The Wolverine Digest Pod

Besides the dominant win over Penn State, there is plenty to talk about in the Michigan market. Former Michigan hooper Jordan Poole cashed in on a massive contract, the kickoff time for the Michigan State game was officially announced by the program and James Franklin...had a day in Ann Arbor. With so much going on in the Michigan world of sports, we had plenty to talk about before we even got to the Penn State game.

Once our attention shifted to Michigan's win over the Nittany Lions, though, we really hit our stride. The running game was absolutely dominant, JJ McCarthy was very efficient once again and the Wolverine defense under the guidance of Jesse Minter kept PSU in check all day long. At the end of the contest, Michigan was up by 24 points and sitting at 7-0. 

This weekend's tilt between No. 5 Michigan and No. 10 Penn State is a big one in the Big Ten East and nationally when it comes to the College Football Playoff picture. Obviously there's a lot of football still left to play, but whoever wins on Saturday is going to be sitting pretty for a little while as the first round of CFP rankings are just a couple weeks out.

When it comes to the Nittany Lions, Michigan fans have a lot of questions. How good and how effective can Sean Clifford be against U-M's defense? Will the front four be able to get home against Clifford? How good is running back Nick Singleton and can he pop off big runs agains Michigan like he has just about everyone else? On defense, just how good is Penn State? They have some dudes over there, but they haven't seen anyone like Michigan — what's that going to look like? We address all of that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Well, for fans of Wolverine Digest and The Winged Helmet, we have quite an update when it comes to Rosie, our motorhome turned command center, the last two weeks or so and everything we've been up to as we build toward the biggest football game of the season. It's been a journey, and we're happy to share it with you.

Jim Harbaugh and Co. are 5-0 and likely on their way to 6-0 with a matchup against Indiana on the horizon. The Hoosiers pose a few problems but got blown out by Cincinnati a few weeks ago and lost by 14 points against a hapless Nebraska team last week. Michigan is favored by a lot and expected to roll in Bloomington.

With Blake Corum carrying the ball like he is, and JJ McCarthy and his receivers potentially ready to take a big step forward, Michigan could be getting ready to operate at full strength as we near the midpoint of the college football season. We discuss all of that on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Michigan is now 5-0 after beating Iowa in Iowa City and looking toward 6-0 with a matchup against Indiana in Bloomington coming up this weekend. The Hoosiers love to throw it around, which can be tricky in another team's house, but Michigan is expected to win by quite a bit. It's going to be interesting to see how the Wolverines prepare for IU after the trip to Kinnick and ahead of the big time matchup against Penn State.

Obviously a lot of Michigan's success depends on JJ McCarthy's continued development. The young quarterback was solid against Iowa, but not necessarily lights out and yet, Michigan got a 13-point win inside of a venue where that just doesn't happen. How will things look for McCarthy on the road this weekend and against the best team not named Ohio State next week? We're all very anxious to get the answer to that question.

Michigan is 1-0 in the Big Ten after hanging on to beat Maryland and will now be tested in a major way this weekend in Iowa City. The Wolverines haven't won inside Kinnick Stadium since 2005 and it's going to be tough again. Iowa isn't lethal on offense, but they are on defense. Jim Harbaugh knows it, the offensive coordinators know it and JJ McCarthy is about to find out as he prepares for his first road start.

McCarthy's performance on Saturday will be key, but everyone else needs to be sharp as well. Iowa doesn't make many mistakes and capitalizes on most made by their opponent. Earlier today, Harbaugh mentioned that in several different ways, as did Zak Zinter, Rod Moore and Kris Jenkins. Everyone seems to full understand what this weekend is all about, and why wouldn't they, after winning several big games on the road last year and taking Iowa apart in the Big Ten Championship game. All of that, plus 40+ minutes of burning questions, on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Michigan was supposed to beat Maryland going away, but that didn't happen. Instead, Michigan won just 34-27 and the Terps actually had a chance to recover an onside kick at the end of the game. JJ McCarthy was solid but not electric and he also showed some signs of being a young, first-time starting quarterback. Blake Corum, on the other hand, was absolutely incredible. The 5-8, 210-pounder carried it 30 times for 243 yards and two scores and was the biggest reason Michigan came away victorious.

Next up for Michigan is a road game against Iowa. Heading to Iowa City for a showdown with the Hawkeyes inside Kinnick Stadium is always tough and that figures to be the case next weekend. Iowa's offense has struggled, and Michigan is more talented, but college football can get weird in a hurry. We talk about all of that after making our way back to the Command Center.

Michigan is sitting at 3-0 and hasn't been challenged, so everyone is anxious to see the Wolverines now that Big Ten play is upon us. Of course, Maryland isn't expected to challenge Michigan much, but Taulia Tagovailoa can sling it, there are athletes at the skill positions and it's a conference game that Mike Locksley and his squad would LOVE to win. All of that creates some intrigue even though U-M is supposed to win comfortably.

So with conference play comes true tests. We all expect to see the starters well beyond halftime and possibly deep into the fourth quarter. If that happens, what will it look like? Everyone is curious about a four-quarter JJ McCarthy stat line and Jesse Minter's defense, that has been absolutely dominant, hasn't been tested yet. What kind of a test will Maryland provide? We'll all see soon enough...

Some Michigan State fans and media members just can't handle the fact that Michigan is 3-0 after watching their precious Spartans take it on the chin in Seattle over the weekend. Because of that, all they can do is talk about Michigan's soft schedule and then hope and pray that U-M isn't as good as they appear to be. Luckily for everyone, Big Ten play starts this weekend as Michigan will host Maryland, which should give the maize and blue a chance to shut some folks up at least a little bit.

We also discuss the lack of production from a loaded wide receiver room after we learned that the receivers in that room aren't too pumped about their usage. Once through that, hundreds of fan-led questions push us well past an hour as we hunker down for another episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Michigan has been quite dominant through three weeks albeit against vastly inferior opponents. Even though each team that came to the Big House was outmatch, the Wolverines did what they were supposed to do. Jim Harbaugh's squad is leading the country with 55.3 points scored per game and is only giving up 5.7 points per contest. To put it bluntly — Michigan is rolling.

As U-M gets ready to kick off Big Ten play, there are still some questions to answer. What's this offense going to look like when it really opens up? How will JJ McCarthy truly be utilized? There's only one ball and so many weapons...can they all eat? Is the defense really this good? Can the new faces on defense generate a consistent pass rush? What happens when the secondary is truly challenged? All of those questions are there as U-M gets ready to take on better athletes on better teams.