Michigan Halloween: Sad News and Class

2020 QB commit JD Johnson got some bad news this past week.  JD has a heart condition where he has to retire from football immediately.  Per ESPN: the heart issue is called coarctation of the aorta, which was diagnosed when Johnson was 12. He was scheduled to receive an expansion adjustment to the original stent, but upon evaluation doctors found complications. Johnson then learned that playing a contact sport could rupture his aorta or limit the blood to his brain.

After news like that JD had to make one of the toughest calls of his life to Coach Harbaugh and let him know his dream of playing QB for the Maize and Blue will never happen.  Coach could of done many things, like wish him good luck in college and hopes his condition gets better.   Coach didn't do that, he did the right thing.  He told JD that he still is going to a Michigan Man, that is scholarship is still valid, and that he can participate on Michigan's staff anyway possible so he still can still be close to football.    That is class folks and reason parents send their kids to Ann Arbor to be coached by Jim Harbaugh.   I'm very proud of Michigan's football program today.   Some days it's about wins and losses, other days its not.

• With the above news Michigan has now offered 2020 4 Star QB CJ Stroud.  CJ was the MVP of the Elite 11 and is the top rated un-committed QB left in the class.  CJ's top schools right now are Ohio State, Oregon, Baylor, and UCLA.  Getting in late recruiting on a 4 star QB is  usually not a successful strategy.  Jimmy's always likes at least 1 QB in each class even though the QB room is currently full and a 5 star is coming in 2021.

Happy Halloween!  I love the kids that dress up as Jim Harbaugh, but this was one of the best Harbaugh costumes I could find on the internet! 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-halloween-sad-news-and-class.html

Wolverine Wednesday: A Unique Recruitment

Denver Post 

Andrew Gentry is a 6'8 310 pound tackle prospect that pretty much every college program wants.  He hails from Littleton, Colorado and is ranked as a 4 star prospect, #60 player nationally, and #6 OT to 24/7 recruiting service.   As you might expect, Andrew has 32 scholarship offers and can pretty much pick wherever he wants to play college football.

Andrew has visited Michigan a couple times, including this past weekends rainy win over ND.  Andrew enjoyed his visit and could see himself playing in the Maize and Blue.  The catch?

Andrew is a member of the Mormon Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Which means, directly after he graduates high school, Andrew will take a two year mission trip.  The church can basically send him anywhere in the world.    This is common practice for Mormon faith players attending BYU and probably the reason 24/7 crystals balls are 100% in the Cougars favor.  Has Michigan ever recruited a player in this situation?  I highly doubt it, but this is a great example of how Michigan and other programs are willing to wait for this talented OT.

Each one of these missions are different, but its not like redshirting a young man for two years in Michigan's nutrition and S&C program.  It's actually the opposite, many times proper nutrition is not available and working out would have to be done in more traditional ways when time permits.   Which means the 310 OT in two years could need to put on weight, strength, and learn what it takes to be college offensive lineman.   So the timeline for the young man to see the field is 3 to 4 or more years.

Andrew is a great talent and it's clear the Michigan coaches are willing to wait two years to get him on campus.   I wonder how the scholarship works?  I assume Michigan would have to bank a 2022 scholarship, which would open up another spot in the 2020 class.

• Maryland might play a few QB's this weekend. Regular starter and local boy Josh Jackson practiced with the 1's on Tuesday but is coming off a high ankle injury and only got 3 plays last week against Minnesota.  Tyrrell Pigrome came in and played until he hurt his knee and Tyler DeSue finished the game.   I believe the expectation is that Jackson goes on Saturday but that was the same expectation going into the Minnesota game. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/wolverine-wednesday-unique-recruitment.html

How Maryland is growing its global cybersecurity footprint

Maryland’s presence as the Cyber Capital of America is catching on. And when you look at the state’s talented workforce, federal assets, and pool of cybersecurity companies, it’s easy to see why.  As the state continues to flex its cybersecurity muscles, we’re increasingly taking our cybersecurity message global. Here’s how. 

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/how-maryland-growing-its-global-cybersecurity-footprint/

Michigan Tuesday: Beware of the Trap Game

BBC

Trap games are against a lowly opponent because the team is looking ahead to a bigger game the following week.  Michigan has played back to back top 10 teams and now have 4 games left that includes games against 2 rivals left in the season (including a bye week prior to the MSU game).  Within those 4 games, Michigan has two trap games candidates, that start this weekend.  To make the trap games even more dangerous, both games are on the road.

Trap #1 - @Maryland this weekend.  This team best win came in week 2 against a ranked Syracuse 63-20 but since then has only beaten Rutgers.  Both Mike Lockley and Josh Gattis shared OC responsibilities at Alabama last season and neither agree on what they did or didn't do during the season.  Maryland is struggling but is recruiting better and came within a play of upsetting OSU last season at home.   Maryland's QB Josh Jackson is a local boy and son of Michigan legendary RB coach Fred Jackson.  (Josh has a foot injury and only saw limited time last week in a loss against Minnesota)  Michigan will get Maryland's best shot on Saturday and the Wolverines will not be able to sleep walk through this game, as the Terrapins will be looking for an Illinois/Wisconsin upset.   There is also plenty of side motivation with Jackson and Lockley.

Trap #2 - @Indiana on 11/23 is sandwiched between MSU and OSU at home.   Indiana is quietly 6-2 this season with their best win @Nebraska last weekend.  They have lost to both Michigan rivals OSU and MSU.  IU is now bowl eligible and will be looking for an upset over a ranked team to get some respectability.  They do play PSU on the road before Michigan comes to town.

• Michigan Basketball had a fan night/open practice last night.   They have a scrimmage on Friday against D2 Saginaw Valley.  They open the season against the hated App. State a week from today.  

• No word from Jimmy on Ronnie Bell's potential injury from the ND game. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-tuesday-beware-of-trap-game.html

The Original Michigan Monday: The State of The Big Ten

Wasn't it nice to fall asleep on Saturday night knowing your Wolverines played a good football game and beat dominated a top 10 team?  It was hard for me to remember the last time I had that feeling.  Beating Wisconsin at home at night didn't give me that feeling, it's been a long time BHB family, a long time.

Today is Monday which means its time to move on from the ND high and focus on the rest of the season.  Saturday was a great win but it wasn't a Big Ten win and Michigan still has some work to do in the conference.  With two loses the Big Ten Title game is probably out of reach, but the Wolverines still have plenty to play for with two rivals and upstart IU still left on the schedule.   Michigan travels to a struggling Maryland team on Saturday, has a week off, then will host Sparty at home, travel to IU, and then host the team down south.

Here are my thoughts on the rest of the Big Ten:

OSU is the clearly the best team in the conference and maybe the entire country.   Beating the Buckeyes will clearly be monumental task for any team.  Playing PSU and Michigan won't be easy, but winnable for the talented Buckeyes.

Penn State rolled a near dead Michigan State Spartan team on Saturday, this is exactly how I thought the Spartans season would go and they will struggle to get bowl eligible if they can't find two wins against the likes of Illinois, Michigan, Rutgers, and Maryland.   Penn State has to travel to #13 Minnesota, host IU, and then travel to OSU, then host the Rutgers bye week.   Probably 1 loss but maybe 2 if they get surprised by the Golden Gophers.

Minnesota I still believe are pretenders as their season is about to get difficult.   They host PSU after a bye week, travel to Iowa, go to Northwestern, and then host Wisconsin.  I see probably 3 loses in that grouping.

Wisconsin got rolled in Columbus as they looked like they might compete with the Buckeyes for about a quarter.  They now have lost two weeks in a row but probably will win out with a schedule that looks like:  hosting Iowa, going to Nebraska, hosting Purdue, and then traveling to Minnesota.

IU has been surprising and will make a bowl game as they are now 6-2.  They could have one of the best seasons in recent Hoosier history with a probably 8-4 finish.  They host NW, travel to PSU, host Michigan, and travel to Purdue.

That's it folks, the rest of the league is cannon fodder.

• Jimmy will do his regular Monday press conference at around noon today. 
• Duncan Robinson had 21 points for the Heat last night, color me impressed.

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-original-michigan-monday-state-of.html

Western Maryland’s FireFly Farms plans expansions throughout the state

As Maryland’s most-awarded cheese maker, FireFly Farms knows a thing or two about producing a good tasting product. 

The proof of the company’s success is in its production—FireFly's current location is at capacity and bursting at the seams. The team will soon be expanding to another facility within the new McHenry Business Park with more room for food manufacturing, and early next year, the company is stretching east and tackling the Baltimore Metropolitan area with a new retail shop.

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/western-marylands-firefly-farms-plans-expansions-throughout-state/

A Cleansing Rain

David Guralnick, Detnews

Rain can be a symbol of something bad.  It can ruin your day to the beach, a baseball game, your tee time, or picnic.  Rain was hard and strong on Saturday night in Ann Arbor.  If you were smart it was the perfect night to order in and watch Netflix.  If you are a Michigan fan, you put on your best rain gear and headed to the Big House to watch a football team that had rewarded your loyalty this year with two road loses and poor home performances against teams like Army and MTSU.   Heading out in that cold, wet, rain probably makes you wonder if your making the right sane decision.   You did.

The rain on Saturday night was not just a climate effect, it was a sign from Bo, President Ford, and other former great Wolverines looking down on the Big House, that they had enough.   They had enough losing to rivals, had enough with terrible game plans, had enough not being physical enough, and had enough with watching bad football.   The message was heard loud and clear the Wolverines played one of their best games in the Harbaugh Michigan era.

The cleansing rain, washed away all the issues of the past games and for 4 glorious hours things were right in the world again.

Cheers 

• 300 yards on the ground 
• HH could be more famous then Hugh Hefner with Michigan fans!
• Don Brown's game plan was perfect
• Keeping ND under 100 yards total offense for 3+ quarters
• Not losing a fumble! 
• Michigan fans for filling the wet Big House 
• McGrone is a grown man!
• Michigan's defensive line gets an A+
• Michigan's offensive line gets an A+
• Senior Stephen Spanellis playing until the whistle

Jeers

• Roughing the punter could have been a game changer, it wasn't 
• Shea's left handed backwards throw, no thanks!
• Big Ten officials are just awful
• Mystery PI that led to a ND TD 
• Final possession at half-time, just take a knee! 

Shea wasn't perfect in this game but he did keep the ball more.  In the 2nd half, he kept it too often looking to score a TD.  He struggled again with ball security but this time it didn't hurt the Wolverines.  

This was a great team win in terrible conditions and one Michigan fans can smile about for the next 14 years as these teams don't play again until 2033.   Michigan now needs to take care of business against Maryland, a down MSU, and a surprisingly good IU team before what looks to be the #1 ranked OSU Buckeyes come to town.

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/a-cleansing-rain.html

Notre Dame Preview

annarbor.com

Time: 7:30
Location: Big House
Weather: 49 and 90% rain
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN App
Line: Michigan -1

Growing up the two biggest games of the year was ND and OSU.  Loved the early match-up with the Fighting Irish.  If Michigan won,  the Wolverines were on their way to a great year.  If Michigan lost, who cares? they aren't in the Big Ten.

This season it feels different, maybe like Harbaugh I'm nothing but burnt dead wood inside.  Even Vegas doesn't know what to do with this game.  ND is clearly the more complete team but they are on the road and it looks the weather is going to be terrible.  A special thank you goes out to Warde Manuel who got negotiated under the table by Jack Swarbrick at ND and the reason this game is being played in late October.  Like a verse from Rod Stewart's Maggie May this game should be played in, "it's late September and I really should be back at school"

Tale of the Tape
ND O vs. Michigan D = Push
Michigan O vs. ND D = ND
Intangibles = Michigan
Weather = favors ND's 41st ranked rushing offense
Confidence = ND
Rest = ND

ND is coming off a bye and Michigan is coming off a road loss to Penn State.  ND is ranked in the top 10 and Michigan is barely hanging on at #19.   Blah, Blah Jimmy can't beat a top 10 team and ND hasn't won in Ann Arbor since 2005.

I would love to give you some deep insights but this game is weird, because football is weird.   ND lost to a Georgia team that looked like a playoff contender early and the last two weeks like a very average football team.  Michigan has looked pretty poor for the first half of the season but "woke up" after finding itself down 21 points in Happy Valley.  Is confident Shea back or is it scared Shea that couldn't snap the ball to start the game?  Michigan lost this game last year in South Bend to a ND QB that can't start at UCF right now.  Thanks Don Brown!   I mean, what the hell is going on?

Yell, thank goodness I bought this Gore-Tex rain suit if...…………..

• Confident Shea is back 
• Michigan can hold on to a slippery football 
• Michigan has home field advantage 
• Don Brown has a game plan that covers Irish WR's 
• Michigan can get some pass rush and sacks 

Think maybe Jimmy should go to the NFL if...……………………

• ND looks like they have game planned against Michigan for 2 weeks
• ND is clearly the better team 
• Michigan is fumbling 
• Don Brown can't get his guys lined up 
• The rain favors ND 

This game is a coin flip and even a bigger one if the hard rain does come.   At 10:00 the chance of rain is 100%.  This is going to be an ugly football game against two teams that continue to search for their identity this year.  Whichever team can hold on to the ball and get yards on the ground will win.  Ian Book will run and has 188 yards and 3 TD's, if the weather is bad, look for Book to keep the ball to try to keep drives alive.   If ND is going to be considered for the playoffs this is a must win, as this is the last ranked team they play.  (where is that ACC relationship with a Clemson game?) 

This game comes down to Patterson vs. Book and which one can make the most plays and stay out of negative ones.   Both Jimmy and Brian Kelly will go into a play calling shell if the weather is as bad as expected.   The one team that makes the biggest mistake loses.   Michigan's punter Will Hart might be the difference in this game.  Hold on to the damn ball!

ND 12 Michigan 10

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/notre-dame-preview.html

Michigan Thursday: Is ND Better Than Michigan?

As we do every week, lets take a look at the numbers!

Offense 

Total:
ND #30
Michigan #80

Passing:
ND #42
Michigan #67

Rushing:
ND #41
Michigan #80

Defense:

Total:
Michigan #14
ND# 41

Passing:
Michigan #8
ND #31

Rushing:
Michigan #30
ND#64

It's clear where both team strengths lie.  ND's offense vs. Michigan's defense is strength vs. strength.   Can Michigan score TD's is probably the key to the game.

• Patrick Beilein is out at Niagara before coaching his first game.   He is leaving for personal reasons. 

• Weather could be a factor on Saturday = rain and wind. 

• ESPN ranks Michigan's schedule as the hardest for the rest of the season. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-thursday-is-nd-better-than.html

Research partnership focuses on growing more oysters in Maryland waters

In St. Mary’s County, where the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay come together, lies 38 North—an aquaculture business perfecting the Eastern oyster. But with such a large market to keep up with, 38 North had to start thinking out of the box when Maryland’s perfect geographic location encountered a few snags. 

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/research-partnership-focuses-growing-more-oysters-maryland-waters/

Maryland and West Holland renew collaborative partnership in cybersecurity

The Maryland Department of Commerce and the InnovationQuarter, the regional economic development agency for West Holland, have officially renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote general cooperation and coordination between the entities over the next three years.

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/maryland-and-west-holland-renew-collaborative-partnership-cybersecurity/

Wolverine Wednesday: Jimmy Still Getting Paid

The USA Today and Football Scoop both came out with stories about Jim Harbaugh on Tuesday.  The USA Today did their annual top coaching salaries and Football Scoop was saying that Jimmy is considering his exit options.   Insiders don't believe the Football scoop story which is contradicted by the USA Today salary list for sure.

Here are the top 5 coaches salaries:

1 - Dabo 9.3M
2- Saban 8.8M
3- Jimmy 7.5M
4- Dabo 7.5M
5- Kirby 6.8M

Here are some interesting ones.  

Can anyone guess who is #8 on the list?

It's Jeff Brohm at Purdue at $6.6M, who makes $300K more a year then Lincoln Riley.    I guess that Louisville job did pay off for Jeff.

Where does MSU's Mark Dantonio sit? #24 at $4.4M

What about Ryan Day?   He makes $4.5M at #22 but has a $18M+ buyout

Who is the lowest paid head coach in the Big Ten? Indiana's Tom Allen at $1.8M coming in at #71.  I wonder if Tom's agent is making a few calls to IU's AD today.

Holey Buyouts Batman!! (as 12/1/19)

• Dabo $50M
• Saban $34M
• Jimmy $11M
• Jimbo $60M
• Malzahn $27M
• Riley $21M
• Frost $20M
• Taggert $17.7M
• Dantonio $7M

Is Jimmy Jones going to pay Oklahoma $21M for Lincoln Riley?  

• As we know, Shea said that a Penn State player had a finger in his eye during that TD QB sneak. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/wolverine-wednesday-jimmy-still-getting.html

Michigan Tuesday: Basketball News

Michigan's Basketball program and Juwan Howard's first season doesn't start for 10 days but the news was not great coming out of the program on Monday.   Top freshman Franz Wagner has a non-surgery fracture in his wrist and is out 4-6 weeks.  For Wolverines fans lets hope its closer to 4 than 6 as Michigan has some difficult match-ups in about 5 weeks.  Franz is expected to be Michigan's X factor this year.

The next bit of news is that Brandon Johns has an ankle injury and it walking around in a boot.  The team confirmed a sprained ankle but didn't give a timetable for return.  Johns is an expected starter and could make it back for the opener if it's not the "high" ankle sprain.  

• In positive Michigan Basketball news, former point guard Derrick Walton made the Clippers and signed a 1 year contract. 

• Michigan - Maryland kick will be at noon.  Seems Michigan plays at noon or primetime these days.  

• Michigan Safety J'Marick Woods has decided to leave the program as a graduate transfer and will enter the transfer portal with two years of eligibility left.   Woods is a huge hitter and my hope was that he would be an option at Viper  next year.   Good luck to him and congratulations on taking care of business in the classroom. 

• Speaking of Big Ten Basketball, MSU is the #1 rated team in the AP Poll

• If your keeping score a home MSU Football has had 6 players enter the transfer portal since 9/25.  If this happened in A2, it would be the lead story on ESPN.  WR Cam Chambers announced he was leaving last Thursday and TE Noah Davis announced on Friday during the Spartans bye week. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-tuesday-basketball-news.html

Maryland small businesses are incentivized to be cyber secure

A Maryland program that launched in 2018 is making it easier for small businesses to protect themselves from cyber attacks. 

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/maryland-small-businesses-are-incentivized-be-cyber-secure/

Michigan Monday: Wonders If Michigan Should Explore Other Conferences?

Before we get started, for those fools that are tweeting or emailing Ronnie Bell with threats or telling him to leave the team/school, just stop.  He is a kid with a family and nobody feels worse then him.   Contacting him directly through social media makes you and the Michigan fan base look like A-Holes. 

With the independent ND coming to Ann Arbor this weekend and Michigan's struggles in the Big Ten.  I started to wonder what type of pressure Michigan could put on the Big Ten if they started to look at other opportunities.   My initial thought was just moving football out but I assume the Big Ten probably has a rule about being all in or all out.

Why should Michigan consider this at all?

• Scheduling - The Big Ten divisions are not even and the East continues to be much stronger then the West.  The Big Ten has basically ignored a historic trophy game with Minnesota.

• Kick-off times - I know this is driven by TV, but could Michigan have more control when they play if they were in a different conference or independent?

• Officials - I don't know if officials are ranked against other conferences  but from my eyes the Big Ten officials are very poor against their counterparts.   (another solution is to stop having conference officials, just have a big bucket of money/officials organization where the top 5 leagues have the best officials and they rotate different conferences each week - that would help any bias the current conference officials have, you also could have the top officials on the countries top games.)

• Lack of Big Ten Championships lately - Michigan Football hasn't won a Big Ten Championship since 2004 and has never played in the Championship game in Indy.  

• Doesn't have to mean the loss of rivalry games - Florida and FSU are in separate leagues and still play the last game of the year.  Michigan could keep MSU and OSU on the schedule. 

• The Big Ten has expanded too much.  Maryland and Rutgers has not been a success and was only brought in for potential new TV viewers in DC and NYC

• Lack of Big Ten Bowl Game tie-ins - Bowl Games are dying and have become a glorified scrimmage.  Michigan also has a big enough brand to make a bowl game with out a conference tie-in (if they decided to go independent).

• Games against new teams and new rivals. 

• Big Ten has huge team payouts!  Yes, but every conference has a TV deal now and could make Michigan a huge offer. 

Moving from the Big Ten would of course hurt the other sports and be much more expensive for travel across the board.  It's probably not a viable option, but I think it should be "floated" to put some pressure on the Big Ten to improve in a number of areas.  I see the current Big Ten offices as a black hole of information and a fat and happy "old boys" network.

Michigan will probably never do this, but I think its time for some major changes, so the narrative of this football program changes.  Football is changing and this isn't the conference of Bo and Woody any longer. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-monday-wonders-if-michigan.html

Not Good Enough

Not being good enough seems to be this teams identity.  They just don't have anything that they are elite at.  Tonight was a good example, as this might have been Michigan's most complete game.   Shea defiantly played his best game of the year and it wasn't good enough.

If you are going to win on the road against a top 10 team, you can't have miss steps.   Michigan had plenty tonight and even some missed calls by the below average Big Ten officials.

The one position I thought Michigan was going to be Elite at was WR, they are not.  I even got into a twitter argument in August whether Michigan or Alabama had the best WR's in the country.  What a fool I am.  You have to be able to catch the damn ball, yes Ronnie's drop was the difference in the game but how about the 4 or 5 drops in the first half?

Yes, Michigan didn't give up and had a chance to tie the game up but they didn't. Anytime Michigan gets an important 3 and out, Hill tackles a WR, or Nico pushes off on a deep ball, or Don Brown has a safety covering one of the fastest players in the country.   You can't beat good teams by making dumb mistakes.   Those are all dumb mistakes.

Michigan had 417 total yards to Penn State's 283, still wasn't good enough

Michigan ran for 141 yards against the #2 rushing defense in the country, still wasn't good enough.

Michigan held the ball for 37:45 to PSU 22:15, still wasn't good enough.

Gattis had some good play calls, but some questionable runs on 3rd down, not good enough.

Don Brown ran some zone and his unit played well in the 2nd half, still not good enough.

Shea played well and made good decisions but still threw a bad pick, not good enough.

You can't get down 21 points to a top 10 team on the road and think your going to win, not good enough.

When the lights are the brightest Harbaugh continues to be not good enough.

Good thing we have another top 10 team to play next weekend.  Michigan AD, not good enough.




from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/not-good-enough.html

Penn State Preview

Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Happy Valley
Weather: 54 with 60% rain
TV: ABC
Stream: EPSN App
Line: Michigan +9

I hate this game as it's not set up for success for the Wolverines.   It's a night game on the road and a white out which means the Penn State fan base will be nice and lubed up for the late kick.

These teams are also the complete opposite of what I thought they would be at the start of the season.  I saw Penn State re-building with a new QB and Michigan's offense excelling with a senior QB and new wide open system.

Tale of the Tape 
Michigan O vs. PSU D = Penn State
Michigan D vs. PSU O = Push
Turnovers = Penn State
Intangibles = Penn State
Momentum = Penn State
Helmets = Michigan
White Pants = Push

This is a miss-match folks, the Wolverines can win this game but they have to be a completely different team then we have seen this season.   The issue is Michigan's offense can't hang on to the ball and when that happens Michigan's defenses reverses like a scared turtle.   This offense will not work unless Shea keeps the ball more and makes the LB's guess what the hell is going on.  He has been unwilling or able to do that since the first play of the season.   The 4th down at the 5 yard line was a great example, the only thing that was missing from that play was a big neon sign saying to run it here.  Shea handed it off and Michigan was stopped.

Would you like more bad news?  Clifford the Big Red Dog and new Penn State QB is athletic and loves to run for first downs.  His running game on 3rd down basically beat Iowa last week.  Iowa also got bit by an Ann Arbor spider and now has a turnover bug as well.

Say, well that was surprising if...…………

• Michigan doesn't turn the ball over 
• Shea throws like an NFL draft-able QB 
• Michigan gets Nico, Hill, and Paye back 
• Charbonnet and Haskins run for 175+
• Don Brown has a game plan to stop a running QB 

Send Warde Manuel a nasty email - this is why we don't play ND in October if...……..

• Penn State plays like they did last time there was a night game white out against Michigan 
• Michigan's offense continues to look like a clown car out of control 
• Michigan's defense turtles 
• Jimmy uses some type of iron sharpens iron analogy in the post game press conference 
• Don Brown gets out game planned again 

Michigan's offense is not ready for prime time and that is just sad in week 8.  That is huge a disappointment but the defense is also not playing up to their standards.  Illinois scoring 25 straight points should never happen, never!   Penn State just won a night game in Iowa, where candidly they didn't play great and got a bunch of penalties but did enough to win.   Those games continue momentum, barley beating Illinois after being up 28 points have the opposite effect. 

This is a nightmare scenario for Michigan fans:

-Night road game 

-Michigan is beating themselves 

-Mobile QB for PSU

-Can't make a field goal 

-Harbaugh & Brown struggle against ranked teams 

-Harbaugh's Michigan teams struggle at night 

-Michigan has key injuries to starters 

-The media storm against Harbaugh will be incredibly strong after another road loss 

-Another night game against a rival next week 

Penn State 41 Michigan 17

Hey Jerk, you pointed out all the negatives.  How about a few ways Michigan could win this game?  You're a freaking Michigan Football Blog!

Fair point, Shea has to keep the ball and get some chuck yards on the ground.   Both Michigan running backs have to hold on to the ball and find plenty of yards in the running game.   The offensive line has to protect in pass protection for Shea to find Michigan's talented WR's deep.   Don Brown can't have his defense play man to man and have their back to Clifford opening up long runs for 1st downs.   You have to keep Penn State in 3rd and long and keep the Big Red Dog from scrambling.  He much rather run then challenge the Michigan secondary. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/penn-state-preview.html

Michigan 5 Star Friday

Yes, I normally don't do a regular post on Friday during the football season but what happened last night was a good reason to break the norm.

Juwan Howard landed his first Big Time recruit with the commitment of 2020 6'10 210 5 star forward Isaiah Todd.  As we all know, Juwan is taking over a program that didn't really even recruit 5 star guys as Coach B preferred to find "under the radar" guys that he could develop and fit his system.
Juwan a former 5 star talent himself has a different philosophy and the first domino to fall in his plan was Todd, who is a consensus 5 star to all the services:  Rivals ranks him the #10 overall player, ESPN has him #7, and 24/7 has him #14.

Michigan beat out Kansas, NC, Kentucky, UCLA, Virginia, Memphis, and many more.  If your wondering Todd didn't have a Duke offer as Coach K likes to allow other programs to have a few talented players.

Michigan is still being considered by 5 star guard Nimari Burnett, 4 star wing Moses Moody and 4 star center Hunter Dickinson.  Todd joins guard Zeb Jackson as the two players committed in the 2020 class right now.   This was a great way to end the week as news on Saturday night is not expected to be positive. 

• On a weird side note, Ohio State plays Northwestern tonight in what should be a 40+ point blowout in Chicago.  

• Zak Irvin signed a two way contract with the Knicks, congrats to Zak for getting an NBA contract. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-5-star-friday.html

Michigan Thursday: Who is Hassan Haskins?

Freep

Michigan was so deep at RB last season, they moved 6'1 220 pound true freshman Hassan Haskins to LB as he played both RB and LB in high school in St. Louis.   HH wasn't the highest rated or recruited guys in the nation, he was rated 3 stars and his top offers where from the likes of Purdue, EMU, and Memphis.  He was barley in the 24/7's top 1000 (975) and only had a 4.7 40 yard dash.   Some fans have the opinion the reason the program can't turn the corner is because Michigan is offering recruits rated this low.

Fast forward to the end of last season, 1 RB starter is headed to the NFL, another transfers out, and the holdover starter has an academic issue and is suspended.  That left a former walk-on Tru Wilson, Christian Turner, and incoming true freshman.  Michigan needed more tailbacks and pulled Hassan back from defense.   Fast forward again to this season and Michigan is struggling at the RB position.  Tru was hurt, Charbonnet was banged up, and Turner is having trouble holding on to the ball.   Which meant that HH now has his chance in Champaign, Illinois.

Jimmy on Monday said: "First started seeing some wow-type of plays in practice, and now we’ve seen them in the games,” Consistently getting better and better. This last game, he had a great game, over 100 yards, along with Zach Charbonnet”

Clearly the game is starting to slow down for HH as he speeds up.   He started the season mostly on the bench with a total of -5 yards through the first 3 games.  HH started to shine during the Rutgers game where he got more playing time and totaled 45 yards, then 2 caries against Iowa for 22 yards before his career Saturday with 125 yards against Illinois.   His most impressive run all day might have been the 4th and 2 in the 4th quarter.  He didn't make it, but it took the entire Illinois defense to get him down.   (BTW, Shea scores if he keeps the ball on that play - huge miss read)

Now, he will be a big part of the game plan in Happy Valley.  Michigan's offense needs a kick in the pants or a secret weapon and maybe HH will fill that role.   My advice, keep running hard and hold on to the damn ball!!

• Amara Darboh has been signed and promoted from the Tampa Bay Bucs practice squad. 

• Fingers crossed that Coach Howards lands his first 5 star recruit tonight at 7:45. 

• MSU has had 5 players enter the transfer portal in the last month.

• Tyree Kinnell was also drafted by the XFL and will join Pep's team in DC. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-thursday-who-is-hassan-haskins.html

Online resource helps companies get matched with local manufacturers

With more than 4,000 manufacturing companies throughout the state, Maryland is home to a plethora of industry leaders including Under Armour, Volvo, McCormick, Perdue, Marlin Steel, and more. 

But with so many companies to choose from, where do you begin? The Maryland Manufacturing Directory can help local manufacturers get their name in front of potential customers, and also help companies find the perfect manufacturing match to do business with.
 

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/online-resource-helps-companies-get-matched-local-manufacturers/

Wolverine Wednesday: Penn State and The Numbers

I usually start this post with: Is Michigan better than (opponent that week)?  This week there really isn't much discussion on which team is better.   The talent maybe even or slightly tilts in the Wolverines favor but Penn State has greatly outplayed Michigan this season.

On to the numbers:

Scoring Offense:
PSU #9
Michigan #59

Passing Offense:
PSU #36
Michigan #73

Running Offense:
PSU #43
Michigan #78

Scoring Defense:
PSU #2
Michigan #15

Passing Defense:
Michigan #9
PSU #49

Rushing Defense:
PSU #3
Michigan #39

I guess those numbers really tell the story of the season so far.   Penn State is preforming much better than Michigan in every category besides passing defense.  Unless Jimmy shows up with a much different team on Saturday night, its going to be a difficult watch for Wolverines fans.   But don't worry, Michigan can do it all over again a week from Saturday night against another Top 10 team.   Thank you Warde for everything you do!

• 5 star F Isaiah Todd will announce a decision between Michigan and Kansas on Thursday night. 

• Blake Countess has been signed by the Jets

• 4 Former Wolverines got drafted by the XFL:  JBB, Big Will Campbell, LTT, and DeVeon Smith.   Pep Hamilton will have former OSU QB Cardale Jones as his QB in DC.   Big Will has been playing in the CFL the last two years.  

• ESPN's Bill Connelly has predicted PSU 28-Michigan 20

• Devin Bush was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/wolverine-wednesday-penn-state-and.html

'The President is Missing' pilot to film in Maryland

SHOWTIME, the premium cable network behind the successful shows Billions, Shameless, and Homeland, plans to film the pilot episode for a potential new series right here in Maryland. 

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/president-missing-pilot-film-maryland/

Michigan Tuesday: Lots of News For a Holiday Monday

I thought it was going to be a quiet Monday, it wasn't.

• Michigan's 2nd highest rated commit in the 2020 class Braiden McGregor has torn his MCL, PCL, and Meniscus.  He will have surgery and still plans to enroll early.   Glad he will get to rehab with the Michigan S&C Staff starting in a couple of months.  

• Michigan redshirt freshman Mustapha Muhammad has decided to enter the transfer portal.  MM has had issues seeing the field and has seen freshman like Erik All and Luke Schoonmaker jump ahead of him on the TE depth chart.   Luke scored a TD against Illinois.  

• It's going to be a White Out at Penn State on Saturday and one team will be dressed in all white.  That team will be Michigan. 

• Illinois and Nebraska will open the 2021 season in Dublin.  I feel bad for the people in Ireland having to watch that game. 

• Like I predicted, Michigan will play back to back night games on ABC as Michigan - ND will be at 7:30 kick.   

• Highly ranked 2020 TE from Windsor Theo Johnson visited Iowa over the weekend.  Theo has Iowa very high on his list and some consider the Hawkeyes his leader.  Jimmy is very high on this recruit and would like to keep him close to home.  

• I thought the Big Ten Refs where bad, but NFL Refs are starting to catch them in their inability to call a fair game.   Two terrible calls cost the Lions the game last night.   That Umpire might be looking for a new job today. 

• Jimmy on Michigan's starters that are injured:  "Tend not to comment on those," Harbaugh told the media on Monday. "If I were to comment on it, it would be a positive comment."

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-tuesday-lots-of-news-for.html

World Trade Center Institute celebrates 30 years of global business

Over the past 30 years, an idea from former Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer has grown into one of the state’s most influential organizations for businesses looking to go global.

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/world-trade-center-institute-celebrates-30-years-global-business/

Michigan Monday: Big Ten Pre-Season Predictions Were Mostly Wrong

I know many fans want to go to the playoff and have a shot at a National Championship.   I do as well, but I much prefer a Big Ten Championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl.  I thought Michigan had a decent shot this year, with OSU going through a coaching change.   I had a bunch of pre-season expectations that have been mostly wrong with a few that were right.

Pre-Season Predictions

Ryan Day is not Urban Meyer and Justin Fields would struggle early and get a little better as the year went on.    Prediction was Wrong!  Ohio State could be playing the best football I have seen out of them in a number of years.  Could make a case for the #1 team in the nation.   Big swing and a miss by me.

Michigan State would have a decent defense but will struggle on offense to score points.   Prediction was Right!  I was looking forward to watching the Wisconsin - MSU game on Saturday.  I got through a few minutes and knew the game was over.   MSU is in big trouble this year.  

Wisconsin would be very one-dimensional on offense and struggle to stop teams on defense.  Prediction was Wrong!  I might have been 50% correct here but I was way off on Wisconsin's defense and ability to stop Big Ten Teams.   Wisconsin travels to Columbus in two weeks and then we will see.   Their defense has given up a total of 29 points all year (14 to Michigan and 15 to NW).

Minnesota has an easy schedule and will look really good until late in the year.   Prediction was Right!  PJ Fleck is 6-0 and will have an easy road to 8-0 before they have to play PSU, Iowa, and Wisconsin.   A schedule with no Michigan, OSU, or MSU is just crazy.   The Golden Gophers will come back to earth when they play Penn State and will end the year with at least two loses and probably 3.  

Penn State and James Franklin were going to struggle without Moorehead, Barkley, and McSorley.  Prediction was Wrong!   Outside of the Pitt game, Penn State looks like what my expectation of what Michigan would look like.  Solid offense and a solid defense.   PSU didn't play great at Iowa but did do enough to win the game against an Iowa team that all of sudden has the turnover bug.  

Michigan's offense would finally get modernized.   That Josh Gattis would scheme an offense that made it easy for Shea Patterson to find open WR's.  The offense line would be the best we have seen in 10 years, and the RB's might struggle due to lack of experience.   The defense would take a small step back but would match-up well against Wisconsin, Iowa, MSU, and PSU.   Prediction was Wrong!   Further explanation is not needed. 

Here is the funny thing.  Many people would have predicted that Michigan would be 5-1 at this point in the year, with a tough loss at Wisconsin.   Yes, the Wolverines got embarrassed but a blow out is the same as a 1 point loss in the standings.  

Ohio State being 6-0 is not a surprise to anyone with their toughest game being MSU in Columbus so far.  

Same for Penn State, with their toughest game being their win in Iowa on Saturday.   Wisconsin doesn't seem to play road games and are 6-0, with their biggest test coming up in two weeks.  

If the year has gone pretty much the way you thought, what is all anxiety about?

Michigan fans have a crystal ball and if they could get themselves to bet against their favorite team would make a killing in Vegas.  Wolverine fans know that Michigan is going to struggle and probably lose by a decent number in Happy Valley, come back and play a talent ND team close, beat MSU, and lose to another uber-talented Ohio State team.  

You know what's stupid but accurate?  I would give Michigan a much better chance next week if the game was played at 12:00 or 3:30.   I'm also willing to bet that the ND @ Michigan will end up being back to back night games for the Wolverines.   Which seem to be the only program in the country that can't play at night.   


from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-monday-big-ten-pre-season.html

Dumb Football

Holly Hart, AP

I don't understand why things are contagious in sports.  It really doesn't make any sense.  My son played travel baseball from the age 10-16, I've seen a few hundred youth baseball games and I can tell you that hitting is contagious at that age level.  If a couple guys get a hit, everyone hits.   It also works the opposite, if the top of the lineup is hitless, you have a great chance the middle and bottom of the order will not be hitting as well.

Michigan rolled into Memorial Stadium and for most of the first half it looked like a good High School team playing a Junior High.  Michigan was gaining 10 yards on every play and had a 28-0 lead.  I actually had this thought, "Michigan shouldn't attempt a pass and have 600 rushing yards."   Then the evil wizard that has huanted the Wolverines all season "Frank Fumble" showed up and the Wolverines started to backslide like Barney Gumble at an open bar.

Charbonnet fumbled which equaled a late 1st half TD, Christian Turner had one carry lost 4 yards and fumbled (which was over turned by replay), and Tru Wilson fumbled which led to a short field and another Illinois TD.   That junior high team from the first half, had scored 25 straight points and pulled within 3 points of Michigan.

Somehow talent no longer mattered, coaching no longer mattered, recruiting no longer mattered, traditional no longer matter and the Wolverines were looking at one of the most devastating road losses in the history of the program.

Then the embattled former 5 star QB took the field, dropped back, and starting picking apart the Illinois secondaty.  He used his talented WR's and took that 3 point lead to 10.   Somehow that contagious play traveled quickly to the defense and the pass rush that had be lost for a good part of two quarters was back and Illinois redshirt freshman reverted back to himself and gave Michigan two fumbles, another TD, and a win.

Cheers 

• Michigan would of had over 300 yards on the ground, not for Shea's two kneel downs at the end of the game 
• Michigan had two 100 yard rushers 
• Shea's TD to DPJ Drive was the best he has looked all season 
• Great blocked punt 
• Haskins is a beast and will be getting more carries
• Mike Dana is quietly playing some great football and has been huge with Paye out
• At times Hutchinson was un-blockable 
• McGrone again looked like a poor mans Devin Bush 
• Michigan won the game 

Jeers

• The evil wizard Frank Fumble 
• Christian Turner is so far in the dog house, he may never get back out
• Ben Mason was one of my favorite players last season, he has really struggled this year and needs to play much smarter football.
• MAKE FIELD GOALS
• Injuries are now getting serious: Nico didn't make the trip, Paye, Ross, and Hill also didn't play. 
• 3rd quarter defense, I believe Michigan should play some
• Shea has to keep the ball on the 2nd 4th down near the goal line

Let's start facing some difficult facts, Army has lost in back to back weeks to Tulane and Western Kentucky.   Don Brown thought they would run the table.  We are now facing games against two top ten teams in Penn State and ND in back to back weeks.  

This Wolverine team is showing some promise on defense at times, but the entire team seems to roll up in the fetial position anytime Frank shows up.  It even effects the defense.  Illinois shouldn't have been able to make the plays they did on Michigan's defense in the 3rd, the only reason I can come up with is they saw Frank and got scared.  This type of dumb football is going to get you beat and beat bad in the next two weeks.  

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/dumb-football.html

How Commuter Choice Maryland can benefit businesses

Over the past year, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) has made great strides in expanding and enhancing the delivery of workplace commuter benefits, assistance services, and resources to employers—with nearly 1,200 employees currently benefitting from the Maryland Commuter Tax Credit, a key incentive of the Commuter Choice Maryland program.

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/how-commuter-choice-maryland-can-benefit-businesses/

Illinois Preview

Time: Noon
Location: Memorial Stadium
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN App
Weather: 53 Sunny
Line: Michigan -22

Michigan's offense has plenty to improve on and the defense is finally finding it's stride running zone coverages and blitzing a LB.  Illinois is not good and Lovey continues to struggle to build a decent Big Ten team.  Former Michigan QB Brandon Peters looks to be doubtful with what we believe is a concussion.

Tale of the Tape:
Defense = Michigan
Coaching = Michigan
Michigan Road Offense = Push
Intangibles = Illinois
Talent = Michigan

What type of team are we going to see from the Wolverines on Saturday?  Road Michigan is much different then Home Michigan but the talent in this game is a miss-match.  I watched some of Illinois - Minnesota before and after Peters got knocked out.   Brandon is the same QB we remember, a guy that will make a great throw and then sail a head scratcher.   He also likes to hold the ball a bit too long.  While I was watching, the Illinois WR's continued to drop the balls on his good throws which made for quick 3 and outs.

Say, I'm going to relax today and worry about Penn State on Monday if...………………

• Michigan's offense doesn't turn the ball over 
• The game is over in the 1st half 
• Michigan scores over 40 points 
• Michigan has over 200 yards on the ground 
• Michigan has over 300 yards in the air 
• The defense looks like the one that played Rutgers and Iowa

Yell, we are going to get rolled next week if...……………………..

• Michigan's offense looks like it did against Iowa and Wisconsin
• Michigan's defense takes a few steps back 
• Greg Robinson's nephew plays like Michael Vick 
• Road Michigan is real and terrible 
• Michigan is missing field goals 

Don Brown has struggled as Michigan's DC the last year or so but where he doesn't struggle is against young inexperienced QB's.  His #1 defensive philosophy is that he can get to the QB with pressure before the QB can find the open WR.  When the opponent has a young QB, that becomes a real thing.  The biggest threat will be for Robinson to run the football and beat some of those blitzes with his feet.  

If Jimmy and Gattis are going to make a QB change, they have to do it this week.  You can't send Dylan into a Penn State White Out as the starting QB.  We don't know if Dylan is healthy or not, which means we will probably see Shea again.   Quick question, how many times do you yell at the TV, "Throw it!" when watching Michigan's offense?  At least 10 times a game for me.  Shea also met with the media this week, which is also a sign he will start on Saturday. 

The offense has to show real improvement and the defense needs to continue it's strong performances since the trip to Madison if this team is going to sniff a Big Ten Title race.   I think Illinois hangs around for a quarter as Michigan offense spins its wheels, then the game gets out of hand.   This is the definition of a trap game but Michigan isn't playing well enough to be looking ahead.  

Michigan 42 Illinois 10

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/illinois-preview.html

Michigan Thursday: Wolverine Ties To Illinois QB

Your first thought might be, "Yea Bob, we get it, Brandon Peters played at Michigan".  Which he did, I have a terrible memory of him sleep walking through an Outback Bowl.   Someone still owes me at least a $1000 for that awful experience!

That isn't the Illinois QB I'm talking about.  It's projected starter (as we expect Peters will be held out with the concussion he suffered last week) Sophomore QB Matt Robinson out of California.  

Your second thought might be, "Did we recruit him or something?"  No, Michigan didn't.

Let me give you some more background information.  Illinois current OC's is Rod Smith who was on Michigan's staff under RR and now pretty much runs Rich's offense.   At that time, Michigan had a DC named Greg Robinson, who failed miserably and motivated the defense with a stuffed gopher.  Illinois QB Matt Robinson is the nephew of Greg.

It seems Greg called up Rod and laid this quote on him during Matt's recruitment:  "He called and said, 'My nephew has re-opened his recruitment and you need to take a look at him. He reminds me of a kid we had at Michigan in Tate Forcier,'" Smith said.

As Matt's height was an issue for some bigger schools recruiting him.  He is listed at 6'1 but I'm pretty sure that is inflated a few inches.  “Everyone else worries about the 6-foot, Matt Robinson’s been 6-foot his whole life," Smith said. "He’s been making plays his whole life. It doesn’t bother him."  

So there you have it, more ties to Michigan and the legend of Rich Rod and Tate Forcier.  

This is the third game in a row that a former Wolverine has been on the opposite sideline.   Part of me hopes Brandon can play, another part of me hopes he just sits out and gets a 100% healthy. 

• If your wondering who to root for this weekend.   Wisconsin to beat MSU and Iowa to upset PSU as a home dog.   Iowa is a bit more important as MSU already has a loss in the Big Ten.  We don't have a dog in the race in the Nebraska at Minnesota but that could be an interesting game.  Martinez is questionable which could benefit the Golden Gophers.    

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-thursday-wolverine-ties-to.html

Wolverine Wednesday: Being Greg Mattison

Greg Mattison was always a fan favorite while in Ann Arbor, until he wasn't.   Greg was considered the only competent coach on Hoke's staff and many wanted him to be named the interim coach when Coach Hoke was imploding in 2014.  

Then Coach Harbaugh is hired and Jimmy keeps Greg on the staff due to his experience and his relationship with the Harbaugh family.   Mattison had worked for Jack at Western Michigan from 81-86 and was the DC for John for the Baltimore Ravens from 08-10.

This of course was the second stint for Greg at Michigan.  He was also the DL and DC in Ann Arbor from 92-96 when he left for another Michigan rival Notre Dame.

These are the schools that Greg has worked at during his career:

Illinois
Cornel
Western Michigan
Northwestern
Navy
Texas A&M
Michigan (2x)
Notre Dame
Florida
NFL Ravens
Ohio State

It's clear Greg likes to keep moving and only prefers to stay in a job for a limited time.  Its also fair to note that Greg was a finalist for the WMU head coaching role in 2004 that went to Bill Cubit.

Greg is now nearly 70 years old and the buzz from the Michigan locker room was he was considering retirement.  That is why the jump from Ann Arbor to Columbus was so interesting.   But if you look closer, it really wasn't that surprising.

1. Greg's past experience is to move jobs 
2. Greg was not the DC, he was the D-Line coach at Michigan
3. When Greg's Michigan DC contract expired (which paid him nearly $900K) at Michigan, Jimmy gave him a couple $100K haircut. 
4. When Durkin left Greg was named the interim DC and his unit played great in the Citrus Bowl win over Florida. 
5. Don Brown was hired

Greg is a very good DC and a great recruiter, but he always chases the next job.    Yesterday, he also took a veiled shot at Harbaugh: "Ryan Day is who you want to work with. You want to work with guys who have great character, that care about players more than anything, that are very, very genuine, that are not egotistical, that are worried about being the best football coach they can be."

My thoughts:

• I can make fun of my family and complain about them - You can't. 

• I know loyalty is a foreign word to Greg but the Harbaugh family sure has been good to you over the years.  I would be more careful on your phrasing moving forward.   Or not. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/wolverine-wednesday-being-greg-mattison.html

Michigan Tuesday: Aidan Hutchinson is The BIG10 Defensive Player of The Week

Aidan Hutchinson's performance on Saturday earned him the BIG10 defensive player of the week award.  He had 6 tackles (2.5 TFL's), 1 Sack, 1 Forced Fumble and his unit gave up 1 rushing yard.   Don Brown also said on the radio, he has/had an upper body injury last week, which didn't slow him down a bit.  The biggest oversight was by me not including Aidan in Sunday's "Cheers" section.  I'm sure he was crushed and will take it out on Illinois this weekend.  :)

Will Aidan get to chase his former room-mate on Saturday Brandon Peters?  We still don't know, as Brandon left during the first half of last Saturday's game with a concussion.  My guess is that Brandon doesn't play on Saturday, but that is purely just my speculation.

• Jimmy didn't have an update on the status on McCaffrey or Paye's injuries. 

• I wouldn't be surprised if Dylan is 100% healthy on Saturday that he gets the start.  Again, speculation. 

• Have you been wondering which former Wolverines are in the XFL Draft?  Nope, me either but here it is anyways:  Stribling, Isaac, Edwards, and Logan Tulley-Tillman.   Good luck to them! 

• ABC has confirmed the PSU 7:30 kick

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-tuesday-aidan-hutchinson-is.html

Michigan Monday: Have You Seen MSU's Schedule?

I thought the Big Ten hated Michigan, but there might have been a screw up in the BIG offices and somebody got U of M and MSU mixed up.   Sparty has an incredibly difficult streak of games coming up.

Of course they traveled to Ohio State for a loss last weekend, next Saturday they travel to Madison to play Wisconsin, then head home to host Penn State.   Lovey Smith then brings his Fighting Illini to EL, before heading to Ann Arbor.  Ok, they do have two bye weeks in there, but that is murders row schedule in the Big Ten with probably only 1 win and 4 losses.   Good thing they found a way to win that Indiana game.   Hat tip to Sparty for staying with Ohio State for 1 quarter, which is more then anyone else has done this season.

• Jimmy Speaks at noon and the hope is we get an update on Paye and his hamstring.  Other then that we will hear: Illinois is a good team, Lovey is a good coach, and the Wolverines have work to do this week in practice to become a better team. 

• Michigan is now #16 in AP

• NFL Wolverines had a good day yesterday, Peppers caused a fumble on the goal line, Brandon Graham had 3 sacks, Mo Hurst had 2 in London, Gary played well against the Cowboys, and Bush had an INT.   Tom Brady is Tom Brady. 

• 5 star F Isaiah Todd final 2 is Michigan and Kansas.  This could be Coach Howard's first recruit.  Todd will announce next week on his BDay on the 17th.  (Kansas got a notice from the NCAA and could be hit with some large sanctions if found guilty - they also let Snoop Dog preform last weekend at an open practice and had to apologize to the alumni)

• Best message board comment of the weekend on just realizing that Harbaugh is in a Downy commercial.  "Our offense could use a few wrinkles!"

• ABC has picked up the Michigan @ PSU game.   Get ready for another night/white out game. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-monday-have-you-seen-msus.html

From biohealth innovation to corporate donations, Maryland businesses tackle breast cancer

Businesses across Maryland are joining together this month for one special reason – raising awareness about breast cancer.

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, check out how several local companies and organizations are raising money, donating portions of sales, organizing events, and researching to find a cure.

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/maryland-businesses-take-breast-cancer-awareness-month/

Iowa Post Game

John T. Grelick - DetNews

My last sentence of the preview post on Friday included this statement, "Michigan can win this game on defense", which is exactly what the Wolverines did on Saturday afternoon.  It was nice to see Don Brown not get out coached in a big game and even ran a bunch of zone, which blows my mind.

There is also plenty of problems, which we will get to in our traditional Cheers and Jeers:

Cheers:

• Best Defensive performance in nearly a calendar year. 
• Kitty Paye was regularly beating an NFL caliber OT 
• 8 sacks! 
• Iowa 1 net rushing yard! 
• 3 total points given up 
• 3 INT's
• Cam McGrone is the next Devin Bush (did Ross get Willie Pipp'ed)
• Hill was strong in coverage (minus that long 3rd down conversion)
• I'm super proud of Mike Dana's performance 
• Dax will be Michigan's next 5 star superstar! 
• Don Brown and his formations/game plan confused Iowa all afternoon

Jeers:

• Michigan's offense is awful 
• Shea is regressing and missing reads 
• WR's had some bad drops during the game 
• I didn't love the play calling, to me it looked like there was running lanes on the outside, running into the middle was a win for Iowa. 
• fumble issues 
• Special Teams were not good 
• 2 missed field goals (Judy Moody has to hit that last one)
• Multiple bad punts 
• Paye's hamstrings 
• To many missed tackles on defense 
• Iowa's 3rd and long conversions 
• Stunts still giving the OL issues 

I'm one to jump all over Big Ten officials for sucking, I thought the crew on Saturday did a good and fair job.  I only saw one missed holding call on Dana late in the game. 

Shea Patterson is lucky that his back-up is injured because I believe he would have been pulled on Saturday.  His pick was a terrible read, with a TE wide open short for a first down.  His lack of a running threat in this offense is causing the running game to be way below average.   He looks nervous with happy feet in the pocket and not the guy that led this team last year.   The OL played decent and still Shea didn't see the field well at all.   Now some of that goes to the Iowa defense, but I believe a lot falls to Shea. 

Memo to Nordin, Iowa gave Michigan free 3 points at the half, make the kick.   Moody that was a horrific miss in the 4th quarter and difference of being up 2 scores.  

This team is going to struggle all year and is nowhere close to Ohio State or even Penn State at this point.   The defense will need to win games until the offense can find something that works.  A win is a win and we will take it, on to Illinois.  On a side note, Brandon Peters was knocked out of Saturday's game against Minnesota on what it looked to be a concussion.   Which probably will make him questionable for next weeks game against his old team. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/iowa-post-game.html

Iowa Preview

Time: Noon
Location: Big House
Weather: 55 No Rain
TV: Fox
Stream: Fox Sports. com
Line: Michigan -3.5

We all know there are two Iowa teams: Home Iowa and Road Iowa.  The Hawkeyes play very well at home with the Children Hospital overlooking the stadium.   Road Iowa struggles, similar to a team we love when they leave Ann Arbor.   Yes, Oliver Martin is now a Hawkeye and will be on the field on Saturday but the biggest loss is probably the biggest recruiting mistake since Hoke turned down Joey Bosa.  Iowa tackle Alaric Jackson from Detroit had flipped to Michigan prior to signing day 2016 and former Michigan OC Tim Drevno didn't send him his LOI to sign.  Jackson is now a senior and considered a high round NFL draft prospect.    He has a knee issue and is questionable for Saturday after missing a few games.

Tale of the Tape  
Rushing D = Iowa
Passing D = Michigan
Passing O = Michigan
Rushing O = Iowa
Intangibles = Michigan
Consistency = Iowa

Michigan's offense has struggled until Rutgers came to town with a lame duck head coach.  It's time to test the engine and see if it really has improved.  

Can Shea find WR's quickly and also spot the buck naked ones?
Can the OL pick up a stunt by Iowa's defensive line?
Can Don Brown game play for Iowa better then he did against Wisconsin?
Can Michigan run the ball?

If Michigan can answer yes, to all those questions our beloved Wolverines are in good shape on Saturday.

Think to yourself, "well that is F'ing better" if...…………..

• The Oline has its best day 
• Shea looked like last weekend Shea 
• Don Brown shows he is one of the best DC's in the country 
• Michigan runs for 175 yards and passes for 325
• Michigan covers Iowa TE's

Think to yourself, "this is Wisconsin F'ing 2.0" if...…………………

• Don Brown's defense continues to curl up against a ranked team
• Michigan's offense is giving Iowa short fields with TO's
• Home Iowa actually shows up 
• Ferentz and Harbaugh are up late on Friday talking about the "good all days of the Big Ten" and slamming beers. 

Iowa lost a boat full of talented offensive players last year including the new Detroit Lion TJ Hockenson.  Their offensive line has been decent this year but banged up.  They could get healthier this weekend if Jackson can play and is 100%.   Iowa's QB Stanley is starting his 10th year at Iowa and has a strong arm, but will  pick you apart with dumps off if you let him.   Iowa's game plan is similar to Wisconsin's, control the ball and clock and let Michigan make mistakes.

Michigan just needs to play smart on both sides of the ball.  Have they gotten better or was it just the Rutgers effect?  Shea needs to play like Russell Wilson did last night, get out of the pocket,  hit some WR's down field, and scramble for a few first downs.   This is a game the Michigan defense can win if they stop the run, cover Iowa's TE's and RB's out of the backfield.

Michigan 24 Iowa 13

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/iowa-preview.html

Michigan Thursday: The First Play That Changed The Season

The Tennessean

This is how the first play of the season read in the Box Score - Play by Play recap:

1st &10 at MICH 27

(14:45 - 1st) Shea Patterson run for 15 yds to the Mich 42 Shea Patterson fumbled, recovered by MTnSt

Shea didn't slide, got hit in the ribs, fumbled the football and after a few more plays, Michigan is down 0-7 to Middle Tennessee State.

There is plenty to be concerned with the above statement including,  Shea hurting himself which will have plenty of negative effects through 4 games.   It started with over throwing open WR's.  But the biggest negative effect has been, limited to no QB runs.

If you ask a DC, most will admit that preparing for an athletic QB that can run is nearly impossible.  The reason is, the defense doesn't usually have a LB or Viper shadowing the QB.  It's also hard to play man to man coverage because all the DB's will have their back to the QB.   With Michigan's offense lately they have been giving the defense too easy of a time.   Since Shea hasn't been a threat to run, the opposing defense can stuff the box to shut down the running backs or blitz the QB.   It's a huge advantage for the defense.  I'm now starting to understand why Jimmy wanted to play multiple QB's this year (when everyone was healthy).   Shea will never be a runner like McCaffrey or Milton and could be the reason Michigan had hoped to get those guys in the game.

With Dylan improving but still doubtful for Saturday, I expect to see the same offense from Michigan.  Hopefully, Shea's health is improving but with the hits he is taking each Saturday, I think the odds are that he is still hurting and will continued to be limited in the run game.   Let's hope Shea's field vision improves and can see the un-covered Wolverines wide open downfield.

• Dark horse candidates for the Rutgers job are two current Michigan coaches:  Chris Partridge and Anthony Campanile (whose brother is currently the interim head coach at Rutgers). 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-thursday-first-play-that.html

Wolverine Wednesday: Is Michigan Better Than Iowa?

We did something similar last week and it was scary how close the numbers where between Michigan and Rutgers.  Well the proof was on the field and even though it was Rutgers, Michigan looked like what many of us expected at the start of the season.

So how does the same metrics look against Iowa?   There are two different Iowa teams, like there seems to be two different Michigan teams.  There is home Iowa and there is road Iowa.

Total Offense
Iowa #60
Michigan #98

Passing 
Iowa #79
Michigan #69

Rushing
Iowa #41
Michigan #110

Total Defense
Iowa #5
Michigan #16

Passing D
Iowa#17
Michigan #4

Rushing D
Iowa #10
Michigan #70

Did u hear that?  That was Bo turning in his grave hearing that Michigan is ranked 110th in rushing offense and #70 in rushing defense.  I'm actually grateful that Bo didn't have to witness the RR and Hoke years.  This year is no beauty either.

Michigan and Iowa are very even in passing metrics on both sides of the ball.   The huge difference is rushing the ball.   Iowa can run the ball, Michigan can't.  Iowa's defense can stop the run,
 Michigan can't (outside of Rutgers).   Let's hope those stats were from "Home" Iowa as "road" Iowa gave up 418 yards to a very average Iowa State team.

• RB Connor Heyward has left the MSU Football program and entered the transfer portal.   Connor is the son of the late "Iron Head" Heyward and brother of the Steelers DE Cameron. 

• Former Michigan WR Oliver Martin will be catching passes for Iowa in the Big House this weekend.  That is two weeks in a row the Wolverines will be playing against a former teammate. 

• Zavier Simpson was named to the pre-season All Big Ten team. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/wolverine-wednesday-is-michigan-better.html

Michigan Tuesday: Is It Time For Hinton and Smith?

Yes, it sounds like a law or maybe a consulting firm, but is it time to start seeing more of the combined 9 stars true freshman DT's Chris Hinton and Mazi Smith?

Jimmy and Don think so.   Jimmy did his regular press conference on Monday and it was all pretty much of the standard stuff: Joe has a live arm, Iowa is consistently good, McGrone and Paye played well, Carlo Kemp lives football, Nico had strep throat last week, and that he loves the entire Glasgow family.

The news worthy bits were the following:

• Dylan is expected to practice this week but continues to be doubtful for Sunday (that is Jimmy talk for out).   Same goes for Josh Ross. 

• Jimmy believes that both Chris and Mazi are close to being able to contribute more on game days. 

“Mazi looks really good," Harbaugh said. said. "Just what he’s done with his physique in the last nine months. Talked to him this morning at our morning practice and he looked great. Chris Hinton is getting in there quite a bit and playing on special teams."

Chris played on special teams and also got a few snaps on the line on Saturday and recorded his first two tackles as a Wolverine. 

Don Brown said on Saturday before the game:  “Chris Hinton looks like he’s getting closer to where he can help us," Brown said. "Mazi is starting to improve. Getting a little bit more consistency out of him."

Jimmy on his radio show:  "Just right on the precipice of earning more reps," Harbaugh said. "Been practicing well, showing it in practice. They are very close."

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-tuesday-is-it-time-for-hinton.html