Blue By Ninety - In The Big House Ep. 10: Take Care of Business

Episode Date: November 19, 2022

Brian and Tyler discuss the win over Nebraska, the concerns of the passing game, preview Illinois, a recruiting update, and more. 

Michigan fans welcome to in the big house with your host Tyler Sealy and BB's big house from game day recaps recruiting player evaluations and all the latest buzz around the program we've got you covered now here's Tyler and Brian

what's going on guys and welcome to episode 10 the tom brady episode of the in the big house podcast brian how you doing tonight i am doing great week 10 already wow eight days away from ohio state this goes fast yeah it's it is it's crazy because you know it's it's like the season gets going it's nice out you know everyone's like ah these are easy laugher games against Colorado State and Hawaii and UConn who has turned out to be a pretty damn good football team we're going to be bowl eligible the UConn Huskies oh yeah and now all of a sudden you know you know you blink and Ohio State is eight or nine days away so it's crazy you know it's crazy

but we'll talk about that at some other point here in the episode we're going to get right into it here Michigan had a big win over Nebraska 34 to 3 they dominated the football game you know they moved to 10 and 0 now 7 and 0 in the Big Ten Nebraska falls to 3 and 7 2 and 5 in the Big Ten. Nebraska falls to 3-7, 2-5 in the Big Ten. And, you know, Michigan dominated the football game. It wasn't particularly close. It was one of those games where if you were there, Brian, I know you were there. I was there. It might be a frustrating game to be at because we're running the football.

But you know what? If this is boring, sign me up for boring. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you know, we're at at this place this weird place now where 34 to 3 somehow on a snow-filled ugly sloppy day somehow feels like they left meat on the bone and because you know we've gotten to this perception of watching college football throughout the country and watching Ohio State and watching a lot of these football teams that can throw the football all over the field

and they can hit all five of their receivers in stride and they have five-star talent all over the field and they just make offense look easy. You know what? Jim Harbaugh tried that. He tried that. It didn't work. It didn't work. It didn't work.

So you know what? He went back and said, you know what? And this is part of the intervention of Jim Harbaugh. He went back, and we all know what happened. He went back to man ball, football, in the trenches. And how did they beat Ohio State last year? In the trenches. They just took their manhood away.

They took Ohio State's manhood away. They just, they ran the ball and then they threw when they had to. In this game. Three first downs in the second half, something like that. I mean, it just, total domination. Yeah, total domination. And you know what? It's hard not to look ahead and we're not going to do that just yet. But at the end, we are going to look ahead a little bit to uh to what comes next after this illinois game but in terms of the nebraska game j.j mccarthy probably had his worst game he was 8 of 17 for 129 yards two touchdowns the running touchdown i think was probably the most exciting uh and good to see it yeah it was uh it was very exciting i thought that was one of

the more creative play calls and particularly you know the red zone struggles we we've had and some of the lack of creativity they've had in the red zone the fact that they pulled that out there and he just walked in that was fantastic yeah like i said i mean it was it was certainly not not the prettiest football game and uh you know but, it doesn't have to be pretty. Just win the damn game. You know, you see a lot of people tweeting today, just beat Ohio State. Just win football games. It doesn't matter how the hell you do it.

Just win the games. So, you know, again, like I said, if that's how you're going to win, then that's how you're going to win. And I love what Jim Harbaugh said. I wouldn't apologize for it either. If you're running the football and you're getting four and five and six yards per carry, why would you do anything else? Yeah.

I know. He said that in his press conference this week. He said, you know, he said, we're getting a lot of accolades for having a top ten defense, he said. But he's like, I have the dream job. He's like, my guys don't have to go out there for, you know, have to go out there for less series and, and in better situations and playing with the lead.

And it's true. You know what I mean? You know, if you really boil it down is our, Michigan has a top 10 ranked defense, but they don't get asked to do a whole lot. You know, Michigan holds on the ball on the other side of the ball so long that, you know, that defense is going to be tested in a couple weeks for sure. Yeah, absolutely. And you know what? Again, we try to stay away from jumping forward and it just happens because it's impossible. It's impossible. It's like, you know, on the night before Thanksgiving, your mom makes a cake or your grandma makes a cake or an apple

pie or something and it's in the fridge and you just know that you can't have it but you really want to have it. It's like that. You know what I mean? So it's like, you know, they played very well against Nebraska. I mean, Blake Corham with another touchdown. What's that? A touchdown in every single game this year now.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, I believe so. And it goes back to last year too. So, you know, impressive stuff stuff from him and he didn't even have like a breakout game or anything like that it was his longest run like 12 yards or yeah something like that he rushed for 160 yards without breaking anything over 12. i mean it was just pound pound pound and and make you feel it uh yeah very. This is without Donovan Edwards in who was on the sidelines and didn't play

at all, right? He didn't play at all in the game? No, he played early on. He looked pretty good and then all of a sudden he was off. Early on in the game, our seats were on the sidelines right behind the Michigan bench and he was not in the running back huddle. I was turning to everyone and of course anyone who goes to Michigan games

don't have a Wi-Fi signal in there. You have no idea what's going on outside that stadium. And he just wasn't in the huddle with the other running backs. And then Dunlap went out. Stokes went out. I say Gash went out at one point. What's that? Yeah.

Like I said, you've got to get these guys healthy. There are a lot of injuries. We will talk about that as well. But in terms of the game against Nebraska, you know, Blake Corham, another workmanlike performance. The defense was fantastic, again, keeping Nebraska to three points, even though they didn't –

Yeah, a couple long plays early, and that was it. Yeah, a couple long plays early. I believe their wide receiver there um the transfer from lsu who i can't remember his name right now um um um hold on a second trey palmer at five five targets for 12 yards and uh you know he was supposed to be the best uh receiver for nebraska so um michigan did a good Nebraska. So Michigan did a good job on him. They did a good job on Gant, the running back. I think he had 11 carries for 22 yards.

The running game was not – they just went away from it. They couldn't run. I'll tell you a couple guys that really stood out to me being there and watching the game that's just so exciting about the future is with Don Edwards out, C.J. Stokes seemed to get back to that form we saw early on this season. He made the right move, right reads, and was explosive. One foot in the ground and was gone. Colston Loveland is going to be a stud. I think Harbaugh said it in spring ball, he's got one of the best tight ends in

Michigan history. If you saw the highlights of Davis Warren's first pass, he threw on the run, threw it, his shoestring. And he caught that. And then Mason Graham is just a beast. I mean, he gets so much push in there.

And then Will Johnson was really, really good again. I mean, they just, that young group, but you know, whoever last year's class rank was, anyone that has any issues about this current class, trust the evaluation of this coaching

staff because those youngsters played really, really good. Yeah, no, I'm going to go to a concern. I know we as Blue by 90 and those guys on the actual Blue by 90 podcast, they always preach positive vibes only. Well, I'm going to go to some negative vibes because you know what? It's certainly, I know we said if it's not broke, don't fix it in terms of the running game. But you know what? There is a concern with the passing game that if they get into a situation where they need to throw the football, we really, I shouldn't say we haven't seen that because I've seen a lot of these takes saying that we haven't seen J.J. McCarthy throw the ball when he's needed to.

He has. There's been two games in which he's thrown the ball when he's had to, Maryland and also Indiana where he threw for over 300 yards in that game. So there are situations where he has had to throw the ball and he's done it successfully. I think where it all goes off the rails is when we start running the football and J.J. kind of falls out of the rhythm because he's not throwing the ball. I think that's part of my concern. The other real concern is receivers, man.

They're not getting open, it seems like. And if they're not getting open, and if they are getting open, JJ is missing them. So just the passing game is totally out of sync right now. I feel like they're not doing their strengths. I mean, remember early in the season, they got the ball out wide to guys and it was kind of speed and space without calling it speed and space, right? Oh, absolutely.

And even you look at some of the games where they needed to throw the football to get first downs, a little underneath routes to Ronnie Bell or to Luke Schoonmaker who hasn't played the last couple games. So they need to do more of that, and I know maybe that has to do with Schoonmaker being out, but they need to do more stuff that, and I know maybe that has to do with Schoommaker being out, but they need to do more stuff instead of trying all the deep stuff because, I mean, it's just not working, is it? Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, I feel like, you know, I really do feel like the first few weeks JJ was throwing long, the last few weeks guys aren't making plays for him. You know what I mean? I don't want to be a jj apologist and you know and pretend that he's a flawless guy and been perfect but you know he he has not had guys make very many plays from these last couple weeks so you combine everything that you just mentioned him having a little better deep ball accurate accuracy and then just

having some guys step up make plays for him yeah The best better be to come because if they want to achieve the goals that that whole team has and we all have, they need to get that together. I agree. Yeah, I agree. And the other thing is, too, it's like if these guys like, you know, Cornelius Johnson, I know Ronnie Bell's been good. Roman Wilson didn't play a whole lot in the game. But you know what if if those guys can't get it done then i've i've i've said this a couple times on twitter and people are like well you know you shouldn't do the hat because he's the running back i don't give a damn if they need to to put donovan edwards out wide to beat

ohio state then do it it's at all costs you do what you have to do to win these football games ahead and it's not just ohio state but it's also illinois because illinois is going to load up the box and make you throw the football so uh you know brett veloma knows how to coach he is a good coach and so in terms of of running the football i'm not saying that it's not going to be there i think they'll still be able to move the ball effectively on illinois but i think there's, you have to showcase throwing the football a little bit in this game coming up here. Yeah, or don't, or, you know, while I agree with you, just playing devil's advocate, you can argue to not pass it at all. Don't show Ohio State anything that you can do. Just keep running it. Have them

prepare for that, and I think the game plan against Ohio State, like you mentioned earlier, and anyone that watched the game last year, man, if Blake Corm can rush for 200 yards and five touchdowns like Haskins did, then let's go do it. You know what I mean? Or let's just say he rushes for 200 yards and has three touchdowns. I'll take it. I'll take Michigan's chances if those things happen.

Yeah. You know, speaking of him, he's in the midst of this Heisman race. Six, seven weeks ago, you'd think, that's such a quarterback's race. But he's got the second-best odds right now. Yeah. I mean, it's fantastic. What's that? You know who's got the first-best odds?

Oh, that would be the quarterback for that red team down south. Yeah. But, yeah, so going back to Nebraska, Michigan had a fantastic win. It wasn't pretty. We'll take it. Move on. I think we're going to go into just a little bit of the year kind of in, I guess, the best way to explain it, the year to date,

kind of see who's playing well, who's not playing well, or who's played this well. Yeah, we've done PFF stuff by week every week. And what we did this week is we looked at just year-to-date. Let's look at PFF grades for the year through the first nine games. And, you know, rather than go through all of them, it's worth mentioning some of the guys that stand out. If we just go through the positions,

JJ's got the fifth-highest PFF grade among quarterbacks in the Big Ten. He's top 75 in the country, and that's all levels of college. Blake Corham is the number one graded running back in the nation. You spoke about some of our struggles at wide receiver. The highest grade wide receiver on the team through 10 games is Ronnie Bell, and he's the 133rd highest-graded wide receiver in the country. So that validates what you've been saying, what you've been seeing. Luke Schoonmaker, again, his absence is noted.

He's top 67 in the country, the number nine tight end in the Big Ten. Worth noting, I skipped over it, Blake Corham's the number one-rated running back or graded tight end in the Big Ten. Worth noting, I skipped over it, Blake Corham is the number one rated running back or graded running back in the nation. Obviously, that puts him number one in the Big Ten. The number two running back in the Big Ten is Donovan Edwards. So when they're both healthy, they're an amazing one-two punch. Across the offensive line, Olu is the 15th highest graded center.

Ryan Hayes is the 16th highest graded offensive tackle. Those guys stand out. On the defensive line, Mike Morris is the third highest ranked edge defender. Mason Graham is the third highest ranked interior defender in the Big Ten. So real strengths there. Chris Jenkins. Yeah, Mike Morris is playing himself into being a first-round pick in the NFL draft. And in person, I mean, he's a monster.

Linebacker, you know, Michael Barrett, no one was talking about him coming into the season. He continues to put together good game after good game after good game, and he made some really big plays, some really big spots in that Nebraska game. Defensive back, you know, five stars are going to five-star, I guess. Will Johnson is the fifth-highest-rated defensive set corner in the Big 10 you know top 25 nine pardon me look at mike sandra still has nine yeah very impressive um and then our kicker punter mike moody is the number one ranked kicker or graded kicker in the

big 10 brad robbins number two graded punter in the Big Ten. He doesn't do that a whole lot, but when he does, you know, so, you know, a lot of things stand out. You know, I mean, it validates everything that we're saying, though. Graded really well across the board. Wide receiver, not graded that well. And that speaks to them not making plays when there's plays to be had, you know, and so that's an area of concern. It's a question.

Yeah, it is. I mean, this just looking at all this, I mean, offensive line, great. Defensive line, great. The defensive backs have been great. Linebackers, okay. You know, I mean, Barrett's come on, you know, as of late. Junior Colson has come on as of late. The special teams have been fantastic.

And quarterback, I mean, JJ, he's not being asked to do a lot. And running backs, we probably have the best running backs in the country. I know we're not quite there just yet. I know Blake Corham's the number one running back in the country. I'll take that two over anybody's. What's that? Oh, I agree. Two over anybody's.

I totally agree with you. There's some great coverage. Paired that with the offensive line. I mean, it's just a Oh, I agree. Two over anybody. I totally agree with you. There's some great comments. Paired that with the offensive line. I mean, it's just a match made in heaven. So, you know, but just looking at all this, that's exactly how you would want your football team to look. The wide receivers I still think is a work in progress. The good news is we do have Illinois to look forward to,

and that's where we're going to head next michigan uh will host illinois senior day at the big house a noon kick on abc the fighting illini coming at seven and three four and three in the big ten and obviously we know michigan 10 and oh and number three in the country we're not sure if um the running back is going to be playing for Illinois. I know he got dinged up in the game last week that they had. Do you think he's going to play? I read earlier today that they're saying that that's trending in the right direction for him to play. So he's really good.

He is a very good player. Yeah, he's Kenneth Walker level almost, maybe a little bit before that but you know what i mean chase brown is fantastic i mean he's he's what what seven touchdowns this year and then he's had a fantastic year that just gives you everything you need to know about how good blake corms year it really has been so um you know but yeah that's true but you got a lot of form, but yeah. That's true. A lot more carries, though. Yeah, exactly. And that's the way Illinois wants to play. A lot of people say it's kind of a mirror image game.

Illinois likes to run the football. They like to beat people up up front, and their defense likes to get after it as well. So that'll be interesting. It really will. I think that Michigan, I don't know. The toughest part is you can envision a situation where Michigan is in trouble late in the fourth quarter and they pull it out.

Or it's one of those games where you're at halftime, you're not playing that great, but you're still winning by a lot. They've had a lot of injuries. Chase Brown, whether he plays or not, isn't going to be 100%. So that's the one thing. Do you have any thoughts about this game before we get predictions? It's scary as all get out. I think they're mirror images to Michigan. I think it's the week before Ohio State. Everything's in front of them, whether it's the heisman race whether it's being you know the one distraction anytime we play ohio state the team we play ahead of that game is always going

to be put michigan upset alert the fact that for weeks now michigan's got to see themselves in the top four of the college football playoff thinking ahead to the playoffs and all the different scenarios to get them in thinking ahead to ohio state this the different scenarios to get them in, thinking ahead to Ohio State. This game is the trap game of all trap games. And by the way, Illinois is a pretty darn good football team. Yeah, they've lost, what, two straight now? Yeah, they kind of, they lost to Purdue. Purdue, I was shocked by that outcome.

And, you know, I wanted to have a ranked opponent coming into the big house. But, yeah, you know, I mean, the way Michigan's played, they've answered every call. The way they adjust when things aren't going right has been really impressive. You know, I just think it's going to be another cold day in Ann Arbor. I think it could be the 20s. Yeah. The thing is, Brian, I think that their mirror image is Michigan has more talent. Oh, for sure. Most of the time talent wins out,

especially when you're coached by a guy like Jim Harbaugh that's not going to overlook Illinois to look towards Ohio State. They made this mistake, and I believe Jim Harbaugh was on the team in 1986 when they were 10-0, or I think it was 9-0 at the time, and Minnesota came in and beat Michigan in the big house, and Bo Schembechler, and then they did go on to in the big house and Bo Schembechler. And then they did go on to beat Ohio State, but they were looking, they were looking ahead towards Ohio State and he didn't prepare them enough for Minnesota. So I think it's going to be one of those games where it's close early. And I think Michigan does win the game because

they have better athletes. And I think Blake Corham goes nuts again this week, to be honest with you. So, I mean, I think, youham goes nuts again this week, to be honest with you. Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, all the talk all year between those two schools or programs or fan bases about Blake Corham or Chase Brown for the best running back in the Big Ten, I think both offensive lines are going to make their guy look good. I think both coaching staffs, running backs, coach, offensive coordinators are going to want their guy to look, you know, to have big days.

So I think you're going to see a lot of those two, assuming that Chase Brown's healthy. Yeah, I think this game's going to remind us a lot of, if it goes the way we want it to go, this game's going to remind us a lot of last year's tune-up for Ohio State against Maryland. Down in Maryland, Donovan Edwards went crazy. Blake Corham went – or, sorry, Hassan Haskins went crazy.

You know, Cade McNamara had a good day, and the defense was fantastic. I think it was, what, 57-13 or something ridiculous like that. Yeah, it would be wonderful to see that. So that's what I look for. This is the final fine tune, really, before you get down to Columbus and you're in a lion's nest down there. So that's pretty much what my take is on the Illinois game. You have a prediction, Brian? Yeah, I think I do.

Vegas sees Michigan as an 18.5-point favorite, 45-point over-under. So basically Vegas is calling it 31-14. I don't think Michigan covers. I think they look ahead. I think they 14. I don't think Michigan covers. I think they look ahead. I think they win. I don't think the game's in jeopardy, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a late touchdown. I'm going to go.

It's going to be really cold and ugly. And I would just give myself one out. If for some reason, the passing game starts clicking, we haven't seen weeks, then this could change. But based on what we've seen, I'm going to go 28, 20 Michigan. clicking we haven't seen in weeks then this could change but based on what we've seen i'm gonna go

28 20 michigan okay that's that's you see that that'll have a sweating because i got a friends giving going on here uh while that game's going to be happening so i'd really prefer that not to happen me either i'm i'm i'm thinking it's'm thinking it's closer to the score that we had last year. Maybe they don't put up as many, but like a 43-17 Michigan win, something like that. I think it's close early, and I think this is my major prediction. I think that Donovan Edwards has a pretty good game regardless of – if he doesn't play, obviously, we'll see what happens.

I don't think he's going to play. I think they're going to sit him. You think they're going to sit him? Yeah, I think they're going to sit him and make sure – because you nailed it earlier. They need him and his whole bag of tricks for Ohio State. They can't afford him being dinged. Get Chiefs, get Dunlap, their snaps.

Give Blake Corman another 30 carries. Let's rumble. I'm going to make a prediction. I'm going to say that Andre Anthony finally gets a deep ball for a touchdown. That's what I want to see right there. Hit him in stride. Let's take the doubt out with the terms of

like, oh, well, he doesn't have a deep ball. He's always long on his deep ball. He's short on his deep ball. No, he's going to hit one for a touchdown and that's going to be uh the dagger in the football game so 43 17 michigan win and now we're going to talk about what everybody wants to talk about really i mean like we we've been trying to not talk about this uh you know since we started this tonight and i know we we've kind of been bringing it up here and there, but we're going to talk about the Ohio State game. We're not going to preview it or anything like that,

but we're going to look ahead a little bit and take our temperature a little bit. Brian, what do you think so far? I love what we've seen so far from Michigan. Obviously, it's setting up for an all-time matchup, probably going to be two versus three, barring some crazy scenario this weekend um but until michigan beats ohio state at columbus it's gonna be hard for me to believe that they can do it i just think man i'll say it's a damn good football team with revenge on the mind uh

with a great quarterback really good offense offense, really good defense in Columbus, looking for payback. As much as I want to believe it, as much as I think their offensive line, Michigan's offensive line, that is, and running game can dictate things, I just think that game being Columbus, you know, I don't have a high degree of confidence. A lot of excitement, but not a lot of confidence. Well, if you look at the forecast, you look ahead at the forecast.

Don't bring it. I have not looked at it. What is it? For Columbus, Ohio on the 26th of November, it's actually supposed to snow a little bit in Columbus, 32 degrees and snow in Columbus. So that would be exactly what the doctor ordered because them down there, they, they could not handle it. I saw after Ohio state beat Northwestern, they had one of their radio guys saying that all games should be played in domes. So you could determine the best team. I would call that soft. I would call that scared. And you know what?

I don't think Ohio State's as good of a football team as a lot of people are saying. Yes, they're probably a top five team. But where should they be a top two team? They haven't really beat anybody. Notre Dame has kind of turned its corner. So I guess maybe Notre Dame is the biggest win that they've had. Penn State, I guess, is up there as well. But besides that, they haven't really had any strong opponents. And until the Penn State game, their best win was Toledo because Notre Dame wasn't

ranked. You had a situation where everybody knew the team across the field was going to run the football in Northwestern, and they were moving the ball on them. One in seven Northwestern teams was moving the ball on an undefeated number two Ohio State team. If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about this upcoming game against Ohio State, I mean, pray for snow. Pray for snow. I'm telling you. I'm not saying that as a joke.

I'm telling you that Michigan's football travels. I think the way that this team plays isn't just a home field advantage kind of team. I think this is a real well-rounded football team. And you know what? Go down there and take your shot, and I think you win. I think there's a chance that you could win. You know, yeah, they may have better athletes but I mean look at their you know they're they're passing they're passing a lot to Marvin Harrison Jr. they're relying an awful lot on him Julian Fleming has dried up Emeka Ibuka has dried up Jackson Smith and Jigba has played very sparingly. I think that

he's not healthy to the point where he he'll probably dress against Michigan. I just don't think that they're pushing him any more than he needs to be, you know, getting ready for the NFL draft. Or I don't know if he's going to come back for one more year at Ohio State or what. But yeah, no, I mean, again, I don't want to really predict what's going on here, but I think that if everything's equal, everybody's healthy, we get a little bit of weather or God forbid, it's cold there. You know, the five-star recruits that they have from Texas and Florida and California that have never really played in this weather are going to have trouble. And I'll tell you what, the offensive line, sorry, the defensive front that they have,

yeah, it's a little bit better, but I don't know how much better. Northwestern ran the football against them. I can't even stress this enough. Northwestern ran the football against them when everybody in the building knew that they were running the football and they couldn't stop it. They couldn't stop it. Now, what if that's Michigan on that field on the other side?

The hands are on the hips for Ohio State. They're tired. We know what the blueprint is to beat Ohio State. Keep the ball away from them. Punch the ball into the end zone for touchdowns when you have a chance in the red zone, and play good defense when you're on the field. Keep everything in front of you so i mean you know there's so much you there's so many different ways you can go here in terms of the passing game i don't worry about it as much

against ohio state and i'll tell you why blake corm i think is gonna have a big day in columbus but i think we're gonna rely a little bit more on J.J. running the ball, pulling it with the read option and maybe some RPOs in there, some play action. I think they're going to go crazy with play action, especially if you can run the ball with Corham. That's going to open up the play action all day long. So I don't know. I mean, do you have any other thoughts on this game? I mean, we're still

just as we're talking, I looked, you know, just a few weeks ago, I was going to Vegas Insider for betting lines. And just a few weeks ago, they had the game at 13 and a half. They have it at seven and a half now. So they're seeing some of the stuff that you're talking about there. They seem to lean in more towards your way of thinking uh my my way of thinking is more uh based on not actually the 2022 football team it's the last 10 15 years of pain in this rivalry you know with calluses i mean you know my heart and and my uh viewing experience this year leads me to believe a lot of what you're saying. You asked how I was feeling and my confidence level and, you know, this rivalry has put that through the ringer. And so, you know,

I'm excited for the game. I want to get through this game first. I mean, you know, we're, we have nothing to do with the team. So that one game at a time thing doesn't apply to us, but I do know that it matters and I do want to get through that game. But yeah, I'm with you. Bring on the cold weather. Bring on wind. Bring in every favorable set of circumstances that you can.

Bring in all of it. Here's another thing that I haven't heard anyone really talk about is the day after the Michigan-Ohio State game, the Tampa Bay Bucs play at the Cleveland Browns. So the one, the only Tom Brady is going to be in the vicinity that weekend. So would love to see Harbaugh pulling him in and give them an all-time pregame pep talk. You think he'll be at the shoe for that game?

I mean, I don't know. Tom Brady's got going on in his life. Does he have time to scoot over to Columbus from Cleveland for that? I don't know. Tom Brady's got going on in his life. Does he have time to scoot over to Columbus from Cleveland for that? I don't know. That's true. But I think he'd give a pretty good speech there. Heck, yeah, I agree with that. And, you know, the one thing that I don't think a lot of people are talking about, too,

is Ohio State's got some injuries at running back. Mayan Williams was banged up in the last game. I know it seems trending to the way that he's going to play this week, or at least he's going to play in the Michigan game. Travion Henderson has been banged up all year long. And behind that, I believe they had a guy that came from the defensive side of the ball to play running back that had previous experience as a fourth string guy and then the third string guy got hurt too so ohio state's got some issues at running back um you know they're it's really going to be a situation where if they get forced into situations

where they have to throw the ball are they going to be able to do it consistently to keep their offense on the field? That's the question that I have, and I know we're going off really kind of on a tangent, but I mean, this is kind of what the idea of this episode was, to kind of take the temperature for this Ohio State game, not really look too forward, too far ahead, but I know it's kind of hard not to. You know, it's one of those not to you know it's it's it's one of those things where you're playing NCAA football 14 and you got two undefeated teams the last game of the season and you know it's a Michigan Ohio State or Auburn Alabama you know it's like it's

like something out of a movie that you just never thought you could see but you didn't see it in 2006 and unfortunately it didn't go our way, Brian, but I'll, I'll agree with you, man. You know, in terms of, of the way it's gone the last couple of times and, you know, really back since, since the year 2000, Michigan has had, it's been a house of horrors, um, at Ohio state down in Columbus. So, um, the 2016 game comes to mind, the 2018 game comes to mind when we were favorites and we got absolutely shit pumped in that game. So I think one thing I'm hopeful to see is, remember I shared that I don't have the most optimistic viewpoint, but in the last few weeks

on defense, we have gone so vanilla. It works, right? We've controlled everything. But we don't. I mean, it's rush four, rush four, rush four, maybe bring a linebacker. Sanders still, you know, will occasionally come. They don't do much exotic stuff or very creative stuff on the defensive front. And I have to think they're holding a bunch of stuff back to give them as many different looks. So I think that's another thing. Stroud's a very good quarterback, very seasoned, seen a lot of stuff from to give them as many different looks. So I think that's another thing. Stroud's

a very good quarterback, very seasoned, seen a lot of stuff from some good defenses. But I do think that I'm hoping that Mr. Minter has some real exotic stuff and some good stuff dialed up to make him think and second guess what he sees. Well, you know, Jesse Minter, close friend of Mike McDonald. I don't think he has to go too far to, you know, if he's got some questions about what happened last year, he can look on tape or, you know, worst case scenario, I'm sure he could give Mike McDonald a call and, you know, just ask him, hey, what are CJ Stroud's tendencies?

What did you guys give them for looks last year? Because, you know, yeah, you got to mix it up. But, I mean, C.J. Stroud's body language when the weather gets like that kind of crumbles a little bit. So, you know, I think Michigan is not a more talented football team. But in terms of the meat and potatoes of the football game, I think they have a chance to – they have a strong chance to go down there and win. And I wouldn't say that about any other team other than the 2016 team.

The 2018 team I think was more of a mirage. I think they lost to Notre Dame early and then they beat everybody else up and then they went down to Columbus as the favorites, quote-unquote favorites, and they got boat raced in that game. So, you know, that to me wasn't – I wasn't feeling so good about that one. The 2016 game was the one that just like ripped my heart out. I'm like, we're that close. And, you know, but that's pretty much all I have in terms of the Ohio State game.

We'll talk more about it next week. Brian, you want to touch on some recruiting here before we head out? Yeah, I mean, sure. I think there's a lot to be excited about. This class has kind of been a slow draw. But I will say that by Thanksgiving, Michigan will have a top 20 ranked 2023 recruiting class. I think by the time people are listening to this, we'll have a commitment from offensive lineman Nathan Afobe. That should be coming on Friday this week.

And I think there's a few more coming shortly. They have a very, very impressive visitors list for Illinois. And as we've mentioned in weeks past, this list changes because of kids' travel and whatever. But right now, for 2023, the biggest name for most Michigan fans is Jair Hill, top 200 cornerback. That's really down to Michigan versus Illinois. And Illinois has stumbled the last two weeks, and Michigan's number three in the country. Now he's coming to a game on his official visit to watch Michigan play Illinois. You know, Illinois loses.

That's three in a row. You know, a good chance to secure his commitment, a position that we're right on in the 2000. No doubt. He's really good. Other defensive backs in are longtime target, real quiet recruit safety, Sean Russ. That's trending in a positive direction. And then we have a few guys coming to town that are recent decommits

for other programs. We have Cameron Calhoun, a cornerback that just decommitted from Cincinnati. And then two guys that just decommitted from Wisconsin, one defensive lineman, Roger Pierce, and then two guys from the just decommitted from Wisconsin, one defensive lineman, Roger Pierce, and another defensive lineman, Jamel Howard, and anyone that follows 247, Rivals, or on three, they've all put in picks for Jamel Howard, a guy that decommitted from Wisconsin earlier this week, to be committed coming to town. So you could see both those commitments this weekend. Roger Pierce's could follow. Another safety that's coming in, D.J. Waller, could be a commitment.

But, you know, as we've talked about in the past, the 2024 class is shaping up, you know, counting on Jaden Davis, that coming through eventually. But they're in a bunch of two top 100 kids, including top 25 defensive lineman, five-star defensive lineman Justin Scott. He'll be back in town. He was just here.

He was here for the Penn State game, so this will be his second visit in a few weeks. And then they feel really good about tight end, one of the top tight ends in the class, Brady Prekshorn. But they have another stud top five tight end in the class, top 100 tight end, Christian Bettencourt in town, Brian Robinson's back in town, Edge being recruited by the entire Big Ten in the entire country, is back this week. That's been confirmed. And probably another one that could lead to a commitment sooner than later is top 250 wide receiver, Marianne Stewart. So

they have another really impressive class. I didn't list everyone that's coming, but they have another impressive class that they're recruiting. You know, they put it on last year. I will remind everyone that nine of that class last year, it was only 22 kids, signed after November 1st. So they had a really strong finish with some of the best guys in the class. So looking to do that again, a lot to be excited for.

I think, you know, not to belabor it, but I don't think we're going to see a top 10, maybe not even a top 15 class. But, you know, I expect them to finish really strong and be comfortably inside the top 20, which, you know, based on everything that's happened and what they did to success last year is not great. I still think NIL has been a big contributing factor to not being strong.

Hopefully Santa is bringing presents this Christmas in the way of more NIL support for the recruiting program and, you know, 2024 shaping up really good. But look for a strong finish year and hopefully a really impressive weekend to impress these kids as they reach. Yeah, no, I agree. As they say.

I agree. You know, I mean, recruiting is the lifeblood, as we all know in college football. The best teams always have at least, you know, some of the best talent. Most of the best teams, you know, have the best talent. And that's how this is built. That's how this is, you know, that's how you get a Blake Corum.

That's how you get a Donovan Edwards, who is a five-star. That's how you get a five-star. And J.J. McCarthy was the head of his class. So, you know, this is where it all starts. The last thing we're going to touch on here in terms of this podcast here, we're going to touch on the playoff discussion here Michigan came in at three to nobody's surprise behind Ohio State and Georgia who is number one TCU falling at four and then Tennessee and LSU rounding it out at five and six some big

games coming up this week I mean especially if you look across like the Pac-12, you know, the Pac-12 has a couple of big games too this week in terms of UCLA, USC, Oregon, Utah. It would have been really big if UCLA didn't shit the bed last week. Go ahead. Sorry. I just, you know, the thing that frustrates me is, you know, I look at here and LSU is the highest ranked to win two loss program. You know, it's just the bias there is crazy. What's funny is when you watch ESPN, they talk about all the, you know, things that teams struggle with.

You won't hear anyone on ESPN. I watched. They didn't even mention the fact that they lost to FSU. That's the Florida State. Of course not. I watched. They didn't even mention the fact that they lost to FSU. That's the Florida State. Of course not. You know, they didn't even talk about that. You know, they talk about other teams. The thing that's frustrating is, based on what we know today,

we don't know what's going to happen this weekend, the following weekend, the conference championships. But anything you see today, Michigan, Ohio State are playoff teams. And they're going to play the last week of the regular season, and the loser of that game is going to be looking at an uphill battle. And what's frustrating to me about that is Oregon got boat raced the first weekend of the season, right? Boat raced by Georgia the first week of the season.

And up until last week, they were saying they went out, they're in. And so, you know, the notion that losing that game late is worse than losing it early because, you know, Michigan does everything they've done this year. Forget Michigan. Ohio State does everything they've done this year. But they lose to Michigan week one of the season, and they go 11-1 in some of the dominant fashion they've had. They're in.

But the fact that this game is late, you know's talking could we have three sec teams well three would mean lsu with two losses getting in and very few people are talking about two big 10 teams and so you know i like four teams i really do because i think it makes all these games so compelling and interesting but going to 12 that eliminates some of this nonsense, it eliminates a lot of the nonsense, including, you know, the other thing that I like, I mean, I talk a lot of college football with a lot of friends that I'm close with. And I mean, you'd have Utah going to LSU, you'd have Penn State going to Tennessee, you'd have UCF coming to Michigan, you'd have Clemson going to Bama. Then Georgia, South Georgia, USC, TCU and Ohio State all have buys. And so the winner of LSU, Utah would play

Ohio State and so on and so forth. And so that's what I would love. You're assuming Michigan lost Ohio State. I don't like that way of thinking, but I hear you. No, that's that's just like at the rankings how they are right now. Got it, got it. If that was Michigan, then they would be two. And so anyways, but that's kind of what it would look like. And, you know, we're really looking forward to when that comes because they'll get rid of a lot of the bullshit. But you know what? I'll tell you what.

I'll tell you what. Sometimes some of the bullshit, it leads for a lot of conversation. I mean, think about how much conversation we've had about the playoff, what it could be, who's going to be in, who's not going to be in, who's snubbed, who could beat those teams. You know, so it's like there's – as much as the 12-team playoff's going to take away a lot of the bullshit, it's also going to take away a lot of the conversation too, which is kind of sad.

But you know what? I get it. We need 12 teams. Yeah. You know, one thing is TCU, right? Everyone's been seeing them all year. Like they're not for real. They're not for real.

They play Texas in Austin. They're going to get – they're not going to win that. So that's just a temporary thing. They – I watched that game. They boat raced them. That game wasn't close. Dominated them. And so, you know, and the same ESPN talking heads that give LSU a chance

to make the playoff, they dismiss TDC like, well, they're not going to win three more games. They have to go on the road and play Baylor. That's a tough game, but Baylor's not tougher than playing in Austin. They have Iowa State at home, and I know Matt Campbell's upset some people in the past, but that Iowa State team is not scary. And they go to the Big 12 Championship. I'm not sure who the number two team to play is.

And Kansas State, I think, is one. Is it? Yeah, I believe so. But is there any team in the Big 12 after what they just did in Texas that scares them? No. So no one's giving TCU any respect. And I would love if Michigan makes the playoffs to play TCU. I mean, they're far less scary than Georgia, less scary than Tennessee.

But they've just done it week in and week out. And while the Big 12 may not have the powerhouses up top that the Big 10 and SEC does, top to bottom, I mean, every week it's a tough out in the Big 12. And so I continue to be impressed with them. Do I think they're a powerhouse or do I think they're a national title contender? I don't. But put some respect on the Horned Frog's name. And I agree. I mean, they've shown that they have the ability to win games. They played a tough football game down in Austin against Texas that

you just alluded to. They played a really good defensive game. They shut down bijan robinson i think he had 24 yards of off of of oh my god i can't speak you can hear my voice yeah he had 24 yards on the ground yeah in that game so just kansas state does that scare you i mean adrian martinez does a little bit yeah we have a history of pulling upsets but i mean it's not like that's some monumental task. Exactly. I agree. But in terms of what I don't like about this playoff system, just in terms of where we're at right now, Tennessee doesn't have to do anything. All they have to do is beat South Carolina and Vanderbilt,

and they're in no matter what, pretty much. 11-1 SEC team, not even a conference champion. They're going to get in just because of one win over Alabama. I guess they beat LSU too, but that was a very different LSU team that we have right now. So it's interesting. It's going to be interesting to see what happens. I know USC has to win all three games that they have left,

and none tougher than what they have this weekend against UCLA. So that game might be a, you know, 41 or a 53 to 47 game. Does either team play defense in that? So that's going to be interesting. And then they have Notre Dame at home. So that should be interesting as well. Yeah, USC, I don't think they get it done. But I think, you know, I mean, you look at it this way.

There's two teams guaranteed to be in the playoff. Georgia, they can slip up once. They're still getting in. The winner of Ohio State, Michigan, is in. So then who's left standing after that? I think Tennessee's in no matter what, too. I think if Tennessee wins out, they're going to snake in that bat. You know, I mean, Tennessee is definitely at this point,

depending on how that, you know, narratives change, right? People assume that Michigan or Ohio State is going to win that game. The loser is going to lose by 10 and then the loser is out. What if that game is a game that gets decided in the last second? Epic game that the whole country is watching. That narrative changes and narratives matter. And so I think, uh, and you know, I just think if that game's epically close and has people talking and the buzz and narrative changes, you know, it changes the national landscape a little bit, but yeah, right now I agree with you. Tennessee gets in

over the loser of that game. Like, like 2016, we put the game in the officials' hands with one first down or was it three first downs in the second half of that game? We put the game in the officials' hands and the officials screwed us. Go down there into Columbus and leave no doubt. The only way that you're 100% in the playoff is go down to Columbus and win the Big Ten title the next week. So that's it. I mean, that's really the path for Michigan.

The other paths, they get convoluted. Tennessee may need to lose a game. Otherwise, you need USC. You need TCU to lose. Who's the other one? Clemson's not going to lose, but I think they're pretty much out no matter what. But, I mean, that's pretty much your path to the playoff is go down to Columbus and win, and that's it. I mean, and if you do lose that game, it's going to feel like you're kicking the nuts.

Yeah. But go ahead, Brian. Sorry. Tennessee finishes the season against Missouri, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt. Like, that's playing the weakest of the big – think of the – that's playing the three weakest teams in the big time. Those teams are awful. Indiana, Northwestern.

They'll have all the style points in the world. They already beat Missouri 66-24. Missouri scored 24 points. They have no defense there. Tennessee, I like Michigan's chance. Georgia, we've seen that story. Georgia is really good on both sides of the ball. I feel like Georgia is going to be really tough to beat this year.

Tennessee doesn't scare me at all. They really don't. I think we would dominate the line of scrimmage there. Tennessee is a good football team. But I think the style of play, they don't play defense. No, they don't. I'll tell you what right now. A lot of people have said this, and I'm not going to say this publicly

because I don't want to be called crazy or anything like that, but I really strongly think that there's a chance Michigan doesn't lose another football game this season. Let's go. I strongly think that. I'm not saying that that's what's going to happen. I think that there's certainly a chance for the first time in my lifetime, in my lifetime, I know you've seen the 97 team, but in my lifetime.

Call me old. I'm not calling you old. I was two at that point. But in my lifetime, this is the first time that I don't expect the national championship. But you expect a little bit more than you had last year. Can you get to the playoff and can you win one more game? And if you get to a national title game and you get beat by a better team,

then you can live with that. So, but, I mean, that's pretty much all I have. Brian, do you have anything else tonight? No, let's finish the season off strong. Let's dominate Illinois and get ready to get out of that game healthy. Hoop season started, too, so I'm excited about that. And let's go. Yeah, I agree.

We'll start talking some hoops as soon as football is over, I think. Yeah. Or, you know, within the lull of the Ohio State game. Yeah, because nothing will be happening. Or the national – or the playoff. But, anyways, yeah, so you can follow me on twitter at seal dog 91 you can follow brian on twitter at bb's big house you can follow blue by 90 on twitter at blue by 90 but for brian i'm tyler go blue

all right so i think that went pretty