Michigan 24, Army 21 (OT)
What did we say about scheduling a military academy?
Army, as expected, was misery. They played trench warfare, basketball before the shot clock, bash your face against the wall ass football. They ran the ball on damn near every play at a halting 3.3 yards per carry; this worked well enough because they converted all three of their fourth-down tries. There were very few scenarios in which this game wasn't at least going to be profoundly annoying.
Michigan conspired to make it a near-catastrophe. They lost three first-half fumbles, two of which led directly to Army's pair of regulation touchdowns. The other came one play after Josh Metellus was incorrectly whistled down while picking up an Army fumble en route to the end zone. Shea Patterson was scattershot as a thrower and limited as a runner, seemingly ordered not to keep on a read-option no matter how much Army overplayed the running back. The deployment of Dylan McCaffrey was again confusing and ineffective. Zach Charbonnet churned out 100 yards and all three Michigan touchdowns on 33 carries; he also had no chance on a pair of fourth-quarter fourth downs that were dead to rights.
hnnnnnnnnnnngh [Campredon]
So there we sat, collective butts clenched, as Army's freshman kicker attempted a 50-yarder as time expired to put this game on the ultimate upset highlight reel. Cole Talley's boot slipped just wide to the right, and Michigan had new—if not wholly earned—life.
After the two teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime, it appeared the Wolverines would give that gift right back to the Black Knights. Patterson missed an open Nico Collins in the end zone before throwing two incompletions Tarik Black's way, leaving Jake Moody to salvage three points and giving Army the chance to win with a touchdown.
Then the defense, which had fought tooth and nail against the triple option all afternoon, saved the day. Aidan Hutchinson ripped through the line for a tackle for loss that set up third and long, not a specialty of Army's. As Kelvin Hopkins Jr. dropped back to pass for only the fifth time on the afternoon, Kwity Paye flew around the edge and met Hutchinson at the quarterback. Hopkins couldn't hang onto the ball and Paye eventually pounced on it, bringing a sudden end to a miserable slog.
Let's never do this again.
[Hit THE JUMP for the box score]
September 7th, 2019 at 5:31 PM ^
The personnel and play calling have Harbaugh written all over them. Not on every play but on a significant number.
September 7th, 2019 at 9:53 PM ^
I really don't think so. I've been watching Harbaugh enough now that I have a good feel for how he calls plays and this was not it at all. I think this was Gattis getting a lesson in trying to get too cute. I have to get a re-watch in but I think I'm going to end up writing about the unbalanced stuff they wouldn't put away even after it was getting not much.
September 7th, 2019 at 9:59 PM ^
It didn't feel Harbaugh to me at all. They went under center once (and Shea took snaps there pregame) so you know it's in the playbook and yet they ignored that option in favor of shotgun handoffs that got killed by overload blitzes in short yardage situations.
It would be nice to have "Harbaugh needs to let go" be the problem because that's immediately solvable but there's a ton of evidence the problem is not that:
- Harbaugh offenses are good at preventing turnovers and converting short yardage and this offense has been awful at both of those things
- Harbaugh doesn't have a play sheet or even wear the glasses he needs to read one
- Harbaugh skipped the offseason offense install with coaches to attend the Super Bowl
- Everyone in/around the program says Harbaugh is not involved in the system or play calling
- There's no fullback
September 8th, 2019 at 11:09 AM ^
I don't understand how someone who has been watching the team since Harbaugh became coach can watch the game yesterday, and say what you just did. Personnel groupings were not at all Harbaugh like, nor was play calling until the second half. I do suspect he gave Gattis the directive to go more conservative at halftime, but I think that's about it.
September 7th, 2019 at 5:58 PM ^
That makes sense.
Harbaugh's basic instinct is to run short yardage plays from under center and with a fullback. Actually, he would probably prefer to run that scheme all the time. The current basic scheme (gun and one back) is being continued in short yardage.
That has to be Gattis' preference, not Harbaugh's.
September 8th, 2019 at 12:02 AM ^
Based on what?!? We have been a terrible short yardage team under Harbaugh against team with a pulse.
September 8th, 2019 at 2:36 PM ^
I disagree with this take. My impression is that Harbaugh is exerting influence on the play-calling and in-game strategy, which is a poor fit for the scheme/system that Gattis has installed. This is another example of half-fixes (like having two offensive line coaches, or having separate run and pass coordinators). The problem here isn't that Harbaugh is calling the offense. The problem is that he is telling Gattis how to call plays in a way that doesn't fit the offensive system. This team has been great at short yardage when they don't try to jam it down the defenses throat, or when they make the defenders hesitate with motion.
September 7th, 2019 at 5:18 PM ^
This game plan reeks of Harbaugh. If was just that Patterson was too injured to keep on zone reads or make throws down the field, he shouldn't have played. We have a very solid backup who can do those things and without those elements of the O, you get that ugly stuff we saw today.
September 7th, 2019 at 6:20 PM ^
If you're running an option play where one option is shot down before the play even begins then you're just running slow developing plays.
September 7th, 2019 at 6:59 PM ^
Or, you know, running into an unblocked player.
September 8th, 2019 at 12:39 AM ^
I agree about Shea pulling but actually think the gameplan was pretty good otherwise-- until they bailed on it in the second half. Just crunched some basic stats and Michigan had a 56% success rate and averaged 6.3 yards/play in the first half. They did this by passing almost 60% of the time and running only half the time on first down.
Then inexplicably in the second half they got predictable and ran the ball 67% of the time, including 77% of the time on first down. This incredibly predictable approach resulted in only 4 yards/play and a 34% success rate. It's like a different person was calling the plays in the first half versus second half. Assuming the gameplan was closer to what they did in the first half, the issue is that they adjusted their gameplan midway through, rather than had a bad one to start.
September 8th, 2019 at 2:19 PM ^
Thanks for that analysis - something did seem to go awry in that 2nd half. And I agreed with those who thought that Harbaugh likely freaked out and took play-calling duties back from Gattis.
September 8th, 2019 at 9:53 AM ^
Why Dylan was not playing is beyond disbelief for me. Shea has put the ball on the ground way too many times. He has missed way too many wide open receivers and obviously was not going to run the ball on zone read which limited us. If he’s hurt give him a rest. If not then he’s just playing bad enough he should be replace. Our offense was stuck in neutral all game try something else!
September 7th, 2019 at 4:44 PM ^
Paye recovered that last fumble, Uche couldn't quite get it.
September 7th, 2019 at 4:49 PM ^
I'll fix. Thought so too but the stats gave it to Uche.
September 7th, 2019 at 5:02 PM ^
Uche was the first one there to the loose ball though - he didn’t recover it but was key to making sure Army didn’t. Live, Uche had a great game.
September 7th, 2019 at 4:44 PM ^
At half, I was telling myself "I don't care how ugly this gets, just get the win." Butt-clenched was nail on nose.
September 7th, 2019 at 6:14 PM ^
Butt-clenched was not being a being able to pull a nail out of your ass with a tractor...
September 7th, 2019 at 7:32 PM ^
Agreed. My heart leapt into my throat during the OT PAT.
September 7th, 2019 at 4:45 PM ^
I say it every time I watch it. That system with even Sparty level talent completely committed to it, would win a NC every year.
September 7th, 2019 at 4:49 PM ^
Georgia Tech disagrees.
September 9th, 2019 at 9:02 AM ^
Ga Tech never had sparty level defense. In fact, their defenses were horrible most years under Johnson.
September 7th, 2019 at 4:51 PM ^
Part of what makes it effective is the novelty. If more teams ran it, defenses would be more used to it.
It’s also really hard to recruit to that offense because of the lack of NFL applicability.
September 7th, 2019 at 5:08 PM ^
A knowledgeable friend of mine said something similar.
I can see that. “Welcome to the triple option, mr. five star! You’ll never see sports center here!”
i hadnt thought of that when I posted earlier
September 8th, 2019 at 12:32 AM ^
Oh for sure on the rarity making it work. Defenses don’t even seem to get coached correctly on how to beat it.
At the HS level where in some areas this type of offense is almost common, coaches learn the best ways to combat it.
Don Brown did OK but missed some of the fundamentals. The best front is a 4-4 stack with LBs exactly 4yds off the LOS. D line slants into gaps and has the #1 goal of eating up blockers. They need to keep the LBs clean and able to crash down into the lanes as they show. And fergodsakes READ YOUR GUARD!!
September 7th, 2019 at 4:56 PM ^
This game did not offer any evidence of that. Michigan's defense handled the option fine. The offense easily should have scored 28 to 35 points. It's not like the offense was kept off the field, they just sucked ass.
September 7th, 2019 at 5:35 PM ^
Yeah the score wasn’t really indicative of Army vs Michigan. It was a lot of Michigan vs Michigan issues. Untimely penalties and unforced turnovers (you can debate “forcing” fumbles, but none were typical strips outside of Shea’s second fumble which can be attributed to the LT/RB not picking up a block)
Add in a few bad bounces and we get the game we saw. Give Michigan the TD on the fumble and kick the field goal late, and it’s a 24-14 win in regulation. Better ball security and the score could have been even more.
But that’s not how it went down. It was ugly. There’s a lot to work on. Get healthy. And move on.
September 7th, 2019 at 8:20 PM ^
I agree. The whole complexion of the game changed at the beginning. We score instead of turning the ball over, I don't believe the game is as ridiculous as today.
Is that 28 points this year now off of turnovers against us?
September 7th, 2019 at 10:01 PM ^
And if they had called the TD on the fumble correctly that was essentially a 14 point swing, that would have pretty much been game
September 7th, 2019 at 9:56 PM ^
I agree in part. The offense once again put the D in some tough spots. BUT Army attempted a pass 5(!) times in the entire game. For being so one dimensional, our defense still struggled mightily when we basically knew it was a run every time. It continues to be a lack of interior pressure on the D line, as it has been for the last couple of years.
September 7th, 2019 at 4:58 PM ^
I could easily see an Indiana or Purdue doing well in a system like that.
September 7th, 2019 at 5:28 PM ^
What makes it effective is the fact that you never see it. You can count on one hand the number of teams that run this offense.
GT is evidence more talent wouldn’t make this work. It becomes less effective when you play against teams who see it every year.
They’re still a pain in the ass to play against, but it loses its effectiveness
September 7th, 2019 at 6:16 PM ^
It was our offense sucking that was the issue. That has zero to do with their triple option offense.
September 7th, 2019 at 6:16 PM ^
It was our offense sucking that was the issue. That has zero to do with their triple option offense.
September 9th, 2019 at 9:04 AM ^
GT was "good-ish" with this system. It would never work at a program that is looking to contend for a natty year in year out, but for a bottom p5 school it would work.
September 7th, 2019 at 5:32 PM ^
The 1976 Texas-Oklahoma game and 1977 Michigan-Texas A&M game show the limits of the triple option when you know how to defend it.
September 7th, 2019 at 7:46 PM ^
Bo's teams were amazing at defending against the option.
Two prime examples against some of the best option teams ever: Switzer's Oklahoma in '76 and Auburn with Bo Jackson in '84. Michigan gave up 14 and 9 points, respectively.
Unfortunately, both underdog Michigan teams got beat - Lee Roy Selmon dominated on D for Oklahoma and Auburn's 3 FG's were all they needed.
Both were great defensive efforts by Michigan.
September 8th, 2019 at 1:05 AM ^
Awesome points...
Bo Jackson said that game was the hardest he'd even been hit.
September 7th, 2019 at 5:54 PM ^
If more teams ran at you would see the return of Scott McClintock type of linebackers. Bulldozers with no lateral ability.
September 7th, 2019 at 6:46 PM ^
It's not that hard to stop. Michigan figured them out pretty quickly and if not for some bad luck and short fields probably keeps them to 7 or 10 points in regulation. Also, it severely limits your ability to catch up of the opposition gets ahead by even a little. Hell, they needed 3 fumbles and damn near another one to score 14.
It's an offense that works for a team like Army that isn't aspiring to more than it is. But you run that offense at GT and the ceiling is sometimes winning a conference when the other teams crater and otherwise struggling to recruit good talent and winning between 6 and 8 games a year.
September 7th, 2019 at 7:16 PM ^
I think the power of the triple option is that it's a great talent equalizer. Meaning, a less talented team running the triple option can do better against a more talented team than they rightfully should.
But if you have a very talented team, a lot of that talent would be wasted on the triple option.
September 7th, 2019 at 7:48 PM ^
Exactly. Barring turnovers, Army reduces games to 8 possessions apiece. A mistake here, a penalty there, and Army's in the game.
OTOH, if they fall a couple of TD's behind, they're toast.
September 7th, 2019 at 10:01 PM ^
if you throw in the sparty defense, they might have a shot.
September 7th, 2019 at 4:45 PM ^
There’s no other logical explanation for the lack of QB keeps on the read is there? The staff has to be telling him not to keep. You simply can’t run this type of offense with no threat of QB keep.
September 7th, 2019 at 4:53 PM ^
which begs the question: Why call those plays?
A mesh read option that isn't really an option is just a super slow-developing run play where the RB has no momentum toward the line.
September 7th, 2019 at 5:12 PM ^
Is Gattis doing a Dantonio holding back every possible play until the state game?
September 7th, 2019 at 5:35 PM ^
Michigan is going to be 500 going into The Game and then win by 100
September 7th, 2019 at 10:02 PM ^
If Gattis purposely runs an incompetent system during the Army game just to not tip our hand to state, we’ve already lost.
September 7th, 2019 at 5:55 PM ^
They did exactly this last year until the Wisconsin game.
September 7th, 2019 at 7:47 PM ^
I remember the same. QB keep showed up during Wisconsin.
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