Blue By Ninety - Blue By The Numbers: Some Good, Some Bad Against Arkansas State

Episode Date: September 18, 2024

Tanner and Brian break down Michigan's quarterback situation and their win over Arkansas State.

All right, welcome back to Blue by the Numbers. I'm Tanner, joined by Brian. It is September 17th, and I'm one-to-one copying Justin's intro on a normal podcast because I don't want to come up with anything. Brian, how you doing, man? I'm doing really good, man. It's two and one, ready for a really big week this week and living well. How about you? I'm good, man. You know, I just am jealous of your Augusta National quarters. That is fantastic. It's a great trip. Anyone that gets a chance to go do it.

Yeah, if I go, you're going to know. I'm going to raid the pro shop. But, yeah, as you mentioned, Michigan's 2-1, 28-18 over Arkansas State. You know, the box score watchers were having a field day until you realize that, hey, Michigan was up 28-3 with about six minutes left some younger guys you had some issues defensively uh there was a penalty that extended a drive that would have ended the game on a fourth down on a roughing the passers so hey look it

doesn't look pretty i took some good away from it i took some bad um but brian i think you know we talked about this justin and myself on our most recent Blue Bad 90 podcast that we kind of spoke through the quarterback situation. So I'm not going to really add anything to it, but I'd love to know your thoughts. What vibes are you feeling after the change and everything that troubled with was hearing that when many players found out about it via the media, not the coaching staff. So that was a little disappointing. You know, what we're doing right now is not working great. You know, as anyone that's listened to us the last couple of weeks, I've been a fan of Davis Warren. You know, not his complete game, but he's a very accurate passer when he has time and a clean pocket. And those issues don't seem to be going away. I think one

of the benefits of going to Orgy is he allows us to get back to Michigan complimentary football. I think, you know, part of the stress that's been on this defense is we've got on the field a lot more. And so by running the ball and kind of ball control, I think we can kind of go back to a little bit, you know, more controlling time of possession, limiting our opponents possessions. And Hey, we heard all off season that orgy was the guy. And so, you know, and the reason that allegedly Davis Warren got the gig was because he protected the ball and, you know, in the, in, you know,

leading the conference and turnovers through the first three games, if he can't do that, then let's go to the more dynamic guy. So we'll see, you know. I don't think any of us have been super thrilled with the product we've seen so far. So I'm eager to see what he can bring. And, you know, the last thing I'll say about it is Jim Harbaugh would have never told the media on Tuesday or Monday or Sunday who our starter was going to be he let you know the opponent uh figure that out and with a really big game coming in you know I think

uh some of the inexperience of coach Moore showed through of you know telling the media before the team and telling the media at all there was no reason to tell the media uh that but yeah I thought it was interesting I know that you know I saw a couple people mention that michigan doesn't meet until after as a team until after sharon moore meets with the media uh but to your point there was no ever no reason to share that information um so that was the yeah we i talked about it a lot yesterday on our podcast so if anybody i doubt but if you do want to know my thoughts um feel free to go check that out. But yeah, man, let's talk through the Arkansas state game. Let's, let's break it down a little bit. You know,

what were some of the key positives you saw? And I want to get your take on, on war. I know we just talked about, but I want to know what you thought of the quarterbacks because you can't really do this. Right. But like outside the three picks looked pretty good. Like he had a nice throw up the seam. He made some throws across the field to Freddie Moore. Frederick Moore has to play more. I think that's just – play Blake.

Yeah, I think I have a new, you know, under-the-radar favorite player. I seem to have one every year, and it's C.J. Charleston. That guy is just a willing blocker. You know, he led the team team in snaps played by a wide receiver and watching the tape the second time. He puts his head down and makes some blocks. So that was a huge positive for me. But to answer your specific question, you can't take away the picks, right?

You can't, no. He throws such a pretty ball. Like there's plays where it's like, is that J.J. in there? When he's decisive, puts his foot in the ground and delivers the pass he looks really really good he also panics a little bit with an experience I think you know as we've said the last couple weeks this team's put him in situations I counted at least three times where you know he turned to hand the ball off to Donovan Edwards and Donovan Edwards ran behind his back you know and they were play fakes so he was expected to go to the left because that's where he thought

the blocking assignment was. So obviously Donovan missed the blocking assignment. He looked foolish. And so, you know, and so our offensive linemen haven't done him any favors. So I feel bad for Warren because – I call him Donovan Warren, Davis Warren, because I don't think he's had the line protection that we've been accustomed to in Ann Arbor. Yeah, I mean, it's not been great. And you can tell that that internal clock is speeding up every game.

Right. And, you know, can't make those throws. But that first pick, I mean, he's got three defenders running at him. You know, right side of the line continues to be a sore spot, unfortunately. But, you know, I just find it really curious. I mean, you look at Davis Warren plays 47 snaps, 20 passes, 27 runs. Alex Orji plays 17 snaps, five passes, 12 runs. Like, I don't want to continue to get into the quarterback discourse, but I just, I don't understand. And this will parlay this into the running backs too. Like I don't really understand some of the decision-making as far as when

you have certain guys on the field, some of the play calls that are happening. Alex Orji, I'll just say this. If there was ever a chance that you were going to turn to him to be the starting quarterback this season, he needs game reps, right? Like everybody, you know, saw the deep shot that he misses, right? Like what does that look like if he actually threw the ball downfield against Fresno State and had an opportunity to kind of, you know, get some game reps, right?

Because a lot of his action when he plays in games has been running. His first two years he would come in and do the orgy cat. And then spring game and practices so i just i don't understand you know why if you had any inkling that hey we're gonna go with alex orgy against usc why are you not throwing the ball every single time you're up 28 to 3 right he comes in he leads his touchdown drive which he looked really good on go up 28 to 3 and then like he's just running the ball in the fourth quarter i just i cannot wrap my brain around why they would not allow him to throw the ball and get some live reps you know i i thought about that and i was trying

to think of a good comparison and people will kill me and i want to kill myself for what i'm about to say but think of tim Tebow's freshman year. All he was was the gadget guy that came in for Chris Leak and put his head down and ran over people, much like Orji. And everyone wondered, could he pass the ball? And then once he got time to have full game reps and put in situations where passing plays were necessary and dictated, we saw who he was. No, I am not saying that Alex Orji is going to be Tim Tebow

or that I even partially think that's possible because I don't. But, you know, when you come in and you're given a certain set of plays and clearly a very limited scheme when he's been in there so far, you know, this week he's going to have a full playbook. He's going to get all the first team reps and we'll see, you know, him roll out some different stuff and see if he can actually do everything we've heard in camp and what you know coach more and coach campbell have told us that he's a really good passer and you know i saw i listened to freddie moore post game and you know he's saying how that they've connected on those passes several times and that you know that they'll do that this week so you know we can just choose to be really optimistic i guess but but you know

i'm skeptical as the next guy but i think he hasn't given been given a fair shake yet yeah so we'll stop talking about the quarterbacks um we said we were going to talk about it we've talked about that's you know that's the most uh pressing thing and it is the michigan spaces right now uh running back i thought you look, the stat line is a little bit different, but I thought Donovan Edwards played really well. I thought he found gaps. He found the hole. He was decisive.

He was running guys over. Now, look, it's Arkansas State. But it was just nice to see Donovan Edwards, you know, play the way that we know he can play. And so I was excited to see Donovan play well. Still think they should just line him up slot receiver and see what what they've got because colel mulling's 20 snaps 15 carries for a buck 50 and two touchdowns i mean you put him in number two you give him some some turf tape

you know i i mean i'm just saying brian like his that his first touchdown you watch that play he splits two defenders runs through an arm tackle and is off to the races and he doesn't have that breakaway speed that you know he's gonna house it like donovan edwards might um or even 2021 blake corinne but man like he's just a savant at finding extra yards, falling forward. You know, they run the third and one wedge. He just jumps over for like five yards. It's just, it has to be 20, right? Like it's gotta be Colella. And again, Donovan Edwards can help Michigan win games,

but it's gotta be in a unique way. It can't just be running off off center in between the tackles and just punishing Donovan Edwards over and over and over again because Cologne Mullings is going to get more yards out of those same situations. So you need to find a way to incorporate Donovan Edwards, but they've got to be more creative. So what do you think of the running backs? Ben Hall also looks really good again. I mean, I feel good with Hall and Mullings.

If those are the two in my hypothetical where you put Donovan at receiver, like I feel like they can carry the load for sure. Yeah, I thought Ben Hull, every time he's got an opportunity, he looks really good. I mean, he looks more like a Coram clone. Like he went to the Blake Coram School of Running Back, and he's looked really good. He's decisive.

You know, he sets up the blocks really well. You know, he'll work towards one run hole, try to sell that hole, and then make the move to, you know, the hole that the play's intended to go to. And he does that much better than even Mullings or Edwards. I think Edwards had a really strong game. You know, putting on that extra weight this offseason, he had a couple plays where he ran over guys. You alluded to the fact that it's Arkansas State.

But, you know, that's something that we really haven't seen. I do think he's best suited for more of a third down option, you know, whether it's a slot receiver or not. I do like his size. I feel like, you know, he's taking a step back in his blocking abilities and blocking responsibilities. I think he's got a lot going on. I also think when it comes to him, he's got a lot going on upstairs.

And I think having a game like he had on Saturday will pay dividends because, you know, he made some good decisions. He's graded out well. The coaches have been very supportive. Although if you listen closely to the words that Sherwin Moore said, he acknowledged for the first time what you were mentioning, and that is that this team's got to run through number 20. You know, he was very subtle.

If you listened closely to what he said, he, for the first time, acknowledged that it's time to make Mullins the feature back. At least that's what I heard. And so I'm excited about that, because I said going to the predictions I made was that Mullins would lead the team in rushing touchdowns, because I just thought he's a better suited

for this offense all along. And so I'm excited to see the game this weekend. I'm as nervous as can be because of the product we've seen. But with him and Hall and Orgy, I think that they can do some dynamic things in the run game. Yeah, no, absolutely. And, you know, we talked about receivers. C.J. Charleston is not a big guy, right?

And he did have a play where he got blown up on trying to block. But, man, you know, just the effort and the ability and the want to stay with your guy was really impressive to me. I thought he definitely earned some snaps. But, again, the guy, you know, and PFF backs me up here. And, again, I'll use PFF when it backs my narrative. And when I disagree, I'll let you know. But Freddie Moore was the highest graded receiver on 24, 25 snaps.

And I just, again, he was open. He was getting open. Like he's, he looked like the most wide receiver guy that Michigan has right now. And he looks like he can run routes. And, you know, Jake Buck called out that it looked like he slowed up on that post route that Orgy missed. I guess I could see it. I don't know if it would have made a difference necessarily, but that's two times, right?

We talked about post Fresno State, Tyler Moore slowing up on that out and up. But I thought Freddie Moore looked really good. And if they could find a way for him to continue to get involved in the offense and be kind of a safety blanket as far as wide receivers go, we know who the number one option is on this team in a passing game. But I thought Freddie Moore looked really good, man. I was really encouraged by his play. And, you know, obviously Tyler Morris was out,

so some other guys got some run. But, man, it just seems like, I guess as I'm looking at it, like Amarion Walker got three snaps. It's basically everybody else, Charleston Bell, Morgan, O'Leary, and Amarion Walker now getting three snaps. So what did you think of the receivers? You know, I just wanted to know what your thoughts are. Yeah, I mean, I tend to agree with much of what you said.

I think I've always thought Frederick Morris Moore since like game five of last year, he started showing flashes that he looked like he could be a guy that could be a really good dynamic player. And I think we were all really shocked to see Peyton O'Leary run out the first snap of the season and then the limited amount of snaps that he's gotten the last or the first three games. But I was really happy to see him get this many snaps this last game and then contribute because I agree with you. I feel like he's the most dynamic. As excited as I am about the potential of Kendrick Bell, and we keep hearing that Amorian Walker is this free athlete, but we've yet to see anything that's proof positive of that. You know, I'm excited. I'm hopeful. I think what I'm most excited about. You know, I'm excited. I'm hopeful.

I think what I'm most excited about with Orgy is that I feel like they can get really creative with him. They're going to be forced to. And some of the schemes they played against Arkansas State, some of the counter-trace stuff they did, some of the shades of the USC offense that they ran in misdirection, to get Samaj involved because he's so dynamic. And some of the best plays we had last year was when he got involved in the pass and the run game.

And we just, he just hasn't been, had a presence this year. And so I'm hopeful that with Orgy and the play calling that they're going to have to switch up a little bit, that he'll get more involved. And if that happens, I think we can be pretty dynamic on offense. It'll just look different. I mean, there, I, so we talked about this, and the thing with that for me is that that should have been the plan all along. From the moment you realize that you were not getting a quarterback

in the portal, it should have been built around orgy, and you should have built an offense that takes advantage of its skill set. And that offense looks a lot different than what they're running right now. So to your point about optimism, take it back a few minutes here. I'm with you. Like, I'm very skeptical on what – I think it can work, right? But do you have enough install time to do what needed to be done for the last eight months?

I'm not sure. But I digress. I thought the tight ends – Colson Loveland was playing out of his mind again. You know, he gets hurt. I feel like it seems like he's going to be okay. Like, if that's Ohio State, like he's playing yeah um but i thought i read a quote just like an hour and a half ago that someone interviewed his mom did an interview and said he's fine yeah you know mom's usually a pretty good source right maybe maybe separating the shoulder popping back in he's gonna be able

he can play right yeah well jake butt delivered you mentioned jake but earlier he delivered one of my favorite maybe my favorite quote of the year about Max Pettis and as we're talking about tight ends is him saying he blocks until the echo of the whistle. I think that's such an incredible quote. Like, you know, watching him do his thing is great. It was phenomenal. It was phenomenal.

I mean, tight ends was our best game, no doubt, for the tight ends. Yeah. I thought Marlon Klein looked good. I mean, you know, you could tell he's not Loveland, right? There was kind of like a slip screen to him where, you know, you think if that's Loveland, he's probably able to, you know, maybe get six, seven yards. I think Klein got three or four.

But I thought he looked good. He had that seam route where they caught Arkansas State offside, and Warren placed a beautiful ball to him, and he comes down with it. And then the true freshman, Hogan Hanson, from the state of Washington, big-time recruit, gets his first career catch and touchdown. So, was loving to see that. Also, I don't know if you noticed, but, like, he, like, ran towards the defender at the goal line.

Like, he was looking for some contact. So, always love that in a tight end. But Bredesen, stud, got to keep him involved in the offense. He played 35 snaps, which I'm very happy about. But Bredesen, stud, got to keep him involved in the offense. He played 35 snaps, which I'm very happy about. What I'm not happy about is that it's 30 runs and five passes. Like, there's got to be some sort of way to utilize him on the field and be able to play off of that tendency that Michigan has to only run the ball when he's on the field.

Like, we know he can catch. We saw him at tight end in 2022. I think that was his red shirt freshman year. He catches that pass from Davis Warren against Hawaii in 2022, second game of the year. And, you know, he runs with it for a long ways. I want to see him be involved in ways that can get him the ball and make him part of the offense versus just being a

blocker because he's a damn good blocker but if you can key on that as a defense and you know hey 30 out of 35 they're going to run the ball that fits your hand quite a bit it does i one wrinkle that they've been running more this year is that false pull where the whole the backside guard and the fullback kind of goes one direction. So just for this example, everyone's going to the right, and then they leak out either Loveland or Samaj. That type of dynamic play with Orji, they're going to have to respect that play action so much more

because could it be the running back? Could it be the quarterback? Yes. And to leak Bredesen out, I mean, I think that – and if it's not Bredesen, he'd just feature him more to help sell that run concept to the defense and leak out some Oz or any of the quick guys, you know, or slot receiver, Don of Edwards, uh, leak him out and do some fun stuff there. So I kind of think, you know,

the guys on that staff are a lot more creative than we are. So hopefully we see some good stuff and you know what, I will say this. We were completely outmatched by Texasxas like from the jump right out coached out schemed out matched usc i don't think that's the case and last year i felt like many of these same coaches pulled out their best stuff in our biggest games and this is you know you can make say all you want about texas but there's a non-ference game. This game for our season is a much bigger game, like maybe not as big on the national landscape and not as big now because Michigan has lost.

But, you know, this is a conference game now, which is still weird to say. But, you know, this is the game they should have been holding stuff for and planning for and prepping to bring out the creative stuff. So I'm hoping we'll see that. Yeah, I mean, to your point, the Texas game, for and prepping to bring out the creative stuff. So I'm hoping we'll see that. Yeah. I mean, it's your point, the Texas game, you get into a hole and, you know, penalties and turnovers.

And so that's the one thing they cannot do in this game. But again, I just, you know, I just, we're talking through the Arkansas City game. I'm fired up for the USC game, man. It's, you know, Michigan, USC, like, come on. Come on. As a kid, I just thought, oh yeah, they always play the Rose Bowl. Cause like, you know, it happened quite a, come on, come on kid. I just thought, Oh yeah. They always play in the Rose bowl. Cause like, you know, it happened quite a bit, at least in my memory. I mean, Oh three Oh six. I guess it didn't happen much after that, but as a kid, it happens twice.

Like, wow, it happens a billion times. They played 10 times in the history of the two programs, eight of them have been in the Rose bowl. So you're not off. Yeah. USC has only been to Ann Arbor once, and that was in 1958, and Michigan won. So, they're undefeated against USC. Okay, history is on our side. You know? It's up here.

O-line. I really just want to talk about center. I mean, we talked about right tackle. I don't want to continue to just, you know. I mean, again, we talked about it. It's not the not the kid's fault man that they didn't have another guy ready i mean he's a freshman he's not supposed to be ready most guys are not ready in their second year of college football to play right tackle in the big 10 right so i don't want to talk about that too much um dominic judice greg Krippen They're continuing

To move some guys around You know, these guys are getting reps Here and there, it's very interesting I don't know if I've ever seen this at the center position At least not that I can recall So if anybody wants to correct me on that, please do I thought Krippen You know, both these guys graded out very similarly

On PFF And I know that Sharon mentioned Their own grading system where you know they have their their staffers and stuff graded after after the game i was very close um i just thought from the naked eye that when crippin was in the game i mean they scored two touchdowns they had two long touchdown drives i thought the offense moved very well. I just – I don't know. And then they had Jadis come in at right guard for El Hadi, which is interesting.

I thought El Hadi had some, you know, a couple mishaps on assignments, but he graded out the highest on PFF. So it's interesting. I mean, I have not gone back and watched this game. I should. It's what we do. I need to be better about it. I've watched the cut-ups. But I just thought the offense flowed a lot better when crippling was in the game

and that's the consensus dude i think that uh most people watching thought that you know the pf upgrade i was surprised to see it so close because it seemed like and everything that i've watched and consumed the last few days you know seems to be the consensus that, you know, that people agree that, hey, to what you're saying is that we move the ball better, that we look more of a cohesive unit with him out here. I heard from, you know, one of the guys that I talked to that Crippens get most of the work this week with number ones and that he expects Crippens start. So, you know, insider info. So so that's my guy that's usually been pretty darn reliable on information. week with number ones and that he expects Griffin to start. Insider info, Brian. So that's my guy that's usually been pretty darn reliable on information. Okay.

That's intriguing, man. Yeah, I think you can count on him being the starter this week. I just wonder, you know, Andrew Gentry gets 14 snaps. Yeah. I don't know if all of them, but I think most of them were as the 6-0 line, the jumbo tight end. The Trenta Jones package. Yeah.

Man, it's like you would think – I just – I don't know. It's been so poor in games. You would think that it must not be close in practice for Link to continue to be the right tackle. I don't know. I really do not understand. And, again, I think Evan Link can be a really good football player, but I think you're just kind of thrown into the fire right now, and you might be killing the kid's confidence, right?

Because if you start him as a fourth-year guy, he might be a stud because he's fully developed. He's a grown-ass man versus right now he's a 19-year-old sophomore, right? Like, I don't know. I haven't seen many interviews with him but i do know uh young people his age who knows that guy could think he's the greatest right tackle in the history of football like he could be convincing himself well of course like shaking his confidence the one thing that's like a quarterback has to stay in the press

conference take all the heat you know i mean as much as we've talked about the right tackle position you know it's not like the buzz of every headline, like our quarterbacks have been, you know, he could be, I have no idea. I've not heard one thing about his attitude and his mindset, but you know, I'm less worried about rattling his confidence, you know, particularly the staff has at least publicly been very supportive of us. You know, I just mean like supportive of us, you know, I just mean like in the game, I know what you're saying.

I can't like, it's not great. Right. Like your quarterback's getting killed. He's throwing picks because he's got pressure. Start pick as his arm gets hit on your, on your defender. I don't know, man. It's been rough. It's not been great. It's not been great at all. That's going to be for the offense. I think we're probably gonna spend more time on the offense because, you know, defensively, I thought outside of that first drive where there were some penalties,

Quentin Johnson I think was a 2019 or 2020 recruit, so he's a fifth-year senior at the youngest. Why are you late hitting a quarterback on third and 20 or even fourth and 12? I just – those are the things that frustrate me and i know you know look sharon's taking over and but these are guys that that were last year the number one team retired for first for penalties against in the country and they were also number one in turnovers turnover margin i just it's really frustrating to see guys that we know can play disciplined,

sound, fundamentally sound, technically sound football, just making boneheaded decisions and plays that are costing the team. And luckily the Arkansas State kicker missed the field goal. Dominic Zavada, I mean, that guy, he cost Arkansas State at least six points, right? I mean, come on. Four extra points in the six, and the six from the two field goals, and it's a 10-point game.

He's the key differentiator here. But, no, I thought the defense outside of that, though, they locked out. I mean, they were dominant. Arkansas State really wanted to throw the ball. They didn't have much success running at all, so you didn't hear Mason Graham mason graham kendrick grant get their names called um the one thing i would would pinpoint and maybe nitpick uh not very much pressure which was disappointing well you know it's funny to say that because i wanted to get your opinion on this last year during the national title run we blitzed 29 of the the time, which was right in the National Arbitration Week,

we averaged 48th in the country, 49th in the country in blitz percentage. This year, we're blitzing 49% of the time, 48% of the time, and are set fourth in the country in blitz pressures. You know, percent of times we're blitzing. And so my question to you is, do we think we're doing that

because Wink is just stubborn and thinks that, you know, I'm going to be the pressure guy? Does he think that his defensive backs can't hold up for that long? And regardless of the reason, the fact that we aren't sensing a lot of pressure with the amount of blitzing that we're doing is a little troublesome yeah well the one that i i saw people talk about was jay sean barham is they're running a stunt so jay sean barham's job is to get in you know just get into the guard well it's a free lane and so he comes around instead of going at the quarterback and they they ended up converting, I think, a third and long, he just goes right into the guard. And it's like, dude, you're not coached to abort that.

Like, there's a lot of weird things. It looked like a video game glitch a little bit. Right. I'm like, I was watching. I was like, what happened? Well, I kind of just brushed off because I was like, I don't know what happened. Right.

But then when you watch and you see what the defensive line were doing, it's very clearly a stunt. And he just, I'm like, dude, if you, you got to abort the stunt, if you've got to like, you are fast, you get downhill quick, just go hit the quarterback. Right. Like go get after him. Instead he's got more time. He scrambles, you know, throws on the run for first down. So, yeah, I mean, again, they, they locked down, but there's still some things that I'm seeing where I just don't, I don't understand. And to your point about, I, I mean, again, they locked down, but there's still some things that I'm seeing where I just don't understand.

And to your point about I hate that stat, I mean, I don't know. Sorry. No, that's okay. I'm not going to shoot the messenger. But, you know, if you think you can't get pressure with Kenneth Graham, Mason Graham, Josiah Stewart, Derek Moore, TJ Guy, Rayshawn Benny, like, you know, I mean, I'm i'm all for you know bringing a backer and dropping a guy like being exotic the way they have in the past but the amount of times i see just like five and sometimes even six man pressure and and blitzes is is absurd like you don't see that um and i think if you're if you're not getting home you're putting your you're putting your

you know your back five in a terrible position um and you know you try that against a guy like quinn ewers we saw what happened he's gonna die pretty darn good too right so you know he's a he's a redshirt sophomore so he's been in the program for a few years now and um played behind keel williams and you know very clearly showed what you do it's lsu now lsu look a lot of people are still kind of hyping that one up i don't know they didn't look that great against South Carolina. South Carolina should have won that game. Terrible officiating. But, yeah, I mean, we'll see.

USC is obviously always a good program. I mean, they've had some down years. We're no strangers to that. So, I feel like it's going to be, again, just an awesome uniform matchup, by the way, USC-Michigan. Let me get your thoughts on this brian because i think again a defense like there's not really much more to add for me at least i don't know if you have anything else you want to add but i have a couple things but let's have all the uniforms because okay i

just want to make this point i want to see blue tops and may's pants you know i the big game blues i get it sorry i know they're cool the michigan one national championship but they beat ohio state and i understand but when you're like look i i'm i'm with it but when you're playing usc texas and ohio state like the ohio state michigan uniform matchup is always incredible to me um just give me give me the the traditional home uniforms i digress so let's talk about the defense a little bit more there's our you know fashion talk for the week one of these days i'm gonna have to tell my uniform counter stallion story because i've not shared that yet um it's

pretty good uh for another time i thought the defense in general i thought grant and graham played their most well-rounded game that we expect to see from them. They were kind of set up in the middle, holding down the fort there, versus some of the schemes we saw where they were coming, not Grant's much, but they had Graham coming on the edges more. I'd like to see them more. I'd really like to see how many people they rotated in there. I thought the defensive tackles had their best game.

And aside from a couple of plays, like the one you mentioned with Barham, is I thought the linebackers showed up. You know, they've kind of been kind of invisible a little bit at times. I think they showed up. And the only other thing that stood out to me was Amir Hall has got to be the starting quarterback opposite Will. He's ascending. He's got a ton of experience you know

obviously at a lower level but every time he's in there he looks good and jair hill just seems to be he's all over the place all over the place clearly clearly a time you know all due respect to him and his family that guy just when he gets out there bad things happen for this football team you know that one stinks man because i really liked his high school film. Everybody did. Right? Like, I thought he was – yeah, he's lengthy. I thought that he was a kid that was just another gem that they found.

And, I mean, Fresno State, when he was on the field, targeted him immediately. They targeted him on the touchdown, their first touchdown of the game. Yeah, I mean, Amir Hall, just to talk about the starting position i mean gyre hill just clearly a very talented kid right like you know physically uh he's got great athleticism he's lengthy he's lanky he's rangy it's just i don't know it's just not clicking especially when they're in zone defense and and man too i guess because he i mean he just gets his hips turned around and then he's just completely out of the play. I mean, we saw that against Texas.

We saw it against Arkansas State. So, to your point, it might be, you know, the best for Jair Hill to just have Amir Hall out there and just let him watch and kind of learn from the sideline because he's going to be a kid. I'll say the same thing I say about Donovan. Like, he can help you win games, but he's just got to, you know, be in the right position at the right time. And so, that's going to be a coaching thing.

And that's really going to test Lamar Morgan's chops, right? Like we know what he is as a recruiter. What is it like when you're, you know, big time recruit as a sophomore is just struggling, right? You struggle and they're just on the field, just struggling to see the entire game. So yeah, I'm very curious to see what that looks like. I saw a stat from McCurry Page, 0.0 passer rating when targeted.

He's doing his thing. He's having a really very good season you know he's looking like made a really good decision serious money uh by coming back so yeah he's gonna be draftable and man it's just really really hard not to think about what if with rod moore and number nine was on his defense man he absolutely would i think his leadership and his knowledge and his smarts would be so, so crucial for this defense. So, hey, I mean, here's the thing. If Michigan can just continue to be in the playoff conversation, right, it starts with a win against USC.

If they can do that and just beat a point where it makes sense for Rod Moore to come back, you might get him back, right? But you've got to be in contention. He's not going to come back if Michigan is sitting here at 4-4, right? I'm not saying that's going to happen. Please, God. Please. But, like, Michigan's got to be in contention.

You may see number nine back out there. That's the feeling I've got. So, anything else you want to add, man? I know kind of a shorter episode, but, you know, wanted to just kind of quickly touch on Arkansas State and if you're ready for USC. I feel like we're at such a pivot point. Like, I don't think any of us know what we're going to see on Saturday, right?

And so, you know, to your point, like, it's an inflection, right? Like, we're either going to find a way to win dirty or win great, and, hey, here we go. We're back in contention to be in the Big Ten race, back in playoff contention. We lose this game, you know, USC probably moves in the top ten. We're the only team in the country that's played two top teams in the country. But it doesn't matter because if they're both losses, like, you know,

Vanderbilt loses every year to Georgia and Alabama. I mean, does that make them a good football team? KB might have just compared us to Vanderbilt. But the point remains, you know, it's a big point of the season, no doubt. Well, 2012. The fact that you're coming off the bye week, like, you know, it's a tough game. Yeah, well, Michigan in 2012 lost to Alabama, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Ohio State.

We're all top ten teams. And that was the stat everyone loved to share. I don't – does that do anything for me? wasn't fun like it wasn't fun i mean you know they were in they were in most of those games i mean probably should be ohio state that year to be honest but um just no points in the second half i don't want to bring up bad memories but my point is is you know to what you're saying like it doesn't matter it's like there's a you know if you've got one or two losses yeah i guess it matters but like just gonna you know be off the off the tracks like, you know, if you've got one or two losses, yeah, I guess it matters. But, like, just got to, you know, be off the tracks, like, you know. That's one thing that we don't talk about much,

but it's a huge recruiting weekend. They have just a ton of guys on this weekend. So, you know, we want to show the big house rocking. I'll be very interested to see how the stripe out looks, by the way. And, you know, put on a good show for these recruits because they have a ton of their their current class commits guys that are uncommitted in 25 a ton of 20 20 26 guys bunch of top 100 guys so that's uh you know we got to get ramp up uh recruiting and bring more

talent in there one thing interesting to people that follow total team talent a lot of people subscribe to that michigan usc are 15 and 16 and 247s total team talent so in terms of quote-unquote talent or high school recruiting talent you're looking at two teams very evenly matched okay well it's gonna be a fun one it's gonna be a hot one maybe in the 80s um come check out the tailgate you know sun cruiser truly they hook it up north peak brewing i unfortunately will not be there i've got a wedding to attend and the bride is a michigan fan and she scheduled it when it was a bi-week so that's not on her you know it's really tough you know get your deposit back all those sorts of things um but her dad my uncle uh when i got married was michigan rutgers

at night and 22 and he found a way to watch that. So I told him, hey, I'm going to find a way to watch the game at your daughter's wedding. And this was a little bigger than Michigan Rutgers. This is Michigan USC. This is – you know, Michigan wins this game, they're back in the conversation, right? But you change the narrative. You flip the narrative on its head.

You know, all the – you know, I saw Ohio State's 19-and-a-half point favorites, which, you know, feels crazy. Maybe Vegas has something there. But this flips that narrative, right? And you start to talk about Michigan in a different light. If they go out there and they look good and win this game, you've got the home field advantage. You should be pissed off coming off the Texas game.

You know, you finish in a sloppy way against Arkansas State. Like, these guys should be ready to roll, right, and to clean up the mistakes and to get into the big house, touch that banner, and let's go play some Michigan football. Let's kick some ass. Like that should be the mentality. No doubt. They got to come to Ann Arbor.

They got to come to the big house, and they've got to play their first ever Big Ten game, right? Like all we talked about all offseason was can they handle the run? Can they handle the run? Let's see if they can. I want Kalem Williams with 30-plus carries, by the way. Like, that's where I'm at. I want him and Orgy 45 carries combined, honestly.

Right? Like, sprinkle in the pass for an YouTube, but, like, hell, run a wing tee. I don't know. Like, that's what I'm on the field every game, every play. Let's do it. All right. All right. Well, hey, we appreciate it.

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