Rittenberg suggests Boise State for 2010 opener
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/bigten/0-3-579/Michigan-should-go-blue--turf…
Would this be enough to pacify the Michigan fans who are looking for a high profile out of conference game? I would argue this continues a recent trend of high quality (if not high "q rating") ooc opponents:
2007 - Oregon, Notre Dame
2008 - Utah, Notre Dame
2009 - Western Michigan, Notre Dame
2010 - Notre Dame, Boise State?
It's got my vote.
sounds like a great matchup
I wouldn't count Western Michigan or Notre Dame in that group. Those games only have a competitive quality because our program is down so bad.
But Boise State would, indeed, be an excellent opener.
Western was 9-4 last year. They are solid on offense. There's no way Lloyd's teams would have blown them out. It's exactly the kind of team that Michigan would struggle with the past 10 years.
And your Notre Dame comment is just silly. Look at the rivalry over time - it's always competitive.
And, gee, I forgot to mention another game in 2007 which was a tough out of conference game.....
Boise has name cache with a national audience in addition to residence in the Top 25 for the last few years. Western just does not have much beyond regional recognition, though may still be a fine football team.
Boise counts in the "Big" column
Did you even pay attention when just two or three years ago, the MAC was what the MWC is now? MAC teams are NOT pushovers, even at their weakest. In fact, until Toledo came in last season, Michigan was, I believe, the ONLY Big 10 team not to have lost to a MAC team.
I have a hard time believing that Ohio State has ever lost to a MAC team.
I know that they haven't lost to a MAC school since the mid-90's (when they began playing them consistently). They've had several scares/close games, but a MAC team has never been able to knock them off. Like M, but uh, pre-Toledo.
why?
dang. well i'm gonna pray for toledo to knock them off every night now
back in the prehistory of football. I, for one, am going to pretend that counts.
The post classified Western as a high quality or "big" program. The fact that MAC teams are not pushovers and have beaten most B10 teams at one point or another, does not change the fact that no sober college football observer would classify any MAC team at any record as a high quality opponent, a term IMO generally reserved for BCS programs with winning records.
western michigan is a pushover school. they were 9-4 last year but they got hosed by rice. being 9-4 doesn't make them comparable to utah or notre dame or oregon
Last year Western Michigan beat Illinois. The same Illinois that kicked the shit out of us. Give them a little credit. Also, Rice wasn't a bad team last year, a solid bowl team.
"Competitive" doesn't mean "big" out of conference game. A big game is one that gets a national audience and impresses voters on a national scale if you win. Notre Dame hasn't fit that category since 2006 and beating them hasn't been a feat to brag about for most years since the Lou Holtz era ended. Western Michigan doesn't and never will. USC, Oklahoma, Florida, LSU, Texas, Virginia Tech, Oregon, etc. Those are big games.
Boise State, given how they have consistently ended up in the Top 15-20 and won a BCS game a few years ago, is a very good game from both an entertainment standpoint and in terms of getting us in the national picture early on. I would be tickled pink if they would schedule that game.
I'd be ok with Boise State. But only if we did not have to do a home and home with them. No way do I want to see Michigan playing on that blue field.
I linked to would give away that BSU does not require a home and home, though it would be AWESOME to have Michigan play on the blue turf. That's the kind of game that makes college football so unique. Too bad.
Hmmm. I interpreted the Murphy's comments (and the title of the article) to suggest we should be looking for a home and home when I first read it. But after reading it again, it appears what they were saying is that Boise would like a game at home, but because of stadium size it might not be profitable. My bad.
OMG! Maize Uniforms under the lights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, I'd like the Boise State game. Chris Peterson has done a great job with that program, and they love playing the big boys. They reload pretty well every year, so it should be a good game.
Our offense should be firing on all cylinders by that time, and Boise State always has an explosive, wide-open offense. Should make for a very entertaining game that would give some credibility to the schedule.
of Rhona Mitra sitting on my face. Nice pic.
The only thing I like about Boise State is the color of their field/turf !!! Nothing more to me than a MAC team that gets somewhat lucky........
Oregon - good
Utah - good
Western/Boise - Meh...
I would rather SEC, Big 12, ACC type match up... I could give a rats ass about the home game money... Martin will find another way for revenue source... lets play some competition and get rid of the cupcakes....they are a waste of my season ticket (25 years this year!!)
Teams that are ranked in the Top 25 fairly consistently (as Boise State has) can hardly be considered "somewhat lucky." To me, that sounds like sour grapes. I suppose Utah has been somewhat lucky as well, what with their #2 finish last year and all. Beating teams like Oklahoma and Alabama require skill and (with the exception of Florida) is not something Michigan has done lately.
You might "give a rat's ass" about the home game money, but I guarantee that Bill Martin does. He must find a way to produce sufficient revenue for the department, and I am sure he would love to hear your ideas for replacing millions in revenue from filling the Big House for a weekend.
Lastly, I always hate the "they are a waste of my season ticket" complaint; it irks me greatly because many people would be thrilled to attend those games, and season tickets are a privilege. Sure, some games are better than others, but the reality is that neither Michigan nor any other team will be scheduling BCS teams exclusively for non-conference games. As fans, we have to accept this.
You can characterize the "complaints" of season ticket holders any way you want, but we have every right to demand a quality product in return for paying a large amount of money. Delaware State, Bowling Green, UMass and Eastern Michigan simply don't cut it. I'm not saying we schedule four powerhouse ooc opponents every year, but two out of four isn't asking too much I don't think.
BTW, as evidenced by my post regarding today's Freep article, the athletic dept. is doing just fine thank you very much, even in this economy. I don't have much sympathy for the "Bill Martin needs to worry about sufficient revenue" argument.
taking the mindset.... "As fans, we have to accept this". You have the right to disagree.... but I have been the one shelling out almost $2K per year for 25 years for these tickets.... As the old guy in older Merrill Lynch commercials said... I did it the old fashioned way... I've earned it... .I have earned the right to say that scheduling cupcakes for OOC games diminishes MY Saturday Michigan football experience....what would you rather have.... Colorado or Savannah State? Texas A&M, or Eastern Michigan?
I certainly remember the days when ESPN would set up shop on the golf course, right down from my tailgate area... the excitemnt and experience was fantastic. Why do you think they have not been to the Big house in a while??? Because the rest of the fans and their audience would do a big shout out...." WHO CARES !" because of the match up.
so... YOU can accept mediocrity. It does not mean that I have to.
As for the money issue... Martin can find a way... hey.... he just kicked the MDEN out of the Big House for a Texas firm.. let him outsource other marketing and operational activities... he'll squeeze the $$$ somewhere.
ESPN actually came to the OSU-Michigan game in 2007, so it hasn't been a while. Gameday has also only been in Michigan for two out-of-conference games in its history that weren't against Notre Dame, against Colorado in 1997 and against Washington in 2002.
Michigan still schedules Notre Dame (as we all know), and games against Colorado or Texas A&M would not be big enough to draw the Gameday crew today. We would all love to see Michigan schedule someone like Alabama or USC, but that isn't going to happen. Boise State is both a great team and one that would likely fit Martin's scheduling plans, so I say make it happen
EDIT: I forgot my source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locations_of_College_Gameday_(football)
I actually contend GameDay would show up for a Boise/UM game, especially if its a season opener unveiling the new Big House.
If this game gets slated--and let's be clear, there has been zero facts put in play that it would, we're talking hypotheticals--but if it gets slated, I will bet a dollar with anyone who wants to take the action that GameDay will be there.
Michigan consistently schedules quality non-conference opponents, including Notre Dame. Utah and Oregon are some more recent examples. This is not about accepting mediocrity. We cannot expect to play top-notch opponents each and every week; having two solid non-conference foes (Notre Dame and whoever else) is more than sufficient.
Also, as another poster mentioned, the basketball facilities are badly in need of a makeover, which will cost serious dollars. And I highly doubt that changing suppliers at football games will make up for 110,000+ seats plus concessions.
Would you pay more for that Ohio State ticket than for other games? I bet you would. So, yes, perhaps the Delaware State ticket is not worth the money to you, but over the course of a season, that is a small price to pay to see the likes of Wisconsin, OSU, PSU, Notre Dame, and the like. In the end, the package itself is well worth it, even if the ticket to one game is not.
Wait - you're advocating that Michigan play a perrenial 6-win team like Colorado rather than a perrenial 10+ win team like Boise St., and you're accusing US of "accepting mediocrity"?
I don't even know how to respond. I guess there's no point, because you wouldn't recognize "change since 1994" if it walked up to you and slapped you across the face.
of a big name opponent. This game epitomizes the high risk, no reward scheduling that has taken over. If Michigan beats Boise State, so what? But Boise State is more than capable of coming into newly renovated Michigan Stadium and beating us. Given that, why not schedule a BCS power (and even get crazy and play a return game on the road Bill Martin!) and then at least you earn the respect of playing a "name" school?
jg2112, no offense but to put Utah and Western Michigan on a list of "high quality ooc opponents" is buying the bullshit scheduling that Bill Martin is selling.
The "easy money" cupcake scheduling really bothers me... think about it... What is there to look forward to on Football Saturday with Delaware State in town? To me... just my tailgate, friends, family and beer. I would rather watch UM play Saline HS if we are stooping that low.
Utah has won more BCS games than Michigan has. Boise St. has won an equal number. Utah has two undefeated seasons in the past 4 years, and their conference is more competitive than the Big East, and arguably as competitive as the Big 10 or ACC.
If you put them in the Big East, they'd win every single year, and if you moved them to the Big 10, they'd be a top 2 or 3 team.
but you can't convince me that playing Boise State or Utah is equivalent to playing Georgia, USC, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, etc. and it simply doesn't compare to the tradition the big programs bring, and the associated build-up and excitement for big ooc games. As a season ticket holder, that's what I want.
Wow, we're disagreeing a lot lately. First, Carr treats bowls as rewards, Utah as grounds to prove themselves. I'm not taking anything away from Utah - they earned those wins - but luck was kind to them last year. Read Matt Hinton (Dr Saturday's) take on them. 4 games by a FG or less, including BYU, Oregon State, and Michigan. Skoda was 11-11 on FGs in those games.
Also:
2005: 7-5, T-4th Mtn. West (three-way tie, 4th-6th)
2006: 8-5, T-3rd Mtn. West
2007: 9-4, T-3rd Mtn. West
The Penn State of the Mtn. West in my opinion (every 4 years an excellent team).
Also, there is no reward to playing Boise State. The average fan has no fucking idea, and scoring points amongst the elite fans isn't really necessary. Playing Virginia, Colorado, or Washington would be a much bigger name, even if it would be a worse game, and wouldn't carry the massive downside risk associated with Boise State.
I don't see how we can summarize the state of mind of a 100+ man roster, and their relative levels of motivation going into a nationally televised game so easily.
every single year." Sorry, as Shock points out, they don't win their own conference, so unless you're prepared to argue the MWC is as good as the BE, got to disagree with that one.
I'm confused. Utah and Boise State were both champions of their conferences. What are you talking about?
Shock's post showed that prior to this year they (Utah) haven't been exactly dominating their own conference, which I referred to. So it seems a bit stretchy to say they'd dominate the BE, unless, as I said, you want to argue the MWC is an equal to the BE
The MWC had 3 teams in the top 15 this year - more than the BE.
Not to mention the fact Utah won a BCS game under Urban Meyer. They have been a good program for a few years now.
Well, coaches do it all the time and we assume their accurate when they asses their own play. I think they're qualified to do so.
When did a coach say his team didn't care?
You questioned whether its possible to properly asses the state of mind and relative motivation of 100 man rosters. I replied that coaches and players do it all the time. They know when they were not properly motivated for whatever reason and often tell us--that's how "we were flat" got into the sports lexicon. I don't think it's a stretch at all to say that Ok and Bama were less motivated in those games than Utah and Bama, as the poster you replied to had said.
But, like, you see the difference between a coach saying "they didn't care" (which no coach did) after spending weeks with them in preparation and being on the sideline with them, and someone who watched the game with a beer in their hand from a couch saying it, right?
I must not have read a post closely (no sarcasm) because I never saw the words" they didn't care" except in your replies. Nonetheless, do you believe it's possible to watch a team from the couch with a beer in hand, knowing that one team, Utah, has no national respect despite an unblemished record, and the other team, Bama, is disappointed to not be in the title game (which because of our crap system has devalued the other BCS bowls) and to conclude that a top SEC team would not exactly by hyped to play Utah? I think its a pretty fair assumption to make--not conclusive from any guy like any of us, but a pretty fair guess.
Well, it's an interesting system you've set up.
When a non-BCS team beats a BCS powerhouse, it's because the BCS team lacked motivation - because, why would they want to win a game that doesn't have national title implications?
It's a tidy way convince yourself that the non-BCS team, regardless of the degree of ass-whipping, is always better.
It makes me feel warm and safe.
And not "always better" for sure... but "usually"... yep. That's why they call them upsets--the better, more talented team doesn't always win. That doesn't make it less of an upset.
So why bother playing? You've decided who's better already, right? Let's just give Tebow another NC trophy and cancel the whole thing, because if somebody beats Florida, it's all just noise, right?