Indiana Snowflakes: The Defense
October 14th, 2023 at 3:27 PM ^
Best defense I can remember at Michigan. Feels a little like 1997, when it was just as exciting to watch defensive series as it was offensive series.
October 14th, 2023 at 6:34 PM ^
In '97, I felt that the defense was more exciting than the offense. This year, they're both fun to watch.
October 14th, 2023 at 9:43 PM ^
In '97, the most exciting player on the offense was on the defense. There was a reason that team needed Woodson to play both ways.
October 14th, 2023 at 3:30 PM ^
Another great performance, but would be nice to fix the basic zone coverages before PSU. They're not explosive, but Allar can matriculate it down the field with the short passing game.
October 14th, 2023 at 3:43 PM ^
Can you explain "matriculate" for the osu you fans lurking on this site?
October 14th, 2023 at 4:50 PM ^
It’s not nice to tease.
October 14th, 2023 at 5:03 PM ^
It's OK they can't read anyway.
October 14th, 2023 at 3:33 PM ^
D needs to step their game up.
Before today they were giving up 6.67 points per game
After today they are giving up 6.71 PPG.
That's like 1/8th of a Field Goal.
October 14th, 2023 at 4:42 PM ^
1/80th
/pedant
October 14th, 2023 at 3:39 PM ^
Still no points-allowed >10 on the season. We also maintain the fact that opponents has snapped the ball zero times within our 10 YL** (zero goal-to-gos through *seven* games)!!
**Granted IU got literally as close as possible to ending that before being pushed back by Michigan and poor discipline.
Way to go, D (starters and the deep bench)! A lot of this is opponent-invariant and(or) that is unknown but it’s at the very least accomplished vanishingly rarely across history no matter the competing historical litany of poor SOSes. Our D is both different and every bit as impactful as in 2022, 2021, 2016, 2006, and 1997.
And it’s not implausible that we’re watching the literal best of those.
October 14th, 2023 at 3:39 PM ^
Took them awhile to wake up, but once they did, they were UP.
October 15th, 2023 at 12:35 PM ^
I don’t like the take ‘woke up’. That makes it sound like they were not taking the game seriously or started lazy. As the players said, they played basic formations to get a feel for the new IU OC plays they had not seen in film. Once the UM coaches saw a few series and a feel for IU tendencies, they got players in the right positions to stop IU.
October 14th, 2023 at 3:40 PM ^
They’re the Borg.
You get a couple of drives to get something. Even staggered just a bit today.
Then: “They’ve adapted.”
Resistance is futile.
October 14th, 2023 at 3:55 PM ^
Truly, we have the Best of Both Worlds with this team
October 14th, 2023 at 9:45 PM ^
Agreed, but come November, we'll learn The Measure of a Man.
October 15th, 2023 at 1:11 PM ^
It took me .359 seconds to wolf down what you were trying to say
October 15th, 2023 at 12:38 PM ^
Or the BORG. Lets you have fun for short while before you blackout in the second quarter.
October 14th, 2023 at 3:40 PM ^
That TD on trick play was overcome very well by D. Glad to see some good test for the secondary. They are only going to get better and better each week. Sabb is an INT machine. He is going to be really good next year. Overall, good play. It is hard to know what to expect with two QBs playing and a brand new OC calling plays. They adjusted well and dominated.
October 14th, 2023 at 11:59 PM ^
Sabb is the very definition of not-a-boring safety.
October 14th, 2023 at 3:42 PM ^
It wasn't pretty after 15 minutes. Indiana could run and pass and then had a 1st and goal and then scored to up 7-0. After that, it was lights out. Almost gave up a late garbage TD but it was called back.
Very good QB pressures a few good sacks plus forcing a fumble and T/O. Saab had another INT. They played according to script for the last 45 minutes, allowing lass than 60 yds of offense after the 1st quarter.
I'd rather see them start strong, especially next week against sparty.
October 14th, 2023 at 5:15 PM ^
They will be locked in from the start next week. It's Sparty.
October 14th, 2023 at 3:42 PM ^
I think the combination of Indiana having a bye week, switching offensive coordinators, and switching quarterbacks made the defense a bit tentative, but once they realized it was still Indiana they stuffed them in a box like they should! Great job D!
October 14th, 2023 at 3:43 PM ^
The only score was a TD on a well executed trick play. Four turnovers forced with three of them takeaways. Again, we were giving the opposing offense a lot of short yardage plays but it's happened just about every game so it's more of the plan rather than errors in scheme or execution.
This D is elite.
October 14th, 2023 at 4:19 PM ^
It was, but despite my post above there are some non-trivial concerns. One wide open deep completion wiped out by an unrelated penalty was just really bad coverage, and I would have liked better awareness on the trick play. Harder to see from field level, but looked clear that something was up from the getgo.
October 14th, 2023 at 4:32 PM ^
I guess I just haven't let myself believe that a secondary with Will Johnson, Mike Sainristil and Rod Moore can be anything below really good. We're not going to win every play. But I do somewhat agree that these guys shouldn't be getting beat long, ever. Certainly not against a team like IU.
October 14th, 2023 at 8:25 PM ^
The opposing offense is still going to scheme guys open. The idea that UMs DBs showing get beat ever is pretty unrealistic. Great DBs still get beat sometimes
October 15th, 2023 at 1:04 PM ^
The Big Ten has potential pros and great coaches on all of its teams and also sometimes you're just going to get beat long for a variety of reasons: The DC got RPS'ed, CBs slip and fall sometimes, or maybe even the opposing WR is a truly horrible blocker who would never start or even be recruited for UM just b/c of that, but they're really, really fast. Setting "not getting beat long ever' as an expectation is silly.
October 14th, 2023 at 4:45 PM ^
Eh. That penalty wasn't unrelated. It allowed the QB to get the ball off. Because Goode gets to him otherwise.
October 14th, 2023 at 5:13 PM ^
It was related to the play, but not the coverage. Burnt crispy.
October 15th, 2023 at 1:06 PM ^
Every pass play ever would be wide open and feature a burnt CB if the DL never rushed.
October 14th, 2023 at 9:53 PM ^
I was yelling "Pass! Pass! Pass!" as soon as I saw the play start to develop. Unfortunately, Keon didn't hear me. :) I recognized it immediately because the wide receiver took a couple of steps backwards before the pass was thrown; the only reason you do that is if it's a double pass.
Oh well; teaching moment.
I was very glad that the second IU touchdown turned out to be out of bounds, though. That would have been a bittersweet ending, particularly after Jaydon Hood's blistering hit and forced fumble ended up resulting in an IU gain when it just as easily could have been a turnover. (I assume the ball carrier must have recovered, which is why the fumble yardage counted?)
October 15th, 2023 at 1:09 PM ^
Another part of that play was that one of the (three IIRC) UM defenders on the edge was running right at the IU player who threw the pass and seemed to weirdly let up just enough to give him more time to make a pass. If he had kept going full blast I think he could've disrupted the throw.
October 15th, 2023 at 9:38 AM ^
That wide open deep ball was lost by Johnson. Couldn't see what happened there. But Goode was held bad and if not for that, throw would have never happened. Goode almost had the QB I think. Glad Refs caught that hold and facemask.
October 15th, 2023 at 10:31 AM ^
Definitely felt the same concern in the moment. But, went back and realized it was Keshaun Harris in coverage. I can't imagine he's going to see many snaps down the stretch of the schedule.
October 14th, 2023 at 3:45 PM ^
Overall, the customary dominating performance marred by getting got in the first quarter. Short passing game and some rushing success for Indiana, and then the long TD, which Gus and Joel said was on Sabb. Once Minter got what they were doing downloaded, that was it though. Suffocation.
Seemed like the defense had to get up to speed on a cold, wet day in Ann Arbor. That's all. Once that happened, destruction.
October 14th, 2023 at 3:52 PM ^
Squeeeeeeeze.
October 14th, 2023 at 3:59 PM ^
Got off to a slow start, but was pretty solid the last 3 quarters.
Love all the turnovers.
October 14th, 2023 at 4:09 PM ^
Lot of Ballers played today. Everybody ate after Indiana's double pass for TD. We have good depth on the D Line and it pays off over the course of a full game.
October 14th, 2023 at 4:10 PM ^
Cam Goode is quietly having a solid season. Seems to be flashing a few times each game.
October 14th, 2023 at 4:17 PM ^
Barrett says that "In the ass kicking business, business is booming."
October 14th, 2023 at 4:24 PM ^
Sabb will give you one, then he'll take one.
October 14th, 2023 at 8:52 PM ^
Yup, I'll take one major bust balanced by one takeaway a game, but only because it seems he's consistently doing the right things well the rest of the game
October 14th, 2023 at 4:28 PM ^
If you recover a fumble with a club you are doing pretty well in life, not going to lie.
October 14th, 2023 at 4:58 PM ^
I listened to the game on the radio for the 4th Quarter and Doug Karsch's call when Mason was running the fumble "bumbling and stumbling". I thought it was a cool Chris Berman reset
October 14th, 2023 at 6:41 PM ^
Sorsby be sore.
October 14th, 2023 at 9:55 PM ^
The replay of Graham with two arms on the ball -- well, one arm and one cast -- was awesome. "I. Will. Not. Drop. This. Ball." :). If he squeezed it any tighter, I think it would have popped.
October 14th, 2023 at 4:34 PM ^
Way too comfortable giving up 6 yards on every first down in the 1st quarter, but maybe this is just Minters way of scouting an offensive coordinator he never seen?
Dominant after the 1st quarter and lone TD. Looked like a different set of 11 last 3/4 of game
October 14th, 2023 at 8:28 PM ^
I guess we still need to complain about something.