Michigan Tuesday: Will The Drake Be Open For Another Year?

Drake Johnson the pride of Pioneer High School has had a rough ride at U of M.   He has blown out two ACL's and been run over by a fork lift in the track and field building.   He has not seen the field this year and speculation was that he was going to try to get a 6th year.   If there is anyone that deserves another year in college, it's Drake Johnson.   Jimmy confirmed last night that they are going to seek approval for a 6th year for Drake.   Michigan will lose Smith to graduation but will have a group of very good running backs including; Ty Isaac, Karan Higdon, Chris Evans, Kareem Walker, Kingston Davis, and the signees from the 2017 recruiting class. 

We know Jimmy and Wheat like to use a number of running backs and having Drake on the team is a positive thing,even if there is plenty of options on the depth chart.  I hope the Big Ten and NCAA approves this request.


TomVH has a nice update on Ambry Thomas who is one of the best instate athletes in this class and continues to be a high priority for Michigan.   MSU says he is the top player on their board, which has to sound pretty good to a 17 year old.   He also wants to try to take an official to Florida, Arizona, and Pitt before making his decision.   He is planning on enrolling early, so a decision will have to come in the next month or so.   This could be a Jourdan Lewis type of player and I hope he sees himself in that role in the future. 

"There's a lot of opportunity for me up at Michigan State," Thomas said. "I would say right now Michigan and Michigan State have the lead and I can't tell which one leads out of the two. I know I can play early at MSU, but I know at Michigan they're winning and they're going to continue to win." Thomas said he feels Michigan can provide him a lot after football as well, but he also knows Michigan State is just having a bad year and will bounce back.

• Jimmy says that Mike Onwenu will stay on offense.  

• Last weekend visitor OL Aaron Banks will announce between December 4th and December 18th.

I forget to include the look ahead in Monday's Post, so I have included it today!

Iowa is 5-4 with their best win coming over Minnesota.  Their worst loss was against NSDU (which is a pretty good team) they also beat Rutgers 14-7.

Rushing Yards rank: 93rd
Passing Yards rank: 106th
Points For: 82th
Points Against: 24th 

So they play a little defense but don't do too much on the offensive side of the ball.   They really should go ahead and extend contract Kirk Ferentz for another 5 years!

Michigan is a 21 point favorite in the game

 

ESPN Big Ten Power Ranking = 7th

 

Michigan Monday: Where I'm Concerned & Where I'm Not

Michigan dominated another opponent on Saturday afternoon and now takes a trip to Iowa City, plays Indiana at home, and then travels to C-Bus.    Right now it looks like a Michigan vs. OSU battle for a trip to Indy for the Big Ten Championship game for a re-match with Wisconsin. 

With two difficult road games and a team that always plays Michigan hard on the schedule it's time for me to put my concerns on the table! 


I'm not concerned with

• The play of our QB.  I was very worried about Wilton being able to beat OSU a few weeks ago.  He looks like a different player after the bye week.

• How Iowa plays:  They continue to be a very vanilla offense.  Which plays right into Michigan's strength on defense.

• Indiana played OSU and Nebraska close but just won a 33-27 game over Rutgers this weekend.  I also like playing a spread team before the trip to C-Bus.

I am concerned with

• Ohio State's JT Barrett:  It's now clear OSU plays the way JT plays.  If JT is off in the passing game, OSU can struggle.  If JT is accurate and scrambling on 3rd downs, they are very difficult to beat.   Those third down scrambles very much worry me. 

• Iowa's night time temperature and weather.   It's clear Michigan is the better team as Iowa got handled by Penn State this past weekend.   If the weather is cold, it could help level the playing field.   Right now the weather looks like low 40's and high 30's during the game with no rain or snow.

• If Michigan is lucky enough to get to the playoffs, I hope they don't see Alabama until the Championship game.   That defense is very good.

Side Note:  There are two teams that are winless in the Big Ten:  Rutgers and Michigan State.   How Sparty plays like they did a week ago against Michigan and then lose to Illinois is beyond me.   Rutgers and MSU play this weekend to see who gets the W.   Sparty finishes the year playing OSU and PSU.   Yikes! 

Maryland Post Game

David Guralnick: Detnews

DJ Durkin was smiling most of the game on the Maryland sideline.  Was it because he knew his team had no shot at winning or was it that he knew deep down inside that he helped build this monster?   I'm going with the latter.  

There isn't much to say about the game yesterday.  It was another complete dominance of another team.   It will be interesting to see if Michigan can do it against the cold, night, road game against Iowa next weekend.  

It was also nice to see Smith break a 100 yards and Jehu getting back on track with a nice game.

Bullets of Dominance:

Michigan first downs:  31
Rushing Yards: 271
Passing Yards: 387
Punts: 0
Wilton: 19-24 for 362 yards
Smith 19 for 114 yards
Chesson 5 for 112
Hill 2 picks
Butt 5 for 76 and now is the #1 TE in yards at Michigan
Isaac 2 for 56 yards
Having the game out of hand at halftime:  Priceless

Wilton played nearly a perfect game.   My concern if the QB play is good enough to beat OSU, is no longer a concern.

Iowa got blown out by Penn State last night, OSU blew out Nebraska and MSU remains winless in Big Ten play.   Michigan's next 2 out of 3 games are on the road.  Time to take this show on the road!

Maryland Preview



funimageshow.blogspot.com

Time: 3:30
Location: Big House
TV: ESPN
Weather:  58 and 0% of Rain
Line: Michigan - 31

This is another very high betting line as Michigan comes in over a 4 TD favorite.   DJ will be playing against his mentor and will try to upset the #2 team in the country after losing a high scoring game to Indiana last week.   We know Michigan dominated an MSU team last week, but played poorly enough to keep them in shouting distance.    I hope MSU can build on what they consider a positive defeat to really beat Ohio State in a couple of weeks.

Tale of the Tape

Michigan vs. a 31 point spread = Michigan victory

Maryland has given up 1,285 yards on the ground over the last 4 games.   Michigan averages 250 yards per game on the ground.   We also know DJ will try to get it's defense to be as aggressive as possible and he is building a foundation for a solid team in a couple of years.   I expect DJ to stack the box to stop the run, but it shouldn't matter as a couple Wolverines RB's should go over the 100 yard mark. 


Say on to Iowa City if................................

• Michigan can run against 9 or 10 guys in the box
• Michigan can stop Maryland RB's Ty Johnson and Lorenzo Harrison
• The Michigan offenses puts up 40+
• Michigan doesn't punt

Yell the only good thing to come out of Maryland is Crabs if...........................

• Michigan hasn't fixed it's defensive issues from last week
• DJ is reading Michigan's mail
• The Michigan defense is giving up yards on the ground
• Michigan has a number of injuries

Maryland has been a nice surprise this year and one win away from a bowl game.   The issue is they play Michigan, Nebraska, and OSU the next 3 weeks.  They do get to finish against Rutgers, which should get them over the line.    

Maryland's QB Perry Hills is pretty accurate and hits 66% of this throws.  The Michigan defense has a little red ass from giving up too many yards and points against MSU last weekend.   I think they are going to do everything they can to pitch another shut out on Saturday.    I like Michigan running the ball like crazy and hitting Chesson on a couple deep balls.   Jehu has been quiet lately and is due for a big game.

Michigan 48 Maryland 7

Michigan Thursday: Big Ten Weekend Preview

This Big Ten weekend has some interesting match-ups, lets take a look:

Best Game:

Nebraska at OSU:  Both of these teams are 7-1 and need a win to compete for the division championship.   Many aren't buying Nebraska and they need a big time win.   Can it come this weekend?  I doubt it.  (even though I wish it would!) Vegas has OSU as a 17 point favorite.   OSU 38 PSU 28


Iowa at Penn State:  Somehow the College Playoff folks think Penn State is the 12th ranked team in the country.  I guess they didn't watch the Michigan game.   Penn State is trending up and Iowa seems to be treading water.   Michigan has to go to Iowa next weekend for a night game.   Penn State is over a touchdown favorite at 7.5.  That is too much.  Iowa 18 PSU 14


Wisconsin at Northwestern:  Be careful here Badgers.   I know you have been playing the AP Top 10 the last month but Northwestern is playing better football and could sneak out a win here.    Don't over look the Wildcats!  Vegas seems to agree as they are making Wisconsin only a 6.5 favorite.   Wisconsin 24 Northwestern 21

Purdue at Minnesota:  The Golden Gophers are a quiet 6-2, Purdue doesn't have a head coach.   Minnesota is a 17 point favorite.   Minn 38 Purdue 27

• Aubrey Solomon's mom has a 31 question excel worksheet for all schools on her son's top list.   Aubrey and his mom will visit Ann Arbor this weekend and the Wolverine coaches better have some answers!  

• DB Stanford Samuels might not make it to Michigan this weekend for his official visit.

• Michigan and Penn State are firmly against Friday Night games.  It would kill the entire recruiting weekend and it's difficult for fans.  So I agree with not doing Friday games.

Wolverine Wednesday: Michigan #3 in College Playoff Rankings

Michigan showed up in the top 4 College Playoff Rankings for the first time last night.   They are ranked #3 behind Alabama and Clemson.   I have no problem with the ranking, I think they probably should be #2, but #3 gets you invited to the party.  

Michigan has been taking a few lumps this year for an easy schedule.   That schedule doesn't look that easy anymore.  Michigan has wins over #15 Colorado, #12 Penn State, and #8 Wisconsin.   Michigan has yet to play to #6 Ohio State at the end of the year.   I wouldn't call that an easy schedule now.

Michigan has to take care of business this weekend against Maryland and the trip to Iowa City.  We also know what a difficult match-up IU can be.    If those games, go as planned the Wolverines will head to Columbus un-defeated for probably a play in game for the Big Ten Championship. 

Ohio State has another test this weekend, as they host a decent Nebraska team and also have trips to Maryland and MSU before Michigan comes to town.   Can OSU lose another game before Michigan?  Sure, the best chance is probably this weekend.  MSU always plays Ohio State tough as well.   I still don't know how MSU beat them last year. 

If OSU does lose another game and Michigan goes to Columbus un-defeated, Michigan will have already clinched the invite to the Big Ten Championship game for probably a game against Nebraska or a rematch against Wisconsin.  That would take some of the impact out of the game and just leave bragging rights for the rivalry.

This should be a fun month of football!

• Watching from Japan, Devin Gardner called out Dantonio on twitter for wearing the same type of outfit that Harbaugh sports every Saturday (and pretty much everyday).  For those of you that haven't heard, Devin and Jeremy Gallon are playing professional football in Japan this year. 

• Western Michigan put up 52 on Ball State last night.  PJ Fleck is about to get a huge payday.

• Michigan commit Corey Malone-Hatcher is playing in the first Polynesian Bowl All Star Game.   Smart kid to get a free trip to Hawaii!

• Michigan Basketball played a secret scrimmage against Akron last weekend.

• McDoom seemed to enjoy the Dooom chant from the fans at Spartan Stadium and his first rivalry game on Saturday.  "It was fun," McDoom said. "I was kind of talking trash to their fans a little bit. Enjoying the rivalry. Being able to make those big plays [in a big rivalry game], it was amazing to get the opportunity."

Michigan Tuesday: Jimmy Speaks and a Couple of Recruiting Tidbits

Here are some highlights from Jimmy's presser yesterday:

• Mone had a leg issues but came in Monday feeling good.
• Jimmy is happy for DJ and he has done a nice job this year with Maryland
• Jake Butt and Mason Cole were sick last week, team needs more whole milk and push ups
• Grant Perry continues to be in the dog house, no status update for this weekend

- Nice article on Higdon from the Detroit News

• Instate 4 star prospect CB Ambry Thomas is #1 on MSU's recruiting board.  He visited for the MSU-Michigan game

• Michigan commit DE Luiji Vilain will play in the Under Armour All American game

• Michigan Commit CB Benjamin St-Juste is planning a couple of official visits including one to Virginia Tech, is his commitment to Michigan a soft one or is he just setting up officials to confirm his Maize and Blue decision?

• Rich Leach will be the honorary captain on Saturday

• WR Nico Collins will be visiting this weekend and so will 4 star OL Aaron Banks from CA.

• Seems the recent visit of Kai-Leon Herbert to Ann Arbor was a good one and he seems solid with Michigan right now.  He is also playing in the UA game with Vilain.