Rittenberg likes UVA, Duke, Pitt or Ore St for 2010 opener
In a blog post on Friday (SIAP), ESPN's Adam Rittenberg mentions four potential Michigan opponents for the stadium opening in 2010. All four are BCS-conference schools with an open date for Sept 4, 2010: Virginia, Duke, Pitt and Oregon State.
UVA would be cool - a la 1995 Pigskin Classic at Mich. HOWEVA, Virginia is already playing USC that year. Duke already plays 'Bama. Pitt has Notre Dame and Miami, plus is probably a respectable enough program to demand a return game or a 2-for-1. Oregon St has Louisville and Boise State. I dunno. I think this list is wishful thinking.
His blog post: http://myespn.go.com/blogs/bigten/0-3-703/Michigan-could-look-here-for-…
Future schedules: http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/future_schedules/index.htm
I would be simply giddy if we play any of these teams in 2010. All of those teams are pretty solid teams and I would love to see us matchup with them. Is there anyway we can just have a quadruple header to start our season? Seriously, though, any one of those teams would make for an exciting opening to the season and stadium.
any of those. but like you said, all seem unlikely. I'd say Duke is the most likely because one extra loss doesn't typically make a difference in their seasons. Not only that but Cutcliffe seems to want that program to be taken seriously, and beating us at home would help on that front.
I'd be happy with any of those opponents, and although I'm sure Oregon State travels as well as any Pac-10 school, I don't see broad appeal amongst the two fanbases for that matchup. Of those four options, I'd like to play UVA the most.
Most West Coast schools fare poorly for noon starts (see PSU-OS, and Cal-Maryland last year.)
I'd like to play OSU most because that would be sweet to see Jacquizz Rogers play in the Big House. Any of the 3 would be sweet to see though.
UVA has my vote.
UVA or Dook. Any team with Oregon in their name would give me flashbacks to the whipping the Ducks laid on us back in 2007. Pitt would bring endless chatter of the backyard brawl in 2007 that cost WVU the title game.
Really? Duke excites you guys? Maybe I've just seen too many Duke/Northwestern games in Evanston, but I don't see how Duke would be any better than (insert MAC team here).
are you guys nuts? oregon state and pittsburgh are pretty good, but duke and virginia? they have fielded some of the lamest college football teams this decade! especially duke!
don't you want to play a bcs team that we can prove something against? like auburn or arkansas?
Hey, no offense, but, uh, fuck you, buddy. One, UVA has only failed to qualify for a bowl three times this decade. Same as Arkansas. Two, they've never won less than five games this decade, which neither Arkansas nor, incidentally, Michigan, can say.
What can Michigan prove against Arkansas that they can't against UVA? Oh, right: ESSS EEEE SEEE!! I mean, it's not the stuff of championships, but, seriously now. Your ignorance is showing pretty badly.
wouldn't we all like to see a huge matchup like auburn or arkansas but it isn't as easy as going into your NCAA 06 and scrolling through a list of 50 teams with an open date
Your first step may be to stop listening to Cowherd. He plagiarized from another Michigan blog, decided to incite a DDoS attack against The Big Lead (although to be honest, it probably just increased TBL's readership), and famously made wild assed comments about Sean Taylor's Death.
The few times I've heard him talk about college football, he's always seemed to pander towards whatever the MSM popular opinion of a team is. I've never heard any in depth or original analysis from him.
I'd go for Pittsburgh or OSU and agree that Jaquizz Rodgers would be fun to watch in the Big House!
Jeez hopefully we start gaining some reputation the next few years so we can start playing good bcs teams every year. i mean c'mon! that osu texas game a few years ago was the most exciting game in years. i was even excited to watch! i would love for texas to come to the big house in a few years!
You're missing the point totally. It's not that they won't play us, it's that we won't give up an away game to go play them. Why would they come here without the promise of a return game?
...used to fill the "good BCS team" slot on the schedule. Even though they have slipped the last ten years, they pretty much broke even with UM because they kept hiring ex-UM coaches to help predict which plays UM would call.
So, now, UM is stuck with ND, which plays like a rivalry game, but doesn't get enough respect from even UM fans as a "tough" matchup.
Until UM becomes one of those teams, like USC, that beats ND nine games out of ten, it would be suicide to schedule another tough OOC game, especially when PSU and OSU are possible losses and MSU might actually make a rivalry out of it again. Also, they need to transcend the best of the little eight, be it Iowa or Wisky.
UM, along with OSU and PSU, has the easiest path to the NC game as the system is now. Until the system changes, why should UM make their road more difficult? Most years, even one loss can take you out of the picture and two losses almost always do. Why add more chances to lose?
Until a playoff happens, I'm happy with the schedule the way it is.
yeah i wish they hadn't signed that 20 year contract.
and why is it that they can't return the favor once and a while? we traveled to oregon in 2003, and even though we lost it was a great game.
the past 3 national champions have had 1, 2, and 1 losses each year. usually a team can lose a game and still get in, but it would be easier for the big ten if we had a conference championship.
I don't understand any of the points you make here.
I like that they signed a 20 year contract with ND. Like it or not, ND has huge media coverage, which means that much more exposure for UM whenever they play. ND will probably be competitive this year, and for the foreseeable future, this is a match up that could go either way. There are great story lines, most Michigan fans like the game. They are infinitely better than another MAC team, and I would prefer a borderline 6-6 ND team on our schedule than any random middling ACC/Big-12/Big East/PAC-10 team. Would you like to play ND, or would you like Maryland/Kansas/Connecticut/Arizona? I would take ND hands down.
2003 @ Oregon was returned with 2007 Oregon. That didn't go so well for us.
My answer for your third point got so long, I'm turning it into a diary instead.
Dude, tacopants, I thought you had left the team. I didn't think Forcier was your type of QB. WTF?
well considering it was right after they lost one of the biggest upsets ever, i didn't think they were going to win in the first place, but i thank bill martin for having the balls to schedule them for that home and home.
I say leave the Duke series to the hardwood and UVA doesn't do much for me. I think either Pitt or OSU would be a respectable game and probably a good matchup.
I don't see the UVA game happening unless Michigan will promise a return game. Not with a trip to USC in the same season. Don't think Martin is going to do the return game, either, so the chances of that matchup seem remote. It's just as well, really, I'd rather not have to choose sides unless maybe it's a bowl game.
I'd love for us to play UVA, Pitt or Oregon State. But in the end, I'm 99% sure that Duke is the most likely.
but out of those 4 I'd say:
1. Pitt
2. Oregon State
3. UVA
4. Duke
I think a part of why it is so hard to say what team would be great to play is that we really don't kow where this team will be. I would love to say let's just get the Gators or the Trojans to head north and then we will return in 2011 but how bad would it look if we have this huge ceremony and USC or UF come in to our house and they beat us by 70 points. I could not bear the anguish if at that point we are still looking for a QB and hoping that Devin Gardner is our saviour. But on the other hand how awesome would it be if the Gators come into town and Tate (and or) D-Rob light up their defense and we paste them.
Why is everyone so high on Pitt? The longer that Wannstedt is there, the lower the program is going to fall. They lost their D-coordinator who helped them beat WVU and they are now with their only flash on offense, McCoy.
I think we are best off shooting for Oregon State as they finish respectably every year (and are slow starters which would bode well for us).
I don't know anything about VA to justify playing them but if Duke is able to turn the corner, I would be all for that game.
I just want to play someone that we have to show up and execute to beat. I want us favored, but I want their to be a realistic chance that we could lose.
The Giant Slayers? No thank you. We did want to win this game, right? I'll take the doormats of the ACC any day.
Oregon State for sure. They may actually wake up for our game.. and they are very respected around the country for the job they do each year with minimal to no talent.
Bring it Beavers!
The team on the list with an open date on 9/4/2010 that is being overlooked is Army. I believe Michigan tried to schedule Army a few years ago but it fell through. I can see Martin trying again, getting a one game visit and milking it for all it's worth regarding the patriotism and pagentry. While I have no insider knowledge, I think it's gonna happen.
On many levels. It's, by definition, special. It's not a 1-AA team. It's not very good. It has Sept 4 open, with lots of other scheduling flexibility. It won't ask for a return game. It benefits financially. It benefits from the national TV exposure it would get. It doesn't have a non-conference schedule to worry about. You may be on to something.
Army is worse than Duke! Isn't Army the team that always gets mentioned whenever people make fun of Notre Dame's weak schedule? "Yeah, it's easy to make a bowl when you beat up on Army", etc.
Hot damn! I was just wondering if Army or Navy might be available. Can you imagine the pagentry? Michigan stadium could basically become America's Stadium! Who cares if they're very good or not. It's still a HUGELY respected program, for every other reason.
I started this thread with some (very) basic analysis of the likelihood that Michigan would schedule one of Rittenberg's "potential" opponents to open the 2010 season. I didn't mean it as a referendum on scheduling or any of these individual teams.
I suppose my point was that UVA and, especially, Oregon State and Pitt, appear, to this observer at least, as unlikely opponents for Sept 4, 2010 despite the open dates on each team's schedule and the waxing/waning enthusiasm of MGoCommenters for each team.
I suppose it would have been more useful for me to actually do some research, identify teams that I think could be potential Stadium opening opponents, and present those in a diary, rather than just lamely attempt to take down Rittenberg's hastily researched blog post.
Mea cupla.
PS- Duke seems like a possibility, but, man, what a brutal schedule it would have that year, and there isn't much upside for Michigan.
If that wish is wishful thinking then that's really sad. Oregon State is arguably the best opponent on that list, but they are still a mediocre program and nothing to get really excited about. Ditto for Pitt. Duke is still terrible. Cutcliffe will be lucky to get them a six-win season. UVa is a notch below Oregon State and Pitt right now. Those teams are unlikely to offer a significantly higher ranked team than the mid-tier Big 10 teams that Michigan is playing next year. If I could choose out of that bunch, I would choose Oregon State. At least it's not a MAC team.
You, friend, are crazy. Oregon State is highly respected for its ability to beat anyone at any time. Pitt was ranked as high as #9 just a few years ago, and still has major national credence. Duke may be low, but they are BUILDING, not falling. After this season, they may be quite a bit better than you think. Virginia is the only team that has really fallen off the map to a great extent as of late, and even so, nobody is going to look at that and say "Oh, it was just UVA."
... it's wishful thinking because of how team's schedule these days. There are two primary factors making this list "wishful thinking:"
1. Few BCS conference teams find it beneficial to schedule two difficult non-conference games in the same year
2. In this environment, when the facilities arms race is as heated as ever, ADs are loathe to give up the larger payday which, for Michigan, is another home game.
I don't pretend to know at all what is going on inside Martin's head, but I imagine point 1 is not entirely moot for him in 2010, though it is of less importance than it would be in a typical year. However, the 2010 season may also be a critical inflection point for Michigan football and I doubt that, even if he could convince USC to visit, would he wish to foist that burden upon his third-year head coach.
Secondly, it's typically not a one-year decision. Most "quality teams" that would excite MGoCommenters (at least those on this thread) have the same incentives (above) as Michigan does and, other than Duke and perhaps Virginia, would not likely agree to play at Michigan without a return game. And even if any of these teams did agree to that, it would set up each for a brutal non-conference schedule, the likes of which I'm not sure we've seen in the past five years, should Michigan actually turn out to be good.
Last, like it or not (and I do), Notre Dame is on the schedule and is reasonably viewed as a possible BCS bowl-caliber team before the season begins. From a scheduling standpoint, it would be rough to add another high caliber team each year, and difficult to do so without agreeing to return games.
As a fan, like many of you, I wish Michigan would schedule team's with quality ranging from Virginia to Pitt (I wouldn't prefer to go so far as wish to have USC and ND on the schedule every year) and would be fine with home-and-homes. I like the idea of a rotating fun out-of-conference road trip every two years (see: Colorado, UCLA, Washington, Oregon), though, preferably, not to the West Coast, when ND visits Michigan.
But, I understand why Martin may not: there is little upside. If Michigan beats three patsies and ND, that OOC record paired with whatever we do in-conference results in the highest payday, doesn't alter our TV exposure, and sets us up for, in most, but not all circumstances, the best possible bowl game.
While I WISH we would add a home-and-home with, say, Boston College or Rutgers the next two years, and will continue to wish for it, I think we should realistically HOPE that we get back to scheduling BCS conference teams (or their equivalent) in one-and-done home games, a la Vanderbilt. These teams will not be of the same quality as Pitt or Oregon State, but they won't be Massachusetts , either.
Primarily because it's a "respected" program and it won't ask for a return home date. I put respected in quotes because most people know it's been shitty on the field for years, but since it's a service academy with a long and obviously honorable tradition, sensible people give them a lot of slack, and deservedly so.
would be great, especially if you can get a part of the Cadet Corps to attend the game. The pageantry is special. I think another option is Navy. During the Elliott and Schembechler years, Navy was regularly on the schedule -- and it wouldn't be the end of the world to agree to a 2 for 1 with the away game at FedEx Field or M&T stadium (or in Army's case, the new Meadowlands stadium).