An Unbiased Journalist on UM vs. BYU
http://www.vanquishthefoe.com/byu-football/2015/9/23/9381473/byu-footba…
It is more of this kind of objective, unbiased journalism that we truly need in America.
Actually, other than the title, it's a pretty fair (if short) preview of the game from a non-Michigan-fan, BYU-fan, dude-from-Ohio perspective...
September 24th, 2015 at 9:35 AM ^
September 24th, 2015 at 9:38 AM ^
A little tongue and check at the start, but pretty balanced towards the end. Not bad for someone who was brainwashed into hating Michigan for so many years.
September 24th, 2015 at 9:42 AM ^
I enjoyed the read..
It's still depressing that beating BYU is not a given. I just keep telling myself that we will alll look back on this in 3 years and laugh at the way things were..
September 24th, 2015 at 9:45 AM ^
BYU isn't a push over. They're a quality team. While I don't think they will be ranked in the Top 25 at the end of the year, they're still a top 35 team.
If Ohio State was playing BYU, I don't think they should look at beating BYU as a "given"
September 24th, 2015 at 10:10 AM ^
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September 24th, 2015 at 10:23 AM ^
I agree they are not a "push over".. But in no way should BYU at home ever cause us to predict anything less than a 10pt win. It's college football, anything can happen, but the talent level isn't even close.
What would the line be if BYU was playing LSU, Alabama, Mississippi St, etc? Would we have this same attitude about those matchups?
September 24th, 2015 at 10:29 AM ^
And if Ohio State were playing it and looked at beating them as a "given", it would very likely turn into a loss in a hurry.
September 24th, 2015 at 9:47 AM ^
Yay. Perspective from a buckeye fan. Exciting.
September 24th, 2015 at 9:49 AM ^
There's nothing original, and it's not well written or structured enough to even be interesting. Great example of the downside of free internet publishing.
September 24th, 2015 at 9:55 AM ^
What are you talking about? When he starts out by saying how much he hates Michigan. There is clearly bias. Jebus man.
September 24th, 2015 at 11:03 AM ^
Something can't be "bias". You can have a "bias", but an article is "biased".
Sorry, end of grammar rant. This one drives me nuts for some inexplicable reason.
September 24th, 2015 at 9:56 AM ^
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September 24th, 2015 at 9:58 AM ^
He brings up Green for some reason at running back, (probably due to starz) but not Drake Johnson, who will likely see more carries than Green again this week. He doesn't mention Chesson and misspells Darboh as "Darbo". Doesn't make any note of Wormley or Lewis, who are two of the defense's best players. It's not horribly written, but it's a pretty poor article as far as content and an actual preview of this Michigan team.
Also, I'm not sure you can call this "unbiased", as the author is a BYU writer and a Columbus native. He doesn't display his bias in an obvious fashion, but it smells like it was written by a buckeye. It just stinks.
September 24th, 2015 at 10:17 AM ^
September 24th, 2015 at 10:02 AM ^
OK, I just finished it. Most of it is bloody rubbish, but the author makes some good points, like his thoughts about "Darbo," Butt, Peppers, and the defense. He is pretty spot on about that, but the rest is just meh.
September 24th, 2015 at 10:07 AM ^
The article says Brandon is probably the reason why the Rodriguez hire didn't work, but Brandon was hired AFTER RR's second season (both of which were losing seasons), and he was here for RR's only winning season in 2010. Sooo, no.
September 24th, 2015 at 10:09 AM ^
Exactly. The reason RR didn't work is two fold:
1) he didn't give a damn about defense apparently
2) most people didn't buy in
September 24th, 2015 at 11:43 AM ^
thread-within-a-thread arguing about why Rich Rod didn't succeed? You guys blew right past this. Are you even awake??
September 24th, 2015 at 10:28 AM ^
recent current events and opinion. Like I said above it reads like a traveler advisory to an exotic locale based largely on past experience. Whatever.
September 24th, 2015 at 10:46 AM ^
He scored a measly 21 points against OSU in three years. Not to beat a dead horse, which I know I am, but he deserved to be fired.
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September 24th, 2015 at 10:09 AM ^
September 24th, 2015 at 10:14 AM ^
Why? Because this is the tone I've been longing to hear from OSU fans for years. Don't get me wrong, I HATE Ohio State as much as any Michigan fan. But, there's a difference between distain based actual knowledge and personal experiences with a rival program and its fans, and blinded loathing of a caricature. There have been many times when I thought OSU fans identified more with hating Michigan than taking pride in Ohio State. In contrast, this article had quips about Michigan that are actually clever and funny. One old guy story and then I'll shut up. A coworker of mine said that he knew someone who had some role in the OSU program and had a set of satirical lyrics for The Victors. I asked him what they were, and genuinely looked forward to hearing them, because as a fan and alum, I know there is plenty to spoof. What I got, instead, was an exhibition of every word in the English language that rhymed with "Smuckers" and little else. Thank goodness, someone in Buckeye-land finally gets it!
September 24th, 2015 at 10:42 AM ^
to hear something whimsical --from a Buckeye mocking the Victors? This is a school that hands out pins for beating Michigan, has a one-hit wonder band of old farts with a name denigrating Schembechler, whose students jump in a lake as a Michigan pregame ritual, and have variously shutoff heat and water at Columbus hotels when Michigan stays there overnight, has little old ladies giving the team the finger, and once had security with drug-sniffing dogs go through the bags of Michigan players after they got off the bus at the stadium. Of course, Jim Tressel, that paragon of virtue, told Lloyd Carr at midfield after the fact that he knew nothing about this. We all know how Tressel's veracity held up under scrutiny and how that hardly mattered in Columbus in spite of the heat, suspension and indignity that caused the school.
This is the tip of a very large iceberg of shit that accompanies the Buckeye historical approach to playing Michigan. And every time you hear about this grand historical edge that WE supposedly lord over them, it is THEM who bring it up and claim otherwise. Fuck Ohio State and this writer's warmed over recall of square hamburgers.
September 24th, 2015 at 10:47 AM ^
Stealing our best running back's helmet the day before the game. I believe that it was Ty Wheatley, but my memory ain't what it used to be.
That could be similar to stealing a pro golfer's putter.
Go Blue!
September 24th, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
"Unbiased journalist." No such thing. And I have spent my entire legal career defending them. They may claim to be unbiased, they may even try to be unbiased, but they don't even recognize how their biases influence what they write.
September 24th, 2015 at 11:06 AM ^
Coach W L T Pct
Schembechler 194 48 5
Moeller 44 13 3
Carr 122 40 0
Total 360 101 8 77.61%
Rodriguez 15 22 0
Hoke 31 20 0
Total 406 143 8 73.61%
Entire History 915 328 36 72.95%
There is really no difference between ancient history and more recent history. In fact, our historical winning percentage at present is virtually identical - just slightly higher - to what it was when Bo Schembechler took over, in spite of the down years with RR and Hoke. Onward and upward with Coach Harbaugh!!!
September 24th, 2015 at 11:00 AM ^
September 24th, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
September 24th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
Doesn't pretty much every successful coach do that until they get where they want to be? Granted, Harbaugh's successful stint in the NFL is an orthodox path, but he was ran out of town by incompetent ownership and management. Other than that he's taken progressively better jobs at higher paying and more historically important institutions. I'm not sure why that's any indication that he is going to dart from Michigan. Not saying it isn't possible if the right NFL opportunity comes along, but people treat it like a foregone conclusion based on a flimsy premise.
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September 24th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^
funny stuff. worth the click.
September 24th, 2015 at 12:17 PM ^
September 24th, 2015 at 12:37 PM ^
understatement! Yes, we hate you just as much, but with a little class.
September 24th, 2015 at 2:24 PM ^
Nothing is more fun than reading an author whose frame of reference for a team and its atmosphere are assorted cliche blog posts from the mid-00s.
It's just lazy writing. He ignores the fact that BYU gave up 260+ yards to UCLA last week when talking about their defense, and then mentions how solid the BYU pass rush was against UCLA. Well, BYU didn't record a sack against UCLA despite them starting a true freshman QB and only had 5 TFLs for a total of 7 yards, compared to UCLa getting 4 sacks and 5 TFLs overall for 29 yards.
BYU is a decent team that always looked tough, even before Hill went down. They are still tough, but a high variance team that could win or get run off the field. There, I wrote his story for him.
It's SBNation team blog so I have low expectations, but you'd think someone who tries to write "professionally" would be a bit better with the facts.
September 24th, 2015 at 2:52 PM ^
I like that, even though the author states up front "I've hated Michigan football my entire life," someone in the comments responds:
Typical Michigan fan
You just demonstrated why Michigan fans are disliked.
September 24th, 2015 at 3:38 PM ^