Way Too Specific Predictions: Football 2013

Submitted by 1464 on

Last year I created a topic that asked for your way too specific predictions for 2012.  You can see the link to it below, as well as other prediction threads for 2012.  It's kind of fun to read everything in hindsight.  (Hint: Nobody predicted ND to the title game)  My thoughts on the 2012 team was that we would be a better team, but due to our schedule we would have some regression on our W/L.  I was bullish on our team's talents, but bearish on the record.  I'm much more optimistic about this year.

That said, what are your predictions for 2013?  I want W/L, who we lose to (if we lose), and maybe where our rivals will end up, as well.  If you want to get crazy and predict a prop bet type situation, then by all means.

Also, Hoke is unbeaten at home.  This year, we see Nebraska, ND, and OSU.  Next year, we don't really have any competition at home all year.  What are the chances that Hoke is still unbeaten at home going into year 5 at Michigan.  Has that been done?

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So here's my call for 2013 -

- Gardner is very good, but throws some untimely interceptions that we don't want to see.  He may even lose a game in this fashion.  However, he doesn't approach the average INT numbers of Denard, and has an amazing game against OSU.

- MSU and ND are much easier wins than most anticipate.  One will be a double digit win.  The other will be a touchdown or less, but with us feeling like we were in control all game.

- We lose to NW.  In the third quarter, a bad play in our defensive secondary will make us loathe our youth and shed a tear that we have no walk-on players in our defensive backfield anymore.

- The OSU game will be decided in the last 5 minutes.

- Even if we lose 2 conference games, we will be in the title game at 10-2.  The team that won between OSU and Michigan will lose the title game.  We will end at 11-2, as will OSU.

- We will not see as much Derrick Green as we expect to.

- UTL II will be the deciding factor that lands us 3 more 5* recruits.  Hand, McDowell, and Adoree.  I'm not even sure that all of them will be there for that game, but if so... it's gon be electric.

- ND has 5 losses.  MSU has 6 losses.

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EDIT: As far as 2012 predictions go, Logan88 was dead on, sans BTCG:

 

Logan88

Joined: 01/05/2009
MGoPoints: 3003
 
My predictions (I am only picking regular season):

UM 8-4 (losses: Bama, @ND, @Nebraska and @OSU) --- still make the B1G championship game

 

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http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/2012-season-record-prediction-thread

http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/way-too-specific-predictions-2012

jtmc33

June 26th, 2013 at 10:37 AM ^

The Happey Valley hype before the game falls flat by half-time.  UM wins 27-10.

Indiana's offense scares the shit out of us through three quarters. Michigan shuts them out 13-0 in the fourth quarter and UM wins 37-27.

Brunette Girls get us past Nebraska in OT.   UM 30-27.

Iowa is bad.   Really Bad.   UM 45-13.

 

Daniel

June 26th, 2013 at 10:41 AM ^

but the receivers get many more first downs and overall yards. The wideouts, in decreasing order of times targeted are: Darboh/Gallon/Dileo/Chesson. In order of total yardage, it goes Gallon/Darboh/Chesson/Dileo.

maize-blue

June 26th, 2013 at 10:45 AM ^

In my opinion there isn't a team on the schedule we can not beat. If somebody shows up that can rush for 100 yards/game we should be in a good posistion to win most if not all the games. I don't think we will have one feature back though, probably a group of 2-3 guys that share the load and I'm hoping that gets it done.

We Are The Borg

June 26th, 2013 at 10:51 AM ^

It looks like the media has done their job by hyping Northwestern. Am I the only one who isn't buying it? Their game versus Ohio will be hyped and then the Buckeyes will crush them. I think M will beat them convincingly, too.

Logan88

June 26th, 2013 at 12:31 PM ^

No, I too am not nearly as high on NWestern as the media. Their schedule next year is much more difficult than it was last season. I know that they are returning a lot of good players and I think they will do their usual job of scaring the sh&t out of just about every team they play but for all of that they will still finish no better than 8-4 in the regular season IMO.

Wee-Bey Brice

June 26th, 2013 at 10:51 AM ^

M cruises by ND, Penn State & surprisingly Northwestern.

The Sparty game in E.L. will be over by the 3rd quarter, setting up a much more spirited contest in 2014 when Drake Harris arrives.

Will lose either the Nebraska or Ohio game, probably the latter setting up a rematch in the title game in which we win.

 

boliver46

June 26th, 2013 at 11:02 AM ^

Sparty will burn couches

Urban will crap his pants trying to figure out Mattison's defense and wave of elite pass rushers

Brian Kelly's face will burst and we will all see his blood is actually Grape Kool-Aid (hence his apoplectic purple faced scream fests)

I will be at the OSU/UM game for the first time EVER.

 

Ron Utah

June 26th, 2013 at 12:34 PM ^

I think our D-line is very good, but not spectacular.  Our defense overall is better than last year's.

But I am convinced the season hinges on the O-line.  If we can open holes for the backs and protect DG, we could go 11-1.  If not, 9-3.

Smidgens

June 26th, 2013 at 11:16 AM ^

CMU - MACtion season opener, baby! We see the pro-style in play, and baby it's a beauty.  Even get a safety! Michigan 37-10. W

ND - Under the Lights Part 2: Electric Boogaloo. Without Golson, the ND offense strugges and we squeeze out a close 17-14 win. W

Akron - Not as much MACtion as CMU. Backups go in around the middle of the 4th quarter out of respect. 42-9. W

UConn - I'll go with Heiko's 14-6 prediction. W

Minnesota - The LBJ stays in Ann Arbor, although Minnesota puts up a bigger fight than expected, and takes the lead at the beginning of the second half, but Michigan is able to pull away, 38-21. W

PSU - A visit to Happy Valley ends unhappily. Penn State is able to outplay Michigan on special teams, with a punt return knocking the wind out of our sails in a close game, Penn State wins 21-14. L

Indiana - Indiana's offense keeps up for a while, but their defense gets tired and gives way to Michigan, 35-24. W

MSU - Sparty's offense isn't much improved with Bollman. Michigan 20-10. W

Nebraska - Revenge! Taylor Martinez gets a couple good runs on us but Michigan prevails in an exciting game, with Gardner playing out of his mind for 300+ yards and 4 TDs, along with a TD each for Green and Fitz. 48-41. W

NU - Ah, Northwestern. Fitzgerald's Wildcats live up to their potential and hype, and we don't have Roundtree to make a ridiculous last-second catch, Wildcats 35-28. L

Iowa - Iowa's only B1G win is against Purdue. 42-10, W

OSU - OSU comes in with a loss and likely out of NC contention. No gold pants, good guys win 38-35, yaaay. W

So we're at 10-2, with losses to NU and PSU. Luckily, Northwestern has losses to OSU, Wisconsin, and MSU (thanks, Sparty!), and we go to the B1GCG.

B1G Championship Game - Rematch with OSU. Bad guys win 31-21, booo. L

At 10-3, we likely don't make a BCS bowl, play Georgia or someone in Capitol One Bowl.

****

OSU - 11-3, with losses @ MIchigan, PSU, and a loss in the Rose Bowl. To who? With Stanford being in the NC (yup!), and 1-loss Alabama losing to 2-loss South Carolina in the SECCG, the Rose Bowl takes Bama and Saban whups Urban once more, 38-17.

ND - 8-4, with losses to us, OU, ASU, and Stanford.

MSU - 9-3 with losses to ND, us, Nebraska.

Smidgens

June 26th, 2013 at 11:35 AM ^

I can see Penn State dropping Wisconsin and a game they shouldn't lose like Indiana or Purdue. And speaking of, I went with Penn State as OSU's other loss just to be decisive, I think they'll drop one of @ Purdue (Boilermaker black magic), @ NU, or PSU.

Bodogblog

June 26th, 2013 at 12:42 PM ^

PSU offense will not score 14 points on M's D.  They have no quarterback and are awful on O.  Yes even with a great coach in O'Brien.

My prediction: this is the game where Countess and some of our other greedy DB's pin their ears back and catch some footballs.

Perkis-Size Me

June 26th, 2013 at 11:16 AM ^

Your projections are about where I have Gardner as well. I think a whole offseason of work will do wonders for him, mastering the offense and knowing he is our guy, but I think he'll still have some hiccup moments. He'll throw some untimely interceptions, but the frequency with which it happens won't be anywhere close to where Denard was. I do think he'll step up big time in quite a few games, OSU being one of them.

I could see MSU being easier than expected, but Notre Dame will still be tough. Their defense will still be stingy, and while Tommy Rees does not scare me in the slightest (no more Michael Floyd to bail him out), its not like he doesn't know what he's doing. Plus they've got some good running backs coming in. It'll be a 14-10 kind of game, but being at home, I give us the advantage. MSU will still have a good defense, but I could see their offense regressing even further this year since Bell is gone. They'll have a tough time putting up points of any kind, until proven otherwise. Maybe I'd give them a little more credit if their receivers knew how to catch the ball.

Northwestern is a tossup, but if we lose that game, I think it'll be because of the option and their run game. We had a really tough time stopping it last year. That, and Venric Mark is going to be scary good. Luckily, that will be a mini home-game for us. No one at Northwestern still really cares about football.

A lot of people worry about Nebraska. Nebraska just does not scare me at all. Pelini is yet to prove he can win big road games, Martinez always falls apart in critical situations and throws 3-4 picks, especially on the road, and their god-awful defense from last year has a good chance of becoming even worse this year. I could legitimately see another 2011 version of this game. I think Nebraska is as good now as its ever going to get under Pelini.

OSU decided in last 5 minutes? Well, that's a given. I think all the OSU blowhards predicting a blowout are going to be unpleasantly surprised. Unquestionably the toughest game all year, but Brady Hoke does not lose at home.

I think next year's running game will be a poor man's version of the Alabama running game, with Fitz/Green being akin to Lacy/Yeldon. I'm not comparing either of our guys to theirs, as neither of them have proven to be on the level of Yeldon or Lacy. But, I just think it'll be a similar style of play with going for a 1-2 punch. Fitz will start the year as the primary guy, but by the end of the year, I think he and Green will split carries pretty evenly. Something tells me Green will have a huge game somewhere, and it'll push him for more carries.

If we beat Notre Dame in UTL II, someone is going to pull a Dymonte Thomas and commit on the spot. Whether its Hand, Jackson, McDowell, or some 2015 kid, who knows. But someone will commit right then and there should we win.

Notre Dame will not have 5 losses. The defense is too good to allow that, and the offense will probably do just enough in most games to squeak out a win. I see 9-3 or 10-2 for them. MSU, on the other hand, could easily lose 6 games. If their offense stays the same or regresses, which it really could, I see 5-6 losses on their docket. Doesn't matter how good their defense is.

For us, a lot hinges on the ND game. We win that game, and it could propel us to another 10-11 win season. Lose, and we might be talking about 9-3 or another 8-4. Tossup games are Notre Dame, Northwestern, and OSU. Fortunately, 2 of those 3 are at home, and I give us the edge in those home games.

DenverBuckeye

June 27th, 2013 at 3:27 PM ^

"I think next year's running game will be a poor man's version of the Alabama running game, with Fitz/Green being akin to Lacy/Yeldon."

-If they even approached Yeldon and Lacy's production, you guys should go undefeated. I agree with you that Hoke will try to have a similar feel as the Bama run game, but it's hard to do without Bama's OL. 

bluenectarine

June 26th, 2013 at 11:17 AM ^

as I said before:

 

It really is that simple. Devin is the best QB in the land (ok maybe Manziel or Bridgewater) but Devin is close. Derrik Green and Fitz will make us happy. Gallon is 1st team all big ten, and Darboh/Chessun will surprise. Our TEs are easily the best in the big ten. Now onto the Oline. Our tackles destroy anybody else's tackles. Our center is probably average. Now our guards...Kalis and Braden are 5* and 4* guys!! Give me redshirt 5* guys over 5th year senior 2* ANYDAY!...Besides, they are the interior of the line...In a pro-style offense, interior is not nearly as critical as exterior....The Dline should be manned by two 2nd or 3rd team interior guys and outside we will have 5 or 6 explosives guys rotating with Black being a 1st team all B1G. LB's should be excellent with Ross surprising and being a second teamer. I think our secondary will be extremely effective allowing us to fill in the box. Overall, the talent on D will be above average. The difference though my friends, is the coaching. Borges knows how to coach a pro-style offense, he has been there. Mattison? come on he is worth 2 wins BY HIMSELF...and FInally, Coach Hoke....nobody understands the job of a head coach better...calm the troops, never panic, trust your coaches and players...HAVE FAITH...the final two games will be OSU in Indy and then the bowl...now those 2 games will be toss-ups....but you just never know!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

Ron Utah

June 26th, 2013 at 12:43 PM ^

 

In a pro-style offense, interior [O-line] is not nearly as critical as exterior.


I wish this were true. What it should say: "In a PRO offense, interior [O-line] is not nearly as critical as exterior."

In the college game (and Borges' offense in particular) you are still much more run-heavy, and need strong guards to pull, run the inside zone (Borges runs a lot of this), and protect your QB from today's DTs, which are much bigger pass-rushing threats in college than they used to be.

 

Decatur Jack

June 26th, 2013 at 11:25 AM ^

We lose to OSU in the Big House, which hurts, but we face them again in the Big Ten championship and win. OSU's national title hopes are dashed and we go to the Rose Bowl, where we face UCLA and win.

So 13-1.

yoyo

June 26th, 2013 at 11:36 AM ^

We lose to ND and NW and beat the rest including OSU twice (Big ten championship).  We beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl. 

 

-Gardner is top 5 for a Heisman and All Big Ten and Lewan is a top 5 pick!

MGoNukeE

June 26th, 2013 at 11:44 AM ^

9-3, with losses to ND, Northwestern, and OSU. This should be enough to put Michigan in the title game, given that Michigan and OSU will have clinched by the time of The Game. OSU plays harder the first game since their record is better, but the added fatigue will be enough to give Michigan the advantage in the title game. Other thoughts:

The defense will be very good, though it will be a few big-time players (like Jake Ryan) away from a great defense. Numerically, an average offense should be able to score 17-20 points on this defense.

The offense will be okay but feel frustrating. Gardner will be improved but limited given he's really the only QB ready to play; my guess is he shows himself as an above-average passer and scrambles well, but with only 5-10 carries a game. Can look even better if Darboh/Funchess develop into productive players. The running game will get worse than last year.

The team appears primed for an excellent year in 2014, though the schedule also gets tougher so we'll see.

Trebor

June 26th, 2013 at 11:58 AM ^

Gardner breaks the school record for TD passes in a single season (25, if I remember). He'll have 29 to go along with 13 INTs, and just barely crack 3000 yards. He'll make some hay on the ground, finishing with 350 yards and 8 TDs.

Green is the starting RB by the time mid-October rolls around. Toussaint will still struggle to create yards behind the inexperienced interior OL, and while Green isn't much better this first season, the staff gets him ready for big time duties next season. He finishes with 750 yards and 7 TDs at a 4.2 clip. Toussaint still gets plenty of snaps, but ends up at 600 yards and 4 TDs at a 4.0 clip.

Gallon benefits the most from a full season of Gardner, obviously, and finishes just behind Robinson in terms of the B1G receiving list. 1100 yards and 10 TDs gets him on the All-Big Ten first team at WR. Funchess doesn't score in bunches, much to our dismay. Gardner doesn't develop the necessary chemistry with him (and forces passes to other targets, resulting in the 13 INTs noted above). He finishes with a disappointing 350 yards and 2 TDs despite being hand-wavingly open on numerous occasions. Darboh has a great first season, with 700 yards and 6 TDs.

Lewan is an All-American but loses the Outland Trophy to Jake Matthews. Schofield is second-team All-B1G. Kalis is first-team All-B1G freshman and honorable mention overall. Miller and Braden are the other two interior OL, but struggle enough to reduce the effectiveness of the running game and force the passing game to score the points.

Clark brings it all together this year and provides the pass rush force we've been missing since Graham. The rest of the DL is adequate, but nothing special, and teams start neutralizing Clark as the year goes on. Ryan returns for the MSU game, but isn't as effective as he was last year due to the injury. Ross proves everyone right by dominating from his LB spot, but gets jobbed by higher-profile guys for All-B1G. Countess starts slow, giving up some things early, but as the season goes on gets more comfortable and is second-team All-B1G CB in the conference by season's end.

As for the team's performance: The CMU, Akron, Connecticut, Minnesota, Indiana, and Iowa games won't be particularly close. Notre Dame's defense forces a few turnovers as the running game does nothing, and spoils the night for everyone. PSU takes us to the wire, but a late turnover by PSU's QB seals the game for the good guys. MSU preps all season for Gardner and company, attacks the interior OL with repeated blitzes, and wins a close one; they also take advantage of the generous schedule to win the division. Nebraska struggles to move the ball on our defense, and without Bellomy we have some semblance of an offense, enough to win a close one. Northwestern doesn't get an on-fire Siemian like last year, and loses by a close, but comfortable, margin. OSU, like MSU, rides an easy schedule to a division title, and they prove just a bit too much for us to handle this year. 9-3 record, Capital One bowl against LSU (which we lose when their defense smothers us).

Trebor

June 26th, 2013 at 12:27 PM ^

I hope I'm wrong too. But I also think that our offense isn't going to be as good as people hope - I fear that Gardner will be similar to Denard in that he's turnover-prone, and that can cost us some important games. Plus the whole interior OL likely being RS-freshmen scares the shit out of me, especially after Toussaint's struggles last year and Green having just a few weeks to prepare for the season.

MFanWM

June 26th, 2013 at 11:58 AM ^

If the RG-C-LG performance and Fitz/Green/Smith can finally get back to establishing a solid, go-to run game, I honestly do not think that there is a game where Michigan cannot win.  If the reality is deja-vu with visions of Vince Smith up the middle for -1/no gain are the continued reality, I would say 8-4 basement with 10-2 ceiling.

IMO I also cannot see Hoke moving to the same conservative style that Carr used to employ on offense with get a lead and move to do not lose in the 3rd qtr-beyond.  If anything, he has shown the tendency to want to attack and continue to take chances with 4th down situations, etc, so I hope that that result will become a move to a much more USC-style hammer down.....at least that is what I hope these incoming recruiting classes are being selected for.  

MGoArchive

June 26th, 2013 at 11:59 AM ^

11-1 regular season. Only loss is to Penn State.

We beat Ohio, twice. NC bound. We lose in the NC game though.

MidnightBlue

June 26th, 2013 at 12:06 PM ^

the MSU game in EL is the one that I wonder about... this is their National Championship game.... and not only that, this upcoming game for them might be the biggest in their history, because they are trying to become a national player, and are standing on the edge of a cliff if they lose...  I hope youre right.

Bay_Area_Blue

June 26th, 2013 at 12:54 PM ^

Anything other than a 7-0 start has to come off as a bit of a disappointment. If we drop any of those first 7 games, I'm guessing it would be UTL 2 but I honestly think we will handle the first half of the schedule without too much groaning around here. Playing at Happy Valley might actually be one of the harder games of the entire schedule. I watched most of PSU's games last year and they always played hard; with the exception of Fickell blowing a couple of games early on, they could have finished with a much nicer looking overall record. 

After that, it obviously gets more interesting. Jake Ryan returns just as the schedule gets more challenging, but we advance to 8-0 after a spirited win against State. Devin accounts for 3 total TDs (2 passing, 1 rushing) and we head out of EL with a 27-17 win. 

Nebraska will be tough. Their offense really shouldn't slow down much, but they are playing us at the Big House and we make it a point to give them a hard time for last year's hair-tearing-out loss. Robinson is all smiles from Jacksonville. M - 30, Nebraska - 24

Back-to-back road games against Iowa and Northwestern, respectively. I think by this point, Devin has passed for 24 TDs and has rushed for another 5. He is definitely in the "Heisman conversation." His CMP % is hovering around 62% and he has thrown for 2,254 yards. 

Anyway, Michigan is now 9-0 and ranked #5 in the country behind a couple of SEC teams, Ohio, and Stanford. They roll Iowa and the defense is really starting to come along, as is the offensive line. A 10-0 Michigan team then heads to Evanston. Do they lose to a very good Northwestern team? Hell no. NW is a fashionable pick right now to be one of our losses but if we take care of business the way this team is designed to do, then I we beat them. It's close. It goes to OT. But ultimately, we win. A showdown of historical proportions emerges, as Michigan is now ranked #3 and Ohio is ranked #2. Both are undefeated. Both WILL play again in the conference championship. Who enters undefeated? Michigan, duh. Who wins that game? Michigan, duh!

Devin finishes the year off with 2,890 passing yards; 29 passing TDs and 7 rushing TDs. He's a stud and gets invited to NYC. He brings home the hardware, because an undefeated Michigan squad led by a stud QB deserves it more than ANYONE. 

Of course, these are predictions COVERED in maize and blue sprinkles. I'm a diehard Michigan fan who can't accept that we might actually drop 2 or 3 of those games, likely as it may be. Go Blue! 

My realistic prediction: 10-2, we rebound to beat Ohio in Indy, advance to 11-2 entering the Rose Bowl where we make amends for our poor Rose Bowl record in the mid-2000s and win, resulting in heightened expectations for the next year's team to make it to the NC game. 

EDIT: Ficken's the name of their kicker. 

MGoLogan

June 26th, 2013 at 12:22 PM ^

I thought we would go 9-3 last year, with Nebraska being the game I missed.  This year I think 11-1, with the loss coming either at PSU or Northwestern.  Devin passes for over 3000 yards, Gallon has over 1000 yards receiving and Fitz returns to his 2011 form while rushing for over 1000 yards (Derrick Green rushes for 700 yards).  The defense finishes in the top 10 in both scoring and total yards.

Other records of rivals:

ND - 8-4

MSU - 7-5

OSU - 11-1

 

 

Logan88

June 26th, 2013 at 12:25 PM ^

*coughs* Actually, I predicted our 2012 season perfectly in terms of wins and losses and the teams we lost to (it's on page 4 of the link): I said UM would go 8-4 with losses to Bama, ND, Nebraska and OSU. I incorrectly predicted we would make the conference championship game, however, as Nebraska had a much better season than I expected.

Now, having tooted my own horn, I will admit that I am having a much harder time predicting the 2013 season for UM. I think there is a chance for much greater variance than last season as I could see UM finishing as low as 7-5 (not likely but possible) or as high as, wait for it, 12-0 (also not likely). I think the most likely result is 9-3, so I guess I'll go with that but I think 10-2 is also a pretty likely outcome. I think the losses will be: ND and two out of @PSU, @MSU, @Northwestern and OSU. I don't think UM will make the championship game this year, though, as Nebraska has a very easy path the the title game. I think they have a very good chance of going 7-1 in conference play in 2013 with the only loss being to UM.

tl;dr -- UM will go 9-3 in 2013.

Tuebor

June 26th, 2013 at 12:26 PM ^

Fitz bounces back and rushes for 1200 yards and 10 TDs.  Frank Clark doesn't lead the team in sacks as he pulls a double team all through big ten play.  Gardner places top 5 in heisman race but doesn't win.

WestSider

June 26th, 2013 at 12:28 PM ^

have it right. Michigan runs the board. Braden shines on O-line. Running back committee is adequate and never tired, racking up huge turf numbers collectively. Devin is solid and unshakeable. Receivers better than believed, tight ends tear it up. Defense surprisingly solid. Depth on both sides contribute to success. Kicking game good. Coaching hits stride with improved team cohesion and players understanding playbook, reaction choices, intersquad accountability and motivation. Deep seated hatred for OSU results in highly motivated effort and win. State goes down hard. NW tough but overpowered. Nebraska is dominated. Time of possession will be excellent. Win Big championship game and launch into BCS championship game. UM faithful's faith tips scales in UM"s favor in National Championship year. Book it

Ron Utah

June 26th, 2013 at 12:30 PM ^

I felt the O-line and WRs would be the key to our season before I did my research on Al Borges.  Now, I think the whole season pretty much hinges on the O-Line, which will be good, but still stumble a bit with rookie mistakes, esp. on the road and against top competition.  We will have one of the best O-lines in the country in 2014, especially the interior.

  • Devin Gardner will have a top-5 in U-M history season in yards (>2636), TDs (>22), and completions (>214).  He probably has a top-3 season in yards (>2743) and TDs (>24).
  • We will NOT have a 1,100 yard rusher.  Fitz comes close (finishing around 1,000) and Green adds another 500 or so as part of a good-but-not-great rushing attack that pulverizes the soft teams and struggles against the very good teams.
  • Gallon has about 60 catches for about 1,000 yards, and 7 TDs
  • Darboh and Funchess both have over 30 catches
  • Agree with OP - DG will throw some bad INTs, but his TD/INT will still be over 2:1.  I do believe we'll see double-digit INTs from DG, probably averaging around one per game.
  • ND will be a close win, but not another classic.  We will never feel like the game is out-of-control, but we still win by seven or fewer points
  • Nebraska is the unexpected easy win.  The 'Huskers may still win the Legends division, though.
  • MSU is hard-fought, nail-biting win.  Our offense will score a TD this year, but we win scoring 21 or fewer points, and they score 17 or more
  • Either PSU or Northwestern--maybe both--beats us on the road.  PSU will be a dog fight either way, and unexpectedly so.
  • Ohio is undefeated coming into "The Game".  We beat them by seven OR MORE points, but they win the B1G, whether they play us or Nebraska.
  • The only other team that will contend for our division is Nebraska, whom we will beat at home.  IF we lose two conference games, Nebraska will win the Legends, as we will be the only team to beat them.
  • We will finish with three 5* recruits--including Hand (and Peppers, obvs).
  • DG gets at least a 2nd-round draft grade, but decides to stay.

WINS: CMU, ND, Akron, @UConn, Minnesota, Indiana, @Iowa, Nebraska

Toss-Ups: @PSU, @MSU, @NW, Ohio

Final record: 10-2, 6-2 (Nebraska wins Legends), 11-2 (bowl win)

 

DualThreat

June 26th, 2013 at 12:37 PM ^

The prediction I had for 2013 as of a few months ago is very similar to the OP's.  I also included summaries of years beyond 2013.

 2013

- Central Michigan - W

 - Notre Dame - W

 - Akron - W

 - @UConn - W (closer than expected)

 - Minnesota - W

 - @Penn State - W

 - Indiana - W

 - @Michigan State - W (easier than expected)

 - Nebraska - W (easier than expected)

 - @Northwestern - L

 - @Iowa - W

 - Ohio State - W

 - Big 10 Championship game - Ohio State (again) - L

 - Capital One Bowl vs. Florida - W

Final record:  12-2



Preseason prediction accuracy for 2012: 100% !!! ...although I didn't post it here at MGoBlog :-( -  Indeed I happend to guess every game correctly, not just the W/L total!



Way early predictions for future years:

2014:  11-3 (no playoffs)

2015:  13-1 (lose 1st round of playoffs)

2016:  12-2 (no playoffs)

2017:  14-0 (National Championship) - book it :-)

2018:  10-4 (no playoffs)