October 28th, 2021 at 8:12 AM ^
Love Klatt.
His analysis is so on point
October 28th, 2021 at 8:37 AM ^
Terrible actor though
October 28th, 2021 at 8:40 AM ^
That was informative! Thanks.
October 28th, 2021 at 8:43 AM ^
Can't wait for the game! Here's hoping for Michigan to dismantle MSU on their home turf and embarrass the skirts off of them Sparty scumbags!
October 28th, 2021 at 8:46 AM ^
I liked Blake talking about the chin up competition with Hassan. Those two are team MVPs in my opinion
October 28th, 2021 at 8:56 AM ^
I would go with Aidan. We could survive without one of them, we couldn't without Aiden.
October 28th, 2021 at 9:05 AM ^
I think the MVPs are the O line and TE, if those men aren’t opening the wholes the RBs don’t have room to run.
October 28th, 2021 at 9:05 AM ^
I think the MVPs are the O line and TE, if those men aren’t opening the wholes the RBs don’t have room to run.
October 28th, 2021 at 9:35 AM ^
i mean - its nice to have options again. You could argue that Ross, Hutch, RBs, OL are all MVPs of the team. Some maybe even Dax, though i'm not as high on him as the others, in terms of consistency since game 1. OL depth is nice to have again.
I feel like a cockeyed optimist - i hope my unbridled enthusiasm doesn't lead to my downfall - at least for this week!
October 28th, 2021 at 11:03 AM ^
No Billy Mumpherys over here brother
October 28th, 2021 at 8:49 AM ^
good stuff.....
Go Blue
October 28th, 2021 at 9:15 AM ^
Although the Buckeyes deserve credit for being good for the past 5-10 years, nothing is going to change in college football until the playoffs are expanded. The same teams are going to be hyped every year (see OSU right now after losing at home to Oregon and Bama after losing to A&M). The only reason both Bama and OSU are ranked as high as they are right now is because of previous years. I just don't understand why the media has to continue to pump up teams like Alabama and OSU. I realize this is nothing new and it happens every year, but it becomes annoying that our biggest rival who needs no help in being hyped up continues to get the media slappy's drooling all over them. No wonder their fan base is so annoying. They can lose a game at Home and still be ranked a couple spots ahead of the team that beat them with the same record. That makes perfect sense to only Buckeye fans.
October 28th, 2021 at 9:38 AM ^
Beat them and this means nothing. We would get the same royal treatment if we hadnt shit the bed for 20 years. Its hard being a blue blood and whining. See - texas, michigan, tennessee (kinda), USC, Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, Miami... We're all whiners.
JUST WIN and it resolves. Looks at clemson and LSU. They were nothing burgers for forever - you win, you get the benefit of the doubt.
We were ranked top 10 for YEARS until everyone exposed us. Look at that year against VT in the BCS bowl or whatever it was called. We barely scraped in...
Beat OSU, win bowl games, go 11-2 go 12-1 a couple times.. and we are in that convo.
October 28th, 2021 at 9:50 AM ^
I don't disagree but I guess you are proving my point. Oregon has beaten OSU yet they are not getting even close to the hype OSU is right now. For Michigan, yes win and this all goes away. For OSU, Bama, Clemson the last few years, those same standards are not equal when it comes to getting preferential treatment (granted these teams have typically only lost 1-2 games per year). It is what it is but again nothing will change until they expand the playoffs. There is a lot to gain (recruiting wise) for a team that can get to the playoffs. Michigan has struggled to even sniff the top 4 in previous years, but they would have made the playoffs two years already in Harbaugh's tenure if the playoffs were expanded to at least 8 teams. Maybe the outcome will be the same even with an expansion but at least it gives 4 more teams to get some exposure when it comes to the recruiting trail which is all that matters in CFB.
October 28th, 2021 at 10:10 AM ^
You apparently haven't watched either Oregon or OSU play football since that game. It is as clear to football neophytes as it is to football savants - OSU has been playing WAAAAYYYYYYY better than Oregon. The OSU offense is so much better today than it was nearly two months ago, it isn't even funny. And - sadly for us - their defense has stabilized into something certainly above average, if not elite. Neither of which Oregon can say...
October 28th, 2021 at 10:47 AM ^
OSU has done what they are expected to do against some bad competition. Besides an overtime game at Stanford, Oregon has done what they should have done against probably better competition than OSU has played. To say that OSU has clearly played waaaaayyyy better than Oregon is just an opinion. I don't know who is better today between Oregon and OSU. If they played at Oregon today would OSU dominate Oregon. Who knows. All I know is Oregon beat OSU at OSU by two touchdowns while being down multiple defensive starters (one being their best player). Also, all I hear is how we want to preserve the importance of the entire regular season by making sure all games matter until it comes to some of the top tier teams where then the argument changes to well X and Y teams are a way different team than they were two months ago. As many people have stated, Michigan just needs to win and this will take care of itself. Go Blue!
October 28th, 2021 at 10:05 AM ^
PREACH.
October 28th, 2021 at 9:43 AM ^
You really don't understand why the media hypes these teams? As in the same media that broadcasts these games? As in the same media that depends upon the ad revenue from the eyeballs that tune in every week and especially the playoffs? I think if you take just a minute or two it will make perfect sense why they do what they do. Alabama, OSU, Clemson are cash cows for CBS/ESPN/Fox networks. Other schools could become that but it's doubtful that a Michigan St./Oregon/Texas A&M would generate those types of numbers and the networks/media would rather deal with a known commodity
October 28th, 2021 at 10:16 AM ^
I don't know that I completely agree with this because Clemson doesn't move the needle. Ranked teams move the needle. Viewership has been down for the CFP for the last few years right? Other than the LSU team? Last year's NCG was down 27% from the previous year. How many fans of other teams other than Bama/OSU fans watched the NCG last year? I watched just to see OSU get rolled, I watched part of LSU/Clemson...but it was probably 2/3 years before I watched the last one. If your team isn't in, especially since it's been a month since your team last played, a lot of casual fans are out of the college football mindset and move on to other sports.
October 28th, 2021 at 12:42 PM ^
CFB is becoming as unwatchable on TV as it is in-person with a 4 minute media timeout every 10 minutes or so. Plus the CFB NC game gets over at what? Midnight?
Ratings are down? Attendance is down? Big surprise.
October 28th, 2021 at 10:13 AM ^
I don't disagree that expanding the playoffs would be good for the game. No more than to eight spots, but I otherwise find quite a few flaws in your arguments:
1) OSU is ranked ahead of Oregon right now because its beaten its last few opponents by an average of 40-45 points each. Its only loss is to a top-10 team, which is currently not playing like a top-10 team and has one really bad loss on its resume. Oregon lost to Stanford a few weeks ago.
2) Yes, OSU and Alabama get the benefit of rankings because of what they've accomplished in previous years, but that success is very easily and evidently carrying over to this season as well. Yes, both have lost, but they have both otherwise looked very dominant. OSU's offense especially. If Michigan had been doing what these guys have been doing the last 10-15 years, they'd be getting the same benefit of the doubt as well. If you don't like that OSU is getting all this attention and getting the benefit of the doubt, then fine. But if you want to do something about it, then go beat them. That's Michigan's only course of action and they haven't been able to do it.
3) Even with playoff expansion I'm not sure how much things are going to change. In any given year, usually Alabama, OSU and Clemson are so far out ahead of everyone else that even if you had an eight team playoff, you're almost certainly going to end up with at least one of these teams in the title game. If not two of them. There's a reason that when ND or Oklahoma find themselves in the playoff they're usually getting spanked out the door by one of the three teams mentioned above. Yes, an eight team playoff at least introduces more variability and the possibilities for upsets. They do happen. But again, you put out an eight team playoff since this CFP has started and I'd tell you that the results of the last seven years don't change much, if at all.
October 28th, 2021 at 10:20 AM ^
Question about point #3 though...
Let's say right now CFP committee wants certain teams in, like OSU...by having an expanded field, there won't be so much pressure to put them at 3, undeservedly when they will still get in at 7 or 8.
The fact that they have to justify why Ohio State will inevitably be ranked ahead of Oregon is horseshit. Head to head HAS to matter. If 1 loss OSU gets in and 1 loss Oregon does not? I think the whole CFP idea needs to change. There needs to be something definitive and it can't ALL be subjective. Winning your conference matters. Head to head matters.
October 28th, 2021 at 10:51 AM ^
I agree with this 100%. The end result may still be the same with OSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, etc making it to the last four teams, but I do believe getting to the playoffs is a huge recruiting tool even if you are the 8th team in. Could Michigan have used some momentum in recruiting if they made the playoffs in 2016. I do not see how you could argue that the answer is yes.
October 28th, 2021 at 9:17 AM ^
On Wednesday, Klatt and Colin Cowherd had an interesting discussion on how the game has changed from 2000 to 2021.
Specifically that you no longer can "out-tough" the competition in the way the game is called today and it is now all about who has the better skill players. Cowherd argued that you either have one of the top 8 QBs in the NFL or you will never be a playoff caliber team.
Separately, they also agreed that we would look at Harbaugh's first 7 years much differently if not for two snaps .... the muffed hike to the punter against MSU and awarding OSU a first down on Braxton Miller's 4th down rush. Plays that kept Michigan from likely B1G championship games and college football playoff spots.
October 28th, 2021 at 9:53 AM ^
Separately, they also agreed that we would look at Harbaugh's first 7 years much differently if not for two snaps .... the muffed hike to the punter against MSU and awarding OSU a first down on Braxton Miller's 4th down rush. Plays that kept Michigan from likely B1G championship games.
This is so true, and really illustrates how football is a game of inches, to quote Al Pacino. It is absolutely amazing how entire games, seasons, and even legacies can hinge on only a play or two
October 28th, 2021 at 10:38 AM ^
"to quote Al Pacino"
And Pacino quoting Lombardi.
October 28th, 2021 at 11:25 AM ^
Probably quoting Michael Scott too
October 28th, 2021 at 9:24 AM ^
Klatt started coming on once a week on the best of the 3 sports stations here in Dallas about 4 years ago and he's always been awesome. Good analysis, funny. Love how he goes at Colin. Pokes at Aggie fans unabashed. And he's always had a good take on Harbaugh in my opinion. Colin too for that matter. When he said he was 39 on the game call Saturday I felt old!
October 28th, 2021 at 9:29 AM ^
So, any experts please chime in to correct me where I'm not see things right, but:
It seems to me like Sparty is running a very similar Split Zone scheme as M with a tight end coming across to kick out the back side end and open a cut back lane. My take is that what Klatt is calling "power" in his M play analysis is what folks around here refer to as "arc motion" by the blocky-catchy type in the context of Split Zone. Similarly to MSU, the M RB is also relying on his vision to see which lane is open. Also, RB timing still seems critically important whenever you have anyone pulling or motioning across the formation. Klatt seems to deprecate timing with respect to vision in this case.
October 28th, 2021 at 9:29 AM ^
Thanks for posting that. Good stuff. Really like Klatt, knowledgeable, fair minded, has opinions without being an asshole. Best analyst going right now. I know a lot of people don’t like Gus but I think they make an excellent pairing.
October 28th, 2021 at 10:16 AM ^
Johnson could be a good play by play guy if he would just let the game speak for itself. Instead, he yells at everything in a way seemingly meant to get the fan involved. We don't need Gus to increase volume during a play, or yell about something that's happening - we know what's happening!
The best play callers just let the game happen. You never heard Keith Jackson get all excited about a 4 yard gain unless he was explaining how the Big Uglies up front opened up a truck gate. Hell, even Brent Musberger let the game speak - maybe because he was ogling cheerleaders, but whatever (I mean, don't we all?)...
Gus tries to be the game.
October 28th, 2021 at 9:37 AM ^
Klatt has almost always liked Michigan. This year, he has been slower to support us based on failed prior-year expectations. He reminds me of our fanbase.
October 28th, 2021 at 10:26 AM ^
While I don’t disagree I can’t blame either for feeling that way. I’m still waiting for the kick in the nuts that come with being a Michigan fan. Hopefully the cowboy boot doesn’t land there on Saturday.
October 28th, 2021 at 10:30 AM ^
I mean, yeah.
Anyone who isn't cautious on UM hasn't been paying attention.
He's cautious, but also has us at #4.
October 28th, 2021 at 10:19 AM ^
Hands down the best in the business. It’s unfortunate he has to work with Gus.
October 28th, 2021 at 10:32 AM ^
It's weird how Gus can be so divisive.
I have friends who swear he's the best in the biz (mostly from college bball) and others who want to gouge their eyes out.
It's definitely a weird dynamic with them because they don't fit into the normal "play by play" and "color commentary" rolls. They overlap quite a bit.
October 28th, 2021 at 10:38 AM ^
I feel like Gus is basically a younger Dick Vitale. He's a hype man just there to say things really LOUD and EXCITED to get people's attention. He doesn't really offer much substance.
October 28th, 2021 at 10:40 AM ^
That's a good comparison. You would never have DickieV as a play by play guy, but that's what you get with Gus.
October 28th, 2021 at 11:14 AM ^
It's definitely a weird dynamic with them because they don't fit into the normal "play by play" and "color commentary" rolls. They overlap quite a bit.
Such is the difference between radio and television broadcasts. Because it has no visual component, radio demands a much more detail-oriented PBP caller to create a moving image in the minds of the audience. On TV, sometimes a simple "Wow!" or "Goodbye... Hello, Heisman!" will suffice.
October 28th, 2021 at 11:44 AM ^
yes.....that makes brando, who isn't good, but can function well enough doing a televised game, totally useless on the radio.....
October 28th, 2021 at 12:02 PM ^
Michigan’s tightends have 10 catches on the day . One of MSU’s big weaknesses is covering tight ends
October 28th, 2021 at 12:20 PM ^
? BEAT STAEE!!!!!〽️
October 28th, 2021 at 3:47 PM ^
Michigan 37
Michigan State - 17
It's THE game for them so they will score but I feel by the end of 3rd and into the entire 4th Quarter we pull away after tiring out there defense. Looking forward to this game! Defense gets a big play in this game for us.
Plus I consulted my Magic 8 Ball and after asking it if Michigan will beat MSU the triangle said: "It is certain" ..... so .... it's a done deal.
October 29th, 2021 at 7:44 AM ^
You gotta question? You ask the 8 ball!
October 28th, 2021 at 6:36 PM ^
I see some couch burning in EL's future. Great stuff.