Harbaugh, a maniacal genius or....

Submitted by BlueBalling on October 9th, 2019 at 12:04 PM

A friend of mine believes with all his heart that Harbaugh is pulling a 'rope a dope' and purposefully restraining the offense in an effort to throw the book at Ohio State in November.

I'm not sure if his theory is insane, confused, delusional, or brilliant.  It is worth noting that this person is quite intelligent and a medical doctor.  So, he at least holds the requisite I.Q. to be reasonably successful.

No better place to hash it out though, right?

JTrain

October 9th, 2019 at 1:16 PM ^

Sure. Sure. That 35-14 fake ass whooping we took on national tv against Wisconsin will certainly pay off in future recruiting efforts and in games against OSU, ND, and PSU. 

NittanyFan

October 9th, 2019 at 1:47 PM ^

That "plan" doesn't exactly do much good if U-M enters the OSU game with 2+ more conference losses than OSU.

I can't imagine every U-M coach wants to win EVERY one of the next 7 games.  Because that guarantees a trip to Indianapolis, plus they'll theoretically be back in the MNC hunt.

M and M Boys

October 9th, 2019 at 2:11 PM ^

Well, that solves it.

MSU, Penn State and ND, etc.should have no problem laying off their ‘A’ games when they play us as part of the Grand Season Secret.

It really is brilliant when you stop to think he had this fantastic and major surprise attack planned even before last year’s game in Columbus.......

BayWolves

October 9th, 2019 at 2:14 PM ^

Sounds insane.  We'll hide 80% of the playbook and lose 3 or 4 more games just to spring in all on OSU at the end.  Doubtful.

Frieze Memorial

October 9th, 2019 at 2:14 PM ^

If the past 10 years have taught me anything, it's that they aren't holding back; there is no counter to the crap play you just saw; and there is no long-term strategy.  It's just a bunch of guys, trying their best.

maizenbluenc

October 9th, 2019 at 2:27 PM ^

Doesn't matter - when we rope a dope, we can't execute from lack of game experience when we throw the sand bags over the transom. (pardon the metaphor mixation) When our opponents rope a dope they suddenly become world class when they play us. (See OSU 2018 ...)

 

MichAtl85

October 9th, 2019 at 3:41 PM ^

What’s even crazier...

Harbaugh has been playing 4d chess with OSU. He’s not sandbagging only this season he’s sandbagging ALL THE SEASONS.

He may throw the game again this year JUST to set up an epic matchup in 2022 in which he finally unleashes 7+ years of stored plays!

 

/s

badandboujee

October 9th, 2019 at 3:48 PM ^

Doctors can be delusional. Source: me, a delusional med student who thinks we have a shot against osu

MGoTrumpet

October 9th, 2019 at 3:50 PM ^

That's what we thought was happening last year.  As it turns out, we had been hiding nothing (other than an offense that doesn't have much in its bag of tricks).

 

amaizenblue402

October 9th, 2019 at 3:51 PM ^

This is the stupidest thing I've read all day....and that's surprising around here with all of the hot takes.

Mmmm-43

October 9th, 2019 at 3:58 PM ^

Players love the sandbagging strategy. “Please coach, can we suck harder next game so I have even more game tape that looks like a pile of steaming BM?”  It really motivates them. Recruits too.

Jhow

October 9th, 2019 at 4:16 PM ^

Actually he’s in the final year of a 5 year “rope a dope”.  Man, wait till next year!  The beginning of a dynasty!  It’s gonna be epic!  

Kevin13

October 9th, 2019 at 5:34 PM ^

Don’t think so. You need to concentrate on the game your playing and win it. We barely squeaked by in the last game. You pull out everything to win when playing. We might try a new wrinkle or two when we play OSU but we aren’t holding back 

CFraser

October 9th, 2019 at 6:22 PM ^

Sorry. No way they’d lose a game while preserving the playbook. They’re more limited by players’ ability to execute the plays than holding out a secret playbook. 

umbig11

October 9th, 2019 at 7:59 PM ^

Wow! This is beyond jumping the Shark! We can't hide shit with the manure we put on the field so far with the offense!

- 95th nationally in Red Zone Efficiency
ONE run over 18 yards on the season
74th in scoring PPG
- Down 35-0 at Wisconsin in year 5 before THEY let off the gas
93rd in total offense
102nd in rushing offense
7 Turnovers and 14 fumbles
111th in time of possession
78th in number of snaps

#LostInSpace

Harbaugh's quirky A$$ ways will continue to bleed the fans dry and tire of his act.

Don

October 9th, 2019 at 8:42 PM ^

I've been hearing this line of delusional malarkey from a subset of Michigan fans going back 40 years. "Just wait, Bo is holding something back something special for the Rose Bowl..."

Hasn't ever happened once.

 

butuka21

October 9th, 2019 at 10:01 PM ^

Just because your book smart does not mean your street smart.

there is no way that this is what he is doing.  They look terrible and need to turn it around quick so when they do play them they only lose by 17 instead of 35