Welcome to Monday Morning Quarterbrews. This will be an easy read to get you through your first Monday morning bathroom break. We’ll have a quick recap of the game, a story or two pulled from around the country, a look ahead, and a couple lines I like at the end. Taking all feedback for formatting in comments so reach out!
We know it’s not the morning anymore, but be sure to pour an afternoon cup of coffee and enjoy the commentary.
It’s. About. Time.
Happy Monday, boys and girls. It’s the worst day of the week, but on this week I think we’re all starting with a bit more juice than usual.
College football is back! We had a couple games this weekend, but the big boys will begin play on Thursday night. The Big Ten has an important game with Northwestern heading to play Purdue (Purdue -2.5), and West Champion Wisconsin kicks off on Friday (-35.5 vs WKU).
The Wolverines hold the prime time spot Saturday night, when they’ll travel to South Bend, Indiana, to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (ND -1.5). We’ve covered this game since the Outback bowl ended, and it’s almost surreal that it’s here.
College Gameday will be there, the frats in Ann Arbor will be tailgating and throwing watch parties and your local Michigan bar will have a line wrapped around the side. It’s week one, it’s Notre Dame and it’s a Michigan team that’s currently experiencing a late wave of hype — more than most teams with a preseason ranking in the teens, at least.
You all know about the defense, about Shea, about a refocused Harbaugh. The news Tarik Black has an injured foot again surely adds an unexpected speed bump. Black was the unquestioned top receiver on the team as a freshman before a separate foot injury in 2017. Getting him back was a major part of the optimism for an improved offense in 2018.
With that said, a major difference in Year 4 of the Harbaugh era is the depth in “next man up.” Black will be replaced in production by highly touted Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins. Offensive linemen will be replaced by blue chips and the defense’s biggest loss of the year, Mo Hurst, has a highly regarded replacement, Aubrey Solomon ready to step in.
Michigan is a talented and focused team that will get an early shot to get on everyone’s radar. We’re only a work week away and I cannot wait.
Dan’s Picks:
Michigan +1.5 at Notre Dame (Saturday 7:30 EST - NBC)
Colorado State at Colorado -7.5 (Friday 9:30 EST)
Washington +2 vs Auburn (Saturday 3:30 EST - ABC)
Virginia Tech +7.5 at FSU (Monday 8:00 EST - ESPN)
CMU at Kentucky -17 (Saturday 3:30 - ESPNU)