Michigan vs Fresno State PREVIEW (W/ Caleb Nale of Beware of Bulldogs)

because we've got an expert here joining us and we've got uh Caleb nail from beware of Bulldogs podcast Caleb thanks for joining us oh you're muted my friend thanks for having me uh I muted myself so my you would hear my two-year-old and of course I forget about it but thanks for having me guys I appreciate I learned a lot listen to you guys when I was in the background so I'm ready now hell yeah yeah we are too man we are excited for this matchup uh you know uh you know we know uh Fresno State's a very quality uh group of five team um you know we're looking forward to learning more about it from you absolutely no this game is going to be a blast I'm I was W looking at you guys and you guys got to rub it in everybody is wearing a 2023 Champs hat shirt something in the background like I I get it guys I get it yeah it was a good year man it was I would brag about it to little chaotic yeah hey Caleb I moved to California so I'll give you that so I'm in Carl oh perfect all right well welcome to the dark side so uh to set the stage here um so to let everybody the first thing we like to do we like to let everybody know when they can expect things to happen right so this is happening on NBC Peacock uh 7:34 PM Eastern kick on Saturday and um and then you know we we've got kind of you know to get your perspective on Flor uh Fresno State and kind of what the you know where you're at um we've got kind of the line here 21 and a half uh you know over under 45 and a half but but I want to ask you real you know beside just the the the betting lines like talk to us about the the general Vibe of the team right now um and how high you think emotions are going to be running with uh now that uh Tim Skipper has taken over uh Fresno State um since the the prior coach uh you know due to health reasons steep down I I'd love to just hear kind of where things where things are at there on the transition from coach Tedford to uh to Tim Skipper and and kind of how the team is feeling right now can you hear me yep yep okay I so what I heard was about Tim Skipper taking over Fresno State and the emotions behind it and the yes kids and the the fan base so I'll give you a little story of what happened we went to a kickoff dinner okay a couple weeks probably a week ago or so and we were sitting at the table and they were introducing Tim Skipper to to all the big money donors and things like that well what I could tell you from my parents generation and the generation before them is they absolutely love Tim Skipper skip was a tiny linebacker who and I believe if the story may be correct you might have to double check me on this but when Pat Hill came in skip said or I believe Pat Hill came in skip said I'm a scholarship player Pat Hill said yeah no you're way too small and you play linebacker no after the first practice or after the first practice skip made every tackle he said yeah you can have your scholarship back that's fine that's the type of person he is today he attacks everything that when they introduced him to the donors and the people at this dinner he got a great Applause but it didn't end because the entire team was standing up in the back screaming and yelling they absolutely love him he's a players coach he's very smart he's driven he really represents I would say he represents the valley well he's he was overlooked uh the Central Valley in California we I don't know if we are but we we think we're overlooked you know blue collar workers here working in the field a lot of farming going on here and so we It's a Grind out here and to play football out here we believe we're looked over to play football you got to be tough skip is that guy he was raised that way he played that way and our players appreciate that and he they understand that he gets it to be in their shoes and so the fan base uh the kids the players absolutely love him we're really excited for Skip and by the way I should mention he played there he coached there for Pat with Pat Hill then he left he did his own thing uh but then he came back and he coached under Tedford and he's been here it's so nothing really is changing a lot of people looking past Fresno State because well we have a new coach well everything is really the same same OC same DC same special teams uh the only thing new is a tight end Coach I believe and that's not going to make the biggest difference the culture is still the same everything is the same so everyone is really excited it just came out this P I don't know if you would call it off season but we had the most giving ever to Fresno State athletics so people are fired up for Fresno State football one and Athletics two the rest of Athletics so we're really excited did you guys lose any players in the transfer after the coach switch we did not nice yeah I was I was on the lookout for that and I didn't see anyone so that's that's I mean that's a testament to the culture there yeah they were rumors of players being offered but I can't say that for if that's true or not but there's rumors of that of course we all know what's going on uh but yeah they all stayed they all love Skip and they're I mean these guys are brothers they love each other and you know just being able to talk to these players uh it's a special group it just so happens we have to start with the defending national champs yeah tough first game I mean Caleb one thing that you said that stuck out at me and then I'll let Ferris give any any points but one thing you said that stuck out at me is that the culture the the general program is is staying the same and while it's very different circumstances uh to Michigan I mean Chiron Moore being selected as the head coach uh after being the OC the oine coach and kind of going up through the program meant again the same thing like the culture of Michigan was not drastically changed uh more coaches obviously left for the Chargers and for the Seahawks um in our situation but I I see what you're saying Caleb from the perspective of keeping keeping the culture intact um you know that's important and I'm glad you guys have been able to do that yeah and and speaking about culture there Caleb um Fresno State doesn't seem to get intimidated you know in a lot of games so uh do you think that's due to the culture do you think they uh they're about they're able to punch above their weight class hopefully you're still there Caleb yes yes I'm here I can hear you uh okay yeah no I yeah grit is the word that comes to mind and that we use a lot um I mean I I think people talk about the pat Hill days when he was coach here but it really started when Sweeney was coach here and I mean we had guys all over the field NFL talent I mean should be Hall of Famers NFL Hall of Famers Henry ORD guys like that they punch way above their weight class I mean You' I think it came out today eight uh players made 53 man rosters in the NFL former FR State players um maybe more than that so I mean we this is a special place for sports it's a special place for football and this team year in and year out other than a couple when I was in college was competing for conference championships and that is the expectation in Fresno we're not only going to compete for conference championships but when we go play the USC's the UCLA the michigans of the world are last year Purdue we're going you're going to get our best punch and it's up to you if you want to bounce back so and I think that's just the culture of that they have established since coach Sweeny and Tim Skipper is only going to continue that culture i because he was part of it he is a Fresno State Bulldog I I had one other question and that was um are you looking forward to your offense against our defense or or your defense against our offense I I'll say from our perspective you know I'm I'm excited to see our our offense play against your defense but but I'm just curious on your end go ahead I I would agree with you I just because of the question uh at quarterback for you guys uh if you want to say the question or not I I mean not we said yes last night org's gonna be the guy so yeah so we're talking orgy and then you have your qu uh tight end lovelin and Donovan Edwards we're really excited to watch those guys but I think the most overlooked team in the Mountain West and the side of the ball that's overlooked the most is Fresno State Defense I think you know we had a five-star High School recruit from USC Cory Foreman transfer he's a an edge rusher uh dvo Bridges is returning we have good interior interior defensive linemen our linebacker core is very deep this year and very experienced um I would say we have the two best corners in the Mountain West cam Locker is coming back from injury he was out last year and so I mean and I I mean I'm a little biased we had him on the pod great kid by the way Ken griffy he's related to Ken Griffey Jr I believe he's his nephew nice so but freak athlete and then two returning safeties so our defense should be good it shouldn't be overlooked now the biggest question mark If you really want to know if everyone the biggest question mark for Fresno State is our offensive line and that's what's terrifying your dline is deep and very good now I'm just hoping that we do something that Georgia Tech did and know could do some pre-ap snap motion uh I I would I would say Michigan's defensive line is better but you know that's the biggest question mark is our left tackle position and can we get a push can we give Mikey Keane enough time but I am more interested in watching our defense up against your guys's offense where I would say there's more marks on the Michigan offense than the Michigan defense got it yeah that's fair uh well and Justin uh well what Justin wants to hear about the offense we can start with the offense uh thanks for the Fiverr does does Fresno State play spread offense and I'll I'll chain off of that just to be like regardless of what offense it is um you know who are the kind of piece people we should be keeping in mind when we're watching yeah does I'll start with the question does fres State play spread offense it's I would say he's more of a multiple uh okay so our OC coach mccan Pat mccan he's this is his second third year he's newer I believe it's his second year calling plays uh so I think he's starting to understand more of our strengths what he is what he likes to do um and by the way this is the first season he's going to be calling plays from the field so do we play the spread somewhat yeah sometimes uh Mikey Keane is okay there's been big Improvement I'll start with this there's been big Improvement in Mikey Keane's body he's sculpted his body more he's a lot stronger there was a lot of talk you know he needs a stronger arm he has to be quick with his reads because last year he didn't have a lot of time to throw the ball so he was hit a lot so then his he some people said he was injury-prone well it's hard to stay healthy when you get hit every other play so I me Mikey Keane obviously very experienced very talented quarterback he's the number one name that people are going to look for but when it comes to I say our top players Malik shrod our running back is threat number one um I would say if you want to stop Fresno State you're going to have have to stop Malik whether through the passing game or or on the ground um and that's why it's key for our o line to have success because we have to give we have to open up some holes for Malik he's very slippery he's quick um and then we have a nice one-two punch with Elijah Gilliam he's our backup running back it's gonna be different tackling because Elijah will run you over Malik is going to Juke you out Elijah's gonna run you over so you're going to have to uh they're going to have to notice that and make adjustments so I think those are two running backs and um Malik is really threat number one through the air Jaylen Moss young younger guy uh very good we are missing our big tight end he is day today or they say week to week so we don't know if he's going to play and that's Josiah Freeman he's our tallest wide receiver who was projected to be on the two deep he wasn't listed in the two deep this uh yesterday for the game so we're hoping he gets there but it's looking like probably not and I wouldn't be surprised if the coaches just rest him this game and get ready for conference play um so then that leaves us with macalena and shadon James transfer from Idaho State and railan sharp transfer from Missouri State all of these guys are shorter shorter slot style wide receivers so they're a lot quicker they're not going to go I mean Jay Moss might argue with me but they're not going to go win jump balls against Michigan DBS so there's going to be I think a lot of underneath routes short to Mid routes ran and uh and then we're gonna have to open that up with the running game so I me those are the guys we're really looking out for um our starting left tackle from last year the guy who started last year Jacob sper tours ACL last season and he's going to be out this game so there is a right now kind of an open competition for left tackle which isn't isn't fun to see especially going up against a d line like your guys is so I don't know if that answers your question but those are some names for you guys to keep an eye on I would say Malik sherro number one how much time is Mikey King getting from the o line and then what happens with our or what does our coaching staff do with smaller quick wide receivers across the board so uh we got a question from Justin two Super Chat do you think they'll throw against will Johnson so what do you think do you think you guys will test our uh All-American corner or do you think uh what do you think frent State's game plan will be uh in terms of offensive uh strategy I I think it's gonna have to be play action um yeah and I mean what that's going to have to be set up with Malik shod and Elijah Gil will getting some you know three four yards on first down not not saying that's going to happen but I think if we really want an opportunity to test will Johnson and very good DB room uh we're gonna have to think that we're running make them think we're running the ball I think that gives us our best chance um and then that also opens up our tight ends in in Jake bous and Cameron beum who are very big and strong tight ends um that they'll be able to bang and the the problem is is that you know I'd love to say we're going to use our tight ends but we're probably gonna have to use our tight ends to block so I'm thinking we're gonna run more play action underneath routes to our quick wide receivers and that will hopefully open up the Deep ball or you know we slip Malik out in a screen every once in a while it's it's hard to say right now but that is my best bet yeah so what are your expectations for this game what do you think it um um optimistically what do you think this you know what's it going to be like at halftime what what do you think it'll be like at the third quarter you know for Michigan fans we pride ourselves in being kind of the boa constrictor and even if teams are kind of hanging around at halftime we take care of business in third and fourth quarter do do you see it like that or do you see you know give me your sort of optimistic take on uh what you think will happen uh if everything goes right for Fresno State halftime third quarter end of third quarter and end a game yeah halftime I expect us to be in it um ju if it's the same Michigan that it has been then I expect us to be in it with you're running the ball a lot and you know ticking taking the time down a lot of possession uh I expect us to be in it now if Mikey can play a clean game and we don't turn the ball over I expect I expect us to be in it into the fourth quarter if we can play a clean game um I realistically I I do I expect us to cover now if I I'm a homer and I'm extremely biased but this is the one of the few times where I think it's going to be really hard for us to win um I would like us to keep it under three scores and if we lose by 17 10 points I would be very happy I would I mean I think that would say a lot for going to the end of the season if we're competing for a Mountain West championship and we have one out after Michigan like hey look we played Michigan tight for almost the entire game and let's just say you score a garbage touchdown and win by 20 I think that helps us a lot so realistically I expect us to cover I think it would be I think it's a a two-score game maybe a three-score game maybe win by 17 points um and the reason I say that is because it's week one everybody's figuring stuff out U you know all all that we're gonna need is you know orgy to have misread something underneath cam lockage picks it off pick six or you know something like that and all of a sudden it's it's a closer game than it really feels like Michigan probably dominates the whole game but it's close but the scoreboard shows that it's closer that would be my guess but you know last night I predicted you know us to knock one through and win 2726 so I'm just saying so you a minute we got predic hold on we're getting ahead of ourselves we got predictions in a little bit here we'll get back to this uh two more on two on two more on your offense that are super chats Justin with the five do you think Fresno State's quarterback can figure out Michigan's pressure and Blitz packages oh that was that was kind of our conversation with our in our preview we recorded last night so I'm kind of giving away predictions but that's coming out tomorrow uh that was kind of our topic of conversation because yeah with them knowing that o line has been our number one issue for the past couple of years and our starting left tackle is out and I would say arguably our best lineman is out in Jacob sper there's going to be a lot coming so do I think we can figure out pressure and Blitz do I think we can figure out yes I believe in our coaching staff we could figure it out and we can figure out the pressure and Blitz packages now can we stop it um that's another thing I I it's G to be tough and that's we're really gonna have to rely on the short passing game a quick passing game and that's why I I mentioned play action but it's also worrisome because play action takes time so we're going to have to do something to set those things up so so realistically probably not uh but it depends on where we double and are we are we keeping Jake BST and Cameron beum into block if that's the case then yes then it's on our receivers getting off the line and getting open I agree with your play action point I think that if you're going to if you're going to get anything going on offense I you got to go play action you got to go boot legs you've go to you got to create some some opportunities out of nothing almost and just and and create it through the plays versus like out physical in Michigan I I I just don't see it I think it's got to be like a and I I don't mean to compare you to Colorado but early in the Colorado season with uh Shawn Lewis's offensive coordinator he designed a lot of things that were actually really um that that allowed Colorado to punch above its weight and like like can and like cause problems for teams that they really they had no business but they they they it caused problems for like you know some of the top of the country because of what he was doing so uh one of those Concepts was the play action bootleg one of those en rollouts you know those are the types of things that um that allowed that team to you know have some success early in the season then he got demoted uh but uh but at least uh yeah I agree with you there uh Justin also has another question do you really think Fresno State can run the ball on Michigan defense all game uh I think we just established that uh we're going to be that that would need to be creating some plays aside from physicality but uh you know feel free to elaborate there if we're gonna run the ball on Michigan all game if I mean I would go back and watch the GE Georgia Tech's first drive on Florida State that's how we will have to do it a lot of pre- snap motion I keep everybody on their heel because we're not going to line up and say it's your guys against our guys and we're going to run down your throat it's just not going to happen know I watched Michigan do that to Penn State Penn State couldn't keep up when they when Michigan did that to Penn State and Penn State there they got some legit players and I don't think we can do that so it's G to take a lot of pre- snap motion um disguising things of sliding your protection different ways uh and by the way I I wouldn't say Mikey keing is has the mobility that hannes King uh has so there's you know there's a lot of difference there so I'm not saying that we're going to do that but we're gonna have to disguise a lot and do a lot of pre- snap stuff so it's GNA be tough for us to run the ball on Michigan uh so no I don't really think FR State could run the ball on Michigan's defense all game would I love to yes because I'm that I'm old school kind of guy like run it down your throat that's Fresno State so we'll uh but no it's it's not going to happen we like to throw the ball a little more any any com final comments from TJ or Ferris on the uh president State's offense before we switch to defense uh no I mean is there any well is there any injuries we should I mean you talked about the tight end po potentially you know not playing week one is there any other players who might be questionable or um you know are you know like questionable to play week one that we should be aware of uh sorry it wasn't the tight end it was one of our wide receivers Josiah Freeman yeah Josiah Freeman is our taller uh 63 jump ball guy uh so he is questionable and then our left tackle is out but other than that offensively we're good to go there so I mean I I am gonna miss spower and Josiah Freeman they're probably my two favorite players other than I mean jayen Moss is very good but I I like height so so your left tackle is going to be out that concern you or yes yes very much so okay I mean do you know about your like who's back who's fill in that role are you familiar with them or yes I am so torian penright is the listed starter and then we had a transfer come in not last year but two years ago Kings Ley Ugo from Kansas State so on the two deep it is listed as Toran penright or Kingsley Ugo so I don't even think our coaches know who's going to start they put or that could be a problem for us um the other thing that we have seen was last year or two years ago trying I think it was last year the first game we had our two deep come out excuse me this is two years ago our two deep came out and when it came to the o line we had five different starters run out on the field than what they put on the two deep and this is the same coaching staff that did that so I I couldn't tell you that this is going to be the exact starting offensive line that comes out that walks out on the field Saturday but it's going to it's most likely going to be those starting five that are listed U unless they move somebody that let just say backing up the right tackle over to left tackle things like that I don't think that will be the case but they reserve the right to to change their mind up to game time so uh now the guys starting at left tackle this this weekend are both seniors they have experience they have snaps but it's going to be tough it's going to be really tough we got a super chat from Justin $5 Super Chat he says Fresno State will not confuse Michigan's defense at all and our defensive Edge players will lock down uh lock down the out run plays um yeah you know we got uh feeling a little conf our fans are a little confident uh I'm sure you can understand as they should be you guys won the National Championship feeling confident feeling confident uh yeah John so I think you wanted to did you want to hit on uh Fresno's defense versus our offense yeah um well thanks thanks to Justin for contributing a couple times here really appreciate that um but yeah so here's the thing um I don't know if you were here when we were talking about the the fact that um we so so I think the conventional wisdom was going to be going into this season that Michigan's defense was just going to be so dominant that Michigan's offense in practice wasn't GNA be able to really contend as much defense would win I thought defense would win like every every time that they played um but what's actually happened is that Michigan's offense has beat the defense in multiple multiple times which surprised the hell out of me because I I didn't think that was going to happen so the line is is is holding up better than you know early than than we thought um and just in general things seem to be jelling uh I would love to hear what kind of the the game plan might be for Fresno State's defense to contain um especially now that we're thinking orgy Alex orgy is going to be qb1 but of course they're not going to say anything until snap one of that of that game um I don't think they're I don't think they're gonna well they might they might they might bounce but I don't know I think they might play some Jiu-Jitsu we'll see there's there's some word maybe tomorrow said maybe Wednesday but then he said maybe the day before or maybe right before so we'll find out together you know we'll find out um but the bottom line is what what do you think the plan might be because be you know have there would need to be a QB run that would need to be contained obviously the Run game with Edwards uh khil um the the Colston lovelin 6 foot five tight end who's being used is a receiver and a tight end um how does what what first of all tell us a little bit about Fresno State's defense is it like more of a blitz is it more of a zone is it more what's kind of like the style of the defense and you know who do you who should we be looking out for on that on the defensive side yeah we do a lot on on defense we will we will play whatever defense benefits our players the most uh coach Coyle he's our defensive coordinator he spent a lot of time in the NFL he is not afraid to move things around change things up I spoke with my co-host his name's Caleb as well yesterday we were throwing things out there and in our opinion we think a 4-3 defense would be best against Michigan just be stack seven in the box now what we tend to do is we have a nickel uh so we really run a 425 no uh but we have three very good linebackers that I would love to see on the field uh that are one is very good in coverage his name is Phoenix Jackson Tui nura is was a transfer from USC he's was he didn't play a whole lot last year uh he's back this year he's actually been named captain he's very good uh I'm excited to see what they do with him uh they could Blitz him off the edge or he will go play Edge rusher he can also play linebacker excuse me and then Malachi Langley he's just he's been here forever he eats up every tackle those three are going to be very good at the linebacker position if what I'm hearing is true and I believe you guys by the way and I believe it just for the fact that you know I believe what you're saying about the offensive line is true they're better they're deep uh because they play against the your dline every day and I when I was in high school playing sports and when I play on the basketball court now I want to play against the best because they're going to make me better and they ultimately do so I believe that about Michigan and I I believe the defense make the offense better and vice versa so but one of our strengths is going to be our Edge Rush dvo Bridges and Corey foreman and jaison Jax are three names I would keep it keep an eye out for because they're going to bring it off the edge now you know and I think we should and I think we should Blitz a lot as well just because org hasn't had the amount of snaps that a lot of quarterbacks had he's newer to onfield play um in the big house I mean he's done it I've I watched him do it but he's newer so I think when it comes to Fresno State Defense we're going to same thing that I said on offense have a lot of we're going to show a lot of different things um we disguise a lot of blitzes as well very much like Michigan uh but the I guess the biggest question is and we're gonna have to wait and see is can our dline get any push and I believe off the edge we can I do believe that with Corey foreman and uh dvo Bridges so it's just disrupting orgy and putting him into Quick decisions and tough throws yeah okay um all right so then what do you what about your DBS you've talked about essentially your kind of you know your linebacker core front seven a little bit uh DBS I mean do you think uh you know Michigan actually has a this is where we do have question marks you kind of brought this up earlier our offense has more question marks than defense um you know but we do have Playmakers like Coulson lovelin and we do have a player by the name of sage Morgan who played a lot as a true freshman last year Tyler Mor Morris is our Alpha wide receiver um what do do you think you guys have the capabilities on the back end to at least make the game competitive uh from that standpoint I do uh cam lockage is very good aluan Hamilton got better as the season went on last year because cam was out last year so ailan got to play a lot and got the experience so with both of them back and being healthy I feel confident in our Corners uh you know but they need to be able to communicate with our safeties and our linebackers is the communication there I don't know you know it's I mean I I what I always say is that DBS and safety really football teams should really take marriage uh communication classes because they need to know how to communicate so do we know how to communicate I don't know I couldn't I couldn't tell you that now Dean Clark at safety he's a returner uh Cameron brocka starting at safety he's a returner these guys hit really hard now if you have a Speedster you know and we're in zone you may be able to outrun us so there's the question mark there I think man if we can man up on the edge and stack the box I believe in Cam loard and and ailan Hamilton to be able to play with those guys and then now the question is can we keep up with lovelin can our uh linebackers keep up with lovelin I I'll tell you Sunday night Sunday morning because I don't know I haven't seen it yet um because Phoenix is quick enough yes but he's a little smaller um and then Malachi he's big enough but I don't know if he's quick enough I don't I couldn't tell you yet so we'll find out uh but I really like our DB room at nickel we do have a new starter it's a transfer is RJ Regan from Oregon State I believe he's a younger kid sophomore uh excuse me Junior and I mean but he beat out our returner in Justin Houston he's been injured he's been batt on injuries but he's a long lanky player very athletic and he beat him out so I haven't seen rean play so I couldn't tell you how how he's gonna match up because he's most likely being the Nickelback he's going to guard the slot so we'll see that's a question mark for us on defense because we just haven't seen him play we hear good things about him he beat out the guy that has been there but we haven't seen him play so so what's going to happen in the slot is a good question mark uh but I would you know Dean Clark and Cameron Brock at safety are going to come downhill quick and hit really hard that I can guarantee okay all right John did you want to get into predict or keys of the game let's go keys to the game um what what does Fresno State need to do I think you mentioned there is a last second field goal uh that might win the game here for Fresno State or was that a different game uh but uh but but if that were the case I mean what what would Fresno State Beyond a last second kick like what would they need to do to um to secure this win I think typical football speak here but we have to we have to be clean we cannot turn over the ball if we give you guys extra possessions it's over so we we cannot turn over the ball especially games like this U no no turnovers is one two we have to give Mikey enough time to throw because if Mikey's getting crushed all game I mean it's it's natural for a quarterback to I was I don't want to say be you know be scared but he's gonna second guess himself every time he drops back so we have to protect Mikey and that is really something that's going to have to be all year so and once again again that is a a clean pocket is a helps us not turn over the ball so those are my main two on the on the offensive side defensively we have to force turnovers I mean Cam lockd and and ailan Hamilton have to be uh how do I want to say they have to be consistent they have to be uh they they have to be in communication with everyone and then we can't get beat over the top that's the last because I think it's going to be really easy for a team a defense to fall into the Trap of run run run run run over the top we can't fall into that trap so we can't get beat deep we we have to stay consistent and I think we just have to wrap up and Tackle I think with Donovan Edwards and your fifth year running back who's coming in uh behind him uh I mean he's fifth year he's been working out for a long time he's sure he's strong and he knows exactly what to do so but we have to be able to wrap up the at first Contact we have to take him down no nothing after that so I'm not breaking any any news here but we have to turnovers we got a tackle I don't want to get beat over the top because I think it would be really easy for Michigan to do that after running the ball eight times in a row and then offensively when you play a team that's better than you you can't turn over the ball you have to we have to at least win the position uh battle as in the field position battle and then we gota I want to come away with at least three points every time because otherwise it's going to be really hard for us and I don't want to be playing from behind obviously but too far behind um well Caleb real quick and then we'll get to any um backups uh any other question questions here on the keys to the game U from the Michigan side also but Keith uh which is literally to your point that you mentioned a minute ago about protecting your quarterback uh Keith who's a member of our Conor stallions Espionage tier of membership just gave us a five please please please get a message to your QB to keep his head on a swivel you Bulldogs have never seen a defensive line like our that's peak masing blue right there Kei I love it uh so with that said uh TJ Ferris uh thoughts on keys to the game from the Fresno State perspective or of course Michigan well what F take go ahead FIS yeah yeah uh so I I I when I look at games like this I I think optimistic realistic pessimistic you know I kind of have a a range I'll I'll talk pessimistic first uh I remember the Bowling Green game from last year uh that game was 146 at halftime uh JJ had three interceptions that game JJ McCarthy had three interceptions that game the um he only had do either of you know how many interceptions he had for the whole year he had three interceptions that game he had four for the whole year he only gave up one interception for the whole rest of the year so um that was kind of the worst case scenario it was 146 of half time Michigan did pull away Fresno State's a better team than bowling Bowling Green though so um that would be the scenario where it is you know fourth quarter and we're not feeling that great about Michigan and um you know maybe it's feeling like that Maryland game or something like that from last year um uh you know realistically I think you know Michigan um is going to do one of two things they're e they're either going to be um hold everything close to the vest and just be methodical uh and then it'll be relatively low scoring but they should be able to get to 21 points or win the game by more than 21 points um optimistically they're just gonna you know org's just gonna throw the ball all over the place or or and or Davis Warren gonna throw the ball all over the place and they're not going to worry about um uh uh keeping it conservative at all because they they want to put more stuff on film for Texas um if that's a scenario then you know you're looking at potentially a blowout so I'll go realistic it'll be right around the spread right about what's the spread 22 or 21 21 and a half 21 and a half okay so it'll be I I I'll say it's right at that maybe slightly under at 21 Point uh um win and part of it is that Michigan is not going to be conservative they're going to try to prepare the the Reps for preparation for Texas are more important than not showing the this Playbook that would be my call yeah I think that's fair fairs um yeah I mean keys of the game for Michigan I think are obviously limit turnovers I think we're GNA do that I mean it's just to be honest though I really think if our defense can play to its what we think it Canen then it's just on the offense to play its its game right get the ball down the field score points it doesn't have to be touchdowns give field goals I we like to see touchdowns and I'm sure if we don't get touchdowns and we do settle for field goals we'll be hearing it John in postgame but um at the end of the day score points shut them down that's what we're gonna go for um you know I think and I think and especially because your left tackles out I really and I we already kind of saw this anyways like we're gonna dial up pressure winks now will it be are we going to go deep into our bag no I think it'll be simple pressures maybe just you know rushing for or potentially sending you know a Blitzer here and there but um I don't think it'll be anything too complex you know unless you know we find ourselves in a uh a dire situation in the fourth quarter I think then will open the Playbook but I mean uh yeah we just got to play our game and and see if Fresno State has come to play and I think the way the game shakes out it will deter uh how deep Michigan opens the Playbook because I mean like Ferris alluded to we're going to definitely try to limit uh The Playbook uh as much as we can before our big match up week two yeah and I believe this uh super or this uh $2 chat is due to my comments with Kay Caleb you may want to look at our um uh our comments because we drifted you know many of our fans drifted into all kinds of um uh uh rural country talk as well as Mountain Man flexing talk so so I I I you should look at it I think that is referring to uh to that from Justin so yeah Homestead Homestead right home Home on the Range and of course you can always rely on Nick uh with his $1.99 kamakazi uh Super Chat uh U ofm 56 Fresno 10 Alex this is very specific Alex SGI has 29 stiff arms uh so so Nick is just putting that putting that out into the universe not 28 not 30 29 um so multiple stiff arms on in in several plays is what I would guess right so uh but I think I think so all right so let's go around the horn it's prediction time folks um here at the Michigan football at the voice of college football um and we will start with our special guest of course special guest goes first uh so uh what what do you think is gonna happen in this and uh who you got what do you think the score is gonna be all right so do I think Michigan is gonna win yes okay unfortunately I would love my Bulldogs to go 17 and0 national champs but and I will pick that by the way if we go that far I will pick them to win every game and that's why I picked 2726 because I don't pick them to lose but realistically and I prefaced don't worry I prefaced my prediction on my preview with this I do think the dogs play it tight uh and the final score my final score is I'm going to go 26 24 I know that's close but I I do do think that our offense will find a way to get to score some points and I think there is uh a turnover in there just because I like our pieces on defense I really do and so I think we do force a turnover keep it close it might be we score a garbage time touchdown to make it look close or field goal or something like that but I think it's going to be closer than a lot of people expect if it's not 26 24 it's not that close I think we do cover and lose by around 17 so give me a really close game or we do cover and lose by like two two scores 14 17 points okay nice all right I'll give my predictions so I am predicting a 38-13 victory uh I think they may get a touchdown uh it could it's either gonna come early in the game because you know how those happen sometimes early in the season you get one of those first like first or second Drive touchdowns by the opposition or it's going to come very late in the game when Michigan has decided to uh call the dogs off and put the second or third string in um and the reason why I have it at 38 is because I do think Michigan's offensive line is going to be able to handle the trenches um and drive and just you know handle the game now I will say this though Fresno State is a respectable opponent in terms of you know being a group of five uh opponent and and very well could be a little closer than that I I don't I I personally do not feel it' be too close but but uh you know we'll find out on Saturday I I think it will be uh I think it'll be close to that spread though I do all right uh I've done all the math here and and I'm going to go with uh 32 to N I was going to say 32 to eight but then I was like how are they going to get to eight so 32 to nine that that's that's my um dang that's that's my prediction um so what was the over under on this one it was for wasn't it around 40 45.5 45 and a half all right so so I'm saying the under um Michigan beats the spread but uh with the under then okay okay thought about this um given obviously all the rules and you know last year we saw the game really sped up um so the big predictions that we had early in the season didn't really pan out because the game is just going going so fast um I'm I'm going to give Fresno States a little bit a little bit of credit in terms of keeping the the score uh to 14 so I'm thinking 27-13 Michigan win um the reason being that it's going to be Alex orgy's first game as full quarterback they're gonna be figuring a lot out at the same time I think the defense because there's four returning starters plus one that was kind of a he's kind like earn erest hman kind of a returning starter if if we're being real um he's like 1B in his position um 2713 feels feels right to me but um again it's it's a crap shoot we'll see but uh but but that's that I mean look look y'all stay tuned 7:34 PM Eastern kickoff um Caleb thanks for giving us so much time and being patient and getting in here uh it's been what we called this the mega show been covering a lot of stuff tonight um so we appreciate you uh hanging in with us here um give people a final thought and where can they find you oh thanks for having you guys I really appreciate it was a good time learned a lot I'm excited for football season uh I am on X Caleb nail Nal uh you can follow beware Bulldogs on X beware Bulldogs we're on YouTube as well we have a good time we cover presno State talk Mountain West all year long football basketball baseball it's a lot of fun and um I saw some I saw something in the chat does cable think Michigan is a playoff school or a playoff team this year I don't know guys I don't know it's gonna be tough with Oregon but uh I think the I think you're way better than Penn State this year put it that way and people are talking about Penn State yeah they always do yeah you so much for having me I I do you think that Fresno stay is uh uh has a shot at the playf even if they lose to Michigan uh I do actually yeah uh realistically this is really no joke and I mean my prediction wasn't really a joke but you know I like that pessimistic realistic and what you call it Ferris optimistic optimistic okay so you got my optimistic score and it was a loss by two but my real my realistic score is more like what Jon's score is but yes G5 I I like Memphis Liberty Boise those are all good schools and good teams this year uh if Fresno State runs the table let's just say we have one loss to Michigan and we win the Mountain West I think there's no doubt that we get in um this team Boise is our toughest contest in the Mountain West we don't play them this year in the regular season so we would see them in the Mountain West Championship uh I think the biggest threat is Liberty going undefeated because they don't really play anyone so Liberty going undefeated this year would probably be the G5 best bet now we'll see if someone from the Sun Belt wakes up or if Memphis lives up to the hype and runs the table I think if Liberty or Memphis run the table they're in if a Fresno State and boy State could have something to say uh if Fresno State runs a table after and they got to put up a good fight against Michigan I would say that because if there's undefeated Liberty and a one loss Fresno State team that loses by 10 two points to Michigan you know there's there's going to be a conversation there um and with on that same topic duus uh thanks for the two uh bet biggest games on Fresno State schedule that are not Michigan I would say and this okay UNLV is probably the first one um and then I would say Colorado State I think Colorado State's being overlooked this year they're pretty good quarterback and actually local kid from Fresno Tory Horton is a wide receiver over there uh they're very good uh and then I would say Air Force as well they don't return a whole lot of production but we know those acmy like those kids have been there forever they know what's going on they're big and strong uh and then we play them late in the season in Colorado Springs so if it's snowing in Colorado Springs against a team that runs a triple option and runs the ball all the time I would be a little bit worried so those are pro well and then we go to the Rose Bowl and play UCLA but that's our last game of the season they're going to be beat up after their first year in the Big 10 uh and granted the last four times we played UCLA we are four and0 in the Rose Bowl against UCLA so I like our odds against UCLA at the end of the season after they just played a gauntlet in the Big 10 so I mean those be our biggest games yeah I'm rooting for Fresno State in that game yeah UCLA's headed for kind of a a set rough season I think yeah I think so it's it's we we call that a building season right there that is a building season for UCLA it's not even year one it's year zero yeah year zero um so you got a shot man you got a shot uh four and0 baby hey absolutely um okay and of course Nick with the uh has to wrap us up with this is Fresno is Fresno ready for well you can read it overwheling if we win in Fresno there will be a massive overwhelming orgy I could tell you that there it is that hey that that's a good answer that is a good answer can we to change the last name though can we that I feel like we got the fan base is loving it man okay it's catching on here yeah they they love playing with that one Caleb beware bul podcast um we really appreciate you being on man and uh we encourage everybody to check out the show appreciate yeah definitely thank you for coming on we do appreciate that and uh you know maybe I'll send some tweets your way before the game on Saturday and we have a little fun I I'm all for it man I'm all for it's all love here absolutely super interesting thanks again that was great than thanks for having me guys