Rece Davis On ESPN College GameDay In Ann Arbor, Michigan vs. Texas, Path To Victory

it's like being back in an arbor it's all it's great wait before we get what we got with a hat here it's a Texas oh you're from Texas okay all right good all right good all right all right stick stick with the brand that's good all right I'm sorry go ahead what's it like being here for a big game back in an AR you guys were here last November but this a big early season game yeah it's uh I mean it's always great to come here this is one of the grand cathedrals of the sport and I think with Michigan coming off that champion ship last year and all of the change with shiron taking over for Jim Harbaugh it's a it's a real measuring stick litmus test kind of game to see where they are in their progress and their re-calibrating as it were Desmond was kind of saying that if he was a coach he he would hold things back last week as maybe Michigan did maybe they they didn't how do you kind of evaluate a matchup like this of this caliber without kind of really knowing what Michigan even is at this point the entire offense is gone I mean well they have two two starters back or two major contributors back and tight end and leveland and Donovan Edwards who wasn't you know really a starter but obviously been a prominent part of the offense for the last several years so you know how much they held back I don't know maybe some but I think the bigger question is can they gel well enough to you know put up a significant number of points now you're look you're throwing a start if you pick a number of points but I can't fathom Michigan winning the game if the offense you know can't put up 24 to 27 points I mean because Texas is going to score Michigan's defense is excellent but Texas is going to score so the offense is going to have to do its part and I suspect you're going to see a lot of the um stuff that Michigan's been built on the last few years try to wear him down wear him down because with sweat and Murphy gone for Texas Texas they've recruited great they're bringing in new guys great players you're talking about two you know War daddies as the old school coaches would say in the middle that could really wreak havoc on a defensive front so M that's Michigan's identity it might be where Texas still has to prove itself so that would be what I would expect shorten the game run the ball try to wear them out a little bit and then maybe that lowers that Target number for the offense and makes it more attainable for them to win the game Michigan threw up two quarterbacks last week two running backs really kind of splitting those carries what did you see from watching Michigan last week and doing that kind of stuff and then going to this game do you could you see Michigan kind of doing the same thing or kind of along lines of their questions is it just such a bigger magnitude where you feel like chirom Moore really has to make a decision going into this game for what they do to win you mean make a decision in terms of who's going to play a quarterback um I think you ride the hot hand because both guys were un proven I mean Davis Warren you know won the job appears to be the guy maybe you know operates a little more efficiently right now in the passing game but Alex Georgie is you know ridiculously talented athlete I was just talking to the strength coach at at Michigan and you know he was talking about how Alex blows him away every day and they have to remind themselves this gu's a quarterback I remember watching him throw in warm-ups before the Rose Bowl last year and going okay well we know he's got an arm you know and there's no question about that but he's still he's developing and I think that you know a lot of times that we start expecting guys to be finished products early into their careers and sometimes it just takes a little more time everybody's not going to roll in and play as a freshman like Trevor Lawrence did or tuang voo or you know whoever else sometimes guys take time I just called a game on Sunday night between USC and LSU where Garrett nus and Miller Moss both played brilliantly and they waited since 2021 you know to get their opportunities so you know I I wouldn't be panicked that Alex hasn't won the job yet and also you know Davis has overcome so many different things in his life you know he was you know he was a pretty highly thought of guy too before he hit some of those Robles so they're both developing um and I would say they'll probably probably see both play to their strengths and then you ultimately over the course of the game ride the hot hand a lot of stars going to be here uh you know guest Pickers and and everything else Michael Phelps will frell uh Chris Chris Weber I believe or or is that the other show but uh let's talk about I guess there's no other show there are no other shows but my bad uh but just talk about like I guess everything around this one and you know these two teams playing for the first time on a campus seems to bring out a lot of different notable people it's kind of crazy I know a lot of it is because of various Bowl affiliations in the old days when you have two teams in the top four alltime wins list two teams with the rich Traditions that both have it's kind of hard to believe that they haven't played except for that Rose bow and it's great to see and I hope as we are you know entering into a new era of college football with the expanded playoff and conference realignment and the likelihood that people have to change uh a Century's worth of thinking that it's not just about keeping the zero in that lost column you can still make the playoff with two losses and I I predict you'll have a three loss team in the playoff this year that there's value in playing these games Texas is going to have its hands full with an SEC slate Michigan's G to have its hands full with a big 10 slate these games these games need to be played and I hope they continue to play them and it's a it's a treat for us to be able to be here and to see it so calling a lot of I guess big games over the Year what's your favorite part about your preparation and like preparing for those games out you're on the call I I think you just try to I mean you always try to look I remember um had the opportunity to be friendly with the great dick enberg uh later on in his life and and Dick used to talk about the the what he called the Mother-in-law stories that he would he would put on a pad that he could tell a story weave it in during the game not hijack the broadcast and take it a different way but if a player does something significant and you can tell a story about a guy that people that may not be rabid football fans will care about and give them a reason to I to watch that guy some more then you know I enjoy that part of the broadcast and the art is to do it without going in and preparing and going I've got to get my story in because I had a couple in the scsu game the other night that I really wanted to get in Opportunity didn't present itself they fell on the floor that's the way it goes but you know you want to prepare in that way so that you can give the broadcast a little bit more then we'll do the same thing here on game day whether it's with our feature stories or a little you know oneline thing about uh you know about a different guy that might give people a little bit of an insight into their who they are aside from just being a number on the field you mentioned the Michigan offense but what's uh what's the path to victory for Michigan obviously they're considered to be pretty sizable Underdog in this one I don't think many are giving them a chance so how do they get there control the ball first effective in the running game um efficient when the opportunities come in the passing game stay stubborn with the running game they're going to have to have shorter third down so they can convert them and stay on the field that's number one um they've got to they got a payoff drives Texas is a hard team to beat kicking field goals you got to get in the end zone so I think they have to run the ball stay patient with it shorten the game a little bit and maybe make Texas press and feel like geez Michigan just held the ball seven minutes we got to score make them impatient um because I do favor Texas in the game Texas is is more proven doesn't mean Michigan doesn't have the opportunity to have a great season if they don't have outstanding players it's all new Texas is returning quarterback even though the receivers are new to Texas they've got experienced receivers who played elsewhere um you know Michigan's defense is like that Michigan's defense you know a bunch of guys back so it's not going to be easy for Texas offense I don't mean to imply that but I just thinking the way football is played these days you don't you don't often even with great defenses see people hold good teams to you know 13 points or seven points so you're going to have to do some things on offense and I think that's that's the path to victory for Michigan run the ball be effective in the Run frustrate Texas a little bit make them impatient when they have it and then they'll have the opportunity to pull the upset which sounds crazy for what the uh longest winning streak in the nation home field defending national champions that's pulling upset at home so you know this is the type of this is the type of game and setup that a lot of us will look at and start saying things like that and then fellas in the wing helmets come out and say by the way we're still Michigan you know so it's uh it should be fun real quick a lot of the things you just listed with the Texas offense and you know how Michigan's path is does that feel any way at all similar to some of the Ohio State Games the last few years I know not not the last few years to be honest I mean I see what you're saying in terms of like CJ St off the off the field and so forth but I think that Michigan was more established in identity I mean their identity may be the same but the people executing that identity are still proving themselves so I I think that's the difference but it's a fair point in terms of what needs to happen Michigan just did it well you know the last few years against Ohio State sure thanks so much