Michigan football according to the Football Outsiders returning talent index
Football Outsiders is a site that has always posted interesting advanced statistics on their site. Here's what they had to say about the B1G East in an article from late March that I never saw discussed here.
In the east, Michigan fans may be asking, "If not now, when?" The Wolverines will have a void at quarterback—oft-injured but highly touted Texas Tech transfer Alan Bowman will provide some depth, but most of the Wolverines' season hinges on the ability of five-star recruit J.J. McCarthy, who will presumably take the starting job. Regardless of which quarterback works out (it will be McCarthy), the context into which that quarterback steps will be that of a championship contender. The Wolverines will return 80% of their offense, accounting for the transfer of 2020 starter Joe Milton, but not including transfer tackle Willie Allen from Louisiana Tech. On defense, the Wolverines will be stout, but of course this index does not account for the transition from long-time defensive coordinator Don Brown to Mike MacDonald. At any rate, the division hierarchy looks to be very similar to the past. Ohio State slightly improves off of an excellent season, while Penn State will almost certainly bounce back. The most interesting team in the Big Ten in 2021, though? The Maryland Terrapins. Maryland returns the entire foundation of their offense (37th in EPA/play in 2020), and quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa (66th in EPA/attempt, 48th in passing success rate) will have a full offseason to improve his boom-and-bust production into consistent downfield threats.
They also provided some interesting charts, such as the following breakdown of the conference. The whole article is an interesting read. Michigan's returning talent is among the best in the nation and Northwestern looks like they may be in for a loooooooong season, especially after the departure of Hankewitz.
Just win 11 games this year (including the bowl game), with one of those being MSU. The rest is just the usual script.
Harbaugh hasn’t been able to win 11 games with better teams than this one.
I’m not holding my breath.
Also, I just wanted to note how weird it is that nobody seems to respect Cade McNamara. You would think the dude was a walkon based on how people talk about him. He was a solid 4* QB who Alabama really wanted.
Also he broke the Nevada State High School TD and yardage record I believe.
Right, I seriously do not get the disrespect. He was wildly successful in high school, his arm seemed strong enough to make all of the throws in the games, and he's taller than Russell Wilson and Drew Brees. I know people were mesmerized by Milton's "hose," but Cade seems to have the tools to be a successful college QB.
Urbz really liked his hose, said it was a big hose
He looked good last year too, all things considered. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was the most game ready QB on the roster come next season.
I would be surprised if he wasn't the most ready.
Kinda reminds me of the Brady/Henson "saga".
Brady was a highly recruited guy (they didn't have "stars", back then, but he would have been a high 4 star). He sat for a couple of years, but then when his turn came....the fan base was enamored with this shiny new 5 star recruit (Henson). Claiming he was one of the best QBs to ever come into a college program. Lloyd even had to promise Henson and his dad that he wouldn't recruit another QB, for a couple of years. The problem was....Brady was clearly the better option. Even though Brady started, Henson was getting every other quarter. Every time Henson went in....he put us into bad positions. Brady had to "rescue" us several times. Brady was an excellent QB, at Michigan, but the fans remember him as mediocre. That's only because he had to split time with Henson in his only two years as the starting QB.
I don't believe the splitting time situation will come up, and Harbaugh didn't make that same ridiculous promise (of not recruiting QBs) that Lloyd did, but the fan base overlooking Cade is very similar.
I remember wanting Henson to win the job because he was, after all the second coming. But damn, Brady kept putting the bombs on the finger tips! Henson, to be fair, was amazing as a junior and woulda coulda as a senior except for the Yankees.
Oh....for sure! I firmly believe (and always have) that if Henson doesn't go to the Yankees, and we are playing with him (instead of Navarre), then we win the national championship, that year. That was a very very good team, but lacked consistent QB play.
I know Navarre broke a ton of records, while here (simply due to 4 years of starting), but he wasn't Henson. I used to get so frustrated watching Navarre miss WIDE OPEN receivers (by a mile), and thinking....there's no way Henson misses that throw.
Cool story. One of my classmates at Michigan was a fomer professional baseball player.
Somehow Henson reached out to him and they got together to talk about his experience.
Not sure how much his input influenced his decision but Henson ended up with the Yankees.
TBH, at the time it seemed like a very reasonable decision. Guess you never know.
Except Harbaugh did allegedly make the promise to Shea that he would start no matter what if he came here.
Brady was an excellent QB, at Michigan, but the fans remember him as mediocre.
No we don't.
By the second half of '99 he was the clear starter and it was unambiguously his team. He beat Ohio State and SEC champion Alabama on New Years Day. They had no answer for him.
The "Tom Brady was under-appreciated" narrative that is so popular now is an NFL thing that came later.
Michigan fans appreciated Tom Brady when he was at Michigan.
Make no mistake. I'm (admittedly) a Tom Brady homer. I was one of the fan base members who got pissed every time Henson went in. I saw how good Brady was. I was overjoyed when Carr announced that Brady was the Starter, and was no longer doing the Henson every other quarter thing. Watching what he did against Alabama was a thing of beauty. I was equally pissed when he dropped so far down the draft. When Bledsoe got hurt, I immediately told my boss that this guy was special. He dismissed it as me just saying that because he was a Michigan QB.
I have a signed Brady Michigan Helmet sitting in my office. Brady is my favorite Michigan QB of all time (and was before he became the "GOAT"). My top 5 Michigan QB "favorites" are Brady, Harbaugh, Todd Collins (yep, loved him when he was here), Denard, and Henne. Henson would have been there if he'd have stayed. There's a ton of other QBs that could have been there (like Griese, or some of the Bo QBs, but that's my top 5 "favorite").
However, I have to have arguments (yep, even with Michigan fans) about how good Brady was AT Michigan. It's sad, but true.
I was a high school QB, so I pay the most attention to the QB play. Lol
Unfortunately, I tore my rotator cuff, AND severely damaged my (throwing arm) elbow, so I couldn't play college ball.
My memory of Brady in '98 was that he was relatively shaky as starter but did ultimately deliver some wins against competition. I was pulling hard for Henson during that season to displace him because he was a few years ahead of me at Brighton.
In the '99 season however, it was not close. Brady was far and away the better QB and quietly I thought he was one of the best QB's in the nation (it was the same year however Vick was dumbfounding college football, and rightfully so).
I remember thinking he had a legit shot at being a starting level NFL QB (did not anticipating him beingTom Brady). Then the PSU comeback happened, the win at OSU and the heroics he displayed against Bama in the Orange Bowl solidified him as the best Michigan QB I'd ever watched. All this is to say, I think he was absolutely appreciated by Michigan fans. And he earned every ounce of it. He had an outstanding career at Michigan.
Agree. And he was originally committed to ND wasn't he?
Yeah, I have no idea why people are acting like the #7/8 pro QB in the country his recruiting cycle is some try-hard, yet the #37 pro QB from another cycle who keeps getting injured and lost his job is likely to take his place. I don't particularly care who wins out but we have ample more evidence that McNamara can actually play college QB than Milton coming into last season but the negativity around him seems to be orders of magnitude higher.
I'm OK with under the radar but over-deliver and outperform expectations.......wouldn't that be nice for a change:)
Is anybody actually down on Cade?
I thought the general thinking was QB play is going to be a problem regardless of starter because of Harbaugh's meddling.
"Harbaugh’s meddling" or injuries?
Did Harbaugh suddenly forget how to coach the QB position....along with his three QB coaches (Jedd Fisch, Pep Hamilton, and Ben McDaniels)....or was it something else?
Let's take a further look, shall we?
2015: QBs on the roster- Transfer QB (Jake Ruddock). 3 star (RS Freshman) Wilton Speight.
*Jake Ruddock lost his starting job, at Iowa, before transferring to Michigan.*
Ruddock started all games and got injured in the Minnesota game and the OSU game, from a hit by Joey Bosa.
2016: Aforementioned Wilton Speight. (True Freshman) Brandon Peters, and transfer John O'korn.
*O'korn lost his starting job at Houston, to a wide receiver*
Speight started every game and got very injured against Iowa. He maintained his injury during and after the OSU game.
2017: Same as 2016, with added (True Freshman) Dylan McCaffery
Speight was injured for the season, during the Purdue game. John O'korn finished the game against Purdue and started over (RS Freshman) Brandon Peters, against MSU. Peters started the very next game, and then got a servere concussion against Wisconsin. O'korn (which was essentially 3rd string, at this point) had to start the rest of the season, because there was no other option.
2018: Transfer QB Shea Patterson. Brandon Peters (RS Freshman) Dylan McCaffery. (True Freshman) Joe Milton.
Shea Patterson started every game. Brandon Peters injured his lower leg before the season started. Dylan McCaffery broke his collarbone against Penn State.
They rode Patterson to an undefeated Conference record until the game against OSU.....where he got injured (OSU scored 21 more points, after Shea left the game).
*Note (not QB related): Devin Bush, Rashan Gary, and David Long also got hurt in that second half. Chase Winovich was hurt the game before*
2019: Shae Patterson, Dylan McCaffery, Joe Milton, and (True Freshman) Cade McNamara.
Shea Patterson got hurt on the very first play of the season. Dylan McCaffery suffered a severe concussion against Wisconsin, and missed a bunch of time, the rest of the season. Shea Patterson was hurt, again, in the second half of the OSU game.
2020: Joe Milton. Cade McNamara. (True Freshman) Dan Villari.
Joe Milton started, then injured his throwing hand. Cade McNamara (in his first and only start) injured his throwing shoulder.
Reiterated Harbaugh QB recruits and their time at Michigan:
2016 class - Brandon Peters
(2017 He got so injured that he was carted off the field. 2018 he started the season with a lower leg injury, suffered in practice. 2019 He already transferred, but got injured again, with Illinois).
2017 class - Dylan McCaffery
(2018 he breaks his collarbone. 2019 suffers a major concussion. 2020 opted out of the season, right before it started).
2018 class - Joe Milton
(2020 got his first start, and injured his throwing hand)
2019 class - Cade McNamara
(2020 got his first start and injured his throwing shoulder)
2020 class - Dan Villari
??????
Injuries definitely play a role in the QB situation under Harbaugh, but some of the aforementioned are probably "injuries". Wilton Speight broke his collarbone, he was injured. Dylan MCaffery broke his collar bone and suffered a severe concussion, he was injured.
Patterson I'm sure had to play through some bruised ribs. A lot of players do that. Joe Milton had a sprain on his throwing hand. A lot of players do that. I'm not taking shots at the guys, I just think it was a convenient explanation for their sub par performances. If Michigan was winning games during their careers here, we would not have heard anything about their bad ribs or sprains on throwing hands.
Convenient explanation by whom?
Harbaugh pretty much never acknowledges injuries especially to QBs who are still playing. It wouldn't make sense to do so.
Also when you make negative judgements about the extent and impact of bruised ribs and a strain on a QBs throwing hand it makes it looks you are trying to downplay the potential impact of the injuries. No one knows but I never see anyone associated w this program looking for Convenient excuses.
Harbaugh has had some really bad luck on some huge 50/50 plays (MSU his first year, the infamous OSU "spot") and injuries to key guys but I've never heard him mention any of it at least not as an excuse.
April 15th, 2021 at 12:58 AM ^
"Convenient explanation by whom?"
Mostly I'm referring to the fan base. I'm not putting words in any coaches or players months. Like you said, the coaches and players don't say anything on record about injuries.
We started to hear things about Shea's ribs and Joe Milton's hand when the losses and poor performances started to pile up. I'm not suggesting Shea or Joe weren't banged up, or that they aren't tough football players. What I'm saying is that to make it through a full season, most guys have to play through some injuries. I don't think we should accept the premise that a guy's injuries only count when he plays bad. Justin Fields recently threw for damn near 500 yards with 2 broken ribs in a national championship game. It is achievable to play well at less that 100% (granted with some cortizone shots most likely).
The point is, if a player decides he's healthy enough to go, it's kind of a cop out to turn around and say well my ribs or my hand is bruised/sore/injuried.
For the record, I don't remember Shea Patterson or Joe Milton saying one peep about playing through any injuries. It seems like something some fans try to use like the post above to justify a poor performance in hindsight, and I am pointing out that I don't think it holds water.
According to 247, Brandon Peters was the 6th highest rated pro-style QB in the entire country. Patterson was the #1 QB. Neither was drafted, which just shows that being highly ranked out of HS is no guarantee of great success at the next level. Two other top-rated recruits in the 2016 class—Jacob Eason and JK Costello—didn't finish their careers at the schools they originally started with (Georgia and Stanford).
I would say people are down on Cade. This article doesn't even mention him as an option. I also remember some practice rumblings from last fall that he may have passed Dylan during fall camp, which were met with total disbelief. Since then, there have been plenty of posters who have asserted that JJ must start if we want to be any good. It's easy to forget that Cade was a redshirt freshman last year when he took over the starting job. I think he never got any serious thought because Dylan was the anointed one and Milton had the golden arm. Meanwhile, Cade was just chilling with his obscene high school stats and 4-star rating.
This is what happens to QBs who are very good but were kind of expected to be buried on a depth chart anyway.
Mac Jones got the same treatment at Alabama and everyone was acting like he was some walk-on who Saban grabbed off the street when he was thrust into the starting job because of injury. Dude was an Elite 11 finalist and 4-star recruit. Nobody should have been surprised he turned out to be alright.
Did the guy who wrote this actually watch the talent last year? It's one thing to bring the most "talent" back, it's another thing if that "talent" is busy running the ball into a stacked box, throwing bad passes/dropping passes on offense, while letting receivers run around willy nilly in the secondary on defense and by the time the LBs react to a play, the ball is past them.
I mean, I love football and I'll watch Michigan every Saturday and as many other games as I can (MACtion, DII, DII, I don't care) but I have no illusions that Michigan is going to be even half good.
It’s crazy to me that a large portion of the fanbase, based solely on one Covid shortened year, have come to the conclusion that Harbaugh is just going to forget how to win at a minimum 8 or 9 games with a good chance at winning 10 or 11 games
I forgot, covid only affected the Michigan football team in all the B1G, let alone the whole country. Covid helped a hapless staee team beat us at home, covid helped a winless ped state team beat us at home, covid helped IU kick us in the teeth at home, covid helped Wisc lay the 2nd worst home defeat in Michigan history.
Another Harbaugh apologists.
you can recognize that COVID impacted the season (yes, for everyone) while not being a "Harbaugh apologist". Penn State struggled more than they should have in football last year, Duke & Kentucky struggled in basketball.
It was a weird year and weird things happened.
IMHO, we have had 6 weird years under Harbuagh and 2020 was just a continuation. If he had some major road wins or conference titles or a good bowl record or a few wins against OSU, I would be more than happy to chalk up the disastrous 2020 to covid.
He's had three 10-3 years and a 9-4 year. Those are very "Michigan Football" years, at least as I understand that term from my 50 years on this planet.
Preach. It blows my mind that people think UM used to go undefeated every year. Did I think Harbaugh was going to come in and take the team to the next level? Hell yes, so did everyone else, including the media. Hasn't happened yet and I totally get people wanting a change. Don't agree, but I can see the reasoning. What I don't get are the people that act like he has just been horrible and his teams are worse than UMs historical average for the most part. Def needs to be better, but man.
Hate to keep doing this, but sad that people think the harbaugh era is a "normal" Michigan football timeframe. This is what he has accomplished or rather not:
- 0-5 vs OSU, covid saved us from 0-6
- 3-3 vs MSU
- 0 B1G titles, not even playing in the B1G title game let alone CFP
- best road win is against #20 Northwestern
- 1-4 in bowl games
- 0-15 when Michigan is an underdog
- 2-12 vs. top 10 teams
- worst halftime deficit in Michigan stadium history & 2nd worst loss ever at home
- home loss to an 0-5 team
- 4 straight home losses
- talented players transferring / leaving the program early
- questionable roster management and seemingly disorganized recruiting
- could not keep the players from missing the last 3 games
- 4th highest paid coach in the country
Lloyd had more success than Harbaugh and we have not won a B1G title since 2004 - 15 years and 6 of those last years were with JH, and since 2004 MSU AND Wiscy have won 3 titles each.
I’ll give you some of those and I’ve agreed JH needs to be better, but Lloyd didn’t have to deal with the current OSU machine. He couldn’t beat Tressel when the talent was closer to comparable.
April 13th, 2021 at 10:50 PM ^
The current OSU machine is because we have been fucking it up and Harbaugh was supposed to bring us back to being at least competitive with them, but instead we have had our worst 2 defeats against them in recent history and he is 0-5 or 0-6 against them.
Those are very "Michigan Football" years, at least as I understand that term from my 50 years on this planet.
No, Michigan football years in the past 50 years regularly beat Ohio State, win the Big Ten, and go to the Rose Bowl.
Thank you for reminding these people that we use to be a respectable, if I can use the words, Football Power! Now, everyone calls us the most overrated team in America.
Nebraska used to be dominant too, but if Nebraska went 13-0 this year *nobody* would think that's normal. Times change, my friend.
I think your revisionist history is a bit "rose colored".
"Regularly beat OSU in the past 50 years"?
OSU is 27-21-2 vs Michigan in the past 50 years. Even if you remove Harbaugh’s 5 losses....they are 22-21-2 vs Michigan....in a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ERA.
"Win the Big 10"?
They have had 8 "outright" BIG Championships in the last 50 years. They have "shared" the championship (which is no longer a thing) 11 times.....which was only determined by having the best conference record....or at least tie for it. By this measure, 2018 would have shared the BIG Championship, as well.
"Regularly went to the Rose Bowl"
Michigan went to 16 Rose Bowls over the last 50 years. Losing 12 of them.
April 13th, 2021 at 10:46 PM ^
Harbaugh's 6 years are not even close to those levels.
April 13th, 2021 at 11:43 PM ^
His win totals certainly compare to those years.
As I said, 2018 would have been a shared title, if shared titles were still a thing (which is not any different than 11 shared championships out of 50 years isn't far off 1 shared in 5 1/2 seasons.
If the 2016 OSU game would have been remotely called evenly, OR the spot would have been accurately called short, then he would have been playing for an outright BIG Championship and playing in the playoffs for a National Championship.
Also, East German Judge. You like to throw out 0-5 vs OSU and 0 conference championships and 0 playoff appearances. All those things are connected. It's mathematically impossible for Michigan to even play for a conference championship or go to the playoffs without beating this iteration of OSU, because OSU would have to lose to two other BIG teams. That isn't happening. So....you're basically just saying 6, half a dozen, and 2x3. It's all the same thing.
You like to throw up "as an underdog". Who determines that? Vegas. Vegas bases it's betting odds on the betting line......which is skewed by the Michigan fan base betting for Michigan in games they aren't a lock to win. Michigan has won many "big games", but they all of a sudden aren't "big games" after Michigan wins them.
You throw up records against top 10 teams, but don't bother to recognize what teams they beat that later became top 10 teams (which I'll be more than happy to provide that stat, if you want). You also fail to provide any context in the losses to those top ten teams....like the fact that 5 of them were against OSU or things like the majority of the team sitting out of the bowl game (because they aren't important anymore, like they were pre playoff Era). You like to throw up the record vs MSU, but don't take in consideration that MSU dominated Michigan for 6 out of 7 years before Harbaugh got there.....or the fact that the fluke happened.
A lot of your "stats" are skewed to drive home a particular narrative. You keep reiterating the same narrative, even though the school just resigned Harbaugh, and the season has not even started yet....like your stats are going to do anything but just continue the vitriol towards our current head coach. What exactly does that accomplish, at this point?
But....yes....Harbaugh is indeed on par with what the pre RR and Hoke Era coaches were doing. The major difference was OSU was not a juggernaut, there were no conference divisions, there were no conference championships, there was no "smart phones, with 24/7 internet access" (internet wasn't even a thing for most of the previous Eras), there were no blogs (except the last few years of Carr's Era), there were no social media, there were no recruiting services, there was no playoffs, and....for the most part.....people got their sports news from the Sunday paper, and not 24/7 sports television News.
You're comparing Apples and Oranges.
And....no.....I'm not a "Harbaugh apologist". I'm just someone who's tired of the unwarranted vitriol and false narratives, driven by unlogical expectations from when Harbaugh took over a Michigan program that spent 7 years with a worse record than Rutgers.....and lost to Rutgers.
Is Harbaugh a better coach than Meyer? Nobody on here would say that, and Meyer is perhaps one of the 5 best coaches of all time. Is Michigan recruiting at the same level as OSU? No. Has Michigan been as successful as OSU over the last 2 decades? No.
So....why in the hell is the expectation that Harbaugh completely change the results vs OSU....coached by Meyer, when taking over a program that hadn't been successful for a decade? How can anyone with any sort of logic think that's reasonable?
Just.....put more thought into your posts than "ugggg.....Harbaugh bad", and then throwing up the exact same "stats" (over and over), to drive home the narrative of "Harbaugh bad".
While I appreciate your fandom, imho you are the definition of an apologist. Before Bo came on the scene, MSU was a power AND OSU was a juggernaut. My point is that thru his coaching skills he dominated MSU and came even with OSU. Pre-Bo Michigan for those prior couple of decades was not a power, but became one. Harbaugh, who was supposed to be a great coach, was supposed to bring us to parity with OSU, but hasn't and fans like you have completely given up on that are happy to accept the mediocre results. Enjoy.
Also, I will much appreciate if you kindly give me your updated stats and also tell me about all our great road wins under Jim, so I have a more balanced picture of his rousing success over these last 6 years.
April 14th, 2021 at 10:34 AM ^
I'll be more than happy to give you some stats, but before I throw out names like 2016 Colorado.....I want to address a few things you just said.
#1. Being a realist, and "happy to accept mediocre results" are two different things. Expectations of Michigan overtaking the OSU juggernaut, in a few years, after they built up a tremendous head start and we sucked. Simply because of hiring a specific coach, when OSU was being coached by one of the all time greats....ON TOP of their head start? That's a ridiculous expectation. Is it a hope? Sure. Expecting it (or the torch and pitchforks come out), however, is just silly.
#2. Comparing what Bo did to what Harbaugh did is ridiculous.
1969: Kids weren't being scouted by a trillion different people. For the most part, the only way coaches even knew of some kids was because they sent in their highlight tapes. Most kids just went to their local school, because they didn't know much about schools across the country. There was no internet to jump on, and "Google" a specific school. There was no "Sportscenter" to tell the kids about the schools. A coach could walk into a school and sell the school, without much pushback. There was no scholarship limits, so they literally could sign as many kids as they wanted, to "fix" a roster. They certainly didn't have signing class limits. That meant that kids could get "cut", without many options, so they would have to try harder. I won't even discuss the cultural and attitude differences between kids in 1969 and 2015. It was easier for kids to "overlook" certain teams, because social media, 24 hour sporting news, and the internet wasn't invented yet. They didn't get so much input from their friends, family, and neighbors; because most people just got their information from the (local) Sunday paper. The year before Bo took over, OSU destroyed Michigan. It was easy for them to expect to easily beat them the next year. Bo was super familiar with Woody Hayes, so he had an advantage against his "schemes", compared to everyone else. Kids didn't have cell phones attached to their hips, at all times, back then. So, they couldn't easily make contact with other people. Gave them more time to focus on football, and stay committed to working hard for the team. They CERTAINLY didn't have "smart phones", so they can just get bombarded with posts about how much they, their team, or their coach "sucks". Back in 1969, the BIG 10 wasn't exactly considered a strong conference. So, it was easy to at least "share" a championship. They certainly didn't have divisions or conference championships to overcome. All they had to do was to tie for the best conference record, and they are champions; which that status helps to recruit players who couldn't easily be influenced by other things. Back in 1969, there was no "TV contract/bowl game revenue profit sharing/conference revenue sharing, like it is today. Back then," Resources" was a legitimate thing. It's not anymore. Anytime someone spouts "Michigan resources" as an advantage, in today's world, is delusional. All P5 teams have a lot of resources, now. They didn't back in 1969. Back in 1969, cross county travel wasn't NEARLY as prevalent as it is today. Which means kids couldn't travel as much, and neither could coaches. Meaning, Michigan would have had an advantage, back then, that they wouldn't have now. It was a different Era. It isn't comparable to today. It's apples and oranges.
So, PLEASE, stop with this nonsense of "look at what Bo did, he showed it is possible". That's just BS.
Bo also won with "3 yards and a cloud of dust". That strategy isn't compatible with today's world, and neither is the situation that Bo took over (compared to this Era).
April 14th, 2021 at 10:49 AM ^
Let's look at OSU since Bo took over, shall we?
*(+) = outright conference champions
*(++) = shared conference champions
Ohio State vs Michigan (Since Bo)- championships followed by year followed by if Michigan won (blank = OSU win)
Woody Hayes
(++) 1969: 8-1 Michigan win
(+) 1970: 9-1
1971: 6-4 Michigan win
(++) 1972: 9-2
(+) 1973: 10-0-1 UM AND OSU TIE
(++) 1974: 10-2
(+) 1975: 11-1
(++) 1976: 9-2-1 Michigan win
(++) 1977: 9-3 Michigan win
1978: 7-4-1 Michigan win
(+) 1979: 11-1
1980: 9-3 Michigan win
(++) 1981: 9-3
1982: 9-3
Earle Bruce
1983: 9-3 Michigan win
(+) 1984: 9-3
1985: 9-3 Michigan win
(++) 1986: 10-3 Michigan win
1987: 6-4-1
John Cooper
1988: 4-6-1 Michigan win
1989: 8-4 Michigan win
1990: 7-4-1 Michigan win
1991: 8-4 Michigan win
1992: 8-3-1 UM AND OSU TIE
(++) 1993: 10-1-1 Michigan win
1994: 9-4
1995: 11-2 Michigan win
(++) 1996: 11-1 Michigan win
1997: 10-3 Michigan win
BCS ERA:
(++) 1998: 11-1
1999: 6-6 Michigan win
2000: 8-4 Michigan win
Jim Tressel
2001: 7-5
(++) *2002: 14-0 (National Champions)*
2003: 11-2 Michigan win
2004: 8-4
(++) 2005: 10-2
*(+) 2006: 12-1 (Played in National Championship game)*
(+) 2007: 11-2
(++) 2008: 10-3
(+) 2009: 11-2
2010: 12-1
BIG Divisions Era (2011-2020):
Luke Fickle
2011: 6-7 Michigan win
Urban Meyer
2012: 12-0
2013: 12-2
Playoff ERA:
(+) *2014: 14-1 (National Champions)*
2015: 12-1
2016: 11-2
(+) 2017: 12-2
(+) 2018: 13-1
Ryan Day
(+) 2019: 13-1
*(+) 2020: 7-1 (Played for the National Championship)* UM AND OSU DID NOT PLAY
I encourage you to go back and look at how many times Michigan beat an OSU team with less than 3 losses, over this time frame.
April 14th, 2021 at 10:57 AM ^
Just in case you're curious.
Here's that exact same thing, but from Michigan's perspective.
Michigan vs Ohio State (Since Bo)
Bo Schembechler
(++) 1969: 8-3
1970: 9-1 Ohio State win
(+) 1971: 11-1
(++) 1972: 10-1 Ohio State win
(++) 1973: 10-0-1 UM AND OSU TIE
(++) 1974: 10-1 Ohio State win
1975: 8-2-2 Ohio State win
(++) 1976: 10-2
(++) 1977: 10-2
(++) 1978: 10-2
1979: 8-4 Ohio State win
(+) 1980: 10-2
1981: 9-3 Ohio State win
(+) 1982: 8-4 Ohio State win
1983: 9-3
1984: 6-6 Ohio State win
1985: 10-1-1
(++) 1986: 11-2
1987: 8-4 Ohio State win
(+) 1988: 9-2-1
(+) 1989: 10-2
Gary Moeller
(++) 1990: 9-3
(+) 1991: 10-2
(+) 1992: 9-0-3 UM AND OSU TIE
1993: 8-4
1994: 8-4 Ohio State win
Lloyd Carr
1995: 9-4
1996: 9-4
(+) *1997: 12-0 (Co-National Champions)*
BCS ERA:
(++) 1998: 10-3 Ohio State win
1999: 10-2
(++) 2000: 9-3
2001: 8-4 Ohio State win
2002: 10-3 Ohio State win
(+) 2003: 10-3
(++) 2004: 9-3 Ohio State win
2005: 7-5 Ohio State win
2006: 11-2 Ohio State win
2007: 9-4 Ohio State win
Rich Rodriguez
2008: 3-9 Ohio State win
2009: 5-7 Ohio State win
2010: 7-6 Ohio State win
BIG Divisions Era (2011-2020):
Brady Hoke
2011: 11-2
2012: 8-5 Ohio State win
2013: 7-6 Ohio State win
Playoff ERA:
2014: 5-7 Ohio State win
Jim Harbaugh
2015: 10-3 Ohio State win
2016: 10-3 Ohio State win
2017: 8-5 Ohio State win
2018: 10-3 Ohio State win
2019: 9-4 Ohio State win
2020: 2-4 UM AND OSU DID NOT PLAY
Quarterback injuries took the wind out of more than two season ends. And then there is the lack of down field arm from Patterson. Add to that coaching changes and I can see why we didn't get traction.
Oh and there's the other teams getting Don Browns number. But I wouldn't call it weird.