9/9/2023 – Michigan 35, UNLV 7 – 2-0 I thought about copying and pasting last week's column and seeing if anyone noticed. It would have various references to ECU instead of UNLV, but acronyms are acronyms and maybe it would slide by. The accounting of JJ McCarthy's incompletions would be off by one and factually inaccurate, sure. I was banking on the nuclear glow coming off of McCarthy's arm obliterating all detail and leaving nothing but a crater of Buddhism (but fun!). I could have gotten away with it, I'm sure. The pattern of this game was the pattern of the other game: big long Michigan drives on which some disappointing run plays are washed away in a torrent of third and medium conversions. JJ McCarthy's eyes glow white and he starts levitating. The opposition can do nothing on the interior and cannot pass protect and is only able to eke out a first down or two. Michigan irritatingly turns it over on downs due to over-reliance on a dive play. They lose the shutout when the backups to the backups get in. The final score doesn't reflect the statistical bombing that has just occurred. Same, game, same column. It could work. I could scurry off and sip a mai tai or something. Wave to Dan Aykroyd, who is on a boat. Sort of thing. ------------------------------------------- But no. No, I shall not do that. I shall stand and deliver because there is another thing that is more or less JJ McCarthy-level that should be addressed, and that is what is happening on the interior of Michigan's defensive line. You may have caught this from John Duerr on Twitter: UNLV is going for it on 4th & 5. Mason Graham breaks out his superman cape. This is next level stuff from a 20 year old sophomore in college. pic.twitter.com/00hDOiDWwt — Due# (@JDue51) September 10, 2023 What the cropping somewhat obscures is that right next to Mason Graham, Kris Jenkins was doing the exact same thing to the tackle. Jenkins is not a 20-year-old sophomore but he does play for Michigan at this moment, so we've got that going for us. Meanwhile Kenneth Grant is rumbling around stunts like he's not 340 pounds, then impacting people like he is. [Bryan Fuller] This is a long way away from converting Ben Mason and Jess Speight to DT and then playing them. The turnaround here is incredible; I remember a distinct sense of relief when Michigan was able to land George Rooks, a bonafide four-star defensive tackle. Rooks is now at Boston College because he would be the #6 DT on this roster, tops. And there is no more important position on defense to have both depth and dudes. Georgia's recent run was built on talent everywhere, yes, but the most talent was at DT. When Michigan brought their Joe Moore award OL up against the Bulldogs they got shown what "generational talent" meant. There is nothing more dispiriting than watching the middle of your offensive line get shredded, and nothing more bloodlust-inducing than watching the middle of their offensive line get shredded. To be sure paragraph: to be sure, Michigan has to sustain this level of production against better opposition. But even this objection is fairly weak when we've already seen what Kris Jenkins and Mason Graham looked like against the Big Ten. In Jenkins's case that was 20 pounds ago; in Graham's case he was a true freshman. It is not at all unreasonable to project the big gap ups they've demonstrated this year into the season-ending gauntlet. Grant is more speculative, but only just. And the big issue we projected, conditioning, isn't that relevant when you are DT option #3 on a defense that immediately boots teams off the field. Michigan might have three first-round picks at DT out of no top-100 guys. That's a confluence of luck, development, and scouting that doesn't come together very often, and it's got Michigan pointed towards the biggest goals. AWARDS Known Friends and Trusted Agents Of The Week the same [Barron] you're the man now, dog #1 JJ McCarthy. While I did not copy and paste last week's column I absolutely could have. 22/25 a week after 26/30 is crazy cuckoo banana nuts, as were a healthy subset of McCarthy's throws in this game. Drop eight? Don't care, eat this dig. Lift the coverage? Here is Donovan Edwards. Single coverage? Catch and run to Roman Wilson. Also, Jay Harbaugh took his head coaching opportunity to run the guy twice. Elite. LFG. #2(T) Kris Jenkins, Mason Graham, and Kenneth Grant. Naturally. 14 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 4.5 TFLs between the three in limited snaps. See above about the rest. 4 points each. #3(T) Braiden McGregor and Derrick Moore. 2.5 TFLs and a sack between them, with both guys playing excellent run defense while providing organic pass rush. Honorable mention: Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson both had good days catching the ball but got slid down here because of blocking issues. Tyler Morris emerged into that chain mover he was projected to be and had what's likely to be a +2 block. Jaylen Harrell cleaned up a couple of blitzes for sacks; Mike Barrett's blitzes created one of those and he was otherwise solid. Blake Corum did average 5.3 YPC despite getting a bunch of wedges. KFaTAotW Standings. (points: #1: 8, #2: 5, #3: 3, HMs one each. Ties result in somewhat arbitrary assignments.) 16: JJ McCarthy (#1 ECU, #1 UNLV)6: Kenneth Grant (T3 ECU, T2 UNLV)5: Mason Graham (HM ECU, T2 UNLV), Kris Jenkins (HM ECU, T2 UNLV), Roman Wilson (T2 ECU, HM UNLV), Cornelius Johnson (T2 ECU, HM UNLV)2: Ernest Hausmann (T3 ECU), Mike Sainristil (T3 ECU), Josh Wallace (T3 ECU), Blake Corum (HM ECU, HM UNLV), Braiden McGregor(T3 UNLV), Derrick Moore (T3 UNLV)1: Tommy Doman (HM ECU), Donovan Edwards (HM ECU), Tyler Morris (HM UNLV), Jaylen Harrell (HM UNLV), Mike Barrett (HM UNLV) Who's Got It Better Than Us(?) Of The Week McCarthy hits Wilson with a strike that turns into a 47-yard touchdown just as the broadcast is talking about the reason McCarthy has 47 on his hand. Honorable mention: Derrick Moore gets a pure edge rush sack; McCarthy does just about anything; play above where Graham and Jenkins simultaneously teleport into the backfield; Myles Hinton obliterates a guy. MARCUS HALL EPIC DOUBLE BIRD OF THE WEEK. Fourth and two wedge is stuffed. Honorable mention: McCarthy gets up a little gimpy after a QB draw ends with a helmet to his thigh; Colston Loveland jet sweep gets crushed as Johnson whiffs a block; Tommy Doman puts a kickoff out of bounds? [After THE JUMP: now we can talk more about McCarthy]
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