Is 9-4 possible? Could this bridge us into B!G championship runs in 2014/2015?
I was very dissapointed in the team's performance on Saturday and quite baffled as to how we continue to be ignorant to the fact that we simply cannot run the ball conventionally. The Nebraska game has been previously covered in several posts so it's not worth ranting over in this one. Can this team beat a B1G winless Northwestern team? Can this team beat a decent Iowa team on the road? The Ohio game is going to be tough obviously. Let's say that we go a modest 8-4 in the regular season and draw a manageable bowl matchup. Can we beat another conference's 4th or 5th best team?
I know pessimism will probably trump this entire post but just bear with me for a second. Northwestern is worse than we are. Iowa is not too tall of a task if we adjust our offensive gameplan. Ohio is going to be a very difficult matchup for us and we will be a massive underdog. Michigan played well in the bowl game last year against South Carolina and should have beaten a very good Gamecock team. Michigan can go 9-4 folks. It is possible and that is what we as a fanbase should focus on. How can we get there?
The difference between finishing 9-4 with some momentum and respectability and going 7-6 or 8-5 is huge because it shows life. 9-4 is nothing to brag about but it's respectable and in recruiting, recruits could be sold on the premise that they could be the missing links in turning a 9-4 record into a 11-2 record or better. We have to keep this class of 2014 together and a 9-4 Michigan team with players like Peppers...Hand...Mcdowell...Harris...Speight....Ferns....Cole....Mone....Marshall and coming on board for team 135....things start to look up quickly. Add a new line coach and some extra emphasis on next season's B1G schedule and we could be a YEAR away from restoring Michigan football. Look at Auburn this season for example. We need work on our Offensive staff for sure but the program infastructure and recruiting muscle is there for a quick bounce back guys.
This is Michigan and will always be Michigan. Through thick and thin believe because when it gets turned around...it's going to feel pretty awesome. Until then just enjoy the ride as much as you can and lean on M Basketball and the Lions!
Beat Northwestern and Go Blue!
November 11th, 2013 at 12:41 AM ^
Oh look, the most unoriginal, lazy, inane post that can be made! This must be the millionth time this year someone has come up with this hilarious, witty response! Bravo, Dave! I look forward to what other gems you can come up with! Perhaps something else that requires absolutely zero thought and intelligence? I hope so!
November 11th, 2013 at 7:13 AM ^
What more do you want? I don't think they win 9 games either. Did you want an analysis of each game and his theories on why they wouldn't win the remaining games? Get a life. I'm sure there are about 100 people who would have had the same response.
November 11th, 2013 at 10:34 AM ^
The only thing lazier than a single-word "no" post is telling someone to get a life! I don't even know what that means. "Get a life." You could use that insult for any occasion and it would still mean nothing. "I disagree with this guy, so I'm going to tell him to get a life. That will show him!"
November 11th, 2013 at 10:43 AM ^
Dude...shut up.
November 11th, 2013 at 12:18 PM ^
I can't stop now, I have to ride this thing all the way to the end. Thanks for your suggestion, though. And might I suggest something to you in return: get a life. And stop arguing with strangers on the internet all day.
November 11th, 2013 at 7:35 AM ^
Someone has a case of the Mondays.
November 11th, 2013 at 8:37 AM ^
Well, if one asks a closed ended question like, "Is 9-4 possible?" then they really shouldn't have any expectation of receiving any thing other than a one word, yes-or-no response.
If you want to call some one out for being lazy then maybe start with the quality of the question posed.
November 10th, 2013 at 11:52 PM ^
Northwestern is worse than we are.
The bookies disagree. Look, I'm trying to be objective here. Who says they're "worse" than us?
Iowa is not too tall of a task if we adjust our offensive gameplan.
Yes, and marrying Kate Upton is not too tall a task if I adjust my ability to throw a 96-mph fastball.
November 11th, 2013 at 12:01 AM ^
I know winning the next two games doesn't seem likely right now, but northwestern is really bad and just as down as we are. Iowa is playing well, but they are the kind of team we can beat. They don't blitz much and aren't flashy on offense. We CAN win the next two! And it would be huge in terms of recruiting to do so.
November 11th, 2013 at 12:10 AM ^
I'm pessimistic and thought 6-3 but b/c I was so sure that there would be a rash of serious injuries to Lewan and Gardener.
November 11th, 2013 at 12:23 AM ^
I was starting to feel like Jerry Maguire lol. We can do this and we will do this because it's vital to sustaining the program. We cannot afford a 6-6 or 7-5 season. This needs to get done.
November 11th, 2013 at 9:39 AM ^
And the Lions can still go on to win the Super Bowl this season, too. And it needs to get done. But realistically?
November 11th, 2013 at 12:34 AM ^
I thought I heard the coaches say they didn't think Nebraska blitzed that much before this game. If their D-coordinator is even remotely smart, he'll blitz to plow through our o-line and rattle DG. Iowa's offense - MSU is not flashy on offense either but they did enough to win against us. So whats your point?
November 11th, 2013 at 12:43 AM ^
Iowa =/= MSU. Don't really think that needs any further explanation. What is YOUR point?
November 11th, 2013 at 5:42 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 6:01 AM ^
they were also "beaten," despite the fact that we played two of the worst games we've played in 20 years.
November 11th, 2013 at 6:09 AM ^
"we played two of the worst games we've played in 20 years."
=> damn, we managed to play two of the worst games in the past 20 years in a few week span? if this is true, Michigan's problem is far deeper than I thought...
November 11th, 2013 at 7:12 AM ^
you only need to go back 15. in 1998, notre dame and syracuse absolutely bombed the shit out of us...and we responded by reeling off eight straight from there...some of those wins were real ugly.
that team had a lousy offense and good defense, too, and a coaching staff that looked too conservative, especially when they lost. then in 1999, we went 10-2 and finished in the top ten with a senior quarterback that turned out to be pretty good, despite fans not being too fond of him the previous season.
November 11th, 2013 at 8:40 AM ^
We couldn't handle Jarius Jackson or Donovan McNabb. They were mobile QBs in spread offenses. That's where you heard the "we can't defend mobile QBs" and "we can't stop the spread" start up. That's why we lost, not because of conservative offense. They were also our first two games of the season after after we replaced our starting QB and Woodson, not to mention some other key players.
In each loss that year, including the OSU game, we gave up over 30 points. And those teams were ranked at the time. There was progress made throughout the season. We beat top 10 Wisconsin and Penn State in November. In fact we outscored them 54-10. That shows progress. Now we can't score against statistically poor defenses.
November 11th, 2013 at 10:14 AM ^
If those were the two worst games we've played in 20 years (the entire 2008 season disagrees, and a multitude of others), then what were the Akron and UConn games?
November 11th, 2013 at 2:36 AM ^
Means they're worse than us. Michigan would likely be favored by 1 on a neutral field and 4.5 at home.
November 10th, 2013 at 11:58 PM ^
So sure. We could finish 9-4. I'll ignore Akron, UConn, PSU, MSU, Nebraska, historically bad rushing games, which includes rushing for roughly 230 yds against NU than Wyoming, an just say, sure - anything's possible. But that expectation can't be based on what we've seen 9 games in, is all.
November 10th, 2013 at 11:59 PM ^
Like the attitude. Thank you
November 11th, 2013 at 12:48 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 12:02 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 12:03 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 12:15 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 8:43 AM ^
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304448204579185702090813172
Lost in this news are about 50 remaining Blockbuster stores owned by franchisees that will remain open.
Alan Payne of Austin, Texas, owns 26 of them: 13 in Alaska and 13 along the Mexican border from El Paso to Brownsville.
November 11th, 2013 at 4:12 PM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 12:08 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 12:44 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 1:25 AM ^
a fucking lie. Everyone knows you cannot fuck a mermaid.
They can only give BJ's.
November 11th, 2013 at 9:28 AM ^
Pictures or it didn't happen.
November 11th, 2013 at 12:04 AM ^
If I didn't think they could prevail I wouldn't keep going to the games.
Of course, it's possible they could win the next 3 and the bowl game. Changes need to happen in scheme/playcalling and players need to execute better.
Greg Mattison can keep doing what he's doing.
Those who stay...
November 11th, 2013 at 12:07 AM ^
Sometimes the difference between a mediocre team and a good team is quite small and correctable as the season progresses, but it's pretty damn late in the year to expect some kind of transformation. There are just a combination of things snowballing, and it's not just on the offense. Nebraska at home was the best shot of getting a win of the last games on the schedule, and we saw how that went.
November 11th, 2013 at 12:07 AM ^
This was going to be a tough game even when we thought we had a good team.
Considering Michigan has been to only three Rose Bowls as B1G champion since 1993 and won only one of them, maybe there needs to be some perspective about what this program has actually accomplished since the early 90s.
November 11th, 2013 at 1:54 AM ^
I don't think you can really extrapolate to the 90s. Going three times as B10 champs between '93 and '04 is pretty solid in the modern Big Ten era. It's just that since 2004 we've really, really stunk up the joint with one of the worst decades in Michgan history. Good thing I started my serious fandom in 2002.
November 11th, 2013 at 5:28 AM ^
gets it.
November 11th, 2013 at 12:13 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 12:21 AM ^
Anything is possible. Truly.
Probable? Hell no, but I'm going to watch and find out. There's no hope, so there's nothing to lose if the outcome is as the odds decree. But...since the odds are, in fact, so far against it, if we do go 9-4 then it will have to have taken some sort of apotheosis of Gardner or Clark And if that happens it will be fun to see live.
November 11th, 2013 at 12:22 AM ^
whichever you're using is starting to cause drain bamage. Unless something truly miraculous happens between now and Saturday, this team is pretty much toast. I like optimism as much as the next guy, but in this case, realism makes much more sense.
Michigan has a very slim chance to beat Northwestern. There is very little chance of winning at Iowa. The OSU game is a forgone conclusion. It should be a beatdown of epic proportions. When Tressel was there he wouldn't run up the score, Urbs might try to score 70.
There is no evidence that anything with this team is improving. The Oline is a mess, the QB is constantly running for his life, the RBS can;t even get to the LOS. The secondary seems to be getting depleated and those still in there can't cover much. The best play of the game was Wile's 70-yard punt.
What if anything mentioned above gives you the idea that Michigan can win the next three games? It looks like 6-6 and a crappy bowl game. After that, cleaing house of a couple of assistants is mandatory.
November 11th, 2013 at 6:00 AM ^
"michigan has a very slim chance to beat northwestern. there is very little chance of winning at iowa." really? slim? very little? have you even seen those teams? they are both terrible football teams. we're pretty lousy right now, but the simple fact is that we have more talent than both. go ahead and bitch about coaching, but those two teams have at least as many holes as we do right now.
you know what gives me the idea that we can win the next two games? the fact that if we make...what three plays, total, against penn state and nebraska we're 8-1. argue that we didn't "deserve" to win those two, and i won't disagree, but we still had both of them won with even the tiniest of breaks.
November 11th, 2013 at 9:01 AM ^
November 12th, 2013 at 8:03 AM ^
...at some point the breaks cut the other way, which means we're probably right about where we deserve to be, record-wise. i'd also submit that 6-3 is right about where our talent level is, too, OC fiascoes notwithstanding.
November 11th, 2013 at 12:24 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 12:26 AM ^
OP Michiganman14 - I love your optimism! I vote YOU! for the imaginary inaugural INTERNATIONAL WORLD PEACE ALLIANCE! We can do this!
November 11th, 2013 at 1:15 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 12:28 AM ^
I don't buy for a second that the coaches are 100% at fault with this tire fire.