EVA

Brian Kelly just fired his entire defensive staff, which I’m taking as his tacit acknowledgment of what should be blindingly obvious at this point: if Harbaugh leaves Michigan, the job is Sherrone Moore’s.

I’m glad the companies that bought all those damn commercials got their money’s worth.

I definitely don’t think it should be a given that Ewers is the starter next year. He didn’t significantly improve at all this season, and ultimately it did put a cap on what this otherwise natty-caliber team could achieve. That last Texas drive was a perfect encapsulation of who Ewers is as a player: When the first read is open, he’s the got the arm talent to wow you. But if it ain’t, he’s just a guy. You could tell that Sark didn’t trust him to read a defense inside the 10 yard line with the game on the line AT ALL. Who knows if Arch is really even that good, but it would be foolish not to give him (or whoever) a chance to prove it this offseason.

Good shit! Michigan/Washington will be really interesting. A good final test for each team. Best QB that Michigan has faced (by far) vs. the best defense that Penix has faced (by far).

No matter the outcome, still in awe Washington didn’t give Penix a chance to get 5 yards.

I know the conventional wisdom in that situation was just to run three times and punt, but man…Penix and those guys were unstoppable tonight. Just keep throwing!

And now he goes and does something like that

Nevermind, Ewers seems more determined to blow this.

Washington should’ve kept passing. They’ve totally bungled managing the clock on this punt, leaving Texas a LOT of time to work with.

Seriously, this reminds me of 2019 LSU so much. They can run the clock by passing the ball because they just WILL NOT miss.

Texas has decided that I will not be going to bed early after all.

On top of being extremely talented, Penix is a 6th-year player with 40+ starts. He’s just seen everything that college defense has to offer. Nothing bothers him. He always knows just what to do with whatever the defense is giving him. This is 2010 Cam Newton- or 2019 Joe Burrow-tier QB play. Take that for what you will.

Probably a good thing I was on a break, because I would’ve gotten banned for sure. No telling what I would’ve said in the moment. And now I’m reminded again that a big reason why that play had to happen was a bad snap by the center! Amazing that somebody didn’t order a code red on McLaughlin this season.

Really disappointed that I wasn’t around to keep this gimmick going all season: I had my Washington stock early.

Appreciate it! I’ve missed talking ball with y’all, too. Believe me, it took a lot of self-discipline to click away every time my muscle memory brought me back here .

Saban confirmed in the presser that it was a called run. And I don’t hate it as an idea. Milroe’s strength isn’t making quick throws into tight coverage, and he’s one of the most devastating runners in the game. Higher percentage play there is keeping it in his hands. And what REALLY sucks is that the replay shows that Bama had the look they wanted to get in the endzone, but the bad snap just blew it up before it had a chance. Obviously, the edge guy blowing up the RT was going to be a problem, but if Milroe gets a good snap, there’s a much greater chance he’s able to avoid it and get left, where the play was designed to go. Oh well! Anyway, hey, guys. I’ve been on a self-imposed social media ban since October, but I thought I’d come check in. The game was exactly the low-scoring, four-quarter war of attrition I expected it to be. I was thinking that 24 points would be enough to win it for somebody, and indeed it was. Fascinating tale of two halves, with each team controlling a half but shooting themselves in the foot enough to keep the other team in it. Once it went to OT, I knew Michigan had it. Bama’s floor and ceiling both go way down once you condense the field and take away the long ball threat. But pretty much everything about this Bama season was gravy to me after the Auburn game. This team was so bad in September! That they beat Georgia to win the SEC and made it to overtime of a playoff game with a center who cannot play center is absolutely wild stuff. Saban’s greatest coaching job ever. Really enjoyed watching this team get better over the course of the season and massively overachieve.

Apparently yesterday was Get Mad At An Octogenarian Who’s Employed Strictly For Entertainment Purposes Only Day.

In fact, ND only had 10 men on the field on both of the last 2 plays…AFTER an ND timeout. Stunning incompetence.

Like, they ran to the left and almost didn’t get this.

Love Ryan Day beating his chest about how tough his team is after they barely scored that TD against a ten man defense lol.

Scary moment for Marvin Harrison Jr, but it seems like he’s gonna be ok.

Well, what’s been lost in the angst over Bama’s offense is that this defense is actually REALLY good. Even Texas got most of their points on a couple of fiendishly designed homerun shot passes to two of the fastest WRs in the country and a couple of short fields off TOs. When they just had to drive it down the field on Bama, it was really challenging for them to cash it in the endzone.

I have to credit Dan Lanning for trying to match Deion in the wrestling promo department. That’s recognizing the moment.

Speaking of which, the freshman Hale who just caught the TD is a name to watch.

It’s a complex situation. The effect of the portal/NIL have definitely been felt on the roster. But a big factor has been bad offensive coaching hires post-2020. Poor evaluations, poor development. Having a #1 draft pick at QB hid a lot of the problems for a while, but when you’ve got a QB who cannot play QB, everything else gets exposed. To be fair, the receivers are playing well this year. I see guys getting open all the time. Unfortunately the guy who’s job it is to see them doesn’t, or can’t throw a consistently catchable ball when he does. Ultimately, I think Saban botched this QB situation by not getting aggressive in the portal before spring ball. He wanted to let Milroe and Simpson have a chance of prove themselves in the spring, and by the time he figured out they didn’t have the juice, it was too late to get a quality starter in, and they had to settle for Buchner, who had the worst case of the yips I’ve ever seen a QB have last week.