Tomorrow will be one of the biggest games that Michigan has ever had
Stick with me here (But IME the WMU game is bigger than #1 vs #2 and here is why).
We all know that the first game sets the tone for the entire season and we haven't won our home opener in 2 years. If we win tomorrow then the players get confidence and really start believing that this year will be different. But if we lose the negativity will creep in and I'm sure that some people will think to themselves if the team has really turned a corner or not.
Not only that but if we lose the anti-RR movement while a dull roar right now will be a full blown pandering mob.
The reason why this game has such huge importance is because anyone that Michigan would hire after RR will most likely be back to the more pro-style offense and thus all of the recruits and players that we have on the team right now will not fit the scheme and the rebuilding process will take instead of 2 years 5 years.
Yes this post had a lot of if's and it's not meant to be a "Chicken Little" post. It is just trying to explain that this isn't your fathers Michigan vs Western game. So when you're at the stadium tomorrow cheer and yell like it's OSU because this game will shape our season and our program for years to come!
Go Blue!
(and just for the record it's my opinion that as long as Michigan does better than they did last year RR should at least get another year)
September 4th, 2009 at 1:32 PM ^
It's a big game, for sure. But not bigger than #1 vs #2 was.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:36 PM ^
It's not even close.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:41 PM ^
Mine is that this game has a lot more longer term implications. So sure maybe it's not BIGGER but you cannot say that it's not even close because this is a VERY important game.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:49 PM ^
Imagine how much different the program would be right now if Michigan had won the 2006 OSU game and gone on to win the title against Florida.
Yes, it's an important game right now. But in 5 years, this won't be the kind of game everyone points to and says "this is where everything turned around" or "this is where the wheels fell off".
September 4th, 2009 at 1:54 PM ^
Not much would be different. Maybe we wouldn't have hired RR because the typical Michigan offense could still get it done.
Maybe we would have got another recruit or 2 but the basic story-line doesn't change much at all.
All I wanted to convey was that this is a very important game and everybody better be up for it.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:51 PM ^
we didn't lose that game due to any failings of the offense
(devil's advocate stuff; I love the new offense [or rather, its potential])
September 4th, 2009 at 2:37 PM ^
I love UM and consider myself their biggest fan in the universe, but had they beat OSU they would have very likely suffered the same fate in the NC game. Honestly, as much as I hate UF, they had a better team.
September 4th, 2009 at 3:18 PM ^
Thank god that logic didn't hold true the next year.
September 4th, 2009 at 3:33 PM ^
We beat them the next year in a bowl game when both teams had many of the same players. They were minus Chris Leak but we were minus most of our good defensive players. I think we would have done much better against Florida than OSU did.
September 4th, 2009 at 9:12 PM ^
Imagine how much different the program would be right now if Michigan had won the 2006 OSU game and gone on to win the title against Florida.
Had that happened, Mike DeBord would be our head coach right now. There is no doubt about that. Carr would have retired after that season and DeBord would have been the "natural" guy to replace him. (In fact, that still appeared to be a possibility until App State.)
September 4th, 2009 at 1:37 PM ^
I don't think we'll lose the anti-RR segment, at least for now. We are supposed to beat MAC teams.
That said, screw the anti-RR camp! I'm excited! I'm a man! I'm 36! GO BLUE!
September 4th, 2009 at 1:38 PM ^
So if we win tomorrow they are sending us straight to the national championship game?...tomorrow is a big game but it is against a middle tier MAC school and is no where near as big as playing your biggest rival with the winner guaranteed to play for a national championship. Bouje your posts really just irritate me sometimes.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:44 PM ^
This game will set the tone for the entire season and will either fan the flames or douse them considerably.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:51 PM ^
Yes unfortunately I read your entire post. Your logic is completely flawed. RR is not going to get fired nor is he going to change the minds of those that want him fired come Sunday regardless of what the outcome of the game against WMU is. We could very well lose tomorrow but end up with a season where we show improvement beat our rivals and RR comes out of it with a stronger footing. OR we could beat WMU by 35 and lose to the much better teams(than WMU)on our schedule and have a horrible season that would cause the ultimate doom and despair you speak about in your post...so there is no way in this or any other alternate universe that tomorrows game is more important than a winner take all 1 vs 2 against OSU.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:20 PM ^
If you really read the post you have some comprehension issues as far as I can see. It doesn't say that RR will be fired if we lose or that a national championship is a given if we win. He is saying that in terms of its implications this is more important to UM football than even the #1 vs #2 match up of a few years back. FWIW, it wasn't a winner take all that year either, since neither team even won their bowl game.
This may well be a turn around year for UM football and a win would go a long way in insuring that happens. It also will tell fans whether the team is on the right track, and all this optimism is warranted. The implications of this game for UM's future is indeed greater IME than the #1 vs #2 match up was. Regardless of the outcome of that game UM would very likely have lost in the NC game, Lloyd Carr would have still retired in a couple years and we still would have need for a new coach.
If we lose this game, and it sets a negative tone for the season and we find ourselves in the midst of a season similar to last, it would have far more serious implications than that one game against OSU had. Again, this is just my e-pinion.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:46 PM ^
the context of the game. Sure, a national championship game is great, but one that could set the tone for many (hopefully) championship seasons to come is much more important.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:58 PM ^
So now not only will RR get fired if we lose tomorrow but if we beat WMU we are "setting the tone to win many national championships"..wow guys you really need some perspective.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:01 PM ^
When you're in the forest all you can see are the trees. You're looking at the trees we're looking at the forest.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:07 PM ^
Your post is actually the complete opposite of seeing the whole forest. You are looking at one medium size tree and claiming that it in and of itself is the whole forest. If your post was about the importance of this season and how it is much more important than any number of season we came in expected to win the Big Ten or with a single digit national ranking and then listed your reasons I would have no problem. But you said that the next 2-5 years of this program lie on one game against Western Michigan and that game is even bigger than that one where we played our biggest rival for the chance to go to the MNC game.
I am now done talking to you.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:23 PM ^
You do have comprehension issues.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:33 PM ^
or just ignoring what is his post. Look at it again and read it out loud. Pay special attention to HOPEFULLY! Do you work for the FREEP??? Talk about taking things out of context!
Edit* This was in relation to your "SERIOUSLY?" post
September 4th, 2009 at 1:42 PM ^
Jesus is waiting on the results....
September 4th, 2009 at 1:45 PM ^
Jesus already knows the results. He is Jesus ! Or Tebow, depending on where your from.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:43 PM ^
"Tommorow will be one of the biggest games that Rich Rod has ever had at Michigan."
I see your points, but it's not the biggest in Michigan Football history.
RR's history with Michigan? YES !
September 4th, 2009 at 2:02 PM ^
I guess for the morale of the team (now and future) it's important, but I'm gonna go ahead and, uhh, disagree with you there.
[/lumbergh]
September 4th, 2009 at 1:46 PM ^
If we lose this game we won't have the confidence we need to beat ND. So we'll be 0-2 if we lose tomorrow.
September 4th, 2009 at 3:08 PM ^
While I agree about your point on confidence - I disagree on the fact that "if we lose tomorrow we will for sure lose to ND!!". Anything can happen. The karma gods might spot us a 2 TD lead this year....
September 4th, 2009 at 1:48 PM ^
Not very melodramatic are you?
September 4th, 2009 at 1:53 PM ^
If Michigan wins tomorrow and gets blown out the next week against ND, nothing has really changed so it's not really THAT big of a game, especially since it's against a MAC team. There is no way this is bigger than #1 vs #2.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:05 PM ^
I actually agree with your line of reasoning. In fact, I was telling just that to a friend of mine this morning. What I said was that next 2 games could affect a decade of M football for the reasons you stated above. I think if we win the next two, RR is well on his way to becoming the Pete Carroll of the Big Ten, as someone has phrased it -- even if we fade later in the season due to injuries or whatever. But if we start 0-2, it'll be a lost decade of M football and we'll see empty sections of the stadium in the years to come for the first time since the 60's.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:38 PM ^
Whoever phrased it as "Rodriguez will be on his way to becoming the Pete Carroll of the Big Ten" is retarded. As much as I'd love for it to happen, it won't. Who exactly does Pete Carroll have to compete with on a regular basis in the Pac-10? He's at the school with perhaps the best recruiting pitch, which also happens to be the school with the most tradition (by far) in the conference. Meanwhile, the Big Ten has 3 programs at the top, none of which is heads and shoulders above the others.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:08 PM ^
While I completely agree that tomorrow's game is the biggest of the RR era and certainly the most important against a MAC team, to assert that is was bigger than 1 verses 2 (or almost any other OSU game) is ridiculous. According to your opinion, we should just pack it in for the season if we lose this game, which I for one will not be doing. We could win tomorrow and go 3-9 again, or we could lose and go to the Rose Bowl.
I understand what you mean when you are saying that the result of tomorrow's game could have consequences that lead to either great or terrible things, but in a lot of ways you could say that about any game. I made the mistake of thinking we turned the corner last year when we came back against Wisconsin, but obviously I was horribly wrong.
I am extremely nervous/anxious for tomorrow, but I think that one of the most important things will be for us and the team to keep perspective regardless of the game's outcome.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:25 PM ^
But losing tomorrow doesn't set the tone for the year and also would make it tough to be bowl eligible.. I'm just saying that some players might pack it in
September 4th, 2009 at 2:18 PM ^
I agree with bouje. This game is critical for RR. If we lose this game we could spiral into a coaching internship program that ND has had for the past 15 years. I don't think he should be fired if we lose, but a lot will.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:26 PM ^
every game this year will be big. except for deleware state. that wont matter at all.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:30 PM ^
I definitely agree with you that the 2006 OSU game was not that important in the grand scheme of things. After all, people definitely consider Michigan and OSU on equal footing in the Big Ten. At least we haven't lost to them that often lately, and we have some recent Big Ten titles to fall back on.
Sarcasm Meter is maxed out here.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:36 PM ^
Your entire post is based on extrapolation and predictions of what will happen based on tomorrow's game. I could say the same thing about the 2006 OSU game. If we won that we may not have gotten fat and lazy like the nuts did, and maybe just maybe we would've brought home the title. Thats not any more unreasonable then your predictions in this post.
Bottom line, if I could only win one game between 2006 OSU and tomorrow verses WMU I am pretty sure that I would choose the 2006 game. As a matter of fact there is a lot of games that I would rather have won than tomorrow's game. I am as pumped as everyone else, but we need to settle down here.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:50 PM ^
I think you are simply comparing the wins. In any given season other than this one I would absolutely agree with you. I would rather have a win over OSU than anyone else. The implications of those wins are a different story IME.
Due to the fact that UM and OSU play the last game of the regular season against one another it isn't much of a factor in anything other than the bragging rights and pride of the university. They than have a month and a half layoff before they play their bowl game.
This is the first game of the season, what hopes to be a turn around season, and could set the stage (and heighten player morale) for a good/great/horrible season, depending on outcome.
The thing about this season is, I think as it goes forward each game is going to be the most important game of the season because it is going to allow us to gauge were we are going in the future. It will also allow us to gauge how long it might take us to get to where we want to be.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:36 PM ^
Western's Colors are POOP AND PEE!
September 4th, 2009 at 2:37 PM ^
One of the biggest games ever in Michigan history?
Every Notre Dame, MSU, and OSU game is bigger and more important than WMU. Beating WMU will by no means silence critics. Losing will make them louder, but not get Rodriguez fired. Beating ND, MSU, or OSU could help silence critics and losing these games certainly does make them more vocal. This is a huge season, and losing here en-route to a terrible season could get Rodriguez fired, but by no means is this one of the biggest games in Michigan history.
September 4th, 2009 at 3:04 PM ^
No doubt tomorrow is a very big game, but no way is it even in the top 50 for the biggest game Michigan has ever had.
Also, the argument for the way the first game ends sets a tone for the rest of the season is debatable.
I believe that when we lost to Appy State, we went on to beat Florida in a bowl game (making Ole Miss and us the last two teams to beat Florida). And the year we lost to Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl (aka total abortion of a year), we won our first game.
September 4th, 2009 at 3:07 PM ^
tato salad
stupidity multiplies geometrically.
September 4th, 2009 at 3:10 PM ^
We're still not sure what's going to happen tomorrow. This is the first time we see our 09 team in full attack. What we see tomorrow will likely be what we see for the rest of the season. We can predict all we want (like we did last year), but tomorrow is important because it shows us what we we're going to be this year.
Here's hoping that we crush those Broncos into the ground.
September 4th, 2009 at 3:19 PM ^
This such a stupid post.
September 4th, 2009 at 3:37 PM ^
Yeah...sort of. This is definitely "not your fathers UM-WMU game" and it is a relatively big game. But I think you are way overstating it's importance. And, I disagree with several assertions of the original post:
1) To some degree it would depend on HOW we lose
2) I don't think the opener always sets the tone for the season. I can think of plenty of early UM struggles in seasons that UM rebounded nicley.
3) I'm not convinced that a RR firing automatically means we go back to a pro-style offense. The spread seems here to stay in CFB and at a minimum I would assume we'd move forward with a hybrid scheme.
September 4th, 2009 at 3:42 PM ^
Can't we all just agree that tomorrows game is big? It's a big game - at the Big House.
Winning this game would be big for the players confidence coming off 3-9 a year ago, and prove that all the hard work they put in paid off. Winning this game would be big for Coach Rod to help shut up some of the naysayers, and give the guy a much needed break from all negative stuff he's had to deal with. I really want this win for RR.
It would also be big for the fans because winning is always more fun than losing.