September 16th, 2022 at 10:19 AM ^
Yes, the 2nd real test of the year, win that go into the bye week and prepare to lay 65 points on MSU!!!
September 16th, 2022 at 10:22 AM ^
First REAL test of the year. Maryland should be a nice challenge for our D and Iowa should be a nice challenge for our O. Neither of those 2 games ate a complete team tho.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:24 AM ^
While I agree with you, Iowa @ home has a tendency to open it up on offense, look for a lot of TE's running down the seam, plus a night game, I think that is the first true test!
September 16th, 2022 at 10:27 AM ^
Iowa has been @ home for both of their first 2 games and had historically bad performances.
TEs can run down the seam as much as they want, Petras won't be able to hit them
It's rumored this is another B1G NOON game
September 16th, 2022 at 10:30 AM ^
Seriously, I have thought since this game was announced as a Black Gold game it was a forgone conclusion it was a night game? Has Iowa ever done a Black Gold game in the daytime?
Either way I can't wait to watch them wave to the children! Best new tradition in college football!
September 16th, 2022 at 10:50 AM ^
Does FOX have first rights to Big 12 also? If so, I think they take the Baylor Oklahoma St game as it’s the rematch of the great Big 12 championship game last year.
CBS takes Alabama Arkansas
ABC night game being NC St and Clemson
I think this game gets the 7:30 ESPN slot
September 16th, 2022 at 10:55 AM ^
TV people don't care about matchups as much as us fans. Michigan/Iowa will draw more eyeballs than OK State/Baylor and is thus the more desirable game for Big Noon.
September 16th, 2022 at 11:00 AM ^
The Big Noon rumors started when everyone expected this game to be a ranked matchup after Iowa was supposed to handle its business in the non conference portion of the schedule and beat up on Rutgers in their B1G season opener in NJ.
Iowa hasn’t held up their end and has now positioned itself for the 3:30 or evening kickoff as it is probable that the game will not be viewed as a desirable matchup for the Big Noon window.
There are times when I think Ferentz is playing the long con of lowered expectations just so he can get a big “underdog” win…considering some of the big wins his program has had (UM 2016, OSU 2017) it makes almost no sense how those teams ere so underwhelming throughout most of the season only to find a way to beat what were vastly superior teams in terms of talent and season long execution.
September 16th, 2022 at 11:09 AM ^
After the ISU loss, it was rumored Michigan was going to be B1G Noon 3 or 4 weeks in a row. Maryland got moved from FS1 to FOX.
(If it is 4, that would mean PSU is at noon)
September 16th, 2022 at 10:30 AM ^
If Iowa "opens it up" they'll score two FG's and a safety. Yay for them.
Stop worrying about Iowa. Their once every 4-5 year run to the B1G West title was last year, and that offense is far worse now than it was then. An offensive explosion from them this year will be 14 points. I don't care how good their defense is, Michigan will outscore them by a substantial margin.
September 16th, 2022 at 12:21 PM ^
Iowa only beats Michigan by Michigan beating itself. If Michigan can get to 17, that game is in all likelihood over.
Defense and special teams forcing turnovers to give the Iowa offense short fields are what Ferentz has to be banking on. If Michigan is deep in its own territory on offense I won't be surprised to see Iowa's defense get aggressive. Or Iowa pinning Michigan deep with its own punting game and routinely forcing McCarthy and Co. to go the length of the field. Or hoping Michigan beats itself with dropped passes, overly conservative play-calling that forces a lot of three and outs or stalled drives, leaky OL protection, etc. Also have to remember that Ferentz can tend to get ballsy (by Ferentz standards) in big games, so I won't be surprised to see him push the envelope a little more than we're used to seeing.
That's really all Iowa can hope for, based off of what we've seen from them so far. But none of us should pretend it a loss can't happen, because it can. This will be a test for Michigan to see if it can go handle its business in a hostile environment. If they do what they're expected to do, they should win this game comfortably. If they don't, then there could be some ass-clenching as we go into the fourth quarter.
September 16th, 2022 at 1:01 PM ^
That's how Iowa won the 2016 game, and I'm pretty sure that Harbaugh learned his lesson. The B1G Championship last year started off that way, but JH didn't hide the playbook and the final result was success. I don't think he'll hide the playbook this season regardless of what Ferentz thinks he wants to do.
September 16th, 2022 at 1:48 PM ^
Hope so. You have to beat Iowa essentially the same way you had to beat Dantonio. Don't allow them to make you play the game on their terms. Do not let them drag this game down into a 17-14 muddy slopfest. That is exactly where Iowa's comfort zone is in big games where they are grossly outmatched on paper.
Essentially, goes back to what you said. If Michigan turtles up and tries to play conservative in this game, just tries to not make mistakes, that will play right into the Iowa defense's hands. That's the kind of game where Michigan may only be up 14-10 going into the fourth quarter.
You've got to hope Michigan goes for the jugular right out of the gate. Put up a touchdown or two early, suck the life out of the stadium. Everyone in that place will know a 10-14 point deficit might as well be a 30 point deficit for this Iowa team. Make them doubt their chances early, and then hopefully it all falls apart for them from there.
September 16th, 2022 at 2:07 PM ^
Perkis, the plan shouldn’t change much - ball security.. protection. Use the strengths of the team - the OL. Don’t give Iowa a short field.
But, there are two games before that one. Go Blue!
September 16th, 2022 at 5:00 PM ^
Early in the 2016 game, UM tried to pass deep to its receivers. Speight just missed them when they were open.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:52 AM ^
The good news is that Petras will likely still be the Iowa QB for the 10/1 game, and as such I don’t think he’ll be able to get the ball to the TE down the seam. He can hit the crossing route at the LOS pretty well, but everything else is….not as easy for him.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:25 AM ^
Iowa is also our first road game of the year and never downplay the pink locker rooms.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:36 AM ^
I'm not playing, so I'll happily downplay the pink locker rooms. It's not like the king of the fairies lives there and will trick them into an unfavorable contract with whimsically literal language. It's a fucking pink room. The first road game of the year is big, though.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:42 AM ^
It's a joke, pal.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:41 AM ^
Michigan seema to get everyone's best and just a little more effort then they put into Ohio IMO.
September 16th, 2022 at 5:04 PM ^
We'll likely see tomorrow vs. Auburn how much of a test Ped St is actually going to be.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:28 AM ^
Though kickoff time vs Penn State hasn't yet been announced, the fact that it's going to be a "Maize Out" game sure gives a strong hint of it being at night.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:30 AM ^
Hope so... Night games are awesome!
September 16th, 2022 at 2:32 PM ^
It will be a night game. Raback.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:35 AM ^
I’m good with that. We saw last year the Big House finally learned how to get up and get loud for OSU at noon. It seems like some of that has changed the Big House for good; people were on their feet for much of the last two games and getting loud on defense in the first halves which never used to happen for tomato cans. Let’s use the night game atmosphere to get folks riled up for PSU. But for MSU, folks will be ready & loud whatever time it is
September 16th, 2022 at 1:17 PM ^
I just got my voice back last week from that game. I also just got my taste and smell back from having omicron right after. 100% worth it!
September 16th, 2022 at 10:54 AM ^
I don't know if I agree with that. PSU will probably be undefeated coming into that game if they win @ Auburn tomorrow, and obviously we expect to be undefeated.
Looking at the schedule for that week, the other big games that Fox could broadcast are USC @ Utah, TCU @ OK State or Wisconsin @ MSU. The rest of the big games are all SEC or ACC games (or Arkansas @ BYU), but none of those fall under Fox's broadcasting umbrella.
USC @ Utah is a not likely to be the Big Noon game since it's a West Coast game.
TCU is unranked and has to play OSU, while OK State has a game @ Baylor before then. Very unlikely it's an undefeated matchup.
Wisconsin already has a loss and has to play @ OSU before this game. MSU has a game vs MSU, plus @ Washington, @ Maryland and vs Minnesota. Very likely both teams have at least two losses before this game.
I think undefeated Michigan-PSU, or even undefeated Michigan vs 1 loss PSU, is a shoe-in for Big Noon GOTW on Fox.
Fast forward 2 weeks when OSU plays @ PSU vs MSU playing @ us, even in the likely event that MSU and PSU both have multiple losses, I feel like OSU @ PSU is the noon game and we get our second night game there.
September 16th, 2022 at 11:15 AM ^
Well we have to remember, Fox only has first choice of B1G games in 7 out of 13 weeks since they snake draft the weeks at the beginning of the season with ESPN. Since the Fox/B1G contract started, ESPN has had Michigan/PSU every year: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, & 2021. Whereas UM/MSU has been on Fox every year of the contract except 2017 (they weren’t expected to be good that year coming off 3-9 in 2016). It seems like Fox prioritizes getting that game week as their 2nd choice after UM/OSU (ESPN always takes OSU/PSU week) so MSU at noon seems like safe bet. Good chance UM/PSU is an ESPN game and that almost certainly means it’s a night game.
September 16th, 2022 at 12:30 PM ^
Correct. @Bambi, while I agree with your logic, it only applies if Fox has the pick that week, which is unclear. I doubt that both PSU and MSU are at night, which leads to the next discussion (i.e. if one is a night game, which one?).
@BTB, what's interesting is that the rumors for Oct. 29 have been MSU@M at night, and OSU@PSU not at night. I agree with you, the OSU-PSU game is always on ABC/ESPN, and M-MSU has almost always been on Fox. So one of the things I find interesting about the rumors is that they go completely against this trend. Now, maybe that's the point? Maybe Fox wanted OSU-PSU for a change? But the trend has made sense, because both M and MSU want their game at noon (hello Big Noon), and PSU wants OSU in primetime (unlikely on Fox given the MLB playoffs).
As NittanyFan posted in an earlier thread this week, M-OSU was obviously Fox's top pick, and it seems likely ESPN picked ND-OSU #2. Now he believes that Oct. 29 is Fox's pick at #3. It makes some sense; it's clearly the next best weekend for B1G matchups, with likely two of the remaining five best games of the season. So sure, makes sense if Fox takes it at #3, which then only leaves the question of which game Fox takes that day, M-MSU or OSU-PSU. But I'm not so sure. Because there are two great options that day, I could also see it make sense for Fox NOT to pick it. Take a weekend where there's only one good matchup (e.g. M-PSU on Oct. 15) at #3, and let ESPN waste their pick on Oct. 29, knowing that regardless of which game ESPN selects you're getting a hell of a consolation prize. Unless Fox really prefers one of those games to the other, I kind of feel like they're better off deferring and using their #3 pick on a week where there's a clear drop-off after the top game, since it seems like whoever DOESN'T pick Oct. 29 gets a two-for-one.
So long story short, I don't know. I hope PSU is a night game, simply because I really don't want MSU at night. Nothing has changed on the above rumors as far as I'm aware (I've checked periodically), although I haven't heard anything new on that front in months. It would seem a little odd if the times are already selected, since why don't you just announce them then? That would make it seem like whoever has the pick that week, even if they have a strong preference, is still waiting to see how MSU and PSU fair the next few weeks so they can select the biggest matchup. So we'll see I guess.
September 16th, 2022 at 6:13 PM ^
Good argument and logic on 15-October vs 29-October (Week 7 vs Week 9). On further thought, I think you are right. There's less marginal loss in having the 2nd pick in Week 9.
Couple other things - Wisconsin @ OSU in Week 4, that's a solid game and it was shown as an ABC/ESPN game in the pre-season releases. So presumably Disney had first draft pick that week. Also, likely that FOX had 1st pick this week (Oklahoma @ Nebraska).
So here's the best guess (?):
Draft Pick 1 - FOX, Week 13, U-M @ OSU
Draft Pick 2 - Disney, Week 1, ND @ OSU
Draft Pick 3 - FOX, Week 7 (PSU @ U-M) or Week 9 (MSU @ U-M/OSU @ PSU) or Week 3 (OU @ Nebraska). Doubtful FOX took Week 3 here but I suppose it's possible.
Draft Pick 4 - Disney, Week 7, Week 9 or Week 4.
Draft Pick 5 - FOX, Weeks 7/9 (if still left), or Week 3, or a week with another solid game (Week 5, U-M @ Iowa or Week 6, OSU @ MSU are options).
Draft Pick 6 - Disney, Weeks 7/9 (if still left), or Week 4, or a week with another solid game.
Draft Picks 7 to 13 - Now we're really at the edges of speculation. :-)
September 17th, 2022 at 5:13 AM ^
I don’t think Penn state beats auburn. They should, but Franklin will fuk it up in some way.
September 16th, 2022 at 1:32 PM ^
Penn State was announced as the maize out long before the season, so I don’t think it really hints either way whether it will be a night game. FWIW, Penn State has all but said that they expect their game vs Ohio State (same week we play MSU) to be a day game, which would hint at MSU being the night game.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:37 AM ^
i think this only works with pom poms. maize isnt a bold color choice, especially for day games. somehow white isnt either, but PSU makes it work
That said, I think maize outs at night are solid. is it a night game?
September 16th, 2022 at 10:42 AM ^
Rather that be a night game than msu
September 16th, 2022 at 10:54 AM ^
What's a bold color choice in your opinion then? White and yellow seem like the best to me to stand out at night...
Black-outs look like the stands are empty and do a better job at highlighting the opposing fans. A "blue-out" would do the same.
September 16th, 2022 at 11:03 AM ^
Respectfully, I disagree. Maize is the best color for Michigan Stadium - anytime, and especially at night.
The Pom Poms help see how active the fans are - so, hopefully, Warde spends whatever it takes to ensure every fan has at least one.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:53 AM ^
You're Maizinated.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:53 AM ^
This has been a Maize Out on the office schedule for at least a few weeks.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:53 AM ^
Is this real? The official accounts didn't post this. I've only seen it posted from a fan account.
I mean wear Maize either way though.
Edit: It was confirmed MONTHS AGO. My bad.
September 16th, 2022 at 11:31 AM ^
Imma fill the cooler with New England Pale Ales, for a "Wear MAIZE/Drink HAIZE" theme.
September 16th, 2022 at 11:52 AM ^
A general question - do you think Michigan will have any 3:30 pm starts this season?
September 16th, 2022 at 1:52 PM ^
Probably, like, two.
I'm guessing MSU is a 3:30 p.m. game, as well as Nebraska.
If I had to guess the rest of the way I'd say Iowa and Penn State are probably at night, with Rutgers and Illinois at 12 noon.
September 16th, 2022 at 2:09 PM ^
Blue, that would be a very good schedule of starting times…
September 16th, 2022 at 2:30 PM ^
I concur, blu.
September 16th, 2022 at 12:33 PM ^
No time listed still though?
September 16th, 2022 at 1:31 PM ^
Probably not worthy of its own thread, but it's also worth noting that the Athletic Department already announced that PSU@UM will include some form of ceremony/event that will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the '97 National Championship Team. It is uncertain whether it will be pregame, mid-game, or halftime.
September 16th, 2022 at 2:41 PM ^
Measured excitement and greater incentive to pull a sellout crowd for a game where we can use the edge: methinks this is a good idea.
September 16th, 2022 at 3:15 PM ^
I literally told everyone to "BE PREPARED" back in June:
https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/be-prepared-penn-state-game-1015-will-be-maize-out
September 16th, 2022 at 4:33 PM ^
I knew Ronnie Bell was pointing at you.
September 16th, 2022 at 4:49 PM ^
I vote that every home game is a maize out. It wears well in the stands and it is a great visual.