The Wolverine Digest Pod

As Michigan sits at 10-0 with 11-0 looking inevitable, it's a fun time to be a U-M fan and honestly, a fun time to cover the team. Even though U-M's record is perfect thus far, the on-field play has not been and that's what everyone seems to be talking about. The run game is dominant, but the passing game definitely is not. Blake Corum is on his way to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation, while the talented wide receivers are barely leaving an impact on the games. It's a very intriguing juxtaposition, which makes for some fantastic discussion. 

At the end of the day, Michigan is undefeated. Only three teams can say that and one of them resides in Columbus. As U-M prepares for Illinois this weekend, all eyes are already on the much anticipated showdown with Ohio State. That game is going to be between two 11-0 teams, sitting at No. 2 and No. 3, with trips to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship and to the College Football Playoff on the line. How freakin awesome is that?!

Michigan fans have got to be pretty happy right now. The No. 3 Wolverines are 9-0 with 11-0 looking like a certainty. Blake Corum is arguably the best running back in the country and will probably be in New York for the Heisman ceremony, barring an unexpected decrease in production. And the showdown in Columbus at the end of November is looking more and more winnable with each passing week. And even with all of that, it still feels like the Wolverines can be even better.

In order to talk about all of those end-of-season goals, we have to talk about this weekend's game against Nebraska and next week's game against Illinois, which both seem like guaranteed wins at this point. Nebraska is just 3-6 with wins over North Dakota, Indiana and Rutgers only. Illinois, who looked like the class of the Big Ten West, just lost to a Michigan State team that got handled by the Wolverines a couple weeks ago. Nothing in college football is guaranteed, but everyone in maize and blue is feeling pretty good right now.

Michigan is one of just four undefeated teams left in college football and yet, they still have some things to work on. Once in a while the offense bogs down in the Red Zone and the first half performances have been decent but do not compare to how dominant the Wolverines have been after halftime. If those two areas improve, this team can absolutely win a national title. Before any of that, however, the Wolverines will take on Nebraska this weekend, Illinois next and then Ohio State to close out the regular season.

While discussing the big picture, we also dive into the emergence of Mike Barrett and Michigan's dominant defense in general, Blake Corum's Heisman campaign, the spread and expectations for this weekend's game against Nebraska and which Michigan player would win a hot dog eating contest. All of that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

It didn't start off well against Rutgers, as evidenced by Michigan's three-point halftime deficit, but a 38-0, second-half beatdown ended up being beyond convincing and puts Michigan at 9-0 during a wild weekend of college football. No. 1 Tennessee lost, No. 4 Clemson lost and No. 6 Alabama lost, which should pave the way for U-M to roll into the top four with ease.

Even though it took the Wolverines a little time to get going, a few mainstays once again showed up in a big way. Running back Blake Corum, along with his buddy Donovan Edwards, got very loose against the Scarlet Knights. The one-two punch ran for 109 yards apiece and accounted for three touchdowns. They seem to be peaking at the right time. On the defensive side of the ball, Jesse Minter once again, made some major adjustments at the break and blanked the Scarlet Knights in the second stanza. The Wolverines just keep on winning and should continue to do so during its next two home games against Nebraska and Illinois.  

Michigan is favored by a whopping 25.5 points against Rutgers. Obviously the game is in Piscataway, and Michigan is reportedly going to be without several key players, but U-M is still expected to roll. With how U-M has been physically dominating teams, it's not surprising. How will it look against the Scarlet Knights? That remains to be seen, but it'll likely be a heavy dose of Blake Corum with a sprinkling of JJ McCarthy making some plays.

On the defensive side of the ball, Michigan should be just fine even if a key player like Mazi Smith is out. Rutgers simply doesn't have enough talent to challenge the Wolverines even in their own house. However Michigan can get a win, they'll gladly do it and move to 9-0 in the process. At this point, we know what Michigan is and Rutgers doesn't have what it takes to combat that.

With Michigan sitting at No. 5 in the first round of the College Football Playoff rankings, U-M fans everywhere are excited for the next three games. Of course after that, it's the HUGE showdown with Ohio State in late-November, which literally could be a top-two or top-three matchup. With No. 1 Tennessee and No. 3 Georgia playing this weekend, it's almost certain that U-M will be in the top four next week. Then after that, a few more home games, and then the Bucks.

Of course, Rutgers played U-M tough in Ann Arbor last year, so even though the Wolverines are favored by more than 25 points against the Scarlet Knights, business must be handled in New Jersey this weekend. If Michigan plays up to its potential, and continues to dominate in the trenches on both sides of the ball, they'll be 9-0 this weekend with two home games remaining before The Game. There's obviously a lot to talk about surrounding U-M's last four games, which is why Fan-Led Wednesday was such a hit.

Michigan got a big 29-7 win over Michigan State on Saturday night, but the entire contest was overshadowed by what happened in the tunnel after the game. Michigan cornerbacks Ja'Den McBurrows and Gemon Green were assaulted by numerous Michigan State players in the tunnel, which has resulted an investigation and charges being pressed. Jim Harbaugh and Mel Tucker both spoke about the incident on Monday afternoon and the messaging could not have been more different.

We also talk about Michigan's offense, which is dominating teams while at the same time struggling in the red zone. It's a weird conundrum, but the Wolverines are 8-0 and rolling. The offense is a machine, but it bogs down once close to the end zone too often. So far, it hasn't hurt them, even a little bit, but everyone already has an eye on that massive showdown in late-November.

Even though Michigan is expected to win by quite a bit on Saturday, U-M fans everywhere still have a lot of questions about the Spartans, how the game might go and ultimately, what the final score will be. Some see Sunday getting out of hand in favor of the Wolverines, others think it will be close because, well, it always seems to be when Paul Bunyan is on the line. Whichever camp you're in, you're excited about Saturday.

We also address the topic that's been at the forefront of our minds all season — Michigan's offense. On one hand, the running game has been dominant, Blake Corum has been special and Michigan is 7-0 and rolling. On the flip side, JJ McCarthy hasn't been asked to do much and has a pretty pedestrian stat line through seven games. If McCarthy needs to wing it 40+ times for more than 300 yards and some clutch late throws and scores, can he do it? Ability wise, yes, but it's more than that. It might not surface this weekend, but it might in late November. 

Jim Harbaugh doesn't usually subscribe to clichés in the football world, but even he used the famous, "throw out the records," trope when referencing this weekend's matchup against Michigan State. The Spartans are just 3-4 on the year but everyone in The Great Lakes State knows what happens when these two teams get together. Paul Bunyan has been in East Lansing for a while so bringing him back to Ann Arbor is all Harbaugh and his guys can think about.

We also take some inventory after the first seven games. Even though we're technically past the halfway point of the season, it felt like a good time to breakdown everything we've seen from the Wolverines so far given the fact that the team just enjoyed a bye week. We look at Blake Corum's season so far, JJ McCarthy's first campaign as a starter, the wide receiver group and the defense, of course. All of that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Michigan hit the bye work unblemished and relatively healthy, but it's always good to grab a break ahead of a big rivalry week even if Michigan State isn't very good. The 2022 version of MSU doesn't have Kenneth Walker III and sits at just 3-4. Still, Michigan fans know that the records don't matter, as cliche as it sounds. Don't look at 7-0 vs. 3-4, look at maize and blue versus green and white at night. It's going to be fun.

Fans have already started asking about the Spartans just in case. No Michigan fans seem worried, but everyone knows about Mel Tucker's 2-0 record against Jim Harbaugh and those same fans know that Sparty is going to treat this week as their Super Bowl. They don't have much left to play for, so spoiling U-M's season might be it for them.