The NCAA is a Joke

The NCAA finally laid the proverbial "hammer" on former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. Obviously I'm close to this story and I have been following it since it broke last season. But, the "hammer" that was levied on Harbaugh stems from his improper recruiting during the COVID dead period in 2020-21. Let’s discuss.

If you don't remember what Harbaugh did, let me take you through his horrid crimes according to the NCAA. He bought a recruit and his family a burger. He did some other minimal things that any other college football coach would do. In fact, most college football coaches would take it further than Harbaugh and his former staffers took this whole thing. We live in a new era of recruiting. With NIL and the fact that recruits can make millions before even stepping on a college campus, it is the wild west now. There are no morals or "doing it the right way". Every division college football team is trying to find a leg up on the opposition. If you can match what a top recruit is looking for, you better go a little higher to get that kid to commit. And if they eventually sign a letter of intent, who's to say they won't transfer if they aren't getting the playing time they think they deserve. This is the nature of the beast. You have to either adapt or get left behind. This is going to be an almost certain death knell for the NCAA, but while they are still in business, they are damn determined to make an example out of Harbaugh. And maybe they did with this ruling.

Harbaugh has a four year show clause if he returns to college, and if he does, he is suspended for one year, that is if he returns within the four year suspension. The whole problem here, Jim Harbaugh is an NFL coach now with no eyes to return to college. He did all that he could possibly do while at Michigan. He revived that program. They were not great when he took over. Now, they are the defending National Champs. No one will be able to take that from them. They won each and every game they played last season, en route to a 21 point win in the title game.

While coaches like Bret Bielima and James Franklin and, most notably, Ryan Day may want more punishment, this seems to be truly it for Michigan and Harbaugh. I don't think anything is going to come from the nonsensical sign stealing "scandal" from last year. A bunch of teams had the opportunity to prove that Michigan was only good because of one low level staffer, and they couldn't. Ryan Day had every single advantage one coach could want coming into the Michigan game last year, and Sherrone Moore and Michigan still beat his ass. Day is the biggest whiner of this whole thing. Well, him and the NCAA.

Back to the NCAA for a minute. For the NCAA to lay this punishment down on a guy that doesn't even coach in college anymore is the most farcical thing that has come out of this whole story. Harbaugh is gone from college. He is not coming back. He has bigger fish to fry. But I think the NCAA is puffing their chest out and saying that they really crushed Harbaugh. That is hilarious. Harbaugh's attorney said it best. This is like a kid in college who gets suspended by his high school for not signing the yearbook on their way out. The NCAA is the jaded lover here, and Harbaugh doesn't even think about them anymore. Whatever Harbaugh may or may not have done while at Michigan, I love that he is not backing down and not admitting to anything.

All of these other fanbases acting holier than thou right now, it would be very interesting to me to see some of their skeletons come out. I'd love to see how some of these programs are acting behind closed doors. Under Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee was literally handing kids money, prior to NIL, in McDonald's bags. How on Earth did Alabama always have the top classes in the country every recruiting cycle? I'm sure it wasn't all above board. Georgia had some players involved in horrific car wrecks that may or may not have involved alcohol, but ESPN never goes hard on that. Nope, ESPN thinks buying a meal and having a low level staffer watch games to be the biggest cheat in NCAA football history. I think what it all really boils down to is the fact that Harbaugh was one of the first coaches to actively talk about paying players. He wants the players to have more freedom and more chances to make money off themselves while they can. He would scream it from the rafters. He wasn't about himself while coaching at Michigan. Just look at any post game interview from last season, he would have his players speak for themselves. Harbaugh was a thorn in the side of the NCAA, they got mad, Ryan Day cried, the Big 10 leveled dumb ass suspensions and Michigan and Harbaugh still came out on top. ESPN can say what they want, but they look foolish. Fans of other Big 10 teams that think they run clean programs, look in the mirror. And the NCAA, well, you will be nonexistent before this punishment for Harbaugh is even done.

This is a joke and for anyone to think this is a black mark on Harbaugh or Michigan, this sanction or punishment or whatever made me laugh out loud when it was levied yesterday. This is a joke and not nearly as bad as some other may think. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Michigan Football Fans Need to Calm Down

The Michigan football team has seen their head coach leave for the NFL, hired a new head coach, the best possible candidate, and has seen coaches depart to join Jim Harbaugh's staff in LA. This is how it goes when coaches leave. Harbaugh hired these guys, he worked closely with them, they won a national championship and he wants to continue to work with them and see how they do at the highest level. That is the way.

You see this all the time. Nick Saban had to hire new people all the time. Todd Monken left Georgia three years ago for the NFL. Dan Lanning took the Oregon job and brought some Georgia assistants with him. That is two times Kirby Smart had to get new coaches. Deion Sanders brought a bunch of his staff over from Jackson State when he took the Colorado job. This is the norm. But, when I go on Michigan fan pages lately it is going in two areas, the sky is falling or Harbaugh is "screwing the team over". There is no middle ground. There is no complacency. People are mad and frustrated and they are letting it out online.

I have always been a pessimist when it comes to Michigan. It was always the worst case scenario for me. I could not be satisfied with what they did. Until this past season. They won the national title 22 days ago. I am still living on that high. I have seen two national titles in my lifetime, but this most recent one is way, way more satisfying. They did everything I have always wanted them to do. They won all 15 games they played. Most of them weren't close. They were blowing most teams out weekly. It was a dream. This was the first season in forever where I could relax while watching almost every game. I have never been happier to be a Michigan fan. I feel like some people on these message boards have already forgotten this news. They are more obsessed with the transfer haul the university of Ohio State brought in. They want to fight with people online about the ongoing investigation. They want to yell and scream at Harbaugh. They aren't as happy as they should be with the Sherron Moore hire. It hasn't even been a month since they won it all, but if you read the message boards it sounds more like they just went through a rebuilding season. I don't get it.

Harbaugh and these players gave us fans anything and everything we ever wanted but it doesn't seem good enough for some. I fully understand not being satisfied with just one title these past two decades, but can we fans just celebrate a little longer before bitching about every little thing? As for the staffing stuff, Michigan kept the job in house. They hired Moore, who more than earned this job. The university promoted from within. And while losing Jesse Minter and Ben Herbert is tough, they have already replaced Herbert with his assistant, and they have people on staff that they can hire to be the new defensive coordinator. They can also look to an outside hire, possibly someone on the Ravens staff. I also do not believe Harbaugh is going to leave Moore in the cold. I don't think he will shut him out. I definitely think he will help him anyway he can, just like his brother helped him when he needed coordinators. Moore is also currently putting together a staff. We need to give Moore a chance. It seems like a bunch of so-called fans aren't prepared to do this. It is all doom and gloom. Fans are more worried about kids transferring and the coaches that are no longer on the staff. It is always tough when very good coaches leave, but that is a good thing. Coaches in demand means your team is doing something right. If they just stuck around forever I don't think they'd be happy. I don't believe that most coaches who reach the collegiate level want to be assistants forever. I think most want to be head coaches at some point.

I just want it to all calm down. I want people to remember what just happened. They won it all. They haven't done that since 1997. It has been a long, long time. Michigan is relevant again. They are a power. Moore should be given a chance to continue that with the people that he wants to work with. Just relax and enjoy the title and this team. They were incredibly elite. And Moore is going to do just fine. Go Blue. 

Ty

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So Long Coach Harbaugh and Thanks for the Title

It is official, Jim Harbaugh is leaving Michigan to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. Let’s discuss.

I expected this to happen. I said as much after they won the national championship. He did everything he set out to do in his nine years at Michigan. When he took the job he said he wanted to restore Michigan to a national power. He did that. They won the championship. They have won three straight Big 10 titles. They have been to the playoff for three straight seasons. They have had Heisman finalists. They have had many, many players drafted to the NFL. They have been a winning program pretty much since he took over.

Harbaugh also said that he wanted to make the rivalries feel like actual rivalries again. He did that as well. Michigan went 5-4 versus Michigan State. Michigan has won the last three versus the university of Ohio State. They beat Minnesota on the regular. Iowa can be a thorn in their side, but they have gotten the best of them for the past couple years. They beat Penn State fairly regularly right now. He did that job, making the rivalry games an important thing for the players every year.

He really wanted to return Michigan to a winning program. Save for the 2020 season, he was above .500 every season, culminating with a 15-0 season this past year. That is the most wins in Michigan and in the history of the Big 10 for one year. He won 86 games in his nine years as head coach. That is an average of nine plus wins every season. He won 60 of those games in the Big 10. The Big House became a tough place for visitors to play. He restored the home field advantage Michigan has always loved. And he carved out a new niche as a coach, hiring younger guys with new ideas, and has turned a bunch of them into head coaches and future head coaches. Jesse Minter will be a head coach soon enough. Mike McDonald spent one year in Ann Arbor, and he is now leading the best defense in the NFL. Jedd Fisch just took over the Washington job. And many, many more are going to become head coaches soon, namely Sherrone Moore.

When I wrote about Harbaugh departing for the NFL last week, I said I want Michigan to hire Moore ASAP. All signs seem to be pointing towards Moore getting the job, and he has more than earned it. Coaches are supposed to mentor and help their assistants move on to bigger and better things. That is exactly what Harbaugh did in his time in Ann Arbor.

The thing I love most, outside of the national title of course, Harbaugh put the spotlight on the players. He didn't make himself the face of The University of Michigan football team. Every time there was a post game interview, Harbaugh would say one thing and then grab the player who played the best and have the interviewer interview them. He let his assistant coaches speak on games. He has been an advocate for giving players more power to control their own future. Most high profile coaches think it is all about them. And while that may be the case with Harbaugh behind closed doors, in the open he made sure the players and his coaches got the most shine. Even after they won it all, he let his dad and his players speak. I love that. Coaches may be the CEO and leader, but the players are the ones who perform, and the assistants are the ones calling the plays. They deserve more face time. Harbaugh made a concerted effort to give them their proper shine.

I am not mad or upset or hurt about Harbaugh returning to the NFL. He has an itch that he is going to try and scratch. He wants that Super Bowl ring. He has won the biggest award at every level except in the NFL. He has been to one Super Bowl, but it would not shock me to see him go a few more times. He is a very, very good football coach. He is a maniac as well, and I'm curious to see how that translates to the modern NFL. But Jim Harbaugh is a likeable guy that will bend over backwards for his players. He wants them to achieve. And he did that for Michigan. There is nothing but love from me to Coach Harbaugh. He returned this program to glory. I am stoked to let everyone know I'm a Michigan fan. This is the team I remember from my youth, and they were pretty dominant when I was a kid.

Thank you for everything Jim Harbaugh. Always and forever a Michigan man, and Go Blue.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Who Should Be the Next Michigan Football Coach

It is looking more and more likely that Jim Harbaugh is going to make the leap to the NFL.

I don't blame him. He accomplished his goal at Michigan. He was hired nine years ago and he said he wanted to restore Michigan into a national power. They just won the national title ten days ago. They have also won the Big 10 three times in a row and beaten the university of Ohio State three times in a row. They have had multiple players drafted. Michigan is as back as any college football team can possibly be.

I was talking to my dad earlier today and we discussed his possible jump to the NFL. I feel like he is still itching to win a Super Bowl, and since he won a college football title, a Super Bowl ring would be the icing on the cake for him as a coach. I also think he is sick and tired of the NCAA. They seem to have a vendetta against Harbaugh, and he is a grown ass man. Why would he want to deal with this? He has been proven innocent at every turn, yet the NCAA will not stop pursuing so-called "incidents" against Harbaugh. I get that he may have grown tired of the constant watchful eye of the NCAA. It is just like Pete Carroll when he bolted USC, and his transgressions were much more severe than anything Harbaugh is being accused of doing. I have read a bunch today that the Chargers are preparing an offer, although they are interviewing other candidates, but I feel it is just a matter of time. Harbaugh is most likely going to get an offer, and I fully expect him to take it.

So that leaves Michigan with a head coaching vacancy. I've seen names floated out there. Names like Lance Leipold, Matt Campbell, Chris Kleiman, and the worst on these lists, Brian Kelly. I don't want any of those guys to become the head coach at Michigan. Kansas is a fun offense to watch, but Leipold has zero expectations in Lawrence, and when they win eight games, that is a massive success. I look at him like I did Brady Hoke. He seems like a much better coach when he doesn't have massive expectations. I could say the same for Matt Campbell. He has done some solid things for Iowa State, but the shine is off him as a big time head coach to me. Iowa State hasn't been great lately, he is hot tempered and I think he might crumble the moment something goes wrong if he were to take over for Michigan. Chris Kleiman is exactly like Leipold to me. No frills, not very fun and doesn't have the will to win at a big time university.

And then we have Brian Kelly. I would be so very upset if Michigan even interviewed this guy. He is a phony, not the best coach, is very bad tempered, rubs people the wrong way, players don't really seem to like him all that much and has never won big. He has made one national title game, where his team was crushed. And that whole deal with his fake accent when he took the job at LSU, that was the final nail in the coffin for me. From that day forward my hatefulness for him grew infinitely. Michigan should not waste their time for one second with this egomaniac. I'm out on those four immediately. I don't even think Michigan should call them unless it is a last resort. And they should never call Brian Kelly. That guy stinks.

So you may be asking, who should they hire then Ty? I'll tell you. They need to stay in house. What they have done the past three years, with this staff, has been very impressive. They recruit players that fit their system, they get quality transfer portal guys and they have very good camaraderie. There are three guys I'd talk to already on the staff. I'd talk to Mike Hart. Jesse Minter and Sherrone Moore. Hart was a Michigan legend as a player. He might be even better as a coach. The running back room since he took over has been the best skill unit this team has. And the backs love to play for him. Hart is the hometown guy you kind of need to keep on your staff no matter what. Minter is young, just coordinated one of the most dominant defenses in the history of college football and proved he didn't need signs to do his job at an elite level. Minter has a sophisticated, NFL level defensive unit and has gotten better and better the past two years. He is going to be a head coach soon, so why not give him an interview where he is currently employed. I will say, I do think he will go with Harbaugh if Harbaugh asks him to go to the NFL. I think those two may be linked for a while now. And finally we have Sherrone Moore. This is who I want them to hire if I'm being honest. Moore proved his worth this season. He basically got an on the field interview during the season. Harbaugh was suspended the last three games of the season, the most important games, and Moore shined. He dominated a high level Penn State defense. He didn't call a single pass after the eight minute mark in the second quarter, and it worked. He then had a possible trap game with Maryland, that he came out with a favorable outcome. He then outcoached Ryan Day in the biggest rivalry game of the season. Moore took chances, seemed more comfortable with his players and trusted the rest of the staff that day. He also won two of those three games as the road team. Moore has called a solid, tried and true offense for two years. He has coached the o line for three years, and that may be the best unit on the whole team. He also proved his worth to Michigan four times this past season, three of which were tough games for a head coach.

Michigan needs to stay within the staff they already have right now if Harbaugh does jump like I expect him to. And they have three excellent options already on the staff. Do the right thing Michigan. Give Moore this job. He has earned it and he deserves it. This is the best option by a million miles if/when Harbaugh leaves. It has always been, and should be, Sherrone Moore. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Go Blue

Michigan football did it. They won the national title last night.

The game was close until about seven minutes left. That was when Blake Corum ran it in, and then Mike Sainristil took a pick 81 yards to the redzone, and then Corum punched it in one more time to seal it, 34-13.

Michigan finished the season 15-0. That is the most wins in Big Ten history. That is tied for the most wins with four other teams. Jim Harbaugh revamped his coaching staff, got younger, adjusted and brought a national championship to his alma mater. He accomplished the goal he had when he took this job nine years ago. He has restored the Michigan football program back to being a perennial threat. This is their third playoff appearance in a row. The third time was the charm for this team. They exorcised all of their demons. The people who said Harbaugh couldn't win a big game were proven wrong. He beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl, and then went on to dominate Washington, the only other undefeated team in division 1, in the title game. He has also beaten the university of Ohio State three times in a row. Harbaugh has proven the doubters wrong. Blake Corum came back from a tough injury last year to lead this team, and become one of the best running backs in the history of Michigan football. JJ McCarthy took over as the starter last season and hasn't looked back. He is now 27-1 as the starting QB. The defense has become this boa constrictor. They just squeeze and squeeze and squeeze until their opponent can't take it anymore. Thank you to former Indiana coach Tom Allen for the boa constrictor comparison. The defense is also full of talent. There isn't one guy, this is a collection of super talented players that do what is best for the team. But what I love most about this team is the fact that they are just that, a team. They may have a few players that the media focuses on, but make no mistake, this is a team. They play for one another. Their individual success is the team's success. They don't care who the "star" player is, they just care about each other achieving the team goal of winning it all. Which is what they just did last night.

Of all the seasons to win it all, it is kind of perfect that it was this season. Michigan started with their head coach suspended for the first three games due to "burgergate". Apparently Jim Harbaugh bought some recruits hamburgers during the 2020 recruiting dead period, and also watched workouts during the same time. It is small fries compared to some other infractions, but he was still suspended. Michigan easily won those games as they were against inferior opponents. Then Harbaugh came back. Michigan continued to win, but during the Rutgers game, Greg Schiano made some odd comments. He seemed to allude that Michigan may have had some intel as to what signals Rutgers was using. It was of no mind the following week when Michigan traveled to Nebraska and absolutely smashed them in their first road game. They were 5-0 at this point and riding high. They proceeded to cruise over Minnesota in a nationally televised night game, and I was starting to believe in this team's potential. Then they proceeded to demolish Indiana, and this was when Tom Allen gave us the boa constrictor line. Then they had a bye week. Then all these stories came out, mainly from ESPN, that Michigan was involved in some kind of espionage sign stealing enterprise. It was the talk of every sports channel. I even saw some reputable news sources talking about it. The way it was reported, you would have thought Michigan was breaking some kind of law. They were the villains. Everyone, outside of their fanbase, painted them as cheaters. They were called despicable. Talking heads on sports shows said they wouldn't recognize them as champs if they won it all. People on message boards were saying hateful, awful things about their coach, the players and us fans. Michigan took this all in stride and came back from the bye week facing rival Michigan State, whose coach was fired for having an affair with a speaker, which everyone seemed to forget about, and beat them 49-0. I started to buy in even more. They had Purdue next, and Purdue's coach acted holier than thou, calling Jim Harbaugh a spade. Michigan beat them 41-13, and it wasn't even that close. Then the calls from Big 10 coaches came about suspending Harbaugh immediately for the sign stealing allegations. Remember that these have always been, and still are, allegations. The new Big 10 commissioner did something unprecedented and suspended Harbaugh immediately for the rest of the regular season. These were Michigan's three most important games. This was going to define their season. These games would determine if they would win the Big 10 again, and make the playoff again. Harbaugh and Michigan took the suspension and gave the interim head coaching job to offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore. He proceeded to lead Michigan to a win over Penn State, in Happy Valley. And that game wasn't close. This was a gratifying win because Penn State's coach was acting all high and mighty all week leading up to the game. And Moore outcoached him, ran the ball down his defense's throat and won. They then beat Maryland in a game that was way too close for comfort. But I feel like every championship team needs one of these games to keep them honest. They then had the university of Ohio State. Ryan Day got everything he wanted in this game. Harbaugh was suspended, the media was on his side, the refs were on his side, all of his players were healthy and ready to go. And guess what, he still couldn't beat Michigan. Moore outcoached Day's punkass and led this team to a third straight win over their biggest rival and a shot at a third straight Big 10 title.  Harbaugh served his second suspension and came back. And you all know how this season ended. They throttled Iowa, then won a thriller over Alabama and closed it out with a runaway win in last night's title game. It was awesome.

As I said up top, it was a euphoric feeling at the end of the game last night. I remember when they won in 1997, but I was only 15. This time I'm an adult. I will remember this as long as I live. This team is going to go down as one of the best teams in the history of college football. If Harbaugh does leave for the NFL, I have no ill will. I think it is going to happen to be honest with you. If he does leave, I'd give the job to Moore without a second thought. And, along with Harbaugh, I want to thank Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards, the entire o and d line, all the wideouts, the tight ends, Will Johnson, Makari Page, Rod Moore, Junior Colson, all the other secondary and linebackers, and Jesse Minter and Sherrone Moore. As well as Jay Harbaugh, Mike Hart, Mike Elston and Stev Clinkscale. And every other player and coach I did not mention. This was a team's team and they accomplished the ultimate goal. They did it with tough interior play, elite tackling and one of the best college football defenses in history.

Thank you Michigan football. Thank you so much for this wonderful title. I am forever grateful and will never forget this as long as I live. I'm on cloud nine right now. This is one of the best things I've seen in sports in my life. This is euphoria. Always and forever, Go Blue. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Thoughts on the Jim Harbaugh Suspension

The Big Ten commissioner has suspended Jim Harbaugh for the remainder of the regular season effective immediately. Obviously I have some thoughts on this. Here we go.

First off, I firmly believe Michigan is going to take this to court. They have stated as much prior to today and I would be astounded if they just sat there and accepted this.

Second, to levy the punishment while the team is flying to their game in State College tomorrow, that is some cowardly shit right there. I'm sure the plane has wifi and I'm sure the staff heard the news when it came across, but to wait until they have left, that is spineless. That is also very petty. The Big 10 commissioner has had more than enough time to hand out a punishment. I read that it was going to happen yesterday. But then they waffled and said it may take another week. And then news sprouted that it was going to happen in the early afternoon today. But to wait until 4pm local time to Ann Arbor, that is akin to challenging to fight someone when you are a kid, and never showing up. This is cowardly, and this whole thing has been cowardly.

To say that Michigan gained any type of competitive advantage for the “crime” is absurd. I hate to burst every other fan's bubble out there, but your team does this too. They just are better at keeping it discreet. And any fan that comes at me and tells me I'm wrong, I have a bridge I'd love to sell you. This is how the game is played in this era. And if your signs are that easy to figure out, change your goddamn signs. It shouldn't be put on the commissioner of your league and the lying ass NCAA to levy punishment.

This also sets a dangerous precedent. Michigan found that the university of Ohio State and Rutgers helped Purdue figure out their signs last year leading up to the Big 10 title game. They provided evidence. They showed everything that reporters and other schools showed during their investigation. So does this mean Ryan Day and Greg Schiano and Ryan Walters are going to be punished too? It should. That is what this ruling from the Big 10 is going to start. We've already seen other coaches ever since this blew up saying that they know other teams are stealing signs. Lincoln Riley made mention of it after Utah beat USC for a third straight time. Matt Rhule, who first said it was no big deal I remind you, has come out and said that his team is 5-4, and they own that, but one team had an advantage. I think we all know who he is speaking about. Greg Schiano made a reference to all this during halftime of Rutgers' game against Michigan. This is going to become a common thing now for coaches at major jobs. No one wants to get let go from being a head coach, and with the Big 10 suspending Jim Harbaugh, they can go to their commissioner and say that the team that has beaten them a few years in a row knows their signs and they want that coach suspended. This is a slippery slope.

The problem is that no one can admit when a team is better than them now. I coach my son, who is 11, in basketball. He will never admit a team is better than us when we get beat. I can say things until I'm blue in the face, he always has an excuse. The same thing happened during his recent football season. The only reason he says that the team that won the 6th grade title this year was because they had 7th graders. It is not true, they had all 6th graders, it was confirmed by his coaches, but he had to find a reason why his team got beat that didn't involve some other team just being better.

What irks me the most about this, besides the fact that Michigan was guilty before anything was proven, and the NCAA has said they aren't including Harbaugh in their investigation anymore because they found no evidence that he knew this was going on, is the language of "competitive advantage" that the spineless commissioner used in his wording today. To say that, while handing out a suspension while Michigan is in flight, is asinine. How does saying that not instantly give Penn State an advantage tomorrow afternoon? I've been nervous for this game all season. This was my tentpole game going into the year. Penn State is a very good football team, and they get this game in State College, which is a very tough place to play. And now Michigan doesn't know if their coach will be able to coach tomorrow, they've been called "cheaters" by major reputable organizations, the players have had to field questions for weeks now, and now they have to play their toughest game of the year with this news coming down at 4pm. That is a whole lot for a group of 18-23 year olds to deal with over a game.

But hey, whatever happens tomorrow, I will always love and root for this team. I will go to bat for them no matter what. I think the way this unfolded, and how ruthlessly adults on major networks have talked about these kids is some of the wildest reporting I have ever witnessed in my life. We are talking about "sign stealing" here. This is not covering up sexual and physical abuse. This is not overworking players to the brink, or in some awful cases the actuality of death. This is not covering for players accused of having weapons. This is not fixing tests. This is the dumbest "scandal" I have witnessed in my 40 plus years being a rabid college football fan. Now we have to see how this all plays out.

Forever, Go Blue. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Let's Talk About the Michigan Football Controversy

Okay, I have to weigh in on the Michigan sign stealing allegations. It has been long enough. I am bummed. Right off the bat, I do not like when the only team that I love is doing shady stuff. It makes me feel bad. I hate it, and that is a word I hardly ever use. It stinks.

I went through all the emotions when the news broke last week. I was very scared at first. I thought of all the worst things that could happen. Then I started to find excuses. The NCAA is fully out to get Harbaugh. That much I fully believe. I do not think that anyone could truly disagree with me on that. Then the video stuff came out and I figured that all teams do this. I still think that as well. But with this staffer buying tickets seemingly all over the country, that seems weird. I also saw the main video being passed around. The one where the Michigan staff changes things up after an audible. I don't see anything truly wrong with this, I see it every Saturday from a bunch of other teams. But, still weird with the accusations out there. Then I saw what other coaches have said and I agree with some and think others, Kirby Smart and Mike Norvell, are being a little holier than thou. And now the staffers' text messages have been revealed and they are damning.

So, taking all of this in, I am still feeling things, but I feel like I will be on the other side after I talk about it on the site today. As stated above, this stinks. I was very against the Astros when they were accused, and then found guilty, of stealing signs. Baseball is a different sport, and what the Astros did was wild, but still, stealing signs is stealing signs. It is definitely a gray area within college football, but if I'm going to chastise the Astros, I need to chastise Michigan football. This is shady. I don't like it.

I was wearing a Michigan shirt today, I will never stop loving this team, and I went to a sporting goods store. A worker told me that they were having a good season and I smiled and said thanks. But as I walked away, I thought maybe he was trolling me. I have felt like sports fans have seen me out with Michigan gear since the story leaked, and they are all judging me. I am sure that is not the case, and most people probably don't care, but that is how my brain works. I feel like I am going to be judged for writing about it today.

What hurts most though, Michigan has simply been accused and an investigation is currently going on. Michigan has not been found guilty of anything. I also do not think they are going to get in much trouble if they are found to have done this. But in the public perception, on the horrific message boards and on major sporting networks, Michigan is guilty. According to a bunch of people, they did the crime and they should do the time. Most people don't care what the outcome will be. And that is the problem with this internet age. The big time sports writers want as many clicks as possible, so if they have a story, they are going to put it out there with little to no credible sources. If you read the original story, the writer mentions "anonymous sources" and "credible big ten sources". He never mentions a name. He wanted to get this story out before anyone, he did, and he is now getting massive clicks on his stuff. I even looked him up the other day.

What else bums me out about this scandal is the whole gray area of it all. Sign stealing is not illegal, but it is gross. I know a ton of teams do this, some much better than others obviously. That doesn't make it any less gross. I get it that teams change signs all the time as well. But some people know how to decipher this stuff, and changing it up a bit does next to nothing.

All in all, this stinks. I hate that it is Michigan being targeted in the investigation. This football team is the one thing I love that I have no affiliation with at all. But I also truly believe that Michigan will get what equates to a slap on the wrist. The public will always have their opinion of them, and that will be that they are college football's Astros. And I think that is what hurts me, as a fan, the most. Michigan's football program, regardless of how long Harbaugh sticks around, will be mentioned as the team investigated as the sign stealers. That hurts me the most. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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The Drama at Michigan Football is Not Over

Now that I have had time to kind of think about it, and after the turnover, which there may still be more of, I want to talk about Jim Harbaugh yet again.

Last week I was pretty frustrated with Harbaugh. Honestly there were times where I just wished he left and let Michigan football move on. Then I would settle down, try to figure out who they would get, and I would usually end up back at the fact that I wanted him to stay.

Well, after a long interview with Minnesota, and no offer being given, Harbaugh announced he was returning to Michigan and that this would be the last time he would entertain NFL offers. That remains to be seen, but at the time he said it, I kind of believed it. Michigan had already lost Mike MacDonald to the NFL, but I figured he was more of a rental from Jim's older brother. If he did good, he did great, he was going to be offered an NFL job. That was a given in my mind. But I figured no big deal, Michigan would lose maybe one or two coaches and keep the rest of the staff as together as possible.

Then yesterday came the big bomb. Josh Gattis, the Broyles award winner as the best assistant in college football, signed on with the Miami Hurricanes with the same job. I was pretty floored. Then I read about the "leaked text" to "a few offensive players", and I was an angry fan. I did not go online and gripe about it right away though. I sat with it. I do not know what happened behind closed doors. I am not privy to anything the coaches go through at Michigan. So, as someone that is not involved in any way, I think Gattis was upset that he was not the front runner to take over if Harbaugh left for the NFL. I wanted him if Harbaugh left, I read that some in the administration wanted him and I figured he was already the head coach in waiting. I guess he did not see it that way, and maybe he was not the front runner, so he left. He made a lateral move. I hope it works for him, I really like Josh Gattis. But I also do not like the way he left. I get hurt feelings and all, but to "leak messages", I have never been a fan of that tactic. It is a very high school move. But, best of luck to Gattis anyway.

I have also read that a certain other assistant, Mike Hart, is none too pleased with how Harbaugh handled this whole NFL interview. I get it. Harbaugh left everyone in the dark, and then just walked back like nothing happened. I am bummed on losing both coordinators, but I will be super duper bummed if Mike Hart leaves. He is a Michigan guy. He is one of their greatest players ever. He completely revamped the running game. The running backs looked like classic Michigan, and that is all due to Hart's coaching. I do not want to lose him and I hope the coaches and admin left are doing everything they can to keep him.

I also hope they are doing the same with guys like Matt Weiss, Sherrone Moore, George Helow, Steve Clinkscale and the rest of the current staff. I do not want any "splashy" hire or big name to replace the guys who left. Hire from within the program. Please. Try to keep some continuity. Keep this young, good and energetic staff as together as they possibly can right now.

Which leads me to Jim Harbaugh. Like I said, a week ago it was one day of wanting him to leave, only to have a completely different outlook the next day. But sitting in this, seeing the coordinators leave, hearing others may want out and contemplating what players may or may not transfer, I think Harbaugh might be getting a big time dose of medicine. It was clear he was doing what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it, how he wanted to do it and he could have cared less about Michigan, the assistant coaches and the administration. He held them out to dry so he could go and chase a few NFL jobs. I said to both my wife and dad, about the only two people that will listen to me on this subject, that Harbaugh was handling all of these things the exact wrong way. You do not go out all blatant about interviewing for NFL jobs. You do not act flippant when reporters are asking questions. You should be in contact with the people who are currently on your staff. Harbaugh handled all of this like a spoiled child. He only thought about his interests and now has more overturn on his staff than he anticipated when he came back to Michigan.

All of that being said, I am happy he is back. I am glad that he is still coaching at Michigan. I said I believe him when he says he is done looking into the NFL. I feel like he will be able to keep Michigan competitive. He will have to make some new hires. He will have to tamp down the anger and frustration and anxiety that is going on with the staff and players. But I believe that he can do it, or do it enough that it does not affect the team too much. I'm still annoyed with how he handled this situation. I may be even a little angry still. But I am happy he is back as the head coach. I do believe that things will be okay in the long run. And I believe that he will have to eat a ton of crow and have a real talk with the players and the staff. But I think everything will be okay. Or at least, I hope everything will be okay. We will see.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Thoughts on the Future of Michigan Football

I have been avoiding writing about Jim Harbaugh because, quite frankly, I do not want him to leave Michigan. I was not a fan when they hired him over seven years ago, assuming he would leave after four years as he did at every other stop. I also was sick of hearing about him going back to the NFL after every season. At the end of Michigan football's season the rumors would inevitably start. It was always announced that he was a "front runner" or "was gauging interest" or "going to be interviewed", only to be squashed by Harbaugh himself within a week or two. But that hasn't happened this time around. Harbaugh has only come out once to talk about it, and he all but confirmed he was going to listen to NFL teams if they come calling. And by all accounts, the NFL has come calling.

Now, take this as you will, but I have no idea how real the reports are. There seem to be differing reports within minutes of one another. The football team has had only one decommitment and the assistant coaches are going on business as usual. As is Harbaugh. He is out there recruiting, lifting weights in a high school gym and taking pictures with recruits and their families. But with every passing day, with no real comments coming from Harbaugh, with those in the know saying they are being left in the dark, it just seems like he is going to jump to the NFL, and most likely he will do it as soon as the Las Vegas Raiders offer him the job, which I expect them to do by the end of this month. And that will hurt.

Again, I did not want him in the first place, but I have grown to like him. He has been a winning coach since he took over, save for 2020. This team won the Big 10 this year. They went to the CFP. They finally beat the university of Ohio State. But it has been so much more than that. When he took over this team was a mess. They went on to win nine games, including their bowl game, in his first season. The second year they were one inch away from the Big 10 title game and Jabrill Peppers was a Heisman finalist. They "slumped" to eight wins in year 3, but they had a ferocious defense and they played hard. Also, John O'Korn was their QB. Take that as you will. After that, prior to this season, they were a perennial top 20 team, they played hard, they won nine or ten games and played in some solid bowl games.

2020 was a lost year, and then we had this year. I mentioned all the accolades before, but forgot that he hired a new, young, exciting coaching staff. They also had another Heisman finalist, Aidan Hutchinson. The team looked like a modern college football team. They were making big plays, big stops, winning big games and seemed to be having fun doing it. Anytime televised games were on and the camera would pan to Harbaugh, he was as engaged, excited and smiling more than I have seen him in his time as the head coach at Michigan. And he is building on that. That is why I do not want him to leave. He has said that he "would do this job for free", that "this is my dream job", " that he loves this team". So why leave now? I guess he wants to challenge himself at the highest level. I think maybe he thinks this is as good as it will get for him at Michigan. Maybe he just wants to stop recruiting all the time. Maybe he is sick of selling Michigan to 17 and 18 year old kids. There are plenty of reasons why, but I just do not want him to go now. I want him to stay.

Truth is I want there to be continuity. You look at all these consistently great college teams, Alabama, the university of Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, they all have had the same head coach seemingly forever. That is what I want from Michigan. I miss the Lloyd Carr days. That was a reassuring time.

With that being said, if/when Harbaugh jets to the NFL, I hope Michigan stays within the program when hiring the new head coach. I have seen some names floated, namely Matt Campbell, and I do not want that. That means a whole new staff and a full on rebuild. But if the team were to hire, say Mike Hart or, my personal choice, Josh Gattis, they could keep the entire staff in place. Hell, I'd take Sheronne Moore as the next head coach at Michigan. Look at what he did with that offensive line this past season. I just do not want Michigan to go big name shopping for the next head coach if Harbaugh bolts. Stay in house. Keep the staff and team as fully operational as possible. If Harbaugh does bounce, I do not want to go through what Oklahoma fans just did with Lincoln Riley this offseason. I'd prefer they just hire Gattis, who is coming off winning assistant of the year, and move on. But I truly hope Harbaugh just stays and continues returning Michigan to its place as a perennial power.

I will have my fingers crossed until all of this is resolved. Go Blue.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Michigan Football is Losing Some Great Players Right Now

Transfers happen in college sports all the time, and especially so in college football. Kids now are all super star, four or five star recruits out of high school, and if they don't start as a freshman or sophomore, they usually pack up and go. For the most part, this has no effect on me. It happens, fans have to deal with it, and some kids go on to be great and others are not so lucky.

My team, Michigan, has been dealing with a lot of attrition lately. In fact, ever since Jim Harbaugh took over, it seems more and more kids are transferring each year. But, I get it. Wilton Speight left for UCLA as a grad transfer because Harbaugh and Michigan moved on from him. There have been a number of running backs that have left because Michigan always has such a deep pool of talent at the position, and when a kid doesn't see the field for a year, he is going to want to go somewhere where he knows he will get to play. Tyrone Wheatley, when he was on staff, got his son to sign with Michigan, he was a top flight tight end, but he barely saw the field in his freshman year, and he opted to go play for a 1-AA school instead. And so far this offseason they have had a good amount of kids deciding to leave. All of them have made sense to me. Alex Van Summeren was going to be passed on the depth chart by one of the stud linebackers they just got to sign with them. Some of the O lineman that left, they were not seeing the field, or they felt like it wasn't the best spot for them. Dylan McCaffery opted out of the 2020 season, and then decided he was going to leave when Joe Milton and Cade McNamara surpassed him on the depth chart at QB. All of these made sense to me, and I expected as much.

Yet two transfers recently have left me a bit shook. I have thought about them more than I would like to admit. I have been thinking about why they left. I have been questioning their decisions. The two players are Zach Charbonnet and Joe Milton. Zach Charbonnet was a prized running back in the 2018 class. He was going to be the running back of the future. He was the next great Michigan back. He lived up to the hype for most of his freshman season. He saw the field plenty, starting as a true freshman. If it weren't for him, Army would have beaten them in Ann Arbor. Charbonnet went on to break the freshman rushing touchdown record, and he put up over 700 yards on the ground. He did deal with injuries and missed time, but he seemed like the feature back. Then this most recent season happened, and he just seemed like a forgotten player. He had a great 70 yard rushing touchdown in their season opener at Minnesota, and then he was a ghost. Blake Corum was getting more touches. Chris Evans was being used in situations that Charbonnet handled last season. And Hassan Haskins, who I am a big fan of, just seemed to put a stranglehold on the feature back spot after putting together solid games in 3 straight weeks. When Haskins showed his skills, I immediately thought that this was it for Charbonnet. I guess the staff did too because they barely used him. He got less than five touches a game after that. He was starting to miss games with injuries and other random things popping up. When he would get in a game, he was seemingly used as a blocking back. I was stumped. I thought maybe he was really hurt, but I think that was some odd wishful thinking on my part. When the season ended, I felt like it was a matter of days before he entered the transfer portal. It took a bit longer than that, about a month, but sure enough he was in the portal, and about a week later, he was committed to UCLA. That made sense to me because he is from California, he wanted to be close to home I assumed and he was most likely told he was going to be the starter from day one. I think he is going to be a humongous get for the Bruins, and that he could very well lead the Pac 12 in rushing next season. I am going to miss him being a Wolverine, but at least I have Haskins and Corum and now Donovan Edwards to lean on as "the next great Michigan back".

The Joe Milton transfer news, which dropped today, really bummed me out. My dad has been a fan of his since day one. He turned me on to him very early on. We are not ones to watch recruiting videos, but we were sucked in to some of his. He is very big, very fast and has one hell of an arm. He is also very raw. But I like that in a QB. You can mold someone like that. And he seemed to be a very coachable player. He showed flashes in his freshman year, splitting backup duties with Dylan McCaffery. He would come in and get nice ground gains. And then I saw his arm, and boy was I hooked. He had an absolute canon. I also went to a game with my dad his freshman year, and watching him warmup was a thing of beauty. With a flick of his wrist, the ball would fly. He was also so much bigger than McCaffery, and the starter at the time, Shea Patterson. My dad and I were both floored at how big he was in person. In his second year he was still splitting backup stuff with McCaffery. But when McCaffery broke his collarbone in the Wisconsin game, Milton was the sole backup. And he showed even more flashes. He came in in the second half of the Rutgers game that year and absolutely dominated. He was throwing dimes and making good reads and running the ball like a true dual threat QB. This was when I made up my mind that he was the QB of the future for the Wolverines. And that paid off last offseason when he won the starting job. And then he came out and played great in the Minnesota game. I was sold. Even when he struggled, I still saw things in him that I didn't in McCaffery or McNamara or Shea Patterson or this incoming five star kid, JJ McCarthy. Milton is bigger than all of them. He isn't as fast as McCaffery, but he was more willing to sit in the pocket and wait, not just abandoning the play to run. But when he did run, he is so big, he was hard to take down and he would gain yards. He has a much stronger arm than Patterson. People may saw he was inaccurate and wild with his throws. I disagree. I do not think the receivers were/are at his level. He has a pro arm. He is so much more exciting than McNamara. McNamara is a fine QB, but he doesn't bring any excitement. He is like a better Brandon Peters. And we do not know anything about McCarthy yet. He may be the next Trevor Lawrence. Or, he could be the next Tate Martell. That is why I am so wary of starting a freshman QB, especially at Michigan. I was on board of another year of Milton. I even said during this last season that he was going to have great moments, and not so great moments. Unfortunately, the fans only noticed the bad stuff, and they trolled this kid online. That is so wrong. But now that he is transferring, I feel like the staff is also just giving up on him. They don't want to work with him. They have this shiny new five star and Cade McNamara, who is a fine QB, just oh so boring. Milton is going to end up somewhere, and he is going to shine. I have to assume he will do what Charbonnet did, and go back home and play in Florida somewhere. Wherever he ends up, that team, is getting a great QB, with skills that cannot be taught, and he is going to thrive. I actually think he would fit in well at UCF, now that they have hired Gus Malhzahn. I just wish Michigan would have worked with him more, and gave him an actual chance to build on last year, and get better. They could have had him for another two or three years.

As I said, transfers happen all the time, but these two hurt, and I think Michigan fans that badmouthed these two kids online will have to eat crow when they go on and blow up with their new teams. What a bummer to be a Michigan football fan today.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Michigan and Texas Football are Missing the Road Back to Greatness

Today I want to talk about two different college football teams, and their head coaching situations. One is Texas, and the other is Michigan. I will save Michigan for last because that is my school, my team, and I have some strong, and anger, towards how Jim Harbaugh is handling that mess.

First let’s talk about Texas. I am surprised, but maybe I shouldn't be, that they fired Tom Herman. Yes, they never met expectations, they were always a perennial top 10 team and would go on to win 6 to 8 games and then play in a lower tier bowl. Herman did not deliver Texas back to the promised land their fanbase had hoped. But, he was only there for, I think, three years. That is not really a long enough time to get the program on his terms. I felt like they didn't give Charlie Strong enough time, but Herman was there as long as him, so maybe this is what Texas does now. Herman also recruited fairly well, had good players coming in, but this past season, I guess to the big wigs, wasn't enough for him to keep his job. Again, surprising, but not really when you break it down. Texas is a blueblood. They are football in that state. I'd go as far to say that the Longhorns are more important than the Cowboys. Full stop. And the team was just not good enough. They weren't winning the Big 12. They couldn't keep up with Oklahoma. They were losing early season non conference games that they had no business not winning. Texas was, and still is, trending down. That is not good enough for them.

Also, I do not think that hiring Steve Sarkisian is going to solve the problem. Does Texas not remember his time as head coach of Washington? Or when he was the OC for the Falcons? It was a disaster. Some people will say he did great at USC, and Alabama's offense this season is top of the line, but look at the talent discrepancy. I could call plays for Alabama, and definitely that USC team he was the OC on, and we'd average 40 plus points a game. USC back in the early 2000's, and Alabama now, they get the best of the best. They always have the top talent. Third stringers on those teams would start on almost any other D-1, power 5, top 25 team. That's the truth. Sarkisian will not have that at his expense at Texas. He will have to go out and do the recruiting himself, and the kids he will go after, a lot of them will choose Alabama or the university of Ohio State and Clemson before even thinking about Texas. Hell, they will have to fight Oklahoma just within their conference. While firing Herman was a surprise, hiring Sarkisian makes even less sense to me. But maybe he will work out, who knows.

Now on to Michigan. This whole situation is an absolute mess, and Jim Harbaugh is the only person to blame. I wasn't on board when Michigan hired him, grew to like him very much, even without living up to his own personal expectations, and now what he is doing, just dragging everyone along while openly looking for an NFL job, it is just, quite frankly, embarrassing and annoying. It is so frustrating that he is dragging his feet, not signing the extension that has been on the table for over a week now and not telling anyone what he plans on doing. His players, his assistants, even AD Warde Manuel has no idea what he is going to do, and that is wrong. Everyone has done anything and everything he has wanted since they hired him in 2014. They have bent over backwards to his every whim, and this is how he decides to handle himself. It is gross. People get so mad at players for transferring every year when they don't play, but applaud coaches when they wait out their own college team for an NFL opening. That is wrong. Coaches can leave whenever they want, no matter how unsuccessful or successful they are, and no one bats an eye. But, if a player transfers after one season, without knowing anything about that kid, the media and coaches will destroy that kid. That is the upsetting part.

The real personal problem with me, I want Harbaugh back as Michigan's head coach this upcoming season. I don't think the options on the table are any better. I think if they make a change they will be back to a full rebuild, a full culture change. They will lose a ton of players to transfers. I think a lot of this solid recruiting class they have will ask out, and rightfully so. It would be a total letdown if Harbaugh continues to wait and wait and wait. I also do not know that the NFL is necessarily breaking down doors to get to him, but I imagine there are talks going on, which is going to make this never ending extension situation drag out longer and longer. If he doesn't sign the extension with Michigan by tomorrow, I fully believe he is going to leave for either the Jets or Chargers job, and leave Michigan an even bigger mess than when Lloyd Carr was all but forced to retire. Warde Manuel, the coaches still on staff and players are all waiting, but Harbaugh seems fully content to just sit and make them wait even longer, until he has exhausted any and all other options. That is wrong, but damn it, I hope he returns. That is my own nonsense that I have to work through.

These two schools, which were once great, and are now not, are going in separate directions, but I feel like both are going to end up in the same spot, the middle.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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A Time of Uncertainty with Michigan Wolverine Football

I know I have been on a sports kick recently, and I promise I am going to get back to more pop culture stuff in the coming days and weeks. I have my best of lists coming up, I am going to get caught up on some shows and movies I have been holding off on, and I will definitely be writing about them all. But I want to do one more, for now, piece on Michigan football.

I know we just did a podcast about it, and I have had a lot to say on the website. But, as of yesterday, their season is all but over. They had to cancel their game against Iowa because they have a COVID outbreak that is not getting any better. Reports said they would've been without upwards of 50 players had they tried to play this weekend. It would have been pointless to travel to Iowa City to let third stringers and scout players get the snot beat out of them. I also fully expect them to not take any bowl invite. I know every team is eligible this season, but they do not deserve, nor should they, go play in a bowl game. The season is over, let these kids go home and get better and start focusing on next season. This season has been a wash, it has been brutal and they were not good. Not at all. This may be one of the worst Michigan teams I have ever watched. They were unprepared, under coached and got flat out beat by most teams. They did beat Minnesota, a mirage game I have been calling it, and they had to go to three overtimes to beat Rutgers. They probably should have been 1-5. And if they played these three games they had to cancel, they would have finished 2-7, maybe 3-6. All of it would have been pointless, just like this whole college football season.

Originally I was all for these kids trying to play, but as I stated on our most recent pod, I have come full circle, and I do not think any of these kids should be playing. They are essentially free laborers for their schools, and the coaching staff. The players make zero dollars, and they are risking their lives to play a game. I would be saying this if Michigan were 8-0 right now too. This has nothing to do with how bad their season was, this is all about how dangerous, more so than ever, this season has been.

For all intents and purposes, Michigan football is done for 2020. A bad year was closed out by a third straight cancelation. Jim Harbaugh is telling current players and recruits he is "committed" to Michigan, yet a three year extension sits on Warde Manuel's desk waiting to be signed by him. This off season is going to be as odd as I can remember, and it will chart the direction Michigan is going to go in for the foreseeable future. I do feel for the seniors on this team that really wanted to play. I also feel for the underclassman that will be declaring for the draft. They didn't get a full year, it was bad when they did play, and who knows how many may have played their last football game ever. But, for the kids returning, and the ones that are signing their letters of intent today, and in the future, I wonder where their head is at right now. Harbaugh, as mentioned, is still keeping everyone in limbo. If he signs the extension he will be at Michigan for another four years. I think that would be best for the program. Yes, this year was bad, but it is one season. And yes, I know they have really struggled against top ranked teams and their rivals. But I'd like to give Harbaugh the life of the contract and the extension. I know some have said that he has interest in the NFL, but I don't know if that is reciprocated. Some people in the know say yes, others say no. I also don't know why his stock would be any higher now, after a few less than okay seasons. Also, why would he want to leave Ann Arbor when he can do whatever he wants there. He is the king of that city. He makes more money than any other state employee. He is a rah rah guy. None of that would be true in the pros. He would make less than most of his players, and he would essentially be a CEO. He would be told by the GM and owners who to play, and when to play them and how much time. In college he makes those calls, and no one else. That is not the case in the NFL. The people higher up make those choices. They want their rookies, and cheap guys to play. If Harbaugh does decide to leave, and this team needs to hire a new coach, they are rebuilding. There will be more attrition than ever, and they would easily be a bottom feeder in the Big Ten. I don't want that, and I know most sane Michigan fans agree. Michigan also has a solid recruiting class coming in, but all that crumbles if they overhaul the entire staff. They would also lose a ton of talent currently on their roster. The kids at Michigan now came to play for Harbaugh and for his staff.

I hope Harbaugh stays. With that being said, they probably should make some changes on both sides of the ball. I am as avid a Don Brown fan as can be. I love his attacking style and his demeanor. He has had some great defenses at Michigan. But his refusal to make changes will be his downfall. I think they need to move on from him, as much as it pains me to write that. He was great, but he just isn't cutting it anymore. Their defense has been bad against top flight teams his whole tenure, and this season they were bad against everyone. They need a change. On offense I don't want them to get rid of Josh Gattis. I want them to fully hand the offense over to him. It is clear that Harbaugh is still making choices on that side of the ball, and it has killed this team. They haven't really got to try the whole "speed in space" thing to its fullest extent yet. There has been too much running and predictability. I love establishing a run game, but to run it every second and long has become boring and easy to stop. I also want to see the QB, whoever it may be, let it rip. I want them to air it out. If the university of Ohio State and Alabama and Clemson can do it, Michigan can too. They need to adapt. This isn't the late 80's, early 90's three yards and a cloud of dust anymore. They need to start passing to set up the run game more. I do think some position coaches may need to change, cough cough, Jay Harbaugh, and let Gattis pick the replacements. This team also needs to get tougher and meaner and play with more pride. They need more Devin Bush like players. I miss him so much. Michigan is still Michigan. They can still play with anyone, and win 10 games and be important. They just need to remember that. I also think they should try and retain Harbaugh, but with all the caveats that are on the extension they are waiting for him to sign. This team can still be good. But, this off season will either make or break this team.

I really hope it works out for obvious reasons. But, as always, I have my doubts. Time will tell.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Michigan is Not Dodging Any Opponents

Michigan had to cancel their game this Saturday due to a rise in COVID cases within their football program.

I could see this coming from a mile away. The moment they announced that Giles Jackson was out last week with an "undisclosed injury", I thought that it seemed fishy. Michigan was one of the few programs that was handling the virus okay, but time finally caught up to them. I figure it was going to go through most teams, and it has gone through a ton of teams already. Michigan was a ticking time bomb.

The reason this feels different to me is, this is my team. I had faith in them to be able to finish their season uninterrupted. That is on me because this virus could care less who you are. It attacks everyone. But the way Jim Harbaugh talked all year, and how vocal the whole program was prior to the cancellation, and then restart, I just assumed they would make it through eight or nine games unscathed. They did not. And now, along with the Maryland game being cancelled, they may not get to play the University of Ohio State next weekend. The Big Ten has built in rules that are not the same as other conferences, and those rules put that game into question now.

I would be bummed if they do not get to play the University of Ohio State, as I am bummed they aren't playing this weekend. But next week's game is the big game, the rivalry game. And I know that Michigan had little to no shot to win this year. Hell, they haven't won in nine years, and I believe they are 1-14 in the last fifteen games against the University of Ohio State So maybe it isn't really a rivalry game anymore. That's right all you university of Ohio State fans that read my blog, I just admitted you are a much, much better football team. That is not even negotiable at this point.

But, for Kirk Herbstreit, who I very much like, to come out and suggest that Michigan and Jim Harbaugh would use COVID as an excuse to duck this game, that is as wrong as Dabo Swinney suggesting FSU did the same thing two weeks ago. Now, Herbstreit immediately backtracked, issued a very well thought out apology, and I think he just said something in the heat of the moment. He went to school at the University of Ohio State. That is his alma mater. But, with him putting that out there, now no matter what happens next week, the rest of the media is going to assume that Michigan and Harbaugh are looking for an excuse to not play the university of Ohio State. That is not cool, and it is flat out wrong. Michigan has been bad, real bad this year. I have said as much on multiple blogs. They got their butts kicked by Wisconsin. They had to go to three overtimes to beat Rutgers. They let a zero win Penn State team run all over them on their way to their first victory last week. They were shut down when MSU visited Ann Arbor. They have had as rough a year as I can remember in my fandom. But to suggest Harbaugh wouldn't put his players out there if healthy is wrong. Harbaugh is a competitor. That dude lives and eats and sleeps football. He is an eccentric guy, I will be the first to admit that. But to suggest that he would duck an opponent, no matter who that opponent is, that is not in his DNA. He will go out there and play anyone anytime. And lately, he gets beat. But still, his teams are on the field if they are healthy. This year is the biggest exception year ever. The US is being ravaged by COVID right now, and games get canceled or postponed every weekend. No one said the university of Ohio State ducked Illinois last week when they had to postpone. No one said Maryland ducked Ohio State when they had to postpone due to COVID. I haven't seen PJ Fleck's name dragged through the mud, and his team has had to cancel two games, and Michigan beat them. No one has trashed any of the SEC, ACC, Big 12 or Pac 12 teams that have had to cancel or postpone games. But, because Harbaugh is such a big personality, and he shows that with pride, people in the mainstream media look for anything to use to attack him. I am sure all the college football people, save for maybe Desmond Howard, are just champing at the bit if they have to cancel next week. I am sure the writers for Bleacher Report or Go Blue Wolverine or Sports Illustrated are praying for a cancellation so they can immediately start writing Harbaugh's Michigan football coaching obituary. They are foaming at the mouth I imagine. But, whatever happens, just deal with it.

This season is so weird. These kids, as happy as I was when they announced a restart, shouldn't be playing football right now. I was saying this weeks ago too. I have felt gross watching since they started because these kids are risking their lives to play a game for free. So if Michigan plays or doesn't play next week, it doesn't matter to me. But if more people come out and say that Harbaugh is trying to avoid the university of Ohio State, that will piss me off. Yes, Michigan is a bad football team, but they are not afraid. Not at all.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Michigan Football is Terrible This Season

NBA trade season, free agency and the draft are all this week, but first I have to touch on my Wolverines yet again.

I know I talked about them last Monday, and kind of gave a state of where I think the program currently is. But today is different. Watching them get absolutely hammered on Saturday night was a sobering reality of how bad this team really is right now. And it is everywhere. This team is not very talented, or the talent hasn't been developed yet, the coaching is at the bottom of the barrel, and while I still do not want anyone to get fired because of this COVID season, I feel like Saturday night was the deathblow for this staff. I don't think there should be changes, and this is pure speculation on my part, but I just don't see this team improving much, if at all, and I think Harbaugh and Michigan will end up having a "mutual parting of ways" at the end of the season. When I looked at the remaining schedule last week, I thought I saw one, maybe two more wins. Now, after what Wisconsin was able to do, and how thoroughly they pummeled them, I truly do not see another win on this schedule. I fully believe that they will finish 1-7, and definitely miss out on a bowl game, and be at the bottom of the Big Ten. The Wisconsin game was my last ditch effort to really see what this team was made of. This was the game where they would either show me they had some life, or if they have already given up. It was pretty clear, after the second interception, they gave up. From that second pick, and Wisconsin scoring pretty much right away, to push the lead to 14-0, Michigan just quit. I have not seen a team quit like that since Rich Rodriguez was the coach, and his teams were far less talented, at least on paper, than the one I watched on Saturday.

It was a deflating loss, it was a brutal loss, and my dad and I were left wondering, where do they go from here? We both agreed that what we were watching is fully on the coaches. Yes, the players have to play and make plays. But, coaches have to scheme a game plan that works, and works with the players who get the bulk of the playing time. This Michigan defense just seems lost. They over pursue. They get beat to the outside in the run and pass game. The corners are not good. They commit far too many penalties. The D line cannot get pressure, and they got gashed in the run game Saturday night. I understand that they are missing Aiden Hutchinson and Kwity Paye, but Michigan recruits and gets top flight players every year. Injured players are not a viable excuse anymore. The linebackers seem like the only players worth a darn, but even they get beat in the pass game, and their tackling, outside Cam McGrone, is not good. The offense is just as lost, if not more so than the defense. The O line, since the opener at Minnesota, has totally regressed. Again, you can claim injuries, but when they had Steuber and Mayfield they weren't opening any holes. They are not very good in pass protection either. The receivers are getting zero separation, and when they are put out wide for screens, they are too slow to make much of anything happen. The running backs don't get a chance to ever get going, and when they do get carries, they dance and bounce and are usually brought down by the first tackler. I still believe that Joe Milton is the guy. He is, for me, the lone bright spot. Some Wolverine fans may read that and chastise me and tell me to go watch Cade McNamara's TD drive. That was one drive against Wisconsin's backups when the game was totally out of hand. Milton was going to have ups and downs, I have been saying that from the start. But his upside is so much greater than any other QB on that roster right now. I say let him play through this and learn, let him get through this year, and let him develop.

Again though, this all comes back to coaching. These kids don't seem to have a sense of urgency or pride. That is on the coaches. The players seem to think that they will win just because they are Michigan. That's on the coaches. The players never seem prepared or ready, and have fallen behind early in every game this year. That is on the coaches. When the MSU game happened, I thought that was a one time thing. This team has been that same team for three weeks now. The team we have seen against MSU, Indiana and Wisconsin is who they really are. The Minnesota game was a mirage, and Minnesota isn't that good either.

I do still think the coaches should be retained. I don't want them to get rid of everyone for a myriad of reasons. I don't think they will get anyone that will excite the fanbase like Harbaugh did in 2014, and I don't think the NFL is banging down his door to be a head coach. Don Brown has had some great, great defenses since taking over, but his scheme is not working with these kids, and he doesn't have the talent. His refusal to change is also kind of alarming. Michigan is still getting beat with crossing patterns with ease. And I don't think Josh Gattis has been given full responsibility to run the offense. I still think Harabugh is influencing his play calling. But, as I said before, I feel like there will be changes. I think the way Wisconsin beat them was too much to ignore for the boosters and the more rabid fans. I also think that a change will put this team behind the eight ball for another four or five years. Michigan is not in a place to go out and get a top flight coach, and there will be attrition and transfers. They will have to start all over again. As much as I don't want to see it happen, it just seems inevitable at this point.

I will still watch Michigan football every Saturday, as I have done since I was a teenager, and I will root them on with all of my heart. But there is no two ways about it, this team is not very good, and they are poorly coached.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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How Should I Feel About Michigan Football Being Back

I watched the entirety of my first college football game this past Saturday night. I haven't been watching much because of the pandemic, the use of these kids as pawns for the universities, the fact that the NCAA is corrupt, that there are no fans and it is eerie and because the Big Ten had not started.

Well that changed on Saturday. The Big Ten kicked off their shortened season. I am surprised that I only watched one full game, and the end of another, waiting for the Michigan game. I figured I would tune in to the other Big Ten games, but I really didn't. I did other things. I hung out with my family in the morning. I ran to the store to get some essentials. I went for a run by myself. I did what I have been doing all fall pretty much. But I knew that Michigan was going to kick off at 6:30pm my time, and I knew I would watch. I also knew that my mom and dad would come over, they have been a part of our little bubble this whole pandemic, and that my dad and I cannot resist watching Michigan. So, we tuned in to the end of the PSU-Indiana game, which was, given the circumstances, a pretty exciting game, and waited for Michigan to start. Before the game I did not have the usual feelings I have had every year since I became obsessed with the Wolverines. I wasn't waiting all day, I found things to do. My mind wasn't focused on who was going to play, and what the team may look like. I didn't have that usual pit in my stomach right before kickoff. I was relaxed enough to eat eight big chicken wings and a full size salad we ordered from a local pizza joint. That never really happened before for me. And I should be happy about that. I should feel like there has been some kind of growth and maturity that has come with age. But really, it was the fact that this season is, and will continue to be, so very weird.

The pregame ramp up seemed familiar, and when I saw the Wolverines warming up, it looked normal enough. There is hardly anyone in the stadium an hour prior to most games, so it didn't seem different at first. But then the game started. This was when it felt odd. There were less than 600 fans in attendance. This is a good thing too. I'm not complaining, or comparing it to a Marlins game. The Big Ten has strict fan attendance rules, and they are only allowing certain people to watch the games live. But this meant you could hear everything that was being said on the field. I could hear QB's make checks, players talk to one another and the hits were crisp. It was surreal. Usually the crowd drowns that out, but not on Saturday night. I will say, the fans in attendance were fully masked, and seemed to be following the proper safety protocols. The coaches were as well. There were only a few times I said aloud, "why isn't that coach wearing his mask?". Both head coaches were masked the whole game, only flipping it off to bark out instructions, which I thought was good. As for the game on the field, both teams were missing starters, Minnesota was missing more, but it was not what I expected. I thought this was going to be a hard nosed, low scoring defensive affair. It was not. Minnesota blocked a punt and scored in under 3 minutes. Michigan answered with a 70 yard TD run on the very next play. Then Michigan got a strip sack for a score right after that. From there on out, it was an offensive battle. Michigan had 35 points at half, which was wild. Joe Milton looked solid and in control, the run game was good and very, very deep, the young receivers and skill players did well and it was clear that Minnesota missed their starters much more than Michigan did.

When it was all said and done, Michigan won 49-24. They got a solid road win against a ranked opponent when a lot of people picked against Michigan. It was nice to see them play again too. I had resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to see them play until next fall, and this was a nice surprise. And I did have times where I cheered long runs and defensive stops and was happy that they won going away. But it was weird. I felt icky at times watching the game. I am worried for the kids and I hope they continue to follow proper protocols. I will continue to watch because I love Michigan, but this is going to be as weird a season as I have ever witnessed. I'm glad they won, and I hope they get to play with few, possibly no, postponements, but time will tell. Either way, glad they won, but it was a very bizarre experience. This is like nothing I have seen, or even my dad for that matter.

This will be an odd year for sure.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Welcome Clay Travis to the World of Hot Take Idiots

As I stated yesterday, I watched my Wolverines lose yet another bowl game. I have come to realize that they are a mediocre, pretty much irrelevant college football team. Yes, they have a big name, a big name coach, a big stadium, are on TV all the time, but when it comes to play on the field, they are a 9 or 10 win team at best. I hope this changes, and I think it can, especially under Jim Harbaugh, but for now, they are a mid level Big Ten team. That's the honest truth.

But, I am not here to douse more gas on the fire that the media has been hitting Michigan with the moment that game ended yesterday. Quite the opposite in fact. I am hear to ask, why does Michigan and Jim Harbaugh bear so much of the brunt from media members who have never, ever coached a single game, at any level, of any importance, ever? I have gone on the record stating how much I think Paul Finebaum actually loves Harbaugh because he is ALWAYS talking about him. A weekend during the college football season doesn't go by where he doesn't have some flippant comment about Harbaugh or Michigan. All this coming from a guy who looks like he never played a sport his entire life. It's okay though, he gets owned constantly on ESPN now by many, many former players that they currently employ. Go look up the whole Cam Newton-Eli Manning debate when Ryan Harris absolutely trolled the shit out of him on live TV. It was tremendous.

Today I want to talk about Clay Travis, who I can almost guarantee is a racist, and never did anything of consequence in the sports world, comments he made on Twitter yesterday. He said something along the lines of Jim Harbaugh being the most overrated coach in the history of college football. Now, I do agree with most people that Harbaugh hasn't done what many, myself included, what we thought he could do at Michigan. But still, he has a solid, winning record at Michigan, he has gone to a bowl game ever year, had them on the cusp of the playoff twice and turned a program that was in the toilet under Rich Rod and Brady Hoke, into a viable Big Ten contender. So, I want to ask Clay Travis, who was against his alma mater Vanderbilt taking the word "confederate" off a hallway sign, why is he the most overrated coach? What has he done to you personally that makes you think he is the most overrated coach ever? Is it because you placed a bet on Michigan, because you are a degenerate gambler, and it didn't work out the way you hoped? Or is it because you are a hot take dipshit that works for Fox Sports, and you always want to say some stupid shit that your dumbass fans will rally behind? I have to think that is the case. You know what Clay Travis, I am shocked, absolutely shocked, that you don't work for that frat boy website Barstool Sports, because your takes are as hackey as the nonsense they put up daily. I'm fed up with people who have never played, or coached at any level saying stuff like this, and it gets hundreds of thousands retweets. That is all he is doing this for. He doesn't care about Michigan football or Jim Harbaugh, he just wants the clicks, retweets and likes. He doesn't know what he is talking about. He isn't out here doing the things that major division 1 college coaches do. He doesn't have it in him to do that. He isn't good enough to do that. I told my father today that, since he thinks he is so smart, I'd like to place him in the job as head coach at Michigan for one day, that's it, just a day, so he can see how hard it is when idiots like himself say this nonsense on Twitter. Clay Travis is no better than Paul Finebaum or Skip Bayless or Stephen A Smith or Jim Rome. He is a wannabe, a hack and a phony. He was never able to reach the heights that these coaches he chastises have, and he is jealous. This is the pathetic state of what some consider real journalism.

My point? Clay Travis is as awful a human being as his takes. He is a nobody with no real accomplishments, except acting like a typical bro. Take his mic, phone and computer away from him, and he is just another average nobody. And he is certainly no Jim Harbaugh. You can take that to the bank. I'd much, much, much rather have Jim Harbaugh as the Michigan football coach then read another dumbass tweet from a Fox Sports moron like Clay Travis. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Time to Face Some Hard Facts About Michigan Football

Okay, I have given myself the weekend, thought about it a lot, and I want to give my thoughts on where my favorite team of all time, the University of Michigan Wolverines football team, currently sits in the landscape of college football.

First off, I was wrong with my preseason prediction. They were not a playoff team, not even close. They were out of Big Ten title contention after getting beat by Penn State. They were unfocused and undisciplined more often than not this season. Shea Patterson took too long to play like I, and many other fans, expected him to. And the defense, they played well in some games and awful in others. This is the second year in a row where I thought they had a legitimate chance to beat the University of Ohio State, and they got obliterated, twice. The game this year was close for one quarter, that was it. They got their butts handed to them, and the University of Ohio State continued to assert their dominance. There is no way to mince words, Michigan is not as good as them. It is that plain and that simple. Michigan has talented players, good quality football players and students. But, the talent is not the same. That much is evident. That much is true. I don't think anyone could deny that right now.

The coaching, I'm not ready to go there yet. The University of Ohio State poached a few key coaches from Michigan, but this happens all the time. But to see Greg Mattison leave, that one hurt. I really like the new D line coach, Shaun Nua, but Mattison was at Michigan twice, and for him to up and leave all of the sudden, that hurt. But, I would still take Jim Harbaugh over Ryan Day, and Josh Gattis over whoever their offensive coordinator and Don Brown, yeah I said it, over their two defensive coordinators. Hell, I would take all the assistants at Michigan. But, that could be my fandom clouding all of this.

Pulling away from the University of Ohio State game, and just looking at Michigan since Harbaugh took over, I will take it. No, Michigan has not won the Big Ten. No, they have not been to the playoff. No, they have not beaten the University of Ohio State. But, do all these current Michigan fans calling for the whole staff to be fired remember how bad this team was before they hired Harbaugh? Rich Rodriguez was a train wreck. He took over a storied program, tried to change the entire philosophy, albeit he was trying to get them to move into the 21st century of football, and it was disastrous. Rodriguez set records no one would want. He was the head coach when Michigan lost its first game to a MAC school. He lost 9 games in his first year. He stayed on the same recruits for far too long. He started Tate Forcier over Denard Robinson to run a spread option offense. He didn't care about defense. He lasted three years, and his best record was 7-6. He was not the answer. Then they tried to go back to the "glory days", and they hired a former assistant who was having a little success at a smaller school, a la Bo, in Brady Hoke. And, while his first season couldn't have gone better, 11 wins, beating the University of Ohio State and winning the Sugar Bowl, it was all down hill from there. They dropped off to 8 wins, then 7 and then 5. I saw that 5 win team play, and that team was so poorly coached. Hoke wanted to be good, I wanted him to be good, Dave Brandon wanted him to be good, but he just couldn't live up to the job. It was far too big for him. It was too much. And look at him now. I believe he was a d line coach at Tennessee for a minute, and now, I have no idea what he is doing.

After they fired Hoke, they hired Warde Manuel, thank goodness, and then they went out and got their white whale for head coach. They got Harbaugh. At the time I wasn't a humongous fan of this because of how quickly he leaves jobs, and how often he is mentioned for NFL openings. It seemed like his tenure would be shot lived. But, he came in and won 10 games his first season with a subpar roster. But, you could see the team was better coached and more disciplined. Then he had a team that seemed poised to be a playoff team. And, if it wasn't for one horrible spot, they would have made the playoff. Also, Harbaugh was finally getting high rated recruits to live up to their potential. Jabrill Peppers was crushing it that year. Devin Bush was a spot starter and special teams demon his first season. They reeled in Rashan Gary. You could see, in one year, that top tier kids wanted to play for Michigan. Also, he wasn't just getting good football players, but also good students. Michigan is hard enough to get into, so it is a bit harder to recruit the super, super elite. Michigan gets great players, but they have to develop. Year three was a bit of a setback for Harbaugh, but there were injuries and a ton of youth on that squad. Also, they trotted out John O'Korn and Brandon Peters at moments that season, and they still won 8 games. Last year, the first with Patterson, they looked like that second year team. And, they had a chance to play for the Big Ten title and the playoff, and got stomped in the final game. And then Rashan Gary and Devin Bush and Karan Higdon and others decided they needed to skip the bowl game to get ready for the NFL. I have no problem with that, but it does make it hard when several starters skip bowl games. And then we have this season. It was a very rocky start, but Harbaugh and the staff coached these kids up when they needed it. Everyone was ready to give up on Gattis, Harbaugh and Don Brown after the Wisconsin game, and that game was bad. This team looked bad. They needed double overtime to beat Army. Middle Tennessee was in the game late in the third. They looked discombobulated. Then the Penn State game happened. The first half was bad, but they looked totally different in the second half. They looked like they were having fun and playing loose. They looked solid. They didn't win that game, but I walked away thinking they may have figured it out. They went on to win the next four games, crushing Notre Dame and Michigan State. And even with the outcome of the University of Ohio State game, I still saw signs that the offense has legs. The defense was the main problem. So, while I was not on board with the hire 5 years ago, I look at it now like it was the right thing.

Also, for all the people wanting to fire him and the staff, who is the big time hire they expect? There is no one out there, for Michigan, that will be as big as Harbaugh was five years ago. Seriously, who would it be? They are not luring names like Nick Saban or Dabo Swinney or Kirby Smart or anyone that has teams in the hunt for the playoff currently. Those guys are staying put, or looking to get into the NFL. And do you really want to go down the NFL route again? Who would they get? I honestly don't know. I find that the Michigan fans that want a new coach don't really think, they just react. That is a problem. Give yourself time to take everything in before you jump to crazy conclusions. If/when Jim Harbaugh leaves, it will be on his terms. Michigan isn't going to let him go, that would be stupid, especially with the recruits that he has coming in. I'm also fully in on Josh Gattis. He improved each week, and given a few more years, he will be a head coach, I have no doubt about that. I also like Don Brown. I know he has other options right now, the Boston College job just opened. But, I think he is a very, very good coordinator. He is stubborn, but Michigan's defense is always in the top 20. If he leaves, I would hope that Harbaugh would stay in house, maybe Chris Partridge, to take over the defense. But, I like the staff. I'm in on the staff.

As for the talent on the field, it is okay, but not elite. Shea Patterson has been the best QB of the Harbaugh era, but I don't truly know how that makes me feel. I love the Packers, but I get frustrated with Aaron Rodgers. I guess it is the same with Patterson. He was solid for 2 seasons, but never "the best". Never the Heisman candidate that some predicted. The run game does seem to be in a good spot. I am a big fan of both Hassan Haskins and Zach Charbonnet. They could be one of the best duos in college football the more they play and develop. The receivers are solid. It all depends on who comes back, but they have a very good group of pass catchers. Tight end is solid too. So is the offensive line. I look at the defense, and while I have grown to adore guys like Khaleke Hudson and Josh Mettulus and Carlo Kemp and Lavert Hill, I won't be so bummed to see them graduate and head to the pros. It could be addition by subtraction. Again, Harbaugh and his staff have done a solid job of recruiting. Ambry Thomas is a very good corner. Daxton Hill looks like a legit All American. Cam McGrone played lights out after taking over for an injured Josh Ross. Kwity Paye has proven to be a solid pass rusher. Aidan Hutchinson looks really good. Chris Hinton got tons of looks this season. Mike Barrett should step in nicely at Viper. And Brad Hawkins is fine. They should be okay. The only question I have for the team next year is the QB spot, They will be picking between Dylan McCaffery and Joe Milton. Personally, I love Joe Milton. He is humongous, has a big time arm, can run and the game seems to come easy to him. Don't get me wrong, McCaffery is very good too. He's been the number 2 QB for two years. But, he gets hurt often and isn't the athlete Milton is. The offseason will tell a lot about where this team wants to go in 2020 at that position.

But pulling back from all of this. Pulling back from what they look like on paper, and who may or may not be on the staff next year and just thinking about where they stand in the current college football landscape, they are a good team. They can, and should win between 9 and 11 games every year. They will compete. They will play hard. They will fight. They can occasionally get a solid win here and there. They have a good staff with a top tier head coach. But, they are not elite. They are not on the level of the University of Ohio State or Alabama or Clemson. They are, at best, a top 15 team every year. They can win games, but they will also disappoint. They will continue to have dopes in the media say that the head coach is awful one second, then have the same people opining for him to coach their favorite NFL team. They will have to endure these stupid ass memes that former players put on the internet. They will have to deal with guys that have never played or coached the game at this high a level pass judgement on them. Michigan is a target, and so is Jim Harbaugh. But, that is okay. I would rather have a coach that is in demand than not. I would rather my team be in it all the way until the end of the season most of the time. I want Harbaugh to stick around and develop some of these young kids he has recruited to see if they pan out and become the answer for how to beat elite teams, and finally become one again. But, time will tell.

So, where does Michigan stand in my eyes? They are a solid football team. They will play in bowl games every year, and sometimes even major bowl games. They will compete. But, they are not elite. They are not upper echelon, and it may take a little bit longer than we all hope. All in all, I want them to stick with the staff as intact as possible, I want Harbaugh to stay and I really feel like they can close the gap. I feel like they can do it. They have been close twice. They just need to get over that hump. Until then, we Wolverine fans have to get used to 9-3 or 10-2 for a tiny bit longer. Those are just facts.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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What the Hell Happened to Michigan Football?

I'm going to save my NFL week one takes for tomorrow because we still have 2 Monday night games to be played tonight. I want every team to play before I give some very early, very quick takes.

That being said, just real quick, I do not understand why AT&T UVerse decided to get rid of the NFL Network and the RedZone Channel. I do not like to watch single NFL games, and the RedZone Channel was totally commercial less. This is crazy, and makes me not want to watch any games, except the Packers. This is a dumb move, and this whole streaming wave is taking away good channels from us poor schmucks that still pay for cable. Just needed to say that. It was a very frustrating realization yesterday when I tried to turn on the channel.

Now that that is out of the way, I want to get to my topic for the day.

I am a big time Michigan fan. You all know this. I have lived and died with this football team as long as I can remember. And, as you all know, I was very, very high on this particular team coming into this season. I liked their defense, even though they lost 4 key starters, and I was very hyped for their new offense, and offensive coordinator. And while some people were disappointed in their week one win over Middle Tennessee, I found reasons to be happy. They made a ton of mistakes, but they still scored 40 points, looked faster and won that game going away. In fact, 2 of MTSU's touch downs came on very short fields due to fumbles by the QB and punt returner. It was easy for me to overlook that performance.

This past Saturday felt different though. Now, I am not going to go all doom and gloom like a ton of people I saw doing on Facebook and Twitter after their win, yes they did win. But, I do have some questions and concerns after needing double overtime to beat Army this past Saturday. I watched this game very nervously. I even stated on our football preview pod that this game would show me a lot about this team. Army is a good football team. Don't get that twisted at all. They went 11-2 last year, took Oklahoma to overtime, and crushed pretty much every other team in their way. Just take a look at their bowl game last year. I don't remember who they played, but I believe they scored close to 70 points and absolutely dominated that game. Army is solid and disciplined. I even pointed them out as a non power 5 team to watch this season. So I do not want to take anything away from them. They run the triple option to near perfection, they play sound defense and they play all the way to whistle, and sometimes even after it. They're good. I could see them easily winning double digit games again this season. But, Michigan shouldn't have struggled like they did on Saturday.

First and foremost, and this could become a very, very big problem, they are not securing the football. Patterson waited a little bit longer this week to fumble, but he still fumbled on Michigan's first offensive possession, and that led to Army's first TD of the day. He has been way too loose and uncharacteristically flippant with the ball. He is holding it like a loaf of bread and he is getting striped with ease. He should spend the entire bye week working on ball security. He also seemed a bit off with his throws all afternoon. He was either a little to high, or way too hard with the ball. He looked good on slants, but that was it. He missed open receivers deep and checked it down far too often. I don't think they need to change QB's like a lot of other people are saying, but Patterson needs to be better. He is a senior, they are running an offense that suits his skills and he needs to be the leader that this team has not had since Chad Henne was their QB. I loved Denard Robinson, but Henne was their last real, reliable QB.

I really liked what I saw from freshman back Zach Charbonnet. He had 33 carries, ran for 100 yards and scored 3 TD's. Yes, he did fumble too, but he is a teenager, and he was playing in his first real test of a football game. He was the rock for this team, and they needed him because they were so sloppy. But, the fact that it took him 33 carries to get 100 yards has me rethinking the o line, which I thought was a strength. The o line looked sloppy, missed blocks and never really opened up any big time holes for any of the backs. They need to gel much better. People can point out the Andrew Steuber injury, but he was the only new starter, and the backups should be ready no matter what. The o line has got to get better. Hell, I will heap praise on Charbonnet again because he was the best pass blocker they had on Saturday. Army blitzed a ton, but every time Charbonnet was in their, he picked up his man.

I thought the receivers and tight ends were solid, they just didn't get enough chances. Michigan threw the ball over 20 times, but with the way the pass game was working, it should have been closer to 30 or even 40 times. Their wee big gaps in the zone defense, and when Patterson had time, he was hitting Nico Collins and Nick Eubanks and Ronnie Bell with ease. Bell was great by the way. Next to Charbonnet, he was the best player the Wolverines had on the field Saturday.

When I look at their offensive performance overall, it was sloppy and a poorly called game. They shouldn't have scored anymore than 7 points with the calls they called all afternoon. I know, and I really want to believe, that Harbaugh was not going to be involved with the play calling. I want to believe that Josh Gattis is getting his much deserved shot to run this offense on his own. But Saturday felt a lot like the end of last season, and when John O'Korn, Brandon Peters and Wilton Speight were running the offense. This felt like Jim Harbaugh was overriding some calls, and trying to force the run game. Again, Charbonnet had 33 carries. Not since Mike Hart in 2007 had one running back had so many carries. And some of those run calls on fourth and short, out of shotgun mind you, were baffling. I like what Harbaugh has done in his 4 plus years, but the one thing that irks me is how stubborn he is with his offensive play calling. This just felt like Harbaugh wanted to push the ground game, no matter what they consequence, and how poorly it was, or wasn't, working. The Wolverine offense looked very sloppy, predictable and stubbornly called. It was very frustrating to watch this team, with all the speed and weapons they have, seemingly try to hammer the run game no matter what.

The defense, at least in my opinion, did really well. They held Army to one of its lowest total yards in a good long time. They forced some fumbles. Levert Hill had a critical interception late in the third quarter that really helped Michigan in the long run. They only got gashed on an outside run once, and that resulted in 0 points for Army. The d line did a solid job of making the fullback work. My biggest frustration with the D on Saturday was their inability to put Army in third and fourth and long situations. With the caliber player Michigan recruits, and plays on the field, they should have been able to slow Army down even more than they did. This game was going to be close, but the defense could have given their offense more chances if they were able to play a little more disciplined on some of Army's very long drives. But, I will say that the defense bailed Michigan's offense out. Without their performance, Michigan would have been beaten soundly.

Moving forward from here I have a couple thoughts about the rest of the season. One, Army is good. I have stated that plenty. I also think Michigan, especially being a top 10 team, is not as good as myself, and others, thought they would be. They are not going to be able to be this loose with the ball, or try to force the run game, when they play Wisconsin in 2 weeks, or when they go to Penn State, or when MSU comes to Ann Arbor or when the University of Ohio State comes to Ann Arbor as well. Michigan has a very tough schedule, and it is only going to get tougher and tougher as the season goes on. There are no more gimmes on the schedule, if there were any to start with. This team needs to clean up the messes, and start to play with some urgency and intensity if they want to be taken seriously. And Josh Gattis needs to have full control of this offense, and if he does, he needs to open up the playbook. I haven't seen the whole "speed in space" that was promised in the offseason. Start utilizing the skills of the skill players, pepper in Charbonnet here and there. Give him 16-22 carries a game, not 33. And the o line needs to step it the hell up. Also, the defense needs to tackle better.

Michigan is 2-0, and ranked 10th in the country, but right now, that feels very hollow. They need to clean this up, and they need to clean it up in a hurry. The season is going to get more and more real for them in the coming weeks. Time to see if they are really ready to play modern college football offense, and keep having a top 10 nationally ranked defense. It is clearly put up or shut up time in Ann Arbor.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor is imploring Michigan to get their stuff together. It is early September and Ty does not need this heartburn all season.

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Saturday Sucked for Michigan Football Fans. Now Let's Move On

Saturday was tough.

That was a brutal way to end the regular season. Michigan got absolutely dominated in every phase of the game. They looked predictable and boring on offense. Their top ranked defense was absolutely shredded. The special teams couldn't get off punts and settled far too often, trying to play the field position game. The coaching was not good. It was horrendous on every level. The team was unprepared, feeling themselves way too much, blew a golden opportunity and played how they have played in every big game since Lloyd Carr retired, poorly. They weren't up for their biggest game of the year. They weren't ready. They thought the University of Ohio State was just going to roll over for them. They figured they were going to walk to the Big Ten title game and the College Football Playoff.

None of that happened.

The University of Michigan was embarrassed on a humongous stage in what should have been a big win for them. On paper they were the better team. On paper they had the better players. On paper they have the better coaches. But when it came to actually playing the game, they got the ass whooping they deserved. Karan Higdon, who I adore, didn't live up to his guarantee. Shea Patterson was flustered, pressured and mediocre all afternoon. The line couldn't open a hole against a team that let Minnesota and Maryland gash them for multiple big runs.

What was most frustrating for me was the defense. They could not stop anything on Saturday. What made it even more frustrating, they refused to deviate from their man coverage game plan that has worked so well all year. They stuck with it, and they got gashed again and again. I saw it in person last week, where Indiana was killing them with crossing routes. Well, the University of Ohio State has much better players than Indiana does. That much is a fact. But Michigan, Don Brown and Jim Harbaugh, also Greg Mattison and Chris Partridge, and the entire defensive staff for that matter, refused to make changes. They are usually so good at making adjustments, but for some reason on Saturday, they were too stubborn or dumb or arrogant or whatever to change. It was truly a terrifying watch for any Michigan fan.

I have been holding all this in until today because my wife and dad and brother didn't need to hear me gripe about this game. It was a disaster. It turned what was such a promising season into a massive disappointment. The one unit I have been able to count on all year really blew it. They had a major letdown at the worst possible time. It was awful. This was worse than Penn State crushing them last year. This was worse than the muffed punt in Harbaugh's first year against Michigan State. This was worse than most games from the Rich Rodriguez or Brady Hoke era. This much is true. They gave up a massive amount of yards, 62 points, probably could have been 70 plus, showed they aren't ready for primetime, were far too arrogant and got smacked in the mouth for it and got embarrassed. That is the best word.

Okay, got that out of my system.

Now for the other half of my blog today. As I stated above, Saturday was terrible for all Wolverine fans. But the talks of firing Jim Harbaugh and Don Brown need to stop. These guys are great coaches. I know Harbaugh hasn't beaten the University of Ohio State yet, but he has beaten Penn State twice, Wisconsin twice, Michigan State twice, and he is now getting to coach his recruits. Michigan was in a bad place when they hired him, and he has won 10 games three times in 4 years, and has won 38, with a chance at 39 games, in 4 seasons. While they are not a title contending team, they have gotten much better. Jim Harbaugh should not be fired. That talk is insane. The people saying that are fair weather fans. They are probably the same people that clamored for him 4 years ago. And, to those that want him fired, you just want to start over again? You want to go back to being even more mediocre again? Are you ready for more Brady Hoke style football? I'm sure as hell not. I can get just as annoyed and frustrated with Harbaugh and his stubborn play calling, but the guy is a hell of a college football coach, no matter what Tim Tebow and Paul Finebaum say.

To those calling for Don Brown's firing, they make me more angry than the people calling for Harbaugh's head. Don Brown has turned this defense into a unit to be feared. Saturday was a major aberration. It was harsh. It was an embarrassment. It was awful. But it was a one time thing. The defense had a horrible day. He called a bad game. It was bad. But what about the rest of this season, and the past 2 seasons under him? They are a fast and aggressive and solid defense. Last year, when this team was dreadfully awful on offense, the defense was why they won 8 games. His first season as the defensive coordinator, he turned Jabrill Peppers into a Heisman finalist. He has coached some of the top linebackers in college football. The guy knows defense, and he knows it well. If Harbaugh were to leave for the pros, he is not going to get fired, nor does he deserve to, I have stated to my father many times that I would want Michigan to just name Don Brown head coach. I feel like it would be a seamless transition. Sure he would need an offensive minded guy to run his offense, and I feel like being the offensive coordinator at Michigan would be a coveted job.

None of the coaches deserve to be let go. It was one very, very, very bad game. But it was one game. The talk of letting coaches go is stupid and reactionary and uncalled for. Stop it. For the people calling out the players, they need to chill the hell out. One, it is a game. Yes I was mad, and I may have said some things during the game, but after it was done, I was done being mad. The kids playing are just that, kids. They are also playing a game. I am not going to let one bad game ruin my week, month or year like I used to when I was a teenager and in my early 20's. After finishing this blog, I will have gotten it all off my chest, and I will move on. Some people are going way, way too hard on these kids playing a game. Yes it was rough, but let it go. They played pretty great in almost every other game this year. No one was bad mouthing them on social media when they were trouncing Wisconsin or Penn State. This was one game, get over it. Also, if you are in your 30's like me, think about the fact that you are yelling at kids that could be your own. That is sad.

Finally, ever the Michigan fan in me, wants to say that the coverage on Fox was atrocious. The 2 guys calling the game were clearly pulling for the University of Ohio State. They would only say kind words about them. And while I know nothing really good happened for Michigan, the announcers made sure it was even rougher on Michigan fans with the way they called the game. They were terrible.

What made all the sports media worse was all the love they were giving Urban Meyer. The fact that companies like Fox and ESPN are going to spin this one game as some kind of redemption for him is disgusting. Jemele Hill, who despises Michigan by the way, tweeted during the game something along the lines of, "the media will try to spin this as a redemption story for Meyer, but let us not forget he tried to cover for a domestic abuser. No one win will ever heal the pain that the abused family is going through". I couldn't agree with her more. Urban Meyer is a liar. He is a cheater. He has vouched for Aaron Hernandez. Everywhere he coaches, the moment he leaves, the program is left in shambles. Also, people love him while he is there, but the moment he is gone, they seem to hate him. All the shots of him trying to quell his "headaches" were nauseating. He is an actor. He wants people to feel bad for him. He wants people to talk about his "health problems" so when he leaves, that is the reason why. Also, if he really does have this big of a problem with his health, why is he still coaching? That is wrong. Shame on him for risking his health and family so he can look good on TV. His actions on the sidelines this season have been laughably bad. Even if he really does have this "headache" thing, I feel zero sympathy for him. He is a loathsome human being.

With all this being said, Saturday was bad. Michigan got smashed. They got the beating they deserved. But, don't paint Urban Meyer as some kind of hero. He is a disgraceful human being. Also, Jim Harbaugh and Don Brown and the entire Michigan staff, I am still behind you guys. Things will turn around soon, hopefully. As for the Wolverine players, you had one bad game. Let it got and get ready for your bowl game. Try to go out and get a win, especially the seniors, to forget about Saturday's disaster. Don't let this game beat you twice. That is what makes me most excited, to see how you respond. You have had an okay season. You have a chance at 11 wins. You can set the tone for next year. Go out and do it after you find out what bowl game you get. Make it count. I have not lost faith, nor will I ever. I love Michigan, I love the Wolverines, I love the staff and players. I still, and always will, have faith. This can all be turned around. I truly believe that.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Why does Ty care som much about a football game. Check out the X Millennial Man Podcast to learn how technology, and irrational love, makes a fan feel sick about their favorite team.

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Ty Watches "All or Nothing: A Season with the Michigan Wolverines"

I just recently finished the Amazon series, “All or Nothing: A Season with the Michigan Wolverines”.

Of course, I loved it.

The 8 episode documentary series was all about the 2017 season, which was a rough one for Michigan. What I liked about the show was how honest everything was. The footage they show is what they used. I’m sure they edited it, every show does, but what they used was real and true. I really appreciated that. The show showed the few ups, and the many downs of the 2017 season. I relieved all 13 games from last year, and I felt all the feels. I went through the same ups and downs when I watched the games in real time. I was thrilled seeing them best Florida in the season opener. I was happy, yet worried about their inability to put away teams early in the year. The Cincinnati and Air Force games were prime examples. Then we had the Michigan State disaster. Then the Penn State blow out. Then I got to see John O'Korn struggle again, which was tough. I saw the Wilton Speight injury again. I watched Brandon Peters play okay, but realized he wasn’t fully ready. I watched the defense play exceptional, but also get tired from being relied on so much. I mean, Mike McCray, Mo Hurst, Chase Winovich, Khaleke Hudson and Rashan Gary, among many others, play their hearts out all year, and veil that offense out more often than not.

Aside from the football, it was nice to get to know these kids as people. I was explaining to a friend that I always looked at these kids as football robots. Well, this show made me realize that they’re kids first, football players second. These kids have to go to class. These kids have kids of their own. These kids bleed for this program, but they also have lives outside of football. These kids have other aspirations outside of the NFL. These kids get homesick. It made me realize that they have feelings. I know that sounds weird, but it was eye opening.

Another eye opening thing I got from this series was how delusional Speight and O'Korn are. Wilton Speight is a jackass. That kid blamed everyone but himself, and he came off as arrogant. John O'Korn was better, but not by much. He took blame one time, but other than that, he was “trying his best”. He rarely took the fall for his poor play. Karan Higdon is an amazing young man. He is raising his daughter and kicking ass on the field. Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black have me excited for the future of the receiver position.

The show also made me respect Jim Harbaugh even more. He may be grating, but that guy loves football, and he loves to coach. Same with Don Brown. He’s a wild dude, but he gets the best out of his players. The show also made me see Greg Mattison and Pep Hamilton in a whole new light, in a good way.

Look, I was going to love this series no matter what. I’m a dyed in the wool Michigan fan. They are my favorite team of any team that has ever existed. Don’t watch this if you’re not a Michigan fan, it wasn’t made for you. Watch it if you are a Michigan fan, it was obviously made for us. But I’d also recommend it to fans of college football and high school coaches. It is a wonderful, insightful show. I’m glad they did this and I’m glad I watched it. It now has me excited for the 2018 season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants to pitch a new show to Amazon about Michigan football fans watching an entire season. Way more people can relate to the stars of this show.

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