Yeoman

October 10th, 2014 at 5:35 PM ^

In 2008 they went 8-4, then beat #37 BYU in a bowl game.

In 2009 they went 8-4, then lost to #16 Nebraska in a bowl game.

In 2010 they went 7-5, then lost to #12 OK State in a bowl game.

2011 was the bad year.

In 2012 they went 7-5, then beat #91 Nevada in a bowl game.

In 2013 they went 7-5, then beat #61 B.C. in a bowl game.

What is it that makes 2012 and 2013 so incomparably better than 2008 - 2010?

Joined: 06/08/2011

MGoPoints: 21391

Baloo

October 9th, 2014 at 11:57 PM ^

He is a solid coach when he has a good coordinator to handle the side of the ball he knows nothing about.  He had that at West Virginia.  He didn't have that at Michigan.  Simple as that.  Regarding Arizona, I'm going to wait until his conference record goes above .500 before even discussing it.

Joined: 10/03/2014

MGoPoints: 3647

Yeoman

October 9th, 2014 at 11:19 PM ^

...is one really good win each year enough? Would beating the best team on the schedule be enough to call a season a success? Would it, even if that best team wasn't a rival (that doesn't happen often at Michigan, it's true...)?

RR hasn't had a winning conference record since 2007. That's a long time--Arizona's done it twice since then, both times under Stoops.

It's not a rhetorical question--which is more important to you?

Joined: 06/08/2011

MGoPoints: 21391

Yeoman

October 9th, 2014 at 7:25 PM ^

It's hard to tell what's going on at this point because they aren't exactly transparent about how the provisional numbers are calculated, but there seems to be a cluster of teams that have all played each other and are all very highly rated. Either something's broken, or there hasn't been a tempo adjustment and the huge point totals run up in the Cal games is pushing the whole cluster's ratings up thanks to the SOS adjustment.

Do any of these make sense?

  • #9 California
  • #31 Nevada
  • #23 Washington St.
  • #8 Utah
  • #2 UCLA
  • #12 USC

Joined: 06/08/2011

MGoPoints: 21391

JamieH

October 9th, 2014 at 7:37 PM ^

The biggest issue is that Brandon fired Richrod and has no one but Hoke to replace him with. I was for going in a new direction, but handing the keys to a sub .500 MAC level coach was, especially in retrospect, absurd.

Joined: 09/05/2009

MGoPoints: 28331

I dumped the Dope

October 9th, 2014 at 8:07 PM ^

on the probability that Nussmeier has to leave after 1 year and then turns into something really big somewhere else when he has time to implement and refine his system?

Aside: the Gurley thread got me thinking...I can totally see Mark Richt coaching in Ann Arbor.  I think his persona fits completely with Michigan, and I could care less about his ties, just that he represents the values of fair play and professionalism.  Georgia fans would throw rainbows of joy the day he was fired (left in my postulated situation) and rue it for years to come.  His "very good" in the SEC might translate to "really good" in the weaker B1G.  He might not be able to recruit the midwest but...wait for it....enter our new DL coach and recruiting coordinator Brady Hoke who has a track record of yes in that department.

Joined: 09/22/2013

MGoPoints: 2342

UMForLife

October 9th, 2014 at 8:37 PM ^

I heard RichRod yesterday on Huge Show. He sounded sincere and did not throw M under the bus. He actually said nice things and more importantly, he said he learned a few things and using it at the new place. May be it was the best thing for him that he moved on to further his career. That is what he feels and I am happy for him and wish him good luck. We should move on also. It was probably a bad marriage and breakup was the best thing for both sides. Let us hope we get a good coach that can bring us to prominence.

Joined: 11/04/2013

MGoPoints: 63392

Eye of the Tiger

October 9th, 2014 at 9:32 PM ^

RR is obviously doing a better job through 5 games than Hoke is, and everything we've seen so far suggests that will still be the case after 12 (assuming Hoke doesn't get fired before then). But let's not annoint Arizona quite yet.

First, that Oregon win. Yes they beat the #2 team in the country, but one with serious depth chart issues on the OL and on defense. That shouldn't take away from the achievement of beating the #2 team in the country (when was the last time we did that), but it does suggest that Oregon were perhaps overrated by the polls. Second, the rest of that 4-0. 'Zona beat UNLV handily, but struggled with UTSA (who) and mediocre Nevada and Cal teams.

Third, let's not forget that our 2010 team was 5-0 and went into EL ranked #18, having recorded 2 impressive wins (UCONN and ND), 1 cupcake blowout (BGSU) and 2 close wins over questionable opponents (UMASS and Indiana). It's not an exact comparison, but it is enough for me to suggest it *might* be just a tad early to crown 'Zona Pac-12 Champions and book them a trip to the playoff. A lot of things can happen between now and then, and 'Zona has tough games against USC, UCLA, ASU, Washington and Utah still to play.

 

Joined: 09/14/2009

MGoPoints: 7883