Tater

October 3rd, 2016 at 11:10 AM ^

Harbaugh is recruiting cleanly.  He is offering the best coaching to get to the next level and the best education/alumi support for having a great life after football.  Bama and OSU are offering immdieate money, and obviously a lot more than other programs.

But Harbaugh is so great at development that his teams can still beat those who take shortcuts to amass obscene recruiting classes.

Joined: 08/13/2008

MGoPoints: 30584

Hard-Baughlls

October 2nd, 2016 at 8:17 PM ^

but really well.  We don't have OSU / Bama depth right now, but if we can stay healthy (fingers crossed) our 1s across the board are as elite as any team in the country.

We have 8-10 guys that will be NFL draft picks.  Our D-line is a beast, our secondary is pretty insane even with the loss of Clark, Peppers is perhaps the best player in all of college football.

Chesson and Darboh are very, very good...add in Butt and it's perhaps the best recieving trio in the country. Our O-line is not elite, but is starting to gel and should get to a B+ level even with the injury to Newsome. 

Speight is the wild card.  Can he progress like Ruddock last year?  If so, we are pretty damn good across the board.

Joined: 09/28/2016

MGoPoints: 6637

AmayzNblue

October 3rd, 2016 at 7:51 AM ^

Sleight is the wildcard. As a "1" in depth chart, he is not competing along with elite QBs quite yet. The scary part is that he is the one who touches the ball most frequently and has to make the most important on field decisions.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Joined: 01/10/2015

MGoPoints: 5016

huntmich

October 2nd, 2016 at 10:09 PM ^

OSU has played a mediocre Oklahoma team and a bunch of cupcakes this year. We don't know if their talent is even a fraction of what it was last year. We should wait until they play Wisconsin before everyone starts giving Meyer a ZJ for his loaded team.

Joined: 10/18/2015

MGoPoints: 18173

BassDude138

October 3rd, 2016 at 3:56 PM ^

I don't think there is any question that OSU is just as talented this year as they have been in the recent past. The only thing to be seen is how that inexperienced talent handles adversity, since they have yet to be tested. I am hoping that they continue steam-rolling everyone until the Michigan game. I would much rather  have it be us who is the first to really punch them in the mouth and see how they can handle it on the fly.

Joined: 03/01/2016

MGoPoints: 3977

poppinfresh

October 2nd, 2016 at 7:54 PM ^

i am slightly hurt because i miss/always want super dudey-dude athletic linebackers and feel like its been a while since we've had one but...

give us peoples jones and one of browning/akers/leatherwood and we're pretty close to having some of those top names

just keep winning and the players will come

Joined: 12/06/2014

MGoPoints: 8875

Heywood_Jablome

October 2nd, 2016 at 7:54 PM ^

Another crazy stat is OSU and Bama have ten 5* recruits (6 for OSU and 4 for Bama). That's the same number as the next 58 teams in the rankings combined.  Just a different playing field.

Joined: 10/24/2015

MGoPoints: 1123

BoFlex

October 2nd, 2016 at 9:06 PM ^

It is a fact that Harbaugh boasted a 2-1 record against Pete Carroll's USC, but I honestly feel like only 1 of those teams Harbaugh beat was championship-caliber (2007).

2007 USC

  • Final ranking: #3
  • Final record: 11-2
  • Bowl: Rose Bowl. 49-17 win over #13 Illinois
  • Key wins: #14 Nebraska (49-31), #24 California (24-17), #7 Arizona State (44-24)
  • Losses: Stanford (24-23), and #5 Oregon (24-17)

2008 USC

  • Final ranking: #3
  • Final record: 12-1
  • Bowl: Rose Bowl. 38-24 win over #6 Penn State 
  • Key wins: #5 Ohio State (35-3), #23 Oregon (44-10), #21 California (44-24), and Stanford (45-23)
  • Losses: Oregon State (27-21)

2009 USC

  • Final ranking: #22
  • Final record: 9-4
  • Bowl: Emerald Bowl. 24-13 win over Boston College 
  • Key wins: #8 Ohio State (18-13), #24 California (30-3), #25 Notre Dame (34-27)
  • Losses: Washington (16-13), #10 Oregon (47-20), #25 Stanford (55-21), Arizona (21-17)

Pete Carroll's USC was always strong, but even his career (2 National Championships) wasn't nearly as dominate as Nick Saban's career (5 National Championships).

Joined: 05/30/2011

MGoPoints: 5284

UMForLife

October 2nd, 2016 at 9:53 PM ^

Yep. We can't talk about that. But I give a lot of credit to Harbaugh for bringing in a defensive coordinator who could potentially slow them down. We will see if he does that but everyone has to understand their weakness. It seems like Harbaugh knows his and fixing it.

Joined: 11/04/2013

MGoPoints: 63393

Danwillhor

October 2nd, 2016 at 9:24 PM ^

playing style. I'd rather face a team of 5 stars running a pro offense than a team of 5 stars running any form of spread. USC never had a mobile QB so that's essentially removing one player on every run where the RO spread can utilize all 11. It's just a different animal. In the NFL or the 90s - 2000s it would be heavily in our favor. It just isn't now and why Saban moved to an offense that's basically a slightly toned down read option spread w/mobile QB.

Joined: 12/02/2008

MGoPoints: 8609

BoFlex

October 2nd, 2016 at 9:15 PM ^

Meyer's been running his "gimmick offense" for 15 years now for a 158-27 record and 3 national championships... If it could be figured out that easily, it would have been already. Urban isn't great because of his offense, he's great because of his ability to adapt his offense to fit his personnel. 

Joined: 05/30/2011

MGoPoints: 5284

UMForLife

October 2nd, 2016 at 9:58 PM ^

I don't know how much that is true. It seems to me that he gets players who fit his system. It doesn't seem like he ran two different systems for Alex Smith and Tebow. I am sure he tweaks it, but to claims that he plays the system that fits his players is taking it too far.

Joined: 11/04/2013

MGoPoints: 63393

BoFlex

October 2nd, 2016 at 10:57 PM ^

I wouldn't say that Chris Leak was an ideal QB for Urban Meyer's system, but it didn't stop Meyer from winning a National Championship in 2006.

Do you remember when Urban first got to Ohio State, and people were saying how idiotic it was for top-level RB talent to go there? All because Urban Meyer had never had a 1000-yard rusher in his offense... Then he goes and produces 3 consecutive ~1500+ yard rushing seasons with Hyde and Elliott.

Urban probably didn't plan on using a 3rd-string QB in Cardale Jones to lead his team during the most brutal 3-game stretch of their season, but he successful shifted the offensive focal point to Elliott and the run game to do it.

Yes, the core of Urban's offense stays the same, but it seems like each offseason you hear a story about Urban partnering up with so-and-so to add a new element to his offense. Why all these coaches argee to have Urban come in to pick their brains is beyond me, but it shows Urban's willingness and aptitude to adapt when necessary.

Joined: 05/30/2011

MGoPoints: 5284

Hard-Baughlls

October 3rd, 2016 at 11:25 AM ^

Saban figured out his offense and Urban ran away with heart / mental illness / needing to spend more time with family / something about Jesus and morals / [insert excuse to make Urban a sympathetic character here].

 

Joined: 09/28/2016

MGoPoints: 6637

BigWeb

October 3rd, 2016 at 9:41 AM ^

Dantoccino !! I love it when people butcher his name, this one is the front runner so far...Dantoccino, I had to say it out loud a few times

Joined: 12/18/2013

MGoPoints: 1124

BursleyBaitsBus

October 2nd, 2016 at 10:45 PM ^

Losing 11 of the last 12 matchups with OSU will do that to a fanbase. 

But hey, this seems to be the year to buck the trend in rivalries. Tenn finally beat Florida and Washington will pound Oregon into the ground next week. 

 

Maybe this is Michigan's year to avenge 2006? 

Joined: 01/20/2016

MGoPoints: 12434

Perkis-Size Me

October 2nd, 2016 at 8:08 PM ^

Look it is what it is. Saban is going to rack up multiple five star recruits every single year. His team's, and Meyer's, can be beaten regardless. No one is invincible.

Saban will get his guys. We'll get ours. Moving on.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Joined: 11/30/2011

MGoPoints: 105865

UofM626

October 2nd, 2016 at 8:09 PM ^

Deshaun Hand! This guy was the #1 overall recruit and he is barely starting to hit the field in his Junior year!

We need 2-3 five star guys this cycle to keep up the recruiting momentum! Seriously

Joined: 01/02/2012

MGoPoints: 3443