I’ve already gone on at length about the brilliance of Mel Tucker’s game plan against Notre Dame. Ian Boyd breaks down three sack plays to illustrate the ways Tucker schemed to wreck havoc in the Irish backfield.
It wasn’t just the speed of Bellamy and Carter that was so devastating. Tucker did a masterful job of mixing looks and bringing blitzes from different places. Notre Dame had difficulty keeping up.
Then again,
sometimes it was just the speed of Bellamy and Carter that was so devastating.
Get The Picture 
That play never gets old does it?
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Nor the three plays after that. 🙂 And the good thing is, we didn’t have to practice the Victory formation on the sidelines to get it right.
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Watch the first kneel down by Fromm. Something didn’t seem just right and Kirby goes ballistic on him from the sideline.
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Speed kills especially against big, slow midwestern offensive linemen.
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To be fair…that was a shotgun snap AND a three step drop. Wimbush should have taken the snap and stepped up into the pocket instead of backing up. He would have had enough time to hit the RB who was running into no coverage underneath as a safety valve…at the very least.
Dan Mullen is a better coach. Fitzpatrick is a better QB. But I just think our D-Line and MLBs are really good.
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True but Bellamy and Carter were beating the tackles all night long, and as others have said, the tackles were preventing the ability to step up.
Excellent work by all … I’ll believe in MSU after this weekend against LSU. If LSU’s defense can stop them, we can, too.
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They were beating the tackles. The defense showed flashes of the Hawaii game in ’07 especially on that play.
As the Senator said Baby steps, peeps.
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looks like Zo is looking for the ball even before Davin makes the hit… beautiful.
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The most impressive play is the final sack of the game. I did not realize sitting in the stands that we only rushed 4 on that play. Carter absolutely dominated the LT on that play and he was rewarded with a massive sack. I will admit, I did not have high hope for #7 going into the season. We have all seen the potential over the course of his career with a play here or a play there, but he has never been able to string together a streak of dominant games. That appears to have changed. Good for him and even better for the team.
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Bellamy had the sack. Carter had the recovery.
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While Trent and the DTs didn’t get the stats, look at the double team he commands from the LG and C.
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I was thinking about that. Their push in the middle occupied the OL and kept Wimbush from stepping up and out of the rush of our edge rushers. Great work all along the defensive line.
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On both of the fumbles, Wimbush had plenty of pocket. I think you’re right…the pocket collapsed all night…and that’s probably why he was a little gun shy to step up. I was amazed by the rotation of DTs. There is some real depth there.
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I knew 7 was fast two years ago bs Arkansas. He had to pull up to keep from out running D Sanders on. Fumble recovery.
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Finally got around to watching part of the game on NBC and I don’t get all the complaints about the coverage. I thought Tirico and Flutie did a great job and NBC was very effusive in their coverage of Georgia, even featuring Georgia several times on the cuts into and out of commercials. I never watch NBC’s coverage of Notre Dame (why would I?) so I was pleasantly surprised.
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Man I just noticed that if we didn’t get that sack there, their RB sat back and then ran forward through the middle and would have had a huge gain as all our guys had dropped back to cover receivers. Excellent play!
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We brought pressure on many of those plays with just a straight rush, no stunting. I like the stunts where the OLB rolls inside as the DT pushes the edge. Running QBs get a false sense that the middle is opening…only to have it filled with a beastly OLB.
In Ian’s first video there appears to actually be two stunts on the play. The ‘star’ (Speed) rolls around the DT up the middle and the ILB (Smith) stunts to the outside edge while the OLB (Bellamy) pushes inside. The QB can’t run inside to avoid the outside rush if the pass is not there. Love that.
I remember back in VanGorder’s days, he would overload one side with a rush from the safety and LB. That works because the RB can’t pick up both but if your playing a dual threat QB, you best have that middle covered.
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Notre Dame. Home of linebackers with internet girlfriends who are actually male.
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Bellamy took McGlinchy’s lunch money all night. Literally. If he’s supposed to be a first round LT draft pick, Bellamy dropped him several notches (if not a round or so). That money will go straight to Bellamy next spring.
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