FORMATION NOTES: Minnesota was a dedicated 4-3 team, probably the first of the year depending on how you want to classify "multiple" outfits that base out of stack personnel.

Note the low safety. This is after Bredeson's motion starts and that guy is moving up to ~7 yards deep. Minnesota had a lot of late shifts that occasionally gave Michigan trouble. They don't really have any dudes this year but I can understand why they ranked highly in SP+ defense last year. Their system seems pretty good.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: Nothing particularly unusual at this point, except that TE domination continues to, uh, dominate. Snaps for skill positions:

• Barner: 40
• Loveland: 34
• Johnson: 31
• Wilson: 24
• Morris: 21
• Bredeson: 19
• Clemons 13
• Moore: 11
• Morgan: 9

TE 2 is now above WR 1 in snaps. Dios mio man.

FWIW, the backup line was Jones/El-Hadi/Crippen/Persi/Hinton, so they're not trying to get a redshirt on Hinton. Jones also got five ponus OL snaps. RB snaps were split about down the middle between Edwards, Corum, and Mullings, though Mullings caught up during the Tuttle Time drive.

[After THE JUMP: more of the same]

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M28	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	2	2	4-3 over	7.5	Run	Counter	Corum	10
Bredeson motions in, then reverses course. MLB tips a blitz, motion means that the SLB actually runs it; Zinter(+1) dumps that guy to the ground anyway. Keegan(+0.5) gets a kick. Bredeson(+0.5) shoots through the gap and finds a LB. Barnhart(+0.5) and Barner(+1) double and move the relevant end; Barner climbs to a LB late to harass. Corum(+0.5) slaloms through the gates and grinds out some YAC.
M38	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 under	6.5	Pass	RPO out	Wilson	5
This is an RPO so we’ll credit the post-snap read but when Corum flips from right to left the slot CB backs out and JJ probably knows presnap what he’s doing. LBs fire; slot is frozen; pull, Wilson’s hitch is open but a charging S does a good job to shut down YAC. (CA, 3, protection N/A, JJ +0.5, RPO+)
M43	2	5	Ace twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Belly	Corum	4
Under center but the SAM does check on a potential rollout so the backside cut is here. LBs fire hard and get caught In the wash. Barner(+1) blows a DE down the line. Loveland is clearly just hunting any Gopher who tries to pop up in the rushing lane and has no option to go to the safety, so he duly cuts off a guy with no chance. Corum(-0.5) appears to stumble before contact and probably gives up the first down as a result.
M47	3	1	Gun trip TE	1	3	1	Exotic	9	Run	Dive	Mullings	0
Dive gets stuffed. All RPS as a DT submarines at the POA and a DE is flared just outside Henderson; Henderson moves on because that’s his instruction and that guy rips unblocked into the backfield, preventing any sort of miraculous cutback kind of thing. RPS -2.
M47	4	1	Ace trip TE	1	3	1	4-3 under	9	Pass	Waggle RB flat	Mullings	13
Quick rollout with a token fake; Mullings does pop open and JJ flips it to him to convert. (CA, 3, protection N/A, JJ +0.5, RPS +1)
O40	1	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	7.5	Pass	Out	Johnson	20
Motion brings Johnson into a stack behind Wilson; zone from Minnesota and the outside corner carries Wilson so the out to Johnson is an easy read against a LB who’s never going to get there. Johnson(+1) breaks a couple tackles before getting lit up by a linebacker. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, JJ +.5, RPS +1)
O20	1	10	I-Form Big	1	3	1	4-3 under	9	Pass	TE throwback	Barner	8
The JJ points at stuff play; M does not run PA here, really, but JJ appears to be going back to a handoff so we get some bites anyway. Two guys release downfield, JJ points like Babe Ruth; Barner releases late. This doesn’t really work but Barner(+1) breaks a tackle and creates 4 YAC. (CA, 3, protection 2/2, JJ +0.5)
O12	2	2	Pistol TTB	1	2	2	4-3 over	9.5	Run	Arc read keeper	McCarthy	-1
DE slides down, so the keep is correct(ZR+) but Minnesota has flung two extra bodies outside of the DE, so tough sledding, Johnson(+1) is supposed to crack the nearest LB and does but the LB charges such that he’s a yard in the backfield at contact. Another LB slides over and absorbs Barner(+0.5); Bredeson(-0.5) comes and hits the same guy Johnson is, which is understandable but Johnson has this, IMO, and if he heads outside this has a decent chance. He doesn’t, so JJ gets an unblocked CB. RPS -2.
O13	3	3	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7.5	Pass	Out	Johnson	Inc
Replay of the previous out except mirrored; same motion in, same CB lift, same LB futilely chasing. JJ’s throw is a hair low but obviously catchable; Johnson drops a sure first down and likely TD. (CA, 3, protection 2/2, JJ +0.5, RPS +1)
Drive Notes: FG(31), 10-0, 7 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Pistol twins	1	3	1	4-3 under	8	Run	Split duo	Corum	2
Odd on the backside here as Barner passes up a DE and tries to go outside of him to get to the second level. Bredeson(+0.5) kicks the DE out but Barner never has an angle to the LB. On the other side, DE on Barnhart(+0.5) gets way upfield and Barnhart gets enough of him to force him out of the play. There’s a big gap; Nugent(+0.5) and Zinter(+0.5) double, move DL, Zinter climbs. Loveland(+0.5) gets a kick; Corum cuts into the hole and eats an unblocked S who started at seven yards and M had no plan for; RPS -2.
M27	2	8	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	4-3 under	8	Pass	PA Dig	Johnson	18
PA, LBs suck up to about a yard. Bredeson(route+) runs over a linebacker trying to recover as he runs a drag. Very low S to the field side so when M goes to PA he turns his back to the play to get depth; Johnson(route+) threatens vertical and then breaks off the dig; JJ lasers in a dart. (CA, 3, protection 2/2, RPS+1, JJ +1)
M45	1	10	I-Form	1	2*	2	???	8	Run	Power	Corum	2
Both DTs just fling themselves at the knees of their blockers, which means Barnhart is late getting out and Nugent bends backwards alarmingly as he gets hit from behind by something or other. Bredeson(+0.5) and Keegan(+0.5) get kickouts; Jones(+0.5) fires in the diving DT to clear a lane. Barnhart can’t get to the MLB and Nugent’s guy gets free and they’re able to converge. RPS -1.
M47	2	8	Gun 4-wide	1	2	2	Nickel even	6	Pass	Fade	Wilson	Inc
Wilson(route-) tries to stutter step and go but ends up taking a slow, awkward step and the CB is able to mirror. Coverage is excellent; JJ should come off this and just dump it down to Corum but he saw Wilson had press on the snap and is probably thinking yeehaw. No room and the ball is long. (IN, 0, protection 2/2, JJ -1)
M47	3	8	Gun trips bunch	1	1	3	Exotic	6	Pass	Scramble	McCarthy	5
CB blitz combined with a stunt to that side. Henderson’s guy leaves so he naturally thinks it’s a stunt and indeed gets a guy coming to him. He picks that up, CB jets by to outside. Don’t see a way to pick this up without the CB tipping presnap. JJ has to escape the pocket and scrambles for what he can get. (PR, N/A, protection 0/2, TEAM -2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-3, EO1Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M38	1	10	Gun 3-wide	2	1	2	Nickel over	6	Run	Pin and pull	Corum	40
Orbit motion from Edwards takes the playside S out of the equation; CB converts to OLB-type substance. Pin and pull away from this, with Barner(+0.5) and Henderson(+0.5) washing down their guys. Zinter(+1) pulls and drives his guy, who does not make sure he’s force, so Corum(+1) can dart outside after avoiding a tackle from the CB; Keegan(-0.5) let his guy upfield and that affected the play. Corum bursts upfield, escaping a diving tackle attempt from the last LB. Barnhart(+1) couldn’t get to that LB but once he’s gone he gets on his horse and gets a block twenty yards downfield. RPS +1, motion eliminated playside S.
O22	1	10	Gun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Insert iso	Edwards	6
End fires upfield outside of Barnhart(+0.5), who locks him out. Zinter(+1) and Nugent(+0.5) double through the NT, with Zinter getting a heavy chip and climbing. Barner(+1) blasts the MLB. Wilson(-2) is hunting the safety and inexplicably decides to stop, instead redirecting to the CB he was initially on. Safety flies up and misses a tackle on Edwards(+0.5) at four yards but he’s pushed Edwards wide and knocked him off stride so the CB can tackle.
O16	2	4	Ace TTB	1	2	2	4-3 over	8	Run	End around	Wilson	10
Bunch set to the boundary, which will get downloaded as an end-around tip if they don’t do this on various other plays. Anyway. The end around flanks the playside end but playside LB is aware and gets outside of Henderson, no shot for him. Bredeson(+2) picks up that linebacker and drives him about ten yards downfield. Johnson(+0.5) gets a decent downfield block. Wilson(+1) outruns the end and gets a healthy gain. RPS +1.
O6	1	G	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	4-3 under	9	Run	Power trap	Edwards	5
Thanks to Tyler Sellhorn, who corrected some misconceptions about what a trap block is and gave me some lingo for this. This is Michigan’s power-but-we-kick-out-the-first guy play. Playside end gets moved by Barner(+1); Loveland absorbs a charging LB and turns him in; Keegan(+1) has a late, agile redirect that thunks that same guy and kicks him out; Edwards(+0.5) hits that gap and gets almost to the endzone; I do think this is short. RPS +1; Safety had to regap and could only hit from the side.
O1	2	G	Goal line	1	4*	0	Goal line	11	Run	Iso	Corum	0
This is clearly a TD(refs -2) but not called as one; this is push blocking all around that allows Corum(+0.5) to extend over the goal line on second effort.
O1	3	G	Goal line	1	4*	0	Goal line	11	Run	Down G	Corum	1
Barner gets undercut at POA, as does everyone else; Henderson(+1) is able to get under his guy and shove him to open up a narrow lane Corum(+0.5) leaps into.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 17-3, 10 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M33	1	10	Gun TTB	1	2	2	4-3 even	7.5	Run	Crack sweep	Edwards	-3
An early Harbaugh staple makes it back but gets hammered. Loveland(+0.5) gets enough of the end to push him past Edwards, who takes a quick pitch. Zinter(-1) has very little shot at a LB who hauls for this but that guy also dips the shoulder and gets around him entirely; Zinter does not kick him out after losing the attempt to seal him inside. Barner(+1) kicks out a corner and will blow him to the sideline. Barnhart pulls outside of Loveland and gets to a safety. Edwards(-1) extends this to the sideline after the LB comes up and this is just fundamentally wrong; he does not have your change of direction, put a foot in the ground and go N/S. He also makes things worse at the end of the run by trying to evade the guy and ceding another couple yards. RPS -1; both LBs are shaded to the strength here and motioning Wilson across just cost you a blocker without helping on the back end.
M30	2	13	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	4-3 under	5.5	Pass	Dumpoff	Edwards	16
This looks like the primary read. As as soon as the LBs lift deep JJ just checks it down. Edwards(+2) uses his acceleration to dust a linebacker rand then runs past another for a conversion. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, RPS +1)
M46	1	10	Pistol 3-wide	1	2	2	4-3 over SAM	7	Pass	PA post	Johnson	49
One safety gets eyes on Loveland on a post corner and sucks up on him so Johnson breaking to the post is wide open. JJ sees it and fires it; ball is good depth but too far inside; panicking S is just trying to recover and Johnson is able to adjust and fight through interference-ish behavior from the S to bring in a difficult ball. This far downfield it’s still a CA because WR got a chance. (CA, 1, protection 2/2, JJ +0.5, Johnson route +)
O5	1	G	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	9	Run	Duo keeper	McCarthy	5
Loveland(+0.5) in the slot, starts hunting the playside OLB, who is hanging back and does react after the keep; Loveland cuts him off. This still leaves the guy in coverage on Loveland, who comes up and gets juked by JJ(+1), and then Johnson(+0.5) does enough to stall the corner and get JJ the corner. HOO BOY am I conflicted about this one. ZR+, I guess.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 24-3, 6 min 2nd Q. Only snap of the half left for O is a kneel before half.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M27	1	10	Gun trips TE	2	1	2	4-3 over	7.5	Pass	Bubble screen	Edwards	5
This could be an RPO; JJ appears to be reading the outside LB and when he doesn’t chase Edwards he throws the bubble. MN shifted late, though, and an assumption that a guy over Wilson will be on him is wrong, so Edwards(+0.5) gets an immediate chaser; he’s able to beat him to the corner and Wilson/Johnson(+0.5 each) get decent blocks. (CA, 3, screen, RPO+)
M32	2	5	Gun 2-back	2	1	2	Nickel even	6	Pass	Fly	Moore	Inc
Well… I don’t get it. Minnesota shows up with a six man box and two safeties at 12-14 yards for the first time and Edwards drags a LB with him on flare motion; seems like this would be a fantastic time to run the ball. Instead, straight dropback and JJ slings a fade to Moore that’s way short. Blackledge points out that if Moore tries to high point this he gets run over and gets a flag but he just keeps running(route-), because freshman. In addition, this coverage looks broken because a CB blitzes and now nobody on earth is covering the Wilson drag. This is 30 yards easy if the dumpdown happens. (IN, 0, protection 2/2, JJ -1)
M32	3	5	Gun empty	1	1	3	Exotic	5	Pass	Out	Edwards	Inc
Quick out against a LB dropping out. Ball is a hair low but very catchable and Edwards leaves his feet and then drops the ball entirely; leaving the feet really makes little sense because you’re a yard short of the sticks anyway. This could be better placed, it’s true, but this should be a conversion. (MA, 3, protection 1/1, JJ push)
Drive Notes: Punt, 24-10, 14 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M22	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 under	7	Run	Inside zone RPO	Corum	3
Late motion, blitz off the slot from the overhang LB. That guy checks JJ and is gone. As a result of the blitz MN gets to slant away from hit. Henderson(+1) fires his guy down the line and pancakes him with the help of a stumble over Keegan’s legs. Keegan(+0.5) gets to a second level block. Loveland(-1) doesn’t know what he’s looking at at first and is late to release to the second level; LB gets into him at the goal line. He gets inside position. If Loveland is able to meet this guy a yard or two deeper Corum has every chance of breaking outside and busting a long one but he doesn’t have the room and can only thunk it up inside for a meh gain. RPS -1.
M25	2	7	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	6.5	Pass	Dumpoff	Corum	Inc
Does look like the deeper stuff is covered; this seems like an obvious spot for PA but I dunno. This isn’t pressure; the pocket is fine; JJ pumps a deeper throw, thinks better of it, and then his feet get happy and he resets in the pocket, winging a ball way high for Corum. This goes off the fingertips and is a rocket so it’s a 0 for me. (IN, 0, protection 2/2, JJ -1)
M25	3	7	Gun trips	1	1	3	Exotic	6	Pass	Y cross	Wilson	17
Pressure look with six guys at the LOS and a super deep S. JJ changes the play, Minnesota sends the house and plays cover 1. That leaves Wilson(route+) lined up over a safety in the slot and he wins decisively to the interior. JJ gets some pressure as Edwards(-1) initially mis-IDs but then does redirect to hit the guy; JJ still has to throw it off his back foot and rifles in a picture-perfect ball. (CA+, 3, protection 2/3, JJ +1)
M42	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	6.5	Pass	Dig	Wilson	34
Looks like seven guys are playing zone for MN and one guy is playing man. Guy playing man follows Morris across the formation as Wilson runs the other way and JJ sees it and fires it out in a flash, ball is already out by the time Wilson is even with a zone drop LB and hits Wilson in the number way downfield. Last one was CA/DO borderline, so is this. (DO, 3, protection 2/2, JJ +2)
O24	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Run	Pin and pull	Corum	6
Blocking not really required here as M floods the boundary and then runs to the field. MLB shoots upfield of Barnhart and is gone. DE steps inside at first but is able to recover; Nugent(-1) passes him up, which is fine, but barely makes contact with the other LB and he’s able to get around and flow. Corum(+1) gets a charging safety from nine but is able to dump him to the ground after a couple yards and get some YAC before the guys who got outside rally. I guess RPS+1, while Corum got a safety at 2 yards huge difference when he’s in an acre of space.
O18	2	4	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	7.5	Pass	PA TE switch seam	Loveland	Inc
PA with a pull to bring the LBs in and Barner and Loveland run a switch route, popping Loveland open for a TD; he drops it. It is true that the safety is closing and may jar this loose but this ball is gone before he arrives. (CA, 3, protection 2/2, JJ +1)
M18	1	10	Gun TTE	1	2	2	4-3 over	7.5	Run	Power	Mullings	9
MN expecting something up the gut so edge guys suck in. Barner(+0.5) and Loveland(+1) clear the edge. Keegan is the only puller; he goes to a corner and that corner flings himself upfield just at contact. A safety is also coming down at two. Mullings(+1) gives a shimmy as he hits the convergence of the two defenders and runs between them; S makes a diving tackle attempt and Mullings is able to grind out another few yards of YAC.
M9	1	G	Ace 3TE	1	3	1	4-3 over	10	Run	Power	Mullings	3
Well blocked but falls prey to a stunt. Barner(+1) and Henderson(+1) blow the DE off the ball and Henderson comes off quickly to get a LB. Bredeson(+0.5) gets a kick. Keegan is blocking down on a DL as the OLB loops around this; he can’t realistically get off the block. Mullings(+0.5) meets that guy at the LOS and grinds out 3. RPS -1.
M6	2	G	Gun trip TE	1	3	1	4-3 over	10	Run	Dive keeper	McCarthy	6
JJ sees nine guys shoot inside and keeps(ZR+, +0.5), leaving him one on one with a CB; he jukes the guy and then stiffarms him to the ground(+2) to score. Bredeson(+1) absolutely crushed EMLOS, which helps as he can’t recover to chase.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 31-10, 8 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O49	1	10	Gun 4-wide	2	1	2	Nickel over	6	Pass	Dumpoff	Edwards	7
No replay, so your guess is as good as mine. Dumpoff to Edwards is productive at least. (CA, 3, protection 2/2, JJ +0.5)
O42	2	3	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel even	6	Pass	Bubble screen	Morgan	8
Orbit motion from Morgan, PNP look, doesn’t look like a post snap read; fling it to the bubble. Morris takes on a charging S and delays; guy is able to push him back and making a diving ankle tackle on Morgan; Clemons(+1) wiped the CB. RPS +1 (CA, 3, screen)
O34	1	10	I-Form Big	2	2*	1	4-3 over	8	Run	Counter	Edwards	5
Counter action slows the LBs. Jones(+0.5) shoves a guy slanting away down the line a bit; can’t control him entirely; he’s able to fight back and tackle at three. Keegan(+0.5) gets a kick. Bredeson(+1) hammers a linebacker, he’s done. Edwards slips through the gap but loses some balance and can’t get any bonus yards.
O29	2	5	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 under	7	Run	Inside zone	Edwards	4
Straight up the gut here; Zinter(-0.5) rocked back and his guy disengages, making early contact. Doesn’t really matter as Keegan(+0.5) gets a yard of depth; Henderson(+0.5) pushes the pile; Loveland(+0.5) gets a kick, Edwards(+1) keeps his feet and grinds out a ton of YAC, spot (refs -2) is inexplicable as Edwards seems to be two yards past the sticks and is ruled short.
O25	3	1	Gun 3TE	1	3	1	Goal line	10	Run	Dive	Mullings	1
They get it.
O24	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 over	7	Pass	TE hitch and go	Loveland	24
PA; Minnesota sends six; Mullings (gold star) obliterates a blitzing LB, pancaking him. Keegan(-1) gets beat after initially stalling out his guy, but JJ gets the ball off anyway, hitting a wide open Loveland after Loveland hitched up at two yards and then released downfield. (CA+, 3, protection 2/3, JJ +1, Loveland route +)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 38-10, 3 min 3rd Q. Pick six, then Tuttle time.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Box	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M30	1	10	Gun twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7	Run	Insert iso	Mullings	4
Jones(+1) controls and fires out his guy; he’ll get most of the way to the hash by the end of the play. El-Hadi and Crippen(+0.5 each) get some movement on a DT; Barner(+0.5) takes on a LB; Mullings slips between these blocks as the Jones lane is occupied by a charging S. RPS is off, but RPS.
M34	2	6	Ace twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 under	7.5	Run	Power	Mullings	9
Barner(+0.5) drives a DE down the line and eliminates him. Jones can’t get out because this guy is blocking him; Persi(+1) pulls around and IDs the MLB and eliminates him. Bredeson(+1) fires on on a charging playside LB and stalls him and wins the block. Mullings(+1) has a lane; he slashes through the gap and then spins past one tackler, powering through a second for a conversion.
M43	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 under	7.5	Pass	Bubble screen	Morgan	5
RPS is off, but RPS. Orbit motion, fake a PNP the other way, bubble. Morris(+0.5) gets shot back on the block but is in the way and anchors enough, S comes up to tackle after a nice gain. (CA, 3, screen)
M48	2	5	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel under	6	Run	Power	Mullings	23
MN walks down a safety but backs him out presnap and sends a corner; unfortunately for them the play just runs away from that guy. Barner(+0.5) kicks out the end; El-Hadi(+0.5) pulls and gets a linebacker; Hinton(+1) and Persi double the NT, move him, and then Hinton climbs to a linebacker. That’s all she wrote and Mullings(+0.5) doesn’t screw up a chunk play. RPS is off, but RPS.
O29	1	10	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even	7	Run	Pin and pull	Mullings	-1
Orbit motion from Morris; no idea if this read is live but with a LB hanging over the slot a give is reasonable even if the bubble looks open. PNP the other way. Beetham(+1) turns in the end. CB and playside LB book for the play and get outside of the two pullers. Mullings(-2) needs to put his foot in the ground once he sees this and cut behind El-Hadi to get what he can get but extends to the sideline and gets TFLed.
O30	2	11	Gun 3-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even	7	Pass	TE delay	Barner	17
Mullings books it out of the backfield on a wheel route and the coverage lifts to the sticks; Barner fakes a pass block and leaks out; Barner(+2) grabs it, makes a guy miss, and then carries a third for a few yards to convert. (CA, 3, protection 2/2, Tuttle push, RPS off but RPS)
O13	1	10	Ace twin TE	1	2	2	4-3 over	8.5	Run	Power	Mullings	4 (Pen -10)
O’Leary is supposed to crack the S but is never going to have a shot at him. He jets down the LOS and takes on Persi(+0.5) who does a good job to stand him up but that’s it. Barner(+1) blasted a DE off the ball by himself and Bredeson(+0.5) gets a kickout but Mullings doesn’t see anything and bounces, spinning for four yards. That’s maybe what he gets if he sticks inside so push. Bredeson gets what is IMO a very bad holding call because the guy he’s blocking turns himself sideways to get his outside arm free and then when Mullings bounces outside he puts him on the ground. If you’re using your arms to push a guy to the ground that’s just a pancake.
O23	1	20	Gun 4-wide	1	1	3	4-3 even	5.5	Run	Belly	Franklin	4
Weird spot to run belly; Hinton(+1) and Persi(+0.5) fire in an NT but DE slides down; Tuttle(-1, ZR-) has a keep read and doesn’t keep it. DE crashes down on Franklin.
O19	2	16	Gun trips TE	1	1	3	4-3 over	7.5	Run	Pin and pull	Franklin	-1
Hinton(-2) fires out way too flat on the guy he’s blocking down on and that guy penetrates in to the backfield, knocking El-Hadi off his pull. LB can now shoot free and he does; Franklin cuts back to minimize the damage.
O20	3	17	Gun empty	1	1	3	Nickel over	5.5	Pass	Scramble	Tuttle	18
Pass pro is okay but the pocket is collapsing; Tuttle pumps a throw and decides he doesn’t want to do that. He climbs the pocket, popping through, but Hinton’s DE gave up on the bull rush and is coming for Tuttle, so he just pulls it down… and converts? Morgan(+1) with a key block. (SCR, N/A, protection 2/2, Tuttle +2)
O2	1	G	Pistol 3-wide	1	1	3	Goal line	8	Run	Duo	Franklin	2
Barner(+1) blasts a DE into the endzone and Franklin gets his TD.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 52-10, 9 min 4th Q. Last drive is a Denegal three and out, omitted.

Well, I mean, you know.

Yeah.

When does the season start?

Not this week, that's for sure.

What about last week?

Well, here's a thing I haven't done this year yet: List Some Drives. That's because the Listing Of Drives is usually a reaction to an iffy offensive performance. We want to get context, so we really know how much to panic. This is what a 2023 Listing Of Drives looks like:

• Touchdown drives of 62, 67, 78, and 49 yards
• Field goal drive of 59 yards.
• First down-and out of 27 yards.
• Three and out.

Unless you believe that Michigan should literally never have to punt against a Big Ten opponent, there's no context to be had. Just another demolition of an opponent that wasn't anywhere near ready for that smoke. So I don't have a whole lot of takes here; I don't think Minnesota's defense is awful but it's clearly not that great, and there's no grand discussion to be had about whether Nash Hutmacher giving Michigan the business is a problem. So 1,000 foot view takes are going to be limited. We've seen this five times already.

Okay, how about some nitty-gritty?

Sure, here is a chart that is a bit of a weird chart since it features what look like low numbers for the OL that add up to one of the most dominating blocking performances in a while once the tight ends get it on:

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Henderson	4		+4	Much steadier at tackle now.
Keegan	3.5	0.5	+3	Snaps snaps snaps need snaps.
Nugent	1	1	0	Blocks just didn't get graded, not an issue or anything.
Zinter	3.5	1.5	+2	Not that relevant.
Barnhart	2.5		+2.5	I sense a theme.
Jones	2		+2	One of these points was as a bonus OT
Persi	2		+2	Now LT.
El-Hadi	1		+1
Crippen	0.5		+0.5	DNC
Bredeson	7.5	0.5	+7	Got a minus for the first time in three weeks.
Barner	11		+11	Also +3 for YAC!
Loveland	3	1	+2	Present.
Beetham	1		+1	Also present.
Mullings				DNC as blocker but GOLD STAR PASS PRO
TOTAL	37	4.5	89%	Edges smashed.
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
McCarthy	3		+3	Ol' Stiffarms McGee all of a sudden.
Orji				DNP
Tuttle	2		+2	Scramble turned into TD.
Corum	3.5	0.5	+3	Made the most of the big opportunity.
Edwards	4.5	1	+3.5	+2 on the dumpoff conversion.
Mullings	3	2	+1	Finally got a minus.
Stokes				DNP
TOTAL	16	3.5	+12.5	Probably shouldn't include Tuttle but whatever, let's party.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Johnson	2		+2	+1 YAC
Wilson	1.5	2	-0.5	May have nerfed an Edwards TD.
Morris	0.5		+0.5
Clemons	1		+1
Morgan
Moore				DNC
TOTAL	5	2	+3	Getting better?
Metrics
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Protection	26	4	87%	-2 TEAM, –1 Edwards, –1 Keegan. Backup line 4/4.
RPS	10	10	0	Opponent hung in there.

The scores here look weird and this is an artifact of how I grade. I do not usually grade blocks away from the point of attack for a couple reasons. One is that these blocks are often extremely hard to screw up and I'd rather not put those in the denominator. If a team ran power to the left on every play, the right tackle would grade out at 100% despite being a fairly obvious weakness. The other is that I am not a former OL or OL coach and I'm not grading on technique or executing your assignment but rather bigger dumber things like Did Man Move Far and Did Guy Tackle. I don't want to judge blocks away from the play as a result.

So the low OL numbers are a consequence of minimal snaps (44 for the starters) and Michigan seriously reducing the amount of duo they ran; they turned to a lot of gap-blocked runs with two TEs on the field, and on a power one of your TEs is always going to be pulling, which is a scoring opportunity, and the other one is usually going to be blocking down at the point of a attack, another scoring opportunity. Ladarius Henderson is going to be executing a hinge block that is not a scoring opportunity because I'm pretty sure I've literally never seen it be a problem.

You also get huge scores from the tight ends because they're killing it. I am continually surprised that AJ Barner just keeps whipping dudes. His ability to decisively win blocks against defensive ends and sometimes tackles is something to behold:

TE #89 inline to bottom

That's a double but it actually looks like Barner is doing more of the moving than Barnhart. This was not evident in his PFF grading last year but I assume Michigan had their scout on him, because if there's one thing Jim Harbaugh can do it's scout tight ends.

I apologize to Barner for not clipping either of his catches, both of which drew positives for YAC. On another team he'd be more prominent a receiver; he's not a one-trick pony.

FWIW, your Barner/Bredeson update: they are #1 and #3 in TE run blocking now, per PFF, up from #3 and #5 the last time we checked. Northwestern somehow has Michigan beat here: they've got #2, #4, and #12.

Henderson?

As mentioned, not a lot of grading but +4 with no minuses is a keeper. Hinton got in on the final drive I charted and more or less immediately put up a +1, +1, –2 sequence. On this team the ability to not put up the –2 is more important than your rate of obvious wins and the choice appears to be clear at this point.

Also pointing in this direction: pass protection. Another grader might have dinged Henderson for the corner blitz that flushed McCarthy into a drive-ending scramble. IMO Minnesota cleverly put a twist on right next to this so when the DE leaves to loop around Henderson's eyes naturally go inside, where he does indeed have a DL coming to him. I put that as a TEAM minus.

Other than that he was 100% in pass pro; I only had a minus each for Edwards and Keegan. McCarthy was exceptionally clean all game.

Speaking of?

Hennechart:

JJ MCCARTHY

	Good				Neutral			Bad					Ovr			Reads
Game	DO	CA	SCR		PR	MA		BA	TA	IN	BR		DSR	GRADE!		RPOs	ZRs
East Carolina	6+	14(2)++++				5				2			91%	+20		0/0	0/0
UNLV	2	15++	1		1	1				1			95%	+12.5		0/0	1/3
Bowling Green	1	6+	1		1	1				3**	2**		61%	-3		0/0	2/2
Rutgers	3	13++(1)	3		1				1	3	1		79%	+12		0/0	3/4
Nebraska	3+	10+	1		1	1				1			94%	+13		0/1	3/3
Minnesota	1	11+(2)			1	1				3			80%	+8.5		2/2	3/3

(Run +/- is in the other chart; the above is solely a passing/decisions grade.)

Another relentless performance. The Edwards incompletion was an MA but shades towards a CA; the three INs were two fades and the overthrow to Corum.

FWIW, I gave him grudging decision positives on the zone reads because it is indeed true that there was only one guy in any position to stop him, and that's always going to be the case. However, I don't want to see this kind of thing against a four- or five-star safety instead of a Minnesota dude missing a quarter of his tackle attempts:

The risk/reward doesn't make sense. That is almost a four-yard TFL on first and goal from the five and you're Michigan. The low red zone is the place on the field that zone read stuff makes the least sense.

Well… uh. Seems normal. Talk about something?

It's possible we don't talk enough about McCarthy's decision making. Any individual play where the quarterback throws it to the open guy is not remarkable, but on a few different occasions in this game McCarthy's timing stood out as a major reason Michigan got chunks. This is a dinky five yard out:

McCarthy clearly knows that he's got this presnap and as soon as the cornerback takes the deep route the ball is out and there; Johnson catches the ball just inside the numbers and has room to go get a significant amount of YAC. On one level, it's a five yard out hooray. On another, the consistency with which McCarthy is finding and hitting the right guy is a large part of the reason he leads the country in QBR.

Also McCarthy hits this dig right on time:

He's got a safety at seven yards turning his back to the play so he can get depth, he's got LBs sucked up by PA… this is not exactly hard, but he just goes bang-bang-bang on anything shorter than a bomb.

We're also seeing McCarthy change protections frequently, as he did on the Loveland touchdown:

As a sidenote this got tipped because of Michigan's excellent ability to disguise snap counts. I remember some years back during a Michigan State game when one of their excellent DTs—Jerel Worthy probably?—was in the backfield the whole game because he was able to time up Michigan snap counts. This has not been a problem in recent years because Michigan quarterbacks will fake a clap, getting linebackers to reveal blitzes, or clap and then check to the sideline, or clap and then nothing happens. This is a hidden thing I am no longer mad about.

Back to JJ: the only really bad item was the Moore fade attempt, which was way short and also featured this "coverage" on Roman Wilson:

Presnap motion from Edwards revealed man coverage so I kind of feel like if that's the case you should be thinking "ooh Wilson drag." In McCarthy's defense, Moore does run a decent route, giving himself space to the sideline; maybe he's open enough that you're not coming off your first read. But then, short.

The other incompletions were pedestrian overthrows, one to Wilson on the sideline after a janky route. It is maybe notable that the Corum overthrow sees McCarthy awkwardly reset his feet in the pocket unnecessarily:

We've seen McCarthy deal with occasional pressure with aplomb, but this kind of pocket constriction is something OSU might be able to do; their DEs can't really rush the passer around the edge but are big guys who can bull dudes back. I don't think it'll be a problem; at this point I'm reduced to catastrophizing minor niggles when it comes to long-term issues.

Running backs?

I'm back to "oh right Corum" in these posts; I mostly clipped the long pin and pull because it was a pin and pull, which they haven't run much this year. It's in the section about new stuff.

Edwards didn't have many opportunities on the ground, and while he did fine with those opportunities we haven't yet seen him pick up an explosive. He was very close on this one:

Wilson looks like he's going to crack the safety and then stops and redirects for the LB; Edwards is able to break the S tackle but he's a little off balance and the CB can finish. If Wilson just walls off the safety he's one on one with a bad-tackling corner for a TD.

The one Edwards thing that did jump off the tape was his second and thirteen conversion on a dumpoff. The skycam really emphasizes the sheer acceleration Edwards deployed to get around the linebacker:

If Michigan wanted to they could make a big chunk of the offense out of this. Teams are going to start lifting the coverage in an effort to combat those digs, and then it's time for more of this stuff.

Meanwhile, Mullings had another strong performance aside from one bad decision. The assumption that he's an interior runner only appears to be a bad one:

I like the little hop step right before he breaks outside and then he presses as far as he can to the sideline before cutting it up, evading two tacklers. That has the feel of a guy much smaller than he is. Similarly here he presses outside before committing to the interior gap and gets to spin past a linebacker, take a hit, no-sell it, and then grind forward for four more yards:

I didn't bother clipping his long one in Tuttle Time because it was just a power where the extra hat in the box for Minnesota was a corner blitzing away from the play.

I did issue a –2 on a pin and pull where he did not do this when Minnesota linebackers blazed outside and he needed to cut back to stem the bleeding:

Other than that he's been a revelation.

ALSO, there was the thunderous pickup on the Loveland touchdown:

RB #20

This is indeed our Block of the Week.

They stuffed our dive!

Minnesota stuffed a dive on Michigan's first third and short opportunity:

The main problem there was Minnesota playing to come around the edges while a tight front just goes to ground:

The gap between one DT, who is almost head-up on Nugent, and the standup end to the top is very large and if Michigan just checks to an iso at that gap they convert easily. That'll be something to look for as it seems like teams are coming into each game overplaying the dive. Michigan converted on the ensuing fourth down with the flip to Mullings…

…but I'd rather keep it on the ground because balls get dropped sometimes.

I'm panicking!

I would… not do that. Here is a graph of power success rate (x axis) vs line yards (y axis):

Michigan is in a near dead-heat for fourth nationally in power success behind Army, USC, and Miami for some reason. Ohio State is worse than Stanford and Iowa. You can sell out on the dive and you might get a stop, but you have to sell out on it and that leaves ~everything else