January 9th, 2012 at 11:34 PM ^
I guess we'll just have to see who ends up declaring
January 10th, 2012 at 12:17 AM ^
When is the last day for players entering the draft to come out?
January 10th, 2012 at 12:31 AM ^
January 15th I believe, so we'll know what they lose by the end of the week or so
January 10th, 2012 at 12:43 AM ^
Looked it up and confirmed it. Hopefully they lose all their stars.
January 10th, 2012 at 11:19 AM ^
hopefully we have no one declaring..
January 9th, 2012 at 11:35 PM ^
Possible.
Another question that I just thought of:
Where will Michigan be ranked next year going in to the opening showdown vs. top ranked and defending National Champion Alabama?
Im sayin...about 8 maybe 9...definitely top 10.. hype for the game in Dallas will be HUGE.
The Big Stage. Cant hurt recruiting if they play well....
January 9th, 2012 at 11:38 PM ^
Next year is a year with a tough enough schedule that the pre-season ranking doesnt matter. If Michigan goes 13-0 against that schedule there is 0% chance they get left out of the MNCG regardless of what happens in other conferences. It's great for hype purposes I suppose but ultimately not as important as some years.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:56 PM ^
Pre-season rankings ALWAYS matter, in the BCS era.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:17 AM ^
Absolutely. The original pecking order affects things throughout the season. It is why Bama played tonight instead of Ok State.
January 10th, 2012 at 1:09 AM ^
Oklahoma was also ranked #20 starting in Week 2.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:57 PM ^
If Michigan goes 13-0 they make the title game no matter what our preseason rank was in any year.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:18 AM ^
Yeah, I'm pretty sure even BCS computers say "Hmm, lets see, Boise State, Ok St, hmm, no, uhh, Michi- OOH, MICHIGAN."
January 10th, 2012 at 12:38 AM ^
Nothing... if you go 13-0
Everything... if you go 12-1
January 10th, 2012 at 9:23 AM ^
Unless there are three or more teams at 13-0. Then pre-season could matter.
January 10th, 2012 at 7:21 PM ^
Unless one of those teams is like Houston this year (before the last week). They definitely get jumped by any undefeated team from an automatic-qualifying conference.
January 10th, 2012 at 1:09 AM ^
next year #1 = USC
January 9th, 2012 at 11:37 PM ^
on defense. That's being fairly conservative. We have a very, very good chance of beating them next year. People need to not freak out about that game.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:45 PM ^
Their talent level is still going to be extremely high. It will help that they'll be breaking in a lot of new starters, but their replacements are probably going to be a lot of future pros. I think we have a chance but I'm not getting too optimistic.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:54 PM ^
Those new starters on defense will probably be up to typical Bama standards by the end of the season. Luckily, Michigan plays them in their first game, when they will be the most likely to make mistakes. If there is an optimum time to play Bama since the 2009 season started, it is exactly when Michigan is playing them.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:18 AM ^
The team... the team... the team...
January 10th, 2012 at 12:26 AM ^
Oh my.
<br>
<br>Weren't we in on him for a minute last year. Dude looks like a star very soon.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:48 PM ^
As I mentioned in the game thread I think a Bama win means more players are likely to leave early. Bama's depth chart shows 8 starters are seniors and we know at least one junior is leaving,Richardson. More importantly their OC, McElwain is leaving for CSU. But of course this is Bama they have talent waiting in the wings but I still like UM's chances in this one on a neutral field.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:54 PM ^
you must be joking. i am as loyal a fan an anyone else but we run a risk of being embarassed next year. we couldn't move the ball against va tech (or iowa or sparty) and we lose the best center in the country as well as our only deep threat. our defense has been exposed in two consecutive games by less than stellar offenses and we lose our d line. furthermore, saban probably hates us from his days in east lansing. it could get ugly.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:02 AM ^
Don't forget we lose all if our talent on our DLine. To me the Mich DLine vs the Bama OLine and their backs is the biggest mismatch in the game. They can just grind it and keep or offense off the field.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:19 AM ^
We lose 3 of the 18 guys who played on defense in the Sugar Bowl. Two of those guys are starters. They are going to be replaced on the depth chart with a 5-star senior who posted 2 sacks as a DT this year (Martin only had 3.5), a 4-star RS Junior (Washington), and two 4-star RS Sophomores (Wilkins and Ash). Not to mention the incoming recruiting class.
7 of the 18 guys who played on defense in the Sugar Bowl were freshmen and will all almost certainly get a ton better in the seasons to come. That list doesn't include guys like Cam Gordon, Marvin Robinson, Josh Furman, Delonte Hollowell, and Raymon Taylor. Or Brandin Hawthorne. Or Mike Jones.
We lost two great guys and two very good players from the heart of the defense, but the only reason people are so worried about their replacements' level of experience is because they were behind a pair of 3-year starters and as such didn't play all that much. Our defense returns a ton of experienced talent next year and won't have to trade experience for talent like they did with guys like Ryan and Countess this year.
Bringing back that much talent from a defense that held David Wilson to 85 yards on 25 touches (right before he bolted early to the NFL) is not a recipe for getting ground into dust by a team with at best a mediocre offense that loses its star RB.
January 10th, 2012 at 1:05 AM ^
As Tim Tebow would say, Amen to that.
January 10th, 2012 at 3:32 AM ^
concur re our D, however their D vs our O? Scary.
January 10th, 2012 at 7:50 AM ^
Their D this year vs. our O from this year would really be scary. However, they will most likely lose their top two players in Upshaw and Kirkpatrick. This, along with a few others will set them back from their all time great D that they had this year. Along with this, they will lose Richardson, Maze, I think Hanks and their TE Smelly (unless they have redshirt years available) and there is a good chance that they lose their all american LT Jones as well. Those are some really big losses, however they are a top program and have been reloading since Saban has been there. Hopefully they are filling in enough holes to give our O a chance.
January 10th, 2012 at 8:26 AM ^
Don't they also lose some of their coaches... I am pretty sure their offensive coordinator is moving on to take a head coaching gig elsewhere.
New players, new coaches... will still be very good, but I do expect them to take a step backwards.
January 10th, 2012 at 8:40 AM ^
He was a beast last night for Alabama. He has another year left due to a medical redshirt, but may go pro if there's enough interest.
January 10th, 2012 at 8:53 AM ^
I think Michigan actually matches up against bama fairly well. Alabama likes to run the ball, and as we saw this year, Mattison is a big fan of stopping the run and is pretty damn god at it. AJ McCarron is not Logan Thomas or Braxton Miller. He is not going to scramble for a first down on and third and 10. Also, there is no Julio Jones opn Alabama right now and I'm assuming the problems with the secondary will be improved next season. If we can make Bama one-dimensional, we have a chance.
The turn-over will hurt Bama as well, as others have stated. There back-ups are talented, of course, but they will be new starters. As some one else mentioned, this time to play Bama is at the beginning of the year.
And don't forget the x-factor, Denard. Everyone saw what Cam Newton did to the Alabama defense last year. I;m not suggesting Denard will do the same thing, but clearly their d can de had by a mobile, athletic QB. Another year in the system will only help Denard. We will actually have the edge in quarterback experience in the game, which in college football is huge.
I'm not saying Michigan is going to win, the game is still waay to far off for that. I'm just saying that forcecasting gloom and doom is unfair to our team.
January 10th, 2012 at 11:31 AM ^
Barrett Jones said he was coming back. So on the OL they have the Outland Trophy award winner back, Cyrus Kouandijo last years top rated HS tackle. Tyler Love who was a 5 star out of HS, and DJ Fluker their other Returing 5 star tackle. The offense will be well built to run the ball. They could lose up to 12 people on defense, so that loss of experience will hurt. Should be a competitive game.
January 10th, 2012 at 7:32 AM ^
but I'm still in no way convinced that the center of the D-line won't be the glaring weakness of the defense next year
January 10th, 2012 at 11:01 AM ^
I'm feeling a little better about it now
January 10th, 2012 at 12:04 AM ^
Actually I think Saban hates MSU more than us. It didn't end great between them way back when. I mean in the final Coaches Poll right after the Conference Championships he voted us 9 and MSU 17
January 10th, 2012 at 12:12 AM ^
"saban probably hates us from his days in east lansing..."
OMG that's probably worth how many points??? Yeah...
January 10th, 2012 at 12:20 AM ^
You do know that we have this thing called spring practice, where the coaches work on these things and bring new guys in?
January 10th, 2012 at 12:30 AM ^
Alabama's 27-11 win over Penn State was hardly an embarrassment of PSU, and clearly 2011 PSU was not a strong PSU team.
Certainly, Alabama will be favored. As they should be.
But didn't Michigan beat a Florida team that won the mythical national championship the year before? You just never know. That's why they play the game.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:34 AM ^
I didn't realize that giving up one touchdown meant that your defense was "exposed"
January 10th, 2012 at 12:37 AM ^
January 10th, 2012 at 2:10 AM ^
Stonum
January 10th, 2012 at 7:52 AM ^
We'll see if he is even allowed back on the team after he is let out of jail. While a probation violation isn't the biggest deal in the world, especially one for which he was caught, it won't help his case with the multiple problems he has had in the past. In the end, I think if he stays out of trouble I think Hoke allows him to return, but that is really in jeopardy at this point.
January 10th, 2012 at 2:10 AM ^
Stonum
January 10th, 2012 at 1:16 AM ^
It could also be 12 from their 2 deep. They could lose all starters except 2 DL positions. The LBs and Secondary will take a big hit. With that said their returning OL is loaded.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:39 PM ^
In my dream:
Al Borges has an epiphany. He works in an uptempo spread offense (Chip Kelly style) that Bama has no film of.
We hang 56 on them, while Bama's inexperienced 5* recruits (because all their juniors left early to the League) have first big game jitters.
Oh, and there were bubble screens.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:49 PM ^
You may want to re-dream those bubble screens. I think LSU got a total of -7 yards on all 10 of their bubble screens tonight.
Tonights game actually made me Hate the bubble screen.
But it was against a good defense that gameplanned against the bubble.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:19 AM ^
and have a screening for the Michigan CBs.
Part of it was the lack of respect for LSU's vertical passing game, but that wasn't all of it.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:39 PM ^
the only problem is that they will fill those spots with 5 star high end talent that will play just as well.
It's gonna be a tough ass game and Bama will have more than enough talent on O and D for this game.
Personally, I cant wait for it. Trying like hell to find a way to get time and get down their for that one.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:42 PM ^
"We 'gone Shock da World!"- Juwan Howard
January 9th, 2012 at 11:39 PM ^
I have absolutely no faith that UM will beat Alabama next year because I have no idea what Alabama will look like. They will need to replace a bunch of pieces, but they also have 30+ recruits waiting to take their place. Right now, though, UM will have a hard time slowing down Alabama without Martin and RVB, and that defense should still be good. I think UM will one day be able to compete with the top teams in the country, but not with the depth chart they have compared to teams from the SEC who have a whole other class of recruits every 5 years.