First Thread Post - PSU Victory Thread
I, like many of you, have the same consternation, concerns and struggle with some of the things we have seen on the field this year, both good (Don Brown D) and bad (O Play). I am still thrilled JH is our head coach and wouldn't trade him for any coach in country. I am still not over the MSU loss. That said, Michigan controls it's destiny for B1G championship and National Championship. NOT saying we have a great chance or will win it all. Just saying, some big goals are still attainable. Believe it or not, Oline looked different today in a good way. Less confused, more stout in run and pass pro. I believe the Oline hit bottom against Purdue and is ascending. Rather than start another thread of what's wrong with this position or that play call. I thought I would make an attemp to spin some positive going into PSU.
I am not the moderator, so I can't control who posts what. Although most will not give Michigan a chance to win in HV, I think M chances of victory are much better than most think and here is why:
1. Defense - Let us not forget how PSU was throttled last year by Don Browns D. I also think Michigan's D is tailor made for the PSU offense.
2. Coaches - I think Jim Harbaugh is a better coach than Franklin. I think for some reason, some teams and coaches are in the heads of the opposing team. Much like Dantonio and MSU is in Michigan's head, I think Michigan's in PSU's. MSU was a bigger underdog to lose than M will be vs PSU.
3. PSU coming off bye week. Most teams off bye week seem to lose their edge (see Michigan). That EXTRA week to prepare seems to do more damage than good.
4. Pressure is on PSU. National exposure, game day crew, heavy favorite, white out. If the game is close, look for PSU to play tight. If Michigan D is playing strong, frustration will build on PSU.
5. PSU squeaked by Iowa and have played a very soft schedule. This will be the best D PSU will see all year.
6. Oline IS getting better. Just need Okorn to hit a few recievers and O could roll. Got to believe we can get Purdue Okorn.
7. PSU has a LOSING record in white out games 5-6.
8. Michigan is battled tested THIS YEAR much more than is PSU. Overtime, National Opening Game (FL), close games and better competition.
Again, not being pollyanna. But, most give M almost a zero chance to win. I think M chances are much better than most.
OBVIOUSLY there are many reasons PSU will win. This was a thread geared towards trying to propose a positive narative. There are loads of threads and posts to the negative narative. And I understand and agree to some. It's just that, I can't see any scenario where Michigan gets blown out in any game this year. Not one. I know it's tough for some to say or think anything positive. I just get tired of reading the same threads saying the same thing. Even when they are right. And yes, I am guilty of saying and thinking many of the same things.
October 15th, 2017 at 10:16 AM ^
definition: 'hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something'
like UM's offense, i'm still searching for some optimism re: the PSU game
October 15th, 2017 at 10:17 AM ^
but titling this OP a "Post-PSU Victory thread" tempts the gods mightily.
Or are you the type who starts jabbering about no-hitters in the sixth inning?
October 15th, 2017 at 10:52 AM ^
Maybe the gods will be able to read in context, and understand that "Post" relates to "First Thread Post" in the title. We can only hope so.
October 15th, 2017 at 10:17 AM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 10:19 AM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 10:22 AM ^
I agree the chances are slim but crazier shit has happened.
October 15th, 2017 at 12:28 PM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 10:23 AM ^
You see PSU putting up 49 vs Michigan D? Michigan maybe scoring 14? That is certainly possible, but 49 for PSU? The same PSU that needed last play of game to get 21 vs Iowa.
October 15th, 2017 at 11:01 AM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 11:58 AM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 12:51 PM ^
at Penn State, with a less than perfect offense. Looking forward to a reprise.
October 15th, 2017 at 10:23 AM ^
gtfo if you think any non-osu team could put up 49 points on this defense
October 15th, 2017 at 10:49 AM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 11:03 AM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 10:20 AM ^
The offense simply has to sustain drives and keep Barkley off the field for as long as humanly possible. Keep the defense rested and on the sideline. This will be the best defense Penn State has played this far by a considerable margin, but this will also be the best offense we’ve played by far. The defense can’t hold Barkley back forever. Especially if the offense keeps going three and out.
Anything is possible. Three top-10 teams lost this weekend to unranked foes, but a lot of things have to go right for Michigan to win. I could see this being a close game going into the half, like 14-7, but if we can’t sustain drives in the second half, I could see Barkley breaking this thing open and finishing us off something like 31-14.
October 15th, 2017 at 10:23 AM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 10:28 AM ^
The only way to win is to win the TO battle by a good margin. I would say by 2 or 3. Then have some crazy plays go our way. For 2-3 series I would tell O'Korn look to run on pass plays after 3 seconds until PSU adjusts. If we get a lead ride our defense the rest of the way.
October 15th, 2017 at 10:35 AM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 12:48 PM ^
and we see that guy show up after the first one is buried. By legal hits of course.
October 15th, 2017 at 10:54 AM ^
ok, I'll play.
I think for Michigan to win the game, aside from the obvious -
1) have to have success running the ball, especially to extend drives
2) have to hit one big play that is there (like the would-be TD to DPJ yesterday)...cannot leave those points on the field
3) commit 0-1 turnovers
4) win the special teams battle (Nordin has to keep doing what he's been doing, and have to get better punt coverage/retrurns than the last few games)
October 16th, 2017 at 11:41 AM ^
5) Fewer than 15 yeards given up on penalties.
October 15th, 2017 at 11:05 AM ^
Our offense would need to score at least 28 points to win this game. NO WAY IN HELL. The QB situation is a disaster. The Oline is terrible. The WR's are missing. We will be beaten like a dusty rug.
October 15th, 2017 at 11:44 AM ^
at all that it will take 28 points to win.
If M could reduce the number of possessions, run for 250 yards, and just make a few key passes, it could still be a low scoring close game into the 4th. And then anything can happen.
Passing O will have to be better than this past Saturday for sure. But it is not necessary to pass for 200+ yards to win. And really, passing for 150 is very possible.
58 yards of passing against IU is terrible. But M will not be limited to less than 60 yards of passing per game for the remainder of the season. They will find a way/find some plays/spend the next 6 days forcing JOK to watch the play where he missed a wide open Gentry to force it to double covered Crawford on 24 hour per day continuous loop.
Consider PSU's won over OSU last year. OSU outplayed them overall. But PSU kept it close enough that a couple of plays late in the 4th turned the game their way.
PSU is the favorite. But teams ranked 15-20 beat teams ranked in the top 5 all the time.
Michigan has little margin for error. But if they reduce penalties, don't make more than 1 turnover, and manage to scheme to 150 yards in the air, plus 225+ on the ground...why not?
October 15th, 2017 at 11:09 AM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 11:36 AM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 11:25 AM ^
I'd give us about a 30-40% chance to win, so I guess I agree? Improved play from O'Korn is probably neccessary for this game to even be competitive, and a positive turnover margin would help our chances.
October 15th, 2017 at 12:02 PM ^
Against PSU, Michigan needs to adopt the MSU game plan. Run the ball first, short and easy passes to move the chains, and most importantly 1) no turnovers; and 2) pull out plays nobody has seen before to catch them by surprise. Get a narrow lead down the stretch and lean on the D to close it out. We'll need to drag PSU down into the dirt with us and slog around with them. No flash. Bore the shit out of the crowd. We won't win playing pretty.
October 15th, 2017 at 12:01 PM ^
The offense doesn't seem capable to launch a late comeback without shooting itself in the face, and the staff will turtle in the fourth quarter with any type of lead. So the defense will have to carry the end game effort almost singlehandedly. Thus, M seems to have a reasonable chance to win only if they go into the fourth with a big lead.
Hoping hard for a Lavert Hill coming out party. He has it in him and it's one of very few paths to victory
October 15th, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^
It was gratifying to wear a Michigan cycling team jersey this morning here in Pennsylvania and hear "Go Blue" and "Beat Penn State" from fellow cyclists.
Anyone know if the PSU backup QB is any good?
October 15th, 2017 at 1:13 PM ^
PSU 27
Mich. 6
but some good pts have been made.
If we had even a servicable QB ,,it would be a whole new ball game.
If we can win the rushing and time of possession battles then we could keep this game closer say...
PSU 24
Mich 20
October 15th, 2017 at 1:34 PM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 2:10 PM ^
In 2016, Penn State was 2-2 with losses to Pitt and UM. And the UM score was 49-14. Look how PSU ended the season. I remember reading posts on the PSU forum. It made our melt down this year against MSU look positive. PSU are some of the most delusional fans in college football. Michigan is in MUCH better shape at 5-1 than PSU was at 2-2.
I am going to say it right now, PSU should be on upset alert. Not one analyst, and not many fans are giving Michigan a shot. This has all the makings of shock the world saturday night in unhappy valley! I know it goes against all logic. I can only point to one thing, defense, and say Michigan is clearly superior. I was really worried that IU would beat Michigan before the MSU game. I became even more concerned after the MSU loss. The 16 penalties screams lack of focus and MSU hangover.
Michigan has played great D all year. Michigan Offense has been underwhelming to say the least. I did see growth in Oline in last two weeks. I just got to believe M coaching staff will give Okorn a short leash. Put him in a position to make one read and throw or get out of pocket and improvise. Some suggest, M has a bag of tricks just waiting for this game. I don't. I just think M game plan is going to be great. Just need to cut out turnovers and penalties. Turnovers cost M the MSU game and penalties kept IU close. In case anyone has noticed, M's early abysmal RED Zone percentage is much better since Purdue.
I get it, watching Okorn yesterday and against MSU was very discouraging. I don't expect great things from him. But I do expect good things from him and M offense on Saturday.
October 15th, 2017 at 5:36 PM ^
October 15th, 2017 at 2:47 PM ^
the optimism of many of you. Problem is our offense is not good enough to beat a good team, just not good enough. It took everything we had to beat Indiana, same team PSU beat 45-14...I know the transitive theory or whatever doesn't mean shit. However, the QB will need to hit a couple of big plays in order to win, Penn State is solid defensively, I just don't see us scoring nearly enough, and just like against IU, our defense can only carry us so long; we are going to give up points to Penn State. JOK hasn't demonstrated he can find open receivers and move the chains, PSU will beg him to do so; I just don't see it happening.
PSU-30
UM-9
October 15th, 2017 at 8:13 PM ^