WTKA Roundtable 11/21/2023: A Beaver With a Chainsaw

Things Discussed:

• Maryland Game: JJ looked very off, felt like a Lloyd Carr game with the playcalling.
• Pressure: Either Michigan got two guys free or zero.
• Very vanilla. Maryland moved the ball underneath two-deep with well-planned RPOs.
• Frightening thing was Wallace and Johnson getting beat, Wallace even when they had a cushion. Saw them go with McBurrows at nickel and Sainristil at corner because of it.
• Maryland run game is like OSU's: stretch and counter. Michigan mostly shut it down with their light boxes.
• Best defensive line ever? Deepest certainly.
• Barnhart vs Jones? Think Jones acquitted himself well, showed he can play. Might be closer at RT than we think.
• JJ vs Ohio State: is that the game? Brian/Craig think it's a defensive struggle. Seth/Sam thing JJ will go out and win it.
• Missed Harbaugh wrt McCarthy: former QB who normally chats with JJ after every drive. Saw them move away from JJ after his breakdowns at the end of the 1st half, want the ball in his hands.
• Ohio State: Don't give up big plays like last year. Defensive line is improved, starting DTs are good, secondary has improved especially Denzel Burke. JTT is still more tools than production but DO NOT TRY TO BLOCK HIM WITH A TIGHT END.
• Gonna say that again: DO NOT TRY TO BLOCK JTT WITH A TIGHT END.
• Offensively they really miss that superstar QB. Stroud was lethal against Michigan last year. Their Ts and C aren't as good—they give up pressure on stunts and twists. Running game gets explosives with Henderson and 2 extra yards than the blocking with Trayanum, but blocking doesn't give them much.
• McCord: Gonna be under more pressure, Michigan is going to zone him and confuse him. OSU got some bailouts the last 2 years from Stroud.
• Problem: even playing off Michigan's secondary is vulnerable. Marvin Harrison is the best of some great receivers to come through there. Teams that man up on them get burned crispy; Harrison is going to burn a lot of NFL cornerbacks too. Weird zones are going to get McCord struggling to find them.
• Both defenses in this game have an Ain't Played Nobody problem. Notre Dame was able to run the ball on Ohio State.