Urban Meyer does not pretend he doesn’t bleed Scarlet and Gray. The three-time national champion head coach grew up rooting for Ohio State, coached under Earle Bruce, and carved his own name into the record books with the 2014 title he brought home to Columbus. 

But he has also demonstrated he is capable of being an even handed and nuanced analyst of the game, even when he is talking about the Buckeyes blood rival in Michigan. 

Yesterday, following the Wolverines offensively hapless 27-24 home loss to a weak Michigan State team, Meyer was quick to defend Joe Milton, Michigan’s new starting quarterback. The Wolverines had multiple problems, according to Meyer, and Milton was not amongst the primary offenders.

Speaking on the FOX postgame show, Meyer addressed what he sees as the lack of big-play receivers—the “juice” guys—on the outside for the Wolverines. 

“You can’t just all throw this on Joe Milton” said Meyer. “I’m not sure they’ve completed a vertical pass yet. But there’s a common theme I just told you. What’s the common theme? Wide receivers are covered. You remember when they had Tarik Black, (Donovan) Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins? Those are tall, big, long-striding receivers that launch it down the field. I’m just not sure I see the juice.”

The Wolverines have gone from contender to down and out over the first two weeks of the season. The truth likely lies somewhere in the middle. Michigan will have a chance to demonstrate they’ve juiced up in a stiff road test next week at the nouveau B-One-G East powerhouse Indiana Hoosiers.