Daily Brews: Charles Woodson ‘exhausted’ after Michigan’s performance vs. OSU

Charles Woodson was working the game between the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes for FOX on Saturday and did not hold back how he feels after the 56-27 loss.

The former Wolverine star and Heisman trophy winner spoke on the broadcast after the game and is being up front about how he feels on the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry.

“We’re not holding up our end of the bargain,” Woodson said. “We can’t give all our energy before the game and not have that type of energy after the game because we went out there and got rolled over. I’m exhausted. I’ll be honest with you. I’m exhausted because I put a lot of emotion into it as a fan and a former player. To watch what happened today, we played a better team. Make no mistake about it. Give them credit for the way they came out here and handled business. To me, it just seems like, we talked about this. You talked about a way of life. It’s evident for that team that it’s a way of life. I don’t know how we get back to it, but we’ve got to get back to it.”

Woodson is not the only Michigan player that has come out with commentary such as this, but he may be the biggest named and certainly had the biggest platform on Saturday to voice his opinion. He’s understandably not alone here.

Why U-M hoops may be the best team in the country

On the flip side, let’s discuss happier things, like Michigan basketball.

The Wolverines are undefeated and expected to be ranked inside the top five when the AP poll is released on Monday after blowing out a pair of top ten teams in the Battle 4 Atlantis last week. 247Sports’ Jerry Meijer believes that right now, the Wolverines are the best team in college basketball.

“It’s the best college basketball team I’ve seen this year,” Meyer said. “Now, will they keep improving? Or will someone else improve more? You can’t answer that question. But right now, Michigan is the best I’ve seen.”

Here’s more from Meyer:

‘“You have a savvy point guard who can play and is tough; he has a chip on his shoulder,” Meyer said. “You have wings who can really shoot it off the catch, and then the size inside with [Jon] Teske and [Franz] Wagner.

“Those are great pieces to have and you can still see the [John] Beilein influence there,” Meyer said. “But Howard is doing a great job with those players. They’re cohesive, they’ve bought in and they communicate.”

“The funny thing is that those players have more college experience than their coach,” Meyer said. “I think that Howard looks like he’s a good coach, regardless of whatever situation, but what a luxury he had in Simpson in particular, with the leadership, toughness and grit that he brings. What he gives that team is enormous, and they’ve got that mentality on the interior and on the wing.”’

The Wolverines have a shot at another statement win on Tuesday night when they travel to Louisville, one of the nation’s top teams, for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Assistants with ties to Michigan potential fits at Boston College

Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown is (rightfully) drawing criticism from Michigan fans after his team’s most recent performance against the Buckeyes. Anyone looking for a change there may now be rooting for him to be in consideration for the now-vacant Boston College head coaching position.

Athlon Sports has Brown as one of the top choices to fill the job and explains why he would be a fit:

“Don Brown, Defensive Coordinator, Michigan

Brown is regarded as one of the top defensive coordinators in college football and has extensive ties to the Northeast. Prior to spending the last four years at Michigan, Brown called the plays on defense at Boston College (2013-15), UConn (2011-12) and Maryland (2009-10). Brown went 27-20 as Northeastern’s head coach from 200-03 and 43-19 at UMass from 2004-08.”

Former Michigan and current Ohio State assistant Al Washington is also named in the piece, while Eastern Michigan’s Chris Creighton gets a nod, as well. This will be one worth keeping an eye on as the coaching carousel continues to turn.

Other Brews

• Coaches fired since the weekend ended include South Florida’s Charlie Strong, Boston College’s Steve Addazio and Ole Miss’ Matt Luke. Texas has made some notable staff changes by firing offensive coordinator Tim Beck and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, among other changes. Northwestern has also fired offensive coordinator Mick McCall.
• In the most LSU move ever, the program is offering up slabs of sod from the 2019 season to commemorate what was an undefeated regular season for the Tigers.
• Florida quarterback Felipe Franks announced on Instagram over the weekend that he will be transferring out of the program.
• And lastly...

It could always be worse and far more sad.