Michigan Monday: Win Some and Lose Some in the Portal

The transfer portal has been good to the Wolverines this off season.  They got a QB and the #1 RB in the country.  This weekend there were some wins and some loses. 

• Michigan got Clemson DT Tre Williams transfer on Saturday.  He had 2 sacks in the CFP this season against Texas.  

• Michigan also got D2 All American offensive lineman from National Champion Ferris State in Lawrence Hatter who is 6'5 330 and had offers from the likes of UNC, MSU, Wisconsin and others. 

• Michigan has offered App. State WR Robinson 

• Michigan lost out on WSU OT Fa'alili Fa'amoe who signed with Wake Forest 

• Tyler Morris picked Indiana as his next destination 

• UConn WR Bell (reportedly ran into admission issues) will stay at UConn

• Weekend visitor Yale WR David Pantelis picked Stanford over Michigan 

• The Baylor QB Michigan didn't pick, Finn is transferring to Miami of Ohio 

• USC Branch Brothers to Georgia 

Now on to the Detroit Lions.  I never thought I would see the Detroit Lions be the #1 seed.  I didn't think it was possible.  It happened last night.   My take prior to last night was that the Lions offense was Super Bowl worthy but their defense was not.  The defense played great and was the MVP of the game.  Hopefully, they can continue to get healthy in the next 2 weeks. 

Now my concern is Goff has one his random bad games during the playoffs.  I thought he played terrible for a good amount of time last night.   Got away with that grounding in the end zone, threw a pick on a screen, almost got Gibbs killed on a bad screen pass, then nearly threw a pick 6 on another screen pass.   He did wake up and made some nice throws on 4th down and Lions won running away.  He has been great in Detroit, but he also has these random bad games out of nowhere. 

• Blake Corum gets his first NFL start and breaks his arm.

• Michigan starting QB Davis Warren tore his ACL in Tampa but is expected back next season. 

• WR Peyton O'Leary is also expected back next season. 

• Joe Milton had a nice game for the Pats, after it they fired their head coach 

• Michigan Basketball had a nice road win in LA over USC 

• Could Michigan's top 2 rivals OSU and ND play for the national title? 

Michigan Friday: Transfer Portal Updates and the CFP

The more I watch the CFP the angrier I get about Michigan's situation this year.  If the Wolverines had a functional QB from the portal they would've been in the mix.   There is not one team in this year's playoff that Michigan could not have beaten with a functional QB.   I know that sounds like the most "homer" statement ever (which it is), but it's also accurate.  Hell, half those teams don't want to play the Michigan team that showed up at the former Outback this week. 

• ND lost to a bad MAC team at home.  A bad MAC team.  
• PSU got manhandled by Ohio State and Oregon
• OSU, well we all know what happened there
• Texas has been inconsistent all year.  Even though they did embarrass the Wolverines at home.

I think Michigan has a case against everyone but probably Texas.  Who proved they were better.  

Again the caveat is, Michigan has a competent QB.   

I know it's water under the bridge and we must move on.

Side note, great job seeding the tournament Warde.  Your final four is: 7 vs. 6 seeds and 8 vs 5.

• I know I'm in the minority on this but I think Round 1 should be played indoors or at warmer location. 
• The byes hurt the lower seeds as each team lost and were clearly rusty.  
• Penn State's path to the semifinal is laughable.  Beating SMU and Boise is a decent non-conference schedule. 
• I just hope we see some good football played in a week.  These games have been hard to watch. 

Transfer portal updates:

• There has been a bit of concern that Bama RB transfer Justice Haynes has not been offically signed.  Word is, it was an administrative thing (not admissions) and he is expected to be signed and in Ann Arbor very soon. 

• Seems there is Buzz around UConn WR Bell becoming a Wolverine.   I watched him in the a bowl game and he looks solid. 

• Yale WR David Pantelis is visiting Ann Arbor this weekend.  He had 69 catches for 1018 yards and 11 TD's last season.  Too bad, Danny Wolf is in LA playing USC this weekend. 

• There is some buzz that Michigan is also talking with Clemson WR Troy Stellato. 

• UNLV CB Tony Grimes is off the table for Michigan as he committed to Purdue.  Michigan maybe in on Pitt CB Ryland Gandy.

• Michigan Freshman DE Owen Wafle has entered the portal.  Word is, he didn't think the Michigan DL Coaches were Wafle makers.  😀

• Michigan backup DB Kody Jones also entered the portal on Thursday. 

• Michigan Team Captain and long time Michigan Safety, Makari Paige announced he is heading to the NFL Draft.  Good Luck to him! 

Michigan Thursday: Who Is That Team From Columbus?

Before we get into the Rose Bowl, I left out a very important piece to the cheers and jeers section in my Alabama Post Game:

Cheers:

• Michigan's equipement staff was ready for the rain and had the Wolverines in the proper cleats for a grass field and even a wet grass field.  

Now onto the Buckeyes.  This is the second game since the Michigan game where their play has surprised me.  The Rose Bowl wasn't close and it started early and continued from there.  Yes, they came back to earth in the 2nd half but that is human nature after a huge lead.   This is the team we all expected to see when Michigan was in Columbus.  Keep over emphasizing the Michigan game Ryan Day and that mental block will continue. 

What happened in New Orleans was just devastating, I can't believe the world we live in sometimes.  Moving the game was the right decision, I still think they should've played it tonight instead of at 4:00.  The CFP is going to a lead into the Gator Bowl?

I just don't understand Texas.  Sometimes they look like the best team in the nation and at other times it looks like they shouldn't make the playoffs.  

CFP so far has had 1 close game.  All the home teams won in the first round and all the teams with a bye lost in the 2nd (so far).  

I know I've been very critical of Wink since he got here.  The defense for most of the year warranted that criticism but against Ohio State and Alabama.  He deserves a standing ovation.  That defense was a void of all stars against Bama and played their asses off.   Well done to Wink and the defensive staff!

• Backup DB Kody Jones has decided to jump into the portal, he has the opportunity because Michigan played in a later bowl game. 

• Surprised we haven't heard more about Davis Warren knee injury.  I hope it isn't serious and I hope he considers coming back in a back-up role. 

• Speaking of coming back, I would like Alex Orji to come back as a power RB or a TE and I would also like WR Tyler Morris to consider a return. 

• Joe Milton might take some live snaps in a game for the Patriots this week. 

• Jeremiah Smith is 19 and looks like he is 27. Will Howard is 23 and looks like he is 17.

Alabama Post Game

Reliaquest Bowl Game website

Michigan starts 2024 by beating Alabama and ends the year by beating Alabama.  I'm not even sure what to write about this game.  There was rain, turnovers, injuries, and field goals.  If Jalen Milroe wants to go to the NFL, I would not suggest sending in this tape.  

To start the game is was clear that Bama didn't want to be there and Michigan was still feeling the high from the Ohio State win.  Then the rain started and the game flipped on its axis.  Michigan could of blown out Bama but Alabama's defense stood up and shut down Michigan's limited offense.   

Michigan did discover a new star in freshman RB Jordan Marshall and found some strong play at WR from Freddie Moore.  QB play was inconcent from both teams and Davis Warren went out with an injury in the 4th quarter.  I love Alex Orji's drive and determination but he is not a QB and threw a really bad pick.  He didn't pull the trigger on open WR's and Michigan was one dimensional when he took over. 

At the end of the day, Michigan's defense stood its ground and gained about 4th down stop for the win in the red zone.  The Wolverines close the year with wins over Ohio State as a 21 point dog and Alabama as a 17 point dog.  Sherrone has pulled some football miracles this month and next season should be exciting. 

Cheers:

• Mother nature helped Michigan early
• Wink and his pressure defense 
• The offensive play calling was good early 
• Z is the MVP of this team 
• The offensive line played well
• Jordan Marshall had 100 yards on the ground and a future star
• Sherrone and the coaching staff getting the team ready to play
• Fred Moore, we've been waiting for that game! 
• Team was physical on both sides of the ball 
• Derrick Moore was unblockable, 2 sacks and 2 TFL's
• Aamir Hall played well with 9 tackles

Jeers:

• Mother nature if your a fan in the stands 
• Sherrone's timeout was a bad one, he needs to have a better "feel" for the game
• Michigan could've been up 21+ points with those turnovers 
• Milroe broke a ton of tackles 
• That was a bad roughing the passer call late 
• When Michigan's secondary was bad they were really bad with wide open Bama receivers
• A Bama TE beat a Michigan DE in coverage
• End of the 1st half was really bad 
• For about 4 drives, I thought Orji knew just one play
• Orji's INT

At the end of the day, this was a nice win in a game neither team wanted to be playing in.  The Michigan players got a chance to play and gave us a glimpse of the future.  Michigan finished with wins over USC, MSU, OSU, and Alabama.  Not a great year but we will take it from where we were 6 or so weeks ago.

Bryce Time!