FORMATION NOTES: I've started some Serious Abbreviations about 10 years too late. How many times have I uselessly typed "shot" before "gun"? I don't know. No more. Shotgun is now Gun. "Trips Twin TE"…

two WR to one side, two TEs on the same side

is now TTE. "Trips Tight Bunch"…

three WR/TEs lined up in a bunch attached to the LOS

…is now TTB.

Anyway. M moved from their 1 RB, 1 TE stuff to a lot more 2TE or TE+Mason stuff in the second half, which radically improved the run game as the DTs shooting into the backfield were no longer that relevant.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: McNamara replaced Milton after five drives and went the rest of the way. OL saw Vastardis replaced by Carpenter at C, reputedly because of injury. With the starting OTs still out this went Barnhart/Filiaga/Carpenter/Zinter/Stueber. At TE Eubanks got much of the early action but severe blocking issues saw All and Schoonmaker more prominent later.

WR and RB were the same mix they've been, with a lot of guys getting snaps. The main exception was Haskins getting 25 carries and seemingly establishing himself as RB1.

[After THE JUMP: gonna be a lot of yelling at me about QB stuff, probably

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M35	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6.5	Run	Power O	Haskins	-1
Eubanks(-1) motions in and blocks down on a standup end; he gets rocked back. Zinter(-2) runs into this like he’s surprised the DE is diving inside, which is their whole D as Seth detailed.
M34	2	11	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Dime Even	5.5	Run	Pin and pull	Haskins	6
Blocked up as M has six blockers against five in the box and an overhang CB. Barnhart(+0.5) fires in a DT, sort of a freebie; Eubanks(-0.5) initially gets the standup end but that guy yanks Eubanks inside and is able to extend to the sideline some. He can’t tackle but does narrow Haskins options. Filiaga(+0.5) and Zinter(+1) pull, with Filiaga getting a sort of free kickout and Zinter getting a good block on a LB. Safety comes down hard and tackles; Haskins cuts past him for a yard or two of YAC. Spot is a full yard short, Refs -1.
M40	3	5	Gun empty	1	1	3	Dime Okie	5	Pass	TE out	Eubanks	16
This is stealing as Rutgers LB wanders out to the wrong side of the field and is still recovering on the snap. Obvious read is obvious and made. Eubanks gets to grab some YAC. I’m not RPSing this. Maybe I need a DORF metric. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, Milton +0.5)
O44	1	10	Pistol trips	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Run	Belly?	Evans	4
This is weird. It’s another no-read run that looks like belly, with Eubanks(-2) doubling the end and crushing him inside. But there’s no option on the LB, so he’s just sitting there when Evans(+1) bounces outside. Since no read and OT is not firing DL inside, missed assignment assumed. Evans breaks a tackle, Jackson(-1) spent the play looking back at the QB like he’s viable read(?!?) instead of blocking the slot guy. Another bounce; Bell’s guy comes through a little later and forces him OOB.
O40	2	6	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Pass	Dumpoff	Evans	2
Rutgers blitzes two guys from the LB level and drops their standup end, but either standup end momentarily biffs or does a great job selling his rush because he gets a couple yards in the backfield before bailing and grabbing Evans a little before covering him. Milton throws it anyway, completion for minimal gain. Had Jackson on a crossing route for near first down yardage. (BR, 3, protection 1/1, Milton -0.5)
O38	3	4	Gun empty TE	1	1	3	Dime Even	5	Pass	Slant	Johnson	13
RU blitzes off the corner and then probably busts as no one fills, wide open Johnson. Milton stands in and hits him. Johnson(-3) fumbles. (CA, 3, protection 0/1, TEAM -1, Milton +1) RPS +1.
Drive Notes: Fumble, 0-0, 11 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M26	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	???	?	Pass	PA Corner	Johnson	22
PA, RU has a trap corner who gets into the backfield before backing out. Pocket clean, easy read for Milton, who throws a 20-yard rocket. (DO, 3, protection 2/2, RPS +1, Milton +1.5)
M48	1	10	Pistol TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Power O	Haskins	3
Honigford(+1) in at a wing TE; he is surprised when the standup end bounces outside to force but adjusts and kicks him. Filiaga(-1 pulls deeper than usual, probably expecting to kick but ends up having to go inside; he does find a LB and start driving him back but in the backfield. RU blitzes off the backside and since this is no read guy can just tear at the RB. RPS -1. Stueber(+0.5) blew out a DT.
O49	2	7	Pistol 2TE	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Arc read give	Haskins	1
This looks like a blown read but honestly this looks like no read at all. Is Milton even looking up the DE? It doesn’t look like it but they’re arcing a tight end. I guess Milton(-2) because I can’t imagine this could be a no read arc play. DE diving down on RB tackles RB because TE who would block him is arcing.
O48	3	6	Gun 4-wide tight	1	1	3	Okie	6	Pass	Out	Jackson	Inc
Heavy pressure as C sets left and Zinter(-2) gets flown by. Charbonnet goes right for this guy and clocks him but now there’s a guy looping around with nobody. Milton has to throw at a well-covered Jackson; he gets hit on the throw and it sails. (PR, 0, protection 0/2, Zinter -2). M sets up for a punt, RU runs into kicker, setting up fourth and one.
O43	4	1	Gun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	QB lead zone?	Milton	0
Filiaga(-2) airballs on the NT; that guy hops a gap outside and Filiaga lunges and whiffs. Honigford(+1) has his guy hop outside; able to redirect and kick. Charbonnet(+1) aborts the mesh immediately and bashes the DT. Barnhart(-2) releases free to second level, watches LB near him go away from the play, does not redirect to the other LB, and then falls without touching anyone. And with all that Milton still clearly gets the first down and is marked short, refs –2. Eubanks(+0.5) did get a kickout block.
Drive Notes: Turnover on downs, 0-0, 6 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M28	1	10	Pistol offset twins	2	1	2	4-3 even	7	Run	Pin and pull	Haskins	5
Evans flare motion with Haskins next to Milton. Carpenter(-1) fired back by the NT and Zinter gets bumped off his pull. Barnhart(+0.5) controls his DT on a downblock. Schoonmaker(+0.5) doesn’t really win against the DE but stays attached and pushes downfield when he tries to hop to the other side; good kickout from Fililaga(+0.5). Haskins(+0.5) able to cut past the unblocked guy Zinter can’t get to.
M33	2	5	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	5.5	Pass	Sack	N/A	-7
Slot LB to Milton’s blindside comes and Barnhart(-2) never looks him up. Milton doesn’t quite get across his progression fast enough and tries to orbit out but goes down. (PR, N/A, protection 0/2) You could ding Milton for not standing in and finding Sainristil but that seems harsh.
M26	3	12	Gun empty	1	1	3	Dime okie	5	Pass	Corner	Sainristil	Inc
Rutgers sends five against five blockers; M picks it up. Clean pocket. Milton misses Sainristil by miles. Well covered, but I don’t see a better option. (IN, 0, protection 3/3, Milton -1)
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-7, 3 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M13	1	10	Gun 4-wide tight	1	1	3	4-3 even	7	Run	End around	Wilson	9
All(+0.5) gets a sealing bock on the playside LB; Sainristil(+1) chops out the CB’s legs. Eubanks is leading this out like arc and hesitates a bit and is generally in the way; Wilson(-0.5) tries to jump the fallen CB instead of cutting inside of him and maybe running up Eubanks’s back; that costs M a few yards. RPS +2.
M22	2	1	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel over	6.5	Run	Pin and pull	Corum	0
Milton flips the play and M eats a gap-shooting LB. Gap largely exists because Eubanks(-1) loses against the standup end; if this goes a yard the other direction this angle to the back does not exist. Filiaga(-0.5) is a bit slow out of the gate here and gets beat to the spot; Corum miiiight be able to read this and cut behind it but that’s a bonus if he does.
M22	3	1	Gun 3-wide	1	2	2	4-3 even SAM	7	Run	Duo?	Haskins	1
I think this is an attempt to duo but Carpenter(-2) is swum past immediately and NT surges up the middle, Filiaga pops out to the second level; RU DE shoots down and LB stunts outside. Haskins barely makes this yard, if he actually does. Refs +1. RPS -1.
M23	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	2	2	4-3 even	6.5	Pass	Post	Bell	Inc
Clean pocket; Milton finds a spot in the zone but you wonder if he found it a hair late. LB is able to get a hand out and to my eye he does get a fingernail on this, causing it to drop faster than it otherwise would; Bell cannot make the adjustment. (MA, 0, protection 2/2, Milton push)
M23	2	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even	6.5	Pass	Improv	Sainristil	Inc
Milton looks up the 2TE side, which is covered, and then bails before finding Bell’s open slant in the middle of the field. He orbits out of the pocket as Filiaga finds a delayed blitzer outside of the T. He’s able to square up and finds Sainristil but forces him to lay out. (IN, 1, protection 2/2, Milton -1)
M23	3	10	Gun 4-wide	1	0	4	Okie	6	Pass	Seam	Jackson	32
Redemption for Milton for the previous two throws as he stands in and throws an inch-perfect seam to Jackson. (DO, 2, protection 2/2, Milton +2).
O45	1	10	Pistol TTE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Pass	PA post	Bell	Inc (Pen +10)
Milton sees that the FS isn’t over the top of this post and takes his shot; ball ends up about 3 yards long but Bell got yanked back, drawing a flag. Might have been on point otherwise.( Not charted, 0, protection 2/2)
O35	1	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	Nickel over	6.5	Run	QB pin and pull	Milton	2
Flare motion pulls a guy out of the box so this is six v seven in box and it still doesn’t come off. RU stunts a DT back around a DE; Honingford(+0.5) seals his guy away and Barnhart has no realistic shot at keeping his guy from looping around. Zinter(-2) is pulling around and and is in a look for work situation since there’s a free blocker in the box. He runs right by the DT and hits a guy Eubanks is handling. Brutal. RPS +1.
O33	2	8	Pistol trips tight bunch	1	1	3	4-3 under	7	Run	Pitch sweep	Charbonnet	2
Not a crack sweep since there’s no crack; you can see why the crack is real nice. All(+1) flanks the standup end and then tries to release to the LB flowing behind; end yanks him back to prevent that, refs -2. Eubanks(-2) should be combing through this and pick up for All but runs inside of All to go for the LB on a play that is attacking the edge. Charbonnet meets many people.
O31	3	6	Gun empty TE	1	1	3	Okie	6	Pass	Slot fade	Jackson	Inc
Mentioned the mesh imprecision in the game column but another thing is Corum running his drag at a depth where he has to bend around the ump instead of the defender. Nothing looks promising; even Jackson is well covered; Milton puts it on his back shoulder and gives his guy a chance, but Jackson can’t bring in the difficult twisting catch. (CA, 2, protection 2/2, RPS -1, Milton +1)
Drive Notes: Missed FG(48), 0-7, 12 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M22	1	10	Gun twins	1	2	2	Nickel over	6.5	Pass	Dumpoff	Corum	Inc
Reasonable decision since this is probably 5 yards but Milton wings it wide. (IN, 0, protection 1/1, Milton -1)
M22	2	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Pass	Fly	Bell	Inc
Bell is wide open about 35 yards downfield and if Milton hits the cover 2 hole this is going to be a big gain; he throws it maybe five yards short so Bell has to come to a dead stop and a dropping CB can PBU. (IN, 0, protection 2/2, Milton -2)
M22	3	10	Gun empty	1	1	3	Okie	6	Pass	Sack	N/A	-11
Milton can do nothing about this as a stunt blitz gets a guy directly up the gut at him before anyone can get to the sticks. (PR, 0, protection 0/3, TEAM -3)
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-14, 8 min 2nd Q. McNamara enters.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M37	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 under	6.5	Run	Power O	Charbonnet	3
M able to carve out a gap here as Zinter(+1) expects the dive from the end and gets around to seal and Eubanks(+1) finds a kickout and moves him; this is a crease. Barnhart(+0.5) gets an ok block on the second level and Charbonnet downshifts to let the gap develop and then stumbles through it. This looks like five yards but his knee must have brushed at 3.
M40	2	7	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 under	6.5	Pass	RPO hitch	Sainristil	14
M RPOs a trap corner; dude fires at the run before the mesh point, McNamara reads it (RPO+) and loops a ball over the CB to a wide open Sainristil. (CA, 3, RPO, RPS +1, McNamara +1)
O46	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 under	6	Pass	PA post	Johnson	46
CB blitz leaves S one on one with Johnson immediately after an RPO, Johnson bends to standard RPO slant, S jumps it, Johnson gone over the top, easy touchdown. (CA, 3, protection 3/3, McNamara +1, RPS +3)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-17, 5 min 2nd Q. Next drive starts with 1:58.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M17	1	10	Pistol TTB	1	1	3	4-3 under	7	Pass	Dumpoff	Evans	4
No idea on downfield issues as zoom cam; McNamara checks down and Evans gets tackled in bounds. (MA, 3, protection 2/2)
M21	2	6	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Pass	Hitch	Eubanks	6
RU playing deep, quick hitch moves the chains, 1:24 on tackle. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, McNamara +0.5)
M27	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	6.5	Pass	Screen	Evans	4
Snap at 1:14. Screen could work but Sainristil(-2) is standing by himself doing nothing as a CB tackles Evans. FFS. Barnhart(+0.5) got out on a guy. (CA, 3, screen, dot)
M30	2	7	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Pass	Hitch	All	5
Tackled at 1:07, snap at :42. FFS. Another TE hitch, this one short, and M waits 9 seconds before TO. FFFFFFFS. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, dot)
M36	3	1	Gun empty TE	1	1	3	Dime even	5	Pass	Hitch	Bell	3
Quick hitch as RU plays way off; ball takes Bell off his feet so he can’t get OOB. (MA, 2, protection 1/1, McNamara -0.5)
M39	1	10	Gun empty	1	1	3	Okie	5	Pass	Throwaway	N/A	Inc
Zinter(-2) goes after a guy Carpenter has already engaged and lets a stunter through more or less clean; Stueber has to try to clean this up and a looper around him is free McN dumps it. (PR, 0, protection 0/2)
M39	2	10	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Fade	Sainristil	Inc
Fade is a couple yards OOB. Caught, but for naught. (IN, 0, protection 1/1, McN -1)
M39	3	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Pass	Screen	Corum	11
Four DL gone; Barnhart(+0.5) gets out on a LB, Corum gets the first down and OOB. If there were more than 15 seconds left this would be RPS but Rutgers is fine with this more or less. (CA, 3, screen, dot)
50	1	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Okie	6	Pass	Out	Jackson	4
9 seconds left so just a quick out mutually agreed upon. (CA, 3, dot)
O46	2	6	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Okie	6	Penalty	False start	Sainristil	-5
Sainristil -1, but also Johnson jumps.
M49	2	11	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Exotic	6	Pass	Corner	Sainristil	17
Flood concept is nice; Johnson takes CB deep on fade and intermediate is open. McN slings and ball is a tad high but caught and OOB. (CA, 2, protection 2.2, McN +1)
Drive Notes: Missed FG(53), 7-17, EOH
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M42	1	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even	6.5	Run	Pin and pull	Haskins	9
Barnhart(-1) gets slanted inside and gives up enough depth that Zinter gets knocked off his pull. Eubanks(-3) gets knocked on his ass by a linebacker. Hole is not there. DT who blew through Barnhart is gone though so there’s a big gap inside. S is there because it takes Haskins(+3) a while to get there; Haskins dusts him and takes off.
O49	2	1	Pistol 2TE	1	2	2	Nickel over	6.5	Run	Belly	Haskins	3
No-read belly on second and one gets two yards. No RU thought to QB; not enough guys in box to seriously contest. Push, I guess. Honigford(+0.5) provided the oomph.
O46	1	10	Gun trips	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Pass	Bubble screen	Eubanks	-3
This is a terrible look for bubble with two DBs at two yards and an overhang LB just inside the hash to the field. Eubanks(-2) runs straight upfield on a bubble and gets flanked immediately; dude TFLs. (CA, 3, screen, dot, RPS -1)
O49	2	13	Gun TTB	1	1	3	Okie	6	Pass	Fade	Johnson	Inc
Looked at this a bunch and finally thought this is too flat and long with Johnson inside the number and there’s a big window that McN misses. (IN, 0, protection 1/1, McN -1)
O49	3	13	Gun trips	1	1	3	Okie	6	Pass	TE dig	All	14
RU sends six; M mostly picks it up with Stueber(-1) letting his guy around but harassing him. This is thus man free and McN stands in and fires a dart to All to convert. (DO+, 3, protection 2/3, McN+2)
O35	1	10	Gun 2TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Counter trap	Haskins	25
Counter step from RB; QB then motions out as if waggle is on. This baits a LB. DT is ignored and Eubanks(+0.5) gets a free trap. Stueber(+0.5) gets enough of a kick on a DE; Fliaga(0.5) turns out a DT; Zinter and Carpenter(+0.5) both find guys on the second level. Haskins gets to run straight at a big gap. RPS +3.
O10	1	G	Pistol twin TE	1	3	1	4-3 under	8	Run	Pitch sweep	Haskins	2
Motion from Bell threatens jet, brings S, Bell kicks a linebacker but a safety activating on the jet rips up and tackles. RPS -1. FWIW, Eubanks(+0.5) and All(+0.5) did an okay job comboing through this time.
O8	2	G	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 3-4	7	Pass	PA TE seam	Eubanks	8
Looks a butt-ton like the trap they just run and it has a bubble attached as a potential ope play. It’s really Eubanks running a seam and the RU LB sucks up enough that he’s only panic recovering the whole play. McN should probably throw this higher to keep it away from arms but good enough. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, RPS +1, McN +0.5)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 21-24, 10 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M26	1	10	Gun empty twin TE	1	2	2	Nickel over	5.5	Pass	TE out	All	1
High snap that McN deflects up, catches, and then chucks. Not charted.
M27	2	9	Pistol TTB	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Inside zone	Corum	9
Front widens RU gaps. Zinter(+0.5) escorts DT upfield and out as he does it himself, mostly. Filiaga(+2) blasts the NT and pops off on a blitzball LB, putting him to one side and moving him; Carpenter(+1) finishes the NT, putting him on the ground. Barnhart(+2) puts and end on the ground himself. Corum gets what’s blocked.
M36	1	10	Pistol TTB	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Inside zone	Corum	2
NT gets skinny this time and Filiaga doesn’t get a ton of push but it’s Carpenter(-1) who isn’t using his feet to get around this guy and push; he loses the NT to the playside as Fliaga(-0.5) goes for an LB he has to go get. He could get better initial contact. Barnhart(+0.5) and Honigford(+0.5) combo through another DL; close.
M38	2	8	Pistol TTB	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Penalty	False start	Eubanks	-5
Eubanks -1.
M33	2	13	Gun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Pass	TE cross	All	Inc
Max pro against a four man rush and no bite on PA because of D&D so gonna be rough. Maaaybe Bell is a better option but McN fits this in and has a completion until the S crushes All, legally, and forces an incompletion. (CA, 1, protection 1/1, RPS -1, McN+1)
M33	3	13	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Okie	6	Penalty	Delay	N/A	-5
Grr
M28	3	18	Gun 4-wide tight	1	1	3	Dime even	4	Pass	Cross	Sainristil	8
RU in parking lot, checkdown. (Not charted)
Drive Notes: Punt, 21-27, 3 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M29	1	10	Gun TTB	1	2	2	4-3 even SAM	7	Run	Jet sweep	Bell	9
All(+0.5) has no shot at getting outside a LB running hell for leather for sideline. He does what he can to widen him out. Bell(+2) cuts inside this. He’s able to run through a safety tackle and make Charbonnet(+1) relevant again. RPS -1.
M38	2	1	Pistol offset twins	2	1	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Power O	Charbonnet	5 + 15 pen
Filiaga(-0.5) has a bad kick that lets his guy inside; Mason(+1) finds a charging LB and turns him out with some motion. Stueber(+0.5) gets movement on a DT with Zinter but he gets skinny and neither guy can pop off on a LB. Facemask is free 15.
O42	1	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Speed option	McNamara	1
Borked. Eubanks(+0.5) walls a guy inside; All(-1) turns around as a CB drops out and LB switches into flat; he’s got no shot at the LB. McN(-1) cuts inside the Eubanks block after seeing the outside issues and gets tackled by the Eubanks blockee. RPS -1.
O41	2	9	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	6.5	Pass	PA waggle flat	Eubanks	6
Reasonably successful TE flat off PA but Eubanks(-0.5) takes contact and goes down with 0.0 YAC; better and this is a first down. (CA, 3, protection N/A, McN +0.5)
O35	3	3	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Okie	7	Run	Down G	Corum	-2
Henning motions into the backfield and then reverses course to a flare. RU in pure zero; mesh point, LB hauling ass after RB, massively missed pull read (ZR-, -2) from McN. Zinter(-1)pulls and gets beat around the corner by a blitzer, no kick. Late moves from RU DL mean Carpenter is doomed, more or less; he tries his best but DL to playside shooting upfield is doom.
O37	4	5	Gun empty	1	1	3	Okie	5	Pass	Slant	Evans	21
M expects man free and gets it; Sainristil(route-1) fails to do anything against a LB with inside leverage on Evans but it just does not matter because Evans vs LB. McN puts it on him. (CA, 3, protection 0/2, TEAM -2, RPS +1, McN+0.5)
O16	1	10	Gun twins	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Pass	PA Corner	Bell	Inc (Pen offset)
Zinter(-2) airballs a downblock and DT in immediately on PA that usually sees no pressure. McN punts up a super dangerous throw that gets PBUed by a guy not even looking and then RU gets a terrible PI flag (refs +3). (BR, 0, protection 0/2, McN-1). Filiaga(-1) wandered downfield to make these penalties offsetting.
O16	1	10	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	6	Pass	In	Bell	10
Zinter(-1) and Carpenter(-1) conspire to let a DT through clean with no stunt. McN stands in and fires a perfect ball to Bell that allows him to catch and run. This is a weird arm angle throw. Excellent. (DO+, 3, protection 0/2, McN +1.5)
O6	1	G	Pistol offset	2	1	2	4-3 under	8	Pass	PA FB flat	Mason	Inc
McN gets quick pressure but does have a window to get it to Mason for a couple yards; he holds it and turfs it at his feet. (IN, 0, protection N/A, McN -0.5)
O6	2	G	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 under	7	Pass	Slant	Sainristil	6
Look Ma I’m Running A Hitch OPI play here as Bell(route+) picks off the guy on Sainristil in man and that’s all she wrote. (CA, ,3 protection 1/1, McN +0.5, RPS +1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 28-27, 13 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M15	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Pass	PA Fade	Bell	Inc
McN misses Eubanks popping open as the LBs step to the LOS; weird that this wouldn’t be the first read. Instead he tries to hit Bell on the sideline; good coverage puts him right on it as he barely gets over the top of the CB; ball is out front and Bell can only stab at it with one hand. (BR, 0, protection 2/2, McN-1)
M15	2	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Pass	Hitch	Bell	14
Hongiford comes in and RU puts seven in the box and blitzes off the corner. M runs an RPO hitch that blasts this call. Bell stops at two yards and has acres of space to run in. (CA, 3, RPO, RPS +2, McN+0.5).
M29	1	10	Pistol TTB	1	2	2	4-3 even SAM	7	Run	Insert iso	Haskins	6
M solution to RU defense: more gaps. This goes off the TE side. Hongiford(+1) fires in the standup DE; Eubanks(+0.5) gets a solid kick. Bell(-1) inserts as the fb-type substance and runs by the LB level; MLB gets Barnhart to him but Barnhart takes a hit coming through the line and can’t get over the top. Filiaga(+1) has to leave the NT to pick up a LB and does; NT comes through but too late.
M35	2	4	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 under	6.5	Pass	PA TE flat screen	Eubanks	7
CB blitz gets in McN’s face immediately. He has to get it around this guy and uses a pump fake and a weird arm angle throw (WAAT) to make this happen. Eubanks(+1) slips a tackle to convert. (CA, 3, screen, McN+1)
M42	1	10	Pistol 2TE tight	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Pass	PA TE flat screen	All	6
Virtually identical from a different formation. McN has to sail this a bit to make it work but All is able to go get it. Sainristil(-1) misses a cut block but that’s in part because Rutgers guy is going upfield of the block and All is mostly able to outrun the guy to the sideline. (CA, 3, screen, RPS +1, McN dot)
M48	2	4	Pistol 2TE tight	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Trap	Haskins	6
All(+0.5) comes across the formation to trap the end. Filiaga(+1) hits NT and moves on, getting second level block on guy hauling ass. Barnhart gets to the other LB but kind of handfights instead of moving the guy. Haskins(+1) runs into this gap and ends up stalling out, so Carpenter(+0.5) almost losing the NT and then putting him on the ground in a spot that’s not great but okay and Zinter(+1) controlling and shoving over the other DT are relevant. Schoon(+0.5) got a long kickout as well.
O46	1	10	Pistol 2TE tight	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Run	Trap	Haskins	5
Same play. All(-0.5) is oddly deep and doesn’t clearly kick out the DE so Haskins goes outside of him, which is probably the wrong move. Schoon(+0.5) kickout; no angle for Barnhart to get the LB shooting into the gap Haskins is in. Haskins runs through that tackle for a good gain; Filiaga(+1) and Carpenter(+1) really moved guys out so there’s a big gap even with the goofy trap, especially since the DT ran himself way out of the play.
O41	2	5	Gun twins	1	2	2	4-3 over	7	Pass	RPO Flash screen	Johnson	10
Corner gives a press look but this is obviously zone and dude bails on the snap; flash screen appears to be an RPO(+) as McN looks up initial action for either LB or CB and aborts mesh into the screen. (CA, 3, RPO, McN+, RPS +1). Bell(+1) got a good block.
O31	1	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	Nickel over	6.5	Run	Trap	Charbonnet	2
Probably same RPO as All is pointing out the slot LB backed off pre-snap instead of coming like he did on the previous play. Handoff made. All(+1) comes across and kicks out a DT. Filiaga(-2) gets a blitzer and reacts late; that guy is able to run through the attempted block and tackle at the LOS.
O29	2	8	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	6.5	Run	Power O	Charbonnet	8
Barnhart(+0.5) and Filiaga(+1) put the DT on the ground; Barnhart kind of falls on him and can’t redirect to a LB fully. Other LB goes full blitzball, running past all the blockers… and the ball. Zinter(-1) misses his kickout; All(+1) runs past the LB and hits the guy Barnhart is not really dealing with. Charbonnet(+1) pounds out some YAC.
O21	1	10	Pistol offset twins	2	1	2	4-3 over	6.5	Run	Power O	Haskins	12
Opens up late; Barnhart(+1) and Filiaga(+1) double DT and remove him, sealed and gone; Barnhart moves on to a linebacker. RU swaps DE and LB as per usual. M picks it up but it takes a minute. Mason(+1) does better on the LB, locking him up and then driving him. Zinter(+1) reads the DE dive slightly late but does and eventually puts this LB sort of DE on the ground. Haskins(+1) waits a second and then zips through a meaty gap.
O9	1	G	Pistol offset twins	2	1	2	4-3 even	7	Pass	Flash screen	Johnson	9
I don’t know why this presnap look gets a screen; two DBs in reasonable position. Bell(+1) locks one up and seals him inside; the other guy tries to shoot inside of this and nearly does. I think Bell tries to throw his blocker upfield at the last minute to hit this guy and may actually do it? Guy misses the tackle, Johnson(+1) breaks it and scores. (CA, 3, screen, dot)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 35-27, 5 min 4th Q. 27 secs in tie game on next drive.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Gun TTB	1	1	3	Okie	6	Pass	PA comeback	Sainristil	Inc
Protection good but a stunt gets a guy through a little in the middle of the pocket before Charbonnet chips in and finishes him off. McNamara starts drifting back and left, then fires a little short and upfield of Sainristil, who can’t lay out and make a catch. This requires a dive but ends up hitting Sainristil in the facemask. (CA, 2, protection 2/2, McN push)
M25	2	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Dumpoff	Charbonnet	3
Filiaga(-2) gets knocked over by a DE and McNamara dumps it out; he’s got a second to find something deeper, FWIW. (PR, 3, protection 0/2, push)
M28	3	7	Gun trips	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Run	Split zone	Charbonnet	6
Give up and OT.
Drive Notes: EORegulation, 35-35
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even	6.5	Pass	Throwaway	N/A	Inc
Jailbreak; Barnhart(-2) and Zinter(-2) both beat clean. McN does well just to dump it sort of at his RB. (PR, 0, protection 0/4, McN+0.5)
O25	2	10	Gun twins	1	2	2	4-3 even	6.5	Run	Trap	Haskins	7
DT anticipates trap and gets under All(+0.5); All adjusts and Haskins can cut behind. Zinter(+0.5) gets a middling second level block that occupies but does not move a LB. Stueber(+1) kicks a guy out for a while and then passes him up to kick out a CB. Haskins(+1) finds the cut and then stands up enough on a hit for a scrum to develop and push him for some more YAC.
O18	3	3	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 even	7.5	Run	Arc read keep	McNamara	1
This is screwed either way as Eubanks(-2) pops outside to kick and never reads the stunt on the outside so there’s a DB totally free o n Haskins. Pull not based on that and is probably wrong (ZR-) since All dodges the end and that end is way upfield. McN has to go straight upfield into another unblocked LB. RPS -1, McN -1 on ground.
Drive Notes: Missed FG(34), EO1OT
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 under	7.5	Run	Power O	Haskins	0
Covered slot. M could throw a bubble at this since it’s open but this is a no read power play -1 in the box. Filiaga(-1) unprepared for DE dive when this is their whole gameplan and it’s OT; guy gets under, and then Eubanks(-1) hits him and unblocked guys swarm. RPS -1.
O25	2	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	6	Pass	PA waggle Y cross		17
PA, rollout, flat covered, McN moves on deeper and finds an open Jackson. Puts it on his facemask. (DO, 3, protection N/A, McN+1.5, RPS +1)
O8	1	G	Pistol offset	2	1	2	4-3 under	7.5	Run	Power O	Haskins	-1 (Pen +5)
Carpenter(-2) pulls and DE blows through him by diving inside; Mason gets knocked back by DE and then TFLs. M gets hugely lucky with a facemask call.
O4	1	G	Gun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Pin and pull	Haskins	2
Haskins has to bend as he goes outside as Schoonmaker(-1) lets his guy go vertical inside of him; backside puller gone. Mason(+0.5) goes too vertical but moves his guy and ends up getting an uncalled hold in (refs +1) of the variety that usually goes uncalled; edge kind of open and Haskins hits it.
O2	2	G	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 under	8	Run	Zone read keeper	McNamara	2
McNamara(ZR+) reads the end plunging in and keeps for the TD. McN+0.5.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 42-42, EO2OT
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Pistol TTB	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Run	Insert iso	Haskins	9
Bell(+1) again used as an insert guy; this time he finds and stalls a LB. Eubanks(+0.5) gets enough of a kickout. Honigford gets push-pulled to the ground but that guy can’t get to the gap because Bell’s guy is in the way. Stueber(+0.5) blocks down and then gets half a LB; Haskins(+1) runs through a forest of arms for ~6 YAC.
O16	2	1	Pistol TTB	1	2	2	4-3 even	7.5	Run	Inside zone	Haskins	2
Cluster in the middle of the line; no gaps, no push, Haskins headed backside vertically from pistol. Honigford(+1) moves his guy significantly and Eubanks(+1) gets a good kick. M has been doubling up plays so I wonder if Sainristil(-2) failed to insert here? Instead he goes for a CB and there’s a linebacker free in the hole. Haskins has to dodge him and gets a minimal gain.
O14	1	10	Pistol TTB	1	2	2	4-3 even	7.5	Run	Insert iso	Haskins	2
Bell back in the bunch and inserts. M needs a swap for this DE as he is driving hard inside and MLB scrapes across to fill the gap. Here he gets skinny and Barnhart has no shot at a second level block. RPS -1. Eubanks(+0.5) another solid kick; Bell got tossed away but after slowing his guy up, push; Hongiford’s block here is beside the point.
O12	2	8	Pistol offset twins	2	1	2	4-3 over	6.5	Run	Pin and pull	Corum	-1 (Pen -10)
Evans deep, Corum next to McN, flare motion from Evans. PNP the other way. Corum(-2) bounces when there is a set edge and the other puller can’t get outside. Big cutback lane as DT goes straight upfield, this is the cut Haskins has been making. Barnhart(+1) able to push the DT past so the other puller doesn’t get picked off. Corum’s bounce also induces a holding call from Filiaga that does not get thrown if there’s a cutback.
O22	2	18	Gun 3-wide tight	1	1	3	Nickel over	6	Pass	Post	Johnson	Inc
This ball is late but stops Johnson and is up high so he’s got a shot to bring it in. Johnson catches it momentarily before the RU DB rips it out forcibly. If on time this PBU doesn’t happen, OTOH this is often a completion. (MA, 1, protection 2/2, McN push)
O22	3	18	Gun empty	1	1	3	Dime even	5.5	Pass	Slot fade	Jackson	Inc (Pen +15)
Excellent ability to run with this from the RU DB but he never gets his head around and runs over Jackson for a flag, which is a gift since I don’t think this pass is accurate enough to be complete. (not charted, 0, protection 2/2)
O7	1	G	Gun twins	1	2	2	4-3 even	7	Run	Insert iso?	Haskins	2
Carpenter(-1) gets fired into the backfield initially as Mason(+1) comes across looking for some sort of trap or split zone block, and then Mason decides to shove Carpenter the other way; Haskins smartly follows this. Zinter(+0.5) got some push.
O5	2	G	Gun twins	1	2	2	4-3 even	8	Run	Trap	Haskins	4
Filiaga(+1) and Carpenter(+1) double and blow out the NT; Mason(+1) comes over to kick the DE; Zinter(+0.5) mostly watches the other DT swim upfield but stays attached.
O1	3	G	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Goal line	7	Run	QB iso	McNamara	0
M blocks this okay enough to deliver McN to a linebacker at the LOS and if this is Haskins or Milton it’s a TD but he gets blown up. I’m not going to minus this for McN, but this might as well be Haskat from the one. Stueber(+0.5), Honigford(+0.5) get enough contact.
O1	4	G	Pistol 2TE	2	1	2	Goal line	10	Run	Split zone	Haskins	1
DT collapses, M sits on him, Mason(+0.5) comes across to stall an end, and Haskins leaps over the pile.
O3	2PT	2PT	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 even	9	Pass	Circle	Bell	Inc
Good coverage but Bell has inside position and this can be a catch if it’s in front and hopefully low; ball is behind as McNamara doesn’t step in with late pressure coming from a stunt. (IN, 0, protection 1/1, McN -1)
Drive Notes: Touchdown(missed 2pt), 48-42, end of game for O.

I'm thankful I didn't have to chart this game.

…

Anyway bye.

come back!

All right, tell me about things.

Michigan has major problems and McNamara probably isn't going to fix them all.

LIES?! Besides you thought Milton was Cam Newton?

…

I mean… I specifically warned not to get too carried away about the Minnesota game and that he'd have to expand his abilities, and then he didn't really.

And he wasn't nearly as bad in this game as he was against Wisconsin. I had him a hair over zero in my grading, which is new and unproven; while zero is going to be a bad score it's not the –7.2 he put up against the Badgers.

JOE MILTON

	Good				Neutral			Bad					Ovr			Reads
Game	DO	CA	SCR		PR	MA		BA	TA	IN	BR		DSR	GRADE!		RPOs	ZRs
Minnesota		17(6)	1			1			1	2	1		75%	+4		2/2	2/2
MSU (Pending)
Indiana	7	19(2)++++			3	4				6**	4		71%	+10.7
Wisconsin	1	8(1)+				1		1	1*	4*	3*		47%	-7.2
Rutgers	2	3			3	1				3	1		56%	+0.5
Penn State
Maryland
OSU
Bonus

I mean you can see why you'd fall in love with Milton. When it's right it's absurd.

Absurd!

Up until the later portion of his participation the throws that didn't connect were pretty understandable. Here he gets hit on the throw and there's no one open:

An attempted dig to Bell that looked inaccurate probably suffered because a linebacker got a literal fingernail on it and deflected it just enough for an incompletion but not enough to notice if you didn't watch it 10 times. And it's hard to put anything on the QB when he gets a totally unblocked blindside blitz:

But two things jumped out, especially after later events. #1 was that Milton's accuracy went out the window on his final couple drives. Things went from understandable in the circumstances to worthy of a benching on drive four, when Milton found Bell for what would have been a huge play and then left his throw 5+ yards short:

If he doesn't completely stop Bell this is 40 yards. And this is Joe Milton, the guy with the hose, throwing it on a line. If that's not connecting we have some issues. He missed guys on the ensuing three and out.

And then McNamara came in and the offense looked like the offense again.

I saw this take on twitter. It was a bad take! –twitter

Warn't. Milton got filed for zero RPOs, zero zone reads, and zero screens in this game. McNamara had six screens, four RPOs, and three zone reads. I may have missed something here or there but I mean… one of these had speed in space elements and the other absolutely did not.

At this point I have to assume that Joe Milton is terrible at executing reads. Perhaps unfathomably so. I've complained about the near-total absence of them in the offense for a month now, and this was no exception. M continually handed off with Milton while there was no conceivable read:

watch the QB's head

Evans dodges three tackles and gets four yards. Okay, that's just a run where you're hoping the QB draws a guy. Whatever. This run a drive later features an arc—a tight end ignoring everything so he can get out and block for the RB—and I defy you to tell me this is an actual read:

QB's head

If there is a moment there where Milton is perceiving anything the defense is doing it is an infinitesimal one. And this is a blindingly clear one with the DE hopping inside such that a keep is money.

I just don't know man. This doesn't look like Michigan trying to run an arc read and Milton screwing it up, it looks like Michigan running the semblance of an arc read and designating a handoff. But even if you're doing that having the QB actually look at the defensive end you're nominally optioning seems like it has a chance to induce some indecision. So why isn't Joe Milton looking at the defense?

So then McNamara comes in. Michigan runs power on the first snap. The second is an RPO on which McNamara victimizes the trap CB coming off the corner:

QB's head! LOOKING AT PERSON

RPO! The veritable basis of the Gattis offense! For approximately the fourth time this year!

Michigan would detonate another blitz off the slot with WR screen action; this one might be more of a presnap read since McNamara does not appear to check the LB post-snap.

A lot of QB is picking up subtle cues about what the defense is going to because of small changes in position or stance, and maybe Milton's just not doing that in practice.

After Michigan hit a third one of these—this one a flash screen on which the LB sucked in—Rutgers stopped getting so aggressive off the slot, and the ground game improved.

And let's go back to the first RPO. And the aftermath: Gattis, who just put the RPO in their head, hits them with the long-coveted, never-yet-seen RPO-and-go. To be clear: this is not an RPO, but Rutgers sends the corner again and the safety puts his eyes on the WR he's got one on one. That guy bends to a standard RPO slant, S jumps, and it's game over man:

It is probably not a coincidence this came out immediately after the insertion of McNamara but how you gonna run off Dylan McCaffrey when he's displayed the ability to make the reads very well?

Further baffling your author is that McNamara was given zone read opportunities despite the fact that he didn't seem especially good at them. This third and three gets clobbered and ye gods the pull read:

Rutgers LB to top blitzing off corner

That's no worse than a lot of the crap Michigan's been running this year but maybe your QB gets it right. McNamara would get it right later, scoring a touchdown. The worst case scenario if you put in a read is that you get a run stuffed. I have news about Michigan's ground game.

Also Milton is vastly inaccurate and McNamara was incredible!

Well… I continue to pump all available brakes about Michigan football. He did have a solid outing.

CADE MCNAMARA

	Good				Neutral			Bad					Ovr			Reads
Game	DO	CA	SCR		PR	MA		BA	TA	IN	BR		DSR	GRADE!		RPOs	ZRs
Wisconsin	3	1								3			57%	+2
Rutgers	2++	20(6)			3	3				5	2		70%	+8.2		4/4	1/3
Penn State
Maryland
OSU
Bonus

Much of this came on throws that weren't much different than the ones we've seen Milton make. His chunks were often dink slants, including the throw I've been waiting five years for:

Chris Evans against a linebacker. Guy doesn't even get picked and woop no tackle bye. The slant TD with the jump-up-and-down pick from Bell is another pass that's demonstrably in Milton's wheelhouse. Michigan schemed him some things between those and the RPOs above.

And the were able to offload stuff onto the ground game later, particularly in OT. McNamara was swarmed on the first play in OT and threw it away, and then Michigan threw once on a plausible run down the rest of the OT session. That was a nice rollout throw for a chunk…

…that works because Michigan is so run-heavy at this point. Milton would look a lot better if he was operating with a functional ground game. Some of that is on him, some is not.

McNamara also benefited from getting the Cool Stuff. This counter trap is the best run play Michigan's put out there, schematically, all year:

Two plays later M runs a virtually identical action that sucks up two critical Rutgers players and Eubanks gets a touchdown:

The most encouraging thing about his game—aside from the ability to look at a linebacker and make a decision based on that—was the ability to throw Off Balance Garbage. The touchdown in question is a quick conversion from selling a run outside to a no-step back-foot lob that's not perfect but certainly good enough, especially since it came out quick just as the RU DB was thinking "oh shit."

That was not an isolated incident. Michigan had a couple of plays come off because McNamara was able to perform a Weird Arm Angle Throw (or WAAT). He's got no time here and is able to zing it to a wide open Bell from an odd angle:

And later he'd sidearm a screen that was otherwise in trouble. It's a trend.

McNamara did stand in the pocket and deliver a couple of eye-popping throws. This zing to All converts a third and long:

Hello. He did well against a very bad pass defense and will get another shot this weekend. We'll see where it goes.

A functional ground game! What does that look like?

Well, you've got a 17-yard half in here so the numbers still come out a little grim.

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	Total	Notes
Barnhart	7.5	3	+4.5	One bad –2 and otherwise very consistent.
Filiaga	9	8.5	+0.5	Surged late.
Carpenter	3.5	7	-3.5	Blown through a few times, bad pull.
Zinter	6	6	0	Had issues IDing blocks on pulls.
Stueber	3		3	Weirdly quiet.
All	5.5	1.5	+4
Eubanks	6	16	-10	Got blasted on butt by a linebacker, emblematic
Schoonmaker	1.5	1	0.5
Mason	5		5	FWD: I am back
Honigford	6		6	Did work as bonus OL.
TOTAL	53	43	55%	Not good but a major improvement from last week.
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Milton		2	-2	le sigh
McNamara	0.5	4	-3.5	Missed two reads and made one IMO
Charbonnet	3		3
Haskins	7.5		7.5
Corum		2	-2	Missed cut induced hold
Evans	1		1
Turner				DNP
TOTAL	12	8	4	RB unit did work
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Bell	5	1	4	Quasi TE on some snaps.
Sainristil	1	6	-5	Inexplicably watched a couple plays.
Wilson		0.5	-0.5
Johnson	1	3	-2
Jackson		1	-1
Henning
McCurry
TOTAL	7	11.5	3	Not much here per usual.
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Protection	43	23	65%	Zinter –9, TEAM –6, Barnhart –4, Filiaga –2, Stueber –1, Carpenter –1
RPS	17	11	+6	Offense!

Yeah, those are some huge negative numbers for Zinter in pass protection and Eubanks on the ground. Zinter is a giant true freshman going up against Mike Dwumfour and another very quick DT so his struggles are not particularly surprising. Michigan got to a middling protection number despite that.

Eubanks… woof. All has had the yips, Eubanks is back, let's play the redshirt senior who's probably improved as a blocker…

wing TE #82 top

That was the least consequential blocking error of the day but there were many more. I have occasionally given out –3s for guys zipping by DL they absolutely have to down block on pin and pulls but I don't know if I've ever handed out one for a legitimately attempted block. That warrants it. Eubanks almost immediately followed that up by running straight upfield on a bubble and getting that play crushed:

TE #82 on LOS to top

He missed a couple other assignments and got shoved back with some frequency. He did recover a bit late with a series of kickouts that gathered him +0.5s repeatedly.

I'd say that performance might designate him for some more time on the bench but since we've seen Mason excel and then implode and all the other chaos going on it's hard to predict anything. Strong blocking performances from All, Mason, and Honigford in this game to point the way forward, IMO.

Speaking of Mike Dwumfour, those seem like real bad run blocking numbers against him and his friends.

Speaking of chaos and lack of preparation: Michigan started this game off running power, and it was extremely frustrating to see a thing Seth went into great detail on—Rutgers loves to shoot their ends inside and make up for it with LBs stunting outside—repeatedly trip up Michigan blockers. This was apparent on the first snap, where Eubanks gets fired back by an end and Zinter just runs into the dude:

TE #82 to top, G #65 pulling

It was deep into the fourth quarter before Michigan ran a power play on which they carved out a gap between the DE and LB, and even that made Haskins stop for a second before he could find a lane:

TE #82 to top, G #65 pulling

Then in OT they'd run a no-read power on which both pullers got hung up on the DE shooting down. In the second OT they did it again, with Carpenter pulling this time and the end shuffling down blowing through him:

C #58

At this point I wanted to throw a shoe.

M did have some success early on pin and pull where the DE diving inside is completely fine unless he blows upfield and picks off one of your pullers. And Michigan did diagnosis this from time to time. Here Zinter gets the DE and Eubanks kicks so the gap is there:

G #62 pulling, TE #82 to top

But as always, back to the salt mines. It has been cruelly spectacular to watch Michigan run QB pin and pull +1 in the box the past couple weeks and get almost no successful runs. On this one Zinter runs by a linebacker to go hit a guy who is already being blocked:

LG #65

The overall theme here is no one is suspicious enough. When things are too good to be true, look around.

You could cut some slack since Michigan is running out 2-3 backup linemen. YMMV on that. It is a major issue. Michigan had two problems on the failed(-ish) Milton fourth and short. Charbonnet made up for one of them, but the second was decisive. Watch Barnhart:

LT #52

This happens a lot. M OL are unable to read what an unexpected move implies for them and take false steps, and that's all she wrote. If Barnhart is able to make even glancing contact on a LB he has a clear angle on this conversion is not in doubt, let alone a turnover on downs.

But they did get to grips somewhat. McNamara?

Yes and no. Rutgers cut out the corner/slot blitzing after McNamara hit them with the RPOs. That did help a lot. Then  Michigan fixed the run game by adding extra gaps. Usually, but not always, this meant running away from the defensive tackles zipping into the backfield. Michigan lined up in that tight bunch a lot, and more than once they sent a wide receiver through the hole as a makeshift fullback:

WR #8 to bottom

On this one Bell actually whacks a guy:

WR #8 to top

This allowed them to avoid interior penetration. They also started trapping guys, which is always an option against DTs who get way upfield.

But also Haskins was making a lot of chicken salad:

This kind of thing, where two Rutgers defenders end up pancaked, was the exception rather than the rule:

C #68, LT #52

There was a lot of patient running and YAC from Haskins and to a lesser extent Charbonnet.

Got any other depressing state of the program clips?

All the appropriate ink/blood has been spilled about the two minute drill but I just want to point out that Michigan's false start was 1) a wide receiver false start and 2) two different guys moving:

Any attempt to speed this offense up results in the machine seizing up and dying.

Wide receivers?

[0 = uncatchable, 1 = circus catch, 2 = moderate difficulty, 3 = routine]

	THIS WEEK					SEASON
Player	0	1	2	3		0	1	2	3
Bell	5		1/1	2/2		8	0/1	1/2	15/15
Johnson	1	0/1		4/4		4	0/2	2/3	6/6
Sainristil	1	0/1	1/2	2/2		2	0/4	2/3	2/2
Jackson	2		1/2	1/1		4	1/2	2/4	5/5
Wilson						2	0/1	1/3	2/2
Henning						1		0/1	2/2
McCurry
Eubanks				5/5			0/2	2/2	7/7
All		0/1		3/3		1	1/2	0/1	5/7
Schoonmaker
Charbonnet				1/1					4/4
Haskins
Corum	1			1/1		1			4/4
Evans				3/3					6/6
Mason	1					1			2/2

Routes: Sainristil –, Bell +

A game with no drops but not a ton of help. Michigan's got just two circus catchs on the year and has been eh on 2s. Also some of these throws are suffering because unless it's going at a tight end or  Cornelius Johnson the catch radii of these gents is not large. Jackson made a stab at a back shoulder fade on which it's hard not to imagine Nico Collins in the same spot:

That's a minor sin when Jackson brings the other things he does to the table, but Michigan seems hell-bent on ignoring those.

Also: Poor Damn Ronnie Bell.

Heroes?

Tight ends other than Eubanks were excellent on the ground. Haskins and Charbonnet did work. McNamara is worth exploring more.

Maybe not so heroic?

Milton did deserve to get pulled especially if the limitations in the offense are traceable back to him. Eubanks was disastrous as a blocker, and various pulling guards/centers were not ready for Rutgers's approach.

What does it mean for Penn State and the future?

Sure roll with McNamara. Even sprinkling in post-snap reads here and there is a massive lift. He was pretty accurate and he makes up for his stature with the ability to throw from Mahomes arm angles. NOTE: THIS DOES NOT MEAN I SAID HE WAS PATRICK MAHOMES.

Haskins: RB1. Most consistent at finding the holes and getting the most out of them.

The OL is still pretty messy. If the rumored return of Michigan's tackles actually transpires that would be a big boost. Center is likely going to be an issue. IDing blocks is still a problem even with a relatively minimized Mason. I wonder why Hongiford is restricted to bonus OL stuff, because he's doing that very well and you'd think he'd be ahead of Zinter.

My kingdom for an all-around tight end. Honigford and Mason are not downfield threats. Eubanks had a shocking blocking performance. All has had the dropsies. Schoonmaker isn't quite there.