pappawolv

May 1st, 2014 at 10:46 AM ^

In order for anyone to go undefeated you have to have some things absolutely break your way several times in the season.  With that you almost have to give everyone 1 loss off of the top regardless.  Yes, even Sparty this year !  The team certainly has the potential to get to 10 and 2 and in fact it is better potential than last year in retrospect.

Notre Dame will be tough, but we should have won two seasons ago if not for Denard having a career - worst game.  We all felt so bad for him.  That was hard for him to take.  With that we only lost by what, 6 points?  Good shot at this game.

I don't think NU is the team of last year or prior years.  We should be good there, just need consistency by the skill guys and the line to play solidly.

I hate to say it but I believe that MSU away will be a perhaps tougher game than OSU away.  The team  psychology and rivalry with State is very different this year ; ).

Worst, 9-3.

 

Go Blue and God bless the doubters !

tbeindit

May 1st, 2014 at 11:23 AM ^

Eh, not sure I agree with this statement.  Northwestern was better than their record showed, but what people refused to acknowledge is that they were way worse than their 2012 record showed.  If things had balanced out they would have been a 7-5 type team for each of the last two seasons, which isn't exactly something to write home about.

Think about this, the only bowl team that Northwestern beat last season was Syracuse, who ended up going to the Texas Bowl.  Northwestern was better than 5-7, but they weren't that close to having some banner year.  Even if you swap their OT games, they're sitting at 7-5 and it's not like Iowa or Michigan were great last year either (their OT opponents).  Plus, if you add in their Hail Mary loss to Nebraska, they get to 8-4.

The only good team they faced that they played close was OSU, and as close as many of us think that game was, it's not like Northwestern lost on a bad call or something.  They were also completely dismantled against MSU and Wisconsin.  If a few plays had broken well for Northwestern, they could have snuck to 8-4 and maybe even 9-3, but we're not talking about some great team here.

getsome

May 1st, 2014 at 3:56 PM ^

from sports wagering standpoint, northwestern has had an incredible 2-3 year run...the number of games theyve failed to cover (or win) in the 4th quarter over past few years in just incredible and theyve had some historic meltdowns.  should be very interesting year for nu though since they get marc back for 5th yr but lose colter and likely roll with that pocket passer

saveferris

May 1st, 2014 at 9:46 AM ^

Unfortunately, the 2 comes against Sparty and Ohio, so even with a 10 win season, a 6-2 record in conference is probably only good enough for, at best, a tie for 2nd in the East Division.

Tuebor

May 1st, 2014 at 9:49 AM ^

I'm worried about the Utah and Penn State games.  Utah has a bye week before playing us and everyone knows the ND game will be emotional this year given it is the last game of the series.  I keep waiting for PSU to crater but it hasn't happened.  I thought the second coaching change in the sanctions era would doom them but they ended up with James Franklin. 

 

I know it is May but 10-2 seems very optimistic.  I think the most important thing (for me atleast) is to go 7-0 at home this season.  Winning at home keeps the masses happy and if we can take care of Rutgers and Northwestern on the road I'll be happy regardless of what happens @ND, MSU, and OSU.

maize-blue

May 1st, 2014 at 10:08 AM ^

Yeah, I think that if Franklin stays at Penn St. for a while they will be tough. They are going to be a huge pain in the ass. I also think that Gary Anderson @ Wisconsin will do good too. The Big Ten isn't going to be easy to conquer in the coming years. However I still feel, even at this moment, that UM's roster is probably better than anyone on their schedule, exept maybe OSU and they may be about even.

uminks

May 1st, 2014 at 10:52 AM ^

But it is a very real possibility and one of the reason we may only win 6 to 8 games this year.

Worse case loses: ND, UT, PSU, NU,MSU and OSU. Then MN and IN will be tough games and possible losses. Hoke needs to finish 6-6 to have another season.

Most likely, loses: ND, PSU, MSU and OSU

I'll be happy, loses PSU and OSU.

 

getsome

May 1st, 2014 at 4:08 PM ^

well he did pretty well at vandy given the resources as well as previously so hes not just a recruiter.   hes also proven to be very good recruiter and will continue to reel them in as they inch closer to expiring sanctions.  plus franklin is a charismatic dirtbag and will seemingly do whatever it takes to win recruits/games,etc and i think its pretty obvious by now that morally deficient coaches like meyer and saban etc will almost always outperform nice guys like hoke pretending to preach from nonexistent pedestals.  um should beat psu, just as they should have last yr, but we all saw how that went.  sure its possible but, among other things, um needs to finish plays, drives and games if they want to sniff 10-2

NoVaWolverine

May 1st, 2014 at 1:30 PM ^

nyquist writes: "I know it is May but 10-2 seems very optimistic. I think the most important thing (for me atleast) is to go 7-0 at home this season. Winning at home keeps the masses happy and if we can take care of Rutgers and Northwestern on the road I'll be happy regardless of what happens @ND, MSU, and OSU."

7-0 at home would be nice, but I don't think many people will be happy if we crap the bed @ND, MSU, and OSU this year. Hoke needs to show he can take his team into a tough environment like South Bend, East Lansing, or Columbus and actually win a rivalry game on the road. Playing both Sparty and the Buckeyes on the road the same season is a raw deal (why did Brandon ever agree to that?!), but if the team is good enough this year to at least gain a split, I'll feel more confident about our future with Hoke.

jdon

May 1st, 2014 at 12:45 PM ^

the world's biggest drum is stupid.  They deserve to lose...

 

That and the last time I went to a game there we were up 28-10 at halftime and life was good... then came the saddest ride home...

jdon

 

Real Tackles Wear 77

May 1st, 2014 at 10:32 AM ^

I can't stand it when people look to last year's result as a reason why a team would be more motivated to win a game this year. Look, we flat out embarrassed IU's defense last season (as did just about everyone else they played), but that fact will have no impact on their performance in an isolated 60-minute stretch this season, nor will it give them any special superpowers that will make them extra unbeatable.

We got stomped by MSU last season, and yeah it sucked, but that fact is not going to change anything about this time around. Our guys are going to come out 1000% firing on all cylinders and will win because they are motivated to do so, from within and from their coaches and because we are the better team, not because they are extra super mad about a past result.

Don

May 1st, 2014 at 6:21 PM ^

then Bo Schembechler would have liked to have a word with you in 1969 in the months leading up to the OSU game.

Does the previous season's result always serve as a motivation? No, but if you think it never has an impact you're simply wrong, and the history of college football all over the country shows you're wrong. Football is a game of emotion.

DCAlum

May 1st, 2014 at 10:04 AM ^

10-2 with the two losses coming to OSU and MSU, or 8-4 with losses to lesser teams on the schedule (@Northwestern, @Rutgers, vs. Minnesota, vs. Utah for example)?

alum96

May 1st, 2014 at 2:10 PM ^

I think 8-4 and beating those 2 rivals will be better (which is counter intuitive) because

a) we have zero leg to stand on with 1 rival for 6 years, and zero leg to stand on with another rival for 12 years.  We need to freaking make these competitive rivalries again.

b) those are going to be 2 of the top 3 teams on our schedule so if I saw we could beat the better teams but we make dumb mistakes to lose to lesser teams at least I know we have potential and we are the victim of mistakes of a youthful team.  If we however beat who we should beat but lose to better teams it just means we are beating average teams that are much like us.   I'd rather see the potential of beating top end teams and go into 2015 having that confidence. 

Turn Texas Blue

May 1st, 2014 at 10:06 AM ^

I'll take 10-2 at this point in the season (yes, I know it is not Football yet - that comes after Summer, before Basketball)! For real though, it seems like she just arbitrarily pick a winner based on nothing.