Choose: 7-5 & W vs. OSU, 9-3 & L vs. OSU
So I've seen different discussions on how many wins we get this year. Obviously, we won't know much until after the first game or two.
But for me, it isn't just the wins, it is who the wins are against. If we have wins against Directional Michigans, ND, & OSU, plus 3 more, I'll be happy. I would rather have that than 9 wins and losses to ND & OSU.
What about you? If you had to choose between 7-5 & a win vs. OSU, or 9-3 & a loss vs. OSU, what would you take?
I think I'd prefer to beat OSU because then that makes the rivalry hotter and can shut them up for a year while still letting everyone else know that we're going to be back next year. That is unless the 9-3 gave us a share of the Big Ten title or a BCS at large bid.
Beating OSU trumps virtually all. Too many losses for too many years . . . it is time to stomp the snot and the mouth out of them.
this will be a landslide, beat OSU.
seconded by far I'd rather beat O$U and have a slightly worse record. The better question is would you rather go 3-9 again but with wins over MSU, ND, and OSU or 9-3 with loses to MSU, ND ,and OSU? I know the scenario is implausible but would demonstrate the meaning of the games between ND AND OSU.
For the sake of the team, I want at least 6-6. 3-9 just wouldn't be good, even with wins vs. ND/OSU/MSU. Affect on recruiting, morale, etc. Further, the teams I most want to beat are OSU & ND. MSU not far behind, but I care far less, and would live with that. Wins vs. the whale and the vest would bring more pleasure.
9-3 with losses to MSU, ND, OSU.
However, I'd take the 7-5, beating OSU to answer the original question.
yes this will be a landslide.
But what if you change the question to 5 wins one of them being tosu, or 9 wins and taking the L vs tosu.
I personally I can handle any win total as long as we beat tosu
I find myself agreeing with Gordie. OSU is the measuring stick. We know how good we are based on our performance in that game. Like it or not, they are the big dog in the conference. So a win against them says more for the direction of our program than 9-3 does. Imho.
I'd normally take 9-3, but honestly I'd rather beat OSU right now. It's not like 7-5 would be a let down.
7-5 and beat Ohio State. If we weren't in an 0-for-5 skid...I would still say 7-5.
I second the 7-5 and beat osu. No one expects us to beat the world this year with likely a true frosh starting at qb. But it would sure be nice to smack the buckeyes down (esp if it killed their chances at going to a bcs game).
7-5 beat OSU. Especially if its a healthy OSU. I'd be on the fence if it was a crippled OSU, but still leaning towards 7-5 beat OSU. No other win is quite as gratifying. Just my epinion.
7-5 and beat OSU. And MSU.
I would much rather prefer a win against OSU and a 7-5 record. It is the Buckeyes, losing 2 extra games would be well worth having that year of following bragging rights. Plus, it's at the Big House. As a student I only get 2 home OSU games and I would give anything just to see one win against them in person.
7-5 beat OSU. No question.
But let's make this post a little tougher. Would you take the OSU victory if one of the losses was to Delaware St.?
Painful as it would be, we already lost to Appalachian St., so it doesn't matter as much. The time has come to beat the bucknuts. Not that I care about Bo, but iirc, the early victory against OSU was critical.
How about 13-0 with a win over OSU, MSU, ND, and NC contender...? :P
But in all seriousness, 7-5 with a win over OSU, MSU, ND, and Iowa.
7-5 with an OSU win for sure.
gonna sound rediculus but, I live in Toledo, Ohio and I'd take a 1-11 record if that one win was against OSU. Anything to get those sorry asses off their high horses. None of them remember the 90's, they only remember the last 7 games.
I know I'm the minority, but I'd take 9-3 with the loss.
7-5 tells me that we're a mediocre team with a fluke win against OSU. I actually think this is very possible this year, given their team and our homefield advantage. But that means we'll likely go back to losing against them next year.
9-3 tells me that our team has made great strides, that things are clicking on a very young team, and that we will continue to be competitive with OSU for years to come (including in recruiting).
In short: I'd be willing to sacrifice the win next year if it means having a meaningfully better shot at sustained dominance.
You don't have relatives attending OSU, do you? Can't stand another Thanksgiving get-together with that.
Me, I have a cousin who lives in Ohio and is an OSU fan. This is the kind of guy who draws me in the Christmas gift draw and gives me a bottle opener that plays the OSU fight song. We've long since been forbidden to speak of Michigan or OSU at the dinner table and have made more than one car ride miserable for the other occupants of the vehicle.
Like me, he chose to go out of state for school: he's an Indiana grad. This was all well and good until my brother chose, naturally, Purdue.
Haha. Definitely no relatives, or even friends, who attend OSU. So maybe it's easier for me to live with the consequences. Fair enough.
I know I'm the minority, but I'd take 9-3 with the loss. 7-5 tells me that we're a mediocre team with a fluke win against OSU. I actually think this is very possible this year, given their team and our homefield advantage. But that means we'll likely go back to losing against them next year. 9-3 tells me that our team has made great strides, that things are clicking on a very young team, and that we will continue to be competitive with OSU for years to come (including in recruiting). In short: I'd be willing to sacrifice the win next year if it means having a meaningfully better shot at sustained dominance.This, one thousand times over. 9-3 with a loss to OSU means we beat at least 1 of PSU, MSU, and ND. I can handle this.
You argue well. Maybe if we hadn't had five losses in a row. Can't . . . tolerate . . . six . . . please, no.
Short term pain for long term gain. We'll just have to win the next 6.
Edit: 9-3 is also a likely Capital One berth. Do we beat the SEC team? That would be awesome.
Probably more like an O*****k berth, really.
but for slightly different reasons. I should preface this by mentioning that I find the Michigan-Ohio State game so profoundly important that the only decor ornamenting my walls is my law school diploma and a framed photograph of the last time we prevailed over OSU.
That said, there is a cloud over Michigan football, particularly in the realm of recruitment, that Michigan is a rebuilding program shrouded in uncertainty (for obvious and often justified reasons). Even without negative recruiting, a stigma finding its way into the minds of impressionable high school athletes is that signing onto a rebuilding program is at best a gamble, particularly for a caliber of athletes drooling to be part of a national-championship-level team. With only 4-5 years to accomplish on-field success, it's easier to join an established contender.
For every recruit who looks at the transitioning phase as an opportunity to usher in a new era of Michigan football, there are two or three put off by the uncertainty surrounding the program. While there may not be a drastic difference between 7-5 and 9-3, to me it changes the landscape from "rebuilding" to "rebuilt."
Rather than Michigan being a "better than average" Big 10 team working toward a BT Championship at 7-5, Michigan would already be in position to vie for BT Championship coming off a 9-3 season, with focus once again where it belongs - on a national championship. Gone would be the uncertainty, gone would be the "rebuilding" stigma. Incoming would be the recruits that keep me mesmerized between seasons and the return to dominance over OSU.
Enough dreaming...back to working too late for a Friday evening.
I'd be really happy with either one. If we'd beaten OSU in the last couple of years, I'd take 9-3, but since we have that streak to end, I'll take 7-5.
Beat the bucks.
I would not take a losing season just to beat OSU. But I would be happy to go 7-5 and beat their asses.
Easy
if we are not in national title or BCS contention i would rather beat O$U
13-0 national champions
7 and 5 please
Great year two turnaround
Plus Beat OSU
I would go as low as with 5-7 with an OSU win, before I started opting for a high win total.
really at this point I can't take it anymore... plus us having such a bad season and beating them would really eat them up... hahaha
this is ridiculous. More wins....every time. Its nice to beat OSU....but we're not Michigan State here. They would take sub .500 seasons every year if they beat us...we're not that program. we will not be that program. More wins, every time, please.
I think you might as well accept that we are that program, much like every other program with a significant rivalry.
I don't think lunchbox should have lost any points for this comment.
eom.
any winning record that includes a victory over OSU will solidify his position in AA far more than would a 9-win season with a loss to them.
My fantasy is that OSU smokes USC, gets to #1 before the season gets too far along, and comes into AA undefeated with everyone proclaiming them the best team in the country by far, Pryor being a legit Heisman contender, and absolutely nobody giving us any chance. Our chances of beating them rise dramatically if they come into town smug, arrogant, and overconfident.
Yes, this is my fantasy as well.
I would take a win over OSU everytime.
9-3.
100% 7-5 with a win over OSU. Seriously, what does 9-3 do for Michigan other than a slightly better bowl game and possibly a little more national respect?
Beating OSU I think trumps any of the benefits 9-3 gives you over 7-5.
since 2000.
Mind you, 7-5 hope is only for 2009. I expect an upward progression, such that from 2010 forward I would call 8-4 a mediocre to bad season, and regularly expect a minimum of 9-3, with 10-2, 11-1, being the norm.
I'm sick of getting shit from the OSU fans I work with.
BOOM ANOTHER POINT!