Capital one Michigan or Fiesta WVU

Submitted by chunkums on
So Capital One Bowl Michigan and Fiesta Bowl WVU both played out of their minds and looked like they could have beaten anyone at the time.  Who wins in a head to head game and why?  Personally I love UM but might give a slight edge to WVU since Michigan is yet to show the ability to stop a spread with a quick 3/4back as opposed to the tebow 1.25back.
MGoBoard

mjv

June 30th, 2008 at 4:48 PM ^

As well as we moved the ball against the Gators, with 4 turnovers, we would not have beaten WVU.  If we hold on to the ball, it would have been a helluva a game, but with 4 TOs, we probably get drubbed.  Remember, Florida was an average team last year, with a final ranking around ours.  WVU was a top 5 team.

of course, WVU would not have been playing a home game.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 3656

WolvinLA

June 30th, 2008 at 4:59 PM ^

I have a different view, although admittedly it may be biased.  I agree that we may have had a harder time with WVU's offense than Florida's, but that's a close call.  However, Florida had a solid defense last year that we were able to pick apart.  Those turnovers were the only reason the game was even close.  Because WVU's defense was certainly inferior to that of Florida, I don't think that those turnovers would have been forced and we would have won.  I think it would have been a higher scoring game, but Michigan would have beaten just about anybody the way we played that day.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 875

chunkums

June 30th, 2008 at 7:44 PM ^

I look at Armanti Edwards as a poor man's Pat White, so the thought of playing the real deal is just staggering.  As far as defense goes, it was frightening to see WVU's boys slap around Bradford and I don't like the idea of our mediocre line facing that.  This aspect also got me very excited because if WVU's sub-par recruits can run all over a great team like Oklahoma, I can't wait to see the Barwis affect on 4 and 5 star guys.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 29029

mjv

June 30th, 2008 at 5:19 PM ^

Florida's secondary was a known weakness going into the game.  That is the aspect of their D we game planned to exploit.  If we want to twist secondary effects into the mix, I think that if we were going to play WVU, DeBord would have pulled out the old rock and thrown it 70 times as opposed to brandishing the scissors early and often as he did against Florida.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 3656

big gay heart

June 30th, 2008 at 5:36 PM ^

I mean, it's tough to call.

1. The Media seemed to think that Oklahoma was a better team than Florida BUT they also seemed to think that the SEC was a much better conference than the Big 12. So, it appears that this evaluation was made mostly on each squad's respective end of season record.

2. Yes, Michigan had problems with the spread option. But, I think Florida's version of the spread option was much more diverse and balanced (power/finesse) than WVU's. So, I'm not sure what to think.

3. The question is just so hypothetical that I'm struggling to come up with any sort of answer. In CFB last year, it seemed like any team could beat any other team on any given day.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 1616

mjv

June 30th, 2008 at 5:44 PM ^

It just seems to me that our former coaching staff would have looked at WVU as a gimick offense and a defense that we can push around.  We would have run Hart behind Long 50 times, and our predictability would have been our undoing. 

I doubt that there were many teams out there other than some SEC powers that would have led us to taking the training wheels off. 

That was the most bitter sweet game of Michigan football I can remember.  It was great seeing the boys really light up a team that the media gave us no chance in hell of beating.  But it was so painful seeing what could have been if our coaching staff believed that every game was at risk and played to win not just crush the opponents with the Winged Helmets and the Victors.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 3656

jaba

June 30th, 2008 at 5:54 PM ^

I hate to say it because I'm a true blue fan but I was fortunate to see WVU play live and their speed is unbelievable. I think WVU would win cuz of the spread, speed and Pat White. He's truly an amazing athlete.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 19

Anonymous Coward (not verified)

June 30th, 2008 at 8:48 PM ^

Part II. Tried so hard to catch him, future genrations of wolverines will still be out of breath.

Joined: 12/12/2017

MGoPoints: 0