January 9th, 2012 at 11:40 PM ^
will get tons of summer hype, and should have a great TV audience. Question is whether Hoke uses this as an early season measuring stick (as in basketball), or actually puts in a lot of focus into Alabama-specific stuff. If he is true to his word on winning the B1G championship, it ought to be the former.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:52 PM ^
These are not mutually exclusive.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:41 PM ^
That will be the primetime abc game on september 1st for sure. I don't see how Auburn Clemson could be on ABC.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:41 PM ^
I wish we could recruit the same athletes the SEC does, but apparently, there's this thing called academic integrity that we have to live by.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:21 AM ^
Or it could be that the top kids just want to go play for the top conference in football. Plenty of iffy academic athletes get into the Big Ten too.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:43 PM ^
Nick seems very concerned with his hair.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:46 PM ^
January 9th, 2012 at 11:46 PM ^
January 10th, 2012 at 1:20 AM ^
Oh? Ok, name them then. Or are you just assuming?
January 9th, 2012 at 11:47 PM ^
I have no idea why he is so against going to the college ranks. Seeing how well Saban has done, I think Gruden would thrive.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:48 PM ^
it can't hurt.
This game will not only encourage a few juniors to go pro who may not have, but it will also boost Alabama's pre-season ranking. The higher Alabama is ranked, the better we look in a win or a loss.
Not only based on their actual ranking, but lots of people saw this beat down tonight. If we come out and win, we will look incredible. If we lose, the response will be "yeah, but that team crushed LSU in the NCG, so that's not so bad."
Not that a loss is ever good, but some are less bad than others.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:23 AM ^
This is all true, unless we get blown out. Even a close loss would benefit us, and a win would be Tremendous!
January 9th, 2012 at 11:49 PM ^
Means we'll have plenty of time to move back up in the polls and get the now acceptable rematch.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:50 PM ^
Good for them, I guess. Certainly makes our matchup that much more high-profile. Extreme Ultimate Jerrydome Rumble has a nice ring to it. Let us undo the wrong that was wrought here tonight come September.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:09 AM ^
[bites shield]
January 9th, 2012 at 11:52 PM ^
but maybe not? save me ondre pipkins
January 9th, 2012 at 11:59 PM ^
You do not want a true freshman playing in that game. If any of them play we'll lose, and they may wind up with PTSD.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:02 AM ^
Dear God. i'm looking at their recruting over the last 4 years. I think they are oversigned just counting their 4 and 5 star guys.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:24 AM ^
Bama should easily be a two TD favorite. The game could get real ugly.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:55 PM ^
Perhaps....But considering that their 3rd string D-line are all 4 and 5 star freshmen and sophomores, I doubt it helps too much. They oversign and are a machine. Saban will devour our one dimensional offense. Unless Denard gets extremely accurate over the summer, the game will be an uglier version of Michigan State and Virginia Tech this year regarding our offense.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:58 PM ^
I see Saban stopping the run and keeping the defense close to the line of scrimmage. I doubt short passes will be effective. It could be like Va Tech all over again unless we stretch the field vertically.
I'm hoping Denard has his accuracy on.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:02 AM ^
Very true statement; possibly not having strotum may hurt even more!
January 10th, 2012 at 1:38 AM ^
well he's got a whole season to work on it. the biggest question is if roundtree, gallon, and maybe even darboh can step up.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:02 AM ^
It means no more Nelly.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:11 AM ^
Another Question: Which Announcing Team would you prefer do the telecast on TV?
A) Gary Danielson and Verne Lundquist
B) Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit (no Peggy, that is his last name)
C) Sean McDonough and Matt Millen
D) Please dear God...None of the Above.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:19 AM ^
I like Spielman & Nessler.
But, what we really need is the all-star team of Erin Andrews, Jenn Brown, and Tracy Wolfson.
January 10th, 2012 at 5:48 PM ^
Niki Noto on the sidelines.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:41 AM ^
All I know is, if you love the SEC so much that you want to chant it in your sleep, pick A...
January 10th, 2012 at 12:12 AM ^
If we lose to this Bama team even badly i dont think it hurts us much....but if we win....somehow...wow
January 10th, 2012 at 12:28 AM ^
This is a game Michigan never had a shot at winning. Not when it was scheduled, not now, and not on Sept 1st. We would be better off playing a cupcake, breaking in a new DL, and gettin ready for a conf title run. Nothing good can come from this game. Plus as big, strong, and fast as Bama is, there's a high chance we start the year with injured players.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:37 AM ^
I feel like your avatar would be disappointed to hear you talk like this
January 10th, 2012 at 9:32 AM ^
Fuck off.
January 10th, 2012 at 10:54 AM ^
would be disappointed to be his avatar if he wasted time reading his posts.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:43 AM ^
Stop being a wuss about it. Is it going to be a uphill battle? Sure it is, but if we're on I truly believe we can hang with anyone in the country, especially since Denard will have another full offseason to learn this system.
January 10th, 2012 at 1:58 AM ^
Never underestimate an underdog. That's when you get burned. Iowa St. anyone? We're a hell of a lot better than them. Anything can happen and I'm confident Hoke knows how to motivate a team.
January 10th, 2012 at 11:40 AM ^
January 10th, 2012 at 12:20 AM ^
Well we'll just have to see how many players Saban cuts
woops... I mean, how many players get career ending injuries where there is no possible chance of recovery
January 10th, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^
Alabama 140 recruits
Michigan 111 recruits
January 10th, 2012 at 12:27 AM ^
As long as we don't get completely blown out, there is no shame in losing to the defending national champions. If we play them well, it might even help us. But Alabama's D is losing a lot of talent, plus Richardson. We will still have to deal with D-Hart and Lacy, who proved tonight he can run the ball, but given what is sure to be an Alabama exodus to the NFL, we certainly have a chance. Especially if Denard can play like he did against Nebraska and Ohio, and Campbell can make some significant strides in spring camp. Ugh we need him to badly.
Not holding my breath on this game, though. I'm using it more as a measuring stick for how far we've come in the offseason. But, something tells me it's going to come down to the 4th quarter, win or lose. Hoke will have 133 fired up for this game.
January 10th, 2012 at 8:26 AM ^
I think some may disagree with the idea of no shame in losing to the defending national champion.
<br>See: the Horror
January 10th, 2012 at 12:36 AM ^
about how you think Michigan stands no chance need to get it together. This is Michigan fergodsakes. We are not afraid of anyone.
Now don't get me wrong, Alabama's defense looked dominant. However, these are the offenses they faced (team total offense):
Kent St. #119
Penn St. #94
North Texas #98
Arkansas #27
Florida #102
Vandy #97
Ole Miss #114
Tennessee #103
LSU #75
Miss. St #87
Georgia Southern N/A
Auburn #104
That's an average of... 93. Not exactly a run through the gauntlet. And they will lose at least 5 starters on offense and defense. This is NOT the team of the century by any means. I'm not making any predictions, but with a Coach who poops gold Michigan has legitimate chance.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:29 AM ^
Bama
January 10th, 2012 at 12:31 AM ^
Hence, Oversigning Bowl Part II
January 10th, 2012 at 12:34 AM ^
Unfortunately Alabama returns, probably, six starters out of eight when looking at their offensive and defensive lines (4 offensive and 2 defensive). They'll have an experienced quarterback, decently experienced receivers and running backs and an offense that may maul over our weak secondary and defensive line. Their defensive line should be all seniors, with a mix of under and upper classmen at linebacker. The secondary should have mostly upperclassmen with a couple younger players here and there. They lose a lot on defense probably (8 starters most likely) but behind them are sophomores and juniors who have gotten experience, are already extremely talented, and have been coached by the best defensive mind in college football. Offensively, it's easier to fill in WR/RB when you have a veteran quarterback and offensive line... In the end, I obviously don't feel good about this game at all.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:42 AM ^
First off - Greg>Saban. Second, just because a QB gets older doesn't mean their going to be great, the Notre Dame QB's are a prime example of this. McCarron has been the benefit of having a great defense and an outstanding rushing attack. The Bama backup RB looks great, but he's not as good as Trent.
January 10th, 2012 at 9:35 AM ^
Downvote all you want, but there is no way in hell Greg > Saban. Sorry, but its the truth.
January 10th, 2012 at 2:02 AM ^
Much of what you just said applies to us as well... Also our sophomores on D have had an unusual amount of experience so far and showed a relatively good amount of maturity by the end of the year.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:38 AM ^
I was hoping that a bunch of players would leave, but even their backups are good. Norwood played great after Maze was injured. They have JUCOS and top recruits who they can just plug in. They lose their OC ( and hopefully their DC ends up leaving too!)