November 23rd, 2021 at 8:00 AM ^
Very interesting. The first 2 and a half minutes. But I've got to get to work. Thanks for the temptation! /s
November 23rd, 2021 at 8:01 AM ^
38-28 sounds about right to me.
November 23rd, 2021 at 8:26 AM ^
We'll only win by 10?
November 28th, 2021 at 2:40 PM ^
Prescient question!
November 23rd, 2021 at 8:19 AM ^
Those seem like fair scores and are all in striking distance where UM could pull off a win. LFG!
November 23rd, 2021 at 8:39 AM ^
I agree - LFG! Late Field Goal wins it for Michigan.
November 23rd, 2021 at 8:42 AM ^
touche' sir
November 23rd, 2021 at 8:27 AM ^
They have Ohio State having scored an infinite amount of points against MSU. I haven't heard any Kenneth Walker III Heisman talk lately.
November 23rd, 2021 at 8:44 AM ^
Not to be a Kenneth Walker III apologist, but his lack of productivity in this game came from not playing rather than from getting shut down. He had six carries. There's a good chance he got hurt.
November 23rd, 2021 at 9:19 AM ^
I took it that his lack of carries was due to the fact they got behind by a lot & in a hurry…Didn’t pay attention to MSU other than 2 games, did they use him much in the passing attack? If they did, an injury would make a lot of sense…
November 23rd, 2021 at 9:28 AM ^
I don't think he was injured. Ohio State was keying on him and completely shut him down early.
MSU was not going to move the ball with Walker, they knew they had to go to the air to have a chance.
But the MSU defense made it a moot point either way.
November 23rd, 2021 at 10:54 AM ^
He was rumored to have had an injury going into the game (according to a Sparty friend who follows the team closely), but he definitely aggravated something in the game. Once he limped off to the sideline, he never went back in.
November 23rd, 2021 at 12:41 PM ^
I am not knocking Walker personally. Just thrilled I don't have to hear Sparties I know run their mouth about how he deserves the Heisman unless it is SEC rigged.
November 23rd, 2021 at 9:31 AM ^
Is Walter this still in the scene or is there some goofiness going on with the GIF?
November 23rd, 2021 at 11:12 AM ^
He’s still, giving The Jesus the death stare.
November 23rd, 2021 at 8:47 AM ^
I'd be extremely impressed if Michigan can keep it that close. If they can take this OSU team deep into the fourth quarter and be within a score, that speaks volumes about how far they've come.
If they can do that, all they need is for someone to make one play to possibly flip the game.
November 23rd, 2021 at 8:48 AM ^
I think their projection is probably fair and accurate unfortunately
November 23rd, 2021 at 8:49 AM ^
If any of these predictions are in the ballpark, life is good. It would be great to win, but if we don't and the game is this competitive, we are a lock for the Rose Bowl with the wind in our sails.
We will look like a viable program for the first time in half a decade to recruits (and Portal transfers).
November 23rd, 2021 at 9:53 AM ^
M-Dog I appreciate you as a poster and contributor to this board for a long time. If we lose another close one at home considering the low expectations (by Michigan standards) we had coming into the season after last years COVID debacle...I will punch you in the face out of frustration for your optimism.
I would set Charles Swindoll on fire if M loses another close game this year.
November 23rd, 2021 at 10:19 AM ^
That's a very calm, reasoned take. I wish I could put things in perspective to that extent. But...I care too much about winning against them still. Leaning towards not watching this weekend for my own mental well being.
November 23rd, 2021 at 9:44 AM ^
I'm surprised their model shows it that close.
November 23rd, 2021 at 10:05 AM ^
Same. I felt optimistic after seeing this. Last week the model predicted a slight UM win but the humans said Penn State would win a close one.
November 23rd, 2021 at 9:47 AM ^
One can only hope that the Michigan football hating God decides to hate on OSU for once.
November 23rd, 2021 at 9:47 AM ^
A 34-31 M loss is eternal BPONE.
November 23rd, 2021 at 10:21 AM ^
I think the open question about this game is: has OSU taken the whole season to get to this point and they are now an offensive juggernaut, or is MSU's pass defense just that bad?
If it's the latter, there's no particular reason the game couldn't be close, OSU hasn't looked its usual self for most of the season, Michigan has competent QB play for the first time in awhile, and the current defensive scheme isn't as easily exploitable as the old Don Brown regime.
We'll see. It's not indicative of the team of course, but I do like that the OSU fans seem extremely confident that they're going to beat us by 40. Urban Meyer obviously never took this game for granted, but we don't know yet if Day will consistently have his team equally prepared and have excellent gameplans out of his coaching staff.
November 23rd, 2021 at 10:58 AM ^
Teams OSU has blown out this year: Akron, Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, Purdue, and Michigan State.
Teams OSU has not blown out: Minnesota, Oregon, Tulsa (it was a 7-pt game late in the 4Q), Penn State, Nebraska
I don't expect a Michigan win, but I think that the blowouts of Purdue (who, as I read, took a big risk playing man defense for this one) and Michigan State (the #130 worst pass defense) are inflating people's perception of the Buckeyes a bit.
A 7-10 point OSU victory feels correct. And, if a few bounces go our way Michigan could pull the upset.
November 23rd, 2021 at 5:05 PM ^
You may as well pretend those first 3 games never happened, because they are a night and day different football team from then. Stroud was playing his first games ever, and they literally ran a different defensive scheme under a different DC. While I don't think the OSU D is elite by any means, the difference between now and when they played MN, Tulsa and Oregon is almost unexplainable. The only chance you have to beat OSU is if your coaches can design a defense to confuse OSU. Nebraska and PSU did somehow. You'll pretty much know whether or not that's the case halfway through the 1st quarter. If you guys get a few early stops, that bodes well for the entire game. If OSU scores on their first few drives, it will never stop.
November 23rd, 2021 at 11:38 AM ^
Massey has OSU 34 Michigan 31. What it all means is that Michigan can win with a few breaks. A few proper OSU holding calls, +1/2 in turnovers, maybe a Hutchinson strip sack pickup fumble for a TD, maybe a Dax Hill pick (Gray or Turner?), maybe the LBs play their best game of the year.
OSU does have the better team and is favored for a reason BUT some of their stats are better than Michigan's because their backups are starters on most teams. Fortunately for Michigan, OSU can only put 11 on the field at a time (unless the refs screw that up also.)
How sweet would it be for Gray to be the hero on Saturday?
November 25th, 2021 at 12:40 PM ^
Yes to all of this.
November 23rd, 2021 at 6:39 PM ^
Win the “Game”
Fuck Ohio!
November 28th, 2021 at 9:05 PM ^
Why didn't they pick Michigan? They themselves said the FEI ratings were:
Ohio State's #1 Offense against Michigan's #6 Defense = Close
Michigan's #6 Offense against Ohio State's #39 Defense = Clear Advantage