Baumgardner predicts OSU blowout
Excerpt if you don't want to click:
If there's any paint left on the walls inside Michigan's offensive line room, there shouldn't be. The Wolverines' front five has now watched two different starting quarterbacks leave games and head to the hospital. That's unacceptable. At some point, enough has to be enough. Say whatever you want about the quarterback situation in Ann Arbor, but until the offensive line can show an ability to keep a guy standing upright for more than two seconds at a time, nothing else will matter. It's gut check time for plenty of folks on this football team, but the offensive line comes first.
If Peters were healthy and his offensive line showed an ability to keep him clean, I'd give Michigan a chance. But neither appear to be true. The Wolverines will no doubt empty their tank Saturday. They'll give Ohio State everything they have. They may even scare the Buckeyes. But there's not enough proven evidence in 2017 that suggests it'll be enough.
Pick: Ohio State 31, Michigan 10
Link: http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverine…
November 24th, 2017 at 11:08 AM ^
...just remember Iowa. A 6-5 team that barely beat Minnesota, got hammered by Wisconsin, and lost to Purdue...absolutely wiped the ground with Ohio State at Iowa. Can we say that Iowa is so much better than Michigan that we have no chance to do the same thing? Who says Jimmy doesn't look at those tapes and say, "Hey, we can do that as good as Iowa any day."
I have hope...and I will keep having hope until the clock says '00.00'.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:10 AM ^
Iowa does inexplicable shit like that at home. We don't, especially not against the team that has destroyed us for the past 15 years. It will be ugly tomorrow.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:15 AM ^
I agree with both of you. But I'm also hoping that something changes tomorrow and we can win a game we have no business winning.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:23 AM ^
we need to do some inexplicable shit at home. Inexplicable shit that wins, that is; we've done inexplicable shit that loses. When's the last time we did inexplicable shit that wins, '08 against Wisconsin?
November 24th, 2017 at 4:52 PM ^
It's hard to do inexplicable shit without the proper mindset. Michigan are a bunch of fatcats. If there was ever a team that need to play with a chip on its shoulder, shock the world mindset, its Michigan.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:36 AM ^
Who they are at home and who they are on the road are two very different teams. If they played every game at home they would be a playoff contender.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:08 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:10 AM ^
Sometimes people over-emphasize the rivalry game aspect and pregame pep talks. Maybe this being The Game will make the O-line focus better on their blocking assignments in practice. If we have great O-line play, we can make this a game regardless of QB.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:43 AM ^
I pretty much agree with what he wrote.
One thing bothers me, though, and it's the vague suggestion (paint on the walls, etc.) that the O-Line isn't working hard enough or maybe responding sufficiently well to coaching. Both are possible, of course, but I think there might be a lack of talent and experience to consider, too.
November 24th, 2017 at 12:11 PM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 12:51 PM ^
and they killed us. IMO talent doesn't enter into it--2 star guys can be taught to pick up stunts. It's not like we pick them up but get beaten by a better guy--we don't even touch the rushers on many of the stunts. Coaching.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:11 AM ^
Our only hope is this makes for some good bulletin board material to light a fire. I'm not holding out that hope however.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:13 AM ^
Nm, carry on.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:14 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:28 AM ^
Then beat MSU and OSU more than once a decade.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:41 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 12:21 PM ^
Fantastic. I was planning to use all my fake life points to buy something real nice on black friday but I guess that will have to wait. Tell your friend hello.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:49 AM ^
I follow Nick less and less. The excerpts were enough to not read the article. I'm not concerned with where Nick went to school; he is a fairly decent writer. He seems to have joined the bandwagon of being relentlessly negative. Criticism is fine and even necessary at times - it is possible for journalists to do this professionally and without trashing the subject.
For similar reasons, I stopped listening to M Zone after hearing to Marcus and Nick try and outdo each other to see who could sounds the toughest. Setting up wins against Wisconsin and OSU as the litmus test is setting some heavy expectations. The expectations are fine. Bashing the program after the fact is not.
Speaking of Marcus, half of his callers sound plastered and he is loving that they wish he could get in there and speak to the players. Not sure how he thinks that continually trashing the coaches and players will get him in the door or for that matter, how that helps anything.
November 24th, 2017 at 2:28 PM ^
Sounds like you're running out of places to avoid rational criticism.
November 24th, 2017 at 4:25 PM ^
I'm not promising to find it "rational", though
November 24th, 2017 at 11:56 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 12:13 PM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 12:54 PM ^
usually, and his analysis is superior to anyone in the MSM papers.
November 24th, 2017 at 1:15 PM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:16 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:16 AM ^
And that's why I like his reporting. He's not a homer. We all know this is OSUs is better positioned to win this game than Michigan. Unless Michigan plays flawless football and lets OSU make the mistakes that Michigan normally makes, then maybe we'll finally see a well-deserved win. But Michigan has a habit of getting in its own way.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:17 AM ^
big deal.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:17 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:22 AM ^
and until we beat OSU NOTHING has changed...
November 24th, 2017 at 11:22 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:36 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:59 AM ^
Dobbins and Weber have a combined 1,634 rushing yards (7.1 ypc) this season... In comparison, Zeke Elliott and Braxton Miller had 1,687 rushing yards (6.3 ypc) going into the 2015 Michigan game.
OSU's rushing attack this season is not that far off from their 2015 one. Elliott is better than Dobbins, but the combined attack of Dobbins and Weber is probably just as good or better than Elliott.
Dobbins has the shiftiness and speed, while Weber has the power and blocking.
November 24th, 2017 at 5:58 PM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:24 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:38 AM ^
Who is hating and what the hell does that even mean considering it looks like a lot of people, including the ones putting money on the game, believe it won't be close? Also, we're 1-18 in the last 19 as an underdog.
So are they hating or just being rational?
We all hope we win so it's not like youj're in a special category of fan. Relax.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:54 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:25 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:50 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:25 AM ^
Even when Jake got hurt, it was a beatdown by then.
I can see his logic. The M-Live guys have us losing even worse.
Maybe it's hope against hope, but for once I'd like to see a strong performance from our OL in a big game - win or lose - just to give us hope going into the bowl.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:26 AM ^
It's killing me to say but I am not even going to watch this game if O'Korn is the starter. I know Peters is out of the concussion protocol but that doesn't necessarily mean he's starting and still is there any real reason to hope he won't get crushed again by Ohio State's D Line who will be smelling blood?
Maybe this will finally be the game where Michigan gets all the turnover luck and gets a couple pick sixes, which isn't impossible given Barrett's shakiness at times and Michigan's solid pass coverage. More likely OSU will grind it out on the ground until Michigan's defense breaks from exhaustion because the offense can never stay on the field.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:44 AM ^
C'mon man! Your 2nd paragraph is every reason why you should ignore your 1st paragraph. Watch your team and cheer them on...no matter who is playing QB.
November 24th, 2017 at 2:16 PM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:27 AM ^
And everyone will just say "calm down" "wait until next year" "we'll be fine" blah blah blah.
Curious why next year is going to be so much better given the tackle situation and Drevno still coaching here.
November 24th, 2017 at 11:28 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 11:31 AM ^
November 24th, 2017 at 12:17 PM ^
We both know that's not the case.
November 24th, 2017 at 12:48 PM ^
You're a legend in your own mind