The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Postgame: Best Coaching Job Ever?

Episode Date: January 2, 2024

The crew discusses the last play in the Alabama vs Michigan game.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. I want to talk about the game that I saw on its entirety, but I didn't fall asleep for, which was the Rose Bowl game presented by Pradential Insurance. Number one, I don't need to see the marching bands. I love all the traditions there, but you know, give me walk the moon doing shit up in dance. I don't need to see the marching bands. I love all the traditions there, but you know, give me walk the moon doing shit up in dance. I don't need to see the bands. The bands aren't doing that.

Out of the hour. But it's part of the experience much like you know, the sundown and all that. I get hurt. Why don't you hurt them all? I get exactly. They're all playing the same song. It's just way more memeable moments if Jack Carlos playing it half time. Wait, Tony hasn't gotten a word in that twice for the entire show.

And he just muttered band of the hour in the Zagak people. Or he's been of the hour. I don't mean any offense. Not your wife. I don't mean any offense to the Alabama Crimson Tide marching band. It's just not when they're talking,

the few conversations that I've been around when they're talking about marching bands, Alabama's marching band hasn't come up. Just give me whatever pop artist's drawer is there for a half time show. And I'm good with that. But I want to talk about the end of that game because a lot of people had the knee jerk reaction out of a timeout, out of two timeouts. That's the play call, bad play call, terrible play call.

No, it wasn't. It was a great play call. Sabin was so good in that game. They had a bad snap as they had all game and they say, game of inches and it's little things and that's and that game both teams were taking turns blowing up almost entirely the little things that can put you over the edge in a game in a very close matchup. It was a low snap. So it was supposed to be an RPO. And put you over the edge in a game in a very close matchup. It was a low snap. So it was supposed to be an RPO. And if you watch the playback because I've done so on Twitter here a couple of times,

everything was open for Alabama, but he got frightened and just ran straight into the line. And you can understand why it gets frightened because it's a low snap and that changes the timing up on everything there. And I think you're asking for unbelievable poise there. But not to my own horn. In the moment, I thought it was a good play call. And that's what their line being pretty devastated all night by the Michigan line. You're going to call an offensive line play here in the final moments. But if you see, he has a pulling guard. All he has to do is follow his blocks. Now that blows up the second the snap is bad. he just runs straight into the back of the of the guard there. But he had the blocking assignment right there for him and it would have been a great play

call by Tommy Reese. Mike, I think it was 55 gram who they were talking about on the on the broadcast of a ton because he was just in the backfield 24 seven. But he push his back on a bull rush on the guard so quickly that by the time that Milo will gets the ball runs up, he's getting weight leg whipped by the offense. You guys have to understand that what I saw in that game is Michigan upfront man handling them.

That's what I'm not used to with Alabama. We can do the storyline of Sabin over the last 10 years, the arc. The amazing thing that he did is win championships because he didn't have a quarterback before AJ McCarran. It was a assembly line of people who weren't actually in good who were close to winning the Heisman the way Geno Tareda did. 19 touchdown passes 59% completion rate because he had all the best athletes all the time. That gap is closed and closed so much that I what stood out to me is Alabama was an

underdog and should be. Milro cannot run the ball. 11 carries for negative two yards early in the game because they're getting mold up front. Michigan is clearly stronger on both sides of the up front on the, but their offense is limited. And the coaching is allowing, say, been to stay in a game where I think Michigan's got better players, not better skill guys necessarily, but it was the uniforms that could trick you, but Alabama should have been an underdog in that game. And McCarthy has NFL prospects,

but I also watched that game, and I kind of felt like both teams were doing the best that they could with the limitations that they have in quarterback. Now I like Jalen Melro, he still has a way to go, and if he improves next year or year over year, the way that he did just in this season alone, they're going to have a really good player on their hands. But McCarthy had a very difficult time and you saw a lot of players who don't, you don't always, it

doesn't always work out the way that it does for Michigan where they get embarrassed by TCU and that they lost. And everyone pointed to the national championship game saying TCU didn't even belong in there. Well, they got there by beating Michigan and Korm comes back. Roman Wilson makes tremendous play after a tremendous play. That ball that Jay Jay McCarthy had had batted near at the line. The change of trajectory that Roman Wilson, who was a scapegoat earlier on that try pulling that that ball down way that he did saves the entire saves their season. I thought they got out coached. Thanks to God. I'm telling you what I was watching yesterday,

impress the holy hell out of me with Nick Saban losing. Now Michigan did best coaching job he's ever done. Michigan did on that last drive against Saban's defense and against the game's worth of information michigan did what they had to do to rescue their season but what they did it over time handing the ball off and just scoring on two plays they mauled them up front alabama doesn't have the advantages it has had

the gap is closed and now what sabin can do in the margins is, yeah, hill out coach, yeah, but it'll lose by seven and over time because his quarterback, who Bill O'Brien said, shouldn't be a quarterback, panicked at the end. He doesn't trust that quarterback. No, but he shouldn't. He doesn't. Panicked because it was a terrible sap. But we don't know the center. But after Michigan missed a field goal, now Obama had a chance to put the game away. It would have been over if they scored seven. They did it. They scored a, they, they kicked a field

goal. He was very conservative in that drive because Sabin does not trust that quarterback. I don't think I'm certain he'll be the quarterback. He's around the quarterback all the time if he decides and he's trusted quarterback. Quarterback is what a lot of games for him. I guess you guys this year. But you But the reason I thought Alabama wasn't any good is because they lost by two touchdowns at home to Texas in a game where that quarterback looked in component. It looked to me going into South Florida, like Alabama was going to have a four or five lost season because they didn't have a quarterback. And because the gap had been erased, all these other teams got here quickly with money.

And it's not what it used to be. He will have a coaching advantage, but he doesn't have a talent advantage anymore. And I say against to got Georgia would have been favored against all four of the remaining teams. The money when the gambling and information was exchanged, the money would have been on the best team in this sport is not Alabama. It is not Michigan. It is not Washington. It would have been Georgia as a favorite against everybody. That's what Nick Sabin was an underdog in these playoffs and should have been you have to be impressed by him beating Georgia.

I don't think anyone else could do it. I think he's the only human being on earth who could have beaten Georgia. Michigan doesn't beat Georgia. I don't think i have a chance would be favored they would not be favored against george they'll be favoring us all about but i would be curious what the spread would be in that game but it wouldn't be george is an underdog yeah man i'd michigan so it uh... an extremely good team and i think given what we saw yesterday and what we'll see in the national championship game if if it goes their way, that's undoubtedly a great Michigan team. And I know it's technically a pack 12 team this year, but that team's headed to the big

10. And I think a lot of the SEC stuff that I, it's only going to get worse with the SPN having the SEC rights and the big 10 basically being the other guys now. It puts the SPN in an interesting predicament because they're incentivized to bang the drum for the SEC more than they already have. But you say this, this is obviously a Michigan team that will have his reputation, one of the best that there's ever been because Michigan doesn't often play for the national championship. And under Harbos, to God, you've been tough on harbors like you you've said that he's been a failure. Well, he has. But if not for Michigan Ohio state with, you know, a bowl game that doesn't mean very much because you get a lot of opt-outs, but Ohio state lost

their one loss was barely against Michigan and they lost to the third best SEC team Penn state got dragged by Lane Kiffin. Like that was embarrassing to watch. Where I'm looking at both of the athletes on both sides of the field. And I'm watching that Lane Kiffin is toying with James Franklin playing conservative ball while he's handling it to fat guys and have them throw passes because he's not at all scared of the kind of football that they play because it's not the kind of football they play in the S.C.C. That Michigan would beat what I believe to be a weakened Alabama team does not make me believe in Michigan. They may indeed be able to mall Washington

up front because Washington's defense isn't very good. And they made mall their way to a championship. But that style of football they play in that conference, it will fall behind the SEC. Like they will not be able to keep up with whatever Texas and Oklahoma become when they get into the big money conference. It's going to look like handoff ball and you're not going to be able to win against these offenses from the future with a bunch of athletes mulling your way on the offensive and defensive line. Like this isn't sustainable. That's that conference pales compared to the SEC. It does. Obviously As two big 10 teams are about to play for the national championship. Yes. It's kind of kind of weird. You're not looking at the landscape of football. If all this talent is being spread out through all the other conferences, yeah, give me the ones with the lines because they don't have the lines now.

It's funny. I'm reading a quote here. And Brady agreed. Harbock said that JJ McCarthy's the best quarterback in Michigan history. And Brady being the humble Brady said, yeah, I agree. Go blue. and Brady agreed. Harbock said that JJ McCarthy is the best quarterback in Michigan history. And Brady being the humble Brady said, yeah, I agree. Go blue. Harbock never saw Elvis Gerbeck. And thank you. I'd aid in eight. The Seahawks will clinch a playoff birth if they win plus a Packers Loss or tie or Seahawks tie plus Packers Loss plus Buccaneers Loss or tie or Seahawks tie plus Packers Loss plus Saints Loss or tie or Seahawks tie plus Packers lost plus Saints lost or tie.

Oh, wow. Again, once the tie comes in there, I just feel like I've won. As it been, what else is he?