War is not football, and football is not war, but having done both, they sometimes look like one another.

In 1879 the British Empire was nearing the zenith of its Victorian greatness. For most of the 19th Century the British Army had walked through most of its wars, having the occasional scare to be sure, but never staring down the specter of defeat. 

In January of that year the Empire decided it wanted to expand its holdings in southern Africa, and that meant an invasion of the Zulu. To say the Zulus were warriors would be to say that water is damp, or that MSU players are of questionable civic and moral virtue. It is a vast understatement. But the British knew their own strengths and experiences, and more importantly they thought they knew the Zulus. British commander Lord Chelmsford assumed the Zulu army was a slow and plodding mass, undisciplined, and with limited advanced weapons. He assumed that if he advanced fast enough and engaged the Zulus while they were in their villages for the harvest, he could bring his superior European firepower to bear and destroy the helpess Zulus with their stabbing spears and cowhide shields. Chelmsford was born into his position, and didn't quite appreciate the mistakes he was making. The Zulu impi had advanced over 50 miles in five days, while Chelmsford had only advanced slightly over 10 in double that time.

Ryan Day, but with better facial hair. 

In his arrogance Chelmsford neglected common sense tactics when in enemy territory. Like digging defensive positions when in camp, keeping his army concentrated so various wings could support one another, or even ensuring the enemy he divided his force to chase was actually the enemy's main effort. He was so certain that the Zulu could only do one thing, he chased full speed after the first Zulus he saw, leaving behind just over a thousand soldiers to guard the supplies at Isandlwana. It was a feint. They are Zulus, it is always a feint. The Zulu scouts pulled the core of the British infantry away from the camp, and at a full speed run (Zulus loved to run to battle) the Zulu main body was able to totally reverse their battle formation on the move, and attack the thousand British soldiers and native help Chelmsford left alone. Approximately 20,000 Zulu warriors rose up in a place the British least expected them, moving at a speed the British barely believed possible. Zulu king Cetshwayo's orders had been simple "March slowly, attack at dawn and eat up the red soldiers."

Zulu Warriors and their king... absolutely not to be messed with

The 6 companies of the British 24th Regiment of Foot Chelmsford left to guard Isandlwana were no scrubs. They were quality soldiers whose regiment existed even before Great Britain did. But Chelmsford had left them under the command of an administrative officer, who had limited game experience. 

The Zulus poured at the British Infantry and its allied Natal Native Cavalry in massive waves. The British were stretched thin, and every time the Zulus extended their line, the British were forced to match it. The British had to put every rifle at the front to merely slow the waves of onrushing Zulus. As a consequence, there were no second or third lines to push back any breakthrough. And break through the Zulus eventually did. After hammering away at the British front, the Zulu warriors found a gap between the Natal Cavalry on the right flank, and the British infantry in the center and poured into it. There was no one behind the first lines to stop them. An orderly defensive action quickly became a route, and the British line collapsed. Zulus poured through the British camp, slaughtering the helpless British who by now were nearly out of ammunition with the very weapons Lord Chelmsford found to be antiquated and obsolete. Over a thousand British soldiers fell at Isandlwana, and by the time Chelmsford returned with his main body, having never made contact with the Zulus, the camp was a smoking ruin and the Zulus had already moved on, to a place called Rorke's Drift. 

45-23

Michigan is a running team. Michigan loves to run. Michigan fans love watching the run. Michigan has turned the run game into part science and part art. Ryan Day looked at Michigan and tried to take away Michigan's strength. He neglected to plan for Michigan knowing this about themselves, and he refused to look at the Illinois game as a lesson. We all watched Indiana run crossing routes all over the field in 2018 and thought "boy I sure hope we get this sorted out by next week" the same way we looked at the run game sans Corum and Edwards last week and thought "pass or die". It appears that even though MGoBlog doesn't cover fucked, Michigan does indeed practice it. It appears the only ones who didn't see that warning was Ohio State. 

Ohio State looked at the Michigan formation and said "Blake Corum will not beat us". Which is a fine strategy. Except he played one drive and OSU didn't bother to adapt. Their full out attack won them the first half and in their arrogance, they just assumed they could count on JJ McCarthy being John O'Korn. He had to do something he had struggled to do all season. Something Ryan Day was betting his job he couldn't accomplish. JJ McCarthy didn't have to be amazing, he just had to hit the targets that Ohio State blundered into giving him. Wide open relievers on busted coverages for giant body blows that began to stretch the Ohio State defense, and once they started to stretch, Donovan Edwards broke them. The Ohio State defense was so broken it shattered the aura of invincibility Ohio State felt in their beloved Horseshoe. As the combination of JJ and Donovan began to pour it on the Ohio State defense, their offense began to panic, and the red uniformed route was on. 

Despite JJ not having the best passer rating of a Michigan player on the day (Kalel…..cough….Mullings…) and Edwards playing playing with a mitt on, both young men led their team. They led them into a place Michigan hadn't won since before they were born, and absolutely ate the red soldiers so thoroughly that their coach was on the verge of tears in his press conference.

This is the Michigan we have waited since… checks notes… forever… to see. Explosive in both phases of Offense, dominant on defense, and as the Pax Specialista Era draws to a close, with two of best offensive weapons in the country sharing the backfield with our Heisman Trophy candidate running back. It is great to be a Michigan Wolverine. 

The Horseshoe