numbers so it counts.
M45	3	14	Shotgun empty	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press two high	Pass	4	Circle	Uche	Inc
Pocket mostly holds but Uche(+1) again drives a guy into the QB where it’s uncomfortable for Book and he ends up drifting backwards and throwing off his back foot. Danna(+0.5, pressure +1) comes around late. Book chucks it, mostly away. Dax(+0.5, cover +1) all over a circle route.
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 11 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O20	1	10	Ace twins twin TE	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Inside zone	Hutchinson	3
Run up the gut at the 3-3-5, three yards. RB probably misses a cut here for a few more. Paye(+0.5) stands up the LT, space constricted. Kemp gets a play-long double and gives ground. Push; he makes this tackle as the RB runs into him but shouldn’t. Hutch(+1) wins against the TE and shoots down the line to help force this; still think if this guy tests him he’s able to get 4 or so.
O23	2	7	Ace twin TE	4-2-5	4-3 even	Press two high	Run	N/A	Counter	Dwumfour	2
ND shuttles a TE to an H-back role over the guard and then runs power the other way. Dwumfour(+1) shoots the RG back and picks off the T, mostly. TE inserts backside and this does hold the LB level but with the delayed pull diving at Paye(+0.5) ineffectually must spill. Gray(+0.5) does a good job to fall off his guy on a block and get out to shut this down.
O25	3	5	Shotgun twins twin TE	3-3-5	Exotic	Press two high	Pass	4	Drag	Glasgow	5
M shows a blitz from the field and then backs both guys off, sending McGrone. ND is wise and picks this up. Hutch(+0.5) is coming through for a pressure push on a four man rush. Drag gets complete and Glasgow(+0.5, tackling +1) juuust about forces a fourth down here with a stick as soon as this guy catches the ball; not quite.
O30	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press two high	Run	N/A	Bash	Hawkins	0
This is supposed to get outside super quick against a cover 1 safety that is being delayed by some other concerns. This is cover 2. Hudson(+1) dodges a crack block to string this out to Hawkins(+1, tackling +1), who shoots down and ends this play. RPS +2, what do you think M is running?
O30	2	10	Shotgun twins twin TE	4-2-5	4-3 over SAM	Press two high	Run	N/A	Jet sweep	Hudson	1
Hudson(+1) flares out and wins outside against a TE and then takes on a second block. Hawkins(+0.5) able to shed a kickout block; McGrone(+1) doesn’t get a block but does play this really well, flowing out under control until it’s time to go and then exploding upfield ot stick the back for 0 YAC. Hutch(+0.5) flows out to help tackle.
O31	3	9	Shotgun empty	Jetpack S	Dime even	Off two high	Pass	4	Improv	Gray	Inc
Book has happy feet and can’t stick in the pocket even though it’s mostly fine. He’s able to evade pressure and get to the sideline, where he gets way too many M guys running at him since he tucks the ball. Gray(-2, cover -2) is the deepest and leaves Claypool wide open; Uche(+1) is able to come off a block and hit from behind on the throw, which helps leave it short. Yikes.
Drive Notes: Punt, 3-0, 2 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Run	N/A	Zone stretch	McGrone	2
M moves late, flipping Metellus and Glasgow; ND picks it up. This feels bad man for a moment because it’s a 3 man line that tried something sneaky and got caught. McGrone(+1) then barrels into an OL, threatening to come through two guys. A second OL has to stop for him. Metellus(+0.5) narrows down the gap and Paye(+1) is able to use the McGrone chaos to drive from the inside; he gets an arm tackle in that stalls out the back; Glasgow(+0.5) finishes. Also Paye helped stall out the guy McGrone plastered.
O27	2	8	Ace trips tight bunch	4-2-5	4-3 over	Press one high	Pass	6	Throwaway	Glasgow	Inc
PA, and Michigan bites on it hard, like you’d think. ND WR appears to bust, thinking it’s a run himself and not running the route that Book wants him to; this gives Glasgow(+1, pressure +1) time to do one of his oh this is PA jets upfield to force a throwaway. Looked a little dangerous downfield, but can’t really tell,
O27	3	8	Shotgun empty	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Pass	4	Tunnel screen	Hutchinson	Inc
Hutchinson(+1, pressure +1) bats it down. Tough to get it over that guy. Hard to tell what would have happened if complete, M has a number of guys in the area.
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-0, 13 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O23	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Paye	4
Paye(-0.5) gets moved by a double. He doesn't get crushed but it’s a clear L. McGrone(+0.5) able to come under the kickout block since Metellus came off the edge and is QB/force (dot com). He tackles from the side; 4.
O27	2	6	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	Nickel even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Power GT	Uche	0
Uche(+2) a standup DE who gets two guys coming to him. He reads what’s happening and slides down, then bursts into the first OL, shocking him back and stalling him. Second puller gets held up on this, Uche gives no ground, play spills to McGrone(+1), and he makes no mistake (tackling +1)
O27	3	6	Shotgun trips tight bunch	Jetpack S	Okie	Press three high	Pass	4	Scramble	McGrone	0
Pocket is excellent(-2) and Book just books it out of there, ND UFR guy is fuming. McGrone(+0.5) and Danna(+0.5) converge.
Drive Notes: Punt, 17-0, 7 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
M42	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	Nickel even	Press one high	Pass	5	Wheel	Hudson	5
Hudson(+1, pressure +3) gets a free run up the gut on a blitz but this means Glasgow is in man coverage on a back who’s flanked him by three yards and has to get around two guys running slants. Book has to fade backwards and throws a duck that gets there, barely; Glasgow can only watch on the catch. RPS push, I guess.
M37	2	5	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 even SAM	Press one high	Run	N/A	Inside zone	Kemp	2
Kemp(+1) wins, extends away from the DT, and sheds to tackle. Almost +2 but back gets under Kemp and is able to burrow for significant YAC. Hudson came down to help tackle as no one is respecting a Book run right now.
M35	3	3	Shotgun trips tight bunch	4-2-5	Nickel over	Press one high	Pass	4	PA fade	Gray	23 (Pen offset)
PA, rollout with the TE in the flat looking to block and get the QB the edge. There is one guy in a route, Claypool, and Gray(-1, cover -1) is locked on him M2M. He doesn’t bite on Claypool’s lackadaisical release but does get in trail position and never gets his head around on a throw he’d have a play on; Claypool makes a circus catch and Gray picks up a PI. It comes back because an OL was five yards downfield on a not-RPO. Oof.
M35	3	3	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel over	Press one high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Hutchinson	-1
No chance as Dwumfour(+1) and Hutch(+2) reset the LOS two yards in the backfield; Kemp(+0.5) is not far off. Hutch comes off to tackle.
M36	4	4	Shotgun empty	3-3-5	Dime even	Press one high	Pass	5	RB flat	Glasgow	Inc
This has to be an intended pick play but nobody actually gets out to pick Glasgow(+1, cover +1) and he’s able to make up the distance and break up this pass; Book threw a duck to help significantly.
Drive Notes: Turnover on downs, 17-0, 4 min 2nd Q. Next drive starts with a minute on the clock.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O12	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel over	Press two high	Pass	4	Scramble	Kemp	5
Another fine pocket (pressure -2) Book exits when he’s got a dude wide open on a drag in front of his face. Kemp(+0.5) is able to come off his guy and get a tackle in to get this short of the sticks and keep the clock ticking.
O17	2	5	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	NIckel over	Press two high	Pass	4	Fade	Gray	Inc
Ambivalent about this; Gray in decent position and gets his head around and then can’t stop for this in time and has to turn the other way; back shoulder is tough to defend but this looks like a straight drop. (-0.5, cover push)
O17	3	5	Shotgun 3-wide	Jetpack S	Nickel even	Press two high	Pass	4	Tunnel screen	N/A	Inc
Airmailed. Uche(+0.5) and Hutch(+0.5) converging on this and it looks dead.
Drive Notes: Punt, 17-0, 1 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O32	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press two high	Pass	4	Sack	Paye	-2
Coverage(+2) sack as Book has a ton of time(pressure -2). Paye(+0.5) able to drive his guy and accidentally sack Book as he tries to scramble out; three guys converging here so nothing major happening if this sack doesn’t happen. Book did have a corner route but Hawkins is closing decently on it.
O30	2	12	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Pass	4	Drag	N/A	Inc
Drag just dropped. Likely that Metellus pops this shortly after the catch to set up third and medium. Pressure -1; no one getting through on relatively quick throw.
O30	3	12	Shotgun 4-wide	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press two high	Pass	4	Fade	L Hill	Inc
Hill(+2, cover +2) with the high point PBU. He was able to downshift more because he had Hawkins(+0.5) over the top but the difference between this and the Gray plays is pretty notable.
Drive Notes: Punt, 17-0, 12 min 3rd Q. Rain over about now.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O41	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	4-3 even	Press one high	Pass	5	Rollout cross	Metellus	Inc
Book rolls away from his throwing arm and starts backpedaling, throwing a crossing route that Metellus(+2, cover +2) jumps and nearly intercepts. McGrone(+0.5) closed fast and may have helped the bad decision.
O41	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 over SAM	Press one high	Run	N/A	Power ish	McGrone	2
Backside G pulls but no second puller. Crack block on Glasgow(+1) is attempted; Glasgow flies upfield of it and deletes the puller, who was never getting to McGrone(+1) anyway. Gray in position to back up if necessary.
O43	3	8	Shotgun trips tight bunch	Jetpack S	Nickel over	Press three high	Pass	4	Improv	Paye	Inc
Paye(+2, pressure +2) flat out knocks the LG over and surges up in the pocket. Book tries to bug out; Hutch(+1) contains him. Book chucks a pass at a guy behind the LOS that takes forever to get there because he’s 20 yards behind the LOS. Dropped. McGrone(+0.5) there to tackle on catch anyway.
Drive Notes: Punt, 17-0, 10 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O43	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	4-2-5	Nickel over	Press two high	Pass	5	Scramble	Glasgow	0
I’m getting annoyed at Book now. This is a fine pocket, with McGrone(+0.5) pushing it closed so he’ll have to do something soon; he bails. M covers(+2) a read and then nothing downfield seems good; Glasgow(+0.5) shuts him down after he decides to scramble.
O43	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press one high	Pass	5	Improv	L Hill	Inc
Book doesn’t throw a quick hitch, WR stops and then moves to sideline on the rollout, Book throws. Hill(+2, cover +2) jumps this and nearly gets a pick six. He drops it, bah.
O43	3	10	Shotgun trips TE	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press two high	Pass	4	TE fade	Hawkins	INT (Pen +15)
Pressure not great but OK with Uche coming through as Book rolls out of the pocket a bit; he chucks it at a double-covered TE. Hawkins(+3, cover +3) over the top of this and jumps the route for a pick; world’s worst PI call on Hudson(refs -4) overturns it.
M42	1	10	Shotgun trips	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press two high	Run	N/A	Zone stretch	Dwumfour	1
Dwumfour(+1) gets reached but gets three yards in the backfield so is that being reached? Eh. RB doesn’t think so and cuts behind this into an unblocked Glasgow(+1), who sticks this guy in a bunch of space.
M41	2	9	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Pass	5	Scramble	Glasgow	9
Refs(-1) miss a clear hold on Hudson as he tries to come back once Book breaks forth in the pocket because Hutch(+1, pressure +1) is driving an OL into his lap. Dude has his hand gripping Hudson’s number on the back of his jersey, cumong. Glasgow(-1, tackling -1) is in a spy zone and should have this but goes down on a shimmy from Book.
M32	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	4-3 over	Press one high	Pass	5	Fade	Thomas	24
Thomas(+0.5, cover +1) getting his second FR Jourdan moment. He’s in perfect position, gets his head around, sees that this pass is perfect, and then tries to whip back around the the WR in case he can rake it out. Nope. Uche(+2, pressure +2) around the corner in a flash and will sack on anything but a quick throw.
M8	1	G	Shotgun trips	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press one high	Pass	4	Scramble	Danna	1
Danna(+0.5) able to come around the corner enough to spook Book, which doesn’t take much right now, and coverage(+1) is good for a beat. Book tries to get a scramble going and gets one.
M7	2	G	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	?	Press zero	Pass	5	TE throwback	?	7
Could be Glasgow, could be McGrone, could be Hudson. I think it’s probably Hudson since this looks like man but this is a TE who blocks down on what looks like a pin and pull, that’s RPS. RPS -2.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 17-7, 5 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Shotgun twins twin TE	4-2-5	4-3 over	Press two high	Pass	4	Y cross	L Hill	Inc
PA, Book has forever(pressure -3). He should hit Claypool between Hawkins and Hill(cover -2) but it goes right between the hands of ND’s only WR.
O25	2	10	Shtogun twins twinTE	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Pass	5	Throwaway	N/A	Inc
Happy feet, Book tosses it into the sideline. Kemp(+1, pressure +1) does mostly discard a guard to threaten up the middle. Book probably could have stuck in the pocket. Cover +1, throw not immediately there.
O25	3	10	Shotgun 4-wide	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press two high	Penalty	N/A	False start	N/A	-5
oops
O20	3	15	Shotgun empty	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press one high	Pass	4	Tunnel screen	Hutchinson	3
Hutch(+1) reads this and drifts out on it; he’s actually in front of the OL trying to release and they both block him, more or less, and WR cuts back into everyone. Dax(+1, tackling +1) does dodge the second guy and get a stick in.
Drive Notes: Punt, 24-7, 2 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O20	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Pin and pull	Paye	-1
OT to playside goes with the guy coming off the edge; so does OG. That’s that for any major yardage; this turns into a TFL as Paye(+1) fires upfield and bumps the third puller off his line, allowing Glasgow(+0.5) to show up and hit the guy; not quite a stick but enough.
O19	2	11	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	5-2 line slide	Press two high	Pass	4	RB wheel	Thomas	6
Cover two; Book quickly checks down to a wheel route that gets some yards because it’s executed quickly; Thomas(+0.5, cover +1) sticks on the catch.
O25	3	5	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	Exotic	Press two high	Pass	4	Improv	Kemo	Inc
Kemp(+1, pressure +1) able to move through a couple gaps and swim past an OL to get pressure up the middle; Book flushes. Danna(-0.5) is containing and then he gets too vertical and goes over; edge. Opportunity to convert here but throw is low and away and not brought in.
Drive Notes: Punt, 24-7, 13 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Pass	5	Sack	Paye	-12
Motion presnap, blitz with Hudson wrapping around to be the outside guy while Paye(+1) and McGrone(+1) stunt on the interior. Paye loops behind McGrone and draws a blocker; he fires that guy back. McGrone pressed the gap between this guy and the OL right outside of him so when Paye wedges a gap open he’s able to split the two guys. QB flushes and falls.
O13	2	22	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press two high	Run	N/A	QB draw	McGrone	1
Paye(+1) engages with an OL; drives him back, reducing space for QB to maneuver in. McGrone(+2) blows through the RB on a blitz and tackles in the backfield; some YAC but this is long yardage.
O14	3	21	Shotgun trips	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Pass	4	Scramble	Hutchinson	10 (Pen -7)
Pretty decent pocket; backup QB leaves; Paye(+0.5) is coming around the outside, I guess, but guy could stand and deliver if he thought someone was open(cover +1). Hutch(+0.5) containing, can’t because he gets held, hooray for calling this. M takes it because 14 x 2 is harder than 11 x 1.
O7	3	28	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5	Okie	Press two high	Pass	4	QB draw	N/A	9
Give up and punt.
Drive Notes: Punt, 31-7, 10 min 4th Q. M scores, 38-7 with 8 minutes left on next drive, backups come in, in interesting play clip mode.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Vilain	5
Vilain(+1) dives inside here and hammers the TE back on contact; that spills the play to Hudson, who finishes. Not that well, but I’m just getting season preview clips now, people.
O46	2	1	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Hinton	0
Hinton(+1) looks like he’s done when he gives a ton of ground on a chip but is able to stabilize, anchor, and then hit the guy for no gain as the rest of the play whittles this down. Henry-ish.

/deep, relaxing sigh

was that post-coital

ain't tellin'

This was a baby seal clubbing almost unprecedented in Michigan's modern history. First some caveats. Whenever you hold an opponent to barely 100 yards there's something wrong with them that has nothing to do with you, whether it's playing a fifth-string quarterback or being Rutgers. Here the weather had a hand but also hoooooly crap Ian Book was horrific.

Some guy in the comments of the defensive UFR was mad that Shea Patterson's 12-pass, left-handed-backwards-throw, fumble, near-INT day wasn't soft-pedaled and asked WELL DID IAN BOOK HAVE A 5% DSR?! I didn't grade him, buddy, but yes. Yes he did. The elfin Book was never likely to power through the rain like it wasn't there, but even the relatively mild pressure sent his way for most of this game was enough to send him into a tailspin of happy feet begetting even happier feet.

And then the one time Michigan was so far away that he was able to sit in a rain-free pocket and uncork a deep chunk at an open receiver, Chase Claypool let it go through his hands.

"Life? Don't talk to me about life." –Marvin the paranoid Note Dame fan

So what with the rain and the… that, we should be grading on a curve.

This sounds like someone still scarred by the experience of last year's OSU game.

WELL

…which fair enough

I just don't want to go into a game all hyped up about Michigan's SP+ ranking only for it to be eviscerated. I think there's something to the idea that there is a certain level of offense that just dies when confronted with Don Brown and that things can get wobbly when Michigan hits higher level opponents. Not must get wobbly, but there's been a certain, uh, lack of linearity in Michigan's performances over the past couple years.

But anyway Michigan's D is #2 in SP+ and I don't think it's the #2 D in the real world.

Also, I mean… that was their plan?

What do you mean by that?

Notre Dame seemed to come into the game with a plan similar to the one they had last year, when they went with a bunch of plays that are great against man coverage and not so great against anything else, got a quick 17 points with them and some lucky Brandon Wimbush bombs, and then stopped scoring as soon as Michigan went to a lot of two-high zone.

ND's first third down conversion was a slot fade against Thomas. Their second wasn't just a drag route, it was one of those drag screens where the drag route is behind the LOS so the guys downfield can outright block without getting an OPI:

ND WR breaking in from top

So not only is this a bad idea against zone it's the only option. Later ND ran bash against a cover two safety, which looked very dumb when that guy came up and tackled at the LOS:

There's nothing to hold either safety, either. Bash is usually coupled with action the other way for the same reason Michigan ran a fake flare screen on the Charbonnet chunk. Here ND just runs to the sideline with no blockers, no misdirection, and a safety on the field hash.

Such a downer.

I rather enjoy Brian Kelly soiling himself in a driving rainstorm. Also, Michigan made the stack work.

Dios mio, man.

Yeah.

Michigan's defense has gotten substantially trickier this year no matter what package is on the field and that probably helped the stack out. Previous editions of stack featured Noah Furbush as a Devin Bush snowplow or Uche as a guy who is obviously not dropping into coverage. They were predictable, and a predictable stack is just a bunch of light guys getting blocked.

This is no longer the case, with Michigan much more willing to drop Uche since they're much more willing to run zone. So guys come from all over and ND made some ID errors. Including the first snap of the game. Hudson creeps down late with Glasgow; Glasgow backs out to the slot; either the ND TE or RT blows an ID because Paye is unblocked:

DE #19 to bottom

That five yard play because Paye overran a tackle is one of ND's better runs of the night.

But also ND just couldn't do anything with the stack even when they got nothing weird. This is a run up the gut from a twin TE formation and meh:

I thought the RB missed a cut behind the guy blocking Kemp but even so that's 4 or 5 yards, maybe.

It's bad news when you run Power GT—the thing Wisconsin murdered Michigan with—at Josh Uche's face and Uche whips up on both pullers:

LB #6 to bottom of LOS

And then he spills it to McGrone and we're quickly discovering that spilling a play to McGrone is a very good idea. So that's nice.

Finally.

Here's the chart, which is astounding in its lack of negatives. I charted a total of –5.5 individual items for the whole team. There were 10 pressure negatives and a few cover minuses, which do go back to the players involved. But still!

Defensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Paye	8	1.5	6.5	Mostly on the ground again, one knock-over rush.
Dwumfour	3		3	Mucked up a couple runs.
Kemp	4		4	Solid.
Hutchinson	9.5		9.5	Screen killer.
Danna	2.5	0.5	2	Nice string-out early.
Uche	6.5		6.5	Took on some blockers well.
Jeter				DNC
Mason				Only offense
Hinton	1		1	Better against double.
Vilain	1		1	Nice to see him get some snaps.
TOTAL	35.5	2	+33.5	Pressure meh, but –2! For everyone!
Linebacker
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hudson	3.5		3.5	Can't flank him.
Ross				DNP
Glasgow	6.5	1	5.5	PBU on fourth down
Gil				DNC
Anthony				DNC
McGrone	11		11	So You've Decided To Edge Cam McGrone
Barrett				DNC
TOTAL	21	1	+20	One LB minus!
Secondary
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Metellus	3		3	Near INT.
Hawkins	5		5	Robbed.
Lavert Hill	4		4	Two PBUs, no completions suffered.
Thomas	2.5		2.5	Got Moss'd a couple times but whatever.
Gray	0.5	3.5	-3	Completions ceded were worse coverage.
Dax Hill	2.5		2.5	Couple of sticks.
Reynolds				DNC
TOTAL	17.5	3.5	+14	Book incompetence may have prevented some other issues.
Metrics
Pressure	13	10	+3	Trend against good OTs is that M pressure is suboptimal.
Coverage	21	5	+16	ND had no one but Claypool and he wasn't really open, per se, just tall.
Tackling	5	1	+4	McGrone all right.
RPS	5	2	+3	Ok.

I chalked the throwback TD to RPS since I think it's unreasonable to expect Hudson (probably) in man coverage to watch the TE engage in a block on a rollout to his side of the field and not go contain the QB. YMMV. Everything else… nothing to complain about.

Okay but why does Gray get hit with minuses for Claypool completions and Thomas doesn't?

I generally throw up my hands when a very well covered receiver gets a pinpoint throw. If the offense executes perfectly, you lose. Catches against Thomas were of this variety. ND's conversion on their first drive saw Thomas in perfect position with his head around and then the throw is high, away, and just accurate enough for Claypool to stab a foot in a couple inches from the sideline:

By contrast this completion on Gray is three yards further inside and well within an area where you'd like your CB to get a play on the ball or at least be able to harass the catch. Gray doesn't really and gets fortunate that Claypool drops this unmolested:

Thomas is getting a PBU there if he plays it like he did on the one where he gives up the catch.

Ambry got hit again later in the game on a similar play where I mean… okay. You win.

CB #1 to bottom

I'm not negging a guy for that even if we tend to default to results around here.

Gray's other minus came on a play where he picked up a PI and Claypool still made the catch; he neither gets his head around or plays shoryuken on the ball.

CB #31

There are a lot of throws Thomas defends; Gray got a couple that were defensible and didn't get defensed. That why Thomas got some modest positives an Gray got negatives.

In a similar boat, Lavert Hill's one Claypool target:

CB #24 to top

He has an advantage there with Hawkins coming over the top… there's still a big gap between Hill and Thomas vs Gray when it comes to turning your positioning into pass defense.

 

One other note on Thomas: he added another instance of excellent run defense to his season on an early pin and pull. He's able to fall off this WR because he's in zone, but he picks the right moment and the right approach against the pulling OL, submarining him in the backfield to force a bounce into a TFL.

CB #1 to top

Thomas has been notably impossible to stalk block on WR screens. To go from "has colitis" to "also an excellent run defender" is the most unexpectedly positive storyline of the season.

What about "our third string MLB is Devin Bush 2.0"?

A strong contender. We gave McGrone his FFFF star this week after another outing with a bunch of positives and no negatives for Young Linebacker disease or anything else. We also got a canonical So You've Decided To Edge Cam McGrone play for next year's season preview. This is Jafar Armstrong, the guy ND thought was going to be their RB and a guy who got ranked many places as a slot WR. By the time both of these guys break for the sideline and run flat out McGrone is two steps behind laterally. Then it's fine:

LB #44

If he leaves Young Linebacker Disease behind he'll be just as good as Bush, but we haven't seen a team get to him on the second level in a bit; he's had no one to go upfield of. Unfettered he's right there.

Is the lack of Dwumfour an indicator they don't trust him?

Probably not. We've been yelling about Uche getting time all year and if he's going to play the run like he did above that's a guy you have to put out there. When the stack's working and 30% of your snaps are in the zero-DT jetpack formation there's not a whole lot of room for DT #2. One of our questions earlier in the season was "can Michigan mitigate their DT issues by giving them fewer snaps," and the answer is yes.

Dwumfour isn't demanding more snaps with his play but neither is he getting blasted like last year. He had a nice play in this game when he shot back an ND OL to pick off a puller:

DT #50 to bottom

And he along with Hutchinson reset the LOS well in the backfield on the third and three immediately preceding the termination of ND's one first-half scoring threat:

DT #50 to bottom

He's not getting crushed on the ground. I think we can say that he's taken a major step forward in that department. He's getting blocked by the fact that Michigan has two SDEs and Uche.

Are we a little concerned by the fact that Michigan has two SDEs?

Yeah, the four-man line doesn't bring a lot of pure pass rush oomph and that's another reason it's hard to get Dwumfour a lot of snaps. I don't think anyone except Uche got around the corner in this game. ND has good tackles; they're not great. Both DEs do some work, but they will not be confused with Winovich any time soon.

Hutchinson and Paye both have moments. Here's Paye knocking Aaron Banks, who Michigan decided not to take a couple years ago, clean over:

#19 DE to bottom

Drev…… yes?

Michigan will have to get those free-run blitzes amped back up to challenge OSU's offense.

Any one neat tricks you want to talk about?

Hudson's got some holes in his game, mostly related to being a read and react inside LB, but trying to flank him on perimeter runs has been futile this year. This has happened pretty much every time he gets tested like this:

LB #7 on LOS to top

He's got a knack for stringing those out and absorbing a second guy.

Any CRIMES you want to talk about?

Metellus nearly had an interception:

Hawkins did:

And yet.

AARGH that call

I mean yeah but no one's disputing it so let's just move on.

JOHN O'NEILL

Craig?

Anyway.

Any next year notes?

I did catch a couple of good plays from the backup DL during garbage time. Here Vilain is able to crunch a TE block and spill this to Hudson:

DE #18 to bottom

And here Hinton does his Willie Henry impression by momentarily looking like he's going to get blown out and recovering to get a stuff:

DT #15 to top

That latter is an improvement on the last clip he featured in, when a double clunked him good.

Heroes?

Everyone!

Maybe not so heroic?

Gray had a bit of a struggle against Claypool.

What does it mean for Maryland and beyond?

Less than you'd hope. Weather, Demolished Man version of Book.

Michigan's going to have to manufacture rush if Uche's not on the field. The Paye-rush-win stat from PFF seems way out there to me, and the last two games we've had a lot of pressure minuses. It's not a disaster but if there's a way Michigan's D gets ripped its not getting to the QB against a really good pass pro setup.

McGrone: yep. I want to see him deal with some downfield blocks before I take the last restrictor plate off the hype engine, but that's the last step before full on AA-next-year hype time. Ross should redshirt and play WLB next to him for the next couple years. He can even play against OSU.

Uche's versatile enough to make the 3-3-5 work. Michigan's spending a lot of time dropping him and it's fine. He's developing as a run defender, too. I think the stack is going to be difficult to maintain against a top shelf run D without a dude at NT, but I'm saying there's a chance.

Gray needs to get better at finding the ball on fades. Contrast between him and the other two CBs was clear.