Ohio media's view of Michigan
Bo Bishop and Bobby Carpenter were talking about Michigan football and the rivalry today on The Fan. I like to share any of Ohio media's pertinent thoughts as a lot of you aren't unlucky enough to live in enemy territory.
- They think that Ohio and Michigan will be the top two teams in the B1G next year. They said that there is no question that both will be elite national teams by 2013.
- Going forward, they expect the Michigan / Ohio rivalry to be important nationally, and much more fun to watch. Outside of 2006, they said things have been pretty dull lately. They expect both teams to be in the upper echelon (my word, not theirs, insert Ohio joke) of the FBS for at least 6-7 years.
- Bo said that Brady reminds him of a cross between Bo Schembechler and Tommy Boy. I laughed at that, as anybody with a sense of humor just did as they read it. I'd like to think that's the reason he's so well liked, but I do picture him putting on a slot receivers jacket and spinning around.
- They emphasized our 2013 recruiting and said they didn't know how Hoke would work out when he was hired, but now they're starting to think it was a perfect match. They were effusive with their praise for Hoke.
- They pointed to Urban Meyer's record against rivals while at Florida as a reason they think that they (OSU) hold an edge right now. What they failed to mention was his record against Michigan to date, or the fact that Mattison was his biggest hoss while at Florida. Can't blame them for not wanting to bring any of that up though...
February 24th, 2012 at 2:25 PM ^
I stopped reading at Bo Bishop and Bobby Carpenter.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:27 PM ^
Yeah, but the Ozone guy pointed to the fact that Gmat was on that staff and the defense garner the majority of the arrests. joke, complete joke
February 24th, 2012 at 2:31 PM ^
I think from a pure numbers perspective that OSU should expect to have the upper hand. It will always be easier for OSU to recruit in Ohio then Michigan. Michigan may be able to poach some players because of scheme. But I just see it real tough for UM to go head to head against a recruiter like Meyer.
I am also of the opinion that OSU will have a decided advantage because they will be going spread. I believe that when teams are equal a spread team will beat a power team. It is just a matter of numbers. The QB being a threat to run means there is one more person to defend. That all said the spread can be vulnerable if you do not have a QB to run it. I would say that Meyer has someone who can run his system for the next three years.
The only thing that could stop OSU is if their staff does not come together. Now that is a very real possibility.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:36 PM ^
" I believe that when teams are equal a spread team will beat a power team"
The teams aren't equal then, are they? Spread teams are apples and oranges from power teams. Both have certain advantages and disadvantages. Sure, if you have a guy as fast as Denard Robinson with the arm of Tom Brady as your QB, the spread will be more efficient. The problem is that guys like that don't exist.
Are you trying to say that it is easier to be effective with a spread offense?
February 24th, 2012 at 2:51 PM ^
Tom Brady has a great arm sure, but the NFL is full of guys with great arms. What sets Tom apart is his mind, specifically his preparation and his ability to read and react to defenses. To what extent Giselle has replaced xs and os with T and A remains to be seen.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:42 PM ^
I think that the team coming together is more important than the staff coming together. Both could hurt Ohio if the players have the mercenary attitude that is decidedly un-Michigan-like and the staff doesn't gel like a unit as Michigan's has. I like Michigan's team chemistry, and I think that it played a large part in team 132's improvement and success.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:47 PM ^
I hear losing two assistant coaches at the same position in a month is good for team/coach chemistry.
/sarcasm
February 24th, 2012 at 2:47 PM ^
begs to differ. Even with more talent, than most teams, they lose almost every time they play a power team with a similar ranking.
February 24th, 2012 at 3:30 PM ^
U MAD, BUCKY?
February 24th, 2012 at 6:12 PM ^
... up until the liquor kicked in.
February 24th, 2012 at 3:12 PM ^
But I just see it real tough for UM to go head to head against a recruiter like Meyer.
Have you seen how 2013 recruiting is going so far?
I am also of the opinion that OSU will have a decided advantage because they will be going spread. I believe that when teams are equal a spread team will beat a power team.
I don't think it is the coaches goal to be equal with Ohio, I would think they want to be better than Ohio.
February 24th, 2012 at 3:14 PM ^
Ask any Ohio fan and they'll tell you Urban didn't want any of our commits. I'm not joking. The fact that several had Ohio offers has nothing to do with it. Don't confuse them with facts.
February 24th, 2012 at 4:58 PM ^
Don't forget how the majority think that Urban was killing Hoke in recruiting the moment he arrived, forgetting to mention the only uncommitted guy Meyer got over Hoke was Reeves....they bring up how Spence, Washington, Pittman, Williams, etc were all offered by UM, failing to mention how UM stopped recruiting them because they were all set at DL and LB.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:31 PM ^
Not surprised they give Meyer the edge, but agree that Meyer's record at a different time, different program, different conference, and with a different staff is a pretty flimsy predictor of what will happen against a team (of players) and coaching staff who he has never faced. I give him the edge next year simply because the game is in Columbus.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:31 PM ^
As much as I hate to admit it, I can't say that Meyer's record vs UM means anything at all. Not only do we have completely different coaches, he's coaching at a different university with different coaches as well, and none of the players that participated in the '07 Capital One bowl are on either team.
As far as Meyer having the edge, I don't really think so, at least not as far as we can tell right now. Hoke is a year ahead of Meyer in implementing his system and so far it has gone about as well as it could. I still think we will see Meyer hit a few potholes on his way to making OSU dominant. If Meyer comes out and has a fantastic year, beats us in Columbus, "out-recruits" us again, I think we can safely say he has a slight edge, but until then, I give the edge to Hoke.
February 24th, 2012 at 3:55 PM ^
Well of course it doesn't mean anything. He's coached against us one time. Bringing it up is akin to arguing that Brady Hoke is at a strategic disadvantage against Iowa.
February 24th, 2012 at 4:04 PM ^
Right but the OP refuted the Ohio media members' claim that Meyer had the upper hand against Hoke by saying that Meyer has lost the only game he's played against Michigan. My post was disagreeing with that.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:32 PM ^
I tuned in today using my TuneIn Radio app. Carpenter was actually fairly level headed in his analysis. Bishop, on the other hand, is a self-confessed total mark for Urban Meyer.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:44 PM ^
I have yet to meet an Ohio fan that doesn't assume they will win a championship in two years. If it weren't for the bowl ban they would expect one this year. It's hard to blame them for being excited but there's optimism and then there's Jonestown.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:43 PM ^
OSU will have a decided [schematic] advantage? I feel like I've heard something similar once before...
February 24th, 2012 at 2:53 PM ^
On WKNR, Sports Talk radio here in Cleveland they held a poll shortly after Meyer was announced to ask listeners the following question:
"Over the next 10 years how many NATIONAL Champtionships does OSU need to win to keep you from thinking Urban Meyer was a failure"
Believe it or not the general consensus was three. Some said 5-6 and a handful shot low at two. Nobody said less than two and few callers said seven. The level of delusion here is more than a bit laughable given how many breaks you need to catch just to win one NC, much less multiple championships over a fairly short period of time.
February 24th, 2012 at 4:12 PM ^
So their standards are: be magnitudes better than Fielding Yost, or you're a failure?
I realize they have a good coach, one they could potentially consider great based on his past resume, but 5/6/7 MNC's in a decade would make him the undisputed greatest coach ever. What are the odds of that? How many zeros need to go between the decimal and the one, 'cause I'm guessing about 100.
February 24th, 2012 at 4:42 PM ^
Exactly right. Which is one reason i dont think St Meyer is going to last long down here. If he thought the expecations in Florida were ridiculous and unattainable....he aint seen nothing yet.
February 24th, 2012 at 8:04 PM ^
Honestly? He'll be fine in Ohio. The man can coach. If at any reason he feels the program will collapse, he'll leave due to "health issues". Urban Meyer is a man that will leave on his own terms. The real question is if he's at Ohio as a stepping stone to the NFL or to another college coaching position.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:55 PM ^
I have no problem with their Ohio-edge thinking. I'm not saying I hope they have awesome teams but this whole rivalry became what it is because they were mostly classic battles between two highly ranked teams. Don't get me wrong, I won't have a problem if they're weak and we strung a few together just to stick it in their face but mostly, I look forward to winning epic battles with them. That would be legen. . .wait for it. . .
February 24th, 2012 at 2:58 PM ^
Meyer has an edge because he now knows that the NCAA won't touch Ohio. All he has to do is wait out the probation and come 2014 he can run his program his way.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:59 PM ^
Let's see Meyer coach a game for Ohio before giving him the edge.
February 24th, 2012 at 3:20 PM ^
Hate to be a buzz-kill but I think past success is a good indicator of future success. UF was high pressure like OSU. Plus he had success at Utah as well.
Obviously OSU may not be great- and its unlikely he has UF level success because that's nearly impossible- but I think it is foolish to think OSU won't always be good.
OSU>UM for a decade- the decade al lrecruits watched. And Ohio>Michigan for recruits so they have an advantage.
Yes Hoke is a beast recruiting, yes we won this year, yes we are on an upswing-- but its silly to think we will be better than OSU because Meyer in OSU is uncertain. They have recent history, better recruiting turf, and a great coach- at best it looks even for near future-- but that a hell of a lot better than the last decade.
February 24th, 2012 at 3:31 PM ^
"UF was high pressure like OSU". True, and if you believe Meyer his health couldn't handle the pressure. Or as some have suggested, he left because he saw the lean years ahead. Either way, there just seems to be something a little off with the end of Urb's career at Florida. I'm not saying he'll be terrible but I still want to see him coach in the BIG.
February 24th, 2012 at 4:17 PM ^
One caveat about Meyer's past success is that he was on the vanguard of a totally new offensive system. When he ran the spread at BG and Utah, it was an exotic offense that opposing DCs knew almost nothing about. When South Florida found a way to slow down RR's offense at WVU, that was a huge breakthrough in the coaching community. Many other teams (including OSU under Tressel) went to USF to learn from them.
Today, many of the spread's concepts have become basic offensive staples; even teams with pocket passers will run the occasional zone read option. It still obviously can succeed with the right personnel (like any offense) but defenses have become more familar with it over the years. Mattison obviously is extremely familiar with it.
The spread coaches that have remained highly successful (like Chip Kelly) have adapted the offense further. Chip Kelly has re-emphasized the tailback and added more of a downfield passing game. Brian Kelly at ND, OTOH, doesn't seem to have added many new wrinkles lately and he's finding the going a lot tougher than it was at CMU and GVSU. The question is whether Meyer will prove to be more like Chip Kelly or not.
February 24th, 2012 at 3:40 PM ^
That's all fair.
All I am saying is that it is specualtion. He is a great coach (an ass sure- but a hell of a coach). Ohio has all the advantages- better talent pool, better recent history, and they just had one of the most dominant swings in the rivalries history.
To have our own swing we need to execute everything perfectly.
We need top recruits, and to steal OH recruits.
We need to beat OSU over a long period like they just beat us to change the balance of power.
We also need big ten titles.
Those things have been givens for OSU and we have failed at all of them for a decade almost. Now that needs to change- and to say that because Meyer is a question mark in any way means we will do those things is foolish.
Yes we are off to a good start- but its just that- a start- and that doesn't change the last decade.
We have a window to catch up to OSU then we can talk about surpassing them- let's catch them first- and until we have titles, a long stretch of OSU victories, and out-recruit them like they did us for so long- the talk should be when we catch OSU- not when we surpass them
February 24th, 2012 at 4:16 PM ^
I wonder if Meyer would have taken the Ohio job if Braxton Miller wasn't there. Urban is really walking into the perfect scenario personnel-wise. For that reason alone, I expect Ohio to be very good. It would have been interesting to see how he would have fared with a more traditional, pocket passer QB and the need to do a complete overhaul, a la RR. Something tells me that Urban would have shied away from the challenge.
February 24th, 2012 at 4:35 PM ^
Well, I agree with almost everything they say... Kinda surprised by that.
February 24th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
The "big two and the little ten" sounds good to me.
February 24th, 2012 at 7:01 PM ^
As if seeing ohio and Michigan snatch up recruits like hotcakes wasn't bad enough for every other B1G school, having almost every analyst agree that the conference is regressing to its former two team power struggle, a modern day big two little ten, must be incredibly disheartening.
February 24th, 2012 at 9:16 PM ^
Bobby Carpenter should just worry about his lackluster and dwindling NFL career. He talks so much OSU football on the radio that he sounds like a college sophomore reliving his "glory years" as a star at a small town high school.