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 used to not be so boring, but Michigan put this class together awhile ago. We launched at the same time Jaishawn Barham and Lugard Edokpayi committed so we're going to do the defense first.
Edge: Michigan lost a bunch of guys and still ended up with one of the best classes in memory. Baxter and Edokpayi are basketball player/Taco Charlton-David Ojabo like potential 1st rounders once they develop, and they got a Mike Morris in Dominic Nichols as well, and teams like Wisconsin were coming for him late.
DT: Owen Wafle was a big ND flip, has a Kris Jenkins get-off/body, was a sneaky good pickup, didn't wear a jacket for the OSU game because he doesn't get cold. Manuel Beigel is a freaky German they need to see in pads for awhile. Ted Hammond committed so early we don't remember him but he was supposed to be a 3-4 DE or off-tackle. Deyvid Palepale had a weird recruitment, got booted from his team in Pittsburgh for a tweet, committed to USC over Michigan and PSU who both thought they were getting him, is Penei Sewell's cousin and grew up in Alaska. Story goes he got back in touch with Michigan after Kenneth Grant ran down Kaytron Allen.
LB: Missed Aaron Chiles, got their Josh Ross in Jeremiah Beasley. Played a ton of football for Belleville, might also be a running back?
DB: Only three guys after they couldn't pry two dudes out of Ohio, but moved on immediately to Jo'Ziah Edmond who was committed to Ryan Walters at Purdue and shot up to a 4-star after. Also got CB/Nickel Jeremiah Lowe after missing on Boo Carter, think if they bulk him up they have their feisty nickel with outside versatility. Jacob Oden is a safe safety in the mode of Tyree Kinnell.
ATH: Don't sleep on Cole Sullivan, who's probably ticketed for the Jaylen Harrell position, because he is a crazy athlete, going to be on the punt block team immediately. Mason Curtis maybe was supposed to grown into an edge or stay a safety but isn't a linebacker. Don't forget about Jaden Smith (Brian did), because he's got Uche-level bend and the speed to play linebacker or safety—could be a Micah Parsons Lite.
2. Offensive Skill Positions
starts at 40:57
QB: Everyone has their take why Jadyn Davis fell from 1st overall when this class started to middle 4-star. Height, time, doesn't make enough big plays, doesn't have THE arm, isn't as high of a pro prospect. Very cerebral player. Brian thinks he's a slightly more athletic Cade McNamara.
HB: Jordan Marshall is a dude. Not quite Blake Corum twitch but a bigger version of the same Mike Hart-like guy with great vision who churns. Micah Ka'apana is more of a home run hitter, like him in a stretch offense because he puts his foot in the ground and goes. Donovan Edwards as a running back.
WR: Hard to recruit when you don't use them. Channing Goodwin is a legacy, sort of a Greg Mathews possession receiver who isn't that fast; Michigan wanted his teammate Jordan Shipp. But Goodwin is good enough that people knock Jadyn Davis so which is it? Seth is higher on I'Marion Stewart, who's a Roman Wilson or Ronnie Bell (7v7 star, can jump) fast guy who may figure early as a returner if that's not Semaj Morgan's role.
3. Offensive Line and Tight End
starts at 1:08:08
TE: Brady Prieskorn and Hogan Hansen are more highly rated Michigan tight ends but still Michigan tight ends so they'll be great. Hansen is the guy Lorenz is stumping for; he plays in a Wing-T offense so he has a lot of blocking experience. Prieskorn is the more Lovelandesque as a 6'6" receiver who wins contested balls on the regular and needs to learn blocking.
OL: Payoff for back-to-back Joe Moore awards. Headliner is Andrew Sprague, a Jake Long-prototypical left tackle prospect except Michigan suggested having him at RT and Blake Frazier, son of Steve, playing LT. Frazier is athletic and would work well if they want to do more zone. But the interior guys are not that. Ben Roebuck plays at St. Ed's with the Armstrong twins and that tells you the difference between what Michigan (brainy maulers like Trevor Keegan) and Ohio State (light-footed and lengthy pass protectors) are looking for at guard. Luke Hamilton is another pure Ohio mauler who's changed his body shape and helped them win so many battles in Ohio. Jake Guarnera was the #1 center on their board, is taller and stronger than the other guys they were looking at.
4. Lightning Round and Transfer Portal Targets, plus Gatlin Bair
starts at 1:31:14
Best player, sleepers, top draft pick, guys who got away. We also discuss Jaishawn Barham who committed today, and Michigan's other portal targets and positions of need. Also discuss Idaho WR Gatlin Bair, a Xavier Worthy-level athlete who's probably deciding in February and then going on a two-year Mormon mission.
About the Featured Musician: THE CHAMPAGNE SAINTS
MGoReaders who haven't played a show since 2013, the Champagne Saints don't have a website, have two albums on Spotify, and a handful of mp3s have been in my Winamp rotation for ages. They've got a cool spacey thing going on in the empty spaces between the rock. I'd say check them out but I don't know where you could. Maybe in those wooden racks at Wazoo?
Iowa takeaways: 26-0 was good. Can't be 26-3, needed to come down after the intensity of OSU.
Offense missed some opportunities: get a catch from Barner or Loveland and it looks different.
Love that they gave Semaj Morgan another chance to get on the mic.
Using Edwards: get him running, not reading.
Sainristil: He's going to be drafted. Iowa: yes, but there were non-Iowa moments. He's playing cornerback very well.
Portal talk: Not worried about Trente anymore. Walter Nolen? Sam says they need clarity on whether he's even in the portal. Hard to move on a QB when you don't know what you've got. They're in on the OL from A&M. Can't offer starting spots.
CFP: Absolutely got it wrong. FSU had a better end to the season than Alabama, their 2nd string QB will be back, all of the arguments for Alabama are ridiculous post-hoc excuses for putting an SEC team in the Playoff. Michigan ends up better off because Texas is a tougher matchup than Bama for Michigan.
How good you are is what you've done this season. They put Cincy and MSU in the Playoff; they've never chosen the S&P+ teams—always the most deserving.
Brian: If Michigan wins out Harbaugh should offer to split it with FSU. If Alabama and FSU win out, FSU should be the national champion.
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.
The College Football Playoff committee putting in Alabama over Florida State is just awful. This isn't a Michigan thing, it's a college football thing. They're a 13-0 ACC champion team. Florida State did everything they could. This Alabama team has been erratic all season. Their defensive tackles are just guys but they have an outstanding secondary and two really good edge rushers. Michigan probably has an advantage in both trenches. It feels like Michigan should win this game. There's no clear monster in the playoffs (besides maybe Michigan?).
2. Offense vs Iowa
Starts at 25:15
This wasn't nearly as bad as it felt when you rewatch it. Trente Jones keeps picking up the stupidest holding calls. Colston Loveland dropped some passes he never drops. They played very conservatively because once you go up by 10 points in this game it doesn't matter. JJ only goes 22/30 for 147 yards, if his tight ends don't drop some we're playing the incompletion game again. Michigan did some simple trick stuff but it's not the kind of thing that can fool Iowa, they're a very sound defense. They need to do some soul searching with Donovan Edwards before playing Alabama. Instead of "JJ's incompletions" we play "JJ's sacks".
3. Hot Takes, Defense vs Iowa
Starts at 52:40
Takes hotter than every single Florida State fan until the end of all time. Brian should've just put "no" as the preview. Was it a fumble or an incomplete pass? Let's talk about how good of a human Mike Sainristil is (he's going to be president one day). Who's on the Mount Rushmore of these past three seasons? Kenneth Grant continues to consume. There's not much else to say about how Michigan's defense did against Iowa's offense.
4. Game Theory, and Special Teams
Starts at 1:20:45
Michigan normally goes for it on 4th and short but when you can kick a field goal to go up against Iowa, you just go for it. How is Iowa so bad at QB sneak? Semaj Morgan did a thing, the guy who tackled him might be the most athletic person on the field, though. Jake Thaw was the "just field this punt" guy. How does James Turner compare to Jake Moody?
Defensively it was an NFL game. Michigan unleashed a dizzying array of coverages to hide McCord's leverage from him, and Ryan Day had all kinds of motions and switches to uncover it. The game turned on Mason Graham, who allowed Michigan to keep the pressure on McCord and play with an extra defender in the secondary because OSU could not run on him. Hutchinson-level? Not yet, but Hutchinson before his injury in 2020, where this guy is an All-American. Rod Moore was back to himself. Sainristil isn't a vet at outside cornerback, McBurrows is a good nickel.
Offensively there was a lot left on the table. Michigan maximized its RPS wins, Corum's run was RPS+1 but also the biggest play in Michigan football history? JJ almost had a TD on the throwback to Johnson, who didn't recognize he had a Daylen Baldwin opportunity. Run game limited because Tyliek Williams played out of his mind. Going to be a negative in the run game charting for the first time in years, Barnhart especially. But he was their best in pass pro. Do. Not. Leave. JTT. Unblocked.
2. Iowa Preview: Offense
starts at 22:44
Abominable, worst in the Power 5. Their receivers are a bad match for their QB, who needs a big target more than a good route. Injured TEs and OL who run a lot of stretch and counter trey: the kind of team Michigan should be best able to defend. Mitigator: Michigan likes to leave their safeties back and subject their DTs to doubles, while teams have been suffocating Iowa specifically because you can bring down your safeties and their RB will break a tackle for 50 yards once every three games.
3. Iowa Preview: Defense
starts at 36:59
Excellent as always, with a lot more talent than we're used to. Five-star safety is playing like one, safety-ish linebacker from Virginia is athletic and their best pass-rusher. Plus the usual array of Iowa types. We wonder if their big-butted WLB is grading out so well (87 to PFF, over 90 in coverage) because he's more than a match for Big Ten West competition, but will get dusted if he has to keep up with Donovan Edwards. Missing Cooper DeJean but CBs have been fine. Again: competition question mark, and their DL isn't great at pass-rushing, so there's an opportunity for explosives except they take that away by playing soft cover 2. If they do that Michigan will have to grind them down like last year, but can they without Zinter?
Their punter is incredible. Their backup kicker had to kick the game-winner against Nebraska.
4. The Other Conference Championships + Playoff Talk
starts at 56:41
We go in order, starting with Washington-Oregon, which is not a 10-point game like Vegas has it. Oregon has been playing fantastic of late and Washington keeps needing to TCU its way through Pac-12 teams. But remember back when they played Washington had that game until Oregon surged back. Texas-Oklahoma State is the biggest spread, want to root for our old friend at QB but also rooting for Texas to get in to keep out the unwanted SEC teams and Ohio State. Georgia could lose to Bama, which is chaos, and we talk more about the committee's choices than the game. FSU beating Louisville would mean FSU goes ahead of any 1-loss team, and if Georgia complains about getting Oregon as the 4-seed they should pound sand. We don't believe in conspiracies; the committee cares about who wins the games, not what ESPN talking heads say to prop up the SEC. A Playoff without any SEC teams would be right, glorious, and absolutely deserved.
About the Featured Musician: 8-BIT BAND
We're back to letting Seth pick out the songs, so I'm going to nerd out and show you what I've been writing to for a lot of the year. It is this 25+ member orchestra of amazing jazz musicians who come together off their various projects to compose and produce big band versions of videogame music from our childhoods. I could describe further but Adam Neely, who's one of my favorite video essayists (one of the people worth getting a Nebula subscription for), has a 30-minute video on it. He also plays bass.
The 8-Bit Band is playing December 15th at Sony Hall in New York, and January 13th at the Ferguson Center in Newport News.
The Game post-op: OSU was closer because they didn't play insane. Were conservative and that worked for them.
Payoff for the light boxes all year.
Seth's monologue: Ohio State has plenty of hate, Michigan swerved to love, and I'm so happy that they won so we can talk about how the players love each other and love Harbaugh, and how the fans uplifted them.
Ari Wasserman comes clean: Signsgate was always just about hurting Michigan by changing the narrative.
McCarthy runs: obviously injured, OSU had some ideas to stop QB run, but M didn't plan the counters for that because they weren't going to run with him.
Michigan didn't learn the lesson of JTT: If you leave him unblocked for a second he will kill you.
Play-action is still missing. They are using it wrong.
Orjicat: OSU doesn't have numbers with a safety high.
McCarthy's read: He studied film on the robber, knew that guy was turning.
Last TD: Wasn't a bust, was Ryan Day adjusting to Michigan's Palms coverage.
Michael Barrett: shoulda been 1st team All-B10. Tommy Eichenberg was the soft spot Michigan attacked to win this game, and all the other coaches picked on him too.
Next year? Let's see what the portal brings, what the NFL takes. Michigan's D will be very good. Will JJ return? (25%?)
Sam: Michigan will only be going after guys who are proven commodities (not Tobias Merriweather).
Iowa: Atrocious offense, respect their defense minus their best player.
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!