Blue By Ninety - Strack and Big Worm | Michigan Taken Down by the Buckeyes for First Time in Six Years

Episode Date: December 2, 2025

Chris Wormley and Jordan Strack talk about Michigan’s disappointing loss to the Buckeyes and where Michigan goes from here.

Welcome into Stadium in Maine with Big Worm and Strack. I am Jordan Strach on the other side of the screen. That is Chris Wormley. This is episode, it's like 14 or 15. I do this every week. I should go back and count at some point to figure it out for sure. I don't even know. 14.

We'll say 14. It's 14. Quite frankly, it doesn't matter. But here we are. We have new episodes every Tuesday throughout the football season. We are teamed up with Blue by 90. Make sure you're sharing this podcast with all your friends. Let them know.

Tell them to check us out. And then follow us on Instagram. Stadium and Maine Pod. I want to mention, got our gear here. You can find a link on our Instagram. Jersey's gear, equipment, team pride, BSN Sports has it all. The one-stop shop for every coach,

athlete, and school across America. BSN Sports makes it easy to design, order, and deliver everything. Your team needs to play like champions. Visit BSNsports.com today. BSN Sports, the heart of the game. All right, worm. Let's talk happy stuff first,

and then we'll get into, whatever the hell it was that happened on Saturday afternoon inside the big house. You are back. You played this weekend for the Indianapolis Colts, your first game back this season. And you picked up

a sack. You also had the quarterback hit on the interception as well. You played very well. What was it like for you to get back onto an NFL field? It was amazing. I was telling you guys before the show was my youngest daughter's first time being at a

football game watching her dad play. So that was an unbelievable moment just to uh that was one of my one of my like driving motivating factors and continuing to play the game of football was like i wanted and she's not going to remember in 10 years you know but i'm going to i'm going to know that my daughter got to see her dad you know live her dream and that means everything but it was great man to be able to contribute to a team we didn't get the win unfortunately but uh just to be out there with with the guys and and and put the helmet back on and do the whole, you know, pre-game warm-up and all that stuff and then the crowd and all that. And just being able to be back into a football stadium. It was,

it was pretty cool. How are you feeling today? A little sore, for sure. I, you know, you start feeling that once the adrenaline, the adrenaline winds down after a game, you start feeling that we went to dinner afterwards and getting out of the booth. You start to feel it a little bit, and then you get out of bed once or twice, you know, and definitely waking up this morning. It was tough, but my wife and I were talking last night, and it was the last time I played in the football game was December 1st of 2024. So it was 365 days, almost a year to the day that I played in a football game. So the bumps and bruises and just the football pounding is is alive and well.

And it's a good sore. It's a good feeling knowing that I played in the football game. I um i i we were so every sunday we go to my family my parents house we have sunday family dinner and we're sitting there and i like had my phone out and and it came across that you had the sack and i like jumped up i'm going nuts i mean i'm absolutely pumped um it was like it was cool as hell man and to add to it it was c j stroud yeah so like you know a little bit of something good happened with michigan i guess ohio state this weekend right yeah you you try and take any small win you can and uh you know we posted it on the uh on the

instagram page and hopefully that ease some of the pain and the comments weren't too friendly they're like now screw that the wolverine still lost we don't give a shit about your sack yeah hell with you worm yeah whatever not now read the room yeah whatever no you listen listen you should be you celebrate all all you want um happy for you proud of you um absolutely incredible incredible. What a story, man, to get you to get you back in the NFL. That's, it's pretty freaking cool. So, but all right, let's, let's get into this thing. Obviously, a demoralizing weekend. I don't know if there's a, I don't know if there's a really a good way to, to even put it other than it was. It was demoralizing. You look at it and, like, you just

have to be real with it. Like, let's, you know, there's no reason to sugarcoat this thing. got bullied on Saturday. They just did. Ohio State did to Michigan, what Michigan has done to a lot of teams during their, you know, three or four year run. And it was, it was tough to watch there, especially late in that second half. That was a tough one to watch. Yeah, after, after those first two possessions, and I knew it was, it wasn't going to be pretty when they had, you know, they went down, they, they kicked a field goal. And, you know, they had to score. If you're going to be the team like Ohio State, you have to put up touchdowns. You can't settle for field goals.

Setting for field goals is just kind of delaying the inevitable of Ohio State putting up points because they're going to put up points. So when they kicked a field goal at the first possession, and they come back with that huge interception and then kick another field goal, and it's 6-0. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty for the Wolverines for the rest of the game. When you have a chance to go up to 14-0-0 on the number one team in college football, you got to take that opportunity.

You got to go for it on fourth down. You've got to be able to put up, you know, score touchdowns in the red zone and not settle for field goals. But like, yeah, it was deflating. It was demoralizing to watch both sides of the ball get bullied. It wasn't the Michigan that we, like you said, we saw the last three, four years when they were on this kind of run of beating the Buckeyes. And to watch it unfold like that, especially in the big house in Ann Arbor, it just it wasn't. on it wasn't fun watching no it wasn't and so i'm gonna i'll piggyback off what you kind of said i i didn't mind the three points on the opening drive actually so go down i thought there

were some good things that happened on the first drive you know the big jordan marshal run and when i saw him break off that first run two things came into my mind one if it's just as hands he scores a touchdown two okay maybe he is healthy um so I didn't mind the opening drive field goal. My problem was after the interception, you have to score seven there. You have to. I would have much rather they went forward on fourth down

and didn't get it than put up three there. You got to be able to take the chances. Yes, yes. In that game, when you know the cards are stacked against you, and you have a chance to go up 10-0 against that team, everybody on that Ohio State sideline if they're down 10 nothing right there

every single person is thinking oh shit here we go again but what it did is it gave them momentum they said oh we're good we help them to a field goal we're only down one possession

we'll go get that in a problem and that's that to me is the issue when you're going up against an Ohio state team when you are at such a talent deficit you have to take advantage of the few opportunities you get hit. And they didn't. And that to me was, I mean, that was just a kick in the gut early in the game. And it kind of, it was all downhill after that. Yeah, there was, I mean, they didn't really

recover after that, you know, they start off hot, but you only get six points out of it. And then, you know, you only scored nine points total in the game. And they made, they never recovered from it. Jordan Marshall gets hurt. Um, Andrew Marsh doesn't get a single catch. It's like all these things that they were building, you know, all, you know, the kind of the back half of the season, it just all went out the window, it seemed like, um, on, on the office side of the ball and, and, you know, Bryce had a couple good throws, a couple good, you know,

cuby scramble runs, but it just, it just never, it never transpired or, or what we thought this was going to look like. Like, we said it all year like, okay, if they're, if they're saving Bryce for something, it has to be for this game. And it, they just reverted back to kind of this. cookie cutter bland offense that boring it wasn't going to get done it wasn't going to get done now if

if Marshall and Haynes were both healthy and they could you know rush for 300 yards like they have and you know in past games that then sure yeah that's fine I've been the first one to say like I don't care what what it looks like as long as you win but when you have Marshall who's hurt and gets hurt you know again in the game and goes out for a while Haynes is already out like You've got to be able to lean on your best players.

And that was Andrew Marsh, you know, the last five, six games of the season. And he was MIA. I don't know what that, what the game plan was, but it had to have included Andrew Marsh, and he had to have been a part of that, that game plan. And he just wasn't during the game. Yeah. I'm going to get there in just one second. I first want to let's just discuss it and be done with it.

The Jeremiah Smith touchdown, that should have been a touch. back. I want to clarify and say right off the top, that is not why Michigan lost the football game. That is not why they lost the football game, okay? It did change the football game dramatically, though. And here's why. To take those points off the board for Michigan and give them the ball back, it just flips

everything from a mental standpoint. And we talked about it last week. If Ohio State has some adversity and they start thinking, oh, God, if you take that and that something bad like that happens to them, then they're starting to think, oh, my God, here we go again. You have the interception. You have the fumble. They're thinking, oh, my God, here we go again. For that to stand, I thought was, it was not the correct call. every rules analyst, every impartial person that has looked at it has said that it was,

it should have been a touchback. It should have been. Michigan didn't lose because of it, but it changed the football game. And that's what I hate. I had a buddy that I played with. We got a group chat together and he's like, I'm glad that that call wasn't overturned because they would have said that Michigan won on that. And it's like at, you know, you have to take, first of all, it was a fumble.

It was a touchback. Yes. Just purely based off of the rule. but also like if you're miss you have to take every single opportunity you can and and capitalize it and i think it was was that fourth down was that a fourth down play it wasn't fourth down play yes yeah so it's fourth and five or whatever and uh tate wasn't even on the field the other you know stellar receiver it was just jeremiah smith so you know if i'm if i'm if i'm wink i'm doubling jeremiah smith that's who they're going to and to see him not being doubled on that play it was

like yes it was a touchback yes it was a fumble but also like you could have prevented that from the get go just by doubling the best player in college football which is jeremiah smith and he was the only you know real threat okay so you throw it to the tight end you throw it to a slot receiver and they beat you on a you know man-to-man one-on-one uh route fine whatever but i'm not going to allow without carnal tate on the field i'm not going to allow the best player in the country to beat you one-on-one i'm doubling that man every single play now the only the only the only the only thing that I will say, and I, this, it's crazy to me that I haven't really seen this argument. Maybe it, maybe it has happened. I've tried to, you know, I try to scour the

Twitters to get every argument or whatever. I actually thought it should have been called pass interference on that same play. Um, I thought, I thought, I thought J. Earhill actually should have been called for past. I think it was Jair Hill. Um, I thought he should have been called for pass interference on the same play. Um, but he wasn't. And listen, there are things that happened throughout a football game. You have to figure it out. You have to move on. That to me was a big one. Again, it's not why Michigan lost, but it was a big game changer. So that's all, we'll touch on it. It is what it is. I want to move on to, because I think there's so many, I think there's so many more important things. Time of possession. It was two to one. Ohio State had the

ball for 40 minutes in a 60 minute football game. You look at, you look at the length of Michigan's drives, okay? And I wrote this down. I want to mention it. This is the length of each Michigan drive. Two minutes, 23 seconds, two minutes, 40 seconds, two minutes, six minutes, 17 seconds. That was the best drive of the game, but they settled for a field goal. But then you have 16 seconds, end of the half, 147, 229, 134, and 30 seconds. It's not good enough. It's just not good enough. Your defense was worn down at the end of the game because you got your ass kicked on offense all day. You couldn't move the football. That's a problem.

I mean, there was what? There was one drive over three minutes. Yes, there was one drive over three minutes the entire game. It's just not good enough. Even if you're not scoring touchdowns, if you're not getting points, you have to stay on the field. You have to extend some of these drives just to give your defense a break. And offensively, I don't know what the plan was, but it wasn't good.

enough yeah i mean i i sat here last week and said if michigan's going to win this game or even be somewhat competitive in this game like they have to control the time of possession and that was going to be you know being able to run the ball and it looked like they were going to do that at the beginning of the game jordan marshall gets hurt but you look like you say 16 second drive unacceptable only one one possession over three minutes one one possession over three minutes that doesn't even make sense like that that that honestly doesn't not make sense when you're talking about, especially when you talk about what Michigan is and what they've been able to do when they're running the ball and how they've been able to run the ball all

season. And you only have one possession over three minutes. It's unacceptable. And that, you know, this is a team sport. So all three phases are going to, you know, affect the other. So defense is out there for extended periods of time and then they go three and out or they go, you know, four or five plays and right back on the field. That defense is going to be exhausted. They're not going to play to the standards that they, that we know that they could play at. And, And, you know, they also have to take some blame in this game as well. But time possession, and when you look at it, whether you're in the NFL, high school football, college, or whatever, that is a huge determining factor in wins. And Michigan got absolutely destroyed.

Two to one is unhurt. You want it to be, you know, at least, you know, 30 minutes, 30 minutes at a minimum. But 40 to 20, it doesn't even make sense. You had the ball for only a quarter, a quarter and. you know basically a quarter it doesn't it doesn't make sense and you're not going to win you're not going to win a football not when you play that style of football no not the best team in the country you're not going to yes if that's the if that's the style of football you want to play and that is the smash mouth jerome more football that they're not going to deviate from you at least have

to extend drives but that's just not none of it's good enough yeah this is this isn't the oregon offense you know in the early 2010 you know where they can score in three plays and but they're going to put up 60 points and it's just going to be a shootout that's not michigan style of football and i can respect it i love a good you know grounded pound run the clock run the ball all that stuff but if that's what your style is you're going to have to be able to control the time possession and michigan clearly didn't even come close to that yeah my biggest issue with the offense is there was zero creativity zero there there wasn't a i mean worm we have seen in in past Michigan, Ohio State games.

You have the throw to Loveland from a running back on fourth down and one down the sideline. Even AJ Henning once took a jet sweep around the end. There wasn't a flea flicker. And to be fair, it's really hard

to do those kind of things against Ohio State. I just, let me mention it. Ohio State is really damn good. They're the best team in the country. They've won 16 straight football games. They're good. I get it. But there was nothing from Michigan creatively.

And I don't need you to run, you know, 46 flea flickers and all this. I don't need all that. But you have to do something to get your young quarterback a chance in the football game. You have to steal some points somewhere. Michigan, it felt like, it felt like they came out on the opening drive. And when they saw that first big run from Jordan Marshall, and they saw that they were able to move Ohio State around a little bit. I think that immediately they went, oh, okay, same old day.

We'll just keep doing this. We've done this to Ohio State for four straight years. We'll bully them by the fourth quarter of where I'm down. That's what it felt like. It felt like that might have been, that first drive might have given them fools gold, and they felt like they were just going to be able to pound Ohio State again. And Ohio State is not the same team. They're not.

Those big dudes up front are good. Their defensive line mauled Michigan. And their offensive line mauled Michigan the entire time. But my biggest issue is that there's nothing creative that we saw at all from Michigan. I mean, if that was their mindset was like, hey, you know, Jordan Marshall first play were, you know, 30 yards, whatever it was, let's keep doing it. Great. That's a great game plan to have.

But what happens when you get punched in the mouth? what happens when that stops working you have to have your scripted plays are gone now your first 15 are gone what does that look like when you need to get a spark what does that look like when you need your quarterback your young quarterback to get going like it just it just seemed like they weren't helping the situation the the the play calling didn't help the cause of michigan's offense stalling fluttering whatever you want to call it like it just wasn't it looked like they just were like okay with let's okay let's just stick to what we know let's stick to the the run game let's stick to just you know it's going to come it's going to pop and

that's good and that's that's fine if it's a close game but once you get down by two touchdowns or two possessions to Ohio State it's not it's not going to end well for you because Ohio State's going to continue to put their foot on the gas continue to try and you know the time of possession all that stuff is going to matter and once once once the run game wasn't working to how effectively Michigan thought it was going to work, you have to throw in some creative plays. You have to get Bryce on the move. You got to do a reverse or a flea flick or whatever trick plays you have up your sleeves. You got to at least put, throw one or two of those out there because it just wasn't just, it just looks so, it looks so boring.

It was just a boring game to watch. It was vanilla. And that works against maybe central Michigan and that worked maybe last week against Maryland, but like not against Ohio State. It wasn't good enough. And they know it. They were more creative against Maryland. They, they, they were more. It felt like they, they wasted their bullets at Maryland. And they thought, ah, whatever, it's all good. We're just going to go back to what we do best. And, and my, and the other thing is like, you go to this Andrew Marsh thing and he had zero catches. And there were, to be fair there were a couple moments where I thought he ran a good route he was open Bryce panicked a little bit didn't see a guy um but but here's why that happens when bryce is

getting his clock sped up a little bit and he starts seeing some ghosts he Bryce isn't hanging in there and waiting around to get smoked Bryce is Bryce is bailing rather than wait for Andrew Marsh to get open on that scene. He's not waiting. He's, he's just not there yet. So in my mind, you have to find different ways to get Andrew Marsh involved. If you get to the second and third quarter and Andrew Marsh has zero catches, do something to get him a catch.

That's a problem. Yes, or give it to him out of the backfield in some way. You know, they ran that wheel route with Andrew Marsh out of the backfield against Northwestern. the sideline cool you have to do something to get your best players involved early when michigan got through a whole quarter a quarter and a half andrew marsh had zero touches i don't know what you're doing he's the best offensive skill player you've got because guess what justice haines and jordan marsh will hurt you don't have a better skill player than than andrew marsh get him the ball some way somehow find a way and that's that's the frustrating part

for me is that it took it took them a whole game and they did nothing to even force something to him yeah it wasn't like he was getting double team every play you know oh when when you go up against the team like ohio state you have to use all your weapons at your just at your disposal that you have you have to be able to use andrew marsh he should have had 10 catches he should have had 100 yards plus receiving he should have had a couple touchdowns those are the type of things because what we've solved over the last 11 weeks with him, it's been a steady rise of him being a dominant player. And when you look at a team of Ohio State,

like they're getting the ball to their best players. They're finding ways to get Jeremiah Smith the ball. They're finding ways to get Tate the ball. They're finding ways to make sure that they're players. And it's not like, okay, Andrew Marshall doesn't get the ball in this game. Like he's going to transfer, but you've got to keep your players happy, especially when they're the best player. When you have a guy like that, and I think he can be, like, we talked about maybe last week,

like up there with like the Braille and Edwards of Michigan football receivers, you know? Why not? Yeah, why not? And especially what he's had this season he's had. It's like, you've got to get him the ball. You've got to find ways to get the ball, whether it's out of the back field, certain routes, get him in motion, move them around. It's like, if you're an offensive coordinator, that should be your number one priority. It's like, how do I get, how do I score points?

And he's been scoring points for this team. And zero catches is a little disheartening. Not even a little disheartening. It's it's unacceptable. Yeah. You bring up an interesting point about keeping guys happy. There has never in the history of football been a wide receiver that thinks he touches it enough. I get that.

Like wide receivers always want the ball. They're always open. They're always going to like that's, I get it. But how if you're Sharon Moore? do you go to a star wide receiver in the transfer portal and say, hey, come to Michigan. What's the pitch? Oh, you're going to come play with Bryce Underwood.

Okay. Well, against your rival, against in the biggest game you had all year, you didn't throw it to your star wide receiver one time. How can you possibly go to a star wide receiver in the transfer portal right now and have that conversation? it's all based on potential it's it's pixie dust right now like you're selling a fairy tale you have to start proving it like you have to start showing it you can't just forever say oh yeah come come to come to michigan and play wider see at some point you have to show that you're going to do this stuff

and this has been the number one talking point for rivals for the last six years seven years whatever it is. Every single rival is negative recruiting you right now saying if you're a good player, if you're a good receiver, why would you go there? Every one of them. It's happening every single day. And at some point, it's got to change and you have to start or you're just never going to get these dudes. Yeah, I mean, I do not envy the receivers coach. I don't Henry Sharon and the office coordinator going out there and trying to recruit guys, especially in the portal because those guys are either looking to make more money or those guys are looking for an opportunity to get to the NFL. And if I am a receiver and they're coming knocking

on my door, those are the questions I got to ask. Like, how are you going to get me the ball? I just watched that Ohio State Michigan game and your best receiver had zero catches. Your quarterback had nine touchdown passes, I think, all year. He threw two, touchdown passes in the last five games combined he threw five passes the entire first half against ohio state five that those i'm looking at that i'm like give me the quarterback that's throwing it 40 50 times a game i don't care if we go eight and four i don't care if we go seven and five i need a thousand yards i i need i need 10 touchdowns how how are you going to give one person that many receptions and that many looks and and you only throw not you know nine nine touchdowns all

I those are the questions you got to ask yeah 100% they are and like I understand who Michigan wants to be in in when it works it is a demoralizing way to lose like if you were a team playing Michigan in 2003 it was so disheartening to look up at the end of the game and say holy cow they just ran it down our throat that team is not not here right now and you have to find other ways. I get that you need to have your identity be running the football. I am for that. I support that.

You go get Savian Heider, the best high school running back in the country. You've got Jordan Marshall. Maybe Justice Haynes comes back for another year. I don't know. He put out a promo today for a new NIL thing. Like maybe Justice Haynes is coming back for another year. I don't know. But what I'm saying is it is fine if that's your identity.

That's great. I want that to be Michigan's identity because I think running the football is incredibly important. I am not arguing that. But what I'm saying is, like, at some point, there has to be more. And I'm hoping that those changes will come this offseason. And I don't know what that looks like. I don't know if it means that Sharon has going to have to completely give Chip Lindsay everything because I still think that Sharon has his thumbprint all over that that that game plan.

I just when I watch it, it is Sharon Moore's offense. He's calling that offense or at least dictating what they need to call. But there's a world where Bryce can throw for 250 yards and they can rush for 150 to 200 yards a game. Yes. That's possible at a place like Michigan and Ohio State does it every damn week. I know, and that's, and especially when that's who you're comparing yourself to, because you have to, that's your number one rival. That's who you are at the end of the season.

That's the game that's going to make or break, Bicton championships, you know, playoffs now, national champions, all that. So when a team like that can do that on a year by year basis, it's like, why can't Michigan? Why can't Michigan go out there, throw the ball like crazy, make your quarterback happy, you're paying them a lot of money. Also, keep your identity of running the ball, you know, that that all those that that's that's it's not like you have to it's it's not one of the

other you can have your cake and you can eat it too it's Chad Henney did it with Mike Hart in the early 2000s for God's sakes like this it's not like we're trying to sell some like crazy pipe dream here like it's possible it's a thing um so let's transition into Bryce um um I don't want to crush the kid. I don't think he deserves to be crushed. I think a lot of the issues they had on offense this year were not his fault. But I do think there were some things that Bryce did not do well throughout this year and they didn't get better from game one to game 12.

And what I mean by that is what I mentioned earlier. The feel for the game is something that. going to come along as he gets older. He is still 18. I'm not, I'm not going to hide that or dispute that or any of those things. But by game 12, and a lot of that was that Ohio State has NFL dudes everywhere. Like, again, that's part of it. But there were moments where Bryce panicked in that game, took off a little early. Didn't let a route come open. There There were a couple times where it was a designed run. He didn't let a blocker get out in front of him to set it up.

Those are the little things that we're going to see from Bryce in a year from now that I think are going to be dramatically better. And I, there's no reason to believe that he's not going to improve on those things. But those are the little nitpicky things that make a difference. They always say like in the NFL from year one to year two, no matter what position. Like that's usually when you take your biggest jump. The game slows down for you. you understand the schedule a little more you're done with the rookie wall

and that can be applied to Bryce there was so much not even just football but like him going to class and all the NIL stuff and all the pressure and all that and now that he has a full he had a full season and now he's going to get into spring ball again and it's the game is going to slow down he's going to know how to navigate everything else that comes with football a little better

and he's going to be able to make those adjustments but like you said he needs to continue to take those steps And we talked about that at the beginning of the year. Like as long as he continues to take those steps, like that, that's a successful season. And there were times where he would take the step and then he would dip a little bit. And then he would take the step and he would dip a little bit. So from, you know, the end of the bowl, whatever bowl game they go to to spring ball into training camp,

like he needs to take those steps to be the best player on the field at all times. He needs to be able to let the game slow down for him. Because once the game slows down for a guy like that, like, there's no telling what can happen. And that's what's exciting for me as a fan, sitting back and watching is like, seeing those flashes this year and everything was moving at a thousand miles an hour.

And when he gets, you know, more time watching the film more, another year of this Chip Lindsay offense and jelling with this, you know, young offense that he has, and those things do continue to click. For him in the game for it to slow down and for him to be able to see things slower and let the game come to him,

it's going to be crazy to watch that transformation because of what he was able to do this year with, you know, a young kid, everything's sped up, everything's moving a thousand miles an hour, and next year I think is going to be night and day, and I'm excited for that. Yeah, I know, I totally agree. I think he, I am, if there's anybody bailing on this kid, like that, on you like I'm I just I refuse to to look at a kid with that kind of ceiling and that kind of talent it's to me Bryce Underwood is the least of their issues right now like Bryce Underwood is the least of their issues um so that that moves on to um uh something

that I think that probably pained you the most watching Ohio state's offensive line mulled Michigan. Beat them up, wore them down, however you want to look at it. By the end of the, and throughout the game, Michigan got zero pressure. Zero.

J. Sean Barham and Derek Moore were ghosts. They were non-existent. And that is the one thing that really surprised me. I know a good offensive line. But Ohio State, didn't hadn't done that to any not that bad to almost anybody i thought and here's my my other thing the fact that they continue to rush for um when they're getting zero pressure and i yes i understand that that sometimes if you rush more than that means there's less guys back

there to cover again i understand football but when you saw that you were not getting pressure with four and maybe a fifth, you needed to start sending somebody extra just to try something. Even if you're going to get beat over the top, at some point, you have to send a little help because the front four was doing nothing the entire day. And Ohio State's offensive line, you got to give him credit. Kid from Finley and Northwest Ohio kid, Luke Montgomery. He had a day. I was watching him. He had a day. He was awesome. He's an NFL guy. He's a baby. He's a baby still. But he was awesome. And I just, that's, that was the most surprising thing to me was the lack of pressure and the fact that Michigan got worn down so badly. Yeah, that's, that, that was probably

the dilemma that wink had all week was like, okay, do we just rush forth? So we have seven guys to cover, you know, these two future first round NFL receivers. Like that, that, I mean, I probably would have lost sleep over that. And, and when you, as the game went on and, and, they, weren't getting pressure like like you said you have to switch it up you got to see you know send five said do something other than what you were doing because you know this this past month Derek more has been on an absolute tear and to see him uh not have the game that i know he wanted to there was i can't imagine how many NFL scouts were at that game you know and when you play a a game like that when you play against Ohio state like you want to have your best game because

there are so many scouts there and probably some GMs were there looking at that game and watching and if you can ball out in that game that sets you up for for you know at least to get drafted at a favorable uh favorable round so um those two guys that were on the edge and look last year the interior of michigan's defensive line won that game for michigan mason graham and kenneth grant demolished the interior of that offensive line and single-handedly those two guys i mean obviously there are some other you know big plays and stuff like that throughout the game, but those guys created havoc every play, every

down, and won that game for them. And this year, we all knew that their defensive line wasn't going to be as strong, but we thought that the strength of that defense was going to be the ability for that defensive line to rotate and to stay fresh. And we talked about the time of possession, and when you get worn

down like that, it just, it's tough. It's hard to stop the run when they're trying to bleed the clock. It's hard to get pressure when you know, they're worried about, you know, covering the receivers. So it all plays into it, but watching those guys have zero success as a defensive lineman and knowing how how a pressure can affect a game or QB hits or sacks can affect a game, it suck to watch. No, for sure.

And the other thing that was kind of demoralizing, in my opinion, third and fourth down, Ohio State, on third and fourth down, Ohio State went 13 of 17. 13 of 17. Michigan was one of 10. When you can't stay on the field as an offense in those situations, and you can't get off the field as a defense in those situations, it is, I mean, just the biggest kick of the junk. Like, it's demoralizing.

Like, there's no other way to put it. And those, that to me, that was the, that to me was the, maybe the biggest difference in the game. If Michigan can get off the field in a couple of those situations, give yourself a shot. But like they just couldn't. They could not get off. It felt like every time Ohio State needed six, it'd get six. They needed five. They get five.

And it's smart receivers running to the sticks, turning in a zone and just sitting down, take the easy possession they're giving you, and move the stick. and they did it so often. It just looks, it just looks so easy. Too easy. Every time, every time Michigan had the ball, it was like,

like I just felt like I was just so tight. And I don't know if it's just because I was, you know, I wanted the boys to win and I was just had some nerve because of that. But like, it just didn't look easy. It never looked easy for the Wolverines. And I don't think it,

it hadn't really looked easy all season. Like even when they would score, it's like, okay they scored like okay that that that worked that time Ohio State goes out there and it just looks easy it looks like that's they they they knew what they're doing they know how to do it they get to the sticks they convert on third down they get the points when they need to and it just looked I wouldn't I wouldn't say effortless but it just looked like they they I don't know is it a flow or whatever you want to call it but it just looked easy for them and and Michigan it just

always feels like there's like like are they going to are they going to get it okay they got it like you got to you got to hold your breath every every play and it's it's it's i don't know i'm just i'm just i'm just got i'm a fan now and i don't have to put too much thought into it but that that that's no listen it's it's i mean that's it's that's what it all comes down to ohio state has a scheme where it doesn't plug and play anybody at quarterback there now basically is our wide receiver in there it just feels like they they are at a spot where the scheme is so good that they just plug and play and nobody has found a way to stop it outside of Michigan for one game last year like nobody and nobody that's but that's the

other thing is that like nobody stops ohio state so this isn't a michigan problem like this is it is a michigan problem because that's michigan that's who you get compared to like you have to be able to no no i i understand i'm saying i'm saying michigan's not ohio state like nobody whatever i mean for at least for the last year and a half um yeah it's it's one of those things where oh ohio state's damn good you're going to be measured up against them. And yes, you're right. When you're at Michigan, the problem is that, yes, you are measured up against the best team in college football. If you're okay with nine and three, cool. I personally

don't think if you're at Michigan, you should be happy with that. I just don't. I think Michigan should be held to a higher standard. At some places, nine and three, they're building a statute. Not at Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, those type of places. If you went nine and three at Purdue, they would carry you off the field and spin you on the drum. Not at Michigan. Like I just, and that's, so let's go there. Let's start looking at the future a little bit. Let me mention this actually first.

I forgot this. I just want to call out Jordan Marshall and Max Bredesen. Those guys were physically and visually, like, visually you could see they were beat up. Like they both tried to go, both of them. They did everything they could. And they deserve to be applauded and credited for giving everything they can. On a day where not everybody on the team was willing to do that, those two were. and I think I think they deserve some credit and they should be shouted out because

those guys love Michigan and they battled their asses off to get on the field and it just didn't work for them because they were too beat up and I hey like I appreciate you trying like I I just as a fan sitting on my couch I appreciated that they they gave it everything they possibly could for the team yeah and as a player like I want to play with those type of guys I want those guys on my side because I know that they're willing to put it all on the line to win a football game and to show that, hey, I'm doing this. Like, I'm not just talking about it.

I'm not just a captain. I'm laying my body out on this because this means so much to me. And to see them go out there and at least give it a go, like that, that would have fired me up. 100%. Totally agree. All right. So let's look to the future. I know there's going to be a lot of hot takes, and I'm, I mean, I'm guilty of it, too.

I get it. I was having this conversation with a friend of mine who was a huge Michigan fan. He's just somebody I've known since high school and is a huge Michigan fan. And we couldn't differ anymore on the where the state of this thing is. He is in the, they went nine and three with a really young team camp. I am in the, they went nine and three, but, and I do want to mention this, too. Let me make sure I get it right. Alejandro Zaniga put this out, who's a really good writer, by the way.

Michigan beat one team with a winning record in Big Ten play, five and four, Washington. The remaining conference wins for Michigan came against the 10th, 11th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 17th. and 18th best teams in the conference. I understand that they're young. I understand they went nine and three, but it is the most hollow nine wins you could possibly imagine when you look at the schedule. The three games that you played

where you had equal or less talent, you weren't competitive in. That's a problem. and is it a, well, they're, you know, they're trying to reload. There were some injuries and they're young. Fine. Okay. But next year, if you miss the playoff again for three straight years in a 12 team

playoff, Sharon Moore will not be the head coach at Michigan if it happens again. Like that's just, that's just how it is. Like that's, there's no, in my mind, there's no debate. next year is make or break for Sharon Moore. I am willing, and I'm saying, yes, give him, he has a third year, no question. But guess what? You can't miss the playoff again. You just can't.

That's just not good enough. Yeah, I mean, I think two things can be true. I think one, you know, it is a young team. And it's a young team and, you know, the growing pains and learning an offense and learning in defense and all that, all can be true. But also, there's an expectation and there's a, there's a standard at Michigan that you have to produce. You have to, you have to compete and win bid games. And, and when, when you don't, people start asking questions. People start saying, you know, things that we've

been here in the last, you know, I mean, really all season, since the, since the, since the, since the Oklahoma game. And I think Sharon understands that. Sharon knows that if they have another underperforming season, He knows he's gone, and that's just the business and the nature of football is if you don't produce, you get fired. I got recruited by Rich Rod. He got fired. Then I come to Brady Hoke, and we have every season that he was there when I was there, we had a, we eight and five to seven and six to five and seven, you get fired. You have to know that that when you sign up to be a head coach and you sign up to be a head coach at a program like Michigan, like you know that you have to produce. And it's not saying that I don't want strong to be fired.

I think that he has the potential. And I think he has the recruits that he has been able to recruit. I think he's a great recruiter. Obviously, I think he knows how to coach an offensive line and do all that. And it seems like the guys are behind him. It seems like those guys want to play for him. And he knows how to get those guys going. But in the world of football, just in the world in general, you have to produce.

And if you don't, Michigan's going to be looking for a new head. coach. But I'm excited for next year. They have to beat the teams that they're supposed to beat. And they have to be able to be competitive in the games of, you know, teams with equal talent. And that's going to be a huge thing next year. And with those young guys taking a step, I think it's going to be good for them. I think Sharon's going to have another year under his belt of being a head coach and learn from the mistakes from this year. Yeah. I don't, I don't want to be misconstrued. Like, I'm rooting for Sharon Moore. I want him to be incredibly successful. I want him to win every single game that he's the head coach at the University of Michigan.

That's not, that is it, point blank, period, end of story. Um, but the state of college football today, when you've got a $20 million roster, people expect more. That, that's just part of it. When Michigan got into the NIL game and people are putting their hard-earned money into this thing, they expect results. And that's like it or not, that is part of the new college football. Look at the, look at Michigan State. They gave Jonathan Smith two years and he's out. You just don't have the time anymore to be average. And I think, I think, Sharon knows that. I think he gets it.

Listen, man, all these guys that are college football coaches, if there's one thing that I have learned in talking to college football coaches over the years, which I've done a lot, is they know what they've signed up for. They get it. They will defend themselves to, you know, against all the criticism. But they also know what it is. And as you look at Michigan's schedule next year, you've got Oklahoma, Oklahoma, you've got Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, which is always tough.

I don't care how bad they are. Penn State, at Ohio State, at Oregon, worm. That is a gauntlet. That's a gauntlet. If you look at Oklahoma, playoff team, Indiana, playoff team, Ohio State playoff team, Oregon, playoff team. And that's, then you throw in Iowa, Michigan State, Penn State. I mean, it's a gauntlet. And guess what?

It's not going to be easy. So this offseason is absolutely huge for Michigan. Huge. And as I look at the transfer portal, a couple things. One, special teams overhaul the whole thing. Blow it up. Legitimately, like, anybody that touch special teams,

it's done. Like, it has to be blown up. everything about special teams was terrible awful there's nothing redeeming sorry wasn't they mikey taylor mikey taylor was a baller man worm any any special teams was an abomination an abomination everything about it no zavada uh he was good listen he was good this week that was good that was great he's gone though so like anyway uh so as i look at the portal though you look at the needs wide receiver edge detackle like that to me is is one two three and two of them are kind of interlinked like i think you're you're solid on the offensive line you had a bunch of

young dudes and you're getting tie haywood ready for next year Andrew babalola should be back next year um i think you're probably going to have to move blake fraser in which but he's a tackled normally. There's going to be a ton of competition on that offensive line. That's a great problem to have. Yeah, having a bunch of offensive linemen that can all play. That's a great problem to have. Now, hopefully some of those guys don't transfer, which is always in the back of your mind.

But having seven, eight guys that can legitimately start on your offensive line is a beautiful problem to have. Beautiful. We'll take it all day long. But as you look at that defensive line, though, like, Yeah, you're going to have a couple of five stars, five star guys in there. Marshall, who didn't really play a ton this year, I thought would play more, actually. I actually kind of expected Nate Marshall to have more of an impact this year, didn't, for whatever reason.

But you have another five star edge coming in in Carter Meadows as a freshman, which you don't know, you never know what you're going to get. But you have to be better on the defensive line. That has been the, that has been the blueprint for Michigan over the last few years or whatever when they've had success. you have to be better on the defensive line and there are holes now like you had graduate guys at both nose tackles you brought in guys from the portal that's like you have holes now and you have to address that D line immediately yeah I mean that that that's where you got to start obviously receivers but yeah defensive line like those two two edge guys are gone barham and and uh and more those guys are gone how do you replace them I mean guy guys should be back right and he he

showed flasses this year, but what's, what's that interior look like? You got to be able to stop the run. Yeah, you got to be able to stop the run. You got to be able to get after the quarterback. And for so long, that, that's when Michigan's, you know, strong suit on the defense on the defense side of the ball. We've been going all the way back to, you know, when I played, we had a crazy good rotation of guys that all, you know, for the most part, play in the NFL. And for that defense to have success, whether Wink is there or not next year, it's going to rely heavily on that defensive line and who they can bring in. Yeah.

And you brought up the Wink thing. It would not shock me if he took an NFL job. If he wanted to head back, that wouldn't shock me at all. So, you know, that's potential that Michigan could be looking for any defense coordinator. That's all speculation stuff. though. Let's get through a bowl game first and see what happens. It looks, I think by basically every projection, it looks like Michigan will probably be in the Citrus Bowl. And they're probably going to play either Vanderbilt or Texas, probably,

which both matchups are kind of awesome to me. Like Michigan Tech always great. Vanderbilt, like, you get to go play Diego Pavia, like, he's the most exciting player in college football to me. So, like, I love both matchups. It's cool, I think, for both of them, whoever it's going to be and that's just again speculation but uh all right let's put a bow on this thing um where are you guys at for uh where are you guys at this week we go to jacksonville we play they're playing very very well yeah we're tied for for the division right now with them so this is going to put us you know if we win this game it'll put us you know i don't know two games whatever you however the math works out at least a game ahead of them and uh got play them again

in a couple weeks after that but uh looking to get back on track man it's you know Since I got here, we've lost two in a row, but we're looking to bounce back and take control of this division because first things, first is you got to win your division and then the playoffs roll in. But we're looking forward to getting down to Florida for a day and playing some good ball. Yeah, enjoy some warm weather. You won't really get to enjoy it a ton, but like, you know, enjoy the warm weather while it's going to be freezing and miserable here back in the Midwest. As for Michigan, we will look ahead to a bowl game, and we will wait to see what happens. I don't know when we're going to tape another podcast. We'll do it eventually, but this will not be the last one for the year.

Worm, appreciate it. This was not our most fun podcast, I'll be honest with you. But it was, there were some. It's good to get your feelings out. It's good to let it out. Yeah, put it in the past now. Now we've got to wait, you know, another 362 days until they play again. But that's the beauty of sports, right?

It's not always going to go away. Somebody wins. Somebody loses. Somebody wins. Somebody loses. But the sun rises. And they'll get another chance. Absolutely. It was fun. Appreciate you. Good luck this weekend. Go win a game and get you guys back into first place.

Okay. Yeah, let's do it. Go blue. All right. Go blue. We'll see you.