August 13th, 2009 at 1:03 PM ^
Yeah, who cares.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:26 PM ^
we care its our team anything about our team is important
August 13th, 2009 at 1:31 PM ^
Dude, it's SI. We know more than SI does.
August 13th, 2009 at 2:47 PM ^
Hey, I think that's on page two which means you can bump it to the front and people will be slightly okay with that. I'm glad I could refresh someone's memory.
August 13th, 2009 at 3:52 PM ^
I'm with you, who gives a shit what some uniformed SI writer projects for M football this year.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:06 PM ^
I'd say going 4-0 through the non-conference is at least somewhat surprising.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:07 PM ^
Not that it matters, but this does mean they're picking us to start 3-0 and, more interestingly, beat ND.
EDIT: apologies about near double post.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:07 PM ^
It's a surprise that they have us winning against Notre Dame.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:10 PM ^
I'm ok with this.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:13 PM ^
Beat IU, Purdue, and Wisconsin. Lose to PSU, MSU, Iowa, Illinois, and OSU.
I could see that.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:17 PM ^
i somehow could see a win over MSU or Illinois more likely than over Wisconsin this year. and yes we won with the WORSTTEAMEVRZ last yr at Camp Randall but c'mon... anyone who would say that wasn't fluke is a Spartan fan thinking MSU won a commanding victory over WI, and not a fluke. which means a lot of people. oops.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:23 PM ^
isn't in Ann Arbor
August 13th, 2009 at 1:25 PM ^
i seriously rushed right back over here to edit the comment while reading the Michigan Games of the Year diary to fix this and sure enough you locked it in...
damn you and your orange powder all over my e-jeans!
August 13th, 2009 at 1:19 PM ^
but our Big Ten schedule appears far from favorable this year. No Minnesota or Northwestern-- two teams I'd like our chances against, home or away. Secondly, we will probably be underdogs in every conference road game. Can we find a win at Wisconsin, Illinois, MSU or Iowa? That's counting on a major improvement from last year. And lastly, our home schedule includes ND, PSU and OSU, no gimmes, to say the least. 7-5 overall, 3-5 in conference is a reasonable guess, and pretty close to what I'm thinking. You'd be going off the page if you projected differently.
August 14th, 2009 at 12:05 AM ^
I'm always ready to take a crack against the LOLpher$.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:29 PM ^
See?! This thread only underscores El Caballo De Sangre's claim; Brian has whipped you all into some delusion that we'll threaten for a conference championsh... er, what?
/sarcasm
August 13th, 2009 at 1:32 PM ^
I'd love to go 8-4 or better, but 7-5 (3-5) means that we go bowling and beat a rival. right now, I'll take that as a stepping stone towards 2010.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:32 PM ^
...picking 9 teams in the conference to finish 7-5 or better (Michigan is the last of those). That would be great to see.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:49 PM ^
Blind optimism tells me we win one of those tough conference games against PSU OSU Illinois Wisconsin or Iowa... In fact we'll most likely win all of those games and win the NC. Any takers? But seriously, I can't help but think this team is going to surprise people. So much talent. I love the attitude and Tate seems to be getting better every day. Him enrolling early was huge, and hopefully come Sep. 5 he'll play like he's been on campus for more than a coupla months
August 13th, 2009 at 1:54 PM ^
Agreed on the Tate factor... A serious improvement at QB from last year and I think we can take one or both of the Iowa/Wisconsin games... I know we are all speculating here as the WMU game is still a few weeks away but I think RR makes it happen in year two as he has in the past...
Now all we have to do is keep the players from transferring...
August 13th, 2009 at 1:56 PM ^
for SI this year!
Yeah, I know. Who cares what SI says.
August 13th, 2009 at 2:08 PM ^
Sounds about right, though I think beating MSU is more likely than ND. Even though last year's game was heavily influenced by the weather, ND is returning a veteran offense while UM will still be feeling its way through with a either a freshman signal caller or DEATH!!! I think MSU is a more likely victory, since they will be suffering through the same relative growing pains (trying to integrate new players into prominent starting roles at QB and RB), plus the rivalry/payback element is much higher, IMO, than against ND.
August 13th, 2009 at 2:18 PM ^
I always prefer SI to ESPN. Their writers are more intelligent, less inflamatory, and less biased. This sits pretty well with me. I feel like we could easily do better, but I won't expect it.
August 13th, 2009 at 2:37 PM ^
A agree with assessment completely about the difference between SI and ESPN...and the SI site is just nicer to navigate [other than the multi-page articles].
August 13th, 2009 at 4:02 PM ^
i think espn is more now than si.
August 13th, 2009 at 4:23 PM ^
If this was meant to be sarcastic/ironic, bravo to you sir.
August 13th, 2009 at 2:54 PM ^
All SI is doing is making a safe assesment. Most of the team isn't yet proven to be better than 7-5. Lots of hype going in to the season about the playmaking ability of our recruits, but their gonna have to exceed expectations in order for us to be a projected 9-3 or a 10-2 team.
A very good year this year will bring up talks of BCS title hopes.
August 13th, 2009 at 3:03 PM ^
um... yeah.
August 13th, 2009 at 3:06 PM ^
I see us us winning at Camp Rndall this year, I just don't think Wisconsin has that great of a team.I could also see us beating MSU since they lost their workhorse running back and are breaking in a new quarterback.
August 13th, 2009 at 3:14 PM ^
SI doesn't do a very good job of projecting potential when it comes to college sports. They seem to have a better feel for professional sports teams for some reason. The Wolverines are going to surprise alot of people this year, they will have 8 wins this year.
August 13th, 2009 at 3:35 PM ^
The last time we were "an expected average (7-5) team" was when we went 11-0 into the Ohio State game and almost went to the national championship. Last year we did not even expect average. So I'm fine with low expectations from the "experts" because of past history when we were considered favorites. Last time we were highly touted, App. State happened.... Now who's with me in saying we're a 6-6 team?
August 13th, 2009 at 4:13 PM ^
I'm in the "who cares" crowd. Ummm, we've seen dozens of projections for Michigan and at this point I just want to see them play.
August 13th, 2009 at 5:39 PM ^
3-5 is reasonable. I'm sure they're saying we will most likely win over indiana and purdue. MSU and Wisconsin are games I would really like to see us win and are very possible. Kind of weird thinking this since I want them to win every game, but games I am kind of ok with them losing would be penn state, iowa, and illinois. But I really want them to beat OSU damn it!
August 13th, 2009 at 6:14 PM ^
the magazines, your prior year record seems to make the most difference.