Michigan 31 Wisconsin (10)....17 - Post Game Thread

[Jeff Buchanan]

I rarely read the post game snowflakes posts at mgoboard but I wanted to take a quick scan. I thought this was an interesting take:

I’ll keep saying it until it happens. Sooner rather than later, McCarthy has to be the #1. He’s thrown 13 passes at Michigan. Two have gone for 56 and 69 yard touchdowns. Both of those were brilliant throws. McNamara isn’t a bad QB, but McCarthy has the talent to take the offense to another level and I think he’s already better than McNamara. As a practical matter, I doubt he has the patience to sit behind McNamara for two years, so the likely choice Harbaugh faces is replacing McNamara with McCarthy no later than the beginning of next season, or risk losing McCarthy to a transfer. Pull the trigger.

[AlabamAlum]

I would tell that fan that 13 passes is an incredibly small sample size and to remember that Harbaugh has seen both QBs throw literally 1000’s of passes and you have to assume that CJH acts in his own and Michigan’s best interest.

[AlabamAlum]

But fans love the back-up QB. A good friend of mine at the game yesterday was telling me how Paul Tyson (the Bama back-up and great-grandson of Coach Bryant) needs to start over Bryce.

[iam416]

I don't believe that for a second, AA. Not one. There is absolutely no way you have a good friend. None.

[AlabamAlum]

Bastard.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I would tell that fan that 13 passes is an incredibly small sample size and to remember that Harbaugh has seen both QBs throw literally 1000’s of passes and you have to assume that CJH acts in his own and Michigan’s best interest.

Yeah, pulling your starting QB for the back-up based on a sample size of 13 passes is wrong. But that's not what this young man is driving at. It's the probably short term prospects of McCarthy becoming the better QB entering the transfer portal at the end of the 2021 season or more likely in the spring. You can't keep a guy like McCarthy interested by playing him a few plays each game with those plays signaling an RO or RPO that the D knows is coming and plays a defense that fits that play ......... that's why you don't see McCarthy keeping nearly every time the RO is in play and giving on every RPO probably in both cases due to his pre-snap read on coverage. Observers think that M's QBs may not be reading the D after the snap. That's key for a successful modern option offense.

I hate the two QB idea. IMO, it doesn't work.

[AlabamAlum]

Oh, I get what he is suggesting, I would go back to my first point, which is that he has seen him throw 13 passes and Harbaugh has seen him throw 1000’s and that Harbaugh obviously feels he is not QB1 (yet) and that benching his chosen QB1 on an undefeated team because McCarthy might enter the Portal is the weakest, dumbest beta move that he could possibly make and would open the door to start all understudies out of fear that they may leave if they don’t get the starting role.

[lineygoblue]

Maybe the reason McCarthy is getting meaningful snaps is because he's showing improvement, and getting closer to becoming a starter. One of Harbaugh's mantra's is "get better every day". Maybe McCarthy is earning those snaps and Harbaugh wants to reward him.

I think we're going to lose at least one of them in the portal after the season is over. The days of players staying out of school/team loyalty are long gone.

[AlabamAlum]

I think you’re probably right. That and/or Harbaugh knows having two QBs with some meaningful snaps is absolutely essential or you drop games with an injury to your QB1, which is something Bama knows about, unfortunately.

[lineygoblue]

The problem with giving both QB's snaps, is that you risk alienating both of them, and with the easy availability of the portal, with NIL tossed in, both could click "gone" in the portal if Coach is not careful. He really needs to communicate with both QB's about what their status is, and what his vision is for their future with the team.

I'm not confident Harbaugh can communicate with anyone clearly except Mrs. Harbaugh.

[AlabamAlum]

Bringing the back-up in for limited series is just smart, IMO. Splitting the QB1 role down the middle is more problematic, but that’s not what CJH has done.

[Cody_Russell]

HATE to say this. It's in the back of my mind that one of the elite programs (at least when it comes to $$$) will pay JJ McCarthy to transfer portal over in the offseason.
I can see QB coming open next season for: Oregon, Oklahoma, Georgia, Notre Dame, USC, Penn State, and UCLA.

M needs to be very careful with this. Hopefully McCarthy gives it one more season and is loyal. This would be one of the biggest gut punches if it happens. It's a new era of college football. It's going to happen more often than not barring rule changes.

From JJ McCarthy's perspective, it could be an awesome opportunity. Guaranteed a starting QB spot and a huge NIL contract from Oregon's big donor Phil Knight for example.

[AlabamAlum]

McCarthy getting NIL money at M? If not, you need to get on that. If not, some other team will.

[lineygoblue]

HATE to say this. It's in the back of my mind that one of the elite programs (at least when it comes to $$$) will pay JJ McCarthy to transfer portal over in the offseason.
I can see QB coming open next season for: Oregon, Oklahoma, Georgia, Notre Dame, USC, Penn State, and UCLA.

M needs to be very careful with this. Hopefully McCarthy gives it one more season and is loyal. This would be one of the biggest gut punches if it happens.

It's a new era of college football. It's going to happen more often than not barring rule changes.

That's my biggest concern with JJ. Some team is going to approach him on the sly, and offer to make him their star player, and Michigan isn't going to get into a bidding war to keep him. I can see Harbaugh stupidly allowing McCarthy to get away and keeping McNamara around because of his old-school loyalties to "the starter".

Somewhere, Drew Henson is smiling.

[Cody_Russell]

IMO think we are just scratching the surface of the transfer portal and NIL because it's still new. Hopefully I'm wrong.
If the transfer portal and NIL truly make it open free agency to sign ANY player that you want, you are going to see JJ McCarthy-like players offered big $$$ to transfer.
Imagine if MLB had that rule and George Steinbrenner (RIP) when he was owner of the Yankees was allowed to rent any player he wanted from a different team for a couple years. OR Jerry Jones if the NFL allowed it. Oof, the spending would have been endless.

For M. You have to consider Georgia with the Jake Fromm vs Justin Fields situation. Fromm was good. He did nothing wrong. Justin Fields was the freshman 5 star potential guy that showed he could be an elite transcendent QB. Kirby Smart was wrong about the decision.
Clemson with Kelly Bryant vs Trevor Lawrence. Same thing, but Dabo made the correct decision.