Blue By Ninety - In the Big House Ep. 11: JUST BEAT OHIO STATE

Episode Date: November 22, 2022

Tyler and Brian talk a hard fought win vs Illinois, Injuries, THE Game, and much 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 11 of the In the Big House podcast. Brian, how are you doing tonight? I am doing very well and you? I'm doing fantastic as well as I'm going to do. I don't know about you, but I am nervous as hell about what comes after this week. I believe we're five days out from the game or the game, whichever way you prefer to say it. We had an epic battle with someone that we didn't think we were going to have an epic battle with on Saturday.

Michigan coming out with a 19-17 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini, moving them to 11-0, setting up the game with Ohio State down in Columbus. Brian, what are your thoughts on what transpired on Saturday against Illinois? Yeah, that was nerve-wracking, right? I mean, what a rollercoaster of emotions. Open and dry, They come out like Illinois' defense is butter. Just roll down, passing plays, running plays, Blake with big plays, JJ being accurate. You think, okay, we're going to roll.

And then all of a sudden, they don't score a touchdown the rest of the game. And then the whole fan base holds their breasts, gasps, and has tears in the corner of the eye when Blake goes down. I mean, that was devastating. I mean, that was, I think everyone was sick to their stomach, you know? And then the stress of the end of that game. And then, you know, I can't tell you how many people were stressed out and sending me texts and notes and calling about the decision

to kick the field goal the first time around. And then Money Moody coming through at the end. Man, awesome. Yeah, Brian, I think the common denominator, the first time around and then money moody coming through at the end man awesome just the common denominator um every time i text you it turns out to be a close game the indiana game was another one uh that was probably closer than it needed to be uh so i think the common denominator is we don't text during the game and then after the game we have a phone call or something. But yeah, Michigan gets a win. Now I will say this, you know, some people say that they backed into an 11-0 win.

I think they deserve a lot of credit to win that game. It shows a lot of grit. You know, Michigan has a lot of grit and they kind of, you know, pride themselves on being a very gritty football team. And I think they showed that on Saturday. Their backs were against the wall. They were down to fourth down a couple times and they converted. JJ, when he had to make the throws, he made them for the most part,

I thought, you know, I mean, not his best game whatsoever, not a great game at all, by the way. But you know what? When push came to shove, he made some of the throws that he had to make, and he deserves credit for that. He gets over 200 yards. He was, what, 18 of 34, so a lot more passing opportunities for him. They had some obvious woes in the passing game and still continues. But you know what?

I think that Jim Harbaugh and the offensive staff is saving their best for last. I really do think that. I'm not saying that everything that they're doing is putting the shackles on the offense until Ohio State. I really don't think that either. I don't buy that personally. But I do think that there's some meat left on the bone, kind of like JJ said, that's ready to come off. I do believe that they're going to hit on some of these plays. Yeah.

A couple things there. One is the comment about being backed into their position and their pole ranking. You don't need to look any further than later on that afternoon. Michigan plays at 3.30, right? Noon. We played at noon, right? We played at noon.

And we're 3.30 the week before against Nebraska. We play at noon, and that game plays out like it plays out, and everyone's saying, oh, boy, they're going to drop on the polls. And then Ohio State is in an absolute dogfight with Maryland for most of that game. They pulled away late. TCU needs a literally last second field goal. Last second. I mean, that was crazy. They run out in the field and kick that field goal to get the no time on the clock win. And then Tennessee gets smashed by South Carolina. So the point is every team faces a battle, and the teams that are left standing within the year are the ones that find a way to win

in those tough circumstances, those tough battles. Michigan found a way. It was stressful. It was hard. But they found a way where Tennessee got smashed. TCU found a way, and that's why they're still in the picture. Ohio State found a way. That's why they're still in the picture.

But some of these teams that couldn't get it done, Tennessee's not a factor anymore. Nope. Tennessee's done. A lot of the Tennessee fans tweeting stuff out, saying we're in no matter what. All we got to do is win out. And they go to South Carolina and get their face kicked in. So that was quite interesting and quite entertaining.

Other than the hooker injury, that was devastating. I hated to see that. He said such a great career. Yeah, that's tough to see. I hated seeing that part of it, but yeah. Yeah, that's tough to see. I loved seeing them go down. I didn't love seeing Hundenhooker get hurt.

I mean, he's been such a good story. Good story for college football. But to real things back in, I do think they deserve credit for winning that game. You know, Blake Corham went down, as you kind of alluded to, and we can talk about in a minute here. Donovan Edwards didn't play. Keegan didn't play. Schoonmaker, you thought, had a snap. I don't think he played at all. Mike Morris didn't play. Trent A. Jones, did he play? He did not, right? Trent A. Jones, did he play? He did not, right? Trent A. Jones played one snap. One snap.

Okay, so Trent A. Jones, for all accounts, barely played. Junior Colson played a little bit, came out at the end. A.J. Henning didn't play. So the theme is, I mean, there's a lot of injuries here, and we can talk about that in a minute. But they went out there and their backs were against the wall and when they had to make plays they made plays and yeah they they may have gotten some help from the officiating um but you know what they they won the game in spite of

it and uh they got the win and so you deserve credit for that that's a gritty win um there's a lot of michigan teams in the past that don't win that football game. So, you know, Cade McNamara said last year that this team is different. This team wants to be the difference. And this team is kind of similar. They want to be the difference too. They've gone to Iowa and won games. And they've beaten Penn State at home. And they beat Michigan State very handedly at home. So they've done everything that they've wanted to do in front of them, and they still have their goals in front of them going down to Columbus, which, again, we're going to talk about in a minute.

But I thought, and I'll be honest, I thought the defense looked a little overrated in the game against Illinois. Yeah, I think they, you know, football's about styles and matchups and who dictates play. And Illinois was, you know, was doing their thing. You know, one thing that's been really frustrating for me watching is I feel like, you know, we don't get enough pressure on the quarterback. It seems like we don't do anything special.

They line up three, four-man fronts and just allow teams to do what they want back there and trust their back seven. Yeah. Well, yeah, but, I mean, they just don't bring in, I think they were thin at linebacker too. But I'd just like to see them do a little bit more. Maybe they're holding all that stuff back. I mean, I think you can only keep saying that for so long.

The proof is in the pudding. We'll all see Saturday if they've been holding a bunch of stuff, and all of a sudden we see a bunch of exotic blitz packages on Saturday. I'm sure hoping we do. But, you know, you kind of are who you are, and so I have a hard time believing that in a tight game like that they were holding stuff back. That's where you empty the bag because you've got to get the win.

Yeah, I think – I'm not saying that I don't think that they wanted to win the game but i mean we kind of talked about this too i mean you lose the game the season's not over your goals are still in front of you yeah you might drop in the college football playoff rankings but it doesn't matter because if you go down to columbus and beat ohio state um everything's still in front of you you You're in the Big Ten title game. And then if you win that, you're in the playoff anyway. So kind of a moot point.

I mean, in the moment, it felt like the season was on the line, really. And I'll tell you what, you know, some of the people, I had a little Friendsgiving here. And some of the people here were looking at me. They're like, I didn't know you could yell that loud. Yeah, this is how I get when I'm watching Michigan football but in terms of the intangibles they deserve the credit for winning the game you take the win you move on now we're going to talk about the injury to Blake Corum because that in in the moment did not really look good now did it Brian no I mean it

just you know he grabbed his knee and we've all seen knee injuries and we saw later in the day with hennan hooker typically when guys go down that you know and it seems like almost every time when the guy drops the ball because he's in so much pain it's usually pretty tragic news tragic in terms of the football sense not tragic in terms of life threatening but i just automatically assumed okay he's done his season's over that was his last carry in the Michigan uniform. You watch enough sports, you're conditioned to just think that type of thing. And so when he came out of the tunnel,

he was the first guy out of the tunnel coming off of the half, and it was like, okay, that's a sign that he's not toast. And then when he jogs out in that first series to get that third down carry, you're like, okay, let's go. And I'm glad they sat him down. I'm glad they just said, hey, you know what, we need him for Ohio State. And to the point you made, we could have lost that game and still had a chance to go. And they made the decision for his health, for his wellbeing, and for the long-term good of the team to rest him. And that you know, that was very, very scary. I mean, I got notes from friends saying I'm in tears.

You know, people were very upset. One of the biggest takeaways for me of that injury, you know, and we can get into what we think is going to be back here in a minute, but, you know, to any detractor of Blake Corum that says he's a product of a good offensive line, does he have a good offensive line he absolutely positively most running backs do by the way right right uh you know the drop off between him and the other guys that michigan sent out there was so noticeable i mean it changed the game you know it dramatically changed the game they just couldn't do what he does and so uh his

he proved his value to that team not that he needed to every michigan fan knows how valuable he is and how great he's been but he proved even more of how desperately looked without him out there yeah and i will say one thing um you know i i went to this point where like i try to take my fandom out of it when I'm doing it but it's hard to do it when you're watching the game because you know I I am so emotionally invested in it and I know you are and and you know so it but I will say one thing I hate the whole poor me thing uh when it comes to like fan bases and like curses and stuff but. But I was really upset at the fact. I'm just like, you know what?

Can we get one break? Can we get one break? We have a Heisman candidate with a chance to win a Heisman for the first time since 97 when Charles Woodson defeated Peyton Manning. Another shot at Tennessee fans but you know it just kind of goes back to the whole Michigan has had so many chances to win national championship not just in football but in hockey and basketball and baseball you think of back to the college world series there against Vanderbilt where they needed to win one game and Vanderbilt needed to win two

and they lost both of them and so it just it kind of brings you back it's like is Michigan the athletic department of the University of Michigan are we cursed can we not win something and you know I know we had a great year in terms of the Big Ten stuff last year but it made me think about that I'm like is tell me tell me what sports organization or program is harder to be a fan of than the University of Michigan sometimes. It's great when you win, but I'll tell you what, they rip your heart out when you lose. So anyways, but in terms of him being hurt and coming back,

I was grateful to see that he was back. And I didn't think he was going to be back for a long period of time in that game. I just didn't. I had a hard time believing that, especially given the fact the way the game was going. I thought that they were, you know, going to win handedly. But it didn't go that way. And, you know, obviously they needed Stokes and they needed Isaiah Gash, which kudos to that kid. That kid played his ass off in that game,

as did everybody else pretty much in that game. So like I said, they deserve the credit for winning. The other thing I couldn't stand on Twitter too, and I know we kind of talked about this, but the fucking people online playing doctor saying, oh, it's a torn ACL. Oh, it's this. Oh, it's that.

I'm just like, you know what? Let the fucking process play out. And then you see something about a panel of doctors got together and watched the injury and said that they would doubt that Blake Corum will play this week. I'm just like, you know what? Give me a break, people.

I think it's five out of ten that he plays. It might even be higher than that. But you know what? We don't know at this point, and we're not going to speculate, but I will say one thing. I do think he plays. I don't think there's much in my mind anyway, whatever that's worth. I don't think there's any doubt he plays. The question isn't whether he plays. It's how effective he can be. I mean, when you're getting 20, 30 carries a game and doing what he does, I mean, he's the best running back in the country. And if he's not the best, regardless of how you measure, he's a game and doing what he does. I mean, he's the best running back in the country.

And if he's not the best, regardless of how you measure, he's a top two, three running back in the country. And that's without question. How effective can he be, you know, with that injury? And, you know, some people are medical marvels, right? Some people can have these injuries and they come back and you don't even know they're hurt and other people get hobbled. And so I expect him back.

I expect Donovan Edwards back. I mean, that offense that fourth quarter, or the second half really, was without him, without Donovan Edwards. And after the first series or so, C.J. Stokes went down. He looked pretty good. And so they were relying on Tavier Dunlap and Isaiah Gash, and all due respect to those two young men. But they're not Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards,

and they're not C.J. Stokes either. And so, you know, I, I expect play quorum to be back. And, you know, if he can give us, you know, 20 carries, that seems like a lot based on the injury, but I mean, based on his workload, not a lot. If Donovan Edwards can give us 15, 18 carries you know, he, I, I fully expect him back. And he may have a bigger Workhold than that The one thing that stood out to me

I'm all over the place here Is if Schoonmaker comes back I want him and Colson Loveland Colson Loveland is a Baller Those two guys on the field They're as big a playmaker as any receivers we have And by the way

It's not like the receivers are making a lot of plays outside of Ronnie Bell. So you know what? You sit those guys' asses down and say, you know what? These tight ends are going to go out there, and they're going to take your target. So how's that feel? But, yeah, no, I agree with you. I think he's going to play.

I do think that, you know, you saw the video that Brad Galley, I think, posted. And, you know, Angelique was there and asked him if he thought he was going to play. And he did say that, I'm good. I'm going to play. He seemed a little hobbled, but not too bad, not overly pronounced. Some people said he wasn't trying to crease the J's. So, you know know take that for what you will i do think he plays i think he's going to be effective and if he's if if michigan is

going to win this football game against ohio state which we can talk about in a minute here uh he's going to have to be a factor whether that means he takes 50 of the carries and donovan edwards takes the other percent of the carries i don't, I mean, he's going to have to be a factor. And, I mean, just look at this offense. Donovan Edwards has gone out. It's kind of looked Blake Corm and everybody else, basically. And, you know, the biggest key, I think, is to get everybody healthy. And even if they're 80% healthy, it's better than some of the backups.

So, I think that's certainly a key uh we're gonna switch gears to the game um number three ohio state number two michigan um yeah backwards i wish it was that way but it's two ohio state i wish you know what when i say number three ohio state yeah oh god number two ohio state number three three, Michigan from the shoe in Columbus. That game could be found on Fox. Michigan comes in as a seven and a half point underdog of 57 over and under on that game. It looks like it's going to be one of those games where I know you said that you don't think it's going to be too particularly close. I think it's a close game. I think it's somewhere in the seven to three range, somewhere around there. I saw on, I don't know if it was Yahoo originally, but it was 11 and a half point spread right away.

And then it's kind of jumped back down to where we thought it would be. I guess I just want to get your thoughts. What do you think? Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of people, a lot of my friends and a lot of people that I interact with on social media have all kind of talked about a moody field goal and a last-minute kick to win it. I just don't think this game is close.

And when I say that, it's not that i have a strong sense that michigan's gonna win or how state's gonna win but i think the dichotomy of styles between these two programs and how they play i think the team that shows up i mean last year in ann arbor from the jump it was clear michigan came more ready more willing to dig in for the fight and they dominated that game and i think that you're to see one of the two teams. It's hard to project which one, because I, you know, the want it factor or whatever that is. I think they both want it, you know, but one of these two teams is going to show up.

One of these two teams is going to show up and be the aggressor. One of these teams is going to get the breaks and the bounces. And I just think one of the two will pull away at the end. I think it's like a 13, four. I think it ends up being close to a will pull away at the end. I think it's like a 13-4. I think it ends up being close to a two-touch game at the end. Yeah, I mean, I don't want to say I agree with you. I don't agree with you in this particular case, and I guess that's good for the podcast.

But I think it's closer to a 7-7, somewhere 3, somewhere around there. I think it's a closer game just because it's number 2 versus number 3, both 11-0. I think Ohio State's a little bit better than they were last year. And I think Michigan, I mean, on paper, they're certainly better than they were last year. I don't know that the offense is firing on all cylinders, but you know what?

Any given Saturday, I mean, we saw Tennessee go into South Carolina and get their doors blown off. So it really just kind of comes down to who is ready to play. And I like to think that this Michigan team is tough. They're just as tough as last year, if not tougher. And I love the makeup of this team. So I just think that when push comes to shove, I can count on Michigan coming to play more than I can count on Ohio State

coming to play in this game. You know, when you talk about the South Carolina and Tennessee game, it just makes me smile from ear to ear. And the reason it does is because I think for those of us that want J.J. to be the five-star guy that we've seen the potential, that we haven't seen materialize in the field much this year, look at Spencer Rattler at South Carolina. That guy, they've been waiting.

Their fan base is wanting that guy to transfer and go because he's kind of a diva. J.J. is not a diva, but he's underwhelmed. And then for one game in Tennessee, he put it all together. What, he threw five touchdowns, six touchdowns? Six. Yeah, he looked like Patrick Mahomes in that game. He was amazing. And the point of me saying that is J.J. has every bit of talent,

and I would argue more talent than Spencer Rattler, and is this Saturday the day he puts together and he connects on a few of those balls? I mean, you know, the reality is he threw 30-plus passes, and several of them were deep, and, you know, Andrew Anthony, bless his heart, dropped a couple of – I mean, he could have had another 70, 80 yards if it wasn't for that. I mean, they would have been good catches, but, you know, but you're going to be a starting wide receiver at a school like Michigan. You've got to make some plays.

If you're going to wear the number one like that, you better make plays like that. I'll tell you that right now. If you're going to wear the number one, you've got to make plays like that. Because the former number ones, you know, they make those plays. They make those plays. For sure. So it comes down to making plays.

And I don't want to go back too much into that Illinois game. But, yeah, I mean, sorry, Andre Anthony needs to make that catch. That's in his hands. That's a touchdown that puts that game away, basically. You know, you put the ball inside the 10-yard line. I think you're up, what was it, 7? Yeah. Was it 10-0 at that point?

I think so. Yeah, or 10-3 or something at that point. Close game. And then, yeah, it was 10-3 because then they come back down and score a touchdown there. So anyways, yeah, Michigan, Ohio State, I really do think that Michigan has the chance to win this game. I do believe that it comes down to the line of scrimmage.

It really does. I think that the team that's won the line of scrimmage in this game has won 98% of these games. And I guess maybe once in a while you just have that good of a team, and you know what? You tip your cap at that point. But you know what? I do think this Michigan team has the makeup and does have the skill to go down to Columbus and win for the first time since 2000. I think the two teams have had very similar seasons.

I mean, Michigan's been a second-half team for most of the year. They've got up to slow starts. You follow Ohio State games, they've had a lot of slow starts too. They've been in trouble. They've been in dogfights. They've probably been in more tough games as a whole than Michigan. Now the score differentials are different because in a few of their really close games they pulled away, like a game last weekend,

they had the scoop and the score late that made that score look like a bigger win than it actually was. But they've been in a dogfight. And so I think they've had very similar seasons, and they're not as talented as they are, and they're one of the most talented teams in the country. And as good as their offenses look all season long, they go through struggles.

And, you know, we've got to hope as Michigan fans that they struggle a lot more than they thrive. Well, I'll tell you what, they have some injuries as well. Jackson Smith and Jigba hasn't played in a couple weeks. My and William, I think, sat out the game against Maryland. Travion Henderson was limited in that game against Maryland. They had a guard go out in that game against Maryland. So they're not coming into this game exactly healthy.

C.J. Stroud got pounded a couple times, and he came up lame once or twice. So they're not coming into this game all guns a-blazin' either. And, you know, they didn't win their last game, you know, by a crazy margin either. So I think it was a 33-30 game early in the fourth quarter. So, you know, it really just comes down to can Michigan make those few plays? And you'll know it. You'll know it when you see it because you've seen it 100 times

unless you're new to this. You'll know what team came to play right away, right from the jump. You might even know it from warm-ups. Remember last year during warm-ups? Some of the writers, I think it was Ballas or maybe a couple of the other guys, were saying that they just didn't love the body language from Ohio State. They had their hands on their hips. It was cold out.

And God forbid it be cold out in the game. So heaven forbid it snows a little bit or it gets some rain or something. But in terms of the weather, it does look like it's going to be pretty decent football weather. I have not looked at it. Considerable cloudiness with rain, showers a high of 53. The low, I believe, is of – it doesn't say the low. Oh, sorry. The low is 43. So I guess anywhere in between with occasional rain

and a five to 10 mile an hour wind, 60% chance of rain, including starting on Friday, moving into Sunday. So that means it's going to rain all weekend long there. It'd be miserable if you go down there. So you know what? In terms of the weather, that's certainly a good thing for Michigan.

Do you get a sense of the tail of the tape? Like what do you think the biggest key is going to be if Michigan wins this game? Well, I think, you know, you kind of are who you are, right? And Ohio State's defense has – Jim Knowles has done a good job there as much as people want to be a distractor. Their defense, their pass distractor, their defense, their pass defense, their run defense, their total defense has improved a great deal from last year.

But in the win last year in Ann Arbor, the local media in Columbus, the national media all piled on the Buckeyes about them being soft and them not being tough. And so Ryan Day made that a big emphasis. You can choose to look at it how you want. I think if you're an Ohio State fan, you say, hey, we're making a big point of emphasis and we're going to get tougher. Well, you're either tough or you're not tough. You know, you're either a blue collar guy or you're not a blue collar guy. You know what I mean? Like, and so just because you talk about being tough, you know, you get in that game

and Michigan's got a lot of really big, strong guys that are going to smack them in the mouth, and Ohio State's just as big, just as fast, just as strong. But if it's your personality, it's not going to get punched in the face and in a dogfight. So that's what gives me the most hope, really, is that I still feel like this team has that Ryan Day. I don't think Ryan Day is a blue-collar guy at all.

I think he screams soft, and I think his play calling is soft. And so that's what gives me the most hope is that if those two are going to go and pound it for four quarters, and we know they are, I like the mental makeup, the physical makeup, how our team is wired as an underdog going in there better than some of the things, those attributes for Ohio State. And you know what? Despite Michigan winning the Big Ten title last year, despite getting to the college

football playoff and beating Ohio State, of course, in doing so, it's been all year long. It's been, pardon my French, but a total, you know, kiss-ass fest for Ohio State, regardless of what they've done. They didn't look good against Notre Dame early in the season. Yeah, they won the game. Who gives a shit? Notre Dame's not that good of a football team. I'm sorry, they're not.

They've had dogfights against Penn State, and I know they pulled away late in that game. They've had dogfights against Indiana, who might be the worst team – or sorry, Northwestern, who might be the worst team in the Big Ten. They have one win this year. They are the worst team in the Big Ten. Yeah, they are the worst team in the Big Ten. But in terms of the makeup, I agree with you.

I think Michigan has the makeup to go down there and win the game. It's just a matter of do their star players, are they healthy enough? And if they are healthy enough can they can they execute because it comes down to execution we all know that uh you know football is a game of of very few mistakes and i mean or not sorry not very few mistakes but very few margin for for error and i think you know in in an attention to detail kind of game i think jim harbaugh is going to coach his ass off in this game. I think he is a better football coach than Ryan Day.

Ryan Day probably has better talent on both sides of the ball. But you know what? Jim Harbaugh is a better football coach than Ryan Day. That's my hot take for the day. I totally believe that. You're not going to get any pushback or argument from me. I'll tell you, I love – I don't know if you caught any of Harbaugh's presser today. But, man, I don't think he could have handled it any better. You know, he could have said,

we're the big, you know, he could have said something to the fact that we're the big dogs, we're the champs, they got to come take it from us. And there's some years Harbaugh would have said something like that, but he didn't say that at all. He basically said that he felt very fortunate to be in the position he was in, that Ohio State has a couple of guys that could be Heisman candidates, that they have a lot of talent, but he just feels really fortunate to be in the position he was in, that Ohio State has a couple guys that could be Heisman candidates, that they have a lot of talent, but he just feels really fortunate to be in that situation. You know, he didn't – none of the third base comments, none of the snarky stuff.

He handled it as humbly. Oh, no, he'll save that for after the game if they end up winning. But I think, you know, he was about as humble as – the perfect – not perfect, but a very good combination of being very humble and very eager and confident. You know, I mean, I just love what I saw. Not that, you know, winning the press conference doesn't win you anything, but I just loved it.

That meant the mentality he took in that press conference is what he's been preaching to that team all year and preaching to, you know, in practice and to the coaching staff. I like the mindset going into the week. And, like, honestly, I know I've had personally gut feelings before where this is not going to go well. I don't get that gut feeling. I really don't. Like, I almost want it, you know what I mean, in terms of, like,

to be more scared. I'm not saying I'm not scared. I think it's going to be a tough game. I think it's a tall task to go down there and win. But you know what? I mean, why not us? Why not Michigan? Why can't they go down there and win for the first time since 2000?

At some point, it's supposed to end, right? At some point, you know, you can win two times in a row. I mean, to your point i think i i didn't feel like we were gonna win you know we've been lost so many times i didn't feel like we were gonna win last year in ann arbor when they came out smack them around and that game they dominated that game you know even when there was like four minutes left and there was no way they were gonna lose i still felt like they're gonna find a way to run a 24 point play here you know like they they it just even you've been burned

so much by it. And I'll tell you what, in terms of Ohio state winning it, it comes down to them. You know, are they a tough team? Are they tough in the trenches? Can they run the football? Because if they can run the football, we've seen with Ezekiel Elliott and these guys over the years, Curtis Samuel and Mike Weber and those guys, if they can run the football and JT Barrett back in those days, that opens up Marvin Harrison Jr. downfield. That opens up Cade Stover. That opens up Julian Fleming or Becca Abuka, that opens up those guys. But you know what? If they can't run the football, then that's very predictable. You can just pin your ears back and come after them.

And, you know, that would put yourself in a good situation to win. Now, Ohio State on the other side of the football has certainly gotten better. You know, they have Steel Chambers and Tommy Eichenberg. And, you know, they have steel chambers and Tommy Eichenberg and, and, uh, you know, they, they do have a good defense. I don't think they have a great defense, but they can outscore most of their opponents. So I think where, where this game is going to be one, uh, I think last year, a lot of it was on offense, um, you know, for, for Michigan side, I think they, they made their, most of their opportunities. And then they then they kind of played that shell defense

where they didn't let anything really behind them. I think it's going to be one on defense. I really do. I think on both sides it's going to be one on defense. If Michigan can stop Ohio State's run, that's going to put a stop to the receivers. Yeah, Marvin Harrison is going to make some ridiculous catches. He's going to get us, yep.

It's just – it is what it is. But if you can stop the run, I mean, you have a good chance to win this game. And the same thing with Ohio State. If I'm Ohio State, I'm walking up steel chambers and Tommy Eichenberg to the line and loading the box. Until JJ can beat them, I'd make him beat them. Beat me with the pass, you know beat me with with with the past you know through the air because you're not beating us on the ground you did that last year it's not

happening this year but again I mean that that's not taught that's something that you you either have it or you don't I agree with you you can't just teach teach this in in an off season you know I mean yeah you can maybe get a little bit better at it, but you can't go from a defense that couldn't stop anything last year on the ground to a very stout, you know, top five defense in the country. I just don't believe that. Believe it or not, I think the Illinois defense is probably the best defense that Michigan's going to see all year long unless you get to Georgia or you get to yeah I guess Georgia right because I don't really see any other uh problems um on defense you know if we're talking about moving on to the playoff or anything like that you know all year long we've

been running the ball it's been the Blake Corham show everyone said hey if you want to beat Ohio State you got to do more. You've got to do both. And I argue, I've said this all year, I don't agree. No, I don't either. You pound the rock. You possess the ball for 34, 35 minutes of that game. And as we mentioned earlier, Stroud, as great as he's been,

and he's been fantastic, and those receivers are amazing. But they don't get it done every series. And so if we limit – if we take away three, four series from them because of how much we dominate the ball control and eat up the clock, we limit their ability to hit those big plays, limit those opportunities for those wide receivers to shake free. Because let's face it, we haven't faced a past offense as prolific as these guys, you know, Jay Turner has been solid.

Will Johnson's been solid. The man green has been solid, but they have not faced the likes of Ohio state's wide receiving core. And, you know, the proof's in the pudding. We're going to see this week if they're up to the task. And,

but, but I do know that if we can, you know, Blake Corham can run for 120 yards, 130 yards, and Donovan Edwards can add 60, 70, and the rest of the backs can add a couple, and JJ can have a nice 30, 40-yard runs, and just rattle off about 200 yards of rushing,

I think that's the recipe. Michigan rushes for 200 yards offense, 200 rushing yards. I like their chances. And 200 is less than they're averaging. So it's not like that's the case. I'll tell you one thing right now. If that's the case and things are going our way and it's it's a it's a game where you're running the football and they can't stop it it's going to be a grind to watch if you're an ohio state fan

because we know what that feels like we know what that feels like being on the other side of that it's you know death by a million paper cuts and you you know, exact, I mean, that's kind of how I felt this week with, um, with Brown there, Chase Brown. Uh, he was running the ball pretty much at will. Michigan really couldn't stop it. You know, they stopped it when they had to, but, uh, you know, he's a good back and I'll tell you what right now. I mean, uh, you know, they, they did a relatively good job with him, but I mean, he mean he's he still got loose a couple times now i want to i want to pivot to the defensive side of the ball in terms of stopping marvin harrison jr i know joel clatt went on his podcast and said if ohio state's gonna win

uh it comes down to marvin harrison jr or sorry them spreading the ball around to not just marvin harrison jr it feels like a lot of their passes have been to Marvin Harrison Jr. And it hasn't been, you know, Abuka's kind of dried up. Fleming's kind of dried up. You know, Cade Stover gets the ball here and there. But the majority of the time that they're passing is going to Marvin Harrison Jr. How do you stop that? I don't know.

I mean, I don't agree with Joel. Joel knows football better than I do, and he knows the game much better than I do. But the reality is if C.J. Stroud's going to throw for 280 yards, does it matter if all 280 go to Marvin Harrison? You know what I mean? I get what he's saying. Is he saying that Michigan won't allow one receiver?

I think what he's saying is that Michigan's not going to allow one receiver to just dominate like that. And I think he's going to get away, and he's going to make some big plays because he's just that good. But they're not going to let him have that huge enormous day. And if they do, they're in trouble. But they've got to make him spread around. And I think you just, you know,

we have a talent in the secondary to limit one guy, but do we have the talent in the back seven to really limit all their talent? Well, I would argue that their passing attack last year was better. You know, you had Smith and Jigba healthy and you had. I totally agree with that. A lot of big. Garrett Wilson.

Garrett Wilson. And I mean, they were much more dynamic last year. I mean, but you know what? At the end of the day, it's like, yeah, Marvin Harrison Jr. Might be the number one, you know, receiver in the country. And some people are saying the number one receiver ever. I'm like, let's not get carried away now. That's been some really good receivers in college football history.

But, you know, in terms of limiting him, I mean, do you just let him get his and shut everybody else down? Yeah, that's fair. Yeah. I mean, the Jordan rules, like let Jordan get his and stop everyone else. Yeah, that's – Yeah. I don't know.

Yeah, so, I mean, that's my question. I mean, I think the defensive game plan is similar to what it was last year. Keep everything in front of you. Make them kick field goals. You know, push them out of field goal range by sacking them and, you know, putting them in fourth and long, and then they have to punt or kick a long field goal. That's the recipe for success on defense, I think. Yeah. And, you know, I mean, you said something that I can't get past is Marvin Harrison Jr. has been really good, but he's averaging 16 yards a

catch, right? Best ever. Ronnie Bell's averaging 15. Roman Wilson's averaging 15. You know, he's doing it more often, you know, because they've passed the ball a lot more, but it's not like he's, you know, he gets a lot more opportunities, a lot more targets. But to say he's the greatest ever, I mean, I think you'd be hard-pressed to put him in the top 7, 8 at Ohio State. That's just off the top of my head.

They've had so many good wide receivers, you know? Yeah, that's a little bit – I don't want to get hung up on that, but that's just a – I agree with you. I don't think that he's the greatest ever. No, not even close. Even when it's all said and done, he's probably not going to be the greatest receiver ever.

He torches a Saturday that might change my tune, but – I reserve that right. In terms of Michigan and their chance to win, I know you said they need to run the football. What do you think they need to do differently than they have, you know, through the first 11 games? You know, I mean, I think you got to stick to who you are. I think, you know, on the offensive side of the ball,

I don't think they need to do anything different schematically, although people will question play calling. When receivers aren't making plays, when the quarterback's overthrowing people, that's not playbook. That's execution. And a well-executed marginal play call can work, and a poorly executed outstanding play call can be awful and so the question the play calling as a fan uh it drives me crazy because it's like you know if

you execute a play right it works and if you don't the defense makes the right read then it's harder to do anyway i don't think schematically they need to do a lot different on offense they just need to make plays you know mix it up a little bit maybe a little bit but i mean you know we need jj to have something like uh not quite as uh remarkable but he needs to have a little spencer rattler against tennessee moment where he has one of his better games of the year i think we're the the game where we have to change it up a little bit on the defensive side of the ball we've been vanilla all year they've trusted the defense and say hey we don't need to do anything tricky we're a better team than you our defense is better than your offense we're going to play you straight up and you're not gonna you're not

going to beat us four quarters you might hit a couple plays but we're going to just play straight up that's not going to flag in so i'll stay they're going to have to you know i don't know what that looks like per se because we haven't seen it from jesse minner all year they really haven't done much i mean they don't they don't you know early in the season a couple games they brought corners and safeties off off the edge i don't see a lot of that the last few weeks maybe that's intentional like hey let's let's go way more vanilla and trust that we're the they really haven't had to though if you really think about it i agree but i think they're going to see a lot of game uh in terms of defensive shutdown

was that Penn State game. I think they were a little bit more less vanilla. I mean, they're still vanilla for the most part, but there was some stunts and twists and stuff like that. And I think they added a swim move to Mason Graham's game. Now you see that? Man, I'll tell you. Mason Graham, Colston Loveland,

Will Johnson, Derek Moore, they have some true freshman studs. And Will Johnson was a five star. He's supposed to be a stud, is a stud. Mason Graham was a late surger in the rankings. Everyone pooh-poohed Colston Loveland

being from Idaho. I mean, that guy from what i see i can't remember a freshman a young titan maybe devin punches early on uh maybe massacai early on but i even those guys i don't remember jake butt was good from the jump too but uh i i don't know that i remember a guy a titan that i'm as excited about as this guy he just just, he looks awesome. And, you know, Mason Graham, the gift from the football gods, as Harbaugh says, I mean, he's just, every game, he does something that is really impressive. That swim move was fantastic.

Man. Get out of my way. I am going by you because I'm supposed to go by you. And, you know, he made a hell of a play there on Chase Brown. I think the last thing, I'm sorry, is A.J. Henning has been pretty solid as a returner. He scares me to death because he picks up everything. But Ronnie Bell, back there, he was pretty explosive in that game. I don't know enough about Illinois' special teams,

how they've been all year, but he was a difference maker. You know, I feel like in these types of games, we've avoided turnovers. We've avoided real special team blunders. And they need something besides Jake Moody and the special teams, I think, to win. They need some, you know, whether it's forcing a fumble on special teams,

a big return. They need something. You asked about something different. I think we need fumble on special teams, a big return. They need something. You asked about something different. I think we need to see something special happen to special teams. Yeah, we haven't seen a lot of forced turnovers by Michigan. I wonder if they bait Stroud into one or two. I could certainly see that. I don't know that they're saving the interceptions

or the turnovers for Ohio State. But, I mean, it's certainly possible, you know, if they bring some. I mean, the biggest thing, everyone talked about the reason they beat Ohio State last year. And, yeah, Hassan Haskins was fantastic. And the offensive line bullied them and everything else. But I'll tell you one thing that they really did very well is they confused the shit out of Stroud. Not only did they have Hutchinson and Ajabo once in a while coming at or more than once in a while coming after Stroud, but there was a lot of confusion. There was a lot of showing blitz and then backing off.

There was a lot of different reads that Stroud had to make that, you know, let's face it, when he's in the pocket and he's not comfortable, he's a way different quarterback than he is through a clean pocket. So I think it's a 121 quarterback rating with a clean pocket, and I think it drops down to like 69 or 70 with pressure. So that's a significant drop-off. So if you can get pressure, I mean, that's certainly another thing. Even if you get beat once i mean that's certainly another thing even if you get beat once or twice uh i mean it might be worth it to put a lick or two on stroud because you know

again you got to make this quarterback uncomfortable they've done it they've done it to see jj mccarthy uh you know the last couple games they've driven him into the turf a couple times and he doesn't look as comfortable so uh you know if you can do that to stroud that's another thing that you could look look towards to you know if michigan wins that's another thing that they'll have to do i believe yeah no doubt so um all right i think it's prediction time brian oh boy um i'm gonna let you go first and then I'll go with my spiel. You know, what's funny is I feel like every time I listen to a show focused on Michigan, it comes time to prediction time. Whoever's making the prediction always picks Michigan. Right.

And I'm not going to feel pressured to pick Michigan. And like I said earlier, I think this is not going to be a close game. I think it's going to be a 10, 12-point game. I've been a fan of this team for a really long time, and getting over that hurdle in Ann Arbor last year was fantastic. But we haven't got over that hurdle in Columbus in a while. And I've had my soul and my spirit ripped out of me too many times. I can't believe it's going to happen as much as I want to,

as much as all the positivity said. So my pick is not based on my heart. It's not based with what I want. It's just history. And I think it's also like I'm hoping. You're scarred. I'm scarred, but I'm also hoping for the reverse jinx. You know what I mean?

But my pick is 38-27 Ohio State. I just think they just at home, you know, the refs have always been pretty kind to them down there. You know, the bounces, playing in the shoe. Until we beat Ohio State in the shoe, it's going to be hard for me to pick Michigan to beat them there. So with a heavy heart and with a lot of angst, I'm going to pick the Buckeyes.

I'm going to go with saying this. I mean, what was it, 2011, the game against Ohio State where Luke Fickle was the head coach, I'd never count that as, I mean, it's a win. Yeah, it's a win over a rival, but it wasn't Ohio State as normal Ohio State state so i've only seen michigan beat ohio state if you don't count that in my lifetime i guess so the year 2000 i don't really remember so i guess that would that would be um you know i i would be lying to you if i said i remember that you know what i mean right but i i do remember 2003 uh That was the first one that I really remember. But as an adult, I mean, like me, the way I am right now,

as hardcore of a Michigan fan as I am right now, last year was really the first year that I thought that they could win. I believed that they could win. I didn't tell really anyone that I thought that they could win, but I had a quiet confidence about me. I still have that quiet confidence about me. I'm not spouting off and saying we're going to win this game by 40 or anything ridiculous like that because I know where this is headed.

You know what I mean? I know what this feels like when you don't win this game. But I do think, Brian, I do think they go down there and I do think that they check a box off that they haven't checked off in a long time and they go down to Columbus and they win a close game. I know you said you don't think it's going to be a close game. I do think it's a close game. I think Michigan wins 38, no, sorry, 34-28. I think it's a close game. I think Michigan goes down the field at the end, and J.J. McCarthy wins it for them.

I do think that this is a game where J.J. McCarthy does have his best game. Sometimes guys like this, you know, he's got some intangibles about him himself. You see after the game against Illinois, he smiles. He's like, how about that game? You know what I mean? And he could have been sulked. He could have been, you know, sad. You know, I didn't play that great.

But you know what? The kid always has a smile on his face. And I really do think that they're going to go down there and they're going to compete and win that football game. I really do believe that. With that being said, I think it's going to be tough. And, I mean, it could go the other way as well. I mean, this is one of those. No, you said they're going to win. Don't go. Let's not go with anyone else. You said they're going to be tough and i mean it could go the other way as well i mean this is this is

one of those no you said they're gonna win don't go let's not go with anyone else you said they're gonna win all right i'm on team tyler i'm on team that's my prediction um do you have anything else on the game here the game do you have a favorite memory from the game um well i mean the the farthest back one that i have good memories i was was at the game where, and I was in the end zone when Desmond struck, struck the pose. So that one will always stand out. Um, and then the 06 game, you know, my deer hunter, and we watched that game at, you know, a friend of mine's hunting cabin, my brother and one of my buddies and watch that game. So just personally, you know, those two games stand out for me, but yeah, I'm excited, you know, but have a big Thanksgiving hangover and watching a bunch of football and just hope that our guys come through. Yeah, I agree. We have a pub that we go to here. It's kind of a Bruins pub, but on Saturdays, it kind of turns into a whatever's cool is on TV kind of place, and they got good steak and cheeses, and they got good pitchers, ice-cold beer.

It's just an old-school Boston kind of dive bar, but it's really cool. Barstool kind of saved it during the pandemic and stuff, so grateful for that. But that's where I went to watch the game last year. You're going to have you're gonna have the same you better be going back there and sitting at that same table dude right right it better fucking be there right but you know no that's my seat we won last year get the hell out right but no i um you know that's that's where i'm gonna head for the game uh that's my cousin's an ohio state fan and he's like, can I come? I'm like, absolutely fucking not.

Nope, nope. I'm putting myself – and even if we lose and, you know, it's a close game or even if we don't – even if we lose and it's not a close game, at least I'll be around people that either don't give a shit or are Michigan fans. And so I'm going to put myself in a good situation. In terms of my favorite memories of the game, I mean, last year, you know, I don't admit this too often, but I teared up a

little bit. That felt really good, man. That was one of the best feelings I've ever had as a sports fan. Other than you guys know, I'm a Red Wings fan and, you know, seeing the Wings win the Stanley Cup, you know, a couple of times in my lifetime, four times to be exact in my lifetime, guys know, I'm a Red Wings fan, and seeing the Wings win the Stanley Cup a couple times in my lifetime, four times to be exact in my lifetime, certainly tears me up every time seeing that Stanley Cup. But seeing Michigan beat Ohio State last year was just everything. And then in terms of not-so-good memories, 06, I mean, the game of the century,

I don't know why they're not calling this the game of the century 2.0 or V2. But, you know, it should be interesting. It's only Monday. That's true. That's true. Narratives still have to come out. But, yeah, no, I mean, 06, 2016 was another one that was just like, you know, you were that close yet so far. I mean, I've never been so fucking excited when they stopped JT Barrett and, you know,

Harbaugh's waving his arms and I'm jumping up and down. And, you know, to get the rug pulled from under you, that certainly didn't feel good. But, yeah, those are my favorite memory and not my so favorite memory. But, yeah, I mean, it's going to be a hell of a game. I mean, we can continue to talk about it. But, I mean, it's going to be talked about all week long. The injury reports are not going to come out. I think Jim Harbaugh said today that there's no update on Blake Corum,

Luke Schoonmaker, or Donovan Edwards. And I don't think there's going to be regardless of the situation. You'll know when you know, and that's it. I mean, I think those guys will go, and that's pretty much it. I mean, Michigan hasn't won two in a row since 99 and 2000, so I guess if you look at where time has gone, Ohio State won a bunch in between there, but I mean, if you can go two in a row,

I mean, does Ryan Day get fired at Ohio State? Let's talk about that next week if they win. These people, I'm telling you, these people are going to be calling for Ryan Day's head if Michigan wins two straight against Ohio State, especially one down. That'll be a fun topic next week. That's something we could talk about next week.

Do you have any final thoughts on the game? No, I mean, I don't ever want to wish time away, especially one down topic next week but that's something we could talk about next week um do you have any final thoughts on the game no i mean i don't ever want to wish time away but man this can be the longest five days even though thanksgiving's in between and getting to be with family and friends and uh it'll be fun but man uh i can't wait i just can't wait it's one of the biggest biggest games in my Michigan fandom, you know, just with so much on the line and the validation of what we did last year and just the hopes of, you know, being a little more prepared if we do get to that next level, you know.

Yeah, because if you can get there to the playoff, I mean, there's a strong chance that you can take down at least one team. I like Michigan. I mean, Georgia was an all-time. I mean, Georgia's really, really good. They're an outstanding football team, and we don't, you know, we don't need to get into that. But that team last year was special.

Yeah. And so we'll worry about that when Michigan wins this week and wins in Indianapolis, and then we can worry about that. There you go. I like the positive vibes only. Yeah, well, my final thoughts are it's going to be interesting. We'll see. You'll know at three 30 or so on, on Saturday or maybe later, who knows? Um, you know, if a game were to go to overtime, I think my heart might, you know, come out of my chest, but, uh, drop to my feet, whatever you want to call it. But, uh,

yeah, it's going to be interesting. Those are pretty much my final thoughts. I mean, just go blue, beat Ohio State. How many days has it been since Ohio State's beaten Michigan? 1,087 or something like that. 1,087 days since Ohio State's last beat Michigan. And so it's going to be interesting. I have the faith. I think everybody should have the faith.

And, you know, as the guys at Blue by 90 say, just beat Ohio State. Right. Yeah, I think, you know, my only final thought would be if Michigan's going to lose, let's not have – let's lose. Let's not lose because JT was short. There was some BS call or some controversial, you know, like, you know, either the JT was short or the BS in East Lansing a couple of years ago when they took away Hutchinson sack. Like let's lose because we got beat.

You know, let's read because the better team won or they out executed us. Let's not lose because of some crazy factor. Let's not lose at all. But if we're going to lose, P.S., I'll take a win by crazy factor, but I don't want to lose because of it. We deserve one of those, right? Once in a while, you deserve a break.

We definitely do. That's it for me, man. Let's get ready for the week. I can't wait to be talking about it next week. I'm just really excited. Have a great Thanksgiving, dude. Absolutely. You guys too. Everybody excited. Have a great Thanksgiving, dude. Absolutely. You guys too.

Everybody listening. Have a great Thanksgiving. Enjoy the game. Just beat Ohio State. Just beat Ohio State. Go blue for Brian. I'm Tyler. You can follow me on Twitter at Sealdog91.

You can follow Brian on Twitter at BBsBigHouse. And you can follow Blue by 90 on Twitter at Blue by 90. You guys have a great Thanksgiving, and go Blue. Go Blue Bears. Be Ohio State. All right.