2 hour and 18 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, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Winewood Organics, Human Element, Venue by 4M where we recorded this, and The Nose Bleeds, which is the Sklars Bros’ reboot of Cheap Seats on UFC Fight Pass. 1. The Michigan State Situation Starts at 1:00 ESPN and USA Today have released articles detailing Mel Tucker's investigation of sexual harassment involving Brenda Tracy. Mel Tucker is turbo fired but legally they need to follow the process and put him on administrative leave for now. An alarming number of Big Ten progra
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
9/2/2023– Michigan 30, East Carolina 3 – 1-0 Well, here we go. The best kind of thing to take from a game against a solid G5 program that's just turned over the vast majority of their personnel is one that is opponent-invariant, and the most opponent-invariant thing in football is quarterbacks dropping dimes. This space has long maintained that if the offensive executes perfectly, they just get to win. Via that lens the most important development from the opener is the prevalence of "nice try, I win" plays. ECU had some moments of excellent coverage that just did not matter. McCarthy started out hot, casually dropping in an NFL-level 15-yard out to the field on Michigan's first drive that featured passes: In addition to the Here Look At My Arm Talent plays he also moved opponents with the power of his mind. Folks have already pointed out the little pump fake on the third Wilson touchdown but this one is probably even better. Wilson isn't open until McCarthy
Previously: Podcast 15.0A, 15.0B, 15.0C. The Story. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver. Tight End. Interior OL. Defensive Interior. Edge. Linebacker. Cornerback. Safety. Kicker Yr Punter Yr Kickoffs Yr Punt Return Yr Kick Return Yr James Turner Sr. Tommy Doman So. Tommy Doman So. Donovan Edwards Jr. ALEX ORJI Fr. Adam Samaha Fr. Hudson Hollenbeck Fr. James Turner Sr. Kalel Mullings Jr. Eamonn Dennis So. Well, the Pax Specialistica has ended. Michigan sent Jake Moody and Brad Robbins to the NFL, ending three years of joy and security, give or take. Robbins did have a rough spell at the end of last year when he was clearly "going through something," as Harbaugh would say, and Moody had one wobbly stretch a couple years back. Things should be fine, as Michigan has a touted punter waiting in the wings and hit the portal for an established college kicker to give their freshman some time to come online. I do not think kickers should be able to transfer at all, becau
Previously: Podcast 15.0A, 15.0B, 15.0C. The Story. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver. Tight End. Interior OL. Defensive Interior. Edge. Linebacker. Cornerback. Depth Chart Safety Yr. Also Safety Yr. Makari Paige Jr. Rod Moore Jr. Quinten Johnson Jr. Keon Sabb Fr. Zeke Berry Fr. Caden Kolesar Sr. Michigan lost RJ Moten in the offseason on a post-spring transfer to Florida that was entirely performance/playing-time related but otherwise rolls over the same depth chart from last season. Moten began 2022 as the #2 safety and logged considerable regular season snaps but by the end of last season was virtually unplayable at safety, so there is complete continuity from the Fiesta Bowl division of snaps. Caden Kolesar is back healthy after playing in just five games and the blue chip true freshmen safeties from last year are no longer true freshmen (but are still blue chip). SAFETY: Pax Safetifica RATING: 4.5 [Patrick Barron] Last August in the final season