LSA's transfer policy is basically impossible to deal with, and that absolutely cripples the athletic programs. 

This is a little over the top.  Most of our sports teams are doing fine, and we just happen to be undefeated and #1 in the country in the highest-profile sport!

U-M wants people who graduate from here to have completed a majority (60+) of their credits here.  They don't want someone completing most of their studies elsewhere and then claiming to be a Michigan grad, both because they feel it could compromise the value of that degree ... and also because they like getting our tuition money.  That's the school's position and it's defensible.  

For underclassman transfers, this usually doesn't pose a problem. Witness Ernest Haussmann, Charles Matthews, Duncan Robinson, et al.  Introductory courses generally will transfer over.  

For grad transfers, there is no real issue.  We've brought in a bunch.

It is an issue for upperclassmen who aren't able to graduate before they come here, yes.  But they are only a minority of all the players in the portal.  Our problem in basketball was that we targeted players in this category two offseasons in a row - Shannon and Love.  We should have done our due diligence, figured out that these guys probably weren't going to make it, and moved on to other targets.  Instead we put our eggs in the Shannon/Love basket, watched them end up not getting in, and blamed admissions.

At the same time, we did bring in three transfers this offseason (Burnett, Nkamhoua, Jackson).  How did our roster management get to the point where three transfers in one offseason wasn't enough?

Largely agree, though I'll add that I think Howard has really only missed on two transfers - Shannon and Love - who he likely assumed (and was probably told as much) would be grad transfers.  The Love situation is less acceptable because Howard had seen with Shannon but lots of these guys technically graduate within 3 years because they're on campus over the summer and so take courses.  Nimari Burnett is from the same class as Love and is a grad transfer, for example.  

I don't think we should blame everything on admissions and Howard deserves some blame for not locking this down with transfers before they come in but also it does feel a bit like he's just been snakebitten with situations that had they just gone as expected would have alleviated a number of issues.

We had two NBA first rounders and Hunter Dickison last year.  Lack of talent is simply not the issue, admissions or otherwise.

The Sanderson thing feels like it could be strike three, but the pitch was close to the edge of the strike zone so they’ve gone to instant replay and now we’re all waiting for some unseen judge to review the pitch and make a decision.

Have I mentioned I hate instant replay? 

You add a good point. While I'm still mostly pro-Juwan, it annoys me when public figures refuse to fulfill part of their public duty by speaking to anyone publicly (other than favored people).

Are they pushable without Zinter?

which makes me think this is the game where they are going to hand it to Corum 35 times. They've been saving his legs all year and now is the time to reap some benefit from it. 

We've had one good run blocking game (PSU) in the entire second half. I unfortunately don't trust this O line to push anybody right now.

Auburn rushed for 244 yards at 5.8 YPC. It's not that absurd. This is not juggernaut Alabama. It's very, very good Alabama, but it's not crushing fools and taking names Alabama. They've returned to the pack, the pack being top 10 teams.

I'll take the over. 

Long enough to frustrate all of us.

That's my first guess.  It's too obvious of a problem.

Look at how we fared against elite edges: Our otherwise-okay tackles turned into turnstiles.  The staff probably feels the beat McCarthy & Corum would spend selling run is an extra beat the edges get to arrive, and that's basically all the time JJ has to get the ball out.  Keep in mind, even if they're faking a zone read (meaning JJ's looking ahead not down), Corum can't block while he's pretending to mesh.

The slant might be wide open, but that's immaterial if JJ's on the ground with crushed ribs.

There are many ways to run "Play Action" so I think that if the staff gets more creative and adds a few wrinkles here and there, they could be fine.

Many will look at PA as the more traditional i-formation/Ace Formation straight drop back after the fake hand off.  However, we can still run a successful PA out of multiple formations, sets AND we can also get JJ on the move:

• Bootleg or Waggle action that gets JJ moving outside the tackle box.
  • Our tackles, when beaten, usually it's not wide but inside, which if you get JJ on the move in a Bootleg or Waggle action, negates that inside d-linemen.
• RPO out of Pistol/Shotgun with a layered route tree (short slant/smash/square out, Middle In route and then the deeper post route)

Another thing they should do, is add in those small wrinkles on existing plays, thus the defense can no longer key once the recognize the formation, down and distance:

• Example:  On the Donovan Edwards half back pass, I believe I've seen it run out of the same formation and Donovan always rolls to the right side of the field.  So for Bama, we can run the same play out of the same formation, but this time, JJ should roll wide left after the pitch and DE should hit JJ on the backside of the play.  That is something I am pretty sure Bama wouldn't expect.
• When we run Zone / Stretch Right, run that play a few times and then out of the same formation, sneak Barner or Loveland out to the flat, and add in a JJ Bootleg.  Now he has a Run/Pass Option to the backside of the play.

We really don't have to have "New Plays" per say, but add in those wrinkles to existing plays, which IMO has a great impact.

I will also say, JJ has got to keep on the RPO and Arch read at least 1-2 times a quarter to keep the defense honest.   I lost count of how many times the DE keeps crashing down, and JJ just doesn't keep the ball.  Had he kept, he had 6-8 yards in front of him before a single defender was there.  We had a similar problem when Shea was here, so it makes me think it's more of a coaching decision than really giving the QB the free reign to make the decision in game.

Last thing (sorry for the long post, work is DEAD right now), would love to see an old school/traditional screen to the RB instead of these wide side flanker screens.  I think with the speed of the Bama DE's, a more traditional screen could be devastating against them.