Best of luck to him. He may be a guy who just belongs in the NBA, and there’s no shame in that.
He handled his firing with a lot of professionalism and dignity, from his Alma mater no less. So regardless of how his coaching career here ended you’ve got to respect him a ton for that.
I really hope he does well, and hope he one day gets a shot to lead an NBA team.
I've seen some mocks with Roman heading to the Chargers, but I won't be surprised if Harbaugh picks up Corum tonight.
I'm thinking there's probably a bigger need for the Chargers at WR than there is at RB, but there's been a few rumors floating around that the Chargers will "do whatever it takes" to land Corum tonight. Now I don't know if that's just Jim trying to prop his guy up and get him drafted higher. Maybe. He also has Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins on his roster now, and if Dobbins can stay healthy then his RB room is pretty good already. But that's a big if.
If Jim decides he needs a running back, and I can't imagine Harbaugh wanting any RB in this year's draft class more than Corum. He knows what Corum can do, he knows his work ethic, he knows literally everything there is to know about him.
I'm not sure he would've been taken last night even if he was healthy. Definitely possible he would've been but I don't remember hearing him get a lot of first round hype, but that injury he got was pretty gnarly.
I won't even be surprised if he's still on the board come tomorrow morning. Whoever picks him up will get tremendous value in that situation, absolutely. But he had a pretty bad injury late in the season, couldn't really participate in the combine, so that's a lot for him to overcome. But I'm confident he can do it.
Makes sense. Come back and play for a title contender. You're likely not someone with an NBA future, so stick around at Kansas and make a ton of money, be the BMOC before you probably head off to an international league and make even more money.
Not saying anything here than most everyone else hasn't already said, but I think JJ ended up in the best possible spot he could've ended up in with teams that were clearly looking for a QB. He's walking into a situation where he gets to throw to the best receiver in the league, has a really good TE, a really good RB to lean on, and what sounds like at least a decent to good OL. I imagine he'll still have some rookie QB growing pains, but he's been set up for success.
Jadyn Daniels and especially Drake Maye are walking into barren wastelands with their respective teams. They've got no reliable help (currently) around them. Caleb Williams does have some help around him, and picking up Odunze was a smart move with that ninth pick, but they are still very much a work in progress. I don't recall their OL being all that good so Williams could be running for his life quite a bit.
Only other team that would've intrigued me for JJ is going to Denver, solely because I'm curious what Sean Payton could've molded him into. If he could've made him into his next Drew Brees, but I'd also feel bad that JJ would be walking into a really lean situation with Denver for the next few years as they get out from under Russell Wilson's cap hit, and then they still have to contend with Pat Mahomes for the next decade at least.
His only knock is playing for a run heavy team. It seems like all the rage these days is needing to find QBs who are in a Lincoln Riley-esque offense where the QB is the sole focus, needing to throw 40-50x / game.
Which is fine, if that's what you want. But that's not the only avenue of finding a winning QB.
It's fair to ask "can he be trusted to carry the team when called upon," but at the same time, what these folks should also be asking themselves is "We do like what he has shown us so far, so how much more of that do we think we can squeeze out of him?" Instead of a limitation, you can look at it as an opportunity for untapped potential.
The Falcons also just gave Cousins a four year, $120 million deal. Penix is going to be 28 when that contract expires. You don’t spend a top 10 pick on a guy who can’t help you until 3-4 years down the line. Even if he’s ready before that, you’re on the hook for all that money you just gave to Cousins.
Atlanta still in a drunken stupor from the 28-3 debacle.
Such a fucking stupid move by Atlanta. Nothing against Penix, a really good talent (when he has a clean pocket), but I’d bet $100 he was otherwise still going to be there when Atlanta picked in the second round tomorrow, and Atlanta BADLY needed help on their DL.
Besides, with just signing Kirk Cousins to a four year deal, you don’t waste a top 10 pick on a guy who can’t help your franchise for at least 2-3 years.
The NFL has no issue handing out a Super Bowl hosting to a cold weather city, as long as its in a dome. Which is why Detroit has gotten to host, as has Indy and Minneapolis. But they'll never risk giving it out to Boston, Buffalo, Philly, Chicago, Green Bay or Cleveland because they don't want to risk a blizzard coming through and holding everything up.
NYC is the only city in recent memory that has gotten to host a cold weather Super Bowl outdoors. Sure, MetLife Stadium was just built, but also, its NYC. They were going to get an exception.
That said, I'd wager most of the students probably don't care beyond surface level interest and "well its my school so I'll root for them, I guess." Stanford has a lot of great athletic programs (obviously), but its never struck me as a school who's general student body really cares about those athletic programs. At least not to the degree you'd see at Michigan.
Most of them are all too busy getting ready to be our bosses one day.
As long as you win, fans should not really care how you do it on the field. The win at Penn State was not sexy by any stretch. JJ didn't play a great game, but that was because he didn't have to.
Sherrone was smart enough to realize he didn't need to have JJ play a great game. He could trust his defense to shut down a rancid PSU offense, and just trust his offense to chew up some clock and not make mistakes against a really good PSU defense. And lo and behold, that allowed them to win. On the road in a really unprecedented situation. Everything else is just minor details.
OSU/MSU fans will look at that and say "See, see, see, JJ is garbage, it was all because of the sign-stealing, look how he regressed against actual competition." I'd much rather JJ go 7/8 for 65 yards, no scores and a W, vs. having him go 32/45 for 345 yards, 2 TDs, 2 picks and a big, fat L. All those big, sexy passing yards CJ Stroud had the last two years against Michigan, what did they get him? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I'd rather Michigan win ugly, or when "the old school" way then lose sexy. Let OSU worry about being sexy. That's probably why their program is where it is.
It probably makes sense. They're never going to be able to compete with the B1G/SEC, they'll never get a seat at the table or get much in the way of respect. They get one bid to the CFP between all of them, almost certainly a first round away game / bludgeoning they'll take from some B1G/SEC powerhouse, and everyone else is fighting for the Idaho Potato Bowl.
This could be an opportunity for them to break away, form their own G5 CFP, broker their own TV deal, and call the shots for how they want it to be run. Sure, their playoffs won't be considered "the best of the best," but it'll be their's. Their's to do with as they see fit. They'd be in control, and that's something they'll never have in the current college football landscape. I'm sure they can go out and hire a bunch of smart marketing gurus who'd be able to help them market this new playoff alliance and get a lot of eyeballs on it.
For all of Pettiti's flaws that he's put on display since taking the job, I thought that his big strength was supposed to be that he was an ace TV negotiator. Wasn't that what he was known for when he did his work in MLB?
If that's true, wouldn't this be an area where we'd (sigh.....) want Pettiti around to negotiate on the Big Ten's behalf?
We got guys with more starzzzz so we never wanted him anyway.
He's not tough enough for Ryan Day's culture
Either way, taking guys from Ohio has been very beneficial for us in the past. They're almost always the guys who step up their game big time whenever OSU comes around. Would be happy to have this kid on board.
He’s put together a roster that, on paper, can compete to make the tournament. But those pieces all have to come together and learn how to play together in a (relatively) short amount of time. That’s not a given.
If this team hits its ceiling, makes a best case scenario, they can absolutely be a protected seed in the tournament next year. But I still expect to see growing pains next year. These are a bunch of guys who’ve never played together. I think being a bubble team is a reasonable expectation, but if they make the tournament next year, that’s a freaking awesome coaching job by May.
All I really expect to see is just getting better week to week. This is still Year 1 of an entirely new regime.
Brian addressed this on the podcast. I'm going to paraphrase here because I don't remember exactly what he said, but Brian basically said that given Wolf's physical attributes, if he could play the four, he'd be heading off to the NBA right now.
If not, and we are deciding to splurge, maybe an Audi Q7. My wife has been wanting an Audi for years, but its probably more likely that we end up with a Toyota Highlander or 4Runner. Something that's easy to pack the kids and two dogs in the back.
The Audi is probably getting saved for when both kids are out of the house. She's said either that or a Jeep Wrangler is probably going to be her "mid-life crisis" car.
As for me, I don't pay enough attention to know what kind of car I should really want. My parents never splurged on cars when I was growing up, despite probably being able to if they wanted. They drove around in Toyota Avalons, Sequoias and Nissan Pathfinders. Not bad cars by any stretch, but nothing I'd call luxurious. I'm a little bit of the same mindset. I don't want to drive a Taurus, but as long as it gets me from A to B, I'll be alright.
The only hard and fast rule we have in our house is absolutely no minivans. Not now, not ever.
Falcons are not going to spend a top-10 pick on a guy who won't see the field for 2-3 years. I live in Atlanta, and the local media are talking about how Cousins was brought in to win now. Not be a "stop-gap" QB like what they had with Mariota.
My money is on Atlanta taking a QB in the middle rounds. Someone like a Spencer Rattler or Jordan Travis who they can bring in, set the expectation that he's holding a clipboard for a few years, but can marinate for a while and then compete for the starting job once Cousins' contract is up.
Falcons need a lot more help in other areas, regardless. They badly need help on their defensive line, so the general consensus is that they will take Dallas Turner. But I won't be surprised if they trade down with a team that badly needs a QB, pick up some draft capital and pick up the guy from UCLA instead. Possible they could try to grab a corner to help opposite AJ Terrell also.
Fine by me. I loved night games when I was a student, because I meant I could drink all day before the game. Now, with two kids and my wife and I usually being in bed by 9:30 every night, I am more than happy to take in a noon game.
We shut off all our cable after the Super Bowl. We’ve still got Hulu, Prime and Netflix, but until football season comes back it’s not worth paying the $72/month for YouTube tv.
We made homemade smoked burger sliders last night. Half Bleu cheese, half cheddar. Turned out phenomenal.
Also did some homemade potato chips with voodoo seasoning. Those turned out…..okay? Was my first time making potato chips homemade and I’d try it again, but this first batch was not great, Bob.
I don't know what's truly in his heart of hearts on this, but on the surface it appears to be a genuine apology so I'm not going to advocate for ending this guy's career over it.
That said, given his comments on Sign-Gate, Harbaugh and McCarthy, f**k him. Just another schmuck who took an infraction that's basically going 65 mph in a 60 mph lane, and equated it to double homicide that can only be punishable by death or life in prison.
Can someone smarter than me tell me how this won't put schools in different states at a massive competitive disadvantage? I have to believe Virginia (assuming the law passes) will not be the only state to do this, but then there are other states that will strike this down before it ever has a chance to see the light of day.
Whether the reasoning for rejecting the law is sound or not, how does it not put Michigan at an extreme disadvantage if the state government doesn't approve a similar law, but state governments in Ohio, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, California, and elsewhere all do? Now they all have a massive alternate route for providing money to athletes that Michigan, legally, does not.
Personally I'm not sure I'd want a law passed like this anywhere. Would it not push some schools that are already operating in the red even further into debt, causing massive ramifications for non-revenue sports and maybe the athletic department as a whole?
I honestly didn't even think about that. Michigan is on three years probation, so is the NCAA going to use this probation period as an excuse to come back with Sign-Gate and say "you broke probation, now you're f****d"?
I honestly wouldn't put it past the NCAA to, like you said, be playing the long game here. Put down a slap on the wrist for Burger-Gate, but set up the chess board so that when it comes time for Sign-Gate, it allows them to come down with the punishment they really want. So then they can have their 50 lbs of flesh and say they still matter because they took down big, bad Michigan.
And honestly, even independent of the NCAA, what's stopping the rest of the Big Ten over this remaining three year period from collaborating again and saying "Okay guys, we've got three years. Time to put our heads together and see whatever other dirt we can dig up!" You really think MSU and OSU won't be using this time to find whatever else they can?
They've done it before, and that was when Michigan was in the midst of a title run that dropping them out of could've lost the conference a lot of money. There is nothing to dissuade them from doing it again.
Even with Dusty May coming in and the promise of a better future, Michigan can't remotely compete with that. That's just a fact.
Back to back defending national champions, far and away the most dominant team in men's college basketball over that time period, and they extend you an offer?
Tarris would've been stupid not to take it. Honestly, no hard feelings. If Tarris was my son, I'd tell him to do the same thing. One program is at the pinnacle and is a straight apex predator right now. Michigan is all the way down at the bottom of the mountain, just trying to figure out how to get back up on its feet.
Just keeps going to show that the NCAA can (and will) only punish schools that ALLOW IT to happen.
I know a lot of us think the NCAA is incompetent. I don't think they are. At least not as much as they are made out to be. What they are is a schoolyard bully that a lot of kids are starting to learn how to stand up to. But a school like Michigan hasn't. Michigan is the one kid in the yard that either can't fight back, can't defend itself, or chooses not to. That makes you daily fresh meat.
I don't advocate going and looking for trouble, but until something changes where you decide its time to stand up and defend yourself, the bully is going to keep coming back to you, time and time again, demanding your lunch money, your shoes, the answers to tonight's math homework. Tomorrow he's going to want your bike, your backpack, and your Nintendo Switch.
Until you give them a reason to stop bullying you, they are not going to stop. So at this point, if Michigan can't defend itself from the NCAA or worse, chooses not to, then frankly it deserves the treatment it gets.
While this is all entirely subjective and there probably isn't one right answer, I'd say the best is probably 2023 OSU. Simply because of everything that was at stake. It was the last Michigan-OSU game that was truly winner-take-all. Every year following (unless they meet in the playoffs) is just for bragging rights and playoff seeding.
More than that, that game was a referendum on Harbaugh's entire program. What his legacy and the legacy of his team was going to be, what kind of man he was/is. The legacy and personal/professional reputation of every single member of that program, and those who came before them in the previous two years, were all on the line. Fair or unfair, that was the deal, and had Michigan lost, it would've stayed with them forever. They would've been remembered by everyone outside of Michigan fandom as nothing but a bunch of cheaters. It would've been a self-reinforcing echo chamber across the national landscape, people would've been writing about it for months on end, you'd hear about it on ESPN every day. All it would've been was Cheaters. Cheaters. Cheaters. And when you say something loud enough and long enough, eventually people start to believe you.
And you'd better believe Ryan Day would've used a win as a platform to vent all of his frustrations and say EVERYTHING he wanted to say about Michigan. It would've been a self-righteous, petty, condescending victory speech about how OSU is the vanguard of justice for college football, and how their victory is a victory for all that is good and true in college sports. It would've made his ND post-game look like tea time with Barney. And he'd remind people of it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
But they won, and they shattered that narrative to everyone outside of Columbus and East Lansing. That win so exponentially important for as many reasons off the field as there were on the field.
Honorable Mentions
2021 OSU - Was probably the most euphoric win over OSU because they finally managed to do it. And it wasn't a fluke win. It was a dominant ass-kicking.
2022 OSU - Showed that 2021 was not an aberration. It was not a "blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while." It wasn't "well they were just due, had a bunch of seniors and got lucky." OSU's seemingly unbreakable psychological edge that they had for 20 years finally came crashing down.
Rose Bowl - beat Nick Saban and the SEC in the playoff, at the Rose Bowl, while still many pundits out there saying "Yeah good for you, you beat OSU again. You can't handle the best of the SEC." Man, when you shut Paul Finebaum up, that's a good day. You couldn't have asked for a more nationally meaningful win in a better setting, and you may never have a game like that at the Rose Bowl ever again.
National title game - I mean yes it was amazing, but it felt a little like beating Finland after beating the Soviets. But it was great from the standpoint of being able to take all the hate from the previous 2-3 months, all the criticism, and throw it right back in their faces. It was the ultimate "eff you" to everyone who had been screaming CHEATERS CHEATERS CHEATERS for three months, because there was nothing they could do it about it. They had to sit there and eat their shame sandwich with a side order of s**t.
I'm really curious how the trajectory of Harbaugh's program would've changed from 2017 onward if he'd won that day. And then you also have to wonder if the renaissance from 2021 onward would've even happened? Would it have even needed to happen, because they would've gotten the proverbial monkey off their back five years sooner?
Curious how much of this was Michigan brass deciding "Harbaugh isn't here anymore, no sense in trying to protect him at the expense of Sherrone and his staff and continue a dark cloud hanging over the program indefinitely."
I'm still waiting for indisputable proof that Harbaugh lied or knowingly deceived the NCAA about this stuff, and to me this all just continues to show that the NCAA will only punish schools that allow them to do so. But if this allows Sherrone and Co. to move forward and put it all to bed, fine.
At the end of all of this, whatever. Michigan won the national title despite OSU's best efforts to dismantle the entire season and brand Michigan as a bunch of foul, disgusting cheaters. Michigan won it all anyway, and there's a potential argument to be made that all of this made this team even more focused, more determined, and contributed to them winning the title.
That is rubbing salt and lemon juice into a wide open, gushing OSU wound. After Charlie Baker's "fair and square" comments, OSU has no choice but to sit there and take it. They have to eat their shame sandwich with a side order of s**t.
I think he has the potential, certainly, to warrant having been a top-5 pick by the end of his career. He's probably the most polarizing QB prospect in the draft because there's just a lot of relative unknowns, how much was Harbaugh "keeping his stallion in the barn," and can McCarthy sling it across the yard and win a game for you throwing 30-40x a game if he needs to.
Don't know the answer to that. Only time in college he had to play that kind of game, he lost. Some of that wasn't his fault, defense didn't play great, but he gave away 14 points to TCU.
My level of confidence in his career outlook depends largely on who drafts him. If he ends up with the Vikings, who have quite a bit of talent he can play with right now, he may be in really good shape. If he goes to the Broncos, he could have a rough first year or two as will be a team devoid of a lot of talent, but the prospect of pairing him with Sean Payton for the long term is extremely tantalizing to think about. If he goes to the Pats....dunno. New HC for the first time in over twenty years. That's all an unknown.
If he goes to the Giants or the Commanders, then god help him.
Guess I'm not really answering the question. Do I think he's a top-5 pick this year? Yes, but a good part of that is a product of him being a QB and going into a very QB-driven league. That said, he has the potential to be the best QB in this entire draft class when its all said and done.
Everyone deserves a second chance, and I don't believe Denard is a repeat offender. At least as far as drinking and driving goes.
I just don't see him getting that opportunity at Michigan. Already had to let Scruggs go for the same issue. Moore has to set the tone really early for what he wants his program to stand for, even if that means letting guys go who are Michigan mainstays and were otherwise net gains on your program.
Michigan, to me, has earned the benefit of the doubt on who it wants to recruit and who it takes. Sure, I'd like to have this kid, but they've taken a bunch of three star, low - mid four star guys, a light dash of five stars, and used that team to win a national championship and beat OSU three straight times.
I trust who they get until they give me a reason not to.
Of course they're not going to listen. They haven't by now so what indication is there at all that they ever will? MSU and OSU fans will take Sign-Gate to the grave that this will be the biggest scandal in college sports history, and there is nothing you, I or anyone can do to dissuade them from that. To them, Sign-Gate is all they have left to cling to that can keep them away from the reality that Michigan actually won it all. It's a coping mechanism and nothing more, particularly for OSU fans who have been coddled for two decades and never knew anything but winning. To them, there had to be SOME OTHER REASON Michigan won these past few years. They couldn't possibly have been better than OSU because they'd never seen it before.
To them, cheating was the only way Michigan could've gotten the better of them. Saying that to themselves makes them feel better and allows them to keep living in the 2000 - 2019 world they came from where Michigan couldn't stop getting in its own way.
Everyone else has seemed to accept reality and moved on with their life. If they want to cling to "ARGH CONNER STALLIONS VAST NETWORK CHEATERS CHEATERS CHEATERS" for dear life and hope that somehow anything comes out of it, then that is their cross to bear.
So fucking stupid. Call an Uber, man. Or better yet, you’re Denard Robinson, in Ann Arbor. Half the town’s population would be happy to drive you home on their own dime, no questions asked.
You’ve got a family, dude. Why put them and yourself in this position?
I don’t know if that’s the end of his coaching career, but that’s likely the end of it at Michigan.
If you mosey over to MSU / OSU boards, all Michigan players should be banned from the NFL for life for desecrating the sanctity of the game. Harbaugh should be dragged out of LA in handcuffs and locked in San Quentin because reasons, and the rest of the staff should be show-caused for 20 years and not allowed to coach volunteer pee-wee football, much less major college coaching.
OSU should be retroactively awarded the national title because "Well, they never should've been there anyway, so that #1 seed was our rightful spot and of course we would've beaten Bama and Washington."
I think everyone else by and large has stopped caring. Its not a story anymore, Michigan put all that "we're only any good because of Conner Stallions" crap to bed. Only butthurt, desperate, self-righteous OSU / MSU fans still care and are F5'ing their keyboards maniacally, waiting for updates that the NCAA will do anything. Everyone else has shrugged their shoulders, accepted reality and moved on with their life.
Recent Comments
They took him at pick # 69
Nice.
Best of luck to him. He may be a guy who just belongs in the NBA, and there’s no shame in that.
He handled his firing with a lot of professionalism and dignity, from his Alma mater no less. So regardless of how his coaching career here ended you’ve got to respect him a ton for that.
I really hope he does well, and hope he one day gets a shot to lead an NBA team.
Would welcome him back.
In the words of Animal House
WE NEED THE DUDES
I've seen some mocks with Roman heading to the Chargers, but I won't be surprised if Harbaugh picks up Corum tonight.
I'm thinking there's probably a bigger need for the Chargers at WR than there is at RB, but there's been a few rumors floating around that the Chargers will "do whatever it takes" to land Corum tonight. Now I don't know if that's just Jim trying to prop his guy up and get him drafted higher. Maybe. He also has Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins on his roster now, and if Dobbins can stay healthy then his RB room is pretty good already. But that's a big if.
If Jim decides he needs a running back, and I can't imagine Harbaugh wanting any RB in this year's draft class more than Corum. He knows what Corum can do, he knows his work ethic, he knows literally everything there is to know about him.
I'm not sure he would've been taken last night even if he was healthy. Definitely possible he would've been but I don't remember hearing him get a lot of first round hype, but that injury he got was pretty gnarly.
I won't even be surprised if he's still on the board come tomorrow morning. Whoever picks him up will get tremendous value in that situation, absolutely. But he had a pretty bad injury late in the season, couldn't really participate in the combine, so that's a lot for him to overcome. But I'm confident he can do it.
He was a consensus All American for a reason.
Makes sense. Come back and play for a title contender. You're likely not someone with an NBA future, so stick around at Kansas and make a ton of money, be the BMOC before you probably head off to an international league and make even more money.
Not saying anything here than most everyone else hasn't already said, but I think JJ ended up in the best possible spot he could've ended up in with teams that were clearly looking for a QB. He's walking into a situation where he gets to throw to the best receiver in the league, has a really good TE, a really good RB to lean on, and what sounds like at least a decent to good OL. I imagine he'll still have some rookie QB growing pains, but he's been set up for success.
Jadyn Daniels and especially Drake Maye are walking into barren wastelands with their respective teams. They've got no reliable help (currently) around them. Caleb Williams does have some help around him, and picking up Odunze was a smart move with that ninth pick, but they are still very much a work in progress. I don't recall their OL being all that good so Williams could be running for his life quite a bit.
Only other team that would've intrigued me for JJ is going to Denver, solely because I'm curious what Sean Payton could've molded him into. If he could've made him into his next Drew Brees, but I'd also feel bad that JJ would be walking into a really lean situation with Denver for the next few years as they get out from under Russell Wilson's cap hit, and then they still have to contend with Pat Mahomes for the next decade at least.
His only knock is playing for a run heavy team. It seems like all the rage these days is needing to find QBs who are in a Lincoln Riley-esque offense where the QB is the sole focus, needing to throw 40-50x / game.
Which is fine, if that's what you want. But that's not the only avenue of finding a winning QB.
It's fair to ask "can he be trusted to carry the team when called upon," but at the same time, what these folks should also be asking themselves is "We do like what he has shown us so far, so how much more of that do we think we can squeeze out of him?" Instead of a limitation, you can look at it as an opportunity for untapped potential.
The Falcons also just gave Cousins a four year, $120 million deal. Penix is going to be 28 when that contract expires. You don’t spend a top 10 pick on a guy who can’t help you until 3-4 years down the line. Even if he’s ready before that, you’re on the hook for all that money you just gave to Cousins.
Atlanta still in a drunken stupor from the 28-3 debacle.
Such a fucking stupid move by Atlanta. Nothing against Penix, a really good talent (when he has a clean pocket), but I’d bet $100 he was otherwise still going to be there when Atlanta picked in the second round tomorrow, and Atlanta BADLY needed help on their DL.
Besides, with just signing Kirk Cousins to a four year deal, you don’t waste a top 10 pick on a guy who can’t help your franchise for at least 2-3 years.
Thank god.
JJ’s career would’ve been over before it even started if the Giants drafted him. Guess Danny Dimes gets one more year.
Could not have been a more Harbaugh pick.
Lining up the beef just so he can draft Corum tomorrow and run teams into the ground.
The NFL has no issue handing out a Super Bowl hosting to a cold weather city, as long as its in a dome. Which is why Detroit has gotten to host, as has Indy and Minneapolis. But they'll never risk giving it out to Boston, Buffalo, Philly, Chicago, Green Bay or Cleveland because they don't want to risk a blizzard coming through and holding everything up.
NYC is the only city in recent memory that has gotten to host a cold weather Super Bowl outdoors. Sure, MetLife Stadium was just built, but also, its NYC. They were going to get an exception.
Some of them, sure.
That said, I'd wager most of the students probably don't care beyond surface level interest and "well its my school so I'll root for them, I guess." Stanford has a lot of great athletic programs (obviously), but its never struck me as a school who's general student body really cares about those athletic programs. At least not to the degree you'd see at Michigan.
Most of them are all too busy getting ready to be our bosses one day.
As long as you win, fans should not really care how you do it on the field. The win at Penn State was not sexy by any stretch. JJ didn't play a great game, but that was because he didn't have to.
Sherrone was smart enough to realize he didn't need to have JJ play a great game. He could trust his defense to shut down a rancid PSU offense, and just trust his offense to chew up some clock and not make mistakes against a really good PSU defense. And lo and behold, that allowed them to win. On the road in a really unprecedented situation. Everything else is just minor details.
OSU/MSU fans will look at that and say "See, see, see, JJ is garbage, it was all because of the sign-stealing, look how he regressed against actual competition." I'd much rather JJ go 7/8 for 65 yards, no scores and a W, vs. having him go 32/45 for 345 yards, 2 TDs, 2 picks and a big, fat L. All those big, sexy passing yards CJ Stroud had the last two years against Michigan, what did they get him? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I'd rather Michigan win ugly, or when "the old school" way then lose sexy. Let OSU worry about being sexy. That's probably why their program is where it is.
Guess it’s officially Jyaire Hill time.
It probably makes sense. They're never going to be able to compete with the B1G/SEC, they'll never get a seat at the table or get much in the way of respect. They get one bid to the CFP between all of them, almost certainly a first round away game / bludgeoning they'll take from some B1G/SEC powerhouse, and everyone else is fighting for the Idaho Potato Bowl.
This could be an opportunity for them to break away, form their own G5 CFP, broker their own TV deal, and call the shots for how they want it to be run. Sure, their playoffs won't be considered "the best of the best," but it'll be their's. Their's to do with as they see fit. They'd be in control, and that's something they'll never have in the current college football landscape. I'm sure they can go out and hire a bunch of smart marketing gurus who'd be able to help them market this new playoff alliance and get a lot of eyeballs on it.
For all of Pettiti's flaws that he's put on display since taking the job, I thought that his big strength was supposed to be that he was an ace TV negotiator. Wasn't that what he was known for when he did his work in MLB?
If that's true, wouldn't this be an area where we'd (sigh.....) want Pettiti around to negotiate on the Big Ten's behalf?
Lemme guess.....
Either way, taking guys from Ohio has been very beneficial for us in the past. They're almost always the guys who step up their game big time whenever OSU comes around. Would be happy to have this kid on board.
He’s put together a roster that, on paper, can compete to make the tournament. But those pieces all have to come together and learn how to play together in a (relatively) short amount of time. That’s not a given.
If this team hits its ceiling, makes a best case scenario, they can absolutely be a protected seed in the tournament next year. But I still expect to see growing pains next year. These are a bunch of guys who’ve never played together. I think being a bubble team is a reasonable expectation, but if they make the tournament next year, that’s a freaking awesome coaching job by May.
All I really expect to see is just getting better week to week. This is still Year 1 of an entirely new regime.
Brian addressed this on the podcast. I'm going to paraphrase here because I don't remember exactly what he said, but Brian basically said that given Wolf's physical attributes, if he could play the four, he'd be heading off to the NBA right now.
Are my two kids still in daycare?
If not, and we are deciding to splurge, maybe an Audi Q7. My wife has been wanting an Audi for years, but its probably more likely that we end up with a Toyota Highlander or 4Runner. Something that's easy to pack the kids and two dogs in the back.
The Audi is probably getting saved for when both kids are out of the house. She's said either that or a Jeep Wrangler is probably going to be her "mid-life crisis" car.
As for me, I don't pay enough attention to know what kind of car I should really want. My parents never splurged on cars when I was growing up, despite probably being able to if they wanted. They drove around in Toyota Avalons, Sequoias and Nissan Pathfinders. Not bad cars by any stretch, but nothing I'd call luxurious. I'm a little bit of the same mindset. I don't want to drive a Taurus, but as long as it gets me from A to B, I'll be alright.
The only hard and fast rule we have in our house is absolutely no minivans. Not now, not ever.
Falcons are not going to spend a top-10 pick on a guy who won't see the field for 2-3 years. I live in Atlanta, and the local media are talking about how Cousins was brought in to win now. Not be a "stop-gap" QB like what they had with Mariota.
My money is on Atlanta taking a QB in the middle rounds. Someone like a Spencer Rattler or Jordan Travis who they can bring in, set the expectation that he's holding a clipboard for a few years, but can marinate for a while and then compete for the starting job once Cousins' contract is up.
Falcons need a lot more help in other areas, regardless. They badly need help on their defensive line, so the general consensus is that they will take Dallas Turner. But I won't be surprised if they trade down with a team that badly needs a QB, pick up some draft capital and pick up the guy from UCLA instead. Possible they could try to grab a corner to help opposite AJ Terrell also.
I believe he's Sherrone's first ever commit as head coach. In any case, major congrats! Awesome pickup!
Did we have their signs? That's the only possible way we could've won, I'm sure.
Someone call Pettiti.
/s, if it wasn't already obvious
Fine by me. I loved night games when I was a student, because I meant I could drink all day before the game. Now, with two kids and my wife and I usually being in bed by 9:30 every night, I am more than happy to take in a noon game.
Great pickup!
A lot of workload ahead to rebuild this roster, but May certainly shows he has every intention of having a roster that can compete next year.
We shut off all our cable after the Super Bowl. We’ve still got Hulu, Prime and Netflix, but until football season comes back it’s not worth paying the $72/month for YouTube tv.
Really hoping someone does a full game upload on YouTube. Only drawback of fully cutting cable off during the offseason is missing the spring game.
Who cares? All the wins will be vacated and the NCAA will confiscate all those rings, melt them down, and make the team watch as they do.
-11W, probably
In all seriousness, those are some damn beautiful rings. Hope Harbaugh gets a standing ovation anytime he returns to Michigan Stadium.
Cheese that crumbles is the best cheese. I will die on that hill.
Feta. Gorgonzola. Goat. And the piece de resistance: Bleu.
Also, anyone who says they prefer ranch dressing over Bleu cheese dressing, we can never be friends.
We made homemade smoked burger sliders last night. Half Bleu cheese, half cheddar. Turned out phenomenal.
Also did some homemade potato chips with voodoo seasoning. Those turned out…..okay? Was my first time making potato chips homemade and I’d try it again, but this first batch was not great, Bob.
Savion Hiter…..whooo boy on the list of last names to have, that’s a toughie.
Not his fault of course. I’m sure he’s a great kid. But still, one letter away form just being the full on worst name ever conceived in human history.
Because they’re effing Arizona State. And we’re Michigan.
There’s your answer why.
If you want Arizona State to garner equal headlines, you need to find a way to get people to care about Arizona State.
I seem to distinctly remember the NCAA pushing to move on an “expedited timeline” to take action on Harbaugh.
I guess when you bow down and kiss the ring, even when you get in trouble they’ll give you a stay of execution.
I don't know what's truly in his heart of hearts on this, but on the surface it appears to be a genuine apology so I'm not going to advocate for ending this guy's career over it.
That said, given his comments on Sign-Gate, Harbaugh and McCarthy, f**k him. Just another schmuck who took an infraction that's basically going 65 mph in a 60 mph lane, and equated it to double homicide that can only be punishable by death or life in prison.
Sadly, this is the post of the day.
Can someone smarter than me tell me how this won't put schools in different states at a massive competitive disadvantage? I have to believe Virginia (assuming the law passes) will not be the only state to do this, but then there are other states that will strike this down before it ever has a chance to see the light of day.
Whether the reasoning for rejecting the law is sound or not, how does it not put Michigan at an extreme disadvantage if the state government doesn't approve a similar law, but state governments in Ohio, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, California, and elsewhere all do? Now they all have a massive alternate route for providing money to athletes that Michigan, legally, does not.
Personally I'm not sure I'd want a law passed like this anywhere. Would it not push some schools that are already operating in the red even further into debt, causing massive ramifications for non-revenue sports and maybe the athletic department as a whole?
I honestly didn't even think about that. Michigan is on three years probation, so is the NCAA going to use this probation period as an excuse to come back with Sign-Gate and say "you broke probation, now you're f****d"?
I honestly wouldn't put it past the NCAA to, like you said, be playing the long game here. Put down a slap on the wrist for Burger-Gate, but set up the chess board so that when it comes time for Sign-Gate, it allows them to come down with the punishment they really want. So then they can have their 50 lbs of flesh and say they still matter because they took down big, bad Michigan.
And honestly, even independent of the NCAA, what's stopping the rest of the Big Ten over this remaining three year period from collaborating again and saying "Okay guys, we've got three years. Time to put our heads together and see whatever other dirt we can dig up!" You really think MSU and OSU won't be using this time to find whatever else they can?
They've done it before, and that was when Michigan was in the midst of a title run that dropping them out of could've lost the conference a lot of money. There is nothing to dissuade them from doing it again.
Even with Dusty May coming in and the promise of a better future, Michigan can't remotely compete with that. That's just a fact.
Back to back defending national champions, far and away the most dominant team in men's college basketball over that time period, and they extend you an offer?
Tarris would've been stupid not to take it. Honestly, no hard feelings. If Tarris was my son, I'd tell him to do the same thing. One program is at the pinnacle and is a straight apex predator right now. Michigan is all the way down at the bottom of the mountain, just trying to figure out how to get back up on its feet.
Just keeps going to show that the NCAA can (and will) only punish schools that ALLOW IT to happen.
I know a lot of us think the NCAA is incompetent. I don't think they are. At least not as much as they are made out to be. What they are is a schoolyard bully that a lot of kids are starting to learn how to stand up to. But a school like Michigan hasn't. Michigan is the one kid in the yard that either can't fight back, can't defend itself, or chooses not to. That makes you daily fresh meat.
I don't advocate going and looking for trouble, but until something changes where you decide its time to stand up and defend yourself, the bully is going to keep coming back to you, time and time again, demanding your lunch money, your shoes, the answers to tonight's math homework. Tomorrow he's going to want your bike, your backpack, and your Nintendo Switch.
Until you give them a reason to stop bullying you, they are not going to stop. So at this point, if Michigan can't defend itself from the NCAA or worse, chooses not to, then frankly it deserves the treatment it gets.
While this is all entirely subjective and there probably isn't one right answer, I'd say the best is probably 2023 OSU. Simply because of everything that was at stake. It was the last Michigan-OSU game that was truly winner-take-all. Every year following (unless they meet in the playoffs) is just for bragging rights and playoff seeding.
More than that, that game was a referendum on Harbaugh's entire program. What his legacy and the legacy of his team was going to be, what kind of man he was/is. The legacy and personal/professional reputation of every single member of that program, and those who came before them in the previous two years, were all on the line. Fair or unfair, that was the deal, and had Michigan lost, it would've stayed with them forever. They would've been remembered by everyone outside of Michigan fandom as nothing but a bunch of cheaters. It would've been a self-reinforcing echo chamber across the national landscape, people would've been writing about it for months on end, you'd hear about it on ESPN every day. All it would've been was Cheaters. Cheaters. Cheaters. And when you say something loud enough and long enough, eventually people start to believe you.
And you'd better believe Ryan Day would've used a win as a platform to vent all of his frustrations and say EVERYTHING he wanted to say about Michigan. It would've been a self-righteous, petty, condescending victory speech about how OSU is the vanguard of justice for college football, and how their victory is a victory for all that is good and true in college sports. It would've made his ND post-game look like tea time with Barney. And he'd remind people of it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
But they won, and they shattered that narrative to everyone outside of Columbus and East Lansing. That win so exponentially important for as many reasons off the field as there were on the field.
Honorable Mentions
I'm really curious how the trajectory of Harbaugh's program would've changed from 2017 onward if he'd won that day. And then you also have to wonder if the renaissance from 2021 onward would've even happened? Would it have even needed to happen, because they would've gotten the proverbial monkey off their back five years sooner?
Curious how much of this was Michigan brass deciding "Harbaugh isn't here anymore, no sense in trying to protect him at the expense of Sherrone and his staff and continue a dark cloud hanging over the program indefinitely."
I'm still waiting for indisputable proof that Harbaugh lied or knowingly deceived the NCAA about this stuff, and to me this all just continues to show that the NCAA will only punish schools that allow them to do so. But if this allows Sherrone and Co. to move forward and put it all to bed, fine.
At the end of all of this, whatever. Michigan won the national title despite OSU's best efforts to dismantle the entire season and brand Michigan as a bunch of foul, disgusting cheaters. Michigan won it all anyway, and there's a potential argument to be made that all of this made this team even more focused, more determined, and contributed to them winning the title.
That is rubbing salt and lemon juice into a wide open, gushing OSU wound. After Charlie Baker's "fair and square" comments, OSU has no choice but to sit there and take it. They have to eat their shame sandwich with a side order of s**t.
I think he has the potential, certainly, to warrant having been a top-5 pick by the end of his career. He's probably the most polarizing QB prospect in the draft because there's just a lot of relative unknowns, how much was Harbaugh "keeping his stallion in the barn," and can McCarthy sling it across the yard and win a game for you throwing 30-40x a game if he needs to.
Don't know the answer to that. Only time in college he had to play that kind of game, he lost. Some of that wasn't his fault, defense didn't play great, but he gave away 14 points to TCU.
My level of confidence in his career outlook depends largely on who drafts him. If he ends up with the Vikings, who have quite a bit of talent he can play with right now, he may be in really good shape. If he goes to the Broncos, he could have a rough first year or two as will be a team devoid of a lot of talent, but the prospect of pairing him with Sean Payton for the long term is extremely tantalizing to think about. If he goes to the Pats....dunno. New HC for the first time in over twenty years. That's all an unknown.
If he goes to the Giants or the Commanders, then god help him.
Guess I'm not really answering the question. Do I think he's a top-5 pick this year? Yes, but a good part of that is a product of him being a QB and going into a very QB-driven league. That said, he has the potential to be the best QB in this entire draft class when its all said and done.
Everyone deserves a second chance, and I don't believe Denard is a repeat offender. At least as far as drinking and driving goes.
I just don't see him getting that opportunity at Michigan. Already had to let Scruggs go for the same issue. Moore has to set the tone really early for what he wants his program to stand for, even if that means letting guys go who are Michigan mainstays and were otherwise net gains on your program.
Michigan, to me, has earned the benefit of the doubt on who it wants to recruit and who it takes. Sure, I'd like to have this kid, but they've taken a bunch of three star, low - mid four star guys, a light dash of five stars, and used that team to win a national championship and beat OSU three straight times.
I trust who they get until they give me a reason not to.
Of course they're not going to listen. They haven't by now so what indication is there at all that they ever will? MSU and OSU fans will take Sign-Gate to the grave that this will be the biggest scandal in college sports history, and there is nothing you, I or anyone can do to dissuade them from that. To them, Sign-Gate is all they have left to cling to that can keep them away from the reality that Michigan actually won it all. It's a coping mechanism and nothing more, particularly for OSU fans who have been coddled for two decades and never knew anything but winning. To them, there had to be SOME OTHER REASON Michigan won these past few years. They couldn't possibly have been better than OSU because they'd never seen it before.
To them, cheating was the only way Michigan could've gotten the better of them. Saying that to themselves makes them feel better and allows them to keep living in the 2000 - 2019 world they came from where Michigan couldn't stop getting in its own way.
Everyone else has seemed to accept reality and moved on with their life. If they want to cling to "ARGH CONNER STALLIONS VAST NETWORK CHEATERS CHEATERS CHEATERS" for dear life and hope that somehow anything comes out of it, then that is their cross to bear.
No one except them cares anymore.
So fucking stupid. Call an Uber, man. Or better yet, you’re Denard Robinson, in Ann Arbor. Half the town’s population would be happy to drive you home on their own dime, no questions asked.
You’ve got a family, dude. Why put them and yourself in this position?
I don’t know if that’s the end of his coaching career, but that’s likely the end of it at Michigan.
Depends on who you ask.
If you mosey over to MSU / OSU boards, all Michigan players should be banned from the NFL for life for desecrating the sanctity of the game. Harbaugh should be dragged out of LA in handcuffs and locked in San Quentin because reasons, and the rest of the staff should be show-caused for 20 years and not allowed to coach volunteer pee-wee football, much less major college coaching.
OSU should be retroactively awarded the national title because "Well, they never should've been there anyway, so that #1 seed was our rightful spot and of course we would've beaten Bama and Washington."
I think everyone else by and large has stopped caring. Its not a story anymore, Michigan put all that "we're only any good because of Conner Stallions" crap to bed. Only butthurt, desperate, self-righteous OSU / MSU fans still care and are F5'ing their keyboards maniacally, waiting for updates that the NCAA will do anything. Everyone else has shrugged their shoulders, accepted reality and moved on with their life.