WTKA Roundtable 11/6/2025: Rudolph Virchow's Second Team

Things Discussed:

• Bryce Underwood: Progress isn't linear.
• Jordan Marshall and the offensive line: The redshirt freshmen will save us! They're already playing at close to a Big Ten level.
• Defense: Purdue was very college crappe. I asked them to be vanilla, they were, and I'll take my lumps.
• Mad at special teams for not putting them back enough because the way Purdue plays they need to be able to take a TFL or a sack, or need to have a 4th down strategy.
• We're rotating an extreme amount, also there are extreme levels of injury: Any team that loses Rolder, Sullivan, and Barham isn't going to be great at LB. Protected the kids by blitzing them.
• Vance disappointed in the DTs: they were in the wrong gap sometimes on those LB blitzes. I saw Pierce do that once in the 1st half, haven't gotten to the 2nd half yet. DTs to me are Benny & Pierce, then a big gap to a lot of innings eaters, where Etta is more of a pass-rush option and Payne, Williams and Ike.
• You're playing a tempo team and they're only in there for three snaps. Running the DTs on and off the field is wearing them out as much as playing. Three snaps is three deadlifts of a 300-pound guy, then you're sprinting a 300+ pound body off the field.
• Too much rotation: They got on a 19-play drive with a quarter break and at no point in that drive did Michigan have their best available players on the field at over 50% of the spots.
• Brandt is not on Moore's or Guy's level. Ratios are way off. Brandt plays as much as Derrick, more than Guy.
• Are guys going to leave if they don't get PT? That's true but 1) That doesn't explain having starters playing 40% of snaps, 2) That's not the culture of this program. The culture of this program wasn't "You get yours" it was "Egos don't matter as much as the Team." That 2023 team had multiple "starters" because Harrell and Stewart could both play at a high level, sophomore D-Mo and McGregor could both play at a high level.
• If it's a program goal to get guys snaps against Purdue, go and beat Purdue first and then when you're up three touchdowns get your guys in.
• Offense and Bryce: He's young and doing young guy things like fleeing the pocket and forcing throws he's used to throwing. He had a terrible half and a decent half. Can't really blame Chip because he's giving him the reads, e.g. a wheel to Klein that takes advantage of Purdue taking away screens, and he throws it at Klein's feet.
• Also: he doesn't have receivers who make those plays for him when they're there. Klein should have caught that ball. Semaj had another one whistle through his hands. McCauley didn't adjust to a ball in the endzone.
• Go watch any freshman QB and you see the same things: Watch JJ in 2021. Watch Gardner when he was young.
• Go under center? Might help the run game but Crimes Against Man Panda. Craig talks about the 1939 Bears.

Men's Hoops:

• Oakland was bad. Open corners were just there, they were missing two players, run a complicated zone with a new team.
• Trey McKinney is a knockdown shooter, and he has a little Darrius Morris (RIP) in his game. He's not Mike Smith, won't have short-arm turnovers. Good sign he can use his long arms productively.
• Cadeau: Wonder if he's going to have more TOs against Wake Forest. If he can keep turnovers under control this team will be very good.
• Defense has a very high floor.
• Michigan has three bigs instead of two this year, means their second-best lineup won't be a massive drop from their best.
• Didn't have Cason, might be that sixth guy of the year (or your starting two?) who can be Plan B for point guard and competently relieve Roddy when they full-court press him.
• Solution for press: Mara? Just have the freaky tall guy pass it without putting the ball on the floor.

Women's Hoops:

• Very interesting team. They're five-out, swarming. Lots and lots of turnovers.