The BIG HOUSE Blog

Michigan Tuesday: I Don't Know Who Is Starting?

2026-10-20T09:49:52.019-04:00

Coach Whitt didn't want to give up who the starter will be against #6 IU this weekend. This reminds me of a story of a Michigan AD who went on the radio saying he wasn't going to be fired and was fired days later (or quit with a surprising separation package).

Everyone knows who Coach Whitt's choice is and there were rumors as soon as he took the job that Coach wanted a different QB under center. I also don't understand how not stating the starter confuses Indiana who clearly also knows that Carr is starting.

Other News and Notes:

Zach Marshall is clearly suspended for his leaked group text

Babalola was dressed last game but has only had a week of practice, we should expect to see him get some snaps at LT soon.

I'm wondering if we can start drawing some parallels and conclusions with Bryce and Arch both expected to be benched this weekend. Being the #1 player in the country as a QB does not guarantee success on the field in college and most definitely does not lead to success in the NFL. NIL investments needs to come with results instead of potential.

12:30 kick for Michigan @ Rutgers on Halloween

The 24 team playoffs kills the Bowl Game scrimmages now correct?

PFF highest rated Big Ten DB in Week 7, Rod Moore Jr.!

Michigan Monday: Too Early Look at IU

2026-10-19T08:50:55.073-04:00

Before I start on the Too Early, I wanted to fix something I left out of Cheers and Jeers on Sunday.

Cheers:

Bryce Underwood acting like a captain and supporting Tommy Carr while he was playing. He was engaged and celebrating with Tommy after TD's. That's a class move. He could've went all Tate Foricier, but didn't.

After a wild Saturday of upsets, Miami sits a top of the rankings as the reigning National Champs and pretty much everyone else lost on Saturday.

Indiana #6

Best Win: Iowa

Worst Loss: OSU at home

Pass: 249 per (75th)

Run: 200 per (29th)

Give up: 13 (4th)

Score: 36 (25th)

The turnaround at Indiana has been historic and un-precidented . IU has been historically one of the worst football programs in the country then Cignetti rolls into town and goes to the CFP in Year 1 and a National Championship in Year 2. He has ruined the "honeymoon" period for every new head coach at any new job. (can put Dusty in that sentence as well)

This team has been so good, they haven't lost a game since the CFP loss to ND in year 1, before they lost to Ohio State on Saturday when Marsh couldn't keep his feet in bounds. That's how close they were to handing the Buckeyes their 2nd loss. Now, they roll into the Big House pissed off and a struggling Michigan offense looking them right in the eye.

As you can see their national numbers are not jumping off the page, but they are playing good defense and giving up less then 2 TD's per game. The Michigan Defense will have to figure out a way to get off the field and keep this game close.

Did we have a JJ sighting on Sunday? 👀

Blake with another TD, this time receiving!

Loveland also got his first TD of the year!

24 team playoff, I need to get my head around that.

The last time the Chargers were 0-6, Harbaugh was the QB

Penn State Post Game: The Only Option

2026-10-18T08:23:38.689-04:00

Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire

Coming out of a bye week the Michigan offense didn't execute anything in the first half on Saturday and was down 3-0 at halftime. At the half, everyone's group chat blew up saying the same thing, "it has to be Tommy time!". With his grandfather watching next to old number 14 Brian Griese, the new #14 Tommy Carr took the field to start the 2nd half. The crowd cheered as they hadn't had anything to cheer about for the prior 2 hours.

You watched the game, so you know the defense got 3 turnovers and Carr turned those into 21 points in the 2nd half. Michigan wins 21-18 after a failed attempt at an onsides kick by Penn State.

These type of games are why we have Cheers and Jeers:

Cheers:

Michigan found a way to win in the 2nd half
Hiter with a big run when Michigan was backed up near the goal line!
Kuzdzal's long run changed the game!
Tommy for not being nervous
Bracy is my MVP of the game!

5 solo tackles
1 Pick
1 TFL
1 Sack
couple of big pass breakups

Marshall ran hard
A TE Hogan Hansen caught 2 balls
Rod Moore with a pick (did he get injured celebrating?)
Defense with 3 turnovers
Moa caught all the punts!
JHD had a nice game
Boney Tony is going to be superstar
Troy Bowles quietly is the best player on defense

Jeers:

The defense was either hot or cold
Can we please stop making defensive penalties when the game is on the line?
Marsh needs to catch the ball
Jyaire Hill had a tough day against #0 in White
Can we double that guy?
Earls seems to make one dumb penalty a game
Bryce played terribly and needed to get pulled
The 1st half
Cam Brown, what was with those punts?
I still thought the play calling on offense was really bad

We all assume this is Tommy's job moving forward. Which it should be, we all saw the difference of being trained as a QB vs, being an elite athlete trying to play the position. Now, my concern is, the defense needs to get off the field. I think maybe they forced one 3 and out the entire game. Michigan is going to have to win games on defense the rest of the year and with the National Champs coming into town after their Marsh steps out, it could be ugly if the Wolverines defense doesn't get quick stops next Saturday.

Michigan's running game was a little bit better gaining 211 yards but most of that came on 2 big runs. Michigan sill needs better production on 1st downs. Still 90 yards passing is not going to beat good teams, we have to get the ball to JJ, Marsh, the RB's and TE's in the passing game. Maybe Michigan can be more balanced with Tommy under center.

Any chance we could play Minnesota again with Tommy at QB?

Penn State Preview

2026-10-16T09:02:10.544-04:00

Time: 3:30 EST

Location: Big House

Weather: 53 Sunny

TV: CBS

Line: Michigan -7

These two programs are at similar cross roads. Both hired new coaches in the off season and both programs were ranked to start the year. The problem is both have been pretty bad lately. Penn State is 3-3 and Michigan is 3-2 and neither programs seem to have any answers. There are even empty seats in Happy Valley and that is a strong statement. The Big Ten set up two premier games this weekend. OSU at IU and PSU at Michigan, that plan didn't go as the home office thought.

Dear Coach Whitt:

Coach, I'm very disappointed in the effort the team brought in Minnesota. They looked tired and disinterested the entire game. This is a tough question to ask, but have you lost the locker room?

I know you were brought in to be the CEO, but the lack of discipline, turnovers, penalties, poor execution, and lack of effort are very troubling. Then you do something maybe unpresidented for Michigan Football and brought in two new transfers this week. What is the thinking behind that? Are there more injuries we don't know about? How are these guys able to enroll in October?

That is the issue coach, there are more questions then answer at this point. The good news is the guy across from you is also facing similar questions. He rolled into to Happy Valley from Ames, Iowa to learn the Big Ten is different then the Big 12, a lot different. I think you are feeling something very similar from your time at Utah.

Ross Perot when running against the Governor of Arkansas for the President of the United States, had this memorable line: "You can't go from managing the general store to managing Walmart". Ross clearly didn't win the election but the saying is accurate to both yourself and Matt Campbell, who reportedly turned down the Detroit Lions at one point.

Coach this is where I give you advice on the game, but this week I don't have any. I'm not sure how to fix your problems on offense. I've watched Bryce for 18 games not get any better but he is still the starter because he makes bank. I see a 2nd string guy with strong QB mechanics and no experience continue to sit and watch. There is also a Colorado State transfer with a ton of playing experience continue to watch as well. I see what should be the best RB's in college football continued to get stuffed at the LOS, and talented WR's not get the ball. The offensive line is also very questionable at this point and I'm not smart enough to understand if its scheme or skill.

I'm glad you made one good hire with Jay Hill's defense who will probably have to win the game on Saturday again, like they did against Oklahoma and almost did against Minnesota.

Coach, my hope is your team got better the last two weeks but Michigan fans need to see it with our eyes and not our heart. The injury report was troubling for both teams and I'm not sure we are going to see inspired football from either party on Saturday. This is where I tell you each week to play clean football, no turnovers, and only a few penalties, but that hasn't worked. So I'm going to change the advice this week, try to have some fun with the kids this week, play the game like you were playing Madden and just throw deep every play. Go George Costanza and just do the opposite of every football instinct you have and lets see how that plays out.

Prove me the fool for questioning you.

Michigan 17 Penn State 14

Big Ten Week 7 Preview and Michigan - PSU Injury Report

2026-10-15T08:46:27.212-04:00

This is one of the premier weekends that the Big Ten schedulers spit out for big TV ratings. Yes, its Rutgers - Maryland week! Buckle Up!

Friday Night:

Washington @ Purdue (-3.5): How is the state of your program and/or defense? Being an underdog to Purdue is not a great sign. Purdue just rolled the Golden Gophers and Washington has big travel and a short week. Did I mention they also can't stop the run? Purdue 31 Wash 27

Saturday:

Ohio State (-3.5) @ IU: The last two national champions are facing off in the regular season. IU survived a scare at Nebraska last weekend and Ohio State just keeps throwing the ball to the future Heisman winner. Both teams are beatable and both have been living on Fox's Big Noon. I like a low scoring battle here. OSU 23 IU 17

Northwestern (-7.5) @ MSU: This is the Pat Fitz Bowl, sponsored by Gorton's Fish and Chips. Pat is in his in first year at MSU but his former team is now 4-1 and plays in a new Billion Dollar stadium. I think his old program where he played and coached is doing pretty well, current program, not so much. Northwestern 33 MSU 23

Rutgers @ Maryland (-4.5): The premier Big 10 match-up of the weekend. This is your DO NOT WATCH Game of the weekend. Maryland 20 Rutgers 17

Wisconsin @ UCLA (-2.5): Who is the best young coach in the Big Ten? Bob Chesney is. UCLA is undefeated in the Big Ten and Wisconsin only loss this year is to ND. Yes, the PSU - Michigan game was supposed to be the 2nd big game of the weekend, but this game is actually it! I love UCLA and the points here. UCLA 28 Wisconsin 20

Nebraska @ Oregon (-7): Both teams are coming off heart breaking loses. Nebraska thought they were back to find out, you have to play a 4th quarter and Oregon found out that UCLA is for real and they have to have better QB play. The biggest question is Riaola a double agent? He got benched last weekend. This is a 11PM EST kick. Oregon 38 Nebraska 21

PSU - Michigan Injury Report

They almost needed a 2nd page.

Wolverine Wednesday: What and Why?

2026-10-14T09:22:01.978-04:00

app.com

Former Miami TE Alex Bauman has received an injunction from the Washtenaw County court for a 5th year of eligibility. He plans to use it a Michigan and become immediately eligible.

Alex is 6'5 and 250 pounds and had 18 receptions for 166 yards and 1 TD last season. Prior to Miami he spent 3 years at Tulane.

My first reaction: What?

Second reaction: Why?

Seems strange to want to join a team mid-season like this. Also, Michigan has pretty much ignored the TE position this year. Yes, that is a mistake but what is the upside here? A better blocking TE?

Wait! There is another one: Michigan is also expected to add former Boise State CB Jeremiah Earby who was also granted a TRO and has enrolled at Michigan. Earby was an all conference selection last season and had 4 picks.

Michigan Tuesday: News and Notes

2026-10-14T08:47:57.590-04:00

Blake had a nice game for the Rams on MNF. 19 yards rushing, 53 receiving, with 1 TD

Josaiah Stewart also had a sack last night

IU @ Michigan will be a noon kick on Fox

If you didn't hear this weeks game is on CBS

RG3 said he was offered to be the Michigan QB coach to coach up Bryce

Mara last night: 17 POINTS - 10 REBOUNDS - 6 ASSISTS - 5 BLOCKS- 4/9 FGM- 33 MINUTES

Michigan Monday: Same Old Big Ten

2026-10-12T09:27:20.984-04:00

The team Michigan beat, Oklahoma beat the #1 team in the nation Texas, who also has a win over Ohio State. Predictably, the team Michigan lost to a week ago, thought they were CFP bound and got blown out by Purdue.

The Big Ten started to show its old habits again. Case in points:

-OSU blew out Maryland

-Iowa ran over Washington who forget to play any defense

-Illinois was dominating MSU, Sparty makes a comeback, new coach flips off the other sideline, and then loses in OT.

-Minnesota remembers they are the Golden Gophers

-Oregon over looks UCLA who could be a poor man's Indiana.

-Nebraska looks to be back and ready to stop the streak of 30 loses in a row to ranked opponents, to lose it in the 4th to IU.

-Penn State is 3-3 again, the exact same record that got James Franklin fired.

Just when I thought this was a weird year, the Big Ten says, "We're still the same!".

Yes, Michigan fans. Whoever Michigan hires as AD, needs to keep at eye on UCLA's coach. The money cannon would be able to get him out of LA.

I forgot that Michigan Basketball played an exhibition against EMU on Sunday. Sounds like they played well. October Rodney did not play. They must be waiting for some type of rubber stamp from the Big Ten.

Z had a tough game for the Giants

Speaking of the Giants - Commanders, that might have been the dumbest thing I've seen on a football field and we all have seen a lot of dumb.

Coach's Whitt press conference this morning should be interesting. 5 days to get better Coach.

Update on Presser:
Bryce still the starter, Carr took 1/2 the 1st team snaps
No change with Beck or play calling
Sprague is still out and still a mystery
Babalola will practice this week
New punt returner on Saturday

Michigan Friday: A Day Off

2026-10-09T14:04:09.921-04:00

The Michigan Football is taking a needed weekend off as they continue to try to improve for the final run of the season.

Michigan Basketball Center Marcus Moeller will not be available for the first scrimmage against EMU as he gets a Cancer check up in Denmark.

The EMU scrimmage is set for this Sunday at 2:00 on BTN+

The Michigan Staff is out recruiting this weekend. Half of me says that what they should be doing, the other half says, get back to Ann Arbor so you can fix this mess.

RIP Mike Ditka

Enjoy some free time this weekend!

Big Ten Week 6 Preview

2026-10-08T10:57:09.479-04:00

Not the best week for the Big Ten in match-ups, we do get to see if Nebraska is for real. Somehow Northwestern sneaks a non-conference game in.

Friday Night:

Iowa @ Washington (-3): Iowa got a wake up call last week against OSU that is taking some of steam off the Michigan win. Washington is up and down but that is tough travel on a short week. Washington 21 Iowa 20

Saturday:

IU (-7.5) @ Nebraska: Both teams are hot but neither really have played anyone, the win over Northwestern looks better now then it did a week ago. IU 28 Nebraska 17

Ball State @ Northwestern (37.5): Should be an easy win for the Wildcats. NW 44 Ball State: 10

UCLA @ Oregon (-11.5): The Ducks really responded after their upset loss to OK State. With Moore probably out with a concussion its Raiola time again with a new jersey. I like the Ducks. Oregon 31 UCLA 17

Illinois (-2.5) @ MSU: Not a great start for either team this season. Illinois 17 MSU 14

Maryland @ OSU (-34.5): Yikes. OSU 52 Maryland 9

USC @ Penn State (-1.5): Both teams coming off tough loses and need a win. USC doesn't travel east well but the Trojans are the better team: USC 28 PSU 23

Minnesota (-2.5) @ Purdue: Both teams coming off big wins and I think the Golden Gophers are set up for a let down. Purdue 20 Minnesota 17

UCLA also has a prove it game this weekend as Oregon tries to hold on to their CFP and Big Ten Championship lives.

Wolverine Wednesday: It Better Be More Than This......

2026-10-07T09:24:17.307-04:00

The Michigan fan base is hoping Coach Whitt and Coach Beck have a good plan for fixing Michigan's broken offense in the next two weeks. We thought we had seen improvement against Iowa but that faded away fast as they couldn't do anything against a mediocre Golden Gophers team that hadn't beaten the Wolverines in their home stadium in 50 years. Nice to have that fun fact on your record in Year 1 Coach Whitt.

Maybe he is not letting us know the real plan but it better be more than this: "Yeah, well, first of all, self-analysis. What do we do best? What is our, through five games, what's been our strength?" Whittingham said. "Where do we need to gravitate? What do we need to gravitate towards schematically? Personnel-wise, who have been our best players through those five games, and are we getting those best players on the field often enough, and enough reps?

"And, offensively, we got a long ways to go. I'm telling you right now, there's a lot of issues, and we gotta address them. It's just a situation of, again, figuring out what have we done well so far, what do we need to just cast off and not try to do anymore, try to put a square peg in a round hole, and find a way to manage the game offensively so we have a chance to win."

Coach Whitt repeats the phrase, "figuring out what we have done well". That is the most elementary of approaches he could have spoken at this point. Let me answer that question in one word: NOTHING.

Your not running the ball effectively, with two of the best RB's in the country
Your OL looks to be running a blocking scheme that is foreign to them and does not match their skill set.
Your offense does not seem to use the TE at all and you prefer the Rhino position which has been completely ineffective.
Your QB is a one read QB and missing wide open WR's.
You continue to struggle on 3rd and 4th and 1.
Your offense turns the ball over and can't stay of the field to give your good defense any rest.

What have you been doing well?

JJ has been a great addition at WR
Marsh has made some crazy good catches
These good things are muted when you don't have protection or a QB that can get them the ball.

So the "figuring out what we do well" on offense action item, took about 2 minutes, what now Coach?

I sure hope this "awe shucks" from Coach Whitt is an act and not his approach to fixing the offense.

Zach Marshall group texts after the Minnesota game hit the Internet and he sent out an apology yesterday. To summarize his texts, Beck is a problem, told the TE's they are not a part of this offense, all a defense has to do is blitz to stop Michigan's offense, and that Beck just tells Bryce where to go on offense.

Things are great in the locker room right now.

Michigan Tuesday: Memories of the Recent Past

2026-10-06T09:15:17.036-04:00

It's hard today to remind ourselves we have been extremely lucky and blessed the last 3-4 years. Michigan fans have had 2 National Championship in its two top sports in a very short time span. That type of shit doesn't happen around here very often. It has been a blessed ride.

The issue is, neither program is the same. Both head coaches headed to the pro game as soon as they lifted the trophies. So even though we loved the run and enjoyed the Championships, the aftermath had a bitter taste of Warde being asleep at the wheel.

It's fair to say Michigan is not alone in this area, you see Cignetti jump to the Carolina Panthers and UConn's Dan Hurley quickly left for the Lakers. Wait a second, that didn't happen and it seems Michigan is the only place coaches are looking to leave before they receive their Championship rings.

So now we are left picking up the pieces of a broken Football Program, who's successor preferred Only Fans instead of Offense, while his peer on the defensive side of the ball is leading the Baltimore Ravens. Great decision there Warde. In comes CEO Kyle Whittingham to clean up the mess. He won the off season and little else so far. He is now faced with maybe the hardest decision of his career. The top ranked QB in the history of Michigan High School athletics or Lloyd's grandson whose brother is a Heisman candidate for ND. Kyle wake up, we have a problem!

On a side note, I got to watch live maybe one of the worst teams in college football on Saturday night, Texas Southern. They are god awful, but their offense might be better then the Wolverines right now.

Again, the only positive is Michigan has a good defense and two weeks to fix the problems on offense. Changes have to be made, they have to.

Usually, TV networks fight over the Penn State @ Michigan. Not this year! The game time is set for 3:30 and none of the networks have grabbed the game yet. Hey CW, you want a Big Ten game? The time slot suggests its CBS or BTN.

One of the surprises to make an NFL roster has been Braiden McGregor who has made the Jets for a few years. Unfortunately, he has torn his peck muscle and is out for the year.

Michigan Monday: Looks For Big Changes

2026-10-05T08:54:02.122-04:00

The Michigan Football program has somehow gotten worse under a respected head coach. Which is pretty much shocking to everyone that follows College Football. I took some heat when Coach Whitt was hired because I pointed out that Utah had gently pushed him out. He then impressed many of us with his staff, his portal additions, and his ability to keep most of the roster intact.

This roster, this coaching staff, new discipline, and a new focus was going to lead to a successful season with a difficult schedule. Maybe Michigan could sneak into the CFP? Here is the problem, nothing on the offense side of the ball has worked. Nothing. Coach Beck a respected OC is running plays and an offense that seems foreign to everyone, even the players running it. Michigan is losing their winnable games and guess what is going to happen when they play the big boys?

So now what? I honestly don't know.

Our 8 figure QB is completely broken and looks disinterested

The offensive line looks to be running blocking concepts that are new to them

Our great RB's are getting hit at the LOS because every defensive box is overloaded

Michigan's TE's are an afterthought

Michigan's 2 really good WR's seem to be the only options in a terrible passing offense

The positive is Michigan has two weeks to fix what is broken and they won't take a loss this weekend. Michigan also has a solid defense that probably should take the week off after all the plays they ran on Saturday.

Here is my concern: Coach Whitt has come to Ann Arbor as a football CEO and not a hands on head football coach. Him saying he is going to sit down with Coach Beck to figure out the unacceptable offense, seems like a meeting that's a month over due.

Is there conflict between the donors and the new staff on Bryce? Because I see a backup QB with a legendary name and good QB mechanics sitting on the bench.

Has Bryce mentally checked out? Is he overwhelmed? Because he is not processing the field at all. Many times he is making the wrong read on the option handoff to the RB's and missing wide open WR's/TE's.

Coach has a ton of explaining to do at his presser today. But I'm not sure I will believe any of it, until I see it.

Etroit Lions

Are there any good football teams in the State of Michigan right now? Yes, there is. 1 - Ferris State defending National Champions are 5-0.

A Clown Show

2026-10-03T20:30:44.939-04:00

I'm almost speechless on what I saw today, but you know me, I have a lot of thoughts about the product the Wolverines put on the field today. I'm just going to bullet for you my random thoughts, please beware this an emotional and mostly negative take on the game this afternoon.

Coach Whitt looks like a Deer in Headlights
Coach Beck has done a terrible job with this Michigan offense
Bryce is not ready to be Michigan's QB

He missed a check down on 4th down to a wide-open TE
He missed Marsh butt naked open and throws a pick when forcing the ball to JJ
He is a one read QB right now
As soon as one thing goes wrong, he loses all confidence
That 4th down throw looked like a FU to the Michigan program
Byrce is not processing the position fast enough
To me he has regressed and not taken a step forward from last season

This is some RR year 1 bull shit
It's time to give Carr and that Colorado State QB a shot
The defense played really well but you can't play football when you're on the field the entire game.
The defense even gave Michigan 7 points
I thought we had the best OL coach in college football?
The penalties and turnovers continued
Marsh is not a confident punt returner
Marsh also had a big drop
Another terrible call by Coach Beck on 3rd an 1 early
You can't pay a HS senior QB all that money, you have to follow the Miami model. Recruit both lines and skill positions and overpay for the best college QB every year.

I will restate this: I wondered out loud if hiring Coach Whit at Michigan and Matt Campbell meant we were getting Utah and Iowa State in the Big Ten and that is exactly what we have gotten this year. Michigan is not a good football team, they play good defense and Coach Hill has done a nice job. The offense is completely backwards.

I'm happy Byrce got his money, but I've seen enough to know that he is not going to be a good QB at Michigan. I wish him well at his next stop but it's so easy to defend Michigan when Byrce is the QB.

You double his first option and then you know he is going to run. If you stop Michigan's run game, you win the game.

I'm very concerned that Coach Whitt is not the right man for this job. He seems very disconnected from the program and letting his coordinators run the show and Beck is running some system that does not fit the Michigan personnel. I'm stunned at the play calling and lack of execution at every level on offense. There really should be consideration if Beck is the OC on Monday. I don't expect a change, but this level of performance is un-acceptable.

Michigan has two weeks to figure stuff out for the rest of the year. If they don't there are going to be some very difficult decisions for this staff and future roster.

Michigan and its $40M roster just lost to Iowa and Minnesota in back-to-back weeks. If that is my money, I would want some answers.

The Little Brown Jug Preview

2026-10-02T11:42:32.271-04:00

Time: Noon

Location: Huntington Bank

Weather: 60 small chance of rain

TV: Fox

Line: Michigan -5.5

The Little Brown Jug has plenty of history and outside one of the true rivalry games Michigan plays (MSU and OSU), this trophy is very important to the program. It's also very important to Minnesota and they have an empty trophy case just waiting for it. This is the Golden Gophers Super Bowl on Saturday and this trophy would probably get The Row the Boat captain an extension with a win.

Dear Coach Whitt:

I've got to say this straight up to you and I think I speak for many Michigan Football fans. This non-deciplined football is Bull Shit and completely unexpected. I would've expected these type of mistakes from a Sherrone coached team, not one lead by you and your experienced coordinators.

The Iowa loss completely washed over the narrative that your offense is getting better and Bryce had one of his best days as a Wolverine. I think the pick was on Marsh, but clearly they weren't on the same page. The defense struggled and Michigan didn't get as much pressure on the Iowa QB as they should've.

Coach you were brought here to be the calm in a program that has had too many storms lately. You have brought some of that, but what I'm watching on the field does not seem to match that. You have to understand Michigan Football before you can be successful at it. BTW, that does not mean learning as you go, you have to figure this shit out quickly.

The big learning this week is the Little Brown Jug. The Minnesota program lives and dies with this trophy and we haven't played the Golden Gophers in a few years. This is also a great test for your team on the road. It's about time you got out of Ann Arbor and took at trip. This team needs a mental reset and a couple day trip to play some football should be the cure.

The Golden Gophers are feeling pretty good because they won a Big Ten After Dark game last weekend in Seattle which is not an easy place to get a W. Coach Fleck got so happy he rubbed blood on his cheeks from one of his players after the game. This team is hot and waiting to pull an other upset and get the prize of the Little Brown Jug.

Play CLEAN FOOTBALL, stop the penalties and turnovers. Rush the passer and stop the run. On offense continue the positive progression with Bryce and lets get Marshall or Hiter over a 100 yards please! If you haven't noticed JJ is always open, throw him the damn ball!

Bond as a team on the road and play Michigan Football!

Michigan 31 Minnesota 20

Big Ten Preview Week 5

2026-10-01T09:31:19.160-04:00

There are a couple interesting conference games this weekend. Including Ohio State traveling to Iowa. Don't sleep on Friday's night game with Penn State at Northwestern. Only 7 Big Ten games this weekend.

Friday:

Penn State (-3) @ Northwestern: I haven't watched either team this year and PSU got upset by Wisconsin last week. I like Northwestern in this game but Penn State is probably the better team. Northwestern 27 PSU 20

Saturday:

Ohio State (-14.5) @ Iowa: It's hard playing at Iowa and the Hawkeyes will keep this one close for maybe a half. Then OSU will find out they can pass on this defense and score a ton of points, if they just score points in the red zone. No upset this weekend for Iowa. OSU 28 Iowa 13

Maryland @ Nebraska (-14.5): Nebraska continues to dominate the lower teams in the Big Ten, they could be schedule good this year. Nebraska 31 Maryland 9

Purdue @ Illinois (-10): Illinois looked decent at times against OSU last weekend, Purdue does not play defense. Illinois 38 Purdue 24

Washington @ USC (-9.5): Trojans has a tough weekend and so did the Huskies. USC should be able to rebound from the Oregon beat down. USC 41 Wash 31

IU (-23.5) @ Rutgers: This is a night game? Why? IU 44 Rutgers 21

Michigan and Minnesota injury report:

Marsh, Nichols, Sprague, and JHD on Questionable is not great, but last week most guys on "questionable" played. So we got that going for us. Yes, Michigan needs all 4 guys on Saturday.

Wolverine Wednesday: Does Coach Whitt Know?

2026-09-30T08:35:38.227-04:00

I've been critical of Coach Whitt and staff for not knowing Michigan traditions until after they happen, they should have a Michigan Historian on staff. Examples through 4 weeks that Coach Whitt was surprised about:

Michigan playing poorly in game 1
Michigan playing poorly in a night game
Maize Jerseys
That people are still talking about a play from Week 1
That the Wolverines play best a noon
Iowa has some weird magic
Every point against Iowa is ultra important
Every defense they will face will sell out to stop the run
Even when you win it feels like a loss as the Michigan Head Coach

There is another one coming up on Saturday and you better be prepared. Minnesota will play like they are in the CFP this weekend to win the Little Brown Jug. It's the most important trophy the

Golden Gophers can win. They will not win a Big Ten Championship or get to the CFP, this game and maybe a bowl game in Nashville are the most important prize for the Golden Gophers.

When you have young players and transfers they don't understand. When you mix in a new staff and they are naive to these things, do you know what happens? You actually lose football games you should win. Best example was the Iowa game last weekend. Long time, Michigan fans knew bad things were coming after that weird tip ball that landed in a Hawkeye's hand after coming from out of bounds.

If the Wolverines are not ready to play on Saturday, they are going to lose another game and the oldest trophy in college football.

Like I said on Monday, sometimes playing at home has too many distractions. Get on the road, start bonding as a team, play Michigan Football and start to dominate on both sides of the ball. Everyone has to be better this week, Coaches, Coordinators, Head Coach, Players, Defense, Offense, and Special Teams.

Michigan Tuesday: JJ to Giants

2026-09-29T10:00:52.697-04:00

Michigan fans love JJ no matter what. Even if he doesn't complete another pass in the NFL, he delivered a National Championship to Michigan in a year full of non-stop distractions. He will always go down as a legend in Ann Arbor.

We all know he got off to a bad start in Minnesota, injured during his first pre-season game and struggled in year 2 without any NFL experience and more injuries. This year, Minnesota wasn't all in on JJ and signed Kyler Murray and JJ dropped to #3 on the depth chart.

Michigan fans love JJ and so do the Harbaugh's and luckily they control 2 NFL franchises. John (maybe the better coach) traded for JJ to replace his young and hurt QB and to backup Jameis until that story gets too old and JJ learns the playbook. Great spot for him but NYC is never easy on a QB.

Lesson #44 on being the Michigan head coach. This quote from Coach Whitt yesterday: He feels they’re 0-4, but 3-1 and need to be better.

Coach Whitt didn't like the 4th down jump QB sneak by Bryce.

Coach Hill made the call on the defensive formation for the last play and thought it was the best formation for the moment. It wasn't.

I did like the hoodie coach was wearing during his press conference. Nike put it up for sale!

Coach also said John Henry Daley was walking around on Monday without a boot, so he hopes he is ready to go on Saturday for the Little Brown Jug.

The Big Ten will not allow any player that signed an NBA or NFL contract to comeback, the good news is Roddy Gayle did not sign an Exhibit 10 contract and should be ok for next season.

Michigan Monday: Concerns About Coaching and Too Early Look at The Golden Gophers

2026-09-28T09:23:34.114-04:00

Cignetti and Dusty May ruined coaching for every college football and basketball coach. They took two programs and won National Championships in year 2 by leveraging the Transfer Portal and finding the perfect fits. I know this statement is my favorite broken record but the Michigan job is not like any other job in College Football. There are very strict expectations and most coaches can't handle them. Moeller couldn't, Rich Rod couldn't, Brady Hoke couldn't, Sherrone couldn't, and it even took Harbaugh years to figure it out.

So it's not fair what I'm going to say right now because "the cake isn't baked yet this year" and Coach Whitt and staff are still figuring things out in Ann Arbor but, Coach Whitt and staff are not meeting expectations currently. There are two things I expected out of Michigan this year at a minimum, clean and discipline football and we've seen very little of either through 4 games.

You can not coach Michigan like Utah or BYU or any other school out there, because Ann Arbor is different. Before you take the job in Ann Arbor, every head coach needs to understand that.

Case in point, I love being aggressive against certain teams. Go for 4th downs and throw to the end zone, but not against Iowa. Why? Because when you play Iowa every point is like 7 points. If Michigan had a different strategy on Saturday, they would've been up 9 or more points the entire game. On my group chat at half-time, I said Michigan is playing its best game of the year but they are playing right into Iowa's hands.

The penalties and dumb plays are on the coaches. I thought Coach Combs was probably doing the best job on the staff until Saturday's kick off return. That last drive the Michigan defense was gassed and out of position for the final play. How a WR has a 1 on 1 coverage with two seconds left and zero threat of a running game is beyond me. The Sunday night NFL game last night had the exact same scenario and Denver had a large amount of the defense standing on the goal line and picked off Stafford to end the game.

I would love to point tp the Oklahoma game as a success but Georgia just rolled them like they were not even on the field and Boise shut out Western in Kalamazoo. Michigan has yet to beat a good team and this year might continue to be a struggle if they can't turn things around and play smarter football. They have the talent but do they have the mindset plus the skill and will to play better football?

Going on the road, might be what this team needs. Get away from Ann Arbor, get away from school, and get away from distractions. Michigan has a trophy game on Saturday and its Minnesota's Super Bowl. The Wolverines need to be prepared for a Golden Gopher team that just upset UW late night on Saturday in Seattle, which is no easy task. Someone better prepare Coach Whitt and staff what to expect on Saturday.

Minnesota 3-1

Best Win: UW last week

Loss: Miss St

Pass: 258.8 per (65th)

Run: 119 (116th)

Score: 35 (46th)

Give up: 19 (40th)

Minnesota likes to the row the boat and run the football but this year they seem to favor the pass with QB Drake Lindsey. Should be an interesting one and and a noon kick. Michigan is currently -8.5 favorite.

Michigan Pro's had a good Sunday: Mason Graham had 2 sacks, Roman Wilson caught a long TD pass from Rogers, and Wallace has a pick for the Rams.

Stupid Football Never Wins

2026-09-26T19:23:00.838-04:00

Michigan might have played its best game on Saturday and lost. The reason they lost, they play stupid football. Let me count the ways

Zeke Berry doing that is just incredibly stupid
Michigan turned the ball over in red zone 2 times. Michigan should of had a comfortable 9 point lead the entire game.
A huge mistake on the kick off return
Why wasn't the entire defense in the end zone on that play?
Michigan dominated the entire game and at the same time was playing Iowa's game
I think the Bryce INT was on Marsh
I think that hands to the face by Trey Pierce was the wrong call (so I don't consider that a stupid play)

My only concern about hiring Coach Whitt was just this. His Utah teams were good but never great and he always lost big games. There are very few head coaches that can take a team to great. I sure hope Coach Whitt has one career run left in him. Because this was a comedy of errors today and probably Bryce's best game as a Michigan QB.

I truly can't process that last sentence.

If you are a Michigan fan, you knew the Wolverines were in trouble when the out of bounds tip play happened. You knew this was going to be some type of Iowa strange win and it was.

Somedays you get beat by a better team and some days you beat yourself. Michigan clearly beat itself today. Many we say this win by Iowa is Karma and maybe it was. I just know this team continues to do stupid things at the worst moments.

BTW: Oklahoma and WMU got blown out today.

Iowa Preview

2026-09-25T10:59:02.728-04:00

Time: 3:30
Location: Big House
Weather: 71 No Rain
TV: CBS

Line: Michigan -5.5

Historically, Iowa has had a great defense and poor offense. The offense is better and the defense is still really good. Michigan has a really good defense this season and the offense has struggled at times. Both teams are 3-0 with close wins over instate teams. Everyone thinks this will be a low scoring game where a turnover might be the difference.

Dear Coach Whitt:

I know you understand what "Clean" football is. It's when your team doesn't receive penalties or turns the the ball over. Michigan is struggling with both offense and penalties on defense. You can not make those mistakes against Iowa because they will capitalize on everyone of those. In fact, their game plan includes them.

If you're looking for a comp, your Utah teams were sort of the Iowa of the West. By now you know what it means to be the Michigan head coach and winning in the Big House is paramount to having a good season. So this is a big game for two reasons, it's your first conference game and its Iowa in the Big House.

Now to the team, we can't have another first half like the team put on the field against UTEP. That is unacceptable and you know iit. The defense needs to play with aggression and the offense can't run into a loaded box over and over. Every defense is going to make Bryce beat them through the air, I would've assumed you and your staff understood that before the season started. If not, you do know now.

Get Savion involved in the passing game and continue to leverage JJ and Marsh. I do believe we have TE's that are great for getting first downs. I love running the ball but you can't do that when the box has every defender in it. On the goal line, UTEP didn't even cover JJ on one play last week.

We need more creativity on offense and that doesn't mean running Bryce non-stop. Yes, he needs to get his running plays in, but his ball security concerns me.

This game should be sponsored by Tide Pods, because the team that plays the "cleanest" will win. Michigan has to limit the mistakes because Iowa wants to "hang around" and win late on a field goal. I hope Michigan's injuries have healed this week and we get Berry, Sprague, and Marshall off the list.

It's hard to win on the road in the Big Ten and Michigan needs to protect the Big House. Play clean and play with aggression!

Michigan 24 Iowa 14

Michigan - Iowa Availability Report

2026-09-24T10:35:58.257-04:00

Sprague and Berry Questionable is interesting. Dom being on the list is not great.

Micah Ka'apana has been injured his entire Michigan career it seems

Big Ten Week 5 Preview

2026-09-24T09:43:23.355-04:00

We finally made it through the non-conference matchups and it's time to play Big Ten Football! Only 2 non-conference games this week.

Friday Night:

Howard @ Rutgers (-41.5): Rutgers loves them some Friday night football! There are already rumors about Brian Kelly being the next head coach as the Scarlet Knights are looking for their 1st win of the year. Rutgers 31 Howard 10

Northwestern @ IU (-21): Ok, on paper this looks like a blowout. Don't sleep on the Wildcats who just blew out Coach Prime's Colorado team. IU 28 NW 14

Saturday:

Illinois @ OSU (-26.5): What has happened to Illinois? I expected them to be solid this year and they lost to Duke at home. To be fair, Duke was the ACC Champs last season. OSU 40 Illinois 20

UCLA (1.5) @ Maryland: I'm not sure of either team. I thought Maryland would beat VT last week and they didn't. UCLA has a new coach and seems to be playing better football this season. I still don't like how the California teams travel East, Maryland 24 UCLA 21.

ND (-27.5) @ Purdue: This should be a walk over for ND as long as they show up. ND 38 Purdue 10

Wisconsin @ Penn State (-10): This should be a huge Big Ten matchup but the game ends up at 5:00 on Peacock. Penn State 21 Wisconsin 10

Nebraska (-5.5) @ MSU: Sparty is not getting any respect after playing ND tough last week. Nebraska could be fools gold right now. I like MSU in this one. MSU 17 Nebraska 14

Oregon (-3) @ USC: So let me understand this, USC is ranked #12 and Oregon is #20. USC is playing at home but still a home dog? It's because USC defense is questionable at best. Lots of points here. Oregon 40 USC 38

Minnesota @ Washington (-10): These 11:00 EST kick off times are a killer for teams traveling West. I like Washington here. Washington 34 Minn 17

Wolverine Wednesday: Points at a Premium

2026-09-23T10:18:04.214-04:00

The over/under for Iowa at Michigan at 38.5 continues to remain low and I joked on Monday, the first one to 10 wins! Leading the Hawkeyes now is QB ~~Mark Gronowski from Naperville who was a transfer from South Dakota State,~~ Hank Brown, transfer from Auburn. We all know too well about Michigan's struggles on that side of the ball. Michigan has faced a very difficult 4th ranked Oklahoma defense and Iowa has faced Iowa State's who has the 13th ranked defense (points against for both stats).

When defense is king points become a premium and that means field goals will play a huge role in Saturday's game, which will probably take 2.5 hours to play. Which means we will be commericaled to death by CBS as they try to pay for the Romo contract buyout.

The Harbaugh brothers are a combined 1-3 in the NFL right now.

Tony Diaz Iowa's best WR #14, loves man to man coverage and calls it "shopping at a candy store"

Tony again on Michigan's man to man: "We've just got to make plays. We're going to get what we want — we're going to get man on man. It's just, who's better at the end of the day?"

Michigan Tuesday: The Andrew Sprague Mystery

2026-09-22T12:42:58.575-04:00

Andrew Sprague name sound like a NYC Detective that fumbles through his cases but always arrests the killer and has a 100% close rate on all his cases.

In actuality, Andrew is an NFL Offensive Tackle prospect on Michigan's O-Line. He was a late scratch on Saturday morning for the UTEP game after practicing all week and going through walk throughs on Friday.

Coach Whitt did not seem pleased after receiving the news for Jim Harding the offensive line coach. I had assumed he was just out sick, but it now seems more serious then that.

Coach Whitt on his radio show:

“What happened between half hour ago and now," Whittingham said his response to Harding was. "It was just a weird thing, but hopefully we get Andrew back. That's the major concern right now. The primary concern is his health and making sure we can get him back to where he needs to be.”

Then at Monday's presser:

“Andrew Sprague, gosh, that's a tough question. I think it could be anywhere from this week to several weeks," Whittingham said. "And so we just don't know and we're trying to sort through that, not we but the medical staff and making sure that we get the exact diagnosis and treat this thing the right way.

So for right now, it looks like Andrew is out against Iowa and there isn't a good timeline for his return to the lineup.