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Ross Fulton Analysis: Will Michigan Be Able To Run It Up On The Ohio State Defense Again? · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Welcome to Buckeyes tomorrow morning for Friday, November twenty fourth. I'm your host,
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  Tom Moore. The game against Michigan is tomorrow. It is almost here.
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  But before we get to that, we're gonna have every buddy, Ross
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  Fulton on the show again. Ross, of course, the ex's and nods
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  guru at buckeyehddle dot com. And when we have Ross on the show.
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  The show was presented by Jeff Ruby Steakhouse, the award winning upscale steakhouse in
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  downtown Columbus, name one of the top fifty steakhouses in America by Food Network.
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  Thank you to Jeff Ruby for sponsoring it. Thank you for Ross for
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  being here again. Today we're gonna be talking about the Ohio State defense.
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  Boy, Ross. The conversation around the Ohio State defense this year is so
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  much different than it was eleven months ago after the Georgia game when they had
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  just gotten gaeshed for big plays and given up forty points and back to back
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  games and the five big plays against Michigan, it feels like they have solved
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  the problems. They've given up one forty yard play all year long, and
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  that was that weird fumble Rooskie play against Rutgers. Jim was asked about it
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  and looked like terrified, like, don't say those words out loud. Is
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  it? Is it for real? Has Ohio State really solved their issues or
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  is this say well, we'll see when they play Michigan kind of thing.
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  I mean, they're number one on sp plus defense at this point and that's
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  not even like being helped by preseason rankings because they started out in the teams.
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  So I mean I probably even underestimated some level how good they've been because
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  they don't like, they don't wow you right with like Chase Young type plays
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  to create negative plays they do. They are increasingly forcing turnovers. I mean,
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  Jordan Hancock's really becoming quite a player at Nickel. But yeah, I
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  mean they're they're for real, Like they they just are really solid. And
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  so even last year, like even Michigan smart Michigan partisans would acknowledge that the
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  explosives that Michigan created were somewhat fluky in that game, Like that doesn't you
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  know if you play that game ten times, that kind of suff doesn't happen
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  ten times. But I just that that is not my concern in this game,
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  that like somehow, all of a sudden, they're going to put someone
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  in who hasn't played in weeks and he falls down and gives up a touchdown.
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  That seems like they have largely learned that lesson, I think after last
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  year. So we'll see. We'll see how this goes this year. The
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  I guess, let's start upfront. Oistate defensive line. They've been pretty solid
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  all year Michigan On the offensive line, this is not the Joe Moore Award
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  winning winning Michigan offensive line of previous years. The middle of the line seems
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  fine. The tackle spots a little dicey. Is that more of a concern
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  for Michigan in the run game or in the past game both the I mean,
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  I agree with your assessment. I don't think Michigan's guards are very good
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  centers. Okay, the tackles have had some concerns. I'd say probably more
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  in the passing game than the run game. But they have not been as
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  good of a run team as they were the previous two years. Part of
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  that is the offensive lines not as good. Part of that is I don't
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  think that Blake Korn is quite the same as he was prior to his injury
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  last year. But so they have to protect themselves. And I don't think
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  their tight ends are quite as good as blockers as their tight ends were previous
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  seasons. So you know, they're not a team like, yes, they
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  did it, they did this against Penn State that they just kept running it.
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  That was a game that lent itself to that because a Penn State had
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  no chance of ever doing anything offensively and be many Diaz as we've talked about
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  about many Diaz does many Daz things that are unsound, and Jim Noles does
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  not do that. But so for Ohio State, though, I mean,
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  their defensive ends definitely need to win, right and like they need to control
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  the action. I think they can. They need to, and we'll get
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  into this, but like I think the big question and kind for Ohio State
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  is how do they account for JJ McCarthy's legs. So Michigan, I mean,
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  Amy McCarthy seems like he's kind of banged up knee or ankle or something,
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  but he still did run around. He ran some against Maryland, he
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  obviously ran against Penn State, and they they sort of save that for when
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  they need it. McCarthy is not good at running replays like in terms of
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  like doing the actual mechanics of reading the play, I tend to think when
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  Michigan calls those, it's more a bet by the staff that the defense is
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  going to overplay the base run and that McCarthy will get to keep. But
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  he's yeah, but even when he does it, even when he reads it
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  wrong, he can still make plays because he's pretty dynamic with his legs.
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  And they have designed runs too, And so we saw against Rutgers. You
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  know, as we talked about like Jim Noles likes to spill with the defensive
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  ends, but we have seen in recent weeks and increasingly sometimes they'll have the
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  defensive ends contain they're running some more cover four to have sunny styles come down
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  and feel the backside c gap. So I would look for Knowles to continue
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  to mix it up in terms of the looks they're giving in terms and for
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  replays, because I do think they have to account They have to assume that
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  McCarthy can keep and run and they have to account for that, which which
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  helps the Michigan run game. The other thing that will be interesting is how
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  does Ohio State handle Michigan's twelve personnel because that's essentially their base. Like they
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  you know, it's probably fifty five forty five. They'll run two tight ends,
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  I personally think, and I think Jim Knowles sort of hinted at this
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  during his press conference on Tuesday. I think that they will stick with Jordan
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  Hancock as much as possible. First of all, I think that Colson Lovelin
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  I kind of consider him a poor man's Brock Boers, like he's more of
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  a big slot receiver than an actual inline tight end. I also think we've
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  talked about how effective handcock is in run game, and you also have two
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  very big safeties who like to play the run that you can scheme to do
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  so. I just don't think, especially with Lathan Ransom assumingly out, I
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  don't think that you want to get in a situation where you're taking Handcock off
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  the field too much. Now, if Michigan goes to that extra offensive line
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  package that they showed against Penn State and they used a little against Maryland,
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  that's where I think you bringing Cody Simon. But again, Ohish State has
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  the advantage that you know they have safeties who are happy to play against the
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  run, and I think the Knowles is going to have to change up coverages,
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  but I do think you'll see he'll mix some Cover four with some Cover
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  one where he lets Josh Proctor get down in the box. Because, as
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  we've talked about all year, like when a push comes to shove, like,
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  they've been very effective stopping the run with that concept. There's been a
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  bunch of questions this week about if Michigan goes to that six offensive line to
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  tight end kind of package, does Ohio State go to a defensive line alignment
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  that has like very much not been a Larry Jhoneson thing. Larry Johnson is
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  a four down dude. Larry Johnson has always been a four down dude.
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  Do you think the answer is you're bringing Cody Siamon, you just kind of
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  go from a four two five to a four to three or do you did
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  they screw around with bringing in an extra defense tackle? What is what is
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  the CounterPunch there? Yeah, and it depends on the specifics of where they're
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  lining guys up. I personally would probably start with the four to three and
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  see how that goes. I mean, Penn State, part of their issue
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  is that they're a little undersized on the edges. And so that's what hurt
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  them, Like that one big Quorum run was a duo play where they got
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  they lost leverage because they had like a two hundred and seventeen pound linebacker out
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  there. And so again I think your first step is you put Cody Simon
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  at Sam there and you bring Josh Proctor down as a CE gap defender.
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  We did see the one play action against Penn State from that look, so
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  you know you can't assume again you got to be able to match Loveland,
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  especially if he's in the game in that situation. But so I personally would
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  think that would be my first step and see how it goes. I think
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  that's been Jim Knowles's m this year too, is like let's try to stay
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  light until we can't and then like, if I have to adjust, I
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  will. But I'd rather start with that than get give myself burned by going
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  overly aggressive against the rud What would be your biggest concern against Michigan in the
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  passing game? Is it hitting Colton Loveland, He's been very very effective for
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  them as a receiver. Is it Roman Wilson, assuming Roman Wilson is back
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  after setting out the last three quarters or so against Maryland last week, it
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  sounds like you're not super super concerned about multiple big plays hitting over the top
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  again this year. So what is you know? Is it just JJ McCarthy
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  getting out of the pocket and buying time and then having to cover for so
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  long? What is kind of the biggest concerned to you as far as the
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  past defense real hostate. Yeah, it's it's Letty McCarthy break, contain and
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  scramble drill Like. That's where I think he's really hurt teams this year is
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  when he when things break down and he gets outside of the pocket. I
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  think that you have to rush him in a way that hems him in,
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  whether you do that through just your four man rush, whether you do that
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  through certain pressures that basically bring that forces him to escape to one side and
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  then you bring a linebacker to that side is essentially a spy and you rush
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  him into that linebacker. That would be my first concern starting up front is
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  like keeping him in the pocket. I think that in terms of his receivers,
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  I the ones you listed, I agree. I would start with Rum
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  and Wilson like he likes hitting Rum and Wilson on like deep over routes,
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  and then I would go to the type ends that you know, they use
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  a lot of option routes or stick routes with them, so you know,
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  those are definitely in terms of like the weapons who you're looking at. I
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  don't think you need to do. What I would do though, is continue
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  to mix up coverages. I don't think that McCarthy has been great when he
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  has to diagnose different coverages, and so I mean Knowles has been doing that,
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  So I would just stick with what you're doing. You know, like
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  there was a series against Minnesota where it was like cover four one play then
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  cover three, then cover one, then cover two, like you know,
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  they are running the gamut at this point, like you name it, they're
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  doing it, and they're doing it pretty well. And so I expect to
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  see more Cover one in this game than they've run in recent weeks. But
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  I still think you're going to kind of try to mix up coverages. You
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  know, McCarthy's pick against Maryland came off with Tampa two, which or High
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  State runs quite a bit, so I think that's the key. But again,
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  I think it starts with trying to keep McCarthy in the pocket, even
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  if you're not even if you're having to rush in a way that reduces your
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  chance of an immediate sack. I would rather force him to sit in there
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  and continue to go through progressions, then get outside and let Wilson break off
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  a route and suddenly you know you've got a fifteen to twenty yard game off
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  of scrambled drew. Watching that game against Maryland last week, the sequence that
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  jumped out to me more than any other regarding JJ McCarthy was the one right
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  before halftime where they get down into the red zone. They've got a chance
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  to really really put the game away, and first and goal. He throws
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  and throws to I mean it looked like one of two Maryland defenders was the
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  intended receiver. He hit the guy guy got his hands on it dropped,
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  but that was first down. Why are you forcing that ball in there in
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  the end zone on first and goal? Second in goal doesn't see it underneath,
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  defender throws an interception like two in a row. And not just the
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  read, but more the decision making. Where it's first and goal, why
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  are you trying to force the ball into an area where there are like multiple
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  defenders. It's first of go throw it out of bounce, Like, is
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  this a make JJ McCarthy beat you? Game? Is that is that the
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  mind is that the you know mindset stopped the run, don't let him run,
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  make him beat beat you with his arm? Is that how you would
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  approach this game? So to your point, I mean, I don't know
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  what his turner of worthy throws are this year as a stat but I feel
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  like whenever I've watched Michigan, I feel like he makes a couple throws that
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  could be interceptions. And I think this is where sometimes when you don't get
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  tested, it can come back to bite you, because I think he's gotten
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  away with some throws this year against easier competition that were like, you know,
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  by the skin of his teeth, and it's like, whoa, look,
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  that's a great highlight play and it's like no against you know, that
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  works maybe against Michigan State this year, but it's doesn't against a better defensive
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  team. And so he yeah, he will he's sort of gunslings there right
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  like he'll throw back against his body. He'll take chances. I you know,
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  in terms of like make McCarthy beat me again, I would not do
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  that necessarily in the sense of like We're going to load up the box and
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  play cover one every play and you know, see what happens and take our
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  chances. Because I just think that he when they like, for instance,
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  like Purdue is a heavy cover one team, right, And so when Michigan
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  knew that it was likely that Purdue was going to be in cover one,
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  like, they do a nice job with motion and formations to free Wilson and
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  get him open against man with picks and rubs. Once Purdue and it was
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  sort of too late for them, but once they realized like that was the
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  case and they started mixing the zones, all of a sudden, it was
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  like put Michigan in mud because then he had to diagnose the coverage the calls
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  weren't necessarily the right ones for the zone. So all this is to say
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  that like I would, I think Jim Knowles, you know, like Ryan
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  Day on offense, like should continue doing what they've been doing in the last
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  month in terms of mixing up his coverages, mixing up his gap responsibilities up
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  front to try to slow down the processing for McCarthy. And then you know,
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  yes, that makes it maybe. Sometimes I mean I think this will
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  be a game because Ohio say it's done this year where there's gonna be a
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  couple of annoying like for it. You know, Michigan got four yards on
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  that run play in five yards and four and they get a couple first downs
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  and then Nole tries to tighten the screws down. So I don't see them
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  like selling out to south of the run. I don't think you. I
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  don't think Michigan. When Michigan's done well this year, it hasn't been because
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  they've ran the ball just right down at people's throats. It's because they've been
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  able to hit some big plays off the passing game. Well, we will
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  see whether they can hit some big plays off the passing game, will whether
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  they can run the ball down the field, how Jim Knowles and Ryan Day
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  will respond on both sides of the ball. We will see that all tomorrow.
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  We've been waiting all year for this game. It is finally almost here.
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  Kevin Antoni and I will be headed up to ann Arbor a little later
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  timetable is not necessarily as precise as a as an airplane, so we will
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  we will make sure we let you know as soon as we can when that
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  team arrival is coming. Then we'll have probably we're expected to do probably another
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  live show after that. I'm sure there's gonna be plenty to talk about later
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  The best place to do that is a Buckeye Huddle dot com. Thank you
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  guys all for joining us. Have a great day. Let's talk to you tomorrow.