Things discussed:

• Brandon Naurato: Seems like a Marcus Freeman hire: will keep the recruiting going, could work out for a very long time.
• Worried about Warde Manuel's role. Appearance is that he wanted to keep Pearson, and the refusal of the department to explain their timeline only adds to speculation.
• Basketball phonebooks: Want to believe that Kobe Bufkin is now Kobe Buffkin.
• QB competition: It's a fan thing because we want to know when JJ is going to lead us to a natty, but the program has been clear that McNamara remains the starter. These guys are on a football team together, and that's how they're going to approach it: the primary goal is to win, not to start.
• Bruce Feldman's freaks. Michigan makes sure they are well represented by giving Feldman video and numbers. Still means something that they keep getting guys on there.
• Where's the pass rush coming from? They're going to have to do it the Ravens way.
• Linebackers: Don't compare Colson to Bush; he's more like Year 2 McGrone. He's also their best pass-rusher, but to use him that way they need to drop someone else into coverage.
• Minter vs Macdonald.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: End of the Mel Era

• What happened?
• Who was involved?
• Close Impacts
• Rundown of each year on the ice
• Could Michigan do better?

Segment 2: Brandon Naurato is a Go

• Who is Brandon Naurato?
• Was there anyone else?
• How do we feel about this?
• More Michigan Draft Picks
• Overall thoughts

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "It's The End Of The World As We Know It" -- R.E.M.
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

Things discussed:

• Mel/Wilmer Hale report: Why haven't they fired him already? Craig: report says to investigate more. Brian/Seth: the time for that was done over a month ago.
• Football camp: we're looking at the linebackers, outside and inside and hybrid and nickel. Need to see an edge who can pass rush; interested what happens with McGregor. ILBs have to get over being young at a very hard position, NHG came along last year, when they let Josh Ross make the decisions and whichever kid followed. Depth is a real issue. Sainristil: hard to take it seriously when other nickel candidates—Moore/McBurrows/Berry—weren't available.

• Zayden High: on campus right now and blowing up. Isaiah Livers but Tall? YES PLEASE!
• Big Ten Media Days: Kevin Warren is talking about how exciting it is that our teams will be playing at 11pm. We didn't get to talk about Jim Harbaugh's annual "You didn't check with us, did you?" comment about the Big Ten itself signing an NIL deal with its players.
• Harbaugh's defense optimism with the No Names. He's talking about the Ravens Amoeba stuff that they didn't have to do last year because why have Ojabo or Hutchinson drop into coverage when you can just rush them? They should be able to get more varied in the secondary however because they don't have the slow guys they have to protect in zone. Play Cover Zero and you can make up some nasty blitzes.
• Don't underrate how good Mike-Mo is going to be, also don't underrate how good Hutch was.
• What is with this fanbase and forgetting Roman Wilson? Brian: He's kind of the Steve Breaston in all of this.
• Cade vs JJ: Cade is a better QB than people credit him. Improvement there is hitting digs instead of checking down. Washington got to him—next time that happens McCarthy takes the wheel, because his running ability brings so much to the run game.
• Craig: Do we have too many guys? Seth: No that's called a Team.
• OL: If Sherrone gets improvement from the team that won the Joe Moore they should rename it the Sherrone Moore. Could they? Vastardis was great at getting them organized. Trente Jones is tracking towards being a good one.
• Tuck Comin'? More worried that he's a Duffy than than a Dantonio. MSU is on the cutting edge of recruiting from other teams' rosters, pay to play, and Michigan is on the other end.

Things discussed:

• Remembering Gary Moeller: major part of Michigan's modernization (a wide receiver won the Heisman!), was the good cop, vastly unappreciated, especially for his time as an assistant. Needed one break.
• Football predictions: Ohio State is on their own tier, Michigan is on their own tier after that, worried about trips to Iowa (because of Kinnick) and a visit from Maryland because they have great receivers versus our much younger secondary.
• SEC/ACC Media Days: coaches don't like NIL? NCAA has an opportunity here to create a system that benefits their game but the individual schools are just trying to do whatever helps them (except Michigan). Use this to stop guys from going to the draft early and not playing in bowl games.
• Big Ten Hoops: Indiana? Illinois-Michigan? MSU is going into the season with 9 guys, which is good because then Izzo will only play ten of them. Bigs are going to have a lot more fun now that some of the centers are gone. Purdue will find a PG.
• Hockey nonconference: fine. Good that they dumped the GLI because they can't field a team when Juniors take away half their roster.
• International trip: good chance to get together.

1 hour and 10 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who join us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Welcome to a very special mid-summer podcast which starts out with a discussion of the corn in France. Brian and Seth reflect on the sad passing of Gary Moeller, who passed away last week at the age of 81. Gary was a very important step in the modernization of Michigan football, particularly the offense, and left the program in such a state when he left that they were able to win a national championship in two years. Listen to the "coach's audio" of Desmond's 4th and 1 against Notre Dame in which Gary Moeller asks a very important question. Rest in peace, Gary.

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 13:44

Hello USC and UCLA, welcome to the Big Ten? These teams have not really dominated their conference since the Pete Carroll days but this is a huge financial blow to the PAC-[10]/[12]. Should the Big Ten just go for 20 teams? Also what does this do for the actual fan experience? Going to play UCLA in the Rose Bowl every once in a while is fun but Seth misses just playing Illinois (editor's note: I also miss playing Purdue). Maybe the Big Ten should just do away with non-conference games and do a 12-game schedule. What was the point of scheduling UCLA for this season if they're just going to cancel it (the game that got replaced with Hawaii)? If you could add four more teams, who would you pick?

starts at 33:37

The 2023 recruiting class is trending from disastrous to generically disappointing. Feels like some position groups are not getting the treatment they should be getting and that is hurting commitments. It also does not help that Jim Harbaugh was flirting with the NFL and the staff is not taking full advantage of NIL possibilities. This incoming recruiting class has very long arms. 

starts at 50:53

Takes so hot they could be the temperatures in continental Europe right now (everyone's hot takes voice is a bit rusty). Time for performance-based conference relegation shuffles at the end of every season?? Tracy Smith is the new baseball coach. Brian dives into Tracy's past and what it means for the future. He had a lot of success at Indiana but not much success at Arizona State - Alex cites locker room and culture issues at Arizona State (which may have been more of an Arizona State problem than a Tracy Smith problem). Mel Pearson still does not have a contract and the report on his investigation is what is holding it up.

MUSIC:

• "Rhymes Like Dimes"--MF DOOM
• "PBR with girlhouse"--PBR
• "Stars"—Dehd
• "Next to Normal"--Lucius

Things discussed:

• We flaked completely and didn't talk about Moeller, who was supposed to be the top of the hour. We'll make it up, because as soon as we got off air we realized there's probably an entire hour of stuff we wanted to talk about there.
• Welcome Santa Ono! He's not going to suddenly change NIL; he does seem likely to be a guy with a more long-term vision during a period of huge transitions, and could help them with the transfer problem. Michigan is an old institution with a lot of institutional momentum; you're not going to change everything about it in a week.
• Baseball assistants reviews.
• Three new linemen: Really like the two ends—these are the kinds of guys Michigan's been winning with.
• Acheampong: we like guys you need to teach football because they don't have bad habits.
• Etta specifically: remember when they turned down Justice Finkley? They didn't turn down Etta—he has the length they're looking for to play outside->in.
• Herring: Michigan sees him as a guard only and they need tackles, but you don't turn down a guy like that.
• Sam: In good shape with Nyckoles Harbor because he can stay a receiver here and therefore keep doing track.
• Hoops talk: Big Ten lost a lot of centers, IU and Illinois (also needs a center) look tough, but high floor for Michigan with Hunter and a ton of spacing. Lose a lot on defense, but they have shooting at the 1 and 4 to make up for it on the other end. Kobe Bufkin is the mother of all X-factors. Llewellyn comp: Jones or Smith? Seth: This is the year we're going to say "Frankie, what were you THINKING?!?"
• Hockeytalk: Looks like they're going to keep Mel, recruiting still going well, couple more 1st rounders. Also a high floor with the best goalie but too much youth to be a 1 seed.

Things discussed:

• On early: Michigan's no pay for play approach is hurting them in recruiting, and they don't need to friggin' say it!
• Seth: Michigan is fundamentally wrong: It's not like these guys haven't been working on football their whole lives. They are valuable because they *make* themselves valuable.
• USC/UCLA expansion: There's no honor among these thieves.
• Further expansion? UNC/Duke? Washington-Oregon won't pull their weight, weirdly. ND is the obvious choice, and has always been.
• The power brokers are the networks. Fox and Disney are running the shows.
• Grant of Rights protects the ACC: If someone leaves they can't bring their value together.
• Realpolitik changes who's valuable. Weird that SEC doesn't seem to want Clemson or FSU or Miami as much as Duke/UNC.
• Baseball's new coach: Was good at IU, probably didn't play well with Baseball Parents. Michigan baseball players are kind of the opposite extreme of the kind of players you have to get at ASU. They'll lose the top of the recruiting class, but MLB is the bigger danger for a lot of those guys. What they need is a guy who can develop pitching, because nobody does that.
• Yo Yo! Youssef Khayat might get them that extra defense but probably can't be an impact guy right away. They need guards.

Things discussed:

• Re: Bakich, Sam says Seth was right, Seth says Seth was wrong, or at least needs to amend his comments on summer baseball: Semi-Pro ball is a big deal to the baseball world. Replacing a 100-year-old structure may be a good idea, but it's a very BIG idea and would take a massive risk of the kind that the Big Ten won't ever take.
• Baker: Just a Houstan™, but that's something we needed. Set shooter, fills a spot as a backup 2 or 3, was a top-40 recruit so if his hip heals okay he should be an alright defender of 3s. Was on a great offense so okay that he was only 10 min/game at Duke.
• Emoni Bates: The kind of guy Howard protects you from, because he's seen the circus and won't make the same mistake most coaches do. They just lost Frankie Collins to a down move because of a shitty parent. Not actually a good basketball player.
• Youssef: All in favor, good shooting stroke, has skill, can be a Franz lite. Can we win a Zoom recruitment?
• Dug: Best passer at Michigan since? Seth: Makes sense, since Howard probably saw he has two guys named Howard on the roster, and sorted the 247 rankings by best passer.
• Football recruiting: Do we panic? No. Do we worry? Yes. Sam's starting to believe Dante Moore is more likely to go to Oregon now. If you're chasing Michigan State you have a problem. Michigan's new tack sounds like a morality play and is going to blow up in their faces. Players have value to their institutions before they play: they have earned it.
• The players create themselves more than the coaches. Michigan has a good talent evaluation program but so does Notre Dame, and they will get in on these guys too. Hassan Haskins was a great player in high school—the system is getting better at identifying those guys.
• Off-air: This NIL approach is exactly like what got Michigan to fall behind in the 1950s. Oosterbaan and Crisler thought they had a solid program because they won in '47 and '48, and didn't figure out until it was way too late that they really were missing a major shift in CFB history and allowing MSU, OSU, and ND to thrive when Michigan should have dominated the early TV era.

Things discussed:

• Baseball gets robbed: L'ville got six outs in the 8th inning to come back. NCAA is so committed to amateurism they're using local fanboys as umps. Craig lays out his grand conspiracy.
• Michigan losing on bad officiating, for some reason, is always couch-burning affair in East Lansing.
• Keeping Eric 'Fire' Bakich: No argument he's the perfect guy for Michigan, but Michigan is in a mid-major conference.
• Seth: $1.3 million/year in college baseball is Saban to LSU. If Clemson is going to throw money at him to build a rival to UNC, the only way to match that is to commit to changing the paradigm.
• Sam: Can Michigan Kim Barnes-Arico this? Seth: The difference is you can build a national contender at Michigan in the current WBB landscape; you can't do that with a Big Ten baseball team when you only get three weeks to play home games and 12 scholarships to spread around the roster.
• The system has to change, and Michigan has to lead. Baseball/softball right now is set up for UCF to have more advantages than Michigan or Notre Dame. The early season tournaments and May tournament are terrible for baseball—even teams in the lower Midlands are screwed by January baseball.
• Where is Kevin Warren? He should be livid. He should be pulling the Big Ten out of the NCAA.
• If you let Bakich go, you're conceding you're mid-major. Guess what: We are, unless we change that now. Let's have BASEBALL in this country!
• CJ Carr to Notre Dame: Michigan lost their momentum by losing both coordinators and Courtney Morgan, and having Harbaugh put proof to the rivals' constant refrain that he doesn't want to be here. The turnover is a feature of the program, and it holds them back.
• Courtney Morgan is a bigger loss than CJ Carr; this makes Dante Moore more likely.
• Seth questions whether Mike Hart and Denard Robinson are able to do their jobs, but takes it back: How can they when they haven't been in those positions?
• Michigan's back-end recruiting was excellent in 2022, though Sam points out a lot of those wins (Dent, Spurlock, Berry) were Courtney Morgan; front-end recruiting is where they're falling behind.
• Morgan: Wasn't just money. DeBoer was a close friend who made him his right hand man; he wasn't going to be Harbaugh's right hand man.

Things discussed:

• Craig has a Nadal take.
• Baseball: bats came alive in the tournament.
• Joe Stewart: Makes Sparties so mad. Team came together when MSU threw at his head and they (and he) responded.
• We do NOT trust the pitching. Good news: it's a hitter's regional. Louisville and Oregon are bat teams. So is everyone in the Big Ten save Iowa.
• Rutgers got hosed. Kevin Warren would have said something if it was Ohio State.
• Willie Weiss: Bakich's theory on his pitching turnaround is he overloaded his credits.
• "MICHIGAN CHEATERS!"? Dude, he faced 2 batters. Also: it's baseball. Yankee fans are still mad about Kenny Rogers, but nobody else clutches their pearls over this. He's just bad at hiding it; give him a few years in the Astros farm system and he'll be better at hiding it.
• Anyone else think the balls were hopping off the bats in Omaha? A couple of those homers were fly ball swings.
• Michigan hoops: Need a 4, unless TW can improve his defense, or Jett is there. He'll be more active than Houstan; dirty secret is neither guy staying in the draft was
• Craig's hot take: Caleb Houstan is Kam Chatman.
• NIL and bigs: These guys are valuable in college like they're not in the NBA, and their personalities can shine here too. Helps less with the 5-star one-and-done types, because (see: Diabate, Houstan) they have to cash in now, and their freshman years are not as valuable as what they'll become.
• Changes how we think Michigan should replace recruiting.
• Softball: Why are their best players leaving? Is it competitiveness, or (Seth says) they have a big class coming in that they recruited pre-pandemic, and just 12 scholarships.

Things discussed:

• Big Ten rescheduling: Not in favor of replays, don't need the divisions but better that than replays. Absolutely gross to play Michigan-Ohio State in an antiseptic NFL stadium one week after The Game.
• Seth: No replays ever. If you lost to a team in the playoffs, you're out of the playoffs (sorry, Georgia).
• Conspiracy: Ohio State was about to be locked in with Wisconsin; if it's not unfair Ohio State thinks it's not fair.
• Showcase, Showcase, Showcase! You ALWAYS get the best games.
• NIL: Once this gets normalized it should be okay for Michigan, but they're being way too careful about following the intent of a rule that had no intent other than to not get sued.
• Sam: What if players want what the other player got? Seth: We figured this out already.
• Sam throws cold water on us. Michigan is intent on living in a world that nobody else is in.
• It's already pay for play. Look at the Fortnite ad: Nobody was like "Ooh, I'm gonna go play Fortnite" they're like "Hell yeah, my boy Roman Wilson is getting paid!"
• It's true that the system, especially the transfer portal is out of control.
• Hockey: Craig thinks they're going to be *BETTER* this year? Brian disagrees: they're going to be kids, set back to the 2-year cycle.
• Hobey for Hughes? He'll be the best player in college hockey, but that's rarely who wins the Hobey.
• Softball: Read Alex's column. Short version: Hutch has to adapt again. She has before!

Things discussed:

• Nick Saban is mad that the kettle can be black too.
• Seth: This is what the party people in Russia sounded like when communism fell. When you're the beneficiary of a corrupt system, anything that rocks the boat is bad.
• Brian: Bama will be fine; Saban always gripes then adapts. He complained that the spread offense was going to cause injuries, then he went and got a spread offense.
• Hope for a 1950s Pac-style circular firing squad? Maybe it will change how the NCAA regulates itself.
• Big Ten realignment/championship game? Seth makes his case for the Showcase system.
• Moussa Diabate's athletic testing: yeah he gone. Houstan? We're starting to assume he's gone because nobody from Michigan seems to understand what's going on while he's getting mocked to Okie City.
• Transfer portal shopping? We think a push for Pete Nance is the first move (Illinois leading but is Michigan's hat in there?). Other options.
• Pistons at 5: Murray or Ivey?

Things discussed:

• Some people on this podcast have never seen Brady Bunch, or Seinfeld, or both!
• Long NIL discussion: The NCAA is in "We gotta do something" mode but have no ability to actually do something.
• They can't do anything because they're hamstrung by their own legal arguments that deny them a way to have players sign contracts, and hamstrung by their enforcement mechanism which is the schools investigate their own.
• How do you even define "inducements"? What if Michigan gives every player a Corvette because this is the school where the people who engineer American automobiles go and that's a good marketing strategy for the Big Three?
• Craig: The NCAA's stance here is "Please hide your beers or we'll tell you to hide your beers!"
• What's the college model? Brian: the D3 level is still that model. Seth: Even that is still an exchange of goods (degree) for services. Why draw lines in the first place?
• There are needs for control. Capping salaries at different levels for competitive balance. Having players sign contracts so they can't be poached, because that's not going to stop.
• Caleb Houstan: Why did he pull out of the combine? Who's offering to draft him on workouts? Or is something else going on?

Sam's sitdown with Saddi and Phil: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Things discussed:

• Michigan draft picks: DE production in college translates. Love Dax on the Bengals—fixes a major "you drafted a Buckeye cornerback" mistake. Nice to have the Ravens to snatch up any leftover Michigan players.
• So many Georgia picks: and the best player on that defense slipped to the 3rd round. Why? College football's playoff system had all the players who wanted to play in the playoffs collect in the three or four schools that make the playoffs with regularity. We're seeing a reflection of an unprecedented amount of talent pooling at the top.
• Frankie's transfer: people around him were oversensitive to playing time. He also wasn't very good on ball screens last year—and won't ever be a shooter. Was pretty clear Michigan needed another guard, and one of the reasons was to get some shooting on the floor when Michigan's down. Unfortunate that the state of things are such that a guy like Frankie can even consider going to Arizona State.
• Llewellyn is now a point guard—offense is going to run through Dickinson and be fine, but defense is now an issue, unless Kobe Bufkin takes some huge strides.
• Emoni Bates? Lol. Michigan wasn't interested; seems like Bates was but we already had forwards coming out of our ears. Hot take: he should have gone to MSU.
• NIL and Hunter Dickinson's comments: Glad to see someone at Michigan is finally taking leadership in the conversation. NCAA wants Congress to bail them out. Shouldn't be a Title IX issue if Michigan is facilitating payments, not making the payments themselves.
• Michigan *could* be awesome at this. We have donors who support the program rather than just look for access or ask "What do I get for my money?" and that makes us a more attractive school than a Texas, LSU, or Ole Miss where the donors want you to dance.
• Mel Pearson's contract? We don't know, but Michigan had their opportunity to run away, and we think they probably would have if they didn't have some belief—perhaps a verbal communication about the WilmerHale Report's contents—that they won't have to fire him. Can't discount the possibility that they're sweeping it under the rug, or twiddling their thumbs while they wait for the report to be published.

Things discussed:

• Hunter Dickinson: This is why NIL is good for the game. In college he's the cornerstone of a very good team, a heel, and a constant presence; no NBA fans are going "Ah man, I hope my team drafts you."
• Illinois is falling apart: nobody wants to play for Brad Underwood.
• NCAA vs NIL: They're going to lose—their latest fig leaf just got blown up by Mississippi and Tennessee. Emmert firing isn't going to change this. They serve the presidents who serve the donors. Opportunity here for the players to unionize and fill the power void.
• The future is contracts whether they want it or not, because the schools are parties who want services, and are hunting for someone to make a deal with because the NCAA can't protect them anymore.
• Players unionizing?
• Transfer portal shopping: Shannon seems like an NIL duel with Texas Tech, who wants to keep him.
• Portal problem for Michigan is transferring credits, because they have a matching system where the classes you took have to match classes offered at Michigan, and the people who could change that are, by design, siloed from people who want to make that change for sports reasons.
• Where Michigan is on NIL versus where they should be are miles apart.
• NCAA has imbalances that have grown up from years. Stop caring who's advantaged; no matter what changes you make to a system there will be a change in advantage. What matters is what's moral—what's right for the game and for its participants.
• Example: small schools like playing over-agers and Michigan doesn't like it because our players out of high school are better than theirs. But it's good for the players and good for college hockey and good for people getting an education and participating in college sports who aren't going to be pros, which matters more than Michigan's traditionalist needs.
• Mel: does he have a job? When are they going to say something?
• Lions/Hutchinson. Seth says the Lions can't take Aidan Hutchinson because he is a winner and the Lions are losers.
• All me to explain, off-air: The Lions are the only franchise in professional sports that knows how to make losing fun.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: The Forwards

• Already Been Drafted
• Forwards in the 2022 Draft
• Defensemen in the 2022 Draft
• The 2023 Folks

Segment 2: Defense, Goaltending, Overalls

• Forwards Coming Back
• Defense Mostly Set
• Goalies? Check.
• Any line combos? Special Teamers?
• Anything Else? Takes?

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Closing Time" -- Semisonic
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

Things discussed:

• Miggy Theater 3000
• Terrence Shannon would be a perfect fit—Charles Matthews with better outside shooting and not as good at bad shots. 97%ile on spot-ups, is a 6'6" wing defender who played for TTU. If Diabate goes to the NBA, you bump up Houstan to the four and Shannon is a three.
• Admissions? That seems to be the real question. He might lose a lot of credits.
• Is there a scholarship? No way you get another 8 months without losing at least someone on the team right now. If they do, can one of Juwan's sons (Jace, probably, because of NCAA rules for blue shirts) redshirt?
• Football scholarship situation? They're at 87 by my count, and they know they'll lose a couple more before the season.
• Jay Wright: Didn't make it about himself. Can you name another coach who knocked us out of the tournament twice and each time we were like "Yeah, he deserves it."
• Is the NIL/transfer system good? Complaints from those who benefited from the rot of the old system (Saban, Dabo) you can ignore right out. As for the rest, the NCAA needs to look at how to regulate this with incentives to stay at your school, and incentives for the schools to develop their own.
• Who are the NCAA serving? The guys who want labor to be cheap.
• If Michigan loses both Dante Moore and CJ Carr, there's a major problem with recruiting.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: The Forwards

• Hero Line
• Bordeleau Line
• Beecher and the Kids
• Blue Collar Line
• The Reserves, Etc

Segment 2: Defense, Goaltending, Overalls

• Power Pair
• Hughes and Co
• Blanks and Edwards
• Goaltenders
• Overall Grades

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "School's Out" -- Alice Cooper
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

Things discussed:

• The end of hockey: not just randomness. We didn't love the conservative approach—got scared by the end of Quinnipiac perhaps?
• Who's back, what's the program look like long-term?
• Mel's contract: Waiting for the WilmerHale Report. We don't know what they'll turn up; what's out there doesn't seem like a firing.
• Juwan/Lakers? Doesn't sound like Howard is interested in signing up for LeBron's last run.
• Michigan basketball: Any word from Hunter? Portal has more shooters in it now. Need to get a guard.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Denver Depression

• Thank You
• The Period of (Almost) Nothing
• Things Open Up...a Bit
• Much Clenching
• Once is Too Many

Segment 2: Moving On

• The Defensemen
• The Top Fivers
• B and B
• The Seniors

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Ocean Avenue" -Yellowcard
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

Things discussed:

• Spring Game standouts: We like what we saw on the DL: Benny and Rooks are coming on, Jenkins impressed, can see how the Mike Morris/(read: Chris Wormley) style of pass rush is going to happen. Sainristil at nickel is more of a Blake Countess than a Dax Hill, but you can certainly make that work. They're going to be more subby than previous teams.
• Mullings would be the 3rd RB today if they weren't so desperate for a 3rd LB.
• MBB in the break: What if they all come back? Michigan has enough guys who can take a step forward that they can be favorites to win the Big Ten, but that's not a top-10 team. Portal needs to get them a wing who can defend pullups and shoot.
• Hockeytalk: Denver is a Red Berenson team: super skilled, super fast, so small that Ethan Edwards's brother is a 60th percentile-sized defender on that team. They're saying it's going to be 9-8 because they think their goalie is going to give up 9 goals. Key is playing sound defensively because Denver loves to stretch the puck up ice.
• WBB: hitting the in-conference transfer portal for a Naz replacement and a PG?

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Talking About Denver

• They've Got Some Dudes
• Depth Scoring
• Maybe Michigan Can Score Though
• Any Scheduling Comps?
• Michigan is Favored Though

Segment 2: Teams From a State with Many Lakes

• What Even Happened Against Minnesota State
• McKay is Legit
• They also Have Dudes
• Minnesota is Also Michigan
• Final Thoughts

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Final Countdown" -Europe
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

1 hour and 39 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who join us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

It's been so long since there was a spring game we could actually talk about. Instead of a punting exhibition we got Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum smack-talking each other from across the field. It was fun. Davis Warren looked to be functional, Bowman maybe not as much. Yes, Alex Orji's name is pronounced the way you think it is. Mullings might be the closest to replacing Hassan Haskins as the power back (Wisconsin recruited him for running back, after all). Idaho... Almost impossible to grade the offensive line based on how much it was mixed around but the starting five are probably decided anyways. Comment below if you think Seth should UFR the Spring Game!

starts at 27:13

All eyes on Will Johnson and Mike Sainristil, who both looked good. Going to need the corners to step up this year. Not sure if there's anyone to replace Dax Hill in the slot, it might be Sainristil. Have yet to see McBurrows who is still recovering from injury. Hill-Green looks to be atop the linebackers (he got pulled early meaning he's a guy). Back-up linebackers are pretty meh. If Brian was a walk-on QB he would wear 37 so that if he completed one pass he would be the best #37 of all time. In general, the defensive line did not get obliterated which is encouraging. Mason Graham might be Ryan Glasgow 2.0. Raequan Williams is the MSU player Seth can't remember. Derrick Moore is on his way to be a player. Braiden McGregor got mauled by the tight ends. Moten looked like more of a leader at safety.

starts at 51:40

Takes hotter than Caleb Love merchandise and NIL rights. Double pass should be the flea flicker of 2022 - Brian wants a flea flicker hook and ladder. DeVante' Jones has declared for the NBA draft but Hunter Dickinson has not. Moussa would likely get drafted if he goes, Hunter might not. Michigan needs shooters from the portal. Kansas State combo guard Nijel Pack is someone to keep an eye out for in the transfer portal but he'll be heavily recruited by everyone. Seth thinks Michigan men's basketball has some of the best coaches in the Big Ten, the team was limited by shooting and roster mis-management.

starts at 1:34:22

Brian has run out of things to talk about and has decided to talk about U.S. Soccer and the World Cup. How many times will Brian say "Michigan" instead of "U.S."? U.S. plays great at home but not on the road. Can the U.S. handle the climate? Brian expresses heavy feelings about Clemens.

MUSIC:

• "At the Crossroads (Alt Mix)"--The Sir Douglas Quintet
• "A Satisfied Mind"--Goose Creek Symphony
• "Aurora"—The Foo Fighters
• "Next to Normal"--Lucius

Things discussed:

• Villanova game: Hunter Dickinson, hit the shots you always hit. What are you gonna do?
• Hoops future: guys we like in the portal, Frankie was the difference between a first round exit and a Sweet 16 team.
• Not looking good for getting back either Diabate or Dickinson, so now what? Can Jett give them the three they need? Can Bufkin grow his game dramatically over the offseason?
• Portal is full of Just a Shooters. Michigan needs to get one. Can we be a weird lineup? What does Terrance Williams at the five look like? What does Tarris Reed look like?
• Hockey/Frozen Four: The first one or two Quinnipiac goals were flukes but then they were controlling play. Brian is bored by the pulling the goalie conversation because the percentages don’t change that much. Denver is going to be as talented as Michigan, play like Michigan, doesn’t have the goaltending of Michigan.
• Football invites Kaepernick to the Spring Game: The perpetual whiners whined when they put George Jewett on the team too. Any effect of an outcry is drowned out by the good it does. Wear your heart on your sleeve.
• $42 million scoreboard? Makes a talking point but it’s just all part of the Kafkaesque hell of David Brandon: He built the scoreboards with parts that can’t be replaced, so they’re going to end up spending $42 million to keep the scoreboards functional anyways.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Round of 8: Michigan 7, Quinnipiac 4

• Boom! Whiz Bang!
• Special Teams and the Blue Collar Line
• Those Seven Minutes
• The Decision
• Are We Worried?

Segment 2: Round of 16: Michigan 5, AIC 3

• Jinxes and Excitement
• Fast Start...that never really ended
• The Cycle of Dominance and Boredom
• We should talk about Brisson
• The Rest of the Tournament

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" -Dropkick Murphys
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

1 hour and 52 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who join us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

The shots didn’t go in. They were higher quality, and Nova was 30% from their contested threes, and that was the way Michigan could win this game but the shots didn’t go in. Also the shots didn’t go in. We run out of ways to say that.

starts at 16:48

Who’s coming back? Houstan probably. Diabate on the knife edge. Dickinson we think we can talk around to it. Both? Hnnnggh.. Johns? Eh. Who’s in the portal that Michigan can get? Then we go through next year’s playable roster.

starts at 48:46

Wisconsin fans must be livid at Will Smith. Brian gets his USMNT takes in, in fairness to Brady Hoke. We talk about when to pull your goalie in a game where Michigan’s goalie kept it from being 4-4 when Quinnipiac suddenly gained the momentum—some of those were flukes though. Look ahead to the Frozen Four.

starts at 1:34:22

Incredible run ends the same way their Big Ten run did: without Brown for the stretch. A salute to Naz Hillmon and her generation, and what they’ve done to build this program into one that can take the next step into regular tourney threat by hanging with the elites. 

Things discussed:

• Did anyone predict Michigan over Tennessee?
• Colorado State breakdown: after the luck tap ran out Michigan had the Frankie Collins game.
• Tennessee breakdown: Frankie's defense, and Eli Brooks hitting us in the feels. The guy who steps up.
• Also stepping up: Terrance Williams. Find more minutes for him because he's a winner.
• Villanova: All guards. Only one 6'8 guy. They're going to shoot over you. More Frankie?
• Elite 8? Arizona-Houston looks like it's for the championship. Can win those games with ORebs (see: TCU).
• SEC overrated: Roll the ball out league looks so bad in the tourney.
• NCAA Hockey Tourney preview.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Champions

• The Fastest Start
• Olympic Rink Adjustments
• Well-worked Lead Building
• Just Two Minutes?
• Complete Shutdown...until the last Two Minutes

Segment 2: The Tournament

• Conference Tournament Rundown
• Who is American International?
• The Rest of Allentown
• A Glance at the Rest of the Tournament

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Allentown" -Billy Joel
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

1 hour and 39 minutes

NOTE: Brian's audio was cutting in and out. We managed to glue parts together and recording him on a separate track later in the show but there are bits that were just lost.

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Really exploring the space is a reference to the more cowbell sketch. Michigan couldn't keep up with the speed of the Vols' guards but it didn't matter because Tennessee hadn't played Eli "Hooks" or anything like Dickinson, who turned questionable possessions into good ones. Huge game for Williams, but for four turnovers it's the Brooks game. We can rely on Collins because he's so quick. We know what this looks like: Xavier Simpson.

2. Colorado State

starts at 29:20

The Frankie Collins game. What he did to Isaiah Stevens changed the game. Michigan also managed to hold Roddy outside, which when you're taking away usage from him it's going to less effective players. Those less effective guys unfortunately were canning all of their threes, and all the bounces went the Rams way, which led to the frustrating parts of the first half. Medved did a great job to get Hunter Dickinson switched onto tiny guys. Solution was as soon as they got some space Frankie took it away. Also one turnover! Also 65% from two!

starts at 44:07

Defending Rick Barnes, a new shot clock rule based on icing. Too hype on Frankie and Terrance? Nova: They're small, they shoot, they bring more smallness and shooting off the bench. #1 team at free throws. 46% of their shots are threes. Can Michigan keep up with Dickinson scoring? The fickle mistress of the arc will decide this game. Gillespie played against Michigan in the national championship game, has come very far since. Big East was a shooting league--hopeful they're not ready for Big Ten bigs.

starts at 1:12:24

Minnesota fans in Rod Marinelli Arena livid at obvious calls >>>>> Allentown regional. Seth is at fault for the ending of the Minnesota game, but it was a clinic from 1 minute in to the rest there at the Bobby Ross center. This felt different than previous games at Wayne Fontes Rink: fans were really into it and that made it an epic game you really wanted to win. It also secured the first overall seed and basically the dream scenario for the tournament, since Minnesota State got both NoDak and NoDam, and Michigan got a couple of teams who will actually play hockey. Frozen Four favorites? Certainly. But single-elimination hockey in front of zero fans is stupid. 

Things discussed:

• Our brackets: We like Arizona, Auburn, and...oh no Iowa?
• Lots of chalk to the Sweet 16, then things get interesting.
• Purdue out a messy East because VT is such a hot upset pick you get high value.
• Davison vs MSU? We like Foster Loyer here, because the more Izzo coaches the worse State can be.
• Women's: Tell me how Leigha Brown's feeling and I'll tell you. Tough, tough bracket to get through. S.Carolina is far away, and far away the favorite. Too many turnovers.
• Hockey: Played ND's way, as good at defense as ND is. The tournament format is the worst in sports.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: They Wanted This One

• Winning Physical Battles Early
• The only Power Play
• The Offensive Second Period
• The Winner and the Shutdown
• Goalie-fest

Segment 2: What Else Is Happening

• The Other Semi-Final
• Conference Tournament Talk
• Pairwise Overall
• Minnesota Preview

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Finally" -CeCe Peniston
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

1 hour and 8 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Michigan is in the tournament and opposing sports fans are mad! Colorado State is probably the best draw for Michigan - they are the worst 6-seed in the field by some distance. The gang discusses Colorado State's roster. Hunter Dickinson is bigger than most Mountain West players. The Rams are excellent at defending twos but will give up a lot of open threes, Michigan can't have a 16% day.

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

2. Potential 2nd Round Match-Ups

starts at 20:48

It's probably not going to be Longwood. Tennessee is the best 3-seed in the field (two others are Big Ten teams that they wouldn't rematch Michigan with) - they've lost one game since the end of January. The Vols are the #3 defense in the country and wreak havoc with speed on the perimeter. They're not a juggernaut offensively. Better than having to play any of the #1 or #2 seeds, though. Tennessee has fast guards and are #8 in the country in take-aways. Need neutral-court Caleb Houston to hit half of his shots to help give Hunter Dickinson 1-on-1 matchups. Tennessee shoots well from three but not as well from two - Michigan needs to exploit this.

starts at 40:14

Takes hotter than Indiana fans who are like "why-do-we-have-to-go-to-Dayton-because-we-won-that-game-and-you-did-not-win-that-game-and-we're-just-going-to-ignore-what-happened-the-rest-of-the-season-cuz-that-doesn't-count-for-us-at-all-it's-just-the-one-game-THAT'S-WHAT-COUNTS." The Michigan win/loss pattern is a re-occurring theme. Not much optimism about a Big Ten team winning it all - bad news for Brian's annual bracket pick of Iowa winning it all. What's Wisconsin going to do when a non-Big Ten ref tells Brad Davison "you can't do that"?

starts at 1:00:01

Michigan beats Notre Dame at their own game in the coolest Yost environment in a long time. Michigan got a penalty for... embellishment? It felt like Michigan was cursed when the score was tied 1-1, but Michigan scored and held Notre Dame to four shots in the third period. Michigan is locked into the first or second overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Ohio State with a 41% chance of making the tournament- root for Bemidji! 

MUSIC:

• "Esportes Casual"--Yo La Tengo
• "Bluebird" -- Langhorne Slim
• "It's On"--Slum Village
• “Across 110th Street”

Things discussed:

• At Ohio State: The Devante' Jones Game. Craft in his game finally adapted to the Big Ten.
• His shooting changed OSU's plan to go under screens.
• T-Will: Unlocked by transition.
• Officiating was unacceptable. Not the usual bad Boroski stuff: They let Liddell get away with everything.
• Michigan defense: brought doubles from the baseline to generate 11 steals. Turnovers and ORebs were the difference in the game.
• Houstan: Not a guy who can shoot off screens. He needs to be set. His defense was strong but against just-a-shooters. Offseason work: Learn to finish. He can get to rim but he's terrible once there.
• Indiana: One good player team. Race Thompson is a guy who works on a better team. Bad matchup for Michigan at guard.
• Can we get these guys back? Houstan yes, other guys not likely? Seth: have to change their mindsets.
• If Michigan can put $1 million on the table for Hunter, sure. Is Michigan ready to do that? Makes the most sense if he's getting good advice. Diabate too. But what's the likelihood they're getting good advice?
• Break: Bilas thinks you should be allowed to dick punch if you're Boeheim's kid.
• Football: McCarthy injury, how it affects the QB competition.
• Hockey: Playing MSU is bad because you're surprised next series when you have to play hockey again.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: No Surprises

• Worrisome Five Minutes? Meh.
• 5x3 Power Play Talk
• Fifty-five minutes of domination
• MSU Goalie Implosion
• All You Can Eat Power Play

Segment 2: Past and Future Assessments

• Weekend Takeaways
• B10 Tournament Results
• Pairwise Implications
• Looking at Next Weekend

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "We Are Family" -Sister Sledge
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

1 hour and 8 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Punch the ticket! DeVante' Jones put the team on his back. Michigan comes into this game as one of the worst defenses in the country in terms of generating turnovers - they had 11, almost one in five of Ohio State's possessions. Despite no Juwan Howard, Hunter Dickinson, adverse whistles, and Caleb Houston in "road mode", they pull a win out. Brian knows a surprising amount about Joey Brunk. Encouraging play from the freshmen off the bench, especially Bufkin's dagger three. 

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

2. Iowa

starts at 21:55

Iowa shot 58% from three ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Keegan Murray and Kris Murray account for 42 of Iowa's points, Michigan can cover one of them but not both. Diabete had 28 points in the first Iowa game, only four in this one. 

starts at 32:45

Michigan was a pre-season top five team and ended up on the bubble all season until now. What happened? Michigan had the #3 toughest schedule in America. Michigan finishes #31 in Kenpom, Big Ten Champion Wisconsin finishes #30. DeVante' Jones needed time to adjust to the Big Ten. Frankie Collins didn't shoot as well as expected most of the season. Caleb Houston was supposed to be a wing but ended up being a forward. Moussa Diabete exceeded expectations on offense but wasn't there on defense. Brandon Johns seemed to disappear this season. There are no real wings on this roster. 

starts at 54:02

What does Michigan have to do to get hockey muppets?? Brian showed up to the second game five minutes late and it was already 2-0. Is there anything else to say other than "Michigan State is bad"? Some guys got their first goals which was a nice thing to have. Children of Yost didn't even do the chant after the 8th goal in the second game. Michigan gets Notre Dame next - the team that has been Michigan kryptonite all season. Michigan could possibly pass Minnesota State for the #1 overall seed. Ohio State might not make the tournament at all now. Your podcast editor con confirm: Colorado is gorgeous in March. 

MUSIC:

• "Oh I"--Nathaniel Rateliff
• "Selfish"--Slum Village
• "Help is on the Way"--Wavves
• “Across 110th Street”

Things discussed:

• Illinois just hit shots: not too worried about that performance.
• What was Izzo doing? Not taking responsibility for an insane gameplan. Why did Bingham only play 9 minutes when he was holding up against Hunter?
• Michigan went under screens. Craig: it's not drop coverage.
• Frankie: rest of the team has to catch up to his speed too. Great D.
• Houstan's home/road splits. His defense has come around. Needs 1st shot to go down.
• Iowa: Good matchup for M the way Illini aren't: Moussa can play Keegan's multiple game, Hunter dominates in the post.
• Ohio State? After Illinois game Illini fans think the officiating changed in OSU games and they lost to Maryland and Nebraska(!)
• Craig: Never tired. Players don't get tired.
• Getting the players back? Michigan needs to make an NIL pitch to Dickinson, and get the Tschwebe deal for Diabate. Jones is going to be 24 so when does he get his pro career going?
• Respect for Dickinson's Christian Laettner game.
• Hockey: Can't have mistakes against Notre Dame. They made one on Friday, refs made one on Saturday, and that's a series.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: No Mistakes

• Beecher and Portillo
• Is It Possible to Be Perfect?
• Just Too Sloppy
• Nick's Bad Night
• The No-Call

Segment 2: Bigger Picture

• PIMs Leader
• Coaching Matchups
• B10 and Pairwise
• MSU...again

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Don't Let Me Get Me" -P!NK
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

1 hour and 22 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Third straight week of a win that points Michigan towards the tournament and a loss that points them back to the bubble. Michigan finally shoots pretty decently against Illinois but the Illini shoot 59% from three. Curbelo doesn't look like a great player coming into this game but shoots 5-for-7 on FGs. The Hunter Dickinson mid-season Renaissance seems to have cooled down - offense and defense both seem to be off. DeVante' Jones is looking like a legit Big Ten point guard. Can Michigan use NIL deals to get everyone back next season?

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 21:05

Caleb Houston was the Kenpom MVP after going 5-for-9 from three. Rutgers shoots 17% from threes - Michigan gets to win a game because of the other team's poor three point shooting this time! Some contested pull-up jumpers from Rutgers even missed! Michigan needs a defensive wing next year, who's it going to be? At this point, just get into the tournament. 

starts at 34:33

Takes hotter than Illinois shooting a three from the logo. Everyone lost this weekend to keep the spotlight on Carol Hutchins for being the winningest softball coach in NCAA history. Who do you give the ball to on this team to shoot a game-winning three? Return of the Gimmicky Top Five! Top five things Juwan Howard is doing with his spare time. Brian discusses pretzels. Your podcast editor cannot relate to Brian's number one :( 

starts at 57:44

A very frustrating end to the regular season. Officiating has been inconsistent all season and this weekend was the cherry on top. Michigan is tied with Bowling Green with the most penalty minutes on the season (517 minutes). Michigan does need to be smarter about cross checking opponents from behind, especially with a conference title on the line. Playing Notre Dame is like a microcosm of the NCAA tournament. Michigan has dropped to #2 in Pairwise behind Minnesota State and probably won't fall any further because there's a huge gap between #2 and #3. Tune into the The Michigan Hockeycast for more Michigan hockey from David and Alex!

MUSIC:

• "Dis Generation"--A Tribe Called Quest
• "Cosi Ti Ami"--Nina Simone
• "I Don't Live Here Anymore"--The War on Drugs
• “Across 110th Street”

Things discussed:

• The brawl: punishment for Juwan was appropriate, lack of accountability from Wisconsin was terrible. NCAA should have suspended the UW assistant coaches, especially the one who tackled Terrance Williams.
• Wisconsin fans don’t get to talk about Juwan unless their embarrassment of Brad Davison.
• Rutgers game: It’s the shooting. Caleb can shoot at home yay! Rutgers didn’t make theirs. Michigan found holes in the mid-range. Michigan is 90th percentile at contested jumpers and 26th percentile on uncontested, which just means they’re missing the open looks.
• Houstan had one of his best defensive games. That makes a big difference, especially since Johns is unplayable now.
• Hello Kobe Bufkin.
• Izzo claims he got T’d up because of Juwan. Pointing and laughing at how badly he’s coaching this team.
• Denard: Underrated how much of a hard worker he is. Help with Dante Moore?
• Sainristil to cornerback? Michigan also looking in portal for CB. YIKES for cornerback, makes sense for WR since Ronnie Bell is going to be your slot, and he’s the best blocker among the WRs. Seth: expect Sainristil to move back, maybe next year. Good to get a senior in the CB room because they have a lot of freshmen whom they want to play.
• Hockey: Who’s the best defender on this team, the #1 overall guy or the Hughes? Also who sits now?
• WBB: They’re going to be motivated for MSU after their play in EL. No more turnovers. Bring back Brown now?

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Captain Winner

• Hughes for Hobey?
• Another Crazy Second Period
• Portillo...Good and Bad
• Captain Nick to the Rescue

Segment 2: Senior Night Shutdown

• Penalties and a Lapointe
• More Special Teams
• The Luke Hughes Goal
• Third Period Lockdown
• B10, Pairwise, and Minnesota Preview

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Pump It Up" -Endor
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

1 hour and 3 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

We apologize for a bit of technical difficulties with Brian's mic this episode. Brian and Seth discuss the end of the Wisconsin game. Brad Davison remains the dirtiest player in college basketball and Greg Gard defends him. Suspensions have been issued, time to move on with the season.

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 12:12

Just a bad shooting game all around. This is either a 66% three-point shooting team or a 16% three-point shooting team and it doesn't seem to matter what the opposition is doing. When they get hot shooting from the 4 they annihilate Purdue. When they don't, this game happens. Turns out wings are important in basketball. What happened to Brandon Johns?

starts at 27:32

It's already pretty hot out there but the gang comes up with some hot[ter] takes. Michigan has another horrible three-point shooting game against Iowa but it doesn't matter because Moussa Diabete goes 12-15 in FGs from the floor for 28 points. Shut down Keegan Murray and Iowa doesn't seem to know what to do. Kobe Bufkin getting 10 points off the bench was encouraging, Michigan needs a better performance from the bench overall this season. 

starts at 44:01

Michigan needs four points this upcoming weekend to clinch the Big Ten regular season championship. Was Luke Hughes's goal the best we've ever seen? (Not for Brian because he's old and has seen more goals). Ohio State's thing is that they have a very good goalie but Michigan has a good goalie to match and better skaters. Michigan's defense in the 3rd period of the Saturday game was clinical. Losing those players to the Olympics might be one of the best things to happen to this team. 

MUSIC:

• "Bringin' Home The Rain" -- The Builders and the Butchers
• "My Love Forevermore" -- The Hillbilly Moon Explosion ft. Mark 'Sparky' Philips
• "Today" -- Zero 7
• “Across 110th Street”

Things discussed:

• Harbaugh’s contract: Waiting to see the details. If it’s a big buyout the NFL dalliance is over.

And after we recorded the details dropped.

• Was it the end? Probably only because the NFL passed. Oakland, Miami, New York, Chicago were this cycle, Detroit was last year, his guy at Jacksonville just came to Michigan…short of Indianapolis or something happening to his brother that’s every franchise Harbaugh’s affiliated with.
• Who’s going to be quarterback next year? There will be a battle all offseason to keep both, but we are hoping it’s McCarthy because that means he’s gotten better than the starting QB of the Big Ten champions. Ratio changes, but into the season (which has a very gentle ramp-up) both guys will play.
• NIL: States amending/repealing legislation? They were being reactive, especially Ohio/Alabama who tried to maintain the status quo as long as they could. States with no laws (e.g. Texas) are in the best shape now, but that wasn’t the reality before the NCAA waived their hands. Not reacting to the laws; they’re reacting to the recruiting.
• How much money is actually going around? More than there was before.
• Hoops: Michigan got great shots in both games, they didn’t go in vs OSU. Craig: was there an officiating disparity? Yes.
• Michigan’s so hot and cold that they are going to drop more games than they should. Favored in 4/7 but only by a little bit.
• NBA decisions? Dickinson isn’t on draft boards: need to show him there’s enough NIL money to change his math. Diabate: Probably gone, because an NBA team will want to develop his talent and he can’t NIL being an international player, even though he’s the perfect example of a guy who can increase his draft stock immensely by staying in school. Houstan: doesn’t have much choice because he isn’t an NBA player at this point.
• Hockey: Minnesota survived without their Olympians, Michigan has their work cut out to keep up because OSU and ND are tough series to finish and they have a 2-point cushion. MSU is so bad.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Hockey Games, kinda

• MSU is Bad
• Shooters gon' Shoot
• Craziest Power Play Ever
• Got Some Depth

Segment 2: B10, PWR, Olympics

• Results/Standings
• Pairwise Talk
• Ohio State Preview
• What that means and a look to Beijing

1 hour and 6 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Series split between Ohio State and Purdue probably helps tournament résumé overall. Michigan schemed a lot of nice, open looks but just couldn't get the ball to drop. Overall trajectory of the team is still optimistic considering the improvement of the defense. If Dickinson isn't having a good game against any legitimate competition then the odds of winning drops considerably (zero assists, 0-for-2 on 3s in this game). Michigan's ball screen offense, including passes, is better this year with Devante' Jones than it was last year with Smith, he just needs to improve 3-point shooting.

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 17:43

Michigan scorches the top team in the conference because they hit their shots - particularly 12-21 on 3s. Hunter Dickinson being used as a decoy to get open looks has been successful in the playbook. Jaden Ivey was coming off ball screens all day in the first Purdue game, Michigan traps him in almost every screen this game. Seeing Michigan make that adjustment was a good overall sign for the coaching staff. Hunter Dickinson played really well despite being a bit injured. Big games this season are going to come down to RNG (random number generator). 

starts at 32:45

Michigan hires Jesse Minter as defensive coordinator - good continuity candidate after Macdonald. Has coached college for a while so he should know what he's getting into in terms of college recruiting. Jay Harbaugh moves to safeties coach and will probably be good at that, too. Offense will probably go back to Harbaugh being the CEO with run and pass game assistants. Defense will need more good ideas to generate pressure because you won't have Aidan Hutchinson to generate pressure for you. 

starts at 44:36

Ok fine, Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" might not be the most sexually explicit song ever, but Michigan has retained the most phallic trophy in college hockey - The Iron D. Michigan State is really bad at hockey and has been for quite some time. Their defensive philosophy is to have six goalies where everyone just tries to block a shot. Just completely non-competitive hockey games despite Michigan being without four players in the Olympics. Have there ever been four goals (two by each team) on one penalty kill before? Michigan needs to stop getting unnecessary majors. It will be a close finish between Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio State for first place in the Big Ten.

MUSIC:

• "Beat the Devils Tattoo"-- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
• "Western Saloon - Cartoon"-- Waldeck, Mud
• "Forgot About Dre (Clean)"-- Dr. Dre, Eminem
• “Across 110th Street”

Couple of coaching title updates now that it’s official: Steve Clinkscale has been made co-DC. Mike Hart is the running game coordinator. Elston is the recruiting coordinator.

Things discussed:

• Harbaugh makes good hires; looking internal was smart.
• New OC team: Gattis grew before our eyes, can they stay as organized as they were last year?
• Gattis: Hard to understand why he felt the way he did after the contract negotiation: Harbaugh was going to name him the guy, the regents were behind it, the other assistants were told that Gattis was the internal hire if that was the direction they went, and Harbaugh went out on a limb for Gattis in 2019 and paid a price to let him grow on the job.
• All those rumors are absolute BS. He was never pulled off the recruiting trail, never had any off-field incidents. He is emotional and that seems to work both for and against him.
• Coordinating is more about building the options that week than calling the plays on Saturday.
• Moving Bellamy/Ron: Both guys are head coaches and filling out their resumes. Both great recruiters. Bellamy a more natural receivers coach, and Minter is a safeties guy so Harbaugh’s not being thrown in the deep end.
• Minter: Vandy defensive stats don’t matter—seems he was a Plan A guy that Macdonald wanted, and a guy who loves speed. Seth: Going to see Michigan dip deeper into the Vikings playbook because they have more speed in the secondary. Have to recreate pressure with different looks instead of having Aidan run through guys.
• Co-DCs: Not necessarily the same as the co-OCs but they’ll probably break up specific duties in scouting and game-planning—playcalling is a small thing in comparison, especially on D.
• Elston as recruiting coordinator: Good pick and has to move on Dante Moore.
• Harbaugh is building quite a coaching tree.
• Hoops: Got shooting vs Purdue, don’t have any answer for Ivey. Painter is going to have an answer for the pressure. Probably can’t play Jace 20 minutes. Beat their defense, make your shots.
• Penn State: Zone worked against them.

1 hour and  2 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

We begin with a lengthy discussion about Tim Brando and songs with sex appeal. At times Michigan looked like they were going to get run out of the building against Purdue, and yet they were able to get within a point in the 2nd half. Michigan doesn't have a wing with the size to defend a player like Jaden Ivey. Hunter Dickinson's shooting development continues. We may look back at how frustratingly close this game was come tournament time. 

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 22:50

Only 23 minutes for Hunter Dickinson in this game. This game slipped out of hand because he was on the bench for so long (and yet he finished the game with only two fouls). Is this what Michigan is going to look like next year if Hunter Dickinson goes pro? Michigan's three-point shooting is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde this year. Most of the things that could turn this team around are probably a year away.

starts at 35:35

Takes hotter than a Hunter Dickinson mid-range jumper. Quarterbacks coach Tom Brady?? Discussions about Jim Harbaugh's interview with the Vikings. It feels like Michigan wasn't able to take full advantage on the recruiting trail with beating Ohio State and winning the Big Ten. Talking a bit about Josh Gattis and his bitter departure. What can Jim Harbaugh do right now to revive the morale within the program after his flirtations with the NFL and losing offensive and defensive coordinators?

starts at 53:49

Every time they hire a new coordinator it seems like it's out of left field so is there even much of a point in trying to guess who they hire or promote next? Larry Foote's name is mentioned. Jesse Minter seems somewhat Mike Macdonald-esque. Matt Weiss might be a co-offensive coordinator. Otherwise anyone's guess is as good as anyone else's. 

MUSIC:

• "Push It"--Salt 'n Peppa
• "Car Radio"--Spoon
• "Dark Red"--Steve Lacy
• “Across 110th Street”

Things discussed:

• Craig: Gimmicky Top Five reasons Harbaugh didn’t go to the Vikings.
• What happened with the reporting on Harbaugh? Shout out to the guy on the message board who went to Stanford with Matt Weiss and knew he was friends with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
• Why was he interested in the NFL? Rehashing 2021: were the new staff meant to provide continuity? Hart, Bellamy, Clinkscale, Moore, and Elston are all guys with special value to Michigan.
• What can Harbaugh do to win back people irked and make everyone believe he’s here for good? Either a contract with a buyout that scares away the NFL, or a coach in waiting.
• Harbaugh learned in 2021 that he doesn’t have infinite rope; Warde put his own neck on the line to keep him, Jim bet on himself, and that wouldn’t have happened if Harbaugh wasn’t a native son.
• Craig: No head coach.
• Next step is shore up the staff because they’re going to be imperative for recruiting, and they’re poachable after they were left in the dark this whole time. Clink is due a DC title.
• Reshuffle them? Ron to WRs/recruiting frees up options. Seth: problem is Bellamy is a great safeties coach!
• DC talk: Whatever you get you need a guy who can keep up what Macdonald did with the NFL-ization of the defense to keep up with Ryan Day.
• Seth: Frustrated how people put made up stuff out there. National reporters, NFL people, even some closer to home were putting out false information. I live in terror every day that I’ll post something wrong.

1 hour and  2 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Seth just missed another shot, and another. Michigan played out of their mind against MSU but just couldn't get shots to land. Brian strongly disagrees with the coaching decision to go away from drop coverage in this game. Northwestern is an ultimate ref show. Michigan shoots 67% from three against Northwestern to overcome only having one offensive rebound in this game. 

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 20:12

Jim Harbaugh is interviewing with the Vikings. There are also rumors of the Dolphins taking a shot. Kind of a bummer that Jim Harbaugh has one successful year and then possibly wants to bolt, but could this be Harbaugh's last chance at the NFL? If Michigan does lose Harbaugh, who do they hire next? Is it an internal hire? Some brief discussion on the next defensive coordinator.

starts at 33:29

Michigan sweeps a bad Wisconsin team despite being without two players to Olympic obligations. Michigan's defense is scoring around one goal per game and has become a powerful offense on this team. May need to sweep the series against Michigan State during the Olympic break to feel comfortable with winning the Big Ten. Tune into The Michigan Hockeycast tomorrow for a more in-depth analysis! 

starts at 47:11

Takes hotter than the opposite of the shooting of the first half against Michigan State. More Harbaugh talk. Michigan is a women's gymnastics school. A brief discussion on what music to listen to when you're at the dentist. 

MUSIC:

• "The Agency Group"--Alvvays
• "Help is on the Way"--Waves
• "Gimme Chocolate"--Babymetal
• “Across 110th Street”

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Badger Beatdown the First

• No Power, No KJ, No Problem 
• Wisconsin actually scores
• A Major...Against An Opponent!
• Michigan is Just Better
• Even Beydoun Can't Save Them 

Segment 2: Madison Mashing the Second

• Ethan Edwards is Popping
• ALL OF THE GOALS FOR EVERYONE
• Goodnight, Madison
• Our friends in South Bend and Hockey Valley
• B10 Standings and the Bye

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Jump Around" -- House of Pain
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

Things discussed:

• What’s going on with Harbaugh? Talk exceeds the substance—tepid interest from Harbaugh, tepid interest from the NFL. Vikings might do something goofy but barring that he’s back.
• Will we get an announcement? Yeah, there will be a contract.
• What went down with Macdonald? He seemed like an NFL guy, don’t understand why they dropped Wink, but Wink was a successor to Pees, and maybe John thought Macdonald was the real engine. Everyone agrees he’s a genius.
• Clink is going to be the co-DC. Not going to find a guy with the same system; just need find someone who can fit the same personnel.
• Mac brought us a strategy that could beat Ohio State. Gotta have that. You can play man the rest of the year.
• Also need a LBs coach. Michigan going to ask Larry Foote?
• Hoops: We let Craig Ross go off. Rob Riley is an abomination, shouldn’t be reffing in the Big Ten. This is the crew that ran off Beilein.
• Game is different if HD doesn’t get that 3rd foul. Moving screens were on Jones. Moussa got a terrible charge call where the guy was sliding under him.
• Shout out to Faulds. Support playing him over Johns given how badly Johns was playing (the shoe!)
• IU game: Woodson got outcoached by Howard, TJD looked tired.
• MSU has been getting RIDICULOUS officiating the last three games. End of Northwestern game they were actively trying to give MSU chances, Illinois had a huge lead until the officials brought State back, and Wisconsin got doubled up in fouls at home. Doesn’t bode well for Breslin. MSU could not stop Frazier—they have a blow-by problem at guard again. They also can’t decide who to play at center, even if it’s obviously Bingham.
• Caleb Houstan’s renaissance: The more space you create the better he’s going to be, because he’s a lethal Just a Shooter™ but isn’t great at contested shots and doesn’t get it off quickly.

1 hour and 17`minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Michigan climbs to 18 spots in the NET rankings to reach the fringe of the NCAA Men's Tournament bubble. Everything seemed to come easy in this game. The emergence of Hunter Dickinson's three point game will change how teams have to prepare for him. Parallels are drawn between this Michigan team and last season's Ohio State team. Diabaté was extremely energized in this game. This feels like a young team that is finally turning a corner.

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 19:05

Michigan runs out to a big lead and was never threatened against a not-great Maryland team that has a surprising lack of talent on it. Frankie Collins has an alley-oop from Eli Brooks, followed by a play Brian cannot describe with proper words, followed by two air-balled threes. Doesn't seem like a shooter right now but can be ball dominant. DeVante' Jones has been more efficient and less turnover prone, which may be a big reason Michigan has looked better in recent weeks.

starts at 33:50

Takes hotter than Hunter Dickinson in the last couple of games. Brian's take gets some form of "wow" from everyone who heard it. Can Michigan de-throne Stanford?? Latest rumor is the Raiders don't want to make a move for Harbaugh because Jim Harbaugh is weird. NFL people are even weirder, though. Brian and Seth try to dissect what might be going through Jim's mind during this offseason. 

starts at 57:35

Alex and David come in to talk hockey. Michigan is up to #1 in the Pairwise rankings, also tied for first place in the Big Ten with Ohio State. Big Ten is really strong this year - even Penn State who is last in the Big Ten is ranked 24th in the Pairwise. Minnesota's rink is hard to adapt to - it's bigger and the nets like to come off easily. Michigan losing players to the Olympics is mitigated by a bye week, but those players will be gone for the Ohio State series. Brian is so so excited for Michigan to be the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Hockey Tournament and that they'll play somewhere 1,000 miles away. 

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Don't Take Silly Penalties

• Will Michigan Ever Register a Shot?
• Duke Doing Some Things
• No, Johnny, No No
• Matthew Knies: Baseball Hitter
• The Penalty

Segment 2: That's Better

• Uh oh. Not Again...
• Star Power is Good
• Erik Portillo Does It Again
• A Look Around the B10
• Upcoming Trip to Madison

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Winter Wonderland" - Bing Cosby
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

Things discussed:

• Pre-show: Jim Harbaugh thoughts at the tail end of The Michigan Insider.
• Question: Interim tag? What about co-head coaches?
• Harbaugh: Likely to return to Michigan, wants to see if the NFL is interested but we only see the Raiders as potentially interested.
• Mike Elston: One of the guys. If you’re going to be a lifelong DL coach might as well come home.
• Let’s play if he goes: Hart? Gattis? Macdonald?
• Outside options? We haven’t changed.
• Likelihood it happens? Only Raiders, G-Men seems like it would be weird. If the NFL really wanted Jim Harbaugh he’d be in the NFL right now. It would have to be a team that wants to make the whole operation Harbaugh’s because your GM has to be the rare type of boss who can get along with him.
• Jacksonville? Not with Baalke there. But Jim’s good friend is director of player personnel.
• Do we care that Michigan has a coach looking around? If it wasn’t Harbaugh, probably.
• Hoops: Played with guts in Champaign, PG coming around, Frankie’s not a shooter but had a super spreader event at Crisler.
• Hockey: Got lucky to win 2 against PSU, go to Minnesota when they’re trying to find a goalie (can’t have ours again).

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Strong Start Turns to Hanging On

• Period of Goals
• Five Minute Majors Go Opposite Directions
• Michigan Gets Many OMRs, Finishes None
• Individual Mistakes Allow a PSU Rally
• Some 5x3 PP Discussion 

Segment 2: A win? A tie? Yes. 28:32

• First Period Nap
• Second Period Adrenaline Rush
• Third Period Rally and Survive
• Big Ten Talk
• Showdown in Minneapolis

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" -The Tokens
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

Things discussed:

• Harbaugh to the NFL? Only the Raiders, and only if they make a ridiculous offer.
• Difference this year from last: Harbaugh went through last January’s renegotiation.
• If anyone’s going to make the move it’s the Raiders making a big one. Jim’s gotta know however that it’s not going to last.
• Donors who are for Michigan not their own self-aggrandizement is what makes Michigan so competitive. Having Ross be mostly hands off helps Michigan keep the donors from messing with the program, and that’s something that other schools envy us for. Good donors want a better linebacker, not more access.
• NIL and “NIL”? Michigan is coming along, probably not as fast as other schools are going to keep adapting.
• Transfers? Michigan’s only gotten one guy since 1990 who got more than a few credits towards a Michigan undergrad degree to transfer: Grant Mason from Stanford. Everyone else was a grad transfer or more or less started from scratch.
• Can Michigan be competitive in this environment? If the talent is more diffused. If Bama and UGA and Ohio State have their choice it’s unlikely Michigan can go 3-0 against them to win a championship. When you have an Ole Miss and Florida and A&M focused on getting the guys who want to go wherever’s offering the most money, that takes the top off of Bama and Georgia and Ohio State.
• Hoops: Problems they have are not solvable, because they don’t have wings. Their thruck will change at least. Illinois is playing great even without Curbelo. Frazier is the kind of guy who can tear us apart.
• Hockey: Made it over their bumpy part of the road and Mel teams have good second halves, but the Olympics could leave us severely depleted. Still look like a good team to make a run in the playoffs. Great UMass series this week.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: A Tie and a Win

00:51

• News, Notes, Catch-up
• Some Quick Tech Speak
• Michigan Scores at a Minute's Notice
• A Late Win
• Convincing Numbers

Segment 2: More Mass, B10 Roundup, and some PSU Talk

28:50

• Top Line Dominance
• Portillo very good...still
• Frustrating last 7 Minutes
• B10 Wrapup
• A look ahead to Penn State
• Also Olympics

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps Historical Ensemble
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

Things discussed:

• The Orange Bowl: Georgia was just really good. Stetson Bennett was great.
• UGA had us scouted perfectly. Harrell vs their TE, two TDs each on Colson and Vincent Gray.
• UGA’s talent was a game-changer.
• Georgia fans were nice—Let’s have a home and home with them?
• Cade vs JJ: Sam’s ready to go McCarthy now, but we all expect a competition, and a result.
• Love for this team.
• Break: Harbaugh talk. If Michigan can’t get transfers in or compete on “NIL” they’re not ready for the next phase of college football.
• Hoops: This team is an easy scout. They need a wing.

1 hour and 10`minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast, and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Miami, the city, is a weird place. Georgia's defense has a Devin Bush and even Blake Corum in space couldn't get around him. Run game didn't get anywhere and Cade's 3-4 yard passes at a time wasn't able to get Michigan down the field. JJ is probably the one with the ceiling to compete with teams like Georgia. 

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 18:56

We were hoping Michigan could make up the talent gap by scheming up some plays and playing smarter - turns out Georgia out-schemed Michigan. Georgia seemed prepared for all the nuances of Michigan's defenses that they could exploit. Seth gives some optimism about the future of this defense.

starts at 29:56

Takes hotter than... Miami? Brian has opinions about tacos. Quarterback situation for 2022 looks to be really good. Unclear if there's a bruiser at running back to replace Haskins, but Michigan's backfield could be one of the most explosive in the country. Michigan loses a blocking tight end in Joel Honigford but the returning unit looks good. Center replaces Andrew Vastardis with a possible upgrade and the rest of the line looks to be in a good place - can any of them be an All-American? Add Ronnie Bell to the returning receiver group and they might be one of the best in the league. 

starts at 52:40

Most of the defense returns for 2022. Losing the best defensive end duo in the country hurts, it's unclear on how to replace Ojabo and Hutchinson. Defensive scheme may need to be restructured a bit, but the recruiting seems to be planning for that. Junior Colson probably has the biggest growth potential at linebacker. Losing Brad Hawkins and (we assume) Dax Hill will be difficult, may need to play true freshmen at some point. Dropping a five-star true freshman (Will Johnson) at cornerback will be feasible next season. It's looking like Michigan could be in the same situation next season as this one: going into the Ohio State game with everything on the line.

MUSIC:

• "When You Were Mine"--Joy Crookes
• "True"--Skirts
• "All of the Time"--Jungle
• “Across 110th Street”

Things discussed:

• Georgia mindset: They got 2018 Ohio State gamed vs Bama, think they’re going to beat Michigan and lose to Bama again.
• Hoping there’s some non-linear stuff going on: What UGA does to offenses in the 30s or 50s may not be what they do to a Top 5 group.
• Michigan has to get their explosive plays, a la Wisconsin.
• They’re 2018 Michigan on defense, if Ryan Glasgow was 6’6”/340. Want to put 8 in the box and cover 1.
• Dealing with Davis? Trap trap trap trap. Want to see a great Michigan gameplan.
• Georgia’s offense like throwing to the TE and RB so if Michigan can put them in long downs they put the Dawgs in a bad spot where they are using their best offensive weapons to chip Hutchinson/Ojabo.
• Brian recalls Andre Seldon broke up a fade in an all-star game vs their 6’7”/265 TE Darnell Washington.
• Basketball vs UCF: Michigan has to fix their turnover problem and their guards getting blown by problem. One of these problems probably gets fixed this game. Key to the game: hit your threes, because they play two bigs.

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. UGP makes custom apparel such as t-shirts and sweatshirts and was founded by 2 Michigan alums over 20 years ago. They have 3 retail locations in Ann Arbor and offer thousands of University of Michigan athletic products for sale, ranging from clothing to accessories and memorabilia. Check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com or check out our selection of shirts on the MGoBlogStore.com, including this one--->.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Prentice4M, and Team Fan Club. We are of course made possible by SignalWire.

The live broadcast was canceled because we had so many kid interruptions happening.

[After THE JUMP: The player and what was said]

--------------------------------------------

1. Georgia Preview: Offense (starts at 0:22)
2. Georgia Preview: Defense (starts at 24:04)
3. After Upon Further Review: BTC (starts at 43:23)
4. Hockey cancelation makes everyone mad. (starts at 58:09)

Just a local artist I grew up with who used to be in a hip-hop called Athletic Mic League when we were in college together, and now goes by Mayer Hawthorne. He has an official website and everything.

• “Mr. Blue Sky”
• “The Ills”
• “The Walk”

Also because Across 110th Street will get our Youtubes taken now now, the opener and outro:

• “The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark
• “Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat

Things discussed:

• The softness of Ohio State fans: fainting couches for Desmond making fun of their OL.
• Happy Urban Meyer fired morning.
• Big Ten recruiting and realignment. I pitch my Showcase idea again, because it is the perfect solution.
• HBCU takes the #1 overall recruit and the SEC feels entitled. You can’t pay players to choose your school over better career options, only we can do that.
• This recruiting class: Brian loves that they used their championship to finish, I love that Michigan recruited to their strengths and soft spots in the system.
• Who’s going to play next year? Johnson. Mason Graham, probably Sabb or Zeke Berry. Going to see more Macdonald amoeba.
• OL recruiting? They’ve got an extra year of eligibility for everybody.

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. UGP makes custom apparel such as t-shirts and sweatshirts and was founded by 2 Michigan alums over 20 years ago. They have 3 retail locations in Ann Arbor and offer thousands of University of Michigan athletic products for sale, ranging from clothing to accessories and memorabilia. Check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com or check out our selection of shirts on the MGoBlogStore.com, including this one--->.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Prentice4M, and Team Fan Club. We are of course made possible by SignalWire.

THE VIDEO

[After THE JUMP: the player and what we said]

--------------------------------------------

• QB JAYDEN DENEGAL: Big-bodied, M had him up for a throwing session, camper, * fell, Speight. Teams were wary of weight issues. “Inconsistent” delivery. Slow release. Good deep ball. Cerebral. Owns a tortoise.
• QB ALEX ORJI: VT decommit. Tough Dallas leaguer, kind of a Michael Barrett where he’s linebacker shaped and could move there if QB doesn’t work out. Or “backfield TE” just sayin.
• RB CJ STOKES: Low league. Great balance, serious jump cut, runs good routes and wants to catch the ball a lot.
• WR TYLER MORRIS: Golden Tate smooth and post-catch burst. Injured this year and no drama in his recruitment or he’d be a top 25 player. Also comped to Garrett Wilson. Great routes. Olympic-caliber high-jumper. (Junior Olympics champion).
• WR DARRIUS CLEMONS: Huge dude who makes crazy catches and has a “verified” 40 of 4.37. Route running is a work in progress.
• WR AMORION WALKER: Long, tall, leapy. M has done well with wingspans from the South.
• TE COLSON LOVELAND: Flex you can play immediately, Erick All potential. Staff enamored. Bama looked.
• TE MARLIN KLEIN: Receiver build, still rather fresh from Germany, plays in a low-level Georgia league so he’s more a Schoonmaker project.
• OT ANDREW GENTRY: Counting him as a 2022 even though he was in the 2020 class. Crazy Mormon mission story recruitment after that. Stueber comp.

OL ALLESSANDRO LORENZETTI: Fell off the recruiting industrial complex tree and hit every blind spot on the way down: Quebecois, mid-career transfer, no junior film, highest-ranked player ever at his school in Connecticut, and extremely short recruitment that didn’t reciprocate SEC interest.

OL CONNOR JONES: One of us! Comes through the same Colorado OL factory as the rest, going to need some development. Fan favorite.

(starts at 43:21)

• NT KENNETH GRANT: Mammoth, underrated as far as his get-off and agility. Might need some time to develop. OSU slow-played and wished they hadn’t when he rose up the rankings.
• DT MASON GRAHAM: Ryan Glasgow. Can play immediately.
• DE/DT DERRICK MOORE: National top-50 heavy DE affected by M’s late rise, may be a play immediately. We honestly haven’t scouted him much yet.
• EDGE KEVONTE HENRY: Didn’t sign with M today, didn’t sign with Courtney Morgan’s new place either. Uche-level edge-bender they’re going to go all-out for down the stretch.
• EDGE/LB MICAH POLLARD: Popped when scouting someone else, development time, staff might see him at either role. Braylon’s nephew, Marcus’s son.
• LB JIMMY ROLDER: Late pop and thank god because they were struggling at MLB this cycle. Athlete in the mold of Ben Gedeon.
• LB DEUCE SPURLOCK: M had to go back hat in hand but smart player, sideline to sideline, underrated athlete, had to fend off Southern schools late.
• LB AARON ALEXANDER: Don’t know much about him because he was a converted RB then got hurt. Had a good playoffs for Belleville. Also: Belleville.

(starts at 1:06:06)

• HSP KEON SABB. Brian has the worst memories of Cato June but yeah: linebacker who moves like a safety. Big piece for the amoeba stuff they want to do.
• S ZEKE BERRY. Lorenz’s favorite player of the class. Peppers-like, even on offense. Maybe not as twitch but that sort of player.
• S DAMANI DENT. Underrated player of the class, nationally. Oregon loved him after he went to their camp. Dax Hill minus the rankings.
• CB WILL JOHNSON. Ideal cornerback, great upside for a top-20 guy because he can play anywhere in their system, runs WR routes like a WR.
• CB KODY JONES. “SEC-style” cornerback who just can turn on a dime and competes like mad then goes in the 2nd round. Nickel early? Big recruiting win down the stretch.
• CB MYLES POLLARD. Every Michigan fan, starting with Josh Newkirk, saw it before Michigan did, but he balls out against top competition. If he was a 4.4 instead of 4.5 guy he’d be Will Johnson.

(starts at 1:27:18)

5Q5A: When do they get the bump from the end of this season? When does this secondary take over? Any LB/DE in the mix immediately? Affect of losing of Courtney Morgan? How do they finish?

LIGHTNING ROUND: Best player? Best player still on the roster in 4 years? Most underrated? Biggest recruiting win?

• “Hi, Hey There, Hello”—The Mowgli's
• “Sorry I Stole Your Man”—Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas
• “Starman”—David Bowie

Also because Across 110th Street will get our Youtubes taken now now, the opener and outro:

• “The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark
• “Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: A Slushee Win

• The Questional Surface
• Trading PPGs
• The Keranen Major
• Dobes Christmas Charity
• Gritty, Grindy Goals and Solid Portillo

Segment 2: Short-handed, Disjointed Mess

• Horrendous State and Early Hole
• The Absolute Mess of a Middle Frame
• Gas Tank Empties
• Big Ten Roundup
• First Half Thoughts

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" -Christmas Carol and Song
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

• Iowa: Michigan’s first two scores made them big chip leader as Iowa’s best shot was to go up 10-0 and then Iowa you to death.
• There was a long stretch of Iowa in there.
• They had no answer for Aidan Hutchinson, so they folded: one time they ran a two-man route! Hutch Thayer Munson’d another guy.
• Poaching Michigan’s coaches? The cycle is mostly complete: Playoffs and early signing period forced hands to move in December. Gattis is our most eligible bachelor, but if BT and UVA are filled now, it’s really up to what happens at Oregon, who should just promote Moorhead. Unless Wake opens up Gattis might be able to stick around for an Oklahoma-like job.
• Georgia: Their offense isn’t inept but it’s not gangbusters. Their defense is and I come clean that I really do like their front seven and that Michigan has to throw downfield to score on them. Nobody believes me about their linebackers: they’re good folks.
• Also I don’t take the bait from a reader who wants me to rip on Kirby Smart. I don’t like him, but he’s a good coach.
• JJ McCarthy is as fast as Blake Corum.
• Why is the line moving towards Georgia? The South? UGA hasn’t really beaten a good team this year.
• OSU’s new DC: We’re not enthralled. He ran a good defensive system to beat the Big XII. He’ll be better than Kerry Coombs, or trying to scrap together a Quarters defense after they benched Coombs.
• Notre Dame/Marcus Freeman: right move, higher ceiling than Brian Kelly, because nobody likes Brian Kelly. Fickell would have meant blowing up the recruiting class and waiting for the end of the playoffs. Held that coaching staff together too.
• Cristobal going to Miami to play for 15,000 people: crazy. Joe Brady?

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Minnesota Dissects Michigan 

• OMRs and Zone Entries Doom the First Period
• Michigan does not enter the House
• Gophers Pre-Scout
• Noah West?

Segment 2: Michigan Responds in Kind

• Here We Go Again
• Just Kidding! Pasta is Here
• Much Better Entries
• Another 30 Minute Game
• B10 Wrap/OSU Preview

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "We Are the Champions" -Queen
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

1 hour and 16 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast, and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Michigan fans channel their inner European soccer league by singing apropos of nothing, having wandered the desert to achieve this joy. Iowa gives up their longest run of the year and longest pass of the year on back to back drives. How fast is JJ McCarthy?? What can Donovan Edwards not do? Playing conservatively after going up 14-3 was the right call. Cade had a bit of a rough game. Iowa was aggressive against Michigan's ground game, didn't generate much outside the Blake Corum run. Schoonmaker had a couple of the best catches of his career.

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 29:20

Iowa's offense being bad met all expectations. Iowa cut their game plan around stopping Aidan Hutchinson. Despite this, Aidan wins the MVP with one sack and four tackles. Stats fail to encompass Aidan Hutchinson. Nice to see younger players come in and make a few plays.

starts at 43:22

Takes hotter than that one Iowa fan in the stands who was clearly swearing about a 3rd down play call. Is Aidan Hutchinson good enough to fix the Lions?? How many Big Ten teams could Donovan Edwards start at QB for? Michigan wins the special teams battle. Iowa has an excellent punt returner who finishes the game with negative yards. Multiple punts almost get blocked before the actual punt block. Eviscerating Iowa special teams felt like the real "win with cruelty" moment of this game.

starts at 1:01:07

Michigan draws Georgia in the playoffs. Don't immediately pencil in Alabama, Cincinnati is #5 in SP+ and gets an Alabama team that struggled against a struggling Auburn team. Georgia is Iowa but with the #2 offense in the country. The line is -7.5 which seems quite large for how well Michigan has been playing. Hockey had a weird split against Minnesota this weekend. They're setting up nicely for their annual Mel Pearson second half of the season rally. Very important win for basketball against SDSU. Frankie Collins is looking like the starting point guard. Hunter Dickinson's 3-point shooting is quite the development.

MUSIC:

• “Pump It Up ”—Endor
• “Mr. Brightside”—The Killers
• “Party Hard”—Andrew WK
• “Across 110th Street”

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. UGP makes custom apparel such as t-shirts and sweatshirts and was founded by 2 Michigan alums over 20 years ago. They have 3 retail locations in Ann Arbor and offer thousands of University of Michigan athletic products for sale, ranging from clothing to accessories and memorabilia. Check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Prentice4M, and Team Fan Club. We are of course made possible by SignalWire.

THE VIDEO

[After THE JUMP: the player and what we said]

--------------------------------------------

They’re a great center and a great zone running running back held back by a passing game. We think Michigan might be able to pull out the defense they used on Wisconsin: go 5-2 and let the DBs man up in the secondary. Long discussion of special teams because they’re the best at it, though Michigan neutralizes that by being the second-best at it.

(starts at 20:16)

One of the smartest secondaries in CFB: we call it graduate-level Cover 2, where they can switch to a lot of different things on the fly. Want to generate turnovers but Cade McNamara is a new threat level for them. Defensive tackles are still smallish and rotate a ton, don’t have an Epenesa who can change the game. Haskins turning the three-yard runs into 5-6 yard runs could be a major difference-maker. So could the talent level of the receivers. Alex wants us to run outside and see if they can match the speed of Corum/Edwards/Henning.

(starts at 35:36)

Cannot find anything bad to talk about on offense. An offensive line wreckage. We’re mad about PFF’s offensive line grading because only Stueber was all-Big Ten to them. Lots of little tweaks to the things they’ve been doing all year to put their guys in advantageous positions. OL finished +50 though!!!! Seth thinks it’s because they grade screens as pass protection, thinks there isn’t a better guy than Zak Zinter at making that kickout block on Counter Trey. Defensively Ohio State went with a lot of stretch zone off of tempo and tried to beat Michigan to the edge. Their receivers did work against a secondary playing down a man because M was bringing five-man pressures.

(starts at 53:03)

Wasn’t as bad as it looked: Love just started canning NBA threes to break open a close defensive matchup, but there were a lot of defensive improvements. True that they can’t find shotmakers outside, unless Moussa can be one? Think Eli, Dickinson, and Diabate are your three best guys, and then you have to reconfigure whom you want out there with them, probably Houstan if he can keep progressing defensively and shoot more like 35% (he’s probably not the 40% prince that was promised), and then it’s a race to see if Jones pulls it together or Frankie Collins can emerge as Simpson 2.0. Not looking like a Final Four team anymore but better than they’ve been.

Tonight’s featured musician is husband&wife, a band recommended to me by my IU friend who’s always sponsoring stuff here. I asked him for a few recommendations from Indiana and he said husband&wife. I Spotify’d and was like wow, good call. Then I looked them up and first article I read said “For fans of Bear vs Shark.” Victor Oladipo slam dunk dot gif.

• “Belong Gone One”—from their album Proud Flesh (2010)
• “Proud Flesh”—title song of that album.
• “I’ll Wait”—I’ll Wait/Don’t Rush EP (2013)

But I’m regretting not using Florida Hideaway now. Slaps.

And because Across 110th Street will get our Youtubes taken now now, the opener and outro:

• “The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark
• “Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: The Niagara Series

• Slow First Five Minutes
• Niagara Isn't Allowed to Shoot Anymore
• Michigan Scores Many Goals
• Slow Start to Game 2
• Michigan Scores More Goals and Wins

Segment 2: Special Guest Nate Wells Previews Minnesota and More

• Nate Wells!
• What's going on nationally?
• Big Ten Recap
• Minnesota Preview

Secret Segment 3

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Pump It Up" -Endor
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

Things discussed:

• How are we feeling?
• Ohio State got punched in the mouth and fell apart.
• Buckeye defense not prepared for what Michigan runs.
• Buckeye offense was not ready for Aidan Hutchinson to turn CJ Stroud into an NFL rookie. All they got was Ninja on Ojabo and their WRs making ridiculous catches in coverage.
• The DTs for Michigan stood up. The DTs for Ohio State did not.
• Sam wants to doom Hutchinson to the Lions. Seth: He goes to the Lions he will be Suh, he will be Megatron, he will be Barry—he will be a great player wasted.
• Heisman: They don’t give it to the Most Outstanding Player. Maybe if Hutchinson HAD A TOUCHDOWN in his stats, Big Ten. Or that TD that went over his hand that he was close to intercepting and running back.
• Gattis: take a bow! Should be a head coaching candidate after that.
• Iowa talk: They can’t pass pro. Great RB and great C. But they’ve been extremely lucky, living off of turnovers and opponent QBs getting hurt.
• Hassan Haskins appreciation. Pulled me out of the BPONE and all the way to where we are now.

2 hours and 8 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast, and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Reminiscing on legends that faded away in past Ohio State game losses like Khalid Hill's 4th and 1 touchdown, Denard's long run in the Shoe, and Devin Gardner putting up 41 points on a broken foot. This year's performances from the likes of Aidan Hutchinson, Hassan Haskins, and the offensive line will never be forgotten. Message to the fans: you do not have to act like you've been there before. Michigan's 41 rush attempts (including two kneel downs) absolutely dominated this game. What happened to Ohio State mentally? They seemed rattled all game and panicked. Michigan offense goes back to some old school Jim Harbaugh packages and also used the specific skills of their backup quarterback in the biggest game of the year. The offense gave up zero tackles for loss in this game. You watch Michigan's offensive line handle Ohio State's defensive line in person and think "how is this happening?" And then you rewatch the game on tv and think "how is this happening???" Ohio State's cornerbacks do not know how to play press coverage. Brian has decided that flea flickers are underutilized. Cade's interception is really his only major mental mistake. Cameron Brown is now officially on the Fools Hurdled list.

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 40:20

Ohio State puts up nearly 500 yards of offense, but this happens to everyone. Michigan was able to tighten up near the redzones. They were only able to get into the endzone after escaping from tough situations, Michigan defense made them work for it. The performance of Michigan's defensive line almost cannot be explained. Ojabo is not-just-a-shooter- wait, NFL scouts if you're reading this, ignore that. Aidan Hutchinson for Heisman, but unironically. According to PFF he had 15(!!!) QB pressures which is the most PFF has ever recorded since they started recording college football. Aidan Hutchinson won Michigan this game. Josh Ross had a critical 3rd and short that he blew up, Michigan scores on the ensuing drive. Rod Moore started as a true freshman against Ohio State and it was just fine. The organization of this Michigan defense is outrageously good. The cornerbacks got hit a few times but overall held up fine and didn't get beaten. CJ Stroud gets in his own head a bit when under pressure and was susceptible to Michigan's pass rush. Macdonald threw a pro style defense at CJ Stroud and he wasn't able to handle it. The offseason reboot worked.

starts at 1:08:57

AHHHHHHHH. Brian's voice requires a surge protector, has a hot soup take. Is this the most satisfying win ever since the creation of MGoBlog? Realistic talks about a run in the college football playoffs. Ohio State commits THE CLASSIC BLUNDER of not going for two early. Michigan's 4th down decision making made sense. No field goal attempts from Michigan because they didn't need to. Why did the Ohio State player field a kick from the three yard line? AJ Henning muffed a punt but probably should have drawn a kick catch interference call. Not much to talk about with officiating! Brian has a fan experience story.

starts at 1:35:26

Nebraska finishes 1-8 in conference play with a scoring margin of zero - all of college football twitter was dialed in on it. Nerbaska vs Iowa is a great rivalry - the team that can't punt vs the team that knows best how to punt. It's hard to see Iowa looking like a team that's going to keep up with Michigan in the Big Ten Championship game. Iowa doesn't know who their starting QB is going to be, yet. Jamie says the most Iowa sentence ever. Wisconsin's offense collapses against Minnesota. Wisconsin almost punts from the Minnesota 35 on 4th and 1, takes a penalty, and converts the 4th and 6. If Minnesota didn't blow it against Illinois, they would've been in the Big Ten Championship game and forced a battle for the Jug. Twitter has some strong opinions about punting from the opposing 35. MSU converts a flea flicker - everyone should run a flea flicker at least once per week. Is Penn State in trouble going into next year? They may need to hit the transfer portal hard. Purdue had a solid 8-4 season, Indiana not so much. Nick Sheridan is out at Indiana. Illinois gets The Hat for the first time in years. Brandon Peters claimed to be the only person in the locker room to go 2-0 yesterday. Maryland goes 6-6 and makes a bowl game, Bryan Mackenzie will have to wait another year for Rutgers to make a bowl. The Michigan Rutgers game is really weird in hindsight.

MUSIC:

• "Linus & Lucy"--Vince Guaraldi
• "Sweet Revenge"--John Prine
• "Baby Come"--Cut Worms
• “Across 110th Street”

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. UGP makes custom apparel such as t-shirts and sweatshirts and was founded by 2 Michigan alums over 20 years ago. They have 3 retail locations in Ann Arbor and offer thousands of University of Michigan athletic products for sale, ranging from clothing to accessories and memorabilia. Check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Prentice4M, and Team Fan Club. We are of course made possible by SignalWire.

THE VIDEO

[After THE JUMP: the player and what we said]

--------------------------------------------

Yeesh. Their running game is just dangerous enough to be lethal given the way you have to set up against their passing attack. Best trio of receivers at once? The hope here is we brought in a guy from an NFL defense that specialized in ruining young NFL quarterbacks to catch up to the OSU meta game where they’ve become a pro offense.

(starts at 21:11)

Kerry Coombs got the Paterno, Barnes made them a little leaky Cover 2 because the way they score that’s all they have to be in this league. Linebacker level is exploitable; All could have a good game, Michigan might be able to Nebraska-Oklahoma this into a shorter game.

(starts at 40:06)

Cade had a good game in a controlled environment. The Donovan Edwards stuff was a right response to what Maryland was doing defensively. As is tradition, the defense showed some things that make us terrified before Ohio State.

(starts at 49:20)

We talk about the traditions of Ohio State, and how they’re all linked back to Michigan, and clear up a few myths that Seth’s been peddling.

Tonight’s featured musician is Ma Baker, whom I saved for this episode because they are headlining at The Blind Pig tonight. They are Washtenaw County’s most righteous jam band.

• “Jammy”
• “Zonde”
• “Falling Too”

And because Across 110th Street will get our Youtubes taken now now, the opener and outro:

• “The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark
• “Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat

If you or a friend made some good tunes and don't have a label out scrubbing for them we'd be happy to feature you.

Things discussed:

• Michigan history corrections.
• Maryland: Michigan was looking past then, Donovan Edwards brings a new dimension.
• McNamara performance: not like MSU because he wasn’t getting pressure, his reads were more open, and his receivers helped him out more. It was a good performance—just stop throwing it off his OL’s helmets.
• McCarthy: Perfect game for him because UMD’s secondary falls apart, gives their running game more space, POPS. Also definitely not the starter.
• OSU-MSU: Not surprised MSU fell apart in the secondary, surprised they couldn’t move the ball, but that happens when they lost their Heisman candidate to an ankle thing.
• M-OSU: How do we win this one? Beat their linebackers, screw with Stroud’s reads, get pressure, and get the ball to Michigan’s playmakers. #SpeedinSpace time.
• Nebraska/Penn State vs OSU through-lines? Both teams make life hell on linebackers!
• We talk about OSU’s receivers, what about Michigan’s receivers?
• Michigan is the best team Ohio State’s faced this year (yes including Oregon), and Ohio State’s been in some games this year.
• Seth: It’s going to matter if Ojabo and Hutchinson are allowed to play football under the rules.
• Hoops: significantly down on Houstan, who’s not a 3. Johns has no confidence. Team is shooting

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Notre Dame Wins in OT, 3-2

• The Holtz Roller Coaster
• Beniers Coast to Coast
• Portillo Plays Well
• The Collapse
• What do you do in 3v3 OT?

Segment 2: Notre Dame Wins in OT, 5-4

• Great Start, Creating and Finishing
• The Collapse Comes Early
• Portillo Has a Terrible...and Also Good Game?
• We Need to Talk About the 5v3 Stuff
• Alex Has Opinions on Penalties

Secret Segment 3

1 hour and 16 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast, and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Why are we playing an ACC team? Harder to appreciate a blowout with what's coming next. What other team is walking to their doom at the end of the season every year? Cade goes 75% on completions for >10 yards per completion - helped out by some spectacular catches. Donovan Edwards has more receiving yards in this game than Chris Evans did in any single season. Hassan Haskins only gets 78 yards at 3.9 YPC, does not help that Cade will not keep the ball on a read. JJ McCarthy shows some flashes in this one, including a reminiscent Denard-first-snap play. McCarthy extends a play that Cade probably would have otherwise thrown away. 

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 26:48

Ground game defense feels a little bit concerning considering Maryland is a team that does not run well. Not great signs for Ohio State. Solutions on what to do when being blatantly held - just go down? Did a nice job holding Rakim Jarrett to two receptions. Michigan is #4 in SP+, and yet are 8.3 points behind Ohio State, which is huge. Hard to be happy about being #4 because we have a Sword of Damocles. 

starts at 41:54

Takes so hot they look like Mike Locksley after his team takes multiple red zone penalties on the same drive. Locksley's facial expressions are far too relatable to an exasperated dad. Jay Harbaugh - best coach on staff? Not a hot take, just a question. Kick return trick play won't work against Ohio State since Ohio State doesn't pooch kick. 

starts at 56:44

Michigan State's pass defense was, uh... thoroughly exposed. Michigan just has to not lose that badly to go to the Rose Bowl. Nebraska doing what Nebraska does - losing to a ranked team by one score. Nebraska is ranked #33 in SP+, Michigan State is #34. Braelon Allen is emerging as a consistent runner for Wisconsin. Minnesota plows through the erotic rotting corpse of Indiana football. Indiana is a loss to Purdue away from being winless against Power 5 teams for the first time since Kevin Wilson. Looking at the boxscore, how did Iowa win by 10? P00N results in Brian setting the rules for all M00N related scoreboard jokes. Rutgers couldn't score once against a flu-ridden Penn State team. 

MUSIC:

• "The Man"--Aloe Blacc
• "You're Dead"--Norma Tanega
• "Love the One You're With"--The Isley Brothers
• “Across 110th Street”

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. UGP makes custom apparel such as t-shirts and sweatshirts and was founded by 2 Michigan alums over 20 years ago. They have 3 retail locations in Ann Arbor and offer thousands of University of Michigan athletic products for sale, ranging from clothing to accessories and memorabilia. Check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Prentice4M, and Team Fan Club. We are of course made possible by SignalWire.

THE VIDEO

[After THE JUMP: the player and what we said]

--------------------------------------------

Taulia Tagovailoa experience is he’s going to Madden QB into sacks or crazy 3rd and 9 conversions. They screen as often as they run so that’s their offense. Their defense broke the record for most guys cyan’d despite a couple of decent DEs and a good secondary because their linebackers don’t yet know what they’re doing and their DTs are just beatable.

(starts at 19:06)

Cade McNamara graded out not negative in a game that had a lot of passes thrown under duress because Ryan Hayes cannot stop NFL-grade pass-rushers all by himself. Thought Haskins carried the team; they had him reading the PSU DT to see if there was a cutback lane or if they were overplaying the left side. Attacked the boundary by forcing the safeties who came into the box to be real linebackers instead of free hitters.

(starts at 33:12)

Matt from Endless Motor takes Seth’s chair (literally) to talk about the early season rotation. Short version is Houstan is really a four or a guy who guards Just a Shooters, not major scoring wings. The guy who can defend that is Diabate and we’re intrigued by the idea of using him as a weird three. Brooks is having an amazing early season and solves the question of backup guard, which means you can explore Bufkin on the wing. Devante’ Jones has to stop trying to get those steals. Add Kobe and Williams and Diabate to Dickinson and Eli and you’ve got an incredible passing team.

Two identical games against Penn State: return of Beecher gives them three excellent centers and an answer for teams that want to play ‘90s hockey. Interesting to see Steve Holtz (Steve Holt!) earning a pairing with Power. We also discuss Portillo (not Porteeyo) and his highlight reel weekend, and the pocket dimension where they keep the Hughes.

Tonight’s featured musician is Russell Brower, who if you’ve ever stopped because some piece of background music in your video game, or Disney ride, or Saturday morning cartoon made you think, “Whoa—this is awesome; I wonder who composed this?” there’s a good chance it was Russell Brower. He was previously the senior audio and lead composer at Blizzard Entertainment, and before that was principle media designer and music director at Walt Disney Imagineering (the theme parks division).

He’s also worked on projects like Batman: The Animated Series and other films. If you, like me, like to use videogame music to get your flow on when working or studying, you already know what a treat it is when a Brower composition comes up in your playlist.

• “Totems of the Grizzlemaw”—from World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
• “Heaven’s Devils”—from StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
• “New Tristram”—from Diablo III

And because Across 110th Street will get our Youtubes taken now now, the opener and outro:

• “The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark
• “Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat

Things discussed:

• Two RPS plays to beat Penn State: Mesh and Mesh beater.
• Clifford got Devin Gardner’d. Mike Morris blew a guy up.
• PSU had two dudes at DE too: Ryan Hayes *struggled*—have to give him help. Why are you running empty on 3rd and 11?
• 4th and 2: Michigan can’t play down 3 guys on a side, no matter what they think. Should have audibled to the left because PSU was misaligned.
• Running game: PSU brought down a safety so Michigan went even heavier, 10 guys in the box, and turned those safeties into linebackers.
• Schoonmaker vs Honigford? I don’t think it makes enough of a difference.
• Haskins: He is who we are. Draft prospects? Come back?
• Best DE combo in Michigan history? Seth mentions Maentz and Kramer.
• Ohio State Lucy talk from Craig and Sam. Ohio State fans are going to be there because Michigan sold them tickets last summer.
• Seth on fandom: It’s rewarding to believe in something.
• Basketball talk: Houstan couldn’t shoot and couldn’t stay in front of his guy, and played 39 minutes!? We think he should go in the 4 rotation, put Williamson and Bufkin at the three.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: The Original

• Slooooooooooooooow Start
• Morgan and York Duke
• Dot One-timers
• Beecher and Beniers
• Portillo's Best Game?

Segment 2: Deja Vu

• Period of Penalty Minutes
• Another Great Response
• BTN MINUS
• Another Destructive Third Period
• A Look Around the B10 and Irish Preview

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Zombie Nation" -Kernkraft 400
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

1 hour and 32`minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast, and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Brian vs tweeting as a personal battle, Seth has become dangerously optimistic. False starts make first few drives extremely difficult. Penn State's passing defense has been lights out, Michigan has been the closest to Ohio State in creating passing yards against Penn State. Only two carries for Donovan Edwards, this was Hassan Haskins' game. How is Michigan not successful at short yardage? Missed Blake Corum in some situations. 

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 22:24

Penn State offense takes the field, gives up sacks. Four fumbles in this game and Penn State gets all of them. Sean Clifford looks absolutely battered and beaten on the sideline all game. The defense bashes Penn State's mesh on 4th down. Jahan Dotson gets relatively held down in this game, only 61 yards on 9 receptions. Secondary got got a couple times but overall exceeded expectations. Penn State receivers also helped out a lot. 

starts at 43:09

Takes hotter than a Penn State fan after James Franklin called a fake field goal from the two where you got to throw it to your kicker and then he fumbles it backwards because he's the kicker and it's just like what are we even doing? Can't complain about red zone offense when you score from the 21. Punt safe team was not punt safe in the 1st quarter. Fake punts are alright, fake field goals are the dumbest thing ever. Nobody seems to quite understand the rule of catching a ball on a punt before the endzone. Basketball and hockey lightning round, Michigan defeats racism 77-49. 

starts at 1:16:00

Minnesota just can't get by Iowa under PJ Fleck. Wisconsin continues to roll in the 2nd half of the season, did Michigan play Wisconsin at just the right time? Northwestern is just a dead fish at this point. Maryland drives to the MSU 16, 23, 24, and 39 in the second half and get no points from any of those drives. Comfortable win for the Spartans, despite having a secondary that is butt. Michigan State scores on a flea flicker for the 4th(!!) time. The biggest win for Rutgers on the road against a conference opponent?? Against pre-season #17 Indiana??? Ohio State - is scary. 

MUSIC:

• "All of the Time"--Jungle
• "Digits"--Young Thug
• "Freebird II"--Parquet Courts
• “Across 110th Street”
•  

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. UGP makes custom apparel such as t-shirts and sweatshirts and was founded by 2 Michigan alums over 20 years ago. They have 3 retail locations in Ann Arbor and offer thousands of University of Michigan athletic products for sale, ranging from clothing to accessories and memorabilia. Check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Prentice4M, and introducing Team Fan Club! We are of course made possible by SignalWire.

THE VIDEO

[After THE JUMP: the player and what we said]

--------------------------------------------

Jahan Dotson is a new level of problem for our cornerbacks, but it’s good that their QB isn’t running because he can’t stay behind that OL either. Defense has struggled at DT since losing their star, but still stacked on the secondary.

starts at 18:57

Offense still doing things that I hate, started doing more stretch zone, which some of them are good at. Cade had an underrated performance. JJ usage explained by Cade. Haskins did his awesome stuff. Don’t know why I needed to chart the defense except to know how badly the NFL is going to want Ojabo now. We did Don Brown things.

starts at 34:12

Buffalo did the Buffalo things. Caleb Houstan’s defense needs work if he’s going to survive as a perimeter player. Diabate is a freak and it’s so fun to have that. Hunter Dickinson is now in the Aidan Hutchinson range of boringly good. Didn’t see enough Jones to know. Favorite lineups?

starts at 46:54

With Reid McCarthy of Ann Arbor Elder Law, because his segments always go off the rails.

Tonight’s featured musician Nomo, a funky jazz band that existed in Ann Arbor when I was existing there for a time after college, during which time I acquired their first album “LP” and have been going back to it ever since. Long past the time that I share it with you.

• “Discontinued”
• “Busy”
• “Better Than That”

And because Sony bought Across 110th Street and slapped a claim on us, the opener and outro:

• “The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark
• “Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat

If you or a friend made some good tunes and don't have a label out scrubbing for them we'd be happy to feature you.

Things discussed:

• Indiana game: commercials are out of control. Veneer of commercialism was completely off with a 7:30pm game that has as many ads as the Super Bowl. It felt like a MAC game.
• Indiana’s offense was hopeless—didn’t do anything that bothers Michigan.
• IU wasn’t running to the field because Michigan put Barrett in there—IU’s plan was to option off Hutchinson.
• Ojabo: 17 snaps and looked like an NFL 1st rounder. Damn.
• Penn State preview: Watch out for Jahan Dotson. Injuries to their QB’s legs and their best DT have given them weaknesses they didn’t have before. PSU’s player development isn’t great so they’re very good where talent shows (DB) and not great at positions where coaching matters more (OL).
• But weird things happen vs. Penn State.
• How down are we on Gattis? Sam has no issues, Seth has issues in the run game. Stretch zone worked against IU, seems like a good fit for some of their players, but Sam thinks Michigan isn’t going to do that instead of inside zone, never mind that they’re not able to run it from their setup.
• Pass concepts are good, Sam wants more JJ in the red zone, Seth is singing McNamara’s praises. Boils down to whether you think it’s on the players or the coaches that Joel Honigford is running a bad route.
• Try this: Don’t play anything during commercials. Let it be quiet.
• Michigan over Michigan State in the playoff: Brian thinks head to head should be what matters most, the rest of us say if the playoff committee watched that game and thought Michigan was the better team, who are we to argue?
• Hoops vs Buffalo: Williamson had a great game, so did Buffalo’s Williamson, who was hitting a lot of 2PJs to make up for his teammates missing their threes. Diabate showed vision, athleticism.
• Houstan had a hard time staying in front of guards—probably needs to be playing the four, which changes how you figure out Michigan’s lineups.
• Buffalo is going to be a good team, especially when they can play small instead of putting those goombas out to slow Dickinson.
• Ever seen three double techs before?
• Devante’ Jones is more advanced than Mike Smith was early.
• MSU and OSU basketball: MSU is weird, OSU might be bad.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: We Have More Talent Than You 00:51

• Fast Start for Matty
• Second Period Struggles
• How Michigan Beat It
• Third Period Onslaught

Segment 2: Score Early, Then Suffocate 

• Picking Up From Friday
• Sparty Bounces Back
• Michigan Drains the Third Period
• A Look Around the B10
• PSU Preview

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Short Skirt Long Jacket" -Cake
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

1 hour and 20`minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast, and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

One of the most boring Michigan games we've ever watched? Too many commercials, it was cold, and they played the Applebee's song. Haskins Hurdling a Fool count is up to five. Injuries compromised the offensive gameplan a bit. There was a literal line of players trying to get into the injury tent. Cade only had 18 pass attempts, JJ has another yakity-sax play, Brian apologizes for trying to sing Yakity-Sax but sang Calliope instead. 

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 26:40

Defense - great performance against not great offense. Zero sacks from Hutchinson due to being doubled and held. Ojabo continues to be a freak of nature. Junior Colson is developing nicely. Some key Indiana players getting injured makes the defensive performance even murkier to grade. Nine games in and still not much to be said about the cornerbacks. 

starts at 40:44

Takes so hot they're the inverse of how we all felt for 3 unnecessary hours in a November night game. Editor's note: I was not prepared for Seth's take. The entire state of Indiana, minus West Lafayette, should not exist at night. DJ Turner fills in for AJ Henning on punt returns, proceeds to get two kick catch interferences on a single play. Brad Robbins is secretly good but nobody really talks about it. Tweet about Brad Robbins, get a like. 

starts at 58:26

Purdue beats Michigan State with a play from Tecmo Bowl! Brohm claims to have stolen if from a YouTube video of a high school team years ago. Purdue now in a four-way tie with Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa for the Big Ten West. Does Ohio State look beatable or was this a one-off bad game (spoiler: it's the less fun answer). Nebraska is 1-6 in Big Ten play and outscoring their Big Ten opponents. If you're Nebraska... it... still kind of... makes sense to keep Scott Frost? Iowa and Northwestern in the Battle of Backup Quarterbacks. Seven punts in a row to start the game sounds about right. This podcast team was never fooled by Iowa's top five ranking. Brian demands a Grover Bortolotti on Michigan's team. Brandon Peters: 7-of-9 for 80 yards for a win over the number 20 team in the country! Shout out to the Illinois punter for rowing the boat three times and then snapping the paddle. 

MUSIC:

• "Meet Me at Our Spot"--The Anxiety
• "Dennehy"--Serengeti
• "Crutch"--Band of Horses
• “Across 110th Street”

NOTE: The podcast version didn’t hit the feed until later tonight because I have to get to the basketball exhibition. Thank you to our special guest tonight: Former IU basketball player and NBA head coach Butch Carter

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. UGP makes custom apparel such as t-shirts and sweatshirts and was founded by 2 Michigan alums over 20 years ago. They have 3 retail locations in Ann Arbor and offer thousands of University of Michigan athletic products for sale, ranging from clothing to accessories and memorabilia. Check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Prentice4M, and introducing Team Fan Club! We are of course made possible by SignalWire.

THE VIDEO

[After THE JUMP: the player and what we said]

--------------------------------------------

They broke Penix, broke two of his backups, and broke the seal on a true freshman basketball convert who still looks like that. Still have some good receivers though.

starts at 18:57

Not a particularly stout front except the one really good linebacker. Getting their injured cornerbacks back. Tom Allen is a good coach.

starts at 34:12

OTHER than the refs: Cade’s day stood up. He made most of his big throws on passing downs. Offensive line pass pro was very good. Barnhart iffy. MSU took away runs. Defense got weird: 5-1 and 6-1 got beat because there’s only one linebacker. Big plays are MSU’s jam. Rotation: learned lesson.

starts at 46:54

We have a new sponsor who’s going to be funneling money to the Men’s and Women’s basketball team and he used to coach in the NBA, and has some stories about Crisler when it was young as well.

Tonight’s featured musician is my best friend Tres Crow, because it was handy and he’s great. From different points in his career.

• “As the Moon Sets”—Tres Crow
• “Paperback Writer”—Noble Three
• “Enos Mills (aka Rubber Tube)”–Oblivion

And because Sony bought Across 110th Street and slapped a claim on us, the opener and outro:

• “The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark
• “Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat

If you or a friend made some good tunes and don't have a label out scrubbing for them we'd be happy to feature you.

Things discussed:

• How did they lose that game?
• The 4th down over-discussed. No doubt it was PI(x2) so there’s really no argument.
• Cade’s Day: wasn’t just great but great under pressure: 350 of Michigan’s passing yards were on passing downs or clock situations.
• McCarthy in the redzone? We’re still in favor.
• Someone should tell Macdonald that the spotting rules are different in college—you don’t have time to substitute! Third one was the most boggling because it was late in the game and they had been burned twice.
• Defensive breakdowns: DTs getting out of their lanes, and they’re not the starters. Hawkins and Moten both missed chances to stop long TD runs.
• Run game issues: 90% of them were Jacob Slade, the best DT we’ve faced this year.
• MSU brought safeties down but that didn’t explain a lot of the passing game, since those yards were on passing downs.
• Andrel Anthony: I got to make a comp to all the Ones. Denard-like debut.
• The overturned TD over-discussed. No reasonable person trying to officiate that game fairly overturns that, which means the Big Ten has a problem. Other officiating things—it was VERY one-sided, to the point where I couldn’t do the normal refs- stuff in UFR. Seth: The overturned TD isn’t a controversy; it’s a fact. That this game was a case example of officiating changing the result isn’t a controversy; it’s a fact. Proposed solution is to get professional referees.
• Kenneth Walker nearly got the Worst Rule in Sports on him.
• One call they missed against Michigan: Morris put Kenneth Walker in a choke hold, should be suspended for it.
• Indiana thoughts, Boiler up!

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Badgering the Badgers 00:51

• Interesting Scoring Debate
• Overpowering Opening Stanza
• The Beautiful Goals
• OMRs and the Fight

Segment 2: Letdown and Giveaways 

• Where Did These Goalies Come From?
• The Giveaways
• Michigan Fights Back
• Don't Blame Portillo
• This, Again, Huh?

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Roller Coaster" -Bon Jovi
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

1 hour and 26 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast, and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

It's almost basketball season! Michigan can't get away from shooting itself in the foot, especially on substitutions and ill-timed false starts. Cade's passing game emergence in this game was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. The Andrel Anthony show results in an all-time hot take from last week. Is he the new number one receiver? Does any of this matter? Seth's best guess on the JJ fumble is that Corum might not have had the correct playcall. Erick All has 10 catches!

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 22:13

Defense takes a step back, particularly at defensive tackle. Lots of rotation at defensive tackle and leaving the starters off the field. Michigan was not prepared for Michigan State's tempo. Linebackers were fine, cornerbacks held up for the most part. Moten had a great shot at an interception and Dax Hill got beat deep on the MSU 4th down touchdown on a tip-of-the-hat throw. 

starts at 34:36

Hot takes so hot they would be sitting innocuously on a Michigan message board. AJ Henning Punt drop one of only a few missed opportunities on special teams. Moody kicks seven field goals, four of them count. Robbins' botched fake punt run should've just been a called fake punt run. Frustration about field goals and red zone decision making, including a Charlie Weiss comparison (miss you big guy xoxoxo).

starts at 52:57

Michigan fans may be miserable, but so is most of the Big Ten. Nebraska pulled a Dave Brandon ticket sale scheme and Adrian Martinez got booed en route to four interceptions. Minnesota rows the boat to their own destiny. Wisconsin starting to look like Wisconsin as they also control their own destiny. Jamie has few notes about his Hoosiers losing to Maryland as Seth attempts to pronounce Tagovailoa correctly. Rutgers vs Illinois, happened. Does Ohio State have holes in the secondary that Michigan could exploi- nope, not even going to finish that sentence. Penn State actually getting the benefit of the doubt on holding non-calls.

MUSIC:

• “How Not to Drown”—CHVRCHES feat. Robert Smith
• “Not”—Big Thief
• “Down on the Bottom”—The New Basement Tapes
• “Across 110th Street”

1 hour, like almost exactly.

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. UGP makes custom apparel such as t-shirts and sweatshirts and was founded by 2 Michigan alums over 20 years ago. They have 3 retail locations in Ann Arbor and offer thousands of University of Michigan athletic products for sale, ranging from clothing to accessories and memorabilia. Check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Prentice4M, and made possible by SignalWire.

THE VIDEO:

Live and die by the big play. Offensive line uses nine guys but Kenneth Walker III is going to make guys miss and carry more on his back. Two speedsters and a QB who can hit them is our concern.

starts at 18:57

Bend don’t break versus bends but won’t break you matchup. Still go back to MSU quarters because they have MSU safeties.

starts at 34:12

Offense was unimaginative, got safeties in faces at the line of scrimmage (bad) but RBs dealt with them (good). Defense dominated; I was upset about the officiating, especially the chop block and the sideline judge.

starts at 46:54

What happened versus WMU? They’re actually a good team. Wisconsin is not, but Moe stood on his head to keep the Badgers in it. Minnesota looks shaky, we find out about Penn State tonight.

Tonight’s featured musician is August Red, which is user Tom Nixon (class of ‘92)’s new band that pays homage to that late 70s and early 80s LA sound.

• Sunshine Melody
• Never-Ending Story
• This Night Won’t Last Forever

And because Sony bought Across 110th Street and slapped a claim on us, the opener and outro:

• “The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark
• “Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat

If you or a friend made some good tunes and don't have a label out scrubbing for them we'd be happy to feature you.

Things discussed:

• MSU talk part 1: Didn’t expect Thorne to be good. Has a good deep ball.
• MSU’s schedule has been pretty weak, should have lost to Nebraska.
• RB comparison: PFF thinks you could take Walker and any other back in the country and they won’t be Corum/Haskins.
• Can our quarterback play rise to the occasion? McNamara can’t beat MSU the way he played against Northwestern.
• What about our offensive coordination? Hoping we looked past Northwestern, have some things planned.
• QB talk: We’re all on team McNamara but want to see them come at this from a “what’s the hardest thing for a defense to stop” perspective. McNamara is your every down guy. McCarthy should come in at any moment and have downfield throws available as well.
• Sam Webb makes a 5-minute pitch for Mel to go to LSU.
• Michigan’s running game: Power is the answer. Pin & Pull returned, huzzah!
• MSU is going to beat our cornerbacks. Is that twice or 12 times is the difference. They’ll nerf Hutchinson by getting the ball out quickly and trusting their WRs to make a play.
• Explosion vs consistency, LFG.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

Segment 1: Stampeded at Yost  00:51

• Is this the last of NCHC TV? 
• Western is good; Michigan defense was not
• Special Teams were not very special
• Comeback was not to be
• Just an all around butt-kicking

Segment 2: A win? A tie? Yes. 28:32

• What surface was the Saturday game played on?
• Much better start: BrissonDot and Moyle Rebound
• The penalty kill...not great results
• Erik Portillo. Yes.
• Nick wins the tie

1 hour and 21`minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast, and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Brian has joined the Cade Haters, does not get the support he was expecting from Seth, who still hates no-read zone reads and trying to be a split zone team with a QB it doesn’t fit. Downfield accuracy was more about decisions not to throw guys open. Pre-snap reads are good but post-snap decisions are not. Is a fair quarterback. The running backs are stars—Colson might be Brian’s favorite of those he’s watched. Haskins showed us 1890s football. Erick All blocked. Guards…okay, but Zinter is missed.

starts at 31:20

We start with the One Bad Thing because it’s the only score. Blamed that on Colson not funneling because they were replacing Ross with Hawkins, and on Moten eating a block for NO GOOD REASON. Good game from DJ Turner, who effectively passed Green? Screens breakdowns until they shadowed them Ross. DL rampant—no holds for Hutchinson though. What’s a guy gotta do?

starts at 46:04

They did block a punt, overwhelming the shield like the days of yore. Henning had one return, let one bounce to the two. Game theory: we wanted to go for it on the 4th and 2 because Northwestern isn’t having a two-minute drill from the 2 yard line so chances are you get a punt with 1:45 left and then get into field goal range again…if you don’t score a TD.

starts at 1:??:??

Winning QBs had no yards as the rushingest of the rushers won every game. The OT fest: Penn State got back their quarterback but he didn’t run downfield (turned down his one opportunity and took a sack). Really missed Mustipher since Illinois was plowing them with QB sneaks for 2 yards on every 3rd and 2 and 2nd and 2, and powering their way to big gains for both backs. Wisconsin has another vote for winner of a silly West. Minnesota-Maryland was standard Gopherball. Ohio State’s offense…let’s end it there shall we?

MUSIC:

• “Congratulations”—MGMT
• “The Balcony”—The Fruit Bats
• “Work this Hard”—Caveman
• “Across 110th Street”

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. UGP makes custom apparel such as t-shirts and sweatshirts and was founded by 2 Michigan alums over 20 years ago. They have 3 retail locations in Ann Arbor and offer thousands of University of Michigan athletic products for sale, ranging from clothing to accessories and memorabilia. Check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Prentice4M, and made possible by SignalWire.

I apologize for the terrible stream today. The streaming software, OBS Studio, wiped my settings 5 minutes before we were to go live.

[After THE JUMP: the player and what we said]

--------------------------------------------

Very bad at linebacker.

Third quarterback's the charm, but all their interior OL are sub-300 and they run power.

The first Black player for both teams, and also a brilliant doctor.

Didn’t realize how good.

Tonight’s featured musician is Dani Darling of Ann Arbor, who released her new album The Future this year and played the Pig a few weeks back. My selections:

• The Sublime
• La Femme
• The Future

And because Sony bought Across 110th Street and slapped a claim on us, the opener and outro:

• “The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark
• “Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat

If you or a friend made some good tunes and don't have a label out scrubbing for them we'd be happy to feature you.

Things discussed:

• Sam: “Michigan State has the softest fanbase in sports.”

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup after THE JUMP]

---------------------------------

Segment 1: Puttin' Down the Dawgs 0:51

• Intro and Did Michigan think the game started a half hour later?
• Why do they hate Nick?
• The Power Play Starts the Offense
• Brisson, Beniers, and Van Whye
• Michigan deflates the third period

Segment 2: You Say Mavericks, I Say Screaming Eagles 34:06

• Is Michigan just starting late to keep it close?
• Once again, it's the Power Play!
• Why are we in the box so much? Shhhhhhhhhhh!
• Bordeleau and Brisson take over the third
• Takeaways, the B10, and a look to Western

---------------------------------

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• 'Coach' Opening Theme Song
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

wsg Matt from Endless Motor. 1 hour and 32 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast, and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Hunter Dickinson was pretty good, awesome in fact, and then just plain awesome as they doubled him and took away his favorite shoulder. He can develop that and/or a three. Moussa Diabate is going to be an IMPACT defender, can play the four, might develop a shot, switchable nightmare. Versatility with Brandon Johns able to play 4 or 5. He was more commanding as a starter, team X factor. Terrance Williams is about to bust out. Will Tschetter: redshirt or instant Wisconsin center?

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 32:24

Caleb Houstan is like bringing in an NBA three-and-D dude. Not going to feel like a freshman, can shoot over anyone 6’5” and lower so he could be the new Chaundee shoots it guy. Backups: all the fours and twos. Eli Brooks is the most important player on the team (no hot take). Kobe Bufkin is going to outplay his rankings—this year he’s something in between freshman and sophomore Caris. Could see a jump from Zeb Jackson, or he could fall behind Isaiah Barnes. Not Jace’s turn yet. Could be Frankie’s turn soon but Devante Jones is your starting PG and could be an upgrade on Smith.

starts at 1:06:53

Tier 1: Illinois gets back Kofi and Curbelo, Trent Frazier is a problem for Brooks, who else can play on this team? Purdue brings back everybody, can a sophomore breakout from Ivey and Edey and Newman and Gillis take them all the way? Ohio State replaced its backcourt, waiting to see if Seth Towns can take a big role. Maryland found a center and a PG to go with Ayala and Scott. Tier 2: Indiana is 2015 Michigan football. They’ll put four out so TJD can work alone inside, and brought in four transfers/recruits to do it. MSU has a few dudes but can’t figure out which and when to play. Iowa and Wisconsin suffered huge losses. Nebraska > Penn State and Northwestern. Are 200 teams better than Minnesota?

starts at 1:46:57

Signs of life from future opponents who looked like pushovers, signs of death from objects in the rearview mirror. Indiana has to be a frustrating follow, but not enough that we can wish Jamie luck on fixing that OL.

MUSIC:

• “Silver Dollar”—Sierra Ferrell
• “Proofs”—Mates of State
• “In the Stone”—The Goon Sax
• “Across 110th Street”

Things discussed:

• Nebraska: They’re a good team. Great defensive line. Was this the gutsiest win by Michigan under Harbaugh? Have to give credit to Nebraska for shooting themselves in the foot.
• Cade Talk: Sam asks when we go with McCarthy, Seth is on Team McNamara because he’s got a high floor, and maybe that’s what you need when you have a good defense and good players around you. Brian says McCarthy should be the redzone guy.
• Offense: Playing better to their strengths. Tight ends had a great day vs not Wisconsin LBs, running backs won the game, Cade wasn’t that great but he was steady. TE leak.
• Note user Dragonchild’s diary about how Michigan is using less split zone and associated plays. They’re a good power team. Cade is a good 5-wide guy. They can run both out of the same personnel.
• Defense: Worried about the cornerbacks. Gray and Turner had BAAAAD pass interferences and that’s not going to work vs Ohio State.
• Michigan State? Quarterback play and two good receivers are real—the run game might be an effect of playing very bad run defenses but respect is due. Seth: These are all just college football teams. Michigan/MSU/Iowa/Nebraska…not that much separates these teams.
• Hockey Talk: This team can score at will on the power play, additions are great, have a lot more age than people realize. Portillo gives up too many soft rebounds but that was 1/4.
• Jett: Big recruiting win—Howard showed he can pull a guy out of IMG *AND* make him clean his room. Versatile player, closest recent comp is Franz? Needs a left.

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

• Powerplay goals and also more goals
• KJ and his highlights
• Why are we always a man down?
• More goals
• Some added physicality?

• Goals before BTN+ shows them to me
• Michigan falls asleep on defense
• More penalties
• Michigan wakes up and scores more goals
• Any overall weekend takes
• Next weekend and what else happened in the B10

1 hour and 32 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who will now be joining us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast, and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

starts at 1:00

Better in numbers than it felt. Sort of a Washington game but with dinky doo passing. The TE leak stuff was something they saw on film and kept working. McCarthy’s arc read worked when they thought it was Cade, but they need a pop pass or something off of it because it’s too obvious late. Had to use multiple guards—Stueber wrecked. Appreciation for the running backs—greatest hurdle of all time? McNamara deep accuracy, where’d you go?

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

starts at 23:45

Nebraska is very good at college crappe, not very good at fundamental football. DTs have a very good day again, impressive that Mazi Smith could keep going after the opening screen. Jenkins had the 3rd down stuff. Hinton was great. They’re not pass rushers however, which is still a step-up problem. Michigan had crappe as well, especially when Morris and Hawkins played that 4th and 2.

starts at 47:15

Not a lot of weird decisions—both teams punted on 4th and 1 in their own territory. Special teams battle wasn’t as big as we expected because of Michigan’s punt returns: one flub, one ran backwards, one let bounce and lucky it went in the endzone. The rest was great: Robbins added distance to his Boom. MAAR blood in Moody.

starts at 1:14:03

Iowa-Penn State changed when PSU didn’t have a backup quarterback, which is very hard to do in 2021 when your Will Levis can just go start at Kentucky. PSU’s defense is legit: Luketa is doing the Micah Parsons stuff, and their secondary is filled with stars. MSU-Rutgers you can watch the highlights because that’s all there was. Wisconsin’s best RB was booted from the program. Ohio State is shoveling coal again.

MUSIC:

• “You and Me ”—Penny and the Quarters
• “Maria También”—Khruangbin
• “On the News”—Your Old Droog
• “Across 110th Street”

1 hour and 3 minutes

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. UGP makes custom apparel such as t-shirts and sweatshirts and was founded by 2 Michigan alums over 20 years ago. They have 3 retail locations in Ann Arbor and offer thousands of University of Michigan athletic products for sale, ranging from clothing to accessories and memorabilia. Check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Prentice4M, and made possible by SignalWire.

Get Martinez throwing off his back foot, and please get off the field ASAP. Respectable defense too but Seth thinks the OLBs are crackable. Special teams are a foot shooting gallery.

starts at 14:52

Not the 2018 confused guys, also not Wisconsin. Good LB and a pair of DTs. Can they be edged?

Starts at 30:53

Seth explains the Cade cyan for 15 minutes.

Starts at 51:20

Part II of our preview for the year, featuring THE guy to talk about college hockey, even if he wants to talk about Minnesota and then have his internet cut out on him mid-segment so we couldn’t get into how bad MSU and OSU are going to be.

Tonight’s featured musician is Via Mardot of Holland, MI, and three tracks off of self-titled 2020 album. Wife and I discovered her music last year, and I asked for this one personally. Olivia Mainville makes Frenchy indie with Pulp Fiction vibes. Find her on Instagram. My favorite of hers is Wreck but the songs I chose for the pod were:

• Stand
• War
• Tie to the Bar

And because Sony bought Across 110th Street and slapped a claim on us, the opener and outro:

• “The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark
• “Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat

If you or a friend made some good tunes and don't have a label out scrubbing for them we'd be happy to feature you.

Things discussed:

• A Fetty Wapp is the internet term for a 38-17 victory.
• Wisconsin’s left tackle was really bad in pass pro.
• Wisconsin’s defense is For Real. Sanborn and Chenal were beating up on our tight ends.
• Exception: split zone versus a guy slanting inside from inside. That block doesn’t work. Can’t punish that with McNamara.
• Ben Mason is pined for. Dives behind Stueber and Zinter work.
• I mean if someone said this was single wing offense versus a 5-3 defense in 1950 what’s the difference?
• Are our mesh points real? Seth now thinks McNamara is missing them.
• Michigan capitalized in some high-leverage situations.
• McNamara: Missed a lot of long reads that we never saw because Fox broadcasts are so bad. If you go to the video at around 11 minutes you can see the screenshots that Sam brought up. Wheel route: McNamara put it in the only spot that safety could have broken it up. First play he had a TD to Sainristil. The shorted throw on 4-verts to Roman had a wide open seam to All.
• Hutchinson was rampant. Michigan played with a 5-1-5 and can get away with it because Hutch owns one edge and Dax owns the other.
• Defense had such a dominant start it could have been 28-0 after the 1st quarter.
• Hockey talk: Exhibition looked like Michigan is going to be a MONSTER this year. Kent Johnson has turned the corner. Mix of forwards seems to be perfect for three lines of a Grinder+Scorers.