Per twitter:
Was told Capital One Bowl is lining up Texas A&M and Michigan. Johnny Football vs Shoelaces anybody?
Thoughts?
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Remember the last time Michigan played a heisman winner in a bowl game? Some one que up tebow getting planted gif. Don't like the thought of that offense though.
I was gonna mention that I like the idea of possibly playing the Heisman Winner and taking it to that team he's on just like 1/1/08, one of my favorite all time offensive game plans in my M Fandom.
I want our future offense to model that 08' Bowl game, that was fun and sooooo effective, moar please
is better than Tebow as a Freshmen.
tebow, as much as he annoys me, was absolutely prolific in that offense. he made urban meyer look like a genius.
and that sophomore season where he lost to michigan was, objectively, one of the best of all time by an option quarterback. i mean, 55 TDs. holy shit.
Urban's been a winner all over the place with different QBs. Tebow has stagnated after leaving college since he can't throw with any damn accuracy.
I am tempted to chalk up this excitement, and reference to the 08 game, to the availability heurisitic and condemn it, but similar parallels can be made to any opponent M would face, and given those options, ATM is the most favorable match up.
with that. I think Michigan matches up a lot better with LSU or Florida. J-Football can give this defense problems. Still like the matchup, but it will be one hell of a tough game.
I think LSU would be the worst matchup for UM. Mettenberg and those receivers would be very tough duty for our DBs and that defense is sick.
....is having the #1 draft pick on the O-line, a NFL starter at QB and a run game that didn't lnvolve using a QB made of balsa wood. This will be nothing like 2008. We have to play the team that beat the team that scored 41 on us. Worst possible scenario besides a rematch with Alabama IMO.
Ugh, that's just teasing me. The OC who just royally let us down vs the OC I dream about coaching our offense. I actually prefer our chances against Georgia a little better.
remember how FLA was a big favorite in that game with Tebow and how were we ever going to have a chance in that game?
Worked out well for us
Completely different players, completely different game. I hate this 2008 Capital One bowl talk-means nothing today..
it was 5 years ago, get it right man, get it right
Not me, I thought we would cruise against Florida. We were solid up front on both sides of the ball that year, with an extremely capeable passing game being let off the leash, and our all time leading RB running behind Jake MF Long. Not so much this time. The leash has very much been put back on the offense to a degree. Johnny Football will test our secondary, and I'm rightfully not very confident in our offense being put in the best position to succeed after how our last game, and our last bowl game played out. I have faith in the kids to make the best of it, but not in some of our coaches to do the same.
Maybe if we told Borges we were only playing Iowa...
at the time and Michigan had NFL players on the roster like Jake Long, Mario Manningham and Michigan all time record holders like Mike Hart and Chad Henne. Not the same comparsion.
Florida was 9-3.
is better for us than a win over A&M.
team that beat Alabama or a win over the team that lost to Alabama?
A win over a lower ranked team?
A&M will likely jump Georgia is Georgia loses the SEC Championship game
That's pretty doubtful considering that Georgia is currently #3 and A & M is currently ranked #9. If A&M was playing this weekend, then maybe, but you're not going to drop 6 places after losing to #2 Alabama unless it's by 100 points or something.
Along with this, I think Michigan is going to have a tough match-up no matter what, especially if we end up going to the Capital One Bowl. It's basically just about picking which quality SEC team you would like to face first. No matter what, Michigan is not going to be favored in its bowl game.
So, if Alabama loses, A&M would jump them too? Not a chance
capitol one bowl you speak of? Does it have anything to do with a grudge match between Boehner and Pelosi on the national mall?
No, bad puppy. Don't pee in the house. No!
Yup
come on people, "Capitol" refers to a building. The company is Capital One.
be revenge for that BS loss to A&M in the mid nineties Alamo Bowl, i remember us getting hosed by the officials in that game.
Maybe we can beat them 41-3 ala the 1977 game, good times
I remember that 1977 game. There was concern that A&M might put up a big fight. It was certainly better competition that the usual non-conference games in the 70s. A&M was also coming to Ann Arbor with its bare foot kicker, Tony Franklin.
As I recall, Franklin scored first with something like a 50-yard field goal. It was amazing to see a barefoot guy kicking in Michigan Stadium. Then Bo took over and Michigan scored 41 unanswered points in a laugher.
Several years ago (2007) I was at the BW3 in College Station to watch an 11AM game on the BTN. There were only two customers in the place that early, so we struck up a conversation. The other guy described going to the Big House in '77 and A&M getting blown out. It wasn't until later that I realized he was the QB for that A&M team, David Walker. By that time his family had joined him and I'd missed my chance to quiz him about what it was like to play in those days.
Shoelace vs Johnny football. Why am I picturing the final battle between Neo and agent Smith? Photoshop anyone?
Mattison is a great D-Coordinator who has a month to prepare. Our O shouldn't have a huge problem moving the ball unless we get in our own way (Borges). I actually love our chances against anyone in the country save Oregon and Alabama. Notre Dame is going to the NC thanks for our six turnovers. Then we lose to an undefeated OSU team by 5. We have a good team this year, and we can definately compete with A&M.
who exactly
How's that Kool-Aid taste?
We have a chance to win, but until our plays are no longer telegraphed by Denard (run) or Devin (pass) being on the field, things are not going to go well for us.
Since when does competing with A&M equal koolaide? Give me a break.
Our defense will give us a chance in the bowl game, just like it did against ND and OSU. If our offense can put together a decent game and limit turnovers we can win. I for one would rather play A&M than Georgia's NFL defense.
Right.
In our 4 losses this year, we turned the ball over 16 times. That's unacceptable. Our offense can move the football, and they can score points when Borges lets them. We've got to execute well too. I see no reason why we can't win.
Its not Kool-Aid, it's Hoke-Aid, and it tastes like Sugar. We're going to win our bowl game, and send Denard with a victory like he deserves for all he's done for our program the past few years. Hail.
i got the game in 1995 if u guys wanna relive it..... dont know why u would but i think most would have gotten over this loss by now.
being excited about playing TAM at the time since we hadn't in years. It was a terribly disappointing game after the big win over ohio.
Disappointing season actually. Lots of turmoil and questions about Michigan's future around then. Lost to NW at home for the first time in 40 some years, lost to a crappy Michigan State team, beaten by Penn State. 5-0 game with Purdue
Well Borges had a great gameplan in the Sugar Bowl....
Johnny Football vs Devin is what I prefer to see with sprinkles of Denard.
this game is going to be a lot of 4 man rush.
I'm so happy to see the word "rumor" and school names in a headline that doesn't involve realignment.
I think we have a fair chance considering Denard should be healthy by then.
Fug it. I think the Aggies are doable. Not as doable as Florida or Georiga, but if Borges can do his job and piece something together that let's this offense live up to it's potential for once, Michigan can compete with A&M just fine. Mattison will put together a defense, one that will get scored on inevitably, but keep them in check allowing the aforemenetioned other Coordinator to utilize his weapons and score some points themselves.
I'm looking to save $2000 in December to see Denard play for the first and last time. Yes, you are allowed to donate.
I would loooove to play the Aggies. Shutting up these loudmouth dipshit A&M fans down here would be nice.
Why not take the buzz that goes along with playing Johnny Football and a team being pushed as the hottest in the country? More fun and PR. A&M, Bama, Georgia, LSU, Florida are all on a similar level. We may pull an upset, we could get rolled. But let's do it against the highest profile opponent.
How many of you veterans were on here in 2007 before we played FL and Tebow saying we were going to get rolled by 40? If Borges does his job (because we know Mattison will with a month to prepare) we can handle A&M. I feel like if it was up to some people on this board we wouldn't play a game until Shane Morris SO year. Hoke isn't Rich Rod, and this is Michigan for god's sake. We aren't scared to play anyone.
Didn't Ace mention Capital One had representitives in the booth a few games ago? I think they've had their eyes set on Michigan for a while now.
Johnny Football?
I prefer the lsu matchup and storyline, but Johnny football vs the d&d football factory is fine.
D+D Football Factory is closed for business due to mismanagement (Borges).
I'm surprised that the Cotton Bowl isn't going after A&M. They must be salivating over the idea of a UT-A&M matchup.
I believe thats because CapOne gets 1st pick.
That's true. Cotton will take LSU, unless Bama loses, then they'll take Bama.
They were dominant. As a Mississippi State season ticket holder, I have seen some good teams live. Over the past two years, only the 2011 Alabama team and this year's A&M team dominated us at home. Their O line protected and got good push. Johnny can run or throw. A&M likes to run deep routes with a run/pass option. If no one is open, all of the second level defenders are 30 yards downfield and Johnny has much green in front of him. He makes good decisions about when to run; A&M fans don't have to scream at their TV's to get him moving. This matchup is scary to me. The only thing that helps Michigan is the defensive players have experience in practice with a pretty good running QB.
I used to live in Texas (Cool Story, bro), and lived there just long enough to develop a healthy loathing for Texas A&M. Due to that, I try to pay enough attention to them so that I can knock my Aggie friends down a few notches every year when they tell me in preseason how the football team is going to win the National Championship, be relevant, and invent cold fusion.
I would normally welcome the opportunity to play them and show them how a real football team looks. However, this year is different, and this might be the only team I wanted to play less than even Alabama. Like teenagers to My Chemical Romance, A&M scares the living shit out of me. It took them a good chunk of the season to get into rhythm with a new offense, but now that they have, it pains me to say that they are currently one of the best 2-3 teams in the country. I believe in Greg Mattison, but that offense is frightening. “Johnny Football” gets a lot of credit, but Kliff Kingsbury appears to have the makings of an awesome offensive coach. He coaches with a ton of passion and has had terrific results at both Houston and A&M (although it has to pain Aggies to have a Red Raider coaching their offense). Our defense is going to have their hands full, and if Borges can’t figure out how to best utilize the Denardevin offense then it could get ugly.
Add actual football to an Aggie fan base that will travel extremely well (and still revels in beating us in the ’95 Alamo Bowl) and a Michigan fan base that already traveled to its bowl game (Dallas... I know, I know, thanks Dave Brandon), and it could feel like a home game for A&M. Not to be entirely negative about this match-up, but there are a lot of teams I would have rather played.
play in the bowl game. We will play a team that is better than any team we played all year, save Alabama. With fundamental weakness in the running game (non existent), a qb in Gardner who has great potential, but little experience on the big stage and a predictable offensive attack, we are doomed. I pine for the years when opponents feared our running and passing game-may take a couple years.
Well stated.
As a Michigan grad from a family full of Aggies, I offered my two cents on this matchup in an earlier thread here. Cliff's Notes version -- this matchup sucks for us, for the reasons listed in the two recent posts above. We all know about Johnny Football now, but their depth and talent at wide receiver w/Swope, Nwachukwu, 6-5 freshman Mike Evans, et al. would severely test our secondary. Malena and Michael are a solid RB duo. Their O-line is almost as good as Alabama's. And their Oregon-style tempo would pose a huge challenge -- Klingsbury does a great job; they don't even use a playbook on offense. Their defense is pretty good too (28th in scoring D, despite so many possessions).
Just watch the first quarter of A&M vs. Alabama. They drove and scored on Saban/Kirby Smart's defense at will. Alabama made some good adjustments later on, but A&M was still able to move the ball and hit big plays and score when they needed to in the 2nd half to ice the game.
I think it could be a competitive game, especially giving Mattison a month to prepare the D. But I could also see a scenario in which Manziel & Co. light us up, and our inability to run the ball consistently and keep their O off the field would cost us over 4 quarters. Any SEC team will be a challenge for us, given our current lack of depth and athleticism, but this in particular is a bad matchup for us.
excitement and hope, which is great. But quite honestly this matchup scares the living shit out of me. Mainly because they beat the team that beat us by 27, on their home turf. Small sample size and all that but still, A&M has improved every week since the close LSU loss.
Battle of great fight songs, QBs, teams.
I'll wait until it's official though. I remember hearing Michigan-houston being a lock for the Sugar Bowl. And I have a hunch the Cotton Bowl is going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at getting a Texas-TAMU matchup.
might I suggest "Roy Roundtree's jersey will have a #1 in it before he leaves Michigan"?
It's not changing until the season ends and Roy's eligibility runs out.
If this matchup came to pass, here is where these teams are right now on a broad statistical level.
First, the Sagarin Predictor ratings would estimate that Texas A&M is a 10.7 point favorite, which isn't insurmountable - as others have mentioned, we have a defense that can keep us in virtually any game, which we have seen.
As for raw productivity, Texas A&M averages 317.25 yards passing each game, whereas we average 198.08 yards (much of the improvement coming lately for us). They manage 235.08 yards on the ground on average, and we are at 187.33 yards rushing on average. By the numbers, as you might expect, we have the better defense, of course - 155.17 yards of passing given up to their 248.42 yards, and for rushing, we give up 156 yards per game to their 140.92, so they are fairly comparable rushing defenses.
As for scoring offense and defense, in short, we score less but they tend to give up more (by an average of 4 points). This would be an interesting game for us and them, I think, if it ends up happening.
could be a fun head-handing. No one wil expect us to win, but if we do it will be some redemption for Alabama--everyone can say how much the team grew through the season.
And hopefully, the team really improves over the practice period.
Reasons for Pessimism: They were the only team to beat Alabama (29-24), and they did so on the road. They’ll have the likely Heisman Trophy winner at QB and the nation’s third-ranked total offense. The best offense Michigan faced in 2012 was Nebraska (26th in total offense) in a loss. In games against other offenses ranked in the top 50, Michigan barely beat Air Force (41st) and lost to Alabama (43rd), Ohio State (47th) and Notre Dame (48th). Five of Michigan’s eight wins came against the nation’s 90th (Michigan State), 110th (Minnesota), 114th (Iowa), 118th (Illinois) and 124th and lowest (Massachusetts) ranked total offenses.
Reasons for Optimism: They lost twice this season (both at home) in close games to Florida (20-17) and LSU (24-19), two teams like Michigan with high-rated defenses and low-rated offenses. The last time Michigan played against the Heisman Trophy winner in the Capital One Bowl game, the results for Michigan were positive.
...just don't like the idea of cheering against Johnny Football. Not gonna lie, I've got a bit of a man crush.
I remember the last/only time we played TAMU. Was not long after the Bo-to-TAMU thing, iirc. They had a barefoot kicker, all the rage at the time, and I think they were a favorite in that game, which we won, 41-3 (again, going from my middle aged memory here, Internet). I'd like to see this matchup.
In approximately 1995 in the Alamo Bowl and lost 22-20 IIRC. May be a little off on year and score, but not much.
Gah! Thanks for the correction. I forgot about that one. '95, 22-20, dead on.
No, the Bo-to-A&M thing was in the early '80s. We played A&M in 1977.
'81, according to "Bo: Life, laughs and lessons of a college football legend".
But I did get the score right. 41-3. 35 years later I do remember that correctly.
I don't want any of that.
and combining that with Borges's disinterest in developing a game plan designed to keep our opponent off-balance, it's going to be a tough task regardless of which SEC team we play.
I'd love to hear Greg Mattison's private thoughts about Al's offense.
I do not see this ending well.
I don't like a four-loss Michigan having to play a two-loss SEC team in a bowl. Then again, since TAMU played SMU and surprisingly competent La Tech for their "difficult" non-conference games, while Michigan played Bama and ND, maybe the paring is more even than a lot of people think.
Part of me wishes that Ohio hadn't cheated and affected the B1G's depth this year, but I am enjoying their "undefeated but we cheated" angst so much that I am more than happy to put up with whatever happens in the bowls.
We would have to score about 40 points. TA+M is much better than Iowa. I have LARGE doubts Borges will open this offense because the O line has been so ineffective running the ball. Want to see this game because I live in Florida but TV may be a better place.
matchup. I hope this is true.
The Louis Tech game does show that there D can be scored upon. Wisconsin gets hammered for beating Utah St. close, but Texas A&M didn't for playing Louis Tech close. Louis Tech lost at home to Utah St. With that being said if Wisconsin wins this matchup won't happen any way. No one is giving Wisconsin much chance, but Nebreska has not been the same team away from home at all this year and they only beat Wisconsin by 3 at home.
Not official until Sunday, but Johnny Football's going to Disney World. Capital One Bowl will pick Texas A&M
I think the Big Ten end of things depends on who wins on Saturday?
I'm not looking forward to playing A&M if only because Kevin Sumlin is going to have 6 weeks to prepare a game plan against us. I think we'll get scored on early and then settle things down and have to play a bit of catch up. Granted, Mattison has the same amount of time, but Sumlin put up plenty of points on Alabama with one week's preparation. I have zero faith that Borges's game plan will compete favorably with Sumlin's. Zero.
because of his legs but he has two future NFL 1st round pick bookend OT in Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews protecting him. I re-watched Bama/A&M game. Bama tried to put pressure on him at 1st quarter but stopped trying to go after him because they weren't going to get him anyway.
The all Male cheerleading team that grabs each others balls should be to UMs advantage. Not a joke. http://michiganzone.blogspot.com/2006/10/and-this-is-tradition-because.html
Excerpt from the Michiganzone Blog circa 2006
"Look - I feel embarassed to even have to come over to Michigan Fan and try and explain this anomaly that we in Texas call "Aggie". Actually, we have christened them "Aggy" in honor of their cult-like behavior, obviously which the whole nation has now been exposed to (no pun intended). "Squeezing" is just one of many Aggy traditions, but this particular one is meant for the Aggy student to subject himself to pain so that the team knows they'r with them. Ya - I know - but that's what they do.
As for the "Jizz Jar" - that one is exactly what it is. When Aggy is scheduled to Play us (UT) each year, the Corps of Cadets actually are required to fill this Jar with ... well, their jizz. The Jizz Jar is then taken to the annual bonfire and placed on said burning bonfire as some sort of weird sacrifice to show that the Corps has done their part to beat Texas.
There are many many more weirdisms that you Michiganders don't want to know, just suffice to say that Aggy is a breed apart, a cult unlike anything else that exists in our great state of Texas. And yes, I apologize for all Texans that you were exposed to Squeezing."
Hookem Horns
OCTOBER 02, 2006 8:59 PM
Pretty sad that we're hoping to play well despite our offensive coordinator rather than with his help.