Blue By Ninety - Blue By the Numbers: Back-to-back-to-back The Game Champs

Episode Date: November 29, 2023

Michigan wins The Game for the third straight seasons and Tanner and Brian breakdown the gameday experience at Michigan Stadium.

All right, and welcome back to Blue by the Numbers. I'm your host, Tanner Wooten, joined as always by Brian Bouton. Brian, I know how you're doing, but I got to ask you, how are you doing? I couldn't be any better. We were talking a little bit before. It's been hard to focus since Saturday at noon. You know, family in town, all the stuff, working for two days. It's hard to kind of buckle in and focus.

It's like euphoria, right? It's really great. Yeah, I mean, you know, I, in between meetings today, created a Connor Stallion's hype video that popped up on Twitter. Yeah, which was hilarious. But, man, Michigan beats Ohio State 30-24 on Saturday in the big house in the coolest atmosphere I've ever been in. I mean, I've been to a number of games,

and that is my first time going to the game. Unbelievable experience. Michigan fans brought it. And I told you I wanted to go on a monologue real quick, so I'm going to just real quick, two or three-minute story, and then I'm going to let you talk. But Joel Klatt talked about this in his podcast. Zach Zinner goes down after a nice gain on a tight end delay to A.J. Barner.

I just want to talk about that moment and what people at home didn't necessarily get to see in the moment. Now you're starting to see some videos come out. I know Big Ten Network just posted a video that's in their cinematic highlights that I just watched while I was at the gym recently today. Let's talk about Zach Zinner. Stud. All-American. One of the best players i've seen in michigan in my time honestly and so he goes down and you can hear a pin drop in michigan city i mean that stadium we brought it on saturday it was loud i just told you before i lost my voice um finally coming back after drinking some hot tea and some honey. And, you know, just to give you an idea of how loud that place was, man, you could hear a pin drop.

I mean, there was nobody talking. There was no nothing from Ohio State fans, nothing from Michigan fans, nothing. And I don't know when it happened, who started it, where it started in the stadium. But a chant, you could just start to hear, let's go, Zach. Let's go, Zach. Man, it was surreal because you could see it on the players. I mean, these guys are taking a knee. Trevor Keegan, Carson Barnhart, A.J. Barnhart. You can see it in, again, the Big Ten highlights. You can see it probably in a number of different replays from those guys.

Just hit him immediately. Like they saw what happened, right? Obviously not pretty, two broken bones in his leg. But when I tell you that when that chance started, the Michigan team got up, went over to Zach Zinter, and when he put the thumbs up on the cart, man, that place erupted. And then you know what happened next.

Blank Corum puts Sonny Stiles, puts a juke on him in a phone box, 22 yards, throws up the 6'5". I mean, that just embodies this era of Michigan football because it's truly for one another. And it just, I didn't cry at the stadium, but you just felt something, right? And it was so special. And I just wanted to lead with that in our show today because that's what college sports is all about.

That's what, you know, we're watching. Our happiness depends on 18 to 22, 23-year-old kids that are figuring out their lives, figuring out what they want to do. You know, if they can be good enough to play professional football. If not, what are they going to do? Are they going to finance business? You know, whatever their career path is going to be beyond football. And we let that get in the way sometimes,

you know? And so I think that's a really good dose of perspective that I probably needed, but it was just unbelievable, man. And you didn't get to see that on TV. So if, so last couple of things that I'll mention on that,

Brian, I want to get your thoughts. So definitely go watch the big 10 cinematic highlights one, because they're awesome, but two, because you do get a little bit of a taste of what that stadium was like in that moment. And then also go check out. I know people have been getting on Joel Klatt a little bit. You know, I didn't hear the,

the commentary on the Roman touchdown and some of the other things, but go watch his podcast. I think it starts around the 30 minute mark. It's the last 15 minutes. He talks about this. He gets emotional talking about it and it's just, But go watch his podcast. I think it starts around the 30-minute mark. It's the last 15 minutes he talks about this. He gets emotional talking about it. And it really paints a great picture of what it was like on Saturday during that moment that you lose a captain and a leader and a four-year starter. And just the stadium really uplifted the team.

Because honestly, Brian, if that didn't happen, I don't know how they would have responded. They're tough as hell but that I think really just elevated their spirits to a point of like okay let's go play ball and then obviously the next play is a touchdown yeah I think uh yeah we didn't see that like I was blown away by hearing Joel Klatt's take on it uh because you didn't see that you know you saw him get hurt you didn't you weren't sure how severe it was they didn't show a replay so you didn't know but um it know, you saw him get hurt. You weren't sure how severe it was. They didn't show a replay, so you didn't know. But it's an amazing story. You know, first, just talk about the guy, right?

Zach Sennard easily could have gone last year to the NFL. He'd have been a high pick. He'd been one of the top five guards drafted. He decided to come back. I mean, I'm not sure we are where we are as a program without him coming back, right? Just his leadership and his talent. Two, you know, Harbaugh talked a little bit in his press conference yesterday

about how some of the hate in the rivalry is overplayed and made up on social media and in the media. And, you know, one of the great things that you saw was how much his injury, because you talked about how it impacted the Michigan team and how it impacted the fans and, you know people that support Michigan but you know the one thing that stood out to me is how much it impacted the Ohio State team you know how much they cared you know JTT their stud defensive lineman you know the guy that rolled up on him how bad he felt and some of the you know getting consultants the picture of Trevor Keegan kind of dapping him up and Sharon Mart giving him a hug,

reminded me of when JT Barrett got hurt and Devin Gardner went over there in the midst of the rivalry and went down and said a quick prayer for him. It just shows that Twitter isn't real life. You know what I mean? Like all the toxicity on Twitter and social media, that's not real life. Like human beings, you're in person. And I know you have some other stories to share from the day that I can't wait to hear about intermixing with Ohio State fans and players. And, you know, that part of it is like, that's what's so great about college football is the real life. You know,

those of us that played high school football and watch high school football, like that's what it's about, like getting together with other fans. And the last thing I'll say about it is we had probably the most impactful recruiting visit, group of potential recruits in the stadium. And the sound bites coming out of the game were, wow, there can't be a fan base that cares more and supports their team more than Michigan. So not only did they experience a lights-out experience with game day and everything going on at the stadium and an amazing game, they also got to witness this rare thing of an entire fan base, 110,000, 115,000 people, loudly and eagerly supporting one of their own.

So I just think, you know, we haven't even talked about the results of the game yet, and this story has already made this a highlight. It's awesome. It was incredible you know i i got to uh experience it and got to sit with uh you know a few of our friends that are very closely connected to blue by 90 and we tailgate with and we put up the tailgates together we take down the tailgates together and so it was really special for me to experience that with them um and you know, the stadium experience was just unbelievable. I mean, it, it was juiced. I mean, you, you could probably hear that in Ypsilanti, you know, I mean,

it was so loud and for all the flack that Michigan stadium gets about the bowl set up and it's so quiet. I, I don't know. I've never been to death Valley. You know, there's quite a few iconic stadiums I haven't been to in my life, but that was a nervous energy like i was calm in the stadium by the way like i was more calm in that stadium than i was like by times 100 watching penn state or maryland on the couch or at the bar for whatever reason i don't know what it was it was just an energy in that stadium on saturday that you just felt like michigan was going to get it done and they did um so let's talk about you know typically we go through the pff grades man i could give a you know what less about the pff grades this week i think every guy should get

a 99 uh everybody made a play man i mean everybody that's let's talk about that brian because you had guys like quentin johnson laying out like mecca mecca bucca first round pick looked like marcus ray out there i saw somebody photoshopped a Sports Illustrated. That was the first thing I thought of, man. I called my uncle after the game. He's a big Michigan fan, and we got out of the stadium, and that was the first thing I said to him. I was like, man, QJ's hit reminded me of Marcus Ray in 97, and I was

two years old, so I've only lived it through highlights. Watching it, you could see it, man, because I noticed Barrett get matched up with Ibuka, and I'm like, oh, no. And he's open down the seam, and then, man, QJ lays the wood. So Quinton Johnson, a guy that has not had a ton of moments at Michigan, right? Like he has bid his time and is making a huge play in this game. Jake Thaw was fantastic at punt returner.

He got blasted by Zeke Berry, held onto the ball, helped save Michigan field position in a game that field position was extremely important. This was a game where we can talk about, obviously we always talk about Mike Barrett, Mikey Samuels is a dog, we already know that. But my point is that Michigan has guys that are in their fourth and fifth years that could have transferred like cam good played in this game and i thought had a couple moments

there's guys that could have transferred went elsewhere got more stats got more recognition played a larger role but they stick around and that just speaks to the culture of this michigan football program under jim harbaugh and it just makes me so proud to be a fan of michigan there's so many guys I probably could have mentioned. I mean, CJ comes back for a fifth year, doesn't have a big year statistically, but how many big catches did he make in this game? He is forever a Michigan legend. Oh, for sure.

I mean, it's unbelievable the amount of guys that stick around, that play on special teams, that get in sparingly. But when they're, when they're called upon and their moment comes, they seize that opportunity, man. It's just so awesome to see because you think about other programs around the country, Quinton Johnson, probably, I don't know, maybe gets a firm handshake and says, Hey, maybe you should go elsewhere.

Right. That doesn't happen here. And he played a pivotal role in Michigan winning that game, which is, I think, the coolest thing about this program. Yeah, it's – you know, they talk about that, well, you know, the Eminem song, if you have one moment, right? Like the last couple years, Michigan football players have stepped up in this game.

I mean, I'm looking at the, you know, the snap counts just to see who participated. Every name on here stepped up. I mean, every person on this – every person that played, played a game, you know, stepped up when the moment's called. And that's coaching, that's culture, and that's just the environment that Harbaugh has built. I mean, you look at it.

Every one of these guys made plays. Every guy that participated, Jaden McBurroughs, made plays. Jimmy Rolder, you know, showed up. He've only played a couple snaps. That was a tough spot for Jimmy, man. I don't know if I agree with him being in there yeah I mean he played two snaps but the two snaps you saw him and that's you know how many times we talked this year about well if we didn't remember seeing a guy he was the only other two got two snaps and we both remember him yes unfortunately but that's uh yeah that's that's a guy where he's only put a

couple games that's a tough spot to be in but But, yeah, I mean, it's unbelievable. And, you know, I don't want to take the shot here, but I just want to talk about the last play real quick because the guy who makes that play, obviously, has a fantastic pick. But we got to talk about Jalen Harrell. Jalen Harrell is a three-star 88 rating on 247 sports i don't have the numbers up in front of me but i can tell you it's probably five six hundred range i don't know

somewhere in there you know the dude that he flattened was a five star yep to force pressure on mccord to force that throw to be short and to let rod more undercut it for a game ceiling interception like that that to me just shows the development and the coaching prowess of this staff and that you can take a guy who maybe didn't dominate the camps in shorts and t-shirts but damn it when you put the pads on in november he comes out and he flattens a guy on his ass and makes a play to go win the game that's what michigan football is to me that's what it means to me these guys i mean it's it's just i to me. That's what it means to me, these guys. I mean, it's just I could go on and on about it, and I'm doing that now.

But it's just such a prideful moment to see these guys know they're going to win. I mean, you know, the game went back and forth, but you know deep down there was an internal belief that we are going to win this football game. And every single guy on that field played like they knew that. You know, the one guy that we haven't mentioned that really stood out to me and anyone that's listened to our podcast throughout the season, I think I've mentioned it every single podcast of a concern for the Ohio State game is the last two years we have had the benefit of Jake Moody.

And I said all year long, James Turner, you know, he hasn't been put in a situation where he's had any pressure. And we knew that coming into this game, there were going to be kicks that he had to make that would make the difference. And he was so clutch. I mean, every kick he made was right down the middle. And it was like, you know what, all year we waited, and this guy just delivered.

50-yarder. I mean, 50-yarder, and, you know, Ohio State's kicker misses a kick. So it's like – Yep. You said it earlier. Every play, field position, everything in this game counts. And that guy was clutch, man. I mean, to pick that guy out of the portal, I mean, talk about –

And he's from Saline. I mean, hometown kid. Yeah, James Turner was magnificent. Tommy Dolman. Player of the week, rather. Tommy Dolman has a 71-yard punt that helps flip the field position and maybe got a little unlucky with the bounce. But watching Emeka Igbuka track it back up, back up, back up,

and that ball is just over his head. I mean, that was huge. And then that was the next play was the Will Johnson interception. Real quick, I want to go back because I can't believe I forgot this guy. Trenta Jones. We talked about Zach Zinner. And when I was talking to, in the stadium, some of the folks I was sitting with, I was like, you know, Zach Zinner's a stud. You can't replace Zach Zinner. But Carson Barnhart, I think, is a much better guard. He's much more of a guard-shaped person. And Trenta Jones, I think is a much better guard. He's much more of a guard shaped person.

And Trenta Jones, I think, I mean, he started last year. He won that job in fall camp pretty easily. It sounded like according to some of the insiders. So Trenta Jones comes up, man.

And I, somebody put together a tick tock. That dude on that last drive was blocking his ass off. He was mauling people. And so that's another guy where, you know, I'm sure some of you guys have seen some of the stuff that he's posted on TikTok. You know, I hope that, you know, I hope that he can be okay. I know, you know, sometimes kids just post things, but, you know, you hope that he's okay. But man, just a kid that probably could have transferred,

went and been a grad transfer and started somewhere. And just, again, just a kid that probably could have transferred, went and been a grad transfer and started somewhere. And just, again, just pride seeing Trent A. Jones just stay for five years, man. And every time, whether it's being offensive lineman number 93 in the jumbo package, whether it's coming in because your All-American captain goes down with a gruesome injury, he's always ready to play football and he's always done it at a high level man that's another guy that we need he needs to get his flowers because he has been integral in in certain situations over the last two seasons in three seasons because he was he was a jumbo he's been a jumbo old lineman for you know bringing

him in as an extra tight end uh wearing number 93 or whatever number they give him for the last three years. So I am just so happy that it gets to pay off for him on senior day, man, because these guys deserve it. Yeah. I mean, I think it just, you can't say it enough. And it seems like an overused thing. And I'm sure every fan base thinks they have this great culture, but he's just one of the stories and some of the guys we've talked about that could easily leave. Trenton Jones was a very highly rated prospect. If he'd have gone on the portal, he'd have had suitors across the board,

across the country at Power 5 schools. Unequivocally, he'd be starting most of the places in the country, and he stuck it out. Quentin Johnson, you've mentioned him. There's a bunch of guys that participated in this game that could have gone elsewhere, you know. Absolutely. It's just awesome.

It's just, you know, and amidst everything that's gone on this season, you know, Ari Wasserman, who's not a guy that I'm particularly fond of, but, you know, he's a writer for The Athletic that, you know, was on the Ohio State beat before his job at The Athletic. And he someone shared with me something that he said. And he said, this is the essentially this is the biggest loss in Ohio State history from a sense of they had a chance. The only chance they will ever have to kind of make the last two years erased because of the sign-stealing allegations so much. They had a chance to erase that.

If they come into the big house and win, they can say, hey, you know what, those last two years, it wasn't because they were tougher. It wasn't because they played better. It's because they were cheating. And the fact that we won this game felt like three wins, felt so vindicating. It was just so prideful, so awesome.

Yeah. Now let's talk about that. i want to get into that and then we'll talk through just some you know we'll talk through jj blake everybody that had a great game uh because it's most of the guys on the team so we don't want to take too much time but i want to talk about individual players a little bit man i'll tell you what it's been quiet on that front hasn't it it's just been silence because at the end of the day guess what it never mattered michigan was not winning games because the connor stallions they just weren't they were winning games because they had better interior play on the offense and defensive lines and they tackle better and they were more efficient in the pass game and in the run game than you.

And that's what happens. That's how you win football games, not because you've got a decoding specialist from the United States Marine Corps. I'm just going to throw it out there. Thank you for your service. Which, by the way, as we're recording this, somebody just sent me – Dave Port and I did another pizza review, which, by the way, I need to go try some of these spots, man.

In Metro Detroit, because I don't venture out. If we get food, we typically, I don't want to drive all over, so we typically stay around Ann Arbor, but man, I know there's some really good pizza spots in Ann Arbor that I'd like to try. I'm very partial to Cottage Inn.

That's always been a solid one, but that's more of like a you know kind of the the classic chain pizza right it's not like the you know sicilian or some of the italian style um or new york style or whatever you want to call it that portnoy likes but so he just posted another one with very clearly connor stallions walking out of the pizzeria uh with sunglasses on and they're always at night which is the funniest part so dave portnoy did an incredible troll job having him come on set at the barstool uh tailgate uh that they did on on main street which was very funny that all broke kind of today here on on it was an impersonator and in fact it was really him did you see brandon walker's face by the way

like he did a double take man it was the was the funniest thing that I've seen in a while. But at the end of the day, to Ari Washman's point, hey, you had a chance to do that, but guess what? It didn't happen. So now you get to sit and reevaluate how important signs were because Michigan didn't have their sign guy. You know who had their sign guy on Saturday, though? The Ohio State Buckeyes.

You know who lost that game? The Ohio State Buckeyes. You know who lost that game? The Ohio State Buckeyes. It doesn't matter. It never mattered. We've turned an ant hill into a mountain at this point. So on that note, and I'm getting a bit ahead of myself because we will talk about this game a little bit at the end. I cannot wait to be in Indianapolis.

And if Michigan wins to watch a certain someone have to hand a trophy over to Jim Harbaugh, that is going to be, that may dwarf the Michigan Stadium sound on Saturday with all the potential boo-birds coming out. That's going to be so interesting to see. Like you said, don't get too far ahead of us, let's just hopefully we take handle business which the entire college ball world expects us to do and uh just to see how that is because that's going to be icy i mean i mean you know jim though right what's that you know jim he's always he's never he's always pretty you know he's except for

a couple times you know in 2021 after the ohio state game he always typically always typically takes the high road um you know except for the couple times on twitter after the Ohio State game. He always typically takes the high road. Except for the couple times on Twitter in his early part of his tenure. He's going to be graceful and classy, but the Michigan fans will not. I will be, hypothetically, if Michigan were to win, I will be one of those fans who's not super

nice to Tony Petitti. Just throw that out there. It is a night game, so there will be cocktails involved. Yes, and hopefully some shrimp cocktail. I need to get to St Petitti. Just throw that out there. Well, it is a night game, so there will be cocktails involved. Yes, and hopefully some shrimp cocktail. I need to get to St. Elmo. That is a place I need to get to and try that shrimp cocktail in Indianapolis. I've had a couple times to get down there, and I just haven't got to St. Elmo.

So hopefully we can find a reservation there. The world-famous shrimp cocktail they do. I think it's like 90% horseradish. Clear the sinuses out man absolutely so okay so michigan wins 30 to 24 let's just let's talk through some of the big moments in this game we've already alluded to a couple obviously will's interception unbelievable play that kid is a top five pick in 2025 i think he is what Marvin Harrison as a prospect is his receiver. Will Johnson is that as a corner. I think, I think he is as can't miss as it gets. I know he had some hiccups against

Maryland, right? But when it matters, push comes to shove. That kid plays his tail off and he is phenomenal. And you know, the, the pass interference was not on him. They were in zone coverage. It was not a straight man look. So he had – I think somebody trailed off, and so he had to go with Harrison. And, I mean, Harrison does what Harrison does, right? He gets interfered with. One hand, his hand's pinned. I'll just catch it with one arm.

But Will Johnson, man, I think he earned some money on Saturday because that pick was unbelievable. And, you know, Harrison did his thing, but he got a majority of his yards when Will was off the field with, I think, some sort of calf injury. Sounds like he's going to be fine. That was an ankle injury? I thought –

I heard that his calf was wrapped. Okay. But he's going to be fine. You know, if you need to rest him against Iowa, I think it'll be okay. But he played a hell of a game, I thought, because you're only going to see the catches, right? You're not going to see the times where the ball doesn't go to Harrison where Will Johnson did a good job.

That's just unfortunately how highlights are going to work. But I thought that was worth seven points. I mean, that's a seven-point interception, maybe a 10-point or 14-point, depending on what would have happened in that drive for Ohio State. So to get that pick on the first play of what, their second drive, I believe, set them up. He should have scored, by the way. If he goes right, he scores, but he cuts back left,

but we're not going to fault him. But Will, I thought, was outstanding. Yeah, I mean, you know, I think he – I mean, how many guys want to go follow Marvin Harris and even his rookie year in the NFL want to follow him around? And that's exactly what he did. I don't know how many times we've done that. A lot of times, at least as I can remember,

we typically play right side, left side, and the nickel kind of go to the strong side. But the fact that he did that, I mean, I think you're looking at a junior year campaign where he's Derek Stingley from LSU a couple years ago where he comes in the season, everyone knows he's the best and projected as a high pick, and that's where it ends up. I mean, he was just – he was awesome. Man, I know we're not going to talk about 2024 yet,

and I know a lot of people think Michigan is going to fall off next year, but you look at that defense. Oh, my goodness. Junior year Mason Graham, junior year Kenneth Grant, junior year Will Johnson, potentially senior Rod Moore, Ernest Houseman another year. Transfer portal additions, the edges. I mean, Eric Moore, Derek Moore, Josiah Stewart, man, was he had a couple times where he, you know, he's typically you think of a pass rush specialist, man, this guy was coming up and setting the edge at the end on a couple of runs that they stopped early on in the game. I mean, I thought he played fantastic. But so the Will Johnson pick sets Michigan up at the seven, which on third down, that's a touchdown, by the way, to Blake. The ball is I don't know how you don't overturn that to be a touchdown.

I mean, that is clear as day. So they go to fourth and one. Who else but Max Bredesen gets in? Follow the fullback, as they say. And Blake Corham, he gets – so Bredy gets a big block, and Blake follows him in, gives Michigan a 7-0 lead. Man, that place was rocking at that point. I'd have loved to have been there.

It was unbelievable. So then, you know, Ohioio state goes down kicks a field goal and now we're going to talk about number nine because look the stats were not crazy what 16 to 20 150 yards i don't even know how many yards he threw didn't matter he made every clutch throw he really did every tight window he fitted into. There's a couple throws, and we'll obviously talk about the touchdown now to make it 14-3. That throw is unbelievable.

To split the two defenders and put that on Roman Wilson, which is a catch. It is a catch. I don't know how people think that he's bobbling the ball. If anything, he has possession, and he's kind of adjusting the ball. I don't know if if Julian Fleming's catch and fumble that place stood, then so should Roman Wilson's touchdown. But that throw for number nine. Unbelievable. Great catch by Roman to get in the end zone. That was a big moment that came towards our end zone. It's third and ten. You're like, oh, man, I would love to get points here. Sure enough, number nine

dials it up. He's got pressure coming off the left side as well. I mean, he's not in a clean pocket. He doesn't have the ability to step in that throw. That's on his back foot on the money, and that still was a bit of a laser. I mean, it got there in a hurry. That kid is special. Did you hear what he said about that, bro?

Yeah, he said that he watched film and number 25 doesn't turn his head. Right. Yeah, he said once he turns his head, he never looks back. I mean, you know, just knowledge of the talent, the preparation, and to think that quickly. Like, okay, he turned his head. I'm good to go.

It doesn't matter that he's right there. He's not going to turn around and look at it, and he didn't. I mean, that throw was – I mean, that window was a foot and a half, you know, 30 yards down the field or 20 yards down the field. I mean, that was just a great throw. I mean, he was pretty great. Like, again, didn't put up huge stats, but in the big moments, you know, that's the difference.

Kyle McCord didn't step up. J.J. stepped up, you know, and I thought he took some, you know, hits and, you know, tossed a couple away and took the check down when it was appropriate. I can't think of a moment where he really put the ball in harm's way. No, I mean, honestly, the only throws that I really kind of frustrating was the screen or the swing pass to Donovan because Donovan has to do a 360 to get back outfield.

That play was probably dead from the get-go. I think he puts one low to CJ on the first play of the game. But after that, I mean, I think one of the other incompletions was the throwaway where Roman just couldn't beat Burke on a streak, on a go route. I'm trying to think of some others, but he never put the ball in harm's way. He protected

the ball. He only had four incompletions. Yeah. You have to think pretty hard to pass as he missed. Right. Yeah, he was fantastic as we expected. I think we didn't do a show last week with Thanksgiving and everything, but I went on a number of shows, and, you know, the thing that I always had to say was,

one, that Michigan was going to be able to run the ball, which, you know, it was up and down, but at the end, when they needed to, they were able to. But also that J.J. McCarthy's made for these games, man. He's 24-1 as a starter. He's undefeated against all of Michigan's rivals and Penn State in that time as a starter. He's undefeated against all of Michigan's rivals and Penn state in that time as a starter.

Well, no, I mean, but that's, those are the three games, right? In the big 10. I mean, you know, MSU is MSU, but that's still a rivalry game that they're going to get up for. And you've got to go play well. And he's, I mean, he, I think his best game came against the Spartans, you know, and then last year, Hey, he can't throw the deep ball. No Blake, what are you going to do?

We're going to pressure the hell out of you. And then he just goes out, scores then last year, hey, he can't throw the deep ball. No, Blake, what are you going to do? We're going to pressure the hell out of you. And he just goes out, scores four touchdowns, almost 300 yards total offense. So I just think that he's a kid who's built for these moments. You know, even the TCU game last year has a two pick sixes. But man, he's the reason Michigan's even in that game late in the game. So he's just a kid that when the lights are the brightest, he's at his best. And that's what it was on Saturday, right? It are the brightest, he's at his best. And,

and, and that's what it was on Saturday, right? It wasn't gaudy. It wasn't putting up the big numbers, but man, how many, how many times did he hit Loveland over the middle or Barner over the

middle for a huge first down on a, on a third down? I mean, it was multiple times, a fourth and one throw to Colston on that, on that play in the, that went to the flats. I mean,

that was, that was money. I mean, he was, he was on, he was on the ball, man. flats i mean that was that was money i mean he was he was on he was on the ball man jj was jj was jj and uh i know a lot of people were concerned after the maryland game i was not i was like this kid's gonna come out and be ready to go man and he was well and what you know we haven't mentioned it yet but what a game plan like you know conservative to you know the the michigan style of a lot of runs but man We mixed in a lot of great stuff. I just thought game plan,

a lot of credits being given to Moore because he was on the sideline, but that game plan didn't get made up that morning. They talked about that for weeks and they had a plan. Absolutely. No one watched that game and didn't walk away thinking Michigan was the better coach team.

You know, from execution to being – Decision making. Decision making. You know, the game plan. Yeah, I mean, just what a game from the coaching staff. Like all across the board. You know what I mean? It was awesome.

Yeah, so for Michigan, so about Blake Corham. Yeah. Special kid. So, you know, we already mentioned the fourth about Blake Corham. Yeah. Special kid. So, you know, we already mentioned the fourth and one touchdown that he had. We've already talked about the touchdown that he had after Zach Zinner's injury. He had two of those fourth down conversions on his own. And, you know, one for a touchdown, one for a big first down that ended up leading to that touchdown pass from McCarthy to Wilson

later on in that drive. And when push came to shove and when it was all out there, everything's in front of you, what do they do with eight minutes left in the game? They just go on a seven-minute drive and kick a field goal and make Ohio State drive the length of the field in a minute with no timeouts left because Blake Corum is that dude. And Donovan Edwards had some big runs on that drive as well.

And J.J. McCarthy went to Cornelius a couple times for, you know, the one throw across the field. C.J. might have scored. If he keeps his footing, it's a scary throw. It's a Brett Favre throw. But if he keeps his footing, that might have been game blouses on that one. Oh, yeah, because everybody was going – everyone was going to the right, and he's going to the left.

Yeah, it would have been housed for sure. But he was lucky to catch it because J.J JJ kind of put that out there a little bit. Yeah, no, it was a great catch by CJ. You know, the O-line came to play. You know, obviously we talked about Zach Zinner and Carson Barnard had to slide down, and then Trent A. Jones coming in. I thought Keegan was good. I thought Nugent was good.

I thought Henderson was really good. You know, there wasn't a ton of pressure in JJ's face. Man, yeah, just, you know, just an incredible, incredible performance. And so we've kind of gotten to this point now. We talked about the Blake touchdown. We talked about, you know, I guess, you know, Michigan kicks the field, going to go 27-17. Ohio State comes down and scores quickly. Junior Colson is unfortunately matched up with Marvin Harrison Jr.

And so then Michigan obviously goes on that seven-minute drive. We just talked about. Not going in chronological order because I'm very excited about this game still. So I apologize. Let's talk about the last minute of the game, Brian. They give up some plays.

I mean, they give up some plays. First play of that drive, though, Mike Stainer still just – poor Cade Stover just can't get away from number zero. You know, you wish he would have caught it. He would have been inbounds and probably lose about 10 seconds o'clock there. But he drops it after the big hit from Mikey. And then they go down and they hit Harrison on the left side of the field

for, what, probably 30-some-od odd yards because they were close to midfield. They keep him in bounds, though, which is big. So the clock still stops after a first down under two minutes. But, you know, that's still going to take at least a couple seconds off. And then the next play, they go to Julian Fleming. And that's the fumble that Mecca is very fortunate to be right there because there's like three or four Michigan players around him. And then we get to the play of the game that we talked about earlier with Jalen Harrell getting pressure,

forcing Kyle McCord to throw a duck, and Rod Moore, very clean interception, by the way, unlike what some Ohio State fans cannot distinguish elbows from a football, but a very clean pick from Rod Moore, man, and it seals the game. And that place was rocking and hell will play by number nine. You know, I mentioned this on the show before, but we're not on YouTube. But if I look to my right, I've got the picture of Rod Moore and Jackson Smith and Jigba getting

after it. I'm going to have to get another frame photo of Rod Moore waving goodbye to the Buckeyes. I mean, real quick, Brian, I'm going to let you talk. I just want to mention this because we all know it, but I just want to say it out loud. Ohio kid, three-star, no Ohio State offer, 3-0 against Ohio State. Yeah, you love Rod Moore.

You know, that last play, I was just listening to Ryan Day's press conference, and even if Rod Moore doesn't make that pick and Marvin Harrison catches it, they're out of timeouts. They're in the middle of the field. There's 25 seconds left. I mean, you know, that deep – you know, in that situation, you're playing prevent. You're allowing them to come down the field a little bit by allowing –

I mean, you're letting them catch balls over the middle and kind of keep the ball in front of you. You know, that field gets really tight and congested as you get closer, and they were running out of time. And so even Ryan Day said, hey, he makes that catch. You know, they take a couple seconds to blow the whistle. They set the ball. I mean, their next plays without any timeouts is probably a, you know,

quarterback clocking it, whatever. But, yeah, it was nerve-wracking, though, because you just know the talent they have on the outside. You know, you know, they were moving it. And what a fitting end, you moving it. What a fitting end. Just such a fitting end. It's a team victory, man. An absolute team victory. Everybody

contributed to this game. You could make a case for James Turner to maybe be the MVP with, you know, he scored 12 points. But I also think on a team with J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corham, Mason Graham, Rod Moore, Will Johnson, it's tough to name the kicker, the MVP.

I mean, this game was just such a Michigan win at the end of the day. It was a program win for all the guys that are involved. I mean, everybody had to take part for this victory for Michigan, and that's what makes it so special. That's a great point. You know what I mean? You'd be hard-pressed to pick an MVP for this game for Michigan, and that's what makes it so special. That's a great point. You know, you'd be hard-pressed to pick an MVP for this game, like a clear-cut MVP. Who would it be?

You know, like last year, you could have given it to CJ. You could have given it to Donovan Edwards. You probably would give it to Donovan Edwards. But, you know, this year, I don't even know who to give it to. JJ was outstanding. James Turner was outstanding. Blake Corham was outstanding. Colson Loveland was outstanding.

Will Johnson, just for the role he played in guarding the best player in America, was great. Mikey Sanger, still great. Rod Moore, great. I mean, you just go on and on and on. A lot of people, a lot of game balls to go around. Yeah. No, absolutely. And, you know, one other thing that we should talk about, I think, regarding the game is that Jim Harbaugh made it to the hospital.

And I don't know if you saw that photo, but the clock, I think it was like 4.15. That game ended at like 3. I didn't get out of the stadium until I was on the field. But I didn't get out of the stadium until at least 4 o'clock. So Jim Harbaugh, most of the moment that that kneel went down, he made his way to whichever UM hospital Zach Zinner was at. Man, it's's just we talked about

a lot yes you know you know say you have a family atmosphere you know you put your money where your mouth is you know how did i say and uh that guy had could do anything he wanted in that moment you know celebrating could be selfish all he thought about was going and seeing his guy you know i mean like to your point he didn't think about much else i mean there wasn't time and with traffic in ann arbor i mean he hustled there you know yeah and and that's to go back to some of the outside noise and i know i'm sick of talking about it but i just want to make this point i think it's ridiculous that jim harbaugh's had his name jerked through the mud because that is one of the guys that runs you know we've had some stuff come out whatever but he's always run a clean program, graduates his players,

cares about his players. His players care about their teammates, their coaches. And so, you know, just, I don't know. It's just, it's really ridiculous to me what the media and, I hate being like that, but, you know, it's just certain narratives have been created to paint Jim Harbaugh on a negative light when he's advocating for players' rights, he's advocating for revenue sharing with the NCAA and with players.

I mean, you know, part of that's probably why he's been a little bit railroaded here over the last six months. He's got a target for sure. But, yeah, I think it's so clear the environment that he has there. You saw Ben Herbert, who's a huge part of the puzzle, you know, strength and conditioning coach at Michigan. You know, he said that the toughest guy in the program is Jim Harbaugh. You know what I mean?

Like every player, every coach, I just can't remember a time, you know, I wasn't old enough when Bo was a coach or even really Lloyd Carr to pay that close attention. But I don't have many coaches that get so much emphatic praise from every level of the program, you know, and, and I'm sure if you were someone fan of another program listening to us, you know, with everything that's gone this year, you may roll your eyes a bit, but I think we're cultish, right.

I think we're part of the cult and then maybe we are, but you know, it's just seems so sincere and genuine. Every time someone inside that program, the last couple of years speaks up. And it's, to be proud of. And, you know, let's just hope they can finish the race, you know. Well, let's talk about that because we're going to wrap up here shortly. 12-0, second consecutive year, third straight Big Ten East Championship, going for a third straight Big Ten Championship.

So we're going to Indianapolis to see Michigan play Iowa on Saturday. Brian, I got to ask this question. How do you self scout Michigan against Iowa? Because I was kind of, I didn't really know what to say. Don't turn it over eight times was my answer. Not to be disrespectful, but there's no Cooper Dijon. There's no Luke Lachey. There's no Eric Hall. There's obviously no Cade McNamara. They don't have a ton of weapons outside. Their offensive line is not as good as it was even two years ago when they had Tyler Lindenbaum, who's a stud.

Like, there's no Samuel Porta, right, as we know he's with us in Detroit. Like, I don't know what they do to keep this game close other than Michigan self-imploding and turning it over a thousand times. Yeah, I mean, and the game is indoors, right? So weather can't be a factor. I just can't see a scenario where Michigan loses this game. I think that they're too well coached, too focused. They've been there.

So it's not like, you know, it's this out of mind, out of body type experience where they kind of lose themselves. They've been there. It's a senior led team. You know, unless there are just some really crazy bounces and a bunch of them, I just don't see a way – I don't see a path for Iowa to win this game. I really don't. I was scared for the Maryland game because it was a trap game. I obviously was scared about Michigan State because some of the history there. Terrified to go to Happy Valley and obviously playing the Buckeyes.

But I just don't – I don't think it's being overconfident. Obviously, I don't play any role in the team's preparation. But one thing you had mentioned, the team's 12-0 two years in a row. Not only is the team 12-0, they didn't trail once in 12 games the second half. I mean, you know, I'm not a football historian, but how many, I can't imagine that's happened many times in the history of college football. First of all, not many teams have gone 12-0 in the history of college football. But to go 12-0 and not trail once, not for one second in 2023, did Michigan trail in the second half. That's an amazing stat. And so, yeah, I think it's cruise control. I think it's

just play your game, play hard, play focused, and just at the end of the day, you'll be the victors. And who cares about style points? Who cares? Just play good, hard-nosed football and get out of there with a W. I mean, I was just kind of sitting there thinking while you were talking. I'm thinking that the only times that Michigan trailed was Rutgers when they gave up a touchdown in, like, third play of the game. Indiana, they were down. Penn State, they were down three.

Maryland, they were down three. And they never trailed in the Ohio State game. So they were down four times, and I think they would have took the lead and just never relinquished. I mean, that's a stat. Right? And so to your point, this team is too focused. They're too well coached.

Jim Harbaugh is back on the sideline. Thank God. Jerome Moore is fantastic. But you want to have your commander-in-chief on the sideline with you. Because I think, honestly, not having Jim there, I think if Michigan has Harbaugh on the sideline, I think they maybe – they didn't play a super clean game on Saturday. We didn't really talk about that. It wasn't their best game.

I mean, and credit to Ohio State for making plays, but I thought that there were some opportunities that they maybe had missed a little bit. So I think having Jim back, there's no way this is a letdown, man. This team is on a fever pitch. They're ascending at the right time. And we're going to see, man. Need to go beat Iowa.

Need to go, you know, not make a statement, but just play a clean, good football game. You know, win that game and play the brand of Michigan football they played all year. And then it's a two-game season. This is what we talk about all year long. All the shows we did recapping the terrible Big Ten West teams that Michigan played or the terrible non-conference,

which, by the way, the non-conference turned out to be not that bad for all those people complaining about it. But this is what we've waited for. Which, by the way, the non-conference turned out to be not that bad for all those people complaining about it. But this is what we've waited for. And so you get Ohio State. That's the first checkmark. Win the Big Ten. That's the second one.

Win a playoff game. And then you get to play for it all. You're three games away from the biggest achievement in college football and submitting yourself as the best team in Michigan history. Maybe the best team in Big Ten history potentially. There's a lot to play for, and I just don't think this team is going to be one that lets its sides off of that. Well, and, you know, I mean, we don't know the stats of Will Johnson, but they said he's going to be fine.

I mean, you're talking about a team, I said all year, you know, I was terrified all season because of our backup quarterback situation of J.J. staying healthy. So he stayed healthy. I mean, this is a relatively – not relatively. It's a very healthy team. I mean, obviously, you lose your All-American guard in Zach Zinter. That's a huge loss.

But we saw a guy step up, and they're going to have time to prepare for that for the bowl game. So, you know, it's a healthy squad, and hopefully they get – you know, that's got to be one of the keys to the game in Indy is stay healthy. Win the game, of course, but stay healthy. Yeah, absolutely. And then you get a month off at that point to rest and recover. I know JJ said he's basically back to 100%, which Michigan, by the way,

talking about going back to your game plan comment, they didn't have a single designed run for JJ McCarthy in this game. Yeah. I mean, a healthy JJ McCarthy I think opens that run game up a lot more, but still was successful enough without them. And the stat that you showed me, it's now 22 years in a row that the team that runs the ball for the most yardage will win the game. And that remained true for another year.

And I think you'll probably – I mean, you can probably say that about most football games, but I think in this one in November, late November, that's when you, that's what you need to be able to do. And this team is well-equipped to throw the ball, run the ball. So 12 and 0 feels amazing. Let's get to 13 and 0. Let's do another fun show after another Big Ten championship. And then we'll kind of see where it goes from there. I don't know what we're going to do during bowl season, but I'm sure we'll have some, some fun stuff to talk about. Maybe, you know, we haven't talked a lot of recruiting. I know neither you or I really want to talk about that, but you know, there's, there's going to be some stuff, transfer portal, all that fun stuff that comes with kind of the, the break between the end of the regular season and bowl season. But man,

12 and L beat Ohio state again. It feels great. It feels spectacular. It feels great. Yeah, it feels spectacular. It's awesome. Well, I cover the state of Ohio partially for my job, so it feels extra good. So, well, man, I don't really know how to end it. I'm just – I'm so fired up for this team and for our fans. I mean, you know, not that we did anything, but it does feel like –

I could say these guys on the team deserve this. They didn't deserve what happened over the last month, but they deserve this. And they went out and earned it, and they shut everybody up. And did you see the Chris Jenkins clip? I don't think so. He was on the radio with Jason Avant.

And I'm going to paraphrase, but he said something along the lines of, nobody can say anything because we did that shit. Nobody can say a damn thing, Chris. You are 100% right. So that was a man fun first season for us. You know, we're still obviously going to keep it going, but I've had a blast doing this

and really appreciate everybody that tunes in and checks us out. So one last thing I will say, because I'm rambling now, if anybody's going to Indianapolis, hit us up. We're going to be doing another tailgate down by Lucas Oil. We've got to finalize all of our Airbnb and travel and tickets and stuff, but we are planning on going down there. Should be a great time.

And, yeah, so if anybody wants to come through, have some Blue by 90 ale, some hail IPA from North Peak, definitely come check us out. We'll post a graphic up on the Twitter this week and hopefully tailgate with a ton of Michigan fans like we did last year. So, well, Brian, man, 12-0, man. It feels amazing and really looking forward to hopefully having another fun podcast here in about a week. Yes, looking forward to it.

All right, guys. Well, thank you guys, everybody, so much for tuning in. Appreciate it. As always, go blue, and we'll catch you guys next time.