ESPN Names Michigan as a 2018 Playoff Contender

Submitted by Caesar on

Here's the (link). Unfortunately, it's accompanied by some silly talk on Harbaugh hype. Worth noting that the list intentionally excludes current CFP participants. Among others making an appearance: Auburn, Stanford, and both Ohio State and Penn State.

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2018-2019 season
playoffs...PLAYOFFS?

ijohnb

December 27th, 2017 at 11:04 AM ^

honestly think you are thinking of somebody else, man.  I remember one conversation that I had after the Michigan State game where I said that Harbaugh seemed a little disconnected from things this year, and that I was confounded about that.  But I seriously have never used the word "underachieving" about Harbaugh, nor have I ever referenced how much he is paid before today, I don't believe.  

Some people want to discuss things and are not concerned with being right or wrong, they just like discussion.  You seem to only exist to complain about what other people post, and you completely mischaracterize who I am as a poster.  Why?  Are you trying to make yourself feel better about something?  It isn't necessary.  We get it, you are an asshole.  There is just no reason to continue to prove it on a daily basis.

Joined: 09/21/2009

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RedGreene

December 27th, 2017 at 11:17 AM ^

No, he definitely has the right person.  I don't think you're a concern troll - I think you're a sparty troll who posts under several differnt monikers. 

Joined: 07/02/2009

MGoPoints: -109

ijohnb

December 27th, 2017 at 8:40 AM ^

think we were a pretty far cry from a Playoff team this year.  We struggled early with teams like Cincinatti and Air Force and needed O'Korn's miracle to get by Purdue.  I think we did improve vastly in a quite a few areas but I don't think we were a "could have been a playoff team" this year. 

Joined: 09/21/2009

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corundum

December 27th, 2017 at 10:38 AM ^

Do you think we could have beaten Wisconsin and OSU with Peters or Speight? If so, then we were almost playoff contenders regardless of how Michigan would have actually fared against the likes of Clemson and Oklahoma.

Joined: 05/10/2012

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Squash34

December 27th, 2017 at 1:42 PM ^

You know the injuries started well before mid October right? Speight went down in Purdue and black went down the game before, if I remember right. These were two big hit. Do you think it's possible that we beat msu with these two? I mean, they had horrid turnover luck and the wr dropped a few fades that Black would have almost certainly caught. I think they probably pull out the win in that game with those two and would then not be put off the playoff hunt in October. Moreover, with Peters in verse Wisconsin the whole game we probably win that. Considering that O'Korn played his worse game at Michigan and we almost beat OSU, I think it's safe to say that speight or Peters gets the win there. So, yeah, without injuries I think 11-1 was a possibility.

Joined: 09/13/2016

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EGD

December 27th, 2017 at 11:36 AM ^

The difference in 2017 though was that the QB injuries did not result from simple bad luck or freak occurrences, like Denard hurting his ulnar nerve or Dreisbach breaking a finger on his throwing hand by catching it in a lineman's jersey.  Our QBs got hurt because our OL kept getting confused and biffing the pass protection, exposing our QBs to massive hits, and our young WRs exacerbated that problem by struggling to gain separation.  Certainly, had our luck gone differently Speight and/or Peters might have managed to avoid their injuries despite those problems, but the flaws were deep enough that I don't feel M was cheated out of a better season by randomness as I did in 2016.

Joined: 09/16/2009

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Red is Blue

December 27th, 2017 at 1:44 PM ^

"cheated out of a better season by randomness" - great phrase.  The, "he's 1-5" crowd don't seem to recognize the role that randomness plays and that in small sample sizes, randomness doesn't necessarily even out. 

 

Forget the source, but there is a book that talks about randomness and that it is more streaky than people realize.  To illustrate, it puts forth a party trick where the host leaves and the guests individually predict the outcome of 50 coin flips in a row.  Then the results of 50 actual coin flips are recorded.  The host then returns and identifies the series that was from the actual coin flips.  How?  The actual coin flips series will have longer streaks.

 

 

Joined: 05/13/2010

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Squash34

December 27th, 2017 at 1:48 PM ^

A lot of that was the line had not gelled yet and allowed free rushers at will. They were not perfect later in the year, but they played much better defenses and did give cleaner pockets. I know, I know, peters got hurt because of a blown twist pick up. Howevet, it the LB just does a normal tackle and not pull up on Peters hips and drive him into the ground while still driving his feet for several seconds after, he probably does not get hurt. Basically, speight could have gotten back to pre injury form if he was healthy as the line and wr started to get there feet under them.

Joined: 09/13/2016

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NFG

December 27th, 2017 at 8:36 AM ^

With Moorhead leaving, Franklin is going to be exposed so brutally that you’ll see the beginning of the end of his era versus Washington this week.

Joined: 04/24/2012

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L'herbe

December 27th, 2017 at 8:57 AM ^

Good so we can finally stop coming up with excuses if Harbaugh fails again. It’s year 4 guys he has had 3 and a half recruiting classes. Time to actually finish better than third in the division. No excuses just put up or shut up.

Joined: 12/05/2017

MGoPoints: 29

Toby Flenderson

December 27th, 2017 at 9:05 AM ^

insightful analysis with the "he needs to win" hot take. Very profound!
 
No shit we want to win, but people putting ultimatums on a coach who inherited a 5-7 team with Russell Bellomy and Shane Morris at QB is beyond ridiculous. Next year should be a good year, but saying things like "No excuses just put up or shut up." contributes nothing to the discussion.

It wasn't an excuse why Michigan didn't contend for a big ten title. There are valid reasons for why Michigan failed to win a big ten championship, such as losing 2 QB's, 19 starters, and a young WR corp. Success is not linear, dispite what your favorite sports movie tells you.
 

Joined: 01/16/2012

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Hail to the Vi…

December 27th, 2017 at 10:08 AM ^

Beacuse that is really an irrelevant data point. What Brady Hoke's team, for example, did 5 or 6 years ago has zero impact on how the 2018 team performs on the road next season. If they get to 9 wins with 18 returning starters, some of whom are All-American, All-Confernce impact  perfomers, you can see why people think they have potential.

Joined: 09/13/2010

MGoPoints: 12888

lhglrkwg

December 27th, 2017 at 10:11 AM ^

Saying "Michigan" can't beat a good ranked team on the road implies that Michigan has been some kind of constant for a decade. The Hoke and Richrod years shouldn't be included in the discussion because it has no bearing on 2018 and Lloyd was petering out before that.

Harbaugh's been close. We beat Florida in a de facto road game in 2015. We shoulda beat OSU in Columbus last year. The only other big road opportunities were @Wisconsin this year with some back up QBs and @PSU which was obviously non-competitive. No reason to think a top 5-caliber team with Harbaugh won't do some damage next year

Joined: 07/03/2008

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Orlando

December 27th, 2017 at 9:15 AM ^

West Virginia? And, how are they gonna say us without mentioning we’ll have 18 returning starters next year? They said also said our “cHiEf CoNcErN” is at quarterback. Quarterback is not a chief concern at all anymore. It wouldn’t have been last year either if Speight didn’t get hurt.

Joined: 12/12/2017

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YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

December 27th, 2017 at 12:55 PM ^

If that happens, then we will have to consider 2019 or 2020 the year for a championship. Twenty teams will start next year with legitimate aspirations of the CFP and 80% will end up disappointed. But, what if the team stays healthy & executes well & gets some fortunate breaks to go 13-0 before the CFP ...

Joined: 11/01/2012

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maize-blue

December 27th, 2017 at 9:34 AM ^

Defense is good enough. Run game is probably good enough and showed that that portion of the offense is probably trending up.

Pass protection and the passing game will have to improve a lot for UM to be real playoff contenders.

Joined: 01/10/2013

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GoBlueMAGNUS

December 27th, 2017 at 9:41 AM ^

I don’t understand the 9-3 naysayers on the board. We’ll have one hell of a QB whoever wins the Peters/Patterson battle and will have a healthy Black. We lose Hurst but bring back everyone else. This will be a damn good team next season

Joined: 08/17/2009

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BursleyHall82

December 27th, 2017 at 9:42 AM ^

Teams that finish with 8-9 wins and bring back almost all of their starters are always trendy picks the next season. Teams that add the No. 1 prep quarterback from three years ago become even more trendy picks.

Teams that steamroll South Carolina in their bowl game and then have three quarterbacks who will all look awesome in the spring game will become even MORE trendy.

So, get used to this. We will be a very trendy pick for 2018.

Joined: 07/14/2013

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Hail to the Vi…

December 27th, 2017 at 9:49 AM ^

If they can field a competent offensive line for the first time in the Harbaugh era, then I like their chances. All comes down to controlling the line of scrimmage and protecting the QB for this team.

Joined: 09/13/2010

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