Wait, I thought George Carlin was dead, what the hell is he doing on the field next to Roundtree?
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Opponent Watch: Week 13
Filed under:
I said I would write a final opponent watch to recap the season. This is not it. I'll have that one next week.
About Last Saturday:
Bad guys - 0, Good guys - a billion
HELLO.
(more after the jump)
Objects in Mirror:
Western Michigan (7-5, 5-3 MAC)
Last game: Akron 19, Western Michigan 68 (W)
Recap: I think I missed this last week: Western Michigan QB Alex Carder separated his throwing shoulder against Miami (NTM), so he ended up sitting out against Akron. In his stead, backup QB Tyler Van Tubbergen -- sweet name -- completed 19 of 21 passes for 252 yards and six touchdowns. He also added seven carries for 60 yards and another score. The Zips aren’t exactly competitive; they’re 1-11 on the season and 0-fer in conference play, but holy pants. You still have to work for those numbers, even against a scout team.
Next game: The Broncos have finished their regular season and are 3rd in the MAC-West division.
No. 22 Notre Dame (8-4)
Last game: Notre Dame 14, No. 6 Stanford 28 (L)
Recap: If you ignore the points, Notre Dame’s defense held Stanford QB Andrew Luck and the Cardinal offense in relative check for much of the game. Horrific turnovers however proved once again to be as much a part of the Irish’s identity as three-leaf clovers and butterscotch pants. Notre Dame QB Tommy Rees threw an early interception, lost a fumble, and suffered a bruised rib before getting permanently benched. Backup dual-threat QB Andrew Hendrix gave the offense a spark in the second half by running zone reads and speed options effectively, but it was nowhere near enough to overcome a three-score deficit.
If Brian Kelly can adapt his passing spread to a running quarterback, look to Hendrix to be the future starter. Both he and Rees seem to have the “it” factor that QB Dayne Crist doesn’t, but Hendrix stands alone with minimal “derp” factor. Even his one interception looked well executed.
Next game: The Irish have finished their regular season and have no ranking.
Eastern Michigan (6-6, 4-4 MAC)
Last game: Eastern Michigan 12, Northern Illinois 18 (L)
Recap: Eastern Michigan put forth a valiant effort but fell to a Northern Illinois team playing for the division championship. Regardless, the Eagles put together their first non-losing season for the first time since forever. Kudos.
Next game: The Eagles have finished their regular season and are 4th in the MAC-West division.
San Diego State (7-4, 4-3 MWC)
Last game: San Diego State 31, UNLV 14 (W)
Recap: San Diego State RB Ronnie Hillman returned from injury to rush for 192 yards and two touchdowns against UNLV. The Aztecs spotted the Rebels a 14-0 lead at the beginning of the second quarter but went on to score 31 unanswered points.
Next game: Fresno State
Minnesota (3-9, 2-6 B1G)
Last game: Illinois 7, Minnesota 27 (W)
Recap: Six weeks ago, who could have guessed that Minnesota would end up on the winning side of a Non-Game-Of-The-Week against Illinois?
Next game: The Gophers have finished their regular season and are 6th in the B1G Myths division.
They are not the worst team in Big Ten history, however, because Second Half 2011 Illinois is. (In the underachieving category, at least)
Northwestern (6-6, 3-5 B1G)
Last game: No. 14 Michigan State 31, Northwestern 17 (L)
Recap: Northwestern trailed Michigan State 17-3 at halftime, and despite putting up some points in the second half, they were never really in this game. Think Michigan at Illinois.
Next game: The Wildcats have finished their regular season and are 5th in the B1G Tall Tales division.
No. 14 Michigan State (10-2, 7-1 B1G)
Last game: Michigan State 31, Northwestern 17 (W)
Recap: See above.
Next game: No. 15 Wisconsin
Purdue (6-6, 4-4 B1G)
Last game: Purdue 33, Indiana 25 (W)
Recap: Indiana led for most of the first half until an 81-yard Raheem Mostert kickoff return set up the Purdue tying score. Then the Boilermakers field-goaled the Hoosiers to death to win (and forever engrave a goofy score on) the Old Oaken Bucket, in the process they became bowl eligible for the first time since 2007.
Next game: The Boilermakers have finished their regular season and are a whopping 3rd in the B1G liters division.
Iowa (7-5, 4-4 B1G)
Last game: Iowa 7, No. 20 Nebraska 20 (L)
Recap: The inaugural “Heroes” game was a defensive struggle that Iowa lost because they couldn’t convert any third downs. Hawkeyes WR Marvin McNutt got shut down by Huskers CB Alphonzo Dennard, and the Iowa defense got pounded into submission by Nebraska RB Rex Burkhead, who carried the ball 38 times for 160 yards, one touchdown, and a record-breaking 29 white guy synonyms, similes and metaphors for toughness.
Next game: The Hawkeyes have finished their regular season and are 4th in the B1G Fables division.
Illinois (6-6, 2-6 B1G)
Last game: Illinois 7, Minnesota 27 (L)
Recap: Oof.
Next game: The Illini have finished their regular season and are 5th in the B1G 13373125 division.
No. 21 Nebraska (9-3, 5-3 B1G)
Last game: Iowa 7, Nebraska 20 (W)
Recap: See above.
Next game: The Cornhuskers have finished their regular season and are 3rd in the B1G … wait for it … division.
November 29th, 2011 at 4:47 PM
#2
Wait, I thought George Carlin
November 29th, 2011 at 4:55 PM
#3
That's not Carlin . . .
. . . It's the guy who ran Shaman Drum bookstore back in the 80s. Strange . . . . he hasn't aged at all. Stranger . . . he didn't strike me as a football type.
November 29th, 2011 at 6:04 PM
#4
Karl Pohrt? He does look a
Karl Pohrt? He does look a little like Bob Currie, I have to say....
November 29th, 2011 at 4:51 PM
#5
So...Michigan is 10-2
...and the schedule included only ONE team that has a losing record? That seems nice for Hoke and Co.
November 29th, 2011 at 6:01 PM
#6
Not Hoke, but the team
Hoke isn't the type to care, if he's true to his word, all indications so far being that he is.
My smug is more directed at all the naysayers who talked our ears off about how Michigan "has yet to play a real team". Before the season Notre Dame was considered a legitimately talented team, projected to win about 8-9 games. . . they were, and they did. Oh, but their story HAD to change as soon as they played Michigan, because the narrative was that Michigan is a fraud. ND was suddenly nobody; after all, they'd just lost to South Florida and Michigan. ONE MONTH later critics were still insisting Michigan was stuck in preseason.
Michigan didn't play too many seriously intimidating teams this year (yes the B1G is weak), but the meat of the schedule was respectable. Actually it's remarkable how bleh the schedule was. I'd usually expect a schedule to turn out being one third tough, one third decent and one third cupcake. Nine out of the 12 teams Michigan played* were "decent". Any ranked team should beat any of the first six schools Michigan played and for the most part they did, but for fark's sake people were crapping on Michigan's schedule back when Alabama was playing Kent State and North Texas, not Arkansas or LSU!
*Exceptions are Michigan State (good), Nebraska (good) and Minnesota (bad).
November 29th, 2011 at 7:13 PM
#7
It seems like they say that
It seems like they say that every year. Even in the years when Michigan picked some pretty decent off conference schedules.
November 29th, 2011 at 5:03 PM
#8
I've never understood the
I've never understood the scheduling of FCS teams. If you somehow manage to lose you look horrible, and if you win you look like you just beat an FCS team. There's really no benefit. Why not just schedule low level D1 teams for your warmup games like we did this year?
November 29th, 2011 at 5:07 PM
#9
money
they make less of it. Eastern probably walked away with a million dollars this year.
November 29th, 2011 at 6:01 PM
#10
I know the punching bag team
I know the punching bag team rakes it in for those games, but the home team makes the same amount either way don't they?
November 29th, 2011 at 6:29 PM
#11
who do you think pays the
who do you think pays the punching bag?
November 29th, 2011 at 7:40 PM
#12
I'm clearly not voicing this
I'm clearly not voicing this question well. We do not get more money by playing an App St. vs. a CMU. So why do it? If we lose it looks worse if it's an FCS team. If we win it looks better if it's a D1 team. We do not get more money with one vs the other. So where is the benefit of playing an FCS opponent?
November 29th, 2011 at 8:04 PM
#13
The point was that, while we
The point was that, while we make the same with an FCS team, we pay them less, so we get to keep more of the money.
November 29th, 2011 at 8:26 PM
#14
Ah at long last I have
Ah at long last I have clarification. Thanks. Sorry for being thick. I still don't think that justifies ever scheduling them though.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:11 PM
#15
We do get more money playing an FCS team
...bEcause we do not have to pay them as much to be our punching bag as we do a low FBS team. Thus we keep more of the roughly similar gross revenue. Doesn't make it right , but that is the answer to your question.
November 29th, 2011 at 5:12 PM
#16
FCS used to be D I-AA, not
FCS used to be D I-AA, not D-II. The "S" in FBS and FCS stands for "Subdivision", i.e. divisions of Division I. D-II and D-III still exist.
November 29th, 2011 at 5:05 PM
#17
According to this:
http://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/ranking/strength-of-schedule-by-team
We are ranked 36th on Strength of Schedule. Pretty much in the middle of the B1G.
November 29th, 2011 at 5:17 PM
#18
This site has us higher at
This site has us higher at 25th and that is 3rd in the B10 only behind Ohio and Minnesota.
http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/current_congrove_rankings.html
November 29th, 2011 at 5:29 PM
#19
ohio
Isn't that the worse state ever?
Their fans are the worse ever, that's for damn sure. Have you guys been reading their whining about our grenade celebration and Denard motioning that he was feeding himself, they're all up in a tizzy about it, comical.
November 29th, 2011 at 5:38 PM
#20
strength of schedule
Minnesota gets a big bump by virtue of not playing themselves.
November 29th, 2011 at 8:04 PM
#21
I like this computer rankings ....
because Wisconsin should be ranked ahead of msu (regardless of head to head). Wisconsin lost 2 games on "hail Mary's which are "freak" plays anyway.
How about Houston's SOS rank ... 104th !
Go Blue!
November 29th, 2011 at 9:49 PM
#22
Sagarin
Michigan's overall ranking, according to Sagarin, is #23 when margin of victory is not part of the calculation (This is the ranking used in the BCS calculation). However, when margin of victory is included, Michigan's rank is #9.
November 29th, 2011 at 5:08 PM
#23
What does FTW stand for
I saw Brian write it on an earlier thread and on many others as well,. I checked the abbreviation dictionary and they didn't list it.
Sorry to have to ask a seemingly dumb question, I just want to understand what I'm reading, thanks.
November 29th, 2011 at 5:12 PM
#24
You must be, like, ancient
For the Win
November 29th, 2011 at 5:23 PM
#25
I hope not
I hope 48 is not ancient, I still feel young, yo!
November 29th, 2011 at 5:13 PM
#28
1)www.google.com
2)search:
November 29th, 2011 at 5:14 PM
#29
I figured if he doesn't know
I figured if he doesn't know what ftw stands for, he probably doesn't know what lmgtfy stand for either.
November 29th, 2011 at 5:14 PM
#30
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+doe
November 30th, 2011 at 11:25 AM
#31
Actually the first result
Actually the first result from Google is "F.T.W. (aka Last Ride) is a 1994 film about Frank T. Wells, an ex-con rodeo rider who becomes involved with a woman who's a bank..."
So Google has failed us.....
November 30th, 2011 at 2:56 PM
#32
Failed you. It brought all
Failed you. It brought all sorts of slang definition sites for me. Besides, if he can't figure out to go to the second result, then he failed google.
November 29th, 2011 at 5:16 PM
#33
For The Win
For The Win
November 29th, 2011 at 5:21 PM
#36
Thanks guys
Let
Me
That
For
You
See, I have a sense of humor
November 29th, 2011 at 5:21 PM
#37
Records of opponents
Season: 81-62 (.566)
When UM played them: 41-23 (.641)
Record after we played them: 40-39 (.506)
Often thought of this back in the Navarre days when teams seemed to be regulary 4, 5, 6 - 0, or 5, 6, 7 - 1 when they played us, only to have a downslide after we finished with them.
November 29th, 2011 at 5:40 PM
#38
to be expected
Most major conference teams play at most one difficult game out of conference. Thus, a lot of B1G teams start at least 4-0 or 3-1. It doesn't take much to stretch that out to 5-0 or 6-0, but most teams will lose a few games somewhere in their conference schedule.
November 29th, 2011 at 9:09 PM
#39
More
It's more than that. I'm not sure how much more, but given the quasi-tournament nature of college football's regular season, there's clear psychological pressure to continue a downward spiral after a deflating loss. Eg us after the Horror, Wiscy after Sparty this year, etc. I'm not sure how much of an effect that pressure has. But it's non-zero. The opportunity cost of practice time spent by coaches working against that psychological pressure is one way to quantify it, I suppose (not that practice time breakdowns are available for us to chart... can you imagine if they were?).
November 29th, 2011 at 5:23 PM
#40
On Iowa.
They lose because they couldn't pass. They ran pretty effectively.
November 29th, 2011 at 5:31 PM
#41
Yeah, Vandenberg was less
Yeah, Vandenberg was less than 50% on the day, so fair enough. I was looking at total rush (88) yards rather than YPC (4.8).
I only saw highlights of this game so I went mostly by the stat sheet.
November 29th, 2011 at 6:12 PM
#42
Dear haters:
So our schedule was easy? We played 11 bowl eligible teams. How about you?
November 29th, 2011 at 6:19 PM
#43
Not that it detracts from
Not that it detracts from your overall point, but two of Eastern's wins are against FCS schools so they are not bowl elifible.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:24 PM
#44
posted from iPhone
It's time for English to move on after getting six wins at Eastern. Talk about a statement. That's like winning 45 games with the clippers.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:36 PM
#45
English to Illinois??
November 30th, 2011 at 11:39 AM
#46
It'd be interesting
...but English is a defensive minded guy, and Illinois defense is already decent enough...well, statistically better than the offense. I think they need someone to open up their offense a little more, not that English is incapable, but he is more of a defensive guy.
November 29th, 2011 at 6:25 PM
#47
wow you weren't kidding about
wow you weren't kidding about the haplessness of EMU. This is just their 2nd non-losing season since 1990 (6-5 in 1995), compared to 13 seasons of 3 or fewer wins. Youch!
November 29th, 2011 at 6:46 PM
#48
Suggest instead of Tall Tales divsion
Why not stick with the pattern? One division is Myths and the other is Fables.
November 29th, 2011 at 6:52 PM
#49
We were a better team than IA.
If the offense was playing well we would have taken IA. Overall, this was a great first season for Brady Hoke, his staff and his players. It is nice to see a 10 win season again!
November 29th, 2011 at 7:46 PM
#50
Iowa-Neb
Might I suggest we call that the Corn Bowl?
November 29th, 2011 at 8:26 PM
#51
The Cornfrontation.
The Cornfrontation.
