Early Games Open Thread
GO!
1. Wisconsin (by a lot) or MSU (by a lot)
2. LSU
3. Oklahoma State
4. Southern Miss
5. Iowa State
6. Texas
7. New Mexico
Your warrior-poets must defeat the dirty cheaters who wear different colors in order to ensure Michigan gets a Sugar Bowl slot.
Ed: Fixed the Rose Bowl typo.
December 3rd, 2011 at 9:24 AM ^
HALOL
December 3rd, 2011 at 9:25 AM ^
Why do we root for Southern Miss?
December 3rd, 2011 at 9:32 AM ^
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:42 AM ^
If Houston loses does that give a BCS berth to Boise or another non-aq school?
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:45 AM ^
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:46 AM ^
That's the rule to autobid, Boise could still be selected as an at-large if they stay in the top-fourteen.
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:49 AM ^
No Bowl in their right mind is picking Boise at large over Michigan. We are rooting against houston because it has the potential to open up another at large spot (to 3 total), and houston could actually drop below michigan in the polls, as their computer ranking is pretty weak right now
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:58 AM ^
I realize that, but if Houston loses that puts us, Stanford and...? TCU if they can get into the top sixteen, but other than that, you can't take an SEC team and Oklahoma probably has three losses after today. Boise very well could be a better draw than the ACCCG loser.
Edit: It would have to be VT, and I kind of doubt they get an at-large. Kansas State is the other option, and neither seem like clear cut favorites over Boise.
December 3rd, 2011 at 1:16 PM ^
TCU only has to get to 16. It's possible for them to get to 16 and Michigan not to get to 14, but it's unlikely.
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:44 AM ^
December 3rd, 2011 at 9:26 AM ^
Michigan isn't going to the Rose Bowl no matter who wins. We'd go to the Sugar Bowl.
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:06 AM ^
Yeah but if UCLA won Oregon would still go to a BCS game over Michigan. A UCLA win would have meant two BCS spots for PAC 12.
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:12 AM ^
Oregon probably would have gotten shut out if they lost. Stanford is in the top 4, which makes them an atuo-bid and UCLA would have gotten another auto-bid as the PAC-12 champ. There are only a couple really unlikely scenarios that allow three teams from one conference in and neither would happen here.
December 3rd, 2011 at 12:37 PM ^
A UCLA win would've been helpful (even if unrealistic)- UCLA would've just taken Oregon's place in the Rose Bowl and Oregon almost certainly would have slipped down behind Michigan in the polls.
December 3rd, 2011 at 9:29 AM ^
December 3rd, 2011 at 9:35 AM ^
Was he a Spartan fan perchance?
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:38 AM ^
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:44 AM ^
...as there are numerous pasta-like dishes there too. Little brother just hates on Mediterranean cultures.
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:11 AM ^
December 3rd, 2011 at 9:31 AM ^
Try your best against the Broncos!
December 3rd, 2011 at 9:33 AM ^
December 3rd, 2011 at 9:38 AM ^
December 3rd, 2011 at 9:48 AM ^
According to most experts, all we really need, is for Georgia to lose to LSU, and we're pretty much a lock. You have to remember, as long as you crack the top 14, the bowls are taking you if you travel well, and get solid ratings.
December 3rd, 2011 at 9:55 AM ^
I'm rooting for Houston, I want to play them in the Sugar. I'm sorry, but I don't think it ends well if we play most of these other BCS teams
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:03 AM ^
The Oklahoma teams, Baylor, and Stanford are bad matchups for Michigan. The secondary still isn't where it needs to be. That said, K-State, VA Tech, Clemson, or any Big East team are really favorable. Houston seems like a pretty neutral matchup to me.
Fortunately, the selection order helps Michigan avoid the bad matchups.
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:05 AM ^
What about TCU? I believe, if Houston loses, that is who some pundits are predicting we'll play in the Sugar.
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:08 AM ^
TCU is at #18 right now. Boise will be an automatic qualifier if Houston loses.
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:14 AM ^
Boise will not be an automatic qualifier, because they are not conference champions. Only a conference champion can qualify for the BCS autobid reserved for a team from a non-BCS conference.
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:16 AM ^
Are you sure? If Houston loses and TCU is in the top 16, I think they'll get an automatic bid as an at-large...
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:27 AM ^
From the BCS: "The highest-rated champion of a non-AQ conference if it either ranks in the top 12 or is ranked in the top 16 and also ranked ahead of one of the champions of an AQ conference." So if Houston loses and TCU ends up in the top 16, then TCU will get the non-AQ conference automatic spot as the highest-rated conference champions.
The question, I guess, is whether TCU can move up from #18 to #16.
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:30 AM ^
Yeah, you're right. I forgot Boise wasn't going to win their conference.
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:45 AM ^
This is how a team would automatically qualify. Couldnt a team like Boise still be given an at large? That language doesnt seem to preclude that from happening.
Its probably not gonna matter. Houston should roll. Especially since i took SoMiss, lol
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:51 AM ^
Yes, Boise State could get an at large bid, as long as they are in the top 14 (they are #7 now). I don't know what bowl director in his right mind would invite Boise State over Michigan or Oklahoma/Oklahoma State or Stanford, but I guess stranger things have happened.
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:36 AM ^
I'm thinking if Houston loses.......a possible Boise to Sugar with the very last pick in this selection process
Boise vs MICH
Trying to figure out which team or teams benefit the most with a Houston loss. Boise seems in position to grab the last at large after the second SEC, Big 10 and Pac-12 teams get theirs
Or are you thinking the loser even of Bedlam would get picked? Okie State I think would. But maybe not the Sooner with three losses.
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:56 AM ^
If you are the Sugar Bowl, and you can choose Oklahoma or Boise State, which one do you pick? Which one fills the seats, fills the New Orleans restaurants and hotels, gets the TV ratings? The answer seems pretty obvious to me. The Sugar Bowl won't care if Boise is #6 and Oklahoma is #13.
I just don't see any chance at all that Boise State gets picked for a BCS bowl game this year.
December 3rd, 2011 at 1:04 PM ^
Boise does all that too at this point. I just wanted to confirm they were eligible
The Sugar Bowl seems to have a much better ability to create a sexier matchup if Houston gets knocked out of the equation. Any matchup pulled from the trio of Oklahoma, MICH and Boise would be a sell out and drive more than enough attention and eyeballs to the TV
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:09 AM ^
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:26 AM ^
Aaron Murray is the best quarterback in the SEC and is coming into his own. I think it would probably be a pretty good game.
LSU and 'Bama are on a different level from Michigan right now. They're known for their defenses, but they are also #13 and #16 respectively in scoring offense (largely due to their awesome defenses, but still). I don't like the idea of a rematch, but I've seen all the best teams play a couple of games, and those two are a lot better than everyone else.
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:36 AM ^
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:46 AM ^
Personally, Georgia had a really soft schedule. They lost to South Carolina and Boise and haven't beaten a team that's currently in the Top 25. Assuming they lose to LSU, they'll be around #20. If Michigan loses to them, that looks like a loss to a meh SEC team. Same thing with a loss to Arkansas.
No one knows (or will know) how good Houston actually is. However, they're ranked in the top-10 and the Sugar Bowl would be the only game on TV during that hypothetical game.
I don't know if there's an upside to losing (close or otherwise) in either scenario, but winning in the Sugar Bowl seems better to me--if nothing else because recruits will think it's awesome.
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:55 AM ^
I think you are presenting a false dichotomy here. Georgia and Houston are both good but flawed teams, and a bowl win over Georgia would not be any more impressive than a bowl win over an undefeated Houston.
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:33 AM ^
I want a win over Houston in the Sugar Bowl.
It sends a clear unambiguous message to the nation and to recruits that Michigan is back. Keeps the momentum going, and takes a little attention away from the Urban Meyer hire over-hype.
We'll get our "yardstick" game soon enough, next year against Alabama.
December 3rd, 2011 at 9:55 AM ^
Pulling for Sparty is stupid. If Wisconsin beats them by at least 2 tds Michigan will easily pass little brother in the polls. Plus if LSU does what everyone expects they'll do to Georgia- game over we're in!!
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<br>Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing me some RG3 kick Texas butt! He's, by far, the best football player (ie; Heisman) in the country.
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:04 AM ^
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:44 AM ^
They're both premium exhibits, but the Smart Home and U505 are both worth getting into, IMO.
December 3rd, 2011 at 10:52 AM ^
If you have never been in the U-boat, fergodsake, you MUST go. Mind-blowing how small and cramped it is... and that you're actually INSIDE an ACTUAL German U-boat from WW2.
And when you get out, you'll have the sudden taste for weinershnitzel. Mmm!
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:20 AM ^
When I was a little kid they let me push the button to start the engines. It was awesome.
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:41 AM ^
If you go, keep this in mind as you walk around the inhospitable conditions of the U-boat: By the end of WWII, German U-boat crews had a 95% fatality rate. You spent your last months in deplorable conditions, strangled by fear, and then you died in pain. It gets your attention.
I once met a German U-boat captain that managed to be one of the few survivors. He was quiet and reserved. He still had a harrowed look in his eyes.
December 3rd, 2011 at 12:09 PM ^
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:06 AM ^