The Motivation Myth?
Living in Ohio as I do (thank you for your sympathy) and working frequently at Ohio State University Hospitals (thank you for your sympathy), I perhaps have a glimpse into the psychology of OSU fans that some of you do not (which is good for your intestinal health). I can tell you from the 183 texts I received cussing me out for costing OSU a victory (this was the first time I openly rooted for OSU in my life), that these troglodytes are trying to rally. Having purged themselves with calls for OSU staff to be fired (not excluding Urban Meyer, seriously), they believe there is one silver lining in this cloud: the team will be motivated more than ever to beat TTUN.
There is a thread in 11 Warriors entitled:
WITHOUT THIS LOSS, TOSU WOULD OF HAVE A HARDER TIME BEATING TTUN
I call hogwash. I admit to having this thought flash through my head, but I think this is a prevalent myth in the minds of nervous fans, and rarely true.
Yeah i'm beyond disappointed about this loss like all of you guys are but, I think this loss should really light a fire under everyone's asses. We've been talking about how this team has lacked motivation and hasn't had a chip on their shoulder for the entire season. Now we got adversity and doubters who last year was the main fuel for our run. Yesterday our guys seemingly had nothing to play for and played not to lose. Against TTUN, are guys will be angry and very much doubted going into AA.
Occassionally, teams will rise up for a fired Earle Bruce or tragic Jerry Kill, but I think that people conflate such "motivating" events with the reality that those teams were good enough to play the game they did without the motivation. It didn't help us with Bo in 2006 (I was at that game), it didn't help VT yesterday win one for Beamer.
Ultimately, it comes down to match-ups, X and Os, talent and execution. This isn't some brilliant observation, I admit; I only make it because OSU, unlike what is said in the fool's post above, WAS motivated to win yesterday and had EVERYTHING to play for, but they had structural problems that prevented them from winning: average receivers, a QB that needs them to be open, a defense with SOME vulnerabilities, and a team that played absolutely no one during the season, which created a false paradigm that they were above having to give all the effort. This was confirmed in the post-game immature Elliott and Jones meltdowns. Michigan has as good a D line and a better secondary that MSU. The same structural challenges will confront OSU no matter how much more they want to win (which, is that even possible?). Our inferior LB may present an opporunity for them, yes. But will OSU motivate their way to inflicting the bad defeats seen in the RR era? No.
And jinxes aren't real, either.
November 22nd, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^
True. But I am disturbed by OSU squeezing your MSU. I do not want to speculate on what that acronym means...
November 22nd, 2015 at 11:40 AM ^
November 22nd, 2015 at 12:35 PM ^
November 22nd, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^
But multiple star players announcing they are leaving--before the regular season is even over? That potentially points in a different direction.
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November 22nd, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
I think OSU got soft, a victim of their own success. I hope this loss doesn't wake them up.
November 22nd, 2015 at 11:45 AM ^
Their schedule was really soft and they finally crumbled when they played a team with good lines. They also gave up over 200 rushing yards against Minnesota so it's not like they've had a dominant defense all year. If we can somewhat stop their run game, I can see us forcing Barrett into making mistakes. Our secondary is the best unit he will face all year. On the other side, they have not faced a team with a good passing game and that has become our strength.
November 22nd, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
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November 22nd, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
Some of the OSU players will come out motivated against us, but i see absolutely no threat on OSU's team in the passing game.
Their WR's are awful and our corners should have an easy day stopping them.. The only thing i will be concerned with is stopping the run and the read option.
November 22nd, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
In Harbaugh I trust.
November 22nd, 2015 at 11:35 AM ^
So... if they had beaten MSU and still had the B1G title, playoff spot and possible repeat National Championship completely within their reach, they wouldn't have been as motivated as they are now having (most likely) lost any possibility of any of that, and their players more worried about their draft prospects and trashing the coaching staff. Makes total sense.
November 22nd, 2015 at 11:36 AM ^
I don't know if the loss to MSU will motivate so much as tap into self-doubt and division. Who knows what the Ezekiel Elliott announcement will do. I can't imagine something like that unites a locker room. And I don't think Cardale announcing he's leaving will unite, either. I think ultimately, adversity breeds resilience, and they haven't had any adversity in 23 games. A close call isn't a loss. They're all blaming each other now, some publicly, some not.
November 22nd, 2015 at 11:39 AM ^
November 22nd, 2015 at 11:44 AM ^
to be for the Eastern Division title. Now it may not be. Will it affect either team's motivation adversely? One team has years of frustration built up and a highly partisan crowd of 108,000 in its favor. I submit that this is the team least affected by the disappointment that the result of the game will not defintively be for a chance at the BT title.
November 22nd, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^
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November 22nd, 2015 at 12:13 PM ^
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November 22nd, 2015 at 11:56 AM ^
I'm sure our players from Ohio (like Bolden, Kalis, Butt and Henry) will be more than motivated to get their first win against them. Remember, the majority of our roster is 0-3 against Urbz and they don't wanna blow this opportunity to celebrate a huge home win.
November 22nd, 2015 at 12:03 PM ^
It always seems like The Game is one of those contests that hardly ever correlates to the direction of a particular team's season, but I do wonder if yesterday's loss was so jarring to OSU that they would be walking into Ann Arbor at a psychological disadvantage. It seemed apparent from Elliott's comments and the comments of others that all may not be well in that locker room - sometimes a loss only helps things unravel further in those situations.
November 22nd, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^
November 22nd, 2015 at 12:24 PM ^
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November 22nd, 2015 at 12:40 PM ^
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November 22nd, 2015 at 1:21 PM ^
November 22nd, 2015 at 1:57 PM ^
November 22nd, 2015 at 2:11 PM ^