Investigation and wins...

Submitted by Wolverdore on

Last time all of this BS came up, we rolled off 4 in a row and all the issues with the investigation were not part of the media circles.

Granted, the final 4 games are tougher than the first 4, but not that much.

Illinois can be compared to Eastern at least record wise.
Purdue can be compared to Western.
Notre Dame and Ohio State are quite comparable.
Indiana is probably not as good as Wisco, but it is totally off base.

I realize the first 4 were home and in nice weather and the we have two on the road and the weather could be bad (and we haven't exactly played well in cold games).

Nonetheless, let's hope the letter of inquiry and bad publicity lights the same fire under the team that it did earlier in the year and the team gets hot.

jamiemac

October 27th, 2009 at 9:14 AM ^

I dont think the two have anything to do with one another.

Maybe the Western game was cathartic for both players and fans, but otherwise, I think any emotion on this issue is rightfully behind them. The NCAA announcement is just boiler plate stuff, not another knife twist.

I think the team is focused on actual football. I dont think they will or need to use this as a rallying cry.

Six Zero

October 27th, 2009 at 9:37 AM ^

And if you keep wishing with all your heart for all of this stuff to come true, and eat your brussel sprouts, it will happen just as you believe.

Honestly, there's plenty of motivation to finish this season out strong, but Notre Dame and Ohio State are two very different programs. Forget team comparisons: the rest of this season all boils down to player performance, and which Michigan shows up week to week.

Brady2Terrell

October 27th, 2009 at 9:42 AM ^

The fact that the team won four in a row after the initial allegations does not imply that the team was "motivated" by trying to exonerate their coach any more than it implies that the team was "motivated" because they were 3-9 last year and wanted to come out firing. I'd expect the latter was much more important.

At this point, I think the team's motivated by, well, winning games and getting better at football. I think we all need to stop magnifying the importance of the Freep, which is otherwise waning by the day.

Hemlock Philosopher

October 27th, 2009 at 9:44 AM ^

I appreciate the optimism, but I see no similarities in the teams we are playing now versus who we played earlier in the season. Illinois is way better than Eastern despite their record; Notre Dame is the antithesis of OSU WRT offense and defense; Purdue is comparable to Western only marginally and Wisco is better than IU - plus that game is on the road.

His Dudeness

October 27th, 2009 at 9:52 AM ^

Illinois can be compared to Eastern = False
Purdue can be compared to Western = False
Notre Dame and Ohio State are quite comparable = False
Indiana is probably not as good as Wisco = True

25% = no gold star for today :(

Tater

October 27th, 2009 at 10:33 AM ^

Why on earth would anyone think UM's 1-3 "streak" is due to a lack of motivation? I am trying to remember which game Molk got injured, but AFAIK UM is 4-0 with a healthy Forcier and Molk, and 1-3 with a 70 percent Forcier and no Molk. The three losses were a rivalry game on the road and two top-twenty teams.

Basically, when two of your best, most important players are injured and the competition gets better, something has to give. It will be interesting to see how everyone feels after the next two games, which "should" be wins, and then the next two, which "should" be losses.

Will we all say "everything is great" after two wins and then say "this team has problems" if they lose the last two? Schadenfreude was appropriate last year, but it isn't this year. And they could still run the table for the rest of the year with a few breaks.

mgoblue1

October 27th, 2009 at 10:43 AM ^

I think the first 4 games and the upcoming 4 are completely different for this reason: teams now have tons of tape on Michigan, both for prepping for Rich Rod's spread and attacking our porous D. The first month of the season, I think we were able to catch teams (notably ND) off guard when it came to our Forcier-led offense. With so much video to study now, I don't see many teams down the stretch struggling as much with our offense unfortunately.

As for our defense, why an opposing coach wouldn't throw 90% of the time against our secondary baffles me. With Warren hampered by injury, that makes it even worse.

Raback Omaba

October 27th, 2009 at 11:04 AM ^

Ohio State is gonna be a tough game. While I've been telling myself since pre season that this is the year we break the streak due to a home game and a perceived down year for the Buckeyes, I think that we're gonna have to break the streak down in Columbus next year....

Ohio State's defense is going to be coming after Forcier like a gang of hobos on a ham sandwich. Losing Molk really hurt, and if last week was any indication, Forcier's gonna be scrambling all day. OSU's D-Line is scary as hell.

Although OSU's offense is garbage, our defense is probably worse in comparison to their offense (in my e-pinion)

I don't discount the possible improvement of our team over the next 3 games and the whole "rivalry" factor and home field advantage, but I think that they're gonna be tough to handle this year.

Next year and the year after it's over with though.

3rdGenerationBlue

October 27th, 2009 at 11:17 AM ^

Michigan can win 3 of the next 4 if they play to their potential. Minor is due for a big game/s and it still isn't crazy to think that Tate will bust out as well. How perfect would it be for the team to peak for the game against Ohio State?

The King of Belch

October 27th, 2009 at 12:04 PM ^

People still think Wisconsin and OSU are winnable games? Based on what?

Do you think Tate Forcier's shoulder is going to magically heal? That Denard Robinson is going to turn into a college quarterback in the next four weeks?

Do ya think that Michign's offensive guru is going to figure out how to adjust when the other defense slams him? Oh, and by the way--where are we going to find good linebacking and safety play--AND competent defensive coaching to figure out why we can't find the other teams' tight ends (and why we keep giving 78 yard cushions to opposing wide receivers)?

Now that we are playing better teams, all our weakneses are being exposed and amplified. Think that won't happen against Wisconsin and/or Ohio State? Purdue even?

This team can get to 8-4--but ladies, they must play PERFECT football the rest of the way and hope for something that hasn't happened yet: the other team collapsing and handing the game over.

But no matter what: unless Tate's shoulder is healed, and UM comes up with some kind of defensive miracle, Ohio State is going to destroy UM this year. Not only is Tressel a good coach, but he can motivate his team against UM and he understands the rivalry better than anybody since Bo and Woody.

MWW6T7

October 27th, 2009 at 12:17 PM ^

I would just love to see a win this week for the simple reason of getting the bowl game "monkey" off our back. For the last 3 or so weeks it seems as the team has been playing extremely tight and I think if they can get this win and not have to worry about bowl eligability then they can start playing a little looser and have more fun out there. Which could possibly result in a few more wins.