Toughest games left
What is your order of the hardest games left on the schedule knowing what we know now. Mine-
1. At osu
2. At msu
3. PSU
4. Wisconsin
5. Nebraska ( w Martinez )
6. At Northwestern
7. Indiana
8. Maryland
9. Rutgers
msu is probably the 4th best team Michigan plays the rest of the way but until this team beats a ranked team on the road they are my #2.
It's a little scary to think Michigan has a potential of 4 losses left on their schedule without a slip up but I have a lot of confidence in Harbaugh , D. Brown, Patterson, and the rest of the team.
My pre season prediction was 10-2 with a loss to ND and msu, BT champs and an overall record of 13-3. For now I'm sticking with it . Go BLUE!
September 18th, 2018 at 7:39 AM ^
Yeah and then the deluge hit making it extremely difficult for Michigan to mount any kind of comeback. How many games are won in the fourth quarter? How many comebacks completed late in the game? Sometimes winning teams need all 4 quarters to do so.
September 18th, 2018 at 9:02 AM ^
Sorry to be contrarian on this subject, but I still hate this argument. Everyone knew the weather was coming in the second half, and the first half was crucial. We got beat in the first half. If we were so worried about the weather we should have built a first half lead. Of course it was going to be hard to mount a comeback with Okorn in a rain storm. But the rain coming was not a surprise to anyone.
September 18th, 2018 at 12:47 PM ^
I am with TK. The rain is a weak excuse. It wasn't even raining hard the whole second half.
September 19th, 2018 at 7:16 AM ^
I think you need to go back and watch at about the halfway mark in the third quarter.
September 18th, 2018 at 2:23 PM ^
While I agree that Michigan never should have been trailing before the rain, the only good teams Sparty has beaten since 2015 have been in rain, or from a miracle fumbled punt. OSU 2015: rain. Michigan 2017: rain. PSU 2017: rain. Iowa in 2015 was not a good team. They had one of the weakest schedules in the country and got demolished by Stanford.
As opposed to not playing in rain, Alabama 2015: blowout. Michigan 2016: loss with a late attempt at comeback. Wisconsin 2016: bad loss. OSU 2016: loss. PSU 2016: bad loss. Notre dame 2017: bad loss. OSU 2017: worst of the bunch. I’ll even throw in above average northwestern last year: OT loss.
Hell last year when they beat us, the next week they barely squeaked by Minnesota, a win by 3. Minnesota didn't look like they belonged on the same field as Michigan later that year.
September 20th, 2018 at 7:30 AM ^
So according to your logic no team should ever fall behind. They should never rely on time available in the second half to mount a comeback. They should never have to make adjustments to their game plan based on new data that may take time to fully implement. Sometimes it takes a first half just to figure out how to win.
Once the rain hit neither team was able to produce any meaningful offense. The only reason UM scored in the third was due to a bad punt deep in MSU territory that gave UM the ball at the MSU 33 yard line. The rain made throwing, catching, running, punting, kicking and even just holding the ball significantly more difficult. All MSU had to do was stack the box and force O’Korn to throw which was dicey even when the weather was good.
September 18th, 2018 at 12:36 AM ^
OSU
PSU
Wisc
MSU
September 18th, 2018 at 7:12 AM ^
I think this board severely undervalues penn state. They've got a ton of talent. Just because they struggled with app state, doesn't mean they didn't work those issues out....
September 18th, 2018 at 10:43 AM ^
I had them as my #3, and I don't think that's all that ludicrous. OSU is an obvious #1, and while I understand PSU is a talented team, they don't have Michigan's number like MSU does.
MSU doesn't look like a world-beater, sure, but they are not going to be the same team, when we play them, that they are now. There is no disputing that Dantonio has this team's number. Call it luck, flukes, whatever you want. The wins are what matters, and he's gotten them. They are going to play their best game against us. Take that to the bank. And its also on the road. Michigan hasn't exactly fared well on the road over the last 10+ years.
I have PSU as a slightly easier game because 1) its at home, and 2) PSU does not spend 365 days a year living and breathing for their match-up with Michigan.
September 18th, 2018 at 7:41 AM ^
The next game they play, every Saturday.
September 18th, 2018 at 7:53 AM ^
So Nebraska? Nope.
September 18th, 2018 at 7:50 AM ^
How do we go 13-3? Even if we make it to the title game that’s still 12 regular season, 1 conf title, 1 semi final and the natty. That’s only 15 games
September 18th, 2018 at 10:40 AM ^
Hes counting the team scrimmage,week before the playoffs start
September 18th, 2018 at 8:19 AM ^
I don’t why this is a thread but, psu should be #2, wiscy #3, MSU #4, the rest besides Rutgers are the same to me.
If we can stop with the stupid penalties on defense, and the offense can progress each week I believe they are 10-1 going into the Ohio game. Unfortunately we lose again in my opinion.
September 18th, 2018 at 9:21 AM ^
"It's a little scary to think Michigan has a potential of 4 losses left on their schedule without a slip up" But isn't that (potential) true around this time of year, just about every year?
September 18th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^
I thought Nebraska had decent talent and that Frost, our "hate" for him notwithstanding, would turn them into a dangerous team this year. I am very glad to be wrong so far. Michigan has enough tough games coming up; I hope Nebraska continues to play badly. Martinez is better than his backup, but he was far from perfect against Colorado.
As for Sparty, I still think they are regressing toward the mean and won't be as big a threat as they have been. The last three or four years of signing guys with offer sheets like Purdue, Illinois and various MAC schools is starting to show. Four of their victories were gifts last year. Those gifts usually balance out. I am only putting them fourth because the Michigan game is their Super Bowl.
OSU
PSU
Wiscy
Sparty
NW
Indiana
Nebraska
Maryland
Rutgers
September 18th, 2018 at 10:32 AM ^
I mostly agree with your ranking, but I disagree with your final record prediction. I would rank them as follows and have us with a most likely final record of 8-4, second most likely final record of 9-3.
1. At OSU
2. At MSU
3. PSU
4. Wisconsin
5t. Nebraska
5t. Indiana
7. At Northwestern
8. Maryland
9. Rutgers
September 18th, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^
Bama in the NC game
at Ohio St
Ohio St in the playoff semi final
September 18th, 2018 at 11:49 AM ^
The next two games -- vs Nebraska and @NW -- worry the piss out of me. Both teams have good coaches who tend to get the most out of their players. NW is good enough to steal one on their home turf. Our guys are riding two 25+ point victories so they're feeling good but we still have obvious flaws. Both Nebraska and NW are having meh to bad seasons that would be made infinitely better by beating Michigan. Neither are rivals. Our guys may not be completely focused.
Just call me Mr. Sunshine.
September 18th, 2018 at 3:25 PM ^
We aren't losing to MSU. Period
September 18th, 2018 at 5:33 PM ^
If u. Ant figure out the toughest games yet your not a real fan
September 18th, 2018 at 5:53 PM ^
Say what?
September 18th, 2018 at 7:05 PM ^
I agree with your list but would consider losses to MSU PSU and Wisconsin as slip ups.
I just hope we beat Wisconsin twice.