2 hour and 27 minutes

The Sponsors

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Venue by 4M where we recorded this, and The Nose Bleeds, which is the Sklars Bros’ reboot of Cheap Seats on UFC Fight Pass.

EVENT NOTE: We're hosting a tailgate with the Sklars at Venue before the UNLV game for anyone who has a ticket to see them perform live at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase that night. Venue will have the noon games on, and provide an a la carte tailgate spread, food truck with four beers on tap, and bar. Tickets will be on sale soon at the Comedy Showcase--stay tuned.

1. Non-Conference

Starts at 1:00

The non-conference is bad. That is all! David is excited for the ECU game! Last year was the Pirates' all-in season but now most of their good players are gone (except for their genuine 4-star quarterback). They're kind of like Mid-Tennessee State from a few years ago. UNLV has a new coach. UNLV discussion dissolves into discussions about Dug (as in like the show 'Dug'). They weren't ranked #12 at anything on The Enemy Ranked! That Ricky White is back. Connor Bazelak returns for Bowling Green (possibly with a better offensive line).  

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

2. B1G East

Starts at 16:44

Indiana is really rough, there's a QB battle between two players nobody's really heard of. They lost a lot of guys to the portal. They did get Wisconsin's offensive line coach so there will be immediate improvement there at least. There could be 7-8 transfers starting on defense.

Rutgers has a path to get to bowl eligibility, but it's a rough one (and involves beating Michigan State). They have a decent defense at least, but the offense won't be doing much.

Michigan State loses Peyton Thorne and Keon Coleman in the spring which is pretty devastating for an offense that already was struggling. It's probably going to be Noah Kim at QB, and he probably won't have many open receivers to choose from. Their offensive line probably can't get worse, though. Maybe they go from 104th in Football Outsider's average line yards to 90th? The defensive line might be okay but their linebackers still can't run. Michigan State has a really tough schedule too, and they sold their home game against Penn State to Ford Field. Last year they had one thing and now that thing is gone.

Maryland is the definition of a 7-on-7 program, they have no offensive or defensive lines. Taulia might be running for his life. Don't forget, Josh Gattis is the new offensive coordinator!

Besides Saquon Barkley, what hyped up Penn State running back has picked apart Michigan? They're talented but will the offensive line carry them this season? They reload a bit at wide receiver. Drew Allar is a pure pocket passer (he's slow but not Navarre slow). Penn State has always had a quarterback that could solve problems with their legs and Allar doesn't bring that. They'll need their offensive line to be what it's supposed to be. The defense could make up the deficiencies on offense. DB Kalen King was such a huge miss for Michigan that Penn State took advantage of. Their depth is really good at linebacker. 

Ohio State still has a quarterback competition and a lot of questions about the offensive line. They took a left tackle from San Diego State who wasn't a starter. The defensive ends didn't produce as much as they were supposed to last year and they ate up the offensive line in the spring game. We got to see how Kyle McCord performs under duress at least. There's no data on Devin Brown. Could this be a developmental season for their quarterback? When was the last time Ohio State had that? The wide receivers are still world-enders and the running back room is the second best in the conference. OL Donovan Jackson is in the running to be the best guard with Zak Zinter in the Big Ten, so there's that. What do you know about Jim Knowles' 'Jack' position? Defensive end depth doesn't have someone stepping up. It's not too much to ask that one of your mega five stars lives up to their expectation. Denzel Burke is popping up on first round draft boards because of his metrics but he's not been impressive, he didn't have much improvement in his 2nd year. Lathan Ransom had one of the worst games in The Game in recent memory, welcome back! If Sonny Styles hits, he could be Dax Hill ++. Who in their secondary is getting a star in the diagram? So far nobody. Tommy Eichenberg is the biggest star. Year two of Jim Knowles got better at Oklahoma State, but his year twos anywhere else weren't better. Why does every team have to have their own cute term for a nickel? 

3. Hot Takes and B1G West

Starts at 1:29:21

Takes hotter than the Michigan football program gosh darn it. Brian goes on a wonderful hot takes rant and had good news for Ohio State fans in Tampa. 

Before the Northwestern scandal, you could maybe look at their schedule and see 3-4 wins. They even have a real quarterback now (and A.J. Henning). But now the coaching is a mess so they might be 1-11 again. Alex has a surprising amount of things to say about Northwestern.

Matt Rhule isn't re-building Nebraska, he's just building Nebraska. They retained their offensive line coach, at least. The defensive line is a disgrace. Maybe they can weasel their way into six wins. They recruit talented players but those players just don't develop at all.

Purdue might not be as bad as some people think, but it could also very well be a year zero scenario. First year head coach Ryan Walters has some work to do.

The gang is split on whether Minnesota is good or not. They have a right tackle who can't pass block but is a monster in the ground game. Minnesota likes to fill their holes with transfers from Western Michigan. Tyler Nubin is a projected first round pick at safety. They might beat Michigan once or twice out of ten. There's always a game that's weirdly close and this could be the one. 

Alex's biggest thing on Illinois is: NONE OF YOU BELIEVED HIM. Defense brings back a lot and should still be solid. Losing Chase Brown is big and nobody projects to be as good. The offensive line returns three starters and Isaiah Williams returns at receiver so there are still some good pieces. They won the Big Ten West lottery by not getting Michigan or Ohio State. 

Iowa - if the offensive line could just be a 2017 Iowa OL then they would be really good. They would always have a tackle who was drafted highly. The wide receivers are questionable but they did get a transfer from Ohio State. Erick All will add some needed depth. If Cade McNamara is behind an offensive line that is 128th in line yardage then the game is over before it starts. 

Wisconsin is going to look so weird this year. They have so much talent on this roster but how quickly can they adapt to the new coaching scheme? Tanner Mordecai is the third best QB in the conference? The offensive line is developed for a completely different scheme. The defense was 14th in SP+ and brings seven guys back. If the scheme comes together they're the favorite of the west, if it doesn't then there are a lot of teams that could step up. 

4. Predictions, and Final Takes on the Season

Starts at 2:09:04

Who wins the Big Ten West? Who wins the Big Ten East? Who makes the playoff? IS TEXAS BACK? How attainable is actually winning the National Championship? Michigan might not be recruiting at Georgia's level but is anyone better than Zak Zinter? Three flee flickers in a row will instill the fear of God. 

MUSIC:

• “Mazel Tron”— BLP Kosher and Baby Tron
• “Nothing To You”— Michael Kiwanuka
• “Kindness Will Follow Your Tears”—  Lonnie Holley and Bon Iver
• “Across 110th Street”

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• What's with the theme music?

 

If they win the West I will wear a shirt that says "I am a Bert-liever"