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Matt Demorest of HomeSure Lending and a Seth at exhaustion level 2 discuss that 3rd and 5 where it looked like Michigan just ran into a stacked box. Actually it was almost a big payoff of a play they had set up. If you're looking to buy or refi, Matt's the guy.

There is nothing after the jump because it's video content.

Schedule note: Sorry this is getting up late. It, uh, ran long.

Well, Brian went and Joel Klatt'ed* me again. I was going to use this space this week to talk about how the threat of a McCarthy keep opened up the two big runs for Corum and Edwards, and then Brian went ahead and Neck Sharpied in his game column. That piece (with his embed replaced with a more permanent clip):

It changes things. I mentioned that JJ McCarthy's legs were an important factor in Michigan's ground game in the Indiana UFR, even and maybe even especially when he didn't have the ball. That's going to come up again in this week's edition because hoo boy the threat of McCarthy keeping the ball was a major factor on both of Michigan's long touchdown runs. The Corum one is obvious; just watch the cornerback to the bottom of the screen:

 

Brian then asserted the threat of McCarthy keeping created the block that sprung Edwards the drive prior. Since it's bound to come up a lot more, and has been a hammer point of ours for years, I figured I might as well dig all the way in. And by all the way in I mean ALL the way in. This isn't going to just discuss a concept or two. We're going to put a lot of pieces together that make up the Michigan QB threat run game, because it was all relevant, and all worked in concert to create a 400+ yard running day against what, in the not too distant past, was considered one of college football's better run defenses.

* [Fox analyst Joel Klatt frequently breaks down events during broadcasts immediately after they occur, preempting our core content that does the same several days later.]

[After THE JUMP: First they crashed, then they burned.]

I promised you I'd get back to the #SpeedInSpace stuff Gattis was running in the Citrus Bowl and here we are. You may want to first go back and (re-)read Neck Sharpies: Can't Turn You Loose because it explains the rules and structure of Alabama's defense. That article then showed how Gattis messed with the Tides' coverage. Now we'll get into how he messed with their run fits.

Those run fits are comparatively simple. Saban's run defense is predicated on the fact that he has better athletes than every team he faces, especially at the three defensive line positions. The goal is to always stay balanced, so that the offense can't get numbers, and to bring five-man pressures to make sure any one-on-one victory in the front seven is rewarded.

It's not so different from Don Brown's philosophy in 2016-'17: bring pressure, set the edge, and push everything back to your meat-grinder inside, with hybrid players on the edges so you can quickly flip jobs when the offense moves personnel across the formation, ensuring your numbers are always even. Intuitively, "Rip" pushes those numbers to the (defense's) right side and "Liz" to the (defense's) left. Got it? Great. Let's fuck it up.

[After THE JUMP: Sure you're prepared for one guy to flip, but we have more than one guy]