Post Spring Practice Top 25 by CBS Sports
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-top-25… Four Big Ten teams in top 25, three in top 10.
Edited:
Way too damn early to mean anything.
Did not see any of the teams practice and it is way too damn early anyway.
Games are played for a reason (for cliche lovers).
But it is nice to see the Big Ten and in particular the East Division get national respect, meaningless as it is.
from a 10-3 team that beat us at home when we had two weeks to prepare, I'd say last season is relevent.
As we are well aware, the quarterback position is important. Connor Cook was the QB in 15, and he was pretty good. Some other guy was the QB in 16, and he was awful. Lewerke, in my opinion, looks pretty good. #5 seems high for them, but I wouldn't be surprised if they finished in the top 10.
But a win is a win and a loss is a loss.
And seriously...has the "they're SO lucky!!" meme about Michigan State been beaten into the ground yet? You can only use that so many times before you have to recognize that they may actually just be good.
And seriously...has the "they're SO lucky!!" meme about Michigan State been beaten into the ground yet?I don't know; I'm guessing it will fall by the wayside around the same time that lazy analysis focusing solely on wins and losses without accounting for any context, does.
Yeah, I have never seen a team get as many breaks as they do. Lucky bounces, key mistakes by opponenets, bullshit calls, no calls, weather intervention, you name it. They could have a very good season but ranking them number five!? That seems way to high. 10-15 would feel about right.
I don't see them getting through their schedule with fewer than 3 losses. They are for sure losing to us and OSU. They will lose at least one, if not more, from at Arizona State, at Indiana, at Penn State, Purdue, at Maryland, at Nebraska. Gun to my head I am guessing 8-4 for MSU this year, which would probably see them finish outside the Top 25.
Losing to a team after saying that they aren't great does not mean you underestimated them. We put the worst offensive performance I have ever seen on the field that day. Many teams, including mediocre ones, would have beaten us that day.
Edit: also LOL at the implication that what we are saying on here affects how the team plays.
There was zero implication that what we are saying on here affects how the team plays in my comment. Just that we as a fan base seem way too confident in our favorite teams ability to get it done against MSU. Maybe we, as a fan base, should stop doing that until the team beats MSU a few times.... because you look stupid when you talk shit to an opponent who regularly beats you even when their team, on paper, is vastly inferior.
Or "we" should focus more on ball protection and stop shooting ourselves in the foot when we play them.
However, the MSU win over Indiana last year was the biggest rip-off since the referees handed MSU the win in Ann Arbor three years ago. As an aside, the MSU running back was too stupid to notice that Indiana was letting him score so they could get the ball back while down by 8 with a few seconds left. Sparty takes a knee and the game is over but no, he scores.
Given MSU's luck, I am wondering if it will be four consecutive years that Michigan is assessed a bogus/unwarranted unsportsmanlike conduct/personal foul. Are the referees briefed on Spartan behavior before the game?
5.) MSU
6.) Wisconsin
7.) PSU
15.) Michigan
Four top ten and five top 15
I'm confused how anyone can think that's rational
It'll take a little longer than three weeks. Have you seen their non-conference schedule? It's garbage, meaning they probably go 3-0 to open the year and all the national media will be fawning over Mork yet again.
I very much disagree that their OOC schedule is garbage. They start with a solid bowl team last year in Utah State and then go to Arizona State in what will be a night game, in blistering heat, in the first big game of Herm's tenure. Then they have a bye, go to Indiana (who they nearly lost to last year and who they did lose to two years ago), then come home to CMU, again, a bowl team last year. I don't know that that's treachorous, but it's certainly not a cakewalk.
They should get through that stretch 4-0. However, it's just tricky enough that nothing between 4-0 and 2-2 would shock me. At ASU and at Indiana is a tougher two game stretch than home against WMU and SMU is.
That is all
Sure, but road Power 5 game against team that won 7 games and beat Washington last year. Hoke was a doofus too, and he still won 11 games his first season. First year coaches often overfperform because the team is hyped up, galvinized by the change.
I don't see how Herm's CEO-style coaching approach is going to work.
Are you insinuating that RichRod is more CEO than Hoke?? Cuz that's uh...very wrong.
There's like 50 points between those 2 spots
From 2017:
3 Starting Offensive Linemen - 2 of them within the top 10 picks in Round 1 of the NFL Draft (Nelson and McGlinchey) - gone
Best RB (Adams), WR (St. Brown) and TE (Smythe) - gone
5 Starters on Defense - gone
We are going to crush their asses on September 1st!
Wait, list the lost starters on D. I thought they only lost 2 starters (Morgan and Hayes). Watkin just transferred out as well but he was not a starter.
Greer Martini, Drue Tranquil and Jonathan Bonner as the other three. They were graduating seniors last year, and pretty sure all were starters
Tranquil and Bonner are both back and will start. Martini was definitely a contributor last year but I'm not sure if he was a starter. Their starters were Tranquil, Coney, and Morgan, Martini may have been a heavy rotational guy? Not sure, his tackles increased by 20 from 2016 to 2017 so he certainly played a ton, but not sure if he was a bona fide starter.
here:
http://www.ourlads.com/ncaa-football-depth-charts/depth-chart/notre-dam…
But checked somewhere else and you are right. Though I think Martini started pretty much all season.
Regardless - we are going to kick their Irish asses all over the field.
Yeah Our Lads is shoddy. I appreciate their attempts as I selficiously wish all teams put out depth charts (but I understand why they don't), but they're often off on a couple guys per team.
I agree that we will win going away though.
That's about where Michigan was ranked in '97 coming off a mediocre season. Just sayin'
I would not be unhappy if this were how the initial AP rankings are. Gives us some highly-rated teams to take down and build our resume.
Still confused on how people can be so high on Penn St after the departures of Moorehead and Barkley. That's 2 major reasons why their offense was so successful gone. At this point, their team is probably less proven their ours. MSU at #5 is just kinda funny. They're a good team, sure, but #5?
So why are people so high on them? McSorely is good, but certainly cannot carry the team by himself. People just kinda expect all their major holes that have appeared this off season to magically be filled with personnel who are as good or better than Moorehead, Barkely, Gesicki and DaeSean Hamilton