One fan's look back at this year's schedule

A new light shed on the Wolverines season as of NYE?    What a strange, strange year if you look back at the schedule, especially after the Big Ten shows up BIG at bowl time.   Just when you think there is some parity in college football, look at the W & L numbers of Michigan opponents in 2017.

No matter if you thought 8-4 was a major disappointment or not, it all may look a little different now.   I considered it a mild disappointment, primarily the loss to MSU, but overall thought Michigan was a pretty decent team considering Big Ten rules apparently don’t provide for protection of Michigan QB’s after they get rid of the football or are sitting on the ground already. Having a full strength Wilton or Peters changes everything.

The teams Michigan beat this year are now a combined 38-58.  Yuck.

Michigan beat Florida (stinky 4-7 version), Cincinnati (4-8, beat nobody), Air Force (5-7 but did beat Utah St), a decent Purdue team (7-6 with bowl victory, beat Mizzou, Iowa, Arizona) while losing QB #1, Indiana (5-7), Rutgers (4-8), Minnesota (5-7), and Maryland (4-8).   A handful of those wins did end up coming with what we now know is at best a 3rd string Big Ten QB in O’Korn.  In hindsight, he probably isn’t really a Big Ten QB at all but maybe a decent practice player.

Now, the losses.   The teams that beat Michigan this year are currently 46-8!   Yowza.

Michigan State (10-3), also beats Penn State and Washington St, loses to Ohio State and figures out how to lose to ND and Northwestern.  They could have done better, in hindsight, and still may end up finishing ranked as high as 10 or so.    A healthy Speight or a full game of solid Peters play and this is a Michigan win.   Sad.    This one frustrates me.   The ESPN narrative at the time is that this one saved MSU’s season, and now that looks accurate.

Penn St (11-2), loses to OSU and MSU by a total of 4, soundly pummels the rest of their schedule and finishes it off with a win over a good Washington team.   They will finish high in the final rankings.  Hopefully we have seen the last of Saquon in college.   There is no scenario involving Speight or Peters that turns this into a win, and is truly the only beat down that Michigan took in 2017.

Wisconsin (13-1!) beat a whole bunch of bowl participants.  Didn’t have to play MSU or PSU.  Gives OSU a decent game but is finally outclassed by better talent.   I picked Miami (YTM) to beat them in their bowl, but look at that!    This fanbase knows Michigan was in a dogfight at Camp Randall, and perhaps things go differently if current rules don’t allow Wisconsin to bounce Peters off the turf after he throws a pass, and force the Wolverines to return to their wholly ineffective 3rd string QB.  

Ohio State (12-2) loses to Final Four participant Oklahoma, and somehow throws up their infamous stinker at Iowa, and then whines a lot about being left out of the CFP.  They had their chance.  The godforsaken Buckeyes still beat PSU, MSU, Michigan, Wisconsin, and then finishes the season off with a beat down of USC.  Think about that lineup for a second.    I watched from the end zone as OSU had to really work to win over a Michigan team that was forced to go to their aforementioned ineffective 3rd string QB.  We would all agree this one could have been different with just some healthy QBs.   Injuries happen in football, sure, but just Wilton or Peters could have changed everything that day.

Michigan needs to deliver a beat down to South Carolina on Monday.   The Wolverines beat nearly all of the teams they should have beat, with the exception of MSU.  We should have won that one.  Michigan puts up a good fight against OSU and Wisconsin, and simply has to live with the business end of a fair and square rout against PSU.    We win just that very winnable MSU game, and the record against those teams becomes 47-62, with the record of the teams beating Michigan going to 36-5.  Ouch.