Reminder that Michigan beat Wisconsin last year 38-13
I realize this is a bad day to bring this up, but after initially dousing my head in bleach, I’ve had some time to reflect. I’ve come to the conclusion that despite the embarrassment today, Michigan under Harbaugh is about equivalent to Wisconsin. The difference is the division and the expectations.
Did the media freak out and call for Paul Chryst’s head after Michigan steamrolled Wisconsin last year, 38-13? Of course not. Were Wisconsin fans having an existentialist crisis after their team finished 8-4? No sir. Wisconsin of course occasionally makes the BTCG, but only because the West division is garbage. Michigan would have won the West in both 2016 and 2018.
Neither Michigan nor Wisconsin is competing with the Alabamas, Clemsons, Georgias, and Ohio States. We are lying to ourselves if we don’t think part of the problem is or mythical sense of honor and integrity. Case in point, Chris Evans. Is there any doubt that what he did is the same thing that goes on en masse at the above schools?
Notre Dame is honestly facing similar problems as Michigan, which is why they can’t compete either. But they have the advantage of not having to get through OSU to compete in the playoff.
The only solutions I see involve the abandonment of the complete institutional joke that is the NCAA and either the creation of A) a new professional league that actually pays players outright, or B) an IVY-league-like rebellion where Michigan, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, etc. form their own college division that actually enforces the rules and has legitimate student-athletes and not quasi, under the table professionals.
/end rant
September 21st, 2019 at 7:23 PM ^
Didn't we have one of these a few hours ago?
September 21st, 2019 at 8:22 PM ^
....and we will have another one in a few hours.
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September 21st, 2019 at 7:23 PM ^
Thanks
September 21st, 2019 at 7:23 PM ^
Getting a non clueless ass hat of a head coach would be a good step in the right direction to getting to the next level.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:24 PM ^
Does ANYONE Fucking watch the actual game or just stare at the box score???
Wisconsin was in the game at halftime!!!!
We, on the other hand, were wondering whether Shea or Metellus were to blame being down 28-0.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:25 PM ^
I think just the box score, or really just the final score.
I put this in the same camp of "Well, Michigan did score 39 against OSU last year". LOL
September 21st, 2019 at 8:24 PM ^
But But lets fire the o coordinator and change the offense, hows tht one working out pal?
September 21st, 2019 at 7:28 PM ^
It was stupid to run Mason at the 5 but if not for that Michigan would have been on the verge of making it a 1 score game. Why is the first half more important that the second half in your bullshit analysis?
September 21st, 2019 at 7:30 PM ^
You live in fantasy land (not real) and we don't?
What you just said didn't happen.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:40 PM ^
If if if. That's all we ever hear about this team is if.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:37 PM ^
Now I'm confused. I watched the whole game and can't figure out why we would be blaming Metellus. If anything on defense I blame Brown for trotting out 3 man fronts all day and sliding Jordan Glasgow of all people down into the 3 or 5 tech area. What did Metellus screw up? Hill is the one that slid out of the way on the long run
September 21st, 2019 at 7:44 PM ^
Metellus dropped an easy pick that hit him in the hands. It was an arm punt to a double covered Wisconsin receiver and metellus just dropped it.
I also want to point out how dumb it was not to call a quick hike after the other big Ronnie Bell catch. The whole stadium knew it would be challenged and then it's 50/50 whether the refs do something dumb and overturn. Of course, it took almost a minute to get lined up and refs stop the game right before the snap. That was harbaugh's easiest decision of the day and he botched it.
September 21st, 2019 at 9:03 PM ^
Still, that video overturn call was quite literally amazing in how awful it was. It wasn't even a close call, it was a catch every day, every way
September 22nd, 2019 at 4:53 PM ^
Refs overthink everything. Why not just snap it and save the team the trouble?
September 21st, 2019 at 7:45 PM ^
I'm fine with blaming whoever we want--there's more than enough blame to go 'round... I just want to make sure that we acknowledge that not having enough competent or capable D linemen is a massive recruiting/retention problem. We play a 3-man front because that's all we can manage to field.
September 21st, 2019 at 8:31 PM ^
Exactly! That was evident on Wisconsin's opening drive. I pretty much knew they were going to lose five minutes into the game. Michigan didn't have the defensive personnel to match up with Wisconsin.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:26 PM ^
Michigan bear Wisconsin 54-0 in 1979. What’s your point?
Michigan just needed to prove critics wrong and play it close, not letting a couple miscues fuck up the game. Instead they confirmed the team is lost.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:32 PM ^
The point is that Michigan, Wisconsin, and PSU alternate beatdowns every few years but they are all that the same level. Harbaugh and Michigan are quite clearly given much heavier criticism though, and anyone who wants him fired needs to ask themselves what squeaky clean programs are actually competing with Alabama are OSU. There are none. This is the peak level of success Michigan can achieve under the current paradigm.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:37 PM ^
Oh really? How'd MSU make the playoff a few years ago then? How'd they go 13-1 two years before? Stop making excuses.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:55 PM ^
Oh you mean the year they had a once in a century last second win when Michigan’s punter dropped the ball? The year Urban Meyer scored 13 points in his most important game and forgot he had Ezekiel Elliott?
Harbaugh is 2-2 against Dantonio, who went 3-9 two years ago. Michigan is easily ahead of where MSU is right now.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:56 PM ^
And MSU will NEVER do that again. They had quite the condensed magical moment. Maybe we will get one once, too. Once.*
*Unless OSU implodes, then we can compete for the conference and get into the CFP.
September 21st, 2019 at 8:07 PM ^
How is three 11-win seasons, a 12 win season, and a 13 win season from 2010-2015 "one magical moment"? Delusional.
September 21st, 2019 at 8:39 PM ^
Ok. Several magical moments. ?
September 21st, 2019 at 9:06 PM ^
Yes, in the years you mention they had their first half decade of football relevance since the LBJ administration. Hats off to them.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:45 PM ^
At the end of last year, Harbaugh was 9th among Power 5 teams over his four years.
I thought of the pecking order as
- Alabama & Clemson
- Oklahoma, Ohio State, and maybe Georgia (have to ignore pre-Kirby Smart)
- Michigan and a bunch of others in a 6-15ish group, some years top 10ish (2015, 2016, 2018), with stumbles other years (2017). (THe members of the top 10 vary from year to year, which is how Harbaugh got to #9 in wins over four years.)
He's in the top 3 in salary, but I was thinking, ok, we're overpaying, but reaching into the coaching hire hat would most likely turn out worse.
This was worse.
September 21st, 2019 at 8:38 PM ^
Here we go again with this dumb shit. I’m pretty sure OSU and Bama both have higher APRs than we do, but “they don’t go to class” and “they pay players”. This loser talk is the reason we are a laughing stock. We pay our damn coach twice as much as OSU. We recruit the same damn kids, but they are a top 3 Freaking program in the nation and we are a shit show.
September 21st, 2019 at 8:38 PM ^
Here we go again with this dumb shit. I’m pretty sure OSU and Bama both have higher APRs than we do, but “they don’t go to class” and “they pay players”. This loser talk is the reason we are a laughing stock. We pay our damn coach twice as much as OSU. We recruit the same damn kids, but they are a top 3 Freaking program in the nation and we are a shit show.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:47 PM ^
Are you fucking kidding me? You think today was "a couple of miscues fuck[ing] up the game"?? They shat the bed today, comprehensively, and completely.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:27 PM ^
rebellion where Michigan, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, etc.
Been saying this for years. The bluebloods don't need the NCAA. If enough big-time schools go on their own, add Texas to that list, it would be the NCAA's undoing.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:28 PM ^
I despise Perspective posts
September 21st, 2019 at 7:29 PM ^
Wisconsin has a more recent conference championship, and more conference championship appearances, more wins against Ohio State since the year 2000, and is 5 and 5 against us going back to 2002. Wisconsin is the better program going back to about the year 2000.
That's sad.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:45 PM ^
Wisconsin’s last Big Ten Championship was in 2012 when they went fucking 7-5 and snuck into the BTCG because OSU was on probation. They also won in 2011 when they lost to Luke Fickell’s OSU team but finished ahead in the standings en route to the championship. Wisconsin has 1 win against OSU since 2004, same as Michigan. Get out of here with your bullshit “more wins since 2000” statement. They have extra wins in 2004 and 2001, wow that really shows what a relevant program they are in 2019.
The programs are at the same level. They have just had better luck with the divisional alignments.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:54 PM ^
There is no reason why we should be on the same level as Wisconsin. All the hype and top ten recruiting classes on paper compared to theirs in the 30s and 40s? And you're okay with that?
September 21st, 2019 at 8:04 PM ^
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Michigan isn’t recruiting like OSU, Alabama, Georgia, or Clemson, buddy. I don’t give a shit if Michigan’s class was ranked 12th and Wisconsin finished 34th or whatever. The above teams get the best and everyone else gets the rest.
September 21st, 2019 at 8:10 PM ^
Did we not finish with the #8 class in 2016 and #5 in 2017? You're making shit up.
September 21st, 2019 at 9:48 PM ^
Yes but those classes had a combined 12 top 100 players, OSU had 19. 2018 OSU 13, um 1. That a big difference in talent.
September 21st, 2019 at 10:11 PM ^
Most of our starters are from the 2016 and 2017 classes so why is 2018 relevant?
Also why is what OSU had relevant to playing Wisconsin?
September 21st, 2019 at 8:21 PM ^
So what you saying, same as everyone else, is that Wisconsin is doing more with less.
September 21st, 2019 at 8:33 PM ^
I honestly don’t think there’s a significant difference between the 12th and 34th ranked recruiting classes. I think Harbaugh is overpaid, but our next coach will also be overpaid and will probably win fewer games.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:49 PM ^
Wisconsin plays in the West division. If Michigan was in the West, Harbaugh would have at least two Division titles. It doesn’t excuse today, but Wisconsin has not been better in Harbaugh’s tenure. It’s dead even in my book. The B1G is OSU and everyone else. OSU will be #1 or #2 in the conference every year with a rotating cast of Wisconsin, Iowa, PSU, Michigan, Michigan State and maybe Nebraska. The B1G used to be two top tier teams - OSU and Michigan. Now it’s one - OSU. They are beatable, but it’s not going to be Michigan beating them every year among the tier 2 teams. Sad but true. The SEC is the same with Alabama and a rotating cast behind them. The ACC is just Clemson. The Big 12 is just Oklahoma with Texas rising. And the PAC 12 is USC and no one else once Urban takes over.
September 21st, 2019 at 8:07 PM ^
What?
UM is 7-5 vs UW since 2000 (11-7 since 1990 and 20-8 since 1980) and 5-5 since your random 2002 cutoff. Yes, UM has lost the last 4 in Madison. They win in Madison and we win in A2 over the last 20 yrs or so - which coincides with their peak.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:32 PM ^
Is this a fucking perspective post? Get the fuck out of here with this shit.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:34 PM ^
Fuck off. That game was 13-7 at half. Not fucking 28-0.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:47 PM ^
The first half isn’t more important than the second half, buddy. Michigan whooped Wisconsin 25-6 in the second half of that game.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:57 PM ^
It's damn near impossible to climb out of a 28-0 hole compared to 13-7...and Wisconsin stopped running Taylor in that game. Fuck, Taylor was out for a quarter today and it didn't even fucking matter. He probably would have had 300 yards if he didn't go out.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:35 PM ^
And Wisconsins couldn't beat a NW team who lost to Akron for the big ten west. Whats your fucking point? Either you think Michigan isn't a blue blood or this was trash, those are your two options
September 21st, 2019 at 7:50 PM ^
The point is that Michigan, Wisconsin, and Penn State can trade beatdowns but they are at the same level. They are not at Alabama’s or OSU’s level. Michigan is not a blue blood in this era.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:58 PM ^
No shit sherlock. We COULD be one if we weren't poorly coached.
September 21st, 2019 at 8:13 PM ^
You are delusional. What the hell is Michigan gonna go and get who is gonna compete against Saban and Dabo? There is a pattern here you refuse to recognize.
September 21st, 2019 at 8:34 PM ^
What bullshit pattern that you've made up in your head am I failing to recognize? Nobody here expects to compete with Bama and Clemson...we can't even win the Big Ten which is all we want. OSU hired an up and comer and won themselves a national championship in two years. I'm not afraid of the unknown, because the known right now isn't good.