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Perhaps the reason these…

Perhaps the reason these announcements are taking time is because there is a staff in place in LA, and Harbaugh is giving them the respect of talking to them before informing them that someone else will be replacing him.  This is basic courtesy.  

The coaches knew it was…

The coaches knew it was likely that JJ was going to the draft, yet it appears they pursued none of the top candidates.  The obvious implication is that they are willing to ride with Tuttle, Denegal, or Orji.  Best guess is probably Tuttle.  He was QB2 this season and was a 4-star recruit back in the day.  If they have reason to believe he's getting another year, they might roll with what they know, while allowing Denegal and Orji to compete.  

I bought 2 tix on Stubhub…

1984 alum here (in case you couldn't tell by my username!) I bought 2 tix on Stubhub but misread the map.  I wanted to be in or near the U of M sections, but I'm in a neutral section near the UW sections.  You can't swap tix on Stubhub, and apparently you can sell them without a fee but then need to pay the fees again to buy 2 more.  That obviously doesn't make sense.  Anyone have any suggestions, or am I stuck with what I've got?

Everyone sure is making a…

Everyone sure is making a lot of fuss over a guy who played so poorly this season that he was benched.  Just because he was a 5-star in high school doesn't mean he's going to be a star of any kind in college.  Yes, he was just a freshman, but maybe our coaches looked at the video and said "No, thanks".  

I doubt you'll need any help…

I doubt you'll need any help at all.

The CFP director, Bill…

The CFP director, Bill Hancock, literally said yesterday that the CFP mandate is to pick the 4 best teams, and "most deserving" has nothing to do with it: 

https://www.on3.com/news/cfp-director-bill-hancock-most-deserving-is-not-anything-in-the-committees-lexicon/

That being said, I can't see how anyone can say a 13-0 Power 5 champ is not one of the four best teams.  You could even argue that FSU is so good that they won with a back-up QB.  But if they lose to Louisville, another 1-loss team will certainly pass them up.

I think it's an honor to…

I think it's an honor to have them using our helmet design, and I've also cheered for them because of it.  One of my best friends is a U-Delaware alum, and he cheers for U-M for the same reason (but in reverse, obviously).  As the saying goes, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."  Or something like that.

 

GO BLUE!

GO HENS!

Sparty would never do it (or…

Sparty would never do it (or would they?), but offering the job to Mike Hart would be rather hilarious.  The wailing and gnashing of teeth would be something to behold.

I call B.S.  The mother is…

I call B.S.  The mother is spinning this, clearly.  

The transfer issues are real.  Worthy's issues are not a symptom of that.  This story wreaks of "he wasn't getting good enough grades, so his mother tried an end-around" (pardon the pun).  It didn't work.  And if playing for U of M and honoring his commitment was his priority, enrolling early shouldn't have been necessary.  Xavier should have joined the team in the summer.

For those of you who may have forgotten, U of M is an academic institution first.  Athletes already get some slack as it is.  There's more to this story, so please stop trying to make everything about the transfer rules.  U of M should not sacrifice its academic reputation to make sure a spoiled wide receiver gets in.  And, by they way, he drops a lot of balls, kids.  Just ask Quentin Ewers about Xavier's drop rate. You wouldn't like it.  Give me Roman Wilson and CJ any day. 

Haven't been to Germany…

Haven't been to Germany since 1989 so perhaps not so helful, but I would say that you should definitely drive the "Romantische Strasse" (sp?), which translates to Romantic Road, from Munich to Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  Beautiful drive, and the latter is a small, medieval walled town in a that has been preserved and is absolutely lovely.  It was considered so valuable from a historical point of view that the Allies purposely avoided bombing that area so as not to destroy it.

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothenburg_ob_der_Tauber

One more:  Now that we've…

One more:  Now that we've got back-2-back B1G titles and CFP, why can't our coaches recruit at a more elite level?  Is it the academic standards?  Harbaugh playing footsie with the NFL?  NIL?  Something else?

The consensus in the MGoBlog…

The consensus in the MGoBlog community is that Sherrone Moore would succeed Harbaugh should JH go to the NFL.  Where is this coming from, and is it legit or merely speculation?  If legit, why is he the best choice compared to others on the staff or doing a real search for someone else?  Given how loaded the roster is, the job should be highly desirable?

You were picking apart a…

You were picking apart a post when you didn't get it?  Allow me to help you:

U of M has far more alums and students.  Got it?

As jmblue points out, TCU isn't close enough to drive, and the flight length isn't enough to make a difference.  

Still with me?

Conclusion:  with more than 6x the alumni and 4x the students and travel about the same difficulty from the two primary fan locations, who's more likely to have more people in the stands on Saturday?

C'mon, take a shot.

How about some facts:

How about some facts:

STUDENTS

U of M:  44,000+

TCU:  11,000+

 

ALUMNI:

U of M:  574,000

TCU:  90,000

 

If you think the distance to Phoenix gives them an edge, you're mistaken.  Few will drive from TCU - it's a 15-hour drive (I live in Austin and have done the drive to Phoenix).  It's a 4.5 hour flight from DTW, a 2.5 hour flight from DFW.

Do the math.

 

Fields is not a good passer…

Fields is not a good passer.  It's his running that keeps him from being a disaster.  Stroud doesn't have that.  He is a pure pocket passer and doesn't want to run at all, probably get injured if he did.  

OSU QBs have it too easy.  That's why they are typically busts in the NFL.

Exactly.  Not great at…

Exactly.  Not great at reading defenses and running through his progressions, either.

This pic speaks the…

This pic speaks the proverbial thousand words - JJ, Edwards, Morris, Corum, Anthony and someone in leg brace (Ronnie Bell?) stay behind after the CFP loss to watch UGA celebrate, taking it in while vowing to come back and win.

They are very young men who…

They are very young men who let their emotions get the better of them and said some things they shouldn't have said.  Whatever.  I imagine they'll regret it at some point.  Not going to affect their lives or our team in the long run.

I think the real issue is whether they made good decisions.  I suppose they might be friends who wanted to play together.  But why Cade thinks playing for Brian Ferentz is going to help him get to the NFL is beyond me.  And why Erick thinks he's better off playing for Iowa than continuing an excellent career at U of M is also beyond me.  At least Iowa has a good track record with TEs to the NFL, but he had that already at U of M.

As for the medical stuff with All, his surgeon issued a statement criticizing the U of M doctors.  That's utterly unprofessional and makes me question anything he does.  Sounds like Erick got used to further that doctor's career ambitions.  Hopefully it won't come back too haunt him.

We did out-hit them, so I…

We did out-hit them, so I thought Brian was spot on. 

 

Sincerely,

Scott Frost

No.  We were 11-0.  In 1969,…

No.  We were 11-0.  In 1969, OSU was undefeated and defending national champs.  We were something like 2 TD underdogs or more.  Bo was brand new.  It was one of the biggest upsets in college football history, not just The Game.

This was great, but that was epic.

Legally, it doesn't matter…

Legally, it doesn't matter what his reason was.  He was allowed to be there, as there was no rule prohibiting him from being there (as far as I know).  

One likely outcome here is that Green and Burrows are going to get cash settlements from MSU, and the amounts will probably dwarf whatever NIL they might receive.  MSU could fight it, legally, blaming it on the players and claiming they acted outside their rules, but they would be foolish to have all that fought out in a public trial.

I think the coaches (and…

I think the coaches (and players) deserve a mulligan for the first half.  Watching one of your colleagues collapse and have a seizure is an extremely traumatic event that would shake anyone.  And it wasn't just some assistant who joined the staff recently - he's a MichiganMan legend.  And on top of trying to deal with your own emotions, you have to try to manage the emotions of 80+ kids ranging from late teens to early 20s, most of whom have never seen something like that and are likely even more traumatized.  It was painfully obvious watching the game that everyone was affected.  But they got into the locker room, dealt with it, and adjusted.  

That's great coaching.  The results spoke for themselves.  There are very few staffs that could (or would) have done better in the first half, and they probably lack Hart (sic).

If I recall, Stew also said…

If I recall, Stew also said that Rich Rod was an awesome coach and that we were headed to a natty with him.

 

I can’t believe I haven’t…

I can’t believe I haven’t seen these listed yet (or maybe I missed them):

Henri, the Otter of Ennui

THE SECTION WHERE I PREDICT THE SAME THING KENPOM DOES

The Us/The Them

The Tempo Free

____ Kitty

Key Matchup:  errr, you put it through the uprights

 

CHEAP THRILLS

Worry if…

Cackle with knowing glee if…

 

Fear/Paranoia Level: 7 (Baseline: 5; +1 for …)

Desperate need to win level: 10 (Baseline: 5; +1 …)

Loss will cause me to

Win will cause me to

The strictures and conventions of sportswriting compel me to predict: 

Finally, three opportunities for me to look stupid Sunday:

 

Known Friends and Trusted Agents Of The Week

Who's Got It Better Than Us(?) Of The Week

​MARCUS HALL EPIC DOUBLE BIRD OF THE WEEK.

 

HELLO:

EXIT:

 

Heroes?

Maybe not so heroic?

 

 

The schedule is as easy as…

The schedule is as easy as it gets this year.  Cupcakes for non-conference, no Wisconsin, Iowa will regress enough to win there, and we get PSU and MSU at home.  Frankly, it'll be a disappointment if we're not 11-0 going into The Game.

There are a lot of comments…

There are a lot of comments in this thread along the lines of "a friend has a Tesla" or "someone told me..."  Well, I am a Tesla owner - my second one.  I have 4 friends who own a Tesla.  Here are the facts:

1. It is the best car I have ever owned, period.  Other than my iphone, it may be the best quality thing I've ever owned.  I had my first one for 3 years - only one visit to the shop for a minor issue.  My second is going 4 years old - NEVER been in the shop. 

2. My friends LOVE their Teslas.  None of us will ever own a gasoline-powered car again.

3. While it's true that it takes energy and raw materials to build one, the same is true of a internal combustion car. If you power your car with solar, the costs, both in money and environment, are FAR lower. Further, gas-powered cars do not reflect the additional costs to society to the environment, but we all pay for it.

4. The current system is unsustainable, and we will eventually run out of oil.  HINT:  we're using it far faster than Mother Earth is making it.

5. While it is true that it's more difficult to drive long distances, that will change as technology advances.

6. There are a lot of great things about electric cars that don't include the environment.  One is that I don't need to stop at a gas station.  Sure, it's only 5 minutes once or twice a week, but I don't need to do it.  Another is that you never need an oil change, tune-up, or radiator fluid. Never.  And, perhaps best of all, they're so quiet. You don't realize how much noise an engine makes until you don't have it.

It's still early days, but electric cars are the future.  And maybe Tesla has some QA issues as they've gone from making 50,000 a year to making a million, but they'll get it sorted.  If they don't, so what?  Ford, GM, Audi, BMW, VW, Mercedes, etc... they know how to make cars, and they're going electric, too.  If you don't get one, you're missing out.

Over the next two seasons,…

Over the next two seasons, the schedule is fairly easy and the offense should be very good.  The current staff, especially the co-DC, are really good at recruiting and developing players.  Given that, the new DC needs to bring one thing - a scheme/system that enables our players to beat Ryan Day (and maybe Mel Tucker).  That's the course prerequisite, so to speak.  The ability to develop players and recruit well earn big bonus points but are not essential.

No, no, no. Last I checked,…

No, no, no. Last I checked, this is a University of Michigan sports site, not a site to cheer Former Detroit NFL Players.

The Muppets are special.  Let's keep it that way, not cheapen them by throwing them around all over the place.

A multimillionaire with no…

A multimillionaire with no ties or apparent interest in UofM whatsoever donates $15k+ to a worthwhile local charity run by another NFL player, and this makes him an honorary Wolverine? 

Sorry, but that's just... dumb.  

By the way, the 49ers have 4 ACTUAL WOLVERINES (Ambry Thomas, Maurice Hurst, Jarrod Wilson active plus Lavert Hill on practice squad) compared to 1 on the Rams (David Long).  I won't be rooting for Stafford.

Because it was FUN!

Because it was FUN!

It would be interesting to…

It would be interesting to have a count of all the times Haskins made a first down all by himself - no real hole - just because he's so hard to tackle.  Now add in all the extra yards he got after contact.  Those drive-extenders will be tougher to replace than we realize, and any bruiser back who can help replace some of those tough yards is a good get.

Juwan has been awesome in…

Juwan has been awesome in every way so far and been everything we want a Michigan coach to be, but he has yet to coach a full season.  On top of that, U of M is going to lose tens of millions of $$$ this year due to the pandemic.  On top of that, millions of people have lost their jobs and tens of thousands of small businesses have been forced to close. 

So... now is not the time to throw millions more at somebody already making millions, not to mention Juwan is undoubtedly too good of a guy to ask for a raise right now.  If I were him, I'd donate my entire salary this year to the university. 

If he continues to prove worthy, he should get a raise ... when the time is right.

My wife and I just got back…

My wife and I just got back from there this past weekend.  We stayed at a 5-star all-inclusive resort (Excellence El Carmen) in Punta Cana.  We do a winter excursion to a resort every winter to "worship the sun god", so to speak.  Typically we go to Cabo or Hawaii because we lived on the West Coast, but we wanted to try something different because we now live in Texas (thus the DR). My wife had been there long ago but never had.

Overall, I was disappointed.  I like Cabo better - you can drink the water at the resorts, and the weather is better (so long as you stay on the east coast - the Gulf of California side).  We had a lot of rain and clouds last week, which was disappointing.  You'll probably have better weather in April, I'd imagine.

First, be careful what you eat and drink.  Don't act any differently than if you were in Mexico City or New Delhi.  I am now on antibiotics despite drinking bottled water because I ate fresh salads.  Don't eat any fresh veggies (only cooked) and only fresh fruits where you eat the inside only (i.e., an orange is ok, a pear is not unless you it is post-peeling).  Don't have ice in ANY drink.  

Second, about the tourist deaths... there were a series of unexplained deaths.  We researched before we went, and it appears the deaths came from one of two possibilities:  methanol poisoning from methanol substituted for drinkable alcohol in mini-bars, and organophosphate fertilizers sprayed around AC units, which allowed the chemicals to get into the room.  If you smell any kind of chemical scent in your room, leave.  Don't drink from the mini-bar unless it's a name-brand alcohol in a sealed bottled.

Third, don't venture away from the resort alone.  You may get robbed.

Fourth, do tip if you got good service.  $2-3 each meal, for the maid, and $5 if you got great service.  

Fifth, wear your block Ms, and you'll get GO BLUE even there.

Sixth, did I mention be careful about the water?

Enjoy!

Tressel.

Most forget or…

Tressel.  It started there  

Most forget or weren’t alive yet when U of M dominated OSU in the 80s and 90s. Even when they were on an apparent national championship run, we’d beat them.  Three times they were undefeated, but we beat them.   It’s why they fired Cooper - despite having the second most wins of any OSU coach, he couldn’t beat us, so they fired him. Desperate to win, they turned to someone who cheated. Tressel won at Youngstown State (the area where I grew up) by getting key players paid. 
 

The evidence was there before tattoo-gate... Troy Smith. Terrelle Pryor’s cars. He wasn’t a great coach, which is why he usually got whacked in bowl games against other cheaters (hello, Urban!), but he had better players than clean programs like us.  Lloyd Carr would never cheat or allow it, and the delta began. Tressel got caught, so they got another, Urbz.  He was also a very good coach, unlike the mediocre Tressel, so that took the benefits of their cheating to another level.

To be clear, I define cheating broadly... not just bagmen, but also skirting academics (“We didn’t come here to play no school”) or recruiting criminals or having assistant coaches who... well, you know.  

It’s hard to beat the cheaters, to quote someone who knows.

Some of the evidence is real (zat you, Chase Young?), some circumstantial. It all adds up where we are. Ryan Day has inherited all of that.  He’s a good coach and knows what to do with it. This won’t change until the players get paid, as they should, and the playing field is leveled (somewhat) again. Until then, we should appreciate the fact that our coaches go out their every day knowing the deck is stacked against them yet try to find a way. We should appreciate that our players chose the proper path.  And we’re still winning 9-10 games year anyway, unlike USC, Texas, Florida State, Texas A&M, Miami (YTM), UCLA, etc.  

Who’s got it better than us?  Depends on whether you want to sell your soul, doesn’t it?  The tide will turn. 
 

 

Urban’s next stop will be…

Urban’s next stop will be the NFL as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys next season. 

Like last year vs OSU?

Like last year vs OSU?

Given that I just moved to…

Given that I just moved to Austin, I looked forward to driving across town to see the Maize 'n Blue!  

Not to be nit-picky but…

Not to be nit-picky but being nit-picky because I saw it happen live and too close for comfort... Harbaugh broke his arm in '85, not his leg.   :)

Indeed, which was implied in…

Indeed, which was implied in my post above.  And I have little doubt that if it was JK Dobbins or anyone at OSU or some star at Clemson, USC, or [insert SEC team], you wouldn't even know about what was done to sweep it under the carpet.

Academic issue not grades? …

Academic issue not grades?  Appeal before 4 profs and 4 students?  This sounds like a case of cheating, most likely either plagiarism or having someone write a paper for him.  I was on the LSA Academic Judiciary board during my senior year at U of M.  The AJ Board consisted of 4 professors and 4 students.  That was a long time ago, but it sounds like it's still the same, given that the article mentions the same set up.  Each hearing would involve 2 students and 2 professors, and appeals were heard by all 8, if I recall.  The most frequent cases I heard were plagiarism, and the typical punishment was a suspension of 1 semester for one offense by a first-time offender plus a notation on the transcript for 1 year (which effectively negated a transfer or grad application during that time.)  A worse offense, such as doing something multiple times before getting caught, might result in a harsher sentence like a 1-year suspension.  A second offense usually meant permanent expulsion.  

It's possible this is more serious than a first-time offense of one incident of plagiarism, or the penalties are now worse than I remember.  In any case, here's to hoping Chris learned a valuable life lesson and gets another chance.

 

Whether or not it's a good…

Whether or not it's a good argument, it's sort of irrelevant, given that Harbaugh wanted to renew the ND rivalry, and Warde accommodated him.  It's on.  And some years ND will be really good like this year, and some years it won't be.

 

It wasn't just "the spot"…

It wasn't just "the spot"... the whole OSU game in 2016 was full of ref bias in their favor.  In addition to that and "the punt", there were also injuries.  Harbaugh inherited a weak 5-7 team with little depth and could ill-afford any key injuries.  If Speight does not get injured in 2016, we may have beaten Iowa and almost certainly beat OSU.  If Newsome doesn't get injured, think how different 2016 and 2017 look... and maybe this year, too.

Take away the flukes and coin flips, and Harbaugh is 41-10.  Take away one or two injuries, and he's probably even better.  Now that we have a fully-weaponized Harbaugh team, we are better able to withstand some injuries and fluke plays... and it shows.

Here's some more math for…

Here's some more math for you to do - how does 47x compare to 27x0?

 

 

Harbaugh has been nothing…

Harbaugh has been nothing short of outstanding.  He inherited a 5-7 that was weak and had major recruiting holes.  Somehow he took that mess and IMMEDIATELY made it a 10-win team - and would've had 11 wins but for a once-in-a-generation fluke play.

Then he took those same Hoke players and came within 1 play and some very bad refereeing from a B1G East title and probably trip to the CFP. 

Then he has the team with the least experience in all of div 1 and still wins 8 games despite losing the top two QBs to injury.  

Injury luck has also been against us, from the QBs and Tarik Black last season to Speight and Grant Newsome the year before.  If he inherited a deep team, like Urbz did, it might not have mattered so much, but those injuries were killer.   The three positions where Hoke and Borges were worst at recruiting were the places we could not afford major injuries, yet we got them in each.

If Speight and Newsome don't get injured against Iowa in '16, we probably run the table to the CFP. Can you imagine last year's team with a healthy Newsome at LT and Cole at C instead of Kugler?  That's a much better team. 

The first three seasons have each been spectacular coaching, given the circumstances, and most of the bad things were flukes (MSU '15, injurie) or beyond his control (OSU '16 refs, injuries, lack of depth, youth in '17).  He fixes what negatives in his control (OL coaching, strength & conditioning).  Our image is improved, our recruiting is much better, and now we get a fully weaponized Harbaugh team in 2018. 

The ship is back on course, and we could not have asked for much more.  We are winning and doing it with integrity - the Michigan Way. 

WHO'S GOT IT BETTER THAN US?

 

THANKS!

Lots of good options - many thanks to all of you.  I'm leaning towards Pretzel Bell for nostalgia reasons - it closed months after I graduated.  Does it have plenty of TVs and decent line of sight, or should we eat dinner first?  Is the food good?

The guy I'm meeting for dinner mentioned Chop House.  How's the food?  

probably right

But a solid (and hopefully improved) 3rd-year starter with an imperfect skillset for LT is probably better than one of the kids coming off redshirt.  Only a fully recovered Newsome or the Rice grad transfer is likely to be better than Bredeson at LT.  

Remember, the staff trusted Bredeson to start as a true frosh once Newsome was injured.  They did not yet trust any of the guys who redshirted in 2017, or you would have seen one of them at RT this year.  

It's not difficult to fathom

Ruiz >> Kugler

RS So Onwenu > RS Fr Onwenu

Jr Bredeson > So Bredeson 

Spanellis or anyone > JBB/Uluzio
 
So we should be better at all 4 positions other than Mason Cole, who was an NFL-level talent but not built for LT anyway.   Get someone (Newsome, Filiaga, transfer) who is even close to Cole's quality, and the OL will be much better.  
 
[EDIT:  and, by the way, it's difficult to imagine getting someone as good as Cole in quality, but his size being more of an LT might make it possible to be close enough in production.  And if Newsome comes back as good as we was (not impossible), I'd take him at LT over Cole.]
RIP to an all-time great

College football will never be the same without him.  

The coaching was fine

We were in the lead on the road midway through the 3rd against the undefeated #5 team in the nation with the least experienced team and a QB starting his third game and without our top DB.  They finally exploited Hill's absence, then took out BP on a dirty play.  Tough to recover from that, and you could tell that the wind went out of the team's sails.  Quite natural, especially for a very young team.

I love where we're headed.  Given the inexperience, the injuries, and the other bad things (e.g. weather, bad refs), this has been a very good season. 

Next year will be awesome.

We have everyone back except Mason Cole, who will be replaced by one of the redshirt frosh (or Bredeson moves to LT while Spanellis plays RG), and Kugler, who will be easily replaced by Ruiz.  The OL will improve.  DPJ will improve, and Black will be back.  And now we have a QB, as BP looked good today against a great D.  

The D will be the best in the nation.  Everyone is back except the unspectacular McCray and the spectacular Hurst, but the latter will be replaced by Aubrey Solomon just fine.  

We're a playoff contender next year.  PSU loses key playmakers.  OSU will be breaking in a new QB.  And we're already better than everyone else, including Wisconsin when we're healthy.

Year 4 under Harbaugh will be just like the previous times he's coached a college team - the break out year.

Relax and enjoy the ride.

In reality...

The animosity towards Brandon - both here and in the U-M community at large - is deep, broad, and well-deserved, but blaming him for what's happening at Toys R Us is silly.  The company's issues started long before DB was there.  Also, it doesn't matter whether it is DB who's CEO or someone else - retention bonuses are standard in bankruptcy.  Otherwise, why would anyone take the job or stay.