August 10th, 2009 at 1:17 AM ^
If ND is ever going to be able to run the ball under Weis, this is the year to show it. I'm not saying it won't happen, but you sound more confident than I would. When was the last time he coached a team with a solid running game?
August 10th, 2009 at 12:17 PM ^
Yep it is put up or shut up for the run game which is why I wanted to keep it brief. 2005 and 2006 ND did a good job running the ball (Walker with 1196yds 4.7 per carry, and 1267yds with 5.0 per carry respectively).
So what did he have that made him successful? It wasn't blazing speed or huge size. It was the entire offense around him, veteran Oline, and an awesome passing attack which kept defenses honest. The 2005 and 2006 teams have a lot of similarities and thats a good thing, if your a ND fan.
August 10th, 2009 at 4:54 PM ^
Like losing all your big games? ZING!
hey Ron English is beast. we can't overlook him
Please.
my prediction will remain un changed.
that we go 1-1 against ND/MSU.
Here's why:
If we lose to ND (which is a real possibility: talent, experience, etc.), I bet that lights a fire under the team and we beat MSU, which is the next rivalry/big game on the schedule after ND.
On the other hand, if we beat ND, starting out 5-0 just seems too good to be true.
Is it possible? Yes.
Would I be thrilled? Hell yes!
But I'd also be thrilled if 4-1 to start the year actually pans out, and dont' want to get my hopes up too high.
Notre Dame is penciled in at 10-2, worst case scenario. Apparently we don't need to play the game then.
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090807/SPORTS…
No they scare me because I fee they are a good team. Anything can happen in the first game. We know that. I rather start off with EMU.
Anything can happen on a football saturday....Do i need to name the examples? Western won the mac last year and beat an illinois team which destroyed us...we WILL be much improved but we cant simply give us an easy win. I have use winning, but i havent looked past the big possibility that we drop our third consecutive season opener. Our Secondary was shaky at best last year and was lit up time and again. We lost two of our most experienced players in the secondary and i just cant trust them enough to stop Miller from puting up big numbers. He is a great quarterback and has a decent RB to back him up. Once again before everyone starts freaking out about this, I still think we will win. But it wont be an easy win and noone should simply brush this off as a simple win. Three years ago i would have laughed about even thinking we could lose to western, but this isnt a normal michigan team. If this game was a few games later in the season i would be a little less skeptical, but with so many question marks, you just cant ever be sure....
also got their doors blown off by rice so...
yes but they still beat illinois...and rice was a 10-3 team-I know its still rice ... western beat two teams that we lost to last year..u cant get past that.
"western beat two teams that we lost to last year..u cant get past that"
And what does THAT have to do with this year?
i was talking to the guy who said they also got blown out by rice...and that means that this isnt some bullshit team...
August 7th, 2009 at 11:24 PM ^
Who is Miller?
Western got worse and Michigan got better. You're comparing 2008 Western to 2008 Michigan. It doesn't work that way.
Miller is westerns QB who throws for 350 yards a game...he is on the list for best QB in the country..he is good, our secondary is young and unproven..that can mean bad things
It's Hiller.
I'm stealing this KNOWLEDGE from chitown - but Hiller, according to YPA, was middle of the pack in the MAC last year. He dinks and dunks a lot...similar to the overrated Purdue QB's of seasons past like Painter and Orton. The guy AVERAGED 43.5 passing attempts PER GAME last year. If you are throwing that much you're going to have a lot of yards. He's not as frightening as people think.
Plus he doesn't scramble at all which is a bonus for Michigan.
Hiller threw for 3,725 yards (286.5 ypg) last year. That's a lot. But most of those yards went to players who are now gone: WRs Jamarko Simmons (1,276 yards) and Schneider Julien (712 yards) and TE Branden Ledbetter (464 yards) are all graduated. I wouldn't be surprised if they had some difficulty replacing all of them, especially early in the season.
August 9th, 2009 at 11:05 PM ^
Perfect opponent then aren't they? Gerg will get to see the D's strengths and weaknesses immediately. And, if Western's D is as bad as I think it'll be, then Michigan should be able to put some points on the board.
I think a lot of you are underestimating Notre Dame. Offensive wise, they are where we will be in 2011. They have a decent to good qb, two top WR's, good Rb"s. The only thing is the offensive line is questionable. Their defense is going to be ok, not great. Our secondary is so thin, that if Turner and Witty do not make it, we be playing walk ons. If any of the starters get hurt, this defense is in a lot of trouble. Notre Dame is going to throw a lot. Michigan should be able to run the ball, but will it be enough?
I can see UM going 5-0 to start the season and 9-3 for the year. I originally thought they would lose to Wisky looking ahead to OSU, but Wisky sorta isn't Wisky anymore.
I just want to see them beat ND, MSU, and OSU. If they are good enough to do that, the rest of the season will take care of itself.
August 14th, 2009 at 1:19 PM ^
If they are good enough to do that, they are undefeated in 2009.
Aren't those three games possibly the three toughest games on UM's schedule? I think maybe one win against the three rivals would be acceptable this year, considering the performance last year against those three.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:08 PM ^
If Michigan starts 4-0 the remaining season will see Michigan winning some and losing some.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:31 PM ^
As long as we beat 2 of our 3 rivals (ND, MSU, OSU) and make a bowl, I would consider the season an amazing success.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:42 AM ^
Western doesn't just have a future NFL draft pick returning at QB. They also have four returning starters on the offensive line and a returning 1000-yard rusher. In other words, we probably won't be getting much pressure on the QB and they aren't going to be one-dimensional. They have lost a couple of big receivers, but receiver is probably the easiest position on the team to replace. Plus, an experienced QB and good offensive line can make mediocre receivers look like stars. We are going to have to outgun them and that makes me nervous.
August 10th, 2009 at 8:48 PM ^
Assuming we are 4-0 at the end of September, I think conservative prediction is 3-5 the rest of the way, 7-5 overall. That assumes beating Del. State and Purdue at home, and either Iowa or Wisco on the road. An upset of PSU or OSU, plus another road win at Iowa/Wisco or MSU gets us to 9-3. 10-2 isn't even out of the question.
Assuming we beat ND. If we're not good enough to beat them at home, then the rest doesn't necessarily follow. If we are 3-1 going into East Lansing, then I can see 6-6 or 7-5 happening.
This is getting frustrating. How many days until the first game again?