Blue By Ninety - “We Have to Have a Standard” | Michigan Legend Jake Butt Joins to Talk USC Aftermath

Episode Date: October 14, 2025

Chris Wormley and Jordan Strack are joined by former Michigan All-American and current college football analyst Jake Butt.

All right. Welcome in to Stadium in Maine with Big Worm and Strack. I am Jordan Strack. That is Chris Wormley. It is episode 6th. We are partnered with Blue by 90. We have new episodes coming out every single Tuesday during the football season. Tonight, today, whenever you're watching or listening to this, not great. Okay? Things aren't great right now. But listen to the sun did come up on Sunday. And there is still more football to be played. I think we've got a lot to get to tonight, obviously. We're going to have Jake Butt joining the show, former Michigan tight end and Big Ten network analysts. He will join us here in just a little bit. First, though, worm, we have been talking the last couple days. I said during the fourth quarter of that game, thank God I have 48 hours to cool off before taping this, because I probably would have said some things that I regret if we would have done like an instant reaction. to the game on Saturday night.

But here we are, and we've had some time to cool off. It was not great on Saturday. No, not great. I mean, from, you know, what we saw the Oklahoma game to the last two weeks to the bye week, it didn't get, I thought we'd see some improvement, you know, big road game, big, you know, good competition, big 10, big tongue, you know, action. But this was probably their worst loss. This was definitely was their loss, worst loss of the season, worst performance of the

season. Nothing really was going well. I mean, obviously maybe, Andrew Marsh's performance was the only bright spot of the day, but I thought it was pretty atrocious, to be honest. Yeah, for sure. All right, let's just look at some of the numbers. Obviously, a 31-13 loss. Michigan gave up 489 yards. They gave up an average of 7.2 yards per play. USC was 6 of 12 on third downs. And Michigan averaged, and this is, listen, I know this is a little thing. Probably most people don't even,

you know, not paying attention to whatever. But you're averaging only 36.5 yards per punt. That played a big factor in the game, not good enough. So let's start with just kind of what went wrong. In your mind, what was the biggest issue on Saturday? Offensively, the offensive line, I thought played their worst game.

It didn't seem like they were in sync on any level. I thought with Al Hadi coming back, maybe there was some, there was going to be some more, you know, bowling up of that offensive line and it seemed like it got worse. I don't know if he's fully healthy yet or what that issue was, but I thought across the line it was pretty abysmal when it comes to blocking for Bryce, blocking for the running backs. It just didn't look, didn't look well on the offensive side of the ball from the offensive line perspective. From the defensive side of the ball, definitely their worst performance of the year. I thought they couldn't tackle to save their lives.

There was multiple, multiple plays where you look and just make the tackle, get off the field, just make the tackle, live for a third medium, third and short, and it just, they couldn't tackle. And that's something that I know that wink harps on constantly. I know that's something that they generally have been pretty good at over the last three or four years has been tackling, getting guys to the ground. And then you talk about the hidden yardage in the punt game. And that was something that people, you know, the casual fans not looking at.

But if you can swing the field, even if you go three and out or your offense is stall in a little bit, that can put your defense in a pretty good, you know, position. And I thought all three phases of the game, when you talk about offense, defense, and then punting, it was pretty bad. So I tweeted out on Saturday, and I said it felt like a very unprepared football team. And I don't, I don't say that lightly. just felt like game plan wise from the very beginning, it felt very disjointed. It never felt like everybody was totally on the same page. And from a defensive standpoint, it starts on the very first drive once again. Let's start there. What in your mind is the biggest reason for the slow starts and how do you fix it? I understand scripted drives or whatever. But this

has become a thing now. These first drives, Michigan is getting gashed and it's setting a tone for a football game where you're having to come back every single week now. Yeah, the last two weeks are, I mean, first drives unacceptable with Wisconsin. It was, they kind of ran the ball down the field, scored a touchdown this week with, you know, Lincoln, Lincoln Riley's kind of offensive mindset. He was, you know, wheel and dealing, passing the ball, throwing it all over the field with their quarterback and their receivers. And, you know, you kind of wonder, like, why, why is this defense off to a sluggish start because beforehand they were they were you know we Michigan leans on that defense to to to make the splash plays to you know hold the offense accountable when when things

aren't going well and kind of hold down the fort until the offense picks things up and and we didn't see that especially yet last week but these last two weeks they've felt you know got to go on off to really slow start and it's frustrating to watch it's frustrating to see the strength of your team what you think is the strength of your team struggle those first you know, 15, 20 plays of a game. I think it's one thing if, if you're in position and you're just not making tackles and stuff happens, obviously, it feels like a combination right now, schematically, but also it feels like guys are in position and just not making plays.

The third and 22, third and 26, whatever it was, that to me was my breaking point in the game. it totally unacceptable cannot happen you have a chance to get off the field and it doesn't happen in your mind is this a and I think I know you are the resident wink Martindale defender so I think I know where I think I know where you're going on this is this guys are in position not making tackles or I mean to be fair they're playing off 10 15 yards and USC was very happy to take that short quick game and you then you can't even get your pass rushers to the quarterback in your mind which one is it i'm probably both probably both i'm gonna say both this game when you look at the film when you watch and you're like okay why are these dbs

like 10 12 yards off when if i'm a quarterback i don't know anything about being a quarterback but if i'm a quarterback i'm taking what i what i can get and if that's 10 yards i'm taking that's a first on every play um but when you look at that third and 22 and guys just not getting to that that's a slap in the face that's disrespectful basically u s was was giving up that possession it's third and 22 let's just run the ball it's not create a turnover trying to pass the ball and make a big play let's get off the field and Michigan gave them enough gave them extra life gave them another possession gave them another three downs and that's that's that's when they can just kind of run through you like that it's it's it's a slap in the face and so so when I am I a wink you know stand or whatever you call them yes I am I love wink I love you know personally what he did for my career but also I know the type of guy he isn't when it comes to defensive mind in this. But yeah, this game, I know he's scratching his head, trying to figure out what he can do to get better. But also the players, I thought this was their worst tackling game of this season.

And it showed on Saturday night. Yeah, I think the biggest surprise to me, I did not anticipate Michigan getting pushed around the way they did. And they did on both on both lines, offensive and defensive line. They both got pushed around. I did not see that coming. I just didn't. Was that a surprise to you the way that they were bullied a little bit? Yeah, usually when it's, you know, I still think of, you know, UCLA, USC, Washington,

those type of teams is Pac-10, Pac-12 teams. And it only took them really a year to kind of transition to the Big Ten, Big Ten ball. They were big, they were physical. They got after both lines of scrimmage, which is usually Michigan's kind of forte. That's the Big Ten mentality. And USC has kind of picked that up and has kind of made that their own. Obviously, Lincoln Raleigh is a passing attack kind of offensive-minded guy. But they pushed around both sides of the ball, which was, once again, as a defense

alignment, it's frustrating as hell to see those guys, especially when we thought that Michigan's D-line was going to be their strong suit and the people that they leaned on throughout the year and it just it just wasn't their day i don't know if it was the west coast or the time change or whatever but like you said it just seemed like they didn't come to play and i think that's what's most frustrating yeah i think to me and it answered me this as a defensive lineman on the opening drive of the game wink was already rotating guys in on the defensive line it might have been the second drive but i believe it was the first drive like Nichols is in, and he's already rotating guys in.

When you've struggled early in games, like, I want your best players on the field to set the tone. As a defensive lineman, are you cool with rotating guys in that early in the game? Do you want that rest or kind of walk me through it? Yeah, after about five or six plays as a starter and you're, you know, you've gone through, you know, a couple first downs in the offense. It's time to get new guys in. Obviously, you want your best guys in, but like I said, Michigan's

defensive line was supposed to be the, you know, position on the, on the field that had the most depth throughout the season, the guys that you could rely on, the guys that you can rotate in and not skip a beat. The teams that I've been on that have been the most productive and the most successful, been the ones that have had, or defensive linemen that have been able to rotate on a, on a, you know, have two, really, you know, eight guys that can, that could be considered starters. And it was, whether you're rotating or not, you got to be fresh. You You've got to be able to have that, you know, that gas in the tank. And to be able to sustain that for a full game, you have to rotate.

You have to put guys in. But at the same time, those guys have to produce and be productive. I want to talk about the Justice Haynes injury because I felt like it kind of changed the game. They were still in the football game completely. And then he goes down, this is not a knock on Jordan Marshall in any way. But it felt like a different team when you didn't. have Justice Haynes in there. It didn't feel like you had that home run threat to be able to go and change the game. And once you fell behind it, there was just nothing that told me they were

coming back. It just, and even when they were, you know, they had a shot, I felt, I just felt like Justice Haynes injury kind of changed the way that everything kind of flowed offensively. Did you get that sense to? Yeah. And I think Sharon even addressed it in his presser and he was like, you know our game plan was the same and it's like even if your game plan was the same yeah jordan marshall is not the same as justice haines jordan marshall's a good back you know i think back to 22 when quorum went down uh with what i think it was a meniscus or whatever when he was out for the season and you look at donman edwards a totally different back than what quorum was in every down back could hit the you know the home run runs but

donovan it seemed like he was the only type of guy that could hit those home runs and that was all he not all he could do but that's what he was known for and i think that really hurt them, and especially in that playoff game against TCU. But, yeah, when Justice went down and he wasn't coming back in after half-time, you're like, okay, this is something that isn't just, you know, a little boo-boo. It's something that, you know, if this lasts, it lingers for a few weeks and he's out for one or two games, Michigan's offense is going to look totally different. Now, Andrew Marsh coming on in the last couple weeks has been huge for Bryce and his development,

but when Haynes can get you four or five yards of pop, and can also hit that home run, home run that we've seen the first, you know, five, six weeks of the season, that's huge too. And when he is not at 100%, or if he's out for a couple games, Michigan is going to need to step up, you know, their players on both sides of the ball to kind of fill that void for what Haynes has been able to do. Yeah, and in Sharon said he thinks he's going to be fine.

It's not like a long-term thing. He doesn't think, but we also heard that last year with Will Johnson that, oh, you know, it's not going to be a long-term thing. And then he never came back. So let's hope it's not the same scenario here. We're talking about, you know, talking about Bryce and taking some of the pressure off him and the emergence of Andrew Marsh. But my question is, is where were the tight ends?

Because between Marlon Klein and Hogan Hanson, who you're getting back and you think, okay, it's great to have him back. There was one catch for five yards in that game from your two tight ends. And to me, not having that safety valve for Bryce to be able to just have that nice, easy throw once in a while. That's a glaring miss on this offense. It's a staple of this offense to be able to have the tight ends that you can, you know, use once in a while.

And they just, they weren't there. Where in your mind did that go wrong? I mean, I don't know. To ask with you, even when you have a guy like Tom Brady who relied on Gronk for, you know, 10 plus years of his career, whenever you have that type of, like you said, safety valve, a freshman or a rookie in the NFL or, you know, a savvy vet, you need that type of, you need that safety blanket, that safety valve to get you, you know, four or five yards when you need it,

get you that, you know, third and five, first down catch. And that just hasn't been the case since that first game of the season. Now, you know, is Klein still hurt? I don't know, but, you know, Hogan Hanson's supposed to be healthy and he still isn't, isn't producing like we thought they would. That tight end group as a whole and that, you know, tight-end room hasn't produced how we thought they would, especially after that first game. I'd love to get Jake's perspective on it, being a former tight-end. But that is something that needs to change, especially if Haynes is out, like you said, hopefully he's back this week.

But if Haynes is still not, you know, playing for the next week or so, other people need to step up. Obviously, Marsh and McCulley have been kind of the other go-to guys, but we need somebody that can be that, you know, third down, get you five yards, get you a few years. yards and and and help Bryce out for sure uh two more things before we get the Jake button we'll get Jake here in just a moment um I don't want to be the they lost because of the officials guy I'm not I'm not going to do it they were they were beat up like that's they were pushed around and USC bullied him that's not the reason they lost but there were a few

calls in that football game that were frustrating the first USC touchdown when the rules official gets on the broadcast and multiple times has to come in and correct the officials, that's an issue. And on the first touchdown, it was offensive pass interference would have negated a touchdown. And it was directly the guy that caught the ball should have been offensive pass interference. Michigan was called for an OPI that was not OPI. It was a brutal call. I think it was on Marsh down the near sideline on the camera. Bad call. And then the non-called defensive pass interference on Bryce's interception. You're down 21 to 7. You're driving. You're gaining a little bit of momentum.

And Donovan McCulley clearly gets spun around completely and the ball gets intercepted. That's in the referee's view. I mean, that is directly where you're looking at the ball. That can't happen. It can't happen. And I hate to be the guy that says they lost because of the officials or whatever. Those are big game changing calls and it's got to be better. It's unacceptable in my mind. Yeah, like you said, you never want to be that guy. But when there's three or four calls that are blatant and obvious, you start to think, like, are we playing against, you know, USC and the refs? And you never want to, like, you know, we talked about putting that, you know, the tinfoil hat on earlier in the season, but you never want to be that person

that wants to, you know, bitch and complain about what the refs are doing. Right. And use that as your scapegoat. But those, those were big, big calls. It wasn't just like you missed a false start. You missed an offside. You missed like a little holding call in the middle of the field. Those were, you know, drive-defining and game-defining calls that, you know, in big-time, college football, it can't happen. No, it can't. It was a very frustrating night. And, you know, I think it just gets exacerbated when you're getting beat up the way they were.

All right. Last thing before we get to Jake, who I know is waiting, I know right now there is, and this happens all the time when a team starts losing. and I think it gets furthered because other teams are making moves. Penn State fires James Franklin.

Some other teams have started to make decisions and it looks, you know, it's going to go a certain way. I know there's a fire Sharon crowd out there. Obviously. We're not blind to it.

So we have to at least address it. It's his second season's head coach. Two years ago, a lot of players left for the NFL draft. I get it. I'm not in the fire Sharon crowd yet. But it's got to be better. I mean, this is the University of Michigan. You're getting paid a lot of money.

And the world we live in now with NIL, with boosters, spending a lot of money for guys, they want results. And when you're at the University of Michigan, being four and two or being 12 and 7 as the head coach is not good enough. Sharon knows that. Sharon understands that he gets it. But right now, it has to get better. And that's just the way it is.

And I think he understands that. So I'm not in the fire Sharon crowd yet, but it has to get better for sure. Yeah. And like you said, he knows that. He addressed it and his presser. My question is like, who is Michigan going to go get? Like, who do they get?

Do you want James Franklin? I don't. Do you want like Nick Saban? Is Nick Saban going to leave his cushy job? at you know college game day to come be the coach at michigan i'm going to say no i think he's looking at you want my do you want my answer i'll give you an answer if you want it yeah i'm just you know i'm just i'm trying to think when when it's fire charon it's like okay who who is michigan going to get and go ahead go ahead i want to hear your your take on this the same guy that everybody

wants right now is kurt signetti like that's the same guy everybody wants right now and he he's the poster child for you know everybody says well you know it takes time It takes time, all these things. Kurt Signetti didn't need time. He came in with a terrible roster, and he fixed it right away. So that would be my one argument. But again, Kirk Signet, why is he have to leave right now? Like, yeah, the resources of Michigan or the resources of Penn State,

he doesn't have to leave right now. He's got a good job, a very low-pressure job, to be fair. And he can win, clearly. Like, he can win. So that would be my argument, or at least, my answer for you. Like you said, I don't think he's leaving. I don't think he wants to leave Bloomington. He seems like he's a, you know, he's doing great, very comfortable in his job, beating teams, you know, just, just beat Oregon in, in, wherever the hell they play. I don't

know where they play in. Eugene. In Eugene. But back to Sharon, it's like, I like, I like Sharon. I like what he does. I think, I agree. I don't, I don't want to blame Harbaugh, but when you look at what, you know, when Harbaugh left, there was some speculation about, okay is JJ coming back he doesn't want to get a quarterback uh he doesn't want to get a quarterback and you know a big time recruit so if j jay comes back he's he's secure all that stuff jim was thinking of coming back there's like a lot of stuff that you don't think about on a daily basis and not just what is happening right now and right here and now it's you know you got to think you got to look back a little bit but to your point yeah signetti is you know he's doing well the

first two years i'm in the camp it's like and jake can tell you too like when we when we were at michigan with Brady Hoke like it was it was it was way worse than this I know there's a lot of younger fans now in Michigan that didn't really watch Brady Hoke and you want to take it back further to Rich Rott's like you can't put Sharon Moore in the same camp as as Rich Rod and Brady Hoke you just can't and and now in this like you said in the life of NIL like people want results now especially just in life in general people want you know they want their their food delivered fast they want their groceries delivered they want everything happened happen fast and happen now I'm in the camp it's like I don't know I'm going to

be a Michigan fan for the next 60 years in my life. Like they're going to figure it out. The only team that, when we talked about this off air, like the only team that can reload on a regular basis is Ohio State. And I know that's our biggest rival every year. And they don't have a dip. That's, I think that's the biggest frustration for people is that like, when you're at Michigan, you're compared to Ohio State.

That's just how it is. And when you see that they can lose 20 guys the NFL draft and there's zero dip, there's no drop off, none of it. They win a national championship guys leave. They come right back and they're the number one team of the country. That's the thing is when you're at Ohio State or you're at Michigan, you're compared to the other. And that's the thing. All right.

Let's bring, let's bring Jake in. Jake, but there he is. Hi, Jake. How are you? Hey, guys. Doing good. How are you? Very good.

Enjoyed listening to you. There? Break it down. Yeah, some good, some bad. You know, we're getting into this thing. Jake, obviously, a two-time All-American of Michigan, BT, an analyst. I don't think there's anybody right. rising in the ranks, in the media ranks right now faster than Jake, but.

Can you kind of describe what it's been like your ascension to this point? Because it feels like you are, you have taken off and ever, even Buckeye fans like seem to really like you right now. Yeah, I know. I feel like honestly, sometimes I might be getting more compliments from Ohio State's camp than, than anybody else. So that's, that's not something I expected i didn't even i i did not expect to get into this industry like i didn't go to school for it it's not something i really thought about when when i was playing but obviously with the way my career ended so suddenly i i didn't have much time to really think or plan about the next step and you know isaiah hole asked me to join his podcast uh that first fall and i did that from that

i got some opportunities to do some hits on serious xm and then next thing you know michigan plays in the orange bowl that year that's the bowl game i got in injured in so BTN invites me down there to do a hit they say hey you want to join us at the desk i said yes from that desk they said hey you want to call the spring game next spring i said yes and then they offered me a job and like before i even really knew it i was like oh well i can make money doing this sounds awesome uh it's just pretty much accelerated from there i mean my very first game was calling michigan hawaii in the booth and i got that same adrenaline like when i was playing and you know worm when you're done when you retire you're like i don't i well i

ever get that feeling again and I got that exact same feeling in the booth so I was like let me lean into this is going to be fun well you're really am good at it like that's that's the other thing is it like you get opportunities because you're really good at it and I you know like in this in this industry there are there's some good there's some bad like everybody you know in the in the hot take world that we live in you're good like you're very good at it and I think that that translates it comes across go ahead worm I'm done I'm done I appreciate it. That was absurd.

Jesus, right. Go on. No, I was going to ask, like, just picking off of that, like, where do you see your career going? Because, like, you look at, like, the top guys, like a Tony Romo who's just calling games. You got Herb Street who's everywhere, private jet on Wednesday to Thursday night game to the Friday or Saturday game day to Saturday night game to whatever the hell else he's doing.

Do you see yourself doing that? Do you see yourself being more like a stray hand in Burleson who are doing like, you know, Good Morning America and the CBS morning news and then going and doing NFL game days. Like, where do you see your career going? Because for me and knowing you and knowing where you came from and seeing your trajectory, I think the sky's a limit for you. And it's been fun to watch you. So where do you kind of see your career going?

Yeah. To me, like, you know, you never know, who knows, like what it'll look like five or ten years from now. And who knows what media will even look like? Like it's already changed even since I got in there. it's it's changing rapidly when i when i think about it though like i want to be uh i i want to be in the booth like number one and maybe i can do both like that's what i'm doing right now i do studio and games uh kirk does both joel clatt does a little bit of both um but i love games that that is that's the thing that makes me tick uh so like the ultimate goal would be to be a lead broadcaster

of one of the major networks and my ultimate goal would be to call michigan ohio state one day and you know, Kirk, Kirk went to Ohio State, and he called that game a number of times. And I know I could, you know, be measured. Sometimes even Michigan fans are like, what are you doing, complimenting the buck guys? But, I mean, I say the same thing as what you guys are talking about there, which is like, you got to give them respect, you know, for the way they run their program. I just try to be really honest and prepared about what I say. Like, obviously, I love Michigan, but I'm just going to be honest about what I see and

what I believe to be true. So that would be the goal for me right now. I was like, I would love to call Ohio State Michigan as a lead broadcaster at a major network. You're a pick north guy, so you're from just outside of Columbus, and you went to the University of Michigan. You've told the story before, but like, how does that happen? Yeah. Well, we're from Toledo, but there's a lot more Michigan fans there, right? It's different.

Yeah, that's 50. Yeah, we're both Toledo guys. Yeah. Okay, cool. So, yeah, you guys know the deal. Yeah, we get it. But, I mean, being from Columbus, that's not the case. I mean, it is Buckeye fans everywhere.

I grew up a Buckeye fan, even. Like my best friend in elementary school was a Michigan fan, and we used to fight on the rivalries. I was fighting on the other side of this, which is just crazy. But, you know, as offer started coming in, Ohio State didn't offer me. Did you have an offer from Ohio State, Warren? I did. I was close to going there, man.

There was a guy by the name of Kenny Hayes, who was a year older than me, and we were bookends. We were both defensive ends at Whitmer, and he committed to Ohio State. So we were going recruiting trips, you know, USC and Ohio State back in the day when they were playing those night games. And I was sold, man. And Jim Tressel was the man. Like I was in on Ohio State and then he gets fired and, you know, Luke fickle and then Urban. Were you a Michigan fan growing up, though?

I was. I would go to spring games. Yeah. But once recruiting started, you know, you kind of have to put that to the side. Obviously, you kind of have some bias. But you want to go to the best school with the best fit. And for a little bit, it was Ohio. state i love i love what jim trestle was doing and what that program was about yeah no i mean and i think

if trestle was there i would have had an offer because trestle was all all about like keeping talent in ohio but like ohio state did not offer me they like didn't want me i felt really disrespected uh their director of recruiting was a guy by the name of gregg gillam um and i went i went from kindergarten all the way through high school with great gillam's sons like one was in the grade below me one was above me i played football and basketball with them I think Gillum, Gillum wanted to offer me. Urban always, Urban Meyer, when I talk to him because he's part of the Fox family now, he blames it on Gillum.

I'm pretty sure it was urban. I'm like 99% sure it was urban and not Gillum, but they didn't offer me. And I'm so grateful, like, pretty soon I was like, all right, it's, you know, forget you guys. And the day I committed to Michigan, they tried to come in late and like, say, hey, we want. I'm like, no, that's not how this works. You know, absolutely not. So, and it worked out, it worked out the best. Like I, you know, I met my wife there.

I can't picture a different journey. And of course, as a tight end, like you get so much more opportunity at Michigan as well. So we saw that like J.G. McCarthy had a very similar story where JJ was, he wanted to go to Ohio State. He thought that's where he was going. And then they recruited over him. And he ends up going to Michigan.

And is bitter for his whole career. Very outwardly bitter his whole career. Were you that bitter? Like were you every time you played against him? Did you hate them, man? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, my freshman year, when I was getting ready to play the 2013 game, you know, it was the very like Monday practice

or whenever it was, Brady Hoke would come up to me and warm ups every day and whisper in my ear. He's like, remember, they didn't want you. You know, in the off season during the workouts, I would have the strength coaches say the same thing to me. I mean, spite is a very good thing to have in the game of football. It is, it is nice to play with the chip on your shoulder. So, I mean, certainly that was a big goal in my mind as I was like, I wanted to prove these guys wrong and I wanted to beat them fortunately you know didn't get that that part of it done but

uh it was it was a motivating factor for sure go ahead worm yeah um we were both captains in 2016 together um what do you remember from that year being a captain and having all those like legendary honorary captains you talk about Hank Aaron yeah rich Eisen uh Jordan Michael Jordan was on our side on his honorary right Tom Brady came and spoke to us Derek Jeter was there. So talk about what you remember that because sometimes I forget. And I'm like, oh, whoa, like, you know, we had some some dudes come and talk to us. It was, it was crazy.

Yeah, no, I mean, that, that was like the theme of the early Harbaugh era. Like I, you guys were just talking about Brady Hoke briefly. It was like dark times at Michigan in 2014 before Harbaugh came in. And it was like, I could not wrap my head around it. It's like, this is not Michigan. This is not what I expected or wanted or anyone. wanted coming to Michigan and then in comes Jim and like immediately everything changed like the energy changed the feeling changed uh how we ran team meetings changed uh that was part of

the magic with Jim is like he wanted to make Michigan a respected brand again you know getting putting us in Jordan the first first football team to be Jordan well yeah that's because we're the university of Michigan like it in Jim could say that and because he's Jim Harbaugh it works bringing in those captains, like, hey, Michigan, we associate ourselves with greatness, the leaders in the best, him doing the satellite camps, like really just stirring the pot and not caring because, hey, we're Michigan. Like, we set the tempo. We are the initiators.

So that's what I remember. I also remember how close our team was. Like, man, we had a lot of similarities to those teams that, you know, won the Big Ten championship and won the national title, like, in terms of. terms of, man, the culture of those teams really stood out. We were so close-knit, had so much talent and just, you know, just came up short on a few occasions. Yeah. Every week on here, we ask for Harbaughal stories. I think Winnevich, was it Winnevich told us about Harbaugh popping both his hamstrings? That was Moe. Moe Hurst. Oh, it was Moe Hearst told us about

Marble popping both of his hamstrings. Winnevich told us a story about how Harbaugh laid on the ground and was looking up at a snap, right? Yeah, right at her exchange up. Yeah. Harry told us that Harbaugh came into a quarterback meeting late at night and made everybody slide in the quarterback meeting. Yeah. Because he didn't like the way they were sliding or whatever.

Do you have a good Harbaugh story for us that you can share? Yeah. Well, actually, I think Jim even like, he, he led the way. Like, he was showing people in action of what a slide should look like. And he doesn't like the slides. He liked you to dive forward and get the extra yard. So there's Jim and his khaki and his cleats, you know, putting it together. Real quick, one thing about this, a first hardball story is when Worm and I were captains,

I just think about how different those teams were than our teams. Like there was a healthy level of fear that people had. We were not friends with Jim. We weren't, you know. Not at all. And that came from a place of respect. And I think that's something that Sharon's missing right now. I think, you know, he's a, it's good.

You can be friends with your, when you're an offensive line coach. You can be friends when you're a coordinator, but not as much. As a head coach, I think there needs to be more fear. So I just wanted to say that just as a little side note. Two stories come to mind. The very first game when we were on the road to play Utah, it was a night game. And Jim, even, even that was different. Like he wanted us to sleep in and shorten the day.

And then he didn't want us to sit in the hotel all day. So we went and went on a team walk. and Jim is walking in his cleats in khakis in his whole get-up, but he's wearing cleats to walk around Utah. And we come upon this like holy Mormon church, like one of the more sacred places in the entire city. And Jim wanted to go in there to explore it and opens the door, looks around and walks in there with his cleats,

clink, click, click, click, click, click. Like clinking his cleats into this like holy place where you should probably be walking around in your bare feet or clean socks or something. Jim goes into the church with his, with his cleats. But the best story really is when we had training table at night, our nutritionist at the time said that, you know, you should be eating chicken and broccoli for every single meal.

So even for breakfast during the mornings, you would have eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes. And then at the end, there was chicken and broccoli. Every single meal, there was chicken and broccoli. So it was like one of the very first meal. we were having since Jim had been hired there's like 10 of us in the entire big cafeteria sitting down together eating and then Jim walks in and everybody's like a little bit nervous and he goes over and he starts scooping up in his plate he puts eggs on there bacon on there and then as he's going

down he notices the chicken and the broccoli and we're all quiet and observing him because we're we just got here and he's like studying the chicken and he's like what the hell's going on so he walks over and we're eating with the nutritionist and he was like chicken huh chicken for breakfast and like yeah he's like you know that's the nervous bird right He's like, yeah, he's like, he asked our nutritionist at that time to do a large-scale study on the correlation between chicken consumption and mental health diseases in the United States because he said chicken was the nervous bird. And we were, we all like started to laugh, but then realized he was dead serious. So we all caught herself real quick. I mean, that's just Jim, though.

You know, it's like that that is such an absurd thing to do. And yet it was made complete sense in Jim's mind to do that. steak and milk right yeah right steak and milk yeah he made he made he made wilton like our starting quarterback in 2016 willton spate he would not let him eat chicken like it was oh really i didn't know yeah i'm pretty sure like he would not let him eat you got to i mean you can text wilton but like yeah i'm pretty sure he was the one that was like you know he kind of let it slide but like if you're the quarterback you can't be you can't be nervous you can't have a nervous chicken in your body you got to eat anything else but chicken i'm like what the hell i mean whatever jim does

works and yeah jake and i you know we were with hoke for i was with him for three jake was with him for two and like when harbaw came we were looking for anything like we were looking for someone to come in lead us give us something that we could attach ourselves to and and jim was that guy i mean he he weeded a lot of guys out and i've talked to it before we talked about it before on this show he was looking to to get guys out of there and the guys that stayed yeah we gained his respect but yeah those those first like six seven months before camp started were uh I was scared. I was scared.

That first ever team meeting, like I'll never forget that first team meeting. Like when Brady, when Brady was the head coach and he would walk into the doors in the team team room, the door would swing open and Brady's like a jolly guy with his rosy red cheeks and he would he would cheer and then we'd chair. We'd go, hey, you know, and he'd get us all fired up. We'd go, hey, hey, we'd cheer. And then the first ever team meeting when, when Jim's there, we didn't know what to do, but we're all in there in the meeting room early.

You could hear a pin drop. Everyone was nervous. And the door swings open. like everyone straightens up and in in walks colonel minick though it wasn't jim and colonel walks over and he's like hey i know you guys you know used to cheer when brady would walk in he's like yeah we don't do that here we cheer when we win uh when jim comes in here we expect you to sit up straight and have your notepad out and be quiet and then just left and we're like oh my god yeah it's different way different yeah it was crazy yeah i love so uh my brady hoke story actually so the day that brady

Hoke got hired. I don't know if you guys remember this, but at the press conference, I asked him the question that spurred, this is Michigan for God's sakes. So I pissed Brady Hoke off the first day he came in. Because on the drive up from Toledo to Ann Arbor, I said, Colin Cowherd was on the radio and Hurd was talking about how Michigan's not an elite job anymore. Nobody wants his job, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I said to Brady Hoke, I said, there are people out there that believe that Michigan isn't an elite job anymore. In your mind, why is Michigan still an elite job?

And he goes, who said that? And I said, well, on the radio today, on the way up, you know, I heard about, and he goes, well, God bless him, they're wrong. This is Michigan, for God's sakes. And he slams his hand on the table. Good answer. Yes. And that was, and now you see in Schembeckler, there's a huge sign.

Obviously, it says, this is Michigan. And, and so Brady Hoke, that's my one person. You don't get a little NIO. You're taking credit. Yeah, do you get like a little percentage point? I feel like I should. I have said for years, I feel like I should. The best part of it is that after the press conference ends, Dave Abloff,

I went back to him, I said, hey, can I get Brady one-on-one? And I went up to him and I was like, hey, man, like, you know, I didn't realize it. He goes, no, no, that was great. I appreciate you asking. That was awesome. It was a good moment. He was really cool afterwards. But I think he wanted his press conference moment and he got it.

So it was awesome. He got it. Well, that's another point, though. Like, this took, this is why there's so much frustration right now, though, because it took so much to build the program back to a place of national respect like it took a lot in in a long time and a lot of failure and of course a lot of money a lot of sacrifice and it can quickly slip right through your hands and it it certainly feels like for a lot of people at least i know that's where their emotions are coming from they feel like it's slipping through their hands and you are looking

at ohio state saying you just you just lost both your coordinators a majority of your team And you look better. How is that possible? Why? Because Michigan, it's not a resource thing. Michigan's spending as much as anybody. I look at the way the team took the field last week against USC. And I don't know if we're going to get into it or not.

But I contrast that with how Indiana took the field against Oregon. Indiana takes the field against Oregon with an absolute certainty that they had the game plan that was going to lead them to victory. they were mentally prepared schematically they out scheme to Oregon we Michigan takes the field against USC and it I can't say that that's what I saw and certainly schematically Lincoln Riley and his staff had the upper hand on Michigan all day long and it didn't I didn't see any adjustments made defensively throughout the full game and I just say we have to have a standard right like we have to have a standard that's what stood out with Jim is there was an unwavering standard and if you weren't willing to at least try to meet it, there's the door. We'll show you to the door.

And there, there's no, that was not a standard last weekend. That was an ass whipping. Reading articles that say USC in the title is USC out physicals Michigan. USC imposes their will on Michigan. It can be unacceptable. I would have accepted if they threw the ball, understand, because they got a great quarterback and in great receivers. I could have understood that. But or have nearly 230 yards run right jammed right down your throat with a third string running back because their top two guys got hurt. It was a red shirt freshman right into the heart of Michigan's defense. So I'm bent in a little bit, but like, no, please do.

It's tying it all together because that's just unacceptable. It's just frankly unacceptable. I said before you came on a little bit, to me, the most frustrating part was that it felt like Michigan got bullied and on both lines, offensive line and defense. line. It felt like Michigan was pushed around. And to me, there is no chance that should happen against USC. None. Period. Against anyone really because anybody. That is your identity. That is who you are. That is the one thing that you do. Um, and, and that's the one thing they've, even, even when they struggled last year, uh, that's the one thing that they, they went to Ohio State and they

still were more physical than Ohio State. That's the one thing that can't lack. And it did. I, that's a frustrating thing to me that I took away from Saturday night. Yeah. Worm? Do you feel? I was letting you boys go. You guys are on one. Well,

I don't think it's a talent thing. Like, okay, here's another way to look at it. Do we have the high level talent of Ohio State right now? No, we don't. We don't have that,

you know, they have multiple NFL first rounders at multiple positions on both sides of the ball. We just don't have that this year. That's fine. But that's, that's not what I'm asking here. I'm asking, again, I'll use Indiana as an example, why is it that Indiana, if this is the maximum potential of their players, why is it that Cignetti has their players performing at this level every single week? What we're asking for is our players could be put in a situation where they play as close to the maximum potential every single week.

And it's been an up and down season, even just starting there, they're not consistently, I don't see a consistent. level of performance from them. I don't see a steady improvement. It's a roll of the dice of what to expect on both sides of the ball. Special teams is another one of like Michigan. Hangs our hats on special teams. It's been atrocious.

It's been a trope. And I just, and you can't just look the other way because this is something that slowly happens and then it's suddenly all at once. It's like, oh my God, we're an eternity away from where we were. And right now we're at that, like, crossroads where it's like, ah, if we turn left, we're right back competing for titles.

But if we turn right, what happens then? I don't know. That's a culture thing, right? That's a culture thing. That's a, that's a, how do I get these guys, how to get these young men to do what we're saying, believe in what we're saying, trust in the coaches to put us in the right position and then go make those plays. Because when, when you're sitting there and you're watching the film or you're sitting

there and you're just, you know, you're at training table talking like, damn, like, what's going on guys like let's let's try to figure this out like you said you're at that crossroad between and we saw that the last three weeks with with Penn State how how are they going to and I don't think it's as bad as Penn State no we're not at that crossroad yet but like when you when you get to that crossroad when you get to that first fork in the road you're like okay we're going to go either this way or that way and we need to make sure that not just the coaches or not just the players are on board everybody has to get on board because you know that that's just the way that's like you said the standard is is winning games imposing your will on people and at this point it's it's it's going

the other way and you need to make sure that you're heading in the right direction to to be successful because that's that's what michigan is about yeah i mean that's again man like you know like you're the expectations should match like resource commitment you know like why james got fired this year from penn state is because there's no No more resources they could have given to James. Like James is like, hey, we, you know, we need to compete with Ohio State. Okay, here's your $35 million roster, James. Hey, we need better coaches.

All right, we're going to give you the highest paid defensive coordinator in college football, James. Hey, he complained about, you know, always having to play Michigan and Ohio State at 12 instead of being a night game. All right, cool. We'll give you Oregon at night, James. So the expectations all of a sudden, because we're giving you everything, are risen. And you fell short of those expectations to change. needs to be made. We have a $12 million quarterback. Wink is one of the highest paid defensive coordinators in college football. The offense is improved under CHIP for sure.

I mean, it has. But the offensive line, I don't know that the offensive line is improved. And that's your head coach's specialty. Yeah. I think at times they've been worse. And I think at times they've been better. So then it's a consistency issue. So like I'm setting my expectations based off of the amount of resources that have been committed to towards the success of the University of Michigan football team. And we're right now no different than Washington or the middle of the pack of the, this is going to be a dog fight this weekend. Washington is dangerous.

This is a, I'm scared. I'm terrified of this game. And we're, we're right there in the middle of the pack, not with Ohio State Oregon or Indiana right now. We are not in that category. And it's from going from being a national championship team, the fall off so quickly. is I think the hardest part to take because you had because finally we had waited for so long to feel the highest of the high I was I was a Michigan fan I was 12 years old in Michigan 1 at 97

I remember it more than you guys do I remember that night after the Rose Bowl going out and banging pots and pans in my front yard like I remembered what it was like the highest of the high to get back to that point two years ago and then to have the fall off again is is is beyond frustrating um and it's i don't know where you go from here right now i think i don't want to panic too much because i do see i do see the other side i can see that there's you know there there are two five star tackles waiting to play probably next year you've got a five star running back coming in next year you've got your superstar quarterback in place you're going to spend money on on wide receivers in the off season i don't

don't want to panic too much because I can see it coming. I didn't think this was a national championship team. I didn't think you're going to win a national championship with a freshman quarterback. It's very hard to do. But the fact that they have struggled the way that they have, I did not see that part coming. Yeah. If that makes sense. No, it does.

And that that that what you just said, though, it, I should feel better about. Yes. I should feel better than I do understanding that that's the future. because right now I don't know like I should feel better that you know the right everything that that everything's in place to take those players in that potential and that talent and get Michigan back to a national title and I don't know if I can say that I you know when Jim came in again you know I look at Jedfish was our offensive coordinator he's one of the he's now a head coach he's one of the bright minds in

all college football yeah what think about the team the biggest success Michigan had Mike McDonald was your defensive coordinator, head coach of the Seahawks. Jesse Minter is your defensive coordinator. One of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. You know, Sharon was a rising. So do we have, I don't know. I do not know. I can't say yes, I can't say no.

But is there people on our staff right now that are ascending in that direction? Because that's what it takes to win at the highest level. Ohio State has Matt Patricia. At dudes, I mean, you look at some of what they're doing schematically. It is brilliant. It is extremely impressive. To be fair. Go ahead.

Matt Patricia also has freaks everywhere. And he's going to, this is my one argument about Matt Patricia. And I'm going to say this and try to still give him kudos. Every single game that Matt Patricia goes to coach in, he's got better talent than the other team does. Every single week, no question about it. He's got Caleb Downs out there. He's got freaks everywhere.

So that's the only. thing that I will say is like, yes, I think he's very good. And I think he's done a good job. But he also does have the built in advantage that every single time he steps on the field, his talent is always going to be better. Always. In every single game they play this year. To that, I would agree with you,

but I would also say, I would also say to that, yes, but they are playing at a level, it's almost unheard of. Like, they're red zone defense right now. It's like almost two years. They're not, so they're not just saying, yes, we have the best players. And yes,

we're going to be one of the best defenses. It's, yes, we have the best players, and we are clearly the best defense in college football. Clemson has a ton of NFL players on their defense right now. They bring in Tom Allen from, they're not, they're not doing it. Their players regressed. Their players have regressed.

Very fair. So that's what you talk about, though, you know, Jake, you're talking about those guys that are, they're playing, top, top talent is Ohio State, but also you have, on my hand, you have them playing where they should be playing. You're squeezing everything out. And when you can squeeze the juice out of the best players in the country,

you're going to get something like Ohio State. Honestly, you know, Patricia, Patricia has kind of bounced around a little bit, but he's a good defensive mind. It's worked. It's worked. And it works, and it works. It seems like it works every year. But when you can get your guys who are the best at what they do in college

and you can get them playing to their maximum level, you get a thing like Ohio State where they produce every year. And the flip side is Clemson. And maybe even at Michigan now, too. I don't think our talent is as high, but like, we got to get more out of that. We got to get more out of the players we have. It should just be like for Michigan. Like we should.

So I go back to Indiana again, and Brian Haynes is, their defensive coordinator, Mike Shanahan's their offensive coordinator. Indiana, Signetti had to get the, Indiana gave Signetti $11 million for his support staff. It's like one, I think it's top five most. And the reason why is because their staff was so good. that there was a bidding war to take from them, okay? That's what it should be like at Michigan. You should have such, you should, for Michigan,

you should always, you should be turning away good coaches. You bring in the five best and turn four away and say, sorry, we're Michigan. We can only take one. I don't know. Like, is that, is that the approach? Yeah, and it's not unreasonable in any way. One other thing I wanted to ask you about specifically,

and we brought this up earlier, in the game at USC, Michigan's tight ends, one catch for five yards. Where was the disconnect in the quick passing game, at least, to give Bryce a chance to have some success? Or am I completely off on this? No, I'd, no, not at all. I've been wondering it too. I've been wondering it too. I think it's a mixture of a lot of things. I think Marlon Klein is not 100%.

Hogan Hanson is not 100%. So both those guys are like, you know, operating somewhere between 60 and 90% healthy on any given week, each one. I also think, you know, you look at our offense and it kind of just tells you who we are offensively. Like when McColley and Andrew Marsh had a good game against Wisconsin, it like blew everybody's mind.

It's like, whoa, we have two receivers. both going for more than 80 yards. It's like that that's just really like who we are offensively. It's it's just where we're at right now. So I don't have a clear and concise answer. I just I think we have a young quarterback and you're trying to make things as simple as possible for him. And it may just be that of like, hey, like our goal this week was to get Andrew Marsh involved and give him more impactful targets and he responded.

Obviously Donovan McColley is going to get the most targets every single week. But of course, yeah, I believe, I believe it should be Macaulay, Marsh, and then Klein and or Hansen as your top three pass catchers. And if he throws the ball 25 times, 17 or 18 of the targets, those throws should go to that, that trio. Does it feel like, does it feel like there's an identity crisis then? Like, because you want to be Michigan and you want to run the football and you want to prove the teams, you know, that you can, you're still Michigan. And you've got Justice Haynes and you've got Jordan Marshall. who can run the football, but it's like, okay, well, I still have, you know, I definitely want to show that I have my $12 million quarterback. And then, then somebody brings up, oh, well, Bryce isn't

running enough. So then Biff comes out and says, oh, well, we inserted more Bryce runs in. And then this past week, there's none of it. To me, it's like, okay, then what is the identity of this offense? Because when Michigan was winning back to back to back, big 10 championships, we knew what the identity was. Right now, I don't know what the identity of this Michigan offense is. I, I, just don't yeah i i i think i mean to me they they have much clear identity than last year like i think they're i think they're that bar's low yeah yeah that bar right it's almost like not even worth saying but you know it is you know it is that's how bad it was last year and like this year i do think they're they're a run first team they like they like gap scheme they want

to you know emphasize the run heavily um but i i You know, I just, I think it's a mixture of the offensive line from a talent standpoint. That's not a Joe Moore offensive line. It's just not. You're right. It's just not. And they were consistently, it was three years when they won. It was a Joe Moore Award offensive line every single year.

I do think the offense just would shoot themselves in a foot. The Oklahoma game was so telling where it's like that was an identity crisis, where you are, most teams have an RPO. If you're facing zero pressure on third and six, you should not. hand the ball off into zero into a wall of defenders you should pull it and throw the screen on the outside like what USC was doing to us when we brought pressure throw into the weak attack the weak point of the defense should always be your identity always attack the weak point and then if all else is equal run the ball because you're michigan that that to me is the identity crisis right

now is i don't think we're consistently attacking the weakest point of the opposing defenses and I question if we may even have the capability to do that on a consistent basis right now, frankly. I mean, Underwood, I feel like they are trying to, like you said, appease this 12 million dollar quarterback. They got to get him some throws. They got to, they got to, in talking with the identity crisis, like they're trying to run the ball,

but also they got to throw the ball to make sure that that quarterback sticks around for another couple years, you know? Yeah. I think there's that. But then also, like you said, the offensive line struggled mightily. it's it's like you know jordan maybe that identity crisis is true it's it feels like they're seeing what sticks throwing shit to the wall and see what's seeing what sticks and at the same time like you got to kind of be michigan and run the ball but then like

okay if this quarterback's not getting the touches that he needs like what does that look like a year or two from from now you know it's it's something that needs to be addressed and addressed quickly i think it's complicated man because it's unfortunately it's not like they're one piece away. They're really not. And it's it's like so far away that you wonder, do they need a new scheme? I mean, certainly they need better players at the receiver position. Is it just a new wrinkle here or there that would be the answer? That's what that's really complex. You know, Bryce has gotten better. I think they've done a good job. I think all things consider they've done a good job of setting him up for success. You know, this guy's a true freshman and he's carrying a heavy workload

because of the expectations and certainly he's not surrounded with great talent on the outside. He's just not. So that's got to be the number one priority this offseason is, hey man, it's a race against time. You got to surround this kid. Look at what Nebraska did with Dylan Ryola. Like they surrounded that. He's got, they upgraded their wide receiver room through the portal. And now Dylan Ryola has been falling and making plays in the biggest moments.

You know, that's what, that's what Michigan needs to do. But the offensive line needs to improve. the offensive line needs to improve it's just across the board and that's what I brought up earlier is like I think like next year if Ty Haywood is your right tackle

and Andrew Babalola is the left tackle I think your offensive line is instantly better if you've got two five star tackles the offensive line What year is Evan Link? I'd have to look it up right now

I don't have to I agree with you and then Evan Link as a guard that's been forced to play tackle in my opinion, you know? So hopefully he can move inside next year, let those more natural tackles take over. Let's see. Give Bryce a little extra time. He's a junior.

He's a junior. Okay. Now, okay, now, all right. I like this. So then you can push Evan Link inside. I mean, it just, it just feels like, you know, that's kind of where they were project. That's where they're thinking about going.

And then Babelola obviously tears the ACA. Yeah. That's an issue. And Tai Haywood's going to be a superstar. It looks like it, right tackle. I mean, when he got in the game, what week two or whatever was, look good. Yeah.

Hey, Sprague played a good game, too. I mean, Sprague played good. Guarnara has done some nice things this year. Yeah. Yeah. He has. Yeah. There's been some of the stuff Blake Frazier has done.

Okay, you know what? They got a lot of youth. They do have a lot of youth. Yes. I think, I think that's why I am a little more, I'm not, I'm not, yeah, I'm a little more patient than some people on, on, Twitter with their Twitter fingers, Jordan.

I wasn't firing anybody for God's sakes. I just said they were unprepared. Yeah. There's a lot of youth. There's a lot of talent in the next year or two. I'm excited for that. Obviously, like we said, this isn't a national championship team. This isn't a team that's going to, you know, I think they could still, you know,

compete against Ohio State. That game is always, always, it's always up in the air. But these next year, you know, next year, the year after that, I think if things aren't getting better, then there's some conversation that. need to be had. But the talent that's there, the young talent that's there is very promising. How important is this game this weekend for you, though, with that in mind? Because I feel like this game is just like so important. It's huge. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot still writing. They can win the Big Ten championship still if they went out and go to the Big Ten championship,

Beat Ohio State, all that stuff. But yeah, this game is huge. Not only like Jetfish used to coach here. And I know he might have wanted this Michigan job a few years ago. But Washington's a good team. They're unranked. They're coming to the big house. They should be ranked. They should be for sure. 100%. 100%. But Michigan going 5 and 2 versus 4 and 3 is night and day. It is absolutely night and day. So this is a must win. I think this is a must win for the

Wolverines this week. Have you seen what their quarterback looks like though? This is the most dangerous quarterback they've played. Langerous to the matured? Yeah. I would say so. I would say so. This kid's a better thrower of the football, I think. Better thrower, and he's much faster. Oklahoma as a team is a better overall team, material benefits from that.

This guy had, he had a 402 yards, two touchdowns at zero interceptions, and then he ran for 136 in another two touchdowns last week against Rutgers. Yeah. I mean, that is Rutgers, but 500 plus yards as a guy is, yeah, something not to take lightly, you know, that's crazy.

yeah the receivers yeah and Michigan certainly has her hands full and and I think what you guys are saying is exactly right the trajectory of this season is kind of on the line I mean it you go four and three and there's people start questioning everything as you're walking through the halls and it's it can get real ugly it can get real ugly here real fast if you don't go out and play a really good football game on Saturday um Jake this was really fun man I appreciate it was yeah appreciate you guys thanks for having me on it's good to hang out yeah just yeah no before before we hop off jake tell uh tell everyone what we got going on oh yeah yeah yeah yeah on campus oh yeah shoot have you is this the first announcement warn i think so yeah i mean i think it's floating around a little bit but yeah tell everyone what we're doing on thursday it should be fun basically doing this yeah live in person uh Thursday night at the fiji it's a frat house yeah i think it is yeah so i don't i don't know what to expect there uh but We're going to be talking ball, answering questions, hanging out, signing autographs, Fiji Frat House, 5 p.m., I think, doors open, 6.30 is when the show starts.

Yeah, yeah, it's hanging out. 10-1, Oakland, so right on campus, Frat House. Should be a good time, but yeah, it should be fun. Appreciate you having me. Just doing this again, too. I mean, it's this, I don't know, it'll be nice to get, like, questions in real time for people, too. Yeah, for everyone that's hanging out and for you guys that are watching. come come pull up and ask some questions there's probably stuff we don't even think about so it'll

it'll be helpful to get some of these questions Chris Wormley doing keg stands at a frat house in 2025 this will be great no no no no no I'll hold you up worm oh I'm saying you're gonna need you're gonna need a couple big fellows to hold hold hold warm up I left that on campus about 12 years ago so we're all right thanks thanks guys much man appreciate you appreciate it yeah we'll see Thursday all right that was fantastic man that was that was good stuff like i was looking at the time and i'm like oh damn we're going we're going a while here but it was all good stuff and i i wasn't going to stop it because it felt like it was really really good stuff so yeah that was fantastic

i mean obviously like we said jakes jake's one of the best young talents i think in the next five 10 years he's going to be uh yeah he's going to be one of those guys that we're his is going to be on tv for 40 years doing the same thing and and continuing to to put people to shame when it comes to his analyzing of the game of football and the way he can project it to people it's it's it's it's it's it's fun to watch it's fun to watch yeah absolutely um all right so let's let's uh wrap this thing up uh home against washington it's a noon kick on fox um i i did mention this washington somehow is unranked their only loss was the 24-6 uh loss against ohio state at home they they have given Ohio state by far the toughest test that they faced all

here. As Jake mentioned, the quarterback, DeMond Williams, 402 passing yards, two touchdowns, 136 yards rushing and two touchdowns against Rutgers last week. This is a good Washington football team. If Michigan doesn't show up, they will get beat on Saturday. But let's hope that they have turned the page. One thing we didn't address today, Sharon showed up at the press conference wearing the blue collar shirt today. How did you feel about it? I know there's some people that, that weren't real thrilled about it, uh, kind of call it gimmicky or whatever, but like, I mean, sometimes you got to send a message and maybe that imagery works. I don't know how the mind of a college kid's going to work, but I mean, they have to get back to be in Michigan

this week. They got, they got to bring their lunch pill, man. They got to get back to that blue collar work, that blue collar grind because, um, this, this is a, I wouldn't say do or die, but like, this is, this is going to make or break your season. If you go four and three versus five and two, five and two looks pretty good still you know a lot a lot you can look forward to over the next you know five six weeks four and three it's like all right let's let's just you know let's try and end this season on a on a decently high note but yeah you got to go back to work you got it you got to set that tone and i think that's going to be the message all week it has to be the message all week it has to be let's get back to basics let's get back to work let's let's be

let's be the team that we know that we can be and that we've shown flashes of obviously they've been against you know lesser opponents but we we got to get to a point where we can keep the game close, score when we need to. Our defense has to make plays and keep the offense in the game if the offense is going to continue to struggle a little bit. But we, as Michigan, have to come out and dominate this game. We're back at home. We always play better at home, especially this season.

Yep. And we got to make a statement. A lot of people are going to be watching this game. I know Washington's looking to make a statement. I know Jetfish coming back to the big house is looking to make a statement. and become ranked, you know, they're going to be six and one if they win this game. Michigan's looking to get cracked, crack the top 25 again and be five and two. There's a lot riding on this game for the program, the coaches, and the players.

For sure. It should be a really good one. Noon on Fox coming up Saturday at home against Washington. Worm, this was really fun. Let's do it again next week. Well, I'll be here. I'll hope to see you soon. All right, awesome.

Thanks so much. Thanks to Jake Buck for joining us. This was great. Tell your friends, subscribe, like, download, do all the things on the social medias and share this and tell your friends as well. We will see you back here next week for Stadium in Maine with Big Worm and Strack. Go, Boo.