Great breakdown! Side note: something tells me if they had KenPom back then, Indiana State would have been a top 50 team when that Larry Bird guy was there
“You just need a Cade McNamara next year.”
This is what’s fascinating to me to think about. Given that he was the main backup last year and looked competent (not to mention has the benefit of age, experience), I’d imagine Tuttle is the best bet here. He also seemed a bit more mobile than McNamara.
But there’s an alternate vision, too. Michigan should be loaded again at RB. Mullings looked like he’d be a starter on most big ten teams. Edwards is explosive and versatile. Only needs a small opening to take it the distance. Benjamin Hall looked really good, especially for a freshman. And the OL should be great again. The defense will also be loaded.
Do you get more bang from leaning into that even more with a running QB? Given the accuracy issues, the PA game and 3rd and long success should be tough to replicate (though anyone will be a come down from McCarthy). But if Orji starts, the running game should be even more dynamic. Maybe we can get away with rowing just 10-15 per game!
Id imagine they will prefer a more accurate player who’s reliable in his reads since the run game should still be really good and you never want to be one dimensional (even with a running QB we know teams can load the box and force you to throw). But I just think of what Orji could bring to that running game and man…
I mean he's never had a QB like Justin Herbert (not in the pro's, obviously Andrew Luck was elite). The 49ers were a disaster when he got there.
But finding a franchise QB is THE most difficult thing for an NFL team, and Harbaugh already comes in with one. Also very curious to see if they draft Bowers. Herbert and Bowers together in a Harbaugh offense...whew
I do think there is some hindsight bias around Harbaugh's first few years. First season, they were the flukiest play ever away from 11-2 (and kicked Florida's ass in the bowl game. Second season was the spot. Third season was disappointing, but we were down to third string QB.
Clearly, the last three years was on another level, but for most of Harbaugh's tenure they were a pretty consistent top 10-15 program even before that.
We don’t throw fades. It’s not like we were throwing them to CJ or Roman. Loveland and Barner lose the same mismatch issues that a big receiver poses on a small CB and boxed out for plenty of balls.
This offense creates mismatches according to personnel, it hasn’t ever really relied on jump balls (not even when we had Nico). It’s also worth noting that some of the best contested catch guys we’ve had were not the Greg Matthews types (Roman Wilson, Ronnie Bell).
We need fast guys who can get open and catch at that position.
Does Tuttle have eligibility? Looked pretty solid and has good mobility
On the other hand, I do wonder if they just lean fully into throwing the ball 10-15 times per game. The O-Line should be awesome again, and adding Orji to Mullings, Hall, and Cabana could make for a truly unstoppable rushing attack.
Still, is Orji reliable enough as a passer? Many people called JJ a game manager, but what many people miss is that when you run as often as we do on early downs, when JJ (and Cade tbh) did have to throw, it was often in obvious passing situations. Can Orji be as consistent on those throws as Cade at least? If so the idea of that running attack is very enticing.
I mean I think the fact that at 21 he’s already this productive and efficient is a lot more exciting than Penix or Nix having stayed in college for so many years. JJ still has two more years of development in front of him before he’s even at their age.
Also think the accuracy question marks are way overblown, he’s shown the ability to layer throws in between zone defenders, hit players on the run on crossing routes, basically make every throw and his completion percentage was very high.
Did he have missed? Sure. Every QB in the draft did! Look at Penix in the championship game. Very few college QB’s never miss a throw (Stroud had a few bad misses against Michigan last year for example).
I think what’s lot of people keep forgetting with JJ is that he doesn’t even turn 21 until later this month! Guys like Daniels and Penix were asked to do more…but they’re both 23! Imagine JJ with two more years of development.
“For Texas, you had them drive deep into UW territory three times in the second half and gain only 3 points on those drives, one field goal, one turnover on downs on the final sequence of the game, and one lost fumble.”
man that sounds familiar…if we are creative enough and can avoid mistakes we should be able to put up a lot of points. Comes down to if we are really facing the Kansas City chiefs, or if we have enough to slow them down and can maximize our offensive output
My fiancee went to UCLA lol I take exception to this! (It's an amazing school, obviously, beautiful campus and did give me my future wife so I have to give them that)
Definitely a lot of cultural similarities. Beyond its academic excellence and rigor, Washington has a bit of the same aura of "elitism" that folks sometimes attribute to Michigan. Michigan was a world-class university in the backyard of the auto giants, while Washington is in the backyard of tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon (and of course, Boeing). Seattle and Ann Arbor both have a bit of a hipster feel.
I think the turnover has been a positive. Yes, we no longer have two elite edge rushers, but we have four good ones, and we have exchanged a not-yet-fully-realized Mazi Smith and a few average players for three guys who look like first round picks, plus Goode (assuming Benny is out for the game). We have junior Junior (lol) Colson instead of freshman Colson, plus Barrett playing like an All American. Will Johnson is better than any CB we had that year (as good as Turner was), Wallace and Gray is probably a wash, Dax and Sainristil is probably a wash, but Rod Moore is much better than the freshman version, Paige is probably a little better than Hawkins.
So we are the same or better at every position (and WAY better at DT), but went from two of the best pass rushers in Michigan history to four pretty good ones. I think that gives us more flexibility and balance, and I think this defense would fare even better against that 2021 OSU offense.
Love this analysis! The one thing I'll add is that Michigan's stats against some of the top defenses are a bit skewed.
Michigan featured a defensive TD against Maryland and Rutgers, and in the Maryland game also had two safeties. They also went to OT against Alabama, and against OSU while there was no defensive TD they did have an INT returned to the 5 yard line.
The offense on its own seems to be producing about 24 points per game against top defenses (though they probably could have scored a lot more against Rutgers, and JJ was banged up against Maryland and PSU). I do think Washington's defense is not at the level of the Big Ten elite and Michigan had a much more aggressive game plan against Bama than they did against teams like Maryland and Rutgers, so I think they can top that.
Other side of the ball is more fascinating tbh. Unstoppable force meets immovable object. Brilliant offensive mind with a future NFL QB against the mad scientist who has outschemed Ryan Day and so many others two years in a row. First round pick at WR vs a future first round pick at CB. Elite offensive line against elite defensive line.
I think Washington has to win that matchup pretty convincingly to win, because I do think Michigan will move the ball on them. But they are capable of doing so.
Awesome recap, man. Really captured everything I was feeling.
On a separate note, will there be a UFR this week? Understand if not, of course, the Washington prep on short notice must be tough. Just curious because this is an unprecedented situation lol
Yeah we all know this, we know the idiots are going to come up with the technicality that "yes but you did it illegally" even though the NCAA itself said it confers no advantage.
JJ said nothing wrong but honestly I'd rather they just give this no oxygen at all and just say "I'd prefer to discuss the game."
Michigan has killed it in the transfer portal. Okie was a nice contributor last year, Stewart has been much more than that. Josh Wallace deserves a shoutout as well. They played a TON of man and while Will Johnson had the tougher assignment, Wallace was nails all game against Ala freaking Bama. Not bad for a 6'0" guy from UMass.
Love the pod, this is insightful stuff, but was a bit disappointed that there was no rose bowl discussion.
We are playing Ala-freaking-Bama as the 1-seed in the playoff! My first game as a fan was App State. This is a huge deal! Would rather hear more about that than the NCAA’s ineptitude.
regardless, great job, and always cool to hear from Bacon
I feel pretty similarly about this game as I did against OSU. I think OSU had better DT's, but Bama has better LB's. OSU had a more accurate passer, but Milroe is a much better athlete. I actually think OSU's CB's were great all year so I don't think Bama will be that shocking there (despite a bevy of elite talents), but their safeties are better, particularly against the run.
To me, that favors Bama unless we see a more creative offensive game plan. Against OSU, Michigan wasn't dominant in any one phase, but did juuuust enough to win each phase.
They did not run the ball dominantly, but they got enough short-yardage wins and 3-4 yard chunks to stay on schedule, plus the explosive from Corum.
They didn't light up the secondary, but JJ completed 80% of his passes, mostly avoided drive-killing sacks, and made plays off-schedule when necessary.
They didn't completely shut down OSU's run game (and got downright gashed at times), but had a high enough stuff rate to create obvious passing down situations.
They gave up 270 yards to McCord and over 100 to Harrison, but prevented long TD's and forced two turnovers.
I don't know if that recipe will be enough against Bama. If Bama gets aggressive against the run with their safeties, will they call enough play action to create opportunities (and to keep Bama's vaunted defensive ends from pinning their ears back) downfield to Loveland and Edwards (and potentially Wilson)? I just haven't seen enough from Moore and Harbaugh to have a ton of confidence there.
My expectation is that Michigan struggles on offense and Bama gets enough from the run game with Milroe supplementing it to put together a few drives. But Moore and Harbaugh have some options to change the calculus there.
It is interesting how early in the season when Michigan struggled to run the ball against teams that were blitzing LB's and safeties while JJ torched them through the air, the narrative was that Michigan couldn't run the ball, and later on when defenses focused more on taking away downfield passing and the run game improved but JJ's stats weren't as great it became "oh JJ isn't good without Connor Stalions" lol.
Fact is, defenses have adapted to Michigan's running game by loading the box. It doesn't mean the OL hasn't been playing well (in fact besides the OSU game they've been pretty consistently well above the Mendoza line). Difference from last year is we've faced more heavy boxes and the RB's have not been as great at generating explosives. However, we have been able to punish teams (at least for most of the season) with PA, JJ's legs, and Loveland and WIlson being difficult 1 on 1 covers.
Now, it is completely fair to wonder if Alabama has the horses to play aggressively in the box AND take away the passing attack, especially given the quality of their secondary and edge rushers (not to mention Saban). But "Indiana stuffed them" screams willful ignorance.
McGuffie was the reason I got into Mgoblog. I was a freshman, and after the Oregon loss I was a bit despondent. My friend said “cheer up, we have this RB coming in next year who’s apparently the next Reggie Bush.” So I googled McGuffie and…the rest is history
New Jersey is a hot bed of talent, it makes sense that Rutgers is finally starting to capitalize. That said, I don't think Pikiell is a great fit. His offenses are isolation heavy and rely on finding great individual talent, and I don't think that's a great fit for Michigan. We've never been able to have much success with true one and done elite recruit types (both because they don't stick around long enough and in general Michigan doesn't have the regional or NIL ability to consistently recruit like Duke).
We need a coach who can take advantage of the strengths in midwest basketball, which is typically hotshot shooters from Indiana and strong big men. We need a creative offensive coach. As good as Pikiell his, haven't really seen that from him.
I'm definitely a lot more worried about JC Latham than I was about Olu. 6'6" 360...man Moore and McGregor have been really disciplined about setting the edge but the physics are tough there. He's very athletic too
Don't think he should be fired personally, Michigan needs to adapt to transfer portal. The defensive issues are worrisome, but they have the personnel and I think it's really about chemistry and communication. MSU is struggling too.
If he does get fired (and I'd understand if he was), there are definitely attractive candidates. Given the NIL restrictions and the fact that this will always to a large extent be a basketball school, we need a coach that will emphasize spacing and take advantage of the kind of shooters we can get in the midwest while also being able to recruit sturdy bigs to handle the plodding Big Ten offenses (a lesson Beilein learned in time and that took Michigan to another level).
Wish list in tiers:
Tier 1: Make the call, don't expect them to take it
Nate Oats, HC Alabama
Bobby Hurley, HC UConn
Tier 2: Realistic gets that would still be close to a home run
Dusty May, HC Florida Atlantic
Tier 3: Solid hire with track record
Ryan Odom, VCU (previously led Utah State to Round of 64, UMBC to becoming first 16 seed to beat a 1 seed)
Yeah if we beat Iowa to win the big ten with Jayden Denegal and got left out as punishment for that? I’d be livid. They got absolutely screwed, even though I do think Bama is better than FSU without Travis
1. NO TURNOVERS. The only way Iowa wins is if Michigan commits multiple turnovers that Iowa can turn into points. I love JJ's creativity, but for one week, just throw the ball away or at least don't throw back across your body.
2. See number 1.
3. Mix in outside runs to keep the duo viable, hit the LB's with PAP from time to time, be willing to settle for field goals. Getting out of this with a 13-3 win is fine, we don't need style points from the committee anymore
Yeah was going to say this. Yurcich was pretty damn successful everywhere else he went (granted if you want to say the Oklahoma State offenses might have been Gundy, fine). All of a sudden he forgot how to coach or was he hamstrung?
Good hire though. They need to get a good OL coach next.
He is usually very favorable toward Michigan, so it was a bit surprising that even besides that play he was not as favorable toward Michigan yesterday. That could just be a product of the fact that this is the only team this year who's matched up with Michigan on both sides like that. It's probably a lot easier to be favorable to Michigan when you're watching them against Purdue lol
I hope the team brings its A-game the way both of yall did! My dad made the EXACT same “You used to be able to all the way to the gate” comment as Bryan at our Thanksgiving dinner haha. I love how yall are able to start a column with these intricate stories and I’m like “how is this going to tie back to Michigan football” and inevitably it becomes a hilarious and fitting analogy.
As a south Asian who attended Michigan in the 2000’s, it’s always been easy to relate to Raj’s columns for me. Everything from Taco Bell (and the indignation caused to our community from the cancellation of the Mexican pizza!) to now the post-college Michigan life in NYC.
Anyway, thanks for these columns. I look forward to them every week. See yall on the other side. Go blue!
“Ohio State's run offense isn't going to be much better than Maryland's.”
Not sure I agree and it’s actually the thing I’m most worried about besides Marvin Harrison, Jr. OSU’s overall stats don’t look great running the ball but they’ve been significantly better with Henderson healthy. He can make guys miss and turn on the jets.
Maryland had success because they were able to avoid being out behind the chains. 2nd and 4, 3rd and 4 is when they hit chunk gains because the whole playbook was open to them. If OSU is able to do that…it’s going to be tough, especially considering they have more talent and home run hitters.
FWIW it’s not a “lousy D”. They ranked top 40 in SP+. With the talent Michigan has you’d still expect a much better performance (to your point), but Maryland has talent, and Michigan was down it’s starting and backup tackle as well as its top WR
Regressing is overstating it imo. The pick (and the throw before it) seemed to be him getting antsy, playing hero ball. They have been able to rein that in when it matters.
The CJ play sucked, I do think he has a habit of putting too much on the ball when he’s late, but sometimes guys do miss. To his credit he did make some big plays on 3rd and 4th down. I’m more worried about Moore than JJ at this point.
Yeah that made that play even more frustrating. Was begging for Moore to call PAP (we had second and 3 and he called two drop back deep shots, so it wasn’t even just “being conservative”), he finally does, it goes perfectly…and that.
Hopefully they will be more aggressive next week. I’m willing to chalk up JJ’s misses (and to his credit, he had some big throws too) to just a bad game but I’m worried about Moore.
Can we just stop scheduling mid major teams? What a fucking embarrassment. Hey Dug, if they're not wearing the same uniform as you don't throw them the ball.
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I mean he won an NFL playoff game. Maybe it's just really hard to beat Michigan and Georgia?
2. Pat…
1. Erik Spoelstra
2. Pat Riley
3 Gregg Popovich
4. Phil Jackson
Great breakdown! Side note: something tells me if they had KenPom back then, Indiana State would have been a top 50 team when that Larry Bird guy was there
“You just need a Cade McNamara next year.”
This is what’s fascinating to me to think about. Given that he was the main backup last year and looked competent (not to mention has the benefit of age, experience), I’d imagine Tuttle is the best bet here. He also seemed a bit more mobile than McNamara.
But there’s an alternate vision, too. Michigan should be loaded again at RB. Mullings looked like he’d be a starter on most big ten teams. Edwards is explosive and versatile. Only needs a small opening to take it the distance. Benjamin Hall looked really good, especially for a freshman. And the OL should be great again. The defense will also be loaded.
Do you get more bang from leaning into that even more with a running QB? Given the accuracy issues, the PA game and 3rd and long success should be tough to replicate (though anyone will be a come down from McCarthy). But if Orji starts, the running game should be even more dynamic. Maybe we can get away with rowing just 10-15 per game!
Id imagine they will prefer a more accurate player who’s reliable in his reads since the run game should still be really good and you never want to be one dimensional (even with a running QB we know teams can load the box and force you to throw). But I just think of what Orji could bring to that running game and man…
I mean he's never had a QB like Justin Herbert (not in the pro's, obviously Andrew Luck was elite). The 49ers were a disaster when he got there.
But finding a franchise QB is THE most difficult thing for an NFL team, and Harbaugh already comes in with one. Also very curious to see if they draft Bowers. Herbert and Bowers together in a Harbaugh offense...whew
I do think there is some hindsight bias around Harbaugh's first few years. First season, they were the flukiest play ever away from 11-2 (and kicked Florida's ass in the bowl game. Second season was the spot. Third season was disappointing, but we were down to third string QB.
Clearly, the last three years was on another level, but for most of Harbaugh's tenure they were a pretty consistent top 10-15 program even before that.
We don’t throw fades. It’s not like we were throwing them to CJ or Roman. Loveland and Barner lose the same mismatch issues that a big receiver poses on a small CB and boxed out for plenty of balls.
This offense creates mismatches according to personnel, it hasn’t ever really relied on jump balls (not even when we had Nico). It’s also worth noting that some of the best contested catch guys we’ve had were not the Greg Matthews types (Roman Wilson, Ronnie Bell).
We need fast guys who can get open and catch at that position.
That’s what the tight ends are for
Does Tuttle have eligibility? Looked pretty solid and has good mobility
On the other hand, I do wonder if they just lean fully into throwing the ball 10-15 times per game. The O-Line should be awesome again, and adding Orji to Mullings, Hall, and Cabana could make for a truly unstoppable rushing attack.
Still, is Orji reliable enough as a passer? Many people called JJ a game manager, but what many people miss is that when you run as often as we do on early downs, when JJ (and Cade tbh) did have to throw, it was often in obvious passing situations. Can Orji be as consistent on those throws as Cade at least? If so the idea of that running attack is very enticing.
I mean I think the fact that at 21 he’s already this productive and efficient is a lot more exciting than Penix or Nix having stayed in college for so many years. JJ still has two more years of development in front of him before he’s even at their age.
Also think the accuracy question marks are way overblown, he’s shown the ability to layer throws in between zone defenders, hit players on the run on crossing routes, basically make every throw and his completion percentage was very high.
Did he have missed? Sure. Every QB in the draft did! Look at Penix in the championship game. Very few college QB’s never miss a throw (Stroud had a few bad misses against Michigan last year for example).
I think what’s lot of people keep forgetting with JJ is that he doesn’t even turn 21 until later this month! Guys like Daniels and Penix were asked to do more…but they’re both 23! Imagine JJ with two more years of development.
“For Texas, you had them drive deep into UW territory three times in the second half and gain only 3 points on those drives, one field goal, one turnover on downs on the final sequence of the game, and one lost fumble.”
man that sounds familiar…if we are creative enough and can avoid mistakes we should be able to put up a lot of points. Comes down to if we are really facing the Kansas City chiefs, or if we have enough to slow them down and can maximize our offensive output
Also holy crap Alabama has been in a ton of championship games lmao. What a win that was on Saturday
My fiancee went to UCLA lol I take exception to this! (It's an amazing school, obviously, beautiful campus and did give me my future wife so I have to give them that)
Definitely a lot of cultural similarities. Beyond its academic excellence and rigor, Washington has a bit of the same aura of "elitism" that folks sometimes attribute to Michigan. Michigan was a world-class university in the backyard of the auto giants, while Washington is in the backyard of tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon (and of course, Boeing). Seattle and Ann Arbor both have a bit of a hipster feel.
…
Woodson's pick against MSU
Braylon snatching the ball out of the sky against MSU
Hassan Haskins hurdle against Nebraska
I think the turnover has been a positive. Yes, we no longer have two elite edge rushers, but we have four good ones, and we have exchanged a not-yet-fully-realized Mazi Smith and a few average players for three guys who look like first round picks, plus Goode (assuming Benny is out for the game). We have junior Junior (lol) Colson instead of freshman Colson, plus Barrett playing like an All American. Will Johnson is better than any CB we had that year (as good as Turner was), Wallace and Gray is probably a wash, Dax and Sainristil is probably a wash, but Rod Moore is much better than the freshman version, Paige is probably a little better than Hawkins.
So we are the same or better at every position (and WAY better at DT), but went from two of the best pass rushers in Michigan history to four pretty good ones. I think that gives us more flexibility and balance, and I think this defense would fare even better against that 2021 OSU offense.
Love this analysis! The one thing I'll add is that Michigan's stats against some of the top defenses are a bit skewed.
Michigan featured a defensive TD against Maryland and Rutgers, and in the Maryland game also had two safeties. They also went to OT against Alabama, and against OSU while there was no defensive TD they did have an INT returned to the 5 yard line.
The offense on its own seems to be producing about 24 points per game against top defenses (though they probably could have scored a lot more against Rutgers, and JJ was banged up against Maryland and PSU). I do think Washington's defense is not at the level of the Big Ten elite and Michigan had a much more aggressive game plan against Bama than they did against teams like Maryland and Rutgers, so I think they can top that.
Other side of the ball is more fascinating tbh. Unstoppable force meets immovable object. Brilliant offensive mind with a future NFL QB against the mad scientist who has outschemed Ryan Day and so many others two years in a row. First round pick at WR vs a future first round pick at CB. Elite offensive line against elite defensive line.
I think Washington has to win that matchup pretty convincingly to win, because I do think Michigan will move the ball on them. But they are capable of doing so.
Awesome recap, man. Really captured everything I was feeling.
On a separate note, will there be a UFR this week? Understand if not, of course, the Washington prep on short notice must be tough. Just curious because this is an unprecedented situation lol
Yeah we all know this, we know the idiots are going to come up with the technicality that "yes but you did it illegally" even though the NCAA itself said it confers no advantage.
JJ said nothing wrong but honestly I'd rather they just give this no oxygen at all and just say "I'd prefer to discuss the game."
Michigan has killed it in the transfer portal. Okie was a nice contributor last year, Stewart has been much more than that. Josh Wallace deserves a shoutout as well. They played a TON of man and while Will Johnson had the tougher assignment, Wallace was nails all game against Ala freaking Bama. Not bad for a 6'0" guy from UMass.
Honestly we'd do the same thing if Alabama said JJ was a "more athletic Tyler Buchner". Fanbases gonna do this.
Their fanbase sucks, but this is just part of the game
Love the pod, this is insightful stuff, but was a bit disappointed that there was no rose bowl discussion.
We are playing Ala-freaking-Bama as the 1-seed in the playoff! My first game as a fan was App State. This is a huge deal! Would rather hear more about that than the NCAA’s ineptitude.
regardless, great job, and always cool to hear from Bacon
I feel pretty similarly about this game as I did against OSU. I think OSU had better DT's, but Bama has better LB's. OSU had a more accurate passer, but Milroe is a much better athlete. I actually think OSU's CB's were great all year so I don't think Bama will be that shocking there (despite a bevy of elite talents), but their safeties are better, particularly against the run.
To me, that favors Bama unless we see a more creative offensive game plan. Against OSU, Michigan wasn't dominant in any one phase, but did juuuust enough to win each phase.
They did not run the ball dominantly, but they got enough short-yardage wins and 3-4 yard chunks to stay on schedule, plus the explosive from Corum.
They didn't light up the secondary, but JJ completed 80% of his passes, mostly avoided drive-killing sacks, and made plays off-schedule when necessary.
They didn't completely shut down OSU's run game (and got downright gashed at times), but had a high enough stuff rate to create obvious passing down situations.
They gave up 270 yards to McCord and over 100 to Harrison, but prevented long TD's and forced two turnovers.
I don't know if that recipe will be enough against Bama. If Bama gets aggressive against the run with their safeties, will they call enough play action to create opportunities (and to keep Bama's vaunted defensive ends from pinning their ears back) downfield to Loveland and Edwards (and potentially Wilson)? I just haven't seen enough from Moore and Harbaugh to have a ton of confidence there.
My expectation is that Michigan struggles on offense and Bama gets enough from the run game with Milroe supplementing it to put together a few drives. But Moore and Harbaugh have some options to change the calculus there.
It is interesting how early in the season when Michigan struggled to run the ball against teams that were blitzing LB's and safeties while JJ torched them through the air, the narrative was that Michigan couldn't run the ball, and later on when defenses focused more on taking away downfield passing and the run game improved but JJ's stats weren't as great it became "oh JJ isn't good without Connor Stalions" lol.
Fact is, defenses have adapted to Michigan's running game by loading the box. It doesn't mean the OL hasn't been playing well (in fact besides the OSU game they've been pretty consistently well above the Mendoza line). Difference from last year is we've faced more heavy boxes and the RB's have not been as great at generating explosives. However, we have been able to punish teams (at least for most of the season) with PA, JJ's legs, and Loveland and WIlson being difficult 1 on 1 covers.
Now, it is completely fair to wonder if Alabama has the horses to play aggressively in the box AND take away the passing attack, especially given the quality of their secondary and edge rushers (not to mention Saban). But "Indiana stuffed them" screams willful ignorance.
McGuffie was the reason I got into Mgoblog. I was a freshman, and after the Oregon loss I was a bit despondent. My friend said “cheer up, we have this RB coming in next year who’s apparently the next Reggie Bush.” So I googled McGuffie and…the rest is history
He needs to stop having several drinks witz breakfast
Donovan would be a home run. Oats seems pretty happy where he is unless the NCAA comes calling.
New Jersey is a hot bed of talent, it makes sense that Rutgers is finally starting to capitalize. That said, I don't think Pikiell is a great fit. His offenses are isolation heavy and rely on finding great individual talent, and I don't think that's a great fit for Michigan. We've never been able to have much success with true one and done elite recruit types (both because they don't stick around long enough and in general Michigan doesn't have the regional or NIL ability to consistently recruit like Duke).
We need a coach who can take advantage of the strengths in midwest basketball, which is typically hotshot shooters from Indiana and strong big men. We need a creative offensive coach. As good as Pikiell his, haven't really seen that from him.
THE KNOWLESEDGE!
I'm definitely a lot more worried about JC Latham than I was about Olu. 6'6" 360...man Moore and McGregor have been really disciplined about setting the edge but the physics are tough there. He's very athletic too
Don't think he should be fired personally, Michigan needs to adapt to transfer portal. The defensive issues are worrisome, but they have the personnel and I think it's really about chemistry and communication. MSU is struggling too.
If he does get fired (and I'd understand if he was), there are definitely attractive candidates. Given the NIL restrictions and the fact that this will always to a large extent be a basketball school, we need a coach that will emphasize spacing and take advantage of the kind of shooters we can get in the midwest while also being able to recruit sturdy bigs to handle the plodding Big Ten offenses (a lesson Beilein learned in time and that took Michigan to another level).
Wish list in tiers:
Tier 1: Make the call, don't expect them to take it
Nate Oats, HC Alabama
Bobby Hurley, HC UConn
Tier 2: Realistic gets that would still be close to a home run
Dusty May, HC Florida Atlantic
Tier 3: Solid hire with track record
Ryan Odom, VCU (previously led Utah State to Round of 64, UMBC to becoming first 16 seed to beat a 1 seed)
Franz Wagner gave them 7 missed threes as a throw in too
(Love Franz lol, but my fiancee went to UCLA and I'm still not over that loss)
As an Eagles fan I'm pretty worried about the Giants drafting JJ :(. Would really suck to have to root against that guy
Yeah if we beat Iowa to win the big ten with Jayden Denegal and got left out as punishment for that? I’d be livid. They got absolutely screwed, even though I do think Bama is better than FSU without Travis
”E-A-G…
Brandon Graham says,
”E-A-G-L-E-S”
1. NO TURNOVERS. The only way Iowa wins is if Michigan commits multiple turnovers that Iowa can turn into points. I love JJ's creativity, but for one week, just throw the ball away or at least don't throw back across your body.
2. See number 1.
3. Mix in outside runs to keep the duo viable, hit the LB's with PAP from time to time, be willing to settle for field goals. Getting out of this with a 13-3 win is fine, we don't need style points from the committee anymore
Yeah was going to say this. Yurcich was pretty damn successful everywhere else he went (granted if you want to say the Oklahoma State offenses might have been Gundy, fine). All of a sudden he forgot how to coach or was he hamstrung?
Good hire though. They need to get a good OL coach next.
He is usually very favorable toward Michigan, so it was a bit surprising that even besides that play he was not as favorable toward Michigan yesterday. That could just be a product of the fact that this is the only team this year who's matched up with Michigan on both sides like that. It's probably a lot easier to be favorable to Michigan when you're watching them against Purdue lol
I hope the team brings its A-game the way both of yall did! My dad made the EXACT same “You used to be able to all the way to the gate” comment as Bryan at our Thanksgiving dinner haha. I love how yall are able to start a column with these intricate stories and I’m like “how is this going to tie back to Michigan football” and inevitably it becomes a hilarious and fitting analogy.
As a south Asian who attended Michigan in the 2000’s, it’s always been easy to relate to Raj’s columns for me. Everything from Taco Bell (and the indignation caused to our community from the cancellation of the Mexican pizza!) to now the post-college Michigan life in NYC.
Anyway, thanks for these columns. I look forward to them every week. See yall on the other side. Go blue!
“Ohio State's run offense isn't going to be much better than Maryland's.”
Not sure I agree and it’s actually the thing I’m most worried about besides Marvin Harrison, Jr. OSU’s overall stats don’t look great running the ball but they’ve been significantly better with Henderson healthy. He can make guys miss and turn on the jets.
Maryland had success because they were able to avoid being out behind the chains. 2nd and 4, 3rd and 4 is when they hit chunk gains because the whole playbook was open to them. If OSU is able to do that…it’s going to be tough, especially considering they have more talent and home run hitters.
Bet
FWIW it’s not a “lousy D”. They ranked top 40 in SP+. With the talent Michigan has you’d still expect a much better performance (to your point), but Maryland has talent, and Michigan was down it’s starting and backup tackle as well as its top WR
Regressing is overstating it imo. The pick (and the throw before it) seemed to be him getting antsy, playing hero ball. They have been able to rein that in when it matters.
The CJ play sucked, I do think he has a habit of putting too much on the ball when he’s late, but sometimes guys do miss. To his credit he did make some big plays on 3rd and 4th down. I’m more worried about Moore than JJ at this point.
Yeah that made that play even more frustrating. Was begging for Moore to call PAP (we had second and 3 and he called two drop back deep shots, so it wasn’t even just “being conservative”), he finally does, it goes perfectly…and that.
Hopefully they will be more aggressive next week. I’m willing to chalk up JJ’s misses (and to his credit, he had some big throws too) to just a bad game but I’m worried about Moore.
This isn’t fair to Loveland, who was awesome today. Semaj Morgan looked quite good too.
Can we just stop scheduling mid major teams? What a fucking embarrassment. Hey Dug, if they're not wearing the same uniform as you don't throw them the ball.
AI would never have lost to fucking long beach state what an embarrassment
Tuck Jizzan
That's fair.