The Wolverine Digest Pod

Michigan vs. Ohio State. Not much more needs to be said.

The Wolverines and Buckeyes are on a collision course with each other and the winner gets to represent the Big Ten East in the title game in Indianapolis and likely 25% of the College Football Playoff picture. Michigan is currently an 8.5-point underdog, which we discuss in this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast, but there's a decent handful of people that think this year is Michigan's year.

We also talk about how different Jim Harbaugh's potential 1-5 or 0-6 record against the Buckeyes would feel. One of those scenarios is going to play out this Saturday, and man is there a big swing between the two. We also discuss Donovan Edwards, Ohio State's game against Michigan State, U-M's offensive approach and more.

Michigan football is going after win No. 10 against Maryland in College Park on Saturday afternoon and most expect them to win pretty easily. If the Wolverines can run the ball, pass in a timely fashion and contain Taulia Tagovailoa even a little bit, the 15.5-point spread should be no problem for the maize and blue.

Will JJ McCarthy play and if so, how much? Is Blake Corum going to be available? If he's not, how many carries will Hassan Haskins have? How involved is Erick All going to be after his heroics last week? Can Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo continue to terrorize opposing quarterbacks? All of that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Unfortunately, Michigan basketball experienced its first loss of the season at home against Seton Hall. The Pirates are big, athletic and shoot the ball well, and on Tuesday night, it was enough to beat the Wolverines. Juwan Howard and his squad are going to be fine, but the loss did expose a couple of weak areas in a developing and talented U-M team.

We also get into some talking points surrounding Michigan football and its 9-1 record with a very winnable game on the road at Maryland looming. Of course, the now potentially massive showdown with Ohio State is just under two weeks away and all anyone can think about. As U-M marches towards that game, we talk Blake Corum, Hassan Haskins, Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy, U-M's incredible duo of Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo and more.

All of that on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Jim Harbaugh and Juwan Howard both spoke to the media on Monday and they had very different feels. Howard was more short and terse than normal, while Harbaugh was expectedly chipper and ready for this weekend's game against Maryland that should push his Wolverines to 10-1.

We also field several burning questions and chat with U-M tight end Erick All on the heels of his massive play that gave Michigan a win in Happy Valley over the weekend. All of that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Juwan Howard and the Michigan basketball team tipped off its season on Wednesday night against a very solid Buffalo team and came away with a 12-point victory. There's a lot to like about the 2021 version of the Wolverine hoopers and it seems like they're poised to defend the Big Ten title in Howard's third season at the helm.

With basketball now underway, that obviously means football season is coming to a close. The Wolverines will travel to Happy Valley this weekend to take on Penn State in what has become the next must-win game on the schedule. After that it'll be a road game against Maryland before taking on Ohio State in Ann Arbor. If Michigan can win out, they'll be in Indianapolis in December.

We discuss all of that, all while fielding fan questions and comments from our loyal listeners.

Even though the game against Michigan State was more than a week ago, people are still talking about the officials and apparent missed calls. Jim Harbaugh was asked about the Big Ten's review of some of those calls and he addressed all of that earlier today.

We also talk about the win over Indiana and several things to keep an eye out for this week and this weekend as the Wolverines prepare for the big matchup against Penn State. All of that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Michigan is sitting at 7-1 and will have to bounce back for the first time this season after a tough loss against the Spartans last week. Fortunately for Michigan, a struggling Indiana team is up next inside The Big House.

One of Indiana's main struggles this year has been at quarterback as they try to figure out life without Michael Penix. Backup quarterback Jack Tuttle is also out, which means it'll be true freshman Donaven McCulley running the show against the Wolverines. We discuss all of that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Michigan is 7-1 and No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings, but somehow it feels a little empty after last week's loss to Michigan State. Now, Michigan's season is four games long and contains to massive tests — at Penn State and at home against Ohio State. The outcome of those will truly define Michigan's season.

If the Wolverines can win out, they'll be in the discussion for the college football playoff. If they win out and Michigan State trips up a couple times, which is entirely possible with games against Purdue, Penn State and Ohio State remaining, they could still punch a ticket to Indianapolis. It feels like a long shot given Jim Harbaugh's track record, but there is still a lot left to play for.

We discuss all of that, along with Harbaugh's resume so far and what we think will happen down the stretch on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

The weekend is over and Michigan's loss to Michigan State still weighs heavy. Sure, the Wolverines are 7-1 and ranked No. 9 in the country in the AP Poll, but Jim Harbaugh is now 3-4 against Michigan State and 0-2 against Mel Tucker as the Spartans moved to 8-0 this year and into the playoff discussion.

Technically speaking the Wolverines still have a lot to play for but now it just feels like every other year under Harbaugh. They started strong, lost to a decent team or rival and now have to regroup in an attempt at salvaging the season before likely falling to Ohio State.

Michigan will try to get back into the win column this weekend against Indiana, which seems likely. But who really knows? After all, we haven't seen this team attempt to bounce back from a loss yet. I expect the Wolverines to win pretty easily, but the loss to MSU sucked a lot out of U-M.

Also, what's now going on at quarterback? Cade McNamara looked solid all day long in East Lansing, but is apparently a little banged up. JJ McCarthy had a great touchdown pass to Andrel Anthony, but also fumbled at least once. We'll see how everything looks on Saturday night, but it's fun to talk about it now.

The 2021 edition of the Michigan/Michigan State game is one for the ages. No one really seems to know how it will look and depending on who you ask, each team is a lock to win.

That's part of what makes the rivalry so fun, but tomorrow's game really does feel like a toss up. And this year, the stakes are higher than they've ever been.

You can go position group by position group and try to figure out who has the advantage, but what you'll soon realize is that the teams are quite similar. You can also dissect each team's 7-0 record and try to poke holes in the wins, but it's tough, because wins are wins and U-M and MSU are two of just nine undefeated teams remaining in the country. We'll know everything we need to know at about 3 pm tomorrow afternoon, and I personally can't wait.