Formation Notes News Today

Formation Notes: Bowl games tend to get a lot of looks because coaches use the extra time to install more of them. Georgia used a lot of multi-TE sets and varied formations with them to hunt good matchups. I stuck with numeric conventions to make it easier to follow, so for example this is Gun 13 Heavy (shotgun, 1 RB, 3 TEs, heavy formation). And here’s the next play with the same personnel, which we’ll call “Gun 13 Empty 5w.” I referred to this defensive setup as “4-4 Zero” because ...

Formation Notes: UGA plays with a “Jack”—a small DE that I counted as a LB even though he sets up on the line, like below. The offensive formation here is what we call “Fritz.” This from UGA is “Nickel Odd”—it’s like “Split” but with the DT at a perfect 0 technique. On Michigan’s side, Erick All’s split is what I’ve been calling “demi.” Substitution Notes: Once again trueblueintexas has us covered. McCarthy rotated in until McNamara went on tilt and JJ finished th...

Formation Notes: Michigan used this balanced formation that I called “Gun Wk Demis”, where the TE and H are both demi-flexed: Iowa had a Tite shift when they expected a counter run where they lined up in a 4-3 with the NT head up on the center. I called it “4-3 Odd” but it’s Tite vs 2TEs really. Iowa also had a quasi 3-3-5 passing downs package that defies conventional labeling, where they pull a DT and an ILB for two hybrid DE/OLBs, a “Rush DE” who’s 6-2/248 and a “Leo” who�...

Formation Notes: Michigan started in 6-1-4 personnel. They also used more split formations with both DTs in the A gaps and Hutchinson way out over the TE. Substitution Notes: I couldn’t keep up. The six-man line went Ojabo-Jenkins-Hinton-Smith-Welschof-Hutchinson. The interior got a ton of rotation, while Hutchinson and Ojabo got the majority of the snaps at OLB. Ross was ever-present while Colson and NHG split the WLB snaps about 60-40. Turner started over Green but Green got plenty of go; Tu...

Formation Notes: Nothing new in the annals of MGoCharting but there were a few that probably need refreshers. They use a Double-Eagle on passing downs (see last year’s UFR that I did over the summer). I’ll note it as Eagle then where the LBs are on the line, e.g. Eagle AAD. Michigan also brought back the Pistol Diamond formation we call Fritz. Hello again Fritz. MSU had a lot of formations with two semi-safeties at about 7 yards and then a deep middle one. Often (as in this case) one or both...

Formation Notes: Northwestern still goes back to the Superback (a TE lined up as a FB in the shotgun) so I called that Gun SB. Michigan’s formation is a Nickel Wide AA (two LBs in the A gaps). Nothing else that we haven’t seen before. Substitution Notes: Julius Welschof made the DT rotation, which kind of goes Hinton-Smith, Jenkins-Morris, Jeter-Welschof, Speight-George, but with Morris as a DT/OLB swingman. Ojabo again got the majority of OLB snaps, with Morris backing up Hutchinson for a f...

Formation Notes: Northwestern kept their safeties down all day so the “Hi” metric is doing more work than normal. I started giving safeties +0.5 in the box if they got within 8 yards within a second after the snap, and +1 in the box if they got closer than that. Michigan had a formation where the slot receiver and tight end switched spots. When they did this I denoted it with “Flip” then the position headers, so this is Gun YH Flip. Substitution Notes: Filiaga (RG) and Barnhart (LG) went...

Formation Notes: Double Eagle. This was called 245 Split and if I added a letter that’s the gap with a down LB. 245 Split A. And they also ran a 404 Tite front with a pinched DE, which I called 4-3 Tite. Continuing with my convention of naming their 11 personnel formations by the position of the H (slot) receiver—”Gun Wk” for in the slot weakside, etc.—when he lines up inside I’ll call out the gap. So this is Gun Str B (H receiver is in the B gap of the TE’s side). Substitution Not...

Formation Notes: Double Eagle. This was called 245 Split and if I added a letter that’s the gap with a down LB. 245 Split A. And they also ran a 404 Tite front with a pinched DE, which I called 4-3 Tite. Continuing with my convention of naming their 11 personnel formations by the position of the H (slot) receiver—”Gun Wk” for in the slot weakside, etc.—when he lines up inside I’ll call out the gap. So this is Gun Str B (H receiver is in the B gap of the TE’s side). Substitution Not...