Michigan 48, CHAOSTEAM 41 (2OT) – Recap

Michigan is not the first team that CHAOSTEAM has done this to. Far from it, actually. If you are wondering how a team can play tough games against four top-12 teams and also blow a huge lead at home to Rutgers and nearly lose to three tomato cans in non-conference play, you are not alone. This is why Indiana is CHAOSTEAM.

This was the second-worst I have felt during a Michigan football game this year. It’s a win, though. Last year, this probably doesn’t even crack the top ten worst moments. Also last year in late November, Michigan was just trying to make it to a bowl game. This year, they’re trying to make it to the Rose Bowl.

Things could be worse.

Play Calling

We made it to the middle of November without having to really question the play calling, so let’s take a moment to appreciate that before we dive in here.

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Alright, now let’s talk about the play calling. It was

On offense, one major play calling question I have is in regards to the 2^nd and 20 play on which Rudock threw his only interception of the day. Here is that play:

(BAN is IU’s terminology for “pass rushing LB.”)

Michigan runs play action, Houma sees the Mike coming on the blitz and picks him up. Smith stays in momentarily to block, sees there’s nobody he needs to pick up, and runs to the flat. Williams runs an in route. Poggi stays in to block briefly before releasing and running a drag. Darboh runs an out. Rudock tries to put one up for Williams and gets picked by the strong safety.

I have zero issues with trying to run play action out of 22 personnel. However, if you are going to run it out of that formation, Khalid Hill should definitely be the H and I would rather have Jake Butt at the Y and Chesson at WR. Given the down, distance, field position, and effectiveness of the run game to that point, though, running that play was just an all-around bad idea and didn’t fool anybody. But as bad of an idea as that play call was, Rudock cannot throw that ball. It is worth noting, though, that the safety did have to make a heck of a catch to come away with the pick.

Also, the toss to Drake Johnson on the goal line stand at the end of regulation was a bad idea because everyone saw it coming. Don’t do it again.

On the other side, this was not DJ Durkin’s best showing. So, you know, you should definitely not hire him to be your head coach, teams that will be looking for a coach this off-season. I know there will be a lot of you, but none of you should even think about hiring Durkin.

There were some head-scratchers here. Like, why were there only six guys in the box when Howard is running all over you, and IU has a QB who can run, and IU’s receivers are not world beaters? Bring a safety down and put Peppers in a spot where he can read the play and cover or provide run support as appropriate. You have Jourdan Lewis. He is arguably the best corner in the country. If Jourdan Lewis and Jabrill Peppers do Jourdan Lewis and Jabrill Peppers-type stuff, Clark (or Stribling), with safety (Wilson) help just has to be okay.

Game Grades

(A “+” is awarded for a positive play, a “-” for a negative one. For big positive or negative plays, 2 “+” or “-“, respectively, may be given.)

(Note for this week: There was no special teams video, so there was no special teams grading. Right now, I would expect this to be the case going forward. This week, Michigan gave up another punt return TD and this one didn’t look to be assisted by a penalty, so that wasn’t good.)

How Excited Should You Be? (Change from last week in parentheses.)

QB: 6.5/10 (+1.5). I watched Rudock specifically after the initial film review to make sure I had counted correctly and he really was grading out that well. He did really grade out that well. He caught a -2 for the INT and a -1 for a deep ball that he left short. He had a couple less-than-ideal reads that I didn’t ding him for as well. Other than that, he was excellent. He hit a deep pass and would have hit another if Darboh didn’t drop it. He did a great job of throwing to spots and letting his receivers make plays, which he wasn’t doing earlier this year. However, it’s Indiana and Indiana treats pass defense as mostly a suggestion, so I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. Still, this was another encouraging sign.

RB: 5.5/10 (-1.5). I don’t know, man. I mean, some of the run game’s problems are on the offensive line, but the backs aren’t hitting the right holes and making plays and this is an Indiana defense that lends itself quite well to having plays made against them. At this point, I think it just is what it is. Maybe with another year of coaching, somebody will start running at the right spot. Don’t count on it, though.

WR: 8.5/10 (+1). Depth is still an issue and it’s one that’s not going to be fixed until next year, so that kind of limits how excited you can be about this position group. Chesson and Darboh, especially Chesson, were very good, though. If Rudock’s making the passes, they’ll usually make the play.

TE: 9.5/10 (+0.5). Jake Butt had an awesome game. Everyone else was “ehh,” but with as much as Michigan was passing, Williams, Poggi, and Hill couldn’t really shine as much. Bunting seems to not be playing anymore, so I think it’s officially “hopefully, next year” with him, which was kind of expected, since he didn’t really have the size or necessary blocking ability coming into this year.

OL: 6/10 (-1). Pass pro was fine. Rudock didn’t have all day to throw, but he had enough time. Run blocking is an issue. IU was still stacking the box after Rudock hit some deep passes, because they’re IU and treat pass defense as mostly a suggestion. But at some point, these guys have to make plays and nobody really did.

DL: 6/10 (-1.5). Not a great day from them, but Indiana does have a good offensive line. Michigan misses Glasgow badly. Godin still isn’t 100% after getting hurt, but still, his play was discouraging. Strobel – well, Strobel tried, but any time Strobel’s seen the field so far this year, it’s been as an H or backup OG, and he’s a bit undersized, so great things weren’t exactly expected. IU caught on to this and when Strobel and/or Godin were out there, IU ran tempo and basically locked them onto the field. Coach Harbaugh said Poggi’s now a 2-way player, too, but I didn’t seen him on defense and Michigan was passing so much, he wasn’t used that much on offense, so that doesn’t seem to say great things about what he can bring to the table. Durkin and Matteson have some work to do here.

LB: 4.5/10 (-2.5). Morgan was meh. Bolden was bad. Like, really bad. Gedeon was ordinary when he was on the field, but he was better than Bolden by enough that Michigan really ought to be playing him over Bolden by now. Ross seems to be mostly at Buck now. That’s fine since he wasn’t all that much of an upgrade over anyone at LB.

CB: 8/10 (-0.5). Lewis was very good; most of his minuses were missed tackles. Neither Clark nor Stribling was particularly good.

S: 9/10 (0). Everyone had at least a solid day. Hill and Peppers really stood out.

K: 8.5/10 (0). The missed FG wasn’t Allen’s fault.

P: 9.5/10 (0). Didn’t need O’Neill much.

ST: 5/10 (-3.5). Another punt return TD and Sypniewski had a lousy day. Harbaugh said he had the flu. Also, apparently his finger’s been broken since MSU blew him up on the last play of that game and wasn’t penalized for doing so. *shakes fist at Big Ten officials*

Helmet Stickers

(Generally the 3 players on offense and defense I have graded the highest, plus the best special teams performer, but I reserve the right to award as many or as few stickers as I see fit.)

Offense

Jake Rudock, QB

Jehu Chesson, WR

Jake Butt, TE

Amara Darboh, WR

Defense

Delano Hill, S

Jabrill Peppers, S

Willie Henry, DT/DE

Special Teams

Jourdan Lewis, KR

Helmet Sticker Count

Jabrill Peppers, S, KR, PR, WR – 15

Chris Wormley, DE/DT – 9

Jourdan Lewis, CB – 9

Desmond Morgan, LB – 7

Jake Butt, TE – 7

Willie Henry, DE/DT – 7

Graham Glasgow, C – 6

De’Veon Smith, RB – 6

Maurice Hurst, NT – 6

Jehu Chesson, WR, KR – 6

Ryan Glasgow, NT – 5

Sione Houma, FB – 5

Amara Darboh, WR – 5

Blake O’Neill, P – 4

Kyle Kalis, OG – 4

Mason Cole, OT – 4

Joe Kerridge, FB – 4

Ben Braden, OG – 4

Taco Charlton, DE – 3

Jake Rudock, QB – 3

Erik Magnuson, OT – 2

A.J. Williams, TE – 2

Ben Gedeon, LB – 2

Royce Jenkins-Stone, DE – 2

Joe Bolden, LB – 2

Drake Johnson, RB – 2

Brian Cole, ST – 1

Matt Godin, DT – 1

Ty Isaac, RB – 1

Khalid Hill, TE-H – 1

Channing Stribling, CB – 1

Jeremy Clark, CB – 1

Kenny Allen, K – 1

Wilton Speight, QB – 1

Jarrod Wilson, S – 1

James Ross, LB/DE – 1

Delano Hill, S – 1

 

Go Blue!

 

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

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