MGoPodcast 16.4: Mike Hart But Huge

MGoBlog: The MGoPodcast

2 hours and 18 minutes

The Sponsors

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1. Offense vs USC

Starts at 1:00

Who’s the biggest Kalel Mullings Stan?? Doesn’t matter, we were RIGHT. Where does Kalel’s big run rank among all time Michigan runs in terms of skill? Max Bredeson got his quintessential kick-out block on the touchdown that we will remember him by. It’s great to see Kalel do all of this despite how long he had to wait. The urgency of winning a national title is gone but we still have these stories of the players. Was that run what propels this team into the rest of the season? Orji was under siege pretty much every time he dropped back to pass, the pass blocking PFF grades aren’t pretty. The game plan wasn’t the greatest and they could probably utilize Orji better. The coaching staff might’ve gotten arrogant coming off a national championship season. Donovan Edwards had a lot of snaps but did it keep Kalel fresh for the final drive? He’s still a home run threat. Oh no we’re back in the police car in Fargo.

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

2. Defense vs USC

Starts at 45:22

This team feels like it has six or seven NFL players and those players are why Michigan won this game. Five of those are on defense. The defense played really well and USC's good things that happened were Wink doing dumb stuff. Michigan's ability to weather the second half was encouraging. Will Johnson left the game but apparently could have returned according to Sherrone (then why didn't he?). Linebackers played well for the most part. "Hausmann is Devin Bush but big" is mostly out the door.

3. Hot Takes, Game Theory, and Special Teams

Starts at 1:12:43

Takes hotter than the servers hosting the Kalel Mullings fan club. Tommy Doman is back and the punters on every one of Michigan's opponents are awesome. Do you go for the kick return out of the endzone? Where else are the yards coming from? The urgency to score at the end of the game was poor but that's what happens with a QB's first start and when you can only run. 3rd down decision making is tough when you can't throw downfield. Michigan nailed the stripe-out and the atmosphere was electric.

4. Around the Big Ten with Jamie Mac
Starts at 1:43:58
Penn State 56, Kent State 0
Penn State set a program record for yards.
Indiana 52, Charlotte 14
Indiana is #1 in EPA per play!
Ohio State 49, Marshall 14
Another non-conference blowout, meh.
Maryland 38, Villanova 20
328 passing yards for Maryland is solid against a good FCS team.
Washington 24, Northwestern 5
Yards were 391 to 112, Northwestern's offense is baaaad. -1 EPA per drop back.
Rutgers 26, Virginia Tech 23
Rutgers outgains Virginia Tech by about 100 yards.
LSU 34, UCLA 17
Not many people are expecting much from UCLA at this point after getting dunked on by Indiana. It was 17-17 at halftime, though.
Iowa 31, Minnesota 14
Cade McNamara gets 62 passing yards and shows that he can lead block.
Michigan State 19, Boston College 23
Aidan Chiles gets 241 passing yards and three interceptions. Sometimes this MSU teams looks like they're ahead of schedule and sometimes they just do something ridiculously bad.
Oregon State 38, Purdue 21
Purdue is Wisconsin lite.
Illinois 31, Nebraska 24 (OT)
Nebraska has gone eight (8!!) straight OTs without scoring points.

MUSIC:

• "With a Little Luck"--Wings
• "Devil's Gate"--Prof
• "Big White Cloud"--JJ Cale
• "Shameful Game"--Pale Jay