MGoBlog: The MGoPodcast

Things Discussed:

Sometimes your hyped starter is making too many mistakes and playing a young guy just gives you a spark, and that's what happened last week when Michigan made a change at right guard. :)

Tommy Time: Penn State's reaction was to make things easier on the freshman, which was kind of insane. Tommy has so much more poise than Bryce; we all agree he's the QB to start against Indiana.

Bryce struggled more than you realize (interfered slant was wrong read, second interception was at least five yards off). Great at zone reads, terrible at throwing downfield.

Carr will get a reality check from IU.

Still have major Beck problems. Two-man route on 3rd & 4, RPO pop pass on 3rd & 8, what are you doing?

Stretch: They got three explosives from it. They still had it; error rate was very low.

Seth likens it to the USC/Washington stretch last year when Wink got so obliterated he had to find humility.

Craig: We suggested pistol and they got the Kuz run from it.

Josh Gattis's Army game running arc without split zone. Split flow blocker provides so much.

Execution and Tactics: The bloggers told you to run pistol, split stretch, dagger (coulda been), and you've got too much rhino. When the bloggers know better, you've got a problem.

Going back to that USC game last year: you saw Rod Moore have his worst game, you saw them unable to defend the edge of power—when the vibe is bad things unravel in this game.

Do you have any confidence in Beck to run basic stuff and be competent? I don't. Indiana has the best coaching staff in the country right now—kept both of their coordinators after the natty.

Expectations for Tommy? Good thing we know next to nothing about what he's good at so IU can't take it away.

Defense? Cornerbacks had a really bad outing vs PSU. A lot of that was OPI, but you're not going to get many calls for pushoffs in this league. Those fades do not require any pass pro because the ball is aloft before the

IU plan: how are you getting outside? How are you beating man? Where's your QB run game? Sam says they have to pass out of play-action.

How many times are you running Tommy?

IU is the best team M faces this year. Run a lot of RPOs. A lot of unknowns; Hoover got hurt, isn't Mendoza. Worried about the front, both PSU and Minnesota went on long drives because they're not able to create a lot of havoc. Marsh and Becker can win jump balls; rather have IU score relatively quickly.

Seth's turn in the BPONE, predicts 30-10 Indiana because IU feasts on turnovers. Good teams expose weaknesses you didn't even know you had, and other than Oklahoma's defense Michigan hasn't been playing good teams. Worried that we've played our cards now and things could unravel.

1 Hour and 11 Minutes

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

A discussion of visual podcasts and pets. The first Denver game was a pretty complete victory, sans DuPont and Johnny Hicks. Michigan scored early and led all the way. Jayden Perron has a goal in every game so far. Got the split that was needed at the very least, with the opportunity for more.

Segment 2

The second Denver game was dicier, with DuPont back. DU scored the first goal, then Michigan answered with three. Then DU came back, including some of the craziest goals we’ve ever seen. Michigan had to kill two long 5v3s. Then a roundup of games this weekend, including discussion of the B1G’s depth looking bad. Just one game this weekend, vs. WMU, and tickets are pricey.

 

MUSIC

NHL on ESPN Theme

"Everything At Once"--Lenka

Ice Hockey (NES) Theme

2 hours and 19 minutes

The Sponsors

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.

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, Radecki Oral Surgery, Long Road Distillers, Applied Fitness Solutions, The History of Michigan Football, an online course by Greg Dooley, and Venue by 4M where recorded this.

1. Offense vs Penn State
Starts at 0:54

One of Brian's absurd score predictions almost hit. Opposing Penn State fans were quite pleasant because they were also complaining about their team. In 2014 Devin Funchess was the difference, in this game it was split stretch. Just get out of your own way with the pre-snap frippery. They're finally running the plays they're good at (stretch) and it took six games, three horrible, to figure it out. If Jason Beck can take a step back and look at this game as an example of how to simplify things then he might be okay. Tommy didn't seem like a tremendously better QB than Bryce but the play calls were a lot better. Bryce was going along fine then had a bad series, started spiraling, and it was gone. They needed a change on offense and the best way to do that in football is change the QB, it sucks that it's a true freshman. Tommy didn't go out and win the game but he certainly didn't lose it. Curt Cignetti is probably excited to scheme against a true freshman QB. Does Bryce still have the higher ceiling on the season? It's hard to judge anyone based on what's happening tactically. Kuzdzal's touchdown was well blocked, Goodwin has that JJ McCarthy "how are you that fast??" speed. Hiter looked pretty good. If you have the defense thinking about stretch and then you run duo you can catch them off guard. It's not the offensive line's fault that they can't run the ball, which is an insane thing to say. There's a time and a place for the rhino, but it can't be half of your snaps. 

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

2. Defense vs Penn State
Starts at 51:33

Cornerback play was a little disappointing, Penn State was getting a lot of contested balls. WR Chase Sowell is a dude, though. This game didn't bode well for having to face and bracket Jeremiah Smith. They don't jump routes when they're in zone, they look less confident. Penn State ran well on the first drive and then it disappeared. Palepale came in and made a great play. John Henry Daley looked really good, he danced around a lot to make a play on a sack. Carter Meadows saw some play time. Troy Bowles had some nice plays and is the blitz guy. Chris Bracey was all over the place and had an amazing game. He had an interception and made up a lot of distance to break up a late pass play. Rod Moore injured his ankle after his interception and had to be carted off but came back with tape. How will this defense hold up against Indiana? Did Josh Hoover get injured? This is not a shut-down defense but they're hard to crack. 

3. Hot Takes, Special Teams, and Game Theory
Starts at 1:18:20

Takes hotter than split stretch in the second half. They correctly used a timeout to get the ball back which was correct. It doesn't feel good punting from the +35 but do you think you can hit a field goal there? Should you go for it on 4th and 1 from your own 35? Why don't they have a short yardage package with Bryce? JJ Buchanan's hold was legit, sorry bud. Most of Michigan's penalties were legit. Why wasn't there a delay of game? It seemed egregious. Cam Brown's punting was not from where he's most efficient. Kuzdzal's just always going to bring one out every game apparently, but if the offense can't move the ball maybe just try it. 
 

4. Around the Big Ten with Jamie Mac
Starts at 1:52:16

Editor's Note: The audio became distorted in parts of the recording in this segment, some discussions are missing.

Ohio State 19, Indiana 14
 Indiana's win streak is snapped despite outgaining Ohio State. The Hoosiers had a game winning pass on 4th and 1 but Nick Marsh's foot was about 3 yards out of bounds. Julian Sayin gets injured and will miss "several weeks". Even when he was in the game this was not a vintage Ohio State passing attack.

Oregon 17, Nebraska 14
A real rock fight. Neither team cracks 300 yards, this was like Michigan playing themselves. Oregon starts Brock Thomas over Dylan Raiola and only goes 9/20 for 54 yards. Dylan Raiola comes in and goes 11/18 for... 59 yards. The Big Ten West has gone all the way out west. A Nebraska playoff possibility path?? 

Northwestern 24, Michigan State 23
Aidan Chiles throws no interceptions! No ground game for either team. Northwestern outgains Michigan 360 to 305, MSU has one turnover. MSU gets a field goal blocked and Northwestern drives down the field to win on their own game winning field goal.

UCLA 17, Wisconsin 7
UCLA is the only undefeated team left in the Big Ten. This was much more lopsided than the score, Wisconsin can't move the ball. Semaj Morgan threw an interception. The last time UCLA was 6-0 was in 2002 under Chip Kelly (yes, that Chip Kelly). 

Washington 38, Purdue 26
Washington has five turnovers but more explosives than Purdue. Washington switches to Elijah Brown at QB and he looks far more competent. 

MUSIC:

"Love Takes Miles"—Cameron Winter (live at Carnegie Hall)

"I'm The Man"—Joe Jackson

"Shake It Up"—The Cars

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

WSGs the Sklar Brothers. Reminder: MGoTailgate tomorrow, noon at Venue, sponsored by AFS.

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, Applied Fitness Solutions, and The History of Michigan Football, an online course by Greg Dooley, and SignalWire, where we are recording this.

Featured Musician: Canada

THE VIDEO:

[After THE JUMP: The show notes.] 

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

1. Penn State Preview
starts at the top.

OFFENSE: Meh. Becht has been starting for Matt Campbell for four years, is decent at reading out a defense but his level of play has dipped as the competition surpassed his ability. He's not a Brock Purdy sleeper NFL QB. Both RBs are just guys. WR Chase Sowell is on his 4th school but has been ranked higher in the portal every time, is now their most important offensive player because downfield threat Koby Howard is injured. OL doesn't scare us; Malachi Goodman is not ready for Big Ten pass pro and the other guys don't move people. Their TE room is pretty okay—they did work by playing a bunch of them together.

DEFENSE: D'Anton Lynn is one of the Ravens guys, the safeties coach Baltimore hired when Minter left for Vanderbilt. After the system didn't take in SoCal he's brought it to Happy Valley, and brought along players from UCLA and Iowa State to run it. One difference: the HEAVY OLB becomes the END in their 5-2 sets, which effectively means they're adding a DE not a DT when they go out of nickel. For Michigan it might mean they can try to plow against a defense that is built to not allow that first and foremost. For PSU it means they've been a little sus against quick-hitting offenses. The Wing-T blew them apart. Experienced LBs make it work most downs however. Hope Beck's finally got his head out of his ass. All-Big XII safety Marcus Neal got benched, and might be moving to LB.

2. Hockeytalk, and a little Hoops
starts at 26:52

A 4-0 start for the icers goes on the road to the defending champions with the #1 ranking on the line; does their weird juju apply to the regular season as well? Most impressive performance so far might be that return game at Bowling Green, where they were outplayed for a period then roared back. Ivankovic has been better than anyone realizes. Jayden Perron has been outstanding. Landon Dupont everything advertised.

 

3. After Further Review: Minnesota
starts at 41:49

Unnnnghhhh. Jason Beck's offense is all counters, no meat, and does nonsensical things like pull a guard on a passing down. Avery Gach had a rough outing IDing his blocks, which is understandable since he was a guard until thrust into duty, and those blocks are unique to TEs. But everyone wants to know about the defense, right? Tackling was an issue because they got tired. Tariq Boney met his match in lengthy OTs who can grab at will and don't have to dropback pass pro.

4. Sklars!
starts at 1:04:41

The brothers are in town all weekend, with shows last night, tonight, and two on Saturday (they'll hold the start of Show 1 for people coming from the PSU game).

Featured Musician: Canada
They call themselves a "seven-piece chamber folk-pop band." I call them a perfect distillation of the kind of music coming out of Ann Arbor in the mid-2000s, when they put out the How Dare You EP, which I had in the band box. I think I actually bought this one when they opened for Saturday Looks Good to Me. Unfortunately it's scratched to shit, so I went on Spotify, found their 2021 album "Put Singing Birds Into Your Messy Hair," super dug it, and used songs from that. If you do want to check out their early stuff, start with This Cursed House, which includes some of the songs from the EP but better recordings. Fun story I found googling: They produced that album in a barn, using a soundboard that they presumably got from ILM, since it was used to mix the original Star Wars trilogy.

Canada got together with some other bands to create Quite Scientific (Qui-Sci) Records, so I still think of that whole group "Qui-Sci" (rhymes with Phi-Psi). They also have weird names. One of them is Aaron Saul, another is Aaron Shaul, and another is Ryan Howard (no not THAT power hitter for the Phillies). This isn't the first or last time I feature Qui-Sci bands—the label was pretty important in local music in my era—but I think Canada is their definitive act.

Songs:

"The Farthest Shore"

"Homes and Jewells"

"Half-Hearted Laughter"

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

THE USUAL LINKS:

Helpful iTunes subscribe link

General podcast feed link

Direct download link

What's with the theme music?

 

I'm sorry man, if you have any self respect as a football program you have to win this game.

Things Discussed:

Tactical issues: They run constraint plays without establishing the base, so they overreactions to what they're doing.

They don't punish the safeties being at 8 and 6 yards.

Two different OC types: Lindsay type attaches his stuff to what you're doing; RR/Beck types want to install their offense.

Watch Utah last year: Beck last year would not like what Beck does this year.

Feels like Jason Beck is on tilt; he's trying to win the game with every playcall, and he's not getting the homers.

You can put Max Bredeson on the field but he's got to be at least a little bit of a threat.

Alex Bauman? He's a blocking TE who makes good reads so he might be an answer. But Zack Marshall was that guy.

How many seams have we thrown this year? None. How did Purdue get a big run vs Minnesota at the start of the game, threatened the seam, safety steps back, blockers win.

They don't run Dagger. They don't throw to anyone but their first two receivers.

Brian got a QB running game and the monkey's paw curled.

This is probably the biggest disconnect between expectations and reality we've ever faced.

Hockeytalk: Michigan has an incredible concentration of talent, they're not the only ones. Heady time to be a college hockey fan because there are some great teams out there because CHL players are now in the Big Ten. Think the season will be less frustrating but the Tournament will be brutal because several schools (MSU, Denver) have their best team ever.

Hoopstalk: Not last year's team but pretty good. Trey is the star but he's a shooter; his offense should be shoot or go downhill. Expect them to do some shooting, work in Quinn Costello as a movement shooter, and OREB. Thiam has to learn better shot selection, develop a two-man game with Cadeau. He can't be taking the bad shots because the other guys should be taking those so Thiam and Estrella can put them back.