Winning at Nebraska just made a win at Happy Valley more likely
Consider the noise and frenzied atmosphere experienced at Nebraska as Penn State Prep 101. The experience should help prepare the team for what it will be like to play the Nits in Happy Valley. The noise at Lincoln definitely affected the outcome of Michigan’s first TD drive. Noise and fan anger should now be less of an issue for Michigan going forward. Winning in a hostile site like Lincoln, Neb should provide more team confidence- been there…done that.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:28 AM ^
Clifford being out would swing things more.
October 11th, 2021 at 5:14 AM ^
he won't be out. minor injury to ribs (looked like) that will be a short term issue. he looked pretty normal on the sidelines after they took him out, as opposed to so wrecked that they needed to take him to get imaging done.
October 11th, 2021 at 7:54 AM ^
I don't wish pain on anyone, but even the most minor rib injuries can be excruciating for a long time.
October 11th, 2021 at 8:06 AM ^
I agree i had a very slight rib injury . Couldnt do much without being in pain . Sleeping was unpleasant as well .
October 11th, 2021 at 8:48 AM ^
he didn't appear to get hit very hard, for instance like the shot that mertz took last week from dax. my guess is that it is/was some form of a pre-existing issue and that it is painful for certain (they lost the game largely because of his absence) but something that will resolve in a couple of weeks.
October 11th, 2021 at 11:17 AM ^
You got all that from watching the hit on tv? A pre-existing condition. The hit was pretty minor, so even with the pre-existing condition it will resolve in a few weeks? This pre-existing condition isn’t going to continue to be a problem when he inevitably takes another hit to the chest?
October 11th, 2021 at 2:56 PM ^
educated guess from a long-time player and coach. and yeah, he might be janky the rest of the year, ala denard's ulnar nerve.
October 11th, 2021 at 8:45 AM ^
Michigan fans don't have to look back very far to remember a quarterback with a torso injury playing like butt for half of a season.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:57 PM ^
I'm sure they will hold up well against Dax
October 12th, 2021 at 4:42 PM ^
Aidan Hutchinson can fix that (within the rules of the game of course).
October 11th, 2021 at 12:28 AM ^
Ok.
A whole post for that?
October 11th, 2021 at 7:57 AM ^
Shut up. It's a bitch move to complain about posts instead of just ignoring it.
October 11th, 2021 at 8:12 AM ^
No, it's keeping this place as civil and organized as possible. Signal:Noise is important.
October 11th, 2021 at 11:50 AM ^
Ok, come on. “Keep it civil and organized?” It’s a fucking Internet forum lol. The seriousness with which some of you police this place is borderline comedy. There are mods, let them remove it if they feel the need to. Though I’d hope they spend their time more concerned with trolls and flame baiters than a harmless, innocent (if not a bit naive) post that a vocal minority get pouty about. It’s incredible how compulsive the need to make snarky comments is for some. We’re 6-0. Take a chill pill and relax. Why are you guys putting such an effort into making this place unwelcome to anybody who isn’t a hardcore cynic?
October 11th, 2021 at 8:38 AM ^
May be you should take your own advice and ignore? Just saying...
October 11th, 2021 at 9:49 AM ^
This is the grumpy old man forum of the internet.
October 11th, 2021 at 11:13 AM ^
So self policing to keep the shit posts to a minimum is now considered a grumpy thing.
Got it.
You stay classy there.
October 11th, 2021 at 11:58 AM ^
Dude you gotta admit it is pretty annoying when there are so many people who make fun of posts. My least favorite is when someone says "This won't end well."
Appreciate the self-policing but isn't that what the down button is for? Just downvote it and don't post so the rest of us can enjoy avoiding life and work to the extent possible.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:30 AM ^
I’m happy that this team has been tested on the road before heading over to East Lansing in a couple weeks. I seem to remember a couple seasons where Michigan’s first big road game of the year was the Spartans. Big roads wins in Madison and Lincoln should have Michigan well prepared for the challenge.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:43 AM ^
Agreed. It’s good they were able to play their first road night game against a weaker opponent than PSU. Should help with what will almost certainly be a night game White Out.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:53 AM ^
Night game in November? Didn't think B1G allowed that.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:28 AM ^
Teams generally aren't allowed to schedule night games in November, with the exception being unless both teams agree to it, which they never do because that would be foolish for the visiting team. And it's usually cold as balls so you don't want a town's population driving in a contained area in dark, wintry conditions for obvious safety reasons.
October 11th, 2021 at 8:40 AM ^
Thank you for explaining. I didn't realize the catch is both teams agree.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:09 PM ^
you don't want a town's population driving in a contained area in dark, wintry conditions for obvious safety reasons.
You left out “drunk” after “town’s”
October 11th, 2021 at 6:17 AM ^
Usually they are rare, but they happen. The 2016 Iowa game was played on November 12th and it was played at night.
I would have to imagine Fox will want this game for Big Noon. The last time we won at Penn St it was a White Out, but played at Noon as well
October 11th, 2021 at 5:25 AM ^
That will most likely be the B1G noon kick off game.
October 11th, 2021 at 7:02 AM ^
It won’t be a white out night game, the reasons why have been discussed on this board quite a bit.
October 11th, 2021 at 9:57 AM ^
Pretty sure PSU already did a White Out against Auburn. It may be a later game, but I don’t think it will be the White Out, as PSU only does 1 per season IIRC. Also, very likely that PSU could have another loss before that game (they play OSU on 10/30 as well), so the likelihood that their B1G East aspirations are already kaput by then are pretty high.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:44 AM ^
This needed a thread ?
October 11th, 2021 at 4:18 AM ^
The OP could have at least trashed Penn State. After all, what good is a thread without a needle?
October 11th, 2021 at 12:48 AM ^
If Clifford is out we have a good chance. Otherwise, it will depend on how our offense and defense plays. I think this game is a toss up 50/50 chance to win or lose. MSU has a weaker D, so I think our chances are 60/40 for a victory in East Lansing. At this time we only have a 10/90 of beating OSU. The defense and offense will really have to improve to increase our odds of beating OSU.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:08 AM ^
FPI basically agrees with you on MSU (57.9% chance) and PSU (51.7%), but says (48.8%) chance of beating OSU.
I personally don't think we have the horses to beat the beast all things being equal but they better bring their A game or they are going down against this crew. This team has heart and desire and will be as hungry for this as any Michigan team has ever been. I wouldn't bet against them even if they are overmatched with talent.
October 11th, 2021 at 9:46 AM ^
That 48.8% is why predictions just based on math fail.
Eye test says we have to have our best game and OSU has to have some unlucky breaks for us to win. I'll take the WAG 10% upthread over the same big-brain analytics that said Harbaugh should go for 2 when he did.
October 11th, 2021 at 11:15 AM ^
So Harbaugh's decision was less analytics and more this chart Dick Vermeil created in the 1970s lol
October 11th, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^
I'm trying not being deliberately snarky, but do you think analytics was just invented 20 years ago? That's still analytics, even though that was probably calculated using a computer the size of a room or pen and paper.
October 11th, 2021 at 11:33 AM ^
analytics was invented in 2016, duh ;)
but, yes, while this chart still falls under the umbrella of analytics, the napkin math used to calculate how the lead would change in multiples of 3s and 7s is an order of magnitude or two below the types of analytics and trends available to coaches today. I would hardly consider it "big brain" even for its time.
October 11th, 2021 at 9:19 AM ^
"Otherwise, it will depend on how our offense and defense plays."
Profound... And insightful!
October 11th, 2021 at 9:29 AM ^
for some reason, it always boils down to that.
October 11th, 2021 at 10:59 AM ^
I disagree. I think the team who has the most points will ultimately come out on top. That's usually how it goes, unless you get outhit by UCF. Then, you win but you lost.
October 11th, 2021 at 9:29 PM ^
Uminks, big difference between Braska and PSU.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:54 AM ^
If Penn St didn't have a team that would make a win in Happy Valley almost a lock
October 11th, 2021 at 1:09 AM ^
It will help.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:40 AM ^
I know most people have the 2017 White Out game burned into their memories, but just 2 years ago, Shea Patteson (yeah Shea) led the team back against a Sean Clifford led-team with KJ Hamler and Jahon Dotson and Pat Freiermuth. Down 21-7, that team was 1 unfortunate Ronnie Bell drop from tying it up on the road in a night game. Last year, we only lost a 1 possession game despite Cade getting hurt early in the 1st quarter. I'm vastly more confident given the tough road victories at Camp Madison and Lincoln
October 11th, 2021 at 10:37 AM ^
It would've helped if the PI on Ronnie was more clear. I didn't notice it until the side replay, but the DB pushed Ronnie's back toward the ball, making it bounce off his chest instead of hitting his hands too. It was a small PI and a D1 receive should be able to fight through it, but if he wasn't expecting that contact it would've been hard to adjust to it.
October 11th, 2021 at 2:36 AM ^
Maybe Penn State also has a 4th quarter hype song our players can steal
October 11th, 2021 at 7:49 AM ^
Yeah, what's up with visiting players not joining in on "Can't Turn You Loose"? Killjoys.
October 11th, 2021 at 2:55 AM ^
Cade was obviously shaken in our UTL game against Washington, and that was at home. He wasn't shaken this time, but the performance... left room for improvement. Let's hope that he improves.
October 11th, 2021 at 5:58 AM ^
He threw his first pick which allowed Neb to score, which put Michigan behind for the first time this season. To respond the way he did in that hostile environment was... "Onions".
October 11th, 2021 at 9:30 AM ^
The pick that shouldn't have happened, we committed a false start, which wasn't called.
October 11th, 2021 at 10:59 AM ^
Saw this on the re-watch as well. It's pretty blatant -- you even see the offending player take the "oh shit" step after the snap. Amazing that it wasn't called. I honestly think Cade only threw that ball thinking he had a free play, similar to the later deep ball thrown into triple coverage.