Formation/Nomenclature Notes: OSU would line up their TE as a deep H-back which I called “F” so this is “Pistol F Wk,” meaning the slot receiver (H), is opposite the side the TE is on.

Substitution Notes: Barrett came in for Ross on a few passing downs, probably to get a little more speed out there. Snap counts.

Lexicon Note: I also started tracking “WRDIS,” which stands for Wide Receivers Doing Insane Shit, because OSU’s three dudes were making incredible plays against coverage that would have beaten anything less. This is an acronym, pronounced like “whirr diss,” because I had to break it out so many times that it was cumbersome to read it as an initialism. Hopefully it becomes a thing in offensive UFRs as BROYLES WINNER JOSH GATTIS’s wards get to the part of their careers where they can grow full beards. For now it’s an OSU receiver thing with enough exasperation in it that you’re forgiven if you start pronouncing the ‘h’ sound with the ‘w’.

[After THE JUMP: Domination punctuated by many opportunities to practice saying “WRDIS” with an ‘h’.]

Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O4	1st	10	Gun Wk Stack	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	???		Yackety Snap	n/a	1	-0.23
OSU starts from their own 4 because they didn't field the fair catch. Stroud runs up to make a protection call and they snap it into his chest. Rebound bounces off his chestplate and back up to him so he can still run with it, which is some (Luck-2) because Hinton(+1) had burrowed into the crease and was about to slam that puck into the net as the kids say.
O5	2nd	9	Empty 11 Bunch	4-2-5	Nk Under	1	Pass	5	Hitch	Gray	Inc	-0.14
Colson(+1, RPS+1, Pressure+2) blitzes unblocked, and is about to sack so Stroud wings it over a guy Gray(+1, cov+1) is all over.
O5	3rd	9	Gun Str Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Wide	2	Pass	4.5	Fade	Gray	Inc	0.31
Hutchinson(+2, Pressure+2) puts the RT on his ass, guy full-on tackles him in the endzone (Refs-1 that's a safety guys) which gets Stroud enough time to chuck a fade OOB but Gray(+2, cov+2) is running the guy's route for him.
Drive Notes: Punt. 7-0. 9 min 1st Q. Next drive starts after the INT.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O22	1st	10	Pistol Str Y-Flex Bunch	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Run		Stretch	Smith	2	-0.31
Ojabo(+1) sets a hard edge on this stretch play to squeeze closed the gaps. Smith(+1) fights past a double while Hutchinson(+1) screams in from the backside to make the actual tackle after his mates made a nice pile of Buckeyes
O24	2nd	8	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Split	1	Pass	4	Crossers	Hawkins	10	1.24
Stroud gets time as the DEs don't get in though Smith(+0.5, Pressure+0.5) is putting a timer on by coming through the C and RG. Stroud finds JSN on a zip route that Hill(-0.5, cov-1) overplayed a bit, but Hawkins(-0.5) is supposed to be his help while coming down on Olave and if he sees where it's going he's got a shot at an INT but arrives too slowly. He'll get one. Jaxon Smith-Njigba eels his way for a 9-yard gain from this. Wide Receivers Doing Insane Shit minus 1 (WRDIS-1).
O34	1st	10	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Wide	2	Pass	5	Deep Hitch	Gray	9	1.38
Tempo(24). Here's how M bends: Ojabo(+1, Pressure+1) is coming around the LT at 7 yards, but everyone else can't get to Stroud who has a 9-yard hitch open under Gray(-1, cov-1) in Cov2, though Gray is there on the catch at least.
O43	2nd	1	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Run		Counter Trey	Jeter	1	-0.42
M not lined up—Hutchinson is trying to flip with Ojabo at the snap. Fortunately OSU is just running away from him. Jeter(+2) hops around the blockdown of the LT and the LG falls at nobody. Ojabo(+1) sets a strong edge and Smith(+1) refuses to budge against a double so the RB can only just barely get the 1 yard.
O44	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	Run		Stretch	Hutchinson	7	0.67
Hutchinson(+1, Tackling-1) nearly TFLs this alone after taking on the TE and T but he falls off the tackle. He should have help by now but the RT makes a really good play to pop Colson before catching Hawkins as he shoots up. Smith(-1) got knocked over by the C and Ross(-1) goes down with a hard shove from the LT while trying to get around that so there's no more pursuit and the RB can fall forward out of AH's tackle.
M49	2nd	3	Pistol Wk	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Run		Stretch	Ojabo	28	1.07
Tempo(32) gets them not yet set as Turner(-1, tackling-2) and Hawkins are still communicating and Ojabo(-1) is still getting lined up at the snap and doesn't delay the TE's release. The rest of the front is over-shifted. RPS-1 as all the pursuit is cut off by misalignment inside. Turner earns his minus by not replacing when Hawkins gets cracked by the WR, and then when Turner does realize he's the force player he earns back a point by dodging the TE but whiffs on a diving attempt that neither slows Henderson nor forces him back to help.
M21	1st	10	Pistol F Wk	4-2-5	5-1 Under	1	Run		Split Stretch	Jeter	9	0.63
RPS-1 as M has one LB from this setup with Colson blitzing off the far side edge, and Ross(-0.5) gets a releasing G on him he can't get off of. But Jeter(+2, refs-1) managed to get across the C and slow the RB but C has a hand in opposite collar and wrenches him back, Henderson breaks free again, and finally Moore(-0.5) arrives a bit late and Henderson gets his extra 2.
M12	2nd	1	Gun Trips	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Run		Inside Zone	Colson	7	0.12
M has wide splitz and OSU runs right at that (RPS-1). Colson(-1) funnels to the wrong side but the RB comes into his gap anyways and he doesn't really have this gap. Ross(+0.5) is playing overhang and crosses the T who got held up doubling Hinton(+0.5) to hold this out of the endzone.
M5	1st	Goal	Gun Trips	4-2-5	4-3 Under	0	Run		Stretch	Ojabo	2	-0.33
Hutchinson(+0.5) an edge, Hinton(+1) won't get moved and RB has to cut back to where Ojabo(+0.5) has his gap just as covered.
M3	2nd	Goal	Gun 12 Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	1	Pass	4.5	Pick	Gray	Inc	-0.41
Olave gets a pushoff on Gray(-1, cov-1, refs-1) that gets too much separation for that not to be somewhat on Gray (trying to draw the flag for it perhaps?). Gray does get on his horse and might have a shot at jarring it loose on the catch so it's just -1 to him. Also Stroud is too clean (Pressure-2) for 1.5 seconds into a 5-on-6 pass rush but he's nervous enough that he puts a fluttering pass off his back foot that Olave misjudges. Luck+2.
M3	3rd	Goal	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Wide AC	2	Penalty		False Start	n/a	(-5)	-0.32
I'M SORRY WERE WE BEING TOO LOUD?
M8	3rd	Goal	Gun Trips	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Pass	4	Sack	Hutchinson	-6	-4.05
This starts with Ojabo(+1, Pressure+3) getting around the LT through a chip, which makes Stroud step up into where Hutchinson(+3) has beat the RT inside and is fighting through a desperation hold to arrive softly at Stroud and pin his arms in. He turtles until Morris arrives and it's time to drop.
Drive Notes: FG(31). 7-3. 4 min 1st Q. Bent, didn't break.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O18	1st	10	Ace Wk H Jet	4-2-5	Nk Under	2	Run		Stretch	Hawkins	3	-0.22
Jet fake to another stretch. Ojabo(refs-1) has the edge but Jones has him held—again, guy on the edge getting his outside shoulderpad yanked back by a T inside of him should always be called. Hinton(+1) beat a block and stopped the train so this can only go outside. Colson(-1) should be arriving to nail this but he's coming tentatively. Instead, Hawkins(+2, Tackling+1) flies down to stop for a 2-yard gain with help outside from Gray(+1) vs a WR.
O21	2nd	7	Empty 5w Bunch	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	Penalty		False Start	n/a	(-5)	-0.42
AGAIN? OKAY SHOULD WE TURN IT DOWN MORE, THEN?
O16	2nd	12	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	5	Smoke Screen	Moore	8	0.54
Hutchinson(+1, Pressure+1) times the snap and is the backfield immediately. so Stroud has to use his smoke option. Moore(+1, cov+2, Tackling-2) read it perfectly and meets JSN 3 yards in the backfield but misses the tackle. The delay is enough for Barrett(-0.5) and Hill(-0.5) to rally but they get dragged for 4 yards.
O24	2nd	7	Offset Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	4	Flare	Hawkins	25	2.66
Tempo(28). OSU catches Michigan not lined up (RPS-2) as Barrett(-1) is standing next to Ross and Hawkins(-2) is standing on the wrong hash next to Dax. Tempo, man.
O49	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	4	Deep Comeback	Hill	Inc	-1.13
Hutchinson(+2, Pressure+2) embarrasses this LT we shielded, NPF. Stroud is flushed and finds JSN coming back 20 yards downfield and more open than a Michigan shooter against Nebraska: Hill(-2, cov-2). Fell down perhaps? People who were there? Fox doesn't replay. JSN has it in his bucket (a "3" as we call it) and drops it. Luck+3.
O49	2nd	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	Nk Split	1	Run				1	-0.82
[Gus Johnson voice] JOSH! ROSS(+2)! Blitzes! past the center! RJ Moten(+1) picks through traffic to come down from single-high and help finish. RPS+1 M was +1 in the box.
50	3rd	9	Gun Wk Y-Flex	3-2-6	326 Under B	1	Pass	5	Curl	Morris	Inc	-1.13
M is trying to disguise this blitz that brings Hill from way out past the hash but Stroud sees it and fixes his protection (Pressure-1, RPS-1) except for Hinton(+1) beating the C. That's still enough time to find Olave wide open underneath Gray(-2, cov-2) who's bracketing the TE whom Ojabo(+1) is step for step with. Morris(+2) gets up and bats this thing down. Not luck: Mike Morris (but feels like luck).
Drive Notes: Punt.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O44	1st	10	Gun Wk Stack	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	Play-Action	4	PA Bubble	Hill	10	0.83
They try to edge Dax Hill(+1) who fakes a blitz and then is out to the numbers to force this back inside where Hutchinson(-1) is the guy covering the flat and took two steps in pass rush before rerouting. Good call by OSU to mess with his snap-jumping but also Ross(-1) and Colson(-1) completely bit on weak PA so they're nowhere to be found in pursuit. RPS-1.
M46	1st	10	Gun 12 Twins	5-2-4	5-2 Odd	2	Run		Split Zone	Harrell	-2	-1.49
Before this: OSU pulls a guy, M is slow to get Ojabo off the field, and that saves OSU from a false star penalty by their TE. Smith(+1) wrong-sides the C to push this outside where Jenkins(+1) bends it back and Harrell(+2, Tackling+1) sheds the TE and sticks for a TFL.
M48	2nd	12	Empty 11	4-2-5	Nk Wide	2	Pass		Slant	Ojabo	23	2.33
OSU's clever thing: They line up JSN as an RB and catch M blitzing Colson with Ojabo on the 5-star WR. That goes how you'd expect (RPS-2, Ojabo-1,Cov-3). Just call a TO guys.
M25	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Even	2	Pass	4	Fade	Gray	25	2.65
Tempo(31). The fade to Wilson, Gray(+1, cov+1) was in press coverage and stayed on this the whole way. Has a hand in there to break it up and Wilson just makes an incredible grab. Tip your hat: WRDIS-3.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 7-10. 9 min 1st Q. Kinda feeling "if it's going to be that hard" here.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Split	1	Pass	4	Slip Screen	Ross	14	1.22
Screen gets Hinton(-1) in unsuspiciously and two blitzers (RPS-2) slamming into the line as this gets outside. Hutchinson(+1, Pressure+1, refs-1) shot into the backfield so fast he was going to affect the throw if he doesn't draw a MONSTER uncalled hold. Ross(+1) shot past the C to ruin the blocking and Gray(+1, Tackling+1) holds this down at the sticks when it looks like a TD for a moment.
O39	1st	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Run		Pitch Sweep	Hinton	3	-0.43
Tempo(29). M doesn't look set up but Hutchinson(+1) is occupying two blockers on the edge until Colson(-1) gets there a beat late. Hinton(+0.5) dives through his gap to help Hutchinson make the tackle. Henderson gets up whining about something but I can't figure out what after many rewatches--some on his sideline pointed at something too. Henderson then flicks the ball away from the ref as she's holding her hands out for it and is lucky not to get a delay of game.
O42	2nd	7	Gun Wk	4-2-5	5-1 Odd	1	Pass	4	Comeback	Gray	2	-0.61
Colson lines up as an edge then drops Colson over the screen (RPS+2). Stroud scrambles with Hutchinson(+1, Pressure+1) in his face and gets rid of it to Olave under Gray(+1, cov+1)
O44	3rd	5	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	5-1 Odd	1	Pass	3	Quick Out	Ojabo	8	2.21
Colson is late to line up outside and again sits on the RB as M brings three. Hutchinson(+1, Pressure+1) is immediate through on a stunt with Smith so if this is covered at all Stroud eats a 3rd down sack, but Ojabo(-1, cov-1) doesn't carry JSN very far and Moore gets rubbed by the guy running the seam and can't get to it until they've got the first. Not RPS because Ross is there to cover Ojabo--just need the OLB to cover longer.
M48	1st	10	Gun Wk Stack	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Play-Action	n/a	Snag	Turner	9	1.04
2:01, 3TO. Both LBs are coming and it's PA (RPS-1, cov-1). Turner(Tackling-1) is alone on this but overplays it when he had a shot to rake, then gets shrugged off by Wilson (WRDIS-1). Ross(+0.5) gets outside to force it back to help and prevent that from turning into a big play.
M39	2nd	1	Gun Str	4-2-5	Nk Not set	2	Penalty		False Start	n/a	(-5)	-1.17
1:36, 3 TO. Tempo(29) I PUT IT ON LEVEL 10 IS THAT NOT LOW ENOUGH?
M44	2nd	6	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	Pass	3	Slant	Turner	Inc	-1.11
1:25, 3TO. Hutchinson(+2, Pressure+1) times the snap and is through Jones so fast Jones has to temp the holding gods (refs-1) again. Hutchinson still gets a hand in Stroud's face which puts the pass a bit behind Wilson but that catch radius is about to make another ridiculous play when Turner(+2, cov+2) who had it played as well as you can gets his hand in the way and pops it up. It nearly goes to Olave but their luck's not *that* good.
M44	3rd	6	Empty 11	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Pass	4	Curl	Turner	9	1.95
1:20, 3TO. NHG(-1) and Turner(-1, cov-2) flip roles to put Turner over the RB outside and the LB over Olave, but NHG doesn't carry far enough, anxious to get to the RB, and Turner gives too much of a cushion. Hawkins upset after like "man I set you up for a pick there." Pressure-1 as Hutchinson went too deep and nobody else pushed much.
M35	1st	10	Offset Str	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	3	Square In	Barrett	15	0.35
1:04, 3TO. Tempo(27). Michigan has NHG and Moore lined up over JSN and Ojabo tagging the TE so only three guys rush (Pressure-2). Should be fine with all these guys in coverage but Barrett(-2, cov-2) stops on the hash for no reason. Should have had this bracketed.
M20	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	5	Fade	Moten	Inc	-0.37
0:46, 3TO. Tempo(27). Hutchinson(+1, Pressure+2) occupies the RB and RT, comes inside, and gets super held (refs-1) but still occupied them enough for Ross(+1) to get there on a delayed blitz and get Stroud's foot as he throws. The pass is a dead duck that is wrapped up with a bow and a sign that reads "To RJ Moten, you absolutely HAVE to catch this." He settles under it with Turner(+2, cov+2) already boxing out the WR, and then it bounces off Moten(-2)'s chest. RPS+2. If Michigan loses this game this is a thing we remember.
M20	2nd	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Run		Direct Snap Counter Trey	Moore	3	-0.14
0:39, 3TO. Henderson takes the direct snap and counter steps with a pitch option that holds Hutchinson outside. Clever, RPS-1, and sorry we fuck it all up for you. Ojabo(+1) crashes the puller who takes him down with a tackle that only Ohio State (refs-2) would ever get away with to turn a defensive advantage into an effective turn. Ross(+1) pops the lead blocker getting him inside while controlling his outside shoulder. Henderson has to bounce but Hill(+1) is inside the Nk and spills again to Moore(+1, Tackling+1) who raced down and got him by the foot for no gain. Wilson got a play-long hold that goes on 5 seconds after the whistle then gets up trying to start a fight. What a team of bitches.
M17	3rd	7	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Wide	2	Pass	5	Out	Moten	4	-3.86
0:31, 3TO. Blitz drops Morris and brings Colson off one edge and Moore late off the other, which puts a timer on this (RPS+1) helped by Hutchinson(+1, Pressure+1) putting the RT in Stroud's lap. Turner(+2, cov+2) makes this play because it's supposed to be a pick but Michigan is planning for this (RPS+1), and he jams Wilson so well at the LOS that JSN has to hop upfield to avoid colliding. That gives Moten(+1, Tackling+1) the time he needs to tackle JSN through a stiffarm three yards short of the sticks, where one more yard is probably a go-for-it situation. Field conditions might've helped a bit?
Drive Notes: FG(30) almost hooks out. 14-13. EoH. Bend don't break clinic means a 41-play half for me.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Pistol Trips	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Run		Inside Zone	Ross	5	0.09
Doubles on both tackles move Hinton(-1) and Smith (-0.5) who at least kept Ross clean enough to stick with help from a quick-arriving Moore(+0.5)
O30	2nd	5	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Run		Stretch	Ojabo	3	-0.31
Looks like trouble here because Colson(-1) is out of his gap and stopping in Ross's while Hinton(-0.5) has given up some yards and is about to lose engagement with the RG. Ojabo(+2) fixes everything, setting the edge high vs this TE, then coming off his block to make the tackle well short of the sticks. Hutchinson has been at this kid I know it.
O33	3rd	2	Ace Str	4-2-5	5-2 Over	1	Run		Stretch	Ross	-2	-0.70
Tempo(27). The Josh Ross(+3, Tackling+3) play. Smith(+1) kept the C occupied as Ross read the play and blew through that C's other arm to stop Henderson dead in his tracks and take him down, flipping a 3rd and short situation into a punt.
Drive Notes: Punt. 14-13. 14 min 3rd Q. Can't emphasize enough these last four plays. OSU was driving for a lead with the ball back at the half. Michigan scores in three plays.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun Wk Y-Demi	4-2-5	Nk Under	2	Pass	4	Hitch	Colson	6(-16)	-1.08
Stroud gets it out to his TE vs Colson(+0.5, cov+1, Tackling-0.5) in good coverage and Junior gets dragged for 3 yards. It comes back because Hutchinson(+2, Pressure+2) was around NPF like lightning and gets yanked back so hard they actually flag it. You know how bad you have to hold to get flagged for holding at Ohio State? They went years without one.
O15	1st	20	Pistol Wk F Motion	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Run		Split Stretch	Ojabo	11	0.49
Too much to ask for them to call it again as Ojabo(-1, refs-2) gets out-lengthed by the RT he put in the backfield but also tried to inside-out a bit. The hold is still what gives Henderson the edge. Colson+1 races out there to hold it to just 11.
O26	2nd	9	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Under	2	Pass	4	Slant	Turner	16	2.10
Hutchinson(+1, Pressure+1) is through NPF again and throwing the RB into Stroud's chest but they have a quick slant and M has Ross blitzing from deep (RPS-1). Turner(-1, cov-2) loses Wilson inside but should have some help if not for Moore(-1) slipping as he breaks. He gets back up but by that point they have the 1st down.
O42	1st	10	Gun Wk Stack	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Play-Action	n/a	Quick In	Turner	5	0.11
Hutchinson(+1, Pressure+1) again beats NPF and is going to sack if this isn't out quick. It's put low where Turner can't do anything. Push coverage, RPS-1 no help inside here is tough.
O47	2nd	5	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Penalty		False Start	n/a	(-5)	-1.26
Tempo(24) and OSU doesn't wait till all their players are set. OMIGOD SO SORRY THE COMMERCIALS ARE LOUD I GUESS.
O42	2nd	10	Pistol Str	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Run		Stretch	Ojabo	1	-0.68
They try to stretch Ojabo(+2) again and he's Hutchinsoning a hard edge of which he's playing both sides. Might Neck Sharpies this if I get around to it to show how M plays the edge with their DEs. This induces a cutback from Henderson and now he's trapped as Jeter(+0.5) held up, and Colson is in his gap, and Ross(+1) comes through his to finish it at the LOS.
O43	3rd	9	Gun Str Y-Demi	4-2-5	Nk Split A	2	Pass	5	Sack	Hutchinson	-3	-0.61
Team sack where the QB is under duress from the snap. Stroud points before the play at Hutchinson(+1, Pressure+3) but the RB has to pick up Barrett, who's in for Ross. Ojabo(+1) flushes on his flyby and Hinton(+1) forces with his hand in the air to make sure Stroud can't escape, and Hutchinson comes off a high rush to finish him while Barrett(+1) closes the door.
Drive Notes: Punt. 21-13. 9 min 3rd Q. Are you believing yet?
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O18	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Splits	2	Play-Action	4	Deep Comeback	Turner	12	0.80
PA and a rollout gets him time but Upshaw(+1, Pressure+1) manages to get upfield and force a lame duck off Stroud's back foot. Turner(-2, cov-2) should have ample time to break it up but is that far behind Olave. Soft coverage and Hawkins, the curl-flat defender, has to respect a TE who never releases.
O30	1st	10	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Pass	4	Square In	Hawkins	Inc	-0.86
Smith(+1, Pressure+1) puts the LG deep in the pocket to throw off this throw. Hawkins(-2, cov-2) is playing super soft over this while Turner is hard checking the out. This is very soft coverage guys. Dropped (Luck+2).
O30	2nd	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	Pass	5	Curl	Hill	7	0.39
M blitzes and Ross(+1, Pressure+1) gets through. Stroud has to try a well-covered JSN. Hill(+1, cov+1) is on him, gets his hand in there on the catch, and JSN somehow comes down with it. Insane talent there.
O37	3rd	3	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Splits	1	Pass	4	Quick Out	Hill	11	2.16
Upshaw(+0.5, Pressure+0.5) is around NPF at 7 yards, if not at the same speed Hutchinson is usually, but Hill(-2, cov-1, Tackling-1) is late getting over and then JSN slips down the sideline while falling. That guy's having a Hutchinson-like day. WRDIS-2.
O48	1st	10	Gun Wk Y/Z flip	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Pass	4	Flare	Hill	6	0.36
The difference between Upshaw(-1, Pressure-1) and Ojabo is staggering. Hutchinson(+1) draws a double and Stroud has all day but nobody open (Cov+2) so he dumps it down to his RB well behind the LOS. Hill(-1, Tackling-1) races down but Williams spins out of his tackle and picks up 4 more. Ojabo returns after this.
M46	2nd	4	Gun Wk Stack	4-2-5	Nk Split	1	Penalty		False Start	n/a	(-5)	-1.26
JUST PUT THE VOLUME WHERE YOU WANT IT AND I WON'T TOUCH THE BUTTONS OKAY?
O49	2nd	9	Pistol Trips	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Run		Inside Zone	Smith	4	-0.17
NPF leaves HInton(+1) early which is a big mistake because now he's set up on the hash they want to run down. Smith(+1) is holding up to his double, and Morris(-1, Tackling-1) can come off the LT to finish it afer 1 yard but then gets powered over for 5.
M47	3rd	5	Empty 11	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	Pass	4	Quick Out	Moten	9	1.98
Refs-1 miss the RT jumping even though Ojabo hops because of it. Stroud then changes up the protection and it works (Pressure-1) as he finds an open Wilson after Moten(-2, cov-1) bailed to the hash for no reason. It's cover 2 man stay on your guy. Turner(+1) saw it and came off his TE quickly to hold it to just that.
M38	1st	10	Gun Wk Stack	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Pass	4	Sack	Hutchinson	-5	-1.83
Hutchinson(+3, Pressure+3) sets up then runs around NPF to sack all by himself. Cov+2 as OSU ran downfield and M had a shell on.
M43	2nd	15	Gun Wk Stack	4-2-5	Nk Splits	2	Run		Stretch	Jeter	-4	-1.62
C leaves Jeter(+2, RPS+1) thinking they can reach him with the backside guard. They cannot and he TFLs. No escape off the edge because Ojabo(+2) spun off Jones.
M47	3rd	19	Gun Trips Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Wide	1	Pass	4	Prayer	Turner	26	3.91
Ojabo(+1, Pressure+1) immediately flushes Stroud who's about to cross the LOS near the sideline when he hurls a pass at JSN whom Turner(+1, cov+1) is fronting. Somehow JSN catches it one-handed off of Turner's hip. WRDIS-3.
M21	1st	10	Gun Trips	4-2-5	Nk Splits	2	Pass	4	WR Flat	Moore	5	0.07
OSU has benched Dawand Jones, moved NPF to RT, and Thayer Munford to LT and Matthew Jones at LG. They bring Olave across in jet and Moore(+1, cov+1) swings down with speed to get Olave for a minimal gain, but Olave manages to crawl fall for 4 yards. WRDIS-1.
M16	2nd	5	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Splits	2	Pass	4	Yackety Snap	Ojabo	Inc	-0.42
Almost disaster for OSU as the C rolls the snap. LT gets a yank on Ojabo(+1)'s collar (refs-1) that is subtle enough to let go but probably prevented a 20-yard sack. Ball takes a bounce up that allows Stroud to collect it and throw it away where Colson(+1, cov+1) was there to make sure it wasn't an insane catch. Luck-3 if that ball doesn't bounce like that they're nearly out of FG range.
M16	3rd	5	Offset Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Wide A	2	Run		Inside Zone	Moore	1	-0.38
Macdonald sets a trap, showing Barrett alone in the middle. OSU checks to a run up the gut, then Michigan brings both safeties screaming down into the A gaps. RPS+3 they baited them into this check! Moore(+1, Tackling-1) got the RB most of the way down and Hutchinson(+1) threw off his TE so he and Colson could stick. EO3Q.
M15	4th	4	Offset Str Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Wide A	2	Pass	5	Angle	Hill	10	1.47
Hill(-1, cov-1) is playing way outside leverage on JSN as M brings five (Pressure-1), and can't get there. JSN catches bobbles the catch for two beats but Dax too far away to help. Hawkins(+1) arrives, gets his hand in there to maybe knock it out? M players think it hit the ground, Harbaugh is running down the sidelines calling for a challenge, and refs ignore him. Fox doesn't show us a review but the people in the stadium got one and say he was losing it but then it bounced off his leg and back to his lap. Luck-3.
M5	1st	Goal	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Under	2	Pass	4	TE Out	Colson	Inc	-0.55
Tempo(30). Someone else isn't sure it was a catch so they run a quick pick/TE out and Colson(-2, cov-2) gets stuck behind the pick and is about to give up a TD if it's accurate. It's way upfield instead. Luck+2.
M5	2nd	Goal	Gun Trips	4-2-5	4-4 Split	0	Run		Stretch	Ross	4	-0.02
Hawkins(-1) is supposed to be the extra man but is still plotting pass pro. Ross(-0.5, Tackling-1) shot the right gap after Hinton(+1) kept him clean but Henderson can fall forward through him to the 1.
M1	3rd	Goal	Goal Line	6-2-3	Goal	NA	Run		Lead Zone	Hill	1	2.40
They get it, though Smith(+1) got his shoulder in the running lane and made it a review.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 28-20. 14 min 4th Q. That drive was 18 plays, a third of which were 3rd or 4th downs, including a 3rd and 19 and a bad snap that could have cost them 20 yards on another 3rd down. Also: classic blunder because you should go for two here.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Ace Str H Return	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Play-Action	n/a	Throwback Screen	Smith	-2	-0.89
"Return" means they jet JSN across then back again, and Hill goes with him both ways. That's all a setup for this throwback screen that Smith(+2, cov+1) snuffed out and ran out with help from Ross. RPS+2, M has two unblocked guys ready for this and get a 2-yard loss, though they also gassed the NT and Nk in the process.
O23	2nd	12	Gun Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	4	Fade	Turner	39	3.87
Upshaw(-1) in, rushes way outside and gets stoned by the RT, and the Pressure-1 dies. Stroud can step into a fade that Turner(-1, cov-1) has completely blanketed but he doesn't find the ball or make a strong play . Olave brings it in. WRDIS-2.
M38	1st	10	Pistol Wk Y In	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Run		Split Zone	Hawkins	4	-0.08
Colson travels with the TE and crosses Ross. Upshaw(+1) dodges that guy but it's RPS-1 because there's nobody for either interior gap until the safety with M overplaying the backside like that and also Jeter(-2) was supposed to slant but got stuck behind a double instead. Hawkins(+1) comes down and doesn't get much but Henderson goes down--dangerous here as Haskins/Corum/Walker probably score on that tackle but results-based charting.
M34	2nd	6	Empty 11	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	Pass	5	Angle	Hill	5	0.09
M leaves the TE uncovered. OSU checks to the same play and stones M's pass rush (Pressure-2) so badly that Ross(-1) runs uselessly into Jeter. Hutchinson(+1) peels off—so maybe they were baiting this?--to bat it but it goes over his hand and Hill(+1, cov-1, Tackling+2) is too far outside to do anything about the catch with no LB help but runs JSN into the ref and when the WR goes upfield a step Dax closes and ends it short of the sticks.
M29	3rd	1	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	Run		Tight Zone	Hawkins	2	0.35
Tempo(30). Both DTs hold up so Hinton(+0.5) and Jeter(+0.5) allowing free shots to their outsides for Ross(+1), who shoots the gap and gets into the RB's legs at the LOS, and Hawkins(-1), who is 2 steps behind so the RB can now burrow behind the two doubles. Same thing M does.
M27	1st	10	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	4	Fade	Gray	Inc	-0.49
Tempo(30). Refs-1 let OSU snap it when the LG and LT are still getting set. Stroud thinks Wilson is going to run a fade but he cuts it off under tight coverage by Gray(+1, cov+1). Hinton banged up.
M27	2nd	10	Gun Str Stack	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	RPO		Fumble	Ross	-4	-1.44
Probably a bad read by Stroud who gives and they fumble the exchange. Ross(+2, RPS+2) is going to destroy this in the backfield because they blitzed, Refs-2 ignore the C tripping him, which allows Stroud to fall on the fumble that Ross was about to get to. Luck-2.
M31	3rd	14	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Split B	1	Pass	5	Flare Screen	Morris	7	0.45
M blitzing a S and dropping Morris(-1, RPS-1) who gets stuck behind the TE. Barrett(+1) reacts in time to corral even though he misses the tackle (Tackling-1). Sets up a 4th and 7.
M24	4th	7	Gun Str Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Wide A	2	Pass	6	Hitch	Gray	9	1.66
Before this: Michigan Stadium(+3) registers on the local seismograph as M flips to a zero coverage right before Stroud's about to snap, and they have to burn a timeout. RPS+2 there because TOs are precious and Macdonald had them. Hutchinson(+2, Pressure+2) puts Munford on his ass. Unfortunately the ball is out before that can be converted into a sack. Gray(-2, cov-2) gets a tug on Wilson's shoulder to prevent a comeback, and then Wilson catches it anyways (WRDIS-1)
M15	1st	10	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	4	Snag	Turner	Inc	-0.32
Hutchinson(+3, Pressure+2) is immediately inside Munford and gets his hand on Stroud's arm as he passes, causing it to sail. Turner(+2, cov+2) is in position to break it up—if he hadn't broken immediately the throw would have been a pick six right to him. Luck-1: ball to nobody is the most likely outcome but the next most likely one is it going right to a defender.
M15	2nd	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	4	Slip Screen	Jeter	??(-10)	-1.01
Ojabo(+1, Pressure+1) gets around NPF and gets taken down—and they call it! Difference is falling down. Jeter(+1) and Ross(+1, RPS+2) are both tagging the RB to blow up this screen but Smith(-2) falls down after getting in the backfield and Hutchinson is also being held so Stroud can break out and run. Moore(-1, Tackling-1) and Hawkins(-2) miss tackles, the latter after Moore at least funneled. Michigan fans in the endzone get to be the ones to inform Stroud that it's coming back.
M25	2nd	20	Empty 11	4-2-5	Nk Wide	2	Pass	4	Hitch	Gray	Inc	-0.89
Pocket is clean after Ojabo(-1, Pressure-1) overruns and they pick up Hutchinson on a stunt. Gray(+2, cov+2) is in contact with Wilson and almost intercepts, breaking it up. Fox-2 no replay.
M25	3rd	20	Gun Trips	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Pass	4	Deep Out	Moore	15	1.57
Ungh! Hutchinson(+1) and Morris(+1, Pressure+2) are coming through and forcing a back-foot lob on a stunt. Moore(-2, cov-3) has *NO* reason to be coming down on an RB flare that Barrett is already covering. That's the help that Gray(-1) is expecting but he's got help over top as well and shouldn't be shook so easily 15 yards downfield. I know they bring up 4th down but bad time for bad coverage.
M10	4th	5	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Over	0	Pass	5	Flare Screen	Hutchinson	10	3.16
Tempo(30). Hutchinson aaaaaaaalmost gets his finger on this after recognizing the play and flaring out with the RB. Hard to neg him there but it's 4th down, there's 10 yards from here to the 1st down, and a tackle ends it. Colson(-2) gets stuck on a TE block and doesn't come near this when he had a chance to stop. RPS-2 Michigan is in man so Hutchinson is really their best defense.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 35-21. 4 min 4th Q. Again Day makes the classic blunder and here it's worse. Go for two man.
Ln	Dn	Dst	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yds	EPA
O25	1st	10	Gun Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Wide A	2	Pass	4	Square In	Turner	Inc	-0.70
Snowing much harder now. Hutchinson(+2, Pressure+2) puts NPF on a sled, rounds him at 6(!) yards and has a paw on Stroud while getting yanked back by the wrist. Messes up a throw that is late so Turner(+1, cov+1) was able to get back over—again if he was another step behind it's an INT it's thrown so badly.
O25	2nd	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Wide	2	Pass	4	Back Shoulder Fade	Turner	16	2.12
Refs-1 getting loosey here as NPF jumps before the snap before Hutchinson(+2, Pressure+2) does the same thing and NPF does the same, except this time Ojabo(+1) is about to sack and Morris(+1) has the G in the backfield. Wilson stops on a dime and Turner(-1, cov-1) is in trail coverage not looking for the ball, and the timing route arrives in the only window it could. WRDIS-2.
O41	1st	10	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Split AA	1	Pass	4	Shallow Cross	Barrett	5	0.11
Hutchinson(+1, Pressure+1) gets through Munford but the C comes back and the two are suddenly literally holding Aidan in the air. Stroud is spooked enough to dump it underneath where Barrett(+2, cov+1, Tackling+1) and Hawkins(+1) are there to stop this on the field for a minimal gain. Starting clockdown.
O46	2nd	5	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Under	2	Pass	4	Back Shoulder Fade	Turner	Inc	-1.18
1:25, 2 TOs. Refs-1 miss NPF going early again. Morris(+2, Pressure+2) puts the RG on his ass and this has to go. It's the same fade they used earlier, but this time Turner(+2, cov+2) is having none of it and knocks it down
O46	3rd	5	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Wide A	1	Pass	4	Sack	Ojabo	-13	-1.58
1:19, 2 TOs. Ojabo(+2, Pressure+3) edges Munford, Hutchinson and Jeter(+1) stunt and OSU is so panicked about Hutchinson that they triple him and leave Jeter free (RPS+1) to get upfield. A moment of Coverage (cov+1), not giving anything and then it's SACK TIME!
O33	4th	18	Gun 4w	4-2-5	Nk Wide	2	Pass	4	Justice	Ojabo	12	-3.21
1:05, 1 TO. NPF jumps twice and goes a second early (refs-1). Ojabo(+2, Pressure+2) gets around Munford immediately and, well you know how it goes, he goes down and Stroud gets to roll. He throws off his back foot to Olave coming back with Gray(+2, cov+2) on his back and Hill and Barrett in the area as well. Adds 12 yards to an impressive offensive season. What a passing offense. Also...
Drive Notes: Turnover on Downs. 42-27. Michigan defeats Ohio State.

I’ve got an important question maybe you can answer.

Shoot.

Don’t you know, Pump it up?

Oh, you’ve got to Pump it up.

Don’t you know, Pump it up? You’ve got to Pump it up.

I thought the feeling would go away, but I am so incredibly happy still that it is making unhappy people more unhappy to see me this happy, which is also factoring into my happiness.

I get it: It’s like a cascade, right? The one event causes another event that intensifies the first event. A feedback loop if you will.

Yeah. It’s like…Don’t you know? Pump it up. You’ve go—

Undoubtedly, you’ve got to pump it up, but what I was going to say is this is kind of like the Michigan defense against Ohio State two weeks ago.

--you know, pump it uh, wait, how so?

That other than a few key moments Michigan really wasn’t doing anything that interesting. Ohio State came out with high tempo and stretch zone in the direction Hutchinson was not, hoping to mitigate the most outstanding player in college football, catch the Wolverines misaligned, wear out the tackles, and catch Colson in the wrong gap. Michigan defended it the same way each time, having their DEs set a hard edge by pushing the TE or OT into the backfield, then two-gapping that guy with a cornerback overhang for support.

Watch #55 David Ojabo on the bottom:

This mitigated the linebacker issue, since the LBs don’t have to worry about getting outside—just backing out in pass pro or slamming themselves into gaps when the back gets the ball, trusting that Ojabo will take care of two gaps outside. Cascades.

That’s how you play down a man in the box and survive, and that in turn cascades to the pass defense, which gave up contested catches on WRDIS plays but had none of the wide open dudes behind the safeties that Michigan State gave up to these guys a week earlier.

The only other issue was tempo; Ohio State used a lot of it, and Michigan got caught unset a few times. Here the safeties are still having a mound meeting at the wrong hash at the snap and get hit for an easy swing pass on 3rd down.

I get that at Brad’s age you’re dealing with a lot of shit, but she’s probably registered somewhere, or maybe a place-setting or maybe a silverware pattern. Okay? Let’s go, get on your hash. This happened more than once. On this next Ojabo was the one late to line up. He got to his gap but wasn’t able to prevent the tight end from releasing or make the play on the edge after that happened. Hawkins and Turner are still trying to communicate, and Turner is late to replace when his WR cracks Hawkins. Cascades.

Also that tackle is moving before the ball is snapped…again.

The breakneck speed also bit Ohio State, as it was a factor in their false starts. I know we like to take credit for HAVING THE VOLUME UP TOO LOUD but most of those were caused by the Buckeyes racing to the line and either snapping it before they were set (called 1/3) or the tackles going before the ball was snapped (called 3/60).

The Tempo stuff accounted for most of Ohio State’s side of the RPS battle, with their one big prepared trick thing a direct snap to the RB option counter that Michigan should steal for their McCarthy package. On the other side, Macdonald had Ohio State’s tendencies scouted, and even got them to check into their own doom on a 3rd and 6:

You see Michigan in their “Nickel Wide” (Eagle) alignment with 210-pound Michael Barrett the only defender remotely near an A gap. Ohio State sees this and checks into a run up the gut. Michigan brings down both safeties from on high to blitz those gaps, and Moore gets a stuff. Unfortunately OSU converted on 4th down, but that was the story of the game: Michigan putting Ohio State in positions where they had to make a great play or die.

Another great Macdonald call was the play when Moten dropped his Christmas present:

Usually OSU put their RB out in the pass pattern, pressuring the coverage to create one-on-one matchups for their receivers being the strategy that got them here. So it’s likely that delayed blitz from Ross was a “Dog Green” blitz where the LB comes if the RB stays in to protect. Hutchinson going outside and in drew the RB’s help, and that gave Ross—who’s a fast blitzer—a clear path to Stroud, forcing the shoulda-been-interception.

Some of the RPS victories in this game were so subtle that I couldn’t really count them in the numbers, preferring to credit the players whenever possible. This is a good example:

Ohio State tempoed to the line here, and got in their Pistol formation. Smith saw this and moved over ever so subtly before the snap from his usual 2i position off the RG’s shoulder to a 1-tech position off the center’s shoulder. Then OSU ran a stretch play where the object was to get that RG and RT around Smith. He stayed in his gap all the way, OSU wasted a blocker who couldn’t climb to the 2nd level, and the run met a wall when it reached the edge set by Ojabo.

There might have been a tell from OSU that Michigan was keying on. Craig Ross noticed it a few weeks ago, and Alex Drain caught it as well in his charting. Maybe you can spot it too:

Form	Pass	Run	PA	RPO	Total
Gun	50	13	4	1	68
Pistol		8			8
Ace		2	1		3
Goal Line		1			1
Total	50	24	5	1	80

Those eight plays from the Pistol were Zone Stretch or the same with a split flow on the backside six times, and Inside Zone twice. Literally every time Ohio State lined up in a pistol formation they ran zone. One caught Michigan unsound versus tempo and another got 9 yards for an uncalled yank on the edge, with the rest stuffed like Michigan knew they were coming. I surmise they did.

 

I don’t get it: You say Michigan was focused on stopping the pass and got away with it, but they had almost 400 passing yards.

I had them for 6.1 YPA passing and 3.9 YPC on the ground, not counting two fumbled snaps and the penalties. Lots of plays amplify counting stats, and this game had twice as many plays as a lot of the games we chart. There was also a lot of “RNG” as they call it in gaming, as Ohio State and their receivers kept rolling 20s.

 

Where Ohio State got lucky:

• Three interceptable throws, one that Moten dropped and two that went behind CBs who were in position to intercept if they weren’t in such good coverage or the ball was more accurate.
• Three fumbles that Stroud recovered off of OSU bounces, including one near their goal line, one a rolled snap that he was able to pick up and throw away instead of eating a 20-yard loss, and a botched exchange that Ross had dead to rights first but fell.
• No delay of game for flicking the ball away from a ref.
• That looper on 4th down just goes over Hutchinson’s fingertips for a TD.
• Lots and lots of pity-induced uncalled holding and false starts on OSU OTs who were vastly overmatched.

Where Michigan got lucky:

• Olave can’t bring in a ball thrown a little behind him in the endzone
• Stroud misses a wide open TE near the endzone
• Jaxson Smith-Njigba drops a long comeback after Stroud escaped Hutchinson

Where Ohio State receivers did insane shit:

• Smith-Njigba slithers for 9 yards on a bubble between Dax and Hutchinson.
• Wilson goes 12 feet in the air and comes down with a 25-yard pylon TD vs perfect coverage by Gray.
• Wilson catches one that Turner’s raking, then shrugs off Turner to scamper up the sideline.
• Smith-Njigba hand-crawls down the sideline for 11 yards when any human would be out of bounds after 2.
• Wilson does something similar when Moore has his screen dead to rights.
• Smith-Njigba catches a 26-yard pass on 3rd and 19 off of Turner’s hip.
• Olave brings in a 39-yard 500 ball on 2nd and 12 over Turner.
• 4th and 7 conversion that Smith-Njigba double-clutched and bounced off a Michigan defender.
• Late 2nd and 10 timing fade where if Wilson looks back a split second earlier Turner will break it up.

That threw off the scoring, which looks like a blowout. In fact it might have broken a records, including the big one.

Chart it up, you’ve got to chart it up.

Don’t you know? I’m gonna chart it up.

You’ve got to chart it up. Don’t you know, chart it up.

Chart it up. Chart it up baby, it won’t let you down.

No, Seth; omigod you are sofa kid Dad. Like this: ‘Don’t you know, you’ve got to

Chart.

Defensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Snaps	Notes
Hinton	7.5	2.5	+5	50	Not much pass rush but OSU could get nothing inside.
Smith	9.5	3	+6.5	46	That plus more pass rush.
Jeter	9	2	+7	30	You tried to stretch Donovan Jeter, how did that work out for you?
Welschof	0	0	0	14	DNC.
Jenkins	1	0	+1	2	The 5-2 made a brief but memorable cameo.
Whittley	0	0	0	0	DNP
Speight	0	0	0	0	DNP
Hutchinson	40.5	1	+39.5	76	The most outstanding player in college football.
Ojabo	21.5	4	+17.5	66	Hutchinson'd the edge when they ran away from Hutchinson.
Morris	6	2	+4	30	High-motor, high-impact.
Upshaw	2.5	2	+0.5	12	No mistakes, no pass rush whatsoever.
Harrell	2	0	+2	2	Also part of the 5-2's memorable cameo.
McGregor	0	0	0	0	DNP
Newburg	0	0	0	0	DNP
TOTAL	99.5	16.5	+83	-	One by one the great fortresses fell.
Linebacker
Player	+	-	T	Snaps	Notes
Ross	13	4	+9	60	This is how we're going to remember him now.
Colson	2.5	9	-6.5	66	Plenty of time to make new memories.
Barrett	4	3.5	+0.5	22	Added more to his plate, wasn't ready for all of it.
Hill-Green	0	0	0	15	DNC
Mullings	0	0	0	0	DNP
Velazquez	0	0	0	0	DNP
Solomon	0	0	0	0	DNP
TOTAL	19.5	16.5	+3	-	Dear Seth last summer: The LBs were +3 vs Ohio State.
Secondary
Player	+	-	T	Snaps	Notes
Hill	4	7	-3	71	Will take it vs Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and so will NFL teams.
Hawkins	5	8.5	-3.5	74	Played softer than usual, understandably.
Moore	4.5	4.5	0	77	Balanced freshman stuff with OSU regrets passing him up stuff.
Moten	2	4	-2	18	One big drop, one big coverage mistake, one redzone stuff.
Kolesar	0	0	0	0	DNP
Paige	0	0	0	0	DNP
Perry	0	0	0	0	DNP
Turner	13	7	+6	79	Dear Seth last summer...you're not gonna believe this.
Gray	12	7	+5	79	P.S. wait'll you hear how Gray fared.
Gem.Green	0	0	0	2	DNC
McBurrows	0	0	0	0	DNP
TOTAL	40.5	38	+2.5	-	Graded as humans, OSU receivers were decidedly not.
Metrics
Pressure	52	13	+39	-	All-American RT Dawand Jones got benched, QED.
Coverage	31	32	-1	-	Verdun.
Tackling	11	13.5	-2.5	-	Gallipoli.
RPS	21	19	+2	-	Amiens.

…chart it up, don’t you know chart it HOLY SHIT.

Oh you saw that.

+39.5. Is that a record? What’s the record?

The previous record was +33.5/-3=+30.5 by Maurice Hurst Jr. against Michigan State in 2017. Brian’s comment next to that was “I’ll take ‘records that will never be broken’ for 1000.” As much as I love Hurst, if his record was going to fall, “Chris Hutchinson has a kid who puts up a +40 to beat Ohio State and earn a spot as a Heisman finalist” would be my answer, after plenty of time to think about it.

That is insane! Also you couldn’t find one more half point somewhere?

This isn’t Vietnam man, there are rules, especially when we’re doing this for posterity. I had an idea going in that we were going to see something incredible. However I do caution this was the also one of the longest games ever charted: 86 defensive plays not counting special teams, and 56 passes, at least 50 of them downfield passes with no play-action or RPOs attached. Ohio State was playing scared and down two scores for most of the second half. They also refused to commit too many eligible receivers to blocking, Flexing the TE out on 34 snaps and going 5-wide on half of those. That meant a lot of single-blocking for Hutchinson, which he would ruin just in time to force a back-foot throw.

That’s not to say all or even most of his points were cashed in for early throws to covered receivers. He was rampant, especially in crucial moments:

That was against Dawand Jones, a guy we put the shield on because he’s a 6’8/360 All-America/early NFL candidate freak. That guy sat most of the second half because he could not hack it against Hutchinson. Instead they kicked Thayer Munford, last year’s All-American, who came into this game with the highest pass pro grade in the country to PFF, back out to left tackle. Hutchinson promptly put Munford on his ass:

Another dude with an elite grade until he met Hutchinson was former super blue chip Nicholas Petit-Frere, a major recruiting win for Ohio State years ago who could have gone in the first round after last year. He might have had an easier time of it on Thanksgiving weekend if he had:

Poor NPF featured prominently down the stretch in this charting. He kept jumping before the snap—something that gets called on Michigan all the time and got called on OSU a couple of times, but ultimately the refs decided to just let him keep doing it since it wasn’t like it was helping matters.

Ohio State did finally awake to the fact that their “best three tackles in the country” couldn’t handle Hutchinson unless three of them all teamed up to block him together. Problem with that:

Hutchinson even did the impossible—he got holding called on Ohio State in a Michigan game, an event that has happened three(!!!) times in the last ten years. Do you know how badly you have to hold a guy to get flagged for holding in the Big Ten when you’re in an Ohio State uniform? It’s like getting ticketed for drunk driving on a factory road in Idaho in 1970 when your dad’s the county sheriff. It’s like having your command stripped in WWI for being too obvious about your assault vector. It’s like getting a multi-game suspension for violation of team rules from Mark Dantonio. It’s like getting so many tattoos the NCAA investigates where you got the money for them. It makes people ask “What were you thinking?” except in this case the answer is quite clearly “I was thinking I just got edged at five(!!!!!) yards; what else was I supposed to do?

The moment that he juuuuust missed is going to be forgotten because Michigan won this game and it was an Ohio State touchdown, but man it was close to being so awesome, and emblematic of the way Ohio State had to play to get anything when Hutchinson was out there.

College football’s defensive MVP didn’t do all of this completely on his own. This 3rd and 9 sack was a total DL effort, from Ojabo flashing and flushing, to Hinton and Barrett cutting off the escape routes, and finally Hutchinson finishing the job.

 

 

But stats are good.

Speaking of his friends

Good games from all of the DTs. The starters were the keys to stuffing Ohio State’s rushing attack despite getting little help from the second level and virtually none from the safeties. This isn’t a thing that we usually call out, but their stamina in this game was impressive. Michigan leaned on Hinton and Smith more than in any other contest, and yet somehow even at the end of excruciatingly long drives, both guys had the juice to play lightly, quickly, and relentlessly:

Smith earned his FFFF star finally by being the key to Michigan’s early success against the tempo-and-stretch plan. Smith is the nose tackle, lined up on the hash mark—they want to scoop him with the RG and RT but he’s having none of it, beating the RG to the the line of scrimmage then pinning both blockers to the Hutch Comin’ side of the play.

Backup Donovan Jeter also had a great game on the ground. Ohio State ran one of their stretch plays as soon as Jeter hit the field, seeming to identify him as a weak link in Michigan’s plan to match OSU’s athleticism inside with their own. Jeter, uh, was not a weak link.

#95, third DL down

This play was a first down on 2nd and 1 but that’s it, despite parts of Michigan’s defense getting tempoed again, because Jeter made a tiny pre-snap adjustment to avoid getting blocked down. That put the LT uselessly inside, and then the TE comes in as a lead blocker and bounces off.

I know we’re used to the DTs holding up now, but try to reboot your mind’s preseason configuration, when a “Thayer Munford” was a guy with a 1st round draft grade who comes back to college, not a euphemism for a fool Hutchinson put on his ass. How did you think a Jeter-vs-Munford matchup was going to go?

I remember hoping it wouldn’t come to that because one of the youths would have replaced him.

As for the kid DTs, we saw less of them than usual as Michigan mostly stayed in their nickel personnel and rolled with the starters and Jeter. But the young’uns showed out in their brief cameo when Michigan thought it could risk going 5-2 against those stretch zones. Kris Jenkins (#94, second from the top) is all over this one:

But that wasn’t the strategy. I think we’re going to see more of that from the [pinches self] Big Ten Championship game. Michael Morris had an even greater impact on almost as few snaps, including his own Thayer Munford as Michigan was ending the game The Game:

#90 second up from the bottom of the DL

Morris also batted down this pass when Michigan botched a coverage behind him. I didn’t add that to the luck list because this wasn’t luck so much as Michael Morris Doing Insane Shit.

Mm, dis.

 

Aye dis.

 

Scottish ego! What is UP my dude?

Ah think this bit whaur ye filter bolded alter ego thro' scotranslate.com isnae aff tae lest muckle langer sae ye micht as weel admit noo that a'm juist a writing device 'n' tis bin ye pumping up David Ojabo a' alang.

Well, you’ve got to pump it up.

Ye'v git tae pump it up dinnae ye ken pump it up.

So let’s pump him up, because Ojabo was too good. As I noted above, Ohio State’s main strategy on the ground was to run stretch zones against Michigan’s light fronts, punishing the fact that the Wolverines were playing with two high safeties by running a play that requires a man in ever gap. They also ran this away from Hutchinson, for the obvious reason. That put the onus on Ojabo to set the edge and to cover the gap inside that edge. He did so with regularity.

He wasn’t the constant edge terror that Hutchinson was—I thought OSU’s OTs had success getting Ojabo to fly by, which was all they needed with the Hutchinson timer on the the other side. But after the 2nd down where Mike Morris Thayer Munford’d their blue-chip LG, Ojabo took over.

Unfortunately for next year’s defense, when Ojabo wasn’t on the field, Ohio State’s tackles looked like the superstars we thought they were. Taylor Upshaw on the bottom is a very different experience when you’re used to the starter:

I know we can’t hold onto these guys forever, and players improve over offseasons, but at the moment it looks like there’s a cliff coming when they’re gone.

Is linebacker in the same boat? I admit I’ve had up and down feelings about Josh Ross.

That’s understandable, but this was undoubtedly an Up game for him, notably because the senior was mostly asked to do the things he is good at, like shooting into the backfield to rip out the enemy’s heart.

 

I’ve shared my opinions plenty this season about running one-back sets in short situations, but that doesn’t apply to Michigan’s defense because they’re not lined up in goal line. The center who’s doubling Smith is just not quick enough to come off that and catch Ross before he’s through. Devin Bush-like play there to end a drive, and I’m a little misty about the fact that he gets to be remembered for it. When your mind’s eye is reforming the neck brace please see if it can remember this one as well:

Look at that center: Should I do something about this? I sh…where’d he go? Oh. I also mentioned the direct snap counter trey, Ohio State’s one trick play saved for this game. That was designed to mess Ross up. It didn’t.

 

Ross calmly moved over when he ID’d the RB behind center, flared outside to win at the lead blocker’s playside shoulder and force a bounce to Dax, who in turn spilled again until Moore could get down and help. That’s a lot of space to force a running back into not taking, and if Ross plays this any worse than perfectly it’s Henderson vs Moore for the rest of the field.

Michael Barrett’s usage went up another tick as he was called upon to replace Ross—whose coverage has been iffy this year—in passing down situations. Normally I would object because Ross’s utility as a blitzer is so high, but with Ohio State launching it before the pressure could matter and trusting their receivers to make plays, it was more valuable in this game to have a guy underneath. He was the first playmaker in the final set of downs.

You could say you’d expect a hybrid space player to make that kind of play against a receiver, but when that receiver is one of the guys who made dumb Heisman voters believe CJ Stroud a better candidate than Kenneth Walker III, corralling him like that qualifies as a big play.

Colson had a rough game I thought, though it may be he was just told to stay inside, take a gap, or drop into coverage. When Ohio State attacked with screens or underneath, or somebody made a great play to get to a gap that was looking scary, I kept finding Colson the nearest guy not executing an obvious assignment:

That’s some heroic work on the edge by Ojabo, but who was supposed to be inside that B gap? It’s not Hinton; he’s in the A. Ross has the backside A that Colson seems to be preoccupied with.

He’s young yet, and linebacker is hard; let’s remember that.

Speaking of Heisman candidates, New Secondary, WRDIS?

 

I had a hard time grading Michigan’s mortal defensive backs against the three mutants. Several times in this game I was certain a pass was going to be ruled incomplete if they took it to review; these were invariably catches. Sometimes I would watch the replay, my mind would finally managed to convince itself that what I saw was real, only for Gus and Joel to be like “No it wasn’t.”

This matchup was always about survival, and Michigan early in the game put on a bend-don’t break clinic. Once they got in the redzone, the safeties were allowed to be more involved in the passing game, and that freed the lower level to get more aggressive out of the breaks. Note DJ Turner II at the bottom. Allowed to play press coverage, he reroutes Wilson so thoroughly that Smith-Njigba has to step back behind the line to gain. That’s where he’s found, and suddenly Ohio State is back in a 4th down situation.

 

But Jaxson Smith-Njigba was killing us.

I’m sorry to report that Ohio State’s receivers are awesome. Of them, Smith-Njigba was the one Ohio State was most interested in getting the ball. Their grand plan in this game on offense was to move him around to get better matchups. The one that stood out in your memory was of course when they lined him up at running back and he drew David Ojabo.

Ohio State also spent much of that 18-play drive in the 3rd quarter with JSN lining up where flex tight ends usually go, even flipping him with the tight end before the snap. He still drew Daxton Hill on most of those, but in those cases it was Hill in pure man coverage with quick throws to where he didn’t have leverage. JSN is a 2020 so we’ll have to face him one more time before the consensus 5-star moves on. They didn’t try to have Ojabo cover him again.

There were shades of WRDIS of course. Here’s one that I wanted Turner to defend better.

But if you’re in phase like that with THAT GUY you’re already winning at cornerback—we can work on what to do when the ball arrives later. And it’s not like Turner failed to make some plays. Before they ran that pick he rerouted they ran the same look as a slant against him, and Turner just denied Wilson:

On OSU’s last scoring drive they converted a crucial 2nd and long with a timing lob, catching Turner with his eyes 100% on the receiver so he couldn’t react until the ball was on him. Next time the Buckeyes tried it, Turner made sure it didn’t work twice.

He’s another guy who earned an FFFF star from this game. I could have done it earlier but I wanted to hedge in case he got destroyed by the WRDIS mutants. That tells you where my expectations were going into this game. The results were he managed to stay with them, even in press coverage, and gave as good as he got. Unless we get a sick note from Chris Olave’s doctor explaining why his speed couldn’t make it to Ann Arbor two weeks ago, it’s time to think of DJ Turner II as a Dude.

And Gray survived.

Yeah, the fact that Gray was even there on the sick Wilson TD catch was a huge upgrade from preseason expectations. Michigan did use him in more off coverage, but there were also times when OSU caught him in press, sought to take advantage, and Gray was able not just to stay with the 5-stars down the sideline but when they broke off their routes as well.

He’s not a star yet, but Gray against Wilson/Olave/JSN was another of those matchups I’d been fearing for multiple seasons/offseasons. Maybe we shouldn’t be saying this until after Signing Day, but Gray’s not going to just surrender his job when the reinforcements arrive.

Speaking of reinforcements, Rod Moore started against Ohio State, didn’t suck.

Yup, didn’t suck. Moreover the true freshman showed the kind of speed and athleticism that Macdonald’s predecessor could have used in this matchup. When he was screaming down at Olave like this I want to imagine one of those coaches from western Ohio was using his seatmate’s shoulders to hop up and down yelling “WE TOLD YOU TO OFFER THIS GUY DAY! DAAAAAY!!!!”

That guy was probably not assuaged by Moore making a few true freshman plays in coverage. He is the safety on the lower hash here, coming down that hash like they teach the curl/flat zone in Cover Three 101. The 201 course has some things to say however about how reactive you’re supposed to be to an RB in the flat on 3rd and 20 versus hanging out in the seam for awhile until you’re absolutely sure the threat’s cleared.

We’ll get him up to speed.

On the other end of careers, Craig Ross’s 3,000-year companion Brad Hawkins did his part to age up Moore. I don’t clip a lot of pre-snap stuff, but I definitely could see Hawkins between plays getting everyone lined up for every one of them. That’s probably going to be a transition cost next year as well. Hawkins is never going to be the kind of athlete that Dax is or Moore could become or the recruits seem to be, but the old one more than makes up for it by being impossible to mess with. Look how cooly he dealt with this return action that’s supposed to get your safeties misaligned:

Hawkins also made the rest of us about 40 years older on that shoestring tackle of Henderson. Like I said in the charting, I think Michigan fans were panicking about that one because we are so used to watching our guys run through much better tackles. If that’s Corum or Haskins or even Walker it’s six points. Fortunately it was merely Henderson. Let’s not try it again.

Did they try to edge Dax Hill?

Yes they did.

How did it work out for them.

WRDIS.

You’ve seen Dax make that tackle in so many games that we have this bit for it. You could see on this one however that his plan was first get outside and mitigate the possible damage before trying to end the play. That decision gave Hutchinson a shot to end the play, but out here we’re in Smith-Njigba’s world, nut Hutchinson’s.

Hill had the toughest day of anybody I thought, as he was give the main task of covering Ohio State’s main threat. Oh, they get the ball to Olave and Wilson, but especially in this game Ryan Day wanted to win the game with his five-star slot, and I think his ultimately got the better of Michigan’s five-star nickel. A lot of that was the same sort of thing as the above, IE Hill playing too conservatively instead of being Dax Hill. Here we have a 4th down, Hill is taking outside leverage on Smith-Njigba, and calling for his safety help when that safety is a hash and seven yards away.

Play that tighter, man. If they send him on a fade over you, your speed makes that a bad throw. If they convert here they’re probably going to score. If you’re worried about catching his flu, get the vaccine. It’s safe and effective.

That at least is an explanation. I would like to know what happened on this one, even though it ended up incomplete.

Everybody else seemed to be in man coverage and Dax’s man comes back for this and nobody else is on screen for many seconds. If Hill would like to come back next year and work on this some more, I would highly encourage it. Nobody wants their last Ohio State game to be a negative score.

You mentioned a “Classic Blunder” a couple of times?

So this is a football strategy about when to go for two that coaches still get wrong today. Let’s say you were down 15, scored, and there’s enough time that you can reasonably expect just one more drive. Ways that could go:

• Option 1: You kick an XP, make it, kick off, and strategize for one more drive, hoping to score and convert a tie-or-die 2PC
• Option 2: You go for two, and:
  • a) You make it, kick off, and strategize for one more drive, hoping to score.
  • b) You miss. Down 9, you try an onside kick, and if that fails you burn every timeout and every defensive strategy to preserve time for two drives.

The conservative coach in you wants to go with the first option so he doesn’t risk being the guy in Option 2b. But he already is the guy going for two; what he doesn’t know is if he’s the sub-option who needs 7 points or the sub-option who needs 9. Not knowing, he effectively removes from himself any chance of surviving the two-point conversion that has to be made in any future he wins.

That in a flowchart (blue=choice):

It goes without saying if you fail to score you lose. In any scenario that you can win, knowing if you are down one possession or two is crucial information.

Generally I would apply this with about 10 minutes left but really it’s—and this takes some thinking about based on the circumstances and opposition—at the point in the game when you’re no longer likely to score three TDs while your opponent kicks two field goals. The classic blunder when not making The Classic Blunder (also known as “a thing only the Detroit Lions would do”) is to go for two too early, miss so you’re down 9, give up a field goal so you’re down 12, score again so you’re down 5, score again to go up by 2, then lose on some ridiculously long field goal.

In Ohio State’s case Michigan answered both Ohio State TDs with touchdowns of their own, meaning they got another shot at the Classic Blunder, blundered again, and then they were dead anyhow, all thanks to the flu.

Who’s Mr. Worldwide for that week?

[Bryan Fuller]

As a reminder, our criteria here are versatility, the ability to make your teammates better, being cool against long odds, and enjoying time spent under highway overpasses. This is decided after the second UFR. Your top three this week:

1. Aidan Hutchinson: Made his teammates look like Big Ten champions and the second-most lauded position group in Columbus/also America look like chumps. Went inside them. Went outside them. Went under them. Went over them. Went through them. Collected the Lombardi Trophy, and is now heading to New York to see if he can get another trophy and build a highway overpass out of the two.

2. The Whole Damn Offensive Line. Brian does it in the game columns so I can too. Ran power, stretch, inside zone, split zone, and everything else under the snow while also putting up a pass protection metric that would be impressive against a bottom Big Ten line, let alone a 21st century Ohio State one. Trevor Keegan blocked multiple guys at a time.  Andrew Vastardis reached a dude for Corum’s long run. Ryan Hayes was getting down to and locking out linebackers like the tight end he used to be. Stueber shut down Tyreke Smith: Zero pressures. Zinter moved dudes until they just got out of his way instead. Built a highway overpass out of chairs and stood under it.

3. David Ojabo: Two-gapped the edges like they were highway overpasses on stretch, ran Stroud into a Hutchinson sack. Fails on the versatility because he can’t cover Jaxon Smith-Njigba, so he should definitely come back to school another year and work on that.

HMs (half points). Luke Schoonmaker and Erick All kicked some ass. Haskins hurdled a fool. Turner and Gray hung out under OSU’s overpasses and survived to tell the tale. Donovan Jeter was not defeated by stretch.

3-2-1 point system so our standings are:

• 15.5: Aidan Hutchinson
• 8.5: Hassan Haskins
• 6.5: DJ Turner II
• 6: Erick All
• 5.5: Ryan Hayes
• 5: Cade McNamara
• 4.5: Luke Schoonmaker
• 4.0: Andrew Stueber
• 3.5: David Ojabo
• 3: Ronnie Bell, Daxton Hill, Donovan Edwards
• 2.5: Andrel Anthony, Trevor Keegan
• 2: Mike Sainristil, Junior Colson, Josh Ross, Andrew Vastardis
• 1.5: Mazi Smith
• 1: Nikhai Hill-Green, Cade Kolesar, Julius Welschof, Chris Hinton, Donovan Jeter
• 0.5: Blake Corum, Joel Honigford, Chuck Filiaga, Carter Selzer, Daylen Baldwin

Legends?

Aidan Hutchinson had the greatest game by a Wolverine defender in the history of MGoBlog, to beat Ohio State and earn a trip to the Heisman ceremony.

Heroes?

David Ojabo, Mike Macdonald, DJ Turner II, Smith & Hinton & Jeter, and Josh Ross.

Maybe not so heroic?

Junior Colson. Tempo defense still.

What does it mean for Iowa Georgia and beyond?

Aidan Hutchinson is the most outstanding player in college football. That is not a question. The question is do they ever follow the trophy’s clearly-worded instructions, and the answer is they don’t.

The cornerbacks are okay. Made it hard for Ohio State’s WRDIS troop, and that’s well beyond our wild dreams going into the year. If we get to Bama I’m not going to panic (a lot).

Gonna miss these DEs: One encouraging play from Harrell was the only sign that anybody outside of Morris/Jenkins on the DL-LB spectrum can replace Ojabo and Hutchinson next year.

Josh Ross has a very specific skillset. 3rd down and 2 shouldn’t have taken his daughter.

Colson and Moore are true freshmen: Ohio State got to Colson, Moore held up but made bigger mistakes. Bowl practices might help here since both became starters late in the year, very late in Moore’s case.

Operation “Hey Moten, 500!” is a Go. I know the students are about to go on break but for next year I want everyone on campus to start walking around with footballs, and if you see RJ Moten throw it up to him and yell out a number corresponding to the throw’s difficulty. Goal is 10,000 points by next fall. Team effort, folks.

Michigan can beat Ohio State. And did. People don’t talk about this enough, but Michigan beat Ohio State 42-27. Just look:

Your moment of Zen: