Thoughts on Michigan’s 42-7 beatdown of Rutgers after watching the replay …
On Rutgers’ first series, some really well designed plays they probably hadn’t shown before. A pitch to running back Isaih Pacheco for a nice gain when they brought a receiver in motion and caught Chase Winovich peaking inside and took him out of the play, pulled the left tackle as a lead blocker.
There was also nice screen pass that would have gone for a first down if it hadn’t been dropped.
U-M adjusted nicely when Rutgers tried these plays again.
Up front, ifth-year senior defensive tackle Bryan Mone got great push on Rutgers’ first possession. He’s playing good football.
The tight ends blocked very well on the Wolverines’ first offensive drive. Redshirt junior Zach Gentry had a pancake on a play senior running back Karan Higdon busted outside for a first down. Junior Sean McKeon was aggressive from the get-go and finished his blocks.
Also, McKeon and redshirt sophomore Nick Eubanks got in the way enough to spring redshirt frosh receiver Oliver Martin for a nice, first down gain on the opening drive.
Gentry then knocked a guy on his ass out of bounds on a swing pass to junior running back Chris Evans for a 12-yard gain on first down. U-M had a lot of success to the short side of the field on this drive, and the tight ends had a lot to do with it. You could see why Harbaugh singled them out after this one. We’ve been hard on them (rightfully so), but they brought it last Saturday.
McKeon had a great block on the edge to seal a triple option handoff to Tru Wilson … and he held his block.
• Sophomore center Cesar Ruiz did a great job getting to the second level throughout the first half. He’s fun to watch.
• Junior quarterback Shea Patterson’s pass on the run to the sideline, caught by sophomore Donovan Peoples-Jones, was the first indication it might be a good day. That’s a tough throw, sidearm across his body, put only where Peoples-Jones could catch it, and a really tough catch.
The first third and two … great push up front, but Higdon was impatient and didn’t hit the hole. Same thing on fourth down … plenty of push, but Higdon went the wrong way. You know the drill here — we’d like sophomore fullback Ben Mason on the field for these short yardage plays.
On U-M’s first touchdown we saw two great lead blocks and a carry by Mason to the goal line that might well have been a score.
• Pass protection was incredible throughout the first half. Again. Five man rushes, easily picked them up. And the variation of routes continued with a nice stop route by junior running back Chris Evans.
• The big play by Rutgers for 80 yards … well designed, but fifth-year senior end Chase Winovich got fooled and senior safety Tyree Kinnel actually got screened by the umpire. The fake reverse, though, had a lot of guys confused. Rutgers tried it again later for no gain.
• Loved the added wrinkle of throwing out of the read option. We’re going to see more of that the next few weeks. Penn. writer David Jones and his “Harbaugh plays Schembechler Ball” column looks even dumber now.
• Not sure what Mason was doing after he ran himself out of a first down, bouncing out after he picked it up. But again, the tight ends bailed him out. Gentry and McKeon threw great blocks to create room for Higdon’s one-plus yard and a first down on the next play.
• Oliver Martin’s drop … not sure if the DB got a finger on it or not, but he had his best game. He did a nice job getting open. He set up the second score, caught the fingertip touchdown (his teammates needed to give him more love after his first score) and also had a nice block on the edge for Evans on a flat pass.
• Brandon Watson had two great plays on swing passes. The fifth-year senior corner is the real deal this year.
• The pass blocking is top notch. A great blitz pick up by the left side on third down, and Rutgers brought both inside linebackers on another and the line handled it like it was nothing on Nico Collins’ first score. That group’s improvement has been incredible.
SECOND HALF
• Rutgers started the second half by cheating eight in the box to slow the run. They aren’t even worrying about Patterson anymore on the read option. They’ve figured out he’s probably not going to keep.
But Michigan continued its third down success on tough third down catches with a great grab by Gentry over the middle. Had forgotten about this one. We’ve been waiting for Michigan to exploit Gentry’s size … Patterson put it high where only Gentry could get it. Great play into the wind.
Patterson came up with another one running left, throwing to Peoples-Jones on the sideline for a third-and-seven completion a few plays later. Incredible throw and catch … also an incredible fingertip catch by Martin on a knuckleball in the end zone for his first TD.
And another third down completion on a slant to Peoples-Jones for 26.
This is starting to look like the Michigan passing game of old. And DPJ is closer to being that “stud” many expected him to be. He’s really come into his own.
• U-M got bailed out a couple times on holding calls on nice kick returns (Pacheco is going to be a good one) that didn’t have much to do with the play. They need to shore that up. Jake Moody should be able to kick balls through the end zone without the wind the next two weeks … and they should ask him to. Take no chances.
• Loved the way Tru Wilson ran in this game. He’s reminiscent of Ed Davis, the early 90s back … he doesn’t get the knees up very high when he runs, but he’s a great cutter and a patient runner.
• Gentry and McKeon again did a great job on the drive that put U-M up 35-7. Both had nice blocks on the edge that sprung Wilson’s bigger gains.
• Junior corner David Long, Watson and sophomore linebacker Josh Ross were incredible in the second half in coverage. Ross continues to improve.
• It was good to not see tackle Jalen Mayfield in late in the game. As tough as great tackles are to come by … preserve the redshirt.
Onward.
On Rutgers’ first series, some really well designed plays they probably hadn’t shown before. A pitch to running back Isaih Pacheco for a nice gain when they brought a receiver in motion and caught Chase Winovich peaking inside and took him out of the play, pulled the left tackle as a lead blocker.
There was also nice screen pass that would have gone for a first down if it hadn’t been dropped.
U-M adjusted nicely when Rutgers tried these plays again.
Up front, ifth-year senior defensive tackle Bryan Mone got great push on Rutgers’ first possession. He’s playing good football.
The tight ends blocked very well on the Wolverines’ first offensive drive. Redshirt junior Zach Gentry had a pancake on a play senior running back Karan Higdon busted outside for a first down. Junior Sean McKeon was aggressive from the get-go and finished his blocks.
Also, McKeon and redshirt sophomore Nick Eubanks got in the way enough to spring redshirt frosh receiver Oliver Martin for a nice, first down gain on the opening drive.
Gentry then knocked a guy on his ass out of bounds on a swing pass to junior running back Chris Evans for a 12-yard gain on first down. U-M had a lot of success to the short side of the field on this drive, and the tight ends had a lot to do with it. You could see why Harbaugh singled them out after this one. We’ve been hard on them (rightfully so), but they brought it last Saturday.
McKeon had a great block on the edge to seal a triple option handoff to Tru Wilson … and he held his block.
• Sophomore center Cesar Ruiz did a great job getting to the second level throughout the first half. He’s fun to watch.
• Junior quarterback Shea Patterson’s pass on the run to the sideline, caught by sophomore Donovan Peoples-Jones, was the first indication it might be a good day. That’s a tough throw, sidearm across his body, put only where Peoples-Jones could catch it, and a really tough catch.
The first third and two … great push up front, but Higdon was impatient and didn’t hit the hole. Same thing on fourth down … plenty of push, but Higdon went the wrong way. You know the drill here — we’d like sophomore fullback Ben Mason on the field for these short yardage plays.
On U-M’s first touchdown we saw two great lead blocks and a carry by Mason to the goal line that might well have been a score.
• Pass protection was incredible throughout the first half. Again. Five man rushes, easily picked them up. And the variation of routes continued with a nice stop route by junior running back Chris Evans.
• The big play by Rutgers for 80 yards … well designed, but fifth-year senior end Chase Winovich got fooled and senior safety Tyree Kinnel actually got screened by the umpire. The fake reverse, though, had a lot of guys confused. Rutgers tried it again later for no gain.
• Loved the added wrinkle of throwing out of the read option. We’re going to see more of that the next few weeks. Penn. writer David Jones and his “Harbaugh plays Schembechler Ball” column looks even dumber now.
• Not sure what Mason was doing after he ran himself out of a first down, bouncing out after he picked it up. But again, the tight ends bailed him out. Gentry and McKeon threw great blocks to create room for Higdon’s one-plus yard and a first down on the next play.
• Oliver Martin’s drop … not sure if the DB got a finger on it or not, but he had his best game. He did a nice job getting open. He set up the second score, caught the fingertip touchdown (his teammates needed to give him more love after his first score) and also had a nice block on the edge for Evans on a flat pass.
• Brandon Watson had two great plays on swing passes. The fifth-year senior corner is the real deal this year.
• The pass blocking is top notch. A great blitz pick up by the left side on third down, and Rutgers brought both inside linebackers on another and the line handled it like it was nothing on Nico Collins’ first score. That group’s improvement has been incredible.
SECOND HALF
• Rutgers started the second half by cheating eight in the box to slow the run. They aren’t even worrying about Patterson anymore on the read option. They’ve figured out he’s probably not going to keep.
But Michigan continued its third down success on tough third down catches with a great grab by Gentry over the middle. Had forgotten about this one. We’ve been waiting for Michigan to exploit Gentry’s size … Patterson put it high where only Gentry could get it. Great play into the wind.
Patterson came up with another one running left, throwing to Peoples-Jones on the sideline for a third-and-seven completion a few plays later. Incredible throw and catch … also an incredible fingertip catch by Martin on a knuckleball in the end zone for his first TD.
And another third down completion on a slant to Peoples-Jones for 26.
This is starting to look like the Michigan passing game of old. And DPJ is closer to being that “stud” many expected him to be. He’s really come into his own.
• U-M got bailed out a couple times on holding calls on nice kick returns (Pacheco is going to be a good one) that didn’t have much to do with the play. They need to shore that up. Jake Moody should be able to kick balls through the end zone without the wind the next two weeks … and they should ask him to. Take no chances.
• Loved the way Tru Wilson ran in this game. He’s reminiscent of Ed Davis, the early 90s back … he doesn’t get the knees up very high when he runs, but he’s a great cutter and a patient runner.
• Gentry and McKeon again did a great job on the drive that put U-M up 35-7. Both had nice blocks on the edge that sprung Wilson’s bigger gains.
• Junior corner David Long, Watson and sophomore linebacker Josh Ross were incredible in the second half in coverage. Ross continues to improve.
• It was good to not see tackle Jalen Mayfield in late in the game. As tough as great tackles are to come by … preserve the redshirt.
Onward.
