Michigan
Mailbag: Alabama fans ask about Michigan QB McCarthy, validity of UA’s CFP berth, and more | Goodbread
Alabama-Michigan week is here, and questions about the College Football Playoff semifinal matchup in the Rose Bowl abound. What can Alabama expect from Michigan’s quarterback and offensive line? Can the Wolverines’ pass rush get to Alabama QB Jalen Milroe? And does Alabama really belong here in the first place?
Readers of The Tuscaloosa News have chimed in with these queries and more, and with Crimson Tide coaches and players all but certain to be tight-lipped in media interviews this week, we’re here to deliver the answers. It’s mailbag time, CFP-style!
Monte from Brooklyn writes: How good is JJ McCarthy?
Hey Monte: After watching each of Michigan’s games this season, I’m impressed with the Wolverines’ quarterback. He’s athletic (and should be fully recovered from a late-season ankle injury), he throws with good anticipation and he’s extremely accurate throwing on the run. I’m not convinced his receivers can consistently get open against Alabama’s defense, however. He’s capable of improvisation, but he might have to do more of it than he wants.
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Chase from Trophy Club, Texas, writes: Michigan fans appear to believe their O-line can bully our D-line and allow their backs to run all over us. Do you believe our D-line can hold up and stop the run, or do you anticipate stunts and blitzes to sell out to stop the run? Also, do you think it was a difficult decision for Milroe to decide to come back? How much do you think he considered entering the draft?
Hey Chase: Great name, first of all. Michigan’s OL is outstanding, although they’ve lost perhaps their best player up front in guard Zak Zinter, who broke his leg against Ohio State. I watched his replacement in the Big Ten title game closely, (Trente Jones, who played right tackle, not guard) to see if Zinter’s injury created a vulnerability. However, Jones played exceptionally well against Iowa. Alabama’s run defense is solid, but it will have its hands full with UM. As for Milroe, my understanding is that the 2024 NFL draft was never much of a consideration for him, as he recognizes room for continued improvement with another year in college.
Travis from San Bruno, Calif., writes: It seems like Michigan is deep on the defensive line, but it does not appear they have the dominant edge rusher they have had in the past. Is that something you have noticed watching film, and how do you expect the Bama O-line to hold up in pass protection in the Rose Bowl?
Hey Travis: Michigan’s top pass rusher is Jaylen Harrell, who is solid if not spectacular. He leads the team with 7.5 sacks, but the Wolverines get a pretty good push from the interior as well. Alabama’s pass protection has steadily improved all season, to the point where pressure on Milroe, lately, is more often the result of his own hesitation than pass protection.
Terry from Birmingham writes: What do you think of Alabama getting into the CFP over an undefeated Florida State?
Hey Terry: Put it this way – I’m predicting Alabama to beat Michigan by more than a touchdown, and if the matchup was Michigan-FSU, I’d predict UM by more than a touchdown. People have a bad tendency to talk about the Power Five like the Equal Five, when they’re not at all equal. If they were, there wouldn’t have been 50 schools separating Alabama’s strength of schedule ranking from Florida State’s.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23 and the Talkin’ Tide podcast. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.
Michigan
Thunderstorms likely Tuesday morning in Southeast Michigan
FOX 2 (WJBK) – Storms forming just south of Minneapolis may be heading toward Southeast Michigan early Tuesday morning.
Dry conditions will persist Monday night due to high pressure. However, storms are expected to follow that warm front. By 4 a.m., storms will hover over Lake Michigan and by 9 a.m., they will be passing over Southeast Michigan.
Showers and thunderstorms are likely – with the possibility of wind gusts exceeding 60 mph, large hail, and localized flooding, according to the National Weather Service in White Lake. There is a “marginal risk of thunderstorms reaching severe intensity.”
Anyone visiting Lake Michigan is being advised to avoid getting in the water on Tuesday due to the storms, the NWS in Grand Rapids posted on X. That includes all West Michigan beaches.
The thunderstorm could produce dangerous waves and currents early Tuesday morning through the afternoon.
According to the NWS, small craft advisories are also in effect for Tuesday:
- From Saginaw Bay to Port Huron – from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m.
- Lake St. Clair and the Michigan Waters of Lake Erie – from 8 a.m.to 4 p.m.
Temperatures will reach a high of 88 degrees Tuesday afternoon.
Additional strong to severe thunderstorms are possible Tuesday night, heading into Wednesday.
“Greatest risk will be along and south of I-94 with damaging wind as the primary hazard,” according to NWS’s hazardous weather outlook.
The next round of possible storms is anticipated to arrive on Saturday.
Michigan
2025 four-star WR Jacob Washington commits to Michigan
Ron Bellamy kicked off his group of wide receivers in the 2025 class with a bang, acquiring the commitment of four-star Jacob Washington on Monday.
BREAKING: Four-Star WR Jacob Washington has Committed to Michigan, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’3 190 WR from New Orleans, LA chose the Wolverines over Missouri, Mississippi State, & Georgia Tech
“I am blessed to have an opportunity to play for the national champions. GO… pic.twitter.com/GN6UhOXFNl
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 24, 2024
Washington attends Archbishop Shaw in Marrero, Louisiana, the same school that three-star running back commit Jasper Parker attends. Washington stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs 180 pounds. He isn’t just a big body, as he reportedly (according to his Hudl page) has run a 4.48 40-yard dash — not bad at all for a player of his size.
Bellamy offered Washington a scholarship back in April and quickly made him one of his top priorities in the class. He officially visited for Victors Weekend the weekend of June 21 and locked in this commitment very shortly after.
Washington is the first wide receiver to commit to the Wolverines’ 2025 class. Other than Michigan, Washington had offers to play at Penn State, Ole Miss, Miami, Georgia Tech, Missouri, Mississippi State, Duke, Baylor, Arkansas and more.
Washington is ranked No. 45 at the wide receiver position, No. 8 in the state of Louisiana and No. 320 overall, according to 247Sports’ composite. Check out some of his best plays from his junior season in the video below.
Michigan
Michigan gas price average slides 6 cents since last week
DEARBORN, Mich. (WLUC) – Drivers may notice slight relief with the price of gas as the state average has dropped 6 cents over the past week.
AAA of Michigan reports that drivers are now paying an average of $3.51 per gallon for regular unleaded gas. This price is 18 cents less than this time last month and 3 cents less than this time last year. The state average is still slightly above the national average which is $3.45 per gallon.
Motorists are paying an average of $52 for a full 15-gallon tank of gasoline; a discount of about $6 from 2023′s highest price last August.
“Michigan motorists are seeing lower gas prices across the state,” said Adrienne Woodland, spokesperson, AAA-The Auto Club Group. “If demand falls, alongside rising supply, pump prices may continue to decrease.”
In the Upper Peninsula, the lowest average is in Baraga County at $3.34 per gallon. The highest is in Mackinac County at $3.75 per gallon.
Copyright 2024 WLUC. All rights reserved.
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