Arkansas State Official
Arkansas State is in. Virginia Tech is out.
I say boo to that schedule change.
A.D. Manuel has said he wants seven home games a year. Because of 5 away B1G games in 2021, there are three home slots needed in the Non-Conference portion of the schedule (Washington is already one of those three).
When u play in the toughest division in the toughest conference, an occasional cupcake is warranted and tasty
which is a tougher vt or as.
I hate seeing Michigan run from opponents. Arkansas State? Really?
Michigan football is becoming the thing that we used to laugh at other schools about, trying to schedule their way to success instead of winning games on the field.
And who suffers? We do, as fans. I was really looking forward to seeing Lane Stadium. The atmosphere would have been electric. And a game in Ann Arbor against Va Tech is much more interesting than Yet Another MAC-level Team.
"Michigan football is becoming the thing that we used to laugh at other schools about"
Is that "thing" playing Notre Dame, PSU, MSU, NEB, OSU and WIS in the same year? Because that "thing" is harder than any other schedule in the country. If you win the B1G, you're going to the playoffs. It is that simple. The focus should be on preserving our best chance to do that and if that means dropping an ACC game with no connection to Michigan history, so be it.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:06 PM ^
Conference oppponents don't count. Michigan should beat conference opponents. That's part of being Michigan. More to the point -- Michigan has no control over their Big Ten schedule.
The playoff, much like the BCS before it, has traded these great September matchups for cupcakes so that teams can schedule their way to a big payoff. "Ohh our conference schedule is so hard so we had to schedule week opponents out of conference?" That's some ESS-EEE-SEE thinking right there.
Roll call for Seattle on Sep 5, 2020. I'll be there!
I will be. Already have a bet with my Husky-loving buddy: Loser swims after the game.
We'll both be in A2 for the 2nd round in 2021 as well. Loser swims then, too.
I like good football - prefer good games over anything else.
I am disappoint!
Someone should lose their man card for the day.
It's supposed to be one of the best environments in college football
I'm disappointed I won't get to go on a trip to Blacksburg to watch Michigan. But with the 9 game schedule, only one P5 OOC game is the reality. It goes with Michigan's desire to play 7 home games a year and gives us the best chance to go undefeated or one loss and get into the playoff. There's no reason to play the hardest schedule in America.
This one is less annoying to me than the Arkansas swap for ND since there are actual football arguments to back it up.
There is a reason to play the hardest schedule in America.
Because this is Michigan.
No additional explanation is necessary.
In 1997, Michigan played Notre Dame, Colorado (Big East) and Baylor (SWC). That season turned out just fine.
To be the best, you've got to beat the best.
The game has changed significantly since 1997. Michigan is adapting and you're stuck 21 years ago.
If Michigan wins a national title in the playoff era, they will have to win 12-13 games against P5 opponents. The same or more than in 1997.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:10 PM ^
If they're a national championship team, they should be able to do that. And beat Virginia Tech too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_choose_to_go_to_the_Moon
But why, some say, the Moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?
We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.
JFK understood. Taking the easy way out is for lesser schools. Michigan goes to the moon.
Oh good. Now we are in the 60's
HATE THIS MOVE
For the record that Washington game could be a HUGE match-up. We will most likely be breaking a new QB after two season of Shea but Washington should have a fromer Georgia QB Jacob Eason, ranked #5 overall by 247 in 2016, in his senior season.
That 2019 schedule looks tough but appealing. A big game to open the season will create a lot of off-season buzz. then a tough three game stretch v Wisky, v Penn State and @ Michigan State.
I really like playing Wisky, PSU and MSU early as possible. Their QB always seems shaky early.
After that the path seems smooth until OSU.
I mean, I get the overall strategy when it comes to trying to get seven home games each year and not trying to load your OOC completely with tough games for playoff purposes, but it would have been cool to see VTech in Ann Arbor, IMHO. Nothing I can do about it really, I'll be there to watch us play whoever fills that spot.
I'm a fan who would prefer games like ND/Michigan and PSU/Pittsburgh be played every September. That's the college football I grew up on, and the regional rivalries are good for the game.
You simply can't do that with a 9-game conference schedule unless you also never play anyone else interesting (e.g., Washington) in the non-conference.
It sucks, but the 9-game conference schedule isn't going anywhere with these mega conferences. Shoot - even with 9 games, the likes of Purdue, Minnesota, Northwestern and Illinois will STILL only visit Ann Arbor once every 6 years. For U-M (or PSU for me), many of the B1G West schools are more like conference "affiliates" than conference "mates."
Our schedule is plenty hard enough.
Arkansas St? WTF?
There are P5 opponents we could schedule without a return trip, or on a 2-1 basis. Without research, here are some teams I can think of from P5 conferences that either didn't get a return trip or it was a 2-1.
Texas A&M
Kansas
Oregon St.
Utah
Colorado
Arizona
Baylor
Duke
NC St.
UCLA
It's lazy to just accept Arkansas St. without making some calls. Jesus, call one of the service academies even. Anything would be better than Arkansas St.
To Bad, would have liked to see Coach Jackson's son come home to play in the big house.
Would rather have seen them cancel the Washington series, frankly.
For the purposes of recruiting, playing in front of the Michigan diaspora, and maybe even media exposure, it makes more sense to play VT especially for the road game.
We'd still have a chance to play Washington in either the playoffs or the Rose Bowl, as well.
[OTOH playing Cal or UCLA (or Stanford or USC), or a San Diego State in a 2-1, would probably be more worthwhile]
This is a chickenshit move, and its disappointing.
Michigan's fight song claims its the "leaders and best". Well, LEAD! Make it fashionable to play a tough schedule - to give your fans something to cheer about. Arkansas fucking State? What direction are they? We don't like it one bit when the bball team plays Arkansas St because of the RPI hit. Why the hell should we like this?
I get the 7 home games, and I get that the playoff committee told us its okay to schedule like a chickenshit. But I'd rather take a tough loss to a good team, than play a chickenshit schedule to appease some arbitrary committee. And if that happens, LEAD! Call out the committee for the fallacy it is. Everybody already hates Michigan's 'arrogance', so double down on it from the high road.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:11 PM ^
Michigan is not Alabama, and thank God for that.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:01 PM ^