Grading the Bucks: Week 13--That Team up North

Where has that been all year?...

Current Mood

Offense: A
An absolute massacre of one of the top (statistical) defenses in the country.  JT hit some nice throws but more importantly ran well, Thomas and Marshall played fantastically (what a TD by Marshall), and Zeke...wow.  The O-line looked to atone in a big way against the Wolverines and delivered.  This game only begged the question...Why? Why lay an egg vs. MSU? Yes, the D-line for MSU is appreciably better than that of UM, but the night and day difference was astonishing.  The weather had to have hampered the downfield game vs the Spartans, but the run blocking/play calling was night and day.

Defense: A-
This is the game in which Mr. Bosa made a TOOOOOOONNNNN of money.  The D-line was relentless against Jake Rudock who was actual turning into a serviceable option under center.  The secondary has a hiccup here or there, but overall, they played well.  The only slight downgrade was for a bad game (primarily in the first half) by Darron Lee.  Missed tackles and being out of position is quite uncharacteristic, but it wasn't up to his usual standards.  Still very nitpicky because the defense really got after (and may have murdered) Rudock.

Special Teams: C
Let's be honest, the roughing the punter was somewhat of a gift.  We did have a punt blocked (when the game was over) and I believe UM downed some inside the ten.  Honestly, the only downgrade was for the blocked punt.  No kicks out of bounds :):):):) and no missed PATs.  I honestly don't remember the special teams at all other than those facts.  I'm happy with not remembering special teams...that usually means they did their job.

Coaches: A
Well hello there semblance of a gameplan! The coaches decided to bow to Zeke's will (or perhaps they like the matchup much better) and decided to carve up the overrated UM rush defense.  I love the commitment to dominating on the line of scrimmage as well as the intelligent use of JT in the run game (other than straight runs only).  I would have had a little more of a passing game, but there was no need.  Also, UM's defense thrives on good corner play so attacking the front seven was a nice strategy.  Imagine that...Attacking an opponents weakness--yes, I know the stats say that the Wolverines have a great run defense, but their performance against good running backs (Booker and Howard) was really subpar.  Defensively, the focus was getting Rudock on his a$$...Mission Accomplished.  Amazing what happens with a coherent goal/plan of attack with this talent.

Overall: A
Goal: Dismantle and embarrass an emboldened rival thinking they had returned to promise.  Check and mate.  This team showed what promise it had.  A weak like this only serves to accentuate the crap with the Spartans.  What could have been? We'll never know....but at least we killed Michigan.