Pre-Snap Read has Michigan ahead of MSU and Iowa
This guy does the most detailed previews I've seen anywhere (tho I don't buy Phil Steele's preview), and today he has Iowa at #38.
http://www.presnapread.com/no-38-iowa/
State was #41. That leaves the obvious favorites (Wisconsin, Nebraska, OSU), us, and Northwestern stil to come.
Nothing earth-shattering here, of course, but like I said the guy makes some pretty well-informed arguments, so I figured it might provoke some thoughts from the Big Ten oddsmakers around here.
That can't be right.
for NU alumni to remind everyone of their high hopes for the team and the QB:
Be sure to be in the stands as Coach Fitzgerald leads a team featuring Heisman Trophy Candidate Dan Persa through a challenging Big Ten schedule. The 2011 home schedule is highlighted by night games versus Michigan and Penn State in October. Season tickets are available starting at $116.
Healthy Persa = I could see 8 wins
Not healthy Persa = team spending the holidays home with their families
Taking a look at their schedule, they should have a managable path to eight wins.
BC- 7-5 including losses to everyone with a pulse (but a win over Syracuse, a team making noise at the time). Probable win.
EIU- NU has bigger problems than eight games if they can't shut them down.
Army- Hasn't been very good lately, NU will probably be favored heavily.
Illinois- A lot like NU, I'd say probable win.
Michigan- Even more like NU, toss up.
Iowa- Toss up. Ferentz has earned the benefit of the doubt but I think Iowa is outmatched.
PSU- Probable loss.
IU- Win.
Nebraska- Probable loss (but Northwestern is famous for losing one they should win and beating some team they should lose to).
Rice- Win.
Minnesota- Win.
MSU- Toss up.
That's six games where they should win, one probable win and three toss ups. Of course I could be completely wrong, but I see them having a good year. And, like your email says, this is all dependant of Persa and his recovery.
NU-Illinois isn't the last week of the season? Odd.
Looking back at their schedules, it hasn't been since 2007.
has some merit. I think Northwestern is going to surprise a lot of people this year, and Iowa is on the decline. MSU still needs to prove they can have back-to-back good seasons.
Dan Persa play? He alone is worth two wins. Now I will admit the Cat running game is bad at best.
WMU ahead of Purdue and Minnesota, among others.
Or not ranked at all? Not sure how that countdown works.
Look along the far right side and he has a complete countdown from 120 to the current team he just looked at #38 Iowa. Michigan isn't listed yet, so that is cool.
Gotcha.
Baldbill beat me to it.
I'm interested to see what he has to say about us (and obviously where he has us placed). Dude seems to do some real in-depth coverage of each team.
As much as I dislike Sparty, 41 seems reaaaaally low.
Its Sparty. After exceeding expectations last year (mostly through good luck), I am betting they do the typical Sparty thing and grossly underperform and fall far short of expectations. I'm thinking like 4 losses or more
I think it's based on the schedule. @ND, @OSU, @Nebraska, @Iowa, @Northwestern. Home only against Michigan and Wisconsin.
Ooh noted. ND beats them I think. They won't be able to move the ball on OSU, and Nebraska, and Iowa's defense is usually perfectly fit to stuff their O. Also, just don't see them pulling two years in a row against Wisconsin either.
Wow I stand corrected. Could be a rough year for Sparty.
that's brutal. I see at least 3 or 4 loses out of those 5 games. @ND, @OSU, @Nebraska is 3. and I'd bet NW and Iowa might take em too. Then the B1G favorite Wisconsin at home plus us. That might be 6 loses right there
His teaser mentions a fight song. Us or ND?
be shocked if we were ranked ahead of ND
but what other fight songs have been used? FSU will be top 15 at least.
on the comments, it seems like it's going to be Clemson.
100 MGopoints to you if you're right. I'll lose 100 seeing as they are in my back yard & I don't have a clue to what their fight song sounds like.
Not trying to thread jack but I don't have enough points to make a post on my own...
Pretty funny. These guys are BOMBING tOSU and TP
http://player.radio.com/player/RadioPlayer.php?version=1.2.12150&station=2108
Athlons got Michigan going 8-4 and a TicketCity Bowl bid finishing 4th in the Legends.
Steele's got Michigan going 6-6 and a Pizza Bowl bid finishing 5th in the Legends.
A majority of The Wolverine Football Preview editors got Michigan going 9-3.
This range of expectations, not only for us but for other teams like MSU and tsio, makes me feel like the big ten is the most unpredictable conference this year.
With this conference so unpredictable this year, anything can truly happen. Especially with appropriate momentum.
Give me a win vs. ND and MSU, and I can feel comfortable guaranteeing a Jan 1 bowl, likely even the Rose. It's not a matter of how good those teams are, in and of itself.
Beat ND, and you start 5-0.
Beat MSU and you have 2 weeks to get healthy with the bye, and a huge drunk monkey off your back.
Beat ND, and we start out 3-0. SDSU and Northwestern are not gimmes by any stretch of the imagination.
is not a gimme. I just think we'll win that game especially if we're rollin'. Minnesota is our fifth game and it's at home. So, that's why I put a cutoff right before NW. WInning there is never easy.
after looking at the schedules of each and the #s of retrning starters, I agree. hell, I think NU will have a tough time.
Our expectations for the year are incredibly varied, probably even among us MGoBloggers. I'd say that anywhere from 7-5 to 9-3 is reasonable, with 10-2 and 6-6 being pretty longshots.
Although, in my mind, we're going undefeated. Every year.
You mean like...
The Iowa game was on BTN a few days ago..I cant believe we gave that game away..
The game we trailed 28-7 in the second half? Iowa came a lot closer to giving it away than we did.
The Iowa game was on BTN a few days ago..I cant believe we gave that game away..
An interesting note: San Diego State is listed at 44.
thats funny....