Can Harbaugh End the Streak?

Submitted by Steves_Wolverines on

What streak am I talking about? 

Hint #1: One of these is not like the others (pay attention to year):

  • Bennie Oosterbann (1948)
  • Bump Elliot (1959)
  • Bo (1969)
  • Moeller (1990)
  • Lloyd Carr (1995)
  • Rich Rod (2008)
  • Hoke (2011)

Bennie Oosterbann did something none of the other coaches did in their first year. He was the only one of the group to beat Michigan State in his first year of head coach. 

Oosterban beat both MSU and OSU in his first year (9-0 record in 1st year).

Bump beat OSU, but lost to MSU 34-8 (4-5 record in 1st year).

Bo, well, I think we all know he beat OSU, but lost to MSU 23-12 (8-3 in 1st year).

Moeller beat OSU, but lost to MSU 28-27 (9-3 in 1st year).

Lloyd beat OSU, but lost to MSU 28-25 (9-4 in 1st year).

Rich Rod lost to OSU, and lost to MSU 35-21 (3-9 in 1st year).

Hoke beat OSU, but lost to MSU 28-14 (11-2 in 1st year).

 

So, my question is, does this knowledge impact your answer to the question we've seen floating around this board about 1000x the past couple weeks:

Who would you rather Michigan beat this year, MSU or OSU? The obvious answer is both, but I think I'll have to stick to my gut and say I'd rather see us beat Urban. He's a wildfire that nobody can contain. Of course, if Michigan beating OSU puts MSU in the B1G Championship game, with a shot at the playoff, well.....then I give up!

Go Blue!

mgokev

August 26th, 2015 at 9:45 PM ^

How do fans worrying or not worrying about Utah impact the teams performance? I'd prefer to talk about whether Harbaugh has a realistic shot at doing something special, which the OP pointed out, than only ever contemplate the next team on the schedule.




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lbpeley

August 27th, 2015 at 8:09 AM ^

One of my pet peeves. "Whoa hey. Let's not look past (insert name here)". Who gives a shit?! We're effing fans. We have ZERO influence on the outcome of a game or season. It's our job to look ahead to the biggest games on the schedule.

VaUMWolverine

August 26th, 2015 at 7:29 PM ^

Thanks to Hoke and RR Michigan is in a position that they really can't be in: beat both! Harbaugh has some wiggle room because it's his first year but I don't want to lose to either one. Gun to my head: beat MSU. I'm sick of them thinking they belong.




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TruBluMich

August 26th, 2015 at 9:15 PM ^

Are we really still discussing this shit.  NO ONE CARES WTF HE's DOING AT ARIZONA.  He's had one descent season there.  At WVU he dominated a schedule full of Indiana level competition.  He lost almost every game against ranked teams at WVU.  He is an average to above average coach.  He however was way below failure at Michigan.  Hoke was a better coach in his 4 years at Michigan than Rich Rod.  It wasn't Lloyds fault, it was another coach who was in way over his head.  Hopefully he learned that coaching outside the Big Least is not easy and he can apply it to Arizona and have a great career.

UMxWolverines

August 26th, 2015 at 10:21 PM ^

I'm glad someone finally said it. Anyone that thinks Rich Rod is a better coach than Mark D or Urban is just flat out wrong. 

And in his decent season last year they got blown the fuck out the last two games with ''HIS'' defensive coordinator Casteel because apparently he can only win when Casteel is with him. 

saveferris

August 27th, 2015 at 9:31 AM ^

At WVU he dominated a schedule full of Indiana level competition. He lost almost every game against ranked teams at WVU.

Funny, I think you can make the same argument about Mark Dantonio's level of success in the Big 10. The only difference between Dantonio and Rodriguez is that Rodriguez's performance got him job offers from higher profile football programs. Food for thought to those out there who want to state definitively that Mark Dantonio is a better football coach than Rich Rodriguez.

uminks

August 26th, 2015 at 7:32 PM ^

Harbaugh has both teams at home in his first season. It would be great to beat them both. I would hate to lose to both at home since next season both games are on the road. I would really love to take down a number 1 OSU at home!

Clarence Boddicker

August 26th, 2015 at 7:54 PM ^

I really, really want Michigan to beat OSU this year and every year in every sport. I want another win over ND more than I care about one over MSU. The answer to this is really dependent on whether you live in Michigan or not. If you don't, OSU and ND are much bigger games than MSU since you rarely meet their fans or alumni outside of Michigan (they don't seem to attract many non-alum fans). You have no idea how many fake-ass ND fans there are here in the East. People who'll never set foot in the Midwest, much less Indiana. How I loathe them.

Clarence Boddicker

August 26th, 2015 at 9:33 PM ^

The only teams I hate more than ND are the Boston Red Sox (as a NY Yankee fan) and the Dallas Cowboys (as a NY Giant fan). (OSU checks in at #4 on the hate list). My hatred for ND predates my affiliation with Michigan by about 25 years. MSU-hate is more recent for me and doesn't run as deep. But I'm a UM fan because I'm an alum--not because I'm from Michigan and grew up rooting for them. So there's a difference in perspective...

saveferris

August 27th, 2015 at 7:50 AM ^

Just because MSU has gotten the upper hand against us the past 7 years doesn't change the fact that they've been bascially irrelevant the previous 90.  Michigand and ND are major rivals not only on the field, but in recruiting and in prestige in the college football world, and they have been for a long time.

uminks

August 27th, 2015 at 8:42 AM ^

I could care less about MSU but in recent years they've been getting under my skin and would love to blow them out in the big house this year! I use to hate ND the most since they always had that lucky play to beat us. I would say since we no longer play ND, I now have a  careless attitude about ND and MSU has taken their place. I always disliked OSU but I wanted them to be at their best when we play them in the GAME!

UMForLife

August 26th, 2015 at 7:37 PM ^

You stated the obvious answer. If you really want only one of the two, here is what I would prefer.

M lose to MSU
MSU lose to OSU
M beat OSU and gains higher ranking than OSU and MSU

That way M goes to championship game.

A lot needs to go our way, but I cannot honestly be ok with us losing to OSU.

willywill9

August 26th, 2015 at 7:40 PM ^

I guess maybe it's because I'm not from the great state of Michigan, and I've lived outside of it since graduating... but beating Ohio State is so significant on the national level.  I get it, beating MSU helps with in-state recruiting and all, but seriously... aren't you tired of the run Ohio State has had?  Since 2002... we've beaten them 2 times, right?

saveferris

August 27th, 2015 at 8:10 AM ^

Yeah, you have to realize that Spartan fans are particularly obnoxious and vociferous, mostly because they know in the back of their collective minds that any success they have over Michigan will be transient and they have to make hay while it lasts.  For most of us on the board, the past few years are really unprecedented as before Dantonio came along none of us had to deal with an MSU winning streak of any duration.  Plus, if you live in-state, you're obviously going to run into more of them. 

Finally, I think beating MSU this season would be much more damaging to their collective psyche than it would be to OSU.  We beat MSU when the numbers seem to so clearly favor them, they're all going to twitch uncomfortably and begin to doubt themselves.  If we beat the Buckeyes, they'll be pissed, but they're not going to suddenly panic as a group and think the Cooper years are upon them again.  It'll be more like, "rivalry's back on bitch", and gear up for the next season.

Still, you're absolutely right, beating OSU is much more important to Michigan, from a prestige standpoint, than beating MSU.

flashOverride

August 26th, 2015 at 7:44 PM ^

DIVIDE BY ZERO

Another year of listening to the most insufferable fanbase in America vs "Urban Meyer improves to 4-0 vs Michigan and 2-0 at the Big House as HC at Ohio State", I can't answer that question. Please goddammit just beat them both, unlikely as it may be. 

RobM_24

August 26th, 2015 at 7:43 PM ^

I'm definitely getting to the point where I don't know if anything will stop Urban Meyer and Ohio State except for Urban Meyer leaving Ohio State -- or a huge infraction/scandal at OSU, but I'm NOT suggesting that they are currently doing anything wrong. I'm just saying a scandal would obviously derail them. Urban's offense just appears to be the ultimate college football offense. If you pair that with #1 recruiting classes, then you have something pretty scary. If anybody can catch him it's Harbaugh, but I'm not exactly telling Buckeye fans that their days are numbered.

saveferris

August 27th, 2015 at 8:16 AM ^

Hoke could have gone 2-1 against Urban Meyer, but he didn't.  We've definitely had our chances to pull off some upsets over them the past 3 seasons and the reasons behind why we didn't are directly linked to some of the reasons why Hoke isn't coaching here anymore.  Let's hope that if Harbaugh and company find themselves with their boot on OSU's throat in the future, that they have the coaching acumen to finish the job.  That would be a pleasant change from the previous three.

grumbler

August 26th, 2015 at 7:50 PM ^

Woody's team in 1969 was even more unstoppable than Urban's team today (they hadn't lost a Big Ten game in four years).  We know what happened.

Now, that didn't mean Woody's "days were numbered."  It was just the shot across the bow that marked the start of the Ten Year War.  I'm hoping for a similar outcome this year and beyond.