Sooo...does beating Ohio "save the season"

No. But it would be nice for recruiting.

Perchance to dream.

it would mean quite the shitload

It would be a nice consolation prize.

No. Because it may save Borges' job.. Which re-ruins the season.

Yes. But it would also be nice if I won the lottery. And since I don't buy lottery tickets, the odds of the two events happening are approximately equal. And I hate myself for thinking that.

But, no one actually still thinks that can happen, do they???  I guess optimism is nice, and I will be there cheering, but come on....

Yes and no.

if Borges calls a good game and we win it will save his job.

lol, I'm imagining the same thread posted around this ime in 2008. the better question is, which team had a better shot of beating OSU, 2008 (on the road) or this team? I submit, 2008.

It would be nice that's for sure.  But a more realistic question would be "will OSU beat us by more than the 50-14 score from 1968?"

No it won't salvage the season, but it would be great to beat OSU. I would then wonder how we could beat OSU and somehow lose to PSU and almost lose to Akron and UCONN.

We just got beat by the worst defense, in the B1G, and an offense that had injuries everywhere. We will be lucky to lose by less than 20.

I just don't see it happening.

Another question might be, is the season salvaged if Michigan beats both Northwestern and Iowa on the road, and then the obvious loss to Ohio State?

That's 9-3, a 1-game improvement on last year. Pretty good and about even with expectations.

My concern is that we are going to finish the last 3 games 1-2 at best, with 0-3 a good possibility (more so than going 2-1).

Doesn't "save the season" but ends it on the best note possible. And plunges a lot of Buckeyes into a dark, deep abyss for the next 11 months. Nothing better.

Yes, or at least it would feel like 1995 and '96 where we weren't totally happy about the prior underachievement but ended on a happy note.  It's pretty tough to imagine right now though.

In my opnioin, beating OSU is more important when we are having a decent to good season, than when we are having a bad season. That rivalry is built on the history that in the Big Ten, it was us and them. We were the two best programs, fighting for the top spot. The importance of that game, when the rivarly was being built, rodes on at least competing in other Big Ten games, adn most often being very near the top of the Big Ten coming into that game. I always want to beat them, but that is because of the foundation past teams built of needing to beat them to get to the Rose Bowl and beyond. In my opinion, beating OSU means more when we have had a decent season. Beating OSU this year woudl be great in terms of what it does to them, but it does little for us in a season that has already been wrecked.

I see this from the other direction. Ohio will beat us, but if we were a any good that victory would help get them into the Natl Championship game. As it stands, they'll likely go undefeated and not make the game. Go Blue!

Beating Ohio? That's just not happening. 6-6 here we come! Woohoo!

Well, I will put it like this - considering that that the predicted odds of beating OSU on Massey's site are now at 17% after yesterday's loss, a win that essentially blows the predictive analytics out of the water would be amazing in a lot of respects. 

9-3 With wins over ND and ohio? Anyone who says differently is letting disappointment from last night take over.

That being said, it's never gonna happen. I shudder to think how much red is going to be in The Big House on that Saturday, MNCG on the line or not.

Michigan is going to be ass-stomped in this game.  The only question is by how many touchdowns.  Don't torment yourself with useless speculation. 

It would definitely be like some of the old Bo teams who were given no chance and beat an undefeated OSU team.  I do think Michigan should be the underdog now in every game left on the season.  That really sucks, but at least any surprises from here on out will be pleasant ones.

This coach has talked about championships and every season this program is farther away from winning one.  No one game can make up for, or erase the simple fact that this staff cannot adjust in-game to the situation.  The offense has had at least two(probably more by then) negative rushing yard games.  That is completely unacceptable.

RR got a little better every year.  This staff has gotten worse every year. outh and inexperience are not the only, or even the main reason anymore.

Beating OSU would be nice, but read this twice: IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN! 

...I would just concentrate from here on out on preparing for that OSU game. No need to spend much time preparing for NW or Iowa - those games don't really mean too much at this point. 90% of practice until the end of November should be on prepping for the OSU game.



Hoke will not get fired at the end of this season. He will likely get at least 5 years, which I think most coaches deserve. But losing to OSU in Ann Arbor this year, will set the tone for his demise after his 5 years are up. If he wants to keep his job, he should plan accordingly.



I think that winning the OSU game is the only way

but it won't happen... lol

yes, I wrote 'lol' but I actually laughed out loud...

fuck ohio. 

and fuck worrying about this years season...  we might win another game, we might not... either way I just want the season to end...

jdon

Of course it does.

People are still upset right now, but if we ruined Urban's 23-0 record? Ruined his chance at a National title? This place would go nuts. The sky is no longer falling. There would be a "Give Borges some credit" thread. There would be a "If you even questioned Hoke, you are an idiot" thread. All would be right in the world again.

No, no, no.

Yes. That is how a rivalry works. Ruining the other guy's season makes up for yours being a tire fire.

Beating Ohio will not be happening

But close calls vs Akron and UCONN. I complete letdown vs PSU. A rape on national television vs MSU. And just a listless offensive performance vs Nebraska are not getting "saved" by a win vs OSU. AND WE WONT WIN VS OSU.

We may have a chance..... if we slip some roofies in their cooler

That played 2 backup QBs. Ohio brings not only the most talented squad in our conference, but one of the top 5 talented squads in the Nation to A2. At this stage, keeping the game within 3 TDs would be a huge accompliment.

It would stop me from crying

If we beat OSU, I will eat a lemon whole. But yeah, that won't be happening.





There's going to be a lottttt of S&G in our stadium that day.

It's always good to beat Ohio but it won't change the 11 games that proceed it. It will be a very nice moment on a season that I would rather forget.

Honestly, at this point I don't really care. This will be the first time in 20 years I will not be glued to the tv to watch our pantsing, I instead will be relaxing at Great Wolf Lodge with my family for the weekend. I could go to the game but the PAIN isn't worth it.

I recall the string of 4-loss seasons in the mid-90's.   Each time we went into the OSU game, I had already mentally prepared for 5-loss seasons.   It also didn't hurt that those OSU teams were very good.  Ruining their seasons was absolutely delicious.    I see one thing different between those years and this year:  we could actually run the damn ball.    There won't be any hand-it-off-to-Timmy-B-for-313-yard scenarios this year, even though OSU's defense has shown some weaknesses this year.

We can't beat Ohio. 

We must all shut up and eat our mush.

puts Hoke in line for canonization.

But we'll be lucky to keep it within 50 since Urbz will be looking for style points. The only 2 things keeping Hoke from the hot seat is a lucky win against ohio in 2011 (miller overthrew a wide open Devier Posey right before Avery got the int) and the face he has Jabrill Peppers committed.



In all honesty, since we're going to lose to ohio no matter what, I hope Urbz just curb stomps us to get DB to see that Hoke is nothing more than a glorified recruiter.

Doubt we win. So let the Snow flakes begin!

It depends on what you mean by "save". If you mean that fans and players will be able to look back on this year with some pride and a sense of accomplishment, then yes, it would save the season. And it might even save a coach's job if his performance is under scrutiny at the end of the year and the fire-retain decision is a close call. At a minimum we would go into the bowl game and 2014 with a lot more confidence, which wouldn't be a bad thing. But it wouldn't mean that we are totally satisfied with the team's performance, or that there shouldn't be changes in personnel or how things are managed. In that sense, no, it wouldn't save the season.

Sure, it saves the season. Just like switching o-lines with Alabama would save the season.

I'll leave it up to you to determine which is more likely.

It will never happen, so I don't think we'll have to worry about that.

It would not save the season, but it would re-establish confidence in the coaching staff.  How this teams finishes the season will have a huge effect on perception.  If they win out, then the future is bright, if they lose out the future does not look good.  Finishing strong and winning matters.

unless borges turns this around ASAP losing might resolve this offense and exit him.

(not WHEN we win) It will help heal the wound.

But I'll hate myself for not buying a lottery ticket that day, because it will take the same amount of luck.

I also hate the realist in me.

I know I'll take a lot of flak for this comment, but yes it does.  Just look at the logic.  Ohio is hands down the best team in the B1G.  They are always near the top even in down years.  Also, the game is played at the end of the season.  So beating Ohio would always signal a success in my book because it means we're at least heading in a good direction when we can defeat a team like that no matter what the previous 11 games looked like.  Plus, my hatred for Ohio is so strong that I would trade beating them 90% of the time throughout the rest of time for our winningest record!

Our offense looks demoralized and disorganized. We're not socring points against teams with a defense.

The wheels are off the bus. There will be no upset of OSU.

this is how i used to think during the RichRod era. Some kind of sad state of affairs that we are already back to this kind of wishful thinking.

Looking at the BCS projections both Baylor and Stanford may pass OSU.  Baylor plays Texas Tech (comparable to Michigan), Indiana (comparable to TCU), @OK St. (which will be worth more than beating MSU at a neutral site), and Texas while OSU plays Illinois.

Stanford plays a bad Cal team, USC, ND and then likely UCLA.  That is a better closing schedule than what OSU faces and Stanford's has 3 wins that are either better than OSU's best win or equal to their best win.

...given the lower expectations and hubris of Gardners pre season remarks.

Despite practice limitations during season and outside it - the final game is the culmination of a teams work minus injuries.  Our schedule (at least until DB screws the pooch ... again) underscores that pinnacle with "The Game" which this year is against a team that is likely to go undefeated for two straight seasons going into it.

Win The Game and the season is saved.  A new story is told of overcoming failure and we will likely regale this season as the most pleasantly unlikely in our storied history.

Not that it will happen mind you... but that is what it would be.

It makes this team not garbage, and have faith moving forward. Why did we not get Miles in '07?! Could we have done SOMETHING different to ensure we land him?? Better question, can we do ANYTHING to get him now?

It'll ease the pain

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAYAYAYA. HAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

a single glorious day.

But save the whole season? No. But on that one day, the rest of the season doesn't matter.

Beating Ohio is always great for several reasons:

• Breaking Urban's unbeaten streak
• Knocking Ohio out of NC contention
• Beating Ohio is just plain fun
• Helps recruiting wars

So anyway you slice it, its fun to beat Ohio.  BUT, it might just save Borges job - I really hope not but it could.  To me that would be disasterous...

However, all things considered, the season is failure regardless of what happens the next three games:

• We played down to Akron/UConn.
• We let IU score a bazillion points on us.  
• We got curb stomped by our little brother.
• Nebraska just stole out lunch money and we did nothing about it.  
• PSU beat us with half a team.  
• ND actually sucks and beating them was no real accomplishment.  
• Devin has regressed into a shell of a QB.  
• The OL is bad - all time bad - horrendous.  
• Brunettes dinging kicks off the uprights is a "thank god" moment after being automatic for 2 yrs.  
• Zero pass rush from our DL - against anyone on the schedule.
• And on and on...

Don't get me wrong, there are things to still cheer about - the band, the players, the nostalgia, etc... But, we're failing at our pre-season goals by a mile.... The season is lost.

Ha!

Satisfying? Yes! But there's no way in hell Michigan beats Ohio unless A LOT of things change....it isn't happening.

The loss to PSU is looking worse and worse each week and yesterday was really bad.  

I don't know how in the world they can beat OSU, but it damn sure would be awesom.

No way in hell do we win another game with this shitty team. I would love to beat the Buckeyes but we played these same what-if scenarios during the RR era. They will kill us.

Cause the idea that we could beat that other Ohio is hilarious.

While we're fantasizing, yes, it does kinda save the season in a way, unless it leads to retaining Borges et al., in which case it's the worst thing that could happen to us the rest of the year.

EDIT:  I totally take back what I said above.  I just checked, and Ohio U beat Akron 43-3.  They would fucking beat our asses.  My apologies to their fine program.  Hail, Bobcats.

If they win out the season will be salvaged. Not a spectacular season by any means but at least it wouldn't stick out like the rich rod years.

For me personally we would have to win out. 10-3 with wins over OSU, a quality bowl opponent, and Notre Dame is a pretty good season. It actually would be better for me than the 2006 season since we would have won our two most important games of the year. It is not the season that basketball had last year though in some ways it would be close since with basketball we didn't win the Big Ten regular season or Big Ten Tournament. Of couse we proved during the Tourney that we are one of the better teams in the nation so that made last year a very special year. This of course is not possible with football but that's another story.

Bottom line: If we lose out but somehow beat Ohio State that is more of a fluke. If we win out it means we are making progress and again have the hope that next year or the year after we will be where we want to be: at the top.

Is it going to happen? Eh.

IF we win, it'll be great but then instantly the thought that comes out will be, "For Fucks Sake where the Fuck was that for 90% of the year?!?!?"  This is assuming our offense does reasonably well and we don't have a pick 6, fumble return for a score, punt return for a score and 4 safeties which our defense helps us with.

Because I have as much hope of beating Ohio as I did when Rich Rodriguez was our coach. If we went 7-6 but beat Ohio, I would be ecstatic.

Yup indeed it does.

The season was lost when they lost to MSU. Yesterday was the nail in the coffin. 

But the season isn't a complete failure yet. A win over OSU would be very significant for the Hoke regime. It may not save Borges, but it would do some real good for fans' hope in Hoke going forward. And at this point, it's the only way Hoke can salvage something meaningful out of this season.

And honestly, we're lying to ourselves if we think a win over an undefeated OSU wouldn't mean anything. Ruining their national championship hopes would be awesome.

I just don't see it happening. Unless Borges (and Hoke) somehow finds a way to stop coaching scared on offense. And figures out how to deal with a fricking blitz, especially ones that EVERYONE sees coming.

It would salvage the season.  It would mean everything.  Much of what people are saying is from pain and then numbness from the pain.

Not thinking there is a chance, though, except that in college football there's always the theoretical chance of upset.

Still going to be there anyway, in Section 43...our family home for over 4 decades.

Depends on how we beat OSU. If we beat them because OSU shot themselves in the foot, it does not save our season. If we beat them because we improved, it definitely showed the worst is over.

Is this what we've been reduced to? Michigan State used to get blasted for being terrible in the 90's and basically sucking but if they beat Michigan all was well with their fans base as that was the only game they really cared about. This mentality is so flawed. This season is an utter disaster and NOTHING will save it in my opinion.

So your question is irrelevant.

...especially when ohio is undefeated and it's Urbs first loss.

No.  'Nuff said.

because I will still remember the pieces and parts that made up the season leading up to the game.  I do hope for a win for what that will mean for the current and prospective players, but am concerned that Urban Meyer will approach the game as a chance to influence recruits and make Ohio more BCS-attractive, and try to score every point possible. 

Yes.

Beating Ohio saves any season.

You can't ever have a truly good season without it, and you won't ever have a truly bad season with it.

This team's goal before the season was to reach the Big Ten title game, there are still 3 games left and that goal is already gone. It may help take some of the sting off the season should a miracle occcur against OSU, but this season is already a failure if you go by what the stated goals of the team were.

Somebody already said it, but stating otherwise is basically the same line of thinking that we made fun of MSU fans for having in the past, by the outcome of one game somehow making their season a success. The bigger goals are gone for this team, regardless of what happens against OSU.

It won't save the season, a win doesn't get us to the B1G title game.  It would be nice though considering we've only won ONCE IN THE PAST 10 YEARS.  The bigger question is, if this keeps up, when will this rivalry lose its national acclaim?

The osu game is without question the most important game every season. B10 championships and bowl games come secondary to The Game regardless of what Coach Hoke says. I remember an empty feeling in 04 after losing it even though we still won the B10 title. Will winning The Game this year "save the season?" Theoretically no, but it would be immortal and go down in Michigan lore for the ages.

I guess I'm in the minority on this, but if Hoke can ruin Ohio's prefect season, keep them out of the NCG, and give Urban his first L, then yes, that would salvage the season for me. In my mind, even a 1-11 season is palatable if the one win is over an otherwise undefeated Ohio team.

I'm still holding out hope that Hoke has some wicked gameplan up his sleeve for Ohio that no one had any clue about.

Only if they beat us by 10 or 12 points. Meyer will put 60 on this team in a NY minute if he gets the chance and I predict they will win 63-10.

100,000 times no

That's what having a blood rival does for you.  Michigan is going nowhere fast.  OSU hasn't lost since Urban Meyer started coaching for them.  They are an FSU or Alabama loss away from playing for the national championship (Alabama losing to Auburn this year is not an impossibility).  If they play a 6-5 or 7-4 Michigan team and lose, they may or may not recover sufficiently from the shock to beat State in the B1G title game.  Either way, that 20-something game winning streak won't have meant a thing.  Losing to Michigan this year for OSU would be like the Patriots losing the Super Bowl after going 18-0.

Having said that, I think Urban names his score.  If he thinks he needs to put 70 on the Michigan Stadium scoreboard to boost OSU's rating in the BCS rankings, there really isn't anything this Michigan team can do to stop him.  I'm ashamed to admit to a sense of morbid curiosity that will likely have me watch every miserable second of The Game this year to see just how bad this can get.