Further 2010 Opener Deduction
This is all pretty pointless since apparently it will be announced in a week or so anyway, but dammit I'm interested and given the message board it appears so is everyone else. So, news items:
It won't be a Pac-10 team, and 2011 is not necessarily the return game. Mark Snyder:
The coach expanded a bit on the game to be added for next season's opener, saying it may not be returned by Michigan for a couple of years, one of the criteria of making it work. He also ruled out playing a Pac-10 school, saying U-M doesn't need to do that. That leaves Virginia and Pittsburgh as primary BCS school candidates with an open date early next year.
Cal and Oregon State are dead, then. However, Virginia and Pittsburgh as favorites directly contradicts a previous piece stating that…
The list of Duke, Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Oregon State was just wrong, and the team already has a game scheduled for the opener. Chengelis:
The prevailing thought among the media was that the team would be among these four that have an open date next fall -- Virginia, Duke, Pitt and Oregon State. A Michigan official told me today those schools are not candidates and suggested it's very likely the team involved will be making changes to its already existing schedule to make room for Michigan.
So, it's a non-Pac-10 team with an opener scheduled already (ie: not Oklahoma State) and it's not Virginia, Duke, or Pitt. And the implication from Rodriguez above—Michigan "doesn't need to do that," where that is jet out to the West Coast to play a legit team—rules out the super-elite across the country, not that we were going to line up Texas in 2010 anyway.
If you go back to the UV from yesterday that included a list of five teams that had some rumor buzz behind them. Four of them have been debunked; the last school standing is UConn. UConn has an opener lined up against Northeastern already, isn't in the Pac-10, hasn't been specifically ruled out, and wouldn't trip anyone's "we don't need to do that" sensors. Also my inbox has a couple of emails asking if I've heard anything about UConn and one stating "it's definitely UConn." My inbox has another email stating "it's definitely Cal," so the inbox is not exactly definitive. The UConn email says it's from the Michigan side of things and the Cal email says it's from the Cal side of things, FWIW.
I'm still pretty skeptical of the idea that Michigan would give up a precious home game to play UConn when the return trip would be at a 40,000 seat stadium, but a lot of teams have fallen by the wayside and the Huskies meet all the criteria we've heard so far. They're the best guess at the moment, which I guess is better than another MAC school but not by a whole lot.
If all this is going to be about UConn I'd be pissed. Opening the 2010 season with our stadium against them would be a joke. Why not just play a MAC team then....
B
I have to say I'm dissapointed about this. Sure UConn has upgraded the talent level of their team alot the past couple years but they just aren't a team that's going to raise a lot of excitement.
UConn finished 5th in the Big East conference in 2008.
Below are the other 5th ranked teams in 2008 per conference (conference as a whole). Out of these teams I would take the ones in brakets over UConn…What say you?
ACC: Six way tie between [Maryland], [Wake Forest], [Clemson], [NC State], [North Carolina], and [Miami] (all 4-4).
Big 12: [Nebraska], [Oklahoma State], [Missouri]
SEC: Vanderbilt, [South Carolina]
Pac Ten: Arizona
Mountain West: Colorado State
Conference USA: Southern Miss
doxa
I don't understand what "we don't have to do that" means...Oregon State is a decent but not fantastic team. They overachieved a bit last year.
And I kinda like them so I think that would be a great game to do if not now then at some point in the future. Besides...Wolverines vs Beavers...it's perfect!
is that UConn doesn't meet the inflated expectation that
"its not Pitt, Virginia, Oregon State or Duke... it's very likely the team involved will be making changes to its already existing schedule to make room for Michigan."
and
"its a BCS conference school and the series will be a home and home"
invites. It doesn't mean they're bad, they're just not exciting.
at the Yale Bowl or Yankee Stadium or somesuch. UConn is an up and comer from a BCS conference. I don't think there is much to complain about here.
You guys are funny as hell with your uneducated assumptions about UConn football. UConn would get killed by Western Michigan? That's funny considering UConn beat them by 14 back in 2003. UConn would roast them by 40 now a days.
UConn is just as good as a MAC team? Well that's preposterous, considering they whooped Toledo in 2004 in the Motor City Bowl and Buffalo last year in the International Bowl.
Thanks for that post. You'll find a lot of our fans are douchebags.
When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing. -- Bo Schembechler
200 linear feet of porn mags!
Thanks ass-face. I would like to play UConn, just definitely not a home-and-home nor the opener.
Kittens help make the pain go away.
Thanks for assuming I was talking about you. I was talking about the guy who said "Western could beat UConn".
When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing. -- Bo Schembechler
200 linear feet of porn mags!
obviously i was feeding the douchebag moniker.
Kittens help make the pain go away.
Bad joke sorry. Fake indignation.
Kittens help make the pain go away.
a week. Bill Martin is going to do his level best to get a solid opponent in town for the opener.
Infinity can only happen once. Think about that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwGXMryTbwE
Why all the antipathy for Uconn? They are an emerging program that put four guys into the first two rounds of the '09 NFL draft. They may not be Texas or Florida, but they are a bowl team from a BCS conference with a relatively high national profile (albeit one that is more driven by their notoriety as a basketball school). If the rumor proves true, then it's a solid get for us on the schedule.
And, since nobody has mentioned it yet, I'll point out that the rumor has additional signs of plausibility: the basketball home-and-home scheduling suggests that the athletic departments at both schools have a working relationship, and given RichRod's Big East background, he obviously knows Edsall and the Uconn gang well (and destroyed them repeatedly on the field).
UConn is worse than WMU. I hope it's not them because a 7-5 team in the Big East does not deserve a home and home.
What about a 3-9 team in the big ten?
Excellence is Good
We would kill UConn. Why would we get someone worse than this year for the home opener next year?
We dont even know if we can beat WMU. Based on that, I am not sure you can say that we would kill UCONN and they're worse than WMU.
The Winter Olympics at www.justcoverblog.com
God Bless Your Cotton Pickin' Maize & Blue Hearts
Sure we're still of the opinion that we are the great Michigan, but c'mon...UConn doesn't do it for me. I rather play ANY SEC team (yes Vandy, South Carolina) than UConn...sorry
B
UConn would be pretty boring unless it's the basketball team we're talking about.
As of yesterday, I had visions of Panthers, Cavaliers, and Cowboys dancing in my head. I blame myself, I should have known better.
"To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kind of scary. I've wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad."
- Jack Handey
Weagle Weagle War Damn Eagle.
not just "douchey" MGoBlog user, but now TRUSTED MGoBlog user
Would they take a basketball game in exchange?
This team is under construction. We thank you for your patience.
I'm fine with UConn and bringing the traveling Wolverines roadshow to Hartford. PLAY BRASS BONANZA WOOO WHALERS.
When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing. -- Bo Schembechler
200 linear feet of porn mags!
My buddy is a (veteran) manager and he said this is definitely who we are playing.
Phil Brabbs FTW
damn double post.
Kittens help make the pain go away.
Thanks person who I don't know, I don't know if you made that up, but ehhh, maybe. 12 points total does not scream reliable. If this comes true, you will be.
ESS EE SEE SPEED!
Kittens help make the pain go away.
I just don't post a ton because I'm not a "hear-something-so-go-to-mgoblog-so-i-can-look-cool-and-post-it" reader I usually keep most of the stuff I hear to myself. And I can't post on the board I don't think yet. And I'm usually drunk when he tells me stuff. Like Cullen Christian being "committed" in the eyes of the coaching staff and their "Radar" recruiting software.
Phil Brabbs FTW
Thanks for understanding, it wasn't a dick comment, but from my -2, I see that it was construed as such.
Kittens help make the pain go away.
Is there any chance you just THINK he told you this when you were drunk? You can't always remember too well.
"And I'm usually drunk when he tells me stuff."
You get a point for that.
well, that sucks
I'M THE MAN
This is a copy of a comment I made on the MGoBoard...
Here is my non-scientific analysis of potential opponents. I used a couple of assumptions. 1) No Pac-10 team and no Virginia, Pitt, etc from the previous list. 2) Opponent would have at least 6 home games in 2010. 3) Opponent is a big enough school to warrant a return game at their home stadium.
Here is the pool of 10 teams that may be able to fit us in.
High Potential:
Texas (away game with Rice on 9-4)
Clemson (Open 9-4, but at 12 games)
Auburn (Ark State on 9-4 and currently 8 home games)
Texas A&M (Step. F Austin on 9-4 with 8 home games)
LSU (away game at Tulane 9-4)
Lower Potential based on number of home games or schedule:
Georgia
Alabama
Florida
Oklahoma
Nebraska
All in all, I would not be surprised to see the opponent to come from this list
When I looked at the schedules, Auburn is the one that jumped out at me as having high potential. They have 8 home games, with the game on 9-4 being against a D-1AA school. Their 2010 schedule only has 1 challenging non-conference game, Clemson.
Clemson, is the other team in my high potential list that jumps out, with a favorable schedule and with Rodriguez's history.
Texas A&M has a favorable schedule as well, but they just don't seem to be the type of school to give up a home game.
The other 2 Texas and LSU both would have to reschedule away games, which is difficult, but not impossible.
That said, if I were a betting man, I would put $10 down on Auburn.
"Don't touch that please, your primitive intellect wouldn't understand alloys and compositions and things with... molecular structures"
I attended the first Michigan Fantasy Football event a few years ago and Lloyd Carr was asked during a Q&A about conference expansion, i.e., who he would consider as the 12th member of the Big 10.
Interestingly enough, he said Connecticut. Obviously, UConn has very strong men's and women's basketball teams, although as others have noted, their football program is a work in progress. Obviously, it would give the conference a strong East Coast presence as well. The stadium is small, but it was built to be expanded in the future.
I'm disappointed about Oklahoma State--I thought they would have been a good matchup and I have a good friend who received his undergraduate degree there. For Brian: Can you confirm OKST has a season opener in place for 2010? The link below shows they have games in Stillwater against Troy on 9/11 and Tulsa on a date to be determined.
http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/future_schedules/oklahomastate_future...
to the vast majority of ticket-holders, from the standpoint of having a truly noteworthy opponent for the re-dedication game (or whatever they're going to call it). UConn isn't one particle more interesting of a game to me than a MAC or CUSA or MWC team would be, and certainly there would be absolutely no national buzz for the game. You'd think they'd want to schedule somebody that might warrant the GameDay crew coming here, unless the Athletic Department doesn't like publicity.
If UConn is the best they can come up with, I'd say fuck it and just go ahead and schedule CMU and be done with it. Let ESPN pay attention to the other games in the country and they can just post the M-CMU score on the ticker at the bottom of the screen.
After tantalizing ourselves with visions of Jessica Biel or Salma Hayek or Catherine Zita-Jones the last 24 hours, UConn would be like ending up with Fran Drescher.
Don't operate under the impression that UConn is just a pointless game. Still a BCS team. Still a BCS game. It's pretty much just that simple.
Sooner or later, you're going to have to stick your arm up a cow's butt.
Just saying... UConn isn't really a step up...
"A house divided against itself cannot stand"
I meant "Able to go to a BCS bowl game".. It's not a I-AA. Not that it was a "BCS Conference school". Because I could point out MANY Non-BCS Conference schools I'd rather have than UCONN
1. Hawaii
2. Boise St
3. Western Michigan (wouldn't have to give a game)
etc, etc, etc
"A house divided against itself cannot stand"
You're not helping your case any, you should quit talking now.
not just "douchey" MGoBlog user, but now TRUSTED MGoBlog user
MAC is non BCS. I know. I went to Toledo.
Sooner or later, you're going to have to stick your arm up a cow's butt.
Last you checked you were wrong.
When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing. -- Bo Schembechler
200 linear feet of porn mags!
I guess not.
The difference between a shitty "BCS" school like UCONN and WMU is negligle if WMU is not better. Hell Central might be better.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand"
The common definition of a BCS team is one that belongs to one of the six conferences whose champion receives a BCS autobid. By your definition, every team is a BCS team.
Our helmets got wings
ESS EE SEE!!!
Kittens help make the pain go away.
EEEES EEEEE CEEEEE shit? or is it just me?
"A house divided against itself cannot stand"
sorry if it was such a hindrance. I just said "I would like for Michigan to play an SEC opponent to raise Michigan's general perception at the expense of an overrated conference, and that the myth of SEC speed should now and forever be debunked" in fewer words.
Kittens help make the pain go away.
Gets old. Get a new catch phrase or something.
Seeing it in every thread for the past few weeks sure has gotten old.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand"
Would you settle for Potato Salad?
It's ESS EEE SEE, get it right.
When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing. -- Bo Schembechler
200 linear feet of porn mags!
in a "go to hell" game. That would be the best option I think.