What are your thoughts on the 9-conference-game schedule?

Submitted by WichitanWolverine on

I haven't seen a whole lot of discussion on it, but as most of you know this will be the first year we have 9 B1G games. Just curious what people think about it.

I have mixed feelings on it. Generally, I am one of the people that thinks there's no benefit in creating a harder schedule for your team than you need to. Getting smoked by a team like Bama to open the season is not good for many reasons, especially your playoff chances, even if you go 12-1. So playing more B1G teams, which are supposed to be tougher than a cupcake, is somewhat similar.

On the other hand, most teams in the B1G are cupcakes right now. IMO there are only 3.5 legitimate teams (Michigan, MSU, OSU and I'm giving Iowa a half point) in the conference, so adding a 9th game does give us a chance to play some other conference teams we wouldn't normally face without too much risk of adding another loss.

What are your thoughts?

crg

May 22nd, 2016 at 11:49 AM ^

I have no problems about scheduling more games against "power conference" teams' whether in or out of conference. I am more bothered by playing weaker teams just to get a guaranteed win and a chance to "tune up" the team. We should never need to pay another team to play us, and the fans deserve to have every game be a worthy contest instead of the likes of UNLV, UMass, Delaware state, etc.

Every game should be a legitimate challenge, otherwise what is the point of doing it?

kalamazoo

May 22nd, 2016 at 2:26 PM ^

I like cupcake games since I like to see the up and coming atheletes gain confidence by doing well on the field. They tend to get more time in these games in the 3rd and 4th quarters than in other games, and that can payoff later.

Plus it looks good when prognasticators are talking about teams that deserve to be in the playoffs (12-1 vs. 11-2 can make a big difference).

And, others may not like it when the game is over by the 3rd quarter, but I like going home with a solid ego-inflating thrashing 3-4 games per year.

Finally, probably there are less injuries in the one-sided games as there is less pure passion on the field by the 2nd half...it can save the players for tougher games. And probably they are less sore the next day and can compete better in school.

So those are a few reasons, but I understand your interest in watching high value, competitive games.

crg

May 23rd, 2016 at 11:39 AM ^

Playing strong competition is preferable for more than simply giving a better experience for the fans (although that is a good reason in itself). It elevates the quality of play from the team by forcing them to focus on the opponent (not sleepwalking a game) and better prepares them to face the next quality opponent. The caliber of threats coming from lower quality teams are unlikely to do this, simply because they lack the talent to do it. Also, the confidence gained from beating a worthy opponent outweighs the satisfaction of manhandling an overmatched one that was never a threat. The rewards for beating the good opponent(ranking, pride, recruiting profile, etc) justify the risk. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Truthbtold

May 23rd, 2016 at 12:30 PM ^

You can stop guessing, here are the facts. Top win % since 1993

It ranks the winning percentage of every Power 5 team (and Notre Dame)

The Top 10:

1.Ohio State
2.Florida State
3.Florida
4.Nebraska
5.Virginia Tech
6.Oregon
7.Oklahoma
8.Texas
9.LSU
10.Georgia, Whisky comes in at 11th and Michigan at 16th. So time to accept your true place in CFB, which is just above PSU at 17th.

http://www.brinkleys.org/users/tsl/Files/Screen%20Shot%202016-05-21%20a…

Hardware Sushi

May 22nd, 2016 at 1:00 AM ^

Agreed. Bigger conference, let's play more games.

I know many here don't like having Rutgers in the Big Ten, but somebody has to lose no matter who is added to the conference. If they are consistent losers and give us tons of money (and I live on the East coast so I'm OK with it), so be it.

Let's play 9. Any conference that doesn't play as many conference games as other similar conferences has no basis to complain about expansion.

Truthbtold

May 22nd, 2016 at 7:42 PM ^

You would consider Michigan a strong team in the Big10, but only give Iowa half as much credit. Over the last 5 years Iowa has outperformed Michgan, and that also includes last year. Maybe you should take Harbaughs dic out of your mouth and look at Michigan for what they truly are. A team that went 10-3 last season and didn't even win its own division. A team that hasn't beat anybody worth a crap in 5+ years. Those are the facts, Michigan is a team you hope will be good, but not one that has proven it is.

Michigan is 61-42 in the last 8 years. That's not bad, but it's a long way from Good.
OSU is good, 89-17 during those same 8 years. 50-4 in the last 4 years, That's Great !!
MSU is 81-27 during that same 8 years. That's very good !

Let's face it, Michigan is a mid level big 10 team, nothing more. Just like Whisky, NW, Iowa and Nebraska. The facts are all in the win loss.

Tater

May 21st, 2016 at 8:28 PM ^

I would count Wiscy and Nebraska as good teams.  Also, Iowa gets 15 starters back.  I say it's six legit teams in the Big Ten.

H-Eazy

May 21st, 2016 at 9:00 PM ^

I wouldn't sleep on Nebraska! They had a top 25 recruiting class in their first "true" year with Coach Riley. They also have a very good looking 4-Star QB in Patrick O'Brien. While I don't see them at the level of Michigan, OSU, or MSU, I definetly think they will beat Iowa and could give one of those 3 trouble. They have frequently beaten MSU as of late...

EGD

May 22nd, 2016 at 1:32 AM ^

Pelini was fired because he kept going 9-4. So the pressure is going to be on Riley pretty quickly to get results, and soon. I actually think Riley is a pretty good coach, but the expectations on him are not realistic and things are probably going to turn ugly for him when he doesn't deliver.

Mr Miggle

May 22nd, 2016 at 5:42 PM ^

He wore out his welcome. Nebraska is a lot like Michigan in that they care about that stuff. I'm not saying he would have been fired if he was going 11-2, but he pushed himself out the door.

Riley is a good coach. I don't think he's any worse than Pellini. He's doing very well on the recruiting trail for 2017. That shuld ease the pressure to win immediately.

JonnyHintz

May 22nd, 2016 at 10:52 AM ^

And despite coaching and recruiting rankings, Wisconsin has STILL done better than us in recent years.

Let's take off the maize shades for a second here. One 10-3 season after 7 years of .500 football, does not put us in an elite conversation in the Big Ten. At least not to the point where we can claim Wisconsin or Nebraska aren't. Them being down one year doesn't make them not a football power in the conference. Just like Michigan going 10-3 after a 5-7 year doesn't make us the top of the Big Ten.

Yes, this year looks to be great and we have all the pieces needed for a B1G run, but it has to be proven on the field. And nothing in the past 8 years has really screamed being superior to Wisconsin or Nebraska. Or Iowa (half a point?) for that matter.

Let's remember where we came from. RR went 15-22. Hoke went 31-20. That combines to a 46-44 record in 7 seasons where we missed a bowl game 3(!) times. I don't see how after one 10-3 season, you can somehow put us on a pedestal with MSU and OSU ahead of Iowa, Wisconsin, or Nebraska.

The future is very bright and I'm extremely confident that we will get to that point. But now is not the time. Let the season play out before you sit here and beat your chest about Michigan being the class of the Big Ten. One season, does not an elite team make.

WichitanWolverine

May 22nd, 2016 at 11:21 AM ^

Why does everyone keep bringing up coaching from 2008? Rodriguez and Hoke were not good coaches. Jim Harbaugh is. The jury is still out on Riley and Chryst but their resumes are not all that impressive so far.

I'm not talking about the last 10 or 20 years. I'm talking about today. The top programs in the B1G are the 4 I listed in the OP. And everyone else is one tier down. 

King Douche Ornery

May 22nd, 2016 at 1:08 PM ^

And you can't discount it, because it's RECENT. Michigan fans cherry pick stats like "All time winningest team" and yell and scream like bitches when Michigan State fans act like football was invented in 2008.

You can't have it both ways, even in a Fan Boy echo chamber like this place.

SpikeFan2016

May 22nd, 2016 at 11:37 AM ^

People like you are problematic. 

We, as Michigan, have not yet walked the walk. Jim Harbaugh is a great coach and I'm 95% sure we will actually be on top in the relatively near future, but we have no right to be absolutely dismissing programs that have been better than us for at least 10 years. 

 

Although last season was a success (based on where we had been), we still lost to the 3 best teams we faced. We have no right to denigrate respectable Big Ten programs until Jim Harbaugh actually wins something.

And while the Citrus Bowl was great, it does not count. We need a Big Ten Title. We need a NY6 Bowl Win. We need to beat OSU and MSU in the same year for the first time since 2003. Our problems were not just Rich Rod and Hoke. Carr lost to App State. Carr ended on a huge losing streak to Ohio State, including a blowout loss in 2004 when we were having a way better season than them/were huge favorites. 

 

 

WichitanWolverine

May 22nd, 2016 at 11:41 AM ^

Problematic? Is the team going to go lay an egg against Hawaii because I think highly of them?

I'm not saying those programs are not respectable. I'm saying they are down right now, because like us in the past, they made subpar coaching hires. I do not see any of them as legitimate conference title contenders in 2016. Still don't quite understand why you're harping on games that took place over 10 years ago.

SpikeFan2016

May 22nd, 2016 at 11:56 AM ^

I'm talking about games that have occurred in the last 4 years. Some of which were when Jim Harbaugh was our coach. Do we forget so quickly the last Big Ten game that Jim Harbaugh's Michigan played in? It was pretty fucking horrible. Way, way, way, way, WAY worse than any of Hoke's losses to OSU, worse than Rich Rod's loss in Ann Arbor and as bad as his losses in Columbus. Hell, we haven't lost like that to them in Ann Arbor in half a century plus. 

And it's not just that we've been bad, it's that some of these teams you think don't deserve to be in the same conversation as us have had multiple seasons better than Jim Harbaugh's best season at Michigan. 

And obviously your opinions won't affect our team's play, but you make our fanbase look stupid and arrogant. 

IDK how you can say teams like Iowa and Wisconsin have no legitimate chance to win the Big Ten, given Iowa was one play away from taking out MSU last year in Indianapolis and Wisconsin has the most Big Ten titles since 2010 (more than Ohio State and tied with Michigan State). 

I think 2016 could be a fantastic year for us. We will hopefully win the Big Ten and be a national championship contender, but we need to wait for that to happen before we take the metaphorical throne. 

WichitanWolverine

May 22nd, 2016 at 12:09 PM ^

There you go again talking about the Hoke years... News flash: he's not in Ann Arbor anymore.

OSU and MSU finished 4th and 6th nationally last year. Utah was 16th in the coaches poll, and I bet if we played them week 10 that game would've ended differently. Those are good teams we lost to. We finished 12th and lost only a couple key players.

And despite the fact you're trying to put words into my mouth, Iowa could win the conference because they return a lot of talent and with a little luck could edge out the East winner, whoever it is. But right now there are no other teams I see that are viable conference winners. Wisconsin beat zero teams who finished in the top 25 in 2016.

You're the one ignoring results and instead focusing on games that took place when none of the current coaches at any of the B1G schools were in place.

SpikeFan2016

May 22nd, 2016 at 12:35 PM ^

Reading comprehension is not your strong suit, obviously, considering I spent the most of my time discussing Jim Harbaugh's most recently coached game at the Big House. 

I have been to every game in the Big House the last 4 years (which has had quite a few bad times), and I have never been more embarassed to be a Michigan fan than the 2015 Ohio State game. Nothing has ever come close. Not losing to Minnesota in the concussion fiasco. Not losing to Utah in the thunderstorm rain delay shit show. Not the gut-wrenching Michigan State loss in 2015. Not the pitiful 2013 Nebraska loss. Not the horrifying 2014 Maryland loss. It was shameful. 

 

Regardless, you can't just wipe away everything clean because suddenly a coaching change has occurred (Whether it's us or another team). That's not how sports work. Changes are gradual. 

And, newsflash, we beat #23 and #25. That's not exactly a top #25 win record to be boasting about, especially because Wisconsin finished above both of our best wins at #21. 

Putting us alone in a tier with two teams that have beaten us 14 of the last 16 times we've played (not a small sample size), while putting us a significant step ahead of teams we have lost multiple times in a row to, teams that have had far more conference and national success than us in the last decade is irrational.

We can put ourselves above Penn State because we've actually defeated them. Let's beat Wisconsin on October 1st and Iowa on November 12th before we put ourselves above them. And let's beat Michigan State and Ohio State for the first time in forever before we put ourselves on equal footing with them. 

UMForLife

May 22nd, 2016 at 1:23 PM ^

While I understand your sentiment on how badly we lost to OSU, FL game should give you more confidence. It seems like you are way down on Harbaugh. Sometimes games get out of hand and you can't stop the spiral down. I won't give excuses for OSU game and we should have done better. But the way we came out after a few weeks of practice gives me a lot of hope for this year.

SpikeFan2016

May 22nd, 2016 at 1:42 PM ^

Oh, I'm not down on Harbaugh. He walked into a disaster and did an admirable job turning things around. Things are going in the right direction for the first time in forever.

I'm down on "Michigan is back."

 

We're much, much closer, but if back is losing to Michigan State and Ohio State in Ann Arbor in the same season (the latter of which was a slaughter of historical proportions) and hanging our hat on wins over Northwestern and a Florida team that every respectable team was killing in the last month, I don't want to be back. 

 

Also, I don't think you understand what you're saying. You can't in the same breath give Michigan a free pass for "sometimes games get out of control", but then boast about having the same scenario happen to Florida. The Florida game was not a blow out from the start. I was in Orlando and most of the first half was competitive. Then things "got out of hand", just this time it was for the other team. 

Regardless, 42-13 should never ever be acceptable to this fanbase, especially in our own stadium. 

UMForLife

May 22nd, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^

We have nothing to hang my hat on, but I am definitely much more confident about this team. That is all I was trying to point out. While I am not going to thump my chest over a Florida game, I am also not going to be too down on them for OSU game. We need to lay low. I agree with you. All I am saying is that we can be a little bit more optimistic and there were reasons for that regardless of what happened in the OSU game. Just like OSU showed us they were the better team, we showed FL we were the better. FL game was out of hand by the half, but OSU game was still close by the first half. So, I am much more optimistic. Doesn't mean it is a lock to be a close game this year.

I am so tired of hearing about MSU and OSU and I sure hope we can end that this fall. I don't want to be defending UM in our own blog. I am sure many feel that way, including you. That is all. I want the good old days...

SpikeFan2016

May 22nd, 2016 at 6:08 PM ^

It wasn't that we lost. 

It was how we lost. 

We were the FAVORITES in that game. Against our biggest rival in a series that has gone horribly for us lately. Like it or not, The Game matters more individually than any other game on our schedule (arguably not MSU sometimes, but most of the time).

So this game was significant (unlike the others). The expectations were high (unlike the others). This was a rivalry (unlike the others). This was a game in which the opposing fans literally were able to take over our stadium (unlike the others). This was a game in which we had a New Year's Six Bowl game to play for; if we would've won, it would have been us in the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame (unlike the others).

And then we lost so badly that there was literally nothing redeemable about our performance in any way. Being in the stadium, you literally couldn't even cheer, or clap, or make noise on defense because their offense got at least 5 yards on every single play and we could do absolutely nothing on offense. Having people yell the O-H chant while our band helplessly tries and fails to drown them out with The Victors is 10,000 times worse than any "embarassing" loss to a Minnesota caliber team. 

 

Losing to Ohio State isn't nearly as embarassing as losing to pretty much any other team.

However, losing to Ohio State in an absolute slaughter in the Big House when your team was actually having a good year/was favored to win/expectations were high is much more embarassing. 

Truthbtold

May 22nd, 2016 at 7:03 PM ^

Have all won more games in the last 5 years than Michigan. But you kids keep talking about how good you are.