it was a cut and paste from the local St. Paul paper. The full article said nothing about a final three. I personally would be surprised if he chose Michigan, but I don't believe that anything has come out that is excluding them (or Minnesota for that matter). My opinion is this is the current pecking order...
1 - USC
--- everybody else is really close ---
2 - Minn (assuming they win this year)
3 - OSU
4 - Mich
5 - OK / Notre Dame
--- distant ---
7 - Florida
Nothing I read about his OSU visit made it sound like he was blown away or anything, they were all pretty standard quotes. But he is playing the game well and he knows what he is doing.
What has Florida done to make them better than OK, Tex, TT or even USC? What am I missing? On the surface I could even hear an argument for Penn State over Florida. I just don't get it.
I know you said you didn't take the time to get all your facts 100% so I'll offer a few corrections...
Steve Davis has been moved to LB, he played DL in 2006, LB in 2007 and 2008.
Adam Weber "only" threw 19 picks last year.
Turnover margin is actually +15 and 30 turnover turnaround!!
the other thing you failed to mention was the position changes of Lee Campbell (DE to MLB) and Marcus Sherels (WR to CB - walkon). Both have been huge for this defense.
You are 100% correct that this is a case study for Michigan. Part of what will help Michigan a ton next year will be comfort in the spread. They'll be able to focus on execution not understanding and turnovers will go way down, putting less pressure on your defense. The biggest difference is that Brewster inherited a spread ready QB in Weber and I'm not sure Michigan has what Rich Rod is looking for under center currently on the roster.
The other change you'll see from 08 to 09 is the effects of strength and conditioning. I know much was made of the new conditioning this spring (it was talked about here too last year) but it took a year to really see the benefits. As you pointed out guys like Garrett Brown, Barrett Moen and Eric Small on the DL have had big years and all are much bigger/stronger than they were a year ago.
Here are my guarantees for Michigan 2009
you will hear offensive players next spring or August talking about how much more comfortable they are with the offense and they aren't worrying about where to line up.
You will see stories about how much bigger certain guys are or how much more the team is benching/cleaning/squating.
There will be a big turnaround for Michigan, their fall isn't as bad as Minnesota's was but they had more to work with to start. We need to take advantage of this year and get the JUG where it belongs (a trophy case in Minnesota ON CAMPUS). We don't play again until 2011 and either Rich Rod will be coaching elsewhere or the Wolverines will be a force.
really? I get that MN is not one of the 15 best teams in the country (see my ballot), but why the love for Tulsa? If you thought the Gopher's schedule was weak take a look at their strength of schedule (131st)!
LSU should be ahead of MN and MSU is debatable. We put up a better fight against OSU on the road, but didn't fare as well agaisnt Indiana. flip a coin.
Recent Comments
I know you said you didn't take the time to get all your facts 100% so I'll offer a few corrections...
You are 100% correct that this is a case study for Michigan. Part of what will help Michigan a ton next year will be comfort in the spread. They'll be able to focus on execution not understanding and turnovers will go way down, putting less pressure on your defense. The biggest difference is that Brewster inherited a spread ready QB in Weber and I'm not sure Michigan has what Rich Rod is looking for under center currently on the roster.
The other change you'll see from 08 to 09 is the effects of strength and conditioning. I know much was made of the new conditioning this spring (it was talked about here too last year) but it took a year to really see the benefits. As you pointed out guys like Garrett Brown, Barrett Moen and Eric Small on the DL have had big years and all are much bigger/stronger than they were a year ago.
Here are my guarantees for Michigan 2009
There will be a big turnaround for Michigan, their fall isn't as bad as Minnesota's was but they had more to work with to start. We need to take advantage of this year and get the JUG where it belongs (a trophy case in Minnesota ON CAMPUS). We don't play again until 2011 and either Rich Rod will be coaching elsewhere or the Wolverines will be a force.
really? I get that MN is not one of the 15 best teams in the country (see my ballot), but why the love for Tulsa? If you thought the Gopher's schedule was weak take a look at their strength of schedule (131st)!
LSU should be ahead of MN and MSU is debatable. We put up a better fight against OSU on the road, but didn't fare as well agaisnt Indiana. flip a coin.