Great Lakes Divide

Ryan and Tom reflect upon another near-miss for Michigan on the road against a ranked opponent, as the Wolverines fall 28-21 at Happy Valley against Penn State on Saturday night. Drops were a big issue throughout the game for the Maize and Blue, with none bigger than the heartbreak of Ronnie Bell unable to hold onto a potential game-tying touchdown in the closing minutes. K.J. Hamler runs roughshod over the Michigan secondary, how much blame does Don Brown deserve schematically for allowing big plays to the top receiver of the Nittany Lions? Did Shea Patterson play well enough for the Wolverines to win, and can fans be confident in his play going forward? Where does the season go from here for U of M, with Notre Dame coming to Ann Arbor - and the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis again out of reach for another year?

Ryan and Tom reflect upon another near-miss for Michigan on the road against a ranked opponent, as the Wolverines fall 28-21 at Happy Valley against Penn State on Saturday night. Drops were a big issue throughout the game for the Maize and Blue, with none bigger than the heartbreak of Ronnie Bell unable to hold onto a potential game-tying touchdown in the closing minutes. K.J. Hamler runs roughshod over the Michigan secondary, how much blame does Don Brown deserve schematically for allowing big plays to the top receiver of the Nittany Lions? Did Shea Patterson play well enough for the Wolverines to win, and can fans be confident in his play going forward? Where does the season go from here for U of M, with Notre Dame coming to Ann Arbor - and the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis again out of reach for another year?

In an epic mega-episode, Tom and Ryan assess #16 Michigan’s chances in Happy Valley this Saturday night against #7 Penn State. Is Jim Harbaugh’s voiced satisfaction with the progress of his offense justified, or just a psychological ploy to keep Shea Patterson’s morale up? Also explored, the ‘Dantonio vs. Daugherty’ question posed by Chris Solari in the Detroit Free Press - and the eery similarities between the two coaches, for better or worse. Finally, the guys take a close look at the upcoming Michigan State basketball season - with comments from head coach Tom Izzo at the Breslin Center this week. As always, the duo makes their picks against the spread for UM-PSU. Ryan stands at 6-7 on the year, leapfrogging Tom at 5-8.

Ryan and Tom reflect upon Michigan’s uneasy path to a 42-25 victory, after jumping out to a 28-0 lead on the road at Illinois - and the shellacking Michigan State endured in a 38-0 loss in Madison against Wisconsin, as head coach Mark Dantonio bristles at a ‘dumbass question’ in the post-game press conference. Tom expresses concern as the Wolverines head to Happy Valley next Saturday to face a Penn State team that just won on the road at Iowa, and describes Michigan’s performance as uninspired this season. Ryan follows up on questions regarding the state of the program at MSU, and where it all goes from here.

Ryan and Tom take a look at a cold, gloomy forecast in both Champaign and Madison, as the Michigan Wolverines visit the Illinois Fighting Illini and Michigan State travel to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers. Comments from Don Brown on consistent defensive preparation, along with Shea Patterson on the offense “hitting its stride” - as head coach Jim Harbaugh stated in his post-game press conference after a 10-3 home win over Iowa. The Spartans prepare to face another elite running back in Jonathan Taylor, and need to find a way to stop the big plays they allowed to Ohio State - according to Mark Dantonio. The guys also break down Dantonio’s upcoming deposition in January in Curtis Blackwell’s lawsuit against MSU, and offer up their weekly predictions against the point spreads in Vegas.

Ryan and Tom look back at two struggling offenses - both Michigan and Michigan State - each of whom scored just ten points on Saturday, with the Wolverines defense carrying them to a 10-3 homecoming win over Iowa… while the Spartans fell 34-10 at Ohio State. Jim Harbaugh provides thoughts on his offensive and defensive efforts, and Khaleke Hudson reveals Don Brown’s theme in practice this week. For Michigan State, the defense also set the tone early - but back-to-back turnovers on offense were an ominous sign of troubles to come for a Spartan attack that continues to lack consistency, as Ryan contends that drops have a lot to do with that.

Ryan and Tom look ahead to a big weekend of games, as four ranked teams combine for two top-tier match-ups in Big Ten play - with the #14 Iowa Hawkeyes traveling to Ann Arbor to face #19 Michigan, and #25 Michigan State venturing down to Columbus to take on the #4 Ohio State Buckeyes. Tom shares his harrowing experiences on the OSU campus, and has a colorful term of endearment for most of their fans - and reveals who he roots for in this showdown as a Michigan fan on the outside. Ryan challenges Tom on the recently passed California law allowing college athletes to profit from their own identities, and the two discuss life in the age of the ‘transfer portal’ as well. Some basketball talk winds things down - and, as always, the guys make their predictions against the Vegas spread for both football games.

Ryan and Tom discuss Michigan’s State’s escape from their own homecoming in a 40-31 win over the plucky Indiana Hoosiers and their impressive redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. What is wrong with the Spartans’ secondary? Ryan has a theory that might make sense to a lot of MSU fans. Meanwhile, the Wolverines recover from ‘The Madison Disaster’ by overwhelming an overmatched Rutgers team in the trenches on both sides of the ball in a 52-0 drubbing at The Big House. After offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is summoned to the sidelines, is there reason for optimism with the play of Shea Patterson at quarterback?

Ryan and Tom discuss Michigan State’s homecoming match-up against the Indiana Hoosiers, and what needs to carry over from their mercurial and tenuous offensive success against Northwestern - in what should be a tune-up game before the Spartans’ schedule turns into a buzz saw. Also, the Wolverines are a mess after getting torched by Wisconsin in Madison - where is the leadership? Is it a Harbaugh problem? Are DPJ and Tarik Black really considering entering the transfer portal? Michigan should dominate Rutgers in Ann Arbor - but how and will they? And the guys give predictions against the spread for both games, as usual.

Ryan and Tom marvel at the ineptitude on all fronts for Michigan in a 35-14 drubbing at the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison on Saturday. Is it time to make a change at quarterback for the Wolverines? How did they get dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball? Tom answers a direct question on what percentage of the UM fanbase has lost faith in Harbaugh. Meanwhile, Michigan State’s Jekyll and Hyde offensive season continues with an impressive 31-10 victory in Evanston over Northwestern. Joe Bachie was spectacular, and Brian Lewerke seemed to get his groove back after a reported players-only meeting earlier in the week after the Spartans’ loss to Arizona State.