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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Welcome to the Carriker Chronicles, the people show.
00:11 Checking the pulse of Eskimo Nation
00:12 brought to you by DPS Concrete Construction.
00:14 Ladies and gentlemen, today's show is three things
00:17 Nebraska can learn from the national championship game
00:19 last night between Michigan and Washington.
00:22 Also, Frank Solich, my former coach,
00:25 I might share a story at the end of this show
00:28 about my former coaches going to the College Football
00:30 Hall of Fame, also Danny Woodhead,
00:32 a guy who wishes he was as good at golf as I am.
00:36 We might discuss that later as well.
00:37 First, if you're happy for Coach Solich
00:41 and Danny Woodhead going into the College Football
00:43 Hall of Fame, hit that subscribe button.
00:47 Sign stealing gate aside, also, all right,
00:51 big boy football, we used to call it
00:52 putting on your big boy pads.
00:54 If you believe running the ball and playing good defense
00:57 is still the best way to win football games
01:00 and/or championships, then smash that like button.
01:04 Now here are the three things that I believe
01:06 Nebraska can learn from the national championship game
01:08 last night.
01:09 Number one, games are still won and lost
01:12 in the game of football in the trenches.
01:15 All right, here are some stats for you,
01:16 fine folks at home.
01:17 Now Michigan had 443 total yards of offense,
01:20 Washington 301 yards of total offense.
01:23 Michigan had more rush yards
01:25 than Washington had total yards.
01:27 Michigan had 303 rush yards in the game,
01:31 Washington only had 46 yards rushing.
01:34 I said they had to be balanced.
01:35 If you listen to me on 93.7, the Ticket or the Big Ten Show,
01:38 I said Washington's gotta be balanced.
01:40 They were not balanced at all.
01:41 All right, Michigan averaged eight yards per rush,
01:44 Washington 2.3 yards per rush.
01:47 Now the Wolverines running back, Blake Korn,
01:50 was the leading rusher, had 21 carries,
01:51 134 rush yards on the day, and two touchdowns.
01:54 Now next in line was Donovan Edwards,
01:57 who had the two long touchdown runs to start off the game.
02:00 All right, six carries, 104 yards rushing, two touchdowns,
02:05 and I forgot to put the yards per carry,
02:08 but if I remember right from when I looked
02:09 at the computer screen right before I did this show,
02:11 I think it was about 17 yards per carry.
02:12 All right, Washington's leading rusher,
02:15 he only averaged three yards per carry,
02:18 and his longest run for the whole night
02:21 was a whopping seven yards, all right.
02:23 Now here's the deal, I'm not saying,
02:25 you have to be able to pass the ball,
02:27 you have to be able to be balanced,
02:28 but Michigan was so good at running the ball,
02:30 frankly, for the past three years,
02:31 but especially last night,
02:33 they didn't get much out of their quarterback
02:34 when it came to throwing the ball.
02:35 He had a couple of runs, actually,
02:37 but Michigan's quarterback, J.J. McCarthy,
02:39 completed barely over 50% of his passes
02:41 for only 140 yards and no touchdown passes.
02:45 Now it's a tale as old as time, ladies and gentlemen.
02:48 You can tell your kids tonight
02:49 when you're putting them down to bed
02:50 and you're telling them a bedtime story.
02:53 The more physical team will always
02:56 have the advantage in football.
02:57 Now they're basically trying to eliminate, okay,
03:00 hard hits and it seems just taking
03:03 any sort of hitting out of football in general,
03:05 especially with some of these ridiculous
03:06 roughing the passer calls that you see on Sundays.
03:10 Don't get me started.
03:11 All right, they're basically trying
03:12 to get it out of football right now,
03:13 but until they do, until they take hitting,
03:16 blocking, tackling out of football,
03:18 the more physical team will always have a huge advantage
03:21 in the game of football.
03:22 Basically, at the end of the day,
03:23 football is still about blocking and tackling
03:26 and the team that blocks and tackles better,
03:29 every time, will every time have a huge advantage
03:33 over the other team, unless the other team
03:34 is just straight up 22 athletes
03:38 across the board on offense and defense
03:40 and they're just straight up way more athletic
03:42 across the board on their 22 players,
03:43 11 on offense, 11 on defense.
03:46 Okay, now talent acquisition matters, okay,
03:51 but bear with me for a minute.
03:52 Michigan's recruiting the last four years
03:54 is an average of 12th in the country.
03:57 Over the last four years,
03:58 they averaged the 12th best recruiting class
03:59 in the country, not first, not national championship,
04:02 not top five, not even top 10, but bear with me.
04:05 On the other hand, Ohio State has had a top five
04:08 recruiting class or better every single year.
04:11 In fact, their average class recruiting rank was 3.75,
04:15 so third or fourth in the country every year.
04:18 Alabama, who Michigan just beat in the Rose Bowl,
04:21 and let's be very clear, Alabama's got a great program.
04:23 I'm not ignoring that, that'd be ridiculous.
04:25 But their class average is either first or second
04:28 in the country over the last four years.
04:30 It's exactly 1.5, it's basically them or Georgia.
04:33 They have a great program, but again,
04:35 Michigan was able to find a way to beat them,
04:37 and frankly, they were clearly the better team.
04:39 Michigan almost gave the game to Alabama.
04:41 All right, Nebraska, just so you know,
04:43 the last four years, they've had two top 20 classes
04:46 and three top 25 classes.
04:47 Obviously, we know how that's played out.
04:50 Just some info to put out there.
04:51 Now, they've beaten Ohio State,
04:52 as we know, three years in a row, Michigan has.
04:54 Okay, and in those games, Michigan has averaged
04:57 235 rush yards per game, Ohio State only 104.
05:01 The Wolverines are averaging over six yards per carry
05:04 the past three years against the Buckeyes.
05:05 The Buckeyes are averaging 3.6 yards per carry
05:08 against the Wolverines.
05:09 And in the second half of those six games,
05:12 Michigan has outscored Ohio State 72 to 31,
05:16 more than a two to one difference.
05:18 And last year's game was actually close.
05:20 It came down to the wire.
05:21 The score was only 30 to 24.
05:23 Michigan still scored on six of their last seven possessions
05:27 in that ball game, and they had the ball
05:29 for over 10 minutes in the fourth quarter.
05:32 Now, don't get me wrong, talent acquisition, as I mentioned,
05:35 is absolutely one of the most important things
05:38 you need to do if you're gonna have a good football team,
05:40 program, and try to win some games.
05:42 But what you do with that talent matters the most,
05:45 in my humble opinion.
05:46 Now, side note, okay, the Buckeyes currently
05:49 have five five-star players in their recruiting class,
05:54 the 2024 recruiting class.
05:56 Michigan has zero.
05:57 And I'm just curious to see how that plays out over time.
05:59 By the way, the only other Big Ten team
06:01 that currently has a five-star signee right now
06:03 is Nebraska, just throwing that out there.
06:05 All right, now, I didn't really address the transfer portal,
06:09 and that's a huge part of college football.
06:11 They need to make some changes, adjustments.
06:13 It's the Wild West, show for another day.
06:15 I didn't address it or talk about it, okay?
06:18 And Michigan's done some things in the transfer portal,
06:20 just not a ton, okay?
06:22 The second thing I believe Nebraska can learn
06:24 from the National Championship game,
06:26 a good defense will still stump a good offense,
06:29 especially in a big game situation.
06:32 Here are some of the stats coming into the game,
06:35 and I was so intrigued to watch this matchup.
06:37 Okay, Washington had the number one pass offense
06:39 in the country, averaging 350 yards per game,
06:41 the top-ranked passing quarterback in the country, okay?
06:44 Michael Penix Jr. threw for 4,648 yards this season,
06:48 the most in America.
06:49 Okay, Washington had the 10th-ranked scoring offense
06:52 in the country, 38 points per game,
06:54 and the number 11 team passing efficiency on offense as well.
06:57 Michigan's defense, number one scoring defense,
06:59 number one total defense,
07:00 number two pass defense in the country, okay?
07:03 And the number three pass efficiency defense in the country.
07:06 I wanted to see that matchup,
07:07 and we saw what happened, ladies and gentlemen.
07:10 A defense will 99 times out of 100,
07:13 or at least 19 out of 20 times, 95% of the time,
07:16 have the advantage in a big-game scenario over an offense.
07:20 You look at some of Washington's stats,
07:22 and this was, they got the best
07:24 wide receiver trio in America.
07:26 They got the best passing quarterback in America.
07:28 Their offensive line won the award
07:30 for the best offensive line in the country.
07:32 By the way, Michigan had won it the two previous years,
07:34 and Alabama the two previous years before that.
07:36 This was a almost 2019 LSQ-esque offense
07:40 coming into the game.
07:41 Not after the game, though, due to good Michigan defense.
07:44 Michael Pennix Jr., 27 to 61 on the day,
07:47 completing only 53% of his passes, 255 yards,
07:50 only averaged five yards of completion.
07:52 That's a season low for him.
07:54 One touchdown, two interceptions,
07:55 and here's how Michigan did it,
07:57 by getting pressure with the front four.
07:59 Now, they blitz sometimes,
08:00 but they got pressure with the front four,
08:03 and they were hitting Michael Pennix,
08:05 and they were beating him up, okay?
08:07 It's the most beat up I've seen a quarterback
08:11 since New Year's Day 1995.
08:13 Frank Costa versus Nebraska.
08:16 When Pennix was walking off the field,
08:18 walking around the field like he was 85 years old,
08:20 and I'm not trying to make fun of him,
08:21 that's just what he looked like,
08:23 I hearkened back to Frank Costa.
08:25 That's immediately what I thought of, okay?
08:28 The other guy that I thought of was Tom Brady,
08:30 who's the GOAT, obviously.
08:33 I know some people aren't fans, show for another day,
08:36 but he is the GOAT in my opinion.
08:38 But the two times, a couple times he lost in the Super Bowl,
08:40 the Giants got after him with four man rushes,
08:43 and that kind of comes back to the trenches as well.
08:45 But here's the deal, okay?
08:47 There were some open wide receivers
08:49 that Michael Pennix missed, which he never does.
08:52 There were some dropped balls from Washington's receivers,
08:54 which doesn't happen.
08:56 That, there was also some questionable calls in the game,
08:58 but that's what happens when you're playing
09:01 a good physical smash mouth defense.
09:04 Mistakes happen, crazy things happen
09:07 that usually don't happen to a very good offense.
09:09 All right, and with one exception,
09:11 Michigan tackled really well the whole night.
09:13 Again, blocking and tackling, ladies and gentlemen.
09:16 I forgot to mention, Michigan outscored Washington
09:20 14 to zero in the fourth quarter,
09:21 and that's really what put the game away.
09:23 Now, congrats to Washington on a great season, phenomenal.
09:26 They exceeded all expectations.
09:29 Now, real quick, as you know,
09:30 this show is brought to you by DPS Concrete Construction.
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09:43 The third thing that I think Nebraska can learn
09:45 from the national title game is find your identity
09:47 and be who you are.
09:49 Michigan is the same team that Stanford was
09:52 when Harbaugh was there.
09:54 Stanford had a couple of players,
09:55 but they weren't uber talented,
09:57 yet they were a top five team most of the time.
09:59 Top 10 while he was there.
10:00 They struggled with Oregon a bit.
10:02 When he went to the Niners,
10:03 they're the same team that he coached at the Niners.
10:07 Bring in a bunch of tight ends, run the football,
10:09 put offensive linemen at tight ends, run the football,
10:11 overload right, overload left.
10:13 I played against those teams.
10:14 They were the most physical team we'd play every year
10:16 was the Niners.
10:18 I watched Michigan put an offensive lineman in motion
10:20 last night for the kickout block.
10:23 That's scary.
10:24 It's also awesome.
10:25 All right, see if I can find my spot here.
10:27 Now, different teams win different ways, okay?
10:29 Different teams have won championships
10:31 with different styles.
10:31 What I'm saying is we gotta find who we are
10:34 and get really good at it.
10:36 The black shirts know who they are.
10:37 I thought we kind of knew who we were on offense
10:39 at the start of the year, last year for Nebraska.
10:42 I felt like it changed throughout the season.
10:43 They were trying to figure it out.
10:45 Now there's a notable shift in the type of quarterback
10:48 that we're recruiting, more of a pocket type quarterback.
10:50 And that's cool with me, whatever, okay?
10:53 But let's figure out exactly who we are
10:55 and get really good at that.
10:58 All right, ladies and gentlemen,
10:59 my former coach, Frank Stolich,
11:01 the man that recruited me,
11:01 the man that I committed to play for
11:03 is going into the College Football Hall of Fame.
11:05 I want to give him a shout out.
11:07 Congratulations.
11:08 I will never forget when him and Coach Darlington
11:10 came to my parents' house.
11:11 I was in charge of dinner every Sunday night
11:13 growing up in high school.
11:14 I always made breakfast for dinner
11:15 and I made him a big breakfast plate
11:18 and they both looked at me like I was crazy,
11:20 almost like I was poisoning the food.
11:21 I don't think they thought I could cook.
11:22 I can actually cook breakfast really, really well.
11:25 I'll never forget the look they gave me
11:27 sitting at my mom and dad's table like,
11:28 "Is this safe to eat?"
11:29 Both of them, it was funny.
11:31 All right, and actually the first dinner
11:32 I ever made for myself, I was out of the dorm.
11:35 So I was going into my red shirt freshman year.
11:36 I just moved into the house in the summer.
11:38 It was either three or four dozen pieces of bacon.
11:41 It was delicious and I think I took 10 years off my life
11:44 when I did that.
11:45 And the players at Nebraska thought so highly
11:47 of Coach Solich.
11:49 When he was let go, and I talked about this
11:51 way in the past years ago, we had a players only meeting
11:55 and just about didn't play in that upcoming bowl game.
11:57 That's how much his players, some of us, loved him.
12:00 Now obviously we ended up playing in the bowl game.
12:03 All right, Danny Woodhead,
12:05 Shadman State running back 2004 to 2007,
12:08 10 year NFL vet, two time winner of the Harlem Hill Trophy.
12:11 That's the award given to the most valuable player
12:13 in Division II football, is going into the
12:15 College Football Hall of Fame as well.
12:17 Now, the dude was beyond good, okay?
12:21 Check this out.
12:22 Congratulations, Danny, okay?
12:24 Barry Sanders is the only college football player
12:26 to accumulate more all-purpose yards in a season
12:29 than Woodhead did in 2006.
12:32 Now, I went golfing a few years ago before the spring game
12:36 with Danny and Larry the Cable Guy and myself.
12:39 And there's one other individual there.
12:41 I've shared this story with other people before.
12:43 He's not great either, and I don't wanna embarrass him again
12:46 'cause I gotta text the next day.
12:47 Let's just say I'm almost as bad as he was, almost.
12:50 Danny and Larry, Dan Whitney, Larry the Cable Guy,
12:54 are avid golfers.
12:57 Let's just say I am not, oh my Lord.
12:59 And it definitely showed up that day.
13:03 All right, ladies and gentlemen,
13:04 got some questions for you fine folks at home.
13:06 All right, number one, does sign-stealing taint
13:10 Michigan's National Championship?
13:11 Let me know in the comments below.
13:12 Number two, do you like that the college football playoff
13:14 is going to 12?
13:15 Yes or no, let me know.
13:16 And if you just wanna show some love to Coach Solich
13:18 and Danny Woodhead in the comments below,
13:21 just simply type in congratulations.
13:23 And I'm gonna be putting out an interview
13:25 this Thursday at noon.
13:26 Tune in to see who it is.
13:28 And you can always go check out carrikerchronicles.com.
13:31 It's where all your football hopes and dreams will come true.
13:35 Rob Zadiska, Corrin Craze, John Johnston,
13:38 a whole bunch of stuff.
13:39 Go Big Red and always remember to throw the ball.
13:42 (sighs)