Week Four - are there finally games worth watching?
Week Four is upon us and it seems like matchups are scheduled that will definitely be of greater interest to me. Here are some of the games that have caught my eye and I’ll follow or watch. The team's AP ranking is included.
Michigan (2) hosting Rutgers (NR) – noon – we’ll be tailgating – in the stadium for the game – what does a 3-0 Rutgers really have in the tank?
Florida State (4) at Clemson (NR) – noon - this doesn’t have the luster it did prior to the season’s start
Colorado (19) at Oregon (10) – 3:30 pm – we’ll have this game on during the post game tailgate.
UCLA (22) at Utah (11) – 3:30 pm
Ole Miss (15) at Alabama (13) – 3:30 pm - personally, I think Tommy Rees is the perfect OC for Bama.
Oregon State (14) at Washington State (21) – 7:00 pm – one of these will be in the Pac-12 race and both may share the rights to the Pac-12 conference logo after this season.
Ohio State (6) at ND (9) – 7:30 pm – this will be worth watching – I don’t know what either team really has – QB play will draw a lot of attention.
Iowa (24) at Penn State (7) – 7:30 pm – a White Out in State College – Drew Allar vs. Cade McNamara – the Hawks won’t be able to overcome the White Out - but, wouldn't it be fun if Cade and All pulled some magic out of the Iowa playbook.
What games are you interested in – any not in the above list? What will you be looking for.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:02 PM ^
Bucks at ND should be a fun game. Hoping for both teams to look like garbage - but ultimately, and this hurts to say it, probably have to slightly root for the Bucks (as I did last year). Just love it when the Domers and their pathetic fanbase go down.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:04 PM ^
Never ever rooting for OSU. Why? I'm definitely rooting for ND to beat OSU. No matter what happens and who they play, OSU losing ALWAYS benefits Michigan.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:22 PM ^
Best for *both* teams to lose, but since that can no longer happen realistically it is better for Michigan for osu to beat ND. ND has so few real opponents in their schedule whereas we can do something about osu. That doesn't mean we have to cheer for them.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:46 PM ^
I would also add that Michigan seems to be in more head to head recruiting battles with ND than we do with OSU. As good as things have been on the field the last two years Michigan still has not been able to get to that next level in recruiting.
From that stand point ND losing to OSU and Michigan beating OSU seems preferable.
September 19th, 2023 at 2:25 PM ^
To that end, it feels as if most of Michigan's recruiting battles are with itself.
I'm not referring to NIL or admissions specifically, as these topics have been and unfortunately will continue to be covered ad nauseum.
September 19th, 2023 at 1:21 PM ^
I don't care who wins or loses as long as neither team has fun.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:36 PM ^
Eh, while it's always fun when OSU loses, just like last year, I think an ND win hurts us more than an OSU loss helps us. Last year took some of the shine off of Freeman, but it's still early, and at the end of the day we'd still prefer him to fail. It'll take more than just a loss to ND to truly dent OSU's recruiting machine (look no further than our recruitments of CBs Scott and West despite how the last two years have went), but the last thing we need is a successful Freeman and ND to have to compete for recruits with, especially since ND is the closest comparison out there to M (location, tradition, academic focus, etc.)...
September 19th, 2023 at 1:27 PM ^
You guys are nuts. We play ND infrequently. We play OSU every year. Anything that hurts OSU helps Michigan more than anything ND is or isn't doing.
Plus, I'd much rather see ND in the playoffs than OSU. F em both, but if I'm picking a rival to face off against in the CFP it's ND 10 times out of 10. We have an easier time with them in general and then winning the CFP is much less annoying to me than OSU winning it
September 19th, 2023 at 1:45 PM ^
Yeah I don't get it either. Notre Dame doesn't matter to us as we're already on the same level recruiting wise. We're already on the same playing field quality wise, with CFP appearances and whatnot (a beating in 2019 hehe).
Dismantling Ohio State's iron grip on the top end of the sport should always take priority over anything unrelated to our team specifically. They need to lose this week, and hopefully to Penn State and especially to us to change the paradigm in recruit's minds that Ohio State is an unstoppable NFL factory that shits out championships and NFL contracts. I wanna see Hartline fail badly as OC while floundering on the recruiting trail, Ryan Day inundated with an angry local press, McCord being the worst OSU QB since Joe Bauserman, etc. etc.
Anybody rooting for an Ohio State win is fucking nuts
September 19th, 2023 at 4:24 PM ^
I'm guessing it is everyone who was at the #1 vs #2 Michigan-Notre Dame game when Raghib Ismail had two kick returns and the subsequent back and forth in the early 90s. I hate OSU, but I loathe ND (and the girls from St. Marys who rubbed it in at that frat party).
September 19th, 2023 at 5:28 PM ^
Was there. In the cold rain with jeans on and no poncho (like a typical dumb student).
Watched us win the game other than those 2 plays.
Too soon
September 20th, 2023 at 12:54 PM ^
I was at that game. And Bo was absolutely livid at JD Carlson because he was specifically instructed to kick away from Ismail.
September 19th, 2023 at 4:34 PM ^
Problem is: we don't play ND and can't affect their chances to compete with us for a CFP spot. We play OSU and can derail their playoff hopes. So, logically, we should root for Ohio.
That said: Go Irish! Fuck Ohio!
September 19th, 2023 at 6:34 PM ^
Take care of business and we're in
Problem is, OSU may still be in even if we beat them. See: last year.
As I said earlier, I'd much rather face ND in the playoffs.
September 19th, 2023 at 4:51 PM ^
I sometimes root for osu over msu, but seeing what msu looks like this year I don't think me "rooting" will change anything.
...and it would be objectively hilarious if msu somehow beat osu.
With that said, go ND this weekend for sure.
September 19th, 2023 at 8:01 PM ^
When OSU loses, it also always benefits me, psychologically, emotionally, in all ways.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:14 PM ^
i'd probably stay neutral if ohio state was playing the russian national team.
i can't bring myself to hope anything good happens to/for ohio state
September 19th, 2023 at 12:19 PM ^
I'm going to be happy with whomever loses. But a bit bummed with whomever wins.
September 19th, 2023 at 1:52 PM ^
Whoever. If this tips you into rooting for ND to beat OSU, I'm ok with that.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:36 PM ^
This is an unpopular take, but I always pull for B1G schools in non-conference. I even pulled for Sparty until I moved back to Michigan in the middle of the Dantonio era and their fans forgot the first 100 years of American college football happened.
That public/statistical perception of your conference goes a long way in the rankings. I want OSU to beat ND and clear them out of the CFP discussion for now. They'll be permanently gone when USC hopefully launches them into the sun.
September 19th, 2023 at 1:01 PM ^
I used to do this (except for OSU) but I've steadily lost Big Ten loyalty since Rutgers and Maryland - in part because of the east/west feeling like 2 different leagues, and then fully because the Big Ten ending the Pac12 just felt like a true evil super-villain moment. But even if I got over that, it's hard to feel like we're in a single conference with 17 other schools - it's a loose association, but I don't really know what it means to win a co-championship with 2 teams you didn't face and had 3 common opponents with. I guess it's sorta like the poll-era national championships, but now at the conference level.
September 19th, 2023 at 1:33 PM ^
you are right: unpopular.
September 19th, 2023 at 4:32 PM ^
I pull for Big Ten schools I like, but I won't ever root for a rival just for the sake of "the conference". That's contrary to my fandom.
That said, getting ND out of the CFP picture is nice. Can't they both lose?
September 19th, 2023 at 1:33 PM ^
Does both teams looking like garbage mean anything? I'm assuming both teams looking like "garbage" means a close game? When both teams play offense and defense, and the game is close, couldn't it just mean they both are good at defense (low scoring game), or offense (high scoring game)? I mean, last year, against Illinois, both teams kind of looked like garbage (but this was just the two best defenses in the B1G minus Corum and Edwards. Meanwhile, in the TCU game, I would say that both teams had great swaths of unabated garbage, mostly on defense. But in neither case were both teams garbage.
I think the best thing for UM is for OSU to kick ass. I like OSU kicking ass all year and then once again thinking they're invincible. On the other hand, if OSU is headed for a down year, like 9-3, I'd like to see them flop horribly, so the self-doubt can creep in, and we can see if Ryan Day can coach in adversity, something he is totally unproven at.
September 19th, 2023 at 2:21 PM ^
Q: What did Bruce Lee order at Burger King?
A: WHOPPERRRR!
September 19th, 2023 at 2:36 PM ^
I'll definitely watch but that's mostly because I'll be looking to see if that asteroid I prayed for strikes the stadium.
September 19th, 2023 at 2:43 PM ^
yeah eff that
We are playing ND once every 8-10 years at this point and OSU is built for the indoor turf fields the playoffs offer. They can go to hell. So can ND, but OSU can go first.
Anyone not rooting for 5 losses to be a regular occurrence for OSU must not have bene living the last 25 years. Only program to NOT feel any pain of a sustained downturn in the nation the last 3+ decades.
September 19th, 2023 at 6:26 PM ^
Nope, no way. Always root against OSU. ND is largely irrelevant to us this season. And I am not in the camp that we need ND to lose to help our playoff chances. We win out, we're in. We lose one and our OOC schedule could bite us in the ass, thems the breaks for going cupcakes.
September 19th, 2023 at 9:08 PM ^
I will never root for Ohio. Never. Not even slightly. Honestly, I hope they both lose somehow.
September 20th, 2023 at 12:20 AM ^
I can't use the term "rooting" in connection with this game.
Ohio tears taste like candy, but the world is a happier place when Notre Dame loses. Either way, i get one of these outcomes. If it can be achieved with maximum pain also inflicted upon the victorious side, so much the better.
September 20th, 2023 at 10:31 AM ^
I hope osucks lose. It would only benefit Michigan in recruiting osu drops 2-3 games this year with Michigan beating them for the final time in November.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:03 PM ^
Michigan Rutgers. If we win, then I'm glued to the TV set all day.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:05 PM ^
Predictions for this (very good) slate of games:
Michigan 34 Rutgers 13
Florida St 41 Clemson 20
Oregon 28 Colorado 24
Utah 30 UCLA 27
Alabama 24 Ole Miss 17
Oregon St 0 Wash St 0 (they find a way to make this game cancelled so both remain undefeated; #Alliance) If the game is played 24-43 Oregon St
Ohio St 38 ND 28
Penn St 30 Iowa 9
September 19th, 2023 at 12:16 PM ^
CO has given up an average of 30pts a game so far this year. The Ducks score 40+ in this game, the question is will can CO's offense sustain the magic they've been riding on?
OR 42 CO 23
September 19th, 2023 at 1:13 PM ^
Living here (and with a brother who attended CU for a time) the Prime hype is out of control.
They ain't beat nobody, and they will leave September 3-2. They are on the upswing and the future looks bright, but it's not here yet.
September 19th, 2023 at 1:20 PM ^
Agreed...CU is a fun story, but aint not way their defense is going to stop Oregon at all. I like your score prediction, feels right. CU line play, both sides, is just awful...way too undersized.
But Sanders is the real deal QB, IMO, he'll be a pro next year.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:38 PM ^
OSU/WSU will rent the Dantonio weather machine so the game gets cancelled and they never have to reschedule it. They'll both go undefeated, play a 12 OT Pac-12 title game and both make the CFP with Michigan and [insert team name here].
September 19th, 2023 at 1:17 PM ^
Colorado has been fun to watch.
But I see Oregon running over them (given the way CSU's OL and DL dominated Colorado's lines all game long).
Oregon by 21.
September 19th, 2023 at 1:35 PM ^
You crazy man. Eric All and Cade know how to rip the hearts out of Happy Valley.
September 19th, 2023 at 1:52 PM ^
Your Oregon vs Colorado score is the worst prediction of a score i have ever seen.
September 19th, 2023 at 3:41 PM ^
Oregon ONLY by 4 at home?
CU will be without Travis Hunter. Even if he were playing, I would have Oregon winning by 20+. This is the week CU returns to earth loses BIG.
Oregon 57 CU 27.
September 20th, 2023 at 6:50 AM ^
Iowa’s 9 points come on a pick six and a safety.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:06 PM ^
I'm feeling like this PSU-Iowa game final score will be 13-6
September 19th, 2023 at 12:10 PM ^
This game will be interesting. Assuming the Iowa defense is on par with Michigan's, I look forward to seeing how well PSU and Allar can move the ball.
September 19th, 2023 at 1:37 PM ^
Why would you assume Iowa's defense is on par with UM? According to Alex Drain, believably, UM has the best unit in the B1G at every level of defense. Now, our secondary is a bit depleted, but Kenneth Grant has provided a whole new dimension of wrecking ball rotation up front.
September 19th, 2023 at 1:52 PM ^
Because Iowa is ranked ahead of Michigan in SP+ defense?
September 20th, 2023 at 12:54 PM ^
That means nothing at week 3.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:11 PM ^
I'm really hoping the final score involves a 5, 11 or a 15. Just so everyone is left wondering, "wait, really? That many unconverted tries?"
September 19th, 2023 at 12:16 PM ^
12-6 would be better..... if you can only have 1 TD, its better that you have none. Unless its a defensive TD, then 1 in a game is acceptable.