ESPN power rankings
Nothing suprising in here really other than maybe Minnesota in 4.
1. OSU
2. MSU
3. Wisc
4 Minn
5 Neb
6 PSU
7 UM
8 Rutgers
9 Iowa
10 Illinois
11 NW
12 MD
13 IU
14 Purdue.
Personally think any school with a new coach should be just moved to the bottom as an unknown, but that would make for a pretty boring article.
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/121714/big-ten-preseason-power…
August 10th, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
I don't buy that michigan doesn't have any bonafide stars. What they didn't have was a bonafide coach. The stars are there, getting the talent on the field should be there this year as well.
August 10th, 2015 at 10:58 AM ^
Jourdan Lewis and Freshman All-American Mason Cole. Personally I think everyone after that is pretty unproven thanks to inept coaching. We don't know if we have stars or not.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^
I would throw Jake Butt in the group, and honestly I think Drake Johnson or Isaac could emerge as a bonafde star. But I'm an optimist...
August 10th, 2015 at 11:06 AM ^
Good catch, forgot about Butt.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
August 10th, 2015 at 11:29 AM ^
So what do you say to someone you hate, or anyone tryna bring trouble your way?
You wanna resolve things in a bloodier way? Just study a tape of JMFH
August 15th, 2015 at 8:57 AM ^
August 10th, 2015 at 12:11 PM ^
Jake Butt is awesome using the most recent EA NCAA roster. I throw to him about five to ten times per game and thus far he has gotten over 100 yards in all five games I have played.
IT'S REAL TO ME.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:38 AM ^
I'd also give you Drake Johnson if he was not coming off another ACL surgery.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:44 AM ^
August 10th, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
Thats fair, but you're also acknowledging that the talent is there, at least I think you are...
August 10th, 2015 at 12:29 PM ^
Absolutely, he was our best back last season.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:07 AM ^
I had to go through the two deep to see if I could pick out someone else... and it's hard.
You could argue that there's probably a player on the DL that deserves to be included (Mone?), but that's likely to be an area of strength for the team, not necessarily because of star power (more likely it's just a solid group with a lot of depth).
If Ty Isaac wins the RB job outright and has a breakthrough year, then he deserves to be considered a 'star'. The % likelihood this happens probably isn't the greatest, but given that it's a position of 'stardom' in the Harbaugh empire - I'd put his name on the list as an honorable mention.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:34 AM ^
Mone is still a ways away due to age. Henry is an obvious candidate but its a loaded position in the Big 10 to make all conference - but he can be a star player.
August 10th, 2015 at 2:03 PM ^
August 10th, 2015 at 11:14 AM ^
Freddy Canteen shouldn't be forgotten either. Kid has the potential for sure.
August 10th, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^
August 10th, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^
This is a general reply to a lot of the "Harbaugh is better than Hoke" type of statements: I agree that Harbaugh is a better coach than Hoke and the players will benefit as a result. But, the players will have a grand total of ~2 months practice with Harbaugh at the start of this season.
I think we'll probably improve a lot as the season progresses, but ultimately I don't think the full effect of the coaching change will be realized until next year, when we have a group of players who have spent an entire season under Harbaugh. I don't know why people seem to think Harbaugh can come in and just flip a switch and turn poorly coached players into excellently coached players.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:08 AM ^
It happened on D with Mattison post-RichRod. Get some highly motivated leaders clicking with a new (more competent) staff, and it can happen.
I think you're right that we won't really see too many stars breaking out until next season, but it can happen if you get a kind of critical mass of gifted-but-under-coached players getting motivated by improved coaching. Of course, I think there are legitimate concerns about the quality of the recruiting under Hoke, particularly on offense.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^
I'll add to this...
I think we see a nice pop in performance thanks simply to effort. Even if they're just trying a lot harder than they were in previous years the results should be noticable.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
Correct. i don't expect the team to suddenly be NFL caliber on kick off against Utah, but I do expect that once the brunt of the season (aka, conference play) starts that we're klicking at a whole different mentality level than last year. I still expect us to have 9 wins with a win over MSU or OSU. I could be wrong and we could have a 3 win season, though the majority of people who talk like that are typically spartan fans.
August 10th, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^
That seems entirely unrealistic, IMHO.
I'd be less surprised if we won 10 games than if we won 3.
If we win 3 games it's possibly worse than RR's first year.
That said, i think your 9 win prediction with 1 against a rival is spot on. Thats what I've been predicting too.
August 10th, 2015 at 12:34 PM ^
I have a couple Spartan fans whose boldness has risen (rightfully) over the last few years. They tell me constantly that the ceiling for UM this year is 5 wins with more likely a 3 win season. I just ignore them since the stupidity of the statement is just astounding.
August 10th, 2015 at 1:03 PM ^
I get a certain amount of this too, and while I used to tell them - "Well, with the exception of certain noted stretches including the present one, you would know a lot more about 3-5 win seasons than I would" - I quickly realized that, in their mind, Michigan State football only began as a program about 5-6 years ago, so discussing history is futile.
August 10th, 2015 at 3:29 PM ^
It's funny how when you bring up history in football, it's a thing of the past that only Wolverines find relevant. Yet, when you bring up the present in Basketball, the past is all that really matters. The Spartan fan is typically someone who enjoys a life of inferiority complex. Without it, they really have nothing. Their degree means little and their ability to spell is pathetic.
August 10th, 2015 at 12:02 PM ^
That defense improved in large part because the staff had better players available. Heininger came back from a season ending injury the year before (he had been a starter in camp). Woolfolk did the same (though he ended up playing less than expected). Countess joined the team (eventually an all-conference player). Ryan came off his redshirt (eventual Butkus finalist). Morgan joined the team and has been a starter pretty much ever since. And Mike Martin didn't spend half the season hobbling around due to a cheap shot from MSU. The personnel improved and everybody else got a year older, stronger, and wiser.
This team isn't going to take a significant leap unless the same thing happens. It's possible if Isaac or maybe Higdon improve things at RB, if Rudock is the real deal at QB, if Peppers is a legit All-American candidate, if Butt/Hill can stay healthy and be a dynamic duo, if Harris/Canteen/Cole can turn WR from weakness to strength, and we can replace guys like Funchess, Clark, and Ryan. Unfortunately that's a lot of "ifs".
August 10th, 2015 at 12:16 PM ^
If you think the defensive turn around (from #116 in total D to #41) is due primarily because of personnel, I disgree with you to such an extent that I almost don't known how to articulate it.
So I'll just say...I think you're wrong.
August 10th, 2015 at 12:29 PM ^
If you think the turnaround was the result of the coaching acumen of Brady Hoke and his staff I think the subsequent results have completely refuted that view.
The fact is we put a better player on the field at four positions and a more experienced version of the same guy at all the rest. That's how you get dramatically better year to year. People who don't recognize that are just hanging on to reasons to be mad at one of our former coaches.
August 10th, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^
Michigan's D was pretty consistently good under Hoke. It was the offensive side of the ball that sunk the ship. In yards/game: under Rodriguez and Robinson, the D was ranked #82 and #116; under Hoke and Mattison, the D was ranked #17, #13, #41, and #10.
So, yes, I think the turnaround was the result of the coaching acumen.
You might be the one hanging on to a reason to be mad at a former coach.
August 10th, 2015 at 12:27 PM ^
August 10th, 2015 at 3:00 PM ^
2011 was an example of fantastic coaching. The team was markedly better at the end of the year than at the beginning. Defense could barely stop anything when the season started and then at some point it got to the point where if it was 3rd and less than 4 you might as well punt.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^
a little more resiliency, which could come pretty quickly. I will be dissapointed if they don't look like a tougher team this year. They may not be physically ready to do what JH's 2010 Stanford team was doing, but they could make substantial mental strides. And if they do, it should make a huge difference in the other parts of the game. Doesn't mean they'll win as many as we hope. But would likely mean there won't be dissasters like we saw last year ... MSU, ND, Rutgers ... ugh too many to list.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:18 AM ^
Agreed. ...and I'm much more interested to see how many bonafied stars others think we have at the end of the season, not at the start of camp!
August 10th, 2015 at 1:34 PM ^
Coaching will make a difference and there is plenty of talet at Michigan. At the end of the season, the Wolverines are going to be one of the top two in those power rankings.
August 10th, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
I guess I don't really get the MSU hype.
August 10th, 2015 at 10:51 AM ^
most of it sits on the fact that their defense hasn't really taken a step back in several consecutive seasons and they have Cook taking snaps.
August 10th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
The irony is that for years, MSU fans have whined about Michigan getting "the benefit of the doubt" when they lose tons of starters and are still highly ranked.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:34 AM ^
August 10th, 2015 at 7:25 PM ^
August 10th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
How don't you get it?
August 10th, 2015 at 10:55 AM ^
What don't you get?
They've been consistently good for a few years now. They just won a Rose Bowl. Their defense has yet to take a step back, despite us annually anticipating it. They've got the second best QB in the conference, and even when their O is bad at the beginning of the year, they've been pretty good at getting them up to speed over the course of the season.
I think they're painfully clearly the second best team in the conference right now.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:03 AM ^
You don't think their defense took a step back last year? They lost most of their offense at the skill positions. I'm not saying they're going to be 6-6 or something but they are not going to be what they were in 2013, not even close.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:11 AM ^
"...their defense took a step back..."
"...They lost most of their offense..."
These are things that people say every year for the past few years, and yet they have shown that they have the depth to keep going. Someone said they have 21 RS freshmen; they're hitting Wisconsin levels of just having a steady pipeline of player development to just reload their roster every season.
And their defense must have been pretty good last season, when they won the Rose Bowl and were the clear #2 team in the conference behind the Nat'l Champs.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:18 AM ^
It doens't affect your argument, but they didn't win the rose bowl last year. That was 2014
August 10th, 2015 at 11:34 AM ^
Whoops, you're totally right. Rose bowl two years ago, Cotton Bowl over Baylor last year. Both impressive bowl wins (he says, hoping his broader point isn't totally undermined).
August 10th, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^
I agree with most of what you're saying, but your insistence that MSU won the Rose Bowl last season seems rather silly.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^
Right, two years ago, not last year. Getting my post-seasons mixed up.
Last year was the Cotton Bowl win over Baylor. Arguably, an even more impressive win, given the way they had to fight back.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:41 AM ^
Baylor shit the bed and gave that game away.
August 10th, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
August 10th, 2015 at 12:00 PM ^
And my point still stands - as a team, they finished with 2 losses (to the two teams who ended up playing in the Nat'l Championship). If that's a step back for their D, it was clearly a small enough one for their offense to make up for. There is still nothing to indicate that their program is on the verge of regressing.
And let's not overlook that Baylor was one of the most potent offenses in the country (top 5, I believe, in both yards and points per game).