kinny18

August 16th, 2012 at 7:31 AM ^

That asked him something along the lines of "Is it possible to have a better team this season, but a worse record?" I believe this will be the case with the brutal schedule. Best case 10-2, realistic goal is 9-3 with a B1G Title Game Berth/win.

Joined: 10/23/2010

MGoPoints: 491

Tater

August 16th, 2012 at 10:38 AM ^

I think the "brutal schedule" meme is grossly overused.  It's too easy and not yet supported by facts.  The only game that can be described that way is Alabama.  If Michigan is truly a top five team, nobody else on the schedule is going to beat them.  

Now that they finally have enough upperclassmen, Michigan has the best personnel in the Big Ten right now.  They have a few possible holes on defense and could use a large WR not named Devin, but every single team in the conference has an issue somewhere.  

Scheduling the Alabama game was stupid, arrogant, and self-defeating on the part of David Brandon.  The rest of the schedule, though, sets up nicely.  I think the Bama game will cost Michigan a chance to play for the BCS "Championship" this year, but I also think they will make the Rose Bowl.  

If Michigan does make the Rose Bowl and comes away with a win, that will constitute a better season than last year.  

Conversely, if they lose three games, it's not because of a "brutal schedule."  I am willing to bet that Brady Hoke isn't telling his team that they have a "brutal schedule" ahead of them.  If he is, he is using it as a motivator: not an excuse.

 

Joined: 08/13/2008

MGoPoints: 30584

orobs

August 16th, 2012 at 7:32 AM ^

I have a big problem with preseason polls that factor schedule difficulty into into their rankings.

 

It's a preseason poll, not a vegas prediction.  

Joined: 10/03/2010

MGoPoints: 3207

Magnus

August 16th, 2012 at 7:56 AM ^

If you have such a big problem, maybe you should take preseason polls less seriously.

They're fun to read, but I think it's pretty obvious that they don't mean anything.  Just enjoy the discussions they provoke.

EDIT: Aaaaaaaand...you negged me for this.  It's a very offensive comment, so I completely understand why.

Joined: 07/17/2008

MGoPoints: 165915

Top dog 4578

August 16th, 2012 at 7:42 AM ^

are nice for getting those football juices flowing, but I don't take much stock in them.. "It's not how you start, but how you finish "...Good article though, thanks for posting..

Joined: 04/23/2011

MGoPoints: 656

thesauce2424

August 16th, 2012 at 8:15 AM ^

We have to many ifs right now.
1) if our d-line can work (BWC)
2) if we can stay healthy on the o-line
3) hell, if we can stay healthy on either of our lines

There are more, however these 3 are the ones that scare me. IF we can get these straight, then we should be a top ten team. There's just too much left to be seen right now.

Joined: 03/11/2010

MGoPoints: 402

One Inch Woody…

August 16th, 2012 at 8:27 AM ^

I would say #12 is a more realistic outcome. I'm pretty impressed at the quality of the article - very well informed, IMO. As for the preseason polls it's not something to be dismissed because they factor into the AP polls later in the season (See Big 12 last season). The fact that so many Big 12 teams were highly ranked preseason going into 2011 and did not lose many OOC games caused them to be ridiculously highly ranked come BCS poll release.

Joined: 06/25/2011

MGoPoints: 1434

LSAClassOf2000

August 16th, 2012 at 8:27 AM ^

"This is a better team that won’t win as many games." - from the preview article on Pre-Snap Read

That more or less says it, and that's more or less the core reason that many people here have talked at length about 9-3 being a pretty realistic prediction for the record as well. The growing familiarity with the system will certainly mitigate the uncertainties created by personnel moves and potential depth issues, but approximately how much that is the case is what we might be able to ascertain after a few weeks of play.

Good read, of course, and thanks for posting it.

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130561

denardogasm

August 16th, 2012 at 10:31 AM ^

The closer we get o the season, the less worried i am about our schedule. I think the post bama schedule is overrated, though it all depends on if we can get our road game woes from last year under control. The only REALLY tough games i see are bama and ohio. The rest are a tier below. I really think nebraska is going to suck, nd is nd, and theres no way we lose to msu or iowa again. Im so jacked up i wont sleep for the next two weeks. Maize goggles are firmly affixed to my face.

Joined: 09/11/2011

MGoPoints: 10688

Daniel

August 16th, 2012 at 8:34 AM ^

It's particularly impressive that he was able to address the different off-season highlights (Big Will Campbell, DG at receiver, Fitz Out for 'Bama OR NOT?!) knowledgeably. His comments seemed less "ripped from the headlines," and more "yeah, I read everything and process it." Since it was informative, rather than hilarious, I suppose that makes him a serious version of Spencer Hall?

Joined: 11/26/2011

MGoPoints: 958

Soulfire21

August 16th, 2012 at 10:04 AM ^

While it may be a bit premature, I do think we need to eventually shed the defeatest attitude and embrace pre-season hype.

It seems like we, as a fanbase (as I can't speak for the team), tend to shy away from the spotlight.  While this is understandable given the Rich Rod debacle and worries that last year's 11-2 BCS-bowl winning team was a fluke, we're probably better than 18.

Are we No. 8?  Not sure.

18 seems too low, 8 seems a tad high.  If you asked me, we're just outside a Top 10 team to start the year... 11 or 12th.

Joined: 03/18/2010

MGoPoints: 22716

maizedandconfused

August 16th, 2012 at 12:18 PM ^

So.. You are saying you will be in the spotlight until we beat bamaesque teams? I understand people's consternation, hit those elephants have lace em up an out hit us like the rest of them. Sure their oline is nasty and they have this stigma of being a juggernaut, but hot damn they still have to catch Denard. And tree. And stop Rawls.

Joined: 01/14/2010

MGoPoints: 4523

joeyb

August 16th, 2012 at 11:35 AM ^

It's so hard to predict that the team will go 9-3. Last year, we gave the team an upper limit and they blew it out of the water. Giving them another upper limit makes me think that they are going to surpass that as well, but I just don't see where that is going to happen. I'm reasonably sure they will lose to Bama and that they won't go undefeated in B1G play. That's at least 2 losses. I just don't see them being able to win 4 out of their 5 other road games. Last year, it was 2 of 4. It's going to be freaking hard to win 3 out of Bama, ND, OSU, Nebraska, Purdue, and Minnesota, let alone 4. And that assumes that they take care of business at home. I'm kind of thinking somewhere between 8-4 and 10-2, so 9-3 is a good estimate, but I just can't help feeling like another 10-11 win season is on the horizon. How amazing would that be to lose to Bama then win the rest of the games?

Joined: 10/12/2008

MGoPoints: 16845

Gulo Gulo Luscus

August 16th, 2012 at 1:46 PM ^

Was surprised to see James Rogers name on the list of former Wolverines currently in the NFL.  Dude stuck it out in the RR era, was forced into action through "Never Forget" and may have been our best CB in 2010.  Good to see him working for a roster spot with the Bucs after spending some time with the KC arena league team last year.  Looks like he had 3 tackles and a pass deflection in the preseason opener against Miami.  Go get 'em, kid.

Joined: 12/18/2009

MGoPoints: 3909