I watched last years ND/UN game again. Here's some observations with some thoughts/questions about this years game:
1. We put KLM on the center during passing downs in the 1st half, giving Nix a rest. He constantly got a strong push up the middle and was all over the field generally as a disruptive force. When Tuitt went out, we put KLM over Lewan. He played with an unreal motor. Have we replaced him? In the 2nd half, Nix was at NT during 3rd downs. Will we rest Nix in the 1st half again?
2. We did a lot of corner blitzes with Bennet Jackson.
3. Their linebakcer Ryan had a great game. Cave couldn't block him and either could the tight ends at the line of scrimmage or on WR screens. We're fortunate he's out. Their safety Gordon and Linebacker Morgan also had some impressive plays. Their cb Rymon Tayler had an int, but Golson threw the ball right to him in the seam between the cb and the safety along the sideline. TJ Jones beat Taylor deep on an outside shoulder sideline throw by Rees.
Their nickel back Jarrod Wilson could not handle Eifert in man coverage and as a result got a costly pass interference call that resulted in Rees's TD run. Wilson had an offer from ND, but chose Mich. He was beaten out by Courtney Avery in fall camp to replace Kovacs at SS, but Avery (who is only 5'9" and was recruited as a cornerback) went down with an injury and Wilson is the starter. Look for ND to pick on him. He got a start in the bowl game last year and gave up a 70 yard TD pass. Also, Kovacs was very good shedding blockers by WR and making tackles. We'll see how Wilson does. Hoke criticized him for not making plays in fall camp.
4. Niklas as a true freshman did a nice job on their DE Clark who was a true soph. Both are back.
5. Though Tuitt/KLM and Prince got a lot of snaps, Nix was rotated out a lot. Day and Schwenke both played. Ishaq Williams played a lot as well. Tuitt was matched up against both tackles, and had a lot of success against their RT Schofield. Their blocking back Kerridge had trouble with Shembo when they tried with that matchup.
6. Spond was very effective setting the edge. Whether it was a runnign back, or Robinson, Spond did not get beat outside. It was a very impressive performance. Their most effective running play was the QB keeper in an inside run, where Robinson rode the running back handoff while reading the defense and then picked a hole and took off. They had one long run by Tuissant where Jackson lost contain. Otherwise, despite having to keep and eye on Robinson, we contained their RB runs pretty well.
7. We had success with two tight end sets and just running power runs off tackle at their true freshman linebacker James Ross, who was undersized last year. Don't know what he'll be like this year. We tried to trap their DT with Eifert. Didn't work. We also had success passing out of the two WR sets, sending everybody out on patterns. Again, we were able to do this by defeating their 4 man rush.
8. They tried QB draws, but neither of their guards could handle our ILB's. Nix driving their center 5 yards back into the backfield didn't help Robinson to get a good start. They also tried to combination block Nix, by starting with a guard and then handing him off to the center on outside runs. Nix brushed both blocks away easily.
Watt really pounded their experienced DE Roh, who was a bit weak for a SDE. He's gone, replaced by true soph. Keith Heitzman who got dominated last year when he played. Martin struggled at times with Roh and Clark on passing downs. Lombard did not struggle much is pass protection, but struggled blocking their ILB Morgan who is back. Having Watt and Martin back is huge for us, particularly with Ryan out and when they have an undersized SDE on their side. Overall, their 4 man pass rush did not really bother us all game long and they did not blitz much,probably due to the trouble they had getting burned by Rees in 2011. When they did blitz Rees missed short and wide to a wide open TJ Jones on a hot route. On the same play Eifert was wide open in the middle of the field and Rees did not throw to him, which would have resulted in a big gain. This is one of the keys to the game imo. If they can't muster a pass rush and blitz, Rees must be consistent with his hot reads and deliver strikes.
Cierre did a nice job making guys miss and moving the chains. Theo looked rusty early, but came on strong in the 4th quarter and used his quickness to make their LB Gordon miss in space. We need guys to make people miss again. Michigan is touting their D-line depth. Last year when they substituted a starter, ND ran right at him.
10. Carlo did a nice job fending off pulling linemen, meeting them at the LOS and making plays. This is important because schematically they like to power you with pulling linemen. This is one of Carlo's strengths. Without Robinson, they want to play power, smash mouth football. With Spond out, I think they will test Smith/Councell to see if they're strong enough to hold the edge. They will also run fullback lead runs and test Fox/Carolo, hoping to be successful and then throw play action passes over the top. They tried to power Tuitt with Lewin, but he could not push im around and with nowhere to run, an unblocked OLB Spond made the tackle. Then, they had Lewan go after the backside LB and pulled a guard, but they could not coordinate it and neutralize Tuitt who stood like a stone mountain blocking the way or our playside ILB who was unblocked as a result . Their fan base believes Tuitt is out of shape and that Lewan will dominate him. We'll see. This matchup is another key to the game. When Tuitt came out of the game, we put KLM over Lewan. Who are going to be the lineman that can replace Tuitt when he goes out and Nix when he's out? I think Schwenke will hold his own against their center when Nix comes out, but I wonder if Ishaq can spell Tuitt successfully against Lewan. The talk from camp is that he can now play with his hands down as a 3-4 DE. We're going to find out imo.
11. Despite their int's, UM did have some success in the short passing game. Because ND spied Robinson with Teo, they hit some short crossing routes behind Teo. On 3rd down we blitzed both ILB's, Robinson hit another short crossing route. With a few exceptions, our DB's did a great job containing the YAC yardage.
