Big Ten Coaches Anonymously Preview Michigan vs. Alabama
The Athletic's Bruce Feldman did a preview on Michigan's chances vs Alabama by interviewing Big Ten coaches anonymously. The result is about what you would expect. I hope the coaches have this article plastered all over Schembechler Hall. The short version: a lot of bagging on our offense, but admiration for our defense.
Article is paywalled:
https://theathletic.com/5141982/2023/12/18/michigan-alabama-college-football-playoff-rose-bowl/
Some snippets:
Despite a dramatic regular season punctuated by an investigation over alleged sign-stealing, No. 1 Michigan rolled to a 13-0 record heading into the College Football Playoff matchup in the Rose Bowl against No. 4 Alabama. But college football coaches The Athletic spoke to for this scouting report are convinced Michigan hasn’t been the same team since the NCAA’s investigation became public.
“They’re different now,” said one Big Ten head coach. “It makes a huge difference to know when blitzes are coming, so when you pick it up, you can really attack it. After that (investigation and resignation of staffer Connor Stalions), they weren’t always at the right place at the right time.”
The Athletic interviewed 10 Big Ten coaches, scouts and analysts to break down Michigan and how it matches up with a late-blooming Alabama team. They were granted anonymity to provide candid observations about the Wolverines.
Scouting the O-line: The best in the Big Ten
“That O-line looks pretty. They’re like three deep of pretty guys, but you watch the film and Indiana stuffed them,” one of the defensive analysts said. “They’re not moving you off the ball like you’d think.”
“I think Alabama will give them trouble with their front,” a Big Ten head coach added.
Despite this decline, most of the coaches still viewed Michigan’s offensive line as the best in the Big Ten. “They’re big and very sound fundamentally and disciplined,” said one of the head coaches. “They’ll check Alabama’s oil.”
Who wins: Michigan or Alabama?
Michigan opened as a two-point favorite over Alabama, but the line is down to one in some places. Alabama being the underdog didn’t seem right to most of the coaches, and the majority believe Alabama will beat Michigan. Some of that might be due to the fact that Michigan has lost each of its two Playoff semifinal games, and Harbaugh’s six consecutive losses in bowl games is glaring.
“What has Jim learned?” a Big Ten head coach asked. “Are his guys gonna be fresh and ready to go or worn down?”
“I think it’s the same old thing with Michigan,” said a Big Ten secondary coach. “They’re extremely talented, but if someone can hold up up front with them, I think they’re just too one-dimensional. … They’ve got to get explosive plays on the perimeter somewhere, and those are gonna be hard to come by because Alabama can match up with them outside and still be stern enough against the run.
“Michigan is going to have to play such a clean game.”
One head coach said he wouldn’t be shocked if Michigan won — but he’s picking Alabama. “If Milroe plays like he has lately, I think that’ll be too much for Michigan. There’s nobody like him in the Big Ten. (Alabama) has figured out how to use him, and that’s scary.”
Another head coach did point out that Michigan has the “kind of stuff” that keeps the Wolverines winning — after all, Michigan is 13-0 despite its head coach being suspended for almost half of the season, including during its toughest stretch.
“They don’t have any superstars, but they’re strong and they’ve got a bunch of really good college players,” he said. “They have a really good culture. None of them gives a s— who gets the credit. These guys clearly love playing with each other. They have the chemistry to win a championship.”
December 18th, 2023 at 2:10 PM ^
Did you forget to add the quotes about Saban hiring Helow and how that is unsportsmanlike and dangerous for our players? I didn't see that mentioned yet.
December 18th, 2023 at 2:57 PM ^
If you believe in the power of intel, then that's one more point in favor of Alabama - they cheat better than we do. :-)
December 18th, 2023 at 4:41 PM ^
Yeah there's something you want on your tombstone. Here Lies Nick.
December 18th, 2023 at 7:40 PM ^
Holy idiots batman! "They haven't been the same" since they can't steal signs is essentially what one idiot said? Yet they only beat the SP+ #1 and #4 teams after losing their incredible schematic advantage. But sure, logic is for the weak.
December 18th, 2023 at 9:31 PM ^
To be fair Michigan has been the SP #1 team for most of the year. We haven't beaten ourselves (yet)
December 19th, 2023 at 11:17 AM ^
I believe that OSU had taken over the #1 spot the week we played them?
December 18th, 2023 at 9:42 PM ^
Shhh. This is why we have one big ten loss in 3 years.
December 19th, 2023 at 6:55 AM ^
Beat the point spread against the best teams.
December 18th, 2023 at 2:11 PM ^
This anonymous crap put out by Feldman, Auerbach, and Vanini is getting out of hand. It's complete horseshit reporting intended to set the narrative. I like some writers for the Athletic but I'm canceling my subscription.
December 18th, 2023 at 2:17 PM ^
This is one of the few types of articles where I'll tolerate the anonymous sources. They have to be anonymous or they'll just give coach speak. And it does make for an interesting read, even though many of them are still bitter about their Ls, evidently.
Their reflections on their game vs. Michigan is actually worth reporting, unlike their anonymous whining about signgate.
December 18th, 2023 at 2:48 PM ^
the flip side of anonymous quotes is that you can literally say anything without defending it. you get to continue dropping vague, non-specific "player safety"-type horseshit and devalue the fact that we kicked your ass up and down the field.
every coach in the big ten is a big fucking baby. this is just more evidence of that fact.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:13 PM ^
Yep.
Or you can also be like Purdue's coach and whine publicly about knowing signs is a player safety issue and then have it come out that you had UofM's signs in advance as the Illinois DC last year (where Corum was hurt) and your new team Purdue had UofM's signs in advance before the B10 Championship Game last year -- and never get asked by the BS media if his comments made sense given the new info.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:21 PM ^
I could be mistaken but I don't think (wait, I need to look it up again) Ryan Walters complained about health and safety. He did complain about the signs, though.
Health and safety complaints, AFAIK, have been limited to:
- Michigan State
- Petitti
- Matt Rhule
- College Football Nerds
Not even ESPN ever whined about it that I'm aware of.
December 18th, 2023 at 2:52 PM ^
Yeah in theory an anonymous coach quote article on the matchup should be interesting because they can be more candid. But this particular article was pretty lame. Coaches who haven't beaten Michigan in 3 years basically just saying "yeah Michigan isn't that good, pretty one dimensional, no players particularly stand out as matchup issues."
The whole thing is just littered with insults. "Michigan’s offense is not dynamic enough at the skill positions.", on JJ: "Going into our game, I thought he was among the best in the country. Afterward, I didn’t think the same. Once all that stuff happened, he just doesn’t look the same.The o-line was dominated by Indiana (huh?). Blake "doesn't have the juice [he did last year]." Donovan has "no feel" for the game. "“(Wilson) is a good player, but we didn’t fear him." "“Loveland is a really good route runner, but he can’t block." Also saying that since Stalions resigned, Michigan OL has been unable to pick up blitzes. Which is just a bizarre thing, to connect those things.
December 18th, 2023 at 3:33 PM ^
These are pretty damning comments from people who - checks notes - lost in each and every case.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:23 PM ^
not just "lost" but "got smoked."
there's something great about knocking the hell out of someone, then listening to them whine about how we're not that good.
good enough to beat your ass, coach "i don't want to put my name on this."
and we'll do it again next year, too.
December 19th, 2023 at 8:42 AM ^
The game in which we got "stuffed" against Indiana in the run game, JJ went 14/17 for 222 yards and Michigan won 52-7 with only 407 total yards.
December 18th, 2023 at 9:16 PM ^
Most of these comments didn’t sound all that damning to me.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:41 PM ^
"hey I see a blitz coming from the corner"
"signal it in to JJ"
"what do you mean there is only 8 seconds on the play clock."
"Tell him to walk over to the two linemen involved and let them know about the blitz. Wait no they just switched out of it signal him they just switched out of it."
When grown ass men act like little school girls its pathetic.
December 20th, 2023 at 3:38 PM ^
I have no issue with the quotes coming anonymously because obviously we'd never get them otherwise, and agree/disagree they're always entertaining.
But wouldn't they be even more entertaining if the coaches included some scouting takes on their own teams to go side-by-side with the UM analysis? Its anonymous anyway so what the hell.
"Their offensive line is good, but this year they're mostly dining out on a Moore awarding winning rep of the past two seasons. Once we committed all of our resources to stopping the run, they couldn't break 3.5 ypc. It also helped to know going in that they have zero respect for our program, and the JJ runs would be turned off all game. And hoo-boy, thank god for that! Our 5th year senior DE still can't read the mesh, and our LB's foot speed is for shit. If we hadn't been losing cornerback recruiting battles to MAC teams on the regular for the last three years, we could have easily held UM below 28 points at the half. If it were up to me, we'd claw back the scholarships of every last one of those bums and staff up fresh with transfers from the Sunbelt and Div II. At least those kids would have a little fire in their belly. And UM isn't just overrated on the OL. Our boxes were so stacked, regard for sound pass defense fundamentals was so light, and secondary was such trash, that your basic replacement level Heisman candidate with middling weapons on the outside should've touched us up for at least 200 yards and 3 tds by halftime. JJ barely hit those numbers before he went out with the rest of the starters late in the 3rd, so you have to wonder if he'll be able to bring it against the big boys. He did hit a couple of tight windows though, you can see the talent is there."
December 18th, 2023 at 2:21 PM ^
I'm less bothered about this type of article because you see these whiny types all the time - most coaches are actually quite thin-skinned and they're definitely not going to say what they really think if they're concerned about it getting back to them. And some of the information is interesting from a perception standpoint.
That said, The Athletic in general is pretty mediocre and while Feldman, Vanini, and Auerbach are better than your Ari Wasserman-types that bar is in Hell so not particularly hard to overcome.
December 18th, 2023 at 2:27 PM ^
It's the only way you are going to get an article like this in college football. I place the fault more with the other Big Ten coaches, but some of the writers are at fault for not being more discerning and allowing these coaches to abuse the format.
December 18th, 2023 at 2:29 PM ^
The same anonymous coaches that have gone 1-38 vs Michigan over last few years don’t think theyre good enough. This article boiled my blood.
December 18th, 2023 at 2:58 PM ^
That was the funniest part. "Michigan's not that good - they're clearly the best in the Big 10, but that and $7.50 will buy you a cup of coffee."
December 18th, 2023 at 3:34 PM ^
Where does this dumbass buy coffee?
December 18th, 2023 at 3:41 PM ^
Starbucks. But every morning Harbaugh beats his ass and takes his coffee. So he has to buy two coffees if he wants to drink one himself.
December 18th, 2023 at 3:27 PM ^
Why? What has the fact that their teams weren't good enough to beat us have to do with being asked to assess M v Bama? They were asked to give their opinion, and most of them think we lose to Bama. I have news for you, I agree with them, and I'm a grad and like most here, an obsessed partisan fan. The coaches said among other things: the o-line isn't as good as last year. Check. Corum isn't the same as last year. Check, many writers on this site agree. We are average at WR-check. They praised the d-line talent-check. And Sainristil, check. Barnhardt is weak. Check. Most here would agree with all.
Yeah one idiot talked about the sign stealing and blitzes, and I don't like a couple other comments. But overall they were asked their opinions and stated them.
December 18th, 2023 at 3:42 PM ^
Just my opinion, but it feels like the article was more about bringing Signgate back to life for the clicks rather than the analysis.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:43 PM ^
It’s shoving a stick into a dead horse.
Michigan being good and winning playoff games is a pretty big draw.
But Michigan being “cheaters” and winning playoff games is a national news front headline story.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:41 PM ^
This is valid. I would say that comparing this year's O-Line to last year's is a bit unfair considering last year's was one of the best in school history. And obviously our WR room isn't world class and Corum has taken a small step back, but I'd still take this year's O over the previous two.
The JJ slander irked me the most. Dude is a stud and to blame his struggles on sign gate is just saltiness at its finest. He'll prove a lot of people wrong Jan 1st.
December 18th, 2023 at 5:36 PM ^
How many of these coaches played Alabama?
I don't think their opinions are worth that much more than anyone's mom's
December 18th, 2023 at 3:53 PM ^
To me the best part of sign-gate is all the Michigan haters came out of the closet and stopped pretending to be either impartial or our friend. In some ways it's like the guy who faked his death so he could hear what people REALLY thought of him at his alleged funeral.
As harsh as it is to accept we truly re hated league-wide and not just by the schools ending in the word "State". You'll notice that none of the coaches interviewed had anything positive to say about Michigan and they could've easily done that if they wanted to but they really, really hate us so that didnt happen.
You're not being paranoid if people really ARE out to get you.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:09 PM ^
We don't really *know* none of the coaches said anything positive. We can be certain Feldman hasn't included the full text of his conversations. OTOH, we can't be certain at all Feldman didn't cherry-pick comments to fit a narrative. I don't doubt Michigan is unpopular among other Big Ten schools at present. I just don't think any Feldman article, especially one that relies entirely on anonymous sources, is any proof of that.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:23 PM ^
And yet I still have Sparties telling me that UM has favored son status and the proof is that Harbaugh got off easy with only 3 games.
December 19th, 2023 at 3:47 AM ^
Hating on Michigan is nothing new—MGrow and I are old enough to remember very clearly that the rest of the Big Ten really, really hated Michigan when Schembechler was coaching here too.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:43 PM ^
To be fair this crew of coaches is 0-38.
The MSU coaches that got that last win are gone.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:49 PM ^
they caught a tug boat out of EL....
December 18th, 2023 at 8:33 PM ^
Really? Which one beat UM? Because I'm pretty sure they didn't interview Tuck Cum'n. So those coaches are 0-37. However, I do agree that Saban is a jedi master at stopping the run by choking out drives slowly. And wonder if we have the passing game to deal with that? Hopefully, we learned something last year about play action.
December 18th, 2023 at 8:45 PM ^
Really 0-38 because I’m sure Mel Tucker was not among those interviewed. I can’t imagine he could come to the phone call.
December 18th, 2023 at 2:41 PM ^
Journalists love "anonymous source" journalism because it allows them to be lazy. They don't have to clarify quotes or provide context and it gives their sources the illusion of legitimacy. They can just regurgitate what these anonymous people say in the name of protecting their source regardless of how biased their sources are
December 18th, 2023 at 2:51 PM ^
they can also prompt the coaches.
feldman: "did michigan look different after they stopped stealing signs?"
ryan day: "yes, they sure did."
feldman: "on this doll, point to where michigan beat you."
ryan day: [points to the ass]
December 18th, 2023 at 4:45 PM ^
Here is another thing. Going into every OSU game the last three seasons these coaches would say the same things about us.
This isnt the Bama team that used to whoop our asses.
This isnt the UM team that used to get is ass whooped.
December 18th, 2023 at 2:52 PM ^
Slow news day??” Yep! LETS MAKE SOME SHIT UP!
December 18th, 2023 at 2:53 PM ^
I also canceled over their coverage of StalionsGate. It had been a long time coming, though. I had stopped reading their articles for the most part for like a year.
December 18th, 2023 at 2:56 PM ^
I originally subscribed to read Nick Baumgardner. He doesn't do this crap and still provides great analysis. It's mainly the national college football writers that are led by Stewart Mandell. They all follow his terrible leadership.
December 18th, 2023 at 3:39 PM ^
I canceled as well during the deluge of crap from Mandel and Feldman.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:14 PM ^
You should definitely cancel your sub, don't let these "well, actually" guys gaslight you about this doo-doo article
December 18th, 2023 at 10:11 PM ^
Yeah, this was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. Did you catch that these comments came from a total of ten coaches, analysts, and admin types? Ten! And what conclusions can be drawn from such a small selected sample? Only that Feldman hates Michigan.
December 18th, 2023 at 5:04 PM ^
This conference has become Michigan, Ohio State, and Ohio State's water boys. 12 other teams in this league are all carrying water for OSU. Because if M wins with 3 and 4 stars, they've got no excuse as to why they get their ass whupped by OSU. Especially if they're PSU. And so they - despite knowing they benefit from advanced sign stealing themselves - carried OSU's water to try to get them to win the game.
And they lost. OSU and the waterboys. They all lost. And we are their champions.
December 19th, 2023 at 9:31 AM ^
The annoymous source sounds like Ari Aasserman or one of the College Football Nerds.