1997. And I'm expecting that a signature play for the season will emerge, as it did in that game (run action left, boot right, hit the TE for 22 - 46 yards). I love the plays that we get to see succeed again and again, to the extent that as it unfolds we have already extended our arms to the heavens. Extra point pending.
That gets a +1 just for the picture. Tremendous.
It seems like this writer just wanted to bash U of M as much as possible in this article. What an idiot.
but I don't think the assumption that the record will be from 5-7 to 7-5 is provably off-base. There are too many unknowns for me to be strongly confident of much better.
• What will the defense be like without BG? Will Ezeh and Mouton be better? Will the young DLs be able to make up for the departure of Graham? Can Will Campbell become a true difference-maker as a sophomore? Can the secondary improve even minus DW? Will pure freshman like Jibreel Black and Dorsey (if he qualifies) see playing time right away, and will they be effective? What part of his resume is the real Greg Robinson?
• Will Denard be as effective during a real game as he was during spring drills? Will Tate improve? Are the suggestions by some that Tate isn't working hard enough in mental preparation accurate? Will TF get petulant and check out mentally if DR receives the starting nod? Will DR if the opposite occurs?
• Who the hell will be the starting RB?
• Will Molk be able to return to full strength? Will Lewan and/or Washington be good enough to claim a starting spot? Will Schilling play at an All-Conference level—or better?
• Will Hagerup be able to step right in as a pure freshman punter and not crap the bed? Who's going to kick field goals?
Lose to ND? Who is transitioning to the spread offense? Who has a QB that has hardly had any if none playing time. BULLSHIT. Michigan will massacre ND.
I dont like giving score predictions. Last year I did it and it became a debacle of a season.
UCONN- W
At ND- W
UMASS- W
BGSU- W
At IU W
MSU- Toss Up (Leaning more toward us because its in A2)
Iowa- L
At PSU L
ILL W
At PU W
WISC L
o$u L
Some people (and you are one of them) give PSU way too much credit for this fall. Maybe it's because they've been strong the last couple years, but I don't know where this prediction is coming from. They will have a pretty average (if not bad) offense, and although their D usually comes together, they have to replace a lot of players.
I know it's in Happy Valley at night, but I like our chances against PSU. This should be, at worst, a toss-up.
What an ass.
Why is is so fucking difficult for college football writers to make sound, logical arguments? They write about a game that is full of statistics, and yet the best they can offer is this drivel. It's true of almost everyone in both the MSM and blogosphere, and it is absolutely ridiculous.
What did you expect? If it's on CFN, it will likely suck. Also, there are no definite losses ever; that's why cliches are made. The only likely losses I see this season are none and likely wins are all of them.
Especially at this point of the pre-season, there should be no projection worse than a toss-up. The run we had against the Cooper Buckeyes should adequately convince everybody that the team with the most players who are nationally known doesn't necessarily win. The team that had a better year the previous season doesn't necessarily win. Injuries/health and locker room morale are pretty powerful forces that will begin to assert themselves in mid-September and grow stronger through tthe course of the season. If we stay on the positive side of the injured/healthy continuum, I see no games on the schedule that I would feel comfortable conceding. Healthy and clicking, this team should have a puncher's chance against everybody.
I definitely don't see 5-7 or 6-6 this year. I don't know if this guy just doesn't like Michigan but we can definitely go 7-5 or 8-4 this fall.
I dunno why everyone is so worried. We have everyone coming back on offense and finally some solid depth on defense. Our O-line is going to be very good. RB is the most concerning position IMO. I think Shaw will be the go-to-guy with Toussiant and Hopkins splitting carries. Hopkins is 230 something and is ready to play right now. Rich Rod said once Denard learns QB he won't be standing on the sidelines 70% of the game. Our D line will be very good also with Roh, Campbell, Martin, and RVB. Defense will struggle at times but I think we will see a serviceable defense with all the depth we are building...
9-3, book it! Sparty, ND, and Iowa will not beat us.
I don't agree with the analysis, but it isn't unreasonable to say 5-5 with 2 toss ups. Hopefully UofM will prove it wrong.
UCONN: toss-up
At nd: toss-up
UMASS: W
BGSU: W
At indiana: W
MSU: toss-up
IOWA: toss-up
at psu: toss-up
ILL: toss-up
At purdue: toss-up
WISC: L
at o-state: L
So, I see us with 3 guaranteed Ws, 2 guaranteed Ls, and 7 toss-ups. In those I think we lose to Iowa and Penn State and take the other 5. That would make us 8-4 with wins over ND and MSU but losses the best 4 teams in the league. What will likely happen is we win one or two we shouldn't and lose one or two we shouldn't. So, my Memorial Day prediction is 8-4, 5th place in the B10 and a likely trip to the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day, 2011, to face an SEC squad.
If we count toss-ups as 50% win probability, then we win 4 of those and go 7-5. The question then becomes, assuming losses to Iowa and Penn State, who would you stomach losing to the most out of:
UCONN, at nd, MSU, ILLINOIS, and at purdue
I would have to say UCONN, to be honest. Even though it's apples and oranges, we can't lose to ND in Kelly's first season after Rod's first season went 3-9. We can't drop 3 straight to MSU, especially with this one being at home. I don't think losing 3 straight to the 2nd sorriest team in the league at home will be good, either. And I think I'd rather lose to UCONN than 3 straight to Purdue.
Man, after reading that last paragraph, it's painfully obvious that we owe a lot of folks some payback.
Penn State, MSU, Iowa, and ND are not that good.
A lot of people seem to see something similar to last year -- good start, poor finish, with a few more bounces (both in games and re: injuries) going our way.
I don't know about the start (1-1 is most likely, I believe), but I do think that Michigan will improve more than the other teams in the Big Ten as the season progresses. That may not be enough to close the gap against some of the better teams, but I'd look for very competitive games against Wisconsin and OSU.
There will be ups and downs, but for the first time in the Rodriguez era, I find myself thinking this is going to be a team nobody wants to play -- a dangerous spoiler late in the season.