SPONSOR NOTE: Upon Further Review is sponsored by HomeSure Lending and Matt Demorest. Rates are the lowest they've been in three years so it can't hurt to check whether you can save money on a refinance. Or you could buy a house in Ann Arbor! Good luck with that!

Matt's relocated the bus to Pioneer this year, BTW, and invites everyone to stop by and say hi. There's beer. I mean, obviously. Matt. Matt and beer: a good pairing.

FORMATION NOTES: Another day spent about evenly between a 3-3-5 and the more standard 4-2-5, with about 10 jetpack snaps with no DTs on the field. Note that while I listed Michigan as playing two deep frequently, there's deep and there's Michigan State "deep"; Michigan got nosy as it became clear the Maryland passing game was nonfunctional:

Safeties at six and eight yards deep is not something we've seen before.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: The usual until garbage time. On the DL, Hutchinson, Paye, and Kemp are mainstays with Danna spotting the DEs and Dwumfour getting a couple dozen snaps when Michigan is in their 4-2-5. Uche gets 50-60% of the snaps. At LB, Hudson/McGrone/Glasgow the whole way. At DB, the usual three man rotation at CB; Hawkins and Metellus go the whole way; Dax Hill gets dime snaps.

Some notes of interest in garbage time:

• Mazi Smith got his first snaps of the year; they can play him the rest of the regular season and still get him his redshirt.
• Upshaw and Vilain are your #4 and #5 DEs, it appears.
• Backup LBs were Barrett/Jordan Anthony/Gil. Our Josh Ross Is Redshirting thunder was rather stolen by Harbaugh's press conference, but, yeah: Josh Ross is redshirting. He can still play one more game.
• Backup secondary appears to be Gemon Green/Jaylen Kelly-Powell at corner and Sammy Faustin/Hunter Reynolds at safety.

Anthony Solomon also got a few snaps. He's played consistently on special teams and is this year's least explicable burned redshirt.

[After THE JUMP: many plays, no points]

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Shotgun empty	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Pass	4	Flare	Uche	-5
Uche(+2, pressure +2) comes from LB depth as the fourth guy and zips right past the LG; Jackson has time for one covered(+1) read and then checks down to his RB running a flare. This also covered(+1) by Hill(+0.5); ball is way off and actually backwards.
O20	2	15	Shotgun trips	4-2-5	Nickel over	Press two high	Run	N/A	Edge pitch	Hutchinson	-6
Quick pitch to the edge gets a few; Hutchinson(+0.5) and McGrone(+0.5) are out quickly enough to shut this down as Hudson(+0.5) forces it back reasonably well.
O23	3	12	Shotgun trips tight bunch	Jetpack S	Nickel even	Press two high	Pass	4	Sack	Uche	-7
Uche(+2, pressure +3) drives the RT all the way back to the QB and snows the QB under; Hutch(+0.5) and Paye(+0.5) helped push the pocket closed and gave Jackson nowhere to go.
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-0, 13 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O30	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Power O	Dwumfour	6
M playing to spill as per usual with Hutch sliding down; Dwumfour(-2) gets hit by a double and moved. Then after the first guy leaves he gets turned outside, gap as the puller dips inside of Hutch and kicks him out. LBs hold it down but no one is prepared for the gash right up the middle. RPS -1; LBs flowing hard outside meant MD got away without blocking a couple.
O36	2	4	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Penalty	N/A	False start	N/A	-5
oops
O31	2	9	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Hudson	8
Hudson(-0.5) tips a blitz and goes too far upfield on it post-snap; he’s easily kicked out. Hutch(-0.5) slanting away but gives up a little too much ground; Uche(-1) is in man on the TE and gets hung up on the ump; he’s the guy who needs to fill against the TE’s split block and he ends up doing little. McGrone(+0.5) able to redirect and tackle, barely. RPS -1.
O39	3	1	Shotgun twin TE	4-2-5	4-3 under	Press one high	Pass	N/A	PA TE flat	Metellus	22
This is an RPS win for the first down as Metellus fires down and is hoping to clean up any split zone action that gets spilled outside a crashing Paye; Metellus(-2, cover -2) does make a mistake by going upfield of the WR chipping him; he’s giving up the first down either way but this turns a few yards into a chunk. RPS -1.
M39	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 even	Press two high	Penalty	N/A	Offsides	Dwumfour	5
Dwumfour -1.
M34	1	5	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 over	?	Run	N/A	Counter	Kemp	4
Kemp(-1) crunched out by a double. Danna(+0.5) is able to win his block and dive down to get a tackle at the LOS; Hudson also around the corner to get in a tackle attempt but when your DT gets ejected like this it’s about holding it down, not winning.
M30	2	1	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Hill	4
This looks like a CB blitz on which Hill(-1) doesn’t fire hard enough and ends up kicked out by the WR who he’s blitzing off. Trap coverage? I say this because it’s split, M fires down Hutch(+0.5) to force a bounce and then there’s no one there. Metellus(+0.5) came around the edge on a blitz and tackles a yard past the LOS to save Uche and Hudson the need; saved M a few yards.
M26	1	10	Shotgun twins twin TE	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Paye	3
Slant away; Kemp(+0.5) gets a little penetration to cut off front side gaps. Paye(+1) takes on a T block and gets that guy sideways; he sheds to the hole the RB is attacking. McGrone(+0.5) gets to the spilt blocker in a good spot to pay off Paye’s play; RB has to go directly into him.
M23	2	7	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Arc zone keeper	N/A	6
Running QB in. Split look, TE arcs out, M in bad spot. Paye flanked; McGrone(+0.5) fortunate that the TE doesn’t stop for him entirely. His speed holds this down a bit. Could have been worse. RPS -1.
M17	3	1	Shotgun 2TE	3-3-5	4-3 even	Press two high	Run	N/A	QB pin and pull	Paye	0
C pulls but trips over his own man and is gone. Other puller has MA as he goes for a guy the RB has; Glasgow(+0.5) free. Paye(+1) got a blocker and comes off to hit at the same time, stuffing the QB and setting up fourth down. But yeah mostly Maryland dorf.
M17	4	1	Shotgun twins twin TE	5-1-5	5-1 over	Press zero	Run	N/A	Inside zone	Hinton	2
Hinton(+1) in as a third DT and he spikes his guy way in the backfield. This forces the back to Metellus(+1), who timed up a blitz well and is able to get an ankle tackle in. Just need a little support but Kemp(-1) takes a singe block and is gone; McGrone(-1) got a free releaser but got buried. Almost.
M15	1	10	Shotgun twins twin TE	4-2-5	4-3 over	Press two high	Run	N/A	Pin and pull	Hudson	3
This is fun, it’s like watching Michigan’s offense go up against M. Here Maryland gets the edge on a PNP as people are thinking split the other way. Hutch is playside DE and is able to get a draw against the OL, not getting outside definitively but also not getting sealed. Hudson(+1) dodges a TE block and absorbs a puller so M has Metellus(+0.5) in the area for a tackle he makes with some help.
M12	2	7	Shotgun twins twin TE	3-3-5	Exotic	Press zero	Pass	3	Throwaway	N/A	Inc
Fake edge pitch PA and M is stalwart(cover +3). Four guys in the route and nothing. QB chucks it OOB, wisely. Pressure +1 as McGrone(+0.5) made the QB make a quick decision. RPS +2.
M12	3	7	Shotgun trips	3-3-5	Dime even	Press two high	Pass	4	Slant	Danna	INT
M has a stunt where Hutch is going around two gaps with Danna(+2, pressure +2) and Paye diving inside; seems like the dive inside helps both Danna and Paye avoid cut blocks. Danna explodes into the chest of the QB, popup, Metellus(+1) catches it. Metellus(cover +1) was sitting on this route even before the popup and looks like this could be an INT anyway. RPS +1
Drive Notes: Interception, 14-0, 2 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O37	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Counter	Hutchinson	5
Again baiting M’s desire to spill as Hutch(-1) fires down as soon as the LT looks like he’s trying to release; the LT then shifts to a down block on Hutch that carves a gap. It’s a small one as Hudson(+0.5) comes up and looks like he’s going to close to the hole; Hutch shoved a little too far and RB is able to squeeze through a gap.
O42	2	5	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	4
Tape doesn’t have this play.
O46	3	1	Shotgun 2-back	4-2-5	Nickel over	Press one high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Kemp	4
Big gap as Kemp(-1) steps right and gets put to a knee by an OL. G can release at Glasgow, who gets locked inside; probably fine since Metellus is at eight yards and fills at the LOS. Conversion, though. Metellus could have gotten on his horse more quickly but hard to ask that when he’s the last line of defense at eight yards.
50	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	4-2-5	Nickel over	Press one high	Pass	N/A	Late bubble	Hudson	3
One of those QB keeps with a bubble attached that never seems to go that well. One blocker for two DBs; Hutch(+0.5) gets out on the keep well to force the early throw and Hudson(+0.5) shuts the WR down after a meh gain.
M47	2	7	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	Nickel over	Press one high	Run	N/A	Counter	Kemp	4
Another counter; Kemp(+0.5) is able to shed his block and get in a tackle attempt at the LOS; Paye(+0.5) helped nail this hole almost closed so not a lot of options for the back. McGrone(-0.5) bit on the counter step and this allows an OL to block him a couple yards downfield; if he could have read this faster he could have helped staple the hole shut.
M43	3	3	Shotgun 4-wide	Jetpack S	Okie	Press one high	Run	N/A	Speed option	Uche	4
M shows an okie front and then backs McGrone out; MD checks. I know M has auto-checks in this situation for things like speed option and I think this might be one of them; McGrone flies over the top of the T trying to block him and looks like has the pitch covered; Uche(-2) holds up and allows the QB to cut up in a big gap. This D only makes sense if Uche’s supposed to go after the QB aggressively, probably an MA. Hutch(+1) is able to beat a block and almost tackles this short of the sticks. RPS +1, this should have been a stop I think.
M39	1	10	Shotgun twin TE	4-2-5	4-3 over	Press two high	Run	N/A	Counter	Danna	4
Played pretty well but MD can just squeeze out a few. Danna(+0.5) slides inside a TE block and takes on the puller; this cuts off the gaps and exposes the back to an unblocked Hudson but Danna gives a little too much ground since he’s now getting doubled. Hudson can’t shut down that space responsibly without giving up some yards. Check out McGrone(+1) hammering an OL to the ground.
O35	2	6	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 over	Press two high	Pass	5	PA deep cross	Hudson?	24
M sends five on what looks like a run blitz; Hutch(+1, pressure +1) does beat a couple blocks to get a reasonably quick pressure. QB looks off M’s zone coverage and then comes to an open guy he nails on a dart for a big chunk. This was about his only good throw but it’s impressive. Replay is wonky but it looks like Jackson looked Hudson(-1) off before hitting the zone he vacated. (Cover -2)
O11	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Run	N/A	Counter	Paye	3
MD doesn't send a puller inside to lock out Paye(+1) and that's fortunate for M as they stunt here and end up opening up a big gap up the middle. Paye is able to close most of it down and Uche(+0.5) fights back after initially going upfield to help tackle. RPS push, I guess, since they did not in fact go root out Paye.
O8	2	7	Shotgun twins twin TE	3-3-5	4-3 over	Press one high	Run	N/A	Arc zone keeper	Metellus	-3
Metellus looks to be hunting this play in particular; Paye(+1) gets passed up by the TE and immediately hammers outside to push this wide; WR slants inside and it looks like he wants to pick Metellus but his positioning makes that very difficult; Metellus(+1, tackling +1) up at the LOS before the TE can get to him and makes no mistake on their beefy wildcat QB. RPS +2.
O11	3	10	Shotgun 3-wide	Jetpack S	5-1 split	Press two high	Pass	4	Sack	Uche	-9
MD has three WRs in the same spot. Not great, Bob. Uche(+1, pressure +1) is on a stunt around two teammates and takes a while to get there but does, shedding a G and sacking. Cover +1, I guess.
Drive Notes: Missed FG(37), 14-0, 8 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
M26	1	10	Shotgun twin TE	4-2-5	?	?	Run	N/A	Speed option	Metellus	-3
Come to this late; appears that a Maryland OL pulling falls over for no reason but if this is a quick edge pitch and not an option, which appears to be the, case, won't matter. Metellus(+3, tackling +1) has a blocker but shoots past him for a solo TFL.
M23	2	13	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Run	N/A	Counter	Kemp	2
M does successfully spill this this time with Kemp(+0.5) and Danna(+1) closing the intended hole entirely. Glasgow(+0.5) comes tight around Danna and forces this inside to the two DL.
M25	3	11	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5	Nickel even	Press two high	Pass	4	Flare screen	Hawkins	8
If this was first down this is RPS as M has 3 vs 2 to the field here and it’s going to take a big play to hold this down. Since it’s third and 11 Hawkins(+0.5) just blasts McFarland OOB three yards short. Glasgow(+0.5) had basically forced this out already.
Drive Notes: Punt, 14-0, 5 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O17	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Inside zone	McGrone	6
No one bothers to block McGrone(-0.5, tackling -1), who has a shot at McFarland but ends up missing; Kemp(-0.5) got blown out a bit too far by the double that left McGrone untouched so some mitigation.
O23	2	4	Shotgun 4-wide	4-2-5	Nickel under	Press two high	Run	N/A	Bash	Hawkins	6
I’m not RPSing this because there are 50 seconds in the half so giving up a moderate run is okay, but this puts Hawkins(+1, +1 tackling) in a lot of space against McFarland and he’s able to first force it back and then tackle. Glasgow(-1) tried to shoot a gap and got blocked, increasing the space Hawkins has to shut down.
O29	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press two high	Pass	4	Hitch	Hill	Inc
Six yard hitch on which Lavert Hill(+2, cover +2) provides basically zero window; Jackson hits a bad bad idea throw but still so difficult for the WR that he can’t bring it.
O29	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide	Jetpack S	Nickel even	Press two high	Pass	4	Throwaway	Uche	Inc (Pen -10)
Uche(+2, pressure +2) beats the LT around the corner and gets the ol’ yoink to prevent a sack. QB able to dump it OOB, flag.
O19	2	20	Shotgun 4-wide	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press two high	Penalty	N/A	False start	N/A	-5
oops
O14	2	25	Shotgun 4-wide	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press two high	Pass	N/A	Late bubble	Metellus	4
Again with this. Metellus(+0.5) and Hudson(+0.5) contain this. RPS +1; Metellus was at nine yards here, M is trying to get points by holding these guys here. Almost works.
O18	3	21	Shotgun trips	4-2-5	Nickel over	Press one high	Pass	4	RPO slant	Hutchinson	Inc
Hutch(+1, pressure +1) bats it down and has a shot at an INT but can’t find the deflection until it’s too late. Probably caught for 10 yards if not deflected.
Drive Notes: Punt, 21-0, EOH
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel over	Press one high	Pass	N/A	RPO hitch	Gray	Inc
Why is this an RPO? I guess if it catches a different zone it might work but Gray(+2, cover +2) is in man on the solo WR and dominates a five yard hitch, nearly intercepting. Run half of this looked pretty good too FWIW.
O25	2	10	Shotgun trips	4-2-5	Nickel over	Press one high	Pass	4	PA fade	Kemp	Inc
Bit of a gift for Kemp(+1, pressure +1) as the C steps the wrong way. Kemp does take advantage, attacking half that guy and forcing a bad idea throw in the vague direction of a fade.
O25	3	10	Shotgun trips	Jetpack S	Dime over	Press two high	Pass	4	Back shoulder fade	L Hill	Inc
No replay and zoom so all we get of this is Lavert Hill(+2, cover +2) getting a PBU on a throw that looks like an attempted back shoulder fade that is probably just an inaccurate regular fade.
Drive Notes: Punt, 21-0, 14 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O12	1	10	Shotgun twins twin TE	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Counter	McGrone	12
Paye appears to be stunting inside of McGrone(-2), so it’s very bad that McGrone takes on a blocker and drives inside to the same spot Paye is at. I trust Paye more than McGrone because McGrone is younger and in a 3-3-5 the stunt is the more natural thing to do to make up for being light. Empty gap sends McFarland straight to secondary.
O24	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	Nickel even	Press two high	Run	N/A	Counter	Hudson	5
Same script as previous counters where M can’t quite close the hole. McFarland bounces it at first; Hudson(+0.5) comes around and grabs him from the side; he can get a bunch of YAC because Dwumfour(-0.5) gets sealed out and Danna eats this you-want-to-spill double.
O29	2	5	Shotgun twins twin TE	4-2-5	4-3 even SAM	Press two high	Run	N/A	Counter	Danna	3
This doesn’t look like a stunt so Dwumfour(-1) zipping upfield and doing nothing isn’t great. Danna(+1) helps make up for it by winning his block and getting off it to tackle at the LOS. Kemp(+0.5) got that double again and didn’t exactly win but he didn’t give much ground and neither guy leaves the whole play. Danna’s able to shut down the space in part because of that.
O32	3	2	Shotgun 2-back	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Split zone	Danna	1
Metellus and Glasgow sent off the boundary; Danna(+2) is tucked inside the T; he fires into the G, stalls him, and then pops off that guy to stick the RB in the hole by himself, and put him down. Blitz did force the back to him but this is just pretty good.
Drive Notes: Punt, 21-0, 10 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5	Nickel over	Press two high	Pass	4	In	Glasgow	6
MSU OPI in route against zone. Like Glasgow(-0.5) to react to this a little quicker and hold it down under five yards, but close to a default dink and dunk.
O31	2	4	Shotgun empty TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press one high	Pass	4	Sack	Hudson	-6
Hudson(+2, pressure +3) shows his blitz skills, coming off the edge and winning against the RT; he’s able to duck down and redirect impressively to pay the sack off. Kemp(+2) helps finish and really could have done this by himself as he got a nice push-pull on an OL and surged up the pocket.
O25	3	10	Shotgun 3-wide	Jetpack S	Dime over	Press two high	Pass	4	Scramble	Uche	1
Maybe one read(cover +1) that Jackson doesn’t have and then the pocket becomes a maze. Uche(+0.5) doesn’t get a big win but forces QB to move. Paye(+0.5) and Danna(+0.5) contain. Pressure +1.
Drive Notes: Punt, 28-0, 4 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O15	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Pass	4	Fly	Gray	Inc
PA, MD doesn’t bother to block Uche(+0.5) so QB has to throw(pressure +1); Gray in okay coverage; WR is pretty close to the sideline and he’s got a step at most; ball is off. Push? Push.
O15	2	10	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Run	N/A	Inside zone	McGrone	15
M stunts so a big gap but no release. Paye(+0.5) comes back to narrow down the gap; McGrone(-2, tackling -2) is the only LB on this level and gets McFarland in space; he gets stiffarmed to the ground. I would like to buy your Anthony McFarland NFL stock please.
O30	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 over SAM	Press one high	Pass	6	PA throwaway	Hudson	Inc
Hudson(+0.5, pressure +2) and Glasgow(+0.5) both get free runs at QB, who dumps it into the sideline. This absolutely should be grounding (refs -2). RPS +1.
O30	2	10	Shotgun trips	3-3-5	Nickel even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Inside zone	McGrone	-2
McGrone tips that he’s coming but MD doesn't adjust on the line; Hutch moves out to contain the QB and McGrone(+1) is unblocked on the edge, moving fast, and only has to deal with the RB. He gets an easy TFL. RPS +3.
O28	3	12	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	Dime even	?	Pass	4	Screen	Hutchinson	Inc
Paye(+1, pressure +1) in super fast; this is a screen but his pressure still disrupts it. Hutch(+1) in the back’s pocket, QB turfs it.
Drive Notes: Punt, 35-7, 13 min 4th Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Shotgun trips	3-3-5	Nickel over	Press two high	Pass	4	Hitch	N/A	8
RPS mostly off here as M is up 38-7 with 9 minutes left and plays two safeties 15 yards deep here. Hitch is easy; Hudson tackles. McGrone(+1, pressure +1) did time up a blitz well and will sack if this ball doesn’t get out, though it’s always likely to against virtual (justified) prevent.
O33	2	2	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5	Nickel even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Inside zone	Hutchinson	4
Hutch(-0.5) gets a double and ends up giving ground on it; he’s able to paw through it eventually but he can only help tackle after the first down is done. I might RPS this since M is playing this soft, if RPS is on.
O37	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Pass	4	Slant	D Hill	17
Dax(-2, cover -1, tackling -1) beat clean on a slant; he then misses a tackle. Memory hole this? Sure!
M46	1	10	Shotgun 4-wide	3-3-5	4-3 over	Press two high	Run	N/A	Zone stretch	Glasgow	6
RPS ish again as M stunts to the playside of a stretch and gets edged easily; Glasgow(-1) again tries to fire upfield of a crack block instead of stringing it out and there’s no real edge.
M40	2	4	Shotgun 4-wide	4-2-5	4-3 even	Press two high	Run	N/A	Bubble screen	Thomas	3
Thomas(+2, tackling +1) again defeats a perimeter play right at him, his ability to do this is outstanding. This absolutely should be a chunk but Thomas ditches his blocker and gets a solo tackle in.
M37	3	1	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 even	Press one high	Run	N/A	Counter?	Hinton	1
Blocking looks borked for Maryland; Hinton(+1) takes advantage and surges into the backfield to force a bounce; Danna and Glasgow barely get edged by McFarland; this is a yard so I’m not dinging them.
M36	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	4-2-5	4-3 over SAM	Press two high	Pass	5	Flare	Hudson	Inc
Hudson(+1, pressure +1) given a free run off the corner; he bats the attempted flare down.
M36	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide	Jetpack S	Exotic	Press one high	Run	N/A	Counter	Glasgow	2
MD back misses a cut as there’s room inside of this but Glasgow(+1) still does well to dodge a block and tackle; Uche(+0.5) forced it in quickly . If back takes line further inside a few more yards but Hawkins probably shuts it down quickly.
M34	3	8	Shotgun 3-wide	Jetpack S	Dime even	Press two high	Pass	4	Sack	Hutchinson
Double stunt with both DT types looping around both ends; coverage(+1) good for a beat and then Hutch(+1) comes around thanks to Paye(+1, pressure +2) driving well and opening up the angle.
Drive Notes: Punt, 38-7, 5 min 4th Q. Last drive is backups and preview clips only.

This was annoying, and then it was boring.

Yeah, 12-play drives bookended by Michigan three-and-outs is not a fun way to watch football even if you're up a couple scores. Maryland's early success was service-academy-esque in its metronomic efficiency: 15 of those 24 plays gained somewhere between 3 and 6 yards, all of them either on the ground or close enough*. Like service academies, though, once they got off schedule it was over, and after those two drives Maryland never really got back on schedule.

Drives:

• four three-and-outs, two first-down-and-outs
• a 9-play, 33-yard drive when Michigan was up 38-7 with 7 minutes left and playing soft
• the two 12 play drives, one of 63 and one of 43 yards

That's excellent. It just didn't feel excellent because there was a steady trip of successful-enough plays early.

*[that play where you have a QB keep and then he throws a bubble really late is in there]

I know I'm deranged when I'm frustrated with the defense and I look up and they've got under 200 yards deep into the fourth quarter.

That is a weird thing I've felt too. Don Brown's combination of total dominance and games where Michigan gets clunked can make any vaguely successful period for the opposition offense put you in clunk BPONE.

And here you could summon up some real concerns for down the road. Namely, a bunch of interior runs that went for decent chunks on which it's not too hard to envision Ohio State carving out bigger gaps and getting more yards.

Yeah, what was with that? I thought the DTs had improved.

It may be that the DTs just got some easier opposition. Maryland has a couple of good guards and came up with a pretty decent plan to attack Michigan's run defense. First they targeted Michigan's DTs with doubles; then they used both of their pullers to fire the DE trying to spill the play to Michigan's various and sundry fast LBs back outside, carving out a gap. Since Michigan LBs were ripping up on the outside Maryland could afford the two-for-one. This is the canonical example:

DT #50; DE #97, both to top

By the late second quarter Michigan had gotten wise to this tactic and the DEs were digging ever further inside; here Danna ends up sliding down to hit the second puller on the nose and Michigan successfully spills it to Glasgow for two yards:

DE #4 to bottom

This was pretty much the end for Maryland's offense. They got three first downs between the end of 12-play drive #2 and the garbage-time drive halfway through the fourth quarter.

This seems bothersome?

Yes. Dwumfour got ejected a couple times and didn't do much else. The downside of Michigan's frequent 3-3-5 rotation is that Dwumfour has been turned into a two-down DT, except he's the opposite of Bryan Mone.

Kemp did fight back after some initial minuses to get on the positive side of the ledger, even chipping in a legit interior pass rush on a sack he shared with Hudson. This is a nice push-pull:

NT #2

Still, he finished in just a guy territory and seems stuck there. I think we may have gotten too enthusiastic about the DTs because they did well against Iowa and Notre Dame and Penn State without considering the fact that most of those interior OLs aren't any good this year.

Don't get me wrong. They're not awful. But I'm concerned what happens when they get an elite interior OL, which will probably happen against OSU and maybe the bowl game.

Any other consistent issues against the run?

Not really. A couple other items were one-off issues. Here Michigan tracks the tight end with Josh Uche and Maryland finds this out with motion. It's split zone so now we're asking a 250-pound quasi-DE to get around the umpire and fill when the TE gets a kickout block:

LB #6 tracking TE

Having Uche fill a number of roles in the 3-3-5 is important for Michigan if they're going to keep things tricky, but here he's put in a spot he's not likely to do well in.

A 12-yard chunk in the third quarter appears to be a missed assignment, probably from McGrone. Both he and Paye end up driving into the same gap:

LB #44 on LOS, also DE #19 to bottom

I tend to believe the guy who's stunting, and also Paye has the experience/Don Brown presser talk in his corner, so that got charged to McGrone. As always, these things are educated guesses.

But so anyway: Michigan's been protecting their DTs by spilling power, Maryland carved out some drives by re-exposing those DTs, Michigan adapted, and everything else was pretty much fine except McFarland doing a couple McFarland things and the odd missed assignment.

Seth said we'd get to see a dead body.

He did. Here it is:

standup DE #6 to bottom

Maryland did everything they could to not expose their tackles to Uche after this but he was able to rack up another couple +2 rushes, drawing a hold on one. He may not be an every down player for Michigan, but he translates directly to the NFL so I'm not surprised he's not going to explore that redshirt.

I did think Uche had a missed assignment on the Maryland speed option. Bear with me, but: M shows an okie front and then McGrone backs out of it. Maryland checks. Michigan appears to do nothing. But we've been here in the past: Don Brown has auto-checks where the defense automatically checks without signals if the offense does. The goal is to bait the offense into something, and it looks like they do this on the third down. Watch McGrone fly out over his assigned blocker to the back:

LB #44, standup DE #6

Uche plays standard let's-be-responsible option stuff when he's got no DL support for a couple of gaps inside of him. This play makes sense if Uche goes right for the QB to either tackle or force a pitch to a guy McGrone probably has dead to rights. It doesn't make sense given the way Uche plays it.

So that's a cool D wrinkle that almost came off. Also, Uche's dead body thing was pretty much the whole game. Michigan didn't pick up a pressure minus:

 

Defensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Paye	8		8	Becoming a trend: not incredible # of plays but few or no minuses.
Dwumfour		4.5	-4.5	Targeted on ground and no opportunity to rush.
Kemp	5	3.5	1.5	Moved a bit early, did have a half-sack he really earned.
Hutchinson	7	2	5	See Paye. Not elite talents but B+ guys who never mess up.
Danna	7.5		7.5	All DEs are the same.
Uche	9	3	6	Three explosive edge rushes, one MA IMO.
Jeter				DNP
Mason				Only offense
Hinton	2		2	Flashing talent.
Vilain				DNC
TOTAL	38.5	13	+25.5	No pressure minuses, as well. This OL was always gonna eat it.
Linebacker
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hudson	7	1.5	5.5	Consistent edge production, another excellent blitz.
McGrone	5.5	6	-0.5	McFarland got him a couple times.
Glasgow	3	2.5	0.5	Quiet.
Gil				DNC
Anthony				DNC
Solomon				DNC
Barrett				DNC
TOTAL	15.5	10	+5.5	Ended up not mattering on various runs.
Secondary
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Metellus	7.5	2	5.5	Solo TFL and other tackles more than outstripped one –2.
Hawkins	1.5		1.5	Nice space tackle against McFarland.
Lavert Hill	4.5	0.5	4	The usual 0 completions suffered.
Thomas	2		2	Cannot be blocked!
Gray	2		2	Excellent PBU, push coverage on other target.
Dax Hill		2	-2	Beat on final drive with starters.
Reynolds				DNC
TOTAL	17.5	4.5	+13	Put some respect on those safeties.
Metrics
Pressure	24	0	+24	OTs had no chance.
Coverage	15	5	+10	One chunk pass against zone.
Tackling	4	4	0	Leaked some McFarland yards.
RPS	11	4	+7	Started out –4 and then MD ran out of stuff.

Now, that doesn't mean that the QB never got a throw off, but it does mean that every time Maryland dropped back there was enough pressure to force a throw relatively quickly. Is that enough of a dead body?

Ah yup.

Anything else pop out?

Uh… three near-identical DEs?

Yeah. Second straight week Paye had no minuses; Danna joined him and Hutchinson wasn't far behind. All three guys are plus run defenders with pretty decent pass rush ability. Nobody's a star, but they work as a unit and almost never bust an assignment. This is most impressive for Danna, who's in his first (and last) year in Ann Arbor. He had a nice day. The forced interception looked like Michigan getting lucky with a stunt call when Maryland was cutting Michigan DL, but he was able to get there while Paye was a couple steps behind:

And he had a third-and-two stick that forced a Maryland punt.

DE #4 to top

Michigan's fortunate he wanted to come be a platoon guy because he could be starting for a lot of P5 teams.

And… uh? Meh ILB play?

Yeah, a bit. Some of that was Maryland's approach making the LBs trying to track stuff down outside irrelevant. But McGrone had a relatively rough game, with Maryland's early approach putting him in positions where it was tough to recover. That's not really on him, but it did mean there were a bunch of plays on which he wasn't likely to get a plus, and then he missed a couple tackles. The second was admittedly in a lot of space against Anthony McFarland…

MLB #44

…but that's suboptimal.

In contrast here's Hawkins coming up and making a very comfortable solo tackle in space:

S #20 to top

Forces it back first to prevent any funny business and then finishes it himself. There was a lot of fretting about Hawkins going into the year, including from these parts, and this has been replaced by near-total silence as Hawkins settles into boring safety territory. Michigan doesn't put him in man coverage a lot and nobody's really challenged deep middle of the field safeties so he doesn't pop up much. When he does he's usually doing stuff like this. Hooray boring safeties.

And… I want to say that Maryland ran some of our stuff?

Maryland brought in a freshman, Lance Legendre, who's virtually a wildcat QB at this point in his career, and ran some arc with him. Michigan defended it decently, though on the first one they got a little fortunate that the TE didn't stop for McGrone, incorrectly believing that McGrone was flanked. Not quite:

Still, that's third and short. Michigan did better against Legendre in the red zone, when you get to deploy safeties with arc on their mind:

S #14 to bottom; also DE #19 to bottom

Paye knows exactly what's happening when the TE passes him up. I mention this in particular because MSU ran a lot of arc against Illinois and Lewerke picked up nearly 100 yards. I'd be surprised if they manage the same against Michigan just because M sees a ton of it in practice—that's probably what got MSU to install it in the first place.

Uh… I'm out of stuff.

Okay, how about Michigan's increasing comfort playing zone? Michigan got hit for one big passing play when Jackson successfully looked Hudson off and hit the gap behind him. That's mostly fine; that happens to every defense. Other incidents were more encouraging. Here it's second and seven off a zillion consecutive Maryland runs and Michigan covers everyone even after edge-pitch play action. This time there really isn't anyone open:

We'll see how well this holds up against better pass offenses, but Michigan has been mixing in more and more zone this season and seems like they've mostly got it down.

 

Any ongoing subplots nobody else notices but are completely insane to you?

Ambry Thomas remains undefeated as a perimeter run defender.

CB #1 to bottom

That's wild, man.

Any next year stuff from the end?

There wasn't much. Nothing seemed worth clipping during the drive with the backups. Chris Hinton did get in a few snaps outside of garbage time and dang near booted Maryland off the field on fourth and one:

A little more lateral or a little more resistance from Kemp and Michigan gets that done. He's flashing a bit late in the season.

The most "ooh" next-year play actually came from Vincent Gray, who is playing a lot already. This is probably Gray's best coverage of the year:

CB #31 to top

Fade threatened, he's in a good spot, WR stops in non-obvious spot (ie, it's not third and seven and the WR is stopping at eight yards) and he dominates that route to the point where he nearly has a pick six. Do that more consistently and we can start buying into the press conference talk about how Gray is a star in waiting.

Heroes?

Virtually everyone except the ILBs, who were just okay. Metellus, Hudson, and the three DEs are all in a similar tier.

Maybe not so heroic?

Dwumfour just ate doubles when he was in there; this is not his specialty but when they game plan to attack you and have a good bit of success that's not encouraging.

What does it mean for Michigan State and beyond?

Back to crossing our fingers about the DTs. Not for MSU. Maybe for Indiana. Definitely for OSU. Doesn't seem likely they'll chip in much; the hope is they can hold up against doubles decently well enough.

Michigan has many DEs you would be happy to see your daughter date. Responsible young gentlemen who take their run defense seriously and always show up at the time and place they are supposed to.

The secondary is sort of like the DEs. No out-and-out incandescent stars but a large number of good to very good players. That's a major win from the beginning of the year. With Gray and Hawkins stabilizing themselves as decent to good Big Ten starters, Dax Hill coming on, and Ambry Thomas's recovery Michigan has six DBs who they can be confident in, four of whom should be back next year.

Zoned up. Michigan seems very comfortable executing their zone assignments.