Final thoughts after watching the film of Michigan’s 33-7 win over Northwestern a few times …
First off, dominant win. This one should have been over at halftime and would have been had they just been a bit better in the red zone, which they’ll need to be in the last five games here (starting Saturday).
The Michigan defense has been outstanding, but the linebackers are getting picked on early in games. First play at Nebraska, now this game — wheel routes with the running backs have gotten them, and in this case, it flipped the field early, getting the ball to midfield and putting Michigan back on its heels for much of the first quarter.
Aidan Hutchinson’s bull rush again was on display. He ended the first drive, and he’s been unblockable. MSU will likely have a few guys on him — the fact that he was held four or five times (including on the first series, when he got there anyway and deflected a third down pass) is a testament to how relentless he is, but it’s also disconcerting how often it happens right in front of the referee.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh has sent film in to the Big Ten, and he’s seeing what we’re seeing.
“He’s done a great job, Aidan — [I tell him to] keep bringing it. He’s tough to block,” Harbaugh said. “Hope for the best. Hope that you’re going to get a fair shake every time you go out there. Not always do you get that.
“We turn the plays in, yes.”
There was another later in which a blitzing Josh Ross literally got grabbed and pulled back by the collar. Ridiculous. And it’s an equalizer in games like these. I remember seeing a ton of it in the 2005 Michigan – MSU game and asking Lloyd Carr about it at his Monday presser. He was exasperated.
“Somebody’s going to get hurt out there,” he said (paraphrasing).
In short, it negates a huge advantage for teams with better line play, and it makes no sense how subjective it is.
One of the underrated plays of the game — a third and six from inside the 10 after Northwestern’s first drive, a nice little rub route and completion from Cade McNamara to Cornelius Johnson for six yards and a first down. Once again, they were able to flip the field after getting out to the 30. This has been a strength of the redshirt freshman quarterback’s all year. They’ve been backed up plenty but haven’t had to punt from their end zone.
Did not like the option pitch on second down near their own goal line, to the short side. Yikes.
The sack that ended the drive — Chuck Filiaga could have been more aware. He was blocking nobody. It appeared McNamara wanted to go to A.J. Henning on a hot route, but the frosh didn’t turn around. Regardless, still only the second sack all year against him. Incredible stat.
The tight ends came out on fire blocking and kept it up all game. Luke Schoonmaker and Erick All had huge blocks on the perimeter on the firast drive.
Corner D.J. Turner could be a game changer — not by himself, not a Woodson type, but he plays with swagger and closes FAST. He had an outstanding game, starting from the first series.
This defense plays great TEAM football. They’ll be tested, but they swarm to the ball and when every man is where he is supposed to be (which is often), it’s tough to break.
McNamara threw deep and never took his eyes off Mike Sainristil on his first deep ball. Sainristil stopped his route, but the QB never should have gone there. We still don’t like No. 5 as the deep threat … also, McNamara had a receiver open up top, in part because the defender assigned to that receiver watched McNamara’s eyes and saw they weren’t coming off the primary target (Sainristil).
Theer was nobody open on the second down play — Johnson was the target — and all three receivers were well downfield. Didn’t like the design. They should have at least one outlet short of the sticks. Bad throw and good play by Johnson to break up a pick, but the ball should have been thrown to the right hash to give the receiver a chance.
Northwestern missed an opportunity on another blown coverage in the first quarter when the tight end leaked out on a screen pass, uncovered. It would have been a score. MSU will take advantage of that — still a few too many of those.
Would be get to see the Michigan receivers catch more of the 50-50 balls, but how pass interference wasn’t called early in the second quarter when a CB was draped all over Johnson on a first down throw to the end zone is beyond us. Makes no sense.
Blake Corum’s feet — cheat code. The running backs coaches have often talked about their backs having to make the last guy miss. Corum is the best at that since Mike Hart. His run to set up the first score was just sick.
McNamara’s third down throws were on the money. That’s a strength. Three in the first quarter and a half alone that kept drives alive. Michigan is 46.6 percent this year on third down, was 12-of-20 Saturday. The receivers (and backs) did a much better job getting to the sticks on those this week.
Still not understanding the red zone game planning. Two plays to the short side on the second drive … too cute.
The offensive line was violent in the second quarter, though, and took control. The combo blocks with Karsen Barnhart and Ryan Hayes were outstanding. Going to be interesting to see if Trevor Keegan gets the nod at left guard over Barnhart this week if he’s healthy (shoulder).
Hayes had one of the better games we’ve seen from him in a while. And for all the talk about the ‘all-NFL lines’ they’ve had in the recent past, etc. … this group plays better together and has more ‘want to’ than any in recent memory. The drive before the half was a thing of beauty, minus the result (Sainristil fumble, on which Daylen Baldwin – who really needs to up his game – missed a block).
The inside-the-five offense doesn’t give you warm fuzzies about potential overtime games in the future.
Kick return needs to be better. They need to do some tweaking here, because they’re leaving yards on the field. They’ve got an explosive return man — need to give him a chance.
Drives to open the second half — another positive this year. Corum, again, making guys miss on the touchdown drive. The backs have been making the line look better than it is at times, too … but that’s what’s supposed to happen with great teams. Michigan just hasn’t had enough playmakers at the position over the last 15 years.
Terrible angles by Junior Colson and R.J. Moten on the screen that kept Northwestern’s first drive alive in the second half. Need to be aware of the situation and bottle him up.
D.J. Turner played about as well as a corner can play in coverage this game. How he was flagged for P.I. on what should have been offensive P.I. … that was his only stain, and it was criminal (relatively speaking).
Not a fan of the reverses that start 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage to pick up five. A.J. Henning and Andrel Anthony both had one Saturday. More athletic defenses, those have the potential to be big losses.
The punt block was huge. Kudos to Jay Harbaugh with the job he’s done coaching special teams. Cornelius Johnson got it, and he also recovered the Caden Kolesar fumble on the return or the Wildcats get it back.
Great blocks by Erick All and Andrew Stueber on the Hassan Haskins run that all but put it away at 24-7. Great log block by Andrew Vastardis, too, and Anthony did a nice job downfield. We’re going to see more of No. 1 (prediction).
J.J. McCarthy in the run game — wow. Would have loved to see him hit the two passes to the wide-open receivers, but he’ll make those throws next year. He’s going to be tough to keep off the field.
Prediction — he’s the QB that’s going to lead a win over the Buckeyes and hopefully start trending that thing back in the right direction.
Loved Turner’s pick — unreal ball skills — but mostly loved how he stopped on a dime when the receiver stuck his route. That’s elite cornerback play.
And Chuck Filiaga has had his ups and downs, but he led the way and pushed the linebacker into the end zone on the final score, a Haskins run that capped the scoring.
Bottom line — this team plays extremely well together, and you can tell it’s a connected group. This is nothing like last year’s squad that didn’t show up against MSU last year.
They play a good game Saturday and they’ll be tough to beat.
First off, dominant win. This one should have been over at halftime and would have been had they just been a bit better in the red zone, which they’ll need to be in the last five games here (starting Saturday).
The Michigan defense has been outstanding, but the linebackers are getting picked on early in games. First play at Nebraska, now this game — wheel routes with the running backs have gotten them, and in this case, it flipped the field early, getting the ball to midfield and putting Michigan back on its heels for much of the first quarter.
Aidan Hutchinson’s bull rush again was on display. He ended the first drive, and he’s been unblockable. MSU will likely have a few guys on him — the fact that he was held four or five times (including on the first series, when he got there anyway and deflected a third down pass) is a testament to how relentless he is, but it’s also disconcerting how often it happens right in front of the referee.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh has sent film in to the Big Ten, and he’s seeing what we’re seeing.
“He’s done a great job, Aidan — [I tell him to] keep bringing it. He’s tough to block,” Harbaugh said. “Hope for the best. Hope that you’re going to get a fair shake every time you go out there. Not always do you get that.
“We turn the plays in, yes.”
There was another later in which a blitzing Josh Ross literally got grabbed and pulled back by the collar. Ridiculous. And it’s an equalizer in games like these. I remember seeing a ton of it in the 2005 Michigan – MSU game and asking Lloyd Carr about it at his Monday presser. He was exasperated.
“Somebody’s going to get hurt out there,” he said (paraphrasing).
In short, it negates a huge advantage for teams with better line play, and it makes no sense how subjective it is.
One of the underrated plays of the game — a third and six from inside the 10 after Northwestern’s first drive, a nice little rub route and completion from Cade McNamara to Cornelius Johnson for six yards and a first down. Once again, they were able to flip the field after getting out to the 30. This has been a strength of the redshirt freshman quarterback’s all year. They’ve been backed up plenty but haven’t had to punt from their end zone.
Did not like the option pitch on second down near their own goal line, to the short side. Yikes.
The sack that ended the drive — Chuck Filiaga could have been more aware. He was blocking nobody. It appeared McNamara wanted to go to A.J. Henning on a hot route, but the frosh didn’t turn around. Regardless, still only the second sack all year against him. Incredible stat.
The tight ends came out on fire blocking and kept it up all game. Luke Schoonmaker and Erick All had huge blocks on the perimeter on the firast drive.
Corner D.J. Turner could be a game changer — not by himself, not a Woodson type, but he plays with swagger and closes FAST. He had an outstanding game, starting from the first series.
This defense plays great TEAM football. They’ll be tested, but they swarm to the ball and when every man is where he is supposed to be (which is often), it’s tough to break.
McNamara threw deep and never took his eyes off Mike Sainristil on his first deep ball. Sainristil stopped his route, but the QB never should have gone there. We still don’t like No. 5 as the deep threat … also, McNamara had a receiver open up top, in part because the defender assigned to that receiver watched McNamara’s eyes and saw they weren’t coming off the primary target (Sainristil).
Theer was nobody open on the second down play — Johnson was the target — and all three receivers were well downfield. Didn’t like the design. They should have at least one outlet short of the sticks. Bad throw and good play by Johnson to break up a pick, but the ball should have been thrown to the right hash to give the receiver a chance.
Northwestern missed an opportunity on another blown coverage in the first quarter when the tight end leaked out on a screen pass, uncovered. It would have been a score. MSU will take advantage of that — still a few too many of those.
Would be get to see the Michigan receivers catch more of the 50-50 balls, but how pass interference wasn’t called early in the second quarter when a CB was draped all over Johnson on a first down throw to the end zone is beyond us. Makes no sense.
Blake Corum’s feet — cheat code. The running backs coaches have often talked about their backs having to make the last guy miss. Corum is the best at that since Mike Hart. His run to set up the first score was just sick.
McNamara’s third down throws were on the money. That’s a strength. Three in the first quarter and a half alone that kept drives alive. Michigan is 46.6 percent this year on third down, was 12-of-20 Saturday. The receivers (and backs) did a much better job getting to the sticks on those this week.
Still not understanding the red zone game planning. Two plays to the short side on the second drive … too cute.
The offensive line was violent in the second quarter, though, and took control. The combo blocks with Karsen Barnhart and Ryan Hayes were outstanding. Going to be interesting to see if Trevor Keegan gets the nod at left guard over Barnhart this week if he’s healthy (shoulder).
Hayes had one of the better games we’ve seen from him in a while. And for all the talk about the ‘all-NFL lines’ they’ve had in the recent past, etc. … this group plays better together and has more ‘want to’ than any in recent memory. The drive before the half was a thing of beauty, minus the result (Sainristil fumble, on which Daylen Baldwin – who really needs to up his game – missed a block).
The inside-the-five offense doesn’t give you warm fuzzies about potential overtime games in the future.
Kick return needs to be better. They need to do some tweaking here, because they’re leaving yards on the field. They’ve got an explosive return man — need to give him a chance.
Drives to open the second half — another positive this year. Corum, again, making guys miss on the touchdown drive. The backs have been making the line look better than it is at times, too … but that’s what’s supposed to happen with great teams. Michigan just hasn’t had enough playmakers at the position over the last 15 years.
Terrible angles by Junior Colson and R.J. Moten on the screen that kept Northwestern’s first drive alive in the second half. Need to be aware of the situation and bottle him up.
D.J. Turner played about as well as a corner can play in coverage this game. How he was flagged for P.I. on what should have been offensive P.I. … that was his only stain, and it was criminal (relatively speaking).
Not a fan of the reverses that start 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage to pick up five. A.J. Henning and Andrel Anthony both had one Saturday. More athletic defenses, those have the potential to be big losses.
The punt block was huge. Kudos to Jay Harbaugh with the job he’s done coaching special teams. Cornelius Johnson got it, and he also recovered the Caden Kolesar fumble on the return or the Wildcats get it back.
Great blocks by Erick All and Andrew Stueber on the Hassan Haskins run that all but put it away at 24-7. Great log block by Andrew Vastardis, too, and Anthony did a nice job downfield. We’re going to see more of No. 1 (prediction).
J.J. McCarthy in the run game — wow. Would have loved to see him hit the two passes to the wide-open receivers, but he’ll make those throws next year. He’s going to be tough to keep off the field.
Prediction — he’s the QB that’s going to lead a win over the Buckeyes and hopefully start trending that thing back in the right direction.
Loved Turner’s pick — unreal ball skills — but mostly loved how he stopped on a dime when the receiver stuck his route. That’s elite cornerback play.
And Chuck Filiaga has had his ups and downs, but he led the way and pushed the linebacker into the end zone on the final score, a Haskins run that capped the scoring.
Bottom line — this team plays extremely well together, and you can tell it’s a connected group. This is nothing like last year’s squad that didn’t show up against MSU last year.
They play a good game Saturday and they’ll be tough to beat.
