ND as a mid season bowl game
My personal opinion is that scheduling ND in the middle of what should be a critical stretch of conference play is maybe one of the most asinine ideas in the storied history of Michigan sports administration.
But now, with conference championship goals hanging by the slimmest statistical thread perhaps this is a big positive! This matchup will undoubtedly be better than the crap matchup in the coveted Outback/Citrus type bowl currently looming as the most likely scenario. And when you consider the utter lack of interest future draftees have in such events and how they tend to sit them out out my postulate gets even stronger!
So, how about we name this spectacle as a bowl now!? I for one suddenly see this as a brilliant stroke by Warde and Harbs! If only Brandon were here to give it a proper name!
I don’t know about anyone else but this is now late December/early January for me. Go Blue!
October 21st, 2019 at 10:49 PM ^
So who will sit out?
October 21st, 2019 at 11:21 PM ^
That's the beauty of it . . . it's a bowl game that you can't sit out.
October 22nd, 2019 at 9:59 AM ^
I wouldn't ever use the adjective "beauty" when speaking of bowl games and Michigan under Harbs.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:54 PM ^
Juwan Bushell-Beatty
October 21st, 2019 at 11:02 PM ^
To be fair, our offense actually has a semblance of an identity now so it beats playing them week 1 or 2.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:04 PM ^
Yet another silver lining.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:03 PM ^
Hopefully our seniors play
October 21st, 2019 at 11:04 PM ^
I posted this in the other thread about rescheduling the UM-ND series:
If the team loses to OSU and finishes 9-3, what will have been the biggest win of the year?
October 21st, 2019 at 11:09 PM ^
I think this is an excellent point in light of the current situation. Which is my sarcastic point. And it is a highly likely outcome that this game will be waaay better than the bowl matchup. I’ve gone from seeing this as a big distraction from the season to being “the” season. Or such
October 22nd, 2019 at 9:04 AM ^
The players sitting out and national championship stuff have sort of ruined the bowl system, which sucks. Used to be you had one more big game at the end of the season to see how good your really were. Now it is a meaningless game unless you are in the NC playoff. Instead of two days of great football over the holidays you get three NC playoff games where 3 of the 4 teams are usually cheaters. College football had something special and the douche bags ruined it.
I think playing ND is sweet. You play to watch great football. Not to dodge people. Iron sharpens iron.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:15 PM ^
Rutgers by scoring margin.
Illinois by impressiveness.
October 22nd, 2019 at 12:03 AM ^
I reject the premise of the question.
We are beating OSU this year.
October 22nd, 2019 at 12:56 AM ^
Does the PSU moral victory count?
October 22nd, 2019 at 8:45 AM ^
Isn't ND the obvious answer?
October 21st, 2019 at 11:14 PM ^
The Rust Bowl.
Perfect for formerly glamorous programs.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:22 PM ^
Let's paint an end zone for ND!
October 21st, 2019 at 11:37 PM ^
Except for naming the matchup and the end declaration of gloom I find this to be a very positive way to view the situation. Count me in.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:37 PM ^
USC and Stanford play ND mid conf schedule, it is what it is. If you’re a good team you beat good teams.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:41 PM ^
I'd like to brand it a remise en bouche to cleanse the palate from the first seven games where we weren't playing to our potential, to the final five where we run the table.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:44 PM ^
My French is poor but I feel I understand the spirit of your point. This could indeed end up as a mid season reboot. And it is needed at several levels.
October 22nd, 2019 at 9:42 AM ^
Everyone’s French is poor because it is a terrible language
October 22nd, 2019 at 8:04 AM ^
Mgoblog...
Come for the sports.
Stay for the French culinary terms.
October 22nd, 2019 at 8:16 AM ^
LOL Funny. +1 ... If I could I’d give you 250 points.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:55 PM ^
Once we drop Notre Dame, it's all over for that program. Without us, Notre Dame is just another team floundering in a sea of mediocrity, clamoring to once again be welcomed through the gates of Michigan Stadium, where select heros are extended an opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Elite, an errand reserved for fcs teams only from hither onward!
October 23rd, 2019 at 7:56 AM ^
LS&A Grad?
October 22nd, 2019 at 1:00 AM ^
Personally, except for the fact that ND got a bye week before it, I like it a lot better.
Not only does it break the monotony of B1G play, it is a nationally relavant game mid-way through the season. I wish more B1G teams did the same. Normally, with B1G teams only playing amongst themselves in October or November, an early Michigan or tOSU loss lets the press write off the whole conference as weak unless one of them runs the table.
October 22nd, 2019 at 1:25 AM ^
You do have a good point about what it does for the conference to win a game like this in late October.
If Michigan wins this against Notre Dame - a team being talked about for the CFP - it will significantly improve the profile of the Big Ten in the eyes of the CFP committee.
So, you're welcome Ohio State. As if we haven't given you enough already.
October 22nd, 2019 at 4:20 AM ^
It's a waste of time and we shouldn't play them.
Hoping everyone we need emerges healthy from this unproductive, midseason, non-conference game.
October 22nd, 2019 at 5:00 AM ^
I’ve been saying same since the day it was announced. It’s a ridiculously asinine game to play in late OCT and Warde Manual cannot be criticized enough for doing it.
October 22nd, 2019 at 7:05 AM ^
You spelled Harbaugh wrong.
October 22nd, 2019 at 8:09 AM ^
No, he didn't.
Harbaugh wanted them back on the schedule - he did not say to put them in Oct, after giving them a free home game last year and a bye this year before the game. They are on the schedule because Harbaugh wanted them. They are where they're at on the schedule because Manual gave them everything they wanted just to get them back on the schedule. He caved on that 'negotiation' quicker than kindling burns up in a fire...
October 22nd, 2019 at 8:25 AM ^
Warde was just following orders. If his boss Jim wanted a September game or else no game, then he should have specified that.
October 22nd, 2019 at 6:53 AM ^
APOLOGIES FOR THIS LENGTHY COMMENT – IT’S COMPLICATED
TL:DR Version: Michigan might as well treat each of its remaining games as a bowl play-in game. Win out and then maybe there's a chance at a Rose Bowl appearance. Finish 8-4 and the Holiday Bowl could be its destination. Finish 7-5 or 6-6 and it might be a late December trip to "The House That Derek Jeter Built" in the Bronx and the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
It appears that Michigan will NOT be eligible for either the Citrus Bowl or the Outback Bowl this season because they’ve recently played in each of those bowls. LINK
It also appears that Michigan will not be playing in the College Football Playoffs, and unless Michigan wins out, it won’t be playing in the Rose Bowl, so the Holiday Bowl in San Diego (fourth on the list of Big Ten bowl affiliations) will be an option, as will the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl (fifth on the list of Big Ten bowl affiliations) and the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin appear to be ineligible for the Holiday Bowl. Iowa and Penn State appear to be ineligible for the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl. Iowa, Penn State and Wisconsin appear to be ineligible for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
Let’s say that Ohio State finishes 13-0 and goes to the playoffs. Now, things get complicated.
If Wisconsin finishes 11-2 with a loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game, but Penn State finishes 11-1 with its only loss to Ohio State, then the Rose Bowl might take Penn State and then Wisconsin would go to the Citrus Bowl. The Citrus Bowl (third on the list of Big Ten bowl affiliations) supposedly can’t take Penn State or Minnesota.
Let’s say that (a) Minnesota finishes 9-3, losing to Penn State and Wisconsin at home and at Iowa, (b) Iowa finishes 9-3 with losses to Michigan, Penn State and at Wisconsin, and (c) Michigan finishes 8-4 with losses at Wisconsin and Penn State and at home to Notre Dame and Ohio State. Iowa’s not eligible for the Outback Bowl, so Minnesota could go to the Outback Bowl and Iowa could go to the Holiday Bowl despite Iowa’s loss to Michigan.
Next in line for Michigan would be the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl, but let’s say that the worst happens and Michigan finishes 7-5 with losses to Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State. If Michigan State finishes 8-4, then they’d probably go to the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl.
If you’re not thinking that it couldn’t get any more complicated for the Wolverines, then consider that if it gets even worse and Michigan loses at Indiana, then Indiana could finish 9-3 with losses only to Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State, and Michigan might finish 6-6. A 9-3 Indiana team supposedly would not be eligible for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, so Michigan could be headed to Yankee Stadium against a weak ACC team while Indiana would go to the Redbox Bowl against the fourth best team from the Pac-12.
October 22nd, 2019 at 9:20 AM ^
Appreciate the write up but one thing to note is that Wisconsin cannot go 11-2 if OSU goes 13-0. Wisconsin already has 1 loss and they play at OSU on Saturday. Wisconsin, at best, would be 10-3 if they play in the big ten title game and OSU finishes 13-0. In that scenario PSU would definitely take the Rose Bowl bid, assuming they finish 11-1.
October 22nd, 2019 at 9:46 AM ^
OTOH, Wisconsin could go 10-2 by losing to OSU and then winning out while Minnesota wins out until losing to Wisconsin in the regular season finale. That would send the one-loss Gophers to Indy to face the East champions.
Penn St is going to lose a couple games yet (we need them to lose 3 in any scenerio that would allow us to finally go to Indy, and while possible, highly unlikely). I am holding on to hope right now we can win out and finally get to Pasadena.
October 22nd, 2019 at 10:13 AM ^
I hope it happens and they end up in the Rose. That would be pretty cool for their fans.
October 22nd, 2019 at 6:20 PM ^
Apologies for overlooking that fact, and now I'm feeling like I've wasted too much time on this subject. (Still suffering from the Michigan/Arsenal loss hangover.) Whatever happens, Michigan should be headed to a bowl game somewhere after the regular season ends.
If it turns out that Michigan will be headed to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium, then it might be nice to let all of the freshmen scholarship players who haven't played yet this season and all of the graduating seniors who've never played in a game a chance to play in that relatively meaningless game -- if only to let them tell their children and grandchildren that they played at Yankee Stadium.
"Hey dad, didn't you once play at Yankee Stadium? Wanna have a catch?"
October 22nd, 2019 at 10:05 PM ^
Don't feel like you wasted time. I still found it informative (and didn't realize they started making teams ineligible for certain bowls for whatever reason). All that fact really does it virtually guarantee PSU to Rose bowl if the rest of the scenario plays out.
October 22nd, 2019 at 9:37 AM ^
Thank you, Chatster, but now my brain hurts.
October 22nd, 2019 at 7:00 AM ^
I'm not that I agree with you 100% on your police work there Jevablue.
If M plays Notre Shame in week 1 or 2 this year as is customary we lose that game by …………..78 points?
Stand a chance to keep it within 3 scores this weekend.
October 22nd, 2019 at 7:11 AM ^
OP is at least right that we as fans and probably the team need to find an angle that gets us up for the game. Mid season bowl game is as good as I can figure right now.
October 22nd, 2019 at 7:42 AM ^
I guess that is where I finally landed in this. One starts the year with a clean sheet, a reason to feel optimistic as we were returning what looked like it would be a dynamic offense with a ton of experience and the evil empire was sporting a first year coach. A long overdue Big Championship seemed attainable. At the time seeing a huge non conference game looming in the middle of all that looked like a horrible distraction from the big goals. An even larger distraction than scheduling a triple option team before Wisconsin. But now with the conference goals mostly in shambles this game takes on a much different meaning. Hopefully this can be channeled into some kind of positive motivation. The indifference and non participation with the New Years six bowl last year was brutal to watch. A less sexy bowl than that now looms.
So this it now!
Go Blue
October 22nd, 2019 at 7:42 AM ^
How many points do we spot ND in the first quarter?
October 22nd, 2019 at 7:58 AM ^
That’s a different thread, but since you ask, probably a ten spot. Not burning a timeout on the first play from scrimmage would be seen as a positive at this point.
October 22nd, 2019 at 8:59 AM ^
Well...it is a home against "Not osu" so I'm not sure UM spots any. Doesn't mean they play well but overall even when the team loses at home they tend to start off better and not poop themselves.
October 22nd, 2019 at 7:56 AM ^
We’re not sniffing the conference title. OSU is going to rip UM to shreds.
October 22nd, 2019 at 9:33 AM ^
Didn't people think Wisky was going to rip Illinois to shreds last week? College football is a funny game, all UM can do is try and build on the positive from the PSU game, improve every week and win out until OSU, and then hope the wackiness of college football works out in their favor for once.