Blue By Ninety - JAKE BUTT ON MICHIGAN FOOTBALL RIVALRY WEEK

Episode Date: October 18, 2023

FRIEND OF THE PROGRAM, JAKE BUTT, BELIEVES MICHIGAN SHOULD BE THE NO. 1 TEAM IN THE COUNTRY

This is the University of Michigan. Touchdown, Michigan! The beat of Michigan football! And they caught extra pass. And it goes to the wind! The three-pointer by Jordan Poole! Down the sideline! Peebles-Jones!

Touchdown, Wolverines! Alright, welcome back to Blue by 90. I'm Justin, joined by Kalen and a special guest today. We've got my good friend, Jake Butt. Jay Booty, how we doing today?? Hey, man, I'm doing good. I got to let the people know if you haven't. Look, I know you guys host those tailgates every week and I don't get to go to Ann Arbor every week. But when I was in Ann Arbor for the Rutgers game this year, I'm pulling up, I'm meeting Justin and there I'm seeing a rocking tailgate. People are chugging beers. It looked like a great time, man. I wish I could have joined you, but I'm happy to hang out with you here.

We should have at least shotgunned one before you went into the booth or something. That could have, you know, you could have had some interesting things to say. That's right. Next time. Yeah, next time, next time. I was with all my colleagues. So, yeah, maybe, yeah, we'll find the time. We'll find the time.

We'll find the time for sure. Um, but appreciate you coming on, man. Um, you know, I've been, uh, been behind the scenes with your pods, uh, in the valiant studio, uh, in the lab with Jake, but all year, uh, with the Michigan student athletes. So appreciate you coming on with us. Um, but yeah, I mean, we're, we're halfway through the Big Ten season, the college football season, which, A, sucks. Like, I feel like I, you know, I love summer, obviously, but then you get to the – you're like rushing, rushing, rushing to get to that first weekend of football,

and then like that, half the season's gone. Man, I know. I know. Dude, it's so, like, i'm looking at i'm like i cannot believe where we are in the season man you blink we're gonna blink again and we're doing we're talking about the conference championships and playoffs you know it is it just rolls hey time flies when you're having fun man that's how we know we're football fans you're right i wish it doesn't move so fast but we can't help it, man.

We love it that much. It literally goes so fast. I've already lost track of how many great games I've watched, and then just next week there's another slate of great games, which, yeah, you're right. That's just why I love being a fan. Oregon-Washington, probably game of the year, right? For sure.

Has to be. Are we going to see another one this weekend oh how's baby ohio state penn state do you think that let's go right into it do you think that that's a good matchup because i feel like that is it's a it's a little bit different this year i don't think that most people on the national landscape think that penn State or Ohio State are like true national title contenders. Is that fair to say? No, man, no. I think this is a national championship game,

to be completely honest with you. I think this is a national title game in the middle of the season. Now, look, part of the reason – Georgia isn't Georgia that we've seen. I think it's fascinating to just take a second and examine where we are and like think about where we were when nil and transfer portal came about and everyone said this is the end of college football it's over i'll never watch again and then here we are dude this is the best it's been man there's so much parody there's so much parody oh so that's why like even though ohio state's offense isn't what we've seen

though the numbers are actually pretty damn good and it seems like penn state's ready to take that leap like this is still a national title game i here it i expect a low scoring game to be completely honest with you these are two of the best defenses of the country like i can see a 17 14 game and maybe that's not attractive but 17-14 with other teams playing is different than this. We're Big Ten fans. What do you mean that's not attractive? That's the best thing ever. Yeah, exactly. We're talking pre-show about some other teams, man. Yeah, we're sickos. I think this could be a fun 17-14 game where the offenses are moving and making plays, the defense gets critical stops. I do think it'll be tough to beat Oregon-Washington,

but I have a high degree of confidence this is going to be a damn good game, man. Yeah, definitely with two young quarterbacks as well, right? I think it's going to kind of come down to, like, who makes a mistake, right? Yeah. That's what's going to make it so fun. What do we know, too? I mean, like, so I think McCord has one interception on the year. Like that's the stat. Aller doesn't have any, but here's the thing

though. So Penn State has one offensive turnover on the year. Like their turnover margin is about as good as it gets. Two of their turnovers came on special teams and one of them came last week against UMass in really bad conditions, caught a slantumbled it was Trey Wallace their receiver um whereas you know so drew at or uh Kyle McCord has the one interception but I know we watched Ohio State Notre Dame right remember that rat safety coming back side there was like three or four times where it was very everything could have been picked off it it felt like, in that game. It could have. And here's the thing I know about it because I've called like Penn State.

The last two games I've called have been Penn State, Penn State. So, Manny Diaz, as you guys know, he'll have like seven or eight guys right on the line of scrimmage. It looks like they're all coming. And sometimes they come, but sometimes they drop out. And if they all come, typically what you want to do is hit routes like falls like over the middle of the field slants and have your quarterback throw into the space. Well, what I think one play that could decide this game and here's I'm going to go out on a limb here. Let's just Manny Diaz is going to have eight on the line of scrimmage.

And one time he's going to drop a guy out and that guy's going to drop underneath the slant does Kyle McCord see it and just is he disciplined enough to just take the sack or does he not see it and still throw it then does Penn State intercept it or not because yeah Kalen like whoever makes the most mistakes that could easily be the deciding factor in this game totally I I agree I think um yeah you know this is i i do not see it as some shootout game at all like we've seen ohio state do in the past so i definitely think that it that it could be that way i also just think like you said you know you talked about the two young quarterbacks who who shits their pants and who does it honestly it kind of comes down to that neither i mean i do mccord has

played in a really big game uh adler hasn't played in a big game really yet you know so i do think that that's you know that's a big deal and let's be honest james franklin in big games has not performed very well you know i i saw some stats about him know, on the road versus top 10 teams, all that stuff. Like it's what Jim Harbaugh was pre 2020. You know, that that's that those were the Jim Harbaugh stats. Well, we're sitting here in 2023. That's still James Franklin. So no matter how good his team is, I still think, you know, in the back of my mind, I've got that going on as well.

Hey, but guess what? You're I think you're right. But like, guess what, man? Two things are true. One, that doesn't mean James Franklin is a bad coach or that Penn State's a bad team. They said that about Coach Harbaugh, and look where they are. You got to prove it to yourself that you're capable of it. So hey, I really believe Penn State has a loaded roster. I think this year can do it. So as far as the quarterback shitting their pants, hey, you don't just shit

your pants. You know what else, what know, you don't just shit your pants. You know what else? What affects shit in your pants? A good diet. And basically what I'm saying is guys around the quarterbacks are going to play a factor here. You know who can run the ball? Ohio State struggled to run the football. Really have Penn State's been able to, but it hasn't been sexy. It's more been like a quantity of over quality thing. They don't have a lot of explosives. Like I think for both these young quarterbacks, the best plan you can have is guys around them to step up.

But these defenses are loaded, man. And they present a lot of challenges to whoever offense. I mean, as far as the quarterbacks go, I think the best thing you could do, get them in third and manageable or avoid third down at all. And I got some big time numbers. If you guys are interested, I got some numbers that I'm interested in that I think could decide this game. I'm not a big stack guy, but I do have numbers that could decide this game. But I do think it's the guys around them that will play a big factor to help those dudes. Yeah, I like it. By the way, this was timely because on, uh, what

was it? Two podcasts ago, we talked a lot about actually shitting our pants. Um, so we basically said there are two types of people out there. Uh, one that you admit that you shit your pants as an adult and to the second one are liars um so yeah you know that's pretty much we've all shit our pants man you know listen we were all you know at some point in our life every man or woman and everything in between has shit their pants at some point in their life when you're a young child at a minimum you had to have done it there you go there you go well i'm sure we'll get a lot of stats from you on the uh on you know big 10 network uh this week as well um but uh i you know as we're talking about young quarterbacks and i guess not really young but

as we're talking about big 10 quarterbacks i want to shift to jj you know i've obviously we talk about him a lot here you're a michigan grad i'm sure you've watched michigan even though you're a big 10 uh network analysis you're still watching him more than others, I would assume. Is it fair to say that he not only is the best Big Ten quarterback, but possibly the best quarterback in the country right now? I'm not ready to say he's the best quarterback in the country, to be honest with you. But I am ready to have that conversation, and I think that's a step in the right direction. I mean, we couldn't,

you couldn't, if you'd said, hey, Michigan's got the best quarterback in the country outside, you know, any time over the past two decades, people would have been like, man, I never want to hear a football opinion of you ever again. And then, you know, the team would still win so let's let's say that but I do think it's time to have that conversation I think this is why I don't want to get too deep into the numbers stats in college football you know they are deceiving you know Michigan hey hey how many yards does JJ have well what's the context they're blowing everyone out and he's pulled in the third quarter and they're running the ball 25 30 times a game right so stats in a bubble they affect that but then you look at the film and you say man he has ripped some big time throws and what I really think is and it's the JJ conversation is like part

of a greater conversation where I look at this Michigan team as a team that is playing like they have something to prove. I go back to that TCU game last year, and they lost it. What did they tell us after the game? Hey, this will never happen again. We will be better because of that. Every team that loses says that. Now it's a thing. You stand out there, and you look at the confetti, and then you go on vacation for four months.

That's not Michigan. I know that's not Michigan. This team is playing like they went back to work that following Monday, man. In a big leap forward, that's shown by the way JJ's playing. And I also think it's something to be said about Sharon Moore in the year two of being a coordinator. Hey, we talk about the sophomore leap, right? Like, hey, that applies for coordinators.

Last year and the year before in 2021, Coach Harbaugh and Sharone Moore, and it was Josh Gattis in 2021, they knew they could run the ball 40 times a game and sleepwalk to 10 wins. And that could – I really believe Michigan would be undefeated if J.J. hadn't thrown a single pass this whole year. I think they could run the ball and be undefeated. J.J. hadn't thrown a single pass this whole year. I think they could run the ball and be undefeated. I mean, you're not wrong. Seriously, I really believe that to be true. They're that talented of a roster, but I think they're looking at this and saying like,

hey, if we want to win a national title, we have to work on our full spectrum, and they're letting J.J. throw it. And a product of that is Roman Wilson's having one of the best seasons of a Michigan receiver in recent history. Colson Loveland has taken that leap. Cornelius Johnson is still that wily dependable veteran. AJ Barner stepped up. Even the running backs has stepped up in the passing game. Hey, Samaj Morgan making some big time plays. So when you win games and your quarterback's 9 for 13, like, hey, great, you win games, but what did you really find out? We're letting J.J. throw it 20, 25 times a game.

We're learning a lot about him. Yeah, one thing I definitely love about college football in general is, like, it's like a battle of philosophies almost, right? Like anybody from the West Coast, if you just showed them like JJ's numbers, they'd be like, what do you mean he didn't throw the ball 40 times a game? Like he can't even be in the conversation, right? They're used to these Pac-12 quarterbacks who are just going nuts. But then – They're horrendous defenses too because you're in shootouts all day.

Exactly. You're in shootouts. So you have the opportunity to have big numbers. So it's like when you get a guy like J.J. who plays for Michigan who is just so efficient and like they don't – that's kind of the whole point, right? They don't need to do that. He does everything like right.

And that's what makes him such a great player. So it's like this battle of philosophies, which I just love to see. Now I'm going to push back on you because I don't think J.J. does everything right. Some hyperbole there. I really want – like, listen, man. What's the one singular thing that could ruin the season is J.J. getting injured? And, like, I look back to that Indiana game last week and I'm like, man, at some point you have to –

and it's hard to say because the dude's a damn competitor. So it's a good thing, right? You'd rather pull a guy back. But at some point I would challenge J.J. The next step is to say, hey, Tom Brady, man. J.J.'s not Tom Brady. Let me make this very clear. But at some point –

That's going to be the clip. That's going to be the clip that That's going to be the clip that Spartan and Ohio State fans take. Yeah, hey man, no press is bad press, but literally, man, when you have a guy that you know is that good of a quarterback, when the game's in the bag,

don't lower your shoulder to move the chains. We need you. Hey man, when it's in the third quarter, slide, throw it away, kick the field goal. Doesn't matter. That's the next step, man. That is the challenge for him because he's so special and he knows it that he wants to prove that. You don't need to prove anything anymore, JJ, man. Anyone that watches the game knows you're special. If you throw it away, it doesn't affect that at all, man. In fact, maybe it adds to you being special. That would be the challenge. Yeah, I agree. I mean, we were sitting there

in the stands and I was not far away from the field. And even I like, obviously it's different. I'm, I don't have the ball, you know, I'm not, I'm not the one that's running the ball. But it felt like everyone around us and myself included, you're sitting there like, just go down, dude. I mean, we're up 35 to 7. Like, what the fuck are you doing? You know, like, you know, if I know to do that, then, you know, you should probably know to do that. And again, much easier said than done, obviously. But you're holding your breath. Totally. You're holding your breath. Totally.

You're holding your breath. You're sitting there and you're like, like you said, our whole season, I love Jack Tuttle. He's a great kid, and I think he's really, really good. He's way better than just some Joe Schmoe backup quarterback, but he's not JJ McCarthy, and I think he would come on this podcast and tell us that. Sure. And so I think that somebody, and I think he would come on this podcast and tell us that you know like and so I

think that you know somebody and I think Jim is out here saying it to him behind closed doors like hey dude take a sack you know take the slide do it all um but here's the thing man so so I look at Penn State Ohio State and like State, to just use this as a benchmark, like the biggest knock on Penn State is their lack of explosives on offense. And before the game last week, Iowa, Iowa had more offensive explosives than Penn State. And you say, man, that's bad. But I say this to apply it back to Michigan. James Franklin's looking at Drew Allard and says, hey, man, we don't need you to be special right now, man.

Look at the way the defense is playing. Throw it away. They don't really take sacks either. Just, hey, it's all good, man. This is a team game. Quarterbacks are judged on wins. So, you know, the challenge for JJ is like, hey, man, yeah, we're talking about the best quarterback in the country.

Sure, we can have the conversation, maybe a Heisman. If you keep winning and your numbers look great, but what, but you know, Hey, do you chase the Heisman to try to break a tackle on third down when you're up 35 to seven, or do you throw it away and say, Hey man, I want to live to fight another day. Like that's, that's kind of the challenge here. Yeah. Agreed. Agreed. Now I have a question for you.

And I'm not going to ask you to like throw any of your quarterbacks under the bus or anything like that i'm sure you loved them all but was there anybody that you played with that just from a physical talent standpoint had all the things that jj does how what would you say like you know what would you say JJ has like when you see JJ what is a couple words that come to mind I mean I would say like how I compare JJ is is like in baseball you call him like a five tool guy right like he like he can run he can throw he can field he can hit you know that all those things I feel like jj's got all those things from

a physical standpoint and if we're sitting here last year i'd say all right accuracy is an issue you know maybe some decision making is is an issue he seems to have solved most those things i think yeah so you know i i would say i guess i'll, you know, there's a lot of things that we can talk about, but I'll stick to these two things when I ask you. Arm and legs. And just, like, arm strength and at the same time, he's outrunning defensive backs to get to the end zone on the corner against Minnesota.

I think Devin Gardner definitely was that guy, man. Like, in terms of playmaking ability, he was that guy. I would have liked to see DG in an offense. In our offense, we were not great, you know, at that point in time. You know, another guy, because I don't – Jake Ruddock was a different quarterback. Like he was actually very capable. He was a capable runner and a very sneaky runner.

And he did – Dude, how many – Jake would run and then he would get out of runner and he did really dude how many jake jake the jake would run and then he would get out of bounds and he'd slide jake took so many shots to the chin because he was such a sneaky runner and they'd go hit him and there'd be we'd get 15 yards he was tough as nails man i want to give jake rudolph a lot of credit um will was not a big runner also a strategic runner will wilton was good big arm could make all the throws you wanted um here's a guy though shane morris was athletic as hell man and we we built packages like the michigan state game shane could run dude he would do shane morris would go in the weight room and bench 315 pounds like as a quarterback it was not he was super athletic and he had a cannon of an arm too.

So, um, you know, that dude, that dude had a special, special type of talent. I think you saw that, um, as he transferred out of Michigan late in the career. But, uh, you know, the thing for JJ is, is you've seen the progression every single year at this point, like he is consistently progressed and that's what makes him so special. Love it. Love it. All right. Let's let's talk. I mean, it's obviously a big week. It's Michigan, Michigan state week. First question I have, obviously MSU is in not great shape right now. Right.

We know that we're not going to touch on that. I'm, you know, I'm sick of talking about it. I'm sick of hearing about it. Honestly, the one thing I'll say about it going into this week, I feel really bad for the kids there. I feel really bad for the players. They didn't do shit wrong. They were put in a terrible situation, and now they're bearing the brunt of it throughout this year. So I'll say that.

But with all that being said, does it feel like a normal rivalry week I think you I think you like commented you might have quote tweeted somebody that said it was like a downplayed uh you know Michigan Michigan State rivalry week and you said something different yeah no I mean look there's like let's separate us and let's separate the guys like us like sure like there's like, let's separate us and let's separate the guys. Like us, like sure, like there's no like trash talk on social media. There's no like, hey, what if this happens? Like I think a lot of people in the media are just like, hey, this is assumed Michigan wins, Michigan wins easy, all good. So like let's separate that from the fact of the matter

and let's talk about the truth of this matter. Michigan State, sure. Michigan, in my opinion, dude, is the number one team in the country. They're that good. I'm not saying that about Michigan State, man. I'm not saying anything about it. I'm not saying that, right? But I will say this.

Hey, Michigan State, I like Rutgers as a football team. I think they're a good football team. You should have won that game, Michigan State. You lost it. You lost it. Maryland, I think Maryland's a good team. Man, I look at that tape. I think you lost that one too. So Michigan, it's not like they're just really, really bad and just have no chance. They're losing games, which means it's in their control. And with that being said,

though I do think Michigan has them completely outmatched, this is a game where, like, here's something that's true, man. Michigan State, for every reason you just said, man, you can't tell me these dudes wouldn't, their whole season wouldn't be made to win this game, man. This whole, they could lose every game the rest of the season if they beat Michigan this week all good all good so they're gonna pull out all the stops that's that's the truth yeah I I couldn't agree with you more I um you know sometimes me as a as a nervous Michigan fan always I'm like always that guy that's never confident

i was sitting there in 2021 sitting in michigan stadium with jack and there's like 10 seconds left we're up by like three touchdowns i'm like don't say anything you know just something might happen you never trust me i know it's zero um i'm that guy and i I'm sitting here. I'm like, honestly, the first half last week, Gaten Hauser's balling out against Rutgers, who I agree with you is a really solid football team. I'm like, no, we cannot have them have any momentum going into this game. Like this is, you know, I, they're going to take, you know, they've got D'Antonio on the sidelines.

They're going to pull out every trick play in the book. You know, I do think that there's, it's a lose-lose situation for Michigan. You are expected to win by 100 points, right? And if you don't at all, then Michigan State fans are going to be like, yeah, well, obviously you beat us. You know, we lost our head coach. The whole program is in shambles. And so I think it's a lose-lose situation,

and sometimes that's tough for the Michigan team in this situation to go and play in that environment. I will say you're exactly spot on. So the good thing is, and the great thing is, is that you get a chance to see Michigan's maturity. And like, hey, back in this offseason, all of a sudden, I mean, big time college game day analysts and analysts are picking Michigan to win the national title.

Like, man, what the hell? Two years ago, you said there was a 0.2% chance to win the national title. Like, man, what the hell? Two years ago, you said there was a 0.2% chance to win the Big Ten title. That's how quick it changes, right? That's a matter of maturity. I mean, look, Texas A&M, how often are they ranked in the top 10 in what happens, right? That's leadership. That's maturity. Michigan has handled that with complete grace. And in fact, somehow they've tried to exceed expectations. And there's something to be said about that. This game is just another example of that, man. They are picked heavy as favorites.

The spread's wide. It's a rivalry game. No one's given Michigan State any credit. And I listen to these guys talk. I listen to Coach Harbaugh talk and give him credit. Michael Barrett and Mikey Sane were still awesome quotes this week and they're pressers. Team's ready.

Team's ready. No one's sitting here. You can see this is sure you won't look over Michigan State, but these guys, it just feels like they are on a mission towards a massive, massive goal. And like this is just the next step in line, man. So that's exciting if you're a Michigan fan. Yeah, I'm still curious, like like from a player perspective, more so like how do you really like focus in,

even though it is, you know, a rivalry game when everybody's saying, you's saying you're going to blow them away, you're the favorite to win and all that stuff, what is the approach from a player perspective to show up to that game and be ready and focused to play? I mean, I think it's in a sense, I think it might be easier in this game because this is a game as – dude, as an alum, I'm watching this game. I want to see who shows up.

I want to see who plays big. Like, we're all – you know, there's a certain percentage of Michigan fans. Like, everyone – if you love Michigan, you watch every game. But you watch this one a little closer. Like, hey, who makes a big play in this game man you know you can you can become a legend in this game this one's watched under a microscope so I think the players know that and like respect is earned you know hey I don't want to like be disrespectful towards Indiana but like man if Michigan dominates Indiana like no one really bats an eye, like no one talks about Indiana, you know, Michigan dominates Minnesota. No one really

talks about Minnesota. Right. But if Michigan dominates Michigan state, we're talking like people are talking about that game. So I think players know that like this game is going to be talked about anyways, because it's that rivalry. And because of the history of these two teams, um, it's kind of in a category of its own, uh, you know, above the rest of the game. So as a player, you know, that you have to know that got to go handle business. Yeah. I was, uh, I was talking to John Jansen and Dave Abloff yesterday. And it's like, it's just funny, even though it's not this not this you know top 10 game that it was two years ago um in shembeckler hall this week a hundred more cameras show up for for press conference availability you know and so it's it's the local news it is and that's that's what's cool and you

know it goes back to i know you're from Columbus so you're not like a Michigan native I'm from Grand Rapids I felt like I grew up in the middle of this rivalry I have a ton of Sparty friends in this game like I joke with some of my Michigan buddies like this game sometimes for me means more than Ohio State because I grew up in the middle of it same thing for you Jake where the Ohio State one means that you up in the middle of it. Same thing for you, Jake, where the Ohio State one means you were in the middle of that rivalry growing up in Columbus, Ohio. And, like, this game truly does mean bragging rights for the full year. This is where you can walk into Meijer with a Michigan shirt on if you win this

game, feel freaking damn good about wearing that shirt proudly you know what i mean dude listen that that like what's at risk like hey man i go to the casino and i put it on red or i put it on black like what's at risk here man like man if you lose this game you gotta hear it for a year it's just the and there's nothing you can say there's no this isn't about logic like i can't like logically say well michigan's dominated the series or's nothing you can say there's no this isn't about logic like i can't like logically say well michigan's dominated the series or michigan's still like you can't say that doesn't matter you sound like a goof you either win or you lose it's black and white in that sense and if you win you get the honor of having the bragging rights if you lose might as well just

sit down and take it man and figure out a way to win next year. That's the truth about this rivalry. The funny thing is, yeah, I am an Ohio guy. I would say there's still hatred. Listen, don't get me wrong. I was there in 2013, Ohio State, Michigan. There was a fight on the field. Dudes got kicked out. You got to be ready to fight.

But there's an overwhelming aura of respect. Hatred is the word first, second, fifth for michigan state man and that's and i mean that honestly that's a good thing like people people might say well that's not good like what do you mean you hate them that's dangerous right like no dude that's a good thing football is a beautiful sport you hate them and they hate you let's figure out who hates who more let's figure out who who deserves to win that's the beautiful thing about this rivalry man it's a year over year thing you can't you can't do it forever man you got to prove it each year who cares about your record where you're at go prove it on saturday

i love that so much was there incredible i'm ready i got goosebumps right now i'm fucking ready for saturday me too are you was there ever you know i've heard stories of like shit that goes on at the bottom of the pile and stuff like that do you have a memory from this rivalry where you're like all right this like you just said this game's a lot different than michigan than going out to play indiana or going out to play maryland or something you know this one it means a little bit more there's a lot different than going out to play Indiana or going out to play Maryland or something. This one, it means a little bit more. There's a little more going on post-play or pre-game or all that stuff. Yeah, I just want to preface this by saying I don't give a –

I just don't give a shit about – if it is what it is, then it is what it is, man. But I never had a conversation like this outside of Michigan State. We knew, hey, man, when a running back gets tackled, follow the back to the pile and get the jerseys off them and pick them up because you don't know. I'm not going to accuse anybody or name names. You don't know what goes on the pile, all right?

Yeah. That conversation never happened any other week so again i'm not like it is what it is and like i i like playing in those games man i want to like listen man i want to prove to my brothers i i care about them and i want them to prove to me i care about them and i want to know man in 2016 we had a hand foot mouth outbreak going into that game, my senior year. What are the chances? I mean, dude, I played what, 48 games, 50 games in my career. One game, there's a hand foot mouth outbreak and it's Michigan State. Like, of course that happens, right? Things happen in this game. So, you know, that's the thing. And look, man, they might be saying the same thing about us.

You know, there's not a single dude I played with that I would ever classify as dirty or anything like that. Never close to it. But, like, this is a game, you know, where, like, there's emotion. Got to factor that into it. It can be exhausting in a sense, man. Like, in a sense, the next game is something to watch out for because it's in a sense what we'll the next game is is something to watch out for because it's emotionally exhausting for all those reasons i like it i mean it's it is it absolutely is that even as a fan it feels exhausting sometimes when you gotta argue

it's stupid i'm like i'm just fucking moving my thumbs on twitter but it's exhausting sometimes you know and um it but it it does it does mean more it absolutely does mean more and you know the one the two things that come to my mind um one was a quote from mikey sander still today i believe about remembering a couple things. Do you remember what happened last year with the whole tunnel thing, which, you know, probably blown way out of proportion? I don't, you know, I don't know. It was, there's a lot to that, but do you remember it? Do you have it in the back of your mind as a player? And then also 2021, that game that game you know obviously Michigan had the last laugh you know by the end of the year but that was a heartbreaker in that moment and you felt like you were the

better team and that was the last time that they were in this stadium so you know as you're going into this game you're trying to remember all right I, I've got these assignments. I've got, you know, I'm, I, you know, number 81 is the guy that I'm focused on today. You have so many things going through your brain, but do you keep those couple things in the back of your mind while you're going through pregame and during this game too? Yeah, man, both are true, man. I think you definitely have to, anyone that tells you that they forget about that is lying man you of course you remember that but i do think for michigan you know there's two ways to approach this like are you sitting here and you say hey we got something to prove this week like hey we got to go right the wrongs of last year that's that's one philosophy or the other philosophy is to say like hey man you know

what last year's last year and in, our goals this year don't have anything to do with winning or proving ourselves right on any given Saturday. Like our goals this year have a lot to do with January. You know, so I think what Michigan has to do, like, man, this is not the time to get in a fight. This is not the time to prove yourself wrong. This is not the time to do anything, you know, silly. I time to prove yourself wrong. This is not in time to do anything silly. I think what you do is you go out there and you handle business that you're capable of. You play your game and you get in there and you get out and you stay healthy

and you move on to the next one. I think that's just as strong of a statement as it is to go out there and, you know, whatever, whatever some, like maybe some of the more extremist fans might hope for, you know, I just don't think that's what Michigan wants to do um I I you know it seems like Michigan State is not trying to play that game this year either I think they just want to go toe-to-toe a good classic rivalry game and let's see the chips where they let's let's watch the chips where they fall uh come Saturday night yeah I agree I I do think, you know, I think one word that you touched on earlier for Michigan,

we're going to know how mature they are come Saturday. And I think, you know, Michigan State, we've talked about it. They don't have a whole lot to lose on Saturday, right? So I don't know that maturity will be their strong suit. You know, it could be. I'd be really impressed if it was their strong suit, and that would be awesome to see. But I think that Michigan has a chance to play, you know,

we're the bigger man of this situation and say, all right, we're not going to into the the shit that you guys are trying to bring our way yeah i'm struggling with my light up my my ring light is uh is struggling over here hey no it's all good man hey listen i i do think so. I don't think that if a Michigan State guy is on the ground, that a Michigan player has to reach his hand and pick him back up. I don't think that necessarily has to be the case this year, but like this week. But I also don't think that it has to be egregious to the other side.

I think what you can show as Michigan is you can just show what you can do is focus collectively on one another. You know, let's just, you know, if Michigan can handle their business, which I think they expect to do and they plan to do. I know Michigan State feels the same, but I think if you're Michigan, what you would want to do is just show complete alignment and care for one another within your own program. And not, you know, if you're Michigan, the best thing you could do is just say like, hey, like I don't, hey, oh, it's Michigan State this week. Oh, well, it was Indiana last week. And it was Michigan State the previous week. It's just like alignment, almost like, hey, man, it's always about us. And teams say that about every week. But I think that's what Michigan

should do this week. What do you think Michigan needs to do in this game to convince other people around the country that they should be number one instead of Georgia? I, to be honest, I don't think there's anything they can, if you don't think they're number one at this point, like, I don't, I don't know if there's anything you could do. Seems like the only thing you could do is can is give them further ammo uh to to argue against it but look michigan at this point rankings don't really matter at this point rankings don't really matter as as a michigan team i think there's just a few areas it's like

man let's uh let's get donovan edwards going man Let's get him a little bit healthier. Let's get JJ to slide, throw the ball away. Let's improve upon that. Hey, let's punt return. Small piece, big piece. Let's find a spark in that part of our game. These are little areas that you could say Michigan has the luxury to be talking about these areas. I think for them it it's, it's,

let's figure those out because at the end of the day, we know if we do those things, we'll win a lot of games. And if we win a lot of games, we'll be ranked where we want to be at the end of the season. Yeah. I, I think that it's interesting when you talk about that, Caitlin, because like normally, you know, it's the classic saying like, Oh, this week you throw the record books out, right? And you do all that.

So it'll be interesting to see how the national landscape reacts to this game. Because it feels like right now, if Michigan and Georgia, it's a race. Who can beat the team against them by more? And who has the chance to be number one? That's how it is. And Michigan continues to beat the shit out of teams, and still people are like, ah, they haven't played anyone. Okay, well, they play dogshit teams, but they beat the shit out of them.

So what do you want them to do? And here's Georgia barely escaping Vanderbilt. So it's like – And Auburn. And Auburn. You're like, what? The thing is, is like, man, regardless of the opponent, like if you truly watched film,

you would understand that some things translate. You know, like, hey, a good defense is gap sound and their assignment sound. And like that, it doesn't matter who you play, right? And like Michigan, you could say what you want about the offenses they faced. Gap sound and assignment sound. They're not out of position.

Why would that change versus anyone, you know? Jake, it's because you have AP writers who don't watch the games doing it. I know. They're probably your friends. They're probably, you know, you got to be political here. I don't as much. Hey, no, no, no. Dude, when I was in the NFL and even at at college um you know rod moore we knew this about

rod moore like he watched more film than anyone well how do we know that because they track the amount of film you watch we should maybe do if you want to vote i need to know how much film you watch of each team if you don't watch enough you don't get a vote we'll give it to the next person maybe that's just my solution i'm solution based i like that a lot i think there's one guy chris murphy out there who had michigan ranked like eight and there are so many people yeah there are so many people now who the they they do this they have michigan ranked you know fourth fifth eighth whatever it is because they haven't played anybody anybody they still have georgia first though and i'm sitting here like you can't have both you could if you want to have the argument

that michigan hasn't played anybody okay but you can't have both exactly exactly i don't know man i you know we're we're sitting here it'll all play itself out at the end of the year the same it is fun to talk about but you know i what i loved about what happened last year and i'm hoping obviously the same thing happens again is everyone talks shit about michigan's schedule all year long and what do we do go win 12 games in a row and then nobody can say a damn word exactly spot on i love it. I love it. All right. Well, hey, man. So give us a quick little preview of your game, Nebraska and Northwestern, correct? I think everyone in the Big Ten is really tuning into that one this week.

Sorry to say. Tune in. Hey. Tune in for Jake Clark. Hey, listen, man. You guys are football junkies. Like, don't lie to me, man. You got Ohio State, Penn State at noon. That's over. You got to wait until, like, man, you guys are football junkies. Like, don't lie to me, man. You got Ohio State, Penn State at noon.

That's over. You got to wait till like what? Late seven o'clock or what time is it? Seven thirty. Seven thirty. But it's six thirty. So it's seven thirty Eastern, man. Hey, you got a nice little gap in between those games.

I got Nebraska Northwestern. What if I told you those teams are both three and three? That's a shock. Both coming off a bye. As you said, the West is wide open, man. Hey, that's a sneaky good game. I can't figure it out, man. I'm looking at the tape.

I have no idea which way this game will go. So, hey. I'm going to be – we're going to have the TV on at the tailgate in East Lansing, and I'm going to be like, no, we've got to watch Nebraska Northwest. I'm kind of sold. Everyone's like, what the fuck is going on? Hey, they're going to thank you. Like, man, what a game, man.

This is crazy. Look at this. We're going to have some live prop bets going in this game. Hey, man, bet them if you have to. Yeah, put the props in there. Yeah, exactly. I'm going to be like, no, my friends called the game. I swear, we got to watch it.

We got to watch it. Right. We'll get you some viewers in East Lansing this week. So there you go. I can't wait, man. I can't wait to tune in. All right. Appreciate you, man. Tell the people where they can follow you, what you've got going on.

I know you've got like 10 shows going on right now. I was going to say I should have the Twitter handles like you guys got. But just Jake Buttman. You can follow me on Big Ten Network, Stadium Radio, all that good stuff. Connect with me on social media, man. I connect with the people. So ask me questions. Give me feedback.

Talk some mess to me, and I'll respond most likely. So you can hit me. You've got the lab as well, right? So go listen there. So, yeah, you guys are – this is a Michigan podcast. Let us know who you want to see as players. Tag us. Tag the players.

We'll get you going. It's really cool. It's a cool time that we're in, man, because you get to – I mean, what access did you have when it comes to talking to players, man? We have direct access to the players. It's pretty cool. Absolutely. You're doing a couple other things too.

I'm trying to plug it all. You got Stadium going, right? Yeah, it's a show where it's me and an Ohio State Buckeye, Joshua Perry, who's a phenomenal analyst, man. And we talk all things Big Ten Daily Show. And we bring the fans on. Like, you could come on live TV. If you prove yourself as a fan, we'll bring you on live TV.

I mean, this is a big show. It's on YouTube, all streaming platforms on live TV. If you prove yourself as a fan, we'll bring you on live TV. I mean, this is a big show. It's on YouTube, all streaming platforms, YouTube TV. So you can come on. It's that. It's Big Ten Network. Can't bring you on Big Ten Network, though, but maybe one day. And then I do some radio with SiriusXM. So it's fun, man.

It's a busy season. It's good stuff. There you go. There you go. All right. Check him out. And then for us, we'll be in East Lansing this weekend. I will be at least we'll have North Peak brewing there as well. They've got the Hale IPA. They also have the Sparta IPA. So we're battling for it this weekend. We've actually got Rivals forause.com going on. You can donate

to benefit the Cancer Research Center at Michigan. And so go check that out, rivalsforacause.com and go grab your hail. Go for it. Will we also have Blue by 90 there? We will have Blue by 90 be there as well. So I will be drinking it there. And yeah, we'll have the whole thing rocking. So excited. What's your donation goal? I think it was $20,000. $20,000.

Where's the show airing? The show, Rivals for a Cause? No, this show that we're watching right now this show is on it's on youtube it's on spotify apple music all that if we can get a youtube comment to predict the correct score i'll donate 500 bucks to the cause wow wow all right there we go got it man of the people there we go man of the people for sure all right there you go all right for us you can follow us at blue by 90 on twitter instagram facebook at blue by 90 podcast on youtube and blue by 90.com we appreciate you go blue go blue give paul bring paul home