George had an almost Marino level quick release and was fairly accurate. His attitude and work ethic were the problem. Imagine Stafford if all his coaches and teammates hated him or Jay Cutler without funny memes.
I don't think Milton is as good at football or as terrible a human being as George was during his playing days.
Jay Schroeder or Jim Drunkenmiller might be better comps as both could effortlessly throw the ball deep to no one in particular.
If this was still NFL of the 90s, he'd have been a mid to late 1st round picks. The game was more run based and teams valued RBs significantly more.
Now, Corum is a day 2 guy, probably a 3rd round pick. He's versatile enough to fit in any system. For a pro comp, I see him as a better David Montgomery, a shifty, physical inside runner. He'd fill a huge need in Tampa.
When we hired Wink, I wanted the defensive position coaches to be young, up and comers who can recruit. Based on limited information, Adegoke is a young, well thought of coach. He should be able to recruit but we'll see. No complaints
I am the opposite. I'm still basking in Championship afterglow.
Back in the 90s, I wanted Lloyd fired for being a pretty bad defensive coordinator. After his promotion, I wanted him fired even more until the 1997 Championship. All was forgiven and we walked on sunshine all summer. That era of good feelings lasted until back to back lopsided losses to start the 1998 season (ND and McNabb/Syracuse). The Championship emotional armor was gone until team 144.
Mentally I know the 2024 schedule is the most difficult one I can remember. Regression is inevitable. I'll deal with that, poorly, in the fall
Good luck to him. Jay was the rare nepotism hire who turned out to be a very good recruiter and coach at a variety of positions on the staff. His future seems bright
I blame the NCAA and the B10/Pettiti nigh infinitely more than Warde, but a different AD might have been able to keep the band together.
In 2020, I wanted to keep Harbaugh but replace both coordinators. That said, the last 3 years were better than my most optimistic guess for what keeping Jimmy after 2020 would mean.
Zach Orr sounds ideal from a scheme standpoint. I would guess as a young, former player that he could recruit as well or better than Macdonald or Minter.
The Harbaugh brothers owe us a defense coordinator after taking the last two.
Agreed. Mgoblog is simply the best football website, college or pro. The depth of their mostly objective analysis in the articles and podcasts is unmatched.
I have learned so much about scheme, play design, etc. since a friend recommended Mgoblog to me 12-ish years ago. Even NFL beat writers and "experts" rarely come close to explaining the how and why of football as well.
Sam Webb's Michigan Insider work on YouTube and podcast is really good too with Borges, Vance and DG breaking down and explaining game tape. We are spoiled by such consistently good content
Sounded like a very high upside prospect coming out of high school. If he transferring because other more talented players are blocking him from getting playing time, then it is probably a good sign for the program.
I wished he stick it out because the depth chart is likely to loosen up a bit after this year. However, I wish him the best, especially if he goes somewhere outside the Big Ten.
It is an interesting tool to have in the ol' tool box and seems like it would be more effective than the 3-3-5 we've occasionally used the past couple years. Seems like something that would be great against Perdue but far less effective against Wisconsin or even MSU.
I agree with the general idea that just trotting our 4-2-5 and expecting to dominate isn't going to work against top tier teams. We need to game plan better to take away what the opposition does best from the opening whistle instead of relying on in game adjustments to be our deus ex machina. It took a little more than quarter against ND and didn't happen at all against OSU.
Pros. I live vacation. No winter. It's cold if it is below 70. Beautiful beaches and coastline. Tampa and St. Petersburg are just 45 minutes away. Tampa Bay is the best local brewery scene in Florida and is becoming one of the best in the nation. On the beach, everything is open late and year round. No one is closed on holidays. Lots of excellent local restaurant opens with fresh locally caught seafood. The days of this area being nothing but chain restaurants is over.
Cons. Traffic. A combo of more people, locals and tourists, than the infrastructure can handle and no one seems to know where they are going. On a nice weekend day, the causeways leading to the beach are gridlocked from 11am to sun set. There is not enough parking. Humidity in July through September is brutal.
If you offered me money to see Phil Collins, I'd respectfully pass. I have never been a big concert guy and did not like 80s pop music during the 80s. I like it less now.
As for the prices themselves, I agree with the folks who have pointed out that "final" tours for elderly artists tended to be wildly overpriced. Another factor is as "record" sales have fallen, tours have become the main revenue stream for artists. Ticket prices are risen accordingly. A few bigger name artists have bucked the trend but they are the exception and not the rule.
Back in 1994 when it was -30 something (-69 with the wind chill), we still had classes. I had one class that day and walked across campus to get there. Back then I was an idiot who never wore a hat, gloves or zipped my coat. I did that day.
I went to HOMES back in August and was extremely impressed with both the beer and the food. If I lived in Michigan, I would jump all over that even though it is a little pricey for a beer pairing dinner. They had me at barrel aged sour beers.
One night, after your high-school team loses a game it should have won, you’ll be walking home from the stadium and you’ll see your friend’s grandmother sitting on her front porch — a sweet old lady … one of those old-school, heart-of-gold grandmas. You’ll smile, wave and say hello, addressing her as ma’am, just like Pap taught you.
And she’ll be like, “What in the hell’s wrong wit y’all boys losing a game like that! G’on and get yourself home, boy. Get outta here!”
What do you even say to that?
The answer is … nothing. You just do as she says and get your ass home.
My high school football coach was originally from Western PA. He used tell stories about players having to sneak home after a loss because people in his town would cuss out or throw rocks at them for losing. I always assumed he was just drunk and exaggerating. Now, I know he was drunk and telling the truth.
The positive buzz of the coaching hires has almost washed away the bitter memories of the end of last season. Hope might be the first step on the road to disappointment, but it springs eternal.
The Cards have a lot of options, especially if Murray decides to pursue football.
There was an article in a SF news paper today, referenced in a Ringer article, that the A's think Murray is going to the NFL. Murray is supposed to report to Spring Training on 2/15. The Combine is a couple weeks later. QB work outs are on 3/2. If he skips Spring Training and makes an appearance at the Combine, then we have an idea of what the kid is going to do.
Using Spotrac.com for the contract data, trading Rosen would be a $8,158,776 dead money cap hit to trade him (it's all prorated signing bonus). If you can designate a trade a June 1st transaction like a cut/release, then it is a very reasonable $4M-ish dead money cap hit in 2019 and 2020. If the Cards really do love Murray, moving Rosen isn't an issue. The team getting Rosen is getting an ultra cheap QB ($570,000 Salary+$709,898 roster bonus for 2019 cap hit of less than $1.5M) with upside. Accordingly, the Cards should be able to take Murray and move Rosen if they prefer Murray.
The Cardinals could also trade down. Imagine the Giants (6th pick) with Murray, Barkley and OBJ. The Cardinals should be able to get the OL help they desperately need at #6 plus have additional picks to rebuild a depleted roster.
Seems like a mid to late round prospect as he isn't much of a blocker and was pretty inconsistent catching the ball. I don't know if another year changes that. He is tall with surprising speed for his height, so he should be drafted. I just wouldn't expect that to happen before the 4th or 5th round, best case.
1) Malum In Se is latin for "inherently evil/wrong." The Romans called obvious crimes like murder Malum In Se. Something that was illegal just because the government said it was illegal was Malum Prohibitum. As soon as I read about it in law school, I started using it online because it was usually available.
2) It is a picture of Colonel Mustard from Clue. I used to be ColMustard on mlive back when mlive had its message boards. I was more active on the Lions forum than the UofM one.
Rushing just three players when defending a Hail Mary pass. All it does is give the receivers time to get down the field and for the QB to have the time and room to throw a long pass into the endzone. Stop the madness and bring at least 5 defenders to pressure the QB into a quick short throw or sack.
I only recognize one professional sports franchise using the name "Jets." That franchise resides in Winnipeg. As much as Coach Harbaugh probably wants to hoist the Stanley Cup, I remain confident he'll stick to coaching football in Ann Arbor for the forseeable future.
I grew up in a Detroit Suburb but live near Clearwater Beach, FL now. I almost never miss a UofM or Lions game. However, I care nigh infinitely more about our Wolverines.
I watch the Lions like Statler and Waldorf watch the Muppet Show, especially Fozzie Bear's comedy. It is mostly laughing and jeering. Losses don't hurt. It is more an excuse to go to sports bar and drink with friends. Opposing fans, even Packer fans, don't bother me.
With Michigan, I care. The outcome matters. It is joy or pain. I can't just laugh off a bad call. I have not murdered a MSU or OSU fan ... yet.
I don't get the negativity towards Sam Webb. He is the official, unofficial spokesman for the coaching staff. If they feel confident about a kid, Sam announces he is confident about a kid. If the coaches are surprised by a de-commit, so is Sam.
Right now, I guess the coaches are hopeful for some reason about flipping Hill back. Maybe they have rational reasons. More likely, they are in denial. I highly doubt he rejoins the class, but I would love to be wrong about this.
I enjoy the game a lot, despite all the glitches and issues. I have always liked the post apocalyptic setting of the Fallout series. Fallout 76 lacks the NPCs and most of the story elements of previous games, but retains the feel and mechanics of Fallout 4 in an online multiple player survival game. My current preferred way to kill time.
The game has meaning for the program, the continued development of the players returning in 2019 and for recruiting the next wave of Wolverines.
It is just the least interesting and appealing match up and I live in Florida. We've played the Gators multiple times in recent years, so I really wanted to play LSU or Georgia. I do not remember the last time we played either team. A win over Georgia, for example, would have meant something to national perception and to recruits after their performance in the SEC title game. Beating a middling, inconsistent Florida team is just what we are supposed to do.
Now that we are stuck with the Gators, we need to crush them. The last couple times, the Gators had basically quit by the mid-4th quarter. Let's do that to them again.
Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill in St. Petersburg, FL. It has been the site of the Tampa Bay Alumni Club's watch parties for the past several years. For the Game, we take the place over. There will be several hundred of the Wolverine faithful.
Michigan is the better team this year. We should win.
Nothing would make me happier than running out to an early lead and never looking back. However, best case, I think it lower scoring and close at the half with Michigan wearing them down to grind out a win in the 2nd half by more than a TD. What offensive success OSU has all game will happen mostly in 1st half before Don Brown adjusts to take it away. We've seen this script several times already this year.
I would rather get into with a land war in Asia than get into a high scoring shoot out with this OSU team.
Sam's sources are the coaching staff. His CB tells us that the coaches feel that confident about Harrison committing. He generally doesn't put in a CB unless he has gotten the word from a coach. Doesn't mean that coaches right to be that confident or that the kid won't change his mind.
John O'Neill is the only college ref whose name I know. Most refs aren't consistently bad enough to be memorable. He and his crew are simply the worst.
Either fire him or make him only officiate Rutger games.
ND is the better team. In the climate controlled Carrier Dome, I would expect ND to prevail without too much trouble.
If this game was played in a rain or snow storm, then who knows? Weird things can happen in wet, cold bad weather games. Luckily for ND, it is supposed to be clear skies and dry. I expect them to win and cover.
I am just rooting for us to win, stay healthy and sharp for OSU. Beyond that, I am hoping that John O'Neill is no where near the Game or the Big Ten Title Game. He worries me more than what ND does the next two weeks.
I would also cackle with glee if Harbaugh issued Indiana some backhanded compliments after the Michigan's win and got Tom Allen's name wrong. I'm 100% on board with faint praise and getting coaches names wrong to become his thing.
"Indiana, uh, there're ... a football team with the right cleats. They were prepared for the weather. Todd Allen knows what time the game starts. Todd has them organized, you know, in the same style uniforms. He's molding them into a force, uh ... a force to be something more than ... enhance talent, maybe. "
If ND and Michigan win out, the only way that Michigan passes ND is if we flat out dominate OSU and NW. Beating OSU, ranked in the top 10, by 20+ points in Columbus would get the committee's full attention. Following it up by crushing NW while ND is idle could be enough to override ND's head to head win with recency bias being what it is. I cannot see a close win against either or both schools being enough.
I am not saying we should pass ND. We lost in a game never felt as close as the final score to me. That is a lot to overcome. I would just be happy to beat OSU by any margin of victory and NW to claim the Big Ten title. Everything after that is gravy.
My Father and Grandfather were at this game. I grew up hearing about most of their section had left but they stayed to the very end. It was the greatest comeback they saw live and one of their favorite Michigan moments. My Dad had an audio cassette tape of Ufer's call of that game and would play it before big games. I probably heard the call a dozen times before I ever actually saw the play.
I felt the same sense of pride having stayed to see entire comeback against Virginia in '95 when a lot of students and fans had given up and left. That said, I tapped out and left the Perdue/Michigan game in '95 late in the 3rd quarter. My devotion is strong but not that strong.
Recent Comments
George had an almost Marino level quick release and was fairly accurate. His attitude and work ethic were the problem. Imagine Stafford if all his coaches and teammates hated him or Jay Cutler without funny memes.
I don't think Milton is as good at football or as terrible a human being as George was during his playing days.
Jay Schroeder or Jim Drunkenmiller might be better comps as both could effortlessly throw the ball deep to no one in particular.
It is always the ones you suspect the most.
If this was still NFL of the 90s, he'd have been a mid to late 1st round picks. The game was more run based and teams valued RBs significantly more.
Now, Corum is a day 2 guy, probably a 3rd round pick. He's versatile enough to fit in any system. For a pro comp, I see him as a better David Montgomery, a shifty, physical inside runner. He'd fill a huge need in Tampa.
When we hired Wink, I wanted the defensive position coaches to be young, up and comers who can recruit. Based on limited information, Adegoke is a young, well thought of coach. He should be able to recruit but we'll see. No complaints
The default for the Chargers has been 6. They were never a team I rooted for or against before.
The better Michigan plays in 2024 under the new coaching staff, the better I hope the Chargers play. If we struggle, then I hope they do too.
I am the opposite. I'm still basking in Championship afterglow.
Back in the 90s, I wanted Lloyd fired for being a pretty bad defensive coordinator. After his promotion, I wanted him fired even more until the 1997 Championship. All was forgiven and we walked on sunshine all summer. That era of good feelings lasted until back to back lopsided losses to start the 1998 season (ND and McNabb/Syracuse). The Championship emotional armor was gone until team 144.
Mentally I know the 2024 schedule is the most difficult one I can remember. Regression is inevitable. I'll deal with that, poorly, in the fall
Good luck to him. Jay was the rare nepotism hire who turned out to be a very good recruiter and coach at a variety of positions on the staff. His future seems bright
Normally, the DC spot would be really be concerning to me. However, I'm still basking in the afterglow of the Natty.
I hope the coaching search remains focused on younger guys who are plus recruiters.
I blame the NCAA and the B10/Pettiti nigh infinitely more than Warde, but a different AD might have been able to keep the band together.
In 2020, I wanted to keep Harbaugh but replace both coordinators. That said, the last 3 years were better than my most optimistic guess for what keeping Jimmy after 2020 would mean.
Zach Orr sounds ideal from a scheme standpoint. I would guess as a young, former player that he could recruit as well or better than Macdonald or Minter.
The Harbaugh brothers owe us a defense coordinator after taking the last two.
Eventually, I'll root for the Chargers to represent the AFC in the Superb Owl against the Lions.
Right now, I'm still a little salty and want Herbert to full Andrew Luck (grow a civil war general level beard and retire).
Agreed. Mgoblog is simply the best football website, college or pro. The depth of their mostly objective analysis in the articles and podcasts is unmatched.
I have learned so much about scheme, play design, etc. since a friend recommended Mgoblog to me 12-ish years ago. Even NFL beat writers and "experts" rarely come close to explaining the how and why of football as well.
Sam Webb's Michigan Insider work on YouTube and podcast is really good too with Borges, Vance and DG breaking down and explaining game tape. We are spoiled by such consistently good content
PSU was 8, so that spot is open. #12 or better seems realistic.
Sounded like a very high upside prospect coming out of high school. If he transferring because other more talented players are blocking him from getting playing time, then it is probably a good sign for the program.
I wished he stick it out because the depth chart is likely to loosen up a bit after this year. However, I wish him the best, especially if he goes somewhere outside the Big Ten.
It is an interesting tool to have in the ol' tool box and seems like it would be more effective than the 3-3-5 we've occasionally used the past couple years. Seems like something that would be great against Perdue but far less effective against Wisconsin or even MSU.
I agree with the general idea that just trotting our 4-2-5 and expecting to dominate isn't going to work against top tier teams. We need to game plan better to take away what the opposition does best from the opening whistle instead of relying on in game adjustments to be our deus ex machina. It took a little more than quarter against ND and didn't happen at all against OSU.
Just off Clearwater Beach, FL
Pros. I live vacation. No winter. It's cold if it is below 70. Beautiful beaches and coastline. Tampa and St. Petersburg are just 45 minutes away. Tampa Bay is the best local brewery scene in Florida and is becoming one of the best in the nation. On the beach, everything is open late and year round. No one is closed on holidays. Lots of excellent local restaurant opens with fresh locally caught seafood. The days of this area being nothing but chain restaurants is over.
Cons. Traffic. A combo of more people, locals and tourists, than the infrastructure can handle and no one seems to know where they are going. On a nice weekend day, the causeways leading to the beach are gridlocked from 11am to sun set. There is not enough parking. Humidity in July through September is brutal.
If you offered me money to see Phil Collins, I'd respectfully pass. I have never been a big concert guy and did not like 80s pop music during the 80s. I like it less now.
As for the prices themselves, I agree with the folks who have pointed out that "final" tours for elderly artists tended to be wildly overpriced. Another factor is as "record" sales have fallen, tours have become the main revenue stream for artists. Ticket prices are risen accordingly. A few bigger name artists have bucked the trend but they are the exception and not the rule.
Seeing as how the Sith defeated the Lightside of the Forcier, this is a hard pass.
Back in 1994 when it was -30 something (-69 with the wind chill), we still had classes. I had one class that day and walked across campus to get there. Back then I was an idiot who never wore a hat, gloves or zipped my coat. I did that day.
I had a history course with Damon Denson. Seemed bigger than 6'. Maybe that is because I am 5'9" (5'11" with the 90s Italian helmet hair).
I went to HOMES back in August and was extremely impressed with both the beer and the food. If I lived in Michigan, I would jump all over that even though it is a little pricey for a beer pairing dinner. They had me at barrel aged sour beers.
My high school football coach was originally from Western PA. He used tell stories about players having to sneak home after a loss because people in his town would cuss out or throw rocks at them for losing. I always assumed he was just drunk and exaggerating. Now, I know he was drunk and telling the truth.
I'm assuming this means Ben Mason is going to get more carries.
The positive buzz of the coaching hires has almost washed away the bitter memories of the end of last season. Hope might be the first step on the road to disappointment, but it springs eternal.
The dream of a Maize and Blue Samoan War Dance in Michigan Stadium is alive again. Praise Random Chance.
The Cards have a lot of options, especially if Murray decides to pursue football.
There was an article in a SF news paper today, referenced in a Ringer article, that the A's think Murray is going to the NFL. Murray is supposed to report to Spring Training on 2/15. The Combine is a couple weeks later. QB work outs are on 3/2. If he skips Spring Training and makes an appearance at the Combine, then we have an idea of what the kid is going to do.
Using Spotrac.com for the contract data, trading Rosen would be a $8,158,776 dead money cap hit to trade him (it's all prorated signing bonus). If you can designate a trade a June 1st transaction like a cut/release, then it is a very reasonable $4M-ish dead money cap hit in 2019 and 2020. If the Cards really do love Murray, moving Rosen isn't an issue. The team getting Rosen is getting an ultra cheap QB ($570,000 Salary+$709,898 roster bonus for 2019 cap hit of less than $1.5M) with upside. Accordingly, the Cards should be able to take Murray and move Rosen if they prefer Murray.
The Cardinals could also trade down. Imagine the Giants (6th pick) with Murray, Barkley and OBJ. The Cardinals should be able to get the OL help they desperately need at #6 plus have additional picks to rebuild a depleted roster.
This was expected, although I am not sure he is 1st round pick.
I wish him the best in the NFL, which means avoiding being drafted by the Lions.
Seems…
I wish him well.
Seems like a mid to late round prospect as he isn't much of a blocker and was pretty inconsistent catching the ball. I don't know if another year changes that. He is tall with surprising speed for his height, so he should be drafted. I just wouldn't expect that to happen before the 4th or 5th round, best case.
1) Malum In Se is latin for "inherently evil/wrong." The Romans called obvious crimes like murder Malum In Se. Something that was illegal just because the government said it was illegal was Malum Prohibitum. As soon as I read about it in law school, I started using it online because it was usually available.
2) It is a picture of Colonel Mustard from Clue. I used to be ColMustard on mlive back when mlive had its message boards. I was more active on the Lions forum than the UofM one.
Rushing just three players when defending a Hail Mary pass. All it does is give the receivers time to get down the field and for the QB to have the time and room to throw a long pass into the endzone. Stop the madness and bring at least 5 defenders to pressure the QB into a quick short throw or sack.
I only recognize one professional sports franchise using the name "Jets." That franchise resides in Winnipeg. As much as Coach Harbaugh probably wants to hoist the Stanley Cup, I remain confident he'll stick to coaching football in Ann Arbor for the forseeable future.
The Tennessee must have hired Ole Miss' bagman.
At this point, I am almost hoping he goes to Clemson. At least with their recent success, it makes sense.
Even Ole Miss thinks the Tennessee bagman is needs to slow his roll and let the other bagmen "recruit" some players.
I thought Tennessee's bagman already had Crouch's commitment purchased for the Vols.
I grew up in a Detroit Suburb but live near Clearwater Beach, FL now. I almost never miss a UofM or Lions game. However, I care nigh infinitely more about our Wolverines.
I watch the Lions like Statler and Waldorf watch the Muppet Show, especially Fozzie Bear's comedy. It is mostly laughing and jeering. Losses don't hurt. It is more an excuse to go to sports bar and drink with friends. Opposing fans, even Packer fans, don't bother me.
With Michigan, I care. The outcome matters. It is joy or pain. I can't just laugh off a bad call. I have not murdered a MSU or OSU fan ... yet.
May he…
No surprise here.
May he always play his worst game of the season against Michigan and best game against Michigan State.
I don't get the negativity towards Sam Webb. He is the official, unofficial spokesman for the coaching staff. If they feel confident about a kid, Sam announces he is confident about a kid. If the coaches are surprised by a de-commit, so is Sam.
Right now, I guess the coaches are hopeful for some reason about flipping Hill back. Maybe they have rational reasons. More likely, they are in denial. I highly doubt he rejoins the class, but I would love to be wrong about this.
I enjoy the…
Fallout 76.
I enjoy the game a lot, despite all the glitches and issues. I have always liked the post apocalyptic setting of the Fallout series. Fallout 76 lacks the NPCs and most of the story elements of previous games, but retains the feel and mechanics of Fallout 4 in an online multiple player survival game. My current preferred way to kill time.
I am a nigh infinitely…
No.
I am a nigh infinitely greater football fan than I am basketball fan.
The game has meaning for the program, the continued development of the players returning in 2019 and for recruiting the next wave of Wolverines.
It is just the least interesting and appealing match up and I live in Florida. We've played the Gators multiple times in recent years, so I really wanted to play LSU or Georgia. I do not remember the last time we played either team. A win over Georgia, for example, would have meant something to national perception and to recruits after their performance in the SEC title game. Beating a middling, inconsistent Florida team is just what we are supposed to do.
Now that we are stuck with the Gators, we need to crush them. The last couple times, the Gators had basically quit by the mid-4th quarter. Let's do that to them again.
Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill in St. Petersburg, FL. It has been the site of the Tampa Bay Alumni Club's watch parties for the past several years. For the Game, we take the place over. There will be several hundred of the Wolverine faithful.
Michigan is the better team this year. We should win.
Nothing would make me happier than running out to an early lead and never looking back. However, best case, I think it lower scoring and close at the half with Michigan wearing them down to grind out a win in the 2nd half by more than a TD. What offensive success OSU has all game will happen mostly in 1st half before Don Brown adjusts to take it away. We've seen this script several times already this year.
I would rather get into with a land war in Asia than get into a high scoring shoot out with this OSU team.
Agreed. He is the official unofficial spokesman for the coaching staff. That has its benefits and its limitations.
Sam's sources are the coaching staff. His CB tells us that the coaches feel that confident about Harrison committing. He generally doesn't put in a CB unless he has gotten the word from a coach. Doesn't mean that coaches right to be that confident or that the kid won't change his mind.
It sure looks like Meyer is currently executing his Gator exit strategy.
That said, if I had to guess, I think he returns next year and overhauls his coaching staff, especially on the defensive side.
John O'Neill is the only college ref whose name I know. Most refs aren't consistently bad enough to be memorable. He and his crew are simply the worst.
Either fire him or make him only officiate Rutger games.
ND is the better team. In the climate controlled Carrier Dome, I would expect ND to prevail without too much trouble.
If this game was played in a rain or snow storm, then who knows? Weird things can happen in wet, cold bad weather games. Luckily for ND, it is supposed to be clear skies and dry. I expect them to win and cover.
I am just rooting for us to win, stay healthy and sharp for OSU. Beyond that, I am hoping that John O'Neill is no where near the Game or the Big Ten Title Game. He worries me more than what ND does the next two weeks.
I would also cackle with glee if Harbaugh issued Indiana some backhanded compliments after the Michigan's win and got Tom Allen's name wrong. I'm 100% on board with faint praise and getting coaches names wrong to become his thing.
"Indiana, uh, there're ... a football team with the right cleats. They were prepared for the weather. Todd Allen knows what time the game starts. Todd has them organized, you know, in the same style uniforms. He's molding them into a force, uh ... a force to be something more than ... enhance talent, maybe. "
If ND and Michigan win out, the only way that Michigan passes ND is if we flat out dominate OSU and NW. Beating OSU, ranked in the top 10, by 20+ points in Columbus would get the committee's full attention. Following it up by crushing NW while ND is idle could be enough to override ND's head to head win with recency bias being what it is. I cannot see a close win against either or both schools being enough.
I am not saying we should pass ND. We lost in a game never felt as close as the final score to me. That is a lot to overcome. I would just be happy to beat OSU by any margin of victory and NW to claim the Big Ten title. Everything after that is gravy.
My Father and Grandfather were at this game. I grew up hearing about most of their section had left but they stayed to the very end. It was the greatest comeback they saw live and one of their favorite Michigan moments. My Dad had an audio cassette tape of Ufer's call of that game and would play it before big games. I probably heard the call a dozen times before I ever actually saw the play.
I felt the same sense of pride having stayed to see entire comeback against Virginia in '95 when a lot of students and fans had given up and left. That said, I tapped out and left the Perdue/Michigan game in '95 late in the 3rd quarter. My devotion is strong but not that strong.