Label Notes: Reminder that I’m combining all scores (except QB) in the charting. p=pass pro, y=YAC, c=catch, b=block for RBs, and route=route. It might be more than one or an odd number, in which case the higher one goes first, so if you see something like “Wilson(+3croute) that means Wilson got a +2 for a difficult catch and +1 for running a good route. Capital letters in the formations refer to skill positions: R=RB or tailback, S=superback (2nd RB), Y=inline TE, F=off-line TE, X=split end (WR on weak side), Z=flanker (WR on strong side), H=Slot.

Formation Notes: Michigan spent much of its day in Gun Wk Z Tight, which is just Twins but a WR tight to the line instead of a tight end, then mostly ran to the backside of this. As you can see in the same clip, Ohio State broke out a Bear front that I called Hurricane in the charting. The number after is how many safeties they left high, e.g. Hurricane 1:

Substitution Notes: Trueblueintexas had the snap counts. Six McCarthy snaps. Line was Hayes-Keegan-Vastardis-Zinter-Stueber the whole way (no Filiaga). All got the most important snaps but was still a little lame and Schoonmaker closed it out with Honigford and two Selzer snaps.

[After THE JUMP: Anyone who tries to make you feel bad about reveling in this is a sad person who never has to be listened to ever again.]

Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M25	1st	10	Offset Str	4-2-5	Nk Under	2	Run	6.5	Counter Trey	Haskins	3	-0.30
We'll start the war from right here. Couple of issues as Stueber(-1) didn't seal a LB who blitzed inside then popped outside of him. Also OSU is walking down a safety at this (RPS-1 ... and in hindsight lol). Keegan(+1) buries the kickout, Schoonmaker(+0.5) turns out the LB Stueber missed and Haskins(+0.5) runs through the safety to get 3 yards out of it. RPS watchers never fear: this is the last play of the day that Gattis spends in the net negative.
M28	2nd	7	Gun 13 Twins	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2	Pass	7.5	RB Flat	Haskins	5	0.08
M brings out the heavy personnel splits All into the slot, and attacks the boundary vs a Quarters (MOD) look (Ross Fulton explains) with the RB, knowing the flat is going to be the responsibility of the LB who has to protect the seam from a TE's release first. RPS+1. Free 5 yards. (CA, 3, Prot 1/1, McNamara+1)
M33	3rd	2	Offset Twins	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1	RPO	8	Counter CT/Curl-Flat	Haskins	16	2.37
Some #BeefinSpace here. Schoonmaker flares right to mess with their counter keys but there’s also a Wilson curl under it instead of the WR blocking. McNamara(RPO+) freezes the DE who's stuck behind the hinge block of Zinter anyways, RPS+1. Keegan(+1) gets a DT who hops outside because the B gap is usually where these go and seals him there while Hayes(+2) hops 5 yards downfield and turns out the MLB. Haskins(+0.5) gets a free run down the seam and collides with a safety 12 yards downfield to add 4 more.
M49	1st	10	Empty Ace	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Penalty	6	False Start	All	(-5)	-1.20
All(-1).
M44	1st	15	Gun Trips Y-off (H)	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	Run	6.5	Iso	Edwards	8	0.80
Wilson covered, the relevant safety stays at 10 yards. Vastardis(+1) gets a DT going upfield and staples him high and out. Zinter(+0.5) got a good lock on the other DT, and Schoonmaker(+0.5) got a turn on the MLB, which delivers Edwards(+0.5) to the safety set up quasi-deep on 1st and 15 whom he dodges for a few extra.
O48	2nd	7	Empty Ace	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2	Pass	7	Curl	Schoonmaker	6	0.35
OSU brings 6 but this is out before they can arrive under soft man coverage. Cade's read effectively adds a protection bonus because he sees the pressure and gets it to his backside outlet. NFL-caliber read. (CA+, 3, Prot 1/2, TEAM-1, McNamara+2)
O42	3rd	1	Offset Ace Twins	4-3-4	4-3 Under	2	Run	7	Tight Zone	Haskins	2	0.78
Looks like Michigan is asking their LT to block a DT lined up inside him but that's because Keegan(-1) left early and fell down when it looked like this DT was slanting—neat trick by a heckuva DT honestly. Hayes (refs+1) holds briefly then lets go—honestly I probably don't refs-1 that one if it happens the other way but it's what gives Haskins(+0.5) just enough room when this DT connects with him that he can burrow for the first down. DT lets the ref hear it because somebody's from a protected class.
O40	1st	10	Gun Ace Tight Y Flex	4-3-4	4-3 Under	1	Pass	8	Hitch	Schoonmaker	Inc	-0.85
Bunch one side and split out Schoonmaker and OSU has adjusted by having this CB play him tight. Borderline PI as he never disconnects and is pushing him forward but we M fans don't want that called today. Had CJ on the other side but this is a hitch vs Cov 1 and this is put in the #Buttzone where Schoonmaker(-1c) has a chance to make the catch. He doesn't. (CA+, 2, Prot 2/2, McNamara+1, TEAM-1)
O40	2nd	10	Gun Twins F-Flex Z orbit	4-3-4	4-4 Over	1	Pass	8	Flare Screen	Henning	9	0.84
All(+2) is lined up as the flanker and makes this play, latching onto #5 (he'll feature today) and riding him until getting thrown down, at which point #5 stands there taunting instead of tackling. Sainristil(+2—sorry this gets extra amplitude) gets a teach tape perfect cut block on Cameron Brown, who is now dead. Henning(-1) steps OOB just short of the sticks. Refs-1 allow a roughing by the OSU safety who knocks him OOB a second time, and then bodyslams AJ well after the play's over.
O31	3rd	1	Offset 2TE Z Tight	4-3-4	4-4 Over	1	Run	9	Tight Zone	Haskins	17	0.64
Before this M burns a timeout because Henning(-1) wasn't lined up on the LOS and it would have been an illegal formation. M does the thing again where they have the guard leave early and the tackle has to block a guy inside of him (RPS-1) and Stueber(+1) gets enough that Haskins(+2) can break through the free DT's arm tackle and into a gap behind Zinter(+1) who reached the LB, and Vastardis(+0.5) who sealed a DT. HH drags a safety and friends with him.
O14	1st	10	Pistol FB Str	4-2-5	4-3 Over	2	Run	7	Statue of Liberty	Henning	14	2.50
Fake the flare to Edwards and OSU's entire defense bails (RPS+2). Our friend #5 is the OLB and never gets to Henning(+1) until he's into the endzone. Unblocked DE took a step inside and gets dusted. All(+1) escorted a safety to the sideline.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 7-0. 10 min 1st Q. This operation is planned as a victory, and that’s the way it’s going to be. We’re going down there, and we’re throwing everything we have into it, and we’re going to make it a success
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
O39	1st	10	Offset FB 2TE	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2	Play-Action	7	PA Drag	Wilson	24	0.58
OSU brings six, M in max pro (RPS+1) and pocket stays clean until Wilson gets open behind the zone. Cade drops it in just high enough to clear the WLB in zone while setting up lots of YAC. Wilson(+1y) takes a step inside that freezes the FS and creates room for a chunk up the sideline. (DO, 3, Prot 3/3, McNamara+2)
O15	1st	10	Gun Wk Z tight	4-2-5	4-3 Over	2	Play-Action	7	Skinny Post	Wilson	INT	-5.17
I was alone in my living room and in the middle of tweeting "POUR IT ON, PRIVATE BLITHE, LET 'EM HAVE IT" at this moment so I can't imagine what it must be like to be the QB of Michigan and rolling against OSU in the snow. Anyways Cade has CJ's hitch wide open and a wheel to Edwards about to come open, but gets locked onto a very bracketed skinny post. Undisguised FS in Cover 3 grabs the gift. Very bad read, very out of character. (BRx, 0, Prot 1/1, McNamara-4)
Drive Notes: Interception. 7-0. 8 min 1st Q. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M25	1st	10	Gun Ace Twins	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2	Run	6.5	ZR Pin & Pull	Haskins	3	-0.30
Stueber(-1) has a DT slanting inside of him he can't get to before that guy takes out Keegan. Schoonmaker(+1) has a perfect seal on DE. OSU also has nobody on the edge(!). Zinter(-1) should recognize this and get to a LB but he leaves both of them to hunt for a high safety and HH gets taken down after 3. RPS wash because the slant took out the lead blocker but OSU was a man short and had no edge so this could have broken huge. Who's coaching those LBs? Does he work for us?
M28	2nd	7	Gun Wk	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Pass	6.5	Hitch	Anthony	5	0.08
Hate to grade this down but he comes off CJ immediately and OSU leaves him wide wide open on the field side. Checks down to Anthony who's tackled immediately. (TA, 3, Prot 1/1, McNamara-1)
M33	3rd	2	Gun Trips Y-off (H)	4-2-5	Nk Under	2	Run	6.5	Split Zone	Haskins	8	1.64
OSU slants at this (RPS-1) with no respect for a QB keep but All(+1) manages to pry the crashing DE out with a shoulder while Hayes(+1) donkeys the LB who replaced the DT. Haskins(+0.5) downshifts to let the hole develop while Keegan(+1) locks out a LB, and they pick up the first down and more.
M41	1st	10	Pistol Diamond	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2	Run	7	Double Iso	Corum	5	0.11
Brought back from 2015: both TEs line up to either side of McCarthy and insert as the RB picks one. DE flies upfield(RPS wash because safety in the box) to make a nice gap behind Schoonmaker(+1) for a five-yard gain.
M46	2nd	5	Gun Trips	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	Run	6.5	Bash Keeper	McCarthy	6	0.86
McCarthy(read+1) keeps as the DE sets up outside. M pulling the backside G and T. Zinter(-0.5) doesn’t get much on a downfield turn of the LB and Stueber(+0.5) just has to harass a CB. Backside DE makes a nice play to recover on the keep and track down from behind, but it's after a 1st down and change.
O48	1st	10	Offset FB 2TE	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2	Run	7.5	Counter Trey	Corum	3	-0.36
OSU stacks the box (RPS-1) and kind of tips that the S is coming down, but they also have DE fly way upfield that Zinter(+1) picks off. Corum comes down the hash, freezing both the S and MLB inside, then keeps going inside. Not going to minus that because ankle but this is the same setup for the Washington TD.
O45	2nd	7	Gun Trips	4-2-5	Nk Even	2	Pass	6.5	RB Flat	Haskins	0	-1.11
OSU brings five, kinda want Haskins to pick him up. He goes to the flat and it might be a YAC opportunity but blitzer gets way up in Cade's face and he puts it high. Giving him the benefit of the doubt since I don't know what else he can do with it but eat the sack. Wilson was coming open if they get that blocked. No + on the catch because letting it go would have the same result. RPS-1. (PR, 2, Prot 1/2, TEAM-1)
O45	3rd	7	Gun Trips Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Split A	1	Pass	5	Throwaway	Johnson	Inc	-0.97
Blitzing LB blindsides Vastardis(-2) who then trips on Keegan and goes down. Free LB in the pocket means dump it and Cade does. (PR, 0, Prot 1/3)
Drive Notes: Punt. 7-3. 14 min 2nd Q. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M10	1st	10	Gun Wk Z Tight	4-2-5	4-3 Under	1	Run	8	Power C Bluff	Haskins	2	-0.17
Interesting play(?) unless it's an accident. DE flares and Schoonmaker(-1) hangs on him but doesn't put him anywhere, then releases to the WLB while the puller kicks that guy. If Schoonmaker gets a solid thunk on the LB it's blocked to the safety (who's at 5 yards). Haskins(+1) spins out of a TFL and picks up 2.
M12	2nd	8	Gun Ace Y-Flex	4-3-4	Nk Over	2	Run	6.5	Power Kick	Haskins	1	-0.25
OSU slants the DL towards power and doesn't reverse the LBs. Begging to get trapped or zoned the way this DT is stepping up (That's foreshadowing). Hayes stays on his guy but Vastardis(-1, RPS-1) got crossed and there's nowhere to go.
M13	3rd	7	Gun Str Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Split B	1	Pass	6	Wheel	Edwards	Inc	-0.12
M shifts the RB from empty to the backfield and catches m2m. OSU defends it well. Cade has room to step up but Hayes(-1p) lets Smith get one of those long arms on the QB as he's throwing it which maybe affects the accuracy? It's a back shoulder fade that gives Edwards a shot to catch and stab a foot down. He almost does but was still bobbling the catch. See that from NFL receivers not RBs. Fox-3 has no replay. (MA, 1, Prot 2/3, Hayes-1, McNamara+1)
Drive Notes: Punt. 7-3. 11 min 2nd Q. So much of the progress that would define the 20th century, on both sides of the Atlantic, came down to the battle for a slice of beach only six miles long and two miles wide.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M18	1st	10	Gun Twins H/F Flip	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2	Pass	7	Throwaway	Haskins	Inc	-0.51
M sets up with Schoonmaker in the slot, OSU leaves two guys in zero coverage on him and CJ, and Cade doesn't see the six-man blitz coming. Six guys vs 5-man protection leaves an MLB free up the gut and Cade throws it OOB over HH's head. (PR, 0, Prot 1/3, TEAM-2)
M18	2nd	10	Offset Wk Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	Pass	6.5	TE Curl	All	7	0.23
RB flares out just before the snap, Cade looks off the MLB and hits All(+1route) as he crosses the S. (CA, 3, Prot 2/2, McNamara+1)
M25	3rd	3	Offset Str Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	Pass	6.5	Slant	Johnson	11	1.62
Assassin! Cade sees the OLB take two steps wide to cover HH in the flat and the ball is out on the third—this window only exists for a beat and he nails it so CJ(+1y) can run around dangerously for extra credit. RPS+1 they had Sainristil on the other hash if this was covered. (DO, 3, Prot 1/1, McNamara+2)
M36	1st	10	Gun Str	4-2-5	Nk Under	1	Run	6.5	Counter Trey	Haskins	6	0.40
Slant (RPS-1) gets OSU+1 plus a safety. Hayes(+0.5) and Keegan(+0.5) ride the slanting DT to the MLB. Zinter(+1) digs out the DE for a solid kick, and All(+1) pancakes the free LB through the safety but the hole is now getting cozy as Haskins(+0.5) runs through a sea of arms and bodies, popping out to meet the Nk with only enough balance left to twist to the ground. If they can do this consistently against a stacked box OSU is dead.
M42	2nd	4	Gun Wk Z tight	4-2-5	Nk Over	1	RPO	7	F Insert/Slant	Haskins	6	0.74
The Nk sets up way inside the H and threatens blitz then backs out hoping to entice an RPO interception. McNamara(-1, RPO+) reads him correctly, but he is slows to start the mesh and Haskins(+2) is a little surprised to feel the ball a beat late and bobbles it a bit. He gets time to fix that because the blocks are good, mostly. Keegan(-1) gets ripped through by DT#92 but maintains contact (OSU fans want a hold for that, but not the rip which was also a hold) so HH can break that tackle, and use a gorgeous seal from Vastardis(+1) to get to the first down. Vastardis and Keegan run to push him and the pile forward for another two.
M48	1st	10	Pistol FB Wk	4-3-4	4-3 Under	2	Play-Action	7	PA TE Wheel	All	Inc	-1.14
PA to mess with the safety who's been hounding their power run game but that guy gets back and makes it a tight window. It's got to be perfect and is a foot too far so All can get one hand on it but not bring it in. Would have been a helluva play so not minusing it. (MA, 1, Prot 2/2)
M48	2nd	10	Gun Wk Z tight	4-3-4	Hurricane 1	1	Pass	8	TE Leak	Schoonmaker	9	1.10
OSU goes Bear, Cade drops back, the protection holds vs a 5-man pressure...and holds...and holds...and both HH and Schoonmaker(+0.5y) leak out and Cade hits his TE in stride a couple of yards downfield and he rumbles that to 3rd and short (But if that's All he gets the first right? How did you even get in this section?). (CA, 3, Prot 3/3, McNamara+1)
O43	3rd	1	Offset Bone	4-3-4	Goal	1	Run	8	Tight Zone	Haskins	0	-1.19
Tempo(29) which just tells OSU when the snap is going to be (RPS-2) as #44 dives inside Schoonmaker(-1) and blows this up in the backfield.
O43	4th	1	Offset Ace Twins	4-3-4	4-4 Under	1	Run	8	Tight Zone	Haskins	2	2.00
Before this M burns another TO trying to get lined up—All(-1) seems to be the culprit. We get a loooooong Fox timeout to ponder what Michigan will do on 4th and short. They run "Ram Hassan Haskins up their fucking throats," Vastardis(+2) ejects some DT we were mad that Don Brown didn't try to recruit, and neither the DT that Honigford(-0.5) couldn't shoulder as he lined up inside him, nor the unblocked WLB who picked his way through the traffic can stop Haskins(+1) if they hit him from the side. First down with yards to spare but funny OSU safety points his direction anyways.
O41	1st	10	Pistol Diamond	4-3-4	4-3 Even	2	Run	7.5	Arc Read	Corum	2	-0.35
Actually a double Arc but the DE forms up and McCarthy(read+) gives. This looks like it has legs but Keegan(-1) gets held by the DT for long enough that the LB gets a clean shot at Corum's legs.
O39	2nd	8	Gun Str Y-Flex	4-2-5	4-3 Over	1	Pass	7	Fly	Johnson	37	2.38
OSU gets 2020 M-MSU'd as pre-snap motion reveals cover 1. CJ(+2c/route) gets a free release and dusts the OSU star freshman CB. Throw is perfect and Johnson gives up YAC to be sure he grabs it. (DO, 2, Prot 2/2, McNamara+2)
O2	1st	Goal	Offset Bone	4-2-5	Goal	NA	Run	NA	Dive	Haskins	1	-0.69
Tempo(21). Zinter(+0.5) and Stueber(+1) plow forth and Haskins dives through a guy who got under All, is still atop the pile but short, then stretches out. Ruled down where he was before the stretch, review maybe puts him in? We never see it because...
O1	2nd	Goal	Offset Bone	4-2-5	Goal	NA	Run	NA	Dive	Haskins	1	1.85
Tempo(26). They run it again. This time it's Zinter(+1) clearing space and Haskins(+1) dives over the pile, landing with is feet over a DE, but not in a hurdling motion so this man doesn't get made a fool.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 14-7. 3 min 2nd Q. They're murdering us here. Let's move inland and get murdered. (Next drive is a one-play Haskins run to get to halftime and not charted)
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M19	1st	10	Gun Ace Twins Tight	4-3-4	4-3 Under	2	Run	8	Bash	Corum	13	0.92
There isn't a read just a FS LB who's glared at. Sainristil(+1) knocks the HSP lined up inside him on his ass, Wilson(+1) seals a LB, All(+1) takes a S for a ride, and Corum(+0.5) can glide all the way to the CB, who gets a stiffarm on the way OOB.
M32	1st	10	Gun Wk Z tight	4-3-4	4-3 Over	1	Run	8	Stretch	Corum	55	2.98
The one time they run it is when OSU has the boundary safety low. DL, especially the DT over Vastardis(+2) is hopping upfield immediately(RPS+1) and Vastardis has that guy instantly reached and sealed there. Keegan(+1) gets a solid dive to lock out a LB running out of this gap because he doesn't realize the reach situation he's in, and Zinter(+0.5) locks out the last LB. This gets Corum(+1) to the first down with speed, but it's he who dusts the safety. After many yards his ankle is clearly going "NOT SO FAST" and a CB catches up at the 11.
O13	1st	10	Gun Ace Y-Flex	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2	Run	6	Counter Trey	Haskins	13	2.49
Bucks coming unglued now. They slant and an unblocked DE crashes so hard that Keegan(+1) can ignore him and go hunting the LB level (Just like you asked for against Rutgers!). Zinter(+syrup) removes a dimension from his DT. Schoonmaker(+0.5) gets downfield and locks out the CB, and Haskins(+1) turns All(+1) into his Captain America shield. An LB and S yield six.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 21-13. 11 min 3rd Q. They hadn’t come here to fear. They hadn’t come to die. They had come to win.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M22	1st	10	Pistol FB Str	4-3-4	4-3 Split	2	Pass	7	Flare Screen	Edwards	6	0.31
So Cade puts this a yard too out in front of Edwards(+2c) who snags it with one hand keeps the play going. Wow. All(+1) knocks over a LB, Stueber(-1) loses Smith, which wastes a very good Schoonmaker(+0.5) block on the backside but not Sainristil(+1) getting under a CB and running him around the yard. (IN(screen), 1, Prot n/a, McNamara-1)
M28	2nd	4	Pistol Diamond	4-3-4	4-3 Even	1	Play-Action	7.5	PA Fly	Wilson	31	2.72
OSU is blitzing 6.5 but has coverage deep. Stueber(+1) gets a blitzer down from a tough angle, Hayes(-1p) lost Harrison around and Schoonmaker lost Smith so we're on a tight schedule here. JJ lays it in perfectly to Wilson(+2c/route) who got 3 yards of separation after a tough release and brings this down by the sideline. RPS-1 as OSU was coming for a PA pass here. (DO+, 2, Prot 2/3, Hayes-1, McCarthy+2)
O41	1st	10	Offset Str H Jet	4-2-5	4-3 Over	2	Play-Action	7	Flea Flicker	Sainristil	34	1.04
Brilliant design as the motion and handoff put the Nk, our friend #5, in a bind, IE way behind. Throw is too far inside and short though, or else this is a walk-in TD. I also want Sainristil to take that outside after he loses the CB because he has Wilson to block for him. Kinda ran himself out of a TD there. RPS+4 I mean there isn't an ounce of pressure and DB has no chance. (MA, 3, Prot 2/2)
O7	1st	Goal	Gun Twins	4-3-4	Hurricane 1	0	Run	9	QB Down T	McCarthy	6	1.26
Hayes(+1) pulls and kicks the MLB set up outside then gets around him when JJ goes outside to avoid the LB who came off the backside edge. All(+0.5) locks a guy in, and Schoonmaker(+0.5) locks a guy up but RPS+1 these guys are going in and upfield. Haskins(+1b) leads through a S and McCarthy(+1) dances on the sideline to get near the pylon. Also a brouhaha begins as Wilson blocks a guy into the EZ and grabs his ankle as they're separating, and the guy, Cameron Brown, yanks off Wilson's helmet. Courtney Morgan(+2) runs out and seizes Corum, dragging him back to the sideline before he gets an offsetting. Crucially for later events (He's foreshadowing again) they only give Brown the penalty for the helmet not everything after or else he'd miss his crowning moment.
O1	1st	Goal	Goal	6-2-3	Goal	NA	Run	NA	Lead Zone	Haskins	1	0.89
OSU lines up 6 guys to the side without a FB so M has a hat for a hat (RPS+1). Schoonmaker(+0.5) takes down a T enough for Haskins(+0.5) to shoo him away, All(+1) erases the OLB (and picks up his hands before he gives them a hold to call) and Haskins walks in.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 28-13. 5 min 3rd Q. Hitler made only big mistake when he built his Atlantic Wall. He forgot to put a roof on it.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M34	1st	10	Pistol FB Str	4-3-4	4-3 Under	2	Run	7	Counter Trey	Haskins	0	-0.99
Hayes(-2) gets the wrong call and pass sets. All(+0.5) and Keegan(+0.5) try to fix but that wiped out a blocker and the WLB sticks at the LOS.
M34	2nd	10	Offset Trips Bunch Y-Flex	4-2-5	Nk Under	1	Pass	6	Scramble	McNamara	9	0.94
Triangle read and OSU covers everyone by bailing the MLB so Cade takes off. He slides a yard short of the 1st. (SCR, n/a, Prot 2/2, McNamara+1)
M43	3rd	1	Gun Str X tight	4-2-5	4-4 Under	0	Pass	8.5	Fly	Anthony	Inc(+5)	1.46
Tempo(25). A slight delay in their tempo timing (RPS+2) gets OSU to jump: Free Play! Anthony dusts the CB, ball arrives where he can lay out for it, but he drops it (+1 route, -1 catch). (CA, 2, Prot 1/1, McNamara+1)
M49	1st	10	Gun Trips (H)	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Run	7	F insert/Bubble	Haskins	8	0.86
I love my football team. Keegan(+1) removes a DT who doesn't have much fight left in him. Hayes(+0.5, RPS-1) had a DE dive inside of him but stays attached as Schoonmaker(+1) gets to that guy but there's still an unblocked WLB whom Haskins(+1) puts out of his gap with a step and All/Hayes use that to get right. Vastardis(+1) locked out the MLB. HH meets a group at 5 yards and refuses to go down until they give him his two-yard forward fall.
O43	2nd	2	Pistol Ace Twins F Motion	4-3-4	Nk over	2	Run	6	Split Zone	Haskins	6	0.01
Schoonmaker is the Y and releases to kick the CB and that gets the DE he was over to flare out so All can shoulder him, but the backside gap still has a WLB in it. Vastardis(+1) was losing his DT but then manages to subtly pin the guy's arm as HH slips by. Play-long double by Hayes(+0.5) and Keegan(+0.5) moves out the other DT and it's a 1st down plus Haskins(+0.5) falls forward as he hits an MLB that Wilson was trying to crack and turn.
O37	1st	10	Gun 2RB Twins S Orbit	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	RPO	7	Flare Screen/Counter GT	Edwards	6	0.25
Read is the WLB and he stays in so McNamara(RPO+, RPS+1). Wilson(-1) needs to seal or kick but gets kicked instead so Edwards(+1) scoots for what he can get, which is a solid gain. (CA(screen), 3, Prot n/a)
O31	2nd	4	Ace Twins	4-3-4	Nk Even	2	Run	6.5	F Insert	Haskins	2	-0.41
OSU DL hop upfield and Keegan(+0.5) and Hayes(+0.5) seal them there. Safety is blitzing (RPS-1) right down the hash and Schoonmaker(-1) decides to still go for the LB waiting at 3 yards instead of the immediate threat, then gets neither. Haskins(+0.5) fights through the S and then twists down for his two yards.
O29	3rd	2	Offset Bone	4-3-4	Hurricane 0	0	Play-Action	11	Fly	Wilson	Inc(+15)	0.66
Tempo(30). They do the thing where they alter the timing again and get a DL to jump but he doesn't cross the neutral zone. M keeps going like there's an offsides that there's not. They're not covering Honigford AT ALL here but the CB on Wilson is comically interfering. He almost catches it anyways and would have without the PI, so no BR for Cade. Guy gets up with a "what did I do?" These Buckeyes, man. (CA, 1, Prot 1/1, McNamara+1)
O14	1st	10	Gun Trips	4-2-5	Nk Over	2	Run	6	Bash	Corum	9	0.61
DE goes diving for McCarthy(+1, read+) and he gives. Sainristil(+0.5) takes on a block from the MLB and keeps him well inside—man these LBs are badly coached. Anthony(+0.5) and JC(+0.5) get good stalk blocks but both safeties are high for this reason. Corum(+1) steps behind Anthony then bounces outside of him, rounding Anthony's guy and leaving both safeties chasing from here to close to the marker.
O5	2nd	1	Offset Twins	4-3-4	4-4 Over	1	Run	8.5	Iso	Haskins	3	0.72
Iso and Insert are really the same but this is to the A gap instead of B after a pre-snap shuffle by Schoonmaker(+1) who nails and erases a LB. Hayes(+0.5) hops down to get the CB when he can't get the S, Keegan(+1) runs his slanting DT into the growing collection of Buckeyes pinned inside the hash marks, and Haskins(+1) powers through the safety to the 2 yard line where it's 1st and Goal.
O2	1st	Goal	Offset 2TE Z Tight	4-4-3	Goal	NA	Run	NA	Tight Zone	Haskins	2	1.16
OSU lines up with just 3 guys to the left of the center and Michigan doesn't run right (RPS+1), doubling both DTs. Vastardis(+0.5) and Stueber(+0.5) and Hayes(+0.5) and Keegan(+0.5) all get dudes with Zinter(+2) getting to the WLB and shoving him into the MLB so this is a walk-in, and would have been 100 yards if it took place on the other end of the field.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 35-20. 9 min 4th Q. We have a sufficiency of troops; we have all the necessary tackle; we have an excellent plan. This is a perfectly normal operation which is certain of success.
Ln	Dn	Ds	OForm	DPack	Front	Hi	Type	Box	Play	Player	Yards	EPA
M37	1st	10	Offset Str	4-2-5	Nk Split	2	Run	6	Counter Trey	Haskins	15	1.36
Ohio State, bubela, what are you doing in a cover 2 shell? RPS+1 since both safeties are 11 yards deep, the one to playside is backing out(!) and Michigan has two WRs split well wide to the field to pull the Nk and the SS past the opposite hash. OSU's split formation does have three DL to this side. Harrison sets up 2 yards upfield; Zinter(+1) plows him. Gone. The DT inside him, Haskell Garrett, the #68 player of the 2017 class, goes to a knee to anchor against Hayes(+1) and it doesn't matter. He is bent over on the hash and deposited into the legs of the other DT that Keegan(+1) blasted even more violently, and the badly coached MLB who ran himself into this for some reason. Schoonmaker(+1) arrives and eats the light WLB, Steele Chambers, once a top-250 RB. The MLB finally decides to fix this but Haskins(+2) runs through him, then stiffarms the safety--sorry the Bullet--Ronnie Hickman, the composite 115th player of the 2019 class--who has finally decided to join us, and drags him past midfield. I'm sorry, did you want me to be less descriptive on these?
O48	1st	10	Offset Str	4-2-5	Nk Under	2	Run	6.5	F Insert	Haskins	6	0.33
Safeties now at 8 yards and the Nk is inside the hash. Schoonmaker(+1) shoots the gap to slam into the MLB at 4 yards and Stueber(+2) got a monster kick on the DE so there's a big gap to hop to. Haskins sees the NT two-gapping Zinter(-0.5) and decides to take the A gap instead, where Vastardis(+1) got to the WLB and rode him outside the hash and Keegan(+0.5) has his DT well-sealed. Safety comes down because duh and Haskins(+0.5) collects his extra 2 yards.
O42	2nd	4	Ace Twins F Motion	4-3-4	4-3 Over	2	Run	7	Split Zone	Haskins	11	0.52
OSU blitzing the backside. Garrett dives inside Hayes(+1) who gets a knee under that and rolls him to the corner of the midfield logo. All(+0.5) gets a sealing shoulder on Harrison. Keegan(+2) pops the blitzing WLB and then also pops the FS racing down to be part of this--Mr. Worldwide behavior. Other MLB rips inside Vastardis(-0.5) after meeting him at the 1st down line so Haskins(+2) plows into that dude, and the SS behind him, and Nk that Wilson(+0.5) had locked out until now, and Haskins takes two yards from each of them.
O31	1st	10	Offset Str Stacks	4-2-5	Hurricane 0	0	Run	9	Counter CF	Haskins	27	1.15
Bucks all kinds of confused as they line up with extra strength over the TE, as if that guy isn't crossing opposite the RB all game. They do leave a big line split, one DT where Vastardis can't reach and another inside Zinter(+2)'s shoulder. That one gets reached, which averts the threat and should give the C a clean pull. However Keegan(-1) can't stop the other pinching DT from getting under him and cutting off All. No problem because M is still up a guy (RPS+1) and then the DE starts to try to 2-gap Hayes(+2) who wrenches Harrison inside. Vastardis(+1) kicks the WLB and that's it but for a safety hanging out backside all this time. Haskins(+3) runs by his dude, fends him off with a stiffarm, and then hurdles the fool cornerback who ran with CJ all the way inside the 10. Safety finally knocks him out at the 4.
O4	1st	Goal	Offset 2TE Z Tight	4-3-4	Goal	0	Run	9	Inside Zone	Haskins	4	1.64
Yeah, all jokes about *THE* Ohio State Buckeyes quitting, Day is clearly letting Michigan walk in because there's 2:18 left and they have 2 TOs, so a protracted battle at the goal line probably kills most of the clock and scores anyways. So no charting.
Drive Notes: Touchdown. 42-27. 2 min 4th Q. The eyes of the world are upon you.

My heart is full, but the eyes are definitely not clear.

Me too.

This is okay, right? Shouldn’t we act like we’ve been there before?

But we haven’t. You said last week: If you’re a boomer you vaguely remember Michigan was in the inner circle. If you’re Gen X you remember knocking on the door, upsetting Ohio State, and one horseshoe season between the Nebraska and Florida Trio years when we had Charles Woodson. If you’re a Millennial or younger you maybe remember 2003, and then one oasis when a Rich Rod offense’s Denard-fueled momentum overlapped with Hoke’s defensive renaissance at the same time Ohio State was going through one of their once-per-decade “Ah hamburgers, we have to fire our zero-oversight coach who got too caught” transitions. If you’re in high school today you probably wanted to watch cartoons instead of The Denardening.

So no, we haven’t been here. But we have been remarkably loyal to the program through all of it. It wasn’t until a 2-4 COVID season under Harbaugh that the diehards started to believe demographics and systemic imbalances and Michigan’s own program culture were dooming us to purgatory as a highly financed Florida Bowl draw. Basically Penn State, except Ohio State’s giving us way too much respect and the national media far too little.

Every data point was bent to this way of thinking. If you bought it you were being rational. If you believed the team could be greater, you were commended for your optimism, and also called a blockhead. By me. I called you that.

Yeah but you didn’t mean it. I saw the Haskins jersey. Thank you for that, by the way.

Thank Hassan Haskins; I just passed it along.

Okay, well then I’m letting it out.

Go ahead.

I’m serious, I’m going to cry about this.

Go. Ahead. What’s the point of going all those years emotionally invested in this thing if you don’t let yourself take in THIS!

Right.

.

.

.

.

.

Okay, let’s keep that going. I think maybe if I know more things about THIS?

So whatever my opinion counts for, my analysis concludes that Michigan definitively kicked Ohio State’s ass. As in there is no part of that ass that was not kicked. When Ohio State shows their face in a bowl game their draft picks have no interest in, someone’s gonna be like “Whoa man, who kicked your ass?” Michigan did. Michigan kicked Ohio State’s ass.

Define ass-kicking in this context, for those of us who haven’t been there.

• Touchdown drives of 82, 81, 78, 75, 66, and 63 yards.
• 8-play, 30-yard drive with a punt that shoulda put OSU on their 3.
• 3-and-out when Edwards barely missed a sideline catch.
• 2-play drive that was a 24-yard pass followed by Cade’s bad a bad endzone INT

Michigan scored on its first possession, drove to the redzone before turning it over on their second possession, drove to midfield on their third, stalled on their fourth, drove for another touchdown on their fifth, and then faced just one (1) passing down the entire second half until the final kneeldown. Excluding kneel-outs, they averaged 58 yards and 4.67 points per drive, and gained 80% of available yards. It was the running game version of Ohio State’s first half against MSU.

Tell me about the last drive.

It was the perfect synthesis of Harbaugh and Gattis combined with the perfect “Look, we’ve got them so confused they’re firing on the 3rd gun” response from the enemy. Ohio State started with both safeties high and their nickel in the slot, because there’s nobody coaching the moment.

Michigan cleared out the DBs by putting their receivers outside of the numbers, then ran their greatest hits: Counter, Iso, Split Zone, and Counter again into light boxes until they’d used up half the clock, all the yards, and none of the timeouts. It wasn’t completely uncontested. The safeties came down, Haskins burled through them anyways, and finally they got so fed up they called the silly goal line formation that looks like a punt block without a returner.

This was quickly punctured, and then there was nobody to hurdle until halfway through the redzone.

I am *DYING* to see those OL numbers.

Man, I was just thinking there was a guy on Twitter in the wee hours of Sunday morning who was like “I can’t sleep—I’m thinking too much about our offensive line” and it struck me how Good ol’ Michigan that sentiment was. Nature is healing.

YOU GIVE CHART NOW OR I ZINTER KICKOUT YOU.

Okay but fair warning: I used some strong language.

GIVE ME THE MOTHERFUCKING CHART

The Motherfucking Chart:

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hayes	11	4	+7	Kicked Steele Chambers's ass.
Keegan	13	4	+9	Kicked Haskell Garrett's ass.
Vastardis	11	3.5	+7.5	Kicked Taron Vincent's ass.
Filiaga	0	0	0	DNP
Stueber	6	3	+3	Zero pressures because he kicked Tyreke Smith's ass.
Zinter	10.5	2	+8.5	Kickouts consistently kicked Zach Harrison's ass.
Barnhart	0	0	0	DNP
Jones	0	0	0	DNC
Atteberry	0	0	0	DNP
Crippen	0	0	0	DNP
All	11.5	2	+9.5	Kicked linebacker ass.
Schoonmaker	9.5	4	+5.5	Closed the game with some of his best ass-kicking yet.
Honigford	0	0.5	-0.5	Wide open.
Selzer	0	0	0	DNP
Hibner	0	0	0	DNP
TOTAL	72.5	23	+49.5	All those blue chips Brown had no shot at? They got their asses kicked.
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
McNamara	0	1	-1	Not involved in the run game. :)
McCarthy	2	0	+2	The package worked.
Villari	0	0	0	Shame OSU kept converting 4th downs or he'd have kicked more ass.
Haskins	22.5	0	+22.5	Happy Hassanukkah. Always gets his yards.
Corum	2.5	0	+2.5	Welcome back, sorta.
Edwards	3.5	0	+3.5	Dear Josh, sorry to bug you again but this RB pass play also caugh—
Dunlap	0	0	0	DNP
TOTAL	30.5	1	+29.5	No power in the verse can stop me.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
CJ	3	0	+3	The one bomb.
Sainristil	4.5	0	+4.5	Angry mountain goat blocking returned.
Henning	1	2	-1	Two mental mistakes, offset by two chunk returns.
Wilson	4.5	1	+3.5	Too fast for Ohio State's 5-star freshman.
Baldwin	0	0	0	DNC
Anthony	0.5	0	+0.5	Couldn't haul the one in. Blocked well.
TOTAL	13.5	3	+10.5	Lots of damage in few opportunities; maybe OSU was right to play soft.
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Protection	31	40	78%	Hayes-2, TEAM-5
RPS	15	12	+3	Drew up big plays, invited safeties into the box, won handily.

AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Pretty nice isn’t it

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA

Okay man

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHH.

How did that feel?

Almost as good as the cry. I think I like our offensive line. They block people.

Sometimes multiple people at once. Look at Trevor Keegan on this play:

#77 the left guard

His body of work is smaller so he wasn’t among the two OL who earned stars in the FFFF chart this week. But he’s on watch and probably getting there. My “is Graham Glasgow” take isn’t even hot anymore. His think-on-the-fly intelligence unlocks a lot of the big run plays, and is one of the reasons Michigan doesn’t have to stop doing what they do when defenses start getting crafty and/or silly. Earlier this season—I want to say against Rutgers—there was a similar run outside where I wanted Filiaga to just run by a DE crashing in this far because there are other guys to block and this guy isn’t going to get there. Keegan gets around on his pull, realizes the force player has given up the edge already, and just arms around him like he’s Corporal Timothy E. Upham.

My general rule (which I break all the time) with handing out stars is you need two excellent games in a row, and five total minus any bad games. Keegs is at 2 and 3 because he hasn’t gotten to play as much.

Zinter got there—his pass pro has come very far along, probably because he has a working hand again, and that means I can no longer use that to justify offsetting the blast when he impacts people, especially when it’s still happening to Zach Harrison. He is also their primary people-mover on the short yardage doubles. And yet for all this tractor work he is surprisingly subtle. Watch this short yardage run where he stones the DT, moves him back so Stueber can slide in, and then works to the LB who is given a little late shove so he’ll cut off the next LB.

#65 to the right of center

Stueber’s run game numbers weren’t huge but he was perfect again in pass protection despite going against Harrison and Tyreke Smith, and consistently made his own little positive plays like the above. He is the epitome of this offensive line: huge, strong, vastly underrated in pass protection, and all-Big Ten.

Why does PFF hate our OL then?

I think they have a kink in their OL grading, or perhaps a couple. Stats seem to be heavily involved—remember earlier this season when MSU’s guards were getting All-American numbers from things like Kenneth Walker III dodging Miami guys?—and I think they don’t put enough into how long pass protections last, since they constantly overvalue left tackles for teams that screen a lot. They also overrate guys getting into the backfield, versus how useful they are once they got there.

Also keep in mind that the interior guys were hurt, and constantly in and out of the lineup. And finally they don’t take into account the fact that Michigan runs into so many 7- and 8-man boxes—probably more than any team because that’s not how you play the service academies. I appreciate PFF’s work because it’s so comprehensive, but most of the time I spend on UFR goes into watching granular things in run blocking, and there’s no way they can do that for every team. They see Vastardis get put in the backfield; I see that and then the way he rocks the DT back and

Didn’t you give out another star on the FFFF chart?

Yes one.

CADE MCNAMARA

	Good				Neutral			Bad					Ovr			Reads
Game	DO	CA	SCR		PR	MA		BA	TA	IN	BR		DSR	GRADE!		RPOs	ZRs
W. Michigan	3+	3(3)-						2			1		67%	+5		4/5	2/7
Washington	1	3(2)-			2	(1)			3	1(1)	2		40%	-8		5/5	4/9
NIU	2	7+ -			1	1							100%	+11		1/2	1/2
Rutgers	3+	5-			1	1				5xx	1		57%	+2.5		2/2	1/6
Wisconsin	6	13	1		1	2		1	1	4x	2x		71%	+10.5		2/3	1/2
Nebraska	3+	13(2)-			3	6		3	3	6	1x		55%	-1.5		1/3	2/2
Northwestern	2	11(5)+			2	2		1	3	4xx	1		59%	-1		5/7	5/8
Michigan St	9++	19(1)+ -	1		1	1		2	5	5	4		64%	+20.5		1/2	1/1
Indiana	4	8(1)	1		4				1	1	1		81%	+10		0/0	3/6
Penn State	4+	8+++(2)			2	4		3	3	3			57%	+0		0/0	0/1
Maryland	5	14++(1)	1			2		2	3	1	1		74%	+14.5		0/3	5/9
Ohio State	3	7++(2)	1		3	3			1	1	1x		79%	+14		3/3	-

(reminder: you can hover over the letters in the headers if you forget what they mean, or there’s an explainer in the glossary)

JJ MCCARTHY

	Good				Neutral			Bad					Ovr			Reads
Game	DO	CA	SCR		PR	MA		BA	TA	IN	BR		DSR	GRADE!		RPOs	ZRs
W. Michigan	1+++	2				3		1x		1			60%	-2		0/0
NIU		4+							1		1		67%	+4		2/2	3/3
Wisconsin	1												100%	+2		2/2	4/6
Nebraska		1											100%	-		1/1	2/2
Northwestern	1	(2)								2	1		25%	+2		0/1	1/2
Michigan St.		2(1)											100%	+2		1/1	4/4
Indiana	1	1			1	1			3x	3	2x		20%	-6		2/3	1/2
Maryland	1	1(2)				1							100%	+3		2/2	1/1
Ohio State	1+													+2		0/0	3/3

Somehow I need to find a way to spin this so you’re still a Cade-hater.

Well I’m not putting him 10th on the Heisman list like Caesar’s Sports Book has. That is clearly insane, but insane in a way where just the fact that someone said it tells you something, like when your 7-year-old’s soccer coach says she might be USWNT material. Okay coach, slow your roll, but also holy crap do I have to think about travel ball? Training? College scholarships? Was that the point? SHE STILL MUTTERS TO HERSELF ABOUT BUNNY EARS WHEN SHE TIES HER SHOELACES WHY WOULD HE SAY THAT?

I will say this: Cade McNamara is a dangerman, the second guy ever after Jon Runyan Jr. to move up “Trouble Spot” on the FFFF charts over the course of one Michigan season. It’s not something you can see directly in the chart above either, unless you’re able to take in volume and the jaggedly increasing difficulty of the schedule.

A review of Cade’s season:

• Eight chartable passes each against two bad MAC secondaries, almost no passing game whatsoever against Washington (which has two CBs on PFF’s top 100 players), and bad against Rutgers while also a drag on the read option run game.
• Erratic competence against Wisconsin/Nebraska/Northwestern. Still a drag on the now read optionless run game.
• Opponent-dependently efficient against MSU’s (bad), Indiana’s (injured), Penn State’s (very good), and Maryland’s (undermanned) secondaries uber focused on Michigan’s power running game.
• Straight-up efficient against an OSU defense bent on stopping him more than the run.

Cade wasn’t lethal—his downfield accuracy in this game was “don’t screw it up” not “drop it in the bucket”—but it was also blowing and snowing, and if you can squint away the fact that OSU’s receivers balled out, McNamara looked better than Caesar’s current #2 Heisman oddsman. McNamara also short-circuited what I thought was Ohio State’s main gameplan for Michigan, which was to get pressure with exotic six-man pressures and cover his first read. McNamara remained cool, knew where his checkdowns were going to be, and hit them accurately.

One of the holes in our grading system is we don’t have a way to account for the quarterback in our protection metrics. Some QBs run themselves into trouble, some run out of clean pockets, and many stick to the script like they’re operating an insurance commercial not a college offense. On the above play Ohio State used the speed of their second level to create a surprise six-man pressure that overwhelmed the left side—even if Hayes comes off the LB and picks up one of those outside blitzers there’s one more guy than Michigan has a hat for. We got into a play earlier this year when McNamara took his first sack and I argued that he has to save himself on those.

Well, he saved himself. Those two blitzers never get home, because Cade comes off the three-man read on the left side he won’t have time for and gets the ball to a tight end with leverage. It sets up 3rd and short. The chains keep moving. Nobody remarks that Ohio State drew up a way to get two free blitzers versus an empty formation and didn’t get so much as a shot on the QB for it. I’ve beat the drum all year that McNamara is a brainy quarterback who does the reading before the snap to speed up his decisions after it. That makes him a very difficult guy to blitz—it’s one thing if you can cover his first read and he doesn’t know where to go from there; it’s not easy to fool him pre-snap but it can be done. It’s another thing entirely if he can flip from Read 1 to Read 4 because he knows if you’re blitzing from Y and Z you don’t have leverage in D.

It also puts a lot of pressure on your coverages, especially in zone blitzes. Michigan’s protection was outstanding all day, but in this case they had a lot of help from committing two eligible receivers to blocking. Our friend the freshman cornerback on the bottom gets a bit too spot-droppy in zone coverage against three just three receivers, Wilson finds some space behind him, and McNamara knows where he’s going with it as soon as the CB steps inside against a crossing route.

McNamara’s timing has improved so dramatically this season. As late as Rutgers I was griping about his tendency to make the correct pre-snap read but hold onto the ball as his window closed. This slant doesn’t just hit exactly where it needs to, exactly when it needs to, between three guys. It’s a masterclass in progression reading. He’s got the CB playing off, which on 3rd and 3 is a sign they’re in zone. So pre-snap he knows he’s got WLB #22 in a slant/flat bind as long as the MLB isn’t going to pick off the slant.

 

And the interception?

Guh. That was such a bad read I put it in the bin with the unathletic parents’ kid’s coach’s observation about USWNT potential: so out of left field that you should just ignore it. Here it is if you want to dissect:

My theory, having never done anything 1/th as nerve-wracking as play in that stadium on that day versus that opponent in that rivalry, but having once been 20 years old, is that the chance to go up on Ohio State after a quick score, three-and-out, good field position, and the above throw to Wilson, was that McNamara turned invincible for a moment. I can’t see anything in Ohio State’s alignment that said anything but Cover 3. McNamara went from zero career “BRx” throws to one. We can move on.

But could he zone read?

Both QBs were also perfect on their reads in the charting but note McNamara had one run (a scramble, ZERO sacks) in this game, and zero zone reads, which means zero(!) fake zone reads. I could not possibly chart every *called* RPO as an RPO—Sam confirmed for me on WTKA this week that they actually have a quite a few of them, e.g. there was one on the long stretch run—but that McNamara tends to read them before the snap.

That said, I thought he was doing less pre-snap and more post-snap reading in this game, because the mesh points went on longer. This next play was interesting because the Ohio State nickel was setting up well inside the slot receiver to give McNamara a keep->Slant read that the dude was planning to intercept. Cade kept his eye on the guy, waited until he had really declared an intention, then handed off.

Watch the slot defender on the top hash at the 50 yard line

One one hand, it’s a big deal that the QB got this right, however the dance-off had a side-effect: Haskins wasn’t used to long meshes, and by now he has to be used token meshes because McNamara is so decisive, thus it was a bit of a surprise when a second after the mesh began the ball suddenly appeared in his basket:

Tense moment that fortunately didn’t bite us, mostly because the blocking was so good in this game that Haskins had time to recollect it and move on.

There was a JJ Package! And it worked!!!

Right and I’m going to get hot-takey here and credit the players for being the kind of teammates who can make that work. Quarterback is such a me position that few teams have a plausible backup; Penn State’s loss to Iowa can be mostly placed on the fact that Clifford went down and former backup Will Levis was starting for Kentucky this year. Last year the two of them awkwardly split duties, but who was QB1 was an ongoing drama. It is the mark of a good *team* that the backup QB can have a role without the starting QB feeling threatened. It is also the mark of a *good* team, because you can access more than one skillset.

McCarthy’s was clearly “You’re our zone read guy” as he made reads on half of his six snaps. He was also a redzone guy. The situations they used him changed over the course of the game from a mid-drive changeup to the guy who gets you from one side of the redzone to the other.

• 1st and 10 on the M41: Double Iso from Pistol Diamond.
• 2nd and 5 on the M46: Bash keeper got 6 yards.
• 1st and 10 on the OSU41: Arc Read from Pistol Diamond, 2 yards.
• 2nd and 4 on the M28: PA off ^, 31-yard pass to Wilson.
• 1st and Goal on the 7: Power QB run to the 1.
• 1st and 10 on the OSU 14: Bash to Corum to the 5.

Five successful plays from two packages: not a bad outing. He was also out there mostly with Blake Corum, who provided a lightning option for Bash runs while McCarthy was the quasi-Haskins charged with running behind the pullers if the DE formed up.

The run threat ought to have opened up the pass game, but Ohio State seemed ready for a throw when they went play-action out of the diamond look. The good news is McCarthy was ready to put an NFL throw to a future NFL receiver who beat a future NFL cornerback with an NFL play.

So he can do that. I keep telling myself that both of these guys have freshman eligibility, as if it was remotely possible either would hang around that long. This is the same brain that once concocted (and tried to demonstrate) the idea that Michael Taylor and Demetrius Brown needed each other because you need a righty to throw right and a lefty to throw to the left (oddly my coach never told my parents I was going to be a genius football blogger). Very interested to see what we can do while we’ve got both though.

Did they fix the short down situation?

So yeah, Michigan got 12 downs this game needing 1 or 2 yards and got those yards on 11 of them. Naturally, Michigan fan, you want to know what happened on the failure. It will not surprise you that Michigan went tempo with 11 personnel, snapped it exactly 1 second after they were lined up, and OSU jumped the snap on split zone to duck under the crosser. After that Michigan looked like it was lining up for something exotic out of an I-formation, but having trouble getting everyone to understand what play they were calling, and burned a timeout.

This gave us one very long Fox commercial break, down 7-10 after an interception and a dropped opportunity at one, to contemplate what our beleaguered short downs team would come up with (and maybe botch) for 4th and 1. The answer turned out to be the answer on most of these situations last Saturday: HASSAN HASKINS DOWN YOUR FUCKING THROAT.

The other term for this play is “Tight Zone” which—quick aside—I differentiate from “Duo” thusly:

• TIGHT ZONE: Inside zone where the focus is doubling the DTs to move them a yard to two off then coming off to the LBs to allow the RB to convert a short down.
• DUO: A play that looks like Inside Zone but you double the DTs for all or most of the play while the RB picks up the eyes of the MLB and gets him to commit to one gap before springing out to another gap.

Others may use different terms. What we’re talking about here is Tight Zone, and in Michigan’s case part of running that is an acknowledgement that the B gaps are going to get dudes slanting inside tackles and tight ends lined up outside of them. This was a Gus/Klatt game so Klatt—easily my favorite analyst in the college lineup now—is just going to explain it for me:

The tweak I think they made in this game was to run it to the A gaps instead of trying to hit it backside. While this hits a little slower, what you gain is some leverage on the DEs who are always slanting into this. The above clip gives you a great look at why. Stueber (#71) shoved that #12 on the shoulder on his way past, and the DE who slanted inside (and is getting his t-shirt snapped by) Honigford on the left are in the backfield, but they’re hitting Haskins from the side, which can’t arrest his forward momentum. Earlier this year Michigan was running right into those guys.

It’s a subtle tweak, and still unsound as hell, but functional when Haskins is going to get you two yards no matter if you put three defenders, a brick wall, and a 7-year-old soccer prodigy’s will to stay up past bedtime in his way.

However I think I figured out why they run it this way. The theory goes Haskins is most likely to slough off the side-swipes of those B-gap slanters and get the first down, but there’s always the chance that he breaks that tackle entirely, and the doubles on the DTs move those guys out so far that you turn a short run into a huge gainer. My evidence is scant but also glorious, as Ohio State has a chance to stop this if DT#52 connects, and quite a gap with no second level if he whiffs.

Whiff.

All told on Michigan ran tight zone six times, plus a couple of dives, a split zone cutback, the two afore-mentioned fly routes that got/tried to get OSU to jump, and a counter with the center and tackle that read the backside end for 16 yards.

You seemed to have things to say about Ohio State coaching.

Ohio State’s linebackers were worse than I think any of us in our damaged states were capable of acknowledging. They’re talented, and they’re not young. Also linebacker is hard and they switched defenses mid-season, so it could just be that. But Al Washington hasn’t exactly fixed their level of play. There were many times in this game when I watched an Ohio State defender, or a group of them, do something silly or just bad. Not to sound exactly like an Ohio State message board this week, but the Buckeyes really were playing with no edge.

Everyone had predictions go awry in this game, but one of the most surprising was Ohio State playing unsound football. That crucial goal line situation Klatt described above…remember when Penn State loaded up the right side of the offense with defenders, Michigan ran right, and Luketa dodged two blockers to stuff them on 4th down? Ohio State’s lesson from that wasn’t “Okay, Michigan won’t do that again,” it was “Let’s wager the game that Michigan will do that again. Michigan did not do that again:

Hat for a hat, nobody for Haskins, ballgame.

Sounds like you’re saying Ohio State blew it more than Michigan’s coaches won it.

Far from it. Michigan had their “July Drive” stuff not only planned but practiced to a T, and set up over the season by putting the things that Ohio State should fear on film so they could go immediately to the ways to punish fear. If you recall anything about the Maryland game (most people don’t) it was Donovan Edwards with over 100 receiving yards on many targets. Ohio State’s nickel safety, #5 here, certainly took that lesson to heart. Edwards takes off left, and this guy is halfway to the other side of the formation when he realizes his problem isn’t the receiver-like halfback going left, but the halfback-like receiver going right.

The ideas they unleashed ranged from tweaks to things they’d been doing all season to traps set by doing insane things all season. The clearest example of the latter is when they drew an offsides by going tempo then delaying the snap count by one from the snap count they’ve been using all season when they run tempo on short situations. Ohio State jumps the count, jumps offsides, and they get a free shot downfield to Andrel Anthony with the worst case scenario a free first down (play in the right box):

They used it a second time, and got the DT to jump again, but he didn’t jump offsides. You could have the OL pop up to draw a disconcerting signals penalty here, but Michigan just snaps it thinking they’ve got the free play (eeek!). They do still have a wiiiiiide open Honigford, but Cade throws a ball right out of Jane Coaston’s All-PI offense to Roman Wilson instead. It draws the PI, and but absent the PI it looks like Wilson was going to catch it so I didn’t downgrade McNamara for this.

I think the snap timing off tempo is a self-scout that they decided to do something with, not a “Let’s set them up by giving away our snap timing all year.” They realized they were lining up, holding a second, and snapping right away, and—like a pitcher when he realizes he’s dropping his shoulder on his slider and waits for the right moment to drop his shoulder on a heater—Michigan decided not to let a mistake like that go to waste.

The more subtle version of this was their Iso game, in which I include the “Insert” stuff that goes into B gaps. Michigan brought back a 2015 staple where they lined up two fullbacks in backfield, had them both run at the ILBs, and let the RB choose which sets of blocks he preferred.

I know how Gattis feels about fullbacks but I would be surprised if there aren’t at least two on the roster next year.

Michigan likes to run their tight end across the formation on Counter and Split Zone, though the latter dropped out of the offense in the latter half of the year because McNamara couldn’t/wouldn’t make the zone reads you need for Split Zone’s natural counter. I think a big part of this gameplan was using the thing they did with tight ends all year as bait. This was a live RPO read, and also was built to play off that split flow counter read that I hated on all season:

The TE does split out in the flat, but instead of blocking there Wilson is going on a curl route. If the DE had crashed on the run game, McNamara has an easy curl/flat read on the WLB. This also took advantage of Ohio State’s safety: he’s got to be the one tackling Wilson if it goes there, and the one helping his WLB if Schoonmaker breaks a tackle, which means he can’t get involved in the run defense on a keeper. OSU thought they had Michigan here by overloading the frontside, but the RPO element held the backside material so far from the play that an inside cut is a gain to midfield. Such a brilliant marriage of #SpeedinSpace with the Harbaugh staples.

Another way they broke the responses to their own tendencies was by having the TE redirect inside in the middle of his crossing action—OSU’s linemen are getting set to defend the edge then suddenly it’s going up the gut.

That is an Iso play, not something super tricky. Michigan kept to some pretty base stuff: Counter, Iso, Split Zone, and then when Ohio State’s defenders had been through a half of getting shoved off the ball they started hopping directly upfield, and Michigan called their one and only stretch play.

If you have consumed anything Brian has put out since Saturday you are aware of his take on this, so I’ll just c/p from the Game Column:

One stretch only. Michigan incorporated some zone stretch as the season went along here but ran it just once in this game. It was kind of a big deal, though. As a person who's probably charted more stretch plays than anything else I love a good reach block, and when you're lined up like this…

…and your nose tackle gets reached, leaving a giant gap and the left guard scot free to to the second level, you are screwed. 86 takes his first step upfield because he's not expecting stretch and Michigan's been hammering it vertically and we are one bum ankle from a touchdown.

Mmm sequencing.

I have nothing to add, except as an avid MGoBlog reader since 2007 I just got a little misty at Brian doing a little UFR’ing after a win over Ohio State right there.

Speaking of Brian takes: Multiple flea flickers per game!

Right, so here’s another tweak: Michigan used flea flickers earlier this season, but with this one they increased their chances of getting a defender out of position by running a wheel behind a defender who’s had to be a key to edge run defense all game.

It’s one thing to do that to a cornerback or catch a safety coming down. It’s even meaner when you bring a guy you often lead block with across the formation like he intends to do just that. If they do catch zone coverage, you’re creating an easy levels read on that sideline. Very hard to defend this unless you’re telling your defenders not to activate once Hassan Haskins has the ball in the backfield on Counter action. Good luck living that way.

On the other hand, I felt like a lot of this was more than simple tricks and nonsense.

I mean, you saw the chart.

No, the passing game.

Right! So the cornerbacks coaching was another major bug in the Buckeye defense, and it makes me sad that it’s going away as soon as Kerry Coombs gets to. He’s an ace recruiter, but his non-transfer cornerbacks have a tendency to get to the NFL without any idea how to play press defense. There’s more excuse for this talented true freshman except I say Ja’den McBurrows provide more jam in garbage time in October than this kid who’s been starting for two months gave after Thanksgiving:

At the top: OSU CB#29 covering Johnson

Except when the talented true freshman did get his hands on a Michigan receiver, he couldn’t actually keep up.

Chris Olave is an extremely lofty comparison but Roman Wilson brings the kind of speed that Olave used to be such a major weapon early in his career, developing his insane ball skills and route running along the way (no complaints about Brian Hartline’s WR coaching except he should move on now). The whole way Ohio State plays cornerback under Coombs is to not worry about the technique because they always have a stable full of 4.3 top-100 (or top-10) guys, so they can make up for any mistakes by catching up when the ball’s in the air. When you add Roman Wilson to the mix, Ohio State’s cornerback math changes: they’re playing as human as the rest of us, and bad press technique or a look-back or anything but playing off or playing perfect trail coverage is going to subject them to getting burned.

I’d like to keep Gattis, but since he’s got to be on the Power 5 head coaching job short list by this point, I’m going to content myself with the fact that he leaves Michigan so rich at receiver that a good one like Daylen Baldwin isn’t getting playing time.

	THIS WEEK					THIS YEAR
Player	Uncb	Circus	Tough	Routine		Uncb	Circus	Tough	Routine
Johnson	1		1/1	1/1		15	2/12	11/15	22/25
Baldwin						4	0/6	7/9	8/10
Sainristil				1/1		3	3/9	4/5	13/13
Henning				1/1		3	1/2	1/2	4/4
Wilson	1	0/1	1/1	1/1		4	2/5	6/7	15/16
Anthony			0/1	1/1		3	3/7	2/3	7/7
Dixon						1	0/1		1/1
x Bell x							1/2	1/1
All		0/1		1/1		2	0/4	5/7	25/25
Schoonmaker			0/1	2/2		4	0/4	1/2	14/14
Honigford						2		0/1	1/1
Selzer							0/2	0/1
Hibner
Corum						2	1/1	1/1	18/21
Haskins	1		1/1			2		3/3	8/8
Edwards		1/2		1/1		2	1/3	1/1	11/11

Routes: All+1, Johnson+1, Wilson+1, Anthony+1

Is that a "1/1” for a running back in the “Circus Catch” column?

Yeah, as long as we’re calling Donovan Edwards a running back. This was a bad throw by McNamara that most RBs will probably try to catch with two hands, ruining their momentum and any chance the play gets yards. Edwards plucks it like it’s no thing.

Wow. That’s the hands part, but his routes and body control are on such a receiver level that on a different roster you’d just call him a wide receiver. Sorry this is such a bad angle:

Fox didn’t give us a review—yes I know he bobbled it so it doesn’t really matter if he stabbed a foot inbounds. I just wanted to see how cool the catch was. That’s a dangerous wide receiver out there, but because he plays running back Edwards is going to be matched on linebackers, like their lives aren’t hard enough already. Michigan used Edwards well as a decoy but he could have been a lot more. He was about to spring open on a wheel route on the interception:

If Brian says to run a flea flicker per game, I say throw at least four wheel routes when you have a guy like Edwards. I expect Haskins won’t be back whatever my wishes, but if that’s the case Michigan is going to fine. Their offseason assignment is to learn every RB as receiver trick in the book.

I also want to give Sainristil a shout out because this block on the end-around is *kiss fingers*.

#5 the slot receiver

We’ll leave MLB#30’s decision to run into Hayes instead of help his friends to Al Washington.

And while were on the subject of catchy targets who block, it’s a crying shame that people are looking at Peyton Hendersot, who does not block, and Barry Alvarez’s grandson, who had a terrible season, over Erick All for the all-Big Ten tight end. I would hear you out if you talked about Nebraska’s guy, but Erick All has done more for Michigan’s running game this year than any lineman, the last bit of it while injured. You saw Sainristil’s block on the play above. Watch it again for All. You can do this on just about any play when All was on the field. The Statue of Liberty:

The one-handed grab by Edwards. The play where Harrison jumped inside and they had no edge. And many more. All does not get half the credit he deserves.

Did you say Hassan Haskins hurdled a fool?

Up and over.

That brings the official MGoBlog HASSAN HASKINS FOOLS HURDLED COUNTER to seven after I finally found the hurdled fool who inspired this in the first place. Tre Person, I’m sorry you were left off the list so long. You are a hurdled fool.

1. Alohi Gilman, Notre Dame 2019.
2. Tre Person, Michigan State 2020.
3. Bricen Garner, WMU 2021.
4. Marquel Dismuke, Nebraska 2021.
5. Angelo Grose, MSU 2021.
6. Devon Matthews, Indiana 2021.
7. Cameron Brown, Ohio State 2021.

Hail these glorious fools who hath been hurdled in thine name, Hassan.

I want to get sappy for a moment here too, because that play that I criminally left out of his Fool Hurdling history was the one—THE VERY ONE—where I decided to affix my carabiner to Haskins and let him pull me out of the Black Pit of Negative Expectations.

There isn’t a comparable moment in the history of my fandom—not of Michigan or any of my other teams. The closest thing to it was when Matt Stafford lined up for a fake spike and punked the ball over the endzone and for the first time since I learned not to do so I had a stirring of actual emotion for the Detroit Lions. That was quickly put aside however because I’m not an idiot—I know that Lions fandom should only be used for comic relief, and allowing them to affect your mood is 100% on you. Michigan fandom though? I felt that loss. Not as bad as my worst loss, but up there with the last dog, which occurred a month after my worst loss. Living and dying with Michigan football is a part of me, and after Haskins it cannot be sealed off again for some time. I mean…

How badly did you want to beat Ohio State? What does it feel like when Haskins is going to get his two yards after he shouldn’t—EVERY SINGLE TIME! No, he can’t do it himself, but what he can do is keep his feet churning until his friends show up to get him those two yards.

He makes me want to be one of those friends. Even if it’s just yelling at his opponents from the stands and waving the flag for him online. And he continually rewards me for feeling this way. Gus Johnson starts the final drive, Michigan up a touchdown with 4:39 and three OSU timeouts left, with the question “What is Michigan made of?” Here’s his answer:

I love rooting for this team. I love rooting for Hassan Haskins. I love Michigan football again. And I can’t wait for the next Ohio State fan who only knows hate—because that’s what that program is, top to bottom: Hate—to tell me I’m being way too happy about one win in a decade and two since I still had a foot in college life. It only makes me happier to see you unhappy that I’m happy.

Heroes?

The entire University of Michigan football program.

Maybe not so heroic?

 

What does it mean for Iowa?

Can they do this again? Football is an emotional game, and that atmosphere was—according to Klatt not me—the greatest football atmosphere he’s ever witnessed. Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis couldn’t hold a candle to the worst college football stadium, let alone the best. Michigan fans will do their best to blow that roof off I’m sure, but so many guys played above their heads in this game that they’d been preparing for so long—I’m not expecting them to keep this level of performance up against anyone else. If they bring it to Columbus next year that’ll do.

The offensive line is one we’re going to remember. Losing Keegan and Zinter for stretches of the season probably set them back but we’re going to be picking up this tape in 20 years for lineman porn the way we still drag out the 1995 game. Zinter is a special one. Stueber is so underrated. Keegan is growing into a star. Hayes has the talent to get there on the back half of his career. Vastardis is an odd duck in this lineup of maulers, but he’s reaching a guy a game now that we have stretch in the playbook, and teaching that to the rest of these maulers just for that is worth it.

Blake Corum is back but not Back. Was great to see him edging dudes on Bash plays, but there were Corum plays that he makes if he’s not playing on a bum ankle.

Donovan Edwards is The Threat. The problems he creates for linebackers who need to cover him AND cover the other side of the field were on full display.

Hassan Haskins. That’s it, that’s the tweet. Your brain is already filling in the rest.

The receivers are all on a star track. Roman Wilson was probably this week’s standout. Iowa has one of the best secondaries in the country, even without their top cornerback, but they’re not fast guys.

Cade McNamara is a problem for the other team now. His progression is hard to see in the stats because of how little he was used earlier in the season, and the dramatic difference in quality of the opponents he’s faced. Penn State is 5th in the county in pure YPA, Washington 2nd, Wisconsin 18th, Nebraska 21st, Ohio State 30th, Northwestern 57th, MSU and Indiana tied for 64th, Maryland 99th, NIU 101st, and Rutgers is 116th. That’s a huge range of pass defenses to mess with your outcomes. But if you look at the numbers filling the boxes, there’s a different QB there, and a vastly different level of trust. You can’t do things against Cade that would probably work on CJ Stroud. Heisman candidate? No. Good quarterback? Yes. And that’s why the roof is gone. But Iowa’s tough Cover 2 zones are going to be a different level of challenge that OSU’s blitzes.

Your Moment of Zen: