Actual Michigan Monday (and not some 11W cheapo imitation) is up
https://theozone.net/2019/11/michigan-monday-o-brother-went-thou/
There were some good one-liners, but it was actually a bit more on the analysis and less on the snark.
This week, my muse is Mark Dantonio, which means why even bother trying to do something new and exciting when slow death and boredom was once so effective at times.
I should just use an old, unsuccessful edition of Michigan Monday and rearrange the words and see if that works.
I bet it wouldn’t.
Good sh*t, Gerd.
Turns out, they didn’t need to run the ball because they threw it very well and also because the Spartans’ offense is only designed to fool children 5-8 years old. It says so right on the side of the box.
And the thrilling conclusion (spoiler alert):
Michigan will simply be playing for pride from here on out, and pride can do some amazing things when combined with skilled players and talented coaching.
I expect the Wolverines to look pretty good against Indiana, but then things get serious immediately after that.
November 19th, 2019 at 12:40 AM ^
More subdued, but still dismissive.
Can't blame him.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:12 AM ^
We've given OSU no reason to take us seriously. It's incumbent upon every player and coach in Schembechler Hall to change that.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:41 AM ^
If only someone had thought of this sooner.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:11 AM ^
Their attitude towards us today is EXACTLY what our attitude used to be towards MSU when I was younger. We knew we'd get their best shot, we knew they wanted to win the game more than life itself but we also knew, that in the end, odds were massively in our favor we'd win.
From 1970 when i was 11 years old (and my brother was in Dental school at Michigan so we went to all the games) until I was 48 and an alum myself, Michigan's record against MSU was 29-7 with only two home game defeats: 84 after Harbaugh broke his arm and 90 when Desmond was tackled in the end zone on a two point conversion to end the game. I went to 18 M-MSU games and we won 16 of them and most of them by very convincing scores.
OSU will continue to be dismissive of us until we "pull a Dantonio" and make them pay attention. Like you said - we've given them no reason to take us seriously this century.
November 19th, 2019 at 12:51 AM ^
Great, now I'm worried about the run game at 1am on a Monday night.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:27 AM ^
Eh his take on the running game is lazy at best. We had several runs in the 2nd half where we ran right up the middle to burn clock/mix things up. Running up the middle just isn't gonna work on MSU, their defense may be a shell of its former self but they're excellent at stopping runs between the tackles. Any time our run game had any ounce of creativity on Saturday the play was successful. I doubt standard up-the-gut runs are gonna be much of a thing against the Bucks and the creativity will be out in full force.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:53 AM ^
I mean, the run game has been a bit of a problem this season, especially before Notre Dame.
I hope they have it sorted, but Tim Biakabutuka isn't walking through that door.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:52 AM ^
Biakabutuka vs OSU might be the single best most enjoyable performance I have ever seen. Huge props to the O-line that day.
This is worth ten minutes of your life
November 19th, 2019 at 5:45 AM ^
He’s usually more complimentary. My hope is that his subtle insecurity is a sign of anxiety.
November 19th, 2019 at 6:19 AM ^
Uh oh. Happy learned how to putt.
November 19th, 2019 at 7:38 AM ^
This is true and a good sign. Ive noticed it with other rational buckeye fans over the years. They're complimentary until they get concerned, then downright pissy.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:52 AM ^
I've noticed the same thing on this board.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:57 AM ^
You're doing this wrong.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:59 AM ^
I don't know which board you're confusing with this one, but we don't "get concerned" around here. We are always concerned.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:15 AM ^
The word you are looking for is "condescending". They are polite and complimentary in a "oh that's so CUTE" sort of way.
FWIW I've been invited (and will be attending) a HUGE Michigan/OSU party where I am sure I will be the only Michigan alum/fan in attendance. My best friend puts this on every year when the game is in Ann Arbor and this is the first year I've been invited.
I am 100% sure it's because he thinks there's not a chance in hell they'll lose.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:30 AM ^
Did you guys just become besties in the last two years? Surely this isn't the first time your BF (as I believe you call it) is 100% confident in a win in Ann Arbor. I expect an OSU win but I've been even more sure numerous other times since, oh, 2009ish.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:52 AM ^
Actually yes, in the past five years or so we have - thanks for asking.
I wasnt asking in 2015, I went to the game in 2017 and I'm going this year. My point remains - and you'd know this if you lived here - they are not afraid of losing to us in the least. Not one bit, not in the slightest. They are 100% sure they will win unless something happens injury-wise to Fields and he cant play. Other than that they've got this down as a win already.
And they are pretty sure it's going to be a big win as Day will want to run the score up to impress the final four voting committee.
Not saying I agree with them. Just reporting on how things are down here behind enemy lines.
November 19th, 2019 at 11:45 PM ^
I live in Ohio as well. This is definitely the general sentimen among OSU fans, especially among the under 40 crowd. The older fans are always concerned because they still have distant memories of when this was an actual rivalry.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:12 AM ^
a fair observation but I don't think the opinion of some dude has any influence on how the game will go.
November 19th, 2019 at 7:11 AM ^
Uninspired for sure.
November 19th, 2019 at 7:19 AM ^
Here's to Shea staying undefeated in the Big House, and tasting some Buckeye tears for the first time in a LOOOOONG while
November 19th, 2019 at 7:25 AM ^
I can't wait to read Michigan Monday during a season when we're, like, better than OSU.
November 19th, 2019 at 7:38 AM ^
That was last year during the season.
November 19th, 2019 at 7:39 AM ^
I expect them to look good against Indiana, too. And--increasingly--I expect the game against OSU to be a tight one. Maybe that's the thing to be asking Santa for at this stage.
November 19th, 2019 at 7:44 AM ^
Ronnie Bell led the team with a career-high nine catches for a career-high 150 yards receiving. He continues to be a workhorse for the Wolverines and I continue to make sure I have scrubbed all of my tweets about Jim Harbaugh landing a commitment from Bell, who was ranked like the 150th receiver in the 2018 recruiting class.
That was definitely my favorite of this post. Ronnie Bell deserves this apology from all the haters back then.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:10 AM ^
The jackass should've watched Bell's film before tweeting. (Also applies to, like, 99.999% of Michigan fans. Percentage skyrockets when filtering for Michigan Twitterverse.)
November 19th, 2019 at 7:44 AM ^
No matter what the rest of this season holds for the Wolverines, they’ll at least have this win to sell to recruits who are choosing between them and the Spartans.
Uhhh......yeah....come on down........*scans 2020 class list for the state*
.........Dallas Fincher?
November 19th, 2019 at 8:47 AM ^
We really need a bag man to visit that Oak Park coach. Dude fucking hates us for some reason.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:37 AM ^
True though warinner did some work with Rogers, we were just behind the 8 ball thanks to Drevno with that kid. That said, Rogers seems to have an *affinity* let’s say for SEC schools. Not $ure why.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:48 AM ^
Felt like that was a shot at us and our struggles with winning recruiting battles over OSU.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:20 AM ^
When Rich Rod was coach that chart would look exactly opposite with MSU.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:13 AM ^
Getting tired of this narrative. Please revisit the recruiting rankings pre- and post-Free Press false hit piece. (Hint: 2009 Class before, 2010 after)
November 19th, 2019 at 8:22 AM ^
One thing not noted. Michigan has blown out two huge rivals at home this year. Playing the third and biggest rival in two weeks, at home.
1995 #2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes came to Michigan Stadium and lost, ruining their chance for a National Championship.
"Pride can do some amazing things."
November 19th, 2019 at 8:55 AM ^
In all honesty, that 95 OSU team was overrated and many of us knew it well before the UM game. Defense was awful that year.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:20 AM ^
And Michigan was 8-3 going into that game ranked #18 having lost to Penn St the week previous.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:00 AM ^
Yeah and Terry Glenn spouted off at the mouth the week of the game saying that "Michigan is nobody." Well nobody kicked HIS ass, and every other buckeye up and down that Michigan Stadium turf that Saturday afternoon!!
November 19th, 2019 at 11:04 AM ^
I like the 1969 narrative better. If both teams win this weekend, expect a nice history lesson during the week leading up to The Game.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:25 AM ^
One thing that Michigan has working for it this year is there is considerably less pressure on them to win this year than any of the last four under Harbaugh. They will be huge dogs at home, with no shot at the B1G championship. The talent gap may be too much to overcome, but we may be pleased that the way things worked up to this point to allow them to focus on The Game and absolutely nothing else.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:49 AM ^
I've got a lot of eggs in this basket. If the team can't get motivated to punch those inbred turds in the mouth and rip their hearts out just for the sake of it, then they'll never have the proper motivation to do it.
If they can't muster it this year, then harbaugh needs to change the annual international trip to a two week long stay in Columbus so the kids can steep in the hate before the season starts.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:57 AM ^
"Inbred turds"? LOL...that one made me laugh. Down here, we reserve such comments for all the West Virginia people.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:59 AM ^
I know an inbred turd when I see one. My family is full of them (but fortunately none are OSU fans).
November 19th, 2019 at 9:25 AM ^
That one had me literally laughing out loud
November 19th, 2019 at 8:59 AM ^
I like that idea. Rent out a practice facility down there and make the team wear their uniforms the entire time.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:04 AM ^
Have them do scavenger hunts in pairs (for safety) in team gear so they get some up close and personal time with people around the OSU campus.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:36 AM ^
We would never lose that game again.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:49 AM ^
I think that if we handle business at IU and the offense continues to impress, we might be a TD underdog. Still not great, but better than the OSU-PSU line which is absurd (but totally something that OSU can cover).
November 19th, 2019 at 9:01 AM ^
Is this different than 2017 (where we sort of almost pulled it off)?
November 19th, 2019 at 10:01 AM ^
Yes, similar situations, although I would say we had no hope that year due to QB play.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:16 AM ^
I’m worried about Indiana. That’s going to be a tough game.
Win there and I think we have OSU this year. They haven’t been in a dogfight yet.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:34 AM ^
They haven’t been in a dogfight yet.
Sure they have. Rutgers just scored 21 on them! Time to panic!
Seriously, though, their smallest margin of victory is 24 against msu and Florida Atlantic - both home games.
And the only teams to score more than 10 points on osu? Florida Atlantic (21), Maryland (14), and Rutgers (21). Then again, the average score of those games is 58-19, so...
(all 2) ranked teams they've faced have scored a total of 7 points.