Thoughts after re-watching Michigan’s win over Penn State …
First things first, we got skewered on the Penn State rivals site for our picks (we all had U-M holding PSU under 17 points). Two of their mods predicted Penn State scoring 34 and another had the Nittany Lions winning 27-21. Now, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that PSU would score a bit more or keep it closer, but it just goes to show you how different teams can be from year to year with minimal change in personnel.
At the same time, losing Saquon Barkley … not so minimal. The guy was a once in a decade talent. But the way U-M’s defense was dominating the line of scrimmage, even with Barkley PSU would have had a tough time moving the ball (in other words, there’s a better chance of a 2016 result instead of 2017, both games in which Barkley played).
Penn State is tough at home, not so much on the road, and Miles Sanders is a decent back, but he’s no Saquon Barkley.
Keep in mind, though, that this Penn State offense put up huge numbers and led the nation in scoring the first third of the season. Honestly, though, Tommy Stevens might have given them a better chance to win Saturday than Trace McSorley. He was more mobile, and other than the head scratching pick thrown right to Brandon Watson, he wasn’t too bad.
His ability to make a great play scrambling away from pressure (from DT Michael Dwumfour, who is getting better and better as an interior rusher) and a great catch by a frosh receiver on the sideline is the only reason we aren’t talking shutout today.
Michigan will likely lose Devin Bush to the NFL Draft, but the other linebackers are damn fast, too. Those expecting huge drop-off next year based on personnel losses haven’t been paying attention to Don Brown’s defenses over the last five to seven years. The guy is the best in the business when it comes to scheme and X and Os. Period.
We read a post on an opposing message board about how it’s all talent and “I could coach that defense.” Well, the year before he arrived at Michigan, Brown’s Boston College defense led the country in several categories despite BC’s offense going three and out on 40 percent of all possessions.
Think about that, folks. That’s one of the most amazing stats you’ll ever see.
But back to the game …
The secondary is incredible, and they played 98 percent man against PSU again. Other than a poor play by linebacker Khaleke Hudson on the opening slant pass to the tight end for 25 yards — he let him inside with zero resistance (on a play on which redshirt junior end Rashan Gary crushed McSorley with a huge hit, it should be noted), they were suffocating in coverage.
They did play zone on the David Long pick, which is the second year in a row Long has picked off a pass in zone vs. PSU.
The other exception was a play on which fifth-year senior corner Brandon Watson slipped, which should have led to a touchdown. But McSorely missed his wide open target by releasing early and overthrowing, probably (at least) in part because he’d been hit about eight times, sacked three or four to that point.
It makes a difference.
Junior linebacker Josh Uche had one, and he’s as fast off the snap as just about anyone we can remember. His sack came on a brilliant stunt, though, designed by Brown (taking nothing away from Uche, of course). We’ll tackle that one on In The Trenches with Doug Skene this week.
It was fun listening to Brown talk about how he crumpled up his third down game plan sheet against MSU early. The Michigan defensive line was having so much success with four men that he didn’t have to turn the page. They went four-man quite a bit against PSU, too. The crazy thing … it’s surprising when there’s no pressure on passing downs, now.
On offense, another great day for the offensive line. Coach Ed Warinner is a stud. Stunts and twists were picked up with regularity Saturday (again), and it’s amazing how far this group has come.
Sophomore center Cesar Ruiz, maligned after the Notre Dame game in a now infamous hot take, is playing at an All-Big Ten level. He’s a future All-American (maybe not first team, but maybe).
It was amazing how many second and longer calls were running plays, and many of them worked extremely well. We’ll have to go back and look at the numbers, but whether they were checks at the line, whatever, they were successful.
PSU threw in some interesting wrinkles at times, but they were resigned to guess given how much success U-M was having on the ground. On one play they brought a safety on a sprint to the wide side of the field where junior quarterback Shea Patterson would run on a keep in an effort to potentially blow up the play. Patterson handed off, and senior Karan Higdon got seven extra yards by running where the safety should have been.
Higdon has become a complete back. He jumped too soon on a screen pass that might well have gone for a score in the first quarter (Patterson threw high, too), but that’s a play we’ll see again. They’re starting to turn the pages of the playbook, and we’re seeing different route combinations than we did early in the season.
A swing pass to junior running back Chris Evans out of the backfield, for example, was set up on a (legal) pick play by sophomore Nico Collins, running a drag route to the middle of the field. Collins also got open deep even after PSU dropped seven into coverage, a big play that could have gone for six with a better throw.
But that’s nitpicking. Patterson has hit some guys in stride, too, though two of them for TDs have been called back this year (including redshirt frosh Tarik Black’s Saturday. And welcome back, Tarik. The route on that one and the catch was one of the best we’d seen this year. He’s the best receiver on this team, and we can’t wait to see him fully healthy.
Ben Mason’s presence at fullback opened up a read option play for Patterson — can’t wait to see what else they have in store when he’s on the field — and Peoples-Jones is getting more and more comfortable on punt return.
The tight ends are still a liability too often while blocking, and it seems they forget their assignments too often. That needs to stop.
Overall … another big, positive step in the right direction.
First things first, we got skewered on the Penn State rivals site for our picks (we all had U-M holding PSU under 17 points). Two of their mods predicted Penn State scoring 34 and another had the Nittany Lions winning 27-21. Now, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that PSU would score a bit more or keep it closer, but it just goes to show you how different teams can be from year to year with minimal change in personnel.
At the same time, losing Saquon Barkley … not so minimal. The guy was a once in a decade talent. But the way U-M’s defense was dominating the line of scrimmage, even with Barkley PSU would have had a tough time moving the ball (in other words, there’s a better chance of a 2016 result instead of 2017, both games in which Barkley played).
Penn State is tough at home, not so much on the road, and Miles Sanders is a decent back, but he’s no Saquon Barkley.
Keep in mind, though, that this Penn State offense put up huge numbers and led the nation in scoring the first third of the season. Honestly, though, Tommy Stevens might have given them a better chance to win Saturday than Trace McSorley. He was more mobile, and other than the head scratching pick thrown right to Brandon Watson, he wasn’t too bad.
His ability to make a great play scrambling away from pressure (from DT Michael Dwumfour, who is getting better and better as an interior rusher) and a great catch by a frosh receiver on the sideline is the only reason we aren’t talking shutout today.
Michigan will likely lose Devin Bush to the NFL Draft, but the other linebackers are damn fast, too. Those expecting huge drop-off next year based on personnel losses haven’t been paying attention to Don Brown’s defenses over the last five to seven years. The guy is the best in the business when it comes to scheme and X and Os. Period.
We read a post on an opposing message board about how it’s all talent and “I could coach that defense.” Well, the year before he arrived at Michigan, Brown’s Boston College defense led the country in several categories despite BC’s offense going three and out on 40 percent of all possessions.
Think about that, folks. That’s one of the most amazing stats you’ll ever see.
But back to the game …
The secondary is incredible, and they played 98 percent man against PSU again. Other than a poor play by linebacker Khaleke Hudson on the opening slant pass to the tight end for 25 yards — he let him inside with zero resistance (on a play on which redshirt junior end Rashan Gary crushed McSorley with a huge hit, it should be noted), they were suffocating in coverage.
They did play zone on the David Long pick, which is the second year in a row Long has picked off a pass in zone vs. PSU.
The other exception was a play on which fifth-year senior corner Brandon Watson slipped, which should have led to a touchdown. But McSorely missed his wide open target by releasing early and overthrowing, probably (at least) in part because he’d been hit about eight times, sacked three or four to that point.
It makes a difference.
Junior linebacker Josh Uche had one, and he’s as fast off the snap as just about anyone we can remember. His sack came on a brilliant stunt, though, designed by Brown (taking nothing away from Uche, of course). We’ll tackle that one on In The Trenches with Doug Skene this week.
It was fun listening to Brown talk about how he crumpled up his third down game plan sheet against MSU early. The Michigan defensive line was having so much success with four men that he didn’t have to turn the page. They went four-man quite a bit against PSU, too. The crazy thing … it’s surprising when there’s no pressure on passing downs, now.
On offense, another great day for the offensive line. Coach Ed Warinner is a stud. Stunts and twists were picked up with regularity Saturday (again), and it’s amazing how far this group has come.
Sophomore center Cesar Ruiz, maligned after the Notre Dame game in a now infamous hot take, is playing at an All-Big Ten level. He’s a future All-American (maybe not first team, but maybe).
It was amazing how many second and longer calls were running plays, and many of them worked extremely well. We’ll have to go back and look at the numbers, but whether they were checks at the line, whatever, they were successful.
PSU threw in some interesting wrinkles at times, but they were resigned to guess given how much success U-M was having on the ground. On one play they brought a safety on a sprint to the wide side of the field where junior quarterback Shea Patterson would run on a keep in an effort to potentially blow up the play. Patterson handed off, and senior Karan Higdon got seven extra yards by running where the safety should have been.
Higdon has become a complete back. He jumped too soon on a screen pass that might well have gone for a score in the first quarter (Patterson threw high, too), but that’s a play we’ll see again. They’re starting to turn the pages of the playbook, and we’re seeing different route combinations than we did early in the season.
A swing pass to junior running back Chris Evans out of the backfield, for example, was set up on a (legal) pick play by sophomore Nico Collins, running a drag route to the middle of the field. Collins also got open deep even after PSU dropped seven into coverage, a big play that could have gone for six with a better throw.
But that’s nitpicking. Patterson has hit some guys in stride, too, though two of them for TDs have been called back this year (including redshirt frosh Tarik Black’s Saturday. And welcome back, Tarik. The route on that one and the catch was one of the best we’d seen this year. He’s the best receiver on this team, and we can’t wait to see him fully healthy.
Ben Mason’s presence at fullback opened up a read option play for Patterson — can’t wait to see what else they have in store when he’s on the field — and Peoples-Jones is getting more and more comfortable on punt return.
The tight ends are still a liability too often while blocking, and it seems they forget their assignments too often. That needs to stop.
Overall … another big, positive step in the right direction.
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