Blue By Ninety - Blue By the Numbers: November is Here

Episode Date: November 8, 2023

Tanner and Brian break down Michigan's 41-13 victory over Purdue and look ahead to the biggest matchup yet as Michigan heads to Happy Valley to take on Penn State.

All right, and welcome back to Blue by the Numbers. It is November, Brian, and we are getting to real football. Brian, how are you today? I'm doing really good. You? I'm good, man. I'm fired up. We had a great conversation before recording, so we got a lot of unfiltered feelings out, but we're going to talk football, man.

You know, it's been two-plus weeks of talking anything but, and it was so nice to have a Michigan football game to watch now I was at a wedding I think I mentioned that last show I was heading to Nebraska for a wedding so you know was watching it on the phone um you had to turn it off be respectful at certain moments of the reception obviously but when the music was on you know dance with my wife but I had the phone in one hand and um I'll tell you what you know for all the kind of hand-wringing that Michigan didn't play a great game, still came out, did what they needed to do, punched Purdue in the mouth.

And from the moment it was 17-0, it just felt like Michigan was content with let's just get out of here. Like it would have been really great for Michigan, from a selfish fan perspective, to run the score up on Mr. Spade himself. But I'm okay with Michigan making sure that we get to, you know, their thoughts probably, hey, let's get to Penn State. Let's be healthy. We don't need to run JJ.

You know, they threw it a lot. But I thought once they got up big early, they kind of turned some things off. You know, and they didn't really bring anything out until bring anything out until the jet sweep to Samaj Morgan. It felt like they just wanted to get a little separation and then, hey, we're good. And that's kind of what that game felt like. That's a typical Michigan performance for the most part. They're going to keep some things in the bag and not really need to expend it on Purdue, which I'm good with.

Yeah, you know, it's funny, the expectations of the team of fans of you and I, you know, how many years when Michigan played lesser opponents and they didn't bring their A game are all of a sudden we're nervous in the fourth quarter this year and last year, even when they don't bring their A game even when our quarterbacks not as sharp as he typically is even when we miss opportunities out there we smash people you know what i mean and so people can talk all they want about you know uh everything that's all the noise going on and and uh the difference between good teams or bad teams but it's like it's so nice that these games even when you know you know, we want perfection, we want 70 to nothing. We want every drive to have a Blake

core of a Roman Wilson, JJ highlight play, but 41, seven or 13 after the late touchdown, very comfortable, zero stress, uh, only stresses us wanting more pound of flesh. Uh, it's nice. It's a really good football team it is man and i don't you know i don't want to take it for granted i mean you know we'll just talk about the first drive um you know for all the talk about jj being off and yeah he certainly missed some throws i think there were some mechanical things you know his hips were open on a couple throws uh but he kind of cleaned that up later in the game you know for one of his lesser performances i think nine yards in attempt 335 yards on 60 somesome percent completion percentage.

Like a lot of quarterbacks would kill. I know Hudson Card would have killed for that. I think – I don't know what his stats were before that last drive, but at one point I remember seeing on the broadcast he was 5 of 17 for like 70 yards, and one of those – however many of those yards came on the busted coverage from DJ Waller. I mean, the Michigan defense was unbelievable in this game. They got put in some situations, you know,

I don't know if you want to call it unfairly to them, but not by their own doing with the muffed – well, is that a muff? I guess, you know, it just bounces off one of the gunner's backs or the blocker's back. Yeah, it's putting shots on the back. Yeah. Yeah, and then, you know, you go for it on fourth and one, you don't get it, and you give it six points.

I hated that call, by the way. I didn't hate going for it. I did not like the play call. I did not like having Darius Clemens in line on a 260-pound D end, I will say. But also, punt it. It's a minute 30 left. You're up 20-3. Just punt it.

You know, you gave him a little bit of momentum, but the defense, you know. He got the back of him there. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, they had ran of them there. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, they had ran that play with with Mullings a few series earlier on a fourth down that they converted. So, you know, it's one of those things where you got to be a little bit more unpredictable. But again, as we just kind of as I kind of alluded to, I think this is a Michigan team. Certainly content keeping some things in the bag, you know, that they're going to pull out on the 11th as well as the 25th as these two

big games loom for Michigan. So, yeah, I thought that I thought overall, you know, definitely some things to clean up on the punt return side. You know, Tyler Morrison had a great game, which is which is frustrating because I thought he had he had been pretty good in that spot up until Saturday where he kind of just, you know, made some poor decisions. So, yeah, it was – That's when we found Big Fall late. He made a really nice return. Yeah, he did, man. He had some room, and he took advantage of it.

So, I was, you know, thoroughly impressed with Tommy Dolman. You know, Braden McGregor was flashing again. He had another one of those, like – it's almost like, not saying he's Max Crosby, but after watching the Lions-Raiders game, and you try to run a sweep away from him with a running back and he just tracks it down the line like he had one of those plays on one of the third and twos that they stopped and he's been doing that gosh I mean he had a couple of those against the Buckeyes last year just coming down the line making a tackle on an outside run and and he's been playing really

good football I thought all the edges played well. I thought the secondary played, you know, really, really well. Josh Wallace had a great game. Will Johnson obviously had the pick. Rod Moore showed up big, in my opinion, finally starting to feel like he's gotten his footing back, which is great timing with some of the teams coming up. So, yeah.

He did take away what would be one of the easiest interceptions of Will Johnson's career, though. Yes. He was standing there ready to catch it and, you know, Rod making a play, but having no idea that Will was just standing there ready to catch it. But, yeah. Yeah, I mean, Will, you know, there was some concern, you know, after the Nebraska game. He had given up some slants.

He's been shut down. I mean, he has been everything that we have needed to see from him and more. He's been as advertised and again, just continues to play like he's going to be a top five pick in 2025. So, you know, a great game from the defense. The offense sputtered a little bit in the, you know, kind of like second quarter into the early third. You know, they just, they had some drops. They certainly had some drops. J.J. had some throws that were a little bit off uncharacteristically. But I also thought J.J. stood in there and took his lumps and still played a really good game.

I mean, we talked about the stat line, but he made some big throws. The throw to Donovan when they got Donovan lined up with a dude wearing number 47. Like, yes, please, please. Somebody with a number in the 40s gets lined up on number seven. Throw to him. And that could have been a touchdown. It was a great throw, great route.

Great throw, great route, yeah. I mean, you know, Donovan maybe could have stretched it out for a touchdown there, but gets down at the one, and then Blake gets in there. So, Blake had three touchdowns. You know, not super efficient outside of the red zone in the goal line, but hell, if he can be efficient at the goal line and score three touchdowns and finish drives off, then I'm going to be very happy.

So, overall, you know, 41-13, they score with 20 seconds left to get the backdoor cover for Purdue. But that one felt, you know, again, it could have been more, like you talked about the pound of flesh. I wanted 70 points. But, you know, Michigan has bigger goals than Purdue and ryan walters so they've got bigger fish to fry and i thought for the most part it was it was a little sloppy a little rusty but with everything going on and the bye week makes sense have a feeling these guys are going to come out ready to go next weekend but

yeah overall thought it was a was a great game um And we can kind of jump into the PFF numbers here because, again, J.J. McCarthy, off game, just a ho-hum 83.8 grading from PFF. Stellar. Yeah, he was – you know, and if you watch the game, anyone in the watch who doesn't take a real discerning eye, he just didn't – he wasn't as crisp. He made a lot of throws just behind guys, just – you know, he just wasn't sharp.

But he still, on third down he didn't make those mistakes you know when it mattered he didn't make those mistakes um you know he's just he's got that clutch gene and he's just he's a gamer i think uh and you know glass half full type perspective is kind of glad he had the game like he had because he's shown in his query doesn't have two games like that in a row. So he's a little bit off, and so I'd rather have him do that against an undermatched Purdue team than this week, I guess, in Happy Valley. So, yeah, he's so good. Yeah, thought it was a really good game from number nine.

Again, you know, like even I caught myself like, what's going on here? And it's like, you know, not every throw is going to be perfect, contrary to what he's made us believe after that Michigan State game where he was slinging the rock. I have a feeling we'll see. We'll talk about it. We're going to preview the Penn State game in a little bit, and we'll see. But I have a feeling that he's going to have a big game on Saturday,

and I think he's – you know, that levels the playing field in a lot of these scenarios where you've got great defenses. But if you've got an NFL quarterback quarterback who can make nfl level throws um i think if we get the jj mccarthy we saw for you know you know in big 10 play overall then michigan's gonna have we're gonna have a good time on saturday i'll say that so uh you know not up to his usual stuff but still pretty damn good uh which is a nice place to be man because i've seen some michigan quarterbacks that maybe want to pull my hair out so for sure i'll take it i'll take it um running backs you know dono had we kind of talked about him in the past game um you know seemed like they try to get him more involved

i just feel like something's coming with him there's there's something that's cooking with him and and i think you're gonna see more two back sets in these two big games i think they're gonna get him matched up with linebackers and safeties. Even if you get him matched up on a corner, I still take those chances. He's that good of a route runner. I mean, he looks like an NFL-level receiver when he splits out wide. He's really good, yeah. I still think he's going to be a higher NFL pick based on his potential and knowing what he did last year and some of the things he brings

and how athletic he is. I want to see more of the i want to see more of the swing passes we haven't seen those with him um i'd love to try to set up another touchdown in uh in a future game with him throwing the ball out of that out of that look right like there's it feels like there's so many things that you can do with him um and i'd love to get him in motion get him in space and i feel like they're starting to do more of that so you know i again i think we've talked about it ad nauseum on here And I feel like they're starting to do more of that. So, you know, I, again, I think we've talked about it at nauseam on here, but I feel like he's going to show up big at some point in a big game. And we're going to be thankful that Blake or that Donovan plays for

Michigan. Yeah. I mean, I think the fact remains that the run game isn't where we've been the last two seasons. It's just not, I mean, the average, you know, the average per attempt that just big plays explosives. I don't, you know, and per attempt that just big plays explosives i don't you know and if you heard blake's uh interview with jason avant afterwards he was talking about uh you know some he would acknowledge that that something's just not right and uh you know they're gonna keep working at it but you know it's a little we've been spoiled by such consistent excellence in the run game and it's just not there yet yet. And with JJ playing as well as he has, it's been like, okay, fine. But the fact of the matter is, you know,

you can have both working at a high level. This team's close to unbeatable with the defense and special teams they have. So, you know, I would like to see them get that worked out. And if it's a matter of getting both those backs in the game and getting a little misdirection, I do love all the jet sweep motion. They do a lot of stuff with Samaj Morgan and Tyler Morris, whether, you know, running towards the line of scrimmage and then at the last minute turn around and going the other way and either tossing it out that way or running in misdirection. I mean, they're doing a lot of neat stuff with motion this year that I

haven't seen them do in the past, which alludes to kind of what you were speaking about earlier. But, you know, if they can get that running game, if they can just be more consistent on first and second down, it just frees so much stuff up. I mean, it feels like we have so many first down three yard runs that, you know, second down, you still have to be responsible. Well, you get six, seven, eight yards on that first down carry. It opens up the playbook to get really creative and really stretch the field and challenge the defense. And so, you know, being successful on first down down like we were last year can go a long way because now J.J. is a much improved quarterback than he was last year.

So, you know, that's nitpicking, I guess, but it's not even nitpicking. It's just factual. The run game is not what – So, you know, the thing that – I'm going to bring it up now. I was going to talk about it during the preview, but since we're talking about it now. You know, I think the interesting thing, if you look at, so Michigan's played Nebraska, they played Minnesota, who are both top four in rushing defense in the Big Ten.

Nebraska only gives up 2.6 yards per carry. Minnesota gives up 3.8. But then also Rutgers is eighth in total yardage, but they give up 3.7 yards per rush. So they're a little bit outside of that kind of upper echelon, but still a pretty solid rushing defense. And I think what's interesting is that Michigan ran for 201 yards against Rutgers, ran for 191 against Minnesota, and then also ran for 249 against Nebraska. So the best rushing defenses on the schedule that they've played, they have been more successful than against the worst rushing defenses because you have, I believe, Purdue. Purdue is 11th.

Indiana's 14th. So, and Michigan State is 9th. And I don't think they ran the ball too well because J.J. was just slinging it on them. And I think you're seeing that these teams are willing to sell out and try to stop the run. And I think when you have Michigan incorporating J.J. McCarthy in the run game, you see a completely different rush offense. And obviously, I think it was another one of those games where the reads are off. You're not running the ball.

We're not losing you before Penn State, right? So that may be a little bit tinfoil hat-ish of me, but I just feel like against the legit rushing defenses, and make no mistakes about it, Nebraska's got a damn good rush defense. I know they play in the Big Ten West, but they've got some big dudes up front. They're well coached, and they play tough. And so for Michigan to go out there and rush for 249 yards on them, I just have a feeling that Michigan's going to be able to come out

and have more success than maybe we imagined. Now, I don't think they're going to run for 250. If they do, we're going to have a great time on Saturday. Shameless plug, we're doing a watch party, I believe, at Pretzel Bell in Ann Arbor downtown Saturday for the noon kick. So everybody stop by. I believe we're going to be doing something with North Peak Brewing. So I don't think that's confirmed confirmed but i'm pretty sure that's

happening so hopefully i'm not uh not gonna put my foot in my mouth there but i'm pretty sure we're doing something at pretzel bell so just a just fyi for the listeners uh that are in ann arbor but i just have a feeling that they're gonna have more success and you know what this you know we're talking about pretty but i just want to talk about penn state real quick um before we get to the kind of the true preview. But I have a feeling this game is going to look something like Iowa in 2022. What are your thoughts on that? Because I think Michigan is going to come out with a scripted drive that's going to take advantage of some of the tendencies

that this defense in Penn State has. I think they're going to get a score, and I don't think that offense is going to be able to move the ball too much on Michigan. I have a feeling – my official prediction is 27 13 michigan and i just feel like it's gonna be very similar to that iowa game i think michigan's gonna you know be able to put some drives together hopefully they can actually finish drives on like in iowa city last year you know they get a touchdown and then they're you know 13 to nothing and weren't able to finish off in the in the red zone or in plus territory but i just feel like that's how this game is going to go.

Like, I think that's going to be the game flow for this one. Yeah, I think – I mean, I think you're not alone in thinking that. You know, for me, I'm always a little nervous. You know what I mean? Like, I'm nervous when we play a bad Indiana team. It's just how I'm wired. Yeah, me too. Yeah, but, you know, we should – you know, it's a game on the road.

That's scary anywhere, anywhere in conference, a team that knows each other well, that have played a bunch, both teams playing with a lot on the line. I feel like if you stick to script and just what we've seen, the evidence that we've seen this year from both teams, 27-13 sounds like a pretty darn good score. But the reality is, is football's not about what we've seen, what we've done. It's what happens.

It's a couple of bounces of the balls. It's a couple of good plays. It's a couple of calls. And speaking of calls, we have to talk about the Blake Corum, the only penalty of the game, or the Blake Corum penalty. But the game comes down to those types of things. And so I'm always nervous. I always kind of tend to expect, you know,

those things to go against Michigan, a muffed punt, you know, something goofy to happen and it having a, you know, kind of snowball effect. But I think, you know, not to belabor it, but if it sticks to script, I love your 27 to 13. I think they're the better team. I think they're the better coach team. I think they have more talent.

I think the advantage of quarterback, Drew Allers playing team. I think they're the better coach team. I think they have more talent. I think the advantage of quarterback. Drew Aller's playing good. He seems to be playing better every week. They just destroyed Maryland last week, which I think is a great thing for Michigan. But, you know, I'm always nervous. I am too, but I try to, you know, use my logic. And, you know, there's a little bit of bias in there as a Michigan fan for sure. Don't get me wrong.

But just watching these two teams, and obviously I've watched more of Michigan than Penn State, but I try to keep up with Penn State. And, you know, interesting letdown potential against Indiana. Alar has a big touchdown for, what, 51 yards. De'Andre Lambert-Smith, that gives them the lead. And then the safety sealed it for the Nittany Lions a couple weeks ago. But, yeah, the Maryland game, they put up 27 in the fourth quarter.

And, again, I believe Penn State – I don't have it in front of me, but I believe they were closer to like five yards per play. So they're not a very efficient offense. They're not – They're not explosive at all. No, they're not explosive. I mean, they have to be efficient to have a chance to beat Michigan, and I just think this defense is playing – is just playing too good.

So let's get through these numbers real quick. Just touch on some of the key guys. Roman Wilson had a fantastic game. No touchdowns. But, you know, I think he put up, what, 140 on nine passes. Career best in receptions, career best in yards. He was the guy on third down for sure. Yep.

So he was JJ's safety blanket all night long and came up with some clutch catches. Had to double clutch the catch that JJ had to him on the sideline. That was a great throw. And I don't know what happened to Roman, but he caught it. So all's well that ends well. So and then Samaj, you know, he had the touchdown, which that burst, talk about shot out of a cannon.

You know, he gets a pretty high grade at 81. He had a couple catches. Like, I think he reminds me of Steve Breston, man. I'm surprised he hasn't gotten a shot at punt returns at this point. You know, he's a kick returner. Maybe they don't want to put too much on his plate. But, man, I think having a good punt returner is much more valuable than having a good kick returner in today's college football

when you can get a fair catch at the 25. But he's been coming on, man. You've got to think he's making plays in practice to get this much run. You know, he's basically wide receiver number four at this point behind Roman, CJ, as well as Tyler Morris. So, you know, he's coming on strong, which I love to see. Tight ends. A.J. Barner, again, I haven't been able to – I've watched a couple cut-ups of highlights.

And, you know, A.J. Barner did not have as good of a game against – that he did against Michigan State. But, you know, he comes in with a 55 grade. You'll have to go back and watch him a little bit more individually. I didn't see anything glaring on the run blocking side of things, but, you know, I'm not sure where the 55 necessarily comes in, but Colson Loveland, you know, he had another nice game, had some big catches, made some big plays. And he comes up with a couple, you know,

one thing about AJ Barner is he played 61 snaps. That's more than any of the wide receivers. That's, you know, more than any tight end combined. yeah he's double colston loveland so you know his value is far beyond the box score you know i mean clearly the team wants him in every situation he's out there a ton when they run duo man he blocks down like that's that's that's where his value is and then also his ability to catch the ball and and make plays in the passing game is is big time so he i think he, you know, he had a drop. It was a fastball for McCarthy towards the sideline, but he had a drop.

So maybe that's factoring into it as well. But I have a feeling these guys are going to be ready to go. And I think, you know, the bye week came at a time that was very interesting with everything happening surrounding Michigan football at the moment. So I have to think that was something that probably had a little bit of an effect, but also just the rustiness, you know, kind of kind of taken taken over in the second quarter, which is interesting because they came out sharp. I mean, the first two drives, touchdowns and then, you know, second or third defensive drive, get a pick, almost get a pick six. Like they were so sharp. And then it just seems like they were just kind of like, ah, it's all good.

You know, they just kind of had a had a lapse and i think that uh that explains to me some of what happened in the middle part of the game so um o-line i thought the tackles had a rough game um pfm agrees with me the defensive ends at purdue are pretty good though um you know i think those guys are legit so maybe maybe something to do with that and um you know maybe we'll see what happens if chop robinson. That may be a bigger issue if he does. I thought he was still sidelined for the Maryland game. So we shall see. Defensively, you know, thought it was a really great game from everybody. You know, they had some runs, but overall didn't really get anything going outside of what Michigan kind of handed to them to get those field goals. Yeah, if you look at the plays they did give up, you know, you had the one really long play

that, you know, Waller just kind of gave up, thought the play was over, was looking back. That was one of the bigger plays of the game. Another big play was Amorian Walker just totally whiffed on a tackle. So you got to imagine neither one of those guys are going to see the field much against Penn State. So those are big plays there. You know, another big play they gave up was, you know, Hudson Card. It was like third and five. And, you know, the pocket collapsed and Michael Barrett ran through the same hole that Junior Colson did. And Hudson Card went the other way and went for big play.

That play was totally stymied. But other than that, they didn't do much. Yeah. And, you know, talk about Michael Barrett. I believe I saw that he had nine pass rushes and he had pressure five times. Yeah. So we've seen his ability in the past, and I don't think Michigan's needed to pull it out in some of these games. And I think that's probably part of their plan is, hey, Michael, we're going to start bringing you home, and we need you to make a play. And I think he's a guy that can do that. So, you know, he's had some sacks this season, and I think he's going to be a big part of that.

You know, I thought the last couple games have been really good for Junior Colson as well. I think he's playing at a much better level. I think some of the instinctual things that we've had concerns about, I think have been better. So I'll be curious to see what it looks like on tape. I want to watch it again. But I thought the linebackers played really good.

Yeah, we've said for weeks after weeks, you know, that the linebackers haven't needed to play, you know, exceptional games and the game plan and the calls didn't lead for them. When you have a two-headed monster like Penn State has coming up this week at running back, you have a pretty talented quarterback and really good skill position, wide receivers and tight ends at Penn State. It's going to be time for them to show up. And so I think they're up for it, but I think we find out if they are the real deal this week or if we find out if that's an area to be concerned as we enter the back stretch of the season and then to get to where we all want to be.

So I think they're up for it, but I think this is going to be the game where they show up one way or the other. Yeah, yeah, and defensive backs, I thought it was a really good game from Will, from Rod. Josh Wallace, I mentioned him earlier, I thought played really well. He's a guy, man, he does a great job in the run game too. I mean, he's not afraid to come up and get dirty. But I think as a cornerback too, he's been as good as you could ask for. I know I believe he's a little dinged up. He left the game, but they're going to evaluate him. He may be questionable, but I have to think he's going to be ready to go. I mean, he's a kid from that

area in the Northeast. I mean, you got to think he's going to want to play in this one. But that's the nice thing that, you know, we talk about some of the younger guys. If they have to go, they have experience in big-time games. They're not just playing in the fourth quarter against ECU or Bowling Green, right? They're getting, you know, they're getting run in the, you know, second and third quarter of Big Ten matchups.

And so, you know, hopefully Josh Wallace will be okay. But, you know, these guys have shown that they can play. I mean, McBride's had a good game against Michigan State. Not as great this past Saturday. But you've got a lot of these guys have shown that they can play i mean mcbrow's had a good game against michigan state not as great this past saturday but you've got a lot of guys that have shown that they can play at a high level so um you know and that's why you play these guys so much right that's why you give them so many reps is so that in this part of football season you're gonna have injuries man it's just part of the game your body takes a toll all season long and yeah it makes yeah you get hurt later on in the season more than you do in the in the early parts of the season

because your body's so sore and just been banged up. So that's Big Ten football, and you've just got to have guys ready to go. And you just hope that these younger guys are. But, you know, they've gotten some run and have shown flashes. And so now it's just about being consistent and not having the lapses like DJ Waller did on giving up his long pass, right? Yeah, I mean, to your point about guys playing, the defense played 60 snaps on Saturday night. Eight different defensive backs played 20 snaps or more. So, I mean, they're definitely getting guys out there.

And Amore on Walker, DJ Waller, weren't guys that were 20 snaps or more. So, they were out there, and they showed up because, you know, they kind of got exposed a little bit. But even, you know, they both played a fair amount. But, you know, they're spreading showed up because, you know, they kind of got exposed a little bit. But even, you know, they both played a fair amount. But, you know, they're spreading the ball around, you know, spreading the playing time around. Keon Saabs continues to look really good. I think Burroughs is showing more.

Burroughs played quite a bit on Saturday night. And so, you know, the fact that he didn't necessarily show up is a good thing. You know, he was – he didn't notice when Rod Moore was off the field or when Mikey was off the field. I think he played, you know, spot duty for all those guys a good thing. You know, he was – you didn't notice when Rod Moore was off the field or when Mikey was off the field. I think he played, you know, spot duty for all those guys a little bit. So, yeah, I like what I'm seeing. I feel like it was one of our best games. Other than, you know, the two plays I mentioned,

the Waller just kind of stuck on the play, and a Maureen Walker missing the tackle. You know, the only other downside was fourth and three, 40 seconds left. They run the perfect play call. Hudson Card throws his best pass of the night, and Mikey gets beat, you know, at the, you know, 40 seconds left for the score there. One touchdown of the game. Other than that, I mean, the secondary was pretty flawless.

Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, I mean, that was a great throw by Card. I was watching, and I was like, that ball just floated and floated and just dropped in the bucket. So credit to them for taking advantage. And, you know, Mikey will be better. I'm sure he'd be the first one to tell you that. And if there's anybody I don't know.

It was a great play call. Fourth and three, you're not expecting him to go over the top. You know what I mean? Right. Yeah. It's a great play call. And the way he gets beat on a perfectly thrown ball, I mean, coverage was decent.

It wasn't great. But it was a perfectly thrown ball. I mean, he was – coverage was decent. It wasn't great, but it was a perfectly thrown ball. I mean, it was an NFL-level throw once in the game, you know. Good game by – I mean, other than the punt, good game by special teams. James Turner, you know, I'd like to see him doing more. You know, he was very solid. Every kick he made was right down the center and very, very solid. You know, Doman, like you mentioned earlier, very solid.

You know, the kick and punt return game, very solid. You know, Doman, like you mentioned earlier, very solid, you know, the kick and punt return game kick defense. I'll tell you one thing to look for is we are almost getting to every punt like the Cornelius Johnson. You know, that should have been a penalty. He even like if you watch that, he put his hands on his head like he knew he screwed up, but we're there. And so James Franklin likes to take he knew he screwed up. But we're there. And so, James Franklin likes to take risks. And you see how much pressure we're bringing. Don't be surprised to see a fake punt on Saturday at Penn State. Because we're bringing so much pressure.

You know, so. We've seen fake field goals from him. Yeah, you know. So, to varying degrees of success. Yes. Yeah, we see a lot of things from James Franklin. I think you could say varying degrees of success to all those things from James Franklin.

Interesting. There's always interesting play calls coming from Penn State on offense and special teams, it feels like. But switching gears to Penn State after recapping the Michigan 41-13 win over Purdue, the biggest game to date for Michigan, hopefully one of the many big games that Michigan is going to play in the remainder of 2023. You've got Penn State, who it is Tuesday,

so I believe they were number 11 last week in the college football playoff rankings. We will see where they are later tonight. So I would assume they're probably around 9, 10, 11 again. So apologies, we don't have that because it's not been released yet, but it could potentially be a top 10 matchup, top 11 matchup, whatever it is. It's pretty damn good football team, man. Um, pretty, pretty good defense. Uh, I believe they are number one in the country in yards per play against at 3.8. Uh, but when you look offensively, they are 90th in the country in yards per play at five yards per play. So, you know, like I said, Iowa 2022.

Look, Olar, I think, still I think could be an NFL guy. I just haven't seen it much this year. But the last couple games, he's been better. He had four touchdowns against Maryland. It feels like they've still got the training wheels on this guy, though, man. I mean, they don't let him throw it deep. It feels like they don't really let him take shots and make mistakes. Sort of like early J.J. Sort of like early J.J.

Sort of like early J.J. where he felt like they were kind of holding him back. But, yeah, I see what you're saying. But he's got talent. I mean, that guy, if you're a – He's 6'5", 230, big arm, smart kid. I mean, he's – If we had a Penn State fan here right now, they would be –

Absolutely, yeah. I understand the hype. I just haven't seen it come to fruition this year. But I always thought – Everyone's talked about Penn State this year, but it's like next year you've got the running backs are both juniors, Drew Lahr, right? Like, you know, I always thought next year was going to be the year that they're going to be a really tough out.

And they're going to be a tough out this year with that defense. You know, Kalen King from Cass Tech, you know, wish Michigan would have pushed a little harder there for him and his twin brother Kobe King, who's also a linebacker for Penn state. But they've got some guys, man, all over the field. This defense is legit. But again, I go back to my, the conversation we had earlier around Michigan and their offensive game

plan. I just feel like JJ's legs are going to be incorporated much more on Saturday. Just have, you just feel that that's going to happen. And if you watch the, you watch the game that Michigan played before Penn State last year, they played Indiana, and it was JJ's first 300-yard passing game in his career. And it was a game outside the Blake, however many yards.

Remember, he did a Barry Sanders and just fooled the entire defense on the first drive. Outside of that, they also didn't run the ball very well. But JJ didn't have any reads turned on. He's not running. He may scramble on a throw, but he's not running. The coaches are telling him not to run. And it felt very similar to the Purdue game where Michigan's going to run into a five-man front,

which is what Purdue ran all night, a bare front. And be content with that because they know they're going to incorporate his legs on Saturday against Penn State. And when you watch that game, Michigan ran for 418 yards. J.J. McCarthy had probably five or six runs that opened up the floodgates and allowed Blake and Donovan that split second of hesitancy from the linebacking core to be able to bust those two long runs that they had early in the second half in 2022 in the big house. So that's my logic here.

I just feel like Michigan's going to be ready to go, and I think the offensive line certainly has some things to clean up. There were some plays that if blocks were made, would have been big runs, and they just weren't there. So I just have a feeling, though, that this team's going to be ready to go from a rushing perspective. And I think when they incorporate JJ's legs, like there's so many times it's just free yardage, right? And Michigan doesn't take advantage of it because they don't need to right now.

Yeah. And I think the other big thing, you know, besides the talent advantage and, you know, the stats leading to this game is it's such a veteran group. I mean, almost everybody that's going to play significant minutes on Saturday has played in big games over and over again. So there's, you know, the light, you know, the saying of the light lights not being too bright, it definitely won't, you know, and they'll be ready.

It's going to be a hostile environment. We know that. You know, a little bit of benefit of being at noon instead of a night game. You know, the thing that I'm really interested to see is it sounds great. Anyone, any team, any coach, any players that are in a situation similar to Michigan finds themselves in right now will say, head down, focused on Penn State, focus on the next game. And that's – everyone would say that.

Saturday will show how effective they are at that because there's a lot of noise out there. They're all going to say to a man, coach, player, we've got to head down, focus on Penn State. But, you know. They're human. What's that? They're human. Yeah, that? They're human.

Yeah, they're human. We'll see. I'm so excited for the game because it is as exciting as I am every Saturday for any opponent. They could be playing some junior high team. I'd be excited to watch them play. This is the first game where really you're going to be nervous when that kicks

off and the first call that goes your way and the first big play that goes not in our favor will be stressful. And that's exciting. Yeah, absolutely. That's a great point. It's been two months of stress-free football for the most part. I always get a pit in my stomach before kickoff. That's how I am. I always get nervous.

Thankfully, when I go to games, I don't have the ability to tweet because back in the day, I used to be an emotional game tweeter. I was brutal. You may have seen me at my worst because I get very, you know, I go with the flow of the game and I freak out for better or for worse. Right. So that certainly will be there. But it's the best part about it's the best and worst part about football, like the feelings you have in these big matchups. And when it goes your way, it's the best thing ever part about football. The feelings you have in these big matchups, and when it goes your way, it's the best thing ever. When it doesn't, it hurts so bad.

I was talking to all my friends that are Nebraska fans after they lost to Michigan State. We were watching in the groom suite, and they're like, I just don't get emotionally invested. I'm like, I understand, but it is so much more fun when good things happen when you are emotionally invested. But on the flip side, it is so much worse when things go poorly. So I'm the same way, Brian.

I can't wait for this game. I think we're going to find out so much about this team. But I just have a feeling that, I mean, goodness gracious, this team has been so dominant all year long. You know, transitive property does not, you know, exist in college football because you can take three matchups and just completely put that on its head. But I do think the way that Michigan's been going through and dominating some of these Big Ten teams

that have been given some of the upper echelon teams in the Big Ten East some games, I think there's something to that. I think Michigan has been extremely good, obviously. And I just can't wait to not have to answer questions about Michigan's soft schedule because it's almost like these games were always going to be played at some point, Brian. It's almost like, yeah, their schedule's soft because they play Penn State and Ohio State in November. So we're going to find out the metal of this team, what they're made of, but, man, we've seen it the last two years.

This team, they don't flinch. They've had some losses the last couple years but outside of one i mean they've been competitive and uh they they don't back down even when they get down you know they come out swinging and uh they're gonna give you their best shot and i just i'm i'm with you i'm so excited about this game um you know i'm excited to see this o-line against penn state's defense i'm excited to see jj against a really good defense but i'm also very excited to see mich.J. against a really good defense, but I'm also very excited to see Michigan's defense against a offense that I think is underperformed this year.

Yeah, and I think another layer, if we're honest with ourselves, is with all the sign-stealing stuff going on, Michigan State, after the sign-stealing was out, they huddled, smashed 49-0. Then the week this game against Purdue, smash. I mean, we're still seeing the same exact things we've been seeing for two plus years with this team, right? And so what I want, besides everything that we've talked about so far,

is, you know, the sign-sealing thing is a month old. So Penn State had a chance for four weeks to change every sign known to man and prepare. And so, you know, going out and having a big win and dominant performance helps quiet the outside noise. I mean, you know, we don't have to get into it. We both know how we feel how absurd it all is. But, you know, it's still in terms of changing the narrative, you know, that going out and winning big under these circumstances would go a long way in cementing kind of the reputation of the talent of this team and the skill and the results that

have been going on for two years. It's like, yeah, everyone has each other's signs. You know, we can give you ours too. You still can't stop us. You know what's coming. And so for all that is just extra motivation as a fan. And I'm sure for the team to go out and really handle business. Yeah, I know. You know, we said we weren't going to talk about this. So we're going to talk football. But I want to because as we're recording the the John U Bacon stuff about Ohio State, Purdue and Rutgers is being picked up by Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. So nice to see ESPN.

I guess they they do have, you know their their computers on and their their iPhones on uh because yesterday I didn't hear anything from them about any of the stuff that came out um but you know want to talk about the competitive advantage um I I told you this before the show Brian I still cannot wrap my head around um people the the lengths that people will go to to say that ohio state and rutgers in purdue having the michigan signs um is so much less dirty than michigan having signs of those teams like i just who cares how you got them right like you could rob a bank and you give that money to somebody else um that money's still dirty money in my opinion um so and then also the teams no the ohio state fans who have and the former ohio state players who have come out and just shown themselves to be so so soft as to say this is

why michigan beat us the last two years because they had our signs well it turns out if you if you listen to and you you look at the article that came out what a couple weeks ago now that Ohio State leaked oh we were so smart we changed our signs right we were so smart and you know that's crazy Brian I remember watching that game you got your ass kicked yeah and then it turns out you had signs given to you from Rutgers and maybe other teams in the Big Ten. So the advantage that Michigan allegedly had, now it comes out, oh, we changed our signs, but also we have a full spreadsheet of Michigan signs that we were given to from other Big Ten teams in some sort of collusion and still lost by 22 points.

That's hilarious to me. And so now we're doing a lot of mental gymnastics on Twitter. That's where we're at with this. The whole thing is just stupid. I texted you that today. You're just absurd. We've jumped the shark. It doesn't matter.

It doesn't give you a 21-point advantage as some anonymous coach gave to Bruce Feldman. What a coward, whoever that is. You've got to go out there and play the games, man. You've got to make the plays. Your playmakers have to be good. Quarterback has to be on. Your play the games man you got to make the plays your playmakers have to be good quarterback has to be on your offensive line defensive line have to be tough and that's what michigan's done so to sit here and act like michigan had some sort of you know curveball fastball astros level advantage is just ridiculous and that's my piece on it for

now yeah it's it's i mean you said it very well. It's, it's so absurd. You know, the, the thing that stands out to me is you had a bunch of ADs and coaches on a, on a call whining about this huge competitive advantage. And now we're finding out some of those very same coaches, uh, or part of this collusion is going on and more is going to come out, you know, more, more is coming, more is on the way. Uh thought Tuesday, today, was a big day of Twitter news and news. Tomorrow is going to be even bigger. A lot more stuff is coming out. Punishment could come down.

The start of punishment talks could come out. It's going to be a wild ride tomorrow, I believe. Well, you can't see it because we don't go on YouTube. I don't know why we don't go on YouTube. We just haven't. But I am wearing my Michigan versus everybody hoodie. Very good. Got it at the M Den.

They don't sell them anymore, but there's still some on clearance upstairs at State Street. I told Brian I'm going to get him one. Don't tell him before I get my own. I know. I'll head over there before we go live on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. There we go. Yeah. It's a political hit job.

It's a smear campaign. It's coordinated. We know where it's coming from, and it's the biggest crock of shit that I've ever seen in my life as a sports fan. So that's where I'm at with it. I'm so excited for Michigan to come out. And, man, it's either going to be really fun or really bad on Saturday. I can tell you that.

Because, God forbid, Michigan doesn't win. It's going to be hell on Twitter. It's not going to be fun. But if Michigan wins and does what I think and you think that they're going to do, we're going to have a lot of fun. And, you know, James had some stuff to say this week, you know, threw in a little quip about what we see on the All-22, not any other video. Dude, no one needs your signs to know you're running a zone read on fourth and two, James.

No one needs it, brother. You do not have a diverse enough offense to be complaining about sign stealing, brother. I'm just throwing that one out there. Come on, dude. Yeah. So here's a question. Let's end on a lighter note. Yes, let's do it.

So we go into Penn State, and for years and years and years as Michigan fans, when Michigan played at home, Michigan played at home or on the road, we knew what uniform they were wearing. The last couple years, that's become more of a kind of a guessing game and a thing that a lot of people like to talk about. So what uniforms are they going to be wearing? I think they should do what they did two years ago, wear all Mays accessories, Mays pants. Gives you better visibility in the whiteout.

I think from a competitive side, that makes the most sense. I don't like going there in the all-white during a whiteout. You can see the helmets, right? The helmets were designed by Fritz Kreisler to be able to see downfield, throw in the ball, so you have that. But I just think with their blue tops, white pants, I just don't think Michigan should do anything but wear the Maze pants, man. And I'm a traditionalist.

I would much prefer the Maze pants all the time. I've grown fond of the blue and the white. And especially if you go and win big games in those combinations, it makes you just have that emotional attachment, right? Like big game blues, I was like, I don't know. And then they beat Ohio State. I'm like, I love these, right? But part of me, man, just the blue tops, the Maze pants are classic.

And I kind of want to wear them against Ohio State because I want some good memories in those uniforms because it's been, what, since 2011 when they were wearing those the last time they beat Ohio State. So I want some good memories in the traditional uniforms, but I do like that they switch it up. And when the new college football video game comes out, to have some options as a Michigan fan will be nice.

Because before it was always blue top, white top, mace pants. You had two options. And, you know, you got schools out there with 150. So it is kind of nice to have that diversity in the wardrobe. But, yeah, white with mace pants, mace accessories. Brian, how about you? Yes, I agree. I was going to share something that I probably won't share about uniforms,

but maybe for another time. I'll tell you offline afterwards. But I think you're exactly right. We didn't talk about this ahead of time, but I think it's going to be white with maze accessories. I think it's the perfect combo for the environment. They had success in it two years ago. They wanted to wear all maze two years ago.

Yeah. Don't they have to apply a hat? Yeah apply it yeah in Penn State can say no right um so we agree on that what so and you said you're traditionalist so you do you have it your favorite is just maize on blue the traditional home uniforms are just is there anything you don't like um I had they haven't worn them but like the recruit photos where they have the blue tops with the white pants i don't love those yeah that's horrible it looks weird like the only reason that the white the white pants the way they're designed to work is because the striping matches the shoulders on the white jerseys um yeah i don't i don't love those um and honestly

i think i'm trying to think my favorite oh because the home jerseys have never changed, but my favorite away jerseys probably are the, like, Drew Henson era, late 90s, early 2000s with the block on the shoulder. Yeah. I'd love to see something like that with the Maze pants. But, yeah, I think their uniforms now are classic, much better than the Adidas striping we had. Nike did the same thing

but adidas really just took it to another level where every team had striping like that like my high school team had it from nike and you know i just i'm i you know my favorite jerseys in college football are obviously michigan um texas penn state notre dame usc like i like the classics man i'm all for i'm all for the cool alternates. I don't know if you saw this. This is a super off topic, but SMU received... Or no, Houston. University of Houston received a cease and desist from the NFL saying they couldn't wear the Houston Oilers colors.

That is absurd. First of all, those colors and those uniforms should remain with the Houston Texans, not the Tennessee Titans. Just because Bud McNair moved them in the nineties. Is it like, I hate when teams take their history with them. I think that's a,

that's a slap in the face to the city, but to then come across for men of fellow college and say, you can't wear these colors because those jerseys were awesome. So I like stuff like that. You know, I love, like, I actually really like Arkansas when they kind of do uh cowboy themed

jerseys because of jerry jones like i think that kind of stuff's cool but i'm all for the newer stuff but man i just love i love the old school jerseys man that's just where i'm at like i love lsu bama um yeah i'm a traditionalist man that's that's where i'm at yeah i've i you know i fall in that same category although i do love that they changed it up. I love the big game blues. I didn't like what they wore for Purdue, the white accents, the blue. I didn't like that. But I like all the combos.

The one combo I thought I would hate until I saw it on the field is the white jersey and blue pants. They wore the Big Ten Championship game. I thought those on film, watching watching that on tv that looks sweet you know so uh yeah we saw those uh in person at spartan stadium they've worn those a few times i remember when they broke them out uh against wisconsin and they were the big game blues i kind of wish michigan would stick with that though you know wearing the blue pants against purdue and indiana or no they didn't wear them against Indiana, but they wore them against Nebraska last year, and it's like you're taking some of that luster off of them, right?

So I kind of wish that they would stick with the big game blues, but I know it's a player's collision that does it. Jim Harbaugh has input, but he lets the players do it, and that's Jim Harbaugh being a player's coach, and that's why the guys love him. So let them have some fun with it, man, because it's just football at the end of the day. Just don't touch a damn helmet ever please i i see

these mock-ups i don't care if you invert the colors i don't want to see that either i know maze maze wings blue lid man that's what it is that's how that's the way god intended in my opinion so i agree i didn't i didn't like when they put you know didn't the denard robinson era when they put the uh numbers on the helmet i didn't like yeah they put, you know, didn't the Denard Robinson era when they put the numbers on the helmet? I didn't like that. Yeah, and the gray face mask. Like, the only reason – yeah. I do love the – this has been years now, but when they switched from the glossy to, like, the satin finish, I love it.

I think it looks so clean. They've got the block M on the bumper. The chin straps are the same color. Like, I love that. That's so clean they've got the block m on the bumper um the the the um chin straps are the same color like i love that that's so clean to me so yeah i could talk like i love like uni watch on twitter like i love reading about uniform like i find it so fascinating um real quick i think the lions should go back to their 90s era uniforms i like the blocky numbers. I don't like the futuristic, you know, the numbers they have now. Like I want the Barry era uniforms permanent. That's, that's just me. I like the new logo, but just, you know, give me the, give me the white stripe. Give me the, give me the blue

face mask. Like I want all that. That's, that's just as an aside. I don't, I don't hate the Lions new uniforms, but I don't like the numbers. And I wish they looked a little bit more old school with the font. I don't like those numbers. I don't know. They don't do it for me. Yeah, the numbers are the only flaw. I like the colors.

The color combo right now pops. Yes. I've seen it in person this year, and it pops. But the numbers are just – yeah, I agree. But the rest of it, they're doing pretty well. Yeah. Good luck right now. All right.

Well, speaking of jumping the shark, I think our podcast has jumped the shark a little bit. We're just having some fun, you know, a little bit different of a format for this week, obviously, with the Penn State game coming up. So, Brian, I've already given my prediction. 27-13, Michigan gets the W, moves to 10-0 on the season. So, Brian, what is yours? I don't believe we've got yours yet. I think their offense is, Michigan's offense is too explosive to only

score 27, even as good as Penn State has played. I think they get 33. It's a random score, but I think, you know, the little struggles are on the goal line at 33, I'm going to like 17, 33-17. Okay. I would take that. I would take that all day long, and I would probably have a pretty good day. So, again, come to Pretzel Bell. We're going to be there having some beers, watching the game, having some fun. Come hang out Saturday, noon kickoff.

So, going to be a great weekend of football in general. But that's going to do it for us. Thank you so much for tuning in and we'll catch you next time. Go blue. Go blue.