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Date Title Body
Steve Sharik? He's still…

Steve Sharik? He's still around.

Haloscan vet checking in.

Haloscan vet checking in.

Not a poster per se, but I do miss a good photoshop thread.

This one is an all-timer.

If I'm Warde I gauge Sean…

If I'm Warde I gauge Sean Payton's interest. Supposedly he was interested last time if things didn't go through with Harbaugh, and this time he's actually free to do it if he wants.

Very exciting.  Gedeon was…

Very exciting.  Gedeon was underutilized and underappreciated so getting a Gedeon 2.0 would suit me plenty.

Logged in to make this point…

Logged in to make this point as well. After we lost Durkin after the 15 season Harbaugh needed a DC to neutralize Urban's OSU offense, and he found the man in Brown. We win the '16 and '17 games with just slightly better offense.

The issue of course is Day came and and made the necessary adjustments to face Brown's D, and we didn't adjust back until this offseason with bringing in McDonald.

Also, Clemson has not had to deal with another traditional power on a program re-defining 20 year hot streak like we have. Yeah, Jimbo had FSU rolling for a few years, but that's nothing compared to the run of success OSU has had.

Let's see how McDonald does against Day's inevitable retooling of their offense before we start comparing him to Venables. 

I mean, yeah, 7-5 seemed…

I mean, yeah, 7-5 seemed very realistic at the time. Hell if you told me we'd lose Ronnie Bell for the season in the Western game, I would've said 7-5 was optimistic.

I get his point - I just…

I get his point - I just think "minor league football factory masquerading as an institution for higher learning" describes just about every Power 5 school, and Michigan is no exception. I do think we hold our student-athletes to a higher standard, yes. But I disagree that this necessitates us being relegated to OSU cannon fodder. The off-field character of OSU's program might be one factor involved in our recent struggles, it's far from the only or the biggest.

Don't want to get into a more sophisticated analysis of why OSU's been beating our ass for the last 16 years? I don't blame you. Especially in the immediate aftermath of another one. But grousing about how the other team bends the rules and that's why we lose... I'm just not on-board with that. It's not only Brian, obviously. I've seen articles at The Athletic implying the same thing - along the lines of "what's Michigan willing to do to beat OSU?" Interesting that the same thing was being said about our basketball program in the aftermath of Beilein leaving - i.e. we'll never have this same level or better level of success without bending the rules. All that talk seems to have dried up after 7 games of the Juwan Howard era. I understand basketball isn't the perfect comparison. But it seems there are enough parallel themes there to explore, that it would help us understand why we're at where we're at in football.

Fair enough. It's not a…

Fair enough. It's not a perfect comparison, granted - basketball lends itself to more variability game-to-game, and also in the context of the NCAA Tourney.

 

However, my point stands. Harbaugh was 3-1 against one of the cheatin'est juggernauts of all time, late-2000s Pete Carrol USC, with a bunch of lightly regarded guys at Stanford. The problem isn't the cheating.

Sorry, no. This excuse doesn…

Sorry, no. This excuse doesn't cut it for me. The stereotype of defeated Michigan fans feebly gesturing to our ethical behavior and academic rankings exists for a reason. If you lived through the Amaker basketball years, you know the idea that "well I guess this is as good as it gets if we don't cheat" explanation for mediocrity is alluring but untrue.

 

Same goes for football. Do our programs' moral standards put us at a disadvantage in today's CFB culture? Sure. But the other major program on campus (sorry, hockey) has shown that it's a disadvantage that can be overcome. 

 

We have top-10 recruiting classes. We have excellent coaches. The talent on our roster may not match theirs, player for player, but we are certainly in the ballpark. The fact that our players perhaps spend a scintilla more time and energy with their classes is not the difference between these programs on the football field. 

 

Cheers, Brian. Here's to a…

Cheers, Brian. Here's to a season involving minimal visits to the BPONE.

-daily reader since '06

This has been my experience…

This has been my experience as well. Lost 20 lbs quickly on a combination of IF and Low-Carb inspired by Dr. Fung and have been able to maintain it for the last two years by keeping up with the IF aspect.

JoPa's Wounded Knee, present

JoPa's Wounded Knee, present

SoFL Resident Here

Going to be riding it out.... doubtful we'll have power to see the game. Stay safe my fellow Floridians!

I will upvote this every

I will upvote this every time.

Oh boy...

A RR thread. Let the good times roll!

RR WAS A TERRIBLE COACH DEFENSE WHAT DEFENSE AM I RIGHT RABBLE RABBLE

RR WAS THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD BEST OFFENSE EVAR THE OLD GUARD NEVER GAVE HIM A CHANCE RABBLE RABBLE

JEFF CASTEEL RABBLE RABBLE

THREE AND OUT SAYZ RABBLE RABBLE

Repeat ad infinitum.

 

 

As to recruiting...

Let's not forget that Beilen runs a squaky-clean program. I hate to be *that* guy and make *that* excuse, but lets get real here. BBall recruiting is every bit as dirty, if not dirtier, than FBall recruiting. I don't think there's any coincidence that in certain classes, the top tier guys Beilein targets seem to initially have interest before mysteriously cooling on us down the stretch (or flipping, etc.). This goes double for guys who are under the radar, blow up once Beilein goes after them, and then end up with another program in the end.

I know nobody wants to hear it or really talk about it, but I think this issue is as much of a factor in Beilein's recruiting misses as anything. 

Not sure what your beef with

Not sure what your beef with ESPN is, but maybe try reading an article before commenting on it?

 

Bill Barnwell, the author, is an old Football Outsiders/Grantland guy and his posts are usually very much worth reading if you have any interest in football statistics or schematics.

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I'll be back in a couple hours to upvote or downvote this post! 

S&P Rankings

Current S&P Rankings, for reference (Offense // Defense // Overall):

Alabama: 25 // 1 // 1

Clemson: 10 // 4 // 2

OSU: 14 // 8 // 3

M: 30 // 2 // 6

MSU: 27 // 12 // 13

If we can maintain a top-two defense (not infeasible with our returning group) while moving into the Top 20 on offense.... oh man.

So...

So... where are the people that wanted Shane Morris starting after the first couple games? Anyone? Bueller?

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The important thing

was achieved: the KenPom spread

covered by UM

 

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Here's a pretty good summary of what the board thinks:

 

http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/dcc-justin-wilcox

LOL

Wilcox is a shoe-in to get fired at the end of the year. I have a number of USC friends and they all can't wait. Imagine all of the talent of Michigan's D, and none of the results. That's USC. They've gotten torn up all year despite having 5* guys at virtually every position.

Correct me if I'm wrong

I thought a rugby-style punter cannot be "roughed" once he starts running? This has happened to us already this season, and that's why Harbaugh has lost his mind both times roughing was called against us. You can't 'rough' a punter who is outside the tackle box - he is considered a runner.

"Best of Michigan" Tourney

There should be a "Best of Michigan" Tourney in basketball. Stupid idea for football, great for bball. Get WMU, CMU, EMU, Oakland, UDM, us and State together (or leave State out of it, whatever) and go at it.

Great Job Adam

This is a great feature, thanks Adam & Mgoblog team.

Motion

I move to officially change the abbreviation, from tOSU to Tosu.

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This is also why the coaches poll is absolutely meaningless.

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The funny thing is that even his hindsight is bad. Go for it, in that position? You've gotta be kidding me.

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First of all, no reason for ad hominem pointed at coach Hoke. Yeah, he's just doing his job and there's probably some sour grapes here as well (as well as a stupid comment), but there's no need to get personal.

That being said, the irony of Hoke retroactively giving out some Special Teams advice is rich indeed.

Another Example

Another example proving Brian's point that "little brother" is the perfect descriptor for MSU's program. If you want to be the big brother, act like the big brother, not a petulent child.

Agreed, But...

Agreed, but I think the Dave Brandon method of handling public relations (ignore them till they blow up in your face) is still fresh in the AD's collective mind, and once the "trash sites" had started playing up the death threats angle, a statement from the AD was appropriate. Maybe not necessary, but appropriate. Make your public display of support, get it out of the way, move on.

Happens all the time

Happens all the time but rarely called. Here's one instance where it was actually called last year, the ND long snapper talks about it happening all the time, he seems shocked they actually called it.

Kevin Grady

Kevin Grady. Would've been ideal in Harbaugh's offense, and I have a feeling a lack of motivation would've never been a problem either.

Ok, maybe 20 years ago,

Ok, maybe 20 years ago, still, the point stands. Maryland won 33 games in the first 3 years of the Ralph Friedgen era, for crying out loud ('01-'03).

Also, it's 500+ miles from Eugene to the Bay Area and nearly 1000 miles to SoCal. Maryland's campus is within 500 miles of most of OH, Pittsburgh, NYC & all of Jersey, Philly, Baltimore/DC area, etc. There's no comparison.

However the one thing I will say that Maryland needs to do to approach Oregon's level is to continue upgrading their facilities (already in progress, LINK)....

Again, I know it sounds far-fetched on the face of it, but with the right coach Maryland could really go places. I'm not if he would do it considering he'd have to face his mentor once a year, but if I'm Maryland I'm going all-out for Tom Herman.

I know we like to make fun of Maryland

I know we like to make fun of Maryland, but he has a point. Consider:

  • Maryland has the financial backing of the owner of Under Armour, Kevin Plank (obvious parallels to Oregon there)
  • Extra $ due to joining the B1G
  • Great natural recuriting area (much better than Oregon)

Obviously they don't have any great football tradition and the fanbase isn't exactly rabid, but you could've said the same things about Oregon 10-15 years ago. The other problem Maryland faces is that the B1G East is extremely competitive. 

However, if they hire the right coach (big if), I could see them seriously competing with MSU and PSU for third in our division on a consistant basis.

Defense First Drive

To expand on the "why does the D allow more on the first couple drives" Question - 

Don't forget, many teams script their first 10-20 plays, or at least have a very good idea of what they want to run right off the bat. This is usually a combination of:

1) New plays that haven't been put on film and the defense won't be prepared for (as Brian mentioned),

2) Plays specifically designed to exploit weaknesses the defense appears to have, and

3) Plays the offense has practiced enough for the coaches to feel confident they will be executed extremely well.

This combination of factors usually results in the opening drives being more successful... I bet if Brian got his hands on that data you would see this pretty clearly. It seems to me that this trend is espically noticeable in the NFL, where teams have more time to practice/prepare during the week. It seems every Sunday one or both teams score on the first drive, and then are lucky to end up with 20 points by the end of the game as the defenses make adjustments and settle in.

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Not a laughing matter, dude. If even half the reports coming out about him are true, Sark needs some serious help.

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Making signs all about OSU still has my vote as the best idea.

Interesting Comparison

Michigan under Lloyd Carr = Post-Pete Carrol USC

Think about it. Both programs running vanilla pro-style Offense/Defense, both programs burning up the recruiting trail, both programs winning on sheer talent but typically underperforming relative to said talent.

The only reason Carr had more success than Kiffin/Sark have had is due to 1) he didn't face NCAA sanctions, and 2) there were less high-caliber college coaches in the late 90s/early 00s... 

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So bad they had to say it twice.

Sam

Sam and Tyrone Wheatley are BFFs. So... I'd take Sam's word as pretty reliable when it comes to that position group.

Zero sacks

I think that has much to do with Rudock as the OL. He was getting rid of the ball quick when under duress (to the detriment of his accuracy, unfortunately).

I think we're all so used to Gardner holding onto the ball as long as possible trying to make a play with his legs and ending up getting sacked we forgot what it looks like to have a QB get rid of the ball when pressure's coming.

Great job Brian

Nice preview Brian. T-minus 5 hours!

28-27

Michigan 28 - 27 Utah

Swamp Knowledge

"Swamp Knowledge" is my new favorite thing on the blog. Thanks Brian.

Too Many

I don't have the opportunity to attend many M games, but it seems like I have been in attendance for all the most heartbreaking ones of the past 10 years. Among them:

2005 Notre Dame, Minnesota and OSU

2007 App St.

2007 Oregon

2013 Outback Bowl - South Carolina

2013 Penn State @ Happy Valley

And of course, the one time I had tickets to a game that turned out wonderfully, I gave them up (2005 Penn State).

So I'm screwed either way I guess.

Haven't drank enough water >

Haven't drank enough water > recently took my multivitamin

Say what you will about Millen

Say what you will about Millen (Lord knows I have), but I've actually enjoyed his calls of some of our games. UCONN 2010 in partiuclar comes to mind.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kbwQAIR10E&t=2m32s

Miss you big guy

XOXO