Blue By Ninety - Blue By the Numbers: Michigan is undefeated after another dominant victory

Episode Date: October 10, 2023

Tanner and Brian break down Michigan's emphatic 52-10 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Minneapolis. They also discuss the 4-1 Detroit Lions and how fun it is to be a football fan in the state of Michigan in 2023.

All right, and welcome back to Blue by the Numbers. I'm Tanner Wooten, joined as always by Brian Bouton. Brian, how are you? I'm doing fantastic. How are you? I'm good, man. Michigan 6-0. Detroit Lions are on a roll, three-game win streak.

And I'm feeling great about my football teams here, as we said, on October 10th. We're getting there. We're getting into the nitty-gritty of the season in both college football and the NFL. Obviously, we're going to focus on college football in Michigan, as we always do. But I'll tell you what, again, I know we've joked about it.

You're down in Florida. It's probably cooling off a little bit maybe. But here, I woke up, man. It was in the 40s. Actually, yesterday, flew back from a wedding. Had to fly out of Boston Monday morning at 520. Landed at DTW around 7. And, man, getting off that plane, those little cracks in the thing they connect to the tunnel, man.

I was feeling that weather coming through. So, started to get a little cooler. Started to feel like football season. Feel like you get out there and it's 50 degrees. That just feels like perfect football weather. And we're at the halfway mark of the regular season. Hard to believe. Hard to believe. Hard to believe.

But Michigan is 6-0. And so let me ask you first, Brian, how was your weekend, man? Did you do anything fun? How did you enjoy the game? Did you do anything fun with the game? I mean, you know, got to get up for some of these games, I guess. Yeah, as a guy with a family, you know, the night game is hard to wait for. But the one beautiful thing about a night game is it's completely interrupted most weeks. So I enjoyed the night game. It was great. It was

a great weekend here. It actually was a nice, cool weekend here. So we did a lot, played some basketball with my daughter, did some other great things. But yeah, it was all good here. Yeah. Like I said, I was at a wedding. So I was in the Northeast up in Oxford, Maine, had a great time. I'd never been up to that part of the country. Absolutely gorgeous. But the wedding, obviously later in the day, as most weddings are. And so, you know, I had my phone watching the game and, you know, having a beer in one hand,

phoning the other on the dance floor, getting after it, hanging out with everybody, all the friends. And your wife knows that's part of the deal, right? Like she's not annoying. Yes. There was a post that I believe went up on Barstool Michigan's Instagram that was like an older gentleman at a wedding watching the game. And then she showed me a video that I, unbeknownst to me, she had taken. And it was me in 20 years because it was a video of me Saturday

watching the game in a suit. That's so good. You know, I'm in my suit watching the game. And then I'm getting hyped. I'm getting excited. And then it was, yeah, 20 years down the road, that'll be me at weddings. And as a guy who got married in the fall, I can't say too much, but man, it's tough, right? Because it's the beautiful weather, especially in certain parts of the country. You want to get married in the fall. You want to have the leaves, all the changing colors, the foliage, as they call it, Brian. But yes, that was me.

But I wanted to kind of talk about, I'm in the Northeast, but there's a lot of people from Nebraska where my friend and his bride live, two great friends of mine that got married. It was a beautiful ceremony. But I had a lot of people that were like, oh, well, Michigan hasn't really played anybody. And I got that at the wedding. And granted, I'm watching the game, but unprompted,

I got a lot of that because people were curious what I was watching, getting excited about. And so I had some folks, hey, Michigan didn't play nobody. And so, Brian, I know we wanted to talk about that, man, because you look on paper, they haven't played any sexy names, any ranked opponents this year, but the thorough dismantling of all six teams that Michigan has played is really impressive, and I'd be hard-pressed to see another team play these six games and do the same thing to these opponents

that Michigan is doing. And it was very ho-hum, right? It's very ho-hum dominance, which you don't see a lot of times. It's not like they're just getting big plays left and right. They're just thoroughly – it's a beatdown, as we just call it the boa constrictor courtesy of Joel Klatt. Yeah, I think, you know, it's undeniable. They have not played a name with a little number next to it yet this year. They haven't played a team that most people think are worthy of, you know, elite competition. That's not really debatable. What is debatable is how they've looked in those games.

I mean, the reality is we see year after year and how many past Michigan teams do you see UMass roll into town or somebody and we struggle, right? They've been absolutely dominant. The stat that I love, I saw earlier today by Max Olson from the Athletic. Michigan has played 313 plays on defense through the first six weeks not once not one time in six games have they had to defend a first and goal nobody not a single opponent this year has ran a play inside the 10-yard line like utter dominance right so you know you look across the landscape and you say okay teams have played people that you could claim are good teams but Georgia gave up 20 to

UAB. I mean, I think there's, it's, as you said, it's been total dominance. You know, JJ McCarthy hasn't played a snap in the fourth quarter. They haven't played any meaningful snaps. I mean, I don't feel like we've entered halftime thinking there was a game in doubt yet this year. I mean, there's, you know, has it been absolutely perfect? No, but it's pretty, pretty close, you know, other than the bowling green game and JJ's interceptions, that's been a pretty flawless performance this season. So, yeah. And that's where I'm at too, because I'm thinking, and I can actually tell you, so what they give up a touchdown where Keon Sapp should have got over on Saturday. That's a touchdown. They gave up a touchdown against Rutgers on the first series,

which was a busted coverage. Is the starting defense give up a touchdown other than that this year? No. Okay. I mean, come on. We're in October. I don't care who you've played. That is unbelievable. And I think you're going to start to see too. I mean, look, I'm not going to hang my hat on UNLV, but that is a four-1 football team that has beat Vanderbilt, who's a bad SEC team. But hey, Kirby Smart thinks every SEC team should be ranked. So, you know, do we count that? Yeah, that's an excellent question. Here's what's going to be fun to monitor. Georgia fans will say, Michigan hasn't played anybody. Well,

Georgia has two games coming up on its schedule against Vanderbilt and against Georgia Tech, right? Vanderbilt lost to UNLV and Georgia Tech lost to Bowling. Yeah, Vanderbilt lost to UNLV and Bowling Green beat Georgia Tech. So we'll see how they, you know, and as you said, Kirby thinks Vanderbilt should be ranked. So have fun with that one. Yeah, I don't know if you can defend that one. I mean, I understand, you know, carrying you said, Kirby thinks Vanderbilt should be ranked. So have fun with that one. Yeah, I don't know if you can defend that one.

I mean, I understand, you know, carrying some water for your conference. But, George, I don't think you need to really do that because we know how good Georgia is. We know that they've won the last two national championships. I think there's maybe some hesitancy because Michigan hasn't performed as well in the playoffs. But it's a new team. It's an incredible team. I mean, you talk about, Brian, I remember Rich Rod era. UMass comes in.

It's like 14-10 before Michigan scores at half, I think. I've got a nerd brain, so I know this stuff. But in the Brady-Hoke era, just after beating the breaks off of Notre Dame, truthfully, in a game that they won by, I think, 11, and they had to pick six from Gardner. That was just a wild play. They go and they they play akron and it's a goal line stand you talk about not defending goal line to go scenarios that's a goal line stand last play of the game michigan escapes they go to yukon they barely win right you don't see that with the jim

harbaugh teams of recent and even earlier in his tenure, like Michigan has always been really good at taking advantage against teams that are not nearly as talented. But this is a different level of domination. I mean, even last year, you know, you think about going to Iowa City, tough place to play, but that's a pretty – that's a rock fight for a little bit of time there. You know, the Maryland game last year, you know, I know a lot of people were nervous because that's, you know,

it's 34-19, Maryland scores and gets a two-pointer with 30 seconds left. Michigan really does dominate that game for the most part, but nothing like this. You think about Minnesota, you think about Nebraska, yeah, whatever, they stink. The Big Ten West is brutal, but they're still power five football teams. There's still a certain level of competency here that Michigan is just completely blowing the doors off them and it's it's it's something I have never seen in my life like I've never and again go back to the Lions too like it is weird to be this stress-free watching my teams

play because it's never really happened before and I know the last couple years a Michigan's been really really good but I've never felt this level of comfort. Yeah, and to put a bow on it is, I mean, P.J. Fleck, after he gets trounced by Michigan, obviously it's a little self-serving to defend his team's performance, but here's a guy that's been around for a while now. He's coached a lot of football games, and unsolicited says that Michigan's the most complete, most dominant football team he's ever faced. So whatever that means, it means more than fanboys talking about strength of schedule and that sort of thing. I mean, that means something for him to say that unsolicited. You know, they're good.

Yeah, so it's very good, man. So, you know, getting to the game, 52-10, never really felt in doubt. And, Brian, I didn't do this on our show, but last week I wanted to just give myself a pat 52-10. Never really felt in doubt. Brian, I didn't do this on our show, but last week I wanted to just give myself a pat on the back because we did a Bleacher Report show, Justin and I. Justin Rowe, also Blue by 90. Him and I were on there and Bleacher Report wanted us to do bold predictions. My first one was Will Johnson gets an interception.

I did not say pick six. But from the start of the game – Yeah, it took all of two plays for you to win out on that one. I mean, the first play is just Michigan's defensive line just getting home and blowing that play up. And then they run zone, and the quarterback tries to throw an out route, and Will Johnson's just there for maybe the easiest pick six ever. One of them.

It's up there. I mean, he broke on the ball, and it seems like you talked about one of the things you said earlier was it hasn't been perfect, and I would agree. But I think the one thing that I'm seeing from this team is when I feel that there may be some sort of concern that I have, the next week they come out and completely demolish that thought. Like against Nebraska, I'm like, oh, is Will okay?

And then he just comes out and plays one of his best games, gives up no catches. They don't test him at all. It's tough to know what it's going to look like when he gets thrown at maybe ten times in November in the game. But you start to see and you're like, oh, okay, it's fine. The offensive line, we talked about it. I was like, I want to see them get a little bit better,

and we're going to talk about their grading. And I thought they played much better than the grading they had. Again, they're, we talked about it. I was like, I want to see them get a little bit better. And we're going to talk about their grading. And I thought they played much better than the grading they had again. Like they're playing really, really good. Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards, I thought played his best game of the year. I think I've said that two or three weeks in a row now where he's running more physically. And so I think a lot of the concerns that I've ever had with this team in the last, you know, six weeks, every time I think I'm like, Oh,

maybe there's a crack. They just come out and say, Nope, we're good. It's okay. It's almost like they're speaking to me through their play. I mean, it's been incredible to watch this team continue to grow. Jesse Minter is unbelievable, by the way. You know what? It's so funny you say that. I thought that so many times during the game and re-watching the game and some of the things we'll get into a little bit later. He's really good, and we'll get into some of the nuances. But, man, he's great. You know, we talked about how good is Michigan,

and you talked about the pick six. Here's a fun stat for you. Will Johnson, he on sob had 64 interception return yards. Minnesota had 52 passing yards. So those two had more, you know, receiving yards from the Minnesota quarterback than the Minnesota receivers, tight ends, and backs. Yeah. Was, was complete dominance. And we'll start as we do work on our way down the offense, JJ McCarthy, 16 to 21, 200 and some yards, a couple rushing touchdowns. I mean, you know, he gets an 82 grade. I think, I think three of those

incompletions were drops by the way, the one to CJ, the second drive or the first yeah the first offensive drive um and then there was one to loveland that he threw a rocket up the seam and the safety breaks it up but that's a ball that should be caught from loveland he makes up for it later obviously with his touchdown and then i believe uh edwards had maybe a drop or maybe i don't know third and four third and eight donovan hit him and he was kind of – Yeah. I mean, this kid, his touchdown to Loveland, I don't know if you noticed and the broadcast pointed it out, but he saw either the safety or the corner blitzing, and he immediately picked it up. And so he had – and he was talking to Blake, and Blake helped chip on him,

and then that was enough to – he still got the roughing the passer call from, I believe, one of those defensive linemen. But he saw it. He picked it up. Like, he's so in command as a quarterback and it's so impressive he's not putting up these gaudy stats but he is top five in the country in yards per attempt so if he were to if michigan were to throw it like usc or washington he'd be right up there in the heisman conversation the kid is just lights out and he looks like a guy who's going to be a very early

pick in the nfl draft unfortunately i think I think any talk of him probably coming back with the way he's playing, man, he's got to go get that money because he's going to sign a $20, $25, $30 million signing bonus in April or May of 2024. He's just playing at an unbelievably high level. Absolutely. And he does run for a ton of yards, but his two touchdown runs, he showed quite a bit of athleticism. I mean, on the second one, the guy had the angle on him. He makes a little juke move, then the stiff arm. I mean, he's just showing all kinds of levels. I mean, you know, that Bowling Green game, I don't know what happened that night. But other than he picked that out, and he's playing at a level that, you know,

we've certainly never seen out of a Michigan quarterback. And we've had some decent quarterbacks. You know, it's fun. I mean, hopefully he keeps it going. The guy needs to stay healthy, you know. Tuttle, it was really happy to see Tuttle come in and play well, lead him down to the score, the Franklin touchdown run. But it's clear there's that saying, what is that saying?

The backup quarterback's the most popular guy. That's certainly not the case in our market. You know what I mean? We need J.K. to stay healthy, and he's playing lights out. Yeah, he is. And just the improvement from 22 to 23. I thought he was pretty good in 2022. I saw a lot of things that I liked from nine, and, man, you look at this year,

his yards per attempt are almost two yards higher. His completion percentage is at 78% last year. I mean, and even in Big Ten play, as the competition has got up, he's 72%. I mean, it's not like he just was – he was feasting, but he's continued this high level of play. And, again, Michigan doesn't throw it a lot, so he's not going to put up 5,000 yards. But I think the way that Michigan plays –

and this is just kind of a side note on McCarthy as a pro. I think the way that Michigan plays, I think what they put on the plate of their quarterbacks, I think the offense that they run, I think it translates really well to the NFL. And I don't think, I mean, we know, not that I don't think, I know that Michigan hasn't had a guy this level at quarterback in the Jim Harbaugh era. And I think you're finally going to see what you saw at Stanford with Andrew Luck, where Michigan's going to have a guy go very highly in the NFL draft, very smart kid, really just a likable kid, just a really great ambassador for Michigan and a guy that you love being the face of the program at the moment.

I mean, he just says the right things. He he plays his tail off. He loves seeing his teammates succeed. He's gonna be the first guy out there when Jack Tuttle gets, you know, a touchdown drive like he's this great kid to lead Michigan. So and Tuttle actually graded out higher than McCarthy, 84.5. I thought he played great. That scramble on third and 16 was great. I think I feel good with him when he's in the game. Obviously, we need McCarthy to stay healthy, but I think that Tuttle is still a kid that could probably go win you some games if you need him to. So I feel a lot better about the outlook on the back of quarterback position today than maybe we did earlier in the season before we actually got to see Jack Tuttle play for Michigan. So in his kind of low amount of snaps this season, he has looked very adequate,

which is a great sign and great development for Michigan. Running backs. I thought – again, I mentioned earlier, I thought Donovan had a great game. He looked explosive in space. It seems like he's starting to be able to get to that next level, that next gear. He almost busted one. He should have had a touchdown on the goal line run that they gave it to him. I thought he was in.

Blake was certainly in on second down. I have no idea how – real quick, can we just talk about the spots in this game? There was a second down play where Donovan comes out on the other side of the scrum. He's two yards past the first down marker, and it's third and one. These guys – I don't know what these guys were doing. I mean, just unbelievable spotting from this officiating crew. Yeah, I thought Blake had one.

Like you said, Donovan had one. It was interesting. And I think all of – every Michigan fan that cares about the team really wants Donovan Edwards to get in the end zone. And so that run he had early on, wanted that to be a touchdown so bad that Corham comes in and vultures it. Leading scorer of the nation comes in. Yeah, well, we got a record for him to break and Donovan will get his certainly. I think he's starting to play a lot better football. He's starting to grade out much higher, and I think that he's starting to look like the guy that we got used to last year.

Again, it makes a lot of sense what we've talked about, where maybe he was a little banged up still. He had some surgeries this offseason to get right. It feels like he's starting to get back to who he is, and I think he's going to be a very vital piece down the stretch for Michigan because what they do with him and Blake when they're on the field at the same time, getting Donovan in motion, creating confusion with the defense, and then throwing the ball to him out of the backfield as well as his running ability.

He's doing a lot of really good things that aren't super impressive on the stat sheet, but he's playing much better football, and I think he's playing really good football right now, which I'd much rather him be pe you know, peaking now than, than early in the season. So I'm excited to see him continue to progress. And then again, the development of Cole Mullings, I mean, RB one next year.

I feel like no doubt at this point, it sounds like probably him and Jordan Marshall will be the guy guys next year, but man, he, he, he came in that third and four run he had down in the red zone was elite. I mean, he's patient.

The jump cut, the acceleration. The fourth and one catch he had, I get a little nervous. I'm like, man, if that's not Donovan out there, I don't know if I want to be throwing that route. And, man, he made it look effortless. Like, he's really coming into his own. His running back room is a three-headed monster right now. And I love it because we have,

now we have a guy in Kalel who's really another great short yardage back to be able to spell Blake when Blake needs a rest and keep him fresh for the rest of the season. Kalel Mullings being as good as he is, is one of the most exciting developments on this team in 2023. I think that was something I didn't really expect coming into the season. I knew he was going to be more of a full-time running back, but it seems like letting him play running back full-time, maybe where he should have been the whole time. You know, I know there was some linebacker depth issues last year, but man, kid's a stud. Yeah, and I think we're just scratching the surface. You know, that fourth down play shows you how much trust, you know, you run that play, you know, and I'm referring to the fake where he goes out in the flat,

they throw to him and he gets the first down. You know, you run that plan first, second down, it works, doesn't work. Okay. You move on. The fact that they trust him in a fourth and one situation to get that done shows you what they think. I mean, he's to your point, I share you, share your enthusiasm. He's looking more and more like Hassan Haskins every day. I mean, he, you know, it's not just the hard runs.

It's, you know, he had the one spin. You know, there was one point in the game where I thought he was going to try to jump over a guy because he just, he reminded me so much of Haskins. The other point that you made is in short yardage, you know, is Blake Corm a good short yardage running back? Yes. But, you know, if we want him to beat Ohio State, beat Penn State, run in the playoffs, how many of those hits do you want him to take, right?

So, you know, having somebody that you trust there, and I believe that the more Mullings does it, the better he's going to get. And he's just – he's looking more and more comfortable. I agree. It's one of the really shining spots of the season so far is to see him. And now when he's in the game, I'm kind of excited to see what he does next instead of like, you know, that hasn't – like, okay, what's going to happen? and now when he's in the game i'm kind of excited to see what he does next instead of like you know that hasn't like okay what's gonna happen you know he's looking absolutely yeah yeah no absolutely he's been fantastic and very like you said very excited

to see him continue to reach his potential because i do think like thousand yard back next year like he feels like that that's that seems kind of like the bar at this point and maybe it'll it'll raise the bar but i mean you give him 20 touches a game um and his his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield i mean that's legit like that's that's a great piece to to next year's offense uh but obviously this year he's going to play a vital piece for michigan trying to reach all their goals as we've talked about so um you know donovan grades out at the highest 73.7 and then quorum and mullings are basically you know they're they're within their rounding error um at 626 and 67 so um yeah i again you know i know we talk about you know got to kind of grade it on a bell curve but i just thought those guys are a lot better than those

grades but um that's just me so moving on to the receivers cj and roman both had great games you know cj had to drop but man he made a hell of a catch on a play. We talk about McCarthy. That maybe should have been a touchdown. But I think McCarthy, I don't know if he was the primary read. I don't think JJ saw him until late, and that's why the ball was – Yeah, but that play was supposed to go to Fred Moore for sure. Yeah, so – but he lets his guy go make a play, and CJ, man, comes back from the drop.

I thought CJ had a very, very solid game, big-time catch to get Michigan set up inside the five-yard line. And then Roman was Roman. I mean, you know, those crossing game, big-time catch to get Michigan set up inside the five-yard line. And then Roman was Roman. I mean, you know, those crossing routes, he's a killer. He had a big third-down conversion that JJ was a little bit contested, and he just made it look very easy. You know, thought the receivers played really well. Thought the blocking was pretty solid downfield.

You know, that helped Blake on his bigger run of the night. So that was a good day. On JJ's long run, it was CJ blocking down the field on the left side there. He looked – I mean, I keep saying it. He's such a complete wide receiver, Cornelius Johnson. He does so many great things. If you want to nitpick, when you watch taping again, Roman Wilson is not as enthusiastic of a blocker as CJ. There's, you know, you can see the difference.

And then the other person that I think that's really emerged and not as exciting as Mullings, but Samaj Morgan seems to have seized that AJ Henning role and he looks, you know, every bit as quick, every bit as nimble, every bit as shifty. So that's exciting. Yeah. I would love to see some, some sort of, you know, some more of the sweeps. You know, we saw actually the Lions run that double reverse flea flicker play that Michigan ran against Rutgers to get Colson Loveland down inside the five

a few weeks ago. And then the Niners ran it. It was like, how many people are going to run the same play? It's awesome. I think the Lions actually ran it last year, I read. But still, I mean, it's cool to see, you know, concepts being shared by Michigan think the Lions actually ran it last year, I read, but still, I mean, it's cool to see, you know, concepts being shared by Michigan and the Lions. But yeah, I'd love to see Samaj Morgan continue to carve out a role on this team. I think he's an exceptional athlete. He's very

explosive. I think he has pretty high end speed. I mean, I haven't seen it in college, but I know in high school, he was a burner. So I think he's a guy that's going to continue to come up big and make plays. I mean, we've seen him be able to catch contested catches when he gets interfered with, still scores a touchdown on the back shoulder catch. Like, yeah, it's good to see these young guys get some run. A lot of receivers played. So, but I think, you know, obviously CJ and Roman are very, very dependable. I mean, CJ had the drop, but that's, I feel like that's pretty atypical for him. Like that's not, that's not his MO. I think he's, like you said, I think he's a's a complete receiver i mean he's had some drops in the past but i i feel confident when he gets the ball and you know those dig routes where he's he's coming in 15 yards over the middle

like he's money with those so you know great day from the receivers for the most part tight ends man we got to talk about aj carter dude absolute dude just. I mean, is he the best blocking tight end that Michigan's had? According to PFF, he's not just the best Michigan's had. He's the number one. Pause. A.J. Barner is the number one graded tight end in the country. Last week, he was going into last week, he was number two right behind a guy named Brock Bowers,

who most college football fans have heard of. He has, as it stands right now, he has the highest tight end blocking grade in the history of PFF. He is a dude, like you said. That pin and pull they ran, man, Blake's big run, man, he just mashed that D lineman down the field, man. It's – yeah, he's a dude and he's got another year. But I don't know, Brian.

I really don't, man. He might be a guy that the NFL likes. I mean, he looks effortless catching the ball. To your point, what else do they need to see? He's doing it all. Yeah, I mean, he's got on film his ability to go up and catch the ball. Michigan hasn't really needed to do that, but he's definitely a guy to throw it up there.

They've done that to Colson this year, but I think Barner can be that guy. You talk about a home run hit out of the portal. That is Olu level of a portal transfer, honestly. He's not the guy going out and getting 10 catches, 100 yards, but he's going to get you four or five catches for 50 yards, but he's going to be a mauler in the run game and then you already got uh i almost said ben max bredison brother of ben man he's playing some really good football i'm surprised he graded out at a 55 so did colson loveland um drops that probably dinged him a little bit but he also had a touchdown so you know throw my guy a bone but man Bredesen, the hold on him I thought was a little egregious. I thought he just molly whopped his dude.

It was late in the game. But, I mean, these guys, this is the best tight end room in the country, right? I mean, I know Brock Bowers is a stud, and they've got Oscar Delp down there at Georgia as well with him, who's a really good player. But, man, these three guys, it's fun to watch. I mean, they don't miss assignments. They don't lose hold of their guys.

You know, they're blocking through the whistle. I mean, they're tough-nosed physical football players. And Love was not as good of a blocker as the other two, but I haven't noticed any real big hiccups from him this year like we saw last year when he was a freshman. I think he's been, you know, adequate. Yeah, and I think they don't put, I think he's been, you know, adequate. Yeah. And I think they don't put him in a position to really,

you know, so I think, you know, that, that, that burden falls on Bredesen and Barner and, you know, level,

level. And when he's out there, he's for the most part, another receiver. I feel like he's like a Devin punches. Yeah. Right. Very good comparison.

Yeah. And so, yeah, tighter rooms, rock solid. So I saw, I believe Marlon Klein. So Marlon Klein did not travel, but I believe he was banged up. So I saw, I believe Marlon Klein. So Marlon Klein did not travel, but I believe he was banged up.

So Zach Marshall, the freshman out of California, gets to travel. He plays a couple snaps. So good to see these guys get some experience, man. Again, another game, only one guy didn't play, and that was the backup long snapper, which I saw a TikTok. I saw a TikTok from him where he said somebody sent him a text message and said, hey, I saw you, and then it was a video of him being pointed out by the NBC broadcast

that he's the only player to not play in the game. So another game where a lot of guys see the field, which is just awesome for them. They bust their ass all week in practice, and a lot of guys don't get a lot of run. And to be able to just get out on the field, even if it's just for a couple plays, man, it's really awesome to see

and all that hard work paying off. But it's also great for the development for the future. It also speaks to the dominance too, right? Like we're doing that playing 74 different kits. You know what I mean? In conference games. Yeah, I mean, that's not common. So O-line, I thought, again, really, really good performance.

I think Henderson has really solidified himself as that left tackle. I thought – I didn't really notice any pass rushes. You know, last week I thought there was a couple times where Henderson maybe got bull rushed a little bit, but I didn't really notice. And, again, I was drinking watching at the wedding. I did watch the extended highlights. But, you know, I didn't notice anything from Henderson where, you know,

a couple weeks ago I was like, oh, I don't know. And now it's like, man, I feel really good with these guys. And I think Barnhart's playing really good. Obviously Keegan and Zinsser and Nugent I think is playing really good. Like I think they're starting to gel. Like we talked about where it was like, man, I need to see more. And it's like, all right, here's some more. And they're starting to bring back the pin and poles, which were really effective last year.

And in addition to the duo play that they run, like starting to feel a lot like 2022, Brian. Yeah, I think past, you know, past blocking, they've been, you know, exceptional. I still, you know, nitpicking, I agree with everything you said. This is just nitpicking, just for the sake of nitpicking.

I still would like to see you know more consistent sizable running lanes like i feel like last year when you rewatch games there were times goes blake and donovan werewell they were running through semi-truck lanes that just hasn't been the case this year and so you know this team keeps improving you know i expect we'll see it by the time it matters but you know just again i agree, again, I agree. They've been awesome. But, you know, just still not quite seeing the run holes that we were growing so accustomed to, you know, the second half of last season. Yeah.

Yeah, I can see that. I mean, there are times where you see it, and that's where the big gains come from. I mean, again, there was a play from Donovan where if he makes the guy miss, he's to the house. It was a big, big run lane. So yeah, I think again, though, as we talked about, they're continuing to gel. And by the time we get to Happy Valley, I want to see those undersized DTs at Penn State. I want to see how they hold up because we saw last year, obviously different teams, but it's hard not to get excited thinking about these games when you look around the country into the big 10 you're like oh this is this is kind of a decent size gap here so yeah i mean again the old lines continuing

to play better and um you know i think o-line especially is a is a position group in football where like you know with anything but the more you play together the more the more you get repetition and man like it's you know this is the improvement from week three and four to saturday i think is pretty pretty marked and so if you're going to see that continuing to move forward like it's it's easy to envision a scenario where michigan is creating those running lanes very consistently and gashing teams. So very exciting. And, you know, again, looking at Nebraska, I know Illinois is not a very good team, but they kind of got back to their dominance in the run game on defense, right?

And so it's like, well, maybe they are pretty damn good. And maybe Michigan is just that much better and bullied them around, right? So I'm excited to see these guys continue to play. But, yeah, overall, I mean, you know, they put up 52, you know, 12 of those come from the pick sixes, but still very dominant. You know, there was a couple three and outs, but you know, I think Michigan was just kind of finding their footing a little bit early on, and then it was off to the races and not really too much concern for me at all in this game from the offensive side of the ball. So moving on to defense, I think Mason Graham should have been given a 200 PFF grade.

That kid is a stud. I mean, absolutely. I think he led Michigan in every statistical category, either defensive lineman or linebacker, in pressures and tackles for loss and sacks. And he was just a monster. He was the number one graded interior defensive lineman by PFF in the country last week. That was about as good a game that we've seen from a defensive tackle. We've had some really good defensive tackles. I can remember some really, really good games.

He was just a monster. All over the place. No matter what, and I alluded to this a little bit earlier, but Minnesota did have some success with the outside zone. And then once Michigan changed its alignment and made those adjustments, it was gone. I mean, they had no success running until the last drive where I think they got a couple first downs with just running the clock out. I mean, they were dominant.

Mason Graham was a monster. I thought the edges played really well. I guess we're talking about the DTs now, but man, just as a whole I thought the front seven played really well. Yeah, it was pure dominance for 55. I rewatched it. I don't think we were talking about Jesse Minter. I legitimately don't think I may have missed a play. I may have dosed off or had a sip of my cocktail, but I don't think there was a play in the entire game where we brought more than three or four guys like they they're they're putting all that pressure with and when i say i don't think

there was i don't think they had a single play that i saw and if it was it was one or two they're doing all this by sending three or four it's so funny. Jesse Minter's dropping, you know, seeing Kenneth Grant, 6, 7 yards back, 8 yards off the line of scrimmage. It's fun to watch. Like, I encourage anyone that wants to go. Like, you had mentioned the, you know, they condense the games like 20 minutes. Go and just watch the defensive line and watch the pressure. They don't – I don't think we've seen a linebacker blitz in weeks.

Like I think maybe the first couple weeks. I know that Barrett had a sack, and I think Colson won a couple times early. But they're bringing no pressure, you know, outside of the front four. And even then they're having those guys drop. It's the best – it's clearly PFS. Mason Graham's the number two greatest defensive tackle in the country. Chris Jenkins is eight. Kenneth Grant is 11. So three of the top 11 defensive tackles in the country to play on the University of Michigan football team. That unit lights out. We haven't talked about the depth on the edge. I mean, and don't forget Cam Good. So Cam Good

grades out second highest guy on the on the defensive line um one of the top guys on the defense overall and i thought he had one of his best games as a wolverine i mean a guy again it's it's it's very similar to claude mullings in a way where i'm like oh i don't you know it's not like i'm sitting here looking at the pre preseason previews and all the hype and thinking about cam good but man he's playing some damn good football and he's gonna be a guy that's gonna be very valuable to this team throughout the rest of the season. So yeah, I mean, really good day from the DTs, the Edges, though. And I have, what are your thoughts? Because they've got Braden McGregor here to 59. I thought I felt his presence a lot more than that. I thought he

was really good again. I thought it was one of his best games again. I mean got another chip. I mean, that's what he does. He's a havoc wrecker. I mean, he did that. He did that against Ohio State a couple times. We obviously saw it against Nebraska. I mean, I feel like he's playing really good football. And for him to be the lowest rated guy, the starters, like, you know, maybe that's just saying how good this group is.

But I think he's coming into his own. And we've talked about it. Like, if there's a guy on this team that you want to really just reach his ceiling, he's one of them. Because he's got the athleticism. He's a very smart kid. He's tough nose. He plays physical and you feel him out there. And I thought he had another really good game. Absolutely. You know, him and Derek Moore. I mean, that guy's just every game seems like you see him get better. I mean, he's everywhere and they put a lot on his plate. I mean, he's

a very impressive young guy. And I think he's a young sophomore, too, like in terms of age. He's, you know, I was really impressed to hear, you know, how he changed his body, you know, to get a little quicker and get a little stronger. And it's showing. I mean, he shows up all over the place. And that edge room, really, really good. And the fact that we have four guys, like I'm trying to think of, you know,

I feel like early on the hardball when Gary and Winovich were young guys and Taco and Wormley were – Wormley, yeah. That four, they rotated those guys a fair amount, but not to this level, not this evenly. No. It's – that front is as good – you'd be hard-pressed to find a better front in the country right now.

We didn't even talk about Josiah Stewart, who I thought had his best game as a Wolverine. I mean, he had two sacks last week. He was a big COVID-10 defensive player of the week. But I thought you really felt his presence. The sack he had was really impressive. I mean, these guys are coming along, man. This is what you want to see, right?

This is the progression. This is the improvement that you want to see week by week because you're really just trying to get to a climax. You're trying to get to a fever pitch in November and have these guys as ready as they're going to be for these two massive games in November. And it just feels like we're seeing exactly what you want to see if you're a Michigan fan of these guys continually improving.

Mike Elston has done an incredible job with these guys. We haven't talked about Mike Elston on the show, but I don't think it's on today. But, man, that's an oversight on us because he is rock solid as a coach. He's a really good recruiter. He's a really good on-field coach. And these are his guys, man. And so, obviously, everybody has a hand in coaching these guys up.

But this is his position group, man. And so, the improvement that you see on a week-by-week basis, I think, is really a credit to the position coaches in college football. When you see stuff like this from different teams, like this is really has his fingerprints all over it. No doubt. No doubt. It seems like every guy he touches goes to the NFL. And I think we're seeing a bunch of these guys head to the NFL higher than they would have looked a couple of years ago. I think he's an amazing developmental coach and we're lucky to have him. Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you, Notre Dame. Although I think he made the decision to leave, but either way. So linebackers, didn't really see a ton from them. Again, this is a zone

heavy game. And like you said, they weren't bringing the pressure a lot with these guys. But I did notice Ernest Houseman just blow up uh like a like a slip screen uh because he's behind the line of scrimmage so you you can hit him and just blew him up and then i think uh calc man is through the ball and then i think it was a two-yard loss like i just see these guys you know making smart plays or not it's almost like the safeties right when you don't see them you don't hear them it's like all right they're doing their thing and um you know there's really not a lot of stuff to get to them either because the d line's cleaning everything up, it feels like. Yeah, Hausman was second on the team with tackles.

He showed them a bunch. You know, it's a good unit. You know, we've talked about – it seems like we've had the same conversation about the linebackers the last few weeks. Observation for me, I'm a huge junior goals fan. I was so excited when they got him to sign out of high school. I mean, he's an absolute athlete. But, you know, the last couple of weeks, I feel like, you know, his athleticism is off the charts. His motor is off the charts. I'm not sure how good his instincts are.

Like, he does get lost at times. I think when he identifies it and he sees it, he's lethal. I mean, he's just, he's put his head down and he goes blow stuff up. I just don't know if he's one of those like you think of some of the great linebackers at michigan and anywhere some don't have the best athleticism but just kind of know what's going to happen i don't know that he's there yet i mean i think he's still a young guy he hasn't played football for a bunch of years but uh you know i still and he may be gone before it ever really fully clicks and this is a guy that's a very good

linebacker i'm just saying i don't know that his instincts are, you know, where some of our other elite past linebackers have been. But a good unit that's been kind of quiet. You know, again, they're not doing a lot of stuff. They don't blitz those guys. You know, opportunities for those guys to really flash and look great. They're not blitzing those guys. I mean, that, you know, that'll show up later in the season.

I guarantee you Penn State, Ohio State, Big Ten Championship, wherever that goes from there, you're going to see those guys making some big plays by and on a scrimmage. No, absolutely. Absolutely. I think you're spot on there. I've always wondered if he had the instincts. Sometimes that's not going to happen right away. I think that's a guy that's going to get drafted very highly highly because of measurables and maybe an nfl team can get that out of him still hoping to see it with michigan you know i mean sometimes it just clicks you know and you've got a guy that's 6'3 250 probably runs a 4'6

maybe even faster i don't know i mean the kids are freak athletes so uh but you know again you've got you've got a really good room and hopefully i don I don't know if Jimmy Roelder, man, I don't know if he's going to be out for the season. They're going to redshirt him. He's a guy who I was really high on. I think he really has the potential to be a great linebacker. He just – it looks like he didn't make the trip. But they've got a lot of depth.

Speaking of Roelder, someone asked me this question last week, the week before, is just something to monitor is, you know, the injury report comes out every week and he's never on it. You know, it's interesting. Like if you think about like the injury, you know, I always send it to you when it comes out. You know, it's a list of everybody, you know, even when Myron Walker was, everyone knew he wasn't playing, he showed up on it. He was not showing up even on the injury reports that's just interesting yeah that is um you know take that with what it is but store it away and we'll see what that means later down the road but yeah i think you and i've both said a number of times we both are jimmy big jimmy yeah i think he'll be a starter next year as long as everything's good right you know but i did i

thought it was i thought i've i think i've read that he was banged up and maybe it's just you know michigan probably he's definitely banged up yeah but it's just weird that he was banged up, and maybe it's just – Michigan probably doesn't love him. He's definitely banged up. Yeah. But it's just weird that he's not on the injury report. Yeah, well, he hasn't played all year, so do you need to – I mean, if guys don't travel, do they need to be shown as out, right? It's like, I don't know.

But, yeah, another very kind of – not average, but just solid day from the linebackers. Nothing really to write home about, I guess. But switching to defensive backs, definitely some things to write home about. I thought this – you know, look, the pick sixes are flashy, but I thought this was a really good game. Aside from the one error by Keon Saab playing safety with 13 seconds left because Mikey does his job there, forces the guy to the inside

to get safety help, and Keon's nowhere to be found. Otherwise, that might have been a pick. So other than that, though, man, pretty dominant. Again, we talked about – I mean, in the second half, Minnesota had zero completions. Well, they had one. It was to Keon Sapp for six. So, you know, in the first half, I mean, they weren't really doing too much.

Michigan did a really good job. Like we talked about with the defensive tackles, bringing out some different schemes, dropping in the first half, I mean, they weren't really doing too much. Michigan did a really good job. You know, like we talked about with the defensive tackles, you know, bringing out some different schemes, dropping different guys into coverage, really making it hard on the quarterback, who I butcher his name every time I say it, because I think I get it down and then it's Calic Maness. But I, like, it's a weird last name and I second-guessed myself, but made life really tough on him.

You know, starting from the second play of the game with the pick six, with the zone coverage with Will, just had the easiest pick six of his life. Really, really good day from the DBs. You take away Will Johnson's pick six. He still had an elite day. It's so exciting for me. A young guy like Will Johnson, he finished the year strong, looked awesome. He gets all the accolades in the off season. And, you know, the type of, I don't know, scared, whatever guy that I am, I sit there and think, can he live up to all that?

You know, is he really that good? You can't help but second guess it because so much guys early, and he is that dude that I saw the stat in his pick six, he got up to 20 miles an hour and there was no one around him. There was no reason for him to run that fast, you know, and in, in the 30, 40 yards, he ran, you know, 20 miles an hour. That's moving, right? I don't know what that equates to in a 40 time, but he's that guy. It seems like, you know, any concerns I had or anyone else had that he's going to live up to hype.

He's looking like that guy, you know, and, and, and Amorianer's getting more snaps he played 11 snaps uh mike sanders mike sanders stills great josh wallace i i continue to love him i feel like our cornerback room is really solid uh and then that safety room you know that they uh i mean other than the error that you talked about was sob they continue to be real solid you know rod moore rod moore 33 snaps. He was the fourth most defensive back. So, you know, it's good to see that he didn't show up, but we know what he can be. And so the fact that he paid sob, Quentin Johnson plays his role pretty well.

And then, you know, one of the things I was most excited about that's not going to affect any outcome the rest of the way, but Caden Coles are back playing healthy you know I mean that guy's not having a huge impact on the game but just we know what he means to the football team in terms of personalities and you know what his teammates feel about him he played 11 snaps you know there was questions if he would play football this season or again and so I'm just so excited to see him out there as a side note and you know it's that unit's good i mean i feel like it's it's a broken record every unit i feel like in what unit i mean other than linebackers because linebackers kind of just kind of you know not a criticism to them but they really haven't flashed and we know what our best

linebacking units in the country and like that but i feel like every every unit we're saying the same things and that's that's a sign of a really, really good football team. Yeah, no, absolutely. And I think the thing that has me excited too, because I do love Keon Saab, but I think you're starting to see Rod Moore come back into his role. He played 33 snaps.

Keon plays 18, right? I think there was a lot of people like, hey, is Keon the starting safety? And Keon's going to be a really good football player for Michigan. Like really excited about him and the play that he's had. And obviously the pick six was all, it was a great play and I can't wait to see him continue to grow and develop. And he's going to be a really great option as, as that, you know,

that third safety behind Macari and Rod. But I think the fact that Rod Moore kind of earned some of his snaps back is a really good development for this team. You know, he had what looks like the third highest grade behind Keon Sapp, about a 76, and then Will Johnson, 84.8. Absolutely great day for them, the defense as a whole. I mean, anytime you can outscore the team with just pick sixes, that's a pretty good day. And very excited to see these guys continue to get healthy. I mean, I think that's what you're starting to see is these guys are finally getting close to 100%.

Look, during a football season, you're 100% on game one, and then you're maybe hopefully 90% the rest of the way because you're getting hit, you got bruises everywhere, your body hurts. I mean, you're just taking a beating. But I think these guys are getting back to relatively full health when it comes to football players, and that's a really good thing for this team to have these guys back and playing really good football because Rod Moore is a difference maker in whether Michigan wins a national championship or not. Like if he's at his peak that we've seen

as one of the best safeties in the country, that's a huge help for this team, right? And they can still win a national championship with him playing the way that he was. But if he gets to his elite level and all-American level that we think he can get to, that just makes things a lot easier on everybody else on the team. So it's really good to see him and Will back

and playing like we know they can. I mean, that's really exciting. That has me fired up and ready to go. Absolutely. And, you know, before we move on, one person that we haven't really talked about in detail is Tommy Doman. Yeah, we haven't really talked about in detail is Tommy Doman. He doesn't show up in the national. Yeah, we haven't talked about it, but.

He doesn't. He doesn't. He's punted so little, right? He's punted 13 times this season that it doesn't qualify for any of the rankings, right? Like if you go to ESPN.com right now and look up punting stats, he doesn't show up because he hasn't punted enough. But in his 13 punts, there's only one guy that's punted for more yards, and that's Troy Taylor of Iowa,

who some think are one of the best punters of all time. He's averaging, what, 46 yards a punt? He's got a monster leg, and good thing we don't punt a lot. We don't need him, but I just wanted to give him a little shout-out because he's been really, really good in a role that hasn't been real critical. Yeah, he's been a monster. One concern about being really good, I think, you know, speaking of special teams is and blowing people out is that, you know, is not a concern. It's a concern, but we haven't had to make a field goal that's meant anything yet.

And so, you know, as we go down the road, that's going to come. We're going to have a dogfight. Who knows when it comes? But it's coming. We're going to have a game that just, you know, and it could be a team that we're not expecting where we need him. And, you know, you look back the last couple of years, and you look at that Michigan State game last year

where Moody made five field goals before we really got going. You know what I mean? It's like when that game was still kind of in question early on. I'd like to see him get in some situations where we need him to make a kick before we really need him to make a kick, and, you know, the uncertainty creeps in. So, you know, that hasn't hurt us yet, but, you know. Yeah, I mean, that's kind of the same thing that I feel about –

because I agree. I mean, I think James Turner's done a fine job, and, you know, he had the one miss in I feel about, cause I agree. I mean, I think James Turner has done a fine job and, you know, he had the one miss in the first game. And then the only miss he's had since was on a play that was moved back five yards on the worst delay of game of all time where he made the kick and look,

you still got to go make the second one, but not really looking at that as a, as a fault of him. But yeah, they haven't had to. And the other thing about this season so far, which is a great problem to have is they haven't gone all four quarters. They haven't had to. And the other thing about this season so far, which is a great problem to have is they haven't gone all four quarters. They haven't needed to.

So can you be conditioned in November? And I think they will be. And I'm sure you're going to start to see them play a little bit longer into the games. You're not going to see JJ McCarthy on the sideline in the third quarter as much moving forward. At least I would hope not. Cause obviously look, it's football.

There's risk of injury. But there's always risk of injury. And so I think having the condition to play deep into games, hell, who knows, it might not come up. I mean, it might not come up, right? I mean, you never know. But I'll tell you what, against the Buckeyes, I don't care how big that lead is.

You've got to play the whole game, man. It could be 59-0. You've got to be ready to go so that's the only thing but that's a great problem to have as we sit here midway through the regular season no real issues for me I mean I'm sitting I'm feeling feeling good we're sitting here pretty at six and oh man and three and oh in the big 10 uh coming up this weekend got the Hoosiers coming to town, which do you know Big Noon? Well, you didn't know this. Big Noon kickoff is coming to Ann Arbor, Michigan.

When I saw the promos, Brian, they were just like Big Noon kickoff, Ann Arbor, Michigan Wolverines. They didn't talk about IU for some reason. So interesting choice. We'll get Urban Meyer in town. Maybe somebody will ask him about the Michigan State job. But, you know, big matchup, I guess. Big noon kickoff is here, but big noon Saturday with Joel Klatt and Gus Johnson is not, so I don't know what the make of it.

Michigan and Ohio State are the breadwinners for Fox, so they're going to try to get to those two campuses as much as they can. You started the show off with good to be a Michigan and a Detroit Lions fan. And this upcoming weekend, you know, we have a big new kickoff on Saturday. On Sunday, the Detroit Lions come to Florida and play the Tampa Bay Bucs. And, yes, I will be at that game. Is that America's Game of the Week?

I don't know. I thought it was. I'm curious to watch. It'll be Brian's Game of the Week because I'll be there. Me too. I have a few friends flying down. I was on the phone just a little bit ago, make arrangements to tailgate with some college buddies and, you know, really looking forward to it. Yeah, man, no.

I mean, Sunday was awesome. I was in Boston, and we found a place to go and watch the game, which was a lot easier than I thought because the Patriots are just getting absolutely bodied by the Saints. I mean, the Saints haven't been that good this year, and they made them look like world beaters. So that's a really bad football team. But found a spot.

Unbelievable food, by the way. Just incredible. Had a buffalo chicken pizza. My wife and I shared some – like these waffle fries, like loaded waffle fries. Great time in Boston watching the game. But I'm just sitting there, and the waiter comes up, and I had a Lions hat on, and I told him what we were doing there.

He's like, man, you guys aren't playing around. I had looked down at the menu, and I look up, and it was right after one of the picks. I think it was the – was it a flea flicker? Yeah, it was the flea flicker that they threw it to La Porta. I look up, and they scored. I've never been so stress-free about the detroit lions in my life and i think sunday they're gonna go down to tampa you know i know

the tampa bay buccaneers are sitting there at three and one but man you look at some of the teams they've played and you look at what the lions are doing to some of those same teams man i don't know it's gonna be i think the lions are gonna be i'm looking at the schedule man and i know they're gonna drop one or two or three or four whatever here or there i'm looking at the schedule, man, and I know they're going to drop one or two or three or four or whatever here or there. I'm looking at the schedule like there's nobody on the schedule that I think is clearly better than the Lions. I've never said that in my life. Well, here's a stat that I know for sure you've never said.

The Detroit Lions have as many wins as the rest of the division has combined. That's something that you've never said in your life. That was a disgusting insult to football last night, whatever the hell they played in Las Vegas. And the Lions have both those teams still on the schedule. Yeah, we're going to see. Yeah, great

time to be a football fan if you're a Michigan and Lions fan. We're getting that cool weather coming in, so I'll be bundled up on Saturday. I think the high is about 50. So I'll be rocking a hoodie for the first time at a game this year. It's a lot different than that 95 degrees in Lincoln, I'll tell you that. Oh, yeah.

All right. Well, that's going to do it for us. Thank you, everybody, for tuning in. Go Blue. Go Blue.