Nice analysis! Another consideration is location and value of viewer. Probably M skews more national as opposed to regional and has higher value customers in the eyes of advertisers
Yes! That 3rd and 2ish we didn't covert on due to the missed TE block coming across the formation would have been perfect play for checking into a screen
Along those lines, don't the players face a risk of monetary damages? Presumably a national championship winning player is worth more NIL than a non national championship winning player, and lack of a head coach who would be suspended without due process is a pretty meaningful risk
Great post. Speaking of deranged fans and holding grudges, I would not be surprised to learn Connor was on CMU sideline trying to help them win solely for the purpose of trying to humiliate MSU in retribution for the tunnel assault.
Why not both? There is a camp every year that runs a college football tailgate on Saturday. It's about the most real life thing that happens in an otherwise otherworldly environment. Run by UM fans and about a third of folks are Michigan but an awesome blend of fans from every conference and a unique CFB bonding experience.
"NCAA rules now will require any school that considers athletics when awarding scholarships to transfer student-athletes to provide that scholarship for the rest of a student's five-year eligibility or until they complete the requirements for their bachelor's degree, unless the student transfers again or engages in professional athletics opportunities."
What is your synthesis of what was different this year in respect to the offense and its success? The storyline in the past is that Harbaugh meddles and hasn't given Gattis full control. It seemed like we still saw some Harbaughball on offense this year, but it worked. What was different?
We ran a lot. Luckily that matched up with our opponent's weakness and worked out well for us this week.
What happens when we match up with an opponent that can stop the run? Though we may be able to pass, nothing tonight demonstrated a coherent passing game. It's best to keep expectations low given the track record of Harbaugh not excelling at the passing game here, regardless of the root cause (e.g. some combination of being too stubborn to air it out, not having talent to do so, not developing talent well enough to do so, or not being able to implement a system and call the right plays to exploit modern coverages)
Re: going for it instead of kicking the field goal
The way Army calls their game (going for it on 4th, eating up massive TOP) and the way they had been playing, it felt like they were much more likely to get a TD than a field goal on their last drive. If so, getting that 4th and hopefully wrapping up the drive with a TD felt like the optimal call in terms of chance to win the game. I mean assuming we get 3 in that scenario and Army drives down the field and gets a touchdown you'd have folks calling us out for not going for it and "playing to lose" by settling for 3. The outcome was obviously different and kicking the FG may have won it for us, but also if we had made the FG who knows how Army would have changed their last drive strategy.
Edit: that of course doesn't excuse the play call on 4th. We should be able to get a few yards on them easily
Yes. Have you watched Ohio games under Harbaugh? We've consistently hustled them with unexpected looks leaving guys wide open. I'd suggest you go back and read the UFRs
Great point! As much as I'd love to see this scenario play out (popcorn in hand) I'm thinking Ward and Schlissel are way too classy to force the issue in public like that
Any advice on how to avoid fake / already used tickets in person? Was thinking about scalping a ticket last minute outside the gate and don't want to get punked. Any other advice on scalping tickets outside the Big House would be much appreciated. Thanks & Go Blue!
Dr Jason Daida -- was in his Engineering 100 & 101 classes back in the late 00's. His 100 course ("Design in the Real World") blew my mind and I still take a lot from his message of using engineering for the purpose of making a better planet.
Sadly Dr Daida passed a few years back. Way too early for him to go
My engineering and science professors at U M taught us about climate change and it's a pretty solid argument with overwhelming consensus. And engineering and science professors aren't really that liberal. Maybe take some time to study it for yourself?
I'll be looking for 4 Indiana tickets and don't mind holding off to the last minute if I can get a good deal. Only catch is that they'll need to be together.
Will I be able to find 4 together on StubHub late Friday night/Saturday morning or via a scalper outside the stadium? Or should I just pull the trigger now? Cheers!
Back in the BCS era I root for Ohio to set up an epic Game to make it to the championship.
Nowadays we just need to win the Big Ten with no losses to punch our ticket to the playoffs, regardless of Ohio's record. On Wisconsin!
People will say he was running the score up. Honestly, it was inevitable.
Harbaugh's entire coaching philosophy revolves around competition and meritocracy. The best will play. How does that translate?
On his staff, the defense is competing against the offense. Not allowing a first down vs. beating Ohio's score. Each staff wanted to do it's job and beat the other.
For the first string, not overlooking the game because "it's Rutgers" but preparing and playing like it was a top matchup. How many years under Carr, RR and Hoke did we play down to our opponents? It's not "running up the score" if we are treating our opponents with the same level of respect we'd give a Wisconsin or an Ohio.
For the second, third and fourth stringers - they know this is a game they will get to play in and they come prepared. This is their ticket to a starting position: showing they can not only win in practice but dominate a living, breathing opponent.
How can you fault us for winning by that margin if this is the system Harbaugh has set up? At this point he has no control of it. People know that performing to their best is in their own self interest and have a burning desire to be the best on the team at what they do. Honestly there's no better way to steer an organization. And what else would you prefer him do?!
Two examples, took me less than 30 seconds to write this post. Not being snarky, but if these are the sort of stories that are surfacing now with the advent of cell phone video recording you can't deny that there is some legitimacy to these grivances.
How much of the redshirt bonfire do you think is a burn the boats tactic to free up slots and keep scholarships moving vs a recruiting tactic to demonstrate playing time meritocracy?
What do you think is the biggest factor in Ohio States advantage over us in getting five star recruits? Do you see a path for Harbaugh to get to parity in the near term?
How do we possibly replace the players getting drafted this year without backsliding?
The issue to me wasn't us getting beat physically but our OL not picking up blocks. That's the concerning thing and is irrespective of level of opponent or play call
In all fairness, I was pretty pessimistic after the first few games of last season. It does feel like a bit of a regression this week but will try to reserve some judgement. Everything is practice until Ohio anyway.
I don't know if this makes me like him more or less. Don't get me wrong -- he was one of my favorite players while in school, and I'd buy him a beer without hesitation if I ran into him at a pub -- but his NFL career has to be toast. It's a sad thing that revealing some of the real issues inside the NFL from an authentic experience has to be in some way punished, but who would want to be his teammate now? Or his coach?
Regardless, I always thought Molk would always be, in someway, too good for the NFL. He's the kind of guy you think of when Bo was saying "this is the last time you'll play for a team". Hope all this turns out well for the guy and I don't doubt he'll be successful in life.
I agree. Knowing what we know now about how these teams compare, a better crowd probably wouldn't have made a difference in the final outcome. That said I'm a fan of the philosophy of control what you can control. I can't control the coaches plans or the players execution. But I can try to influence the fan base in whatever miniscule manner I can, just in case it will mean something someday. But yeah, that's a pretty romantic and impractical idea anyway!
Just playing devil's advocate but you don't think the Shoe would be loud if they were down a few? When the team is down is when they need support the most
Recent Comments
Interesting claims but 0 proof so far other than trust me bro. Big if true (i.e. receipts provided)
Well now I'm intrigued, what kind of rumors do you get from the facilities people?
Nice analysis! Another consideration is location and value of viewer. Probably M skews more national as opposed to regional and has higher value customers in the eyes of advertisers
Yes! That 3rd and 2ish we didn't covert on due to the missed TE block coming across the formation would have been perfect play for checking into a screen
You know there's a different game plan for every opponent right?
Along those lines, don't the players face a risk of monetary damages? Presumably a national championship winning player is worth more NIL than a non national championship winning player, and lack of a head coach who would be suspended without due process is a pretty meaningful risk
What sweet irony if Ryan Day got suspended for The Game over this...
Great post. Speaking of deranged fans and holding grudges, I would not be surprised to learn Connor was on CMU sideline trying to help them win solely for the purpose of trying to humiliate MSU in retribution for the tunnel assault.
I wonder if he let each of the head coaches in waiting do the full week gameplan the week they were coaching to get as realistic reps as possible
Why not both? There is a camp every year that runs a college football tailgate on Saturday. It's about the most real life thing that happens in an otherwise otherworldly environment. Run by UM fans and about a third of folks are Michigan but an awesome blend of fans from every conference and a unique CFB bonding experience.
Haskins Corum
Relevant piece of this update:
"NCAA rules now will require any school that considers athletics when awarding scholarships to transfer student-athletes to provide that scholarship for the rest of a student's five-year eligibility or until they complete the requirements for their bachelor's degree, unless the student transfers again or engages in professional athletics opportunities."
What is your synthesis of what was different this year in respect to the offense and its success? The storyline in the past is that Harbaugh meddles and hasn't given Gattis full control. It seemed like we still saw some Harbaughball on offense this year, but it worked. What was different?
Good points, I agree. Will remain to be seen what happens in terms of play calling and execution when a opponent does the opposite
Re: going for it instead of kicking the field goal
The way Army calls their game (going for it on 4th, eating up massive TOP) and the way they had been playing, it felt like they were much more likely to get a TD than a field goal on their last drive. If so, getting that 4th and hopefully wrapping up the drive with a TD felt like the optimal call in terms of chance to win the game. I mean assuming we get 3 in that scenario and Army drives down the field and gets a touchdown you'd have folks calling us out for not going for it and "playing to lose" by settling for 3. The outcome was obviously different and kicking the FG may have won it for us, but also if we had made the FG who knows how Army would have changed their last drive strategy.
Edit: that of course doesn't excuse the play call on 4th. We should be able to get a few yards on them easily
Did you watch the Ohio game last year? And the year before? Just asking
Yes. Have you watched Ohio games under Harbaugh? We've consistently hustled them with unexpected looks leaving guys wide open. I'd suggest you go back and read the UFRs
Can we get a Norfleet thread going??
P. S. Got some Buffalo Trace going!
Any advice on how to avoid fake / already used tickets in person? Was thinking about scalping a ticket last minute outside the gate and don't want to get punked. Any other advice on scalping tickets outside the Big House would be much appreciated. Thanks & Go Blue!
Dr Jason Daida -- was in his Engineering 100 & 101 classes back in the late 00's. His 100 course ("Design in the Real World") blew my mind and I still take a lot from his message of using engineering for the purpose of making a better planet.
Sadly Dr Daida passed a few years back. Way too early for him to go
I'll be looking for 4 Indiana tickets and don't mind holding off to the last minute if I can get a good deal. Only catch is that they'll need to be together.
Will I be able to find 4 together on StubHub late Friday night/Saturday morning or via a scalper outside the stadium? Or should I just pull the trigger now? Cheers!
Thanks for sharing! You're making me want to make it out to Ohio for the Game this year!
People will say he was running the score up. Honestly, it was inevitable.
Harbaugh's entire coaching philosophy revolves around competition and meritocracy. The best will play. How does that translate?
On his staff, the defense is competing against the offense. Not allowing a first down vs. beating Ohio's score. Each staff wanted to do it's job and beat the other.
For the first string, not overlooking the game because "it's Rutgers" but preparing and playing like it was a top matchup. How many years under Carr, RR and Hoke did we play down to our opponents? It's not "running up the score" if we are treating our opponents with the same level of respect we'd give a Wisconsin or an Ohio.
For the second, third and fourth stringers - they know this is a game they will get to play in and they come prepared. This is their ticket to a starting position: showing they can not only win in practice but dominate a living, breathing opponent.
How can you fault us for winning by that margin if this is the system Harbaugh has set up? At this point he has no control of it. People know that performing to their best is in their own self interest and have a burning desire to be the best on the team at what they do. Honestly there's no better way to steer an organization. And what else would you prefer him do?!
Tamir Rice, 12 year old kid shot before the police car even stops. No indictments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSCftESyKyU
Eric Garner killed using an illegal choke hold. No indictments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfXqYwyzQpM
Two examples, took me less than 30 seconds to write this post. Not being snarky, but if these are the sort of stories that are surfacing now with the advent of cell phone video recording you can't deny that there is some legitimacy to these grivances.
I don't know if this makes me like him more or less. Don't get me wrong -- he was one of my favorite players while in school, and I'd buy him a beer without hesitation if I ran into him at a pub -- but his NFL career has to be toast. It's a sad thing that revealing some of the real issues inside the NFL from an authentic experience has to be in some way punished, but who would want to be his teammate now? Or his coach?
Regardless, I always thought Molk would always be, in someway, too good for the NFL. He's the kind of guy you think of when Bo was saying "this is the last time you'll play for a team". Hope all this turns out well for the guy and I don't doubt he'll be successful in life.