Blue By Ninety - In the Big House episode 2: JJ SZN!

Episode Date: September 16, 2022

The heated QB battle comes to an end, Michigan destroys another inferior opponent, lots of recruiting talk, and more. 

What's going on everybody and welcome to episode two, the Charles Woodson episode of the Big House podcast. I'm Tyler Seeley alongside Brian, BB's Big House. How are you doing today, Brian? I'm doing great. Yeah. Week two, two and oh, Charles Woodson all around, baby. Let's go. That's right. That's right. We can't be any more excited. I mean, I guess we have to temper the expectations a little bit, you know, as as this season kind of progresses and we take it one week at a time here. But we are going to get into it right away here. Michigan with a huge win over Hawaii, although it wasn't as big as we all thought it was going to be. Yeah, we were a little bit zealous with our score predictions going into the game. I had no idea. I think it was one of those situations where everyone thought the score was going to be,

you know, one thing and it turned out to be something else, which is fine. I mean, I think they kind of called the dogs off, you know, 56 to 10 is representative or representable. So, I mean, that's not something to sniff at or anything like that. They, they had a good performance, a good half performance, I would say. Right. So 42, nothing with near flawless. I mean, JJ through 12 perfect passes, right? According to PFF, perfect passes. I mean, the one drop, but it was right in his hands. So they were pretty flawless. And I think Hawaii didn't have like one first down in the first half. at home and uh you know obviously had the weather delay and everything like that and you know whatever but that first play with blake coram just cut the edge and just went down what went down the field was at 30 yards 35 yards something like that like yeah this hawaii team just doesn't even look

interested in being on the same field as michigan so that was telling. It kind of makes you wonder why they even play this kind of game and if there's any benefits to doing that. We'll get into that at some point. But I want to get your thoughts on the elephant in the room here. Jim Harbaugh announced after the game that J.J. McCarthy is going to be the starting quarterback going forward, at least for the UConn game and going forward, basically by merit. And I want to get your thoughts on that, just because I think that a lot of people wanted the clarity. Yeah, I think I'm super excited about it. I think, I know I was hoping,

and I think most fans were really hoping for someone to really emerge, make it clear, make it obvious, make it so so nobody questions it and that's exactly what's happened I mean JJ stepped up I mean he was had a near flawless performance and you know flawless against the competition sure that's valid but the spot placement on the ball you know just his ability to make plays on the on the move just I mean he made it really really clear and uh I'm super excited about it because I think most fans regardless you know what camp you were in camp JJ camp Cade I think most people see the upside of JJ and the fact that he made it clear made it obvious and like you mentioned coach Arbaugh said by merit he's the guy going

forward I think people are really excited about that. I know I am. Yeah, I'm certainly excited. You've got to be excited about this. And, you know, I think the biggest thing, too, is like J.J., like you said, he made it clear. There was no doubt in Jim Harbaugh's mind after that game that that that was the decision that was going to be made. JJ started the game. He played well.

He came out. Cade threw the pick. JJ went back in when it scored a touchdown. Or no, sorry, it was a three and out for Cade. And then JJ went back in there, got a touchdown. And then, you know, it was kind of clear from there. I think when Cade threw that interception, I'm like, okay, this doesn't look good for Cade.

You know, but I guess at the end of the day, it's like, sorry, Cade did what he did for you last year. He had a good spring, a good fall camp as well. And it played out on the field and kade can't be mad about that and we'll talk more about kade in a second but it was it was by merit he did a fantastic job he was what was it 11 of 12 and it should have been 12 for 12 because of the drop there so i mean i i know for myself I can speak for myself I kind of talked to you about this last week but like I love offense I love quarterbacks are slinging the ball

downfield um I also love the way Michigan plays and runs the ball but sometimes it's infuriating and I will just say one thing I'm I very excited for J.J. going forward. I really think, like, that deep post to Cornelius Johnson and then the next play, the zip right in to Ronnie Bell, it's just like that's what Michigan's been missing since. I don't know that we've ever seen a quarterback like J.J. at Michigan. Yeah. You know what I haven't heard many people talk about this week?

And I've listened to a bunch of Michigan fans and all the folks that we know talk this week. And JJ was the highest graded quarterback in the country. His single game grade is the highest PFFs had in like three years, right? And what was he known for all last year and even week one come in run the ball you know use his feet he didn't run the ball at all in that one run down the right side right he didn't do that at all so he was that effective you know i'm sure harbaugh said hey don't run don't get injured don't you know take the shots

and today's not the day to do it but he he did all that without using what we all know was a great weapon and tool for him. And so that he could be that effective without even being a threat of running the ball, and it wasn't necessary. But, I mean, he's shown that he can be a pocket. That game showed that he could do it from the pocket. And we all know from history against Georgia, against Ohio State, against a lot of great teams, how well he can run the ball under pressure.

So, yeah, the upside is so exciting. Oh, the upside is it really is so exciting. You really can't put into words what this could potentially mean. And I say potentially because he is a sophomore and that was his first start, but, you know, the potential is certainly there. But also I just want to kind of damper things a little bit. You know, the potential was extremely high for Shea Patterson and it kind of didn't, didn't come to fruition. Shea didn't really have the deep ball that, that JJ has. So I guess that's one thing, but every quarterback has a weakness. So as time goes on. You eventually get figured out. But it's a matter of what adjustments you make to to those, you know, the adjustments that the defense is going to make with you.

And, you know, of course, they're going to make adjustments, especially when you're not playing teams like Hawaii and UConn coming up this week. And, you know, so Colorado State. So it's just like I caution people just a little bit. You know, keep the expectations high because there is a ton of upside here. But, you know, just he's a young quarterback still. So let's just let's just let him grow a little bit and i think there there will be a little bit of growing pains at times but i do think that the upside is going to outweigh putting kade back out there um but yeah

that's my thoughts the other thing that that i just want to kind of bring up too like the ball just comes out of his hands so clean. It's beautiful. Beautiful. You know, everyone talks about a baseball swing, like Ken Griffey Jr. had a sweet swing. That is just a beautiful ball that he throws. It is unbelievable.

He's how you draw it up for sure. And then, you know, just the Cavalier, you know, just the little flip to Roman Wilson for the touchdown on the jet sweep. That was just, but anyways. Well, on one side, there's JJ extremely excited that he's taken the spot away. And then you have Cade McNamara, who, you know, did a lot for Michigan last year. But this is 2022. And, you know, it's a different season as we talk about. But I just want to bring up, what in the world were those fucking people doing

at the big house booing Cade McNamara? Yeah, it was very disappointing. It was, you know, from the sounds of the people at the game, like you, I watched at home, but from the sounds of the few people I've heard about the game, it was a small group. But because it was Hawaii, the stadium wasn't that loud. It appeared to make a bigger impact. But yeah, idiots like, you know, boo, a guy that's the beat Ohio State, won the Big Ten title, took us to the playoffs like it. You just don't do that.

It was horrible. Absolutely not. Cade, did he win a lot of games for Michigan single-handedly last year? No. But did he go out there and give you an honest effort and not turn the ball over very much? Absolutely. I hate the term game manager,

but he was a damn good game manager last year for Michigan. And without him, they don't win the Big Ten. I don't think they win the Big Ten with J.J. as a freshman quarterback last year. No, I agree. He played a big role. Go ahead. No, I mean, I think the way the team was set up last year was for a game manager. We relied on the run game.

They had a stout defense. I mean, the game plan was, you know, lessen the amount of possessions you have in each game, eat up the clock, let the defense rest, then come in and feast. And that's exactly what he did. And then, you know, the few times that he needed to step up, you know, the Penn State game comes to mind and make a play, he did it. Yeah. The Wisconsin, the flea flicker to Cornelius Johnson in the corner of the end zone. Yeah, I mean, there was endless times where Cade, you know, stepped up and put his balls on the table and did a fantastic job while doing it.

So you tip your cap to him for that. But there's no need for Michigan fans to go out there and boo a guy like that. There's no need for Michigan guys to go out there and boo anybody. That includes Jono Korn in 2017 or whatever it was, even though he was fucking horrible. He's the worst, yeah. But, yeah, he can boo a guy.

Like I said, there's no need for that. And, you know, this fan base is a lot better than that. And, you know, I'd like to think that it was just a couple dumbasses that were doing that. Right. I was encouraged if you saw Ryan Hayes in his press conference this week. He said that Cade's showing up to practice each week, being Cade. Big smile on his face, same old Cade. And so the last thing I would want to hear,

I think anybody that cares about the program would want to hear, is him coming in with his head hung, you know, with with an attitude. Sounds like he's, you know, he's voted a captain for a reason. And so it sounds like he's bringing that to the table. And that's really encouraging because you know, the way JJ plays, I mean, Kate, you know, Kate went down for a few series last year. We're going to need Kate. JJ's going to go down, okay. You know, and hopefully not for any length of time, but we're going to need him. And so him with a good attitude, I think, can make a big difference. Well, even like I said before to the person I was watching the game with, like even if even if Cade doesn't play very much like going forward this year, you're going to need him at least for one snap or one drive where JJ's helmet falls off or, you know,

something happens equipment-wise where he can't go for a snap or two. You're going to need that guy at some point. So why would you go out there and boo him? That's just beyond me. But that's just kind of my thoughts on it. I think a lot of people had similar thoughts. It was probably a couple knuckleheads that were just drunk beyond belief. And they saw Kate out there throwing an interception.

They're like, oh, fuck this. Boo. You know, all that stuff. I think when you're so eager and excited to see Jay, I'm not making excuses for it. You're so excited to see JJ that just when he comes out there, you're disappointed and add a couple of cocktails and just not use any better judgment. You're just upset because you're excited to see JJ

and someone else walks out there. It's not a personal attack on Kate. It's just the fact that you don't bring the guy here. Everyone's hoping to see there. But you said it best. There's no – in Michigan Stadium, no player wearing maize and blue should ever get booed, period.

Yeah, I agree. I agree. And that goes – that just doesn't go for Michigan Stadium. That goes for any team that you root for. Don't boo your own player. You want to boo the other team, go do that all day long. Don't do that to your own players. That's not necessary, whether it's professional sport

or collegiate athletics either. So you kind of talked about JJ's PFF grade. I can't speak today. JJ's PFF grade, a 92. Yeah. Can you explain to people, like, what that means? What that means is that PFF, what they do, if anyone doesn't know, I'll try to be brief, but someone watches every play and gives a grade up to every player on the field on every play.

And so, you know, he was 11 for 12. Was it 11, 12, 12 for 13? Whatever it was, he had one play. Ronnie Bell dropped it. That's an a grade that's 100 grade because he put the ball where he was supposed to place it 92 is unheard of yeah i mean there's no one on the team at any position that's above 83 you know and at the most critical position uh he's at 92 that's unheard of he's the highest ranked quarterback for pfs standpoint in the

country right now uh it's early we We know the competition, all that stuff. But 92 is remarkable. I even had some, dare I say this, friends of mine, podcast co-hosts on the other one that I do of mine that are buck nuts. And they, unfortunately, they're like oh unfortunately i'm watching this michigan hawaii game i'm like don't you guys have anything better to do with your time to watch michigan hawaii and they're like your quarterback looks legit so i'll take that as a compliment from people from that um that septic tank over in columbus. I work for the few Buckeye. Anyways, go ahead.

Yeah, I work for the few Buckeye grads, and they all walk in, you know, Monday morning, and we're like, yeah, he looks pretty darn good. It's undeniable. I mean, you know, what we don't know, what nobody knows, is when it's third and eight, the fourth quarter, in the shoe, is he going to make the right play? You know what I mean? And that's what's going to come down to when it's all said and done.

That's really what it comes down to. You know what kind of shocked me a little bit, just kind of looking at the snap counts here? Ronnie Bell had 65, and Andrew L. Anthony only had 44. It feels like they're not targeting Anthony as much. I don't know if he's not creating as much separation as he was last year because, I mean, you just look at the snap counts just as a whole. He's got 44. The next right below him is Darius Clemens, and he's a true freshman.

Right. One of the more even compelling things is when you look a little bit deeper in the snap count is, you know, snap counts measure run plays and pass plays. And he has a reputation. Bellum, he's talked about. Harbaugh's talked about him being such an excellent blocker. Of the 44 plays he's been on the field for, they ran the ball 28 times. And so, you know,

you start looking at keys if you're an opposing team, like, okay, when Andrew's in there, you know, there's a better chance that they're going to run the ball. But yeah, he's been, I would say there's been a lot of really positive surprises that we can get, get into in a minute, but I would say of guys that I was really, really excited for, and that I thought we're going to have a bigger impact than I would say of guys that I was really, really excited for and that I thought were going to have a bigger impact

than they've had through the first two games. Again, it's just two games. It's been him. You know, low targets, you know, how they've used him. I've been really surprised about that. But I think his talent's there and it's early. You know, it'll get tested because he's getting a lot more opportunities because, you know, I think it'll be interesting this Saturday

to see what the snap counts look like after that game because I feel like the starters are going to play a lot more in this game and they're going to continue to play more and more as the game goes on because you can't go into Maryland in week four and your guys really haven't played a full football game yet. Right. And part of that is we've played so many freshmen, right? And now with two games, tons of freshmen play, they got to start being mindful of the red shirt, right? And, you know, the good thing is we have good young players that have played a lot of snaps that look like they're

pretty good. We don't know what injuries are going to come down the road. And so maybe a Jimmy Rolder, who you probably want a red shirt, right? But if one of the top linebackers get hurt, you're going to need him. So do you want to play him this week? Probably not. And Darius Clemens, do you want to play him this week? Amorian like, now you're getting the point. You gave them their two snaps. Typically, in a normal Michigan season that, you know, in the

out-of-conference games, you typically have two cupcakes and one really tough game. And so, they use those two cupcakes. We have two, we have three this year.

And you let those guys play. So, I agree with you. I think they're going to destroy UConn. But I do think that you're going to see the starters play into the third quarter. And think they're going to destroy UConn, but I do think that you're going to see the starters play into the third quarter, and you're probably going to play second strings. I don't think you're going to see 95 guys that played in the first two games.

95 guys, that's amazing. I think you're going to see that shortened a bit. I don't know how much, but some. Yeah, you'll probably see the first – well, obviously the starters, the second string and maybe towards the end of the game you see some third string guys but i don't think you'll be digging into walk-ons and all that stuff i really don't don't see that happening mike sanders still yeah 72 snaps on. With a grade of 69.5. This guy's never played the position before this year.

Yeah. Clink did an interview yesterday, and he said, you know, on defense, you know, in his position group, he was saying that the two biggest surprises and two of the best playmakers so far has been Samer Still and Makari Page. You know, and if you just said at this point, not this point last year, but two months ago that our two best defensive backs would be those two guys and not take anything away from D.J. Turner.

Ramon Green has played really, really well. He's made some big plays. But those two guys seem like they're by the ball. When they're in the field, they are by the ball. Yeah. The defense as a whole has been has been swarming i mean i know you michigan hasn't really played anybody just yet but you can tell when a defense is organized it seems like they're organized it seems like they're they're flying to the, and that's all you can really ask for, you know, and that's kind of where they're at. They haven't made a lot of mistakes. They haven't taken a lot of penalties. Have they taken one penalty? They've been penalized. So they took

one penalty the first game, and I don't remember many last games. And think about what you're saying there. Playing 90 guys in a game, how many guys are coming in and out of the field on a regular basis not to take uh you know any kind of penalties any type of formation penalties anything i know a lot of people will talk about you know they haven't played anybody blah blah blah but it goes back to what i've said before um what happened last year. The culture was changed. The culture was changed at Michigan. Before the culture, we all know, and you guys listening to this, we all know what the culture was. As soon as a guy could leave for the NFL, he was gone. Meanwhile, at Ohio State, in the middle

of a pandemic, they have players like Sean Wade and guys like that begging to come back to Ohio State for a chance to win a national championship. I feel like we're starting to get to that point here at Michigan where the culture is really good. That Aiden Hutchinson and the guy that we talked about, Cade McNamara, and Jim Harbaugh, not being as stubborn as he has been in the past, has changed the culture to the point where guys are listening to them they're not taking stupid penalties they're not jumping off sides they're not doing things to shoot yourselves in the foot what has michigan done under jim harbaugh besides last year they've shot themselves in the. They haven't been able to win big games. And in turn, you know,

the culture was, was kind of rotten and, and Jim Harbaugh looked themselves in the mirror, looked themselves in the mirror and by him and everybody else that he brought in all the young assistants and everything else, they changed the culture. And that goes back to the whole Cade McNamara thing, getting benched. He got benched and he didn't come in and hang his head he he's at practice happy-go-lucky and hopefully he hoping he gets his spot back so yeah that's yeah and I think teams that pass here you talk about

the level of competition and it's you can't hide from that but i think you justin and i were texting each other earlier today and it was like well yeah some of the teams that passed was still put 50 on hawaii but they'd have probably given up 30 or 42. so you know the fact they've done what they're supposed to do right and and and culturally i think you know let's face it when you go three years ago i think we had the oldest staff in the country, you know, with Don Brown and Ed Warner. And now, you know, he's added so many young guys that just seem to embrace the program. You have a bunch of guys on the coaching staff. You know, Jernard Robinson, I think we're going to hear his name a lot more.

You know, some of the following. He's starting to make a big difference, you know. Mike Hart, Bellamy. You know, so guys that know the fabric of what it means to be a Wolverine. They know what it's like to be in the big house, how important that brand is. Also, they have guys, too, that, you know, that have coached at high schools in Michigan and guys that have pipelines in the state of Michigan. That's why Michigan has done a great job throughout the state of Michigan in recruiting. And that's kind of where we're going to go next in terms of recruiting.

How's that for a segue? All right. So I guess we'll start with this. Jaden Davis liked what he saw. Let's put it that way. Let's say Jaden Davis saw a product that he could envision himself doing really well in. For sure. a product that he could envision himself doing really well for sure it's it's kind of like

you know you have a viper in the in the garage and you're waiting for the right person to come and you know drive the viper that's that's kind of what it was like or the the right person to come and watch the viper you know drive around that's kind of what it was like seeing the right person to come and watch the viper you know drive around that's kind of what it was like seeing jayden davis at the big house in front of a big crowd after the rainstorm and the lightning and everything else and there were still over 110 000 fans there and jj slinging it all over the big house and the crowd's going insane and meanwhile that meter on college football the video game of of the commit level is getting higher and higher to the point where i mean i'm not saying he's committing today or tomorrow but i think i think there's going to be

a crystal ball in pretty soon on jaden davis It certainly seems to trend that way. You know, not only did he see a great product on the field and get to see some of the places position played at a really high level and have a great deal of success. Michigan rolled out the blue carpet, as they say. He and his dad were in the pregame meetings with the quarterbacks, with the offense, talking about game planning. They were in the locker room after the game. I mean, they got to see what it was like to prep to play the position,

to play in the big house. Harbaugh spent time before and after the game with him and his family. One of the criticisms late last year, even the early part of this cycle, and some would even say some of the things I may have heard of him with Dante Moore was him rolling his sleeves up, him being Coach Arbaugh, rolling his sleeves up and getting really involved. And from the sounds of it, he's doing just that. Good. Yeah.

And that's what needs to happen, you know, it's huge to just kind of, if you're the head coach, you know, you're the guy to roll up your sleeves and, you know, get to work and close the commitment, really. I mean, you've got to be the closer. Kate McDaniel, McDonald rather, who's in town, big defensive lineman, who has offers from everybody. He's going to Ohio State this weekend.

He's got trips planned to Florida and Alabama. So he's in Georgia. He's already been to Clemson. Guy's got a bunch of offers. But the reports from him and his dad was that our boss spent a bunch of time with him, let him know, besides Alston and the rest of the staff, let him know how much of a priority he was. He said himself, he's like,

they made me feel like I was the number one guy on their board. And, you know, I think the challenge they just have to overcome with him, and I think just oftentimes the case is the distance. He's a Georgia kid. You know, he's at all the southern schools right after him. I think they showed him and his family. I saw some quotes of his mom saying how much she liked it in Ann Arbor. They tailgated with – when Caden was going out on the team,

she tailgated with the Zinters and who else? I don't remember. But they got the red carpet feeling and what it's like to be a family of a Michigan student and football player. And so I think that's going well. He's set to be making a decision on Halloween, but he's got a bunch of visits lined up. And I think Michigan's surged to near the top on that one.

It's just, is he willing to leave home when he's got such good offers from other Southern schools? Yeah, the tough part is of getting those guys to come from Georgia and Texas and Florida and florida and stuff like that it's like you know those those pipelines are built deep there especially georgia just won the national championship so to get you know a player to come from georgia um to come all the way up to michigan it's kind of a tall ask. That's what made it so interesting when Dax Hill chose Michigan over Oklahoma. You know, a Tulsa kid that chose Michigan over going to, you know,

basically right in his backyard, OU. Or Oklahoma State where his brother was at Oklahoma State at the time. That's right. That's right. So, I mean, that's crazy. Then, I mean, I don't know that this is insignificant. Dante Moore tweeting about the. Yeah. JJ and Donovan Edwards going off in the big house. Meanwhile, Oregon blown off by Georgia. That was great. You texted me that during the game, and then you texted me a little bit later, like, yeah, he deleted that. And we joked, like, yeah, somebody at Oregon said, hey, dude, what's up?

Put that down. Or his dad or somebody said, that's not a good look. But, yeah, he was clearly there, you know. Yeah, you can't ignore that. I wonder how much, you know, if they feel really strongly about Jaden Davis and they know they have a great quarterback for the next couple years, JJ, how they feel about that. But, yeah, that was intriguing to say the least.

I'll tell you one thing right now. Rodney Bellamy or Jim Harbaugh or somebody on the staff is making a call over to Dante Moore like, you sure you want to go to Oregon? You sure you want to play in the Pac-12 that may not exist in a couple years? But, yeah, that was interesting too. And now, so Brian Robinson was also at the big house, the top 150 edge cornerback.

Where do you see that recruitment going? I mean, he had a crystal ball from Steve Wolf on earlier this week. I mean, I think all signs indicate that they hit it out of the park with him and that, you know, that he could be the next guy in that class. And they're training for a couple other guys in 2024 that could come, but it seems like that's coming quickly, and that's great. You need some guys to lay that foundation and to stick. We had Raylan Wilson last year early, and then when he decommitted,

that kind of put a pause on the program. So we need to get some guys in, guys that want to stick and be advocates and leaders of recruiting the rest of the class. That's exciting. He seems to be a real social guy, a guy that will be a good recruiter. He seems to be doing a really good job with this class. He's cut from that same cloth. That's why I would like if possible that Jaden Davis

commits at some point because then at least that way he could be, you know, the JJ of, of his class where he can get, you know, all his Providence day kids to, you know, commit as well. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. I'm sure they're all pretty close. You know, they're all going to high school together and, you know, down at Providence day. And so, I mean, that would be not insignificant, that's for sure. I mean, that would be pretty big, especially for the 2024 class.

Yeah, speaking of Providence Day, his teammate, Chris Peel, is in the big house this weekend. And sounds like they could lock that down this week if everything goes well. He's a stud, you know, plays offense more than he plays defense in high school. He's being recruited as a cornerback. Really, really good, you know, plays offense more than he plays defense in high school. He's being recruited as a cornerback. Really, really good, you know, top 25 cornerback in this class. He could be the next guy to fall for this class. I mean, I think there's a few guys that are trending really strongly for,

I think, four-star top 25 interior offensive lineman, Nathan Foby out of Georgia is right there. You know, his family is friends with the ajabos loves his last trip he made a visit this summer he's coming back in october uh that that's one that's looking really good so there's you know as we talked about last week anyone that falls recruiting they keep winning momentum starts happening i've every week that goes by i get more confident about how this class is going to be. Is it going to be one of the all-time best Michigan classes? Probably not.

But is it going to finish really strong? I believe it will. And I think the sweet spot is, what, between 20 and 10, somewhere around there, especially given the fact that you know they got off to such a slow start with nil and they got off to such a slow start recruiting in general um harbaugh flirting with the nfl and all that stuff like where where do you think the sweet spot is for it to fall well i mean harbo's averaged like you know seven eight nine eleven he's you know he's he's about a class average.

I haven't looked at this lately, but it's probably like 7 or 8, you know, 9. Oh, you think it'll fall that close? No, I'm saying that's kind of the standard he set. And, you know, what are they? In their composite, they're 29th right now, which is just horrific. Yes. So, but I think they'll climb quickly. If you look at some of the teams in front of them,

you know they're not going to stay there. I think if you're a Michigan fan and they finished 14th, you'd feel like, well, it's better than where they were a couple months ago, but not coming off the Big Ten title, beating Ohio State, where you kind of expected. So I would think a reasonable range would be somewhere in the top 10. Some stuff would really need to fall their way. But I would think like 11 to 14 be somewhere in the top 10. Some stuff would really need to fall their way. But I would think like 11 to 14 is a sweet spot for me, you know,

and maybe that's pie in the sky. But if you look at kind of the pipeline of guys they have coming and also you look at some of the teams ahead of them that are going to stumble, it's already starting to happen. So, you know, 11 to 14, you know, if I had to predict. Yeah, I think, you know, we kind of talked about, you know, to 14 you know if i had to predict if you know yeah i i think you know we kind of talked about like you know predictions for the season even if they go 10 and 2 with a loss to ohio state and a loss to um somebody else i don't know somebody else whatever

team out there in the university yeah as long as it's not you know uconn or something ridiculous like that they have a chance to have let that happen you know yeah 10 and 2 is it's the expectation i think 11 and 1 is probably more likely and then you know 12 and 0 is is it if everything goes goes perfect so um but anyways, yeah, I mean, recruiting is definitely, it feels like it's starting to pick up a little bit, especially now that there's visits going on. There's actually football games for these guys to come and watch and their parents come and watch.

So I feel like as time goes on here, I think that the class is going to get better. How much better? I guess that remains to be seen we saw uh you know a bevy of upsets on saturday wisconsin lost to washington state who was unranked you had app state do what they did to us uh down at texas a&m and college station they beat texas a&m and then had, what was the other one? Marshall. Marshall beat Notre Dame.

How could I forget? That must have C.J. Carr like, do I want to go to Notre Dame? Yeah, Marcus Freeman's 0-3 as a head coach. Is he the best 0-3 coach in the history of college football? Is he the best? I don't know. He hasn't won a game yet. But I said when he got hired, I'm like, that guy will recruit best. I don't even want a game yet. But I said

when he got hired, I'm like, that guy will recruit, but we don't know if he can coach. We still don't. It's only three games, but man. I have a friend that listens. He's a Notre Dame fan, and he was listening to what is equivalent to the

Sam Webb of Notre Dame football. And he was listening to them on Sunday after the loss to Marshall. And he just seemed just as dejected as, you know, whoever at the time was covering Michigan recruiting and, you know, all that stuff as it was when Rich Rod was here. Oh, yeah. And if you're Notre Dame and you have

a great recruiting class, where is that all going to go if that all continues to go south? Say they lose six games, and that's not out of the realm of possibility of them losing six games. The way they've looked at it, they're 0-3. They lost their quarterback.

Guarding quarterback. Starting quarterback. Yeah. So, you know, in Notre Dame being in the region, there's some benefits there. There's a lot of kids in that class that, you know, were strongly considering Michigan. And I think, you know, EJ hinted and Bryce had hinted that they've already reached out to a few of those guys. You have to think they're reaching out to Preston Zinner,

Zach Zinner's brother. You got to think they're reaching out to preston zinner zach zinner's brother you think that you got to think they're reaching out to devin houston uh defensive lineman caleb houston's brother jaden osbury who was down to notre dame or michigan uh linebacker another person they could reach out to uh i mean there's they can go kill for that class so that's what i mean a lot of class ahead of them people we talked about this last week teams and and programs selling hope, you know, Oregon, now Notre Dame, LSU, Florida looks really vulnerable. You know, LSU. You see, they had a five-star recruit driving around a parking garage, just speeding his ass down, down, down inside the parking garage. I'm like, you know, see, this is why I always question like, you know,

giving $15 million for a recruiting class. So you really want to give a five-star recruit $5 million or a million dollars to just do whatever the hell they want. And then you had one that, that, that was supposed to visit Texas A&M this weekend, and he put it on his Instagram story, not anymore. Oh, really? I didn't see that.

So their freaking recruiting class is going to take a hit if they continue to lose games. Now, if you're Texas A&M, I mean, that's a proud alumni base that has really put a lot of money into this program and kind of gotten them to where they are now. And Jimbo Fisher just can't, can't win. I think one recruit said something about Jimbo Fisher's offense is from 2015. That's not good. I saw that. I saw, I don't know who it was. I was, you know, it was on ESPN on ESPN, one of the talking heads there,

and they were saying that it was a former NFL player, and he was saying that these coaches try to do so much new and creative stuff. And they said Jimbo's still playing college plays when he was at Florida State and defenses will change. How about this step? Jimbo Fisher's career with Jamison Winston, with Jamison Winston, overall record 27-1. Pretty darn good.

Without him, 91-37. Pretty marginal. Conference record with Jamison Winston, 16-0. Without, 53-28. Pretty pedestrian. Two conference titles in two years with Jamison Winston. One national title in all his other years. He's won one conference title. So talk about a guy that, you know, you got to, you look at the

history of college football and the best teams that we talk of had great quarterbacks. There's a few exceptions, of course, but great quarterbacks, Heisman caliber quarterbacks, and they rise up, they raise a whole program. You know know Jimbo might be one of the more overrated guys out there I mean the stats I just shared are pretty when I saw those I I was like is that right and they are yeah well I'll tell you one thing right now um you know we could get into other yeah I know as possible but you know the team that comes into the big house at noon on ABC this Saturday, obviously, is UConn, the Huskies, who Michigan has obviously beaten every time. There was the one game that I mentioned because I was there. Oh, wow.

They almost lose. I think it was a very close game. I think they won by a field goal or maybe it was a touchdown at the end. But UConn comes into this game. They are 0-2, right? They lost to Utah State, beat Central Connecticut, and lost to Syracuse 48-14. They're not a very good team to say the least. They're on third down. They're eight for 15,

which I guess isn't that bad. Their penalties, they have five for 37 yards each game. They have eight turnovers in three games, which is definitely not good. They are not a very good football team. What are your predictions for this game? Pain. I think it's going to get ugly. When you look at them, they're averaging 132 passing yards a game. So they rely on the running game and that defensive front of Michigan. I don't think they're going to move the ball at all. I think Michigan's 46.5-point favorites with an over-under of 60,

basically. So Vegas is basically telling us the score is going to be 53-6. Last week I predicted a very big score differential, much larger than Vegas. I tend to want to trust Vegas here because I think they have a better understanding of, you know, the second half of play when they take the starters off. So, you know, this week I probably, you know, if I hadn't really thought about a score prediction yet,

but I can come up with one. Let's go 58. And I want to say zero, but last week, you know, Hawaii scored late when all the backups were in. I'm going to say 58-3. The players must have been totally pissed on defense when Hawaii scored. You're like, we let this team score on us? I mean, come on.

But my prediction, I like that prediction, by the way. My prediction, I would say 57-14. I think UConn maybe moves the ball a little bit. I think maybe the defense kind of gives something up a little bit, and they still score over 50 points. I think they don't cover, but it's one of those situations where it's such a big spread. It's hard to take that and think that they're going to cover.

I don't see it. But, again, I thought they would cover last week. They didn't. I don't think they're going to cover this week, and probably they will. So what do we know? I think it comes down to, you know, how deep the bench they play. I mean, if you look at the last two weeks, scores came late when it was third and fourth stringers in there.

You know, it comes down to how much they stick with the you know the guys are gonna be playing once the big 10 schedule starts yeah i just want to i just want to throw one one last thing out there michigan plays nebraska later this season um nebraska obviously unless you've been living under a rock it's finally fired scott frost the golden boy of Lincoln, Nebraska. Born there. A national, quote-unquote, national champion from 97, the split national championship. Where does Nebraska go from here?

I don't know. I don't know. You know, historically, such a strong program. And, you know, I don't think they get the right schools like Nebraska and Iowa, Wisconsin, the middle, the heartland, get such good talent. They may not be the 2-4-7 guys, but you just look at the guys that put in the NFL and turned into all pros in the NFL.

How bad Scott Frost was, and I thought he was going to be a home run when they hired him. I thought he was a slam dunk, can't miss, going to be amazing. And he was as bad as bad gets. Where they go, you know, I mean, I think there's so many good coaches out there. It's who wants to take that job on, who wants to live in Nebraska. I mean, because the caliber of coach they're going to want is going to be a coach that everybody wants. And so whoever that is, whether it's Matt Campbell or whether it's Luke Fickle or, you know, whoever that the first few phone calls they make are,

is do they want to take the job at a program that has struggled for 10 years now and live in Nebraska? And I don't know where they go. I mean, I think Matt Campbell's probably the first call because he's had success in the region, you know. But I don't know. I think that it's a situation. I think it's a good situation to be in if you're Nebraska. I think a lot of people are like, oh, hit the panic button, hit the panic button. I don't think you have to do that. I think you can be kind of patient about it.

Let the interim head coach do what he's got to do for this season. Take your lumps. They still have a pretty good football team. They have some good players on that offense. The defense is kind of a mess. But especially all the guys they got from the transfer portal and stuff like that. Brent Venable said he tried really hard to get Casey Thompson,

the quarterback there, to come play at Oklahoma. And he chose nebraska so but the thing to me is like that's not a bad job especially in the world of nil in the world of conference realignment where the big ten and the sec seem to be the two big conferences 100 i mean that's a big job and with a strong fan base and a pretty big alumni base as well. A lot of money in the red. Obviously, you know, they have some pageantry and they have some tradition and stuff like that. So, I mean, that's a good job, especially for a guy like Matt Campbell where he's probably done everything he's going to do at Iowa State.

You know what I mean? Finally beat Iowa after, you know, a couple years of not beating Iowa. I think it was six years. Playing in a conference of falling apart, you know, the Big 12 was just losing. I mean, he makes a lot of sense. It makes a lot of sense for him. I know a lot of people want to throw this name out there. And, you know, I mean, if you hire this guy.

Don't say it. Don't say it. I think I know who you're going to say. Who am I going to say? No, go ahead. I know a lot of people don't think that he deserves another coaching opportunity. I agree.

But Urban Meyer would be the guy that, if you're Nebraska and you want to sell your soul to the devil and you want to just say, you know what? To hell with everything. We just want to win Big Ten titles and potentially a national championship urban meyer will get you there i hate to say that on these airwaves of

being a michigan fan and you know covering michigan but urban meyer has proven to do that in two spots now it's just a matter is the administration going to allow him to do what he wants to do with the program and so that's that's kind of where Urban Meyer's probably like, well, if I can't do what I want, I'm not leaving Big Noon again. Yeah. Yeah, you know what's funny is not that long ago, if you just said Urban Meyer to Nebraska, you'd think there's no way that guy would even consider moving to Nebraska.

The reality is, is really big-time programs, there's a lot of good coaches out there. No big-time program, unless a lot of time passes, is going to give him a shot. Nebraska's like a fringe, really big program that could give him the shot. If you're Trev Alberts, Alberts the AD there, maybe you give him all the control. Maybe you tell him, hey, blank check, go do what you got to do. Because you just, there's so much pressure to get that program back to where they've historically been. You know he could turn that around in a year and a half.

Oh, yeah. He would make them a winner. You know, another name speaking from the Urban Meyer tree is the way it ended for Dan Mullen at Florida was really bad. I don't know where his next opportunity is. I tend to think his next opportunity is an offensive coordinator in the NFL. But a program like Nebraska that likes their offense, that would be an intriguing call to make, I think. There's a bunch of names out there.

Yeah, there's a bunch of names. Bill O'Brien, I know a lot of people talked about that. That's a good one, I think, if you can get him away from Saban. I don't know. I mean, I feel like Bill O'Brien's happy being where he is. He's probably making millions of dollars from the buyout from the Texans and all that stuff. But that's for Nebraska people to figure out and not us.

So I just want to get your final thoughts before we head out here. Yeah, good – big weekend, I think, you know, besides our game. You know, Penn State gets a little measuring stick against Auburn. That's a single-point spread there. Michigan State goes against auburn that's a single point spread there michigan state goes out to washington that's a single point spread there you know i i joked on the blue by 90 chat earlier today you know if you're a apologer for you know someone that wants the big ten to look good and be strong do you have to root for michigan state or penn state this weekend and i was kind of crushed for that by it by. It's like, never. And so, but there's some intriguing games there this weekend. And

I'm, you know, like every weekend, I'm excited to see how it all plays out. Yeah, I agree. I'm definitely looking forward to the slate of college football games, you know, as, you know, as this God forbidden long week continues. But my final thoughts here are just going to be, I'm excited to see J.J. McCarthy play. Temporary expectations a little bit. I don't think Donovan Edwards is going to play. It was one of those Jim Harbaugh saying that he's working through something so I'm kind of doubtful that he's going to play in the game on Saturday but I mean other than that I don't really have any

final thoughts I just think that you know it's another layup win I think that they just need to go out there and do what they do yeah but anyways you can follow Blue by 90 on Twitter at Blue by 90. You can follow me on Twitter at Sealdog91. And you can follow Brian on Twitter at BBsBigHouse1.

All right. You guys have a great rest of your night. Go Blue. Go Blue.