The Athletic: Michigan’s blueprint to containing Georgia’s offense

quote:

---

For Michigan’s offense, the task will be survival.

But for Michigan’s defense, the task in the College Football Playoff semifinal vs. Georgia … well, that’ll feel more familiar. Michigan can beat “good.” It has to survive “elite.” Let’s discuss.

The main event offensively for Georgia lives in the middle — specifically, the offensive line (and in this case, the tight ends). What really separated Georgia’s front during some of the more challenging SEC regular-season games was its ability to separate and punish as the clock wore on.

Georgia started chunking Auburn on the ground with its run game, which eventually opened up the play-action stuff over the top. This is, ultimately, Georgia’s recipe. Create chaos defensively, don’t make mistakes on offense, churn drives and wear people out by the end of the third quarter. In every game, save one, that worked.

Georgia’s patience with the run game happens because the line is usually good enough to pay it off in the end — especially inside. Georgia’s front looks similar to what you usually see from an Alabama offensive line: gigantic guards with great feet, a center who doesn’t make a lot of mistakes and tackles who can beat people up. It’s a tough, road-grading group that’s helped by some of the most physical tight ends you’ll see anywhere.

Darnell Washington is a 6-foot-7, 265-pound sophomore who has literally everything a football player needs to be good. It’s fair to wonder whether Georgia will cut him loose a bit.

Brock Bowers is one of the best two-way tight ends in the country. He’s a problem.

Michigan’s linebackers play hard and have cleaned up a ton of the little things that hurt them earlier in the year, but they haven’t seen anything like the tight end group Georgia’s about to throw at them. They’re a bear in the run game. They’re even worse to deal with in play action.

James Cook, a running back, is why it’s a bad idea to play man coverage across the board against Georgia — especially when the Bulldogs go wide. Adoni Mitchell is a 6-foot-4 freshman receiver who can flat-out move.

You see all this talent and ask yourself: Shouldn’t Georgia have one of the best pass offenses in the country and not the sixth-most productive unit in the SEC? Well … maybe. It doesn’t, though, and the quarterback situation is one reason why.

Michigan’s best path defensively is to borrow Alabama’s: Find ways to cloud the picture for the quarterback through coverage and blitz disguise/variance. The good news for the Wolverines here is that Mike Macdonald has already spent most of this year doing exactly that. Saban’s defenses also mix it up better than anybody in the country — not just because he and his staff are great at creating QB nightmares, but because their rosters are always the best-taught.

This, for Michigan, has to be the blueprint. Win situations. Find ways to clog windows in obvious throwing downs, especially in the red zone, and make whichever quarterback Georgia starts have to think about a lot more than he wants to. And when either Bennett or JT Daniels (both do this) offer up opportunities, Michigan has to pounce.

Which quarterback should Michigan prefer? It’s hard to say, though neither likely terrifies Macdonald to a point where he feels the need to completely alter his game plan in case one plays more than the other. The offense feels like it moves smoother with Bennett under center just because he’s more nimble with his feet. He’s not a great runner by any stretch, but he can move the pocket and at least throw on the run. His deep shots can be hit or miss. There are examples on film this season of Georgia receivers blowing defensive backs off the ball only to have to wait several seconds for a throw to catch up with them.

Daniels probably throws a better deep ball, but he hasn’t been consistent in limited action (he’s also been hurt plenty). Daniels is the slower player physically and, at times, I think he might be slower with his reads. Georgia’s pass game could be better in terms of shot efficiency with Daniels on the field, but he struggles with full-field reads. Bennett’s hardly an expert in that area, but he has more experience and at least some trust from the coaching staff.

Still, if Michigan continues to find ways to mix coverages and show no tendencies with pressure packages (and gets more destruction from the likes of Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo), then the Wolverines will have opportunities to make plays defensively and support the offense against that monster of a Georgia defense.

The only unsettled spot on the field for Kirby Smart and Georgia is at quarterback. That’s a problem. It’s a remarkable problem to have to overcome for the College Football Playoff.

If you’re Michigan (and Macdonald), you make sure it’s the biggest problem on Dec. 31 — and one the QB and Georgia will have to think about for a long time.

---