Does anyone feel like this season's gonna be different?
I just feel a completely different energy this time around. Harbaugh seems to be acting completely differently in a good way, there are all of these incentives in everyone's contract, and the offense is loaded with talent.
If Michigan can get past Washington and Wisconsin, the team will have so much momentum and will start getting into the playoff talks.
I'm so optimistic about this season a friend offered me 2-to-1 odds on 8.5 wins with the agreement that if a game is cancelled for any reason it goes down to 7.5 and I took him up on it.
No. I’ve told myself that for years now. But hot damn sure would love to be proven wrong!
This! I want the most amazing season ever this year!
But, we have no proven QB. Cade didn’t even start and finish a complete game next year did he? Also, massive issues with our Secondary.
But will be rooting for them to win EVERY game!
Well, we were pleasantly surprised in 2006, 2011 and 2015. Are we due?
Probably not. The talent just isn't there, IMO. Who on offense is the OP talking about? We have a weak armed three star Qb, a bunch of unproven WRs and interior linemen. And worst of all, the playcalling is still Gattis and Harbaugh who have been awful.
The DL is still weak on the interior, still have no CBs...
If we came out running tempo offense and had a good 2 minute strategy I might get excited.
You must think Bowman is going start at QB? I’m not sure he has a weak arm.
The 3 running backs are pretty talented.
I'd be more optimistic about the receivers if Worthy had stayed on board, but he would have had a ceiling this season. If one or both of Roman/Henning start living up to their rankings this year, there are a some real threats in the middle of the field and our X receivers are solid.
It's really the O line for me. I think Cade can move the offense if protected and has a good rushing attack. The Rutgers game also required him to perform in pressure situations so I don't imagine him being unnerved if a game is close. I still think Michigan has more talent than most of the league. Ohio State exposed the huge weaknesses in Don Browns defense. And his scheme was made even less effective after Chase Mo and Gary left, so even Wisconsin made us look foolish.
2 years ago Michigan was a top 10 team who let Penn State jump out early on the road at night, but should have beat them. Played admirably against the Bama team in a bowl. I'm excited for football with a full big house and will watch with slight expectations of a defense that feels more like Michigan, particularly against inferior opponents. I also can't see JJ being worse than whatever it would take to make Harbaugh take Cade out. If Cade falters, and JJ is number 2, his talent gives me hope he will get better each game he is out there and can keep us in games. Even if we lose close with a true freshman, I'm feeling good about 2022. Wisconsins 5 star QB started day one last year and looked great early in the year. We all know this year has a ceiling. If we beat Washington or Wisconsin, the team should feel good about itself and I think we win 9. If we beat both 11 is possible if you count the bowl
I won't even begin to talk about the rest of what you said, but I will address the "weak armed 3 star QB" comment.
McNamara was most definitely a composite 4 star QB. Meaning that taking all the recruiting services into account (not just one service), and averaging them.....he's a 4 star QB.
The fact that you don't know that, and basing your opinion off that, just shows how bad the rest of your opinions are.
Couldn't agree more with this. Been doing this for a long time. It's a yearly pattern of underachievement with high expectation that this will be the breakthrough year. But it's become exhausting and my enthusiasm and optimism are gone. If we do well, wonderful. But any of the stories about this or that player, new coach, scheme, etc., are just Boy-Who-Cried-Wolf stories at this point.
I doubt we're going anywhere significant this year. We have many new coaches bringing in totally different schemes. Nothing proven at the most important position on the field, QB. If I were thinking without emotional bias, it's relatively foolish to expect to Jim Harbaugh to get this program modernized in a way that will compete for Big 10 titles every year. In 7 years he's shown that he's on par with James Franklin as a coach of a modern Big 10 team. He's shown he can recruit to the top of the second tier and bat 500 against that second tier, and bat zero against the elephant in the room, the Death Star. That is simply inarguable, no matter what he did prior to UM. Arguing optimistically against these statistics is foolish and simply informed by emotional love for UM. If I had to bet my fortune on the outcome of this season, I'd be that we'll win 69% of our games and have a 20% chance of winning a bowl game, that's who Harbaugh is at Michigan in plain-as-day math.
Sadly, I think we have two hopes of ever becoming relevant again. Either someone follows Day (as in he goes to the NFL) and flops at O$U, giving us a pause to catch our breath and compete for elite recruits again. Or we find the next complete-package diamond in the rough HC. I have no idea whom that might be, but I really doubt it's Matt Campbell. Finding the next Urban Meyer (without the personal baggage) is almost impossible, and requires tremendous luck. If we could find the next Gary Patterson that would be livable, as at least we'd compete and upset OSU from time to time. I guess a third option would be that NIL and whatever its corollaries are serve to provide a much-needed rebalancing to NCAAF, as it's become quite monolithic and boring, and lacks much of the character it used to have. I'm most hopeful for this.
Your name and pic are perfect to describe my feelings about Michigan football -- "Well...we're waiting!!"
Im also optimistic and think it’ll be another decent year (Michigan did fine in 2018/2019 but no one wants to admit it).
but I’m also of the opinion that the Harbaugh is reserved notion is whack. Go watch highlights of us against OSU, MSU, Notre Dame... dude is fired up
We did NOT do fine in 2018 (let alone 2019). If we had gone 1-11 with the one win coming over Ohio State, THAT would have been fine. But we're at the point now where getting this monkey off our backs supersedes every other goal.
Right now, any season in which we don't beat Ohio State is a failed season irrespective of how every other game turns out. And any season in which we beat Ohio State is a successful season, irrespective of how every other game turns out. That's where we are right now.
Either that or we resign ourselves to the reality that Michigan has permanently faded into the second tier like Nebraska or Texas. There's no in between. It's really that simple.
Totally disagree.
Michigan hasn't beaten a higher-ranked team in years. It's over. Stop drinking the juice.
20th ranked Michigan beat 8th ranked Notre Dame 45-14 in 2019.
August 15th, 2021 at 3:14 PM ^
Not true at all. Michigan has not won a game where they were an underdog though.
How does one go 1-11 and not resign yourself to the reality that Michigan has faded into second tier?
That is the worst football related post I have ever read on this site. That is some serious 'lil bro logic.
Well... we did fine in 2018.
2019 was a complete mystery on offense: Returning veteran QB, returning NFL receivers, 4 NFL O-linemen, and we couldn't move the ball against Army.
Getting outscored 103-54 in your final two games, including giving up 62 points to your most hated enemy, in 2018 is NOT a fine season. Michigan either lost or got absolutely skullfucked in the 2-3 games that mattered most that season.
And 2019 was not a fine season either. Fine, beating ND was great, but they lost every other game that mattered. Most of those losses they ended up getting pulverized into a fine paste. Penn State was the lone exception. Otherwise they got beat 126-57 in their other three losses.
Michigan chokes in the moments that matter. Plain and simple.
I mean, I didn't say it was great, but we destroyed MSU and Notre Dame so that was cool. To be honest the offense was good against Ohio State and Alabama, but the defense. . . uhh. . .
Defense...uhh...where are all the Don Brown fans now???
The offense didnt score a single point in the second half against Alabama
No. I've stopped feeling that way.
I'm not feeling it. Wish I did!
I don't feel that way either.
I have feelings. In my loins!
Yeah.
If, if, if ...
My aunt had balls she'd be my uncle?
Having balls is not a guarantee...
Fans, live music, nonconference games, no healthy players and their close contacts being forced to sit for three weeks, playing all twelve games of the originally agreed upon schedule. It will be real football again.
Anyone who wants to base program altering decisions off of 2020 is either a fool or had an agenda to push the entire time.
I think it's perfectly reasonable to base program-altering decisions off of 17 losses to Ohio State in 19 attempts (including eight in a row).
Ohio State made a program-altering decision off of 10 losses to Michigan in 13 attempts. I'd say that worked out quite well for them.
If you still supported Harbaugh after 2019, I’d say you’re a fool.
December 9th, 2021 at 12:29 PM ^
this aged well
First time I can recall fully agreeing with something you posted.
In that case, I retract it. Have fun smelling your own farts in a wine glass again today.
I wish I could find the post in March of last year where I said something along the lines if "If the offense is bad again people will just blame it on covid because they have a built in excuse for everything for him anyway"
Of course that's exactly what happened as if Michigan was the only program affected by covid.
And it's incredible so many fans have such low expectations they think it's normal that losing a few starters turns us into one of the worst teams in the country.
Like every season, I'm going into this one thinking the team can win the B1G. Why the hell not? If they stumble along the way and don't, then oh well... I'm still alive and got to watch another season of Michigan football.
So much this.
If UM goes 6-6 and loses to OSU by a billion... they play anther season in 2022.
If UM goes 13-0, beats OSU, and wins the B1G... they play another season in 2022.
Working hard as a team and believing is required for success. Im going to a fanatic for these guys.
We wanted coaching change, we got it. We wanted offensive strategy different than power O. We are seeing flashes of it. We wanted a new Defensive coaching and strategy switch. Here it is. We needed a better QB room.
I say Harbaugh is bending where Wolverine nation needs.This year will be a fun year. Largely because I decide it is.
Im going to enjoy life and the team I love.
Looking forward to it and enjoying having no idea what the team will look like. It's just gonna be fun to have Saturdays feel a little more normal.
It is this for me as well. Just excited to watch the team and see either the success or failure I expect somewhere in between. Either way I will still be a fan.
I don’t expect a championship season but this team does have some very good players. I know it is wishful thinking but I hope the board does not shit on the kids if things go sideways this year. Nothing but respect for the dedication and discipline it must take to play D1 football.
Yes, but I feel that way everyear. I do think Cade will be a good QB
Has anyone posted about this:
https://twitter.com/JackMacCFB/status/1418678701135384579?s=20
First I've heard of it. No idea who the reporting person is. So there's that disclaimer on my part.
I hope it doesn't happen.
Yes, it was posted twice yesterday evening as a thread starter and both threads were taken down.
I'll say it again:
NO Barstool !
There has been a long-standing MGoBlog prohibition against posting links from that and a small handful of other websites. Here's a link to what Seth posts at the top of every Moderator Sticky thread:
https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/moderator-action-sticky-2021
Per Seth and MGoBlog ownership:
"...Because having them repeated on our site can directly harm us, if you're on the message board you should be aware that posting something from them could get you banned. They are:
•SirYacht/Chat Sports/James Yoder - Fake news merchant who likes to make up plausible rumors or report non-sure things to get a false scoop. Any local Spartan media when they talk about Michigan. Unless they're yelling "MAKE PLAYS!"
•Pete Finebaum: FoxNews for SEC fans. Occasionally useful to them but the only times he's intersecting with us is when he's carrying Saban's water.
•Rainer Sabin: Finebaum wannabe hired by the Freep to troll Michigan fans.
•Steve Deace: Curiously well-funded white supremacist radio host who's got such a small Michigan following you can safely assume anyone posting positively about him is Deace and ban him again. Creates lots of burner accounts to promote himself. Recently booted by Maven for advocating lynching.
•Barstool: People who took the freedom of young internet too seriously because really what they wanted to do the whole time was propagate bad ideas."
Honestly didn’t realize it was barstool, just looked like it was the same source as the original OK/TEX news.
That's what I figured may have happened (also possibly with the two posts LSA removed the previous day), it only becomes apparent when you look at the Twitter account of the creator of the rumor and see that he's a Barstool writer and has a Barstool link posted on his Twitter home page.
No harm no foul. But since it was at least the third time in two days his tweet surfaced on the MGoBoard and that LSA & I have each already commented on it in the Mod Sticky, I felt it might be best to address it to everyone right then and there.
I am one of the many Harbaugh apologists, UM Football apologists. I cherish our September Heisman winners. I love UM Football!! Go Blue!