Michigan vs. Penn State officially a Night game
https://twitter.com/umichfootball/status/1181224596608958464?s=21Via Michigan Twitter account kick off at 730pm In Happy Valley. Go Blue!
Pray the offense improves a lot.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:51 PM ^
One is a lot more reasonable than the other...
October 7th, 2019 at 12:51 PM ^
One is a lot more reasonable and likelier than the other...
October 7th, 2019 at 11:36 AM ^
If Michigan wins this game I'll EDIT: eat a bag of lemons.
If Michigan loses by less than 14 pts I'll eat half a bag of lemons.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:45 AM ^
what will you do to a bag of lemons if they win??!?!
October 7th, 2019 at 11:49 AM ^
You got me.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
This is so FUCKING sad, most everyone on this thread as well as the one last night are already conceding a loss, if not a blowout, and we all can understand why! This is not what year 5 of the Harbaugh era should be and there is no one else to blame, but him!!!
Like I said last night, would be nice to actually win a big road game - JH, this is all on YOU! You made Stanford respectable, you took the Niners to the Super Bowl, for FUCKS' sake, can we get 1 big road game win in 5 years??? The only road game against a semi-respectable opponent was his first bowl game, all the other wins against "big-name" opponents was when they were having bad/mediocre years.
October 8th, 2019 at 1:38 AM ^
Florida was completely checked out that first bowl game. I don't think that one even counts.
We've yet to march into an opposing stadium against a legit top 10 team and fuck shit up in 1997 PSU Judgement Day style.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
Looks like I'll be going to the movies that night.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:46 AM ^
If everything holds...looks like Gameday might be there too
October 8th, 2019 at 12:22 AM ^
Yep, certainly will be there. Unless...Michigan loses this week, which like, isn't out of the question.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^
Expect Pain....
October 7th, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^
Dialing up Dantonio's weather machine for howling winds and rain that turn it into a defensive slugfest
October 7th, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
Prepare thine assholes
October 7th, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
This fanbase has gotten so mentally feeble. Since when did playing Penn State in the dark turn into an automatic loss? Since when did "We own Penn State" die? Since when did Franklin stop being Franklin? Confidence breeds success. "Whether you will, or you won't...you're right."
I believe we're going to smack them right in the mouth early, take the crowd out of it, and win.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:53 AM ^
All that died with Lloyd Carr. This staff hasn't led the team to a big road win in 5 years and they routinely get destroyed or play down to the competition. Who cares what the fans say? We aren't the ones playing. There's too much evidence to suggest the offense will suck and the defense will eventually cave after being on the field for 40 minutes.
I can hope for a win but realize its unlikelihood.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:57 AM ^
This is where I'm at. We have beaten one ranked team on the road under Harbaugh: 21-7 last year @#24 MSU and they finished 7-6.
In 2015 we won @ Maryland (they finished 3-9), @Minnesota (barely, and they finished 6-7), @Indiana (finished 6-7), and @Penn State (finished 7-6). Lost @ Utah (finished 10-3).
In 2016 we won @Rutgers (finished 2-10) and @MSU (finished 3-9). Lost @Iowa (finished 8-5), Lost @#2 OSU (finished 11-2).
In 2017 we won @Purdue (finished 7-6), @Indiana (finished 5-7), and @Maryland (finished 4-8). Lost @#2 Penn State (finished 11-2) and @#5 Wisconsin (finished 13-1).
In 2018 we won @Northwestern (finished 9-5), @#24 MSU (finished 7-6), @Rutgers (finished 1-11). Lost @#12 Notre Dame (finished 12-1) and @#10 OSU (finished 13-1).
So our best road win under Harbaugh so far is probably last year @Northwestern.
Nothing and I mean absolutely nothing (except blind homerism), indicates we will leave Happy Valley with anything other than, at best, being soundly defeated.
I am happy to be wrong, and I want so much to be wrong, but I have eyeballs and I've been watching Michigan football.
October 8th, 2019 at 1:42 AM ^
It's even worse than I thought. And I thought it was bad.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
Have you watched this team this year? Have you seen road Harbaugh?
October 7th, 2019 at 12:01 PM ^
I'd say maybe around 2006-'07 it died. Give or take a year, maybe? I don't think any of us are losing sleep over this or anything it's more of a "wow this team craps the bed on the road a road game would be hard at psu and now it's probably harder."
Also...none of us are playing and I have no idea what the team is thinking maybe an underdog attitude would be helpful? Who knows.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:02 PM ^
I mean fan confidence at the end of the day means jack shit, even if most of us had any. If the team allowed fan perception to impact their internal confidence than they would have even bigger problems than we think.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:08 PM ^
It's not the fanbase, it's the past 15 years of results.
Give me OSU results, and I'd say sweet, this just turned into a prime time all eyes on our program game, I expect to win, but it should be a good game either way.
Give me Bama results, and I'd say, sweet, another team that comically believes the crowd and scary night time will save them. So we will win by 2 scores instead of 3, I guess.
Even give me MSU results, and I'd say, OK, we're probably losing but we will be ready and hang tough with our roided out 3* chip on shoulder players and keep it close. We'll never just fold, even though we may get out-talented and out-played.
Our results scream...we will come in talking about "making a statement" and proceed to drive down the field and turn it over on the first possession...fumbled exchanged or low snap...some poor execution shit. We will then proceed to fall behind by 1 score and the team will have no belief that the offense can move the ball. At 2 scores, the wheels fall off, and our lack of spine gets exposed and it all goes down hill. All our 4 and 5 star talent will sit there sulking with no belief.
We just don't win big road games. We are not resilient (for 15 years now), and we definitely don't come back on the road. It's not the fans man, it's the results, it's the evidence. Harbaugh and his FU mentality was going to change that, and he did in 2016....we got jobbed that entire OSU game, and for some reason he and the team have been a castrated form of what they were ever since.
October 8th, 2019 at 1:47 AM ^
we got jobbed that entire OSU game, and for some reason he and the team have been a castrated form of what they were ever since.
We got that bullshit "Technical Foul" penalty, and I swear we have not been the same ever since.
It's like Harbaugh internalized that call as costing the game and he vowed never to have that happen again. Like, had it not happened, Harbaugh would still be his old self.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
Pray the offense improves a lot.
This game could be played at 9am in an empty stadium and our offense probably scores little, if at all, on them. It's not going to be because of the environment, it's going to be because the offense is a dumpster fire.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
Regardless of the environment the offense will have to improve in lot of ways for us to have a chance to win this game. Environment probably won’t help though.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:57 AM ^
Oh boy. Here goes nothing.
October 7th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
I’ll be drunk and optimistic. Let’s Get it fellas. Some deep bombs to our big boys on the outside first quarter and take the wind out of the crowd early.
October 7th, 2019 at 2:51 PM ^
IF...
Harbaugh has the testicular fortitude to pull a Spurrier, and throw a bomb on the very first play of the game... I think we'll have a chance to win it!
October 7th, 2019 at 12:00 PM ^
I mean it won't be pretty but they could play this game on a Tuesday afternoon in front of any empty stadium and our offense still wouldn't score when the game mattered so it really is just going to be a matter of how much the atmosphere takes it from a 20 point game to a 30 point game. The Wisconsin game started at 11 am local time. If a team isn't good it doesn't really matter.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:03 PM ^
Screw it maybe a big time underdog attitude will help this team. I don't know man. It's an interesting dynamic isn't it? You are going to have a defense really building confidence and should feel that way going into psu which is the complete opposite of the offense.
I'm sure the guys are trying to be confident but those of you that competed...you know when shit isn't right. The mental dynamic is really interesting to me.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:32 PM ^
Being the underdog certainly didn't matter much in 2017. A quick Google suggests the line was Penn State -9.5.
October 7th, 2019 at 1:53 PM ^
Didn't matter two weeks ago at Wisconsin either. Remember Metellus comments? "Ain't no underdogs when the game starts" or something like that. Rigggght. Time to show up for one of these once.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:06 PM ^
Hopefully Brown gives the pregame speech. Or maybe do a hologram of Bo.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:07 PM ^
Let's be optimistic. Some things that could happen:
1. PSU puts on tape of the 2017 game and gets way overconfident
2. It's played in a snowstorm and PSUs QB can't see his receivers
3. Shea injures himself playing golf and has to sit this one out
4. Franklin tries to call all 6 of his timeouts in the first half and gets ejected
October 7th, 2019 at 12:32 PM ^
Re Franklin being ejected. I'm not sure that would be a good thing for Michigan. We need him on the sideline mucking things up.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:19 PM ^
Our offense is not ready for that environment. They need to step up and help out our defense instead of turtling around. Unfortunately, I think this game ends up like the last time we played in Happy Valley.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:45 PM ^
For those who are negging, please explain why you disagree. What have you seen from our offense that shows we can play well in that environment? Our defense played their asses off last week to keep us in the game.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:21 PM ^
October 7th, 2019 at 1:23 PM ^
I don't think PSU's offense is nearly as good as that one that had McSorley, Barkley, Gisicki, Hamilton, Johnson, etc.
They scored 17 against Pitt.
Our defense will hold up a bit better than 2017. Unless the offense gives up some TDs to the PSU defense, which is entirely possible, I see a 24-10 type of game that Michigan is vaguely in until PSU pulls away late. More like Wisconsin 2017 than PSU 2017.
October 7th, 2019 at 3:10 PM ^
Ok... I'll spot you the PSU offense not being nearly as good, with our defense not being nearly as good. All things now being equal, lets evaluate our offense vs the PSU D? I just don't see this offense changing without a change in leadership both on and off the field.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:23 PM ^
Let's hope Gattis is motivated to be a little more creative for that game.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:28 PM ^
And not creative in the way that whatever that handoff to DPJ play may or may not have been.
October 7th, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
Or the really stupid direct snap to Charbonnet. I think we've seen enough of Gattis to know that he just doesn't have it and isn't going to suddenly figure it out in a couple weeks.
The best hope is that Harbaugh and Warriner get their hands a bit more into the offense and McCaffrey is healthy and is a revelation.
October 7th, 2019 at 1:34 PM ^
Fuck creativity... lets do what works...
How about some jet sweeps with proper blocking..
Or a few gap runs with proper blocking...
WOW... how about a few slants across the center, since we have no fucking clue how to cover it on defense, maybe we try that on offense!
October 7th, 2019 at 1:54 PM ^
Screens!
October 7th, 2019 at 12:27 PM ^
It's worth mentioning that Penn State has played Idaho (FCS), Buffalo (110th in SP+), Pitt (57th in SP+), Maryland (36th in SP+), Purdue (72nd in SP+ and without their best players).
So #57 Pitt took them to the wire at home, but maybe a rivalry game caveat applies. They blew out #36 Maryland on the road, which is concerning, but Maryland may be in free-fall. If Penn State struggles and/or loses @Iowa, I'll feel better, but if they look good against Iowa I'll be much more concerned. Perhaps our best hope is Penn State scrapes by in an ugly outing without looking too scary, otherwise, they may have additional motivation against Michigan (completely immeasurable and intangible, of course).
The best hope for this game is a defensive struggle like this past weekend. No way we're going to keep up in a foot race.
Updated SP+ gives us a 27.6% chance of winning this one, ESPN's FPI gives us a 21.6% chance.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:40 PM ^
Last time I checked, PSU no longer has Joe Moorhead or Saquon Barkley. But they still have James Franklin.
Michigan wins this game, and by a lot.
October 7th, 2019 at 1:09 PM ^
Wow. That is really bold.
I see scenarios where Michigan wins this game. I don't see any scenarios where Michigan wins this game "by a lot." How do you arrive at that? Multiple defensive touchdowns?
October 7th, 2019 at 1:30 PM ^
New QB could potentially do it (probably not but at least it's plausible) given the fact that our offense has a boatload of talent and experience being held back by the QB (and probably the OC but hard to know if he'd be better with a competent QB).
October 7th, 2019 at 8:32 PM ^
Franklin has been known to run up the score to impress the uninformed. He tried to score late against Michigan a few years ago at a point when other coaches would be running clock. Last year, Illinois was winning in the third quarter and then PSU pulled ahead. Franklin calls for 35 offensive points in the 4th quarter to win 63-24 almost exclusively with starters.
PSU lacks seniors and depth. They are dangerous but they don't compare to OSU, They seem entirely beatable. I don't see all those underclassmen on offense being able to adjust and I expect them to make some mistakes. A freshman and a sophomore on the o-line. They have seniors on defense with some going to the NFL but they are not a great defense. Their defense is about the same as Iowa. They won't be able to out talent Michigan.
So if Michigan can just improve a little two weeks in a row . . . no dropped balls, no turnovers . . .
October 7th, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^
Sounds beautiful. Night game for the biggest game of the week in college football. That's how it should be. The tv ratings should be huge.