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Michigan Football Podcast — J.J. McCarthy, “Road Games Are My Favorite” – Game 5 Nebraska Preview

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Phil @pcallihan and Clint @Clint_Derringer preview the game vs Nebraska – SP+ analysis and score prediction.

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Podcast Summary

  • Michigan’s upcoming game vs. Nebraska.0:00
    • Michigan players excited for road game against Nebraska, with J.J. McCarthy citing atmosphere as a key factor.
  • Michigan Wolverines’ defense and their ranking in SP Plus system.0:54
    • Clint Derringer: Michigan’s defense is similar to Michigan’s, with a focus on physical play and winning the field position battle.
    • Phil Callihan: Nebraska is in a rebuilding mode, with a new model of play inspired by Michigan’s success.
    • Clint Derringer: Michigan’s defense is top in nation in SP plus, with focus on efficiency, explosiveness, field position, and penalties.
    • Michigan’s defense ranks first in power rating and efficiency metric, while Nebraska’s offense ranks 59th.
    • Clint Derringer analyzes Nebraska’s performance, noting they started at around 50-60 in the preseason, overperformed against Minnesota, then lost to Colorado and held serve against inferior opponents to climb back up to around 59th overall.
    • Derringer also highlights Nebraska’s strong defense, currently ranked 28th overall, as a significant improvement from their previous ranking and almost top-25 level.
  • College football team rankings using SP Plus.10:42
    • Phil Callihan and Clint Derringer discuss the SP plus rankings in the Big Ten, highlighting how they can help compare teams with different common opponents and provide insight into a team’s performance.
    • They emphasize the importance of using actual data from the season to understand a team’s strengths and weaknesses, rather than relying solely on preseason assumptions.
    • Phil Callihan: Michigan, Ohio State top Big Ten SP plus rankings, with Maryland surprisingly high at fifth.
    • Clint Derringer: Rutgers climbing up rankings, potentially switching spots with Nebraska, while Northwestern and Michigan State typically fall.
    • Clint Derringer expects Michigan to cover the spread against Indiana, despite a low-scoring game due to the clock rules change.
    • Derringer compares the two teams to Nebraska, with both relying on defense and a run-heavy offense.
  • Michigan Wolverines football team’s performance and expectations.19:38
    • Phil Callihan wants to see Michigan’s offense find its rhythm and control the game from the start, particularly in the second quarter, to demonstrate their improvement and gelled offensive line.
    • Callihan hopes to see more explosive plays, such as a 50-yard run ending in a touchdown, from Blake and Donovan to build confidence and showcase their abilities.
    • Clint Derringer compares last year’s and this year’s team performance, finding similarities in run game efficiency but differences in passing game output.
    • Clint Derringer believes Michigan’s running game has potential but is not living up to last year’s performance, with Donovan Edwards struggling to find explosive plays despite similar early season statistics.
    • Derringer worries that Michigan may be holding back its running game too long, potentially leading to a lack of explosiveness in the season.