The 0-17 On the Road vs. Ranked Opponents Isn't Really True
Everyone has probably heard that Michigan is 0-17 on the road vs. ranked opponents since beating #2 Notre Dame on the road in 2006. This actually isn't true.
Michigan actually beat Illinois in 2007 on the road. That Illini team finished ranked 18th and 20th in the polls and was ranked 13th in the final BCS rankings prior to losing in the Rose Bowl to USC. They also beat Ohio State in Columbus.
Just wanted to point that out, though it probably won't give many comfort. I understand that the people throwing that statistic out are probably using a ranked at the time metric, but I feel this is a more accurate assessment.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:23 PM ^
So 1-16 then. Sweet.
September 4th, 2018 at 11:02 PM ^
Makes me feel better that it was Illinois at least...
September 4th, 2018 at 8:23 PM ^
So we're 0-16 against ranked opponents on the road since beating fucking Illinois in 2007.
Thanks OP. I feel SO much better.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:38 PM ^
Yeah somehow I feel worse. Didn’t quite realize that streak went back a decade plus. To me, “hasn’t beat a ranked team since 2007” sounds worse than 0-17. Sorry, 0-16.
September 4th, 2018 at 10:51 PM ^
Actually 0-15. He mentioned Ohio State as well. So there is that. If that helps. Feel better now? Well? Do You?
September 5th, 2018 at 8:44 PM ^
He was referencing Illinois who beat OSU that year.
September 5th, 2018 at 10:40 AM ^
For a guy allegedly so good at drugs, I think you need to pick up an old habit or two to make it through the season...
September 4th, 2018 at 8:24 PM ^
They weren't ranked when Michigan played them. So technically, the 0-17 record is accurate.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:28 PM ^
Which is exactly why the metric is flawed. Michigan hasn't been a great program for awhile, but going by rankings early in the season is a bad way to assess a team's value, especially when there are many other bias confirming metrics.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:42 PM ^
Because we only play road games against ranked teams early in the season? Thanks a lot, Warde.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:29 PM ^
Good thing we beat that team that lost by 30 in the Rose Bowl. Makes me feel much better.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:31 PM ^
No shortage of people round here to tell us that what we're being fed might look like shit smell like shit and taste like shit but it really isn't shit.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:57 PM ^
"What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening." -Mgousers
September 4th, 2018 at 9:16 PM ^
They are the absolute best. You see if we had stopped Winbush on third down, caught the interception, called a different play on 2nd and goal, not run a play action out of an empty set, not had a stupid roughing the passer penalty, saw the cavernous daylight and run to it instead directly into a lineman's ass and dropped the field goal snap we would've won by 20 points or more.
I mean now that I think about we actually kicked their ass pretty good. And now that I look back we really did smoke South Carolina, OSU and Wisconsin too if not for 10 plays or so each game.
We're practically undefeated.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:32 PM ^
Sigh..... so this is what it's come down to trying to find that illustrious Road winand we have to date back to 2007. That about says it all
September 4th, 2018 at 8:55 PM ^
We finally have something to hang our hats on and it's a win over Illinois from 11 years ago. Who would've thought...
September 4th, 2018 at 9:50 PM ^
I'm pretty sure Illinois counts as a rivalry game too!!!!!!
September 4th, 2018 at 8:35 PM ^
You really had nothing better to do than research this?
How about spending the time finding us a running game instead?
September 4th, 2018 at 8:35 PM ^
It's not inaccurate because Illinois wasn't ranked at the time we played them. It's moreso a stupid stat because it's completely arbitrary. That stat is going all the way back to Carr teams. Michigan has gone through multiple changes since then - personnel, schematic, administrative - and a team playing in 2007 is completely different from a team playing in 2018
September 4th, 2018 at 10:05 PM ^
So prior coaches don't count? So we through out all that "Michigan tradition"? All the wins back in horse and buggy days?
Careful of your arguements.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:37 PM ^
I don’t know that pointing out that they actually beat a ranked team on the road 11 years ago is really helping the matter.
September 5th, 2018 at 8:47 AM ^
this reminds me of a John Cleese comedy skit about how to truly irritate the hell out of people- the key is to do it while attempting to help them. People can't bring themselves to yell at an irritating person who seems to be trying to be helpful.
This thread is the equivalent of a housewife saying to her husband "there were actually two years since we were married when you weren't a loser"
September 4th, 2018 at 8:38 PM ^
You're forgetting that a #2 ranked Michigan team boldly walked into Kinnick Stadium and defeated itself on the road at Iowa just two years ago.
the jokes help hold back the tears
September 4th, 2018 at 8:42 PM ^
This is the same thing as claiming that Michigan didn't beat a single team with a winning record last year . . . until Pur-fucking-due won their crappy bowl game.
shit still smells like shit
September 4th, 2018 at 8:44 PM ^
UM football is basically a higher profile Northwestern.
September 4th, 2018 at 9:18 PM ^
Naw dude, Northwestern has beat MSU more times in the past 10 years than we have.
September 4th, 2018 at 10:12 PM ^
I'm sad.
September 4th, 2018 at 10:07 PM ^
Tis true. Over the last 10 seasons:
Northwestern: 77-51
Michigan: 74-53
And just for shits and giggles:
Iowa: 82-48
So just look at the bright side. Maybe Harbaugh is our Kirk Ferentz.
September 4th, 2018 at 11:16 PM ^
bright side?
.
OMG you've just answered the question of why Mr. Brightside is so popular in Michigan stadium?
It's the perfect fan heartbreak song of longing & frustration. OSU (& the rest of the B1G) has been "taking off her dress now" for the better part of 15 years.
That song was released in the fall of 2003.
September 5th, 2018 at 8:31 AM ^
Why is Harbaugh responsible for RR/Hoke's years?
How does Harbaugh's record here (10-3, 10-3, 8-5) equal Ferentz's 10-year average of 8-5?
September 5th, 2018 at 8:51 AM ^
"So just look at the bright side. Maybe Harbaugh is our Kirk Ferentz"
Man we have finally hit the "gallows humor" stage of the JH era
still, I did laugh out loud at this one
September 4th, 2018 at 8:45 PM ^
First time poster--I've often wondered about the accuracy of this statistic. Apologies if this has been clarified in previous discussions. Off the top of my head, Michigan on the road in bowl games beat Florida in 2008, Virginia Tech in 2012, and Florida in 2016. All three of those teams were ranked at the time Michigan played and beat them. In non-bowl games, Michigan beat a ranked Florida team in Dallas in 2017. Why are these wins not included in this narrative of "wins against on the road ranked opponents?"
September 4th, 2018 at 8:54 PM ^
Because they are neutral field games and not true road games?
September 4th, 2018 at 9:02 PM ^
Beating Florida in the state of Florida isn't a road win? Just because it wasn't in Gainesville?
Seems like semantics.
September 5th, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^
there's a difference between playing in the Swamp and at the Citrus bowl...
Sorry, don't know what else to tell you; that's how the NCAA counts what is considered a Road game...
Wouldn't even be an issue if Michigan again went out and won a game on the road...
September 5th, 2018 at 10:44 AM ^
I don't know that beating Florida in Florida is actually a neutral site game, tbh
September 4th, 2018 at 8:56 PM ^
Because they aren't road wins? They occurred at neutral sites.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:57 PM ^
Apparently neutral sites don’t count. Although playing Florida in the Outback/Gator Bowl or USC/UCLA in the Rose Bowl are essentially home games for them.
September 5th, 2018 at 11:47 AM ^
Sure, but that's always been the case.
It's only an issue now because Michigan's road record versus ranked opponents is historically bad...and Michigan fans are trying to change the narrative.
Fixing that problem is what Harbaugh and staff is paid to do...
September 4th, 2018 at 8:49 PM ^
We beat a 7-2 Minnesota in 08. Were they not ranked?
September 4th, 2018 at 9:28 PM ^
They were not. They were ranked #20 the week before but lost to Northwestern which knocked them out of the polls.
They were also a total paper tiger that beat up on a pathetic non-conference slate and a bunch of easy Big Ten games to run their record to 7-1 before going 0-5 to finish the season.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:52 PM ^
What about our bowl game wins. Travelling south is a big deal. Whatever, the stat line isn't a good one.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:53 PM ^
Why aren't we getting more credit for beating Illinois 11 years ago!?
September 4th, 2018 at 8:55 PM ^
I don't know why everyone is suddenly latching onto this "0-17" crap anyway. I mean, yes, it needs to change...but honestly it feels like Harbaugh is being blamed for all 17 losses.
I mean, why now? Why not when it was 0-15? Or 0-10? Do we like putting ourselves down every chance we get? Do we need to constantly remind ourselves that, yes, things have sucked big time since Carr retired?
I feel like people went into a coma from 2008-2014 and then woke up and are taking out every failure of the program in the last decade out on Harbaugh.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:59 PM ^
Because earlier in the streak it was clear that they were just plain bad. Now people are trying to sell Michigan as being a Conference and National contender but stats like this illustrate just how poorly Michigan has still been at competing with the big dogs.
September 5th, 2018 at 4:22 PM ^
Quite frankly, it's ridiculous that anyone could sell them as a National title contender this year. At best they're a dark horse to compete for the Big Ten title.
Just because expectations are out of whack doesn't mean we should hold the coach accountable to them...because then we'll never get what we want.
September 4th, 2018 at 9:28 PM ^
I remember everyone talking about how poorly we played on the road under Hoke also. The problem now is it hasn't gotten any better under Harbaugh.
September 5th, 2018 at 4:20 PM ^
But I think it has, though. We just aren't seeing it in top 25 results yet. Hoke's teams didn't just lose to ranked opponents on the road...they got run off the field. They'd also lose to unranked road opponents all the time, like Iowa and Rutgers(?!?!). They almost lost to a bad Connecticut team on the road once. Hoke's teams were awful on the road.
Further evidence: including the ND loss, Harbaugh's teams are 9-6 on the road since he was hired. It's not great. But when you see that Hoke was 7-12 on the road...yeah, maybe the team IS actually better.
September 4th, 2018 at 8:55 PM ^
This is some of the saddest shit I’ve ever read.