How will the weather affect the game?

Submitted by Baldbill on

Looks like it will be very rainy all afternoon tomorrow. How will this affect the two teams?

I have a increased fear factor that it will hurt Michigan worse than Illinois, but just wondered what everyone else was thinking.

 

Space Coyote

October 12th, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^

But it also tends to favor the team that runs better. So I think it's pretty offset. Michigan still can't get behind the chains, but Illinois can't afford to either. Michigan is much less likely to do so.

WolvinLA2

October 12th, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^

Considering we threw the ball like twice last week and Illinois's DL is half the size of Purdue's, and considering the team that is losing is the one forced to throw, I think this affects Illinois more than us. 

The people this affects the most are the people who picked M to cover.  23.5 points are a lot harder in the rain.

Silly Goose

October 12th, 2012 at 12:56 PM ^

If our game plan is like last week it shouldn't be too bad. Illinois is pretty terrible so we should be able to run it down their throats if we don't get too fancy.

WolvinLA2

October 12th, 2012 at 1:01 PM ^

The people wanting more out of Gallon on punt returns will likely be disappointed.  Illinois will probably punt a lot, but with the elements I hope Gallon doesn't even fair catch them, let alone return them. 

Although, short easy passes are best in the rain, so Gallon might get more looks in the passing game.  Also, Funchess with his monstrous hands are an asset when the ball is wet.

Donnie Brasco

October 12th, 2012 at 1:04 PM ^

Michigan fans always looking for negatives. How can you possibly think rain would hurt michigan more than illinois? Illinois struggles to move the ball in perfect conditions.

Baldbill

October 12th, 2012 at 1:11 PM ^

Yes, this is really what I was thinking about, the D can truly focus on Denard and try to force him to pass. Passing in the rain is always much more difficult and we haven't been great at it this year to boot. I think the short passes may be there, but not much down field.

French West Indian

October 12th, 2012 at 1:09 PM ^

I doubt it affects the football game much.

More interesting would be if it affects the baseball playoffs should Baltimore win and Detroit gets the homefield.  Could a rainout help the team set their rotation better after the short break from the ALDS round?  Double header on Sunday or does the schedule get bumped a day back?

BlueinLansing

October 12th, 2012 at 1:12 PM ^

feels colder than it is, I will be miserable.  We can only hope the rain doesn't put out the dumpster fire that is Illinois football and they suddenly become competent.

True Blue Grit

October 12th, 2012 at 1:56 PM ^

Thunderstorms with lightning are another (which they say there is a chance of).  Emptying the stadium with a big delay would be VERY annoying.  But to answer your question, the rain will affect both teams pretty equally so it shouldn't matter.

oriental andrew

October 12th, 2012 at 2:49 PM ^

how will the weather affect my performance in the Chicago Urbanathlon?  It'll be 40s and raining at the start tomorrow morning.  I'm running in a team, so just the first 4 mile leg to worry about.  I was planning on just wearing a couple layers (long-sleeve coolmax type shirts) and shorts, with a garbage bag to keep my body dry until the start. 

Given that it's just 4 miles, I didn't think I'd be needing anything else until I finished and found my way to my wife, who'll have something dry for me to cover up with. 

Oh, and Michigan crushes Illinois, regardless of the weather. 

WolvinLA2

October 12th, 2012 at 3:35 PM ^

My wife ran the LA Marathon in 2011, and it was the rainiest day I've ever seen (and not just for LA - it was nuts).  I stopped at a couple spots to watch her run by, and by the thirs stop, my clothes were so wet I put away the umbrella because I literally couldn't get more wet even if I fell into the ocean.  At the finish line, it was a full-on monsoon, with people's umbrella going inside out and flying all over the place.  Many of the runners had ditched their shoes and socks because they were like ankle weights with all the water. 

My point?  I'm not sure.  But my wife looked like she was going to die at the end, half from exhaustion and half from hypothermia.  Have fun. 

5th and Long

October 14th, 2012 at 7:04 PM ^

Thanks - It's actually pretty sloppy, but ended up looking ok.  I did with one layer over the kid (denard's hesiman cutout).  I just cheated a motion blur on DR's feet and a bit on the legs, then cloned the water in where the kid was still showing.

LSAClassOf2000

October 12th, 2012 at 3:44 PM ^

Just as a minor sidenote, Illinois happens to be the fourth most-played opponent in Michigan history, totalling 93 games since 1898. In those 93 games, we are 68-23-2, which is the second-best overall record (in terms of winning percentage, anyway) of the eight teams we have played at least sixty times. I would say that, most years, weather has likely not been a significant contributor, sort of like Illinois.

WolvinLA2

October 12th, 2012 at 5:25 PM ^

With them being on the opposite side of the league as us now, I would imagine they other Legends teams will pass Illinois.  I'm guessing the three above UofI are OSU, Minnesota and Purdue?  The last two were a guess.  Anyway, I bet MSU, Iowa and NW will pass Illinois in a decade or two.

WolvinLA2

October 12th, 2012 at 5:33 PM ^

I looked it up, and the top three are OSU, MSU and Minnesota, in order.  The weird thing is, there's a huge drop-off after Illinois.  We've played the Illini 93 times, and Northwestern is fifth with 70 meetings.  Wisconsin is 64, Indiana is 61, and Iowa and Purdue are tied at 57.  Obviously Penn State and Nebraska are much further down the list. 

Fun fact:  We've played UPenn (21) more times than Penn State (16).