Things Discussed:

• Hoops: Wolf is having a lot more creation put on him than he did at Yale, turnovers can still go down. Danny Wolf NBA hype.
• Officiating vs UCLA was about the worst we've ever seen: Wolf picks up two awful calls in a row that take him from 2 to 4 fouls.
• Cronin's presser: It's maybe the most program-destructive one we've ever seen. He's the guy who put a power forward against Vlad Goldin. Man is it going to be easy to recruit against that guy. Hopefully this doesn't break them so badly that this win doesn't stand up.
• Tre Donaldson star-making trip. Twenty points is his best output of the year, he wasn't even on the court because he got autobenched in the 1st half, maybe that was a good thing because he played the entire 2nd half.
• Weakness: Michigan needs one more creator: Gayle, Jones, or one of the freshmen, or else they need Tre or Wolf on the court at all times.
• Nimari Burnett: premier shot absorber.
• Michigan set up for a Big Ten title run: already 3-0 in their 6 toughest road games.
• Max Bredeson returns: HUGE. Bigger than Underwood for next year. He's the kind of guy you can build the offense around, need to develop him in the passing game.
• Portal: Michigan needs to figure out a reciprocity system for athletes like every other school does so you can complete a degree. I don't think it makes us a better academic school—the point of reciprocity in these cases is to let you get a better caliber of grad student by having them finish their undergrads.
• Playoffs: Craig does it by vibes. A cute exhibition at the end of the season, but it's hard to take this as a national championship when it's a bunch of 2-loss teams.
• Drew Allar wants to come back and be Hackenberg.

1 Hour and 15 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.

• Opener
• The Fun 30 Minutes
• The Bad 30 Minutes
• Korpi and Penalties? Nothing on 5v5?

• What a Dreadful Start
• Clawing Back and OT
• Old Friends and the League
• A Preview of South Bend

MUSIC

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Wrigley" -- Kid Copter, Cremini Jicket, and Morel Dilemma
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

2 hours and 2 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, the Autograph: Fandom Rewarded app, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, and Venue by 4M where usually record this.

Starts at 1:00

The second funniest game of the season, and our lives. After three first quarter turnovers (plus a turnover on downs) it was about to become frustrating if Michigan lost. What was the low point of the season for you? 19 is a fun number for Bryce Underwood. The defensive performance against Alabama is encouraging for next year, which should be set. Still some work to do on offense. Michigan needs to do a better job at developing relationships with guys hitting the portal.

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

Starts at 23:58

All things considered the offensive line performance was encouraging. Check Sarah Jessica off your bingo card for this podcast again. Jordan Marshall - Blake Corum comparisons are made. PFF said everyone had solid pass protection except Sprague, but Sprague had the best run blocking. Where does Frederick Moore fit on the depth chart that would make you comfortable? Ben Hall was okay, he was less patient than Marshall. Davis Warren tore his ACL, if he's back in time for Fall camp would he even be an option? Expect the beginning of next season to have Bryce run packages but not be fully deployed.

Starts at 54:36

Takes hotter than your 15-2 Detroit Lions. Michigan sacked Jalen Milroe 11 times in the year 2024 (six in the Rose Bowl, five in this bowl). Michigan's ends got in the tackles' heads and the blitzes prevented Milroe from escaping up the middle. Credit Wink Martindale for understanding how to coach college kids mid-way through the season. Alabama's run game was relatively non-existent. Bring on analyst Don Brown. Aamir Hall had some Will Johnson-esque plays towards the end of the season. Zvada remains very good. Let's talk about the timeout at the end of the first half. Do you kick that field goal to go up 16-0 or try for a touchdown? Any deviation from 1950s football would've lost this game.

Starts at 1:34:30

This game was frustrating, sometimes they had it together, then lost it, then fixed it, then didn't. Let's play the game of "did they have more offensive rebounds or misses from two?". Danny Wolf had a superlative game (please don't go to the NFL). The fouling was a bit out of control but that went both ways. Can two teams just agree to fire the refs mid-game and play without them? There are too many Big Ten teams now, we don't want to know about USC. How far do we expect Michigan to go into the tournament now? UCLA forces a lot of turnovers which will be interesting against Michigan.

MUSIC:

• "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"—The Rolling Stones
• "Unforgettable"—French Montana
• "Giving Up"—Michigander
• “Across 110th Street”—JJ Johnson and his Orchestra

1 hour and 25 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, the Autograph: Fandom Rewarded app, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, and Venue by 4M where usually record this.

Starts at 1:00

Welcome to the utterly meaningless bowl game we are less excited for than any Michigan game before. Now that we're paying the players, shouldn't they be expected to complete the season? Contracts would do that. Is Alabama interested in showing up? They have a few players like Milroe who need to show something. Michigan's offense was bad to begin with so what are they now? Jadyn Davis should play at least. Glorified spring game bits: looking forward to seeing Andrew Sprague, the running backs.

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

Starts at 19:59

Mikey Keene is a floor, played with Dillon Gabriel (and Chip Lindsay) at UCF so it's not the first time he's been with a talented dual-threat. Thrown a LOT of passes, can loft one downfield, isn't a run threat, was probably a scramble after Billy Edwards didn't want to compete with Bryce. When do you start Bryce, because Game 2 is in Norman and Game 3 is in Lincoln. They got OL Brady Norton who's an addition to the 2023 class, Donaven McCulley we like as that downfield threat. Wanted to see more WRs and a TE and better luck at OL: Josh Thompson chose LSU.

Starts at 43:50

Hot takes segment has ideas for retaining the Outback Bowl legacy. Damon Payne is a very good pickup even though he's not flashy because DTs are a premium position and he's a decent SEC player. Troy Bowles was in a stacked LB room, comp is Hausmann. Metcalfs played at Chip Lindsay's high school in Pinson, Alabama, TJ is a high floor for the safety position and Tevis is a developmental cornerback. Don't have any glaring needs. Discussion of Barham's move to edge—think it's a Jaylen Harrell position thing in the 5-2, which is more about holding the edge than rushing it. Always get a 5th year cornerback, but they can get that on the cheap later in the process.

Starts at 1:04:48

After the Oklahoma loss that we're STILL MAD about, the threes are falling, which makes this team utterly terrifying. WKU chose not to defend the perimeter, had a lot of injuries, and PFW was also super small up front so those are not great tests. Good news: Big Ten doesn't have a lot of NBA guards who can tear them up by driving. USC-UCLA road trip next week will be fascinating—USC is a bunch of power forwards even with T-Will out for the season and UCLA is all defense.

MUSIC:

• "Antarctica"—Divorce
• "Cinderella"—Remi Wolf
• "Everyday Hustle"—Metro Boomin and Rick Ross
• “Across 110th Street”—JJ Johnson and his Orchestra

Things Discussed:

• Seth on early to talk about Lions injuries, Ira gives us a short history of Detroit-Buffalo friendship.
• Oklahoma: Yes they got absolutely jobbed by Szelc. Yes, it's the #1 story of the game. Pushoffs, moving screens, 75 percent of Fears's free throws, and then a soft whistle at one end while ignoring a two-handed shove at the other end. Both of those were Szelc calls. Michigan won't get a fair whistle against this guy tbut what are you gonna do about it, have Warde complain to the Big Ten? They don't care.
• Rest of the game: Thruck was thruck. Michigan is a good team that gets the best shots in CBB. They're doing it with the big-on-big, and they're starting to know each other. Seth: pay attention to where Goldin gets his passes, where he likes it. Gonna need a team with extreme athleticism and NBA shot-blockers to contest them.
• Portal: Sam runs us through the QB options. DQ is a good one, Brendan Lewis is the one we like the best, Mikey Keene is a decent floor—he played for Lindsey at UCF—but you don't want a pocket-bound popgun arm before Bryce, do you?
• Lindsey connection got us the Arkansas brothers. Good athleticism and presence, but see TJ Metcalf as a high-floor Walker not a difference-maker. Always want a 5th year guy at nickel from now on.
• Brian: Can Morris come back? Sam: It's possible; he had concerns about the offense so if they have an OC and a QB now things could change. He hasn't set up any visits.
• Offense needs some bodies at OL: the guy they got is a development prospect. They're all in on Josh Thompson, who's checking out Auburn and Tennessee.

1 Hour and 19 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.

• Opener
• No One Score Again
• A Lead Through Two Periods
• Blown Third Period with an OT Winner

• First Half Takeaways
• Old Friends and the League
• Wrigley Preview

MUSIC

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "You're Not Gonna Score" -- Untamed
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme

1 hour and 43 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, the Autograph: Fandom Rewarded app, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, and Venue by 4M where we recorded this.

Starts at 1:00

The first half of this podcast is not just talking about how Michigan beat Ohio State 13-10. Imagine your season ending on December 21st in Columbus, Ohio. Mark your calendars for Davis Warren day on October 13th! Chip Lindsey is the new offensive coordinator out of North Carolina. The run game will be the run game, he's going to be the passing game coordinator. We are feeling exactly whelmed about this hire. Donaven McCulley comes in at wide receiver from Indiana, he's a legitimately good Big Ten receiver. Still need at least three more receivers. Billy Edwards comes in from Maryland and the worst offensive line in the country, he's a big guy. On the offensive line they bring in Jordan White from Liberty, need a tackle. It's been frustrating that Michigan hasn't brought in as many new players as we'd like to see. Derrick Moore and TJ Guy are back next year.

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

Starts at 36:36

Arkansas 89, Michigan 87. This basketball game was three different basketball games. Michigan goes from a four point lead to an 18 point deficit once they start turning the ball over in the 2nd half. The boxscore is fun at least. There were some desperation zones. The shot distribution was as good as you could expect. Goldin's usage has finally gone up and Wolf is making the plays he needs to make. Roddy Gayle has been making some bad decisions. Should Michigan slow it down a bit? Are the turnovers mental because they tend to come in bunches? Wolf is the alpha on offense (get it?). The rest of the non-conference should be wins and then they ease back into the Big Ten conference play against USC.

Starts at 1:03:45

Takes hotter than the Heisman voters who got it right for once. Hockey finally scored a goal! And they're still 9th in Pairwise. Take a breath into the break and say "it's fine." Michigan probably isn't winning the Big Ten but they're not bad, they're half of a gritty hockey team. Wisconsin is a good team, they've just been unlucky on their shots this season. Right now Michael Hage is really the only guy driving plays. 3-on-3 overtime needs a shot clock! They're good enough to be a tournament team and the shooting will probably get better.

Starts at 1:30:24 Gimmicky Top Five worst bowl matchups! Marshall entered the transfer portal and opted out of their bowl game and now Louisiana Tech has to face a furious Army team. Seth has real world bowls, Brian has hypotheticals. Don't play BYU in Miami. A bowl game in Middle Earth. PLAY A BOWL IN DUBLIN.

MUSIC:

• "Q4" -- Father John Misty
• "Love Town" -- The Glands
• "What's The Rush?" -- Jesse Woods
• “Across 110th Street”—JJ Johnson and his Orchestra

Things Discussed:

• The Book: It's what we would have wanted. Kickstarter backers: I wrote an update but the gist is tracking numbers might come after the books because USPS.
• Ohio State is Flag-Mad. Brian: 11W and MGoBlog diverged in business models a long time ago: they do clickbait, we make big books.
• Seth: The reason this hits Ohio State so hard is they have nothing else to be proud of anymore. They bet everything on beating Michigan and then got absolutely punked again. Symbology is all that's left.
• Chip Lindsey: Came up through high school so he's got a lot of different ideas. Lots of coordinator experience. He develops somebody else's quarterback. QBs take fewer sacks, run less (more scrambles than called runs).
• Lindsey's philosophy, if there is one, is to run what works best for the players he's got. He doesn't want to have a "blob" on usage distribution—wants you to worry about screens and downfield, outside runs and inside runs.
• Portal? UNC guys of interest (Hampton is probably going pro).
• Michigan's portal strategy: looking for guys they can get value. ZVADA is the epitome of portal success: a guy who's going to be more valuable to you. Part of that value is seeing if you can make more out of a player (Barham, Stewart, etc.) than he is.
• You're in a salary cap world.
• Kentucky guys? Miller Moss? Feeling different because he's getting big portal offers. Brendon Lewis—that would be a dude; he's a Year 6 guy, probably will come down to dollars because it's not certain there's an NFL future. Don't be too worried about Underwood in Year 1 because he's not turning 18 until August. Billy Edwards? Sam nodding. UMD had the worst OL, Edwards is a perfect example of a guy who looks a lot better as a 25x/game thrower.
• Hoops: Danny Wolf is the tallest 5-10 guy we've ever seen. Sucks to lose to Calipari. Craig says hit your free throws. In a dozen years we'll say "I remember getting beat like that by Boogie Fland in college."