Let Chaos Reign CF Watching Guide

Submitted by ijohnb on

To this point, the eye test tells me that Michigan may just be one of the four best college football teams in the country this season.  Unfortunately, a certain punt didn't go quite as planned and it may result in this team being on the outside looking in even if this season closes in spectacular fashion.  We need some help, and alas, this weekend looks like one where some damage could be done at or near the top of the rankings.  In case you have not mapped things out this Saturday, all games below could have a significant on our slim, but real, chances at the BIG championship and College Football Playoff this year:

Florida at South Carolina (ESPN-Noon) - After running it up on the Commodores last week to the tune of 9-6, the Gators take to the road for the Used to Involve Spurrier Bowl.  The Cocks come home after narrow losses at Tennessee and A&M, and could give the Gators a game.  I think there is some real potential here.

Maryland at Michigan State (Pam Ward-Noon) - There will literally be hundreds in attendance to watch this one go down.  State should get back to things comfortably here, but Maryland has not been that bad the last couple of weeks and MSU has reason to look ahead.

OSU at Illinois (ABC - Noon) - lol

Wake Forest at Notre Dame (Fighting Irish Television Network - 3:30) - This could get ugly.  ND looking to quiet the masses of non-believers, Wake being Wake.  Look for Kelly to run this one up.

Michigan at Indiana (ABC-3:30) - Hope our secondary gets some rest tonight.  I like Michigan here but Indiana is due to close one of these deals out.  Lets see ALL the Peppers.

Oklahoma State at Iowa State (ESPN - 3:30) - Iowa State did beat Texas, sooooo, nevermind, nothing to see here.

Arkansas at LSU (ESPN - 7:00) - Arkansas has some talent and this, at least used to be, a "throw the records out" type of affair but LSU is solid.  Not a lot of potential here but worth a watch.

Oregon at Stanford (Gus Johnson Network - 7:30) - I'm going to watching this game.  Oregon has cleaned some things up and I think could put up a fight here.  This one in particular could be big for Michigan as I see Stanford as a major potential roadblock to our slim playoff hopes.

Oklahoma at Baylor (ABC-8:00) - I think this may be "can't lose" for us.  TCU dropped below us with one loss last week to a ranked team and I think we move ahead of the loser of this game regardless of who it is, assuming of course we take care of business.

Utah at Arizona (FS1 -After I pass out) - Yes, those pesky Utes are still in the picture.  Arizona is still dangerous, and, at home, a loss for the Utes would be big for us as well.

Now that is some good watching.  May want to push back the first beer until AT LEAST 7:30 AM to ensure you can see some of the late action.  Could be a big weekend. 

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MichiganStudent

November 13th, 2015 at 10:18 AM ^

I agree that we have the chance to get into the playoff if all goes our way, but I disagree that Michigan is a Top 4 team to the eye test.

We lost to the 2 best teams we've played, one by a fluke, but we still lost. Michigan is a top 15 team but I don't see us being in that top grouping this year, unfortunately.



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Michigan Eaglet

November 13th, 2015 at 10:33 AM ^

The only reason that we have a shot at being the only 2 loss team in the play off is honestly because of Iowa. If OSU beats MSU, they're still a top 4 team going into The Game. If we win, they drop and Iowa likely replaces them or is still around #5. If we beat them as well, we've beaten 2 top 5/playoff teams in back to back weeks and those will be the most current games on the committee's minds. Those records, but especially Iowa because they would rise as OSU falls are the only reason we have an outside shot at getting in. Obviously we need to see what happens in the Big 12, but even if they beat each other up, I still think only Stanford or Notre Dame gets in between the 2 of them and that would leave the Pac12 without a spot potentially as well as the Big 12 and the other 3 would be Alabama (or Florda, but let's be real), Big 10 winner, and Clemson.

I think Stanford beats Notre Dame, so at least 4 conferences would then be represented, but still shows the flaw that it should be an 8 team playoff instead of 4. All power five get one team in and then the best 3 teams that didn't win their conference.

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The Mad Hatter

November 13th, 2015 at 10:19 AM ^

Now that that's out of the way, I think the only team that is clearly better than Michigan (by my eye test at least) is Alabama.  I really didn't expect them to dominate LSU the way they did, LSU's lack of a QB notwithstanding.

If we make the playoffs I want Clemson in the first round.  Yeah they're a good team and all but Harbaugh > Dabo and it's not even close.  Saban is another matter.

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FreddieMercuryHayes

November 13th, 2015 at 10:28 AM ^

Harbaugh is a better coach, but the Clemson team looks pretty damn good.  They have a legit defense, much like the last few years, and the offense is still good.  I think they are a legit number 1 at this point.  I put all of Clemson, Alabama, and Ohio State as better than UM at this point.  That said, I think UM could go toe-to-toe with any of them.  Just don't think they would win a majority of the time. 

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The Mad Hatter

November 13th, 2015 at 10:42 AM ^

If we have to play each of those teams multiple times, we're losing the majority of the games.

But on any given Saturday we have a decent shot at beating any of them.  If we had an NFL QB we'd be the best team in the country right now.

Also, I'm strangely confident about The Game this year.  I've watched a bit of OSU football, and if you pay attention to Meyer on the sideline something seems different about him this year.  Like he's checked out or lost interest in the game.  I can't really explain it, but I've noticed it more than once.  I'm sure he'll come to A2 ready to play as always, but I also wouldn't be surprised if we beat them handily.

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The Mad Hatter

November 13th, 2015 at 1:52 PM ^

It's hard to explain.  It was originally pointed out to me by a colleague, who despite being an OSU and ND fan is actually a pretty good guy.

Meyer looks distracted, or bored, like his head is somewhere else.  If I wasn't at work I'd find you a clip.

I think that he's missing Herman, much like D'Antoni is missing Narduzzi.

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buckeyejonross

November 13th, 2015 at 3:24 PM ^

Look, idk.

Your post comes off as "I can't explain this thing I'm totally making up because I want it to be true, but it's happening."

I've watched every game he's ever coached at OSU. He doesn't look any different. His press conferences don't look any different.

I totally agree with you the team missed Herman in the beginning of the year. They also were completely changing their offensive identity, and taking QB runs out of the offense. Since switching to JT and running the QB, things look fine offensively. And should only improve as the new OC gets more reps and JT gets more reps. But the idea that Urban is checked out, to me, is very hot takey.

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ijohnb

November 13th, 2015 at 3:49 PM ^

noticed it to the degree he has, but there have been times this year when Meyer did kind of look disinterested to me.  When I think of him I think of the "coach crouch" if you will and a real intensity on the sideline, not a real in your face intensity but like he is really dug in on every play.  I haven't really seen that a whole lot from him this year.   I don't think what I have noticed is going to have any effect on The Game but he has seemed a little different to me this year.

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ChalmersE

November 13th, 2015 at 10:30 AM ^

I think we want Utah to win for awhile longer. The better they do, the better Michigan's resume is.  Of course, at some point, they will need to lose a game, but if it were to happen in the Pac-12 championship that would be better than now.

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McSomething

November 13th, 2015 at 10:33 AM ^

After running it up on the Commodores last week to the tune of 9-6, the Gators take to the road for the Used to Involve Spurrier Bowl.
Upvote for this sentence alone lol

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jmdblue

November 13th, 2015 at 10:34 AM ^

as are our special teams, but I don't think we can talk about legit top 5 status when we can't complete a pass beyond 20 yards.  Our TEs are excellent, but it's really the only position group on the offense I'd say that about.

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FreddieMercuryHayes

November 13th, 2015 at 10:35 AM ^

I just don't see any real way UM makes it to the playoff with two losses even if they win the B1G.  So I'm more rooting for OSU and ND to not make it in.  So go Stanford, go Utah, go Baylor.  And then I want ND, UF, and Iowa to lose.  And of course Ohio State and MSU, but those just ain't going to happen.

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Michology 101

November 13th, 2015 at 11:58 AM ^

Some people are on here being overly negative and totally dismissive about our chances of making the 4 team playoffs. I'm far from a homer, but even I can see that there are scenarios that could happen and get Michigan into the playoffs. Though since the odds say we won't make it, some people just want to set themselves up to be right. So they can say I told you so to the rest of us, who were just holding out hope.

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gwkrlghl

November 13th, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^

Iowa over Okie State (hey, it happened with Weeden when they were #2)

Arizona over Utah - Utah is looking softer by the week. I think Rich pulls it off

Arkansas over LSU - Arkansas is surprisingly looking stronger and LSU is same ol LSU. Good D, good run O, and no passing game.

 

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UNCWolverine

November 13th, 2015 at 11:11 AM ^

Unfortunately I will get to watch zero of these games tomorrow. Headed to pistons@clippers then the ucla/wazzou game. I expect zero spoilers from this site all day tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

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MinWhisky

November 13th, 2015 at 11:30 AM ^

I'm going to focus on UofM's LBs while watching tomorrow's game.  Given that UofM's D-line is very good, I would like to see our LBs make a ton of TFL.  I"ve been quite disappointed this year in how ineffective our LBs seem to be.  Their tackles almost always seem to be past the line of scrimmage, not in the opponent's backfield.  They just don't seem to be difference makers, even though they all have a ton of experience and should be shielded from the OL blockers who are usually occupied by UofM's D-line.  Maybe the signal-calling on defense has something to do with the lack of disruptive play from UofM's LBs.  I don't have stats to back this up, so I'm wondering how other posters feel.  Am I being unfair to the LBs or is their play a big disappointment this year?  And, if the latter, what does that bode for 2016 when most of them will be gone?

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ijohnb

November 13th, 2015 at 11:33 AM ^

solid linebacker play against the run but they are not anything great and have not been for years.  Ryan was a disrupter at times but was not spectacular.  In short, no, our LB play has not been particularly great and we are very thin there going forward as well.

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LSAClassOf2000

November 13th, 2015 at 12:07 PM ^

On paper, Oklahoma vs. Baylor is going to be a very easy game for you if you're a defensive coordinator because you're not going to be stopping much anyway so you can just sit back, leave everyone in zone coverage and hope the drive lasts at least 3-4 plays so it looks like you tried. 

Interestingly, however, Baylor walks into this favored by 2 or 3 points only, as I recall, so this will be an interesting watch in a way that way that Big XII games - no matter how ugly they get - are, well, interesting. 

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Harlans Haze

November 13th, 2015 at 12:16 PM ^

OK beats Baylor and Okst, loses to TCU

Okst loses to Baylor and OK

Baylor beats Okst, loses to OK and TCU

TCU beats Baylor and OK

TCU wins Big 12 with 1 loss

Stanford  beats Notre Dame

UCLA wins out, beating Utah

UCLA beats Standford in PAC 12 title, wins PAC 12 with 2 losses

MissSt beats Alabama

Florida loses to FSU

Florida beats LSU in SEC title, wins SEC with 2 losses

Miami beats NC

South Carolina beats Clemson

NC beats Clemson in ACC title, wins ACC with 2 losses

UM wins out, wins B1G over 1 loss Iowa and 1 loss OSU

Houston goes undefeated

Playoff teams: TCU, UCLA, Houston, UM

Tell me crazier things haven't happened. Admitedly, there are some stretches here, but nothing completely out of the realm of possibility. It would truly be chaos.

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