B1G Preseason Poll
Cleveland.com polls media members annually about how they predict the upcoming football season will play out. The results for this year were published this morning. Here is a link to the article.
OSU was picked unanimously to win the East and the championship game. Bleh. Wisconsin was near unanimous in the West.
There are some notes about the poll at the bottom. My favorite note is..
Iowa received first-place votes and a seventh-place vote.
F#@k osu 🖕🖕🖕
Go Blue 🏈🏈🏈
I mean, it's Cleveland.
Yes, I should have added in the OP that they reach out to beat writers for as many teams as possible. I think they polled members from 13 of the 14 teams this year. Not sure why one was left out or why those media folks refused to participate.
I don’t believe Rutgers has a beat writer so makes sense.
Correction: Rutger
So the Michigan beat writer either thinks UM will lose, or he (she?) wasn't asked and was the one left out. Not sure which...
They will be wrong on the last Saturday in November. I can't wait for them to write about Day that Sunday. :) Go Blue!
There would be zero reason to consider firing him but I have to think he will be tempted to look at the NFL if we win The Game again.
He just came back from trying to get an NFL job with his tail between his legs . . .
My comment was referring to Ryan Day
I'm *shocked* that the fine internet denizens of cleveland.com would favor the Buckeyes. It's also ballsy to pick 4 OSU players as possible DPOY in the conference, but hope springs eternal I guess.
I'm also not shocked they'd favor the Badgers to win the West since I have a hard time believing anyone pays attention to that division.
Cleveland.com picked up the responsibility for organizing the poll when the Big Ten dropped it 12 years ago. The panel included beat writers from 13 of 14 Big Ten teams and some who cover the entire league or have a national perspective.
It sounds like a broad swath of B1G writers voted in the poll, not just the staff of Cleveland.com.
Yeah, I get that (and saw it in the article). I just was poking a bit of fun at the fact Cleveland.com has a pro-Buckeyes bent.
I do question the attention span of some of these voters if they presume Zach Harrison is the third-best defensive player in the league, which I guess is an improvement over his 9th-ranked prediction from last year. He might turn into a good defensive end but he's played 3 years of college ball and hasn't shown a marked improvement as a pass rusher. Perhaps new coaching will help him but in a league that has a fair number of good defensive players this feels like lazy wishcasting based on recruiting rankings.
Harrison basically has the same stats as UM’s DE that went in the first round, believe he was in Harbaughs first class. UM’s scheme kept his numbers very average.same thing with Harrison it’s more about OSUs scheme than Harrison’s abilities. Just my opinion.
I heard that Stroud has been known to wander around the OSU practice facility muttering to himself, flinching every time a bird flies over because he thinks it's Hutch or Ojabo coming to flatten him again. Those guys had their spirits broken last year. That's tougher to come back from than a poor spot by a ref.
but havent you heard? they REAAAAAAALLY want to win this year.
I'm with you - I don't know that we'll win, but that definitely hit their psyche. Their defense was bitch slapped 9 times. And, eventually, they didn't come back for more.
Didn’t people here used to claim the spot, or at least the spot game, broke Harbaugh?
I hope you are correct about this being a bigger breaking of OSU but I’m not sure. Beating them in Columbus and making it 2 in a row would really do it and I don’t know if Day is still around in that case.
EAST DIVISION
1. Ohio State (36) 252
2. Michigan 203
3. Penn State 169
4. Michigan State 162
5. Maryland 104
6. Rutgers 60
7. Indiana 58
Poor damn Indiana, even Rutgers can laugh at them. I almost felt bad for the Hoosiers, but then I remembered Tom Allen. Screw Indiana, eat shit Sparty, and fuck OSU.
Go Blue!
Screw Indiana!
https://twitter.com/LilWhiteNut/status/1063940514192506880
This play directly affected Chase's ability in The Game the next week.
“So when I was on the ground, I was getting up a little slow,” Winovich said. “I was laughing in my head, going: ‘Holy heck, that was a good hit!’ because I didn’t see him coming from the side. When I was headfirst in the ground, he had jumped on my back and it did like a cracking (noise).
“That’s all I heard. My back started spasming and locked up. If you could have seen my face, I was kinda like – in pain. I was immobilized for my back, but that settled down. That’s why I was able to walk off the field. They were worried it might have been my spine. Came back and my spine was good. Thank you to whoever helped me dodge those bullets upstairs!
“Essentially it was a back injury – a musculature back injury. It came back, definitely, in the Ohio State game. But it’s football. You have to deal with injuries all the time. You gotta sometimes strap your boots up and get to work. So that’s what we did.”
I will never forgive them.
Rutgers? It's Rutger. They got no 's'. Neither does their coach, Greg Chiano
My bad. I'm not sure how that 's' slipped in there. We need to find some way to add a few 'L's to their name. That would be more appropriate.
were they picked last year too? I'm pretty sure UM was picked to be 3rd in the East by most.
Also, i like when they poll other teams/coaches and talk about the other teams in the B10. I know this isn't it, but i hope that happens again and someone posts
They were picked last year as well.
Picked to finish 4th, last year. Behind Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana.
So they corrected one mistake by putting Indiana last. Now, they must fix the other.. and put osu 3rd.. 3rd and long... sack time!!!!!
Picking the most talented team is the sanest position.
The superlative form of sane; most sane.
Most sanest response yet.
Iowa received first-place votes and a seventh-place vote.
This year's version of Iowa is going to be super Kirk Ferentz-y. That defense is going to be really good but similar to the 2017 Michigan team, their offense could completely torpedo them in big games. They'll generate a ton of turnovers and beat any team that doesn't have better talent than them.
"...their offense could completely torpedo them..."
Could???
Umm, that's what the Ferentzffense does to them pretty much every game. But sometimes they just win because West. I suspect this Iowa team will follow the Ferentz-Fry formula of generations - one really good year followed 3-4 good years. They had that 'really good' season last year, this year they'll be strong, but nothing like last years version.
Still, though, the caveat of having to beat them at Kinnick applies. Iowa is a completely different team at home, and they and that crowd just have a way of taking teams completely out of their mojo. I think Iowa ended its season 7-5 when it beat #2 Michigan back in 2016. So they don't need to be a really good team to beat Michigan. Not when they play at home, anyway.
If Michigan was playing Iowa in Ann Arbor or at a neutral site, I'd take Michigan by at least 2 TDs. But its at Kinnick, where Iowa routinely takes a blowtorch to its opponent's hopes and dreams, so I won't be surprised to see the game end 17-14.
It will be an 11-0 vs 11-0 matchup on November 26th in Columbus.
all the pressure on the bums from down unda... if taht is the case. our guys can come in loose and let it rip. its not 2006.
Also, winning @iowa, home psu/msu will not be a cake walk.
Tuck comin.. for some cake!
Hope so, but it's gonna be a slog to get there. Never underestimate how hard it is to win at Kinnick. Michigan will undoubtedly be playing those guys in a night game, or in a late afternoon 4pm kick off that ends at night, and Iowa routinely knocks off top-10 teams at home. They'll be foaming at the mouth for revenge, and I would not be surprised if Iowa is Michigan's lowest scoring game for the entire season. Iowa's offense will be ass, but it's that way pretty much every year and that's not how they win games anyway. Wouldn't shock me to see that game end 17-14.
PSU and MSU won't be easy, either. Michigan can win all three of them, absolutely. But it wouldn't surprise me to see one of them sneak up on Michigan and win.
I think the MSU game will be a knockout punch for the good guys. Harbaugh has had Franklin's number and then some at home (aside from 2020 but I really do discount all of that year).
It has been a long time since we played at Kinnick, and we know what happened the last time. OSU's toughest two games come in September with Notre Dame and Wisconsin (both at home).
I would be more surprised with OSU dropping one of their first 11 than them being undefeated going into The Game.
It will be an 11-0 vs 11-0 matchup on November 26th in Columbus.
You have that much confidence in Ryan Day? I don't.
For most of my time as a Michigan fan Ohio State has always been ranked higher than Michigan. Ohio is a more populous state than Michigan and only has one B1G University. They also don't have ND within a few miles of their border. They also accept anyone into their University (at least in-state). They have a decivcive strategic advantage. ....but Michigan, until 2004 [2001?] has outpunched them most years. Here's hoping Day is Cooper 2.0 and that we've got our mojo back.
While googling the results of Michigan vs. OSU the Bentley Libraray site came up first in the rankings. While googling Michigan vs. MSU an MSU site came up first....
I wish that Ryan Day was John Cooper 2.0, but John Cooper's QBs consisted of:
- Greg Frey
- Bobby Hoying
- Stanley Jackson
- Joe Germaine
- Steve Bellisari
Ryan Day's 3rd string QB this year is ahead of all those guys.
More likely is that Ryan Day continues to struggle defensively and gives up 40 against better teams and has to outshoot to win. Hopefully, that's the case again this year.
WestQuad, I'd definitely agree that OSU has structural advantages and a higher ceiling, but:
- It has been a long time since OSU took anyone with a pulse.
- ND is on the border, yes, but it's not close to the center of football talent in Michigan.
Ryan Day has built the best version of Texas Tech we have ever seen. They could hang 100…on Sparty.
Here’s hoping for plenty of snow, influenza and excuses in Columbus that final Saturday in November.
- Standing on 3rd, didn’t hit triple.
i know harbaugh commented that day is/was that embodiment. and hey, who has ever inherited more talent than day - not that he's not a P5 coach, but come on, no restraints on who you could take, classes are a joke for them, payola, etc.
what i did not know is that the original quote was attributed to barry switzer, who gave new meaning to the term 'rogue football team', with guns, crack sales, etc.
its weird for him to say that given he inherited a team that was pretty damn good (according to my internet search)
Barry was dripping in irony as he made the statement.
Definitely the safe bet, and when I put my own personal biases aside, I get betting on OSU. Michigan also hasn't won there in over 20 years. Not that those previous losses have any bearing on this year's game whatsoever, but that is the narrative that many members of the media will take into consideration when making their selections.
OSU is absolutely the most talented team, but for the first time in what seems like years, OSU is the one entering The Game with more pressure to win, arguably with more to lose even if both teams are contending for the playoff. Last year, Michigan took a big ol' sledgehammer to the massive psychological advantage OSU had in this matchup. Michigan now those these guys are beatable. Tough? Absolutely. Toughest game on the schedule. But not unbeatable. If Michigan finds a way to win this year, whatever remains of OSU's psychological advantage is gone, and heads will roll in Columbus by Monday morning.
Michigan now has a proven strategy to beat OSU. I doubt that they'll be able to replicate it as well as they did last year without Hutch and Ojabo running Stroud down, but with any luck the pass rush will be able to do just enough. And with the offense possibly being even better next year, the losses in the pass rush could be offset by just enough to win.
Michigan felt what that team was made of last year and learned. When you stand up to the bully, when you punch him in the face and when you exert your will in physical football that team fades. When they fade they panic. That is the mark of a soft team used to running up scores due to their talent advantage.
Ryan Day seems like a solid schematic coach but he had no answers for his team getting beat up. All the platitudes in the world this offseason and talk of new defensive culture aren't going to change in a year. Michigan players know what if feels like to beat up that team and also how they will respond (meekly).
Hope you're right, but to be fair, Michigan seemed to do a decent job of changing its defensive culture and effectiveness over the course of one year.
Not much doubt in my mind that OSU would've hung another 60 points on Michigan if Don Brown was still around this past season. They just seemed to figure him out, but they turned that around completely with MacDonald's scheme. He was brought in specifically to solve OSU's offense. He did that all in less than a year being on the job, so it probably wouldn't be fair to just assume OSU isn't capable of the same kind of turnaround.
Don't know what Knowles will be able to do in one year or how he compares ultimately to MacDonald, but he was pretty good at Oklahoma State. He certainly has a higher ceiling now with the kind of talent he'll get to work with at OSU, but truthfully, he doesn't need his defenses to be elite in order for OSU to attain its goals. He just needs his defense to not play like it did against Oregon and Michigan. If they can just get to "good, occasionally great" status, that's probably all they need.
I mean, I hope that is the case, but a lot of fans on here believe that Michigan "cracked the OSU code" and now should be beating them up for the time being. OSU is loaded this year with a Heisman finalist QB, the best receiver I've seen live in JSN, several other WRs who would be the #1 guy on most teams, plus everywhere else. Smart money would be to pick OSU, but I sure hope Michigan can figure out a way to beat them again.
No one is going to beat that team up on a regular basis, but I do think that last year helped pave the way for Michigan to win the game more frequently. So much of Michigan losing to OSU all these years was mental and psychological. Heck, even the one year that Michigan had a definitively better team, 2011, Michigan was one Braxton Miller overthrow away from losing.
Michigan has finally gotten the proverbial monkey off its back and knows it can beat those guys. It's not just hoping that something finally happens. It's "hey, we've done this before and we can do it again." I think it allows the team, and especially the coaching staff to enter this game a little more relaxed now than it otherwise would have in seasons' past.
I do hope that Michigan can now, at the very least, get to where Auburn has been with Alabama over the last 10-12 years. Yeah, one team is clearly more talented, but you still find a way to beat them every 2-3 years because hey man, rivalry. Obviously I'd love to get to a point where its pretty much 50/50, but for that to happen, I think Michigan has to seriously elevate its recruiting game, and for the foreseeable future I'm not sure Michigan can or will be able to do that.