SOS update: Michigan has faced #2, #3, #4 & #8 ranked defenses according to SP+

I'm certain the ncaa & sec check just as rigorously as the IOC does.

IIRC, Brian Kelly noted that he “needed players like those” (that were on Bama’s lines).   

Kelly pursued an approach to increase the size of his lines with his recruiting strategy.

It seems to me that Michigan’s staff has recruited well, and Herbert (with the S&C staff) have helped those young men develop - both technique and S&C - to be competitive at this level - as well as prepare them for a potential future in the NFL.

Again, not discrediting Bama.  But, Michigan has a solid team.

That was the joke.

I think you missed something....go blue

Everyone playing in the Big 10 west should have a massive asterisk on their ranking.  Name me the best B10 west QB.  His name was Cade McNamara. 

It shows how skewed this list is. OSU has a good but not great defense. PSU has a good, not great defense (slightly better than OSU due to pass rush, IMO). Iowa is a good defense as a unit more than individually, they're exploitable with athletes on the outside. Nebraska is a decent defense.

Mostly, they and Michigan are aided by being in a mostly trash B1G. Fact. 

Bama is full of roided-up 5* players coached by maybe the best CFB coach ever. If you can't bully Iowa, you won't bully Bama. The athleticism gap we had on Iowa is true for Bama compared to us when we're on offense.

If Michigan wants any hope to win this game they have to come out on offense with radically different wrinkles than we've seen all year. They have about 3 weeks to fully weaponize Edwards as a pass catcher, get the OL in order and scheme up ways to exploit Bama from the TE position and more. 

On defense Michigan has to get Milroe off balance with 3-4 and keep a spy on him for when he will take off. That's his default state. He's a massive RB playing QB except he's not an atrocious passer. Not elite but not awful. 

They're definitely beatable but the way you don't win is by bunching up and insisting that you can bash them to death. You won't. You weaken their box by showing them that you can and will throw the ball. When Bama backs off their DL is subject to taking wrong steps, overrunning even power runs and not shedding blocks. You just will not come out in power and dictate the game. It'll look a lot like 2021 UGA if you do and this Bama defense is not 2021 UGA. 

You can win but not if you treat them like a B1G team you can outlast with middling power runs and a lot of 3rd down out routes. They'll house those all day if UM doesn't change a thing.

with that said, Bama now is light years ahead of where they were when they played Texas. Milroy improoved tremendously throughout the year. Using that game as a measuring stuck shouldn't even be accounted for.

Yeah that was my #1 takeaway from that Texas-Bama game. UT’s d-line mauled Bamas front. They were in the backfield all game. A potential opportunity for us assuming we can contain Milroe and it doesnt result in a bunch of crippling scrambles