January 7th, 2013 at 11:51 PM ^
I'm not so sure I want to be there just yet with what I just watched. Lets focus on winning the BIG first.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:29 PM ^
For all the improvement the team has shown under Hoke we still have yet to win our division, appear in the B1G championship, nevermind winning it, and get into the Rose Bowl. Let's do that first.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:40 PM ^
Yes, if we fans just focus on winning the Big Ten championship, then we can totally do it. Because we, like, totally matter and stuff.
Keep your eyes on the prize, guys!
January 7th, 2013 at 11:52 PM ^
January 7th, 2013 at 11:52 PM ^
Next year? Honestly doubt it. 2014 I can guarantee that we will run the table though.
January 7th, 2013 at 11:53 PM ^
A source close to the story tells me we will not lose again until October of 2015.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:03 AM ^
January 8th, 2013 at 1:43 AM ^
I disagree I don't understand why people have marked 2015 for a title run we have a killer road schedule that year plus will have to play in the Shoe with a senior lead team with Miller. Next year we play all our tough games at home besides Northwestern. Penn State is starting a Freshman QB,Iowa and MSU are both dumpster fires right now and Nebraska couldn't stop a pee wee team on defense. We have Notre Dame at home as well and we've already seen their QB and offense is bad and we won't have Denard playing catch with their defenders this year.That means unless we've failed we should go into the OSU game at 11-0 and we can't afford as a program to lose next year to OSU. Excuse time is over in Ann Arbor it's year 3 and we return everybody on defense plus most of our offense. Next year better be our year or we've done something wrong in my humble opinion.
January 8th, 2013 at 5:48 AM ^
The real reason, I think, is that people always put expected title runs safely in the future. Long enough so it seems somewhat plausible.
January 8th, 2013 at 6:59 AM ^
January 8th, 2013 at 7:26 AM ^
I love Kovacks and his story, but honestly, Kovacks graduating is addition by subtraction. We will finally have scholarship athletes at the safety position.Roh was pretty invisible for the past couple years. BWC was invisible for all about a couple games this season. Demens will be missed, along with JT Floyd.
Denard means a lot to the is team as an emotional leader. Devin is a more complete QB than Denard. Sure Devin doesn't have the home run threat with his legs. He does have a home run arm. Gallon and Dileo means more to the WR corps than Tree, who tended to suffer from Braylon Edwards disease (aka be invisible and have bouts of the drops).
I agree that we will have questions marks on the OL, but I think Hoke's emphasis on OL recruiting will pay off in the near future.
January 8th, 2013 at 9:09 AM ^
We've had plenty of scholarship players at the safety position in the past 10-15 years that weren't as consistently good as Jordan Kovacs has been. I look forward to what Mattison can achieve with more athletic players at that position, but I'd reserve the "addition by subtraction" predictions until we see it on the field.
January 8th, 2013 at 9:45 AM ^
I agree on your assessment of Jordan. Is he the fastest guy on the field? Hell no. Is he a very good safety? Hell yes.
January 8th, 2013 at 10:21 AM ^
I am biased from the outback bowl and the Ohio game where Kovaks was continually burned in coverage. He has great heart, tackling technique and football IQ. However, he was very outmatched by more more athletic receivers while in coverage. I am very looking forward to next season's secondary.
January 8th, 2013 at 10:25 AM ^
There's a reason he was a strong safety instead of a free safety: because coverage isn't his thing. When you ask your SS to cover a wideout, that's a mismatch. When Kovacs struggled in coverage, that was more of a gameplan issue (be that the fault of Mattison or the good idea of the Carolina OC), in which you're going to get burned more often than not. It's like criticizing Denard because he has zero career sacks recorded. It's not his game, so no wonder he wasn't good at it.
January 8th, 2013 at 10:58 AM ^
You can blame the Outback bowl mishaps on J.T. Floyd....Kovacs shouldnt have been anywhere near the line covering the corner
January 8th, 2013 at 8:04 AM ^
I see the loses on Defense and Offense but lets just compare it with whom we have replacing our starters and see if it's really that big of losses.
Defense:
Big Will-Pipkins- Upgrade Pipkins will dominate in year 2
Roh-Beyer -Tie Both are just workman like players
Floyd-Countess Upgrade Countess has lock down coverage skills
Demens-Bolden Upgrade Bolden is a future All American
Kovacs-Wilson or Thomas Upgrade Loved Kovacs heart but athletically we are getting better
Overview-I know some will say it's not a upgrade with Kovacs being gone but the kid was a great heart player but atheltically he killed us out there with his coverage skills. So that is 4 upgrades and 1 tie so our Defense essentially will be better plus were bringing in some good depth with Hurst,Poggi,Gedeon and Lewis who along with Dymonte I think will all play as Freshman.
Offense
Denard-Gardner-Tie both bring something special to the table
Roundtree-Darboh,Chesson- downgrade Roundtree disappeared a lot but the other two are unknown so for now it's a downgrade till the season starts.
Lewan-Schoefield-downgrade Can't lose arguably the best tackle in college and not take a step back.
Barnum-Kalis-Upgrade Kalis could be the next Hutchingson here
Mealer-Miller-Tie Miller is a true center and Mealer was sturdy but nothing spectacular
Omameh-Bryant or Bosch Upgrade both these kids have great potential and Omameh took a step back last year.
Other starter will be Mags or Braden and both have huge upsides. With a lot of people talking about Braden being something special.
Overview- If you look at the scheduled replacements they all have higher upsides on the line(with the exception of Lewan) and Gardner has shown he's just as exciting as Denard but more balanced we also have Gallon,Funchess and Fitz back along with Incoming Freshman Butt,Hill and more than likely Universal Five star Derrick Green who gives us a back type we haven't seen since Anthony Thomas/Chris Perry.
Special Teams: Return everybody and should be the best in the Big Ten.
Total Overview- With the exception of Denard and Lewan Michigan is replacing everybody with a more talented player with much higher ceilings. Also depth wise this will be the most depth we've had in the Brady Hoke era. We may be young on Offense but we're experienced in the important positions like QB,WR and RB. In my opinon we're poised for our run next year. Everything should fall into our favor if we survive Northwestern on the road than beat the evil empire in the last game of the season in Ann Arbor.
January 8th, 2013 at 9:08 AM ^
...optimism! But, you're assuming too much improvement. I also think you are undervaluing experience, especially on defense. Don't get me wrong, I hope you're right, but I see it this way.
Big Will - Pipkins: Tie with upside
Roh - Beyer: Downgrade. I'm not at all sure Beyer is Roh's replacement, but if he is that is almost certainly a downgrade. If it is Wormley or another man-childish young lineman, we still downgrade due to a lack of experience. Roh was better than people give him credit for.
Floyd - Countess: Upgrade...agree. Although they have played different positions, the CB corps should improve overall.
Demens - Bolden: Tie with upside. Remember when Ezeh taught us how important it was for a linebacker to do his job? I hope Bolden can be assignment sound as well as Demens. He might not be able to do that.
Kovacs - Wilson/Other: Downgrade. Again, we can't underestimate the importance of a player, especially a safety, being in the right place almost all the time. Also, Kovacs, while not an athletic freak, is as sure a tackler as we've had in a long long time. That is critical for a safety.
Overview for the Defense: Tie with some upside. In reality, we'd do well to be just as good defensively next year. Mattison and the boys were tough this year, and thank God he coaches at UM. A great deal of our success next year on D is attributable to him.
Denard - Devin: Tie with upside. That depends on our new line's run-blocking.
Roundtree - Other: Upgrade. Whoever replaces him will likely be faster and a better downfield threat. But, we will miss Tree's penchant for the awesome.
Lewan - Schofield: Duh!
Barnum - Kalis: Upgrade...especially in run blocking.
Mealer - Miller: Upgrade with downside.
Omameh - Bryant/Other: Downgrade with upside. There are some reasons for optimism, but I believe new starters all over the line will hurt...especially here.
Schofield - Braden: Downgrade
Offensive Overview: I'm hoping we have a 1st Team All-Big-Ten RB come December. Short of that, we'll struggle. That is a tall order for a brand new OL.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:14 AM ^
It's hard to evaluate the young offensive linemen with really nothing go off of. Let's just wait and see how it plays out.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:38 AM ^
Again, Kovacs is not a free safety. Pass coverage is not his strong suit. He was forced into it by Floyd's absence.
The kid was a legit football player who beat out a couple of scholarship guys to earn his starting spot. Enough about his supposed lack of athleticism.
January 8th, 2013 at 4:03 PM ^
and not reality. Kovac's would make good plays but his lack of being athletic lead to many,many big plays by our opponents over the years. Go back and watch film on him he was more a linebacker playing in a safties body. And you kind of just made my point if your safety can't cover in today's college football than your defense is in trouble. I don't really see how Floyd who is a cornerback being suspended affects Kovacs but I guess to each his own.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:42 AM ^
I think many of your assumptions about who will replace whom are incorrect.
January 8th, 2013 at 8:17 AM ^
Highly unlikely Miller will not declare after next year.
January 8th, 2013 at 9:03 AM ^
Jack Miller?
EDIT: Ooops....Braxton.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:45 AM ^
What position is he going to play in the NFL? Not QB. If he leaves early, he will probably get drafted pretty late. Personally, I hope you are right, though.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:12 AM ^
In 2015, we play Ohio in Ann Arbor. We also play Nebraska in Ann Arbor. And Wisconsin in Ann Arbor. The only road games that year are Utah, MSU, Illinois, NW and Iowa. We will have a veteran offensive line and veteran defense both by then, and likely the sort of running backs needed to operate the offense Hoke wants to run. 2014 is when we have the tough road schedule.
January 8th, 2013 at 4:08 PM ^
I think the 2013/2014 season with Gardner is our best bet to go unbeaten and play for a championship. If we wait for 2015 were expecting Shane Morris to lead us to a National Championship in his first year starting not to mention we will have just lost both our starting corners from the year before to graduation Countess/Taylor.
January 7th, 2013 at 11:53 PM ^
January 8th, 2013 at 12:03 AM ^
I doubt 2015 will be our year. We'll have a freshman qb that year .I'm thinking 2014 when Gardner is a senior. But we have a decent schedule next year so you never know.
edit: Don't know what I'm talking about. Shane will be a redshirt sophomore most likely. I'm thinking 2014 though.
January 7th, 2013 at 11:54 PM ^
Fuck...College Football is over...
January 7th, 2013 at 11:57 PM ^
At least we can all watch the #2 ranked team in college basketball for the next few months and enjoy players like Mr. Trey Burke who is a once in a generation type talent.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:15 AM ^
FTW!
January 7th, 2013 at 11:55 PM ^
Bama, yes, will be getting some more sun next Winter in So. Cal. Who they'll be playing is uknown though it doesn't matter a lick.
January 7th, 2013 at 11:56 PM ^
Oregon could give them a run for their money.
January 8th, 2013 at 9:29 AM ^
At this point, I won't even consider that anyone else will win a national title until I see Alabama actually lose multiple times in a season or actually lose the championship game. That program is just a well-oiled, soul-crushing machine.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:14 AM ^
in NC next year. Oregon got Mariota and DAT back (plus Chip Kelly). A&M got Johnny Football and potentially both Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews which means that no one will ever sack Johnny Football especially with his legs.
January 8th, 2013 at 8:14 AM ^
Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like Texas A&M will drop off a little bit next year. They sort of came out of nowhere, and it's tough to come out of nowhere and immediately sustain success.
January 8th, 2013 at 9:11 AM ^
aTm loses most of the 2nd best OL in CFB (behind Bama) for next year. I think Johnny Football is a hell of a QB but his effectiveness next year will be diminished without amazing protection.
Despite the lack of experience on much of the roster for next year I believe the talent will win through and will take to the excellent coaching we have. I can't see this team losing more than 2 games next year and we will be in the B1G Championship game.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:01 AM ^
They played out of their minds this year, good for them, but it will be tough to keep up in the SEC. Bama plays them early at College Station next year and I think Saban will circle that game quickly...probably after the game yesterday.
January 8th, 2013 at 8:18 AM ^
Both A&M tackles are gone.
January 8th, 2013 at 8:21 AM ^
Losong 3 first round picks on the O-line is going to hurt Bama alot. They also lose both TEs, Milliner, Lester,Williams and possibly Lacy. They'll boe good, but the strenght of their team was the OL and that is going to be gone.
January 8th, 2013 at 8:34 AM ^
I don't know that it will hurt them that much to lose those offensive linemen. They do a great job of developing those guys, and there are 5- and 4-stars waiting in the wings to take over.
January 8th, 2013 at 8:50 AM ^
January 7th, 2013 at 11:56 PM ^
January 8th, 2013 at 12:14 AM ^
Call me a pussy, but movies with little ghost kids scare the shit out of me. I will not be watching that movie.
January 8th, 2013 at 2:04 AM ^
January 8th, 2013 at 8:05 AM ^
have you seen his other horror movie orpahnage? not to be confused with that piece of shit movie orphan
January 8th, 2013 at 8:15 AM ^
"The Orphanage" is pretty darn good.
January 7th, 2013 at 11:56 PM ^
January 8th, 2013 at 12:17 AM ^