23-game win-streak
Last time Ohio came to Ann Arbor with a streak like the one they presently have (22-game streak then, of course), Bo Schembechler handled them. He had losses to Mizzou and Staee coming into the game.
Don't take me for an overly optimistic fool--just trying to generate a little excitement about next weekend.
Rivalry intangibles mean a lot of things can happen. Hope for Hoke.
Bear in mind that only ONE of our losses has been delivered by greater than one score, and that was by the team that obsesses over us more than any other team.
But next week we'll play a team where the obsession is mutual. It's not impossible.
Go Blue. Beat Ohio.
Edit: From Wolverine Devotee:
"Even Bacon agreed with me on twitter, you can throw the records out the window in this rivalry.
The underdog has played up to their competition a ton of times and sometimes have even pulled the upset.
Just to name a few from the last 30 years-
1987, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2011, 2012"
Honestly, right now, I have less hope for our fanbase than I do for our team. Take a break if you're really feeling this low from an underachieving season. Spend some time with family, or get ahead on work. But being as self-loathing as (or possibly more than) Sparty will not save this season.
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:44 PM ^
it is not impossible but damn close to impossible
I see us losing by 14+ points with a crowd of ~ 30,000 osu fans at the big house, maybe even more than that
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:45 PM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:43 PM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:48 PM ^
high of 35
November 23rd, 2013 at 9:31 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 11:21 AM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:51 PM ^
But the offense is horrendous. Al and Funk have got to go. Its truly embarrassing. I dont even think Michigan would beat Florida at this point. DG has lost all confidence. I love the kid, but he is not the man for the job. He has regressed all year. I know the OL and OC is a huge reason why, but I just dont think hes capable of being a consistent qb.
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:59 PM ^
Are you insane? What on Earth makes you feel that Mattison has regressed? The defense has kept us in every game except MSU and that is only because our offense was so bad in that game, the defense was on the field for a long time and just got gassed.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:15 PM ^
Sure the defense has kept us in most games, but they have come up short in some of the most crucial times this year.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:34 PM ^
They may have given up a lot of yards, but they also forced 4 turnovers and scored 7 themselves. The defense is far from perfect, but they are not the issue here.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:39 PM ^
DING DING DING
winner
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:51 PM ^
If we played in a real conference, this defense would be ranked in the 80's somewhere and we wouldn't even be bowl eligible.
If that's not enough convince you, I urge you to all go watch our defensive game film against Alabama, South Carolina, Notre Dame, Akron, ext. it's not pretty!
We have 4 weaknesses:
No pass rush.
Don't get set up in time.
Can't stop a 3rd down.
We are very slow on defense.
That is our defense and that's not changing before the Big Ten's most prolific offense comes to town. They will expose us just like every decent offense has done the last 7 years.
November 24th, 2013 at 1:45 AM ^
Pressure on the QB is the name of the game with all these pass happy offenses. We're not doing that very well. Our front four generates little consistent pass rush and our blitzes rarely get home. I would hate to see what would happen if we got stuck in the Gator Bowl against a Mizzou or Texas A&M.
We'll find out how good our defense is against OSU. But I'm not very encouraged after giving up over 150 yards on the ground to Iowa.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:50 PM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:55 PM ^
OUR. D. IS. NOT. GOOD. Sure when we play cute offenses like Minnesota we are a "Michigan Defense..."
However, when we play any other offense that is even decent (Alabama, South Carolina, Ohio State) we are exposed as a weak, slow, and below average defense.
November 23rd, 2013 at 9:07 PM ^
Is it a coincidence that whenever we play an O with seemingly no pulse and/or a young QB, the O suddenly starts clicking and we make the QB look really good?
November 23rd, 2013 at 9:30 PM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 9:51 PM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 9:46 PM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 9:42 PM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 10:33 PM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:44 PM ^
Hoke is not Bo.
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:46 PM ^
That's not what I'm suggesting.
Go away from football for a little while. I want you to feel better.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:22 PM ^
This coaching staff has not given us any evidence that they can fix this season's problems week to week, so I don't think there is more than the tiniest flukiest craziest fraction of a chance next week. Hence, "Hoke is not Bo."
Now that I've walked you through my reply, I would also like to assure you that I feel just fine and think that you might want to take a break from forums if replies to your topics cause you so much concern.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:30 PM ^
Okay, Wilford. Whatever you say.
November 23rd, 2013 at 10:14 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 12:04 AM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:28 PM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 9:05 PM ^
Then got pissy when someone, correctly, point out that Hoke is no Bo. Maybe you should take a break.
November 23rd, 2013 at 9:38 PM ^
No, I made a comparison to another moment of the rivalry where we were the clear underdogs to a team that had a similar win-streak. What you read seems to be rather different.
November 25th, 2013 at 3:20 AM ^
Looks to be a comment about Bo, not the "moment" to me. Try to spin it all you want. It was a comment about the coaches themselves, and Hoke is still no Bo.
November 23rd, 2013 at 9:36 PM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:45 PM ^
Hoke is no Bo. And bearing in mind that only ONE of our losses was by more than one score, THREE of our wins were by one score (including NW in OT, AKRON AND UCONN). And I don't even know how to classify that Indiana game.
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:58 PM ^
Its that Indiana game that makes me think it'll be a blowout. Ohio State is somewhere in between Indiana's offense and Michigan State's defense. Something like 38-6 or 42-14 seems likely. Just depends on when our defense goes into despair mode.
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:48 PM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:48 PM ^
The 1969 comparisons are pretty bad. 9-2 team. #12 in the country. Tied for the conference title with the win. Underdogs? Yes. But this was not an underperforming team with a middling offense, questionable coaching, and a 5th place division ranking.
And, really, can we cut it with the "Staee" thing?
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:49 PM ^
November 23rd, 2013 at 7:49 PM ^
in the past crap.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:03 PM ^
Yup. I'm also tired of it. For a while I always didn't let it bother me when Ohio fans claim we live in the past, but now I see that we do it way too often. M has not won a conference title since 2004, which is unaccaptable, and even then, that wasn't too great of a year since we lost to Ohio and the Rose Bowl. M has been an average below average to average program since 2005.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:14 PM ^
Part of having a great past is that is something you can fall back on and remember fondly in tough times.
You can't think that "well since Michigan upset ohio in 1969 when they had a 22 game streak, they will in 2013 because they have a similar streak". But you can use your past accomplishments to build yourself back up when you're down and look at the trends of the past to know that these things happen. Programs go into ruts and down times.
The best programs always find their way back to the top.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:18 PM ^
"Remembering fondly" accounts for zero points on the scoreboard.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:22 PM ^
That was pretty much my point, so clearly I agree with you. I want to win NOW. I don't give a shit about what happened in the past because that does absolutely nothing for me now.
me: "Hey, Buckeye fan! Remember when we beat you in 1969? Yeah, I'll bet that still stings."
buckeye fan: "10-2 in the past twelve games."
me: <walks away in shame>
Yeah...I don't roll that way. I want to win now.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:20 PM ^
Look, I totally understand your point, but I wasn't around back then. I was born in 1981 and obviously witnessed good things since then, but we have not been a very good to elite program for ten years. I'm sick of watching our two conference rivals own our team and even more sick of waiting to be good again. I wait for M football all fucking year only to witness yet another season of underachievement. Yet again, I'm saying, "I can't wait for this season to be over."
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:25 PM ^
How do you think I feel? I was born in 1995. The current age of the players.
The best season I've experienced was probably 2003 and I was only in second grade. 2011 was a blast because I remember the details of that win over ohio.
But I know things are going to get better. These things are cyclical. Thing is, Michigan did not go through any trouble like most programs did for nearly 40 years. It's just our time now.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:30 PM ^
A 1995 birth date means that you have years of potential M football success ahead of you. Signed, an older person
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:36 PM ^
You're just falling back on rhetoric that essentially serves zero purpose. "Remembering fondly." "These things are cyclical."
Football is a real-time game played in the real world.
And what you feel means very little compared to players who played in the game and got zero wins in four years, and to a lesser degree, alumni who spent four years in school with zero wins against Ohio State to celebrate.
There was not a single player who played four full years for any combination of Bo, Moeller, or Lloyd who left without a Big 10 championship ring. Think about that.
This is personal for a lot of people. It's more than game tapes and stats on a page. We can sit around churning out meaningless stats from the past, or we can look at what this program needs to do in the now to actually start winning against these guys.
November 23rd, 2013 at 8:48 PM ^
Okay, I'll bite. So what do you suggest that Michigan should do to start beating these guys?
Borges, Funk have gotta go. Have to. Freddy J I hear is going to retire after this year anyways since JJ is graduating.
I see the pieces in place, the eggs already laid for a successful future. Tons of great young players on the roster right now. But that's just it-- they're young. We saw what happens when you start a freshman OG. Bad things.
I'm already starting to see greatness in De'Veon Smith and Derrick Green. They just need a good offensive line and a competent playcaller.
November 24th, 2013 at 6:44 AM ^
Greatness? Seriously, you see greatness?
LOL
November 24th, 2013 at 10:34 AM ^
Derric Green getting good yards & him falling forward after being hit behind this offensive line is a big thing. Wish De'Veon was involved yesterday.
They're both bulls and are only going to get better.
November 23rd, 2013 at 9:27 PM ^
OSU hasn't gone through anything like we have in the last 40 years and they are the ones we are competing with the most. It is our own fault as a program for it as well. And I want results not ''we are young, wait until the future'' bs we've heard for years.