Blue By Ninety - Stadium & Main | Former Michigan Center and Sideline Analyst Jack Miller

Episode Date: October 7, 2025

Chris Wormley and Jordan Strack are joined by former Michigan Center and current sideline analyst Jack Miller.

All right, welcome in to Stadium in Maine with Big Worm and Strack. I am Jordan Strack. This is episode six. That is Chris Wormley on the other side of the screen. Former Michigan Wolverine Captain Worm. Wolverines coming off a nice win against the Wisconsin Badgers, 24 to 10 on Saturday in Ann Arbor. They improved a 4 and 1. They're 2 in the Big 10.

First off, you were at the game. You were in the big house and you got to take your daughter for her first trip to a Michigan game. What did she think? She thought it was awesome. She was, I mean, it was hot that it had. to a 90 degrees in the stadium with, you know, 100,000 people. But she was excited. She loved it until maybe about the second quarter.

She's like, can we go home? So a lot of trips to the concession stands, a lot of water, a lot of fanning of her, you know, of her to try and cool her down. But overall experience was great. We got to tailgate a little bit before. And it was overall a pretty cool day to be able to show her the big house with all the fans and kind of give a glimpse of what her dad used to do. Does she, like, grasp it at all?

I mean, she's still young. Like, does she grasp that you used to, like, play? Yeah, I mean, she used to go to games, you know, in Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Sure. Even then, she was, like, two, three years old, like, probably doesn't really remember, but the jerseys are up around, you know, the basement and pictures and stuff like that. So she kind of grasped it a little bit, but at the same time,

she's, you know, she's wanting to hang out with her friends and then, you know, not pay too much attention to football, but it was a great day overall. Yeah, that's awesome. Awesome. What kind of concessions are, did you, like, hook her up or why? Or do you, like, have to, like, not. No, no. When it's, when she's with Dad for the, for the day, it was Daddy Daughter Date. She started off with a donut at the tailgate and moved on to some to some grape juice and orange juice. And then at the stadium, it was soft pretzel and snow cone with blue and yellow food coloring, basically. And we moved on the pizza. And we moved on

to maybe popcorn or something, I don't know, but it was, it was a full day of just do as you please, baby girl, because she, uh, she needed to, and it's just to keep her happy, too, you know, keep her happy, keep her, keep her, you know, contained and not, you know, asking to leave every two seconds, but it was great, uh, buddy, I get it. I get it. Mine's 14 now and, like, I can remember, you know, when they're little and you're taking them to those things. And it's like, you're trying so hard just to keep them, like, entertain for five more minutes like all right working on increments here just you know did you get to enjoy the game at all like did you actually watch yeah was she asked and she was keeping track out the score and i got to watch

you know i'm still trying to analyze it you know trying to with everything else going on but um yeah it was a good game nothing too crazy went on you know a win 14 point win uh but everything that felt just felt a little slow and methodical and uh you know anytime you can win it's great especially in the Big Ten, but not a whole lot of pizzazz this game. I was going to say it was a, it was a boring win. Like, that's like the best way that I can put it. Like, it was just a boring win. And to be perfectly honest with you, like, okay, like, just get the win and move on.

You know, you look at the numbers and I didn't realize it until I went back and looked at it afterwards. They outgained Wisconsin 445 to 252. And like when you dive into those numbers even more, I went back and looked. Wisconsin on their first ride had 75 yards. The 10 drives after that, 177 total. Wisconsin had 13 first downs in the game.

10 of the 13 came on the first and last drive. After the, after that first initial drive, the Michigan defense was unbelievable. I thought they were dominant. Yeah, I think they had their best game of the year in terms of just overall defensive play. Obviously, Rod Moore, I thought, you know, him coming back for the first time in the big house, since his injury was great, was fantastic. I know he's been working his ass off to get back into playing shape and just, I know how it is, have a knee injury. So hats off to him. I thought he was the player of the game on both sides of the ball. But yeah, when you look at the numbers and you dive into it a little more, it's like, okay, Michigan's defense dominated. And maybe that's why it was, you know, more of a slow, methodical, almost boring game because Michigan's defense dominated. so much and Wisconsin's more known for kind of, you know, running the ball and being that type of slow methodical team. But overall, I thought Michigan's defense played fantastic. The first,

drive, they worked through some kinks here and there to get, to get right over the last, you know, three and a half quarters after that first drive. But I thought the defense played, they played fantastic and it was their best outing, I think, of the year. Maybe not statistic wise, like the seven sacks a couple weeks ago, but I thought they played pretty sound. All right, let's go to some of the other takeaways from the game. Justice Haynes, once again, 19 carries, 117 yards, two touchdowns. Sharon, his Monday presser said he's an animal. He should be in contention for the Heisman.

I think you firmly have to start talking about it. There were some things. Obviously, you know, he had the big 43-yard run right off the bat early on. But, you know, he's at home run hitter, but he also, like, between the tackles, when you need him to go get you a yard, he does. does. I just, I love the way the kid plays. And he's become, not just, you know, in Michigan circles, but getting that national recognition, I think that he deserves. Yeah, I think when you look at it, I have the same physical therapist in the city, and he says that he's constantly

working on his body, constantly trying to get better, constantly trying to find that little edge off the field so he can perform the best on field. I think that, especially he's a younger guy, And I remember time at Michigan in terms of recovery and all that. And I wasn't doing nearly as half of what he's doing. So he already has kind of that pro mindset in terms of how can I get better, not just on the field, but off the field as well. I think that's going to carry him not just for this season, but next year if he comes back and then also in the NFL.

But I was looking at some numbers. I was thinking, okay, when Corum had that almost, you know, Heisman finalists, I think he played seventh in 2022, to what his season looked like and through the first five games. And I think he had, I'm trying to see where it was that. He had, he had 611 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in the first five games. Okay, let's, let's compare that to, let's compare that to what Justice Hayes is doing this game or this year. And through the first five games, 654 yards rushing and then eight rushing touchdown.

So he's, you know, pretty on par with what Coram was doing three seasons ago. and I think people need to start talking about justice a little more when it comes to, you know, Heisman talk. I think he's going to need, you know, maybe a 200-yard rushing here in the next couple weeks. But as he continues to continue to be the bell cow for this team, continues to be the offensive MVP and really maybe the defensive MVP at this team or, you know, team total MVP,

I think that conversation needs to continue to start, continue to push on not just in, like you said, the Michigan circles, but nationwide. Yeah, for sure. We are going to get to Jack Miller in just a little bit. But first, I want to keep going on this game against Wisconsin. Bryce Underwood had his best day statistically throwing the football, and it should have been better.

And here's what I'm talking about. Bryce goes 19 to 28, 270, completed 68% of his passes, but there were three more drops in the game. And it's not just, it's not just drops. I mean, it's like big moments where you're like, man, that's frustrating. You know, there's the one play that frustrated me the most. Bryce runs all over the place, freeze himself up and makes a superhuman play. And then at the end of that, that's where you're getting the drop in the middle of the field.

I think it was, I think it was Kendrick Bell. It's, it's those drops and those moments that are so frustrating. And from a guy like Samaj Morgan, if you're going to continue to play Samaj Morgan, the thing he has to, he has to catch the football, move the chains. Those are moments in the game that can be game changing. And against Ohio State, that's going to matter.

Against Wisconsin, you get away with it. Against Ohio State, you better figure that out. I do want to mention, Donovan McCully, Andrew Marsh, have separated themselves. They are clearly the one and two receiver. Donovan McCulley was awesome. Awesome. Andrew Marsh, awesome the other day. It's the other guys that are frustrating in my mind right now. Yeah, I think when you look, especially when you look at a guy like Samaj,

who's been in the program for a while, and I think a lot of people had a lot of hopes, and they wanted him to, they wanted to see him continue to ascend this year, and he just hasn't. And that's frustrating, not only as a former player who, you know, has gone through times where I've been in a slump, but also as a fan, it's like, okay, let's make these plays. is let's help out this young freshman quarterback. Obviously, he has all the talent. Bryce does, but anytime that a receiver or a tight-in or justice can be kind of that, you know,

safety valve for Bryce, it's a huge, huge plus. And we just haven't seen that on a consistent basis. Obviously, Marsha McCulley are, like you said, the one and two, but you really need three, maybe even four receivers to really be able to step up in big moments. obviously Klein being, you know, maybe still banged up from that ankle week one, I think is hurt as well. But, yeah, 14 drops over the last or the first five games is unacceptable. And I know that's a point of emphasis every single week until they fix that.

Marlon Klein, just for transparency, he did say that he was at 100%. You're going to get Hogan Hansen back, which I think is going to be great. A G.O.L. Hati sounds like he's going to be back this week as they head out to L.A., huge. I love this stat from this week. Give credit to Bongo Blue on Twitter here. Bryce went six of eight for 148 yards on intermediate and deep passes. That was an average of 18.2 yards on those throws. The two incompletions, those were drops.

I think that's the biggest difference you're seeing with this team as opposed to what we saw a year ago. Michigan is able to beat you down the field a little bit and it's only getting better. And you're seeing Bryce Underwood every single week do something to take another step. And it gives you that like, holy cow, this kid's going to be really good. I thought the throw to McCulley on the sideline where he goes up, makes the great catch. Was a big, a good example of that.

I just think that we're seeing little things every single week from Bryce where he has become, he's becoming a superstar before our. eyes. Absolutely. And you're not expecting Bryce to go from freshmen to all pro, you know, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Mahomes type of, type of talent in, you know, the first month and a half of his of his college football career. But you are looking for him to make those, make, you know, certain small jumps, make the, make those throws, make, you know, some of those mistakes and go through his reads correctly. And we're seeing that. We're seeing him make the plays. We're seeing him being able to supplement in the pocket, move around, give his receivers

there's extra time to get open. And that's exciting. That's exciting to see because we know that as he continues to evolve with the playbook, evolve with his skills, evolve with getting more comfortable with the O-line and his receivers, it's only going to continue to get better. Now we just need the rest of this, especially the receiving court, to step up and, you know, follow along with his trajectory. The last thing I want to talk about before we get Jack on,

they're taking the trip out to L.A. this week to take on USC. We have seen teams going to the West Coast and struggling. Penn State is the prime example. Last year, going to Washington. It is hard for these teams in the Midwest, East Coast to go out west. It just is. Sharon today said that they're leaving Thursday after classes. Friday they're going to practice in the Chargers facility,

which I thought is awesome. What are your thoughts on leaving two days before the game and how much of a help will that be? You've been in the NFL, you've had to make these trips. What are the challenges? I think it's huge for them getting an extra day out there. When I was in Baltimore, we would always leave an extra day. We'd leave early.

We'd leave that Friday and get there. Kind of get your body acclimated, the jet lag, all that stuff that you talk about with those long-haul flights. And we've had great success. We won in Seattle. We won in L.A. a couple times. And then when I got to Pittsburgh, we left the day before, no matter where we were playing.

And we've, we struggled. We struggled a lot when we played in L.A. And I'm trying to think where else we played, but we struggled when we went to the West Coast. And I think that had a lot to do with it. Obviously, you want to be prepared no matter what the situation is. But when you get your, get an extra day, you get your time to recharge, get the body right.

Going to that facility is going to be phenomenal. Obviously, being able to see Jim out there is going to be able to use that facility hopefully a little bit with the tubs. Some of that treatment area, I think, is going to be huge for them. So I'm looking forward to those guys being fresh and ready to go for that nighttime game out in L.A. I think that's such an interesting perspective that you're able to give that I don't think, you know, like, I don't think everybody can appreciate fully. But you giving that perspective, like, I mean, the numbers play it out.

Like, it's just hard. And the one thing that frustrates me is like, you know, Lincoln Riley or James Franklin complaining about travel. when everybody wanted to get had to get the cash grab to get these teams into the big 10 I just don't want to hear the excuse I just don't want to hear the excuses I don't like it's like you all you all did this and that's what you signed up for so like I just I don't I can't feel the sympathy there knowing that it was all done for a paycheck uh so to me it's like suck it up and figure it out. As a fan, yeah, as a fan, it's cool because usually, especially those Pac-12 teams that came over, we would only really see those guys like in the

Rose Bowl, you know, at the end of the year going out to L.A. and those type of environment. So as a fan now, it's cool to be able to see some of those bigger, well-known programs playing, you know, middle of the season because they're in the same conference now. So I love it. Obviously, we all know that it was a money grab. And that's kind of how it works now and not just professional athletics, but college athletics. So people are going to have to get used to it. All right. Let's bring in our guest for the night.

Yeah. Bring it him in. Jack Miller, another Toledo guy, three Toledo guy. I call you a Toledo guy. You're originally a Cleveland guy. Do you consider yourself a Toledo guy now? I do. I do.

I've always said that. I was born in Toledo and finished high school in Toledo and went back there after school. So, yes, although I grew up in Cleveland, I would, say I'm from Toledo. Absolutely. You're a Toledo guy. We're calling you. That's what I, you know, like, now we've got them all on the screen. Jack, have obviously known you a long time since you were playing days at St. John's. So it's fun to have you on. Now the sideline reporter for Michigan radio. You've been doing this for a little bit now. What is it like for you to be part of the broadcast team? I know you also did it at the University of Slito as well.

What's it like for you to be part of everything that way now? It's been a lot of fun. You know, it's a great way to stay close to football. You know, I dipped my toe in the coaching thing for a year at the University of Salito and quickly realized I like having a life a little bit more than I like dedicating it to football. So this was a way to kind of find a happy medium and stay around it. Yeah, so it's a great way to stay around the game.

Great way to stay close to Michigan. And yeah, so it's been great. I mean, we've had more success. This is my fourth season with Michigan doing it, and we've had a lot more success in this four-year run than we did when I was playing. So I'm on the good side of that, which has been fun as well. So, yeah, I mean, it's been great. It's been a great run, obviously, a couple big 10 titles in the national championship,

and, you know, kind of figuring it out, getting our feedback under us again for hopefully, you know, a bright future ahead in the next few years as well. And other, I know that, you know, the radio gig or whatever, What are you doing, give people an idea what you're doing for your actual job now? Yeah, so work for a company called Highland Insurance Brokage is actually headquartered in Toledo. And I'm the president of Michigan, so we're on our Michigan office up here. So I came back up this way about, geez, almost five years ago now. And I was still doing the color commentary for Toledo at the time and always kind of had in the back of my head, geez, if I could start doing some of the stuff from Michigan, that'd be great.

and then Brandstader and Deerdorf retired, and Jansen moved up into the booth, and so had an opportunity to get on the field, kind of be a utility guy for the broadcast and help out with pre-game, half-time, post-game, and some video work for the athletic department during home games, all that kind of stuff.

So it's been fun. Time certainly flies. I mean, like I said, fourth year with Michigan, and I did four years for Toledo before that. So I'm becoming a vet in this whole thing, which is kind of weird to think about, you know? To be fair, you were built for it. Like, that's, you were built for it.

Like, that's, you were built. built to you're built to talk jack that's what you were built for yeah a lot of people call that a bullshiter but thanks jordan they usually equate that with you i thought what that's exactly that is exactly right my friend that is exactly right i always tell people uh i've got a bachelor of science in uh broadcast journalism i've got a bullshit degree uh it's a bs degree literally so yes thank you for uh pointing that out sorry where am i cut you off go ahead no you're okay no i was i was gonna ask jack about the preparation uh leading up to game day i know you do some stuff pregame half time and then post game So, like, are you watching film like a player would back in our time, you know, at Michigan?

Are you looking at the roster like, okay, who's this challenging name I got to try and pronounce and not sound like a complete idiot on the mic? Like, what are you doing, you know, leading up to the game? Yeah, I mean, it's certainly not as much prep work as when you're playing or coaching. I watch film because I just love to study it and see what we've done right, what we've done wrong, and, you know, kind of who's emerging or falling behind those types of things to give myself some storylines. You know, honestly, the pregame show, you know, we know our script and then, hey,

it's in commercial. So segment one, break, segment two. So, you know, those things, I'll obviously go and study the topic and write some notes down and make sure that I have a couple points that I want to get across, things like that. You know, halftime, you talk about the first half and post game, you talk about the game. And a lot of what I try to bring to our broadcast is more kind of big picture and where the programs at, you know, where we've been, what, what trends I see emerging, what we're, what we need to get better at and accomplish. And so a lot of times those are not as specific,

you know, it's not like doing the play by play on the radio where you're, you know, you have to enunciate everybody's name, not only on your team, but the other. So there's some degree of that. And then when we do, you know, inside Michigan football, the game day edition, the week of, for, for home games, that takes a little more prep. And so you're talking about the opposing team and you're making sure that you have all, you know, your stats and names buttoned up and whatnot. So, you know, it depends on the week. Some are more time intensive than others,

but it's like anything else in life, the more you're prepared for it, the better you do. Yep. Take me back to your playing days. When you decided to call it a career, you're at the end of your time at the University of Michigan, you didn't want to go to the NFL,

you didn't want to try that whole route. I think you could have played another year at Michigan. what went into the timing at the end of it and how difficult of a decision was that for you to make knowing that you know the thing that you had done forever and loved was done yeah so you know football um football was always a means to an end uh in my mind right it was a way um you know i didn't come from a lot as a kid and so but i had enough guidance in my life that people say hey if you can go to an elite university on scholarship uh you're going to going to make sure you go to an elite university to play football you're going to go to elite

university and get your degree and that whole NFL thing happens great but the goal was always you know find a way in college to get myself on the field and get a great education and so you know you can ask worm we had many many battles in practice I was good not great I mean when you see so Chris and I were together this weekend at the game you look at Chris and then you look at me and you go well that guy was built for the NFL and the other guy must have been an overachiever and that's what it was a lot, you know. I was a smart, savvy guy. I knew how to kind of get the job done, but it wasn't always the prettiest. And so, you know, started my last two years at Michigan and, you know, presumably would have started the fifth year had I stuck around when Coach Harbaugh got

there. You know, when you're a fifth year guy, you know the coaches, they know you. Everybody kind of understands the expectation. And when there's a new coach that comes to town, you know, that all kind of goes away, right? And it's a clean slate and nobody really cares what you've done. or who you are to that point. And so point being is it was, you know, Coach Harbaugh came in and it was going to take a whole other level, a dedication and commitment to really lock in to play for that guy. And, you know, I was getting beat up.

I was getting beat up physically. It was getting beat up mentally. I was on my way to get my degree. And so staying for a fifth year, you know, I wouldn't have been able to get a master's degree with it because I would have just done one semester then started getting ready for the NFL. And that was always, you know, again, I was good, not great.

could I have gotten lucky and bounced around for a little bit, maybe, you know, if you would have found the right system and the right scheme and had the right opportunity. And maybe, you know, maybe made a little extra coin along the way and been able to, you know, run around town and tell war stories about how I played in the league. But to be honest, me, my heart was kind of out of it at that point. And, you know, I knew I was doing myself a disservice and the team of this service just to kind of run it through for the hell of it. And so I had some great opportunities that came my way and jumped at that and took advantage of that.

So it was certainly a hard decision. I mean, it's one that I think about all the time. But I made a good one. And life's treated me well since then. And I've ended up in a really good spot because of the opportunities that I had when I was at Michigan. I think that takes a lot of courage and a lot of insight from, you know, a 22-year-old kid, like, who has only really known ball. And obviously having those people around you to kind of guide you and give you that advice, you know, I don't know what I would have done without football, you know, especially graduating from Michigan. like okay what do I do now and for you to be able to have that insight and have that kind of

courage to take that leave and be like okay football's done like what's next uh that you know i'm i'm in that position kind of right now like what's next for me um and for you to be able to do that 10 plus years ago i think is is really cool well it's you know i think worm you get it man everybody struggles with it at some point right so whether you struggle with it leaving high school football or college or you know a guy like you that's had a terrific career in the NFL but eventually father time comes for us all you know there's very few guys i mean you know maybe tom brady and i think jerome bett us you know walked out a super bowl champ when he was done football like everybody eventually leaves their sport and goes geez what would have happened or what if i mean

there's very few exits that are some sort of cinematic you know a plus event right um so everybody does but you know here i still am all these years later surrounding myself with the game and trying to contribute to it in my own ways uh because it had such an impact on my life and made me who I am and I'm certainly grateful for that and still love being around it just in a different capacity now. I love it. It's awesome. Good stuff. All right, let's talk about this year's Michigan team. You're around it all the time. Yep. You see it up close. What have you thought of 18-year-old Bryce Underwood and the progress that he's been able to make in a short few weeks here? Well, he's probably as impressive as, you know, as any player that I've seen walk through Schumbeckler Hall physically, you know, what he's able to do in, you know, just turning 18 a couple months ago is, it's kind of scary.

I've been, you know, I've been more than satisfied with how that guy's played. I mean, he looks, you know, week one, it wasn't about the physical gifts. It was about how's he going to respond, like all this hype that goes into a young kid's career and, you know, now the money with NIL and all the expectations of that. And week one, he comes out and looks completely cool and calm, collected. You know, Oklahoma, you know, we can go back and forth on that about the game plan and whether they should have let him loose a little bit. But like, it wasn't on him that they didn't go win that game. And so to get that experience, and then Central looks fantastic, Nebraska finds a way to get a road win in a tough environment. And, and then last week,

I mean, he's doing all the right things. He's doing everything I think that we could ask for him as a player and I mean it's just it's exciting because whether you talk about him or even some of the other position groups there's a lot of good stuff going on out there and yet we're all still kind of going geez look what look what we're missing still right how much better can this get and that's an encouraging place to be when you're four and one in the midway point of the season um I'm going to follow up on a couple points that you just made um the biggest one though I asked Grant Perry this last week. If NIL was around when you were playing,

what would you have done with a little bag when you were 20 years old? Or 18 years old? I would have bought a nice car. I would have done more. Besides that, I probably would have put the money away. You know, you're a smart guy. You would have like, you know, when you're 18, what am I going to spend on, man, overweight, overachieving center running around

Ann Arbor, Michigan. Like what, I mean, what am I? Wharham, you remember, we were wearing Johnny Gray's the class. We were just trying to get by. I mean, you could have got a nice scooter, nice scooter. Maybe cut the line at Skeep's a couple times. Grant said he would have bought the upstairs at Skeeps, you know, a couple times. Yeah, actually, that's a good call out.

Sadly, it probably would have been just bigger barbells around in Arbor establishments. That's the truth of the matter. I would have put it away. I would have been a very smart young man, Jordan. come on uh-huh yeah jack in his roth uh-ira account early on as an 18-year-old kid you've always been smart and wise yeah would you have given dr ham with the third a little extra like room to to graze and not having to give him up so soon that wasn't on me that that that had nothing to do with that those were other individuals that decided getting a pet pig was a good idea just happened to live

in my house to i we need to know the backstory there please tell us so here's here's how i recall story is it was a Sunday evening. I think it was, it had to have been summertime. Yeah, it was. It was summer. And it was like a Sunday night and Taylor Luan and Grand Glasgow. I can't remember who else was there. It might have been Mike Schofield. I can't remember. They wanted to go get a little pig as a pet, you know, because hogs, offensive linemen were in the old linehouse. And I'm like, okay, that's, I'm not doing that. I want nothing to do with it. I want to be responsible for it. I'm going to bed. So they're like, all right. So I think they, drove off to like lansing or jackson or something like that to pick up this pig so the next morning i

next morning i wake up and i come downstairs and i'm expecting like a little you know cute teacup pig cut yeah yeah there was a 200 pound bore essentially in our family room wrapped up in all these blankets they had made it for a nest and this thing was mean and it's hooves it couldn't get traction on the hardwood or the tile so it was just sliding around everywhere and then uh it was just a bad decision as i predicted it was a terrible terrible decision and then finally it you know it couldn't live in the house because it really couldn't travel around anywhere it was slipping so we built a little nest on the front porch and then you know antarbor uh some folks who had came past the house did not like seeing an animal on a front porch and then a few days later animal control came and took him from us

and gave him a better life so that's that's about the extent of the story i wanted nothing to do with it i avoided it at all costs and he only lasted like a week I want to say tops something like that I just remember I remember like the the miss the mystery of this pig was like going through the locker I'm like hey you hear like you know the boys over at at you know the lumber yard or whatever you guys used to call back then like they got a pig I'm like a pig like you sure it's not like a dog or something like no they got a pig so I mean a pig didn't even a pig didn't even do it justice this thing was like a

hog it was like a wild bore the size of it and it's like it wasn't comfortable to like to pet it's like it's it's it's hair was so coarse course yeah exactly it was just it was it was whatever the bad decision that i had nothing to do with but if you guys get luan on here he can he can run you through the entire rundown i was going to say that sounds that sounds like right up luan's alley all that decision was made that's incredible i absolutely like you know everybody's got like a college uh story they're like yeah no that was a it was a really stupid night like we probably shouldn't it uh everybody's got one at least and you know you guys

just ended up having a bore in your house. Yeah, yeah. Which we, you know, well, I mean, listen, there's a lot worse decisions you can make, I suppose. Yeah. In college, we were too busy to make a lot of those dumb decisions, but, you know, get yourself a stupid animal. We got that one checked off.

Yeah, you could get like a tattoo on the inside of your bottom lip or something, you know, like that could be a decision that somebody makes. Plenty of people have, I think. Plenty of people have. You're putting the wrong way. you're pointing the wrong way no on my screen i was pointing the right way you got a point for sure it's for chris everybody in case yeah yeah we we made it we made him show it off last week on here uh he showed it off it was great uh all right yes yes and it was great um okay so we were

talking about the current team for a second and then let me get back to it and then we can have more fun uh the wide receiver problem and i'll call it a wide receiver problem because that's what I mean everybody's been been discussing it how big of an issue are the drops right now and is it is it a problem in your mind that you see that can be fixed uh yeah i mean it can be fixed from the standpoint of like you know we we got to make plays when the ball when the ball comes to you and i think those guys are talented enough to do that yes so i think there's a bigger problem with the passing game which is um We don't seem to be able to get enough separation when it's man coverage.

We don't seem to be able to find, and part of this is Bryce, too, as a young quarterback, right? Like when I go back and watch a film, you know, there are times where we sit down in his own, although it not be the right thing. Like Bryce has to see and understand, you know, he's anticipating one move from somebody and they go to another spot. Like they're just, some of it is not all the receivers also passing games fall, I would say, right? They're just not in sync the way that they should be. part of it is they don't find separation when they need to and then when they do Bryce goes and makes a play and then there's a drop right now here's the thing I'll say because

I don't want to talk out of both sides of my mouth for years as long as I can really remember until like I mean there was always the exception that broke the rule but Michigan was never very I talked about this on the post game show Saturday after the game this feels like what an SEC team always felt like for the last couple decades in the sense of somebody blows a block. There's a TFL, kind of a busted play. It doesn't really work. And then on third and 12, Bryce is so talented. He can just run to find grass to get a first down or throw it up to a Macaulay who's just going to make a freakish catch and come down. Like, we've never played that style of football. It's always been, we're going to pound the ball, we're going to load the

box, and you've got to get three to four yards each chunk because if you get behind the sticks, there's just no way out of it. So, like, yes, our passing game is not where it should be, but in this weird way, just looking at the silver lining, it's more explosive at times or can be more explosive at times than it's been since I can remember. We've never really had that ability to, like, make up for when things went south or went, you know, backwards, hey, we just have enough athleticism on the field now that we can do something different. The only way that ever worked before was we had a stud-o line, we had a great running game, and we had a smart quarterback when they had to dump it off. but by and large, we were just going to get three to four yards every time and stay ahead of the six. So, you know, I'm still optimistic. I say that all to tell you that I'm still optimistic that there's time for that to work.

I went to a couple of practices in training camp. I thought Andrew Marsh looked special. I'm not surprised to see that he's kind of coming into his own and going to have a good year. McCauley, obviously, he's a great talent. And, you know, he's played a lot of football. He's got a lot of experience out there. So him getting in sync with Bryce and then also just kind of being that release valve. when all else failed, hey, just throw it up to one and let the kid go make a play.

And then Marsh being a guy, I hope, that can be, for lack of a better term, what an Aminrah is for the lions. And like, hey, we need five, turn around at six yards, just dump it to him quick and he falls forward, right? Just kind of the intermediary route guy that you can always count on. And then, you know, Hogan Hansen coming back. We saw what Marlon Klein did week one. I think his ankle might be bothering him more than they're admitting, right? I mean, like, you know, there's weapons there. I don't know that we're necessarily using them the right way right now

and that we're all in rhythm. So that is a bigger problem than I think people want to admit. And I talked about this on the broadcast too. You know, I do it with John Jansen. Obviously, John and I are hypercritical on offensive line. I think anybody associated with Michigan is hypercritical on what goes on in the trenches. So sometimes the boys at the skill position get a little break. That's been a bigger problem this year than I think people want to admit.

Now, so is the offensive line. But again, I'm still optimistic that there's ways to make that make sense, and it'll come together and continue to gel. If you remember national championship year, can they throw the ball? Can they throw the ball? Now, we never had to because we could just run the ball over everybody. But when we had to, it didn't always look pretty. And then we almost lose that game to Illinois.

Oh, my gosh, they don't have it. They don't have it. And guess what? They kept getting better as the year went on. And then they had it when they needed to. I don't think this is a national championship type year. But what I'm saying is it has characteristics of a team that, like, is going to get better. This defense is going to keep them in every single game and it's going to keep getting better and better.

So, like, the chance is always going to be there. If the offense just keeps evolving the right way, good things, you know, are still yet to come, I think. I think as long as the defense, like you said, keeps them in the games. And like we talked about before you hop down, like Bryce continues to progress incrementally throughout the week, you know, the weeks. I think they're going to surprise some people. The schedule is very favorable for them until that last game of the season back at home against the Buckeyes.

But I like this team. I like what they're doing. It always seems like, you know, especially former players, we're probably more critical than anybody when it comes to, you know, the team. But the drops obviously have to be fixed. And as long as Bryce continues to improve

and the defense keeps them in games, I think this is going to be a fun team to continue to watch. Well, like I said, I mean, I think the offensive line's got to start to find some consistency, too. I mean, Justice Haynes is just that good. Again, you talk about like an SEC type caliber player, right? Like, it's bottled up. There's nothing there. And then he just runs to the outside and is faster than the guy on the edge and can scamper for four for five or six yards.

We haven't always had that. Like, Blake Horn didn't have that. Blake just was patient with a great offensive line, got hit for three yards, fell four for five. Like, we're at, we have this weird thing. It's just the evolution of college football now where they're, getting certain talents that really didn't come to Michigan before. So the game, and now Chip Lindsay's not necessarily a, you know, a ground and pound guy. He's mixing that with Sharon style a little bit. But, you know, we're at a weird,

when I say weird, it's a good thing, but we're at a different point, I think, in the personnel history of a place like Michigan, where now you got these guys on the field that, like, you don't have to be perfect all the time and it's one home run play, right, a la Oklahoma. We didn't do really anything offensively, but yet we were still in it kind of in the second have because of an 80-yard run from Justice Haynes. So that offensive line's got to get a little more consistent. They did not play their best game against Wisconsin. Give Wisconsin credit.

That's a really good front seven. And they were on paper. They were in real life, too. So, you know, they've had, there's been what keeps me optimistic, well, a lot of things do, but there's been literally in every single game to this date, there's been something very teachable about all those games, right? So like New Mexico, an opener for Bryce, that goes well. He's composed, okay.

Oklahoma, you don't play your best game. You certainly don't have your best game plan. Tough road environment, a lot of hype. You know, you get out of there and you go, geez, we had our opportunities. We just didn't play our best game. You know, Central, you go beat upon an inferior opponent. Great, you get some confidence. Nebraska, you go to a tough place.

You win. I don't care what Nebraska is like. That's always a tough place to play. And when, you come off a by, you get to a really sleepy start against Wisconsin. But here's the thing, you know, you don't play good. against Wisconsin at all, and yet look at the stat lines. And when you watch the game, it really was never in doubt. It just was like, oh, geez, they're asleep at the wheel, kind of.

And they still were able to bully another Big Ten program with a terrific front seven. So, you know, there's a lot to like there. And again, it's just got, it's just to me, it has that sense of what 22 and 23 were like, where it just, you know, they were doing enough to win games, but everyone was still going, oh, it's not going to be good enough. you know, and it was in 23, again, I'm not saying that they're going to go all the way this year, but like, you know, if, Chris, to your point, if they just keep getting better, week in and week out, learning and coming together, they get through this USC game,

all roads lead to Columbus. And boy, or, well, you know, Columbus come at us, I should say. And boy, wouldn't that be special. It's probably a, you know, a play in game for us. And they'll probably be one in the country and undefeated still and in either way. And just another opportunity to put a blemish on the Buckeyes season, they'll probably go off and win it all again as talented as they are. But, you know, boy, wouldn't that be fun to watch? Yeah, listen, that's my thing. It's like, just have a shot at the end of the year.

Because, like, you know, we've seen what's happened for straight years against that. But, like, I tweeted this the other day, like, the Buckeyes are the most boring team to watch because every damn year, they just, like, they never struggle. That's what frustrates the hell out of me. They don't have those, like, you know, Penn State can go out to UCLA and lose a game. Ohio State doesn't have. those games. It pisses me off, to be honest with you, because they just keep rolling five star after five star until it gets obviously to the last week of the season, and then somehow they

keep getting beat the last few years. But we're not going to, we're not talking about, go ahead, go ahead, Jack. We can drop it because we'll have to talk about them enough in November, but I have always said, God loves the Buckeyes. I mean, there's just, there's something there all the time. They deserve it. They recruit their ass off. They're terrific coaches. They got great players they got a great you know they got a great program they deserve every bit of it but like to your point there's never like a chink in the armor i mean we have been the last couple years but that's a rivalry game that's the way it should go um but nothing else really ever seems to get in their way of just reload and being back to being elite but enough of that yeah exactly yeah uh

go ahead go go go i go you sure jordan can i go thanks you got it my bet uh yeah jack i wanted to ask you about the former players that are in sports media. You got some legendary names like Woodson and Howard, Jake Butts coming on the scene in a big way. Brady with Fox and Al-Lawand with the podcast, Bustin with the boys yourself, Deerdorf, who just retired or, you know, a few years ago.

Greasy and Gardner, Avant, you know, you work with him. Brandon Graham is doing his thing now with the podcast and Jansen with you guys on Game Day. What's it like to be like a part of like that, I would call it an elite, group. I'm trying to think of other teams and other schools that have a huge, like, sports media type of career afterwards. And I'm kind of blanking on people when you think of,

you know, 10 plus names that are doing some really cool things in the sports media world. Well, Chris, first off, that's a terrific point. I haven't even really thought of that. I don't think you can think of other programs that have put that many people into sports media right now is probably not. Thank you for throwing my name into that bunch. I don't necessarily consider myself at the level of some of those cats that are doing it, you know, at the biggest stages, you know, in American football. But, you know, I think it's just a testament to what Michigan means nationally, well, internationally, really, right? It's just the brand is so powerful. There's such a deep, deep history of success and of culture that

that runs through Michigan, that it's just natural that people who have been around that program end up in a position to go talk about football because they've been in the biggest games. They've been on the biggest stages. They've had some of the best careers. You know, when you talk about a guy like Desmond or Charles or, you know, Taylor, I mean, some of those guys that, you know, have really Deirdorf right back before he retired, I mean, guys who have done a lot of really good stuff in their football career. It was just natural for him to take over. And then honestly, you know, you couple that with with what Michigan is about as far as an institution. And it's not just football.

It's the development of a person and the academic standards that it has and the standard that the football program has always had about you're going to go to school. You're going to take it seriously. You're going to think about life after and, you know, kind of coming full circle our conversation earlier. You know, it's a place that I think emphasizes those things. And so it's not a shocker that, you know, those jobs, which they're limited, there's only so many, you know, analysts that, you know, have jobs out there that a good chunk of them are Michigan people because they did it at the highest level and probably put themselves in good positions to be there.

I know that I did, right? I mean, I tell the story when I was doing it for Toledo and Brandstanner and Deerdorf retired. I called everybody I knew up at Ann Arbor, and I said, they're not going to give me this job. They're not going to not give me this job because they didn't know that. that I wanted it, right? Somebody's going to have to tell me you're not welcome here or we like somebody else better. It's not going to be, oh, shucks, we didn't know you were interested, right? So, you know, I think, you know, you look at a guy like Taylor or Jake.

I mean, I remember when Jake started doing the big, I think the Michigan Spring game, whatever year that was, was the first broadcast he had done. And he called me the night before. And he's like, hey, I'm doing this. I haven't done this before. And I was, you know, doing color for Toledo at the time. He's like, what do you think? I'm like, dude, you know football.

Just be yourself. just talk have fun with it tell people what you see and boy look at his career he's he's doing an amazing job and um yeah i think it's it's special that's a great point where i never really thought about that way but there's there's certainly a lot of us michigan guys running around trying to educate people on what's going on out there yeah i love it i love it yeah um all right we've got three Toledo guys on here and chris i don't know if you remember this um we did a uh that ride-along interview that i did with you when i was uh working in the new news back in the day. And I asked you if you were a Rudy's or a Paco's guy. So let's throw Jack in

here. For people that don't know in Toledo, like generally speaking, you're either a Tony Paco's guy or you're a Rudy's guy. You could be both. That's totally fine. What are you, Jack? You are Rudy's or Paco's guy? Well, I'm, I'm probably more of a Rudy's guy, I have to say. Yeah, I'd have to go with Rudy. We both are. Yeah. Yeah. There's not necessarily just about the hot. dogs themselves there's some there's some you know reasons for that elsewise but yeah rudies we'll pick rudies all right i love like see i love it and i think you know i don't think people like outside of you know everybody everybody talks about packos because it's famous and right you know

what jami far did for packos and all those things and like the buns on the wall but yeah man like when you're you're in the trenches in toledo like i'll stop by a rudy's drive through any chance i get that's right it's just you know there are certain toledo gems when i I'm back in town that I make sure I try to stop. I was going to say, okay, so what else? What are some of the things when you're back in T-Town that you have to hit up? I'm a big Loma Lindis fan. Oh, yeah.

I'm a big Loma Lendez fan. If I have the opportunity to go out on airport highway and get myself a designated driver, somebody else is driving, and go out to Loma Lendez, have a couple margaritas and some of those nachos and hang out there. And then I'm from Ma'amie. And so to this day, I think that the village idiot, is one of the coolest bars and restaurants that you can really ever go to. To have live music literally every night of the year and that great pizza and that environment.

And you get every walk of life that walks in that place. It's just like it's eclectic and fun and awesome. And when I lived in Toledo, I was right there in uptown Maui. So I, you know, walk up there and walk home. And it was just, it was great. So village idiot always try to stop in there and Loma Linda's as well when I have time. Oh, you're speaking to me, Jack. speaking to me those like you know i'm a maumee guy like yeah that pete's at the village idiot though man

people don't understand like it's different it's different yes some of the best no doubt worm you uh you a loma's guy that's that's far from your uh your back i've had before uh i used to be an el camino kind of guy over yeah that's i was more west tuitado was was more my style but yeah my my uh my aunt growing up used to live uh like almost downtown mom me so We would go to, what's the, what's the ice cream spot in Mommy, Jack Jannies? Jackies. Jackies. Jackies Depot, get ice cream.

We'd walk to Jackie's Depot, get ice cream. We've had the, I've had the pizza at the village idiot. So, you know, that was a long time ago, but I've dabbled a little bit in Mommy. Yeah. See, this is good. This is good stuff. All right, Jack. Are you heading out to L.A.?

Yeah, yeah. We'll be out there Thursday. And it'll be another. fun trip home hopefully this time after a win but you know we'll fly home after the game and sure i'll be home around five in the morning and that'll ruin my sunday but you know what all for the love of the game all for the love of michigan and uh you know i'll have uh i'll have my best broadcast and i'll leave it all on the field and then you know we'll fly home after a win hopefully so yeah flying out thursday and you know i'm excited to see the charges practice facility i've

never been out that's sweet so i'm looking forward to going to checking that out and watching the team for the afternoon and planning to meet up. Another Toledo man, Elliot Mueller, lives out in the, in LA. Big actor, Elliot Miller. That's right. He's in a few of commercials right now that you folks would probably tune into. Oh, yeah. So, yeah, so planning to meet up with him and some other Michigan folks, I'm sure,

and enjoy some time in Southern California. And then hopefully go get a win and put ourselves in a really good spot for the rest of the year here. We got to get Elliot on the podworm. That's, we got to get, he's got some great. He's got some great stories. That guy's got married like an elephant. He could tell you some funny, funny stories. And he's like a stand-up comedian now, too.

Like, he does stand-up, he does acting. We'll text him. We'll get, we'll get Elliot on the podcast at some point as well. He'd be terrific. And if everybody knows his story about his brother, Brock, who got to walk out onto the field, has the book and everything. Like, that was just an incredible chapter in Michigan football.

That was awesome. What do you know? Let me ask you about L.A. real quick before we get out of here, Jack. What do you know about USC? The only time I've watched them play twice, actually. I changed that. I did stay up until 3 in the morning to watch them finish that game against Sparty. At least it's not an 11 o'clock start Eastern time.

True. You know, at least that's good. But what do you know about USC? Well, I know they're explosive offensively, right? It's year four of Lincoln Riley. It's about time with deep pockets and all the rest at USC that they finally started to figure out offense it looks like they have um you know uh those two wide receivers they got what jacobi lane and mckeye lemon really really talented uh i think they're the second best offense in the country

right now so here's what i can tell you that they're going to want to do um they're going to want to just make it a shoot out right if we can control the ball and run the ball effectively and slow down the game and keep their offense off the field that's our best chance they're going to try to make get a shootout as best they can. My guess would be defensively, they're going to load the box up and dare Bryce Underwood to throw because even if he does and we make big plays, it'll get into that shootout style that they want and they think they can just outscore us, right? So the more we can slow the game down, control it. Now what I don't know, here's the trap. This is what to look for. That was probably the same thing we thought going into Oklahoma. And so what did we do?

We tried to take the air out of the ball. We try to slow the game down too much. And we didn't use our weapons. And back to our conversation earlier, we have weapons that we should be using and throwing the ball too and doing unique things with and letting those playmakers go make play. So it's going to be a balancing act for this Michigan team to figure out to what degree do you, again, you don't want it to become that shootout like USC does. But at the same time, it can't just be, you know, eye formation, run the ball the entire game and don't use Bryce and his abilities and don't get the ball out to McCulley and Marsh and Hogan Hanson if he's back. So going to be a really, really good challenge, I think.

for this team and for this coaching staff to develop the right game plan and find that happy medium between, you know, letting it rip totally, which plays into their hands, but also not slowing the game down where we can't take advantage and capitalize offensively the way we need to. All right, Jack. I also, we both have the Old English D on today as well. Playoff time, go Tigers. That's right. So enjoy the rest of the week. Have a safe trip out there and bring back a W, would you? We'll try our best. I appreciate you guys having me on.

Thank you. Go Blue. Yes, sir. Thanks, Jack. Absolutely, Jack. Thank you. All right. Jack Miller,

former Michigan offensive lineman, now part of the radio broadcast. And, you know, listen, Worm, selfishly, anytime we can bring on another Toledo guy,

I like it. It makes me happy. Yeah, it was awesome. Anytime, like you said, the 419, you didn't ask me about Rudy's. I was a Rudy's guy. Yeah, sorry, but I'm sorry about that.

I'm a Rudy's in my neighborhood growing up. And when I was old enough to kind of venture out a little farther, got a little grass cutting money from my grandma, I was able to go get, you know, two chili dogs, a French fry, and a strawberry shake. And that was my go-to. I'm going to be in Toledo tomorrow. I got some stuff going on down in Toledo for our foundation. And at the end of those meetings, I'm going to take.

my butt over to over to Rudy's three chili dogs with everything french fry and probably a vanilla shake so I'm excited for I'm looking forward to it oh that makes me so happy yeah like that's say that was the same thing with me like in South Toledo there's one you know kind of close to where my parents live

so yeah that was always my you know we'd always roll over there and grab a couple dogs and like just love that place it was good oh yeah we've given Rudy's a lot of love today a lot of love here for the Rudy's and I appreciate that. Oh, yeah. All right. Looking ahead, USC, obviously, we'll wrap this thing up here real

quick. Listen, making that trip out west is tough. There's no question about it. It's never easy to go make that trip. What are you looking forward to the most this weekend? Yeah, I'm looking for the boys to get another signature win. I know USC was, they weren't ranked, then they were ranked and then they lost, I think, to Illinois or Indiana, Illinois a couple weeks ago. So they're not ranked again. But they're a great team, like Jack said. I think they're top five in offense. Anytime you go on the road, you need to pack your defense and a run game.

And that's been missing strength so far this season. I did like when Jack was talking about not trying to make this a shootout. You don't want to fall into the trap of playing the opponent's game. You want to play your game, your style of offense and defense. And if Michigan can control that and not make it a 40 to 49 game, I think they can come out with a win. But USC's dangerous. Lincoln Riley is an offensive genius.

And like Jack said, it's fourth year of him being in that system with those players. And I know they're looking to make a statement. They're looking for their statement one of the year. And that could come against the Wolverines on Saturday night if Michigan doesn't, like I said, bring their defense and bring their run game. And Michigan is a two and a half point underdog, right now i i kind of like kind of like living in that underdog role a little bit i kind i kind

kind of like it i think you know michigan is is not in that spot very often where you know they go into a game as a dog um it's almost disrespectful though right like a little bit michigan's ranked 15th USC's not ranked like i would i could see if you know it was 15 versus 20 matchup and you had to go out west but they're not ranked until u sce you can show me that they can, they can beat a quality opponent, then I'm taking that as a sign of disrespect. And, you know, let me double check and make sure where we're at on the, I'm flipping through it as we speak.

This is great television. Let's see what the latest line is. I'm just scrolling. Give me a second. What the hell is it? Yeah, two and a half. Michigan plus two and a half right now. So, yeah, I think, listen, like, I think there's something to that.

Do you want to give predictions before we get out of here tonight? I think if Michigan can continue to play their style of offense and defense, I like the Wolverines. I think it's going to be a cool environment. There's a lot of Michigan fans out in L.A. Yeah. I know, I know the Coliseum is going to be packed, and there's going to be a good amount of Michigan fans.

I'm going to say, I'm going to say Michigan 27, U.S. see 20 okay 27 20 it's going to be a close game I think Michigan finds a way to win I think Michigan finds a way to pull away not not by like a big blowout but I think they're going to come away with a solid

solid victory out in L.A I think it's going to be one of those nights where we're sweating this thing out I think we're going to be sweating this thing out until the very end unfortunately I'm going to go Michigan 31 28 31 28 Michigan

and I think Dominic Zavada is going to make a late field goal that's going to give them a win and yes we kind of glazed over another missed field goal a chip shot field goal too from that was a bad snap

it kind of threw off the timing of the whole thing I'll say I'll say Zavada late field goal 31, 28, Michigan. How's that? Okay. All right. And listen, as long as Michigan wins, a win is a win, I don't care if they win by a hundred or one point.

I don't care how they win. Just get on that playing happy and come back with a win. There's literally the goal. There's nothing worse than a loss and a five-hour fly. We got, my rookie year, we played in London

and we got our asses beat by the Jaguars, like 44 to 7 maybe. And that ride home was miserable, eight hours across the pond, you know, coming back from L.A. to Ann Arbor with a loss is such a bad feeling. It's such a bad feeling. The flight afterwards after a win for a long flight, especially in the NFL is a good ass time. But, you know, in college, it's fun too. It's a good time in college, too. But yeah, anytime you can get a win is beneficial, especially when you got a long flight afterwards. All right. Well, you enjoy

enjoy some Rudy's chili dogs this week. Oh, yeah. Enjoy the football game this weekend. And we'll come back. We do this every single Tuesday. We've got new episodes coming out throughout the football season here, teamed up with Blue by 90. Worm, we'll see you back here next week.

Absolutely. See you then. Go Blue. All right, go Blue.