Michigan at Penn State, 11/21, Noon, ABC National

[Detroit Dan]

I'm somewhat surprised that Talent is giving up on his Buckeyes, while thinking JTB (whoever that is) is more than a decent fill in for Carsdale.

Brady is one inch taller than Rudock, and 17 pounds heavier; i.e. close enough that they could be the SAME PERSON.

[lineygoblue]

He's not giving up on his buckeyes, and he's never given up on his buckeyes. He's been a sandbagger since he arrived with this group, and he's sandbagging today. He'll be a sandbagger until they throw dirt on him, and even then he'll try to grab the dirt and toss it in a bag so he can sandbag some more.

He believes his team will win. Period.

Its too early to talk about the game anyway. There are still lots of things that could happen this weekend that could have an effect on that game.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Talent is a bigger sandbagger than anyone in the history of mankind.

That being said...Iowa 88 Nebraska 3

[lineygoblue]

STFU

[lineygoblue]

Er...hi Wiz...

[lineygoblue]

dang....wrong moniker

[WM Wolverine]

Iowa will cover?

[lineygoblue]

Correct.

[THE_WIZARD_]

liney...

...you had me at STFU...

[WM Wolverine]

Interesting game for Levert Hill and Quinn Nordin.

[WM Wolverine]

PSU is making a huge deal out of this game. It's the Lions huge recruiting weekend, biggest home game and to them, the most important game on their schedule.

[lineygoblue]

liney...

...you had me at STFU...

You've always been a pushover, big guy. :-)

[THE_WIZARD_]

False! Well...iffen you gimme a beer and some hot wings...I will STFU....

[lineygoblue]

You got it.

When I come to Lincoln for Michigan's next game there, the beer and wings are on me.

Well, actually, .. if we play our cards right, .. maybe we can stick Entropy with the tab....

[Jeff Buchanan]

This is an interesting table (link - because I can't get it to format). It is the rush yards per game given up by the PSU defense. The major point is that the PSU D either feasts or it gets handled. The variance is attributed to the lack of experience among the LB group. None of them are 4y starters.


Establishing a run game is going to be critical for Rudock. While he?s improved, dramatically it would seem, I?m still not convinced he can replicate his last two game performances against a decent defense. Pretty sure, Harbaugh has spent some time studying NW and osu game film when they played PSU.

I called Rudock the wild card v. IU. He plays well, M wins, he doesn?t, M loses. I think that is exactly how this game played out, especially in OT. While his performance is obviously important v. PSU, the biggest contributor to a win is going to be establishing a run game to take some pressure off Jake and make the play-action pass that much more effective.


I feel about as good about the success of the run game v. PSU as I did about Rudock being good against IU. IOW, I don?t feel good about M?s run game being effective. We all know the problems: the OL is inconsistent in executing plays and when they do a good job executing, none of the RBs can hit the holes. None of them run effectively on zone stretch plays. All of them are just too slow to beat the DEs or Ss that ultimately seal the edge resulting in negative yardage when these plays are called.

If there is anything positive out of the match-up between M?s run offense and PSUs run D, it is that Deveon Smith is a load if he gets to the second level. Not that he is going to break big plays. He?s not, but he has the capacity to easily move the chains and keep them moving.


Surprisingly, I like how M?s OL matches up on the interior with PSU. PSU?s NTs, Zettle and Johnson, are very good but I like the combo of Galsgow and Braden better when you?re talking about how Harbaugh runs the FB Dive or the Belly Play. Watch how this goes with both Houma and Smith early. It is going to be a key to how well M is going to run the ball and how the probability of win increases if they do.

http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2015...003.1407847924