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.
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.
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
Nonews unless the Big Ten hands down a suspension to a coach who's already in Happy Valley, which would on its owns be grounds for a judge to issue an immediate injunction. We infer from Michigan's letter that the B10's case right now is as substantial as your average Ohio State twitterer, and that putting this in the realm of courts where facts matter more than what amoral hypocrites want to believe dramatically alters the parameters. Local sports radio probably isn't where you should be going for investigative news—the thing about Michigan having other schools for Stalions operations feels bogus on the surface.
The Penn State defense is very good. The engine is the ends—even if Chop Robinson isn't full-go they have three more very good ones. DTs aren't bad; there's one whom Alex likes but Seth thinks he's exploitable. They blitz a lot, play a lot of man, got beat by Ohio State because Kalen King really isn't the star he's made out to be. Manny Diaz effect. The way Michigan loses this game is turnover.
2. Penn State Preview: Offense
starts at 26:39
They torch bad defenses who can't pressure Drew Allar, who's 39% accurate when off-platform and 78% accurate when his feet are set. We saw the same thing last year. Only have one receiver. RBs are having Donovan Edwards-like years—Allen can do RB things but Singleton is kind of a gadget guy. OL cannot run block; they can pass protect okay. Theo Johnson is having to be their 2nd receiver. Why pick Michigan over the spread on this one: PSU is bult to blow up a UMass but fall off a cliff when you can match up to them athletically. Stunts are a big problem for them. Wild that they can't develop OL; Seth notes he talked to recruit's dad who said his kid's already more developed than Fashanu.
3. Basketball
starts at 45:27
They're scoring! Dug is seeing the court well, though he won't be shooting 60 percent with a 40 percent assist rate. Nkamhua has been a revelation—immediately a captain, exactly what we want for a one-and-done. Imagine Tray Jackson instead of Caleb Houstan or Jett Howard. Quantum leap defensively. Having athletic defenders out there means you can use a T-Will or a Tschetter because they're not so athletically exposed. Need a backup PG—gonna be a nervous few months waiting until Llewellen gets healthy.
4. Purdue After Review
starts at 57:36
Our Michigan homerism apparently extends to defending JJ McCarthy's performance as REALLY GOOD YOU GUYS, except this is a defensible position (and PFF agreed). His marginal throws are still very catchable, and when they're caught nobody notices. YMMV on 4 or 5 of them but even if then it was a excellent day from him. Not a good day from the OL; Seth thinks these guys are all guards recruited for a run-first offense and this is kind of what happens against an opponent who makes you pass-first and has two great edge rushers. Defensively it's really hard to beat Michigan because they can put five guys against your five guys and someone will win a block to get your back. It was the Will Johnson Show otherwise—he was doing things away from the ball as well as coming to it.
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 the four-piece Ann Arbor band Chirp, which has a funky rock/jazz fusion thing going on. Their live shows are the main thing; they have a dedicated fanbase who remind me of Deadheads of a generation earlier even if the musical style isn't any more jam band than anything else. The music is bright and catchy and keeps you on your toes; they're at their best when just getting lost in the music because there's some real musicians with proggy ideas under all the good times. They've been touring since 2015 and return to the Pig next week.
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.
EDITOR NOTE: I am also spending a lot of time compressing Brian's voice. The worst night game to have is the crappy night game, especially when USC Washington and Alabama LSU are on! It says something that JJ hit 60% of his passes and threw for over 300 yards and everyone's like "what's wrong with JJ?" When do you want to save a play and when do you want to put it on tape? Donovan Edwards has not been utilized properly, are they saving a package for him against Penn State? Starting tackles gave up some sacks but otherwise played pretty well (Purdue has a pair of NFL defensive ends). Is the way to beat JJ by playing a lot of zone defense?
2. Defense vs Purdue
Starts at 43:20
Michigan wasn't getting sacks against Hudson Card but they were pressuring him on every play. It'll be curious to see who actually rotates against Penn State. Starting to feel like we're getting the 2021 version of Rod Moore, which is encouraging. Junior Colson took a step in the right direction, Josh Wallace also played well. All of the ends are a higher level than we predicted at the beginning of the year.
3. Hot Takes, Game Theory, and Special Teams
Starts at 1:02:36
Takes hotter than Santa Ono's letter to Tony Petitti. Why is Purdue football every five years just two NFL defensive ends and nothing else? The 4th and one felt like a good decision, the formation wasn't. Michigan hasn't kicked a field goal in forever so it was good to see it still works. Starters played well into the 4th quarter.
4. Around the Big Ten with Jamie Mac
Starts at 1:25:22
Penn State - 51 Maryland - 15
Maryland turns the ball over four times and rushes for -49 yards. Yup, we're at November Maryland, they are no longer a trap game. When Drew Allar can set his feet and have time to throw he looks like the five star he's supposed to be, but when you pressure him he's shaky. They probably won't be able to run against Michigan but they still have one of the best defenses in college football.
Ohio State - 35 Rutgers - 16
Rutgers is leading 9-7 at halftime but throws a pick-six while driving in the 3rd quarter. Rutgers outgains Ohio State 361-328. We experienced for a moment what it was like being a Rutgers fan and it wasn't fun.
Iowa - 10 Northwestern - 7
Neither team gets more than 200 yards and Iowa is alone in first place in the West. He can't keep getting away with it.
Indiana - 20 Wisconsin - 14
How did Indiana win this? Uhh, one good pass play? Wisconsin outgain Indiana 344-261. Indiana took the lead and just waited for the time to run out before Wisconsin came back.
Michigan State - 20 Nebraska - 17
Nebraska gets back to their old self, turning the ball over three times.
Illinois - 27 Minnesota - 26
Illinois wins on an improbable last minute drive with their backup QB. A disappointing game for anyone who didn't want to see Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game.
