UW needs to make a lot of changes, starting with the QB. He can't have any confidence right now.
Also need to make changes on the OL.
This team has not looked this bad since 2001 - the last time UW missed a bowl game.
Michigan rolls.
Michigan QB McNamara didn't look the same Saturday after he was "targeted."LOL. He attempted 6 passes in the entire 2nd half. SIX PASSES. Give me a freaking break on how he looked or didn't look. That is nowhere near enough attempts to glean anything.
do you think they bench Mertz? And if so, who is next in line?Chase Wolf is QB2. I don't think he's very good.
Speaking of OL, what's going on with the OMERG FIVE STARZZZ OL's Brown & Ricci? Any way either of them get some action?
Still don't think Michigan rolls. Tardbaugh is stuck in the stone age. That offense ain't going to move the ball at all on Wisconsin. It will be a very close game.
Do you think they bench Mertz for Wolf? And why isn’t Brown starting? He was such a stud in HS.Mertz is listed as the starter this week.
Mertz is listed as the starter this week.Mertz is the only reason why I'm giving Michigan a shot in this game. Not confident in anything, especially after that pathetic 2nd half vs Rutgers.
Brown was hurt in his first year and lost a year of development. He'll start next year after the two seniors leave.
Do you think they bench Mertz for Wolf? And why isn’t Brown starting? He was such a stud in HS.No. Because Wolf ain’t great.
Both teams are going to sell out to stop the run.Think you mean McNamara.
Mertz throws picks. McCarthy doesn't.
UW gives up a KR or PR.
Ballgame.
Wisconsin's D is giving up an average of 1 yard per rush. When you take out the three pick 6s and the punt return the Badger's defense gives up about 11 points per game. Remarkable given the competition.Wisconsin defense is excellent. No denying that. Only thing McNamara will have to do imo is not turn it over and convert some tough 3rd downs when needed.
Michigan QB McNamara will need to pass for around 200 yards this weekend while under pressure to beat the Badgers. Likewise, Michigan's D needs to pressure Mertz because he throws the ball very well when he has time.
Think you mean McNamara.Yes.
Kinda what I'm thinking, but Harbaugh is notorious for shitting the bed on the road and Camp Randall is a tough ass place to play. Don't love Michigan's chances in this, tell you that right now.
Yes.I was gonna say, McCarthy would have trouble tossing picks from the bench
recruiting stars aren't always trueQBs, agreed. Trenches, yes. WRs, usually are. Michigan has developed a ton of front 7 guys. I think they've exceeded their stars there. QBs, meh. I agree, WRs are the biggest issue. Their route running development is abysmal. Is Harbaugh's unqualified son still the WR coach?
UW needs an OL coach.IMO, that's the most important position coach.
They have a great one on staff, coaching the MLB's...
How much of OL play is ...Development.
strength
weight
technique
understanding the scheme
speed
arm lemgth
holding without holding
luck
Development.Exactly.
| #14 Michigan Wolverines (1-0, 4-0) at Wisconsin Badgers (0-1, 1-2) |
| NOON - Madison, WI - FOX |
| If you squint hard enough, the Michigan team that takes the field in Madison will look a whole lot like the Badgers teams we've grown accustomed to. The Wolverines went from running the ball just 43.77% of the time in 2020, second lowest in the Big Ten, to 73.71% this year, 4th highest in the nation, and the highest of any non service academy. So far, so good. But against Rutgers, we finally saw the chinks in the armor. The Wolverines didn't score a touchdown over the final 44:40 game time, and didn't just not score in the second half, they only picked up one first down over the final 35 minutes. But, Michigan had a three score lead, and still didn't HAVE to pass their way out of it. How good is Cade McNamera? Tough to say. He hasn't attempted enough passes to qualify for a QBR rating. Northwestern's Hunter Johnson is last in the Big Ten, and has been benched in multiple games, but has thrown enough passes to qualify. Speaking of bad, but qualifying quarterbacks, Wisconsin has Graham Mertz. PAA, a stat which accounts for how many points a quarterback is responsible for, compared to a replacement level quarterback (think baseball WAR, for QBs), and Mertz is dead last in the FBS at -20.8. But that can be some bad luck. Nope. In terms of expected points added, he is also dead last in the FBS, at -13.7. He is the only quarterback in the Big Ten that actually has a negative expected points added on passing downs. So why even think Bucky has a chance? Well, first, Michigan hasn't won in Madison since 2001. In 2001, Jim Harbaugh was still a backup quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, and Cade McNamera was 1 year old. Second, Rutgers was able to greatly slow down the Wolverines offense by just stopping the run. Michigan's leading receiver in terms of yardage did so on one reception (51 yards). The rushing attack was held to just 2.9 ypc, and even in a blowout loss last week, Wisconsin held Notre Dame to just 9 yards on 33 carries. The problem is Rutgers also turned the ball over just once. Wisconsin has struggled to run the ball, and Mertz has struggled to not throw interceptions when he's had to throw it, one of only two Power 5 quarterbacks averaging an interception on over 7% of his pass attempts. And let's not go into Florida State, whose the only other one. |
| MICHIGAN 28, WISCONSIN 20 |
I posted here at the time, that I wasn't sure what to make of him. He literally pancaked his man on every play. He wasn't going to be able to do that at the next level, and I never saw him do anything else. All of these FBS lineman can whip guys around in high school. They are 300+ lb dudes, frequently lined up across from 220 pound kids. Speed translates. All of these skill position players are also faster than the guys guarding them, but you can get measurables. Vision, with RBs, is often tough to translate. But if a WR is fast, and has good hands, that works. With linemen, these guys are all stronger than 95% of the guys they line up against, and almost never have good technique.Yep. Same issue you see in basketball with big men. When you're 7' and you've literally never been guarded by anyone over 6'8" in your HS career, transitioning into the Big Ten and walking onto the court across from Kofi Cockburn is a bit of a shock lol.
Yep. Same issue you see in basketball with big men. When you're 7' and you've literally never been guarded by anyone over 6'8" in your HS career, transitioning into the Big Ten and walking onto the court across from Kofi Cockburn is a bit of a shock lol.Really it is true across the board. The athletes we cheer for in CFP and CBB at this level are INCREDIBLY elite. In HS they were:
So, 3 pick-6's from Mertz, and a PR or KR for TD?
#14 Michigan Wolverines (1-0, 4-0) at Wisconsin Badgers (0-1, 1-2) NOON - Madison, WI - FOX If you squint hard enough, the Michigan team that takes the field in Madison will look a whole lot like the Badgers teams we've grown accustomed to. The Wolverines went from running the ball just 43.77% of the time in 2020, second lowest in the Big Ten, to 73.71% this year, 4th highest in the nation, and the highest of any non service academy. So far, so good. But against Rutgers, we finally saw the chinks in the armor. The Wolverines didn't score a touchdown over the final 44:40 game time, and didn't just not score in the second half, they only picked up one first down over the final 35 minutes. But, Michigan had a three score lead, and still didn't HAVE to pass their way out of it. How good is Cade McNamera? Tough to say. He hasn't attempted enough passes to qualify for a QBR rating. Northwestern's Hunter Johnson is last in the Big Ten, and has been benched in multiple games, but has thrown enough passes to qualify. Speaking of bad, but qualifying quarterbacks, Wisconsin has Graham Mertz. PAA, a stat which accounts for how many points a quarterback is responsible for, compared to a replacement level quarterback (think baseball WAR, for QBs), and Mertz is dead last in the FBS at -20.8. But that can be some bad luck. Nope. In terms of expected points added, he is also dead last in the FBS, at -13.7. He is the only quarterback in the Big Ten that actually has a negative expected points added on passing downs. So why even think Bucky has a chance? Well, first, Michigan hasn't won in Madison since 2001. In 2001, Jim Harbaugh was still a backup quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, and Cade McNamera was 1 year old. Second, Rutgers was able to greatly slow down the Wolverines offense by just stopping the run. Michigan's leading receiver in terms of yardage did so on one reception (51 yards). The rushing attack was held to just 2.9 ypc, and even in a blowout loss last week, Wisconsin held Notre Dame to just 9 yards on 33 carries. The problem is Rutgers also turned the ball over just once. Wisconsin has struggled to run the ball, and Mertz has struggled to not throw interceptions when he's had to throw it, one of only two Power 5 quarterbacks averaging an interception on over 7% of his pass attempts. And let's not go into Florida State, whose the only other one. MICHIGAN 28, WISCONSIN 20
UW needs an OL coach.Ironically, they seem to have pretty good MLBs.
They have a great one on staff, coaching the MLB's...
Ironically, they seem to have pretty good MLBs.I think Bostad could coach any position. He's just a great coach.
(They also have the issue that Chryst likes the OL coach and the TE coach, so the natural shuffling point is an issue)
Well, it can be very hard, but that's why they have things like Elite 11 camps for QBs, like AAU ball in basketball, etc. It's why big schools will sponsor their own football and basketball camps, why former pros will set up camps (and invite recruiters), etc.I mean, at a certain point, they're all kids, and that's just kinda the long and short of it.
But it's also why there's groupthink in recruiting. I.e. if a recruit is getting attention from Bama and OSU but they're rated as a 3*, sometimes they'll get a ratings bump because the ratings folks suddenly think they MUST have missed something.
It's why basketball players who (for injury or other reasons) miss a summer of AAU ball often fly under the radar recruiting-wise because they weren't "seen". It's also why some players get huge boosts from their AAU success but then fall flat in real college basketball, because the style of play in AAU is all about scoring and not so much about disciplined team basketball. Heck, it's one of the reasons that Purdue has beaten IU in basketball for going on 5 years straight. IU often gets those AAU stars but hasn't excelled at putting together a basketball team, whereas Painter is extremely good at identifying high-BBIQ players who may not have the same physical gifts and teaching them how to work well together.
Recruiters are right more often than they're wrong, but it's an inexact science and always will be. Heck, the NFL draft gets it right more than it gets it wrong, but it's an equally inexact science.
I think Bostad could coach any position. He's just a great coach.Also a sligt issue with the UW player to coach pipeline.
And yeah. It's hard to fire your buddies, but it's time.
QBs, agreed. Trenches, yes. WRs, usually are. Michigan has developed a ton of front 7 guys. I think they've exceeded their stars there. QBs, meh. I agree, WRs are the biggest issue. Their route running development is abysmal. Is Harbaugh's unqualified son still the WR coach?Definitely agree with you on a lot of this. And Michigan has been great during the Harbaugh era with front 7 dudes. And the development of WR's has been ass. They've had plenty of talent there, just could never get it polished up and could never develop a legit QB & passing game to feature the WR talent.
There is NO WAY Wiconin beats Michigan.your magic will not work here gypsy....shoe....shoeeeee.
NO
WAY
Well, it can be very hard, but that's why they have things like Elite 11 camps for QBs, like AAU ball in basketball, etc. It's why big schools will sponsor their own football and basketball camps, why former pros will set up camps (and invite recruiters), etc.I get that but I think the hardest part would have to be that since basically none of these kids have played regularly against equals it would be simply impossible to determine which ones will figure it out and which ones will not. A camp is one thing but it is a few days or a week. If you are slightly more physically gifted than I am, you are probably going to look better at that week-long camp but if our reactions are:
But it's also why there's groupthink in recruiting. I.e. if a recruit is getting attention from Bama and OSU but they're rated as a 3*, sometimes they'll get a ratings bump because the ratings folks suddenly think they MUST have missed something.
It's why basketball players who (for injury or other reasons) miss a summer of AAU ball often fly under the radar recruiting-wise because they weren't "seen". It's also why some players get huge boosts from their AAU success but then fall flat in real college basketball, because the style of play in AAU is all about scoring and not so much about disciplined team basketball. Heck, it's one of the reasons that Purdue has beaten IU in basketball for going on 5 years straight. IU often gets those AAU stars but hasn't excelled at putting together a basketball team, whereas Painter is extremely good at identifying high-BBIQ players who may not have the same physical gifts and teaching them how to work well together.
Recruiters are right more often than they're wrong, but it's an inexact science and always will be. Heck, the NFL draft gets it right more than it gets it wrong, but it's an equally inexact science.
Wisconsin favored by 2 points. Jim Harbuagh is 0-12 as an underdog. OH and Twelve. That is pathetic. Truly. Have a hard time seeing that changing. Dude is just a shit coach. Wisconsin wins by 1 pt on a crazy play- I'll say a blocked punt or FG attempt- in a low scoring scrum.Was he not an underdog when he collected his lone top ten win against Notre Dame?
Was he not an underdog when he collected his lone top ten win against Notre Dame?no, Michigan was a home 1.5 point favorite day of.
Highly rated QB not working out? Join the club. Probationary status of course.But boy when the highly rated ones work out- they really do.
no, Michigan was a home 1.5 point favorite day of.https://twitter.com/CaesarsSports/status/1444055351553318912?s=19
Is Bo Nix a 5 star?Bo Nix sucks. He cannot throw the football down the field accurately to save his life. This should be THE NUMBER ONE THING the sites look at when they try to rank QB's.
Mert actually started to look decent today, when he was given the toys he needs to succeed.Allen was Wisconsin's best back imo.
I don't need to see Chez Melussi at RB anymore. Give me Berger, Allen and Guerrendo - in that order.
Forget about Jack Dunn, and even Danny Davis. I want more Chimre Dike.
Time for the OL to be Brown, Wedig, Tippman, Nelson and Rucci. Let 'em take their lumps and dominate next season.
That would be 5*, 4*, 4*, 5* and 5* across the front. Do it.
Allen was Wisconsin's best back imo.People say this often, and I often thing we lack imagination.
IF they don't give Logan Brown a shot after Beach getting torn up like that- wonder if he's like F this and hits the portal. He literally cannot be any worse than Beach.
I don't see how he could be worse right now. Beach is a turnstile.Jeff at the MSJ said without saying it on the other board. Kid ain’t ready. For whatever reason.
Not being ready in year three (I know he was injured prior to his FR season) is not a good thing, and it's a bad look for his OL coach.Eh. I'd say when you have the history of production at the position that Wisconsin has, failure to develop is on the kid, not the coach. If it's a trend across multiple players, then it looks bad on the coach.
Eh. I'd say when you have the history of production at the position that Wisconsin has, failure to develop is on the kid, not the coach. If it's a trend across multiple players, then it looks bad on the coach.Yes.