Bruce Feldman Chat Wrap: Michigan Questions
As I get excited for any expert commentary on Michigan this time of year, I was especially excited when I saw Bruce's responses to these questions...
Hey Bruce, love the blogs and conversations. How do you see UCONN handling itself against Michigan in the re-opening of the Big House? With Randy Edsall never able to beat Rich Rodriguez before, do you see this as the year he notches a win?
Bruce
(2:14 PM)
Thanks Kyle. I don't. I think Michigan will get off to a fast start this season and have a surprisingly solid year.
and...
Bruce, Vegas has Michigan on a over/under 7 wins, do you see more or less than 7? (I see under is vegas's number)
Bruce
(2:15 PM)
I see the over.
Well if Bruce says it...
Always nice to hear a positive take though!
something bad about Bruce Feldman because whenever I see him on ESPN, I got a weird vibe from him but hey he's talkin nice stuff about Michigan so I can't say anything about him.
I think the over is finally a good bet. This team should take significant strides from last year. Hell, they finally have a couple of defensive substitutes!
They had substitutes last year. But like the "substitutes" you remember from elementary school, they weren't quite up to the job.
Going from questionable starters at multiple positions (never mind depth) to solid starters plus depth at a few of the very key positions (qb especially) will make a tremendous difference.
It seems to me that some of the snowball slides and second half crumbles could easily be attributable to having nobody to spell the defense; turnovers are bad enough, but throw in an inept offense and a turnover is usually sandwiched between a three and out and a three and out, with a five and out thrown on top just for fun.
This year we'll be able to rotate through without "automatic touchdown" level drop-offs. Huge.
I look to JamieMac for my odds....
Positive Spin. WOOT!
7-5 seems realistic to me. We will very likely lose against Wisconsin and OSU. We could win, but probably will lose against PSU and Iowa. I think we will probably lose 3 of those 4 games. I see MSU and ND as 50-50, so we'll say 4 losses. We should beat everyone else, but we could lose to Indiana and Purdue. I think it's a 7-5 kind of year. It's very possible we could be 8-4, but we could also be 6-6 if we play like we did against Illinois last year. Anything below 6-6 or above 8-4 would be a huge surprise to me.
What?! Someone (outside of Michigan) saying positive things about Michigan? I hardly belive this....
...8 and 4. With a few lucky bounces and a couple of pick 6s here and there, 9 and 3.
RR must be hoping for 8-4.
Feldman is a sharp fella. I agree with his assessment.
8-4 is not an overly ambitious mark. That includes winning only one of Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn St., Notre Dame, and Ohio St.
I think 4 of those 5 are very winnable if people play to expectations.
In fairness, it's probably winning only two of Iowa, Wiscy, PSU, ND, OSU, and Michigan State. And it's VERY premature to consider UConn a gimme.
Which people and whose expectations?
Estella and Miss Havisham
Is this the prequel or sequel to "How Stella Got Her Groove Back"?
Thanks to Bruce for the nice comments and the faith in Michigan football
are exactly what we need to get to 9-3 this year! errr nevermind.
What has the Vegas under/over been on Michigan victories since 2005? I'm curious what our cumulative "under" is since then. How many times in the past 20 seasons have we been "over"?
Feldman has quietly been praising RR and Michigan even during the practicegate etc. He's said consistently that he expects RR to succeed and that Michigan will have a good year.
Go Bruce!