Bowl Projections - UM outlook looking sunnier than Detroit in January

Submitted by jtmc33 on

Yes, I know, Bowl Projections in September are as useful as Heisman lists in September; and yes, we were on the list after last year's ND win (I believe it was the Outback Bowl, I hope you didn't buy tickets to Florida)

But:  http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/bowls/predictions

That's the Gator Bowl versus Georgia.  5th team in Big 10.

ESPN (no link, you'll have to trust me) has two "experts" that say a)  Outback versus LSU and b) Insight versus Texas A&M.

That's a range from 4th to 6th in the Big 10.  Sounds about right to me (at this time)

jtmc33

September 13th, 2010 at 3:11 PM ^

Seriously, if there is anything college football fans hate (including everyone at MGoBlog) it's the idea of "what-if" and hoping and dreaming of great things.  That's why no one cares about pre-season rankings, bowl projections, Recruiting rankings, Potential recruits' Top 5 lists, Recruiting boards, and Future Depth charts.

 

WolverineinTX

September 13th, 2010 at 3:33 PM ^

I get excited about the opportunity for Michigan to play in a bowl again, but can we hold off on the bowl predictions until we have 6 wins?  Preferably after the Michigan State game...

One the ESPN predictions:  My wife (a Baylor grad) has mentioned a few times about how Baylor* also shows up in ESPN's week 2 bowl predictions (it's pretty close to the highlight of her year when it comes to Baylor football since they haven't seen a bowl since '94). 

 

 

*I remind her at least once a year about how Baylor was a part of Michigan's '97 national championship schedule...

Johnnybee123

September 13th, 2010 at 3:45 PM ^

Why is everyone being so lame about enjoying our success.  Yes, it's early.  Yes, I remember last year.  Yes, we still haven't entered Big Ten play at all.  But geez, I didn't wait the entire off season (and the past two years for that matter), to not get excited to see Denard's legend be born and to read sportswriters saying that we're back. 

 

What, wait til we maybe lose until MSU before we experience any emotion.  It's ok to be irrational and excited, just have some fun.  Deep down, we're all taking it with some hesitancy, alright?

Tater

September 13th, 2010 at 3:50 PM ^

I have felt all along that the team doesn't have to improve very much to beat the tier of Purdue, Illinois, MSU, and Indiana.  I am pretty sure they have improved enough to do just that.  If they start 4-0 and then take care of business against those teams, they have eight wins without having to improve enough to beat the top tier teams.  After seeing the improvement of both lines and the dynamic of having Denard at QB, I'm not so sure they can't at least split those four top tier games against Wiscy, Iowa, PSU, and OSU, either. 

I definitely agree with the OP that it looks a lot more promising than it did two weeks ago.  I'm hoping for a great reason to take a sixteen-mile trip from my front door to the Outback Bowl in January.

TheOracle6

September 13th, 2010 at 4:01 PM ^

Way too early for these projections.  The best thing about our team is that with Denard Robinson we have the chance to beat anyone on the schedule.  I was not impressed with Penn State, Michigan State, or Wisconsin over the first two weeks.  We have a very good shot at starting 5-0, after that anything is possible for this team.  I am really excited going forward.  We are in a very good spot to win 8 games IME.  Stay focused, remain humble, and keep the faith.  It's amazing to be  Michigan Wolverine!