What to watch for in the college football…

At first blush, it might seem like a cop-out to highlight a matchup of coaches in this game. But when the Wolverines have the football, offensive coordinator Josh Gattis will be matching wits with Georgia defensive coordinator — and incoming Oregon head coach — Dan Lanning.

Why does this matter? Because over the regular season Lanning guided the Bulldogs to one of the best defenses in recent memory. With a mix of “safe” and simulated pressure schemes, as well as the ability to stop the run and force teams to be one-dimensional, the Bulldogs led the nation in scoring defense this season by a wide margin.

(And now a second plug, this time for Diante Lee, whose work you also need to be reading).

For example, take this sack against Kentucky:

Prior to the snap the Bulldogs mug the interior with Nakobe Dean and Travon Walker. But before the play begins Walker drops off the line, and at the snap Dean also drops into coverage underneath. Instead it is linebacker Quay Walker who blitzes from the other side, and his pressure disrupts the pocket and creates the sack opportunity.

Of course the other thing the Bulldogs did so well this season was stop the run. Georgia allowed just 81.7 yards rushing per game, ranking third in the nation. Game script certainly played a huge role in that statistic, as the Bulldogs were able to get leads and force teams to put the ball in the air. But Georgia also allowed just 2.6 yards per carry, also placing them third in the nation.

Their late shifts, team speed and gap integrity are all critical to this effort. Take this play against Alabama in the SEC Championship game:

A few things to note about this play, which goes for a loss of two yards. First is the pre-snap shift from the Georgia defense, which is something they do often. That forces the offensive line to adjust their blocking calls late in the pre-snap phase of the play, which can lead to some missed assignments. Then there is the gap integrity, created by the slant and twist from the defense. Tramel Walthour, aligned in the B-gap between the right guard and right tackle, slants across the face of the guard into the A-gap between the center and the right guard. Linebacker Nolan Smith, aligned in a wide alignment outside of the wing tight end, slants into the B-gap. Then there is Dean, who loops to the outside from his off-ball alignment.

The slant from Walthour occupies the right guard for a moment, preventing him from getting into the B-gap. That allows Smith to get the early penetration and put a hit on the running back behind the line, setting things up for the cavalry for when they arrive.

The run defense matters in this semifinal because Gattis is at the helm of one of the nation’s top rushing offenses. This season the Wolverines averaged 5.32 yards per carry, ranking 12th in the FBS in that statistic. Their 39 rushing touchdowns ranked third in the nation, and Michigan’s 224.2 rushing yards per game — again, game scripts being a factor — ranked tenth in the nation.

The Wolverines rushing attack is led by the tandem of Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum. Haskins has rushed for 1,288 yards this season and 20 touchdowns, while Corum added another 939 yards and 11 touchdowns to the effort. Schematically, while Michigan relies on a lot of zone concepts in the run game you will also see some power designs, such as GY pull with a guard and a tight end getting in front of the ball carrier.

Here against Ohio State, you can see Corum ripping off a big run on a zone concept, attacking the edge of the Buckeyes defense before cutting upfield:

This next play illustrates that GY pull concept, with right guard Zak Zinter and tight end Luke Schoonmaker coming across the formation to lead the way for Haskins:

There are two more elements to consider when contemplating the Michigan rushing attack. First, their offensive line is the best in the nation, having secured the Joe Moore Award, given to the unit deemed the best in college football. So this is a stout group up front. Then there is the way that Jim Harbaugh and Gattis use their quarterbacks. While Cade McNamara is the starter, the Wolverines turn to freshman J.J. McCarthy at times, usually to get his athleticism involved in the game. On this play, you’ll see McCarthy in the game as the Wolverines run counter bash at the Michigan State defense:

Here, McCarthy meets Corum at the mesh point and reads the defense. He decides to pull the football and keep it around the left edge, where he picks up Zinter and right tackle Andrew Stueber who are pulling to that side. Just one more way the Wolverines can stress a run defense.

The battle of wits between these two coordinators, and whether the Bulldogs can stop the Michigan run game and force the Wolverines to be one-dimensional, will be critical in determining a winner Friday night.