The Dueling OSU Narratives on the Board

if the they quit spotting OSU 30 points before the game even starts. In all but 4 of the last 14 games with them, OSU has scored 30 plus points. Before you give the “OSU has a great offense, no one stops them” response, let’s take a look at MSU since Mork showed up. Since 07 (9 games) they have given up 30 plus 3 times for a 33% ratio. Harbaugh is currently at 100% and Hoke was at a lovely 75%. Let’s go a step further: a Mork coached MSU team has kept them in single digits once, in the teens twice and in the 20-24 range once. Since 04, the absolute lowest OSU has scored against Michigan is 14. The second lowest is 21. Every single other game, OSU has scored 25 plus. That’s the problem.

It's the reason why the Indianas and Iowas of the world can beat or put up a competitive game against UM and OSU. For as good as Meyer's record has been there, he only has one national championship, and that probably doesn't happen if Barrett doesn't get injured that year.

bleh. stop it

The "talent gap" we have with OSU is at QB. 

When we were dominating them in the '80s and '90s, we had better play at the QB position.  

We were trotting out Jim Harbaugh and Tom Brady and Drew Henson for The Game.  They were trotting out Kirk Herbstreit and Stanley Jackson and Steve Bellisari.

That shifted in their direction '00s.  

That's the gap we need to close.

 

We got screwed in OT last year, and almost pulled it off down 4 with the ball, 3 minutes left with a 3rd string QB. We are going to be fine in this game.

I really don't know how much weight to put into Harbaugh's last 2 games against Urban. Yes, they were both really close, and competitive, but it is a rivalry game and players are motivated to play beyond their normal limits.

Brady Hoke was able to coach 2 really competitive games against Urban as well, and one of them came within one failed 2-pt conversion of winning it.

If its not obvious to people that OSU needed a couple of lucky breaks to win their last two games against us, then there is nothing more to say.  This conversation wouldnt exist if we had won the last 2 games against them, but then again they would find another team to compare us to and off we go.  Some people just like to bitch.

Meyer is 72-8 at OSU. In 6 years he has lost 8 games! And won a national championship. Any use of the word underachieve when it comes to him or his tenure at OSU is not rational. It's an embarrassment.

Jesus, the way people here will twist themselves in pretzels to find a silver lining is amazing. I mean the guy has never even had a losing season. His worst season in 16 years is 8-5. I guess I just don't understand this constant need to figure out a way to pull him down on our way up. The facts don't line up with that. He is one of the greatest college football coaches of all-time and it isn't a close call.

Oh look, more excuses.

2018 is our year.   :-)

If the debate is between Ohio State having elite talent OR elite coaching, I don't understand OP's point about why they have to be mutually exclusive...

There are plenty of coaches that show that elite coaching (i.e. Bill Synder, Mark Dantonio, Gary Patterson) nor elite recruiting (i.e. Les Miles, Mark Richt, Charlie Strong) by themselves are enough to build a truly elite program.

You need a mix of both to reach the pinnacle, and right now Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are the only 2 in college football that can boast about being consistently elite in both categories. Just because Urban Meyer isn't reaching the national championship game ever single season or has a bad loss sporadically doesn't mean he is "underachieving." The man has only lost 8 games in 6 seasons, and still has three national championships under this belt when most coaches would sell both kidneys just to have one.

i see as absolute equals right now.  with, like two breaks (not even BIG breaks - tiny ones), harbaugh is 2-1 against those assholes.

it would not surprise me one bit to see us reel off 3 or 4 in a row.

Give it up; we are going to beat them in Columbus next year.

We probably beat them this year if we have a healthy #1 or #2 qb, but who knows.

There are no moral victories. Dont be MSU.

The talant gap in classes this year is huge AND IT MATTERS. This is a RichRod class.

Next year is HUGE for the future of the program under Harbaugh. 

 

Like any good coach in the NFL or CFB, Urban and Harbaugh have their own specific systems and target kids to play in those systems.

In his presser, Harbaugh lays out what he's looking for (smart, athletic, production, kids who value education...), while OSU recruits kids who are super talented and college ready from day 1, irrespective of their desire to get a good education. This works for their system.

I guess the question for recruitniks and people who think the sky is falling is this: How many head-to-head battles has Harbaugh lost to Urban on the recruiting trail (e.g. Mike Weber). How many has he won (Gary, Peppers)?

 

drunken Walmarters are full of excuses and wishful hopes for the future. The next two years are going to make or break the Harbaugh era. Let's let it playout and stop the shoulda, coulda, gonna BS. And, yes I've been a fan since the mid-1960's.

We had a talent gap which Harbaugh has done a pretty good job of closing.  We have enough talent to win.  We were competitive with a third string QB and young receivers this year.  Last year, well, we've all beaten that horse enough.  It would be great to get to the OSU game with a healthy, jr/sr QB which is something we've rarely done in the past decade.  We also need guys to step up and make some plays.  They just need the confidence and maturity to get there.  I think the confidence is now there, especially on the defensive side of the ball.  We are working on the maturity part.

Not nearly enough Banjos in this duel.  

 

TL;DR JUST WIN THE GAME.

1 national championship, 2 big ten championships, and 6 division championships in 6 years is not what I'd characterize as "underachieving".  

I disagree that these are the only two possibilities Meter is not underachieving at OSU. His teams are rightfully in the playoff discussion every year. I’m not sure how he could be underachieving when he just won a natty a couple years ago with a third string QB. Had Harbaugh done the same with his 3rd string QB we would have been ecstatic. The talent gap, although it may be shrinking a bit, is still considerable. This is evident because we keep referring to Speight and Peters’ injuries this year and last as ‘bad breaks’, yet JT Barret has been knocked out of two Michigan games and OSU won both games. This year OSU’s backup QB (Haskins) was better than all of the QBs on Michigan’s roster. They have truly built a ‘next man up’ roster; Michigan is not there yet. Michigan certainly has tons of talent on the roster but the talent disparity is glaring along the o-line and at QB.

Urban's underachieving to the tune of 72-8. We'll knock him off eventually. But he's got a pretty powerful program. Also this: fuck the Buckeye.