Let’s break down Michigan’s 3rd Quarter Flea Flicker versus Ohio State in their 42-27 victory.
Michigan has shown the flea flicker before this season and here is another variation.
PRE-SNAP
They line up strong right (tight end and twins) on the left hashmark #25 Hassan Haskins in the backfield to the right of Cade McNamara. #5 Mike Sainristil (the trailing twin to #14 Roman Wilson) goes in motion pre-snap.
Michigan is targeting #5 and #17 on the Ohio State defense.
POST SNAP
#25 Hassan Haskins takes the handoff, freezing the Ohio State secondary and then flips the ball back to Cade McNamara.
Check out the Michigan offensive line- #76 Ryan Hayes and #77 Trevor Keegan seal the middle while #68 Andrew Vastardis drops back to block the Ohio State defensive end. #65 Zak Zinter and #84 Joel Honigford take on Ohio defenders while #25 Hassan Haskins and #71 Andrew Steuber provide moral support.
Cade McNamara has all day to make the pass.
McNamara throws a pass Sainristil and Michigan executes another flea flicker play (3:37 of the below clip). #5 on the Ohio State mirrors Sainristil but gets turned around as he breaks downfield.
PLAY DIAGRAM — THE ACTION
McNamara slightly underthrows Sainristil or the play might have gone for a touchdown. But the impact on Ohio State can’t be overstated.
Phil Callihan and Clint Derringer discuss Michigan’s 42-27 victory over Ohio State and the state of the rivalry. With clips from Jim Harbaugh and Aidan Hutchinson.
Final Score: 42-27, Michigan by 15 over Ohio State SP+ Projection: OSU by 5.8 (+20.8) CD Projection: OSU by 3 (+18)
FIVE FACTORS
GAME 12 RECAP vs. Ohio State
What a day! It was a fitting cap to an outstanding regular season for these Michigan Wolverines. Michigan dominated on both sides of the ball on the way to a 42-27 statement victory over their greatest rival, the Ohio State Buckeyes. This is Jim Harbaugh’s first victory over the Buckeyes, and Ryan Day’s first loss to any team in the Big Ten.
Offensively, the best way to describe today is COMPLETE. As usual, the Wolverines were led by their senior running back Hassan Haskins. Haskins carried 28 times for 169 yards and a Michigan-record-tying 5 touchdowns. Blake Corum returned to action and also chipped in 87 yards and 14.5 yards per carry.
When the Wolverines wanted to throw the ball, they were also successful. Cade McNamara was 13-of-19 for 159 yards after shaking off an early interception. JJ McCarthy flashed all-world talent once again on a beautiful 31-yard connection with Roman Wilson along the right sideline. Josh Gattis brought the best game plan he’s ever put together, and the Wolverines executed to the tune of 42 points and a 72% Success Rate.
Most of the concern heading into the game was whether the Michigan defense could stand up to a historically great Ohio State offense. The feeling of what may be possible started to spread through the Big House at half time when the Buckeyes only had 13 points to show. CJ Stroud amassed 394 passing yards, and Jackson Smith-Njigba was a human highlight reel, but the Bucks could never catch the Wolverines on the score board in the 2nd half.
Aidan Hutchinson looked nearly unblockable again. His 3rd quarter sack gave him sole possession of the Michigan single season sack record, with at least two games yet to play this year. Josh Ross also stepped forward and made 2 or 3 huge stops on key short yardage situations. It was a fitting narrative that these leaders would stamp The Game with such heroic performances.
The return game was solid again, another common theme for this 2021 team. Michigan won the field position battle, if only slightly. Perhaps the biggest key was avoiding FG attempts in the red zone. Michigan had seven opportunities in scoring position, and scored 6 touchdowns without having to attempt a field goal.
Jim Harbaugh echoed Wolverine lore in his press conference, stating that the Michigan faithful will be celebrating deep into the night. He is 100% right. I pray the players and coaches can enjoy this as well. There is still work to be done, as Michigan looks for their first Big Ten Championship in 17 years next weekend. Onward!
Let’s break down the 47 yard touchdown pass from QB Cade McNamara to TE Erick All at the 3:40 mark of the 4th quarter.
TE Erick All describes the game winning TD.
It was a huge play for Michigan, coming back and taking the lead on the road at Penn State.
PRE-SNAP
Here is the pre-snap look at the line of scrimmage. It’s 2nd and 10 yards to go, early in 4th quater. Michigan has the three receivers to the wide side of the field– as I’ve mentioned before, this is one of my favorite formations used by Josh Gattis. It gives the offense many options and causes coverage problems, if the offensive line can hold their blocks long enough for the receivers to run their routes. Penn State has their defense spread defending the edges, almost daring Michigan to run inside.
Here’s another angle showing the match-ups, and the Nittany Lions have a problem. They have overloaded their defense keying on #25 Hassan Haskins. #12 Cade McNamara knows that #83 Erick All will have an opportunity for a huge play if the offense line can hold.
POST SNAP
As the play unfolds things go from bad to worse for Penn State. First, the Michigan offensive line holds, allowing all three receivers (#5 Mike Sainristil, #14 Roman Wilson, and #6 Cornelius Johnson) to run patterns to left side of the first, drawing their defenders with them.
Second, Penn State defender #4 who is mirroring #83 Erick All, runs into another defender giving All separation. #5 Sainstril has plenty of open field and even #12 McNamara could made a nice gain if he chose to run.
What happens next is when is everything goes right.
Not only was Michigan in great position we had two photographers covering the game and one was in perfect postion.
McNamara hits All as he crosses the formation, and Penn State defenders rush to pursue.
Photo by Dell Callihan/UMGoBlue.COM
#4 (who ran into another defender) attempting to shadow All had the best chance but he unable to catch him.
Photo by Dell Callihan/UMGoBlue.COM
#16 (playing deep safety) nearly forces All out of bound prior to end zone but he comes up short as well.
Photo by Dell Callihan/UMGoBlue.COM Photo by Dell Callihan/UMGoBlue.COM Photo by Dell Callihan/UMGoBlue.COM
PLAY DIAGRAM — THE ACTION
This play shows how the overloading the formation to the wide side causes problems for Penn State.
Michigan called a great play, but it relied on the offensive line holding their blocks, All running a precise pattern, and McNamara throwing a ball right where it needed to go– not to mention a little luck with Penn State defenders running into each other.
https://youtu.be/RV-evt0qi0s
Aidan Hutchinson shares his feeling for Cade McNamara
Not to be completely outdone, our other photographer got this great shot after the game.
Erick All, Josh Gattis, and Cade McNamara celebrating post game Photo by Ryan Callihan/UMGoBlue.COM
Looking Back is a Special Feature Highlighting Key Rivalry Games by Jeff Cummins
The fifth and final installment of this year’s series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State takes us to 2003. Just a year before, Ohio State had defeated Michigan in a tightly contested game, before a partisan Ohio State crowd that was exceptionally intense. The Wolverines fought hard that day, but things just didn’t go their way.
Twelve months later, the Wolverines were poised for a rematch, fully aware that the 2003 version of “The Game” would be the 100th playing of the rivalry. By the time the Buckeyes arrived in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines were ready for them.
Michigan leaders John Navarre and Chris Perry remembered the previous year vividly. Despite playing a very good game, the Wolverines were not able to make the necessary plays at the necessary times. That was not going to happen again.
From the opening kickoff, the Wolverines were in control of the 2003 game. Well, almost. Ohio State started well, gaining eight yards on its first two plays. On 3rd down and 2 yards to go, Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel threw to tight end Ben Hartsock, who was wrapped up immediately for no gain by Michigan safety Ernest Shazor, and the Buckeyes had to punt. The teams then traded a few possessions before Michigan took over at its own 11-yard line. Perry then gained a hard eight yards, zigging and zagging through the Ohio State defense, something he would do all day. A couple of plays later, Navarre and Perry connected on a screen pass for 11 yards, and suddenly the Wolverines were cooking. Near the end of the quarter, receiver Steve Breaston lined up under center and followed his right guard into the end zone on an option play to complete an 89-yard drive, giving the Wolverines a 7-0 lead that they would never relinquish.
Michigan extended its lead in the second quarter when Navarre connected with receiver Braylon Edwards, who broke a pair of tackles and went 64 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly, the game had established its identity: The Wolverines would lead with Perry on the ground, and when the Buckeyes committed too many players to stop Perry, Navarre would answer with a big pass play. A few minutes later, Navarre and Edwards connected again on a 23-yard scoring pass to give the Wolverines a 21-0 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Ohio State began to mount a comeback, and by the time Lydell Ross went over from two yards out in the fourth quarter, Michigan’s lead was down to just one touchdown. At that point, the Wolverines went back to basics, putting their faith in Perry and the offensive line. It was a wise decision, as Perry ran 15 yards for a touchdown to extend Michigan’s lead to 35-21, and the Wolverines were never threatened after that.
The victory gave Michigan the Big Ten championship. The Wolverines fell to USC in the Rose Bowl, but their performance in the regular season, with convincing victories over Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State, had firmly reestablished them as a national power.
Many thanks to ABC for the attached game broadcast. As always, we own nothing, and this blog post and video are intended strictly for the enjoyment of readers.
