Latest / In The Pocket / Ep. 15: In search of hope for the non-WMU fan bases
Transcript
- Andrew Graham: Hello and welcome to another episode of In the Pocket. I am Andrew Graham here along with Connor Irgood for another weekend recap after what was that, week seven officially of the college football season is now wrapped up a crazy day in college football. Connor, how you doing? Connor Earegood: Six seven. That's the that's the week we entered. But no, it's cause the NFL week six. The NFL Andrew Graham: That's if you if you count the NFL correct, yes. Connor Earegood: see the ball knower. no, it's a good week. It's not been great weeks, great Saturdays in East Lansing as of late. And I've covered many of them. And yeah, we'll yeah, we'll get into that later in the show. But otherwise it's great fall weather, brief little warm-up. It's it's a beautiful day. Andrew Graham: Really just like I was up at the press box at Mount Pleasant and we saw how Michigan State lost and we all were just like, Wow. How, how but again, we'll get there in a minute. basically gonna get through like the g the the games this week. It was Michigan State lost to Northwestern twenty four twenty one in a pretty brutal, heartbreaking loss in any number of ways. Then you had Western Michigan Pretty well taking it to Central for forty minutes and then Central kind of storming this swashbuckling crazy comeback where they had a chance at the end to tie it or maybe go for the win. And Eastern Michigan got rolled by Toledo, and Michigan, of course, put Tommy Carr in the game and beat Penn State twenty-one to eighteen, which I was frustrated merely because I predicted Michigan would win twenty-one seventeen, and rarely do you come so close Connor Earegood: Yeah. Andrew Graham: and still miss. Sucks. But I I think the thing that I kind of come to this episode with, and that is I have also written in the doc, surprise, surprise, is kinda is at like just thinking of the next five weeks here, eight weeks till championship weekend or whatever the whatever the heck it is in college football these days anymore. Who outside of Kalamazoo, fan base wise, is really likely in the state to like feel good about anything? I d I let me just pose that to you, Connor. Connor Earegood: Well, Michigan State, if they go spend a bunch of money in January, I think people will look at it very differently. But certainly they're not satisfied now, but at least it's like an actionable, you know, do something about it kind of pain. Michigan is feeling it. Michigan is is frustrated. Granted, Tommy Carr Andrew Graham: And they're Connor Earegood: can be a salve, but and then with the max schools, it's like if you're Western, You feel okay about it? I feel like Western even maybe isn't fully satisfied. Like this is a team that had, you know, two breaks away from well, not two breaks, but a game and a a break away from, you know, competing for Andrew Graham: Yeah, Boise State kinda ragged all of them, but Connor Earegood: that's what I'm saying is like you still have something that you're probably like, damn, you know. Andrew Graham: Yeah. Yeah, it was it was kind of a s Connor Earegood: I don't know. Yeah. It's a the interesting theoretical question. Andrew Graham: kind of a sobering Saturday. May maybe not quite sobering in Ann Arbor, but sobering for the, you know, realities about where the Bryce Underwood of it all is headed. but I guess like w do you wanna just like go a little more like I kinda wanna get more team to team in this of like Connor Earegood: Yeah, I'm with Andrew Graham: if you're like Michigan State, like they've just been bad. since their first two wins. I think there's kind of like no two ways about it. And they've been better of late, I think, in the last two weeks. Of course they've been like they took a game to overtime and then they probably should have beat Northwestern. But like I think it's just the the thing that I come to is no matter what like salve you can a apply to it, like it is just brutal as a fan base to watch your team keep losing like this. And keep like Connor Earegood: yeah. Andrew Graham: being sort of like you see you see the glimmer, you see the shimmer, but it's never really enough substance to hang your hat on. And it how like I I feel for like the just Michigan State fan who is just like deserves some good in their life from their football team more reliably. Like it's just sucks. Connor Earegood: Yeah. I there's so there's a guy on Instagram that I think we've sent each other at some point who like waterboards himself to a picture of Pat Fitzgerald after Andrew Graham: Yeah, yeah. Connor Earegood: every loss. And it's like it's foul. There's also a guy that sings to Aiden Giles, who who'd had a a a a review this past week when Giles came back and and said, Talk all you want, but I'm leaving with the win. which I'm sure Michigan State fans were very happy to hear and see and chant at him. Andrew Graham: Talk your talk talk your shit, Aiden though. Connor Earegood: He should. He sh absolutely should. And he is right to. And I think that's what makes the MSU fans mad. rightfully so. But there's this guy that waterboards himself. And I think that's a great metaphor for how this fan base feels because it's just week after week, like you said, humiliation ritual. but you know, there is a a building week to week that they're playing a little bit better, Alessio Milovoivic, back to back games with two touchdowns thrown, no picks. you know, they they they We're a first down away from winning this game. And I think that's a reminder that this team is so far away from winning because they can't eke it out in the inches. And like I I Fitzgerald brought up the the Mark D'Antonio. And granted, it's every football coach's adage, but Mark D'Antonio used to say game of inches, right? and that's what it comes down to. And you know, Michigan State has a long way to go from a roster standpoint, from understanding what its roster can do. I think that's another side of things. Like this is a coaching staff, it's figuring out what guys can do. Jazzym Patterson looked like a guy that could get you four yards in in a crunch time situation. He gets bottled up, even though the interior of the line, you know, was getting bodied a little bit too there, because Northwestern knew what, you know, Michigan State was going to do. they just couldn't milk the clock off enough. And, you know, Aiden Childs, they knew what he could do. and and he certainly had the the last laugh on that last drive. But yeah, it's it's just they're a long way from from being competitive, but that doesn't mean they can't. salvage something from this season and and get better and and all these sorts of things that you know it it's it's a little bit like I don't know, it's a little bit copium to have that perspective, especially in the big two six where so many teams can buy our roster and buy a coaching staff and you look at what UCLA has done with Bob Chesney six and Andrew Graham: Yeah. Connor Earegood: and probably gonna rattle off some more here. man, like that's that's a potential playoff team. I think they will be a playoff team. Indiana, like Year over year there's this success story and Michigan State isn't one of them year over year and has whiffed a few coaching cycles, not getting the best candidate. if you can call it a whiff because there's fit, right? And you never know how things are gonna shake. But it's it's it's it's it's bad vibes. Andrew Graham: Yeah. It's also still been what? Seventh games? Seven games? So like the vibes Connor Earegood: Seven games in, yeah. Andrew Graham: are horrendous in terms of just like you've lost five straight and the vibes are always gonna be pretty, pretty pretty bad when you haven't won in a month. Connor Earegood: Yeah. Andrew Graham: just to like to really put it in perspective. So yeah, I don't know, like y you will be able to take solace if you if you pick up, you know, win if you manage to as I kinda wrote in I like weekend recap dealio, like if you somehow like s you know, eke out a win via some magic and some BS at at Michigan Stadium 'cause it's a rivalry game and that's what happens, like you'll take that and you will hang you know, like hang your hat on like we we had something to celebrate in year one, let's get a lot better a lot a lot here in January and and keep it moving. so Michigan One and everyone ki Connor Earegood: Yeah, that was a shock. Andrew Graham: and everyone kinda got to be like Yay hooray afterwards, but if it does bear repeating that they had like eighty yards at halftime and no points. so like they just haven't been very good in their they've you know, I mean, they are foreign to the schedule probably precludes them from really accomplishing anything that would be considered championship. this season. but like the the the path to doing something somewhat good is still there, but it just the way this team has been, I suppose the hope is maybe Tommy Carr like changes that. Connor Earegood: Yeah, I i the problem is like there's a lot more issues than him. Like the run game finally had a little bit of a a push, right? But also Penn State's not that great against the run. So it's like how do you you know? Andrew Graham: No, they're you're they're getting Iowa State results in the Big Ten, which is what it looks like. Which is competent Connor Earegood: Yeah. Andrew Graham: and fine, but not great. Connor Earegood: Yeah, and that's like and so that's what I would say. Like, there are still wrinkles of the offense that like even if you have a quarterback and even if you have a dude who's like going to play inside of the system and like the the Winningham quotes today were like every white quarterback quote ever. The only thing he didn't say he was sneaky athletic, and I'm sure that's coming. Like he made every Andrew Graham: See kinda is just athletic athletic, but like the lanky way. Connor Earegood: Yeah. But like he made like every like quote where it's like, here we go. Like he's he's the starter now. Like the Bryce experiment is probably over. granted, I'm sure he gets a you know, a run or a drive here and there because you're not paying a guy twelve million to go work a clipboard. But Andrew Graham: Well and Connor Earegood: that again you do, like I you know, cause it makes you a better team. But the the thing I'll say, Jack Ebling on his radio show tried to get me to basically take take a a stake on if you know underwood would come out of the bye week good or bad. And I was like, I don't think he's gonna come out any different. I think what's different is the defense is gonna be a little dialed when they have a week to rest, when they have a chance to figure things out. The defense is still the crowning group of this Michigan team. That's the group that it's like you can see where they could potentially pull a couple upsets here. you know, against Indiana or against an Ohio State if they just play damn good defense. But Andrew Graham: absolutely. No Julian Saiyan, correct. Connor Earegood: but you also have to be able to score. So Andrew Graham: Correct. Well and and that's that's as I sort of observed before this game, like they basically were about to beat Minnesota with like an elite defensive performance and just a sort of a standard deviation bad offensive performance, and then it just imploded on them. And rather than getting to the second half and it ploding imploding on them this week, Tommy Carr went in and like just did baseline good things that really just kinda spark some belief and like just that good vibe and I think to your point we're probably not like we may have seen the last of Bryce Underwood in terms of like he's probably not at Michigan in twenty twenty seven. But I would be surprised, frankly, if he doesn't get on the field again at some point or another here this season because you're talking about a true freshman quarterback, in theory being the starter now, in the idea that he doesn't at some point, like at Oregon or something you know, Connor Earegood: Sure, sure. Andrew Graham: open two of eleven and just need to get his mind right on the bench for two series or something, so correct. Correct. Connor Earegood: Or or God forbid gets hurt. Like that's another thing too. Like true freshman, the body type as an eighteen, well is he a true f red shirt. No, he is a true. He's a true freshman. So skinny Andrew Graham: Wonder if they're gonna run him. True freshman. True freshman. And if they're gonna run him Connor Earegood: eighteen year old, like Andrew Graham: correct. So like correct. There's like the the idea that Bryce Underwood is just like banished from the field for Michigan this year also like I think would be a little bit of an overreaction in the other direction too. Like I think it was just the the the baseline like the big thing here is the offense just functions appreciably better with carr. in. At least in that sample size. And that might not bear out over more time and more snaps, but that is just what happened. And there, you know, you can get into the make of that whatever you will and whatever you think about Jason Beck and what the offense should have been like you go get into that ad nauseum. But like I just think like what what was meaningful and what is like the nuts and bolts practical, pragmatic, like why you're probably gonna stick with car is just like the offense looked like it was Michigan looked like it sort of was c like like had the sort of like okay, like this just falls into place sort of sense of the way the offense was clicking. And like it was not it didn't feel like forced or sort of just tight the way it had with Underwood in there. Connor's on his porch and th there was like a truck growing by, so I have to keep talking here. Connor Earegood: It's no, it's the sixth school bus that is driven by this neighborhood, which Andrew Graham: Ha ha ha. Connor Earegood: has gotta be a record of some sort. I in like a fifteen minute stretch. So Andrew Graham: We hey, we are not against the children getting an education, so all the all the school buses the better, but not ideal for podcasting purposes, admittedly. getting a Connor Earegood: Yeah. You don't know who's gonna be a five star. Starts in the classroom. The the J B quote from Last Chance U School's number one. I won't I won't rehash. Andrew Graham: Go go to class, sit in front, put your phone away, get a C It's not wrong. moving on to Central Michigan. this is this one is kind of a similar like in terms of like the the vibes appraisal as MSU, but I think a little more like pissed off because they just lost a rivalry game and it's been two weeks, but the like the offense just hasn't been productive. Like I y you could get into like the nitty gritty about like down down success and you know, blah blah blah blah. But like when it has mattered to start the last two games, they have just been bad. They have not executed in the key spots they needed to execute, namely on some fourth downs, they haven't been able to turn drives into points that have been sort of decent and it's just like kind of come to a head vibes wise where I think people are just like they're sort of running into a very niche problem of like if you're gonna be bad, don't also be not that fun to watch. Which just is tough and I think that's a little underacknowledged. And like people want them the the sort of thing here is people wish the offense was like a little more n effectively normal, for lack of a better word, where you're dropping back and passing in a little more sort of regular formation and down in distance and and personnel. And I I Connor Earegood: Mm. Andrew Graham: understand that impulse. And I don't think like I I can't judge one way or another if like the plan offensively and the sort of programmatic build is like the right thing for Drinkle and Co., but like you can't just do that on the fly with the personnel they have. Connor Earegood: No. Andrew Graham: For one. Like, it would be horrendously bad if they did that, I'm pretty sure. just because that's like not what they're none of what they've been coached to do and are sort of personnel wise equipped to do. And I don't like when you watch the offense And sort of how they've sort of approached the passing game a little more of late. I can see the ideas trying to come to life. But it's not, basically. Connor Earegood: Yeah. Andrew Graham: And because it's not, people are just very frustrated because you scored twenty eight points across your last two games. You didn't look terribly competitive for most of either of them. And that included a very big like home rivalry game where you lost. now it is Connor Earegood: Mm-hmm. Andrew Graham: again twenty games into a coaching tenure, so I also think, you know, a little patience is warranted and Central Michigan is not a place where you can just go portal in obvious solutions at quarterback. Like you can I'm Connor Earegood: Yeah. Andrew Graham: sure you can go find some D two guy who will sling it around a bunch, but that's just not how they're they're built or trying to to operate. Connor Earegood: Well Andrew Graham: So Connor Earegood: the the thing the question I have, because I I feel bad about this, but the first question I had is like portal, like who do you keep? But I I think the benefit for a central is that when you maybe haven't had as much success, like the chances you're gonna get a guy poached are a little lower, maybe to a a parallel school or something or a guy wants to go play close and home like that sort of thing. They have a lot of Michiganders, which helps. but I do wonder like if the sort of It's not, you know, it's a little ugly to watch, but it's not completely listless. They can still beat some teams. They have, you know, an identity, right? They have a plan. does that give them time? Who knows? Andrew Graham: They get a they Yeah, they get exposed by teams that are better than them right now, and I think that's a little bit of a problem for like obvious reasons. And I think it's also just like they they kind of got caught in a little bit of and again for a like vibes management standpoint, which is not really what a head coach is thinking about. They kind of kept a team together last year with a bunch of veterans from the previous regime that kind of gave them this higher floor. So they won six games and went to a bowl game. And you know, cool, year one, everyone will take that at s at pretty much any school that's not like Georgia. so you kind of had this expectation coming into this year that you would do that plus maybe a little bit better. And I think now they're probably staring down the barrel of something like six and six, seven and five again, and you know, go to a bowl game if it you know, you kind of get the offense on the front foot again. But people aren't terribly happy with how it looks. It's also because you kind of cycled the roster back over after your first year rather than ahead of it. And like, say what you will about like I as much as I will defend Central a little bit or like the the just because of like the limitations on kinda who you can go and get in the portal and like I think there's also probably a fair question of they went maybe a little too hard in some spots and this is I think maybe a little bit on defense at like the D two and lower levels in some spots maybe and like perhaps you need to consider some more like down transfers from big power fours and stuff like that. Like and that's those are bigger offseason questions. Like you can't you just can't fix it all right now. But like from a vibe standpoint, Connor Earegood: Yeah. Andrew Graham: not great when you're just losing to your rifle and your offense has scored twenty eight points across the last two games. Connor Earegood: Yeah. you gotta have a fighting chance. You gotta at least contend and compete. Andrew Graham: Yeah. And Eastern Michigan got absolutely horn swoggled by Toledo out of the gate. Chris Graydon today at his pressure was talking about, you know, kind of wrapping up the game and was like, you know, it's a beautiful day, you know, the weather was great, you get to the stadium, you do the the walk in, it's homecoming, there's all the fans, we had the five K before, you meet all these people, it's great, you run out, you're feeling great, and then he goes and then the game started. 'Cause Eastern just got rolled like immediately in this game. They I can't remember exactly how the sequence went, but they Got down, get the ball back, and then get sack fumbled like immediately and were just down I think fourteen nothing pretty immediately rapidly. and they just couldn't like block Toledo's front. Toledo's front also looks like it might be like the best of the Mac this year, Adam Zok. Really good. as Michigan State fans might remember. so to if we'll recall that that little circle. And it's just disappointing for Eastern because like this was about the biggest home game they've had in I don't know, two, three years, easily, like in my memory. And they just I they just came out and they just got played off the field pretty pretty rapidly and they fought back and they didn't, you know, quit. But just like they're so banged up. Toledo's line defensive front just ate them alive, and that was that. Like you're not gonna win a lot of football games if you get sacked six times and The other team runs for like a hundred and ninety two yards and their quarterback goes twenty four of thirty. Connor Earegood: And they're at four and four, right? Yeah. So it's Andrew Graham: Four four. They played a their th I'm gonna write about this probably next week, but their schedule is not built in their favor, and that's like two years in a row now it's happened. Their buy is like in early November. They're the only Connor Earegood: Ugh. Andrew Graham: team that hasn't had their buy yet in all of the FBS. Connor Earegood: Well you're kinda weak zero. Andrew Graham: Yeah. 'Cause they play they played week Connor Earegood: Yeah. I mean Andrew Graham: zero. Connor Earegood: Yeah. Yeah, that's brutal. Like I it's the thing that's interesting too is like in terms of player development when you don't have a buy, and maybe this is something for our show later in the week, but like it's really hard to reset and hit film and when you're just constantly team prepping for the next opponent. And like that's only gonna be amplified when, you know, you really need a win and you need to go five hundred the net last four games and I I do wonder the sort of year over year, like the growth. They have a lot of young guys in the mix. I mean, Kim the quarterback is is obviously in his last year, but like I remember seeing like a good amount of of sophomore junior types that are gonna be back. So like how do you build year over year? And I know Creighton has thirteenth year at Eastern Michigan, year over year likes to build and keep his guys in the stable and and that sort of thing. But I wondered how much not having a sort of reset week hurts you. Like you look at Michigan coming out of the bike and and beating Penn State, like granted Penn State's bad, but you know, you look at at the way their defense is able to respond after a rougher one, and then you get a break and you and you retool and you hit the film room and you see a sort of it's like how a team's their best, like what, probably week two or three in terms of like health. Like you're back on the field, you figure things out. Andrew Graham: Yeah, usually like the first two weeks of conference play or something. so we can I guess we'll move on into like getting into like a little bit of just like actual stuff that happened in the games that's worth discussing Connor Earegood: Yeah. Andrew Graham: twenty minutes in here. I think the first thing to hit on is like the the how MSU called the offensive series after the fake punt from Northwestern with three what's it three twenty nine when that means you took over again. And just like I don't know, I'm I I'm kinda curious your perspective, Connor, as like how that sort of unfolded and like I'm assuming you're in the box and it's like, okay, well you're gonna try and get this down to four seconds if you can and kick it or like get in the end zone. So I'm go ahead. Connor Earegood: Yeah, no that I I hit when I hinted earlier about Jazzy and Patterson, you thought as a guy who can get you four when you really need it. Like they couldn't get it. I mean they got close and then there's a a a false start which they counted a legal snap. They called that twice instead of false starts and that's too niche a penalty to call twice. Like just call the false start on everybody else. Andrew Graham: Well, without like correct like just telling Trent Fraley whatever the hell he was doing and saying, Don't do that. Connor Earegood: Yeah, so it's like I don't know, it's interesting, but I I I think Michigan State played it right, running the ball, trying to run the clock out, but they also like and especially the some of the passes that Milovoivik had missed, especially sort of just dropping it in the bucket on the outside, like you don't want him to get picked off down there. And Andrew Graham: Yes. Connor Earegood: and he's not a guy who has this sort of he's a smart kid and a good quarterback and he's growing, but he maybe isn't there yet, where it's like You want him engineering that from, you know, twenty-nine yards or Andrew Graham: Yeah. Connor Earegood: something like that. But it's it's it was a bad it is coaching malpractice what Northwestern did and they got away with it. And that is crazy Andrew Graham: Correct. Connor Earegood: because of of the inability of Michigan State to get four yards in a first down. Like that's that's all it really comes down to. And so that's you can Zapruder Zapruder isn't the right, you can butterfly effect the play call as mu long as you want to. I I think it's more so a lack of execution that we just have seen. Again, they can't win in a game of inches. and they're they're very far behind. So it's it's it's how do you get you know, how do you improve that going forward and and with the teams in the schedule and who's like good that's still on the schedule? U C L A Andrew Graham: Yeah. Connor Earegood: one of you probably didn't expect at the start of the year. Good God, it might get rough. Andrew Graham: Yeah. Well, you you might get the backup quarterback at least. yeah, I just think like my th my thing with it, I I n I n narrow down on like specifically after you get called for the illegal snap and it's third and twelve there. And the clock stopped. I think in that spot you you you you call a pass and you try and do it with something like it or at least like the the merits of passing there are worth exploring. 'Cause I think you can call up something where you try to, you know, keep it very blinders for Alessio where it's probably roll out, here's your high low, if neither's there, throw it away, maybe try and run it, because we'll both bleed the clock down then at that point anyways and kick the field goal. Because once it gets to that third and twelve and the clock stopped, they've used both their timeouts. If you get a first down, you can kick with the game with time running out. Like you've said, like Connor Earegood: Yeah. Andrew Graham: that that gives you the ability to at worst you're going to overtime. And if you it you with what happened, you run it and you just don't get it, or if you throw an incomplete pass, or you you know, just something happens on a pass where it, you know, scramble and don't get it, s you're still ending up like the ball's going back to Northwestern whether you throw an incomplete pass or whether you run it there. And yes, that's that forty seconds or so is definitely meaningful. But I don't think it's more meaningful than trying to be a little more assertive and aggressive in winning that game or ending regulation on your own terms at least. It's just like like that specific moment. And I I I say that where like if I were in that moment, I'd probably be like, Yeah, we're running off tackle right here. Connor Earegood: Yeah. I the bigger problem is you get a blocked field goal. Like your operation Andrew Graham: Correct. Connor Earegood: is sloppy enough to get that blocked. It should have gone to overtime again. Like that is what should have been it. It was the worst case and it should have gone to OT. They somehow found the worst, worst case. Yeah. And it's like the defense, Andrew Graham: And you also should have defended a drive and yeah. Yeah, it's just like cascading. Yeah. Connor Earegood: the lack of belief in that defense when it took the field, they did not expect to go out and have to like tie the game, like, you can't give up anything. At most, they expected like They're gonna go try to get a field goal, just keep them out of range. Like they were not playing, you know, there was a different yard, Andrew Graham: Yeah, it was Connor Earegood: there was a different l sort of or line of approach they were looking at. And you could see just the hard the the shoulders drop when that moment happened. It was a disbelief moment. And and it's hard to come back from that. Two weeks in a row, right? You have a play call, a r aggressive play call again. And that's where it's for Michigan State. I say it's executional because they've gone aggressive before and it's burned them because of shitty operation. Andrew Graham: Yeah, that's fair. Yeah, no, that's a very good point. They're done. Yeah. Connor Earegood: Not to not to sound like a coach, but like you you know, it's it's it's Andrew Graham: yeah. Connor Earegood: philosophically like you gotta pick one or the other and they've struck out 0 for two on both of them with what they maybe should have done. Granted, I I again I'm I'm pro running the clock and and taking that field goal, but like you've gotta be able to go jam that guy and keep the the way they blocked it was they pivoted off their own guy and pushed and and just got that little bit of lift. It wasn't like a full on table that would be flagged, but it was enough to Andrew Graham: No, and so it wasn't level leverage, yeah. Yeah. Connor Earegood: Yeah, enough leverage to get a hand up and it's like credit to Northwestern for a hell of a play, but you can't leave it up to chance like that and you just have to be better. And that's, you know, the the continuous story of this season for Michigan State is just having to be better and now you're two and five. Andrew Graham: Yeah, it doesn't get any easier. So a hit on this a little bit, but I I think I want to get into it a little more specifically of like with Central Michigan, I think there is like a big gap between what the offense was supposed to be and kind of what it is in terms of obviously like the effectiveness of the running game, but I also just think they definitely anticipated a little bit more ability to throw the football. I just would have to imagine that's the case. I don't think they were planning on being this low volume and really this low, like sort of low you know, like low ambition, I guess would be the right word for it, passing game, where th there are some downfield shots, and that's how they scored their first touchdown. They've had well and they kind of they had to finally just kind of start throwing it down the field and hit a couple throws. but one of those is off of hard play action. And it's just like I I can tot I like again I've like I watched this offense play and you see some of the designs and and the well the thing that stands out to me is in Fall Camp when I was talking with Matt Drinkle about it, he kind of described it as like you're marrying up that sort of read option look from the college game, like think like Gus Malzon Al Auburn, like it's kind of that power midline read. They run a lot of that mixed with sort of like that like think of like the sort of nineteen twenty nineteen forty niners of like Debo Samuel and all that kind of stuff and like how they could get to passing out of that with a lot of tight ends and and you know putting different people in different spots. Like and you see that in how they will use their personnel and you see that in some of the passing plays where like how the routes distribute and the you know sort of over routes they're trying to hit and and different crossers and like if you if you see it from like up in the press box or or or Like you can you can appreciate what they're trying to do, but it's just not getting there. And I think it's just a little bit of like and they I I think they were betting on some quarterback development and evolution that just kind of didn't happen. for better or worse. And they're still very like capable at quarterback. I don't think Angel Flores is like a bad player by any stretch of the imagination, and they love what he does for them. Correct. Connor Earegood: But you need him to do a lot. You need him to do a lot to win that one. Andrew Graham: Correct. And and he's I'll I'll put it this way, he's a very responsible passer. he will not put the ball in a ton of jeopardy, which is a very good thing. If you're central Michigan, you cannot afford to be playing a lopsided possession game against you. And they're just a little capped in how they're able to do things. And it's just a little bit how they're built to where they do want to be this like Power running, slow the game down, eat up clock, low possession kind of game. And that just kind of like it it feels like they're kind of stuck in like all of the possible sort of bad ways the dominoes could fall on a lot of different things with it where it's just kind of Mucky is maybe the right word for it. And I think Saturday was like a particularly disappointing example where again you see some of it working and they hit some of the passes. There was a there's a couple deep shots that probably could have been hit and weren't, and that's kind of an again another illustrative example of they're there but they're just not connecting. And you just don't score until early in the fourth quarter, and that's because you just chucked it downfield twice and managed to hit on both of them and you came within a chance 'cause you recovered an onside and could grind on a drive late, but it's just they've kind of played this style that's made it where they find themselves, I feel like, trying to move uphill a lot. And it feels like they're pushing a car uphill a lot on offense these days. And it's just like very f Connor Earegood: Yeah. Andrew Graham: it's very frustrating for fans, I imagine, and not imagine, Connor Earegood: yeah. Andrew Graham: because they say it out loud publicly on social media quite a bit, not to like validate them. Connor Earegood: Well, and I wonder for the coaches too, like how frustrating that is when it's like you have this great Andrew Graham: Absolutely. Connor Earegood: idea of what you want to see and how it could work, and then you Andrew Graham: Correct. Connor Earegood: just realize, we don't have the dogs. Like that's Andrew Graham: Well, and what's the line what's the line between valuable development versus obstinance versus still believing it can come into place this year too? Like I and that's the hard mix of it all. And I think people are just a little upset, admittedly, and rightly with like the results as they have been of late. and fair fair enough. Like I would I've you you were right to be upset if your team is not scoring points in touchdowns. And giving yourself giving yourself a chance to win as a fan. Like you you you're that is like what you should be upset about as a fan, like fair like Connor Earegood: Spe speaking of upset fans, like it it almost reminds me, not to fully segue it, but like the Michigan of it all here with the Tommy Carr situation. And like it feels like that is sort of a the offense has been diabolically bad for weeks, and you have this solution of a dude that you heard getting praise, and it's like let's see it. And I feel like there were some fans that maybe saw what they wanted to see, and there's some that probably, you know, as tight as that game was, they're probably wondering what it's gonna look like in in the future. and and throughout this season, but I I I do wonder, like it's almost the inverse where like you thought you had a guy who could do a lot of things that made it a funkier offense, and now you're getting to the guy that maybe makes you fit your identity more. Like there were things that offense did because it had Bryce that it's not going to do that it has car. Maybe, maybe out Andrew Graham: absolutely. Connor Earegood: of necessity and maybe out of of a lack of luxury. Like it's it's it's a two way street there. Andrew Graham: Well and I think there's something to be said for like if your offense is bad because like you're you're struggling to execute and everyone do the same thing and hit their assignments just right, being a little more plain Jane, for lack of a better term, is probably a good idea. Because if you just like this is why the air raid was so successful, is you were basically running like a dozen, maybe two dozen different plays. Like or or sort of concepts ultimately And you just run about in different formations and different calls, but it's like if you can just be very confident and do like an offense that will do simple things well is gonna be way better than an offense that's failing to do complex things, to speak to Central Michigan a little bit there as well. and I especially when you consider like how good Michigan's defense has been. It has been, bar none, one of the best defenses in college football in just terms of like the results it's producing. Just be boringly effective if not like you know, we don't even like you don't even have be good on offense, you just have to be like not going out there and blasting your feet off every game. Connor Earegood: Wedding themselves. Yeah. Andrew Graham: Like it's just really that simple. Like your defense is really, really, really good. So just go and play boring competent offense and you will get yourself to eight wins probably. Connor Earegood: Should be. Eight and four. That's what I pe like clacked as. Andrew Graham: Like I don't know, like 'cause you still have you still have Ohio State, you still have Oregon, you still have Indiana, but you probably beat one of those teams or just like right now they would like you'd think or or Brock Connor Earegood: I think they beat Oregon. With Rai with Rayola and then saying no what like Andrew Graham: or Brock Thomas or whoever Oregon plays it, qu Wildcat Connor Earegood: They Andrew Graham: or whatever. Connor Earegood: they have a path to chud their way into like conversations for things they should not be in conversation for. Andrew Graham: A hundred percent, which would be very funny and very Michigan. just Eastern Michigan, I think my like note is just it would really suck if this team is like the roster kinda has the goods for Eastern. Like it's just kind of like they put it together, it's complete enough if if it could be complete, and it can't be complete because they've been so hurt. And now Noah Kim is banged up. he was questionable this weekend, played played like Most of the game into the into the second half eventually got pulled, mostly because they were getting their butts kicked, but I think a little bit of like, hey, let's not get you more banged up. So now it's so Connor Earegood: Yeah. Not worth it. Andrew Graham: now it's sounding like they just need to make sure he's good in practice this week, which is not like a guarantee, but I'm thinking they're hopeful he will go out there and play again, which would probably be the case if he managed to this weekend. But now he's just like playing through something which is a miserable topper on top of a team that's just cannot undo the injury bug this year, which just really sucks because it seems like they actually otherwise would have had a team that genuinely probably had the goods to be a real competitor in the Mac. And that just that just like sucks. It sucks. Connor Earegood: It's the it's the It's the 2016 YouTube Urinating Tree Breaking Bone sound effect. Like I can't even do it. But it's like every like Andrew Graham: Yeah. Connor Earegood: you have this this great concept and you have this thing built. And like for Creighton too, you think this is a pretty not to call it a prove it year, because he's proven anything he can in thirteen years at Eastern, longest tenured anybody, but you know, the the in terms of proving like you still got it and you still have the chance and you can build it, and then it's like Be I I think this goes back again portal. Like it's hard to have two of things. It's hard to have three. Like when you have injuries. They Yeah. Well, and that's Andrew Graham: No, they kinda have a little bit, which is wild, but it's still just getting so taxed that it just hasn't Connor Earegood: where the double injuries. It's like how d who reasonably has a third string or a fourth string that is ready to start in some of these, especially if you're developmental. Like Andrew Graham: And even even if you do even if you don't look at fully into the depth when it's like the revolving door where they just like haven't had continuity, like that starts to hurt at a point too. Which just yeah. And they should still be able to make a bowl. You'd hope they'd make a bowl, they they're four and four. I think, but it just it just bites it bites that it's not kind of just gotten a chance to come together the way it could. You still can a little bit, yeah. Connor Earegood: And you can get healthy. You can look good in the bowl. Yeah. Andrew Graham: And then Western Michigan You have become boringly good again, and dear God be thankful for that as you look at how the other four fan bases in the state are moving this week. Like, I don't know. I I got nothing on Western really this week. Like they play Toledo, like that will be we'll talk about that later in the week. That'll be a big thing, but like they're just taking care of business in the Mac, which is exactly what you would expect from them. And they're doing it in the way that you would hope they do it, where the defense is good and disruptive. Brock Lowry has taken a step, the offensive line is what it is, the weapons are better, Jalen Buckley is Jalen Buckley, and they look like the favorites to repeat as Mac champions. Like, I don't know, but like Connor Earegood: Things are looking good. It's the it's the it's Andrew Graham: Like yeah. Connor Earegood: the mountain with the the dark side and then the like the s picturesque view. Yeah, on the bus. And it's like that's Western is the one on that side. Yeah. Andrew Graham: The guy on the bus. Yeah. All four are are on the dark side in Western. Yeah. Yeah, no Connor Earegood: Now I do wonder what the Toledo result will be, and we'll get into that later in the week. I have some spicy takes on that. But I do I do think Western is in a good spot. Again, that boisey game, you're probably feeling like you left something on the plate, especially if they played like they do now. Like If they could go back, you know, that's that's potentially the the the the difference maker. But i they they look like the team we saw at the start of the year in terms of of competence. Granted, you know, things get dicey here and there. Central obviously w has talent and wants to win a game too, but it's it's they're in a good spot. And now you just have to close it out and not screw it up, which is always the story when you're a team that's trying to win a Mac championship. Andrew Graham: Okay, so here's a tidbit from the Western Central game around the end. Here's how like absurd the end game that was, and this'll be a good thing to end on. So there was a targeting with a minute eight left on a it was on Central Michigan's second touchdown drive. They were like absolutely churning it down. It was a fifteen play drive that had like four plays negated by penalty down in the end, like inside the fifteen. So it was really like more like nineteen or twenty plays. So Angel Flores at a minute eight and gets taken out. Concussionish symptoms, we'll find out officially tomorrow from Matt Drinkle what the deal is. That's minute eight. Joey Pope's they review it, Joey Pope's ejective for targeting. So from the minute that play got whistled dead and the clock stops at a minute eight, they go to the review, to the game ending with Deo McCullough intercepting Jaden Glasner in the end zone, that minute and eight of football on the game clock took twenty-three minutes and ten seconds in real life. Connor Earegood: Mm. Andrew Graham: It was horrendously slow. We were we were all up in the press box, just like this is we're like it it became the end of a basketball game, basically. Like just like endless stoppage, like Connor Earegood: yeah. Bad hoops. Bad hoops. Andrew Graham: endless stoppage. because then they reviewed the onside, and then we were all like, they're gonna get hit with the offsides BS again or whatever. but that was just That once we figure that out after the game we went back and like checked the timestamps on the the ESPN plus tree, but we're like, Wow, that took twenty three minutes Just just absurd and that's so I have seen now in Mount Pleasant a minute take twenty three minutes and I've seen a punt on fourth and goal both this season. Connor Earegood: That's a lot of that's two truths Andrew Graham: Never Connor Earegood: in a lie territory. Andrew Graham: never tell me that group of six football doesn't matter, ever. You will see things you will see things that you will not Connor Earegood: Real Ball. Real Ball. Andrew Graham: see elsewhere. all right. We will be back later in the week. We've kind of blathered about this enough for now. pl plenty more coming up. We'll we're getting to like maxing season soon where I my my hours get real strange, which will be a good time. Connor's still on the porch, he's showing me the cat he's hanging out with. Connor Earegood: The neighborhood cat that just hangs out on this porch for dental treats. Which is not a great treat. But if you're an outdoor Andrew Graham: No, they probably s they probably smell funky. Connor Earegood: cat, you probably eat worse, so Andrew Graham: Yeah, that's good point. Well, on that note, I will let Connor go hang out with his feline friend, and I will let you listeners get onto your lives. But I appreciate you all listening to another episode of In the Pocket on behalf of Connor and myself, Andrew Graham. Thank you for listening.