ESPN Gator Bowl Picks

Submitted by Rmilkman on

Sorry if this has already been posted, neg if necessary.

ESPN's College Bowl Special team unanimously picked MSU as the favorite over Michigan, and were pretty confident with their decisions. Not really surprising.

Thoughts on this?

For what it's worth, I have Michigan winning, as my #1 pick.

switch26

December 12th, 2010 at 9:34 PM ^

Rob Smith of course thinks it's RR's last game no matter what..  The other guy talked about he isn't so sure about that, and how Harbaugh's ultimate goal is the NFL, and doesn't think he would stay more than a couple years at michigan if he went there.

 

Apparently Rob Smith thinks Miss States offense can't be stopped especially against mich and will win big without much of an issue

jimboblue

December 12th, 2010 at 10:37 PM ^

I don't mind being the dog for this game. I've said on here before, there is a reckoning coming, and it is less then a year away. I've lived though the finger in the face, laughing, taking all kinds of pleasure in the downfall of mighty michigan . Well the war machine has just opened one eye, and next year when it springs to life, it will be " cry havic, the dogs of war have been unleashed".

Section 1

December 13th, 2010 at 12:54 AM ^

I kind of lost it when they got to the part about suggesting that Michigan's "Board of Trustees" (?!) had somehow voiced a lack of confidence in Rich Rodriguez.  We don't havde a baord of trustees.  We do have a Board of Regents, and I am not aware of a single one of them ever having voiced one negative word on the subject of Rich Rodriguez.

Do these guys just make it up?  Never mind; I know that answer already.

One other thing; did they not have any Miss St. highlights?  They "previewed" the game without a single Bulldog highlight and scarcely a word about them.

These are guys who clearly just read a few headlines and then go to taping.

Edit. - Here's the Robert Smith quote:

"I think it very well could be, and more than likely will be," [Rich Rodriguez's last game as Michigan's coach] Smith said on Sunday night's show. "And part of the reason is I think there are just a lot of people inside the program, or around the program, the de-facto owners, the board of trustees and the boosters, those type of people, just don't like Rich Rodriguez, which is a shame to me. I mean, he's a very likeable guy.

  

jml969

December 12th, 2010 at 10:04 PM ^

I'm expecting a much better defense on the field. I think the team realizes that RR is on the hot seat, first bowl game for them since 07', and the national pundits picking MSU over M are enough motivational  factors to see a new level of play by the entire team.  Is it enough to win.... yup.

dennisblundon

December 12th, 2010 at 9:38 PM ^

Robert Smith is a smug little prick. Between him and Jim Rome I don't know who thinks their farts smell better.

As far as the game goes, I think a healthy Mike Martin will help our run defense enough to win this game. Michigan-42 MSU-24        We are due.

Rmilkman

December 12th, 2010 at 9:42 PM ^

I think that people that aren't Michigan fans just look at our defense as a big picture. Despite the overall performance of the defense, they've shown glimpses of improvement. I think the D will pull through and hold MSU under 30 points, which is good enough in my book, as long as the offense works as it should.

phd363

December 12th, 2010 at 9:42 PM ^

We have not beat a ranked team since 1905, but if I had to bet my life on it, I would bet on Michigan.  With Denard having a few weeks to get healthy, he will be at UConn/ND form.  The D will make marginal improvement and MM will be healthy.

M-Wolverine

December 12th, 2010 at 9:49 PM ^

Anyone remember a time when Michigan Football talk wasn't all about our coach's job security? How many years ago was that...?

mGrowOld

December 12th, 2010 at 10:02 PM ^

Ok...I'll revise it to January 2nd, 2007.  Or for SURE the day after the Horror.  But they say you never see the beginning of the end when you're going through it and that OSU game was definitely the apex of our recent football history.  The wheels came off the defensive wagon that day and we've never been able to get them back on since.

mgoSk

December 12th, 2010 at 9:53 PM ^

I don't know what you expect, on the surface you have a ranked SEC team and then a Big Ten team that has relatively faded after a hot start. They're not going to talk about how 3 of Michigan's 5 losses were to top 10 teams, key hampering injuries that may not be so problematic anymore, etc. Any "hardcore" fan is going to naturally know more about their team than those guys do, they need to know a little about a lot of teams. When that happens, you just go with what seems like the obvious choice, so MSU for them.

Then in reality Sports Center shows this highlight, "And now we head down to Jacksonville where Michigan is rolling it up over Mississippi State, maybe Rich Rod will keep his job after all, yada yada yada Denard Robinson is going to be one to watch for next year, Dave Brandon's decision just got tougher. Back to Rece, Lou, and Mark in the studio. Mark: "I'll tell you who's really great, Cam Newton....."

Tha Stunna

December 13th, 2010 at 3:31 AM ^

Yeah, Michigan's losses were so much better than Mississippi State's losses to sucky teams like Auburn, LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas.  If you don't look closely, MSU is the favorite, but if you do look closely, MSU is still the favorite.  Don't get me wrong; Michigan has a shot, but it would be a shot as the underdog.  Michigan's chances will come down to:

-Fully healed Mike Martin, running backs, others

-RR's gameplanning for bowl games/season openers

-General Denard awesomeness

BlueDragon

December 12th, 2010 at 9:50 PM ^

Michigan has a bad D, MSU (NTMSU) has signature wins and a gritty SEC West image.  Hands down they're the favorite.

I can't wait to see RR coach M in a bowl game.  He's delivered on his bowl appearances at WVU so we should be well-prepared.  I hope.  Plus MSU (NTMSU) on offense is basically Illinois with a worse passing game.  Therefore, we will not give up 65 points to them.  Right?  Right.

M-Wolverine

December 12th, 2010 at 10:02 PM ^

3-3 if you want to give him credit for the one he didn't coach. And before anyone says "but when he had his team formed..."...we're a lot more like his early teams right now than his latter ones.

acnumber1

December 12th, 2010 at 9:55 PM ^

RR gets 5+ weeks to prepare his much healthier offense to perform in a game to possibly save his job/reputation.  

 

Gerg gets same to do the same with his defense.

 

If either/both of these guys is who we hope/think they are...I'm expecting a festival of fun!

 

griesecheeks

December 12th, 2010 at 9:58 PM ^

well, to be fair, MSU is a team that just about ended Auburn's Nat'l Champ run... unfortunately, our historical status as Michigan doesn't really mean shit this year.

Do we have a great chance of winning with the extra practice and rest for the banged-up guys? Yeah. I think we will play our best game of the year, but the MSM probably thinks that Michigan has packed it in. So be it. I think we could stand to stop with the equally ignorant: "Everyone on TV who picks against us is a d-bag!!!!" comments and let's allow our beloved Wolverines to make a statement on the playing field in Jacksonville. K?

 If we continue to play the exact same way we've played over the last half of the regular season, we'll get rolled, making those homers among us look like the idiots...

griesecheeks

December 13th, 2010 at 2:45 AM ^

but we were basically non-competitive against teams that don't suck, so I'm still not so sure MSU is a team that people would think we'd roll over.

I'm just saying that everyone needs to realize that the general opinion of Michigan right now is negative until proven positive. Only our guys have a chance to change that perception on the field. If they continue to play like they have through the 2nd half of the season, we will get rolled by MSU (NTMSU). If we get healthier and play smart football, we could really make a statement going into 2011 with a Heisman front runner.