MGoBlog’s channel featuring the very professional, very visual, podcast with Brian Cook, Seth Fisher, David Nasternak, and Alex Drain, plus The Teams history podcast with Seth and Dr. Sap, The Michigan Hockeycast, the MGoBlog Roundtable on WTKA.
This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.
Thank you toUnderground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.
It comes down to Michigan being the type of team to go for it on 4th and 1 and Ohio State is the type of team to punt on 4th and 1. This game came down to blocking and tackling, not sign stealing. Ohio State is below the Ferentz line over the last three years (and are 74% of the way to Ryan Day's 100 points). Twitter has been so much quieter since Saturday. Is this the end of the line for Ryan Day? Should it be? Also who would you even hire next? Michigan's culture was built to beat Ohio State. This program brings out the mental fortitude of the players required to endure what the last six weeks has been.
2. Offense vs Ohio State
Starts at 36:19
Blake Corum's 22 yard run is what he came back to Michigan for, he ran duo and made Sonny Styles look silly. Trente Jones is blowing people off the line - so happy for him in this game. The Ohio State defense was as advertised, JTT is a monster of a run defender. Feels like they could've just used JJ instead of Alex Orji on the run plays out of the first half. Why didn't JJ run more? It didn't quite feel like the best game plan but it worked, also Ohio State's defense just played really well. Was the Roman Wilson touchdown throw the best throw we've ever seen a Michigan quarterback make? Playcalling on Michigan's last series wasn't great but otherwise it was great throughout the drive for draining seven minutes of clock. Cornelius Johnson didn't have the same explosive plays as last year but the catches he did have were arguably just as monumental. There's no question that Colston Loveland is going to catch the ball when the ball goes his way.
3. Hot Takes, Defense vs Ohio State
Starts at 1:18:31
Takes hotter than Ryan Day's seat. Michigan's defense did exactly what we expected, Marvin Harrison Jr said he's never been doubled like that before. Michigan did a good job containing TreVeyon Henderson, Chip Trayanum was more effective. The secondary got interesting after Will Johnson got hurt. Why was Jimmy Rolder out there? Marvin Harrison Jr made some insane catches, especially the downfield one where he was held. Ryan Day didn't want to run CJ Stroud and he doesn't want to run Kyle McCord. Surprising lack of frippery between both offenses. McCord played surprisingly well under pressure. Quinten Johnson's big hit made the Big House as loud as we've ever heard. Michigan's rotation of players all season paid off in this one.
4. Game Theory, and Special Teams
Starts at 2:08:44
Let's compare Ryan Day to James Franklin! Discussing all of Ohio State's punting situations. What about Michigan's, should they have gone for it on the final 4th and 4? Maybe it's better to let Colston Loveland win it for you than to have to defend Marvin Harrison Jr without Will Johnson. Ryan Day on 4th and 1 - WHAT ARE YOU DOING? A monster game from Tommy Doman. There were far fewer Ohio State fans in the stadium this year. Shout out to the giant Mike Sainristil head in the field rush. Roman Wilson's touchdown was absolutely a touchdown. Stadium replay - DON'T SHOW THE REPLAY IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SHOW THE BALL. WE WERE EMOTIONALLY DISTRAUGHT. Also it was an incompletion, not a fumble.
5. Around the Big Ten with Jamie Mac
Starts at 2:45:53
Iowa - 13 Nebraska - 10
The most Iowa win ever? They hit the game winning field goal with someone who has not kicked all year. The last ten minutes of this game was incredible. The Big Ten Championship Game should be about the same as two years ago.
Northwestern - 45 Illinois - 43
In regulation! Northwestern amazingly finishes the regular season 7-5. Bert was angry at the end.
Purdue - 35 Indiana - 31
Indiana head coach Tom Allen is fired after this game (and gets a $20 million buyout). Who does Indiana hire?
Maryland - 42 Rutgers - 24
Maryland won this in the first quarter. Tagovailoa threw some dimes and that's all she wrote. Rutgers cannot play from behind. Taulia now leads the Big Ten in all time passing yards.
Let's talk football! Ohio State's offense has taken a step back from nuclear, but they can explode with a couple of 1st round receivers, including the first WR off the board in April, and Treyveon Henderson, who can turn a missed tackle into a 57-yard touchdown at a moment's notice. Stover has been a much bigger part of their passing game, but Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka are the stars there—Julian Fleming is another super blue chip who hasn't met his profile, and Xavier is Their center is Not Good so if Michigan can get them in long downs they should be able to get pressure up the middle and dominate the interior. They want to run Stretch and Counter; Michigan has the players to limit their gap runs but their zone runs are going to be difficult to stop with those light fronts. We'll see some interesting blitzes to try to win more of those back.
2. Ohio State Preview: Defense
starts at 28:18
They've been much improved, and ain't played nobody (just like us). Notre Dame was able to push around their front, which doesn't have a 300-pound DT and might not have their most explosive backfield transgressor available. Their DEs have improved from last year but are not the top-3 overall hellbeasts they were projected to be as recruits—more like heavies who are difficult to dislodge: JTT = Mike Morris. Do not block with Tight Ends. Their LBs haven't been great, Seth thinks they will blitz a lot (like 2018) though they haven't much this year because that's a better use for them than having them sit back and read. Secondary is much improved despite losing Lathan Ransom for the season; Sonny Styles plays the Tight End-locked "Bandit" role in his stead while Jordan Hancock is an excellent "Nickel Safety" (Sainristil role) and Josh Proctor is back as a 6th year guy to be a solid free safety. They are not blitzing those safeties as much, preferring to sit back and prevent big plays, which they are EXCELLENT at. But Michigan might be able to go back to the 2021 approach.
3. Basketball in the Bahamas
starts at 1 hour precisely.
A loss to Memphis and a win vs Stanford set up tonight's battle for 5th place (really tied for 3rd but the order of your losses matters) with Texas Tech. Surprised to find this team can score in buckets but can't play defense. They can't have Reed out there in the last 2 minutes because he can't hit a free throw, and then they get off-balance if Nkamhoua has to take a breather. Tray Jackson has not been good thus far. Can't autobench Dug—he only gets 2 fouls per 40 and the offense can't operate without him. They need another point and they need a wing, and that's on admissions because they had transfers who wanted to come both years.
4. Maryland After Review
starts at 1:10:36
Defensively it was the same game we've been playing every week, where the opponent has some stuff prepared (in this case it was the old RPO that Locksley and Gattis ran at Bama) and Michigan is practicing their base defense for Ohio State. The defensive line could be the best in program history, with Mason Graham playing like an All-American and Kenneth Grant turning into a monster, but that takes weird extrapolation because they're only on the field for 50% of the snaps. Secondary played like butt against the first good passing offense they faced, which is not a good sign for this weekend. Johnson got beat twice, Wallace looked like he needed to be pulled, and it's a bit late to be falling back on Sainristil outside and McBurrows in the slot, but that's the answer if Wallace can't stay with Egbuka. Bad day for the safeties—do not like Rod Moore missing tackles given what's coming up. Offensive, it was a terrible game for JJ, who wasn't seeing downfield shots that were drawn up for him. We play whack-a-take with the excuses and some are good: JJ didn't practice as much this week after being injured, he lost Roman Wilson who's the guy he'd normally be going to in those situations, and Maryland surprised him with some shifts after the snap. Can't blame the wind. Really didn't like the gameplan: you run 13 times then put out a passing offense to pass—there's no subterfuge there! Why can't this team run play-action when they are great at play-action? WHY? There's no answer.
This year we are partnering with The Blind Pig for bumper music, since that's where I've seen most of the bands I've been pushing anyways.
And now that we're at Ohio State week I have a reveal for you all: The man choosing the music all this time has been Nadim Azzam, who in addition to helping out the Pig is a rising star in the Detroit-Ann Arbor music scene himself. The Ann Arbor-based singer, rapper, and songwriter is soulful, witty, and technical, kind of like a blog you know. Azzam's new album Dreams For The Future is out now!
This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.
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.
Thank you toUnderground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.
The annual "play like butt before the Ohio State game" game! JJ is banged up, how much did that effect him? Michigan turtled in this game after taking a convincing lead. The sun was brutal, looked like it made things difficult for receivers. Michigan's calls have been a bit predictable and they're not weaponizing play action as well as they could. The guards had a great game, the tackle situation just got more interesting.
2. Defense vs Maryland
Starts at 33:30
This game was the full Taulia Tagovailoa experience - he does a few amazing things and then a couple terrible things. Ohio State's run offense isn't going to be much better than Maryland's. How much will Kyle McCord run against Michigan? Michigan rotated a lot this game but it feels like a lot of these guys deserved playing time. Would you rather go up against Taulia Tagovailoa or Kyle McCord next week?
3. Hot Takes, Game Theory, and Special Teams
Starts at 1:02:15
Takes hotter than a Michigan fan watching a competitive game for the first time this year. It doesn't actually feel like the refs are out to get Michigan. The intentional grounding in the endzone never gets called so it was surprising. The two targeting no-calls felt right, the contact was not intentionally forceable on either. Tommy Doman earned 2 points on his punt that landed on the one. 31 points is too normal in a game where you scored two safeties. The wind must have been a factor on 4th down decision making for them not to kick field goals.
4. Around the Big Ten with NOT Jamie Mac
Starts at 1:29:03
Iowa - 15 Illinois - 13
Iowa scored a safety to start the game. Iowa has clenched the Big Ten West despite having lost all their offensive weapons. Tory Taylor punts for 413 yards in an emotional senior day. If Michigan plays Iowa in Indy it will probably be like two years ago.
Penn State - 27 Rutgers - 6
This game was about what you would expect. Drew Allar only has 79 passing yards but Rutgers was just never going to move the ball on this Penn State defense.
Michigan State - 24 Indiana - 21
Michigan State's win expectancy in this was 12% with less than three minutes left. This has to be the end of Tom Allen. Who does Indiana get after this (or Michigan State for that matter).
Northwestern - 23 Purdue - 15
Northwestern is bowl eligible! Purdue turns the ball over four times.
Wisconsin - 24 Nebraska - 17
Chubba Purdy and Tanner Mordecai are back. Nebraska needs to beat Iowa to get bowl eligible now.
Ohio State - 37 Minnesota - 3
This was the Michigan games sans that one big throw. Can you name the Ohio State backup QB that threw twice? Michigan could have a lot of new packages for Ohio State becuase we've seen so few all season.
Partridge is out the door; the rest broke during or after the segment. We scheduled our lawyer friend Hoeg (YouTube Channel) because we thought we'd have a hearing right now instead of things breaking that we were just hearing about last night. Michigan's case was stronger than the Big Ten's but the hole in Michigan's case for a TRO was they had to prove irreparable harm, and considering the Vegas line didn't move for Harbaugh being out they had a tough case to prove there. It's always better to settle than litigate; it's not clear that this was a legal settlement.
2. Maryland Preview
starts at 18:29
Hi Josh Gattis! Taulia Tagovailoa is the same player he's been for years. He doesn't ruin red zone drives by running backwards 30 yards *as often* but his accuracy still comes and goes because he's short and often throwing off-platform. OL looks like they can stop the pass rush but that's probably because the #1 way to contain Ta-Ta is to contain him. They also have just one really solid starter (LT Delmar Glaze) and a sub-FBS right side. Running game is awful. WRs aren't the dudes they used to be. Defensively they're kind of an MSU where everyone is meh. Some of the NFL prospects haven't matured into such, no real stars. Barham was supposed to break out but is having a Colsonesque sophomore year. Pass-rusher gets a lot of pressures but only on high volume. They will put five up and blitz.
3. Basketball
starts at 36:30
Might want to pump the breaks on the 3-0 start if you're basing it on St. John's because we don't really know what Theseus's Pitino Team really is. Dug's the headliner—MEEP MEEP—and his speed was devastating to a defense that doesn't know each others' names. Shooting is due for a mean regression, probably, but they keep having someone go off every game. Defensively it's night and day from last year, and some of the breakdowns are because they're not yet used to the fact that they don't need to help each other. T-Will has slimmed down, and contextually he's a much better defender when he's not put on a court with a bunch of non-athletes.
4. Penn State After Review
starts at 52:46
Blocking had a lot more mishaps than usual, probably because of the crowd noise and their difficulty snapping it. Barnhart's troubles weren't necessarily his fault because those DEs were timing the snaps perfectly. RPS was +10 despite not passing for 36 minutes because PSU was incapable of stopping themselves from flying upfield. Defensively Michigan played their OSU defense on 1st downs which bled 5 yards before they tightened up. Paige had a good day flying down to stop that. Grant broke out. Will Johnson is the prince that was promised. Colson reverted to his Janus ways. Michigan could close the door when they needed to.
This year we are partnering with The Blind Pig for bumper music, since that's where I've seen most of the bands I've been pushing anyways.
This is the week we're featuring Desmond Jones, the five-piece Grand Rapids rock band with a sax and a tendency for improv. Yeah, I know, I've been doing a lot of funk lately—that's what I've been listening to, and this group's all over my Spotify recommendations, with a library that goes back to 2015.
Petitti has to thread a needle because he's tied to Ohio State/Michigan State Twitter's version of events where having in-game scouting, video, and interpretations of a team's signs from coaches sharing it is fine, but having in-game video of a team's signs from a fan with an iPhone is a player-safety issue.
He wants to say sign-stealing is this evil thing but the language he used in the letter very carefully pulls back right before saying it.
Unprecedented things: NCAA sharing their investigation with the Big Ten, the Big Ten going after a member institution instead of protecting them from the NCAA, and the Big Ten commissioner allowing the other member schools to railroad him into sabotaging a member institution.
Screwed up by going after Harbaugh with Malice. They clearly got Michigan's letter and had the lawyers try to get Harbaugh anyways. The midnight punishment and the maliciousness of Petitti's pursuit has turned Michigan into the sympathetic party. This is what scares a dishonest Buckeye bootlicker like Ari Wasserman the most: the haters are exposed, and people start to question where this "scandal" really comes from.
Seth/Brian disagree on whether OSU wants to punish Michigan's players or get The Game canceled. Seth: Ryan Day still has to recruit at IMG. Brian: They hate Michigan that much, and the worst thing for Day is getting the brakes beat off of him again.
Leaving the Big Ten? Sam says saber-rattling, Seth says take it seriously because there is no way Michigan can remain a member if Tony Petitti is the commissioner. When this is all over, how do we get a fair hearing?
Possible future: show USC that they're in danger from this same thing (they are), see what Notre Dame is doing, maybe go after Texas, and then sad to say if this Ultra-conference gets any legs Ohio State will come. This is what the other Big Ten schools should be concerned about: other than OSU and to a much lesser degree Penn State, they all have sweet deals, and the way they lose it is if a Michigan or Ohio State no longer wants to share revenue with them. Rutgers, MSU, Northwestern, Indiana: if you are relegated to mid-majors in a decade, this is what you did.
PSU game: Did you get the message? Michigan beat a Top 10 opponent by yelling "RUN" every down.
Michigan had issues with their big OL package but extra gaps nerf Penn State's defensive advantages. They had to cancel their rush package entirely and the 5-star DEs they emphasize and stunts they practice are less valuable when those are happening many gaps away from the one we're attacking. Instead of the play turning on the athleticism of the PSU front seven it turns on whether a 210-pound safety can win a block against a 270-pound AJ Barner.
After the show: We talk basketball but I didn't get a recording of it. We are very sorry we couldn't fit it in.
This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.
Segment 1: Chattings, Collapse #1
Schedule Problems
Taking control of the game
Giving it all away
Protect the Slot!
Segment 2: A shootout, Takeaways, Scores, and a Preview
Thank you toUnderground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.
Michigan runs for 36 straight minutes of this game and still Penn State's defensive ends get out of their rushing lanes. Karsen Barnhart gets beat on three of the first four passes and Michigan decides "we're not going to do that anymore". The vibes were immaculate, though. The only way Michigan loses this game is by turning the ball over (fumble luck was on Michigan's side this game). Do you remember what JJ's one incompletion was? The implications of Penn State's pass rush probably doesn't apply that much to the Ohio State game. The noise of Beaver Stadium does play a factor. Would you still recruit Ryan Mallet in today's game? Anyone who can't get out of the pocket is not a modern Quarterback. Michigan should've just held up a giant board that said "run".
2. Defense vs Penn State
Starts at 38:57
Shall we play the Drew Allar completion game? What do Sean Clifford and Drew Allar really have in common? Neither have had a functional offensive line. Drew Allar is 70% in a clean pocket and about 38% when under pressure. There was a lot of Cam Goode in this game. There was never really a point where you thought Michigan should change their defense in order to win this game. KENNETH GRANT RUNNING, MY GOD. Michigan was tipping off what they were doing on defense a lot.
3. Hot Takes, Game Theory, and Special Teams
Starts at 1:08:10
Takes hotter than Penn State defensive linemen on 3rd and 11. We have shirts. Thank you, James Franklin, for giving us content for this segment! Penn State going for it on 4th and 6 in the 4th quarter was probably not a good idea. The first two point conversion was definitely not a good idea. Going for two is opening the box and finding out if the cat is dead or alive. Officiating wasn't perfect but also didn't feel biased.
4. Around the Big Ten with Jamie Mac
Starts at 1:35:22
Maryland - 13 Nebraska - 10
Three Nebraska quarterbacks threw interceptions in this game, Maryland had 92 penalty yards. This game had eight(!) turnovers. But hey, Maryland is bowl eligible.
Illinois - 48 Indiana - 45
Just a debacle from the Indiana defense. Illinois QB John Paddock had 507(!!) passing yards. An Illinois player got ejected for spitting on an Indiana player.
Iowa - 22 Rutgers - 0
A slow motion blowout. Iowa gets 402 yards of offense! This game had an over/under of 27.5 which is the lowest in collegiate football... and it still hit the under.
Northwestern - 24 Wisconsin - 10
Northwestern is a win away from bowl eligibility. Wisconsin is now so far away from what God wanted Wisconsin football to be that now they're being punished.
Purdue - 49 Minnesota - 30
Purdue somehow pulls off over 600 yards of offense and has two 100 yard rushers.
Ohio State - 38 Michigan State - 3
Michigan State looks like they're just packing in the season now. Many Ohio State fans apparently are more confident after the Michigan Penn State game.
MUSIC:
“Leave Me Alone”— I Don't Know How But They Found Me
