ESPN Future Power Rankings
Michigan plummeted from being in the top 10 to almost ouf of the rankings dropping 15 spots. Granted it's ESPN and all that neat jazz and I think I was able to read this one article without the word Lebron in it, it does seem to be a fairly good review of the team. Essentially saying this year could go either way. They seem to put the entire season on the shoulders of the O-line and running backs. I don't disagree with it. For comparison, OSU is 3 and MSU is 17.
It's behind the paywall, but here's the excetpt on UM.
Coaching: No program fell more in our rankings than Michigan, which dropped 15 spots following a 7-6 season that included losses in six of the last eight games.
"Brady [Hoke] needs to win," Schlabach said. "The problem is, Urban [Meyer] has turned OSU into a juggernaut and now Dantonio has built a really good program at Michigan State."
He added that he thinks OC Doug Nussmeier is an upgrade over Al Borges, a veteran whose game plan had gotten stale.
Current talent: "I think they need to show marked improvement," Schlabach said. "They have to get better on both lines of scrimmage more than anything.
"Everyone is blaming [QB] Devin Gardner, but the line was so bad and they did not have any real run game."
Derrick Green and De'Veon Smith appear to be capable runners, but will the line be improved enough for max impact? Not from what I'm hearing.
With vets DE Frank Clark, LB Jake Ryan and NB Blake Countess, the defense could be relied upon to keep games close.
Recruiting: Here comes a painful comparison for Michigan fans: Chizik-era Auburn, without the Cam Newton title year. Michigan had the Nos. 6 and 7 classes in 2012 and 2013. If you recruit that well and you do not produce, it begins to work against you.
And then there's that menace to the South.
"I can't imagine Michigan is just going to let Ohio State go," Edwards said, "but I don't think Michigan is comfortable spending the kind of money and using the kind of resources to compete with Ohio State. I think it goes against the academic image they lean on.
"But you've got to become more of a football factory if you're going to compete on that level."
Title path: The gap from Michigan to Michigan State and Ohio State does feel wide at the moment, but remember that a beleaguered Wolverines squad did manage to push the Buckeyes to the brink last season.
Notre Dame rolls off the schedule after this season, so that could be helpful. Then again, the start of the 2015 schedule is really pretty bizarre, regionally: at Utah, Oregon State, UNLV, BYU. Michigan is still in Ann Arbor, Michigan, isn't it?
Program power: Momentum is definitely working against Michigan. But we said the same thing a year ago about Oklahoma, a program with similar history and tradition (albeit a far more stable coaching situation). Hoke's program is at a crossroads. He could be Muschamp entering 2015, or he could be Bob Stoops. That's one heck of a spectrum.
http://insider.espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11187584/college…
I just hope the team plays pissed off this year.
I don't care if they play pissed off. I just want them to play well. I did not feel like there was a single game last year where I came away feeling like "man, the team did outstandingly well today!" Aside from possibly Notre Dame.
"... I don't think Michigan is comfortable spending the kind of money and using the kind of resources to compete with Ohio State."
There's so many levels of truth to this statement, I don't know where to begin.
Coaching & facilities spending doesn't produce much of a gap. UM has spent on both.
Can you flesh it out for me?
Last I checked we have a $4M+ HC, and two coordinators paid in the top 10 at their positions. Are we not paying the position coaches well? We have a nice recruiting /training center if you exclude the Oregons and Alabamas. What other "resources" does UM lack that is "holding us back" Further - how is MSU and Wisconsin able to play at the top 2-4 spots in the Big 10 most of the past half decade (and longer for Wisconsin) with what I assume are "less resources" than UM?
Again, I'd like to know what resources we lack on football so Brandon can get on the case and fix it. Other than budget for band to neutral field games I guess I am missing where UM football's program is being cheated in resources.
That all seems like one level to me and obviously isn't the author's meaning. That's what confused me.
you think that osu's bending of the rules only exists on that one level? Interesting.
No. The author's point was UM doesn't spend the money or use the kind of resources OH does. I disagree with that because I don't think the author means bending the rules kind of things.
Your comment made me think you agreed that there was the bending of the rules kind of resources as well as multiple other kinds of legit resources and legit money.
I agree there are probably multiple levels of bending the rules, but I don't think that's what the author was referring to, and I would consider that a single multi-level example.
No doubt OSU boosters and backers continue their shady operations. But if you don't think UofM players are getting any special perks, you're being naive. No football team with such a massive fan base can completely prevent improper benefits.
I don't know the relative scale of improper benefits, and I don't remember the last time a UofM player was arrested at a cocaine fueled melee at the Grown & Sexy Lounge, so I'm not offended by the lawlessness rhetoric surrounding OSU football. But let's not pretend like these problems aren't universal, even if they vary in degree.
of that piece are denying the harsh truths of the last 7 years of Michigan football.
In the words of George Michael
"Fuck Espn"
So these same ESPN experts had Michigan as a top 5 team?
And how do college football experts claim that Michigan should have seen the benefits of excellent recruiting classes in 2012 and 2013? More like Michigan will see the benefits of those classes in 2016 and 2017.
"Brady [Hoke] needs to win," Schlabach said. "The problem is, Urban [Meyer] has turned OSU into a juggernaut and now Dantonio has built a really good program at Michigan State."
I thought Tressell pretty much had established OSU as a juggernaut. They just had a hicup when Fickell had to be head coach for a year, Pryor bolted for the pros and freshmen Braxton Miller had to play QB.
needs to lay a beat down on App State make a tiny statement with that game. Take all this negative feedback and use it. Hopefully the defense can dominate that game and show the B1G that they are the defense this year.
Season cant get here soon enough, I hate all this chatter.
Hail
Nowadays facility/coaching spending is pretty much the same between us and them. Recruiting has been similar. Urban Meyer just gets the huge edge from ESPN because he's Urban and it goes against their agenda. They do better in basketball recruiting but we've been getting better results but yes I would love to have a 5 star center every 2 years to get over the national title hump. They are only a football factory because of their results.