Over 4 weeks to prepare....
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But — if South Carolina’s defensive players are to be believed — Michigan’s issues weren’t just in execution. They laid in preparation, as well.
When asked if there was a moment where the Gamecocks’ defense felt they had solved the Wolverines, cornerback JaMarcus King gave an affirmative answer. He felt that way after Michigan’s first two drives.
“They gave us everything,” King said. “After that, we knew we could stop everything.”
Why? King felt the Wolverines were playing to their tendencies — running a lot of the same routes over and over again.
“The choice route where the receiver runs a mesh and the tight end runs a dig,” King said. “So they ran that probably 85 percent of the time, and they ran a lot of stop routes on the back side.”
Given King’s answers, perhaps it should be no surprise that it was he who intercepted Peters on a third-and-goal from South Carolina’s five-yard line.
A mistake in judgement on Peters’ part, yes; the ball was clearly late. But what King saw on film had a lot to do with it.
Similar answers were provided by linebacker TJ Brunson and defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw.
Brunson knew from certain formations whether Michigan was going to run the ball and where the Wolverines would run it. He could also tell what to expect from personnel groupings. That allowed the defense to simply read their keys and “make plays, execute.”
“We got in the right calls in the right positions,” Brunson said, “and everyone executed for the most part.”
Similar to King, Kinlaw felt early on that his team held a clear advantage, even if the Gamecocks trailed by as much as 16 points in the second half.
“I knew from the first play that we were going to win that game,” Kinlaw said. “I could tell from a physical standpoint.”
Calling Michigan’s offense predictable, Kinlaw — similar to Brunson — had an idea of when the Wolverines would run the ball and when Peters would drop back to pass.
As the game went on, he noticed something else as well — a change in Michigan’s body language.
“When I see body language switch, heads moping,” Kinlaw said, “that makes me want to turn it up even more.”
And by that point, it was clear that Michigan’s continued mistakes on offense had pulled it into a downward spiral it would not escape.
“If you have a guy beat mentally, a lot of good things can happen for you,” Kinlaw said.
“Probably when all the turnovers started happening — that’s when I feel like we had them mentally beat.”
https://www.michigandaily.com/secti...matter-execution-south-carolina’s-preparation
....................
But — if South Carolina’s defensive players are to be believed — Michigan’s issues weren’t just in execution. They laid in preparation, as well.
When asked if there was a moment where the Gamecocks’ defense felt they had solved the Wolverines, cornerback JaMarcus King gave an affirmative answer. He felt that way after Michigan’s first two drives.
“They gave us everything,” King said. “After that, we knew we could stop everything.”
Why? King felt the Wolverines were playing to their tendencies — running a lot of the same routes over and over again.
“The choice route where the receiver runs a mesh and the tight end runs a dig,” King said. “So they ran that probably 85 percent of the time, and they ran a lot of stop routes on the back side.”
Given King’s answers, perhaps it should be no surprise that it was he who intercepted Peters on a third-and-goal from South Carolina’s five-yard line.
A mistake in judgement on Peters’ part, yes; the ball was clearly late. But what King saw on film had a lot to do with it.
Similar answers were provided by linebacker TJ Brunson and defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw.
Brunson knew from certain formations whether Michigan was going to run the ball and where the Wolverines would run it. He could also tell what to expect from personnel groupings. That allowed the defense to simply read their keys and “make plays, execute.”
“We got in the right calls in the right positions,” Brunson said, “and everyone executed for the most part.”
Similar to King, Kinlaw felt early on that his team held a clear advantage, even if the Gamecocks trailed by as much as 16 points in the second half.
“I knew from the first play that we were going to win that game,” Kinlaw said. “I could tell from a physical standpoint.”
Calling Michigan’s offense predictable, Kinlaw — similar to Brunson — had an idea of when the Wolverines would run the ball and when Peters would drop back to pass.
As the game went on, he noticed something else as well — a change in Michigan’s body language.
“When I see body language switch, heads moping,” Kinlaw said, “that makes me want to turn it up even more.”
And by that point, it was clear that Michigan’s continued mistakes on offense had pulled it into a downward spiral it would not escape.
“If you have a guy beat mentally, a lot of good things can happen for you,” Kinlaw said.
“Probably when all the turnovers started happening — that’s when I feel like we had them mentally beat.”
https://www.michigandaily.com/secti...matter-execution-south-carolina’s-preparation
