THIS ARTICLE HAS A SPONSOR: You're about to sit down with your family and be grateful for everything you have. And then you think about what you have, and what you need to have, and how much you maybe could have, and now you have no idea if your investment risk is too aggressive, too conservative, or what? It's cool. Calm down. Nick Hopwood from Peak Wealth Management put together a free online tool you can use to plug in your numbers and see what your investment risk ought to be. Take this link, give it a shot, and if you want a second opinion, talk to Nick, or follow him on Twitter—@nhopwood1—so you'll remember to get to it later.

Legal disclosure in tiny font: calling Nick our official financial planner is not intended as financial advice; nick is an advertiser who financially supports MGoBlog. MGoBlog is not responsible for any advice or other communication provided to an investor by any financial advisor, and makes no representations or warranties as to the suitability of any particular financial advisor and/or investment for a specific investor.

--------------------------------------------

Nick's Question:

How do you need this season to end to not have another crappy offseason?

The responses:

Ace: As long as the offense doesn’t go back to what they were doing at the beginning of the season, a lot of the potential for my personal crappy offseason feels has already gone away. Just don’t get blown out.

Adam: That's where I'm at as well. Just keep it competitive. I think about this a lot:

Ohio State’s S&P+ history. All Ryan Day has to do is keep building on a historical peak. No pressure whatsoever! pic.twitter.com/wDKaK6crqw

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) August 13, 2019

Ace: …and how this OSU team then exceeded expectations. Assholes.

BiSB: Exactly. This was supposed to be "The Year" because Urban Meyer's departure left an opening. Which... what had happened was...

Seth: They just get to have whatever they want.

BiSB: That said, it looked a little dicey mid-season for reasons that wore neither scarlet nor gray.

The Mathlete: I think where Michigan is at right now (performance, not record) is close to pre-season best case scenario. The offense is humming, diverse and modern. The defense looks like what Don Brown does best, an eclectic set of pieces that come together for greatness

Seth: See, that's part of the conspiracy right? Like whomever's controlling the OSU dynasty that is our reality thought it was funny to set fumbles to 99 and play-calling AI to zero at first, but now it's later in the season and it's no fun to trounce Michigan if we don't look good.

The Mathlete: The problem is the other side is about two standard deviations above the preseason best case scenario for them.

Ace: lol, good lord. Who’s excited to hit the jump?

[After THE JUMP: Existentialist RPOs]

-----------------------------------------------------------

Ace: I actually feel pretty okay about this game?

BiSB: /giphy that's bait

Ace: Mostly because I’m in a place where I can’t be hurt by sports anymore barring very extreme scenarios.

Adam: I try not to feel feelings anymore but it's hard to deny the trajectory both sides of the ball have been on since they got bitten by radioactive spiders at halftime of the PSU game.

Brian: I don't feel good about it, but that's good because it can't hurt me like last year's game. After which I wandered out into the woods for about 40 minutes.

Ace: Penn State drew up a half-assed blueprint with clear areas Michigan can/should improve upon, mostly in the passing game.

Seth: Also make Ohio State fumble a lot.

The Mathlete: It's the 2018 Indiana, but in reverse, that's the ticket.

Ace: Constricting the pocket on Justin Fields and hoping that forces him to fumble because he apparently throws an interception once every blue moon is a part of that plan, yeah.

Brian: Yeah at least it sets up that Michigan can probably just do what they've been doing without a spy; Fields will get some yards on scrambles but probably not a crippling amount.

Seth: I'm feeling very 2015. Michigan is doing neat stuff, is done punching itself in the face, has some bona fide stars young and grown to be excited about. And it just so happens we live in a time when the gap between the richest 1% and the richest 2% is vast and unconquerable without stupid luck.

Ace: Michigan also has Uche, which is nice.

Brian: I worry that they'll just tight zone Michigan to death but then I think "I mean if OSU's just running up the middle a ton is that so bad?"

Seth: Penn State did a really good job of jamming up the middle, but it meant getting very gashed when Fields kept. Course Michigan doesn't have a Robert Windsor. And I don't think you can get away with three-man lines against this. Fields versus their walk-on ILB went not great.

Ace: I worry that 90% of the game is going to come down to “can Michigan block Chase Young long enough to have a deep passing game that doesn’t occasionally implode” and I don’t feel great about that. Can they get away with max protect shots to Nico Collins? I’m ready to find out.

BiSB: At a minimum, it feels like we won't get a replay of last year because Michigan is more 'multiple' in both phases than they were last year. They got pounded in 2015 and 2018 largely because they couldn't solve one basic, repetitive thing. I believe Ohio State can adjust, but at least Michigan can hopefully force them to try to do so.

Brian: Michigan's pass protection has been the best I've seen it but the weak spot is the tackles going 1v1, and, uh... I mean, find Chase Young and chip him on every play and if that lets OSU double Nico so be it, there are other options.

BiSB: Can Michigan try a 2018 Indiana and double the edges and let the interior survive 1-on-1?

Brian: That's what I'd do.

Seth: The one thing Michigan can do that nobody on OSU's schedule this year could is block Landers, Cornell, and Hamilton.

Ace: Can Nico Collins sit on the heads of two people at once? Also possible.

and tell me that you love me. [Bryan Fuller]

Brian: I mean if you get a chip from Charbonnet he can then go out in the flat and someone does have to be in the area.

BiSB: It's nice that Penn State reminded anyone who was unsure, "singling Chase Young for an afternoon is a bad idea."

Ace: SIT ON EVERYONE’S HEADS.

Brian: Changes what you can run with receivers 4 and 5 but not necessarily their existence.

Seth: Penn State tried to single-block Chase Young all day with Will Fries!! FRAAAMES!!!

BiSB: And it's not like Michigan has thrown to the back that often this year anyway.

Brian: The other thing that's jumped out about the offensive of late is the emergence of a real, genuine cutting-edge RPO all day every day game. Those plays do a lot to neutralize a DL. If Michigan can find soft spots like they did in the last two games...

Seth: The one spot Ohio State fans think is attackable in their defense is the strong safety, which we call Rover and they call "slot cornerback" this year. Which goes to that RPO game.

Ace: I believe James Light mentioned that PSU gameplan largely resulted from them carrying relatively few plays in their playbook on a given week, which I don’t worry about with Harbaugh/Gattis.

Brian:

It’s their offensive structure. Clinic I was at this winter their offensive staff said they only carry about 50 plays into a game with their scheme. Limited pass game & protections. Not enough answers. https://t.co/5qavReWn55

— James Light (@JamesALight) November 23, 2019

BiSB: If their linebackers have a weakness, they do tend to overrun stuff. They'll probably be pretty aggressive against the run, and those quick slants and hitches will be there.

Ace: Gattis’s MSU gameplan was a mess-with-linebackers masterpiece.

Seth: Those linebackers were allowed to blitz a lot last year. I would like to imagine "are you going to allow Malik Harrison free shots at the quarterback on play-action that doesn't play-act anything that's actually in our running game?" was left out of the interview process because it was understood.

Ace: XFL-ass offense. Too soon?

The guy in the background laughed. [Patrick Barron]

Seth: They did put up 39 last year. Getting back to the original question if it looks like Michigan used their talent to the best of their abilities and Ohio State was just too good I'm not going to be mad about it.

Brian: Yeah if it's a game and they lose to a team that's currently tracking amongst the best in the last 15-20 years of college football, ok. The talking heads will be annoying but if Michigan can go to a diverse two-high approach and also get locked in on Gattis's scheme that's a good platform for the future. Hamblastings of MSU and Notre Dame are soothing balms.

Ace: Is there any chance OSU finally comes out flat given they’re already all but guaranteed a spot in the playoff if they win the conference title game? I feel that’s how it’ll be retconned if they lose.

Seth: Maybe if we dress up as Rutgers?

Brian: No. Their whole program is based on ludicrous year-long hate.

I don't give a damn for the thing that I'm singing 'bout, I wrote a whole song for it because I don't care at all 'bout it. [Barron]

Seth: And most of these players are used to playing in playoffs.

Ace: Maybe Ryan Day is secretly related to John Cooper.

Brian: Maybe Michigan will have the John O'Korn gameplan without John O'Korn.

Ace: 2013 was wildly unexpected! They were just a month late with the game-winning playcall.

Seth: Too soon.

Warning: dead dove inside.

So let's talk bowl games. In the unlikely event that we do beat Ohio State does Michigan have a chance of going to the Rose Bowl or is that lost because Penn State has a head to head as the number two Big Ten team?

Brian: Rose Bowl can do what it wants and Michigan is already ranked ahead of PSU. They would take M in a heartbeat. But you know we're going to play Florida.

Ace: The second least-anticipated revenge game of all time.

Seth: I think save-scumming NCAA dynasty-playing OSU kid has been setting up a Michigan-Georgia game for a long time but can't get the algorithm to work.

BiSB: I'm almost more afraid of this game from a meta level than from just the impacts on 2019. There's no particular shame in losing to a Megazord like this Ohio State team, but the risk of Ryan Day doing the same thing the last two guys did (stepping in and immediately establishing comprehensive, soul dong-crushing dominance) is more than I care to contemplate. Especially because if he does, Day could be there for two decades.

Seth: See I wasn't even thinking past the drive-by Harbaugh takes.

Ace: To be honest I fear the reactions from inside the house, so to speak. But that’s mostly because of what I chose to do for a living. I don’t care what Paul Finebaum has to say because I’m very good at not putting him on my television. But it’d be nice to check my mentions without, you know, overwhelming existential dread.

BiSB: The drive-by Harbaugh takes will ALWAYS be there. So will the reactions from inside the house, truth be told.

Ace: Yeah, as if there’s any chance they wouldn’t lead into the next game with “Jim Harbaugh is only 1-4 against Ohio State.” That’s also true.

BiSB: I just want to be able to see those takes and laugh. I just want a nice thing.

Brian: Indeed, nice things are nice.

Ace: When was the last rivalry trifecta season?

Seth: 2003.

I kept the photos. [MGoBlue.com used to publish these after the game. This took a lot of storage space.]

Ace: That’d be nice. Michigan was 9-2 entering that game after suffering a couple really stupid early season losses. They had an enormous jump-ball monster receiver. There are some parallels.

Seth: Today Maurice Clarett would just get a two-game suspension.

Ace: So I think it’s time to admit how we all feel about this game?

Ace: [five minutes later]

Nobody wants to do this.

BiSB: I've gone through twenty-seven drafts of Punt/Counterpunt already. None has made it past sentence #2. We've all seen this year. We all saw last year. We all saw the last two decades.

Ace: [five minutes later]

FINE

1.

2.

IT’S GOTTA HAPPEN SOMETIME

I’M A BASKETBALL WRITER, I CAN’T BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS

6'4 > 6'1, Michigan beats Ohio State

LOGGING OUT

 

Seth: My take is still most of my notifications:

I am not yet mentally prepared for Michigan to come out better coached, get a lead, get hosed on a terrible call, get cracked by Ohio State's superior talent, have a shot late, miss it, then hear after how Harbaugh can't win the big one, but I promise you I will be by Saturday.

— Seth M. Fisher (@Misopogon) November 24, 2019

We are Auburn without luck.

Brian: I just want both teams to try hard and have fun.