Bowl projections very mixed
November 19th, 2019 at 10:04 AM ^
Of all the projections, the matchup I would want the most is against Auburn. I'll keep my eye out to see if MSU can get 2 more wins to make it to Ford Field to play FSU.
November 19th, 2019 at 11:06 AM ^
Yeah they are SEC Michigan, it would be a very interesting matchup.
November 19th, 2019 at 12:24 PM ^
The SEC Michigan without the, you know, academic reputation.
November 19th, 2019 at 12:34 PM ^
Uh no, they are more like SEC Purdue, albeit with a far better football program. Florida or Georgia would be my bets for SEC Michigan - quality academic schools that are the flagship schools of their respsective states. Auburn doesn't even have that.
November 19th, 2019 at 1:00 PM ^
Dude this is not an academics board. We didn’t come here to talk school.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:03 PM ^
If we can't brag about our football team, we might as well brag about our academics.
November 19th, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
University of Florida's ranking in the 2020 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, #34. Its in-state tuition and fees are $6,380
Wow. Look at that tuition though!!!
November 19th, 2019 at 2:25 PM ^
Best ranking systems are The Times Higher Education and QS. Compared to those, all other college-ranking services are like MSU is to Michigan. According to THE, Florida is #175 in the world. Michigan is #21 in the world.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2020/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats
November 19th, 2019 at 3:30 PM ^
I went to UF for that exact reason. Florida's public in-state tuition is low across the board thanks to our historical brain drain. Growing up in the land of swamps and nursing homes engenders an "anywhere but here" attitude among the youngins.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:05 AM ^
Gator Bowl vs Tennessee???? Half the team would sit it out and I wouldn't blame them. Are they even bowl eligible?
November 19th, 2019 at 10:09 AM ^
Almost...they are 5-5 with remaining games against Missouri and Vanderbilt. Looks like Missouri hasn't won since 10/12.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:13 AM ^
We’d slaughter both of them. Same goes for USC. We’re playing our best football in November for the first time in awhile.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:52 AM ^
You probably said the same thing about South Carolina. I really don’t care who we play this year, but it always feels like fans want the biggest match up against the best team. I want to win the game this year.
November 19th, 2019 at 11:25 AM ^
I'm with you on your last statement. We're not going to the playoff or Big Ten title game. If we cannot defeat OSU, then at least give us a bowl game we can have a good chance to win. I'm so sick of ending seasons with two losses.
November 19th, 2019 at 2:11 PM ^
Exactly, I want to play the best possible team that I am confident we can beat. I'm one of those fans who cares about our Bowl game and doesn't like to spend 9 months with our last game having been a loss.
November 19th, 2019 at 11:20 AM ^
USC at least has playmakers and would probably keep the game close. Michael Pittman is a fucking baller and is listed at 6'4 220 (same as Nico) but USC actually throws to him. 82 catches for over 1,100 yards so far this year. For comparison, Nico has 25/484.
November 19th, 2019 at 11:20 AM ^
Playing our best football in November is much different than playing in late December or January. Plus, who knows how many guys sit out the Bowl.
We would slaughter any of those teams.....right now!
November 19th, 2019 at 11:35 AM ^
Depends on how the team responds after the OSU game. Losing that game has been a major catalyst (not the only one, but a major one) for this program's woes in bowl games. And until proven otherwise on the field, I assume Michigan will lose to OSU.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
best case scenario for them is that they end up 7-5 pre-bowl with their best win being over.....well that's hard to say exactly as it looks dicey if they'll end up beating any legitimate teams with a winning record. 5-5 Kentucky is probably their best win right now, followed by 4-7 South Carolina who upset Georgia? UAB is 7-3 and they beat them but not sure if we consider CUSA wins as "best wins"
November 19th, 2019 at 10:48 AM ^
I wouldn't really mind, we would nuke them
November 19th, 2019 at 10:05 AM ^
They are all wrong...we will play Florida
November 19th, 2019 at 10:41 AM ^
This.
Also, our actual bowl game is November 30th, at noon, in Ann Arbor.
November 19th, 2019 at 11:20 AM ^
and if we win that bowl, we most certainly are doomed to a NY6 bowl in Florida..........against Florida.
November 19th, 2019 at 11:45 AM ^
November 19th, 2019 at 10:06 AM ^
Not really thrilled with any of those bowls but I feel confident that Michigan could beat all of those teams.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:07 AM ^
USC would be cool. Too bad it’s in the wrong bowl.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:07 AM ^
I'll pass on Washington in the Holiday Bowl since we've already got a date with the Huskies in about 10 months. Auburn looks like a pretty unfavorable match-up, pass.
I'd like the chance to deliver a little payback against Tennessee or USC
November 19th, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
I'll take Auburn. If we're going to play an SEC team in a Florida bowl, I'd rather it be a tough opponent we can actually we can get excited about beating. Does anyone really care if we beat Tennessee or Missouri in the Pineapple Bowl?
November 19th, 2019 at 10:27 AM ^
So Michigan plays another bowl game against an Orange and Blue team.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:30 AM ^
Is it under the sea? I would go just to meet Sponge Bob!
November 19th, 2019 at 4:30 PM ^
I wouldn't mind playing Auburn at all. I'll take our defense against a true freshman QB. In the games against Oregon, Florida, and LSU he was 39/93 (42%) for 479 yards (5.15 YPA) with 4 TDs and 6 INTs. Against Georgia, he threw for 245 yards, but it took him 50 attempts to get there.
November 19th, 2019 at 6:36 PM ^
Speaking of the Huskey game in 10 months...anyone here planning on making that trip? I hate their stinking guts but their stadium is legit and the sailgating is one of a kind..and in September the weather is very nice.
Ill be there, tossing out beers to every Michigan fan i see. Would love to see the boys come in here and whoop their ass.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:09 AM ^
Don’t want to play Washington. We open next season with them.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:10 AM ^
At this point, I just assume we'll play Florida in the __________ Bowl.
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November 19th, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
Agreed. I’m so tired of us playing SEC teams in their own backyard.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:12 AM ^
It'll be Auburn.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
Auburn would be my choice, it would be nice to see the team matchup against a solid SEC team.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
pass on washington I think USC, UT, or Auburn would be alright.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:18 AM ^
I hope all of these projections are wrong.
If Michigan wins out, no way they get left out of a NY6 bowl.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:35 AM ^
Well, there certainly is a way they get left out. Since the NY6 have to pick by rankings, there is a chance that Michigan ends up ranked #10 and is left out of the NY6 selection.
Let's say the final top 12 is something like this:
1. LSU (13-0)
2. Clemson (13-0)
3. Ohio State (12-1)
4. Oregon/Utah winner (12-1)
5. Alabama (11-1)
6. Baylor/Oklahoma winner (12-1)
7. Georgia (11-2)
8. Penn State (10-2)
9. Florida (10-2)
10. Michigan (10-2)
11. Oregon/Utah loser (11-2)
12. Baylor/Oklahoma loser (11-2)
So the Rose would be Penn State v Oregon/Utah. The Sugar would be Alabama v Baylor/Oklahoma. The Orange would be ACC #2 (NC State?) v Georgia. And the Cotton would be Florida v G5 (Cincy? Memphis? Boise? SMU? App St?)
So the key to Michigan getting into the NY6 is either (a) pass Penn State and get into the Rose or (b) pass Florida, Georgia or Alabama to get a Cotton Bowl bid against a G5 team (that could possibly be Appalachian State or SMU).
November 19th, 2019 at 10:40 AM ^
Root for FSU on November 30th.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:40 AM ^
Oddly, it probably benefits us if OSU annihilates PSU.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:43 AM ^
Yeah, I mean that's what is going to happen.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:42 AM ^
Penn State is going to lose to Ohio State by 3-4 TDs on the road. If Michigan then beats Ohio State, there's zero chance Michigan will be ranked behind Penn State.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
Two teams with the same record against essentially the same schedule, and one has a head-to-head win against the other.
I agree it's more likely Michigan is ahead of PSU than the other way around, but never say "zero chance" when you have a committee of 13 people sitting around trying to over-think every little thing.
November 19th, 2019 at 11:28 AM ^
There is zero chance.
November 19th, 2019 at 11:28 AM ^
Michigan is only 4 spot behind PSU right now. If OSU beats Penn State soundly and Michigan beats them, there is literally zero chance that Penn State would be ranked ahead of them. I think it is possible that Michigan will be ahead of Penn State if Penn State loses to OSU handily this weekend, particularly if Wisconsin beats Minnesota.
November 19th, 2019 at 12:04 PM ^
I agree with this. The committee at the end of the season values late wins and looks at the season as a whole. The narrative right now is UM is trending up since losing at psu. If they win out I think narrative/national sense would be that UM after 11/30 is better than it was at psu and the committee would put us ahead. They’ve done that before when a team has lost early to a team. Psu wasn’t necessarily early but it was probably long enough ago in people’s minds.
But all of that assumes they beat osu. Which I'm reserving judgement on until I see osu/psu this weekend. UM is trending up and this will be osu first (or 2nd depending on how you feel about UW) real game all season but they’ve looked like a top 4 team so far.
Thing is UM was supposed to be too and would prolly be just outside if they’d beaten psu. And they’re at home where they’ve always had good offensive game plans but lacked talent. They’re aren’t lacking talent anywhere on O except at maybe RT. The QB has been good enough at home he should not be a liability. The rest of the line will be drafted as will the receivers. The backs are young but haven’t been a problem all year. Win and keep trending up particularly on O this weekend and the Game becomes a very interesting matchup.
November 19th, 2019 at 12:11 PM ^
Late loses hurt worse than earlier ones. Also, if we beat OSU our resume is far superior to PSUs.