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commit to the bit [Patrick Barron]

SPONSOR NOTE: Tom Brady (yes that Tom Brady) and our friends at Autograph reached out recently looking for a way to get the most deserving fans access to the most exclusive Michigan football rewards curated by Valiant Management Group. Brady asked what would make a good Michigan Fan Flex Challenge and we looked at all you all and said "Uh, Trivia!"

How it works: You answer 12 questions as quickly as you can (it's timed) before Thursday, July 13 at 6PM EDT to secure your spot on the leaderboard. Your performance will be ranked based on the number of correct answers you submit and how quickly you complete the questions. You only get one shot, so make it count and check out the Challenge Rules for more information. Or listen to the man himself:

At the end of the submission period, the top performers will unlock front of the line access to purchase exclusive University of Michigan football rewards curated by our friends at Valiant. Once the competition ends, look out for an email from Autograph notifying you if you are eligible with details to purchase.

We are all going to die soon. I bring terrifying news:

San Diego Lincoln 2025 quarterback Akili Smith Jr., was one of the standouts at Future 50 last month at IMG Academy in Florida. The Top247 prospect said he has a loose top three, not an official group, but the one he’s working with right now and it includes Florida, Michigan and Oregon.

The existence of a recruitable Akili Smith Jr. has caused me to drink from the wrong grail. If I find out there's a JJ McCarthy Jr in the 2026 class I'm going to evaporate.

I'm not joining "Threads." Elon Musk is currently running Twitter into the ground but "Facebook but narrower" is not something I will tolerate, folks. I do not want an algorithm populating my social media feed. I want it to be the maniacs I follow in chronological order. If Bluesky attains critical mass I'll migrate, but the sheer number of people I've blocked on Twitter is a critical advantage for that platform. Someone step in and buy it from Musk, please.

[After THE JUMP: Fred Jackson!]

[Patrick Barron]

Since I'm freed of Offensive UFRs, Matt Demorest of HomeSure Lending and I decided to bring back the YouTube show where we look at a play or two and try to show you something you can spot next Saturday. He also has his son making picks and then we do a version of good & welfare called "talk me up/talk me down" at the end. We did a trial run last week and people seemed to like it so here ya go. If you're looking to buy or refi, he's the guy.

The two plays we discuss are here (the Harrell pressure) and here (the Morris sack).

There is no content after the jump. The video is the content.

(P.S. I prescheduled this post yesterday in case you were planning on reporting to a certain biblical deity that Seth's working today.)

(P.P.S. I call it the Seth & Matt Show. Oldest name goes first, right?)

[photo: Bryan Fuller]

So after a long time away, we can partner with DraftKings again. If you weren't here in the before-time, the deal is my friend works there, and from time to time he gets them to sponsor an evening post here. I pick a game for the MGoFaithful to play, you get to play for free, and if you actually know what you're doing, you win money.

We never got to do an Pro Football Team Pick 'Em before, and that's actually my favorite type of league to play in, so I'm stoked that they finally have that. The link:

Free $1,000,000 Pick’em Contest

To clarify, there is $1M in the whole pool—the top prize gets $100,000, and everyone who gets all their picks correct in the pool splits $300,000. Just pick the outright winner in each game and if you pick half right you win. The challenge won't lock until 1:00 PM EST on September 9.

Eligibility restrictions apply. See website for details

My Picks:

  • Indianapolis over Cincy—Always pick against Ohio.
  • Baltimore over Buffalo—Buffalo's starting Nathan Peterman. Why?
  • New Orleans over Tampa Bay—Brees is going to have a career year.
  • New England over Houston—As long as Tom Brady is breathing. You know, whatever he breathes.
  • San Francisco over Minneapolis—Riding Garoppolo until he loses.
  • Miami over Tennessee—Did you remember Tennessee made the playoffs last year? Neither did I.
  • Jacksonville over New York—Saquon is going to find his new line isn't any better than his old one
  • Pittsburgh over Cleveland—Always pick against Ohio, whatever that Spartan's whining about this week
  • Kansas City over San Diego—Bolts always start so crappy. My upset pick.
  • Denver over Seattle—Butt's healthy, Seahawks on their way down
  • Arizona beats Washington—Both are Wrong Answers. Taking the home team.
  • Green Bay over Chicago—It's been happening for 20 years.
  • Detroit WINS! A FOOTBALL GAME! THAT COUNTS!
  • LA beats Oakland—Wonder who's going to look worse when the weekend's over, Jon Gruden or Herm Edwards?

Legal Disclosure:

DraftKings is an MGoBlog sponsor, and I play on there as MGoSeth. My personal views of the games and strategies above do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings, and when I play I may sometimes deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above (like, I didn't this time, but I could still talk myself out the hometown pick). I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.