Bruce Feldman of the Athletic recently released his “freaks” list, which is always a fun read. No. 1 on the list is Michigan defensive end Kwity Paye, which I found striking particularly in light of how much talent has been passing through Ann Arbor since Jim Harbaugh took over. I noted as much on Twitter: … [Read more…]
After getting their doors blown off by Ohio State 62-36 in 2018, Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan made some big adjustments the following offseason. He hired an up and coming assistant coach from Alabama named Josh Gattis and beat out competitive offers from other schools, including Alabama, by giving him direct control of the Wolverine offense. Harbaugh … [Read more…]
My guys Paul Wadlington (Scipio Tex) and Kevin Dunn have a very good podcast going these days called “Everyone gets a trophy!” that I recommend. It’s a weekly listen for me. In the most recent episode, Paul (in so many words) basically describes how college football is starting to experience something like the Matthew principle … [Read more…]
Who’s making the playoffs in 2019? I’ve been pretty bad at prognosticating this over the years. Usually I’m pretty dialed in on a handful of potential teams. Last year I nixed Ohio State amidst concerns over program distractions but I elevated Michigan and committed the error for the second consecutive year of overlooking problems at … [Read more…]
Can you sign too many DBs? Not enough Big 12 programs are asking that question, in my opinion. In particular you need guys that can play coverage on a variety of skill players and in a variety of places on the field. None of your potential impact players at DL or LB have much of … [Read more…]
Even Ohio State is coming to be more influenced by it after hiring former Kelly QB coach Ryan Day last year as their new QB coach and then this year making him the real OC over Kevin Wilson. I broke some of that transition down over at SB Nation. Chip Kelly is going to go … [Read more…]
My main intention with this series was to dive into the differences between varying types of 4-2-5, 3-3-5, and 3-2-6 defensive formations but I hit 1500 words in a hurry explaining how teams will still play true 4-3 and 3-4 structures against the spread so I decided to split this into multiple parts. Today we’ll … [Read more…]
I wrote about the move from the 4-3 to the 4-2-5 over at Football Study Hall. There will be lots of people who describe this as being a move to a “TCU-style of defense” but don’t be fooled by the 4-2-5 language. This is actually a move away from what TCU does and more towards … [Read more…]
They released them the other night I think. Me and the wife have been watching “Stranger Things” recently so we aren’t super up to date on the World Series or this playoff show. The whole goal of these weekly rankings is to amp up the anticipation and talk around the sport and maintain the entertainment … [Read more…]
Over at SB Nation I break down how Jeff Brohm has the Boilermakers on track to make noise sooner than later in the Big 10 west. Nebraska is folding like a cheap tent, which was predictable given their turmoil from a year ago and the graduation of Tommy Armstrong, Jr. Minnesota is responding well to … [Read more…]