Thought experiment (be honest): Do you want big rushing numbers or big passing numbers?
So, Michigan just put up 418 yards on the ground against what was thought to be a great run defense (and for all we know, is), but only 145 yards through the air. Naturally, because this is this fanbase, there were some folks complaining after the game, focusing on the lack of production in the passing game.
So, here's a thought experiment:
418 yards rushing, with 145 yards passing
OR
418 yards passing, with 145 yards rushing
If you'd look at those numbers at the end of the game, which one makes you go "hell yeah" a little bit more in your head? Which one makes you feel better about the rest of the season?
You can't say "I'm fine with either"! No wuss bets, friends.
And . . . go.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:31 PM ^
I want the big numbers to be on the scoreboard no matter how they get there.
October 16th, 2022 at 10:24 PM ^
October 16th, 2022 at 11:09 PM ^
Thought of the Harbaugh quote the minute I saw this. It is funny that Tuck mentioned defensive passing yards. LOL
October 17th, 2022 at 7:01 AM ^
He doesn’t even know that the defense can’t pass. Get a brain moran!
October 17th, 2022 at 1:27 AM ^
Damn! There're only two coaches who are worth listening to in this clip, Harbaugh, and Fitzerald. No one else comes close. Especially Day. And Ferentz showed his true colors. Offensive yardage!
October 17th, 2022 at 8:40 AM ^
So many agendas in this clip. The Harbaugh/Day dichotomy is great. Harbaugh: None of them matter save the score. Day: *hemming and hawing* They all matter...
October 17th, 2022 at 9:37 AM ^
Harbaugh is spot on and doesn't even have to think about it.
October 17th, 2022 at 10:04 AM ^
As Bill Belichick would say "Stats are for losers, the final score is for winners."
October 16th, 2022 at 9:31 PM ^
282 rushing yards, 281 passing yards.
For real though, almost every coach in America would love to be able to run it at will and strategically speaking it’s smart because you can control the game in so many ways doing that. So I get it. I just would love to see our pass catchers get rewarded for their hard work too some too though. They’re blocking hard and running routes all day and sometimes only seeing 1 or 2 targets. That’s tough.
October 16th, 2022 at 11:01 PM ^
This comment aligns with exactly how I feel. The point I'll add is related to recruiting at the QB and WR position.
Winning is great, but how many top-level high school QBs want to go to college and hand the ball off 50 times? And how many WRs want to be part of a team that completes 17 passes to 13 different receivers?
It amazes me that M continues to get such high-level WR talent. I hope it can continue and I hope the next JJ enters the pipeline soon!
October 17th, 2022 at 6:37 AM ^
That’s how I feel as well. Michigan is recruiting some pretty darn good receiving talent, and I want to see them get some due recognition as well. If nothing else, it helps recruiting. You need to be able to tell guys that they are going to get targeted more than 5-6 times a game.
October 17th, 2022 at 8:37 AM ^
True, I recall Pep Hamiltons offense was always pretty even in passing yards vs. rushing yards each game. As for 400 yards yards passing vs. 400 yards rushing I would assume a teams winning % is significantly higher when they run for 400+ yards vs. throwing for 400+ yards.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:31 PM ^
Just win.
October 16th, 2022 at 10:48 PM ^
Right!! I prefer the number 15 in the win column! Couldn't care less about rushing, passing, fumbles, sacks, or interceptions if they can get that 15.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:31 PM ^
Win the game
Stats are irrelevant
October 16th, 2022 at 9:33 PM ^
Rushing. If you get over 400 yards rushing, you have won the game.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:38 PM ^
Rushing, for the reason HR states above. It’s not like it’s impossible to lose but I think your chances of winning a game making those gains on the ground and what that means for the opposing defense and time of possession, make it the more attractive option
October 17th, 2022 at 8:30 AM ^
Obviously teams that are ahead in the first place are more likely to keep rushing when they already have 200, 300 yards. If you are down 14 in the fourth quarter and still running, it doesn't bode well for your chances, unless you get 10 yards a pop.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:47 PM ^
wonder if you could track the number of teams that have rushed for 400+ yds and what their win/loss percentage was in those games. has to be something over 90%
October 16th, 2022 at 10:06 PM ^
The last time I remember a 400+ yard team losing was Georgia Tech losing to Tennessee in the season opener a few years back. I think they went for two and the win at the end but got stopped.
Fun fact: The D-line coach of that 400-yard ceding Tennessee team? Brady Hoke.
EDIT: I undersold it. GT had 535 yards on the ground in the loss.
October 17th, 2022 at 11:22 AM ^
Thank you for looking this up. This is why 400+yds rushing is the correct answer. Not much to debate here. I'd venture to guess that the win % would be even higher if you were to remove the service academies entirely from this since rushing is almost all they do, even when down in the score.
October 17th, 2022 at 11:23 AM ^
thanks LF.
October 16th, 2022 at 10:15 PM ^
I think it depends on the team. But for this Michigan team, watching the running yesterday, and how Michigan won, made a feeling of excitement and belief that I had last year, but haven't had all this year yet, come back.
October 17th, 2022 at 5:31 AM ^
Agree. If I had to choose, give me rushing over passing for two reasons:
1. Rushing allows you to eat up more clock and tire out the opposing defense while keeping their offense off the field.
2. As Bo used to say, three things can happen when you throw a pass and two of them are bad.
October 17th, 2022 at 11:24 AM ^
Agree with you that a good rushing team > a good passing team, but I've always hated that quote from Bo... namely because 3 things can happen when you RUN the ball too, and 2 of them are bad.
October 17th, 2022 at 11:24 AM ^
Duplicate
October 16th, 2022 at 9:33 PM ^
Big rushing numbers almost always mean you have controlled a game and kept the ball away from the other team, while big passing numbers can very often mean you were in a shootout, or were even trying to play from behind. So I will take big rushing numbers, especially if it’s from multiple backs, including several QB keepers/scrambles each game.
Plus, big rushing numbers beat OSU, and our running game isn’t what killed us vs. Georgia, it was our defense in bad matchups and putting us behind early.
All this being said, I would still like to see the passing game develop more.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:35 PM ^
Agreed 100%
October 16th, 2022 at 11:01 PM ^
Well said Hayes, ideally for me if you have a strong offense I'd want to average 250 to 300 rushing and 200 to 250 yards passing, it makes you balanced, can win either way if forced to, can control the clock and milk it away or be able to comeback if need be.
I prefer more yards rushing because it's the best way to control a game and impose your will.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:35 PM ^
Option A 100% - grind them down and keep our D fresh/limit their drives by chewing up the clock.
Taking a very recent example - both Tennessee and Alabama threw for ~400 yds on Saturday and spent the entire 4Q shitting their pants, with one team having to lose despite those passing stats.
I quite enjoyed our 4Q on Saturday
October 16th, 2022 at 9:35 PM ^
I want wins.
my son’s favorite player is Blake so I tend to root for great running game. but, I’d love to see the passing record broken at UM.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:39 PM ^
rushing for 400 yards means you were on offense 40+ minutes as well and their defense is beaten to a pulp
give me that every time
October 16th, 2022 at 9:39 PM ^
I just want to win, dude. I honestly do not give a shit which way we do it.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:40 PM ^
I think part of what you're getting at is that there's a portion of the fanbase that wants to see more passing. I think it's because great passing games have beaten the giants in recent years. Last year we were also a great rushing offense but when we came up against Georgia we were less than a hundred yards for 3.5 YPC. Alabama beat Georgia in the SEC Championship game last year with, guess what... 414 yards passing, 115 yards rushing.
So if you're projecting to the CFP for us, then yeah you want to see that our passing game can light it up.
On a game to game basis, I'd take 418 yards rushing with 145 yards passing because you can still lose the game with the opposite (as other posters have said).
October 17th, 2022 at 10:06 AM ^
This. Yes, I enjoyed steamrolling PSU on the ground. I'd just like to know that UM could do the same in the air if it came down to it. At this point, I still have my doubts.
October 17th, 2022 at 10:06 AM ^
This. Yes, I enjoyed steamrolling PSU on the ground. I'd just like to know that UM could do the same in the air if it came down to it. At this point, I still have my doubts.
October 17th, 2022 at 10:06 AM ^
This. Yes, I enjoyed steamrolling PSU on the ground. I'd just like to know that UM could do the same in the air if it came down to it. At this point, I still have my doubts.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:40 PM ^
Hello Jim Harbaugh, what stats are the most overrated in your opinion. “All of them expect the final score” “doesn’t matter how you win, every game is different, every down is different just win the game” “you can’t beat every team on your schedule the same way, that’s why we have such great coaches and analysts that look at the best way to attack a team” “win the fucking game!”
October 16th, 2022 at 9:40 PM ^
Wins. That's all
October 16th, 2022 at 9:43 PM ^
Wins, i want all the wins. That is all.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:43 PM ^
Whatever gets the Win!
If rushing yards beats Team A and
Passing yards beats Team B, then I'm happy. That shit is so overrated. You do whatever gets you the win. Michigan is a good enough team they can adapt to whatever they need to do to win.
October 17th, 2022 at 8:14 AM ^
This is how Bill Belichick approaches games and he has a pretty good resume.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:43 PM ^
as a former TE i am a bit torn, but i will opt for running over the other team. there is nothing wrong with passing, lots of fun and sizzle, etc. but when you are run blocking and paving another team that is a particularly visceral pleasure.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:46 PM ^
If these are my choices, I'd go with rushing numbers all day every day. Ain't nobody beating you if you are racking up 400+ yards on the ground.
I'd prefer to be more balanced, on average, over the entire season. Something like 250-300 yds passing, 150-200 yds rushing per game. Gotta give the QB & RB recruits a reason to want to come here, ya know?
October 16th, 2022 at 9:47 PM ^
You run for yards, but you pass for miles.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:48 PM ^
I'll take wins.
October 16th, 2022 at 9:48 PM ^
This year, status quo, I love the big rushing numbers. Keep the miles low on the McCarthy odometer while you have these 2 great backs. Let him sling it in 2023 if that is what's needed at the time.