Initial Game Week Thoughts: #2 Michigan vs. #3 Georgia - CFP Semifinal
The team has made it to Miami!
https://twitter.com/OrangeBowl/status/1474869392055934978?t=F7B5ug5En05K7zKllpeFfw&s=19
What are your early game week thoughts?
- Your keys to victory?
- What concerns you most about Georgia’s offense?
- What concerns you most about the Bulldogs defense?
- Are you more nervous or excited?
- Your offensive MVP of the game? Defensive? Special teams?
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Spread continues to be Georgia -7.5.
Cheapest third party tickets are around $215 (before fees).
Weather looks to be about 75 degrees around kickoff with it remaining dry most of, if not all week.
Georgia has an undisclosed number of guys out (of practice) due to COVID, but no one has been announced as out for the game on Friday.
Broadcast is Friday, Dec. 31 at 7:30 ET on ESPN (megacast will provide viewing options on all ESPN channels). Fowler and Herbstreit on the call.
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BEAT GEORGIA.
December 25th, 2021 at 8:28 PM ^
Someone tell me about how to sync up an alternative play-by-play.
December 25th, 2021 at 8:51 PM ^
Good chance there will be a couple of simulcasts available on ESPN channels. Not positive what they'll have for semis, but a coaches room is often available, and possibly team-partial broadcasts as well. I know they'll have that for the final if we make it.
December 26th, 2021 at 1:42 AM ^
https://saturdaytradition.com/big-ten-football/espn-reveals-megacast-schedule-for-college-football-playoff-semifinals/
Alternate Presentations (all available on the ESPN App):
- Command Center (ESPN2): A multi-angle presentation, which includes up to four different vantage points at any one time, with real-time player and team statistics supplementing the game action.
- Skycast (ESPNU): The popular view from above the action and behind the offense on most plays. This unique angle has long been one of ESPN’s alternate viewing options and is readily available on multiple games every week. Replays will be shown regularly throughout this presentation. Anish Shroff and Roddy Jones will help guide the action.
- All-22 (ESPNEWS): Watch the game the same way players and coaches study film, with a vantage point high above the field of play. The angle allows for the 22 players on the field to be seen at all times, providing the ability to distinguish how plays develop while listening to the ESPN Radio call.
Cast of Commentators Set for CFP Semifinals
In addition to multiple presentations, fans will be able to hear the call of the CFP Semifinals from a multitude of broadcast teams:
- Main Telecast (ESPN): Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Molly McGrath and Laura Rutledge will call the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. In primetime, ESPN’s lead Saturday Night Football crew of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will be joined by Marty Smith in Miami for the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl.
- ESPN Radio (ESPN App): The broadcast is available throughout the country on more than 400 ESPN Radio stations, the ESPN App, ESPNRadio.com, SiriusXM, Apple Music, iHeartRadio and TuneIn.
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- Cotton Bowl: Sean Kelley, Barrett Jones, Ian Fitzsimmons
- Orange Bowl: Mark Jones, Robert Griffin III, Quint Kessenich
- Hometown Audio Feed: Fans can listen to the local radio broadcast of each of the four teams, with their audio feed synced up with ESPN’s presentation. This MegaCast feed is made possible in conjunction with Alabama Crimson Tide Sports Network Powered by LEARFIELD, Georgia Bulldog Sports Network, Cincinnati Bearcats Sports Network Powered by LEARFIELD AND 700 WLW and Michigan Wolverines Sports Network Powered by LEARFIELD.
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- Alabama (SEC Network & ESPN App): Eli Gold, John Parker Wilson and Rashad Johnson
- Georgia (SEC Network & ESPN App): Scott Howard, Eric Zeier and DJ Shockley
- Cincinnati (ESPN App): Dan Hoard, Jim Kelly Jr. and Mo Egger
- Michigan (ESPN App): Jim Brandstatter, Dan Dierdorf and Doug Karsch
December 26th, 2021 at 2:12 AM ^
This is useful information. Thank you. I will be watching on YouTubeTV. Hopefully I can record all these broadcasts. I can’t even imagine the joy I would have winning this game and being able to watch it over and over again on the different feeds on ESPN2 and ESPNU.
December 26th, 2021 at 8:07 AM ^
Thanks, looks like you were waiting for someone to ask. Great information
December 26th, 2021 at 1:38 PM ^
So many options. I guess I'll record each so I can decide which one I like best for the NC.
December 26th, 2021 at 12:14 PM ^
WCBN SPORTS has very good live broadcasts which are easy to sync with a TV stream and have zero commercials. You will get a constant flow of content even on media timeouts.
December 25th, 2021 at 8:29 PM ^
My thoughts? This is where the rubber meets the road for both teams. We’ve both had losses where we played under our capabilities (at least Michigan has, anyway). I think we don’t have to take a back seat to anyone, and I regard the outcome as a toss-up. Go Blue and Fuck the SEC.
December 25th, 2021 at 8:31 PM ^
Definitely fuck the SEC ??
December 25th, 2021 at 8:30 PM ^
It figures that we’d make the CFP in a year where people are running for the hills over the latest Covid strain.
I just hope and pray all starters on both sides are negative and play a normal friggin football game, win or lose.
I’m just so exhausted by all of it.
December 25th, 2021 at 8:39 PM ^
They will - don’t let the Covid speculation ruin the special moment. This game will be played as scheduled, and the anticipation is some of the best part. No need to let fear ruin this awesome experience. Go blue, beat Georgia!
December 25th, 2021 at 10:50 PM ^
Bama seemed to enjoy grinding OSU into paste last year to win the CFP. We get over the trials and tribulations pretty quick if we put in a good showing. Be strong.
December 25th, 2021 at 9:05 PM ^
I feel you. Here is how I’ve been thinking about it. Football mainly come down to your discipline and buy in. If a team is supremely disciplined they will put in all the necessary work and follow any cautionary procedures when it comes to COVID. If Michigan is full strength and the teams they play aren’t it isn’t going to bother me.
Playing in a team sport is more than just what you do on the field. With the current state of the world any team can lose before they get to the stadium if they get too loose in their personal time.
It is an interesting thing to me because I think this year more than any other, how good your team is, is much more than just talent and game time coaching.
December 25th, 2021 at 9:06 PM ^
I feel like I just rambled a whole bunch of gibberish.
December 25th, 2021 at 9:44 PM ^
It's good. Living in a country is playing a team sport, metaphorically speaking. Kind of a good way to look a it.
December 25th, 2021 at 8:33 PM ^
Beat Georgia. Michigan stomps peaches.
The night the lights went out in Georgia.
Devil went down to Georgia.
When Michigan made Georgia howl. (Civil War reference, newsflash, the North won.)
December 26th, 2021 at 12:35 PM ^
I love the Sherman reference. Michigan regiments were on that march. Go Blue!
December 25th, 2021 at 8:38 PM ^
Tough game. If we’re moving the ball and Cade doesn’t look flustered than I like our chances. If Georgia’s gaining on the ground and our O line is getting moved by their fat lineman I’ll be shitting bricks. This game could go 3 ways in my mind. I’m hoping we do to them what we did against Iowa and OSU but I fear their D is gonna be a challenge.
December 26th, 2021 at 11:47 AM ^
I agree. Of the 3 potential playoff opponents, I think Georgia is the worst match up for us. It's a generalization, but I see good rush defenses beating good rush offenses. Separately, I think our pass offense is underrated but I also think that much of its success pivots off of our rush offense success, which I expect will struggle against Georgia. (I think people are putting too much into Georgia's recent loss. Almost all teams look uncharacteristically horrific 1 or 2 games a year; see us versus Nebraska and Rutgers).
We also don't play well on natural grass. We lost our sole game on natural grass to a suspect MSU team. I believe our only other natural grass game was at Penn State, which we won in the waning minutes of that game. Between 2 elite teams, it comes down to a handful of big plays and a slip here or there can mean the difference on a turnover or an explosive play.
I'm someone who had enough faith to put money on Michigan in August to win the Big Ten Championship and the National Championship. I would have loved our chances in a playoff path of Cincinnati then Alabama. I hate our actual path of Georgia then probably Alabama.
With all that said, I think if we played a series of 10, we lose 7 or 8 times to Georgia, not 10 out of 10. So, all we need is for the 2 or 3 game instances in such hypothetical to be the actual instance coming Friday. I believe that consists of one or more sack fumbles caused by Ojabo or Hutch (Ojabo is particularly good at this), maybe a tipped ball interception, and a big special teams play (guessing punt block is more likely than a punt return for TD given all of the speed that Georgia has). If people think we are going to bulldoze over Georgia as we did to OSU, those people are living in whatever the opposite of BPONE land is.
December 25th, 2021 at 8:40 PM ^
Your keys to victory? Run the ball enough against the tough d-line. Hit their QB early and often.
What concerns you most about Georgia’s offense? I don't know that much about their offense.
What concerns you most about the Bulldogs defense? Front 7 will be the best that UM has seen this year.
Are you more nervous or excited? Excited. Can't wait.
Your offensive MVP of the game? Haskins/Corum
Defensive? Hutch
Special teams? Moody
December 25th, 2021 at 8:41 PM ^
If Michigan runs the ball effectively while having creative downfield passing plays and the defense plays like it’s shown all year, we’re headed to the National Championship.
December 25th, 2021 at 8:46 PM ^
Says it better than I can
December 25th, 2021 at 8:56 PM ^
Lol. I if Randy’s wearing an Apple Watch that thing has an ambulance in route.
December 26th, 2021 at 10:30 AM ^
This is the greatest CFP preview I have ever seen SON!
December 25th, 2021 at 8:48 PM ^
I think the key to the game rests with our OL play. If they come fired up and ready to play, I think our defense can limit GA enough to win.
December 25th, 2021 at 8:51 PM ^
Gotta find a way to get the ball outside their tackles, get on the edges quick like we did against osu. But this will be tougher with their front seven. Their offense doesn't scare me as much, but never take anything for granted... Prepare like they did for The Game and Iowa and it'll be all good.
December 25th, 2021 at 8:52 PM ^
I think the game will look an awful lot like the Wisconsin game but without the 4th qtr blowout. One score game with a 55 yard Moody kick sending the good guys back to Indy.
GO BLUE!
December 25th, 2021 at 8:58 PM ^
Sitting here self isolating with Covid again…for the second Christmas in a ROW (!!!) that’s top of mind. Hoping it doesn’t play a factor for either side and game can go on as normal.
Thankfully a runny nose the only symptom and hoping that’s the worst the players symptoms would be too.
December 25th, 2021 at 9:04 PM ^
That sucks. I’ll probably have it tomorrow or the day after. Daughter in law was over yesterday and got sick last night, she tested positive today. Tic tock
December 25th, 2021 at 10:36 PM ^
My daughter flew into town and brought covid with her. She's not boosted yet and tested positive, and is quite sick. She's getting the booster soon. Me, wife and her mom are all boosted and we are negative.
December 26th, 2021 at 1:23 AM ^
These replies make me happy, not because of the spread of plague, but because people are being honest about what's supposed to happen when people test positive.
You dense motherfuckers. Isolate when you test positive. Get boosted. This is not up for debate.
Championships are nice. Death is forever. Do what the smart people tell you to do. You're welcome.
December 26th, 2021 at 5:29 AM ^
Yep agreed. In my daughter in laws defense, she was fine and then wasn’t. When I caught delta I went from being perfectly healthy to being ran over by a truck. Having a switch flipped on taste and smell was surreal to say the least. I had no warning. Woke up with aches and pains and a fever. No fatigue as for warning or so much as a sneeze. If I feel like shit I’ll take a test and hunker down for 10 days and watch my team from the confines of my living room. I’ve got plenty of beer and a freezer full of animal carcass.
December 25th, 2021 at 9:03 PM ^
I am curious what kind of game plan they come up with. Georgia’s front seven is really, really good and Michigan’s seen comparable twice: Wisconsin and Penn State. They had enough of a game through the air to really put some points on the Badgers, who didn’t have an elite pass rusher like Penn State did. While Jordan Davis gets all the hype, Nakobe Dean is their best player. It won’t be easy to get to the edges because of him.
I feel like this might be more of a McCarthy game than we realize. Make them account for his legs and erase someone from their front seven and it gets a lot easier.
On offense, stick Dax Hill on Bowers. Stetson Bennett is basically McNamara. He’s not going to kill you.
Feels like a low scoring affair. Something like 20-17.
I think Michigan can get it done, but I don’t know if they have the weapons outside that Bama does to make Georgia hurt on D.
December 25th, 2021 at 9:06 PM ^
This is where Mcarthy can really be a difference maker and I believe we’ll see him more than ever.
December 25th, 2021 at 10:57 PM ^
JJ is the man!!
December 25th, 2021 at 9:30 PM ^
JJ and Corum are both unbelievably talented guys who've gotten no national attention, and the world has never seen a Harbaugh/Gattis-led Michigan team with a running QB. My hope is that we run a lot out of a JJ / Corum package and let McNamara throw the ball enough to keep them guessing. I think we can put 20+ points on them if we get a creative game out of Josh Gattis. I do worry about Bennet's ability to extend drives with his legs and I think we'll need to hold them to field goals to win. If we win, I think it'll be close, like 24-23.
December 25th, 2021 at 10:58 PM ^
JJ is the man!!
December 26th, 2021 at 6:26 AM ^
If JJ torches them with a pass right out of the gate your gonna see Muschamps head spin. People forget that JJ can spin the ball pretty dam well. The Georgia fans seem to be sold on the fact that we have “no speed” yet our skill players looked a few steps faster than the big tens version of the sec. Keep under estimating Wilson and Henning and watch your Dbs running towards the end zone 5 yards behind them. I know that fans have no part of what happens on the field, but I pray that Georgia thinks we’re slow and weak watching game film. If they do they’re gonna look like Bama back in 2014.
December 26th, 2021 at 9:31 AM ^
Our receiving group gets underestimated. Wait till JJ starts to throw the ball to them on a regular basis. You will be pleasantly surprised.
December 26th, 2021 at 2:42 PM ^
This is what I think will surprise a lot people watching this game around the country. The narrative around us is we are a physical run it down your throat team. While this is true what not many people have taken notice to is the fact that we are #1 in the country in plays of 50+ yards. We have speed all over the offense. Speed to take it to the house if out in the right position. I’m not a huge fan of Jesse Palmer but he is one of the only talking heads who caught on to this. I found it funny during the OSU game when Gus constantly reminded the audience how quickly the world famous Ohio state offense can put up points! Only for us to be the team who was actually explosive and scoring rather fast.
December 25th, 2021 at 9:15 PM ^
My initial thoughts?
U.
M.
December 25th, 2021 at 9:41 PM ^
Intangibles in this game matter. Georgia just got its ass whipped by its own boogeyman and while they’re still stupid talented and in the big dance, they have to be questioning themselves on at least some level. Meanwhile, Michigan has all the confidence it could ever ask for. They castrated and humiliated their demons. The best offense in America. That counts for something.
Does that translate to a win by itself? Of course not. If Georgia plays to its capabilities it can absolutely win. They are arguably the best defense Michigan will see this year, and far and away the most talented. This game is probably a coin flip on Michigan’s best day. But if Michigan can find a way to force this game into Stetson Bennett’s hands they have to like their chances.
Bennett has never had to do anything to win the game for Georgia. He is just a guy who has routinely played with a cushy lead, and when you’ve forced the game into his hands(twice against Bama) he’s crumbled and fallen apart. He’s good, but he’s a fucking walk on.
I don’t know what Gattis has to do to move the ball. This is the game where if he wants a high profile P5 job for the 2023 season, this is where that job interview starts. But this game will likely be won or lost depending on whether or not MacDonald can force the ball into Bennett’s hands in crunch time. Make him be the guy who beats you.
December 25th, 2021 at 9:43 PM ^
If Michigan can sustain drives and tire out the Georgia D. Play with Tempo early.
Must at minimum, pressure the quarterback of Georgia.
Running backs of Georgia are gifted with speed and quickness.
I am concerned with Georgia getting to our quarterback and McNamara being able to make plays when pressured. Linebackers are good.
Ross is Defensive MVP. Edwards is my sleeper offensive MVP. Jake Moody Kicks three field goals and takes special teams MVP.
December 25th, 2021 at 9:46 PM ^
Gas their interior line early, then pound it late. I like our chances.
December 25th, 2021 at 10:17 PM ^
Wait, you title the thread "Game Week Thoughts" and don't provide a single thought? I was expecting thoughts, not solicitation of thoughts.
Keys to Victory: score more points
UGA offense concerns: them scoring more points than us
UGA defense concerns: them not letting us score more points than them
Nervous or excited: yes
Offense MVP: Michigan guy
Defense MVP: Michigan guy
Special teams MVP: Michigan guy
December 26th, 2021 at 4:21 AM ^
If I did...half the board would be bitching about putting thoughts in the OP.
I side with the board, leave my thoughts/opinions out of the OP and just reply like everyone else. Here you go...
What are your early game week thoughts?
- Your keys to victory? First off get to the game healthy *knocking on wood*, then the cliché stuff, win the turnover battle, time of possession, control the line of scrimmage.
- What concerns you most about Georgia’s offense? That no one is giving it enough credit, this is not Iowa. These guys can score and we are going to have to put up points as well (for the record, they're not OSU either).
- What concerns you most about the Bulldogs defense? That they can take away our strength, the run game and worried we'll be too stubborn to adjust.
- Are you more nervous or excited? Nervous, I'm always nervous.
- Your offensive MVP of the game? Blake Corum and his SEC SPEEEEED now that he's healthy. Defensive? Whoever gets the TE (Dax, Hawkins, Barrett). Special teams? Brad Robbins...field positon will be huge. Make them go the distance! *knocking on wood again*
December 25th, 2021 at 10:19 PM ^
While it is perceived (for good reason) that Bama’ receiving core is better than ours. It’s not like ours in chop liver. Effective running from Haskins, a fully healthy Corum and Edwards sets up the play action pass game. That is where Cade does well.
On D, it will all be about stopping the run game. Put UGA in passing situations and unleash Hitch and Okabo.
December 26th, 2021 at 4:35 AM ^
...and they said I was drinking too much egg nog.
Hitch and Okabo. Sounds like a teen Disney show about a country kid from Texas who becomes best friends with a kid from West Africa.
December 25th, 2021 at 10:23 PM ^
We beat Georgia by running both Cade and JJ. And Donovan. And Andrel. And All... Schoolmaker...
Going to need a team effort. Offense and defense.
December 25th, 2021 at 10:47 PM ^
We beat Georgia by running both Cade and JJ.
Underrated comment. If there were ever games where Cade needs to keep on the option, it is the next game. Teams are going to do what Wiscy, PSU and Iowa tried to do, and that is stack against the running game. This is going to leave wide open lanes for Cade to run. They're going to be more careful with JJ but he has the wheels to outrun most of their defense. If we can get Cade to keep on four or five of these he can get some pivotal chunks, first down, TD's, what have you.