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Scouting Michigan

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For those who watched the game tonight, tell me if this is what you saw:

  1. QB can’t throw into any type of tight coverage.
  2. Both lines look stout but not overly intimidating. Looks like they have problems with mobile QBs.
  3. Skill position players look pretty slow.
  4. Harbaugh doesn’t seem fully into NCAA football. Almost looks like Riley post 2009.

Michigan looked like a decent team but nothing special. Football changes week to week, and they’ll be at home for the Beavs, so a lot can change, but that performance has to give Beav fans hope. It doesn’t appear they’ll be facing vintage Michigan.

112 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t know I worry about the beavers passing game; Michigan seemed to cover the bubble screens will and our QBs seems as bad at the long ball as Michigan’s so… But the up tempo will get to that Michigan D line so at least the Beavers have that. But I’m a glass half empty type of guy so take what I say with a grain of salt.

  2. we will know after tomorrow night. If the Beavs look like a mess, all bets are off. The one good throw I saw Ruddock made he threw into double coverage and the TE made a great catch for a TD. Overall I was not impressed with Michigan. At all. There also is the old adage that teams make the most improvement between weeks 1 and 2.

  3. Looks basically like you say. They have one receiver they say runs a 10.3 that got over the top a few times, but the qb couldn’t hit him, not even close really.

    If we play like we should, I could definitly see us winning in the “big house”. Like you said tho a lot can change, and we haven’t even seen our team play under a new regime. So reserve judgement until Monday

    • Peppers is a stud, I believe he was the top recruit in the nation within the past couple years.

      Maybe got demoted late cause he didn’t go to Alabama but I’m pretty certain.

    • Yeah he was insanely good tackling in the open field several times, but most notably on that QB scramble with the game on the line. The guy did his part. He could be a major problem for everyone.

  4. Okay, maybe it’s just me, but when they showed the replay of Harbaugh after the missed Michigan FG attempt and said to read his lips… It looked like he said “Amateurs” (and some expletive as someone walked in front), not “I should’ve gone for it”

    Am I just going crazy?

  5. It’s so interesting watching Minnesota vs tcu. Looks like they gave up down 13 with 7+ minutes.

    Big 10 looks like a dinosaur league that’ll fit Riley and Banker well. I wouldn’t be surprised if he does well because it’s such a bad league overall.

    • No. N still has Banker as ‘d’ coordinator and langsdork on o. With time out in the pocket riles you know the three of them will each be responsible for at least one loss a piece by themselves.

      • Will the very special special teams coach offset one of those three losses or add another?

        Remember, wrong number of players on the field is, “only a 5 yd penalty”!!

  6. My fear is MI ditches this mediocre QB, and the backup is awesome and tees off on the Beavs. I’ve seen that script too many times and expect it at this point.

    • Utah D was able to tee off on Ruddock a couple times that I saw; combine that with the ints and he’ll rattle easy IF he starts next week and Beavs D plays like they should.
      The backup is a Jr, any info on him?

        • Not necessarily.

          Sitake is well respected in his field and I think a lot of people were surprised to see him end up here…

          (Shit, now that I think about it, Bike Smiley was/is well respected by his peers too. Although I wonder how much of that is his gee golly persona and the fact that every D1 coach knows he presents a cake walk.)

          I guess we won’t really know until this year unfolds if Sitake is overpaid. We know Whit is good on defense, and so is GA. How much they influence what happens on the defense is undetermined though. If the defense is awesome do we credit Sitake or GA?

          The thing I know for sure is Banker definitely was overpaid; if he were paid a dollar a year it would still be so.

  7. MARKETING RED ALERT

    Anyone see the Pac-12 filler promo this year for OSU? The “I’m Gary Andersen, head coach of the Oregon State Beavers, and you’re watching blah blah” (or something like that)

    Extreme close-up and bad set make it look like he’s talking through one of those glass panels in a jail visitors center. Good beaver gravy it’s horrible.

  8. Michigan’s back up is Shane Morris (guy who got the concussion last year, but Hoke left him in). He only has 2 career starts, and ain’t teeing off on shit

  9. Michigan:
    -#4 RB is a very tough runner. He never goes down from the first tackler or two. The Beavs will need to wrap up and bring some hats to the party.
    -DL #43 is a stud but is a bit jumpy (anticipates the snap at times). Hard counts, screen and draw will counter act that.
    -Ruddock overthrow several receivers but I’m betting he will improve. Believe it or not, he is a better QB than any of the guys we have. One of his INTs for sure was the receiver’s fault (not finishing). Point is, don’t get to overconfident here.
    -The 10.3 receiver has Paul Lucas type speed. One thing that Harbaugh was doing was showing a lot of power run game formations, mixed with one step hitches and then going hitch and go or the slot run a wheel route. As long as we contain the outside shoulder of the receiver on their quick throws, we will be just fine (but keeping safeties over he top is key (do your job).
    -The TE (Butt) is going to be a tough match up for us. look for Harbaugh to have Ruddock (or whomever plays) target him a lot more. He has great hands and body control. Like a big WR.
    -Their punter is very SLOW! I hope we bring pressure on their punt.

    Next week:
    We need to stay out of 3rd and long (no sacks and keep north/south in the run game from the backfield)and try to keep them in 3rd and long as much as possible. I think early in the game, if Collins is the guy playing QB, he can do some damage on Read Option. Much like they did to Devante Booker, I think they’re going to take away the guys they have film on (our RBs) and force our Freshman QB(s) to beat them with read option and in the passing game. If that’s the case, I think Collins can slash them early. Wilson actually has some wheels for his size (as we have seen in the past two seasons) and they let him go to try and neutralize Booker, but Collins is quicker and probably a tad faster than T Wilson. I also did not see Utah test Michigan’s edges very often. I hope we do test their edges with our fly sweep (stretch read option-whatever we’re calling it now). We definitely will probably have some issues trying to pound inside.

    I still think Michigan is a little like we are in terms of how they finished last season and what’s happening this season. They’re not going to be an elite team this season. I think they will keep games competitive (like us), they will win some close ones and lose some tough ones. I think; field position, who wins the turnover battle and special teams will be huge in this game. Weather might play a factor as well. If it’s wet, I think we will have some real troubles with exchanges and throws. It’s just a very big change (this offense) from a slower tempo and not as much action in the backfield from the last decade. One thing I do not like is the match-up of differences on offense. We have struggled with defending power run teams(mainly Stanford) and we have been defending Spread Option all camp with exception to prep week vs. Weber State, so our exposure in this new defense to Power run teams is very minimal. On the other hand, with exception to Utah, they (Michigan) haven’t been practicing much against a spread option offense, so that could be a wash. Point- This will be a winnable game.

    But “one game at a time”. We need to put the throttle down on Weber St.!

    Go Beavs!

    • Our scoreboard has too many Bi-Mart and Dairy Farmers of Oregon ads that would prevent the effectiveness of this approach. Funny, though. But guess is the PAC-12 would step in here and say that’s unsportsmanlike and creates an unfair distraction.

    • Sounds like “Dramatic Gopher” was a hit last night. Debut was in the Nebraska game two years ago and he makes random appearances in big or rivalry games. It is hilarious watching the opposing players point and start laughing. We have some really good, creative marketing and game day stuff.
      QB play, not so much.

        • No but we sell beer in the stadium……and

          Our AD and his top asst. have both been fired in the last three weeks for….
          A) Sexually harassing top level employees that work for the U president and a female beat reporter.
          Some juicy texts( think tongue) and actually groping.
          B) Sharing porno on his cellphone with others at our bowl game three years ago.

          What a couple of fuck ups. Try and top that! He is now referred to as the Golden Groper LOL.

          • My Benny flag attracted couple of Beaver fans to our tailgate and I had fun talking about the upcoming season, but the best was when our neighbor brought his guest over who grew up in Nebraska and is still a big Husker fan. He said “this guy knows everything about your new coach.” I gave him the good and the bad and he left with the comment of “i was afraid of this.”

  10. The topic of Isaac’s health came up in the chat, a careful reading of Gina’s piece this afternoon has not erased my concern.

    “…t in the last few months,” said OSU head football athletic trainer Ariko Iso. “It’s not the end by any means, but it’s close to the end of the journey and we can see the end of the tunnel.”

    Seumalo continues to drop the “pessimistically optimistic” catchphrase when describing his recovery from two foot surgeries, even though he’s expected to see his first game action in 20 months in Friday’s opener against Weber State.

    It might be the halfway point of the season before Seumalo and his family can finally drop the “pessimistically optimistic” catchphrase, before they’ll truly believe he’s healthy.

    http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2015/09/as_isaac_seumalo_nears_return.html#incart_river

    • Just caught a few highlights of Michigan. It did “look” like classic Michigan with a tall, white, pocket passer. The O-line was the big concern last year and it appears that they will have problems again.
      Good thing Beavs catch them early, but if we are one dimensional, it will be ugly. They are going to be plenty motivated after losing and it looks like they left two sure TD’s on the field. That team has some talent, so I don’t understand all the irrational confidence. We have a new coach with new systems and freshmen QB’s with no live snaps in a real game. That is usually a receipt for disaster for your first road game. Go Beavs.

  11. OT: I’m watching Colorado vs. Hawaii right now, and Colorado’s offensive line is one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Hawaii only rushed four, and it was like the line wasn’t even there.

        • Looked like some home cookin in there. Buffs strangely run out of time at the 7 yard line. Stupid play call on the previous play though. You HAVE to get out of bounds or throw it for the end zone. He should have thrown it away instead of dumping it to his safety valve out of the backfield. Hawaii is no great shakes either. This is year 3 of the Mike McIntyre regime in Boulder. Awful play clock management in this game at several times. Granted it’s just the first game but I’m starting to believe he’s not going to get it turned around in Boulder. Colorado just does not look good. Nothing fluid. Fits and starts with more fits than starts would define this game for them.

  12. I think Michigan will handle OSU fairly easily. Their lines were massive, and they had speed on the edges. The key for Utah seemed to be their rush D, which managed to bottle up a massive O line and beastly RB. That forced their QB to try and win the game. Utah’s pass rush was bad, but Rudock’s throwing was worse. Utah will miss Nate Orchard this year, I think. Also, Travis Wilson is far from a good passer, but was serviceable to mitigate the lack of run game. I don’t see OSU’s QBs being able to do the same. Additionally, location will be a big factor.

    For those wondering about the value of Sitake- that was the same quality D as Utah has had for years. Sitake was not the key. Actually, their new DC, John Pease is probably better, he’s just 150 years old with bad knees. But, I think Sitake will be perfectly fine under Andersen.

    • ‘Handled fairly easily’? I’ll reserve judgement until I see the beavs tonight.

      We still don’t know what we have at QB. Frankly since Riles never ran the ball, we don’t know what that will look like either.

      The biggest factor,I would agree, will be the spectacle of the big house on such a young team.

  13. Interesting, I thought Michigan looked pretty average on all fronts. I guess we will see how massive they are when Peko and Co. Line up. Our O line isn’t exactly small either

  14. I’m not going to have access to the P-12 Network tonight, is it ok or can someone post a “Ukranian Friends” link and I will save it. I know it’s on here somewhere, but I can’t find it right now.

    • Some folks have had luck with either StreamKing or Streams2watch but I haven’t. Can’t get past the popups and unwilling to download the crap they want to download onto my computer. Don’t see the game listed on either one of those websites.

      Whisky posted a video on Youtube about how to get around the downloads issue but Angry got his knickers in a knot and wouldn’t let Whiskey post the URL to his video. So there you have it.

      Good luck

        • Is there a way to delete the links themselves but leave the rest of the post so all the replies don’t end up in a monolith of posts at the end of this thread?

          Can M&S go back and do just that on an edit, leaving the reply itself?

        • My problems are I’m far enough away from the West Coast so the the local cable company doesn’t carry PAC-12 sports. AT&T U-verse isn’t available in my area, not sure that matters because I don’t know if they’d make PAC-12 available to us even if we did have it. And lastly, I’m a TV addict so I’ve had to cancel our cable subscription. I allow myself to watch a NetFlix video, usually a mystery, in the evenings and that’s it. But I would love to be able to watch the Beavs on my computer.

          As an outsider I think the PAC-12 is shooting themselves in the foot by controlling who can and who can’t watch sporting events. And because of that when it comes time to make a donation to the school I’ll probably say F-it, I’ll give my money to something like the Salvation Army instead.

      • I’m amazed people still can’t get the internet to work, even after I posted instructions 3 times now how to browse without ads, trackers, etc.

        For the 4th time:

        1. Download the firefox browser.

        2. Install “Better Privacy” Add-on

        3. Install “Adblock Plus” Add-on

        4. Install “Ghostery” add-on

        5. If you’re an advanced user, consider using Hostman to block ad-servers, but this will edit your host file, and you won’t be able to visit some sites without editing it. So don’t do it unless you know how to open your host file.

        6. Avira anti virus.

    • West Side? Sweet! I’ll be serving concessions on that side for a church there. Buy some overpriced hotdogs so we can fund mission trips! :D

    • “Some guys come in here and they’re loud, a lot more talking than they are listening and he’s the opposite,” Wright said. “He’s an excellent player, a great person, one of those young guys who gets it.’’

      Michael Conforto is the product of a good family and . . . of Pat Casey’s teaching.

  15. Idk. I watched the game late last night, and I didn’t see anything spectacular. But what realistic expectations were there for this game? It was Harbaugh’s first, and the score alone says they did decently against a tough team at their place. Wilson looked 10 times better than he did last year but still not good. If our QBs can manage that kind of game management, I guess I’m happy.

    Michigan looked good in straight line power and some speed on the outside. You can see the difference in what they’re trying to do now versus last year. Utah’s D line was just better on the night than their O line was. No idea how it translates to next week. But we know they’re going to keep beating their heads against the wall until the wall finally breaks. What scares me most is that means they will take shots over the top to loosen up the middle. And they were wide open against Utah. With reports that we still aren’t good at covering that ourselves, can we really expect them to overthrow everything again? That might be the easiest thing for a HC who is a former QB to teach a senior QB. Yay?

    Their D line looked pretty stout. They looked slow too, though. So catching them before Harbaugh gets them moving downhill is the best we can hope for there. That lack of speed also means the edges and bubble screens are going to work in our favor if our TE can get in the way of that one LB every now and then.

    Utah still gives that extra yank and/or push as the play ends, sometimes after. I never liked that kind of play and wonder if it comes to OSU with all the shared coaching. They had a late shove called against them that cost them a renewed drive and an eventual score for Michigan. There was a Wilson overthrow where the receiver grabbed the D back by the helmet and tried pulling it down while also shoving him in the ribs. There were various elbows and hand fights that continued away from the ball as the whistle blew but quickly stopped. It was silly looking, and I have to think Michigan’s players were more than annoyed by it. Are we going to “play” like that? It’s better than what we had, because it means our defenders will actually be near someone when a play ends. But it’s also a dangerous game for a program which has had a lot of hankies thrown at it over the last 15 years… more than almost every other program.

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