What Did We Learn? - Michigan

The Dude said:
It's not just the 7 sacks, which would be bad enough. Raiola was pressured 36 total times. I suspect that puts it high in the running for worst performance by any NU offensive line ever. Especially paired with the meager rushing numbers.

I think it's quite clear Raiola put up those exceptional numbers in spite of his offensive line allowing him to be harassed the entire game.

All that being said, I don't think we'll see many defensive fronts as talented as Michigan for the remainder of the season.
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75% completion and 10 ypc still means Nebraska was largely successful in its pass-heavy offense, and many of those sacks and pressures came after Raiola stood flat-footed and went through his progressions, then decided to scramble and refused to just throw the ball away. DR is semi-elusive, but more mobile QBs force defenses to play more cautious. The OL and DR both have room for improvement.

OL didn't do squat in the running game, but the 300+ yards of passing could have been enough to beat that talented Michigan defensive front if our own defense hadn't taken three plays off.
 
The Dude said:
I know it's early, but one thing I don't see mentioned is Nebraska is ranked #1 nationally (by a wide margin) in pass defense. Not just yards per game, but #1 per attempt and #1 per completion.
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So, what I don’t know is, is there more we can commit to for stopping the run….because our pass defense is so good? Are our CBs handling it well enough that we can move a safety closer to the line to help?
 
The Dude said:
I know it's early, but one thing I don't see mentioned is Nebraska is ranked #1 nationally (by a wide margin) in pass defense. Not just yards per game, but #1 per attempt and #1 per completion.
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Interpret that with caution. That might be better than average, but look at the condition and the QBs
 
The Dude said:
I'm trying to think of all the QBs we'll face who are better than Sorsby. Maiava. Who
He was fine, but Bryce Underwood couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. Michigan left at least one, probably two, TDs out there and all the stats that go with them. Sorry about the double quote. Not sure what happened or how to delete
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nic said:
Write up on Michigan switching to zone stretch blocking vs the stunts. The section called Stretching It is interesting. M's center had a really good game taking on multiple blocks on those long runs.

Neck Sharpies: Fitting the Funky Fit Defense | mgoblog

Last week Demo and I talked about the weird defense that Nebraska runs. Short-short version: the defense is a reconglomeration of three of the lineages of 1980s PSU (others are the Stunt 4-3, and Wink Martindale's Amoeba):The George O'Leary tiny guys defense, via DC John Butler via his mentor...
mgoblog.com mgoblog.com
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Good stuff. I wonder if any teams will scheme this moving forward. Did it work because of the talent level of UM? Can Butler counter that? Do we need more talent or better discipline? I did like he pointed out that we are sacrificing size for surprises. Unsure if that'll work in the B1G. Didn't work against UM (3 runs, 3 TD's 168 yards) and we did give up over 100 rushing yards to Cincy (approx 200) , Akron (approx 120) and HCU (approx 125). Granted Akron and HCU saw no starters in the 2nd half (or most of). I am wondering if we are using this scheme as we don't have big bodies (Ty and Nash) or if this is what Butler is "choosing" to run vs "having" to run.
 
Guy Chamberlin said:
75% completion and 10 ypc still means Nebraska was largely successful in its pass-heavy offense, and many of those sacks and pressures came after Raiola stood flat-footed and went through his progressions, then decided to scramble and refused to just throw the ball away. DR is semi-elusive, but more mobile QBs force defenses to play more cautious. The OL and DR both have room for improvement.

OL didn't do squat in the running game, but the 300+ yards of passing could have been enough to beat that talented Michigan defensive front if our own defense hadn't taken three plays off.
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I don't really buy that narrative with Michigan being in the backfield in ~3 seconds with a 4-man rush the entire game. DR might have room for improvement, but he also arguably played one of the best games a QB ever played at Nebraska, given the situation. The offensive line played one of the worst. So they have much more room for improvement.

After 20 years or so of seeing more mobile quarterbacks making defenses "play more cautious", I'm taking 73%, 308, 3 all day everyday, and in the first round on Sundays.
 
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Toe said:
Fun fact: as of this morning, Michigan is #106 in the country in passing. #1 QB recruit Bryce Underwood, ladies and gentlemen. Generational talent. 👏

We're at #5, btw.
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It might be better to look at individual ratings for the QBs. Michigan doesn't have very good receivers. Lots of drops.
Season PFF grade for DR is 77.1. Underwood is 73.4. For season QBR they are right next to each other. DR is 77.2. Underwood is 77.3 probably due to his legs.

www.espn.com

2025 College Football Season Leaders Total QBR | ESPN

Visit ESPN to view College Football Total QBR for the current and previous seasons
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Competition to date plays a role in these numbers too.
 
The Dude said:
After 20 years or so of seeing more mobile quarterbacks making defenses "play more cautious", I'm taking 73%, 308, 3 all day everyday, and in the first round on Sundays.
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Totally agree with this. The only thing we're really missing in this offense is a running back that's more physical and it would probably be crazy dangerous.

The field feels more open than it has in any offensive campaign we've ran since at least 2AM's freshman season, and probably even back before that one. And the 8ish-20ish yard plays seem to come pretty easily.

We're struggling with red zone scoring (again), but I think that's due more to needing a back that's a bit bigger & more physical.
 
Does anyone know if our #1 defense is getting reps against Lateef who is a more mobile QB...simply for the reason of preparing for other mobile QBs in the league? Lateef reminds me a bit of Marylands QB which will be a very tough road game.
 
Undone said:
Totally agree with this. The only thing we're really missing in this offense is a running back that's more physical and it would probably be crazy dangerous.

The field feels more open than it has in any offensive campaign we've ran since at least 2AM's freshman season, and probably even back before that one. And the 8ish-20ish yard plays seem to come pretty easily.

We're struggling with red zone scoring (again), but I think that's due more to needing a back that's a bit bigger & more physical.
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This week a local radio program was talking about the Chiefs running woes and the host had an interesting thought that could carry over to Nebraska.

Are the RPO blocking scheme not helping the oline in that they get used to firing off the line of scrimmage but can’t sustain that push because if DR keeps and throws the ball, the lineman would be ineligible downfield at times.
I honestly don’t know how much RPO NU does this year, but his thought made sense when it comes to the Chiefs because they are top 8 in oline surge but in the 20’s for yards per rush.
People more versed in Oline play than I am could chime in and see if this makes any sense at all.
 
Archy1221 said:
This week a local radio program was talking about the Chiefs running woes and the host had an interesting thought that could carry over to Nebraska.

Are the RPO blocking scheme not helping the oline in that they get used to firing off the line of scrimmage but can’t sustain that push because if DR keeps and throws the ball, the lineman would be ineligible downfield at times.
I honestly don’t know how much RPO NU does this year, but his thought made sense when it comes to the Chiefs because they are top 8 in oline surge but in the 20’s for yards per rush.
People more versed in Oline play than I am could chime in and see if this makes any sense at all.
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There can be something to the RPO affecting OL play.

I also think the way to improve run blocking is to run the ball.
 
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