MGoRadio 10.4: But We've Got a Running Back

MGoBlog: The MGoPodcast

WSG The Sklar Brothers who are PERFORMING TONIGHT at the Michigan Theater!

The Sponsors

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Featured Musicians: The Feeling

The Video:

[After THE JUMP: Things said.]

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1. Minnesota Preview: Offense

starts at the top.

Weird how they haven't even tried to run the ball. They don't have the OL for 37 pass attempts. Brosmer's stats fall off a cliff when he gets pressure—had a couple of really bad throws and ran himself into sacks vs Iowa. Probably one of those games where the opponent goes not-in-the-face and hopes to grind it out.

2. Minnesota Preview: Defense

starts at 14:03

Can Michigan run more zone reads and diversify from what they've been doing? Minnesota's defensive tackles are not good, their good pass rusher is now a meh starter at strongside end. Alex thinks their RS freshman safety (playing for an injured starter) is a good tackler. Brian thinks M will grind it out but Alex & Seth counter that Minnesota is a team that blitzes interior gaps a lot so this will have be a game where they crack explosives against the secondary on the outside a few times.

3. USC After Review

starts at 30:32

Defensively Seth gets some Wink gripes off his chest but tries to put this in context. Gripes: he's doing weird stuff on standard downs, blitzing nickels from Mars, and not covering the spot where pressure comes from. Highs: USC got caught a few times waiting for that nickel blitz that never came, and EVERY SINGLE TIME A DEFENSIVE LINEMAN WAS RELEVANT. Record day, and looked like it. Jyaire Hill is comin, folks. Offensively, looked worse than we hoped, because a lot of the big runs were USC being bad. Seth might have talked Brian into upping a Gio El-Hadi block to +2 when Michigan turned a pull into a double to create the Edwards TD. But on the first Mullings TD it's a safety drifting over when a LB has contain already. Michigan ran Bash one time, it was very well-designed, and they never went back to it. What gives?

4. Sklars

starts at 49:15

Sklars are in town so we got on the phone with them while they're walking across the Diag. Segment is mostly our general thoughts on the season, which is a slog. Every opponent looks tougher except Washington (which is Michigan going to the West Coast so that's a tossup) and Northwestern, whom Brian forgot we were playing. Meanwhile we're Iowa, and Will Johnson is our Cooper DeJean. We're all finding ways to accept this season for what it is, which is… a Spirit Flight? Maybe if they were given a train and figured they'd get it to fly somehow?

About the Featured Musician: The Feeling

THE BAND: My friends and I have been all about this British pop band since Twelve Stops and Home. We even have a dance routine for "I Love It When You Call." There's no Michigan connection but a friend saw them in Italy last year and learned they were recording a new album, and I said "OOOOH PLEASE SEND WHEN OUT." That album is called San Vito and It's out. And it's really good, even if you, like me, don't really go for pop that much. We'll get back to locals next week but humor me and try this. It might even make you feel happier.

Song choices:

• "I Want You Now"
• "I Love It When You Call"
• "War's Not Won"

Also because Across 110th Street will get our Youtubes taken now now, the opener and outro:

• “The Employee is Not Afraid”—Bear vs. Shark
• “Ruska Vodka”—Motorboat