Well that sucked!

[Spence]

Congratulations to Eric if he stops in. McCord just has a lot of issues with pressure and this game wasn’t different. Michigan played a good game.

[Mountainman]

Well……….. when the QB starts the game by turning the ball over and giving a good opponent both possession and field position and the opponent scores a TD, that’s a difference maker.

It’ll be interesting to see how the CFP Committee sees things going forward……. Dear God, please don’t let it be Texas, Amen

[Spence]

Ohio State shouldn’t make it. I am a firm believer that if you don’t beat that team up north, you don’t deserve to go. Expand to 12 teams, I still feel the same.

[Mountainman]

Ohio State shouldn’t make it. I am a firm believer that if you don’t beat that team up north, you don’t deserve to go. Expand to 12 teams, I still feel the same.

………..I understand where you’re coming from, but the CFP, in all their wisdom…….. I’ll be nice and just say they changed the ‘rules’. What happens on the field takes a backseat to whoever they determine are the ‘best’. And right now I’d guess Georgia and Michigan and ask who are the other two ‘best’?


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[Spence]

There really isn’t a great team this year. There are 6 or 7 teams who anyone could beat the other.

[Mountainman]

We’re on the same page, with the ‘elite’ teams this season, no one is head and shoulders about the other ‘elites’…….., what I’ve seen this season is that games are not necessarily being ‘won’, but instead they’re being lost, where the teams that makes the fewest mistakes wins, while the teams that make the most or critical mistakes loses.


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[Spence]

I just saw where part of what Ohio State needs to make it to the cfp is for Georgia and Michigan to cruise in their championship games. While I would root for Georgia in that game, no way in hell I am rooting for Michigan to win under any circumstances. Even if it helped Ohio State. Not going to happen. Not ever.

[Eric]

Well you know I would have to check back in after a long absence

I will say this: The last three editions of Michigan football teams have been very beatable. Ryan Day is the primary culprit. He gives us way too much respect and needs to lean into his playmakers on the edge more. His receiving rooms have been ridiculously talented over the last three years and our DBs should have been overmatched. In 21 and 22, I felt he was way too conservative. Less conservative yesterday, but that issue boiled down to Kyle McCord, who just doesn't have it. He should be at Indiana or tearing it up in the MAC, and I know he was highly recruited, but he has a hard ceiling. Ohio State can do way better, and I figure Day should have known coming into this season that he had a dud at QB. Should have been more active in the portal. Ohio State usually does better with a QB that has a scrambling threat, and McCord has zero of that element in his game.

I still believe Ohio State has the better team and that Day has screwed up three years in a row (cheating on Michigan's part probably helped us in 2021). I would have forced the ball into Harrison more, but with the limitation at QB, that may have been the wrong move.

Michigan has a lot of issues offensively that should get exposed in the playoff, assuming we get through Iowa. I think Iowa has a realistic path to a 17-13 type win over Michigan, if we can't consistently run the ball. I don't view our running game as being especially explosive, and if we get paired up with Bama or Georgia it will be tough sledding. Pass protection is average. We can only complete passes up the middle of the field. I've been complaining about it since the Hoke years, we have no downfield sideline threat and we have no size at WR. McCarthy doesn't get enough reps in this offense to really develop a rhythm and improve. He should transfer to the Big 12 if he knows what's good for his future, but I doubt that is in the cards. I think Michigan can take on Texas, Oregon, or Washington, but it would be a mild upset. We should be small favorites over FSU with Rodemaker at QB. Bama and Georgia will walk all over us, mostly because they will get their 30 points and we won't be able to match.

A lot of that has to do with the fact that the middle of the B1G is complete garbage. I firmly believe that Michigan or Ohio State would have most likely gone 10-2 if they played in the Big 12, Pac-12, or SEC. Our middle portion of the conference is non-competitive. Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers, Maryland, Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue? They can't throw the ball, they have almost no skill at WR, they have no skill at the OT position, they have mediocre pass rushes, and their secondaries are bad. Bad, bad, bad football. Life in the SEC or Big 12 or Pac-12 is a lot different. If you draw South Carolina, UCF, or Washington State, you can't sleepwalk your way to a victory, and those are some of the easier conference games. Ohio State against Minnesota or Michigan against Purdue, there is literally nothing those teams can do to rise up and pull off the upset.

[Eric]

A lot of that has to do with the fact that the middle of the B1G is complete garbage. I firmly believe that Michigan or Ohio State would have most likely gone 10-2 if they played in the Big 12, Pac-12, or SEC. Our middle portion of the conference is non-competitive. Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers, Maryland, Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue? They can't throw the ball, they have almost no skill at WR, they have no skill at the OT position, they have mediocre pass rushes, and their secondaries are bad. Bad, bad, bad football. Life in the SEC or Big 12 or Pac-12 is a lot different. If you draw South Carolina, UCF, or Washington State, you can't sleepwalk your way to a victory, and those are some of the easier conference games. Ohio State against Minnesota or Michigan against Purdue, there is literally nothing those teams can do to rise up and pull off the upset.

On a side note, on paper this should mean that the incoming Pac-12 schools should walk over the Big 10, but there are a couple factors to consider. All of them will be going through a lot of change, either coaching or at QB. Plus the travel and jetlag I think will be a thorn in their side over the years that will piss the fan bases off. But when I look at a team like USC, Lincoln Riley's offense is a major trump card. Hypothetically, let's say USC @ Illinois. If USC's defense is as bad as it was this year, and it was historically bad, Illinois isn't scoring more than 42, tops. USC should get to 45 just by showing up. As average as this 7-5 USC team was, if they played Michigan's schedule, I see them going 10-2 and then everyone could pretend how good they still were.

To keep the story short, I think Oregon and USC will do the best off the bat, and Washington and UCLA will land more towards the middle of the pack in Y1. Although USC's schedule in 24 is ridiculous. Michigan will go 8-4, provided we don't get a postseason ban and everyone transfers out

[Spence]

Good to see you back. Don’t be a stranger.

[Derek]

Yes, good to see you drop in every so often Eric! Don't be a stranger.