Michigan hammered Rutgers, 52-0, and will now face Iowa with the season essentially on the line. Here’s what we picked up after film study.
First off … the body language was much better. With the caveat that it’s Rutgers, guys worked harder from the get-go to finish their blocks, there was a bounce in the step on both sides of the ball and — unlike at times during the Wisconsin game — guys generally played hard to the whistle.
A few things we noticed …
The offensive line was just okay, and certainly not good enough in the running game. There are times they are too slow off the ball, and it’s exacerbated by young tight ends being slow off the ball and some penetration on the interior. The cadence is such that the quarterback is giving the snap away too often, and junior center Cesar Ruiz is too often looking at the quarterback when he’s snapping.
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That’s okay for a long snapper, not for the center … and Ruiz was getting beaten with swims moves and slow to his blocks at times because of it.
They were better about holding their blocks this game, but it still wasn’t nearly good enough. Missed assignments, though, by the young tight ends were to blame for some of the worst looking plays. And Redshirt freshman right tackle Jalen Mayfield graded out well per PFF, but he is still too leaky in pass pro, and this was against weak competition. Senior quarterback Shea Patterson would have been killed before he hit a check-down to running back Hassan Haskins, for example, had it been a better pass rusher on the edge.
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