The Wolverine Digest Pod

It's Christmas Eve, 2021 is coming to a close and Michigan plays Georgia in the College Football Playoff in just one week. Life is good.

There has been a spike in COVID concerns in recent days but for now, Michigan is in good shape and ready to travel down to Fort Lauderdale. Once in town, the Wolverines will remain as secluded as possible thanks to some new precautions put in place by the Orange Bowl Committee. Everyone is super excited about the game, as long as it goes according to plan.

After the first day of the Early Signing Period, Michigan's class ranks inside the top ten according to all recruiting services thanks to several National Signing Day flips and a couple of commitments at the buzzer. Big time safety Keon Sabb, prototypical wide receiver Darrius Clemons and talented edge rusher Derrick Moore all picked U-M on Wednesday giving the Wolverines 23 total commits in the 2022 class.

We break down each recruiter, field questions about the day and get into a little bit of football discussion based on the events of the day. All of that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Unfortunately, Michigan basketball is still trying to figure things out, and that led to a 10-point loss against Minnesota in Ann Arbor on Saturday night. The Wolverines, once again, could not find the range from deep and struggled to get stops against the Gophers when they needed them most. At one point Minnesota was up by 16 points in the second half. Juwan Howard and his Wolverines are now 1-1 in conference play.

The other news of the night was Aidan Hutchinson being in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. Hutchinson came up short against Alabama's Bryce Young, but it's still noteworthy that he was in The Big Apple for the award. Now, Hutchinson, along with Young, will get ready for the first round of the college football playoffs at the end of the month.

Michigan's success on the field is resulting in success on the recruiting trail. The Wolverines picked up two big commitments earlier today — one in the 2022 class and one in the 2023 class — and may have more good news coming in the next couple of weeks. With a win over Ohio State, a Big Ten Championship trophy in the trophy case and an appearance in the College Football Playoff now under Jim Harbaugh's belt, recruiting is expectedly picking up.

We also talk some Michigan basketball after an incredibly impressive performance against Nebraska that gets U-M off to a 1-0 start in conference play. After that, it's all fan-led discussion that results in over an hour of back and forth dialogue about all things Michigan athletics. All of that on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Michigan absolutely has a chance against Georgia despite what the current spread says. With how Michigan has been playing over the last three or four weeks, they can beat anyone they step onto the field with.

With a huge playoff matchup coming, it's easy to take things one day at a time, but it's also a lot of fun to talk about what next year might look like, especially at the quarterback position. Throw in how Mike Macdonald's defense might look in year two, and the conversation gets even more enjoyable.

Michigan and Iowa are less than a day away from getting after it in Indianapolis with a Big Ten title on the line. The Wolverines are favored by a pretty large 11 points and most expect U-M to win.

Iowa, however, is 10-2 in their own right and is always pesky. If Michigan turns the ball over, which they haven't really done all year, Iowa will have a shot. That's how they've been winning all season and that's what they'll need to beat Michigan.

We discuss all of that, talk Iowa with John Bohnenkamp of Inside The Hawkeyes, make some specific predictions and do our class over/under scenarios. All that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Michigan is really just one game away from punching a ticket to the College Football Playoff. Obviously beating Iowa is priority No. 1, and would result in the program's first Big Ten title since 2004, but making the playoff and potentially the national championship game are real possibilities for the Wolverines right now.

The Michigan football program is flying high, landing recruits and gearing up for a Big Ten title run. On the flip side, Michigan basketball is just 4-3 now and reeling after another lopsided loss, this time at the hands of North Carolina. What a 180 compared to where the two programs were at last year.

Michigan beat up on Ohio State and will now play Iowa for the Big Ten Championship. The Wolverines handled the Buckeyes in every way and will head into the title game as a big favorite.

Jim Harbaugh may have just changed the entire trajectory of the program with the win over Ohio State and everything will keep heading in that direction with a win over Iowa, an appearance in the College Football Playoff and a potential shot at a national title.

Unreal.

THE GAME is here. Nothing more needs to be said.

We're now just two days away from The Game and Michigan fans are diving deeper and deeper into the matchup. How will JJ McCarthy be used if at all? Will Blake Corum play? How much pressure can David Ojabo and Aidan Hutchinson put on CJ Stroud? Can Michigan's secondary handle Ohio State's dynamic wide receivers? All of those questions are swirling ahead of the biggest matchup of the season.

We also discuss Michigan basketball, which did win last night but definitely has some issues to clean up, along with Jim Harbaugh's record over Ohio State, what everything would look like in the case of a win and a loss. There's lots of good stuff in this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.