Michigan beat ECU 30-3 on Saturday

It's a great weekend for the Tar Heels. Great weekend for NC State.

Long weekend. They got their business taken care of on Thursday night. App had a win. Duke obviously with the huge upset last night. Didn't go as well for East Carolina. There were other winners in the state, right? But it didn't go as well for East Carolina. But I would argue that they probably had the most difficult task as Mike Houston, the head coach of East Carolina. The Pirates went up to Ann Arbor in front of a full big house and had to deal with the University of Michigan.

So as we bring in coach Mike Houston and he will join us every Tuesday. My guess is they were as advertised. No, yeah, you know, talking to them after the game, you know, I thought they were really good.

They think they're significantly better than they were a year ago. But like McCarthy, I thought he was. I thought he was good. I thought he was really good going into the game. I thought he was one of the better quarterbacks in the country. He was really, really good on Saturday. Some of those throws he made.

We haven't seen it. We have not seen a quarterback like that. I mean, I played against Jamis Winston when he was ripping it up at Florida State. We played against some really good quarterbacks over the years.

He is the best we played against. How much of what we saw Saturday? Was them and how much was because games oftentimes come down to a moment where it could have gone one way or the other. We saw that last night with Duke and Duke and Clemson.

How much was it? You guys get field position across the, you know, plus field position after your punters set, put Penn, Michigan all the way back. Just not being able to take advantage of that. Well, I think that's talked about it all week last week is we've got to play a clean game. If we make mistakes, Michigan is the kind of team that capitalizes on your mistakes. We almost had a safety on the third play of their offensive drive. They punted out of the back of their end zone. We have the ball in plus territory. Even if we punt it back to them, they're going to be pinned deep still and you're probably going to make it through the first quarter without giving up any points. It was one that the receiver was open. The quarterback was under pressure. We've got to protect him better. You don't want that turnover at that point in time against that team in that setting. I thought that was a big turning point there early in the ballgame. I talked about it all week. We've got to play well in the first eight minutes of the game.

That's exactly what I was worried about. ECU head coach is joining us here on the Adam Gold Show. What do you learn about your team coming out of a game like that? Well, one, I think we have a tough ass bunch. They went toe to toe with the best fronts in the country. We were able to hold Michigan to their lowest rushing output since 2021.

Our kids showed a lot of who they are. We also made a lot of mistakes and Michigan didn't. You have a younger team versus an older experienced team. You learn not to put your hand on the hot stove eye, but putting your hand on the hot stove eye kind of deal. We just got to make sure we learn the lessons. We got to play a cleaner game this week. We had too many penalties last week. Most of them are avoidable. We had too many mental errors.

Those are avoidable. We got to make plays when they're there to be made. That's something we've been doing during preseason, so we've got to do it on game day.

How much of anything can be attributed to just short of 110,000 people at the Big House? Well, I mean, it's Hey, Carolina Panthers fans, Chris Lee and Dennis Cox here. We're excited to offer you all the inside information on your team with the newest member of the Capital Broadcasting Podcast Network Panthers playbook twice a week. We'll keep you updated on your Carolina Panthers.

We're talking about locker room insight, exclusive interviews, and of course, in depth looks at all of the Panthers wins touchdown Carolina Panthers playbook download and subscribe today at WRL sports fan.com or wherever you discover your favorite podcasts. It's an iconic setting. It's a great stage. Our kids were very, very excited to play in that setting on that stage.

It's like anything else that you do for the first time. None of them had ever played in any kind of setting close to that. And so I don't know. I think some of it.

Yeah, probably. I think some of it, the older experienced players, they really didn't phase them, but I do think that had an impact. Marshall, by the way, coming up this week, they're no joke.

Your schedule is definitely front loaded because the trip to app is on the other side of that. Not that you're thinking about that now, but what are your thoughts on Marshall going in a week to, I think we're playing one of the best teams in the Sunbelt. You know, they, they have the most, most of their guys are back from last year and you know, it's, they're really, really good football team. I know that they will, you know, kind of sloppy in the opener.

I think there's lots of reasons for that. I think we'll see. We'll see who they, who I think they are this week and it's going to be a barn burner. Opening weeks can be so difficult. I mean, you guys committed a bunch of penalties. Marshall was sloppy.

I watched Duke and Clemson last night and Clemson obviously made some physical mistakes and maybe some mental errors as well. Um, what do you attribute that to? And could there be like a pre-season game in college that maybe would take some of that away?

If it'd take away the transfer portal and tampering, I'd be more open to it. But, uh, I mean, otherwise you're just giving somebody a scouting report on your guys, but I don't know. Yeah, there's, there's some merit to it, but I just, you know, I don't know. We all, we all, it was the first game for all of us, you know, like I said, like I said, Michigan, they look like a veteran experienced football team, which they are. And, uh, and you know, years that I've had a veteran experienced football team, that's the way we've looked in openers. And so, uh, I think that just, it's, it's like anything else. The first time you do things, uh, it's never, it's never the way you want it.

And, uh, the only way you learn is by making mistakes and growing from them. Uh, and you know, we have a lot of guys that haven't played together, uh, especially on the offensive side of the ball. So, you know, establishing that, uh, cohesion and, uh, you know, that, that, that comfort zone with each other. And just learning each other and then just playing and getting comfortable being out there, uh, it's, it's going to happen and, uh, you know, hopefully it happens quickly and happens this week.

So Mike Houston ECU head coach is joining us, uh, Marshall on the docket coming up on Saturday. Uh, give me an idea of where you are in your mind in year five in this rebuild. Well, you know, I think, uh, you know, the last two seasons we've had, um, you know, really great years, uh, but been to bowl games, uh, you know, had success in the post season. So, uh, the programs on solid footing, uh, feel like our, our roster is, is very stable. Um, you know, we have some new faces that have to, you know, have to grow up and step into some, some empty shoes, uh, some very good players that are still playing. You know, it's, you know, we have a, uh, we have more pirates on NFL rosters today than at any point in time since I've been here. And, uh, so, you know, we've had some really good players and they're doing their thing and then we've got the next guy stepping into those shoes and it's time for them to do their thing. And so, um, like I said, I feel good about the program.

Uh, you know, this is, this is going to be a year where we got to, you know, get some new guys to come along, uh, but you're going to have those that's, that's, that is, that is football. Mike Houston, before I let you go, did you happen to catch any of last night's Duke Clemson game? I did. I got home and it was on, so I watched a little bit of it before, uh, turning in. So very impressive performance by Duke. From, from your perspective, was that more about Clemson or was it more about Duke? Well, I mean, I had a chance to spend some time with Mike this summer.

Uh, I think it's a little of both. Uh, I think Riley Leonard is a dang good quarterback who is experienced and he is a gamer. Uh, and I thought he played really, really well. Um, I thought Duke defensively gave the young Clemson quarterback fits. Um, and I think that Clemson made some mistakes you can't make. You can't turn the ball over in the red zone. Uh, you know, the kicker missed, missed a kick, had a kick blocked.

Uh, I just, I think Clemson made a lot of mistakes, uh, against a, a, a very solid team and a very experienced quarterback made him pay. Mike Houston, I appreciate your time. Good luck against Marshall this week.

I'll talk to you next week. Absolutely. Absolutely. Go Pirates. Hopefully, uh, it'll go well against Marshall. Uh, ECU's early season schedule is not easy. Marshall and App back-to-back weeks, not easy at all. And I, I love, I love the in-state aspect of that schedule, but boy, not easy for the Pirates. Michigan, Marshall, and App to start the season is a chore. You're breaking in a new quarterback and all that. Hopefully it'll, it'll turn around.