PREVIEW AND PREDICTION: Michigan vs. Fresno State | Who Will Start At QB In Sherrone Moore Debut?

Intro welcome on into the wolverine.com podcast Clayton safy here with Anthony broom and Chris balas as we Preview Michigan against Fresno State to uh open the 2024 season if you're watching on YouTube make sure to like the video give us that big thumbs up subscribe to our Channel and head to thewolverine.com right now we have a special offer that's lasting through Friday night so Friday at 11:59 p.m. is when it expires but you can use the promo code kickoff 24 to get 50% off an annual subscription to the wolverine.com you get on our message board get all of our premium articles as well Intel analysis on Michigan football basketball and recruiting use the promo code kickoff 24 it's $499 a month build annually so uh not many better deals than that so get in over at the wolverine.com uh let's get into some Michigan football the season opener Saturday night 7:30 on NBC against the Fresno State Bulldogs who are a fantastic group of five program coming in here and it's just exciting to you know get to see this team back on the field after what happened last season 15 and0 the win streak that this team has going on right now in a new era under Chiron Moore uh any any openers that Memorable openers stand out to you guys over the years that have been particularly memorable yeah 1995 Mercury Hayes against Virginia probably before you guys were born right in the corner of the enum where we were last play of the game it was about 150 degrees out there on the field and it was uh they didn't weren't selling I think they ran out of water they wouldn't let you bring water in at the time and they think they ran out and people were passing out like left and right so I remember that one uh I remember obviously the Notre Dame games 1999 comes to mind Michigan gets a stop there late in the game 1986 1985 Notre Dame games Michigan won both of those Jamie Morris an 86 catching a touchdown pass Jim Harbaugh an 85 with a quarterback draw to beat Notre Dame 20 to 12 uh the ones the wins over Notre Dame are always going to be great ones for me and then of course Phil brbs and I believe it was 200 was it one 2001 or two yeah it was 2002 I think when Phil brbs kicks a uh field goal on the last play of the game to beat Washington yeah for me I mean I think there's a good chance that this one on Saturday night winds up being the most memorable one you're coming off a national title it's a night game first game of the Chiron Moore era lot of excitement lot of unknowns I think kind of uh as as we lose Chris balas here we'll get him back in in a second um a lot of unknowns but there's there's some excitement in the unknown there's some anxiety in the unknown um but you know again a lot of the you know most of the Michigan season openers I've seen really all of the ones I've seen have been on the job and most of them have usually been a buy game to kick off the year I'll say a memorable trip was going down to Notre Dame in 2018 but not very memorable from a game outcome perspective but yeah this one on Saturday night it's uh I think this one has a chance to be the one that kind of sticks out as most memorable and and we'll talk about the opponent but think it has a chance to be sneakily maybe a competitive game here so we'll see what happens but uh regardless excited that we're back here doing Thursday shows talking about a Saturday football game for me some of those Western Michigan Games stand out as like some of the most fun in ' 09 I was there when dinard you know took that snap and fumbled it and then you know that was his first play and runs all the way all the way to the end zone that was a great first impression that that he made uh 2011 when the game got canceled Michigan football tweeted out today a a couple highlights from that 2011 game when you had the Jordan kovak hit on Nate Carter the Western quarterback that was huge Brandon Heron had two defensive touchdowns in that game and then the 2021 Western Michigan game that was the first game back after covid which was electric and you know led into that Washington game the next week but those ones kind of stand out to me um they used to open with Notre Dame more than they they have this Century as Chris was kind of mentioning but um definitely some exciting ones Yukon as well 2010 dard went absolutely berserk as well that one stands out the rededication of the big house so uh lot of a lot of good ones there I was also at uh the opener I didn't realize this this is before I'm in the working capacity uh 2013 uh Michigan beat Central Michigan 59 to9 so couldn't remember if that was an open or not a quick Google search told me that it was so all right we got everybody back technical difficulties worked out at least for the second um but let's move on Michigan looking to defend their Michigan defending national title National Championship in the 11 previous national championships that Michigan has had before the 12th last season Michigan has repeated five of the 11 times it's a pretty good percentage 45.4% of course some of those a little bit of a different time different landscape in college football and certainly even this year a different landscape than the previous season but it's still it's still worth noting is is Michigan gonna gonna make that six out of 12 boys depends on the quarterbacks right as to whether or not they're going to compete for it and make the playoff you make the playoff and if you have a good football team with a defense like this and you get good quarterback play then you can certainly make some noise in the playoff so that's what it's going to come down to for me I think this is going to be one of the best defenses in the country and a lot of it depends on chemistry too and last year's team was unbelievably tight and is that is that gonna be the case for this year's team I I don't know look at the 1900s yeah John Borton covered that 1905 team I don't think he was around yet in ' 04 but' 05 the first time they didn't repeat so um but yeah 48 48 and 49 47 48 actually 47 I don't think is recognized but if in my opinion yeah so there it is yeah 48 and 49 so but um I don't know guys I I think that um I obviously I would bet heavily against it but uh it takes a lot as we saw last year a lot of breaks to go your way to go to not only go undefeated but to to win a National Championship so I you know but I think this team will be competitive in the Big 10 and if it continues to improve you'll have a chance in the playoff I think they're a playoff team I'm not ready to say they're a national title Contender yet and it's kind of crazy to say like there is a difference now because typically you get in the fouram playoff you're like all right you're right in the mix to play for a national title now it's you get in you see what happens I know Clayton you've been a proponent of getting in and getting that five seed getting that home playoff game taking on the lowest ranked uh team that has a Buy in that next round so you know if things break the right way I mean certainly you can make a run but you know the thing is is like even you have a historically good season you have to play two more games that than you would have just getting into the playoff and I think you know Chris you talk about all the things they have to go right I mean look at all the things that they persevered through that went wrong last year too so the Stars kind of aligned there I mean when you have a season like that it is the Stars kind of aligning you look at most of those national championships they happened I think before the forward pass was even invented so a lot easier to repeat back then now talent's a little more spread out and uh you know I think there are probably four or five teams ahead of them that I'd probably have more likely to do that but I do think that if they can get the quarterback thing at least stabilized they're going to be in the conversation for that and they're going to be in every single game but they play this season I have no doubt about that before the forward pass he's echoing a Spartan and and Buckeye talking point there I mean it's factually true like it might be the only thing they say that is factually true I think there was come on here and say it in a ski mask and sunglasses either and they all count damn it they do they do this one guess what in a 100 years this one will have been 100 years ago and you know whatever so that's just how the world works but uh thought that was interesting and I do feel like this Championship window is is open at least for another season whether that's big 10 Championship right or you know making the playoff and making a little bit of a push as well I mean you don't you don't know how it's going to go and I don't think a lot of people would have characterized Alabama at the beginning of the last season as a playoff team given what they had at quarterback but they improved and uh not that it's easy to do so to that level but it's uh you know and now there's more leeway too as you go throughout the season where you could lose a game early on could lose another game somewhere along the way and still get in maybe even a third uh I got a question for Anthony real quick AB you ready to answer this question as ready as I'll ever be do you like fun I do like fun well let me tell you about prize picks okay because it's the most fun way to enjoy watching sports we want to thank PrizePicks promo our great sponsor prize picks where you can win up to 100 times your money this football season you just select two or more players pick more or less on their projected stats in place your entry it's a great way to test your skills as a fan it's simple and easy to play I make my pick submit uh my entry in less than 20 seconds I did it actually before the show super easy um and we will reveal our picks here in a second but we have a special offer for you go to prize.com or the prize pick app and use the code Wolverine to receive a guaranteed $50 once you play $5 in lineups again special offer go to priz pick.com or the priz piix app use the code Wolverine to receive a guaranteed $50 once you play $5 in lineups uh this week and we're recording on Thursday afternoon I got a couple Colorado picks against North Dakota State Travis Hunter over 73 and a half receiving yards and shadur Sanders over 304 and a half or excuse me more than 304 and a half passing yards what do you guys have this week yeah I've got uh Hunter with more than the whatever it was and then I've got Sanders with less than actually so um we'll see how it plays out yeah I I like Sanders to go more than that number I think that Colorado is going to be not good again but it's going to be the shter Sanders uh video game stat padding year as they try to make him the number one overall pick and then uh I'm looking at Minnesota North Carolina as well uh Max brasmer the transfer quarterback uh 187.5 pass yards I'm gonna go under that for him think GNA have a little rough opener for Minnesota in the passing game so those are the ones I'm going with you mean less than sure yeah less than absolutely that's exactly what he meant uh it's time to fuel the excitement for the upcoming NFL college football season so uh get in with prize picks they're also introducing not one but two free squares first up they have Alabama standout quarterback Jaylen milro who we just referenced earlier in the show um he needs to exceed that's also another word you can use half of passing yards to win so that is is a dare you say pretty easy one there uh the offer is available till August 31st at 700 p.m. so prize picks daily fantasy sports Made Easy Go to prize.com or the priz picks app use the code Wolverine for guaranteed $50 once you play $5 in lineups um let's move on here and talk about as well the debut of Michigan's head coach Chiron Moore in his full-time job Tyler Morris was saying the other day that those guys are Sherrone Moore / Tim Skipper debuts very excited to see him out there leading the team run out of the tunnel with him I know he did it last season but after having a full offseason uh is going to be exciting for the players and then Tim Skipper of Fresno State kind of in a really similar situation as well Jeff Tedford their head coach steps down with health concerns this summer he steps in as the interim head coach he had to do that last year before the New Mexico Bowl as well LED them to a big time 3710 win over New Mexico state which had beaten Auburn just a few weeks earlier uh so a couple former interim coaches I guess Tim skip Skipper is still an interim coach uh but Chiron Moore's debut should be exciting as well yeah and you know what good for them coming in here and you know with the the confidence not as much confidence as the ECU writer had last year a radio guy right when I believe he predicted ECU to beat Michigan if I'm not mistaken so and who knows what to expect I I think they're gonna have a hard time moving the ball on this m defense but this is a this is a good program this is a solid program that has done some things against uh bigger schools and and knows how to win football games and has been around a while this is not Bowling Green coming in here or somebody like that um so uh it'll be a good first test for Michigan and hopefully you know you work out some of the Kinks everybody's pointing toward that that Texas game but this is a team that can that can do some things it has some athletes as we've seen uh some transfers from bigger schools as well so uh this is not going to be one of those where you just show up and and expect a win they're goingon to have to play and do some good things out there yeah and I don't think this team is looking ahead to Texas either I think there's too much newness everywhere I think there's too many guys that are kind of hungry to hit someone else as we heard from players on the roster this week and yeah Fresno State's getting paid 1.85 million to come to Ann Arbor and play this game and you know I'm not going to say they're good enough to win this game we'll talk about the matchup here in a little bit but this is a team that a lot of people expect to compete for or win the Mountain West which is not you know it's not the sun Bel it's not the Mamer conference it's it's not obviously not the big 10 but uh there's some good football and some good football players out there and some good players on this Fresno State roster so they're in their minds they're not coming to collect a paycheck they're coming to compete and try and win a football game and that's I think that's going to be good for this team you know the last few years I think it was beneficial for Michigan to kind of have that ramp bup or the ramp up into the season I should say um I think that this group it's a it's a young group it's a green group I think that they need to play competitive snaps against a team that you know if you don't come and bring it they will they will compete and they could take you down to the wires so excited to see what it all looks like you know as we said to start the show um we're talking about season openers I mean this has a chance to be one of the best atmospheres for any of them as you're defending a national title it's your head coach's first game a lot of excitement about what this team could be um but make no mistake about it I mean you come into this game as I think a 21o favorite Fresno State has the ability to get you into a game but I I agree with Chris on the defense I think that uh it's gonna be hard for them to move the ball yeah no doubt we'll talk about that too a little more in depth in in just a second but it is a an interesting program to come in here too when you have so much change yourself now unfortunately Fresno State undergoing some change but like we said Tim Skipper was the guy who took over last year when they had you know when Jeff Tedford had to step down for the bowl game he's been around he played linebacker there under the legendary Pat Hill who coined the term anybody anytime anywhere and as you guys both said like Fresno State has come in in beaten a lot of big boys they you know Purdue was not very good last year but they go in they beat Purdue in the opener last season then a couple weeks later they go to Arizona State and win in shutout fashion 29 to nothing that was not a good Arizona State team either but they're used to going into the stadium so bigger schools and winning um in their last 11 games against Power four opponents they're five and six with uh five of those six losses coming by one possession so they're in these games pretty much every time now have they played the defending national champion a top five team as often no it's more UCLA USC at times and those teams were down at different points but again the the pedigree of this program is to come in and compete again anybody anytime anywhere so it should be uh very interesting um we lost Chris for the moment again due to technical issues we'll keep rolling here Anthony I have a a trivia question for you uh for you have you heard of the name Stanley buresi sounds like a guy I'd called to fix my AC unit so no is that is that your guy that that you call no no he is somebody who played Michigan uh played at Michigan at an All-American level from 1908 to 1910 first team All-American then goes to Fresno State he led the 1930 Bulldogs to their first ever undefeated season so we got a little bit of a a parallel there another trivia question who is the former Michigan assistant coach that is on the Fresno State staff currently currently can I can I get a hint as to what regime under Jim Harbaugh oh um I don't think you're gonna get it I probably won't get it no offense to you it's it's a kind of a tough one a deep cut uh I'm gonna say sorry this is this is terrible this is terrible podcasting terrible terrible video um to say it yeah Mike zordich okay that's a good that's a good guess it is not it's John Baxter the Special Teams coordinator who has been at Fresno State in the past is now back there and of course was Michigan special teams coordinator in 2015 I don't know if anything went wrong in special teams that year but uh talking to um Paul leer the play-by-play voice of Fresno State he was telling me he he thinks John Baxter probably has something up his sleeve for this game and a lot of the wins that they've had and this is why I bring this up now a lot of the Wings wins that they've had against these power conference opponents have included big time special teams plays special teams efforts that have helped them uh get over the top in those games so just I'm just saying keep an eye on John Backer he knows how the wind goes and kind of swirls down there at the big house he understands what it's like to play and coaching that stadium so he's going to have potentially his boys ready and they do have a very good kicker who went 24 of 30 last year on the season on field goals couple 50 yarders so 52 y as well so he is uh you know special teams could be the difference not projecting that it's going to come down to that we'll get to our predictions in just a little bit uh let's talk about the Michigan offense against the Fresno State Defense Anthony all eyes are on the Michigan quarterbacks right we still haven't had Michigan offense vs. Fresno State defense an official announcement as of two 232 on Thursday afternoon as to what Michigan will do at quarterback I think a lot of people expect it to be Alex orgy I think a lot of people expect to see multiple quarterbacks on Saturday night Davis Warren of course also in the mix I mean that's going to be the most fascinating thing most written about thing most talked about thing about this game as long as Michigan comes out with a win right of course if they come out if they lose everyone will talk about that but if they win we'll be able to just judge you know how'd the quarterback look what was the situation and you can kind of Turn the Page to Texas knowing you know more what you're going to have yeah I mean not to sound like it's the lack of studying the game or studying the opponent I honestly have no idea what to expect from this Michigan offense because we don't know who that guy's gonna be uh I'm I'm confident that they can piece something together I'm confident that whoever they throw out there should be able to you know lead a balanced offense against this Fresno State Defense which is experienced and deep in their front seven they've got some good players up there um you know to me it's it's all about you know here's what I find fascinating and I think this is something that Chiron said after we did our show on Monday I believe it was on 971 the ticket on the morning show where he said Yeah by Thursday or so we'd love to hone in on who that guy is maybe tell the team and then it gets out there shortly after or it could be Saturday or you know it has run through his mind to play play two quarterbacks um I suspect that they are going to name a starter I suspect that it will be Alex orgy and from there again you know the keys to what this thing look like I just want to see a baseline of vision for what the offense with him looks like now I don't think you go full dinard Robinson and you just have him running around back there I think you know whoever wins this job has to be able to operate within what Michigan wants to be and has been offensively but there are different there's a different flavor it takes if a guy like that out there you know you probably see a little more you know some more Keepers you probably see a few more designed QB runs um but I go back to what I said about the spring game like you could see when he's on time and on task you can see what this offense could be and when he's not it looks a little rough but it seems like during camp at the very least those Peaks and those valleys have kind of been evened out just from some of the tell that we've gotten over the last few weeks so we'll see what happens I mean I'd love for them to have the ability to play two quarterbacks but um you got to be careful about playing quarterback Roulette in a game like this too because you know a couple bad you know a bad snap here or a turnover there all a sudden like you're in a football game you know somewhere in the third quarter so yeah I I think you need to you know in Chiron Moore's case Kurt Campbell's case and the way that they've acted throughout this whole process has been with a lot of conviction Jerome Moore conviction about Kirk Campbell leading this offense Kirk Campbell conviction about having a guy that can start and Lead this football team on the roster already I think that is what I want to see is the conviction and whoever it is because yeah there's a chance that another guy could Surge and emerge and something else happens at some point this season but you want to see that they've made their decision and that All Ships start sailing the same direction I think you want to come out this game without the talking point of what are they going to do at quarterback next week will they stick with ex player will they still play both um you know I guess if it works out playing both maybe you wouldn't have as many questions but I think you want to come out of this game you know not that it wouldn't be a a terrible thing to or not that it would be a terrible thing to give Texas you know a lot to think about but I think you want to come out of this without a bunch of uncertainty about that position now there is some uncertainty about some other positions as well we'll see who goes out there with the star can I stop you there for a second can we talk about Davis waren quick like what if it is Davis Warr on Saturday which is very possible yeah it's extremely possible I mean it's it's as of two days ago they didn't know who their guy was yet um so if it is Davis waren I mean again what are the things we're looking for is it the standard that JJ McCarthy set is it you looking for it to be more kind of like Kate mcnamer where he runs the offense and and and just kind of moves the chains and leads scoring drives like you know we spent a lot of time talking about Alex orgy but again when you just hear all throughout camp that the guy is the most consistent passer and maybe slightly more accurate like what that's just I don't think you can downplay that because again when one of the guys buying for the job in the cons box for him is we need to hope that he knows how like can learn how to play the quarterback position what if it what if it is Davis Warren then what's the expectation is it the same thing I'm not sure well I think it's going to look you know quite a bit different and and here's the thing too if it is Davis Warren we're still gonna see Alex orgy more than likely so then I think you see Alex Orgy at least in the role that JJ McCarthy had in 2021 when he was a backup and kind of change of pace for Kade mcamera but no mean I think it's it for Davis Warren if he's the starter you know he needs to be Davis Warren you know the best version of of that which you know is somebody who can spin the football somebody who's been around a long time and understands the offense you would hope with live bullets which is a huge variable here right there are actually guys coming after you that are going to tackle you hit you and potentially try to knock you out of this game um you have to be able to handle that and you know some of that's going to come down to how well they run the football what kind of situations they put these quarterbacks in on third down and that goes for this week but obviously the whole season as well um you know the protection that sort of thing so on that note I guess we don't know exactly what the starting five offensive Line's going to be excited to see Donovan Edwards and kle mullings run behind this offensive line whatever it looks like I would imagine Fresno State makes it a priority to stop the run and makes these quarterbacks you know try to beat them but you know if they can do that I think it's a good sign um your thoughts on kind of the rest of the offense what we're going to see we'll see a new receiving core as well without Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson for the first time in a while yeah yeah I I didn't think I'd necessarily feel this way heading into the year but I think I'm a little more confident in wide receivers and tight ends than I am the offensive line right now and now it looks like heading into Saturday and even Grant Newsome said this when we talked to them on Wednesday miles hinton's locked in at left tackle pre at left guard go hotti at Right Guard coming into Camp you have battles at Center and right tackle where you know it is Greg krip and Raheem Anderson and it's Andrew Gentry and Jeff Percy and then over the last week to 10 days you start hearing more about D jice and then earlier this week when they talk about right tackle they're talking about Gentry and Evan link and you don't hear much about Jeff Percy so for me I mean there's a couple ways you can go with it right like it's you could take it at wow this these guys really surged and I do think that Jadis and Link would start the game if there was a game today uh we'll see what Saturday holds for them but you know is it because they just surged past the guys that they were um that they have passed allegedly is it because the performances for the other guys crack the door open for someone else to kind of take the Reigns is there maybe an injury or did something slow someone down at some point I don't know that I I think right now I expected to have a little more answers on the offensive line and make no mistake about it I think they could still have a very good offensive line um I just to me it's a little concerning that The Closer we've gotten to game week maybe the less we've known about those position battles or or or maybe we just didn't know right maybe it open as they said you know yeah because sometimes that's the case too um so to me I mean I think that offensive line I think whoever they go with I trust again it's one of those things you trust Jerome Moore you trust Kirt Campbell with the quarterbacks I think you trust shiron Mo you trust Grant Newsome with the offensive line and again as we saw last year like it is a sometimes the offensive line is like a living breathing organism where hey if a guy has a bad series or two you stick another guy in there and it gels and Bam now you have a new starting five so that's I think there's going to be a little more fluidity to that early on in the season um again I just think that uh I I think there I was I was hoping there'd be a little more stability there but who's to say that it's more stable because some of these guys have emerged it's tough to put a finger on that till we see gamefilm you just hope it's like two really good players battling it out at a certain position as opposed to somebody you know being the the lesser of two evils I guess you could say and and none of us know that until they hit the field and we see it and probably it's going to take a couple weeks um you know and they do seem very confident about the guys that are battling at those two positions but again you don't really know because they would say you know in Express confidence regardless um you know but I do think there are some good options there I I I do think the offensive line is going to be pretty good I think it could take some time though for them to come together um you know receiving core and and tight ends and the usage there with Marlon Klein kind of stepping into a bigger role alongside coulston Loveland at tight end is going to be interesting to me just because we'll see how this quarterback Works um you know in terms of Distributing the football who they get it to and of course you don't want to show too much before Texas but you do have to win this game and it could you know be kind of interesting for a while you would think uh in this one I think getting the Run game going is the number one key in this football game um you know Fresno State last year they're one and three when they gave up 200 plus rushing yards so you know I I do think that if a team is able to overpower them up front like Michigan could with this offensive line and and run with some really good running backs then you know they should be able to move the football be able to keep the defense off the field kind of go back to that formula that they've had in recent years uh five starters returning on the Fresno State Defense they were 48th nationally last year in scoring defense a pretty good unit they forced 23 turnovers which ranked 21st in the country they limited big plays as well only 19 given up of 30 plus yards and a guy to watch on this Fresno defense is uh cam lock rid who's a corner who uh last year was injured part of the Season played through an injury I don't want to do another trivia question because I don't want to waste time on this but his uncle and grandfather are Ken Griffey Jr and Ken Griffey Senor and they're expected to make an appearance at the big house it's gonna be star studded with a lot of the national champs coming back as well as uh you know Ken Griffey junr we'll see the backwards hat on the field at the big house we'll see where he's sitting exactly but uh it should be kind of fun and then uh before we get into the Michigan defense let's talk about one specific Michigan defensive player and his name is Jon bham Anthony Jaishawn Barham hype continues the the hype train for Jon bam it's getting a little out of control to the point that we just need Saturday night to come so we can watch this guy fly around in a winged helmet but I'm gonna read off just a few things that have been said about Jan Barum from his teammates and his coaches one is Max breson we all know he's one of the toughest guys on the team probably the best blocker that's not a lineman on the team he said that hitting Jon B is like hitting a wall Tyler Morris said he's heard rumors about what it's like to hit him luckily is a wide receiver he hasn't had to do that kle mulling says if you don't come correct you'll end up on your ass when you're trying to block Jon bam Chiron Moore described him as mysterious and scary because he's quiet but he's also a physical specimen so um and just just kind of his demeanor is mysterious and scary and then Lou ESP bazito dline coach said he's special he said uh you he said this kid and then he said no this man like they won't even call him a kid uh because he's not a kid if you've seen him walk around he's definitely not a kid he's a 6 foot3 248 pound linebacker he transferred in from Maryland um and is absolutely a man Grant Nome Michigan's old line coach who played with Devin Bush said he's the most physically impressive second level player he's seen in his time at Michigan again Devon bush is one of the best linebackers here now it doesn't mean he's better than him but physically impressive he's certainly taller than Devin Bush I mean this guy is becoming I mean I don't want to take your joke but you have a pretty good one about just the hype that is Jan bar no I mean there's a few of them you just you just put his name into any of the Chuck Norris jokes you know like when when God said let there be light Jan baram told him to say please next time um time waits for no man unless that man is Jon bham uh there is you know daylight saving time was invented when Jan baram kicked the Earth back an hour like it goes on like he's become a folk hero um and I think it was I'll give credit where credits do I think Bud Elliott said this on Twitter if if the Jon baram transfer was an NBA trade the league would have vetoed it like the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers back in the day Tony petiti would have had to yeah yeah well you know good old tiny Tony comes up here shout out to Tony petiti as we start the year here so I I'm ready to see what he could do uh because you know when you have that initial shock of what's this team GNA look like next year after the national title season like Junior Coulson gone Mike Barrett stalwart gone those two guys I mean that's as good a linebacker deal as I've ever seen at Michigan and then you backfill that with a guy in Jon Barham who I think can do anything they ask him to on the field he can drop back into coverage he can you know he might get some snaps at Edge you know they wouldn't uh Lu bazito wouldn't disclose that type of information you know he can he can play kind of the traditional throwback come up and hit you linebacker I I think the sky limit for this guy and um you know if he's as good as they say he is technically has two years of Eligibility left maybe it is a one-ear thing for him if he's that good uh in a Michigan uniform so again you look at him and and Earnest Houseman all of a sudden like that is to me I mean both of those guys are extremely explosive play with their hair on fire like they're shot out of a cannon that's going to be so much fun to watch especially when you know the guys in front of them at the very least if they're not being disrupted they're gonna eat up a lot of blocks and cause a lot of havoc and create opportunities for a lot of plays so Jon bam I mean again is it crazy to say that they're they could you know potentially be better at linebacker we'll let the gamees stick that because I think that Junior Coulson is maybe a guy that was a little bit underrated nationally underrated by Michigan fans Mike Barrett again another one of those guys that I think you know they talk about playing positionist football um and we kind of see them you know we saw Mike Barett emerge into a role like that halfway through the 2021 season where you know they were having substitution issues when you have these guys on the field that can do everything it makes you that much more dangerous and J sha Barham it would be a surprise if he was a top three player on this defense by the end of the year on a defense that includes Mason Graham and will Johnson and Kenneth Grant and Josiah Stewart I don't know that it would be at this point like we'll see but they if it's not legitimate it's been an awful lot of hyperbole I'll say that what an opportunity too to like it's similar to Ernest hman but Jon B was a little better last year than Ernest hman was as a freshman again he was a freshman before he came to Michigan you know Jon had two years at Maryland so it's different but you're this standout guy on this defense uh you know somewhere else you're not winning as much they were an okay team you know Maryland's made you know some bowl games recently but then you come now to one of the best defenses in America and I mean the hype you're getting already and you're going to be one of the top players on that unit you get to play in an NFL system potentially a year before you go to the NFL it's a really good opportunity for him and you get a segment on the Wolverine podcast before the opener I mean those two things plus probably some nil money sprinkled in life is good for Jon Barum right now um moving into the Michigan defense as a whole besides Jon Barum we can still mention him uh I'm sure he he will come up but what do you want to see out of this defense I guess in game one going against Mikey Kane uh returning all Michigan defense vs. Fresno State offense Mountain West honorable mentioned quarterback for Fresno State going against an o line that's a little banged up but has some experience there especially on the interior and uh a team that's known for throwing the football a program that has historically had good offenses I mean what do you want to see first and foremost I mean Mikey Keane is I think an athletic guy he can move around a little bit not a guy that's GNA scramble and run the football but he can't extend plays and you know when you play a pass happy team to start the year one I think this is a great first look for this defense setting up what you'll see later on this year like we know that UFC is going to try and air out the ball we know I mean to a certain extent Texas will next week um you we know Jed and Washington are gonna want to throw the football Oregon obviously so to get this as a first look I think is is beneficial for them and they have a lot of guys that are you know maybe squater wide receivers but have a lot of a lot of juice a lot of explosiveness to their game I want to see this defensive line be as dominant as we think they can could be um Mason Graham Kenneth Grant again there are so many guys you have to pay attention to up front that I just don't know that it's possible that you can kind of shut down th in this matchup shut down a defensive line like this you know they're they're rolling four deep at Edge uh probably at least three deep at defensive tackle uh you know talk about Jon baram and Ernest hman but Jimmy rer is a guy that I think if one of those guys wasn't here he'd be in the starting lineup and I think they'd be okay with that and I just it's it's I want to see the depth and disruption I think because again you know if they go out and they pitch a shut out or they get close to it against Fresno State that's G to be impressive but it's just more about what it looks like what are kind of the you know we know what the defense has been the last few years under McDonald and Min and you know what are the touches that W Martin Dale puts on this system um I don't think that they're really ever going to hold anything back I think that whatever the game plan allows for from their perspective that's what they're going to do I don't think they're going to play too conservative I think they will always just play aggressive but I think they'll be mindfully aggressive which I know Wink's been fighting off the Don Brown comparisons all off season I think that is the difference I think they're going to be mindful about it they're going to be stubborn they're going to be multiple in what they do and I'm just excited as hell to see what it looks like uh I don't know how Fresno State you know moves the I could see them scoring a touchdown or two yes um you know if you score more than that and things are a little dicey with the offense then maybe this is a game that's closer than for Comfort but I think with what we think this Michigan defense is on its own I'm I wouldn't be surprised if this is a you know a you know six-point offensive output or a three-point offensive output I think they have the goods to kind of overwhelm this team the dline could wreck this entire game as you kind of said and they should feel like this game is on them to a certain extent like at the very least the D line is going to prevent Fresno State from winning this football game um doesn't mean the offense shouldn't go out and score 42 if they can doesn't mean that the secondary which obviously plays it you know it's complimentary with with the D line but doesn't mean that they shouldn't go out and make plays as well and the linebackers like Jon bham and Ernest hman shouldn't make their own plays but at the very least least if you're Mason Graham Kenneth Grant Derek Moore Josiah Stewart TJ guy cam Brandt you know all these guys you should feel like you can kind of win this game on your own if you disrupt enough if you can get to the quarterback now Mikey Keane does get the ball out very quickly 2.48 seconds on average last year it was tied for the 21st quickest in the country so they're going to run some quick game I would imagine they would ramp that up uh this week just given that Michigan does have a d line that can wreck a game they pass the football a lot as we said 39.8 times per game last season that ranked ninth in the country Run game wasn't a huge Factor they do have a running back U Malik sherad who is 5 foot eight 177 pounds I believe it is but really has some power to his game watch his highlights and I don't want to say he reminds me of Blake corm at all because Blake was so stocky especially as his career went on when he added some weight and and really gained some power but he averaged three and a half yards after contact per carry last year one of the best in the group of five among running backs and uh and you know can can catch the football out of the back field had nearly 300 receiving yards last season so he's somebody to watch like you said they do have some receivers that um you know can make some plays as well they did lose a couple of their starters there from last season replenished in the transfer portal uh but it'll be interesting to see this Michigan defense go out there for the first time and like we both kind of said in different ways they you know they are the roadblock for making this an interesting game because if they can get three and out three and out three and out you know maybe uh you know a six and out that sort of thing quick possessions get the ball back in the hands of the offense so they can control the clock in the game and put up points or maybe the defense puts up points themselves then there's no chance you know that this game is interesting late in the second half but crazy things have happened as well so we'll see um special teams real quick debut debut of Dominic Zada kicker transfer from Arkansas State coming in playing his first game in the big house Tommy dolman Special teams is back as well we'll see who the returners are would imagine samage Morgan at least won one of those jobs and then I have written down in my notes Here John Baxter that's about it um we'll see that's not it's not nothing to write that down either like John Baxter versus JB Brown I mean no that's just a special teams Guru against a guy who's relatively green at least on the coaching staff so um JB's an understudy of Jay Harbaugh he's watched and coached a lot of good football so uh I assume he'll have those boys ready to roll yep in Fresno State with a a good kicker as well um who is Dylan Lynch 24 of 30 mentioned him earlier in the show he had 112 points last year third most in a season in program history and uh we'll see what he can do as well that might be their best chance to scoring on Saturday night let's get to our predictions here for Michigan against Fresno State let's start with who's going to be the best Michigan vs. Fresno State predictions Michigan offensive player on Saturday night Anthony I'm gonna go with Kell mullings I think that Donovan Edwards has a chance to obviously show that he could be a lead back but I think this is a welcome to uh welcome to or America's introduction I should say to what kle mullings can be as a player national game I assume you're going to have a few more eyeballs on it than you normally would in a match up like this Kell mullings is gonna be my pig for player of the game on offense I kind of want to change mine because we both have the same pick um I'm excited to see what Donovan Edwards does I just have a feeling too that khle mullings has been ra waiting for this moment as well he only has 50 career carries as much as he's been talked about in anticipated you know people have anticipated what he's going to do this season he has pretty little game experience in terms of playing running back so I think it's going to be kle I'm gonna stick with my pick but there is going to be a a lot of there are going to be a lot of guys to watch on Saturday night I think for this Michigan offense against Fresno State uh best defensive player I'll go first on this one I I'm just gonna take Jan baram I feel like it would be stupid not to heading into this game given the way everyone's talking about him but certainly so much talent you could go any which way with this thing Zeke Barry we've had an offseason full of Zeke Barry hype um I am writing this riding the zek berry F uh Ferry I don't know freight train I guess is what I meant to say um little two different things yeah yeah well they move at very different speeds but uh the fair is easier to jump on it will be easier to jump on after he has the first of his team leading interceptions this year which I predicted in Scott uh rundown that he did this week shout out to Scott so Zeke Barry my player of the game what about the Freshman that's going to flash on Saturday night oh I think we're getting a Jordan Marshall moment okay that's that's the one for me it's coming game one I think so it's freshman running back Jordan Marshall so we'll see you got you have a couple running backs that you expect to play well I I I certainly think that could happen as well I think that in a portion of this game that is still in doubt whether that's first quarter first half third you know first three quarters I think Channing Goodwin freshman wide receiver is going to have a catch or two not nothing crazy I think he's going to be a guy that plays in the rotation early on here they like to mix it up it seems like early on in the season before they find their wide receiver rotation I think chanon Goodwin could get uh or reap the benefits of that a little bit I'm gonna say he gets a catch or two he sounds like he's picked things up really quickly since joining the team in the summer his dad played here we're talking to Tyler Morris about that the other night how the guys whose dad's played here or Kendrick Bell whose older brother played here there's something just a little bit different about them understanding the expectations of playing at Michigan and from all accounts chanon Goodwin has had an outstanding uh Camp so I'm gonna go with the white out there interesting love for Cole Sullivan I just don't know that he's gonna get in right away you know that much I think this game for three quarters might be like you know two three score game where you still have the starters in uh but I do think Cole s's gonna play don't don't make me don't don't make me uh go back on any Cole Sullivan you know anything things I've said about him uh let's get to our final score predictions now our staff picks article is out over at thewolverine.com so check that out we got picks from Chris Ballas Anthony broom myself Doug SK and John Borton Anthony I'll let you start and we will read Chris's as well since he was not able to hop back in due to technical difficulties yeah for me I can see this being a game where it's heading into the fourth quarter 2410 2413 or something like that Michigan scores late to let everyone kind of exhale and then you start sort of mentally preparing uh for what this Texas game might look like next week so uh I have Michigan winning 31 13 I like the little palen Drome uh pick to start the year again I I don't know if we'll get the answers we're seeking with the offense but I do think that they'll be able to do enough to where we're just gonna be intrigued as hell at what this next week of game prep looks like I I think I'm very similar here with 30 to1 Michigan comes out with the win I think it could be close for a while as well and then Michigan just kind of breaks a run or two maybe hits on a long pass like kind of gets that big play they need and then Fresno Gets behind the defense kind of uh you know just kind of one of those Avalanche you know type of type of phenomenons where it's just going to be too much for Fresno State to overcome and try to come back once Michigan has that big lead uh Chris Ballas picks Michigan 27 Fresno State 10 he says it's a solid test for this Michigan team we're just excited as the last three years to see what the young guys waiting in the wings can do the first two games will set the tone for the season if they avoid turnovers they should be fine he predicts a 17o Michigan Victory the Wolverines are 21 Point favorites in this game as well do you have the over under Anthony do you know what that is last I checked it was 45 and a half okay so 45 and a half the over under on Michigan and fr now go ahead I said it looks like all of us went under I think I got the closest to it with uh 44 total points so I don't know a total of 45 just seems a little high for both both of these teams so that scares me though all of us are on one side um okay let's move on to our final segment no man knows the future we're gonna pick four games this week really good opening college football weekend I know we had week zero last week but week one is pretty loaded three games on Saturday that we're going to pick then one game on Sunday we'll start with Clemson against Georgia in Atlanta Georgia is a 13 and a half point favorite over under 48 and a half this game noon Eastern on ABC beautiful graphic we got down there I'm gonna take Georgia I don't I don't like where Clemson is at right now I I'm not crazy about their trajectory under dbos swinny and I wouldn't be surprised if they got spanked in this game 13 and a half might be a little too low so I'm going Georgia Clemson the only team in the country I think that didn't take a transfer other than at least one of the service cies and for those you need like a letter of wreck from a congressman so dbos Sweeney definitely rolling the dice with his guys I I'm with you this just feels like the game that Georgia opens up with it used to be Alabama and for unfortunately Michigan was on the losing end of that in 2012 but they open up with a pretty Marquee matchup and just steamroll them is similar to Georgia Oregon a couple years ago I'm going to go with Georgia to cover that Penn State at West Week 1 CFB picks against the spread Virginia they're going to Morgantown Penn State eight-point favorites over under 51 and a half this game also at noon on Fox I have West Virginia in this game um maybe not to win outright but I I I don't trust Drew Aller I don't trust what they have from a skill position standpoint um again Penn State it's always kind of you know they have a path to now that they you know you're not playing divisions you have a path to you know you avoid Michigan you might have a path to the college football playoff I wouldn't be surprised if they up loss this game but I do think that West Virginia is is going to give them a game and we'll cover that eight points 14 of 15 ESPN writers picked Penn State in their playoff it would be so funny if West Virginia and again now with the 12 team you can still get in but if West Virginia knocked them off set them back here in week one it would be quite hilarious I'm gonna go with Penn State though I think what we're going to get I can just picture Penn State winning somewhat convincingly and everybody that did pick Penn State to make the playoffs they see this is the year you know that they're going to get in the 12 team 12 team playoff was made for programs like Penn State who couldn't quite get over the hump in those big games I think they're gonna they're going to stay in the mix a little bit longer here win that game this game going on during Michigan but Notre Dame at Texas A&M A&M a three-point favorite over under 46 and a half this line has moved all over the place so maybe it moved since yesterday when I wrote this down but uh this is where I have it locked in at 7:30 Eastern on ABC I guess I'll go first on this one I got Notre Dame going down there and winning I don't know why I think it's a tossup game I think it's two similar programs where they get hyped up all the time and then you know they don't meet expectations but Notre Dame's been pretty good um and I do think Riley Leonard an experienced quarterback is going to be able to go in now that he's healthy after being banged up last year go in win on the road I think I agree with you as much as it pains me too uh I'm not a big Marcus Freeman guy I think that just the drop off from Brian Kelly Dem Marcus Freeman has been pretty notable um but I will go with the Fighting Irish to uh to cover that number in what uh arpel EJ Holland has dubbed the weirdo Bowl USC versus LSU in Las Vegas it's a big 10 team taken on an SEC team can you believe it in Vegas LS fourpoint favorite over under 64 and a half that means we're in for some fun on Sunday night 7:30 Eastern on ABC as the weekend rolls on with Labor Day weekend I have no clue what to expect give me LSU I don't know I don't know why it's gonna be I think I think LSU is gonna spank him I really do I think that it's I could see like a 45 27 type of game but I just UFC is not about that life and I think that they're in for a bit of a rude awakening coming into the Big 10 this year especially couple weeks from now when they make their way to Ann Arbor um for their first spanking as a big 10 opponent so give me LSU rolling in this one it just means more the SEC not as much in the Big 10 which it's crazy to say USC's in the league now but like you said we'll see them in a couple weeks here at the big house we'll see hopefully a lot of you on Saturday in Ann Arbor as well that's going to be our show for this week make sure to like And subscribe if you're watching on YouTube that helps us out a ton so go and do that head to the wolverine.com use the promo code kickoff 24 until Friday night at 11:59 p.m. to get 50% off your annual subscription to the Wolverine get behind the pay well all of our Intel analysis get on the message board all that at the wolverine.com and we will see everyone hopefully on Saturday but if not Monday night I'll see your Regents field that's right uh let's promo that region field after the game it's going to be a late night but uh postgame show with Anthony broom and Ryan Van Bergen former all big 10 Michigan defensive lineman thanks for thanks for saying that oh well I'm excited for it I think this Saturday we'll probably have Ryan zooming into the show so I'll be there on site uh it'll be a late night hopefully A celebratory night and we're looking forward to see you there you're the draw anyway so that's all that matters so that's not true that is not true at all that is not true at all but thank you um looking forward to it we'll see everyone next time