Michigan @ osu, Game day and Post Game Discussion (Closed)

[Rocky Bleier]

We'll score more than 10 with Speight.

I'm not feeling good about the O-line after Iowa. Didn't run much on Sparty, either. I fear that whoever plays at QB will be under heavy pressure being in 3rd and long much of the game. The O-line, though experienced, is not that good.

[jaadam4]

The sky is falling!!!

[jaadam4]

You guys are right. OiHo is like Bama this year, they're just unbeatable and they're going to win the big 10...

Wait a second......

[WingsFan]

Haven't see a good game on the road yet from Harbaugh? Speight remember was absolutely terrible vs Iowa and second half vs Sparty. Need this unit of seniors to step up and help their QB. This is the only way Michigan can win, seniors have to take control, plenty have already played in the toilet down there. JOK has to have a lot of designed roll outs, screen or a primary look throw or run. He cannot read and handle the pocket.

[jaadam4]

Haven't see a good game on the road yet from Harbaugh?

Rutgers

[Jeff Buchanan]

MSU? Team 137 found a way to win that one after a slow start.

Iowa was a shitstorm - it happens. I can't blame anyone ...... except Kalid Hill for missing his Goddamn blocking assignment allowing a free hit on Deveon for a safety.

That was a huge game changer. The crowd had been silenced following M's easy first TD and a subsequent 3 and out by Iowa's O to follow that. Iowa was easy kill. That play made it a lot harder to do that.

[WingsFan]

Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit with Samantha Ponder as the side-line reporter:

[Jeff Buchanan]

Who cares.

Who are the officials?

[THE_WIZARD_]

Good fucking Lord. Sandbaggis Maximus on both sides. I say Vermin 27 M 24 but is a tossup. Stop being.AA. It's embarrassing.

[WingsFan]

Brian

[Detroit Dan]

Good fucking Lord. Sandbaggis Maximus on both sides. I say Vermin 27 M 24 but is a tossup. Stop being.AA. It's embarrassing.

Well said! I have no idea which team will win, but all the hand wringing defeatism is uncalled for.

[klondike]

MSU? Team 137 found a way to win that one after a slow start.

Iowa was a shitstorm - it happens. I can't blame anyone ...... except Kalid Hill for missing his Goddamn blocking assignment allowing a free hit on Deveon for a safety.

That was a huge game changer. The crowd had been silenced following M's easy first TD and a subsequent 3 and out by Iowa's O to follow that. Iowa was easy kill. That play made it a lot harder to do that.

The wolverines sure miss a lot of assignments on the OL. Just watched the Indiana game again and conscentrating on the line, I notice they miss blocks on every other play.

[Niffla]

OSU is very fast and athletic on defense. It doesn't really matter who plays QB.

You're saying that it doesn't matter whether we have Speight or O'Korn?? Dude. I know Speight is coming off a career worst game, but it does matter, and a matters A LOT. A hell of a lot.

[Jeff Buchanan]

The wolverines sure miss a lot of assignments on the OL. Just watched the Indiana game again and conscentrating on the line, I notice they miss blocks on every other play.

If you've followed the UFRs at mgoblog this season, you can see that OL play has been somewhat inconsistent. Not all bad but there will be games where that one key block, even the ones at the second level that should have been made by a TE or OG isn't made, that limits the play.

You can't expect every play to be run to perfection every time. At the CFB level, teams will have one or two go to running plays based on down and distance that are repped so frequently that there is a high probability of success.

One of M's is the short yardage play where Kalid Hill gets the ball from the Tail Back position and plows ahead for a couple yards. The constraint to that play and probably also one of M's bread and butter plays is the play where Smith gets tackled in the EZ for a Safety.

M is in an I-Form Big, Iowa has 8 in the box (they bring up both Ss). The play is Lead Zone Run, Hill is the lead blocker, RG Kalis is supposed to clear whoever is in the Zone at the snap. This happens to be DT Johnson who is an NFL ready DT that gave M fits all night long. Kalis chips Johnson without any effect, Hill blows by him trying to get to the second level as the lead blocker, Johnson, unblocked, hammers Smith for the S.

I thought this was on Hill but Brian thinks that Kalis missed his assignment. Either way, it's a good example of how one missed blocking assignment will kill an otherwise well executed play. It was the right call either from the sideline or a play call Speight made. If Kalis (per Brian) or Hill blocks Johnson, Smith doesn't get hammered and he's going to break a big play because everyone else is being blocked and there is no deep S.

My point is that it is really hard to generalize about OL play. A great play call can be foiled by any number of little things that don't go quite right. Those little things happen a lot at the CFB level, not so much in the NFL. As well, the D can make a great play. The greatness of Iowa's play call against M's in this case was aided by one of either Kalis or Hill not blocking Johnson.

In the IU UFR, you do see these little things involving OL blocking go wrong but by-in-large, the run blocking and by extension, the run game was much more effective v IU than it was v Iowa.

To extend this to how M's run game might do v. osu, MSU ran the ball well v osu's interior (LJ Scott, 116y) and Deveon Smith may have some success there. I'd grade M's OL well ahead of MSU's in run blocking and Tyler O'Conner is not much more of a passing threat than O'Korn. I'm not sure about the health of osu's interior DL but I do know they are young. So, I'm hopeful there.

osu's DEs are good but not great so, there might be some running room outside. The issue there is unsealing the edge and getting blocks on osu's very good LBs and Ss. I have no idea how that will go. We'll have to see because you absolutely know JH will roll these out in all their variations including PepCat.

[iam416]

Yes, I still miss Troy Smith.