MGoBlog: The MGoPodcast

The Sponsors
We want to thank Underground Printing for starting this and making it possible—stop by and pick up some gear, check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com, or check out our selection of shirts on the MGoBlogStore.com. And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Radecki Oral Surgery, Long Road Distillers, SignalWire where we are recording this, and introducing Applied Fitness Solutions, and The History of Michigan Football, an online course by Greg Dooley.

Featured Musician: Natives of the New Dawn

THE VIDEO:

[After THE JUMP: The show notes, eventually.] 

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

1. UTEP Preview
starts at the top

Offensively they're a Rich Rod spread 'n shred with a running QB and not-good guards. Did some nifty things to Oklahoma but once they run out of ideas they're not much of a threat. Defensively they're a 3-3-5 Tite or 3-3-5 that is probably going to play like TCU did to mitigate a very small DL. Problem is they can get crumpled. Also their secondary can get ripped. Start with PA, practice your stretch, maybe figure out some counters to the ways they will take away the QB run game.

2. Oklahoma After Review: Defense
starts around 19:41

The Oklahoma offensive line was butt, maybe. This allowed Jay Hill to play 3-3-5 and trust JHD/Nichols/Pierce/Etta/Lea'ea to dominate. Review of the young DEs is positive, with caveats. Linebackers are doing too much, Staehling is coming out positive but he's limited. Bowles is Moutoning it out there. Is this a 3-3-5 thing? Chase Taylor still a puppy, Beers was too much for him. Hopefully that's a Beers is Good thing (he got Bracy as well). Secondary is as advertised except Rod Moore. Advertised is VERY VERY good. Last talk about the switching issue.

3. Oklahoma After Review: Offense
starts around 40:13

Fixable issues. They made things easy on Bryce and ran him, which was playing to win, but he's still someone they have to shepherd along and Venables is excellent at doing the aggressive things to shut that off. Lots of "I don't know how that was supposed to work" plays, and people not climbing. Next step week. Running back: DO SOMETHING!

4. The History of College Football with Greg Dooley
starts around 1:05:47

Dooley's course has long been a favorite among students; now you can come too. Got all the Michigan history nerds to come in and do our parts. We discuss some of the parts I came in to speak about, and what Part II might entail.

Featured Artist: Natives of the New Dawn

I used to work the merch table for my best friends' band (Oblivion) and would often trade their CDs with the other bands for their albums. After a few years of this I had quite an extensive collection of the Ann Arbor/Detroit music scene of the 2000s. A die-hard Tally Hall fan sent me rummaging through the collection, and while I still can't find the damn CD she wanted that I took a photo of when I put them all on iTunes, I've have begun transferring the collection to .flacs, and figured I can get a season out of sharing my finds as they come up.

There was little question which band I'd feature first, since their literal tagline is "Your favorite band's favorite band."* Natives were kind of a Super Band. We played with Vince Mann's prior group really early—I want to say Move-In Day on Palmer Field in 2001—and then caught his new funk/hip-hop/rock fusion group Natives of the New Dawn a few times after he formed it by picking up a couple of session musicians, a local DJ, and other well-regarded musicians from the area. I remember them being the best dudes, and I remember they were blowing up quickly in 2006-'07, which was after one of them finally stopped wearing a Spider Man suit to shows.

This was a weird era after Napster but before legalized streaming, when Payola ruled the airwaves and major labels only wanted Nu Metal bros who were too dumb to read their contracts. The result were these super-groups that formed out the glut of local talented musicians all trapped together at various 200- to 300-person venues like St. Andrew's, the Magic Stick and the I-Rock in Detroit, the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, Clutch Cargo's in Pontiac, Ypsi's Tap Room, and of course The Sanctuary in Hamtramck, which was where the bands all would go to play for each other.

The songs here are all from Bliss, which the internet says is from 2007, which sounds late to me.

* [Actually it's At the Drive-In].

Songs:

Your Boy

Good Day

People   

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

“The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark

“Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat

Things Discussed:

Offense: The things they did made sense; that's an unusual thing for us. I'd take all five WMU starters over Oklahoma's. Huge respect for Venables.

Defense: You could tell Jay Hill learned to coach at Weber State not the NFL.

Can we run a 3-3-5 as a base? Only if you can get away with it. Jay Hill put on a coaching clinic.

Lea'ea gets his laurels. He balled out in 19 snaps. Have to see if this holds up for Iowa because the true freshman RG was their best IOL. Only a few of those were runs. Might work as a 3-3-5 end because Nichols isn't quite there yet vs the run.

Hat tip to Rocky Beers. That dude can play ball. Put Chase Taylor in hell all game, got Bracy too.

Offense: execution was much better. Bryce is Vince Young-level runner. Hiter was ruining some of the zone reads by seizing the ball.

Issues with guards: some of that is OU DTs are great. Issues with kickouts: some of that was OU is super aggressive.

Manuel Beigel: plays heavy, doesn't combo through guys. Promising but not a pass protector. A year away from being not just a Rhino.

Difference this year is they were willing to run Bryce and willing to take a shot downfield.

Bryce progression: big step forward but they were still giving him half-field reads. Sometimes didn't have anybody because Venables knew the stopgap was coming. Comp for him was Vince Young, who redshirted as a freshman. Being rich doesn't suddenly change the fundamental rules about developing a quarterback.

UTEP gameplan? System defense, so you have to climb and get to your second block. Keep having Bryce carry the ball.

2 hours and 56 minutes

The Sponsors

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Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, The Sklars Brothers, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, Radecki Oral Surgery, Long Road Distillers, and Venue by 4M where recorded this.

1. Offense vs Oklahoma
Starts at 0:54

That... went better than we expected. Seth was right about Oregon's offensive line. Michigan won this game by listening to the MGoPodcast! Or at least they looked at the film and did the obvious thing to do. Offensively it looks like they tightened it up and simplified things, they looked at things Bryce was good at a year ago and emphasized his legs. It looks like Bryce went through some progressions and then decided to scramble a couple times. There were some plays that could've gone better but it wasn't on Bryce's decision making, Oklahoma was just covering the field well. Savion Hiter screwed up a zone read twice, freshman mistake (that had us and Bryce rattled). If you want to win a game against Oklahoma you need to run Underwood 18 times a game and that's what they did - Whittingham wished he ran more. Bryce seems more comfortable rolling out - that lob to Hiter on the sidelines was right out of his high school film. Fumbles need to be cleaned up, QBs aren't active in practice so they're probably not practicing ball security as much. Don't pitch the ball over a defender's head. They won by game-managing and being content with 17 points. Jason Beck had a fantastic gameplan with what he had against a hyper-aggressive defense. The Marshall-Cat seems redundant when you have Bryce's legs. Savion Hiter has it and is making pre-season All-SEC players look silly. They're finding ways to get Marsh the ball. JJ Buchanan is... really good. They really only used the starting wide receivers, Goodwin, Travis Johnson, and Ffrench did not contribute. Pass protection was generally very good, they were also going against one of the best run defenses in America. Michigan doesn't quite have the mental processing speed yet but all things considered they did pretty well. We go about 47 minutes before complaining about the rhino, which means it went a lot better. 

2. Defense vs Oklahoma
Starts at 54:15

Can't ask for much more than only giving up 10 points. That said, it was apparent that Oklahoma's o-line was very banged up, they had two guys rushing back from knee sprains. Michigan ran a 3-3-5 because they only needed to run their two good defensive tackles, this probably won't translate well against better offensive lines. Dom Nichols has earned his star. Jay Hill's gameplan was a weird hybrid of Don Brown and Jesse Minter - we're a man-to-man team but we're also confusing the quarterback? Bracy punching the ball out was reminiscent of his play at Memphis. Nate Marshall is Josh Uche. He was a great pass rusher but got baited on some run plays. Cam Brandt only had six snaps, they're giving the snaps to guys who make plays (this didn't happen last year). Palepale didn't play but Lea'ea did. Overall the coverages were excellent and even zone (which they don't usually do) was good enough. NOB made a play. There were a lot of hugs with Cole Sullivan after the game, would've been nice to have him at Michigan on this defense. Snowden was excellent, you've got three NFL-ready defensive backs on the field (not including Earls yet). Jyaire Hill - stupid penalty, don't do it again. Pretty interception. Defensive tackles were nice, Pierce was the best to stand up to double teams. Defensive lines will be graded on a curve. 

3. Hot Takes, Special Teams, and Game Theory
Starts at 1:30:34

Takes hotter than Brian predicting the Oklahoma gameplan. We saw a field goal! What was the biggest punting EPA above expected? Punting might become a dangerous weapon on this team. Should the caught punt have been a touch back? It's when you have possession but that feels wrong. They go for it on 4th and 1, Bryce is a big guy for sneaks. Are the penalties partially because there's a new coaching staff with new schemes they're thinking through and also some "Sherrone"-ness leftover? Don't rush the punter on 4th and 5 or less. Remember, if you touch the ball you can assault the punter. Should that helmet coming off been a penalty? Certain penalties should go away over the course of the year, it's a very young offense learning new things. This crew was an SEC crew that was a bit more ticky-tacky about holds. The Oklahoma fans were great and everyone we've talked to said they had a great time. Home and home games like this are so fun and are what college football is all about. Everyone is going to remember this game, Michigan beat Oklahoma. Oklahoma fans will probably always remember the game last year. 
 

4. Around the Big Ten with Jamie Mac
Starts at 2:04:31

Lightning Round:
Indiana 55, Howard 0
Wisconsin 36, Western Illinois 9
Nebraska 56, BGSU 7
Michigan State 35, Eastern Michigan 7
Maryland 38, UConn 14
UCLA 28, SDSU 10
Minnesota 13, Mississippi State 38
Rutgers 21, Boston College 28
Purdue 35, Wake Forest 38

Oregon 31, Oklahoma State 39
The score was close but Oklahoma State dominated. Seth was right about Oregon's offensive line being a problem. Oklahoma State snaps a 21 game FBS losing streak (they still have an 18 game Big 12 losing streak). Oklahoma State outgained Oregon 554 to 281. 

Ohio State 23, Texas 24
Texas goes into the 4th quarter down 23-3 and rallies back. There's a hilariously missed 45 yard field goal. The Ohio State offense was Jeremiah Smith and that was about it. 16 of Julian Sayin's 32 passes went to Jeremiah Smith. This is Ohio State's third straight loss to a P4 team, in which they've scored 10, 10, and 23 points. 

Iowa 16, Iowa State 13
The most El Assico score possible. Iowa had a coherent looking offense at times, that's scary! Iowa has a wide receiver, Tony Diaz, who already has 15 catches on the year. The Hawkeyes did only rush for 3.2 yards per carry.

Illinois 27, Duke 31
This was close all game and was the opposite of El Assico until the 4th quarter. Katin Houser looks better at Illinois than he ever did at Michigan State, Collin Dixon is a dangerous wide receiver (11 catches for 166 yards, 3 TDs).

Washington 16, Utah State 14
This is alarm bells going off for Washington. The second week in a row that Washington QB Demon Williams is the lead rusher, their one-two punch is gone. No Denzel Boston? They just can't seem to score in the redzone. Washington was +3 in field goal margin and only won by two. 

Penn State 27, Temple 9
Penn State controlled this game but it was very un-inspiring. Temple had a 91 yard drive that ended in a field goal, Penn State was giving up 50 yard drives. 

USC 49, Louisiana 30
USC still looks like USC under Lincoln Riley. Louisiana's QB is named Lunch Winfield. 
 

MUSIC:

"Rein Me In"—Sam Fender and Olivian Dean

"The Rising"—Bruce Springsteen

"4EVER"—Clairo

“Across 110th Street”—JJ Johnson and his Orchestra

The Sponsors
We want to thank Underground Printing for starting this and making it possible—stop by and pick up some gear, check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com, or check out our selection of shirts on the MGoBlogStore.com. And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Radecki Oral Surgery, Long Road Distillers, SignalWire where we are recording this, and introducing Applied Fitness Solutions, and The History of Michigan Football, an online course by Greg Dooley.

Featured Musician: Jacob Givens

THE VIDEO:

[After THE JUMP: The show notes, eventually.] 

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

1. Oklahoma Preview: Offense
starts at the top

John Mateer is back; we got to see the Real Mateer last year—they ran him 15 times—before he got banged up, and that unfortunately is probably happening again. Still have Isaiah Sategna, the graduated slot who's going to be a handful no matter what, and three other WRs they like plus a rising sophomore who's going to be a star eventually. Run game is no longer hampered by the old RB coach, but they've got a lot of new cooks in the kitchen, and it's not clear who's running the show. There was a lot more under-center, they've imported blocking TEs and FBs, and they're playing 3 of them at a time. Last year Arbuckle ran his Wazzu RPO-heavy passing spread; this year the linemen are going downfield. Their OL situation is messed up right now with a lot of injuries clouding things at LT, C, and RG, and insiders are skeptical about the program's report that two of their ~6 starter-caliber guys will be fully back. So...true freshman center against Trey Pierce, eh? If Oklahoma turns this into a blowout it's because they are winning the TE vs Michigan LBs battle, which is a real concern given the LBs have to respect Mateer's legs and arm.

2. Oklahoma Preview: Defense
starts at 18:45

Last year Michigan tried to ease Underwood in by doing the things you do with freshman QBs and Venables was sitting on them. You know he can coach a defense because he took over a Lincoln Riley/Cale Gundy outfit and made it an elite outfit. Took him a few years to do that of course, because he had to raise his own elite recruits. But yo: Cole Sullivan isn't even starting. They've made him the more linebacker option at CHEETAH, the VIPER equivalent. Secondary are all returning starters, front are all experienced guys. Alex was surprised however how much the UTEP run game worked on them, especially on Stone, the DT expected to be the first taken in the Draft. That was a Rich Rod 2008 effect somewhat: UTEP spread out and ran the QB and did interesting things to mess with the way Oklahoma defenders get upfield quickly. Michigan can't do what they did last year: NEED to hit some deep shots on 1st down.

3. WMU After Review: Offense
starts at 38:04

4. WMU After Review: Defense
starts at 55:24

Not great, actually. Big mistake scores in the LBs, John-Henry Daley was JAG. Did find a lot of +1 or +0.5 events for Dominic Nichols, including playing AROs well, and think Bowles is exciting in a Don Brown death marmot kind of way if they can have him not blow Day 1 things. But want more at 3rd DT than Lea'ea being a supreme effort guy—got two plays from Palepale in six snaps so there's upside here. Cam Brandt getting crushed is bad news for all of the young DEs. Nate Marshall had a young guy mistake so you see why they preferred the senior, but these guys are going to have to get a lot better. Secondary not much to say: they were fighting screens but not a lot downfield.

Featured Artist: Jacob Givens

I'm only barely on Instagram, but when I'm on there I'm usually sharing music stuff with my besties, who were all in an Ann Arbor band that tried to "make it." Jacob Givens is us, minus the Michigan football text chain. He also was making music around the same time as my friends, and finally shared it online. He's not as good at singing, but the composition and lyrics are so good I want to make a Jacob Givens video of me and my friends listening to Jacob Givens for the first time. Probably of Fluorescent.

If you've got music and won't issue a takedown notice on YouTube, I'd love to feature it on future episodes.

Songs:

Tabula Rasa

Fluorescent       

Pendulum

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

“The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark

“Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat

Things Discussed:

Offensive line: one guy issues. Disappointment high, recalibrating, but not 3-9 bad.

Bryce had a hand in everything that was wrong. Staring down the receiver isn't just a problem; he shouldn't even be looking there. Making decisions before the snap and not coming off them.

Why is there a State Street/Main Street discrepancy? Don't know.

Sam: They didn't have a plan for Bryce to be that bad, which tells you they didn't think he would be?

Brian: Last year he was very up and down. Look at him like RS Fr Vince Young. He wasn't the Rose Bowl winner until that Rose Bowl. Guys like this don't come fully formed. Not writing him off. You need to do what he can do now and lean on it. Run the Dampier offense.

Seth: We set up the expectations, Bryce and the program and the system did too, and maybe that's just wrong.

What to do vs Oklahoma? They're a next-evolution Don Brown defense built to suffocate a QB run game (Cole Sullivan at CHEETAH sometimes). Hit them deep: slot fade, JJ down the sideline.

Hockey hazing lawsuit: Not surprised because that was widespread in hockey and at Michigan in that era. Seth points out it was a massive historical success that we conquered that culture 25 years ago. It was brutally hard to do that. Open that can of worms. See how ugly things were. People should know we can fix this.

Not naming Mel and Red in lawsuit: Figure UM will settle, if you add them they'll fight to preserve their reputations.