O-Line (from LT to RT): Dorrestein - McAvoy - Molk - Moosman - Schilling
| Down | Formation | Runner | Play | Yards | Yay | Nay |
| 2-3 | Shotgun 3 WR | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 5 | Schilling, Moosman | - |
| 1-10 | Shotgun 3 WR | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 11 | Dorrestein, McAvoy, Molk | - |
| 1-10 | Ace 3 WR | McGuffie | HB dive, fake end around | -2 | - | Molk, Moosman |
2nd and 3: At first glance it looks like Butler whiffs here, but maybe not, since Schilling whips his guy away and combines with a nice inside block by Moosman to create a hole for McGuffie to zip through.
1st and 10: Easy read for Threet here as the linebacker shooting in isn't decisive, and actually goes with Threet even when the handoff is done. Left side of the line and Molk get great traction, and McGuffie cuts on a dime and shoots upfield into the secondary.
1st and 10: This wasn't going to get much regardless, but both Molk and Moosman fail to lay a hand on Pat Kuntz, who is immediately in the backfield. McGuffie bails, sliding down to avoid being annihilated.
| Down | Formation | Runner | Play | Yards | Yay | Nay |
| 1-10 | Shotgun 3 WR | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | -2 | - | Schilling |
| 1-10 | Shotgun 3 WR | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 11 | Butler, Schilling, Moosman | - |
| 1-10 | Shotgun 3 WR | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 4 | Molk, Moosman | Schilling, Butler |
| 3-1 | I-form twins left | McGuffie | HB blast left | -1 | - | Molk (-2) |
| 1-10 | Shotgun 3 WR | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 2 | Schilling, Molk | McAvoy |
1st and 10: It's Kuntz again, this time getting under Schilling and driving his way into McGuffie, who has nowhere to go. Outside contain by the strongside linebacker prohibits any chance of Threet pulling the ball out.
1st and 10: Textbook. Schilling with another solid kickout block coupled with a nice inside one from Moosman, and a surprising Butler (!) block on the second level springs McGuffie to the outside.
1st and 10: I'm perhaps overly critical here. Nice blocks by Molk and Moosman, but Schilling just runs out into space, blocks no one, and falls down, while Butler gets an initial block, but his man sheds it to tackle McGuffie. This might be an extra 4-5 yards if Butler keeps his block.
3rd and 1: Preface: I am not a fan at all of using McGuffie in the I-formation. Put Grady in there if you want to play Lloyd ball. Regardless, it doesn't matter here, as Molk is absolutely mauled here, blasted backwards immediately, opening a large gap for a linebacker to shoot through and easily stop this play. Luckily Space Emperor Zoltan deems the Irish unfit for tackling, and scoots for the first down on a rollout punt on 4th. Who here thinks Lloyd calls that play? Show of hands? Put your hands down, you liars.
1st and 10: Schilling does a good enough job here to get a yay, and Molk flings his guy to the ground to keep him from getting McGuffie at the LOS. McAvoy, however, dives at his man's feet, completely whiffing on a cut block. Said defender rushes down the line and stalls McGuffie, allowing time for secondary defenders to tackle. A mucky sort of play.
| Down | Formation | Runner | Play | Yards | Yay | Nay |
| 1-10 | Shotgun 3 WR | Brown | QB sweep right | 0 | - | - |
| 1-10 | Shotgun 4 WR | Minor | Zone read handoff | 9 | Moosman, Butler | Schilling |
| 1-10 | Shotgun split slot right | Minor | Zone read handoff | -4 | - | McGuffie |
1st and 10: Throw this play out, please. Or at least add a wrinkle to it. Nobody whiffs here, it's just Crum has it read from the get go, since well...there's nothing else Michigan has done when Carlos Brown has lined up at QB. I would really prefer this not become the "Hart zone left" of the new era.
1st and 10: Ehhh. I might be overly critical again here. Schilling gets beaten, but Minor bounces off the tackle. Whatever, -1 anyway. Meanwhile, Moosman's guy seems to just lose his footing and fall, but I give Moosman the benefit of the doubt. And another (!!) solid downfield block by Butler.
1st and 10: McGuffie might be deserving of a -2 here, because he gets owned, but really this is just a perfect blitz by David Bruton right into the backfield. You'd be hard pressed to find any running back that can adaquately pick up a safety blitz where the safety is in a full heat seeking missile sprint at the snap. This is a case of Michigan's "QB clap and then snap" technique getting exploited. Bruton has this timed to a nanosecond, and this play is immediately doomed.
| Down | Formation | Runner | Play | Yards | Yay | Nay |
| 1-10 | Shotgun split slot right | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 29 | Grady, Mathews, Dorrestein, McAvoy, Molk | - |
| 2-19 | Shotgun split slot left | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 10 | Schilling | Grady, Babb |
| 1-G | Shotgun split twins left | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 1 | - | Molk |
1st and 10: Go back and watch this play if you can. Grady straight up demolishes Terrail Lambert on a corner blitz. Totally clobbers him. Elsewhere, solid, driving blocks from the linemen mentioned in the chart, and a great downfield block by Mathews too. McGuffie tiptoes his way for the final 10-12 yards. Great play.
2nd and 19: Sort of weird to have a play that gained 10 yards be in the red. Well, ND blitzes from the side Michigan runs away from here, so there's a lot of space. Schilling gets away with a hold, which springs McGuffie. Grady is the fullback leading the way here, but he doesn't block one guy (who McGuffie sheds) and is indecisive on another, who contributes to the tackle. The main tackler is Raeshon McNeil, who was unsuccessfully cut block by Zion Babb.
1st and goal: This is a bizarre play. No one gets obscenely beaten here, but there's really no push either. McGuffie cuts up the middle on a zone left-ish play, but there's just no running room. Molk loses his man, who makes the tackle, but honestly this wasn't going anywhere regardless. I think ND saw run all the way here.
| Down | Formation | Runner | Play | Yards | Yay | Nay |
| 2-2 | Shotgun split slot right | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 5 | Grady, Dorrestein | McAvoy |
| 1-10 | Shotgun split slot right | Grady | Triple option | 1 | - | Schilling |
| 1-10 | Shotgun split slot left | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | -1 | - | Moosman |
| 1-G | Shotgun split slot left | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 1 | Grady | Dorrestein |
| 2-G | Shotgun split slot right | Grady | Triple option | 7 - TD | McAvoy | - |
2nd and 2: Another excellent corner blitz pickup by Grady, and a good Dorrestein block helps McGuffie get the first down. This play is nearly blown up because McAvoy gets...well, blown up. Completely bulldozed to the ground. Yikes.
1st and 10: I'm 99% sure this is a triple option, as McGuffie, to the left of Threet, swings around to his right at the snap. The linebacker is crashing in, so Threet gives it to Grady, but I'm pretty sure he had the choice to pull it out and run an option with McGuffie. Anyway, ND just has more men here than Michigan can block. Schilling's man fights him off and tackles with the help of another knifing linebacker from the opposite side.
1st and 10: Moosman is beaten by Brian Smith, who yanks McGuffie down by the facemask, which is inexplicably not called by the official roughly five yards away. Instead, the ref off camera in the Irish secondary has to throw the flag. WTF?
1st and goal: Grady again mashes a blitzer, this time a safety. This saves the play from being blown up, but it's stretched to the outside, and Dorrestein has failed to hold his block, who gets free and chases McGuffie down.
2nd and goal: Another triple option, as McGuffie shifts to Threet's left at the snap while Threet executes the zone read with Grady. Both safeties are blitzing off the edges, so handing it off inside to Grady is a no brainer. The linebackers hesitate when they see McGuffie shoot into option mode, and this, along with a great seal block by McAvoy, allows Grady to easily get a head of steam, and he drags Brian Smith into the endzone. This is why Grady was a five star recruit. The fact that this is such a memorable play is why he has been a bust so far.
| Down | Formation | Runner | Play | Yards | Yay | Nay |
| 1-10 | Shotgun split slot right | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 10 | Dorrestein, Molk, Moosman | - |
| 1-10 | Shotgun split slot right | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 0 | - | McAvoy, Schilling |
1st and 10: Grady tries to bait me into giving him a +1, but closer analysis reveals that he is just cherry picking on this block. Dorrestein has already got it. Sneaky. Molk and Moosman also team up to help McGuffie, although the last five or so yards of this is all White Lightning.
1st and 10: McAvoy is beaten, which forces McGuffie inside. Schilling is also beaten, which results in a tackle. Arrrrgh.
| Down | Formation | Runner | Play | Yards | Yay | Nay |
| 1-10 | Shotgun split slot left | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 3 | Schilling | Moosman |
| 2-7 | Shotgun 3 WR | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 17 | Dorrestein | - |
| 1-10 | Shotgun 3 WR | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 6 | McAvoy, Molk | - |
| 2-4 | Shotgun split slot right | Grady | Zone read handoff | -2 | - | Molk (-2) |
1st and 10: I'm generous on Schilling here. He ends up losing his man, but holds (literally) him up long enough so McGuffie can evade him. Moosman though, gets totally spun around by Justin Brown, who makes the tackle quickly.
2nd and 7: Dorrestein is the only one to get a point here, because of this damage was self inflicted by Notre Dame. Bruton and Smith blitz with complete disregard, and get scorched when Threet doesn't pull it out. This baffles me. Why not crash down on the running back? McGuffie has wide open spaces to run in the instant he has it in his hands, as the blitzers have run themselves completely out of the play.
1st and 10: A rare inside run by McGuffie, and McAvoy and Molk do a decent job opening a hole for him to slip through.
2nd and 4: Molk is beaten pretty badly here, and the play is predictably blown up in the backfield.
| Down | Formation | Runner | Play | Yards | Yay | Nay |
| 1-10 | Shotgun split slot right | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | -1 | - | McAvoy, Molk |
| 1-10 | Shotgun 3 WR | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 13 | McAvoy, Molk, Moosman | - |
| 1-10 | Shotgun split slot left | Shaw | Zone read handoff | 3 | - | McAvoy |
| 2-7 | Shotgun split slot left | Shaw | Zone read handoff | 2 | Schilling | Grady |
| 1-G | Shotgun split slot left | McGuffie | Zone read handoff | 1 | Schilling, Molk | - |
| 2-G | Shotgun split slot left | Grady | DAMMIT | 1 | - | - |
1st and 10: McAvoy and Molk seem indecisive here, like they can't decide who's supposed to block the tackle. Neither of them do solidly, and the play, which was already being stretched out, dies. RIP, play.
1st and 10: Another one right up the middle. The interior of the line creates a great hole, and McGuffie is into the secondary. He is then nearly snapped into pieces, as the man Butler is blocking tackles him from behind by the leg. Butler's on him, and from first glance, it looks horrifying. Surely McGuffie's leg has been broken, or his knee has torn!...Luckily, McGuffie's leg has already been ripped off and eaten by Barwis, who provided him with a new one made of some space age alloy immune to destruction. He comes out as a precaution, but returns one play later.
1st and 10: McAvoy can't keep Kuntz in his place, and the ND DT makes the tackle down the line. If McAvoy keeps Kuntz, it's Shaw against a safety.
2nd and 7: I'm just being mean now. Steve Quinn makes a great play here, shooting through into the backfield as Shaw stretches to the outside. Grady makes a lunge for him, but misses, and Quinn gets enough of Shaw to slow him down so Kerry Neal and Kyle McCarthy can make the tackle. If Shaw had gotten away (or if Quinn had been picked up by someone), he had a nice block from Schilling to run behind.
1st and goal: This is nicely blocked by Schilling and Molk to the outside, but the Irish just have too many in the box now. Moosman might have been able to get on McCarthy, but I'm not going to penalize a guard for not being quick enough to get to a safety.
2nd and goal: All throughout this drive, I was chanting "Hang onto the ball! Hang onto the ball!" at Michigan's running backs, as the rain at this point was reaching biblical proportions. I could make a case that Grady's forward progress had been stopped, but whatever. Things like this always happen to Michigan in South Bend. Shit.
That's enough of this play charting crap, I hated watching this game over and I stopped after Grady's fumble because fuck this the game WAS over when we didn't score there.
Chart:
| Yay | Nay | Total | |
| Dorrestein | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| McAvoy | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Molk | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| Moosman | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Schilling | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| Butler | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Grady | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Mathews | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| McGuffie | *4 | 1 | 3 |
| Babb | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| TOTAL | 41 | 26 | +15 |
Thoughts:
- No, you're not crazy. McGuffie's name only appears once in the actual charts, a -1 for getting mashed on a blitz. But he was Michigan's best player in this game, period. He gets a +4 for keeping Michigan afloat after falling behind by three touchdowns midway through the first goddamn quarter.
- As such, the rest of the run blocking looks good. How much does this really mean though? It's still Notre Dame, and although they may not be the retched, oozing pile of suck that they were last year, through three games their defense has looked penetrable. I highly doubt we will see a +15 against Wisconsin.
- Nevertheless, the entire offense, despite the turnovers, took steps forward in this game. The QB controversy is over, and McGuffie is a baller. And I'm not going to fault Grady for the fumble. You can practice with a wet ball all you want, you aren't going to simulate carrying the ball in a monsoon with 11 defenders trying to rip it out.
- I will be very, very surprised if Michigan beats Wisconsin. Just saying it how I think it is. I envision the horror of Wisconsin running the ball ten times in a row, and then calling playaction and finding Travis Beckum wide open 25 yard downfield because Steve Brown has literally exploded selling out on the fake. Oh, the horror...
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