The UFR Glossary.

Substitution Notes: Stuck to nickel personnel as IU was in 11 or 20 (extra scatback RB in place of a TE) all game. Starting DTs took most of the game with Graham and Benny on lengthy drives, and a little bit of Grant and Goode. DE was a solid rotation of Morris/Harrell/Okie/Moore, with bits of Upshaw (also at DT) and McGregor. LB was Colson and Barrett most of the way but lots of subbing for both Mullings and Rolder. Sainristil was present almost the whole game, with Paige and Moore and Turner and Green. Backup rotations for W.Johnson and Quinten Johnson, who was out there even more than Moten.

Formation Notes: Lots of weird ones from Indiana (hi Walt Bell) as they went tempo and snapped it before Michigan could figure out how to align, or the refs could count guys in the backfield for that matter.

WR on the hash got M to treat him as eligible here.

I called that Gun H Stack (X) since the WR on the upper hash should have been covered. This was Empty Str Bunch.

They also went Tackle Over—or "TO" in the labeling—like so:

I called this defensive formation 404 Open because it ain't Tite.

Also I shortened Tempo to "T" this time so my fingers wouldn't fall off. So like "T(31)" means they went tempo and snapped with 31 seconds on the playclock.

[After THE JUMP: Soft on screens.]

Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Empty Quads	4-2-5	Nk Even	1 press	Pass	4	Flare	Colson	9	1.25
RB motions to trips side and M rotates down from 2-hi to 1-hi but is still is short a man, with Colson pointing but not leaving the box, so it's 4v3 to the field. Paige(-2, cov-2) charges at the RB then remembers he's got a WR and turns around but that guy's by him. Bazelak (Hat-2) sees it but decides against it, but still has time (PR-1), and finds an RB all alone for a free 9 yards because Colson(-2) all this time was just covering grass.
O34	2nd	1	Empty 4w Y-Flex	4-2-5	Dime Split	1 fld	Pass	n/a	Flash Screen	Barrett	0	-1.28
Tempo(26). Turner(-.5) danced downfield by Camper, Barrett(+2) flies up through the TE to push OOB with Harrell(+1) flying out from DE to cut off a cut inside.
O34	3rd	In	Pistol Trips TO	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 press	RPO		IZ/Flash Screen	Jenkins	2	0.95
T(27). TO=Tackle Over. This is also inches not a yard. Jenkins(+.5) shot into a double then gets rocked back, but it's enough to get the RB to path over a gap. Smith(+2) has stoned his double at the LOS. Barrett(+.5) shoves his face in there and collects the RB to plausibly have a stuff but they give the RB the line.
O36	1st	10	Empty 5w	4-2-5	Nk Wide	2 fld	Pass	3	Curls	Jenkins	0	-1.04
T(30). IU wants to run curls, M shows 2-high nickel then rolls down a S to the 3x2 field and flares out both LBs under the curls (RPS+2, cov+2). He doesn't get to read more than one because Jenkins(+1) split a double, Smith(+1) and Morris(+1, PR+3) are also coming to sack. Bazelak chucks it OOB.
O36	2nd	10	Offset Trips	4-2-5	Nk Over	2 off	Run		Dart	Smith	0	-0.63
Colson(+1) pops the short puller, Smith(+2, tackling+1) is singled by the LG, sheds him and tackles alone.
O36	3rd	10	Empty 5w	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 off	Pass	5	Sack	Barrett	-8	-0.52
T(29). Turner is hollering at Colson(-2) because the RB is split out wide and Turner just has to cover both guys as he runs out there heedless of his zone. Doesn't matter (Hat-1) because Bazelak came off the out and nothing else is open (Cov+1) before Barrett(+1, PR+2) is through unblocked for a sack (RPS+1).
Drive Notes: Punt. 7-0. 11 min 1st Q. Floppy IU gunner flops on the punt
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O24	1st	10	Gun 2RB A-Flare	4-2-5	Nk Even	2 fld	RPO		Stretch/RB Flare	Barrett	2	-0.34
Okie(+1) sets a hard edge to force a cutback. Benny(+.5) pinched the intended gap shut while controlling his guy. Barrett(+.5) is on the correct shoulder of the C, all three tackle.
O26	2nd	8	Offset Stack (X)	4-2-5	404 Tite	2 press	Pass	n/a	Bubble Screen	Green	7	0.32
T(29). M is confused pre-snap again, #2 receiver is off the LOS when he should be covered but checks with sideline ref who says it's fine. Sainristil(-.5) doesn't realize his guy is ineligible and jams, getting wrong-sided. Green(-1) is late to attack his WR and gets edged. M is 2-high press, so S is late to the party...I would like Turner(-.5) to get off of Camper sooner.
O33	3rd	1	Gun 2RB	4-2-5	Nk Split	2 press	Run		A Insert Iso	Barrett	1	0.83
T(31). Smith(+.5) puts the RG in the backfield but that means the C is releasing on Barrett(-.5) and he's a little small. Colson(+1) shot into the A back to get to the RB behind the LOS but momentum gets him over the line. Refs+2 miss Sainristil diving into the pile.
O34	1st	10	Gun 5w	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 fld	Pass	4	Hitch	Moore	9	1.38
T(25). Cover 3 so Moore has to delay #2's vertical release before getting to the flat, which means the quick hitch is open. RPS-1, cov-1. Okie(+.5, PR+.5) the first of many pass rushes where he gets a hand in the way, just misses this one.
O43	2nd	1	Offset Trips RB	4-2-5	Nk Over	1 fld	RPO	4	Hitch	Turner	Inc	-1.44
T(26). The line is run blocking but the ball is out so fast I think this is a sight read between the QB and WR. Turner(+1, cov+1) is in position when the WR stops and Turner's hand is now blocking the guy from coming back, but he's also forcing a one-handed stab while falling OOB. Klatt wants the PI this WR is trying to sell but this is textbook rubbin's racing.
O43	3rd	1	Offset Trips Bunch	4-2-5	4-3 Under	1 off	Play-Action	4	PA Fly	Turner	Inc(+15)	2.09
IU uses 3rd and 1 to take a shot. PA wipes out the pressure (PR-1), but M has the fly bracketed with Turner(+1) and Paige(+1, cov+2) running step for step. Refs-2 make up a PI--guy was pulling his flag out as soon as Turner made up ground, clearly intending to throw one at the first opportunity. Unreal.
M42	1st	10	Empty 4w Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 off	Pass	5	Fake Screen	Barrett	0	-0.91
Looks like the flash screen from earlier gets Moore(-2, cov-2) to bite on the screen. Mullings(+1) has the screen and interrupted the TE's release enough that the guy is running OOB and never tries to get back in. Ball misses anyway. Upshaw(+1, PR+1 helped force the bad throw beating the RT inside. RPS-1 good play design. Hat-2 terrible throw and TE ineligibled himself where M sideline is all pointing at it.
M42	2nd	10	Offset 4w Trips	4-2-5	404 Tite	1 fld	Run		Power GT	Colson	-2	-1.48
M blitzing into this (RPS+1) and Colson(+1) takes the first puller high to jam up traffic. Okie(+1) came in high enough to induce a give from a more springy QB than this then redirects inside, gets an arm on the RB and yanks him. RB should go down but shakes loose and loses a few more as Jenkins(+1, tackling+1) shoots up into him.
M44	3rd	12	Gun 5w H Stack	4-2-5	Exotic	1 press	Pass	4	YOLO	Turner	33	3.16
T(27). Okie is unblocked (uh, RPS+2, PR+2 I guess?) so Bazelak has no option but to chuck it off his back foot. So of course it lands right in his WR's bucket. Think Camper maaaaay have gotten away with a push-off since Turner(-1, cov-1)'s upper body bends back weirdly and zero separation suddenly becomes two yards of it just as the M bench throws up its hands. Can't tell without a replay. Moore(-1) has a bad angle and is lucky to trip Camper as he trips Turner cause only way this is more ridiculous is if it's a TD as well.
M11	1st	10	Widcat Trips	4-2-5	Nk Split	2 press	Run		Power Read CG	Graham	0	-0.29
McCully in as Wildcat QB. D-Mo(+1) explodes into the edge to create a backup. Graham(+2) is moved by a double then rips his guy down and surges forward to stuff this. True freshman!
M11	2nd	10	Gun Trips	4-2-5	Nk Over	1 press	Pass	4	Wheel	Barrett	11	2.76
Barrett(-2, tackling-1, cov-1) takes a step down as the RB leaves the backfield and he's dead. RB breaks his tackle after 6 yards to turn it into a TD.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 7-7. 4 min 1st Q. Hart goes down after this.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Offset Trips	4-2-5	Nk Over	1 off	Run		Power GT	Jenkins	1	-0.59
Morris(+.5) blows in the edge but Smith(-1) isn't looking for the T and gets scooped down to Barrett. Colson(+1) stonewalled the lead blocker in the hole and Jenkins(+2) stood up the C in the backfield then fought across him to stuff this.
O26	2nd	9	Pistol Trips TO	4-2-5	4-3 Over	1 off	Play-Action	n/a	Sack	Harrell	-10(+25)	1.06
T(28). Just a two-man route, M covers it (cov+1) then Harrell(+2, PR+2) rips by the LT, sacks, and wipes his nose clean. Refs-3 issue the weakest unsportsmanlike conduct in history.
O31	1st	10	Gun 2RB	4-2-5	Nk Even	2 off	Pass	4	Dumpoff	Paige	2	-0.44
T(24). Morris(+1, PR+2) times the snap and is around but RT gets just enough of his inside bicep that Bazelak can slip forward. He's got to dump it now with Smith(+.5) coming through a double. Paige(-1, tackling-1) whiffs a TFL to turn this from 3-yard loss to a gain. EO1Q.
O33	2nd	8	Gun Str Tight H-Fly	4-2-5	4-3 Split	1 fld	Play-Action	n/a	PA Banana	Colson	13	1.86
Colson(-1, cov-1) sucked up on PA and then has to catch up on a WR who lined up like a TE. RPS-1 for the matchup. WR gets hit inbounds then flops into his bench.
O46	1st	10	Empty Str Bunch	4-2-5	4-4 Over	1 press	Pass	4	Curls	Colson	9	1.21
Gamesmanship: M takes their time switching DEs after IU changed a player, Bazelak's arguing. Morris(+2, PR+2) is immediately inside the LT, Colson(-2, cov-1, tackling) has no reason not to come down and contest this curl under him and also has help from Barrett that he doesn't use so WR can turn upfield for near 1st down yards. Bazelak takes a whack.
M45	2nd	1	Empty 5w	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 off	Pass	4	Hitch	Moore	6	-0.16
T(30). IU knows M's tempo check is Cover 3 (their base) and runs it under Moore again (RPS-1, cov-1).
M39	1st	10	Gun 2RB A-Flare	4-2-5	Nk Even	1 press	Pass	4	Throwaway	Morris	5	0.87
Gamesmanship backfires as Refs-2 start making up their own rules. IU changes and M is mid-change but are allowed to snap it. AND they call M for too many men. Morris(+1, PR+1) gets a little pressure. IU wanted the flare but Moore(+1, cov+1) took it way so Bazelak abandons the pocket and chucks it literally into the stands.
M34	1st	5	Gun 2RB Tight	4-2-5	4-3 Split	1 off	Play-Action	n/a	PA Drag	Rolder	15	-0.33
Rolder(-2, cov-2) sucks all the way down on PA until he's contacting the OL. No MLB in the hole, easy completion. Moten(-1) was C/F defender and also sucked down so Bazelak had options.
M19	1st	10	Gun Tight	4-2-5	4-4 Even	1 off	Pass	5	TE Fade	Mullings	Inc(+9)	0.09
Okie(+1, PR+1) puts the RT deep and has a hand in the way that probably was good enough for an Inc. Don't know because Mullings(-2, cov-2) gets a hand around the TE as he makes his break. TE feels it and starts embellishing hard since the ball's uncatchable.
M10	1st	Goal	Offset Str	4-2-5	4-3 Split	1 press	Play-Action	n/a	Split Flow Pick	Barrett	10(-25)	-0.19
Supposed to be a screen as the WR comes in to block Barrett, Turner(-1) should replace but doesn't. Ball's thrown past the LOS which turns that block into pass interference. Refs try to let it go but the sheer absurdity of the moment gets them to talk it out and decide to call the OPI. Klatt's all over it.
M25	1st	10	Empty 5w	4-2-5	404 Open	2 fld	Pass	4	Fade	Green	0	-0.45
Morris(+1) and Jenkins(+1, PR+2) win their rushes to the backfield. Bazelak chucks it over a sideline fade that Green(+1, cov+1) has locked down, takes a hit from Jenkins.
M25	2nd	10	Offset 4w Trips	4-2-5	Nk Over	2 off	Pass	5	Fade	Turner	0	-0.61
Before this more subs gamesmanship as IU tries to change very late, M takes their time responding, IU has to call timeout (RPS+1). They try Turner(+2, cov+2) on a back-shoulder this time. He puts his guy to the sideline so catch is made OOB.
M25	3rd	10	Offset 4w Trips	4-2-5	Nk Wide	2 off	RPO		IZ/TE Bubble	Smith	2	-0.48
Four-man box, no RPS because a run is give up and kick. That's the plan. Smith(+2) two-gaps the C and stops this himself.
Drive Notes: FG(41). 10-10. 12 min 2nd Q. I had to attack the fridge 4 times on this 13-play drive. Also M goes 3-and-out so we're right back to it.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O24	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Split	2 fld	Pass	5	PA Fly	Johnson	0	-0.67
They test Johnson(+2, cov+2) who put his WR deep into the sideline so the guy's no long even eligible. Smith(+1, PR+1) gets through the OL and one helpfully gives him a shove on his way to the QB that he turns into another hit on Bazelak.
O24	2nd	10	Offset 4w Trips	4-2-5	Nk Over	2 off	Play-Action	n/a	PA Flash Screen	Moore	13	1.77
Again, I bet this is a presnap read. IU is 3v2 to the field with Moore(-1) two yards inside the hash and stepping down at PA so it's an easy one. Sainristil(+1) gets to the outside shoulder of the one blocker and forces this to the sideline but nobody's there since M is playing off and 1-high. RPS-2. Why are we so worried about the run?
O37	1st	10	Empty Str Bunch	4-2-5	Nk Split	2 fld	Pass	4	Z In	Okie	0	-1.07
Finally! Bunch formation allows Minter to call an Amoeba, bringing Colson(+1) who's unblocked and in like a rocket, and dropping Okie(+1, cov+3) right into the outlet. Okie can't quite tip himself an INT. RPS+2.
O37	2nd	10	Empty 5w	4-2-5	Dime Split	1 off	Pass	4	Curls	Moore	INT	-4.59
T(24). We get to this late. I think Okie(+1, PR+1) causes the INT by pushing his way close and getting a paw up to prevent the initial pass. Bazelak pumps and tries again immediately but now the WR has moved to stay between zones and it goes right to Moore(+2) for the INT. Hat-2.
Drive Notes: Interception. 10-10. 9 min 2nd Q. My gosh we needed that.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O20	1st	10	Offset Trips RB-Flip	4-2-5	5-1 Odd	1 fld	RPO		IZ/Flash Screen	Barrett	39	3.15
M playing with a light box compounded by Colson(-1) giving the QB a 100% give read--it's Bazelak man, make him test you. Smith has a double and is giving up ground, Barrett(-2) runs himself on the wrong side of it and falls down. Moten(-2, tackling-2) can stop this at 10 yards but whiffs on the little guy (Hat+1 to the jetsmurf) and it's a 40-yard field flip. IU gets a sideline warning, I know not what for.
M41	1st	10	Offset Trips	4-2-5	Nk Split	2 fld	Play-Action	n/a	Flash Screen	Colson	6	0.27
Sight read thing as IU's 3v2 on the wide end of the field. Sainristil(+.5) turns it back inside at the numbers but it's a free 6 yards before Colson & Paige can arrive. RPS-1.
M35	2nd	4	Empty 5w	4-2-5	Dime Split	1 press	Pass	3	Hitch	Harrell	7	0.20
Colson is yelling at Smith(+1, PR+1) who starts looping before the snap and has a bit of momentum. C falls down and takes Mazi with him, don't think it was intentional. I don't know 5w coverages but I think this is the same deal that Okie nearly intercepted last drive and Harrell(-2, cov-1, tackling-1) was supposed to drop right into this. He is too far inside, then also whiffs the tackle. DCs: can you figure out the coverage? I'm not willing to buy that Green's the curl/flat.
M28	1st	10	Offset Trips RB-Flip	4-2-5	Nk Splits	2 press	Play-Action	n/a	Flash Screen	Sainristil	2	-0.19
Mazi shifts his feet, refs miss a twitch by the RG. M handling the screen much better with Moore(+1) sneaking down after Bazelak's sight read to push this out to Sainristil(+.5) set up on a TE.
M26	2nd	8	Offset Trips	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 off	Play-Action	n/a	Tunnel Screen	Sainristil	6	0.10
Sight read--it's 3x3 but M is playing off (RPS-1). TE is running into but not actively blocking Paige, C released on Mullings 4 yards downfield though so I don't blame Rolder (Refs-1) for stepping down on PA. Sainristil(+1, tackling+1) does well to get around Paige and keep it to a short gain.
M20	3rd	2	Gun Tight	4-2-5	4-3 Under	1 off	Pass	4	Out	Okie	5	0.30
Same blitz as last time gets picked up (PR-1, RPS-1) and Okie(-1, cov-1) can't quite get up enough to prevent a quick pass in the flat that Green's playing high over.
M15	1st	10	Gun 5w	4-2-5	Nk Even	1 press	Pass	4	Bubble Screen	Rolder	10	0.67
T(25). IU is 4v3 to the field, think this is on Rolder(-2) not seeing the RB split out but maybe the coaches? RPS-1.
M5	1st	Goal	Gun Tight Z-Jet	4-2-5	4-4 Under	n/a	Play-Action	n/a	Z Whip	Turner	Inc	-0.55
Turner(+2, cov+2) sees the Z reverse his motion and flies outside. Okie(+2, PR+2) closed the distance in a hurry and is going to sack so Bazelak chucks it away.
M5	2nd	Goal	Gun Twins	4-2-5	4-3 Under	n/a	RPO		Belly/Split Flow	Harrell	-1	-0.39
Harrell(+2, tackling+1) slanting inside and plays this perfectly, getting upfield under control at the mesh point to induce a give and clean up. RB tries a cutback but Paige is blitzing that edge (RPS+2).
M6	3rd	Goal	Gun 2RB Z-In	4-2-5	4-3 Split	2 press	Pass	4	Drag	Sainristil	0	-0.30
IU puts this WR in motion from the far sideline hoping to outrun Sainristil(+2, cov+2) who tracks the whole way and punches it out. Harrell(+1, PR+1) put a move on the RT and was harassing. Then Morris blocks the FG.
Drive Notes: Blocked FG(24). 10-10. 3 minutes 2nd Q. Huge stand after IU did the same to them.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O41	1st	10	Gun 4w Trips	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 fld	Pass	4	Bat	Okie	Inc	-1.14
0:47, 1 TO. Okie(+2, PR+2) shoves the RT all the way back, gets a hand up and bats down a pass. Turner(+1, cov+1) actually had the hitch Bazelak was throwing covered so well it might have been a pick.
O41	2nd	10	Offset 4w Trips	4-2-5	5-1 Split	2 fld	RPO		IZ/TE Bubble	Okie	11	2.11
0:43. Sight read, 3v4 to field = give. Okie(-1) hops inside the RT, who is beat but gets just enough of Okie's waist (that's legal) to get his RB around: no edge but bent the guy enough that Paige(-1, tackling-1) can meet the RB after 5 yards. He gets run through for another 6, which is extra annoying since a 1st down stops the clock.
M48	1st	10	Gun 5w H Stack	4-2-5	Nk Splits	2 fld	Pass	4	Sack	Morris	-6	-2.36
0:31. Gorgeous coverage as IU is trying to rub off the Nk on a hook and Sainristil(+1, cov+2) gets through traffic to stay on top of it. That's all the time Morris(+2, PR+2) needs to Hutch through the LT and sack with Okie(+1) closing off the other side. Bet you a dollar Clink takes this clip with him to coaching clinics this summer. IU expends its timeout.
O46	2nd	16	Gun 4w Trips	4-2-5	Nk Wide	2 fld	Pass	4	Hitch	Turner	Inc	-0.67
0:26, 0 TO. The RT falls down as Upshaw(+2, PR+2) comes around on a stunt with Okie and maaaybe got some of Bazelak's arm on an underthrown hitch that Turner(+1, cov+1) is all over. Floppy untouched WR threw up his hands trying to gin up a fake PI.
O46	3rd	16	Gun 4w Trips	4-2-5	Nk Even	1 fld	RPO		IZ/Bubble	Upshaw	-1	-0.28
0:21. M gets lined up right late, IU leaves Upshaw(+1, tackling+1) unblocked. Uh, Hat-3? RPS? IU elects not to try a Hail Mary.
Drive Notes: EoH. 10-10. Fifty plays Walt Bell made me chart this half. FIFTY!
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun 2RB A-Flare	4-2-5	Nk Over	2 fld	Run		ZR Dart Stetch	Barrett	15	1.32
M rolls down a S at the flare action and wants to pull the C and backside T around their respective Gs; we call this Dart. Brian and I disagreed about which LB is at fault on the podcast and I'm sticking with my initial read: Smith(-2) gets scooped, Colson(-1) needs to make him right by following the puller but gets caught backside. There's now 3 gaps for Barrett/Jenkins to cover, one of them widening since Harrell(-1) got kicked a yard more than he should. Jenkins(+1) holds up to his double and gives Barrett a chance by keeping him clean and setting up the G so he can replace Colson if needed, but Barrett is boned. He babysits Colson's gap, delaying the RB for a spell but then the RB threatens inside and it's sell-out time. RB bounces to the other gap.
O40	1st	10	Offset Stack (X)	4-2-5	Nk Over	2 off	RPO		Dart/Bubble	Barrett	3	-0.43
T(25). Tricksy IU again lines up covered WR with just a toe within a yard of LOS on tempo to make him look eligible, this time M gives the covered signal (flexing biceps). This time they just dart the frontside. Jenkins(+1) hops outside to take it away. Barrett(+.5) stays in his gap this time to force a cutback to Smith(+1, tackling+1) who sheds and tackles.
O43	2nd	7	Empty 5w	4-2-5	Nk Under	1 off	Pass	4	Dumpoff	Colson	4	-0.16
T(26). Cover 3, Morris(+1, PR+1) throws off the LT again and Bazelak gets rid of it. Colson(+1, cov+1) tackles immediately.
O47	3rd	3	Gun 2RB	4-2-5	???	2 off	Pass	4	RB Flat	Turner	6	1.74
T(25). Miss the snap as we're zoomed into Colson. Turner(-1, tackling-2, cov+1) could stop at the LOS but whiffs his tackle on #12. Neat little weapon they found in this guy.
M47	1st	10	Empty 5w	4-2-5	Nk Over	1 fld	Pass	4	Sack	Colson	-9	-2.84
T(26). Minter(RPS+2) dials up a drive-killer that Colson(+2, tackling+1, PR+3) pays off by getting from depth into Bazelak. Morris(+1) also beat the LT inside. Drive-killer! Not negging him for this but Harrell didn't look up the dig coming into his zone, so that's the tradeoff.
O44	2nd	19	Offset 4w Trips	4-2-5	Nk Over	2 fld	RPO		IZ/Curl	Barrett	2	-0.33
They line up quickly but 20 seconds is not tempo. RPO read is on Rolder(+.5) who makes it hard enough that there's a good long mesh point. Jenkins(+1) controls the RG then comes inside him to force a bounce to Smith(+1) who's beat the other LG. RB trips on that guy's feet.
O46	3rd	17	Empty 5w	4-2-5	Nk Even	2 off	Pass	4	RB Drag	Rolder	0	-0.34
Bazelak doesn't like his first read (cov+1) where M is 4v3 to the field, comes back to #12 with Rolder tracking 5 yards downfield, which feels like a speed mismatch but isn't??. Benny(+1, PR+1) swam through the LG and gets a hand up, might have a finger on the throw which is behind and takes the WR/RB/hyperspeed 3rd grader/whatever off his feet, dropped. Might have been a long chase otherwise but lots of M players in position to stop well short of the sticks so not fretting it (This is a lie).
Drive Notes: Punt. 10-10. 12 min 3rd Q. Moten is offsides on the punt, 2nd try rolls to the 2.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Empty 4w	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 off	Pass	n/a	Flash Screen	Barrett	4	-0.11
3v2 look with a CB way high (RPS-1) but Barrett(+.5) tracks the TE outside and Paige(+1) gets across the H to take out both blockers so Barrett can run it out after a short gain.
O29	2nd	6	Offset Wk	4-2-5	4-3 Even	1 fld	PRO	5	Slant/F Insert	Sainristil	Inc	-0.65
M shows a 5-man pressure, RPO action sucks down LBs but Sainristil(+1, cov+1) had inside leverage and has a play on the slant. Never gets there because D-Mo(+1, PR+1) got immediately around the LT and has a hand right in the way, forcing the throw way upfield. RPS+1.
O29	3rd	6	Offset Tight	4-2-5	Exotic	2 press	Pass	6	Out	Johnson	3	-0.14
Testing Johnson(+2, cov+2) again. Bazelak has Sainristil blitzing free which maybe induces a throw too far upfield. On target it's probably 4th and 1 but WR has to give up 2 yards to catch it and WJ can push him OOB.
Drive Notes: Punt. 17-10. 7 min 3rd Q. Probably the right call on 4th and 3 from the IU 29 but also glad they punted, and not just because Henning's return and a late hit set up M at the IU 33.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O20	1st	10	Gun Str Bunch	4-2-5	4-3 Split	2 fld	Play-Action	4	Bootleg	Upshaw	Inc	-0.56
Upshaw(+1, PR+2, RPS+1) immediately upfield, Mullings(+1, cov+1) is on the hip of the TE this is supposed to hit so Bazelak chucks it into Row 6.
O20	2nd	10	Offset 4w Trips	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 fld	Pass	5	Fade	Turner	Inc(+15)	1.70
McGregor(+2) and Upshaw(+2, PR+3) shoot by their respective tackles and meet at Bazelak, who chucks it vaguely in the direction of a WR that Turner(-2) basically blocked into the sideline without ever looking for the ball, picking up an unnecessary and hilariously obvious PI. Refs-3 also call a completely horseshit roughing the passer after Bazelak flops to the ground; fortunately it's just 5 more yards than the PI would have been. What a basketball school
O35	1st	10	Offset Trips TO	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 bdy	Run		ZR Power Stretch	Smith	2	-0.49
Zero respect to a "zone read" vs Turner who's just hanging out high. High edge by Morris(+.5) creates a cutback into Smith(+2) who two-gapped the LG. Barrett(+1) also beat the puller to the gap and was there if Smith wasn't.
O37	2nd	8	Empty Str Bunch	4-2-5	4-3 Split	1 fld	Pass	4	Curls	Colson	10	1.64
T(29). Harrell(-1)'s rush takes him way high, Bazelak can step up and throw to a WR that Colson(-2, cov-1, tackling-1) is playing soft over. Then he misses the tackle. Sigh.
O47	1st	10	Empty 5w	4-2-5	Nk Over	1 bdy	Penalty		False Start	n/a	-5	-1.22
Oops. RT pulled for #77.
O42	1st	15	Gun 4w Trips	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 press	Run		ZR Power GT	Mullings	1	-0.77
This is the Mullings makes a play play. Don't know why Harrell(-.5) has so much respect for a Bazelak keep but he's watching it well after the RB has the ball. Morris(+1) blasted the kickout blocker off his feet and Mulling(+1) read this pre-snap and flew down to pop the T as he arrives so there's nowhere to go except into Jenkins(+1) who sheds, plants his feet, and stops the RB at the LOS.
O43	2nd	14	Empty 5w	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 off	Pass	4	TE Seam	Turner	0	-0.66
Q-Jo(-2, cov-1) is the curl-flat, doesn't buzz the #2 on his release--watch Sainristil on the other side to see what he's supposed to do. Mullings(+.5) looks up the WR and starts getting over to make this harder. Turner(+2) gets over and punches it loose. Situationally I want to give him +3 for that but really Hat-1 receiver didn't secure it well.
O43	3rd	14	Empty 5w	4-2-5	Exotic	1 off	Pass	5	Throwaway	Morris	Inc	-0.36
Harrell is standing in the B gap, Colson(+1) blitzes from LB level and nobody blocks Morris(+1, RPS+2, PR+3), also Colson puts a move on the new RT so that guy gets nobody really (Hat-3). Jenkins(+1) got around the LT who yanks back with both shoulderpads but it's immaterial because by now Bazelak is just blindly chucking it skyward.
Drive Notes: Punt. 17-10. 2 min 3rd Q. All I ask for is spiritual grounding in our time! Also I think I see an Excel line with no plays on it at the bottom of my screen. Can it be?
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O19	1st	10	???	4-2-5	???	1 fld	Play-Action	4	PA Scissors	Jenkins	Inc	-0.53
Come to this play late. Jenkins(+1, PR+2) has shot past the RG and Sainristil(+1) is coming around a WR and their 3rd RT so Bazelak chucks it down the sideline. Might have had the guy open since Harrell was bailing kind of panicky but no grading that.
O19	2nd	10	Gun 2RB A-Flare	4-2-5	Nk Over	2 press	Pass	4	Slip Screen	Graham	Inc	-0.25
M's new answer for this is to have Paige shoot after the RB and the other S bail deep. This time they're faking the flare screen to set up a slip screen but M is coached to look for it (RPS+2). Graham(+1) comes out of a spin move, finds the RB in his chest, and stays with the guy. Harrell(+1) did so as well. Bazelak has to turf it.
O19	3rd	10	Gun 4w Trips	4-2-5	Exotic	1 bdy	Pass	4	Sack	Okie	-9	-0.18
Okie(+3, PR+3) lines up off the LOS, puts RG on his ass and comes through for a solo sack. Smith(+1) also chucked his blocker, and hurdled the fool Okie put on the ground.
Drive Notes: Punt. 17-10. 13 min 4th Q. No not an official fool hurdled. Extra credit fool.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O21	1st	10	Gun Trips RB	4-2-5	Nk Split	2 off	PRO	4	Slant/IZ	Sainristil	Inc	-0.59
They try to rub off Sainristil(+2, cov+2) and he's not having it, getting on his WR's hip and breaking it up.
O21	2nd	10	Gun 2RB A-Flare	4-2-5	Nk Split	2 fld	Pass	4	Throwaway	D.Moore	Inc	-0.28
M runs a S down at the flare again, Bazelak pumps and can't throw it (RPS+1). Now pressure matters; D-Mo(+2, PR+2) comes through the LT and is in the process of sacking so Baz turfs it. Level of uncalled yanking rising but immaterial. https://gfycat.com/fewheartfeltdalmatian
O21	3rd	10	Empty 5w	4-2-5	Dime Wide	1 bdy	Pass	4	Sack	D.Moore	-11	-0.20
Three true freshmen (D-Mo, Graham, Grant) and Harrell on the DL. IU trying blatant OPI, having the RB block Moten to try to spring a WR vs Colson. They never get a chance to throw it because D-Mo(+2, PR+3) bull-rushed through the LT and Harrell(+1) pushed the RT way high. The two combine to sack. Graham(+1) also put the new RG on skates.
Drive Notes: Punt. 24-10. 9 min 4th Q. Man, whenever you get them in position to pass pro it's ovah. Speaking of Ovah, next drive it's 31-10 under 3 minutes. We'll chart but no negatives for conservative coverage.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun 2RB Tight	4-2-5	4-3 Over	1 off	Pass	4	Curls	Mullings	6	0.33
Quick underneath throw that Mullings tackles on immediately. No notes.
O31	2nd	4	Offset 4w	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 bdy	Pass	4	Comeback	Green	7	0.79
Tempo(29). Quick throw under Green who's playing soft situationally.
O38	1st	10	Offset 4w	4-2-5	Nk Split	1 bdy	Pass	5.5	Throwaway	Green	Inc	-1.09
M brings five and a late sixth when the RB stays in (hence .5). It's picked up but Bazelak ain't dyin' for this and chucks it away at a fly that Green(+1, cov+1) was over.
O38	2nd	10	Offset 4w Trips	4-2-5	Nk Under	1 bdy	RPO		Stretch/Flash Screen	Rolder	3	-0.30
Smith(+.5) gives up ground but keeps playside of a double so Rolder can shoot down. Graham(+1) fought back to make the tackle after a short gain.
O41	3rd	7	Offset 4w	4-2-5	5-1 Under	1 bdy	Pass	5.5	Fade	Turner	Inc	-0.56
T(28). Rolder(+1) draws a double and mushes it upfield that gets Upshaw free (RPS+1) on the stunt. Bazelak doesn't want to die so he flings it away then spins around to protect his innards.
O41	4th	7	Offset 4w Trips	4-2-5	Exotic	2 press	Pass	4	Sack	McGregor	-8	-4.20
If I'm Bazelak's mom I'm pretty furious he's still in. McGregor(+2, PR+3) gets in on an easy stunt and takes Bazelak down a final time.
Drive Notes: Turnover on Downs. 31-10. 1 minute 4th Q. Kneeldowns from here.

Why can't we stop friggin' Indiana?

We stopped Indiana. They scored 10 points.

Okay sure but they were ten very much annoying points.

No kidding. Apparently no human being is capable of remembering old games against Maryland. But if you had such a power you might recall that Walt Bell offenses have a tendency to do that. They run a gazillion plays, most of which start by getting the ball to some guy 8 yards in the backfield and making you wince as he bobs around for what's ultimately a 4-yard gain. When you do have success against a Walt Bell quarterback, the guy just drifts backwards and throws it to the sideline, which is a good defensive outcome, but also means everybody is unsatisfactorily walking forward again after the play. A few quarters of this and anybody would have trouble sorting fact from fiction.

Okay then true or false: It felt like every drive Indiana was able to move the ball

False. You remember three drives out of twelve that went anywhere. The TD drive was 63% the phantom PI and a back-foot chuck under pressure that was as likely to land in Indianapolis as his own player's hands. The field goal drive was over until the softest ref in America flagged a guy for wiping his nose. The pinnacle of Indiana's offensive success was the same official not letting Michigan change after Indiana did so, then penalizing Michigan for it. In case they all run together, that play too was a back-foot chuck under pressure.

I thought about making this chart again with only things that were under Michigan's control but you get the idea. Other than some missed tackles and linebacker biffs in coverage, once Michigan got aligned on screens Indiana would find itself in a passing down, and Bazelak's internal organs issued another pitiful murmur.

I remember all of their RBs breaking big runs

True, to the minimal extent.

• Jaylin Lucas got Barrett to hop in the wrong gap then broke a Moten tackle to add another big chunk on the end. The rest of his rushes: 1, 2, and 3 yards.
• Shaun Shivers picked up 15 when Mazi Smith got scooped and Barrett had to cover two open gaps. The other six Shivers runs got 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, and zero yards.
• Josh Henderson picked up 11 during the pre-half two-minute drill because Okie pass-rushed and gave up the edge. The other five Henderson runs went for 1, 2, –1, –1, and –2.

Bazelak threw like 50 passes for many yards.

Almost True and False. He threw 49 passes for 203 yards, a TD and an INT. That is 4.1 YPA. That is a QBR of 38.7. Also most of those yards were screens or dinks where a guy broke a tackle. It also doesn't include sacks—there were may.

Removing penalties, dropback passes in this game (sacks included) gained 2.4 yards per attempt. Play-action passes got 6.1. When you see a disparity like that it's usually the linebackers sucking up on play-action, and—yup—that happened a few times. I got Colson and Rolder each for a 13-and 15-yarder, respectively.

The rest of the successful PA events were screens, and not so much play-action as sight reads. As for the dropback passing game, I charted 45 of them for 131 yards (2.9 YPA). In there are five penalties for 29, most of them dubious and none completable. Another 33 yards were from the out the YOLO bomb this dude couldn't recreate if his basketball team depended on it:

The non-penalty, non-whateverthehellthatwas part of Bazelak's day was 39 passes for a nice 69 yards, at a clip of 1.8 yards per dropback. Spencer Petras is looking at that number thinking "Man, I can beat that."

There were many screens and Michigan didn't adjust to them until the second half.

Okay yeah this was an issue, though by "issue" I still mean Michigan did better than any other Indiana opponent against the main thing Indiana's offense does. I'll get into a deep dive on the screens tomorrow in Neck Sharpies. Their issues, in descending order of magnitude, were:

1. Michigan kept lining up with not enough guys to cover a side and IU had a way of taking advantage every time.
2. Michigan's base coverage is weak in the flats.

What Indiana was doing is what I call Sight Reads, IE pre-snap run-pass options where Bazelak could pull it if he liked the numbers matchup outside. Here's a canonical example:

The line is blocking run (pulling two guys) but Bazelak makes no post-snap reads. He turns and guns. The read was before the snap: #19 Rod Moore is several yards inside the hash mark, Junior Colson might even be closer to the boundary hash, and IU has 3v2 to the field. Michigan figured it out by the end of the 2nd half. This play's the same setup, except look at Moore.

Bazelak reads him on the hash, then when the QB turns his head Moore sneaks down to join the field coverage. When Bazelak looks back again he's throwing to the guy Moore is running at. Passing down: prepare to die. This went back and forth all game: IU threw out new weird alignments and personnel off tempo, and Michigan raced to line up over them without voiding the box. Eventually M adapted to all the looks IU had prepared and that was that.

 

The thing that didn't change was Michigan's cornerback bailing deep. Watch Turner, the CB on the bottom, on the play above. Michigan was doing that against every one of those screen plays I captured above. Don't scroll up; I've clipped them:

WHHHYYYYYYYYYY???????

Michigan probably didn't respect Indiana and figured they could use a chunk of those 50 passes to rep their base Cover 3. Quick Cover 3 rules refresher: You're weak up the seams so the guys who are ultimately covering the flats have to take those away at the start of the play. We call it "buzzing." Until the flat defender is done buzzing, the flats are unguarded. You can see it on both sides of this play, and the result with Moore at the top:

You can't skip the buzz, though a few have tried. Turner had a huge breakup on this next play, but the reason it was almost a catch was Quinten Johnson wasn't buzzing on his way to cover the flat.

DB#28 on the 50, second up from the bottom

You can watch the top of the same play to see Sainristil properly buzzing. You can also see Turner setting up on the numbers so maybe that was a coaching decision to get to the screens to the flats faster? I put it on Q-Jo, but it's possible they were just trusting Turner to make a play. He did, after all.

I think Michigan's coaches were hoping that their base Cover 3 and its switching rules would naturally lead to the corners erasing one WR/blocker and deliver Sainristil across the next guy to claim the outside until a speedster like Colson or Moore arrived. Get away with that and you can get away with more material inside and confound the confoundable IU blockers against everything else. And if you can't run Cover 3 and its switches and extra rules so well that it can stop this sort of attack, best to find out now.

So. Jesse Minter didn't plan anything for this game. They just repped base stuff and reacted.

False. The trick was to call a shot on an early down to force Indiana into passing situations where they couldn't rely on screens anymore. Michigan forced a punt on Indiana's first drive by taking away Bazelak's quick reads early on this 1st and 10. This is a man coverage with both LBs spreading out to bracket the curls.

That leaves more room for guys to run around open downfield. Go ahead, Bazelak. Stand in that pocket and look for guys downfield that your arm can get to before the coverage closes in.

Man, Michigan had a lot of guys who could get to the quarterback this game.

True.

Michigan might have had too many guys who get to the quarterback this game.

That should have been my hot take. At one point I realized that Taylor Upshaw was going to be coming in for a pretty high score. I wanted that to mean that Michigan's found a role that's perfectly suited for him and he's thriving in it, but really he was just abusing the terrible Indiana offensive tackles like everybody else.

#91 the edge on the bottom

You want to celebrate Upshaw's success there, but we've seen Upshaw and know what he's capable of versus quality (or semi-capable) linemen. If he's suddenly an unblockable freak when he goes up against this right tackle, and everybody else is as well, how much is really on Michigan's edges versus the competition? This is my Taylor Upshaw problem, and it makes me wary of all the other grades for the defensive line in this game, and the team's ability to generate pressure in general.

I would like these performances quantified to understand if any stood out.

Understandable.

Perhaps some sort of numeric scoring comparison could enlighten me as to whether this performance could be attributable to certain individuals' skills versus a contextual anomaly born from contesting Indiana's manifestly shitty offensive line.

This is true.

A chart would do.

Also true.

CHART!

Chart of falsehoods.

Defensive Line
Player	Snaps	+	-	T	Notes
Mazi Smith	53	15.5	3	+12.5	Scooped once, won doubles lots.
Kris Jenkins	52	11.5	0	+11.5	Other Mazi, absolutely a star.
Mason Graham	21	5	0	+5	Very loud day for how short it was.
Rayshaun Benny	18	1.5	0	+1.5	Even got to edge rush once.
Kenneth Grant	8	0	0	-	DNC but noticed.
Michael Morris	41	13	0	+13	Also blocked the FG.
Jaylen Harrell	36	8.5	4.5	+4	Overall good but can he hold off…
Eyabi Okie	32	13.5	2	+11.5	It's happening. Caveat: Indiana OL suuuuuuucks
Derrick Moore	27	6	0	+6	It's happening more slowly.
Taylor Upshaw	10	7	0	+7	Very effective in limited role.
Braiden McGregor	10	4	0	+4	Won his reps vs bad OL, dwindling snap count though.
TOTAL	312	85.5	9.5	+76	IU fired their OL coach after this.
Linebacker
Player	Snaps	+	-	T	Notes
Junior Colson	62	9	11	-2	More like Janus Colson amirite?
Nikhai Hill-Green	0	0	0	-	DNP
Michael Barrett	55	6	4.5	+1.5	Stuck his nose in there to win back the TD bust.
Kalel Mullings	22	2.5	2	+0.5	Two good plays, positive grade, no notes.
Jimmy Rolder	16	1.5	4	-2.5	Can see the future, also it's not now.
TOTAL	155	19	21.5	-2.5	Taking this as positive signs, still the weak spot.
Secondary
Player	Snaps	+	-	T	Notes
DJ Turner	70	10	6	+4	Star. Don't become a flag magnet now man.
Mike Sainristil	78	10	0.5	+9.5	I think it's time to update the chart now.
Gemon Green	64	2	1	+1	Ignored on the boundary.
Will Johnson	22	3	0	+3	Tested twice, unbeaten.
Rod Moore	65	4	4	-	Got the hang of screen-hunting eventually.
Makari Paige	59	2	4	-2	Tackling issue, rather he be the 1-high than the rolldown.
RJ Moten	13	0	3	-3	PT severely reduced, then blew a tackle. Ouch.
Quinten Johnson	19	0	2	-2	Not the answer.
TOTAL	391	31	20.5	+10.5	Held up in coverage, played off vs screens for reasons.
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Pressure	57.5	3	+54.5	Yikes Indiana.
Coverage	32	18	+14	Linebackers again.
Tackling	7	9	-2	The jetsmurf was trouble. The safeties were too.
RPS	21	13	+8	Gave up odd-man rushes, delivered pucks to the net.
Hat Tip	1	14	-13	And probably ruined Bazelak in the process.

Those metrics are weird. How do you get that much pressure and even have coverage events to grade let alone so much of it?

You already know the answer. Screens don't always generate "coverage" grades—that's a gray area where I hand it out if I thought the screen was part of a passing concept. I also hand out coverage events when I see them if I thought they were something a better offense might have exploited. Case example is what happens to Makari Paige (safety at the top) and Junior Colson (top LB) on the first snap:

That moment where Paige is slamming down on screen action and Colson is dropping back is obviously some kind of bust (even after Paige rolls down there aren't enough defenders for offensive threats), and there's an obvious window when Paige is getting back in trail that another quarterback might have attacked.

They got Moore on a fake screen one time too. He's #19 the safety flying in from the bottom-left:

Moore collected the interception and was much better against the screens when he finally started to (or was finally allowed to?) react to them. When Michigan finally made the adjustment Moore was coming down so fast Bazelak didn't even want to throw it.

I thought Paige, who has officially supplanted Moten as the other starting safety, wasn't in Moore's class when it came to that, but still quite sufficient when it came to speed, and then his size became a greater asset against the screen blockers. Paige also isn't in Moore's class as a tackler; he missed two in this game for 6 yards apiece.

That was a great contrast to RJ Moten, who had fewer snaps this game than even Quinten Johnson, but used one of them to whiff a tackle, turning Jaylen Lucas's turn for a 10-yard run into a 40-yard field-flipper immediately following Michigan's blocked field goal. I kept this to a –2 and gave Lucas a Hat+1 for keeping his balance but the RB is just running in a straight line and Moten's not on it.

The only time Q-Jo was relevant was when Turner had to bail him out on 2nd and 14.

#28 in the bottom slot, not preventing the slot receiver's release

I am making a conscious effort not to define this guy by the fake punt he gave up on Penn State's most obvious punt fake pass ever, and it means something that he's the next guy in with Caden Kolesar injured. Also the coaches maybe asked him to do that figuring Turner could get away with lining up on the numbers. One play shouldn't put us off Q-Jo, is what I'm saying. He may be perfectly boring.

The cornerbacks weren't good in this game.

False. I covered the Cover 3 part earlier—it was clear Turner was being coached to stay high and not engage versus the screens. Coverage events involving the cornerbacks were rare. Gemon Green spent the day on the boundary covering one guy in man that Bazelak wasn't going to throw to. Maybe he could have done better against this screen early but we already went over how this was mostly an alignment issue. A couple of times Bazelak hurriedly chucked something in Green's direction and the camera would catch him in good coverage before both corner and target realized it was more likely to end up in the field goal practice net than the field of play.

Okay, then DJ Turner. Why did you remove his shield?

Turner's been having too many negatives to offset his great plays, and has slipped down draft boards as a result, for me to keep the All-American designation on him. But he's still a 1st team-All-B10 caliber star who's showing up in big moments. Let's go back to the play I just clipped above for Quinten Johnson. It's still 17-10 in the 3rd quarter, you've got Indiana in 2nd and 14, a fifth-string safety just blew a buzz, and everyone knows Bazelak is more likely to get a broken rib on 3rd and 14 than another opportunity to convert like this one.

DJ Turner has embraced the "playmaker" part of being the star of the defense and self-fulfills the prophesy about once per game. I was tempted to +3 that just for the situation but a better receiver probably has it more secured. The other Big Moment™ that got Turner'd in this game was the beginning of the crucial stand near the end of the 2nd quarter. Indiana has a 1st and Goal at the 5 after holding Michigan to no points in a similar situation then marching down the field with the Hoosiers' best drive of the game. You've seen how fired up Tom Allen can get when he goes into halftime with a lead over Michigan. You've also seen Michigan mess around with defenses all year with whip routes. Indiana tries it on Turner and he goes nay-nay on your whip.

Indiana tried Turner deep just once, figuring 3rd and 1 was when he'd finally go screen-hunting and step down to the flat. He did not, running step for step with IU's fastest receiver, closing the distance to zero, and leaving nowhere to catch the ball.

The official running with this decides to throw his flag before there's any contact; there's not a thing Turner could have done short of not defending this pass at all to avoid the penalty. Well, that or take a time machine back two plays. Klatt was trying to be diplomatic with a narrative that the ref who was clearly inventing a penalty did so because he missed this one (top of the screen):

Turner's in the guy's chest the whole way, the contact doesn't last that long, and then the receiver falls down on his own. The way we've always graded plays like this is the principle of rubbin's racing. Call it if you see it, but nobody wants a game where brief contact matters more than things like accuracy, timing, and coverage. The notion that this lot of nothing demands a fake penalty at the next opportunity is absurd.

To the bad, Turner was the guy on Camper for the moon ball. Uh, don't lose separation at the last moment when the quarterback is blindly back-foot chucking passes at your sideline? More annoying was the pass interference that got superseded by an absurd roughing the passer. I don't know if Turner assumed it was another screen play and he got bored or what, but he certainly got his money's worth. He also whiffed a tackle on Indiana's jet smurf.

Another thing I put on Turner was the touchdown that got called back (very late). Yes, everyone got mad because Turner's WR blocked Michael Barrett to create the edge for this TE to score. But that catch was *supposed* to be behind the line of scrimmage, making that a legal block.

Either Turner and Barrett need to have some communication that allows Barrett safe passage through there, or they should be ready to switch onto each other's defenders. You can't just rely on the offense executing it po— er, I mean you can't just rely on the offense executing it poorly next week.

How about Johnson? Not Quinten. Deon's boy.

Limited opportunities but whenever they tested Will his athleticism was more than enough to keep up with the Hoosiers. His size is a major problem for receivers used to using their long arms to get off the line of scrimmage. When they talk about "putting a guy on the sideline" this is literally what is meant:

The NFL rule is different but in college that WR has to immediately try to get back inbounds. The rule still has a carve-out for when you get shoved out and come back immediately, and fans often misunderstand that carve-out to mean any kind of contact means the sideline is free to explore. So here we have a case example for how they apply the ineligible receiver rule: guy gets jammed, goes out of bounds to get around it, then runs down the white. Ref's hat comes off, and that receiver can no longer be the first to touch it. In other words, Johnson won this route so thoroughly he would have to touch the ball first for his receiver to even be allowed to.

Mike Sainristil deserves a dangerman star.

Truth. I wasn't planning on Indiana being the star watch opponent for this but Sainristil has forced my hand. He did as much as Turner to stop Indiana's prepared plan for scoring in the redzone:

#0 starting at the top and following his guy across the field

They tried to rub him off and he still PBU'd a slant:

…and deterred a throw to a snare that Indiana had spent all half setting up despite loads of traffic trying to distract him.

He also remained his steady, unedgeable self, to the point that IU planned their screens to overload a side of the field until he wasn't the one they were trying to edge anymore. This guy was a receiver last year! Thinking Zeke Berry was going to replace him mid-season is now officially my wrongest take ever.

(Please don't got trying to think of others.)

You said most of the coverage issues were on the linebackers again.

True. But they weren't all bad. For example I had Kalel Mullings come in for a few good events related to learned skills. The one time Rod Moore went screen-hunting instead of staying atop his guy there was no damage that came from it. Part of that was Bazelak missing, but Mullings took his chip duty seriously, which put that tight end into the sideline.

Mullings also made up ground on my early season assertion that he wasn't being physical enough. Power runs are all about getting to the gap and bloodying something with blunt force, and Mullings wasn't afraid to do any of that.

#20 LB in the middle of the hashes

It wasn't a lot, but it was improvement. His one negative play was a pass interference that was a) light, b) extremely embellished by the tight end, and c) borderline uncatchable. Rubbin's racing rules are you get the negs if you get the flag, but as far as bad events I'd much rather have a linebacker getting a little handsy when a TE is crossing him than not around when a TE is running down the seam.

It wasn't really Mullings I was paying attention to.

True. Jimmy Rolder proved his Iowa appearance was more than just a "my parents are here to see me" dalliance before a redshirt. His shirt's burned. He's the #4 linebacker, and got plenty of run in this one. That run included two –2 freshman moments: sucking up on play-action and winning the award for most lost Wolverine on tempo.

#30, all over the place

To the good he made a mesh point long and difficult on an RPO, and when they got Jaylin Lucas crossing the length of the field on 3rd and long at the end of the half with Rolder in tow it wasn't clear that Rolder was in an athletic mismatch. I'm glad Lucas dropped it, but (hot take!!) I kinda wanted to see how that would go.

I think you're avoiding talking about the starting linebackers because it's just more bad news.

Absolutely false. Colson had another one of those games where you're mad at all the bad things he did and forget that he had just as many positives. This was the first game Michigan started using him off the edge a little, and while the 5-1 looks were still a bit dubious overall, Colson proved he can do more than just edge rush from out there. I wish Jaylen Harrel would cave in the edge of a power run this thoroughly:

Also he's NOT JUST AN EDGE BLITZER the way Nik Stauskas is NOT JUST A SHOOTER. Normally you don't see a linebacker blitz once he's clearly past the middle of the field, since even safeties usually lack the speed to get there in time to be of any use. Colson pours it in from deep like Sauce Castillo:

#25 on the top

Usually they're going to try to block him, sure, but he's coming so fast that much better protections than Indiana's are going to have trouble picking him up.

This is where I'm at with Junior Colson, sounding like Ace used to with Jordan Poole, or Matt D is bound to this year with Kobe Bufkin: enamored with his evident talent and frustrated that he can't yet be what he will be. Colson was the other guy not getting aligned when Indiana was putting running backs all over the formation. On the other hand it was Colson's uncanny speed and tackling ability that probably led Michigan's coaches to think they could get away with lining up a man down outside.

And it's not like Colson's a true freshman who doesn't know where to go anymore. The basic stuff is down. He knows whom to hit and when.

The problem is Colson's still on the raw side of true sophomore and still guessing at grass when the answer's right in front of him, and using ambiguous language on his Coverage 201 bluebook exams, giving up 9- and 10-yard plays in this game with soft coverage on routes we've already lectured him about persistently. Now he's also adding 300-level Edge courses to an already loaded semester. Here's a D-level performance on a Making Yourself Hard to Read 321 exam:

We shouldn't be worried about Bazelak keepers in the first place but we wanted the answer to include a shuffle and notions of diving on the running back so your buddies have an opportunity to cross their blockers. Edge defense is an excellent cognate with the stuff he's already doing, and he's got the talent for it. It's just that he's a student in his third semester we're asking to perform like a guy in at least his third year.

And Barrett was better?

He's an older player but just as new to middle linebacking, and seems to be on a learning curve as well. With Barrett however it feels like we skipped the 100-level stuff, like when your running back leaves you ought to as well.

…or THERE THERE YOUR GAP IS RIGHT THERE 101:

Like Colson, Barrett is a major asset as a blitzer, and when given the opportunity was very good against the screens, a reminder that he came from a different major back when Michigan still had a Viper program. As they work in young/new edge guys who aren't great at the linebacking aspects of their jobs there's not as much opportunity to use the linebackers in this way, which is a disservice to them. Right now if any of the edge guys could linebacker as well as Colson/Barrett, they'd probably be on the linebacker depth chart.

I think there might be some movement on the Edge depth chart.

True.

As in tha boy 'n from Bawmore bowt tah take'n sawmone's job righ bow'n now.

Oh dear god. No. No no no no no we're not doing a Baltimore accent every week.

Wha Bawmore accent, hon?

That. These bits need to stop. I can't keep spending precious UFR time each week on Stooryduster.co.uk or whatever the Maryland equivalent of that might be to do Eyabi Okie segments in a different dialect.

Well when that Bawmore kid gets playin' it's hard nottuh see the O-ja-bo innim.

Caveat Indiana, but this is true. If one guy seemed to be dominating the eminently dominatable Hoosier offensive line, Okie was the one doing it with extra mustard. Watch the left guard here.

This is what we're reduced to against Indiana: who had the more impressive feats against high schoolers? One of the more underrated of Okie's was causing the interception.

Okie gets in the backfield against that god-awful right tackle and gets his hands up, but it forces Bazelak to pump before he throws and then the receiver isn't there any more. This was happening all day—linemen are terrified of The Dip now and leaving themselves more open to getting bull-rushed, at which point Okie's close enough to the quarterback for those ridiculous spider arms to go up. It didn't matter so much against a giant like Spencer Petras but Bazelak struggled with it.

And the acceleration is something else. We covered Turner's role on this play but the reason there are no more options is how quickly Okie turns freedom into attack.

Also last week you asked if he can handle a zone read. Indiana brought in last year's QB for one Wildcat and got their answer.

And the acceleration and long arms make him more of a threat in coverage than he should be given the level of technique.

Put the package together, and for the second straight year I think Jaylen Harrell's job is in trouble. Of course, Harrell's not making it easy. We've been over 1st and 3rd down of this stand, and zone reads just now, but Harrell was responsible for the stuff of the day.

He too got a sack, shaking free of his blocker then using some impressive acceleration to close the distance before Bazelak realizes what kind of danger he's in.

Wipe it clean, eff yo' team.

That penalty doesn't lose him points in this space. It was cool. Also cool was how Harrell played the screen that we're all excited about Graham for. If Graham doesn't babysit the running back, Harrell's next door keeping an eye on things.

Unfortunately Harrell had some mistakes in this game that allowed Okie to make up ground. I can't be positive but I put this coverage bust on him "covering grass" as they say.

My assertion—that at least one person I showed it to disagreed with—was that this is similar to the other double-cone they did to initiate the punting sequence on the first drive. It's part of a larger pattern with Harrell as a linebacker: he's there and looks the part, but isn't very good at it. Here he drops but not far enough, and doesn't look up the receiver below him who's about to be open behind him—since Harrell can see Colson is about to sack I didn't hand out a coverage minus for this, but it comes up often when he drops.

The good news for him is neither of Michigan's linebackers are much better, so it's not that big of a deal if Harrell's doing high school-level spot drops in return for adding Barrett and Colson to the blitz mix.

The bad news for Harrell is he's still physically different than the other contenders when it comes go getting kicked out on the edge.

This play isn't his fault, but the way Michigan likes to play edge is have a big hulking Mike Morris out there who takes away the gap inside of him by squeezing his blocker back into it. Harrell's never going to have the size for that.

 

Speaking of Morris: still Chris Wormley?

 

Possibly false, because we're seeing a lot more natural pass rush from Morris than Wormley ever gave at Michigan. Adjusted for difficulty this inside rush still gets a +1 pressure. It's a +2 because of Indiana.

Morris was just entirely too much for this guy and any other lineman they tried to fling at him. Since we've already seen it against much better competition I think we can move on. Braiden McGregor and Derrick Moore also got sacks. Moore's was more of what we've seen him do to other guys. Brian said he's Not Just an Edge Rusher, but he's more of a bull rusher than anything else and always has been. That works really well against weak offensive linemen on a team that brought in a new OC this year to mitigate his OL's existence.

The Upshaw Factor doesn't apply to the interior, though right?

False. I love all of our true freshman defensive linemen, but you have to find it at least a little dubious that three of them—no matter how highly rated—can just dominate Big Ten starters out of the gate like this?

I can't stress this enough: Indiana's line was awful last year, and all that's changed since is Indiana changed to an offense that puts all its practice time into finding ways to move the ball without their help. Their OL coach got fired after the game. If we hadn't spent the nonconference season trolling around with the dregs of the Group of Five I'd be shocked at how bad things can get.

That said, Mason Graham is doing things you don't see from a true freshman defensive tackle, and don't require a Hoosiers explainer. This one takes one watch to see it, and then a few more to believe it.

DT #55 the 2nd guy from the bottom

From a distance it looks like one of the herd just went rabid. That's kinda like what happened too. He is losing that battle and then suddenly he rips the OL down and surges forward. And then there's the awareness I've never seen from a true freshman to spin off a guy, see a running back, and decide to babysit a screen to him:

IU ran the play this is supposed to counter three times, the last with a throwaway result because Michigan had it covered so well. It's not set up to the degree that Michigan's eventual play-action pass out of pistol will be, but it's that kind of moment. And it's ruined by a true freshman.

That was the guy playing less than a third of snaps but he gets first mention because we're getting bored with how well Mazi Smith and Kris Jenkins are playing. If you buy that the only halfway decent lineman on IU's team is former Michigan center Zach Carpenter, you're buying Kris Jenkins stock after this:

#94 the DT to the bottom

Jenkins was able to get more pressure than normal but if if you call than an IU thing, he was facing the same doubles and handling them dare I say better than even Mazi Smith:

#94 Kris Jenkins is the bottom DT, Smith #58 the top one

When Mazi Smith got scooped there I was like "Oh no, if he comes up with a bad grade THIS WEEK I've got some explaining to do. In general I thought IU's OL actually played better against the run, echoing something Jamie Mac said earlier this season that the OL have been discouraged by the passing but reengage when they can actually be relevant.

I also needn't have worried. I have three +2s for Smith that I didn't even capture because two-gapping Carpenter to keep a long field goal long is just a thing he does now. Usually he's standing up doubles so his linebackers can get to their assignments but occasionally that induces a cutback into Smith and it goes hilariously:

Finally, a ruling: This *Not* is a Hurdled Fool™:

It's not that the guy Smith jumped over didn't have the ball. It's that he's not trying to stop Smith—he's actually injured from Okie's rush. Injured guys on the ground are not fools; they're people.

Heroes?

Mazi Smith, Kris Jenkins, Eyabi Okie, Mike Sainristil, Mike Morris

Maybe not so heroic?

The safeties.

What does it mean for Indiana and beyond?

Caveat Indiana. Everyone on the DL had a game, which makes you wonder if it was the common denominator.

Eyabi Okie is coming for your job. Competition caveat or no, the only way to know if you got an Ojabo-like midseason breakout is to keep playing him.

Cover 3: repped. Good practice. Also they didn't take IU that seriously, which was probably correct.

Makari Paige has passed RJ Moten. They're still all starters, but Moten's the third starter now, not Paige. Also Moten's not really a starter anymore either.

Tackling issues might have been That Guy-related. Well there were some mishaps in LB vs WR moments but jittery half-RB half-WR dudes in space still make good football weapons if uncomplicated ones. Bad news: Nick Singleton is the 4.5-star version of that guy.

DJ Turner make nice with the refs please. You remember Jourdan Lewis and Lavert Hill reaching a point in their careers where announcers called them grabby, and officials thought of them as grabby, and then they couldn't get away with being so grabby. Turner wasn't grabby last year but he's got "craftiness" sneaking into his game.

Mike Sainristil has been a starting nickel for 4 years. All that time as a slot receiver he was shadowing his opposites and learning.