A few weeks ago, I posted a thread going over a ton of Michigan stuff. Unfortunately, I think it was too big and it cut off the end and also ruined the comment section. So this will be a much more condensed version. If anyone has questions or wants more, we can use the comment section to dive deeper. 

Jeremiah Smith will play, and he will play in the Slot position a lot

Ohio State has routinely NOT moved their best WR around in years past, to create mismatches. It makes sense considering how good the entire corp is. However, we have seen Jeremiah move around in recent weeks. And interestingly enough, it came after USC was able to create numerous mismatches with their slot WR. 

Why it can be effective: Michigan in the past few years, has ran a ton of QQH, and the Cover-4 side is generally to Smith's side of the field. This allows them to bracket Smith, and also allow the corner to play aggressive coverage, since he has help vertically. 

However, by putting Smith in the slot, you can create a mismatch. If Smith goes vertical, either the Nickel back will carry him vertically (mismatch) or the assignments will flip, and the outside CB will carry him. If this is what occurs, Smith instantly gets inside leverage, causing the safety to immediately have to vacate his area to cover this. This opens up the other side of the field. We actually saw this exact thing occur during the Penn State game. 

Once the assignment on Smith flips, watch the safety bail from the middle creating 2 one-on-ones to the other side. 

Tempo and Late Motions killed them versus USC

Say what you want about Lincoln Riley, he is still one of the brightest offensive minds in football. One area USC had a ton of success in, was using late-motions to set-up formations that didn't match the personnel. What that means is, USC played a TON of 12 personnel; however, they would often motion into 4 wide or even 5 wide sets out of this. This created a ton of confusion for Michigan's coverage, and set-up a ton of easy quick routes. 

Once USC got in these personnel groupings, they would often sequence plays out of tempo, to keep the personnel advantage on Michigan. On the very next play, USC hurries to the line, and Michigan is lost. Coverage bust and another big gain. 

Gap runs with RPO attached to weak side

One thing is very apparent about this Michigan team, their D-line is not nearly as potent as in years past. USC gashed them for over 200 yards on the ground, with the vast majority coming on gap schemes, most notably counter. However, USC threw in a little wrinkle. Part of what OSU has struggled with against Michigan, is containing the weakside DE or OLB from crashing down and catching the play from behind. USC countered this all game long, but attaching an RPO flat route to the weak-side. 

Simple isolation routes

USC time and time again would send 5 WR's on routes. Trusting their O-line to protect long enough for a short route to develop. Here, Michigan is in QQH, with Cover-2 to the bottom. This is a simple quick slant. The CB and OLB switch assignments due to the quick inside break and they get an easy 1-on-1. 

Summary:

• A ton of USC's success in this game came from passing the ball on 1st down. Michigan's defense is built around winning 1st down, and then dropping into soft zones on 2nd/3rd and long. Mixing in a ton of pass plays on early downs, did not allow michigan to win 1st down. 
• 12 personnel groupings spread wide generated easy quick passes. This forced Michigan to spread their defense wide, with slower defenders on the field (to account for the heavy set). USC was able to expose this as Michigan loves to match 12 personnel by putting an extra DT in the game and running a Double Eagle front. By motioning late, this caused the middle of the field to be wide open as 5 linemen were in the game. 
• Tempo, tempo, tempo. USC did a great job at getting Michigan into 5 man-fronts, and then running tempo out of it, to prevent subbing. 

How OSU will attack, in my opinion

• I think OSU will do a lot of what we saw from OSU with Max Klare being the X-factor. You will see OSU run 12 personnel from 4-wide sets, unless Michigan adjusts by not going into Double-Eagle. 
• Smith with play the slot a ton, and will be used as the weak-side RPO route. This is actually how OSU got their 1st touchdown against Oregon in the Rose Bowl. 
• Bo Jackson will have 6-7 catches for ~70 yards. Another area that I did not highlight above, is how bad Michigan has been limiting checkdown routes to 3 yards. They give up a ton of yards to the checkdown. 

Why I'm more confident than ever?

It starts with Sayin and his ability and willingness to hit the checkdown. As boring as this sounds, I really think the difference in this game comes from Sayin getting through his reads and finding Bo for 7-8 yards when all else is covered. This will force Michigan to be more aggressive, and set up a deep bomb to Smith out of the slot WR position. 

Go Bucks.