It was a shock to see, in Week 13, the Michigan football offense suddenly look as it has in the past, moving the ball well and with efficiency.
Yes, the Wolverines played a not-great Northwestern team, but there have been other commensurate teams played this year, from a defensive standpoint, and yet, Michigan struggled offensively.
Speaking with Jon Jansen on the Inside Michigan Football radio show, offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell shared a bit of what changed, noting that the Wolverines implemented a lot more quick game, RPOs, and ultimately put more stress on the defense.
“So it made them play more on their heels, and it really opened up the run game later in the game,” Campbell said. “But that was something that was a point of emphasis for me.
“You try to self-evaluate yourself every single day and every single game. There’s things you always want to get back and you want to get better at. But knowing to be more aggressive on first down — and that doesn’t mean just hucking the ball down the field — but having completion plays or extension of the run game with RPOs. There were more RPOs in that game than you’ve probably ever seen in the past three years with guys running those.
“So those were things that we evaluated in the bye week. And we felt that we were comfortable enough in that time that the guys could implement it, and they did a good job with that. So when you pass the ball on first down, you gain efficient yards, you’re in second-and-4, now you have the ammunition to go out there and execute.”
It’s not just that the quick game worked for the receivers and allowed Michigan to win more first downs by creating more manageable second and third downs, but it also allowed the offensive lineman to play more aggressively because they didn’t have to strain for nearly as long. Because of the change in philosophy, that made them that much more effective, not only in those plays, but also later in the game when the Wolverines were able to run the ball.
“Listen, like you said, it’s an extension of the run play,” Campbell said. “It’s not a taxing long block in the pass game. When you start getting these long lines in the pass game, that’s difficult for any offensive lineman, no matter at what level you’re at or how good you are. So for us, getting the ball out of our hands fast, getting it to your playmakers, five yards, and then if you get eight, nine — it’s great.
“So we talk about when we get the ball, whether it’s on the key screen that — I think it was (Tyler Morris) on the second play of the game or third play of the game on the first down — you get four, guarantee me four, then go get the rest. So that’s huge for those guys, but also the offensive linemen — they’re not long, sustainable blocks. And obviously they did a good job and only went up to one sack, which was on third down, and the pressures were way limited in that game.”
While that’s all good and well against Northwestern, the offense will have a much taller challenge on Saturday when they face the vaunted Ohio State defense in Columbus.