2022 fiesta bowl

Why is this coming out in May? Because I need the grades for HTTV.

Why isn't Brian doing it? Because it's May.

Where's the B1GCG? Brian already charted it, will write it up soon.

FORMATION NOTES: TCU runs out a 3-3-5 base personnel with a couple of hybrids, and moves them around for different looks. Often one of the hybrids is a 3rd safety, but one (or both) can also become 3-4 OLBs. It's most obvious against this covered formation:

This also lent itself to something like Mint fronts, usually having the hybrids follow Michigan's TEs and walking down another safety to get 8 in the box from a deceptively light pre-snap look. I just called this 335 Over:

And when Michigan showed a spread formation the same personnel became a Tite front. TCU calls #13 Dee Winters an "OLB" but I used "SAM" whenever referring to him.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: Normal. Schoonmaker went out for the game after his long catch and Loveland-Honigford-Hibner were the TEs except when Bredeson was in for heavy stuff. Edwards the whole way at RB except short situations for Mullings—the one he fumbled he lined up as an offset fullback. Trente Jones came in as a 6th OL, and El-Hadi got a snap as a 7th OL. Wilson went out with a stinger early but came back. When they went 5-wide they just had Edwards and Loveland line up as receivers.

[After THE JUMP: Nose tackle got whupped and he don't care.]

UFR Glossary: Here. Sorry this took so long to get out. If you're wondering, it was the 3rd and 2 when Mazi Smith turned down a free sack that caused a three-month rage quit.

Video Note: It looks like Gfycat is dying. I got half of the videos uploaded before uploading stopped working. They're still hosting for now, but I moved to Streamable to complete the job. Feedback appreciated.

Substitution Notes: Michigan started in a dime with all three CBs and Turner the dimeback, and used that a lot instead of a second safety. A lot less rotation up front than most of the season. Colson, Barrett, Smith and Jenkins went most of the way, Harrell and Morris had about 75% of the snaps outside. McGregor earned his way on the field in the 2nd half, but Graham, Upshaw, Moore, Okie, and Rolder had far smaller workloads than usual.Secondary was Moore the whole way, Paige when Turner wasn't diming, and the usual cornerback rotation. Quinten Johnson got in for one drive. Moten did not play.

Formation Notes: Double arrows means the players who normally play those positions have swapped roles so "H<->Y" here means the slot receiver (H) and TE (Y) have done so.

I'm shortening the nomenclature for 4- and 5-wide sets to how the threats are arrayed, so this is 3x1:

And this is a "3x1 Stack RB":

…meaning the RB is on the same side as the stacked WRs. I'll list the field side first so if you see "1x3" that means 3 WRs to the boundary. TCU also went Unbalanced, meaning there's only a guard and a TE above the C here:

[After THE JUMP: Some surprising results]

You know the one. It's the play in the Fiesta Bowl, right after Mazi Smith was gifted a free 3rd & 2 sack and fell down instead, where Gemon Green blitzed from his cornerback position and nobody got over the receiver.

This play was driving me nuts, so much so that I've been stuck on it in UFR for four weeks. I think I know what went wrong, if not who specifically was at fault, so I thought I would draw it up then get it out of my brain.

The trick to finding out where the fault happened is to figure out where the extra material went. Since they're in zone, we're just looking to see if anyone's zones overlapped. And…yep:

On the top you have Mike Morris dropping into the same area that Colson is, and Moore coming down to the same area Colson is. Having two guys stacked there makes sense—there's a first and second level to the zone concept. Three means somebody's in the wrong place. The first suspect is Colson, because he's really close to Morris.

But there's more than a linebacker out of zone here, unless you think Michigan wanted a linebacker covering an All-American receiver? It makes more sense for Colson and Morris to be bracketing an in-breaking route from TE#12, with Colson taking the hole and Morris the curl/flat zone. Colson may be a little low in his zone, but that's not exactly unheard of for him, and he's still on top and inside of the TE.

It doesn't make sense to have a safety there as well, however.

[After THE JUMP: What were they thinking?]