Michigan Thursday: Game Times Are Set For The First 3

Game 1: WMU 7:30 

Game 2: Oklahoma Noon 

Game 3: UTEP 3:30 

I know early in the season there is a need for primetime games and a very small inventory of compelling match-ups.  Still why Michigan continues to open a season at night against a MAC opponent just boggles my mind.  If I was in charge of everything, I would have Game 1 at noon, Game 2 in Primetime, and Game 3 at noon.  

The only reason Game 2 is at noon, is because Fox owns the 12:00 kicks for the Big Time for their premier game of the week.   Game 1 is a primetime because the Networks know Michigan playing anyone draws a large audience and Game 3 must be a CBS game who owns that time slot for the Big Ten.  

I still prefer the Bo quote: “We used to tell the TV stations that we’re going to tee the ball up at one o’clock. If you want to come down and take your little pictures, feel free.”

• Freshman DT Alister Vallejo has made it to Ann Arbor to start his career as a Wolverine!

• Freshman TE Mason Bonner has made it to Ann Arbor to start his career as a Wolverine!

• In-state EDGE Myles Smith will announce his commitment this afternoon

• MSU Guard Jeremy Fears, feared he wouldn't be drafted high enough and is heading back to East Lansing to kick it for another year.

• Cal commit edge Troy Bowens will visit A2 on 6-19

Michigan Thursday: New WR Commit

The Michigan coaches have work to do to recruit talented WR's to Ann Arbor.  Yes, there is a 5-star QB under center but everyone and their brother knows the Wolverines are a run first team.   The new staff put in work and got  a commitment from one of the best WR's in the country yesterday, from 2027 top 100 player (to On3 & ESPN) 4-star 6'3 200 pound Quentin Burrell.  

Q is from Chicago and picked the Wolverines over the likes of ND and Alabama.  In fact, he put the ND hat (both are navy) on after he announced for Michigan by mistake.  Reports are that Quentin was one of the highest rated players on Michigan's board this cycle and the new staff landed him! 

• Round 1 of the PGA Championship is today! 

• Yax was on the 6:00 Sportscenter last night and did a really nice job. 

• The Duke-Michigan game on Amazon might get pulled as the TV rights are in question between Fox and Amazon. 

• Jimmy Rolder and Derrick Moore have signed their deals with the Detroit Lions.

Michigan Tuesday: Time Is on our Side

As regular readers of this blog know, I believe kickoff time is very important for how the Wolverines will play.  I believe the Wolverines play better at Noon, then they do at 3:30 or 7:30.  I don't have any stats to back up that opinion, but I know what I know 😀.   Coach Whitt seems to have similar football sensibilities to Jim Harbaugh, even though Coach has lived in the Mountain time zone most of his career.  

Now TV contracts has thrown a wrench into playing more Noon kicks.  Fox owns the Noon time slot, CBS owns the 3:30 kick, and NBC the night game.  BTN gets the rest of the games.   Which means to play at noon, its has to be big game that Fox wants or a bad game BTN gets. 

The TV Networks have started to grab games next season and of course, Fox has grabbed two big Michigan games.  Oklahoma @ Michigan and Michigan @ OSU, both of course Noon kicks.   To me, playing The Sooners at noon is a big deal! 

Michigan's Big 3 are at the NBA Combine and measured in yesterday.   Per Jonathan Givony from X: 

Michigan's Morez Johnson measured 6'9 barefoot and 251 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine, with a 7'3.5 wingspan and 8'11 standing reach.

Michigan's Aday Mara measured 7'3 barefoot and 260 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine, with a 7'6 wingspan and 9'9 standing reach. Absolutely absurd measurements. Tied with Mark Williams for the second-longest standing reach in Combine history, behind only Tacko Fall.

Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg measured 6'8.75 barefoot and 241 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine, with a 7'3.25 wingspan and 9'0.5 standing reach. No surprises after last year's Combine, but still outstanding dimensions for a player who slid seamlessly from the 3 to the 5 this season.

• John Henry Daley is expected to be 100% by June 1st

• Greg Crippen signs with the Steelers 

Michigan Thursday: Basketball Locking In a Difficult Schedule

Dusty is taking his team on the road to play a couple big time neutral site games.  They have already scheduled Duke in Madison Square Garden and now UConn in Boston.  Michigan as reigning National Champions will be a headliner and Dusty is smart getting the team difficult matchups to prepare them for March.   I love the strategy!

• CBS predicts a Michigan - Alabama Citrus Bowl - Really again?  No thanks! 

• College Football coaches want a 24 team playoff and no Conference Championship games, with everything being completed in early January.  That means the Bowl System would be dead!  Which is just a matter of time.

Michigan Thursday: With Bonus BIG10 Weekend Preview

I'm not a big fan of Warde, if your a daily reader of this blog you know this already.  Like my feelings about Wink, I do give credit when credit is deserved.  Warde made an excellent hire in Dusty, who I consider one of the best basketball coaches in America.  He has also made a smart decision by cancelling the game in Germany.  

In my mind, there was zero reason to play that game.  #1 It takes a home game away from the season ticket holders, #2 Western is located like a hour and half away from Ann Arbor, and #3 Michigan would make a lot more money hosting the Broncos then traveling overseas.   Not to mention the Wolverines would also lose a recruiting visit weekend.  Smart move Warde. 

ESPN is struggling right now.  They are in a huge fight with Youtube TV that has 10M subscribers and now they are shutting down the ESPN Bet app after 2 years into a 10 year agreement.   The worldwide leader in sports better start to figure out how to be a better partner.  Maybe not paying $30M+ for your MNF Booth might be a good start at saving some money.   Reports are they losing $5M per day with the Youtube fight and shows audiences are way down. 

Big Ten Weekend Preview Week 11

Friday Night:

Northwestern @ USC (-14.5):  This is an interesting game for Wolverines fans to watch.  Michigan needs USC to keep winning to keep their quality loss status and next up at Wrigley is NW.  We know what happens when teams travel west and a Friday night kick doesn't help.  USC 31 NW 17

Saturday:

Indiana (-14.5) @ PSU:  This seasons difficult schedule didn't cost James Franklin his job, the easy games did.  It what was supposed to be another major match-up has PSU at a 2 TD dog at home.  PSU plays tough by IU wins.  IU 28 PSU 20

Ohio State (-30.5) @ Purdue:  We know Purdue is feisty, but I think us Michigan fans are going to be ashamed of the point total that the Buckeyes will put on the Boilermakers this weekend.   OSU 40 Purdue 10. 

Oregon (-6.5) @ Iowa:  I did not see this one coming.  The Ducks have zero good wins and a home loss to IU (Yes, the PSU win in Happy Valley was good at the time).  Iowa is playing really good football and is the only program to give IU a game this season.  This game will knock one of the teams out of the CFP picture.  Yes, Iowa is playing for a spot!  Iowa 24 Oregon 21 

Washington (-10.5) @ Wisconsin: The UW Bowl as nobody has ever called it! 😀 Poor Wisconsin.  Washington is still really good in my mind.   UW - West 34 UW - Midwest 7 

Nebraska @ UCLA (-2.5):  I like UCLA in this one as Creepy Mahomes is out for the year with a broken leg and Matt Rhule has James Franklin vibes to me.  UCLA 21 Nebraska 13 

Wolverine Wednesday: Too Many Night Games

I get why NBC wants Michigan on night games.  Even if Michigan is playing a bad team, they bring with them a big audience.  Each week there isn't a good night game.  Fox Big Noon game this week includes UCLA, some weeks just won't have good match-ups.   

Still Michigan is playing way too many night games.  This week's game against MSU and Purdue the following week at home are both a night.  What are we doing?  Doesn't NBC have the NBA now?  Show an NBA game and give us back our Noon kicks!   

I will stop yelling a clouds now and give you real information.

• BG is back! He signed back with the Eagles

• Lane Kiffin says Brent Venables steals signs, what everyone does it? I'm shocked. 

• Michigan has offered Wisconsin LB commit Aden Reeder 
• Michigan offers Northwestern LB commit Brayden Reilly 

• Word is Marcus Freeman is having his agent call on open jobs.  He either wants out of ND or more likely wants a big raise. 

• Jimbo Fisher and Coach O both want to coach again 

• Link's injury is expected to be not as serious as expected and we might see him back this season.

• Cam Rising has been coaching Brady Smigiel before his injury 

• 14 former Wolverines made NBA Rosters
• 5 are on a 2-way (Goldin, Houstan, Livers, Castleton, Dickinson)
• Kobe Bufkin was cut from the Nets

Michigan Friday: Gehe Blau

Michigan seems to be moving a home game in 2026 against Western Michigan to Germany.   Yes, Ann Arbor is about 100 miles from Kalamazoo, but they are now moving it to Germany.  

Here is the release from Michigan Football: 

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan Football program is engaged in ongoing discussions to kick off the 2026 season on foreign soil, playing host to Western Michigan at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany, on Saturday, Aug. 29. This non-conference matchup would become the first game played by the Wolverines outside of North America.

Also known as Waldstadion, Deutsche Bank Park is the home field for Eintracht Frankfurt of the Bundesliga, which is the top tier of the German football (soccer) league. The retractable roof stadium has a capacity of 55,000 seats and was opened in 1925. Germany has hosted five previous NFL games in the country, with Deutsche Bank Park hosting two regular-season games during the 2023 season: Kansas City Chiefs 21, Miami Dolphins 14 (Nov. 5) and Indianapolis Colts 10, New England Patriots 6 (Nov. 12).

"We are in advanced discussions to create this first-of-its-kind opportunity for our student-athletes and fans," said Warde Manuel, the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics. "The University of Michigan is one of the few worldwide brands in college athletics and the interest in playing an international game would be unique. This would be a great opportunity to teach 'Go Blue' to a new group of fans in Germany."

"I am excited about the football and educational experience this game could provide for our players," said Sherrone Moore, U-M's J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach. "We are always looking for unique opportunities to expose our student-athletes to other cultures. In the last 10 years, our program has been to Italy, France and South Africa, and this game would provide another chance to grow our international fanbase."

Brett McMurphy is reporting this is a done deal. 

I think this is a fun trip for some Michigan fans, but not much more than that.  The stadium is half the size of the Big House and steals a home game from season ticket holders. 

Michigan Thursday and Friday Edition: Kick Off Times

It's amazing to me how fans bases are different.  Michigan fans love a noon kickoff.  It's tradition, it's 

Bo, its when college football should be played.   Clemson and LSU can play at night.  We are ok with one night home game a year.  

Ohio State and Penn State both want night games pretty much all the time.  Penn State fans boycotted the Fox Pregame show last season because they felt their game against OSU should've been played a night.  Ohio State asked Texas to move their game next season to Sunday so they can play at night, Texas declined. 

With the Big Ten having to fill 2 night games a week with NBC and BTN, we are all going to find more night comes every season.  I expected Oklahoma on the road was going to be a night game but New Mexico?  Give me a break

Here are the announced game times so far:

• Michigan has hired former college football player Anthony Johnson for their recruiting department.  Johnson was an intern in Pitts recruiting department last season. 

• Official visits start again this weekend.  Let's hope Michigan makes a big impression! 

• Michigan Basketball is signing a home and home with Villanova that will start next season. 

Michigan Thursday: A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

Have you ever been to Wrigley to watch a Cubs game?  How about a Michigan Football game?  The Big Ten released the Michigan Football Schedule on Wednesday and Michigan will play Northwestern at Wrigley as their new stadium continues to be built.  I expect this is going to be a hot ticket.  

Not a bad schedule, no back to back home games is interesting: No Oregon, No Penn State, No Indiana, No Little Brown Jug game.   Ohio State opens against Texas.  

• What a strange day in coaching hires. UNC hires Belichick and WVU re-hires RR.  Both can be good for the programs or blow up quickly.  

• Michigan has offered Transfer Portal target Miami of Ohio WR Reggie Virgil. 

• Michigan has offered transfer portal target Tulsa WR Joseph Williams, who was the AAC Freshman of the Year.

• Will Johnson declared for the NFL Draft.  Congrats Will and thank you again for picking Michigan.  

• Former Wolverine WR Andrel Anthony is back in the transfer portal after 2 years of injuries at Oklahoma. 

• Reports are Brian Hartline interviewed for the West Virginia job.

Michigan Friday: The Curious Case on Karmello

There were two transfers after the National Championship game that concerned me.  #1 was Keon Sabb and #2 was Karmello English.  Both have ties to Alabama.  Keon reportedly took $2M to transfer to Alabama and Karmello was a 4 star WR from Phenix City, Alabama.  Keon was rumored to be having 2nd thoughts after Moore's injury and I've been waiting for English to pick a team. 

He finally did in Division 2 West Georgia.  Now the Division 2 part is not 100% fair because that program is moving to the FCS next season. Karmello played last season getting 68 snaps in 7 games and had a TD catch against IU.  So what would drive a freshman to leave a program where he contributed and they just won a Championship?   Not to mention, that needs WR's?  Your guess is as good as mine.  

Good luck Karmello!

• Michigan has a nice list of official visitors this weekend, led by current commits Nate Marshall, Carter Smith, and Bobby Kanka.  Michigan is dazzling recruits with cookie cakes upon arrival to their hotel.

• Welcome to the world Summer Elizabeth Sainristil!

• Did the Lakers hire JJ Reddick to be the coach or a shooter off the bench? They need a shooter more than a head coach. 

• If I see one more Wink - Don Brown comparison, I'm going to throw up. 

• Phil Steele has Michigan #9 in pre-season ranking.

• Michigan is going to do a stripe out for the USC game .  Even sections where Blue, odd Maize. 

Wolverine Wednesday: Mid-Week News and Notes

• Michigan games times are starting to leak out.  The latest is CBS covering USC - Michigan at 3:30.  Nice to give USC a time clock adjustment.  OSU time and network was also announced but that is a no-brainer. 

• Grand Valley DT transfer portal prospect Jay'viar Suggs is planning to announce his decision today between LSU, UK, Wisconsin, and Michigan.  Suggs will be a graduate transfer,, he played at GVSU for 5 years with the last two as a starter.  His stats are 14.5 TFL's, and 8 sacks over those 2 years. 

• New Cowboys DC says he will take things back to basics with Mazi and make him into the player he was at Michigan.  Mazi had shoulder surgery in the off season and maybe a reason he had a poor rookie year. 

• Doug Gottlieb takes the Green Bay Basketball Head Coaching Job.  I wonder where he going to play Jordan Love?

• Netflix has secured the NFL Christmas Day games.  Sorry NBA.

Michigan Tuesday: Hat Tip to Trente Jones

Trente Jones was signed by the Green Bay Packers as a UDFA recently and was named by PFF as the top UDFA to watch.  As a reminder, he started 14 games on the offensive line in 4 years as a Wolverine.  He completed rookie mini camp with the Packers earlier this month and then retired on Monday.  

Per Trente, he has a back issue that will not allow him to continue to play football.  He is a very smart kid and had a perfect 4.0 grade point at Michigan.  He is also getting his Masters Degree in Social Work in Ann Arbor which seems to be his passion. 

Congratulations to Trente on gaining clarity on what's important to him and having a successful college football career.  Best of luck to you 3-time Big Ten Champion and National Champion! 

• Goff can now buy a golf course with that new contract! 

• Times are starting to be announced for next season.
• Michigan opener is a 7:30 kick at NBC against Fresno State 
• Noon Games for Texas and Ohio State on Fox 

• In sad news, Denard is no longer employed by the University of Michigan and the investigation into his drunk driving incident continues.

Michigan Monday: A Too Early Look at IU and Next Year's Schedule

Let's start out with the 2024 schedule first.  Most college football analysts believe Michigan is a good team this year with one caveat, "they haven't played anyone yet".   That will not be the case next season as Michigan will play a boat load of good teams in the new Big Ten. 

In 2024 (AP rankings are current of this week): Michigan will play #7 Washington, #8 Oregon, #9 Texas, #10 USC, and of course #3 OSU.  The one missing conference rival is Penn State who is not on Michigan's schedule next season.  I knew Michigan was going to have a difficult path in this new league, as everyone wants made for TV match-ups with big names.  The good news is Michigan has most of these games at home next season.  Also keep an eye on when they release the dates of this game, I wonder if the Big Ten will be able to continue to keep the traditional Michigan - OSU game as the last regular season game of the year under this new format.  

Deep thought: Could Michigan be breaking in a new QB and 2 new RB's with that schedule next season?

Now on to Indiana this week:

This game every year has always been weird. Many times, been tougher than it should have been.  I don't have that same fear this year.  IU fired its OC last week prior to their bye week. 

Record: 2-3 Best Win: Akron - Losses: OSU, Louisville, and Maryland

Pass: 224 yards per (77th)

Run: 110 (115th)

Score: 20.8 points (114th)

Give up: 24.4 points (65th)

When you score less than you give up, there is a problem.  IU did play OSU tough for the first game of the year but since then it's been a disappointment with only wins over Akron and Indiana State.

Michigan Tuesday: Cade's Injury

Cade suffered what looked to be a lower leg, non-contact injury on Saturday night as he was scrambling out of the end zone.   If you remember Cade had an injury at Michigan last year and went to a surgeon in LA to fix it.  During Iowa's fall camp he was running during a scrimmage and looked to have hurt himself again. 

I have mentioned it here a number of times, but I felt Cade has not been close to healthy and probably hasn't been since late in the 2021 season.  He looked limited against Georgia in the CFP and was not sharp at all to start the 2022 season.   At Iowa, he seemed to have trouble moving in the pocket and stepping into throws to get the ball downfield. 

Now many outlets are reporting that lower leg injury will keep Cade out for the year.  Most speculate it's a knee, when I saw it happen, I thought it was an Achillies.  The expectation is Kirk Ferentz will give everyone an update today during his weekly press conference.

Cade has been a little bit full of piss and vinegar since he left Ann Arbor towards his former team, but I don't think any of us wanted to see him go out with an injury.  Hopefully, he can heal up and get another year of college football. 

• IU at Michigan will be a noon kick on Fox

• Jadyn Davis is putting on show in his final year of high school football.  Per Max Preps, he has completed 78% of his passes, thrown 21 TD's, with 0 interceptions.  Great to see Michigan will be in great hands at the QB position moving forward! 

Michigan Friday: Champions of the West

Times, they are a changing and USC & UCLA will be joining the Big Ten schedule in 2024.   Of course, being the #1 brand name in the conference the Wolverines are going to get both of them that season and will host UCLA and travel to USC.   MSU plays neither and has been relegated to the MAC.  😀 Michigan will also host Maryland, Minnesota, MSU and Wisconsin.  Travel to Illinois, Rutgers, and Ohio State.  (You might notice, no Penn State).  Ohio State hosts UCLA but does not have USC on the schedule. 

The Big Ten is also doing away with conferences in a 9-game schedule.  I really don't want to see back-to-back Michigan vs. Ohio State games, one in conference and another in Indy for the Big Ten Championship.   Could they even play 3 times? Conference, BIG10 Championship, CFP?  Let's not dilute the best rivalry in sports. 

• Brett McMurphy who broke the Michigan - USC & UCLA schedule news also reported that AAU membership is not a pre-requisite for entry into the Big Ten. 

• Michigan has another big visit weekend on tap: Michah Ka'apana 3-star RB, I'Marion Stewart 4-star WR, Dominic Nichols 4-star DE, Owen Wafle (House) 4-star DT, and Deyvid Palepale 3-star DT.

• Basketball transfers Alabama Nimari Burnett and TN Olivier Nkamhoua are both officially enrolled 

 

Michigan Thursday: Do Wolverines and Peacocks Mix?

As we keep mentioning here on the BHB, word is NBC is pissed at the Big Ten because of its late November no night game rule.  As I posted yesterday, they are also starting the season with 3 bad primetime games (I guess WVU @ PSU is not bad).  MSU and Penn State also threw NBC a bone as they will play on Black Friday in Detroit at Ford Field.  

Now, in what I can only consider another concession to NBC, Michigan's opener against East Carolina (𝅘𝅥𝅮 good times never seem so good) is going to be on the NBC streaming service Peacock.  Sign up and watch Michigan Football and re-runs of Law and Order.   I don't love this; in fact, I don't like it all. 

Michigan first 4 games times and TV:

East Carolina Noon Peacock 

UNLV 3:30 CBS 

Bowling Green 7:30 BTN

Rutgers Noon (TBD) 

Those are 4 games that should have a noon start and BGSU in primetime, is just silly.   That is just BTN getting its Michigan primetime game before the inventory dries up.  

• Pistons pay a ton of money to an NBA coach that couldn't win with CP3, KD, and Book.  Good luck with the Pistons roster. 

• Speaking of basketball, with guys pulling out of the NBA Draft last night hopefully open a few opportunities for Juwan to grab a few transfers.  Michigan Basketball needs them or next season is going to be rough. 

• Ray J is expected to announce his transfer decision at noon today.  Michigan is not expected to be a factor in his decision.  

• Michigan is favored by 36.5 points against ECU

Michigan Friday: Longhorns in the Big House

As you might have seen in the news on Thursday, Texas and OU are heading to the SEC a year earlier than expected, now on 7/1/2024.  The issue was working out the money and making a schedule change.  

I had totally forgotten about an agreement struck in 2014 that Michigan and Texas were going to do a home and home.  Michigan was to travel to Austin in 2024 and then Texas to Ann Arbor in 2027. There are some TV rights on the line here and now those games have been flipped.  Texas will be coming to Ann Arbor in 2024 and Michigan to Austin in 2027.   Which could be the start of the Arch Manning era in Texas, as he is expected to sit behind Ewers this season. 

I hope Jayden Davis is aware of this game and potential match-up with Manning.  Regular non-conference games don't get bigger than this. 

If you've ever wondered about the power or reach of Michigan Football.  This is a great example of one game being a key factor in two teams moving conferences outside the Big Ten. 

• Hutch lost the NFL Defensive Rookie of the year award to Sauce Gartner, which was expected.  He did win the Pepsi Rookie of the year award, which is voted on by the fans.  It's clear who the people's champion is! 

• Good Luck to all the Wolverines playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday! 

Big Ten Preview Week 9

The Big Ten has another 5 games this weekend.  With plenty of story lines like: Will Penn State play with OSU?  Can Iowa's offense score against Northwestern?  Will Illinois continue its win streak and beat Nebraska? There is also an in-state rivalry game.  

#2 OSU (-15.5) @ #13 PSU: You know what I think about Franklin.  I don't care much for Ryan Day either, but the guy can coach while buying hair dye by the gallon.   I think a really good defense can give OSU some issues but Penn State doesn't have the talent.  This game might be close in the 1st quarter and boat race after.  OSU 51 PSU 21

#17 Illinois (-7.5) @ Nebraska: Is Illinois for real? Can Nebraska still compete for a bowl game?  Every time I think a Big Ten West team is about to step up, they fall.  Not this week.  Illinios 21 Nebraska 10

Northwestern @ Iowa: The Wildcats have yet to win in the USA this season, but Iowa is the laughing stock of the nation.  Both head coaches should shake hands, resign, and join the Big Ten Network after the game.  Iowa 7 Northwestern 3 

(Quick trivia question: Iowa has the 2nd worst offense in the nation, any guess who is the head coach of the worst? ---- Correct!  Don Brown)

Rutgers @ Minnesota (-14): The funny thing about this game is that it kicks off at 2:30 EST.  Minnesota is still struggling with the turn of the calendar from September to October.  They find a way to win this one.  Minnesota 28 Rutgers 20

• Michigan's 2023 Football schedule was released yesterday:

Michigan Tuesday: Dent Commits and An Early Look at Northwestern

Michigan landed a 3 star Safety from Florida on Monday named Damani Dent.  D2 is 6'0 and 190 pounds and has an offer list that includes:  MAC type team, Oregon, and Pitt.   The star gazers won't like this pick-up as he is rated the 97th Safety and 1408th player ranked in the country.   But that doesn't matter when the Michigan coaches find a player they like.  Hassan Haskins was one of the lowest rated players in his class.  

D2 plays both ways for his high school in Jacksonville and 3 positions at WR, CB, and Safety.  Most expect him to project to Safety in Ann Arbor.   Welcome Double D! 

Now lets look at Northwestern:

Record: 3-3 

Best win: Rutgers 

Pass: 203 yards per - 95th 

Run: 171 yards per - 55th 

They score: 21 per - 212th 

Give up: 23 per - 69th

Per Pat Fitzgerald:  Michigan is by far the best team the 'Cats will have played so far this year. "From what I've seen on film this year, it's not even close."

Why is that statement important? Northwestern lost to MSU week 1.

This is not the team that went to the (7-2) Big Ten Championship game last year and played OSU tough for a half and beat Auburn in a Bowl Game. Their wins this year are against the likes of Indiana State, Ohio, and Rutgers. Yes, they are coming off a win and can't be taken lightly, mostly with MSU next weekend and already talking Smack.

• Taylor Lewan was carted off last night with what looked like a serious neck/head injury.  Lets hope he is ok. 

• MSU will be a noon kick on FOX.  I think MSU fans wanted a night game on ABC/ESPN so they could get Game Day.  Most expect Game Day to head to Ohio State for the PSU night game.   Fox has the World Series. 

Michigan Friday: Expectations

We all had expectations at the beginning of the season.  Being undefeated at the halfway point probably beat most Michigan fans expectations outside of Schembecler Hall.   Here are the areas where Michigan either beat, met, or is less then my expectation when the season began. 

Record: 6-0 

This record beat my expectation starting the season.  I had Michigan 5-1 with a loss to Wisconsin on the road.   The must wins of Washington and Nebraska was hit and Michigan winning on the road in Madison for the first time in 20 years is a huge plus.   Moving forward I had MSU chalked up as a win and now that one is highly in doubt.   I also still have concerns at Penn State at night and that team Michigan finishes the year against. 

Offense:

This position group has met my expectation at mid year.  I thought Michigan would be a power running team with a good deep offensive line.  Cade would be a game manager and I had concerns about the WR position.  Ronnie Bell looked like an All American in his limited time against WMU and others have stepped up.   Blake Corum is going to be a superstar.   JJ and Donovan Edwards are getting good reps.  Michigan will have to pass to win football games as the solid defenses left on the schedule will not let Michigan run the ball right at them.   We need big production at TE and WR health is going to be an issue.   I've been very happy with Cade's deep ball even though it wasn't great against Nebraska.  Would like to see a true freshman WR to surprise us in the 2nd half. 

Defense:

This position group has beat my expectation.  This unit was horrific last season and Mike Macdonald has done a tremendous job playing zone and keeping the action in front of them.   The defensive line play has been a pleasant surprise as Hutch might be the best defender in college football.  Mazi Smith and Chris Hinton are greatly improved and David Ojabo is really becoming a strong pass rusher.    Dax is an All American and the safeties are playing at a high level with Brad Hawkins winning play against Nebraska.   The CB's seem a little scary still but improving each week.   I know transfer big man nose tackle Jordan Whittley has been banged up, but would like to see him more in the 2nd half of the season to stuff the run.    This unit will be the difference between making it to Indy or not.  

Special Teams:

This unit has beat my expectations.  Moody and Robbins have done a great job at kicking field goals and punting.  Outside the bizarro Rutgers 2nd half, those two guys have been excellent.   Kickoff return is good with Blake Corum, but punt return is still a bit of a concern after Ronnie went down.   I think AJ will be fine, but lacks confidence in catching the ball with some punts.   I'm worried that a muffed punt will change a close game.  

Coaching:

100% improvement everywhere.  The team is "jumping around" and having fun playing football.  They are focused and playing winning football.  The new hires have made a huge impact to my eyes.  

Michigan will have a very difficult road to Indy as they have 3 top 10 teams out of the 6 remaining games.  2 out of those 3 games will be on the road against an instate rival and a white out at Penn State.  

• The Michigan Coaching Staff has been on the road this week, watching games of commits and guys they are still chasing.  

• Jimmy and staff are making 5 star 2023 QB Dante Moore from Detroit King a major priority in the next class:  “They always text me,” Moore said. “Coach (Jim) Harbaugh has been texting me every week. Coach (Ron) Bellamy, Coach Clink (Steve Clinkscale) and Coach (Matt) Weiss always talk to me. I’m enjoying my talks with them. Michigan was the first school to put me on the watch list in seventh grade. I appreciate them.” “It’s crazy hearing from a head coach every week, especially Coach Harbaugh” Moore said. “It’s phenomenal. I’m enjoying talking to him every week. It’s a great process. He’s doing a great job at Michigan and is turning things around.”