ANN TREE, me. – Earlier this week, Washington defender Jackson Sirmon proclaimed, “We will stop the race. They want to run the ball and we will stop the race. We’re excited to do it, they have some talented guys directing the ball. It’s one of those things that a guy, a guy will get on the attack and everyone will go for it. We have to limit the yards after the contact ”.
Yes, about that.
Not only did Washington not stop the race, but Michigan ran the ball over and over again with impunity, so much so that fans of The Big House began to get frustrated by the offense’s tendency to keep things on the ground. But in the end, it seemed to be appreciated by many, as the Huskies couldn’t help it. Corn and Blue accumulated 343 yards and four touchdowns hitting the rock.
After the game, Jim Harbaugh gave some answers about why Michigan ran the ball 52 times while only trying 15 passes. While he spoke at length on the subject, the ultimate answer was: because Washington could not stop him.
“When that kind of production is generated on the first download, the first production of games down was good,” Harbaugh said. “When we were second and 6, that was weird. Most of the time, it was second and 5, second and 4. Then I saw it. They had a hard time tackling these runners: Hassan and Blake. They are hard to deal with! We only wanted to go back to the well when that was the case. I have to make your opponent stop what you are doing.
The thought that Josh (Gattis, offensive coordinator) did a good job of keeping up with that, and even then, attacking gap C really became ‘going to gap C.’ I mean, it they made adjustments.Not only were we performing the same work.But as we adjusted, they adjusted.We were right there with them.And the offensive line did a great job blocking the movement, blocking the adjustments.But Josh and Sherrone, they were both really there from the point of view of hitting them and hitting them over there, come back, make them stop what you’re doing right: just fast ball, curve inside the running game. , very productive. We had no turnover. Good stuff. “
The offense went from frustrating to one to appreciated in the early second half, when Michigan’s first possession came out of the goal, threw the ball eight times in a row for 73 yards and the touchdown that would officially put the game out of reach.
While Harbaugh gave credit to their backs for what they were able to do, there were obviously many things he liked about those who blocked them along the way.
“Yeah, the line really did a great job,” Harbaugh said. “Viously, obviously, he runs for 343 yards, that will be the case. But it was even more than that. Washington continued to change their defense from four to three down, with strong SAM blitz, corner blitz and double corner blitz protection. They did everything they could. But it was just hard for them to face their backs. Hassan, Blake and the way our offensive line was, when they started to increase the edge pressure, there were some real folds between the attacks. Our boys hit them. Blake hit the big long. Both backs: Hassan was 150 and some changed and Blake was 170 or 180, even. Very impressive. Very impressive.
“I think guys like those veteran players (Stueber, Hayes, Vastardis and then Keegan) played really well. And Zak Zinter, even with the club, didn’t know it. I did a heckuva job.
“And the tight ends can’t be left out. There were so many adjustments as we saw so many different defenses throughout the match. They were making a gesture. Things were moving fast and they were adjusting. I thought the tight ends played exceptionally well. I thought Erick All had some fantastic blogs and Cade did a heckuva job managing it all. He did a great job pulling off the second half, at the end of the fourth quarter. All really strong, very strong, strong. I could say that about attack, defense and special teams. “
So, was this within the game plan for Michigan to function with impunity? To some extent, yes.
While it didn’t seem likely that the Wolverines intended to run 52 times against Washington, Harbaugh knew the reverse would not happen, where Michigan would pass the ball constantly. And it worked in the best way possible.
“Entering the game, we will not win by throwing the ball out of the numbers. These corners are really good. We would go much better running the ball 52 times than throwing it 52 times. And our guys are good, they came with the plays when they had to. And they didn’t stop the running game. We knew they had a good defense: we watched the Montana game. His defense played very well. I told you we would support Hassan and Blake, they are so good too. We have good players in the passing game. We know our guys can catch the ball, run routes, we can throw it. But he was so good in the running game that I thought it would be good to take him ”.