Matt Weiss Breaks Down Michigan's Offense vs. TCU's 3-3-5 Defense
Many talking heads have said that Michigan is too powerful for TCU. Michigan's Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line has a way of pushing opposing defenses around for four quarters and a lot of folks see that happening to TCU. Offensive coordinator Matt Weiss certainly knows what the O-line is capable of and definitely sees the big boys doing their thing.
"They play together. They're totally on the same page," Weiss said of the O-line. "That's one of the hardest things playing offensive line. You have to be able to handle anything the defense does. You have to all be on the same page. They're phenomenal at that, and that speaks to the guy over here, the best offensive line coach in the country (Sherrone Moore).
"And credit to the players. They have a good mentality. And our offense feeds that mentality. We're going to be a "run the ball first" kind of team and allow those guys to fire off and go down the hill and be physical. That's part of what Michigan football is and who they are. And those guys embrace that and everything that's built around what they do ask."
Michigan is going to go in and try exactly what Weiss is talking about — be physical and run the ball downhill. It's worked to the tune of 13-0, so why switch it now? TCU head coach Sonny Dykes knows it too. Last week he talked about slowing down the run game in order to put the game on JJ McCarthy's shoulders. Michigan fans are hoping that's his only approach because frankly, it just doesn't work. And Weiss knows that.
"Well, certainly every defensive coach wants to stop the run. That's fundamental to playing defense, and TCU has done a great job of that all year," Weiss explained." I'm sure they have a ton of confidence they'll be able to do it against us. But we've been a great team at adjusting all year. So if they come out and do something totally different, or if we have any issue, we'll adjust from there. We're confident that we'll be able to do that."
Especially considering that Dykes' teams play a Base 3-3-5. Michigan fans will remember Rich Rodriguez trying to play that in the Big Ten and getting stomped week in and week out. Now, it's Michigan doing the stomping with an old-school, smashmouth approach and no one seems to think TCU is going to do much about it.
"[The 3-3-5] poses its own unique set of challenges," Weiss said. "They have the third safety who not only is a factor down the field in the pass game, but when you run the ball, he shows up pretty quickly. In the end, our identity is not going to change. Certainly, our approach might change a little bit. We're going to find ways to do things we do well in a way that will be effective against TCU. But yeah, we're not going to have to change who we are to attack a 3-3-5 defense. Are we going to have a little bit of a different look? Sure."
Weiss summed up the whole matchup with his breakdown of how the 3-3-5 defense was born and it makes perfect sense.
"I mean, the defense kind of evolved to stop air raid offense in the Big 12, right?" he said. "You don't see them playing against people who look like us. So it's really hard to watch the tape and say, okay, this will definitely work, but this won't. At the same time, they have the same issue. They're not seeing us go against a 3-3-5 defense, so they don't really know what we're going to look like either."
This is why the "matchup" between Michigan and TCU has been talked about so much. It feels like Weiss and his partner in crime Sherrone Moore are supremely confident in their offense, and they should be. On paper, TCU is not ready to defend an offense like Michigan's, but that's why you play the games.
