Part OT: USC's unspectacular home schedule/2010 M Opener
Decent MDaily article today talks about 2 different things: the first being the complete lack of compelling football games scheduled to be played in the LA Coliseum this season. USC's 4 most compelling/interesting matchups take place on the road, with the best home matchup probably being the intercity matchup with UCLA. My money is on them having at least one of their annual trip-ups at home anyway.
ALSO: Of more interest to all of us is the list provided of all 1A/FBS teams yet to have filled their schedule for opening weekend 2010, Saturday 9/4. Though a disclaimer states that some of the teams listed have already entered into tentative agreements for games, assuming that any of these teams would be available, who would you choose from the list for the "new" BH opener? The best potential matchups for me (no matter how unlikely) are FSU, OK State, UVA and of course WVU. Anyone?
http://thegame.blogs.michigandaily.com/2009/07/22/does-usc-have-the-wor…
West Virginia. That would be an unbelievable game, and the media hype would be sick. The issue would be that I'm sure Rodriguez wouldn't want months of being asked about his departure from WVU again. In the abstract, though, I'd love to see Rodriguez beat the crap out of Stewart (in a footballing sense, of course).
But if we lost, Appalachia would rejoice for all eternity. Again. Causing my head to asplode.
We can't, as a message board, argue we want better ooc opponents, and then worry about what'll happen if we lose. Haven't we already had enough experience in that the past 15 years (Colorado, Syracuse, Oregon, App. St., Toledo).
Schedule the best, schedule with confidence and if we lose, oh well. At least the team had ambition.
I'm all for better opponents in general, just not WVU specifically. Haven't we had enough of their drama already?
I would add Syracuse (revenge for McNabb game) and maybe Rutgers (Schianolicious).
I like us playing, and dominating, Rutgers.
Didn't we lose 1 or 2 recruits to the 'secondary' Florida schools? Lets get one of them up here...plus Martin won't have to cry about a home-and-home.
Otherwise I'd take Arkansas...just to see us out-run a SEC school sideline to sideline and then see ESPN commentators cry as everything they understood crumbles away and their universe shatters.
...see Florida in the bowl in 2003 and in 2008.
The MSM hasn't changed their tune regarding the SEC.
SEC speed has come to Michigan!
I'd like Pitt but they may be in an agreement already. Too bad Washington State sucks, otherwise we could play them.
IIRC, the last season we played Wash St. was one of the most satisfying seasons in sports history for me.
BRING ON THE COUGARS
I would love to play Arkansas. They are going to be pretty good by next year. The drawback to Arkansas is that we need to make a return trip that would probably be in September. Ouch. I think that Utah has finally reached the status of being a "name" opponent too. Even if they are not a big name, that would be a very satisfying opener.
I think Arkansas would be a big draw. Any time we can play an SEC and come out victorious can only add more prestige to the most Prestigious Program. West Virginia would be surround by a ton of hype but is it the right hype? i have a feeling RichRod and staff would not be to keen on the hype leading up to this matchup.
That's a good question about West Virginia. The lingering bitterness there is the kind of hype that isn't necessarily good.
against Mallett would be fun, and weird. I'm guessing there are only a handful of college QBs that have started for both home and away teams in the same stadium.
i would love to play USC for our opener. USC is my second favorite team and i would love to watch us play them
I'll take a flier on USC until we prove that we can win our conference first. I always thought USC struggled with the spread option (Dixon, Young and Pryor last year in spot duty)...so it would be an intriguing match up...perhaps later on though.
This rarely ends well. Their whole traveling roster is made up of Parade All-Americans.
My preferences from the list:
1. FSU
2. ArKANSAS
3. Gtech
4. Pitt
5. Miss State
1. Arkansas - I love it when we whoop on the SEC.
2. Georgia Tech - Johnson will have them competing at the top of the ACC for awhile. Plus, we get all off season to prep for their offense.
2. Pittsburgh - I think they might step in and fill the vacuum left by Coach Rodriguez's departure from the Big East.
4. West Virginia - Already stated hype train that would roll through.
5. Okie St. - Just to throw a decent Big XII team in the mix.
No Pac 10. I guess I'd prefer not to have to make a return trip out West, where we historically play terrible.
Re: Okie State
They probably won't be very good next year. Have you looked at their depth chart? Their 2010 offense might look a lot like our 2008 offense.
They actually geared up for this year. If not now for them, when? This is the year they've been waiting for for about 3 years now. Not next year.
I have this really weird gut feeling that it's going to be ARMY.
Army is my prediction out of this group too. I don't think it's the best choice, but they won't demand a home-and-home, and Bill Martin can play up the historical nature of the "rivalry" and the game can be billed as a celebration of Michigan Stadium AND a general tribute to our men and women in the armed forces in all branches. Expect flyovers by the Air National Guard or Air Force, extended halftime pageantry with John Philip Sousa, etc etc etc.
The fact that it's a service academy will also reduce the amount of criticism that would otherwise come from scheduling a game against a program that has been horribly abysmal the last 10 years or more. People will feel compelled to "support the troops," so to speak. It will also garner far more national attention than would a game against FIU or a MAC team. Beano Cook would be all over it.
It's also one of the few programs we have a losing record against (4-5). This will give us a chance to even things up. Not that it really matters...
While I hate the idea of Michigan scheduling too many cupcakes, the reasons above for speculating about Army not only sound like Bill Martin's style, but certainly makes playing a low rated team somewhat more palatable. (to me at least)
The historian in me likes the tradition of playing Army and evening the record.
an unserious proposal:
In the spirit of new beginnings at Michigan, I think it should be a goal of Bill Martin and Rich Rodriguez (while also building a MNC team) to even up all losing records.
they are:
Army
BYU
App State
USC
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Toledo
Arizona State
and Cornell, who we are a dismal 6-12 with, and the shame of it keeps me up at night.
1. Not too far away
2. RR played and coached against them
3. Revenge factor: loss in 2007 to Pitt costs WVU a shot at the NC
4. Pitt located in important recruiting territory in PA and east US
5. Long-time program with good history of its own
6. UM and Pitt have only played twice before, last time in '47.
Im could tolerate just about everyone on this list except Eastern, Western, and Akron. I cant tell you how many times Ive seen Michigan play MAC teams. We need some variety and bringing in a team from the coasts or the south would be a good change of pace. I hope we avoid the Pac-10 simply because of the history of Rose Bowl. With most of the bigger names supposedly with tentative agreements Im not setting my hopes too high. Wake, East Carolina, Tulsa (Beaver in the Big House) could be interesting games...also if the University wanted a patriotic opening Air Force and Army could be possibilites.
Potential matchups w/ Pac10 (Rose) & SEC (other bowls). So prefer ACC or Big East opponent. Big House Re-opener should be a BCS-level game. PITT good option for all reasons previously stated, plus they have been optioned as possible "12th entry" if Big 10 goes to 12 schools. I like WVU for the same reason, plus it gives RR the chance to "put everything to bed", once & for all. BC, Rutgers, Wake, OK St all would be good options, just not MAC or LA-Lafayette types please.
a premier brand will be somewhat of a disappointment, and to me FSU is the only school on that list that fits the bill (despite 'Noles recent struggles). I would be happy with Arkansas and WVU, though agree the sentiment here—neither Martin or RR will want the circus that would accompany a WVU game.
If this was any other opener in any other year, Pitt, Rutgers, GA tech and Okie St. would be oppoinents I would be happy about. For the '10 opener, however, these strike me as plan Bs and Cs, and I'd be disappointed in the Athletic Dept for mucking the opportunity to do something cool for the stadium relaunch.
Planning for disappointment. Hoping to be surprised.
Close to my sentiments. At a bare minimum, from that list I'd like a team from a BCS conference although I'd rather Rutgers over Arkansas despite the Mallet factor.
I guess Pitt would be acceptable, but not by much. It wouldn't be a better game than any of our Big 10 games next year and there's basically no charm to it. The ultimate home run would be a major "name" program from a different region that Michigan has either never played or rarely plays.
Wake has been a solid team the last few years and I live just down the road from Winston Salem so I could go to the return game. Georgia Tech is a good week 1 opponent because we would have plenty of time to prepare for the Triple Option. The contrast in style would be fun.
Moving up the Michigan vs. Michigan State Game
I'm too lazy to research if this could be possible!
Playing a Big 10 game to start the season wouldn't be a bad idea. At the very least, moving a Big 10 game to that date would give the flexibility of finding a new opponent for the date where we are currently playing that opponent. Now that I think of it, what's Minnesota doing next year on that date? I wonder if it's possible to play a game against a conference opponent that doesn't count in the standings.
Army. From this list, though:
Air Force, Akron, Arkansas, Army, Boise State, Boston College, Duke, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Florida International, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Idaho, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Mississippi State, Nevada, New Mexico State, North Texas, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, San Diego State, Syracuse, Temple, Tulsa, Central Florida, Utah, UTEP, Virginia, Wake Forest, Washington State, Western Michigan, West Virginia.
my choice would be the following, in order:
1. Virginia -- one of the greatest home openers in Michigan Stadium history. Driesbach to Mercury in the Northeast end zone with .00 on the clock. This woud be a fantastic backdrop for the first game in the "new" stadium.
2. Washington State -- similar reason. Our sole recent national championship came at the hands of the Cougs. Woodson, Griese, Chris Howard, and many, many other alumni of that game would be on hand for the "new" Stadium inaugural game. That would be huge deal for both Bill and Rich. The only drawback at all is that WSU probably isn't very good 2010.
3. Florida State -- Redemption opportunity for one of the all time memorable losses in Michigan Stadium -- damnit Casey Weldon, I curse you. Also a recruiting bonanza for Rich, and an opportunity for a good number of players on our 2010 roster to put in solid playing time to beat one of the powerhouses from their home state.
It cannot be:
West Virginia: While I would like to see it, there is FAR too much baggage for either side to play this game. I mean, really, if you're WVA, do you really dare to put Bill Stewart up against Rich, and encourage the couches to ingnite in WVA? If you're Bill Martin, do you really want bands of camaflouged dressed, rifle-touting, moutaineers walking the golf course before and after the game?
It could be:
someone not on this list, such as USC, Arizona, or another opponent currently scheduled with a nambipambi opponent looking for a payday (not that I'm inferring Toledo is a nambipambi . . . )
Nice post and list.
Out of that list I'd like to see:
1. Arkansas
2. Florida State
3. Virginia
4. Wake Forest
5. Oklahoma State
6. Mississippi State
7. Pittsburgh
8. Rutgers
9. Boston College
10. West Virginia
easy choice here ... game we should win ... and a chance to beat the sec and see one of their schools up north ... also on a personal level I actually had a cuz who made their team as a walkon yrs ago and would love to talk shit with him and his bros (all from starville along with their dad who was a professor there)
I think that our AD might be willing to do a return trip if the opponent's stadium is big enough. I don't think that he has publicly said that a return trip is entirely out of the question no matter who the opponent is.
FYI all. The report on the Boise State-Va Tech matchup is that Va Tech does not owe them a return trip. If that's the case, then Martin really dropped the ball on this one because it sounds like we could have gotten a very interesting one game deal with the Broncos.
I don't want to play a Southern team in September unless it agrees to make the return trip in November.