Michigan has work to do after WMU scare
The controversy about how the Western Michigan game ended is behind Michigan. What isn't is the development the Wolverines need on offense to fulfill their expectations.
Video Transcript
Hey, everybody.
Let's rush the field together.
Well, they did do that in Ann Arbor.
We've got Nicole Auerbach.
We've got Joshua Perry.
We've got Chris Sims.
Is it the first time they ever rushed the field against a team that was not ranked in the top 50, I would probably say, Josh?
Joshua would probably know that.
I think he- I feel like he keeps track of these things So- I saw this thing on Twitter, and they said- It drove Joshua crazy But they also had, like, one of the other saddest field storms in the history of, of storming fields.
Yeah, it's, like, based on how favored they were- Yeah, so they were- And yet they still rushed the field a, a big favorite, and they've done it before.
So- So it's in their blood unfortunately- Really it was not, actually.
So by now, all of you have heard of what may have happened on Saturday.
And if you didn't hear- about it, and you're listening to us for the first time on this- we have questions for you.
Michigan 13, Western Michigan 12.
Oh, man.
L- let's, let's talk about Michigan.
Yeah.
Because we came on the air and you, you said, "Hey, maybe Michigan..." I should put my glasses back on.
Yeah.
"Maybe Michigan has, a, an adult in the room."
Yes.
They're gonna be talking about a normal season.
It was the furthest thing from normal.
What, what happened?
It was They were outplayed.
I, I, I think you start there.
And then they made the majority of the major mistakes in the game, right?
We could talk about that.
So it was not a clean football game.
I think the one thing we all wanted to see was the offense be a little bit better.
Yeah.
I think we all knew the defense would be pretty stout and good still, but we were expecting the next step from Bryce Underwood.
And they called the game as if they still don't trust him to really put the ball in his hand- I- and make a throw.
I- Well, he played like it too, by the way And then he backed it up that way- Yeah and didn't play very well.
I was gonna say the same thing.
I mean, he did not look like you should put the game in his hands, and we did not see that development.
We did not see that growth.
And, and they've got such a challenging schedule, that you look at it now and you're wondering, how are they gonna play against Oklahoma and Brent Venables' defense, and then the best teams in the Big Ten, because it did not look encouraging.
And I, I, I Like, that's what was so shocking about it because Western Michigan was the more physical team.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
They were winning the line of scrimmage- Mm-hmm against this offensive line.
They couldn't run the ball.
We thought absolutely, without a doubt, Michigan would be able to run the ball, even if, you know, Bryce was a little inconsistent.
Yes.
That didn't happen either.
No.
That was my biggest issue.
The, the run game was a problem.
And there might be a question about the, the top-end explosion of the running backs.
Yes.
But those guys individually are good enough.
That offensive line was poor.
They did not block well.
They did not handle physicality well at all.
And that, to me, was the thing that set up every other bad thing that happened.
Michigan can't run the football, they don't have an offense.
And that's also just not who they want to be.
Sure.
No.
But you- Right?
If your, if your quarterback is Bryce Underwood, and he's still coming along, and he's gotta be in second and nine, he's gotta be in third and eight, you're, they're you're not moving the football.
No, not right now you're not.
Is there any world where you, you saw Michigan struggling to a significant degree coming?
No, not like this.
Not against that opponent.
No, absolutely not.
And, and listen, they, they won the MAC last year.
They brought everybody back.
Like, guys who could transfer didn't leave.
Like, this is a good group of 16, but this should not be happening to the degree that it did when we're talking about physicality and toughness.
They were not the tougher team.
And it's Kyle Whittingham.
We thought that, that was part of why this was gonna be a great fit- Yeah that you were gonna have a tough, physical, blue-collar team that would be able to run the ball, would be able to stop the run, right?
Like, those are the two things- Totally.
They're, they- And we didn't see those.
Yeah.
Go ahead.
I'm gonna go a little outside the box here.
All right, go ahead.
Do, do you think that Kyle Whittingham goes to bed i, in, in Ann Arbor thinking to myself, "Man, I've accomplished so much- Yeah and now people are- Now- "I, I've coaching my first game, people are chan- Should I stay retired?
"People are chanting in the stands to fire me."
Yes.
Don't I mean, like- Like, does it cross somebody's brain?
I don't, I don't think it crosses his mind.
I think a, a guy like him, he's all in once he signs the, the contract, and I think he's also at a s- place where he's like, "I'm at Michigan," so I think there's probably a little bit of a boost from there.
I w- But Michigan's not super talented right now, so they have to play clean football.
So- And the other thing just I'll say real quick- Yeah m- we gotta run Bryce Underwood to death.
If he's not gonna throw the ball at an efficient level, then we gotta- Well, he's their best runner then we gotta run him a lot.
And they, yeah, they should be doing that.
And, and, and then they Last night we saw a few times where, what, they did the running back in the wildcat, the receiver in the wildcat, and I'm just going, what?
I mean, we're paying him all this money.
He's a top recruit.
He throws the ball nicely, but as we know, he needs a lot more development in that department, so what are we getting out of him?
And that, to me, is where the design quarterback run has to come in.
So him being paid nicely I think- Yeah is the biggest thing that would worry me if I was Kyle Whittingham.
Because, you can move off of the guy.
It, it feels like it's difficult to do that.
When you got $12 million that you said you were gonna pay to a guy- You're right, you're right that's, that's your quarterback of the future.
That's the politics of the sport.
Yeah.
And if you don't think he's gonna be better- They state their claim.
He's the guy.
I, that's, that's the problem.
Yeah And he sat down with us- Mm-hmm at Big Ten media days and looked into the camera and said, "The nation is sleeping on Michigan.
I'm out to win a national championship."
He has been, very outspoken before about being the best.
Yep.
He said, "I'm going to be the best to ever come out of Michigan."
He said those words.
Well, I could tell you the national championship thing, I'll just say negative Ghost Rider, all right?
Negative Ghost Rider.
That is not happening in my eyes.
Now, maybe they prove me wrong, and you all can get on me and all that, but I don't think their talent level is up there with some of the top-notch teams we know through college football.
We started our pregame show before this game talking about the College Football Playoff and the path to the playoff, and how challenging Michigan's schedule was.
Could they even do it at nine and three?
They're not gonna be anywhere near the College Football Playoff.
But Joshua, you made the point that you didn't think it was really about this year anyway- No that they should be setting up for next year.
Right.
So if you're Kyle Whittingham, I think that is what you're thinking about.
But you're also fortunate to be one and O, because that did not feel like a win- No because of the controversy at the end.
And Chris, I know you have thoughts on, on what went wrong or how to fix this, because the NFL has certain rules that make this all different, but even in a different conference, like the ACC is doing, like, a live look-in to the replay center.
I mean, there's just ways to do this if you're going to go to replay and possibly change the clock- Mm-hmm that instill more faith and trust- Yes and transparency.
That's the, that's the word.
And, and I think right now, any time we're seeing a replay in college football- You have everyone in their conspiracy hats.
The tinfoil is out That's what's gonna happen in the gambling era.
That's why we need the full transparency, the faith.
We need to know what's going on behind the scenes so you don't have to address the world about what happened the night before and go through all that.
Yeah, it's a little weird when they tell you, "Hey, you know, the clock in the Big Ten command center is not exactly the same clock as the coaches and everybody on TV are watching."
That doesn't make sense, and it certainly doesn't make sense if you want people to trust where we are in the current environment of sports, professional or college, with the legalized gambling era.
And that's where it's wrong right now.
The, the clock, the whole we got one in the, the nerve center- Mm-hmm and we've got one in the stadium.
So when, when I'm doing a two-minute drill, and I'm, I'm trying to figure out how to manage the clock.
Yeah.
So you guys got a different one.
I got an extra second, I know- Yeah, yeah in, in the conference office- Yeah versus what I have- But- w- in the stadium?
That's crazy to think about That doesn't make any damn sense.
The coaches and the players are looking at a clock and making decisions based on that.
It's like, "Oh, when do, when do I burn the timeout?"
I know.
"Oh, well, I got an extra second.
I might as well wait."
It doesn't make sense.
I would say this in general about all of college sports.
I don't care what sport you're talking about.
Mm-hmm.
If we are having coaches and players, and in Western Michigan's case, their president, and their athletic director, if they're available to the press after the game, there's got to be a different way, and this is in all of college sports, for officials or someone in that realm to be addressing the press as well quicker than two plus hours after the game.
Well, exactly.
I, I got 100%.
I think But that's what I'm saying.
That's why it's gotta be a live look-in.
I think everyone, the poor power conferences obviously can do this.
Now, I get why they don't want to.
Sure.
But the ACC broke the seal on this last year.
Right.
Big Ten's gonna do it for some select Friday night games.
The access to get that transparency right away and get those answers, there were people that went to bed thinking that Western Michigan got totally screwed, and there was no explanation for why- Right.
Yeah, sure that extra second got added.
I, I think- Sure.
So- more than anything Go ahead.
Yeah.
Well, I was gonna say the other part about it, too, and Chris, you bring this up.
I, I think it makes a ton of sense.
Why are we looking at that play?
Yeah.
Every, every time the ball goes out of bounds, are we gonna see, oh, did we stop the clock at the right time?
Right, right.
It, it's, it's just not how we actually play.
We've gotten into a thing in all sports in our country right now where we ref the game different in the last minute to two minutes of the game than we do the rest of the game.
Right?
We could've gone back in a lot of plays throughout today or yesterday during that game and gone, "Hey, that guy's foot was out of bounds when he touched it.
They should go back and adjust the clock."
And so I don't love that we micromanage every last millisecond of the end of the game, and then yet there's other parts of the game where we just go, "Well, let's keep it moving.
Let's keep going."
I don't love that.
And, and the last thing I'll say about this- Yeah you give credit to Lance Taylor for the maturity that he had- Totally after the game.
He's a better man than I am.
And then the president of the school talking about how you respond from this.
Yeah.
To those Western Michigan kids, y- you became a story in the college football realm.
People are gonna be following you- They're gonna be rooting for them all throughout the whole year throughout.
They are playing Boise State in a couple weeks.
Oh, wow.
Oh, that'll be fun.
You'll be watching.
Oh, I'll be watching that.
Absolutely.
I'm gonna make these guys watch it.
