If the B1G realigns, would you be open to playing The Game earlier in the season?
September 29th, 2021 at 6:37 PM ^
Hell yes. The earlier the better.
September 29th, 2021 at 7:03 PM ^
Don't mind it being last game of regular season, but *stop* having it Thanksgiving weekend. So many of the students & other fans are out of town visiting families or otherwise unavailable - which is one reason why that game is so easy for osu fans to attend.
September 29th, 2021 at 7:07 PM ^
Have hated it so much since they moved it until after Thanksgiving. Just seems so wrong to me.
September 29th, 2021 at 7:42 PM ^
Agreed. It's fucking stupid. I make time to watch it most years even though we've been horrendous, but it's always pretty aggressively anti-social to spend 4 hours that weekend by myself staring at the TV. Also would love to go if we ever show that we can be competitive and having it that weekend means it costs a zillion bucks to fly into Detroit.
September 29th, 2021 at 9:27 PM ^
So the converse is true when it's in Cbus then?
September 29th, 2021 at 10:46 PM ^
Osu doesn’t have nearly as high a percentage of out of state students as Michigan. Michigan is nearly 50/50
September 30th, 2021 at 11:46 AM ^
They also don’t care about their families.
September 30th, 2021 at 12:05 AM ^
Selfishly, I like it that weekend because I live in CA and go to Michigan to visit my family over Thanksgiving so I go to the game. Wouldn't be able to as easily otherwise.
But yeah, in general I agree with your point.
September 30th, 2021 at 10:34 AM ^
So much this. Having The Game over Thanksgiving weekend totally sucks. HATE it.
October 1st, 2021 at 10:17 AM ^
crg - wouldn't OSU have the same problem - "So many of the students & other fans are out of town visiting families or otherwise unavailable".
Once we start winning again, empty seats for a home game will not be available.
I like it where it is - how many times in the 90's did we ruin a NC or undefeated season for them on the last game! Let's get back to that.
September 29th, 2021 at 10:54 PM ^
I would love for the game to be moved to the 1st Saturday of November, still late enough in the season and early enough for decent weather and to make a possible night game of it.
September 29th, 2021 at 10:55 PM ^
Double post, Go Blue!!!
September 30th, 2021 at 2:51 PM ^
The only answer IMO
September 29th, 2021 at 6:38 PM ^
No.
We used to bitch when we played Notre Dame too early. Now we bitch because we play Ohio State "too late."
How about just get better at football no matter when it's played?
September 29th, 2021 at 9:22 PM ^
The issue wasn’t that we played ND too early, but that there was an understanding that the game should be the opener for both schools, and ND didn’t always abide by that. We were OK with it being our opener, but we wanted them to do likewise.
We do play OSU too late now. The game shouldn’t be Thanksgiving weekend. Traditionally it was the weekend before. The current setup forces a lot of people to choose between going home or going to the game. There is no good reason for it.
September 30th, 2021 at 1:23 AM ^
I've sen plenty of people complain about playing ND too early well after that understanding was in place.
September 29th, 2021 at 10:34 PM ^
^^^^ THIS ^^^^ Our current and last 2 coaches have shit the bed so badly against OSU, this fanbase is looking for excuses our quick fixes vs. just us getting back to an even footing with them. Our 2 decades of inept coaching has led to the wussification of some members of our fanbase.
Funny in that during home games, the JEJ hype video mentions something to the effect of we don't bow to no program. Lol.
September 30th, 2021 at 8:39 AM ^
Ummmm.....Lloyd Carr's last 7 years = 1-6 vs OSU. You might want to throw him into that "shitting the bed" category. If anything, he started the "shitting the bed", because Michigan and OSU were on equal levels then. Since then, both programs went on opposite directions. They haven't been on equal levels since.
September 30th, 2021 at 4:44 PM ^
Agree with your assessment and I was a proponent of Lloyd leaving as IMHO was past his coaching prime, for many many reasons.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:39 PM ^
Nope. You build up to the climax not start with it.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:57 PM ^
My wife says that
September 29th, 2021 at 10:36 PM ^
She said the same thing to me
September 29th, 2021 at 6:59 PM ^
Maybe that's how YOU do things.
September 29th, 2021 at 7:49 PM ^
No, no, a thousand time no. Shakes head.
Get off my lawn.
September 29th, 2021 at 8:49 PM ^
The problem is that Michigan builds up to the climax and then gets ED and can’t perform…been happening for 20 years. If moving the game takes the pressure off for Michigan, I am all for it.
September 29th, 2021 at 9:11 PM ^
Didn't seem to be a problem for the 100 years prior.
September 29th, 2021 at 9:32 PM ^
Well, I think 20% of 100 years subsequently is ample evidence it's a problem now!
September 30th, 2021 at 8:49 AM ^
Well, the last 70 = 41-28-2 (OSU leading)
If you take away the the RR, Hoke, and Harbaugh years it's 30-27-2 (OSU leading).
September 29th, 2021 at 9:32 PM ^
Ironic that the treatment is a blue pill
September 29th, 2021 at 6:41 PM ^
The only thing I would change about the game (outside of us never winning anymore) is to move it to 3:30. I think approaching dusk enhances the vibes.
September 29th, 2021 at 7:01 PM ^
This.
September 29th, 2021 at 7:33 PM ^
Could not agree more
September 29th, 2021 at 8:42 PM ^
Late in November that makes the second half a night game.
September 29th, 2021 at 9:10 PM ^
The visual of a late November dusk into night game with both of us wearing our home uniforms…not quite sure it could get any better.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:42 PM ^
No. I’d rather see two teams playing their best football if they are going to play each other and that usually doesn’t happen at the beginning of the year. After last season, I would’ve been happy only playing them in a conference championship. If we can manage to look truly competitive this year, I may change my vote. If the idea of playing them early is so if you lose, you still have a chance of making the playoff, I think that’s lame.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:42 PM ^
Anyone that says 'no' but also wants to beat the Buckeyes more than once in two decades...yikes..
Priorities man..
September 29th, 2021 at 6:47 PM ^
As a clarification--I meant "earlier" in the season as in not the last game.
Thanks, please continue.
September 29th, 2021 at 7:09 PM ^
Anyone that thinks the time of the year we play them has more than 0.1% to do with why we've won once in two decades...yikes...
September 30th, 2021 at 2:00 AM ^
I think we beat them in Oct 2016 with a healthy Speight. Same in Oct 2018 with a healthy Chase and Gary. The timing of our injuries those years sucked.
September 30th, 2021 at 6:56 AM ^
Yes but OSU has lost key players due to injury before/during our games and still won. They can look back at years they could have beaten us even worse had the stars aligned. So we can beat them even with a few key injuries if we can begin to recruit a team that has adequate backups.
September 29th, 2021 at 7:12 PM ^
So youre worried we can't beat them but you'd prefer we play them once during the season and then again in the conference championship game? And if they're not in there then they're not the juggernaut anymore.
Also, Michigan would be in a good position to win the division if they're split from OSU, but I don't really like having a protected crossover game against who is usually by far the toughest opponent. With head-to-head tiebreakers it could still be fine, but ehh..
September 29th, 2021 at 6:45 PM ^
No. M needs to figure out how to beat those f**kers. It needs to come down to that game. I wouldn't like it. This is not the answer.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:51 PM ^
It somewhat depends on the nature of the realignment and how it is determined who plays in the B1G conference championship game. If M and OSU were is opposite divisions and the division winners continue to meet in the conference championship game, then I would be open to moving up the M-OSU game for two reasons. 1) You ought to play someone in your own division the last game. 2) IF (big if as of now) M ever gets its act together to compete for a division crown then moving the OSU game might help avoid back to back M-OSU games.
September 29th, 2021 at 8:15 PM ^
That could be interesting.
September 30th, 2021 at 7:05 AM ^
The problem with that scenario is that Ohio State would ALWAYS be a cross over game for Michigan while the rest of the Division can miss out on that Conference loss. Look back on the Legends & Leaders Division's. MSU really benefited by not having Ohio State on the schedule every year (as well as 4 out of Conference games).
September 29th, 2021 at 6:54 PM ^
Yep. Maybe we can catch them before they become a machine by season end.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:54 PM ^
Never going to happen, but I like the game where it is. It has become a family tradition to watch it and then put up the Christmas lights in anger after watching the annual beat down
September 29th, 2021 at 7:14 PM ^
Ha, awesome.
September 29th, 2021 at 7:30 PM ^
That’s hilarious. My wife, and now our two year old, have grown used to heading out to the tree farm right after the game. I’m usually pretty pissed off but Christmas knocks its out of me fairly quickly.
FYI, In 2023 The Game will be before Thanksgiving.
*Edit: 2023 is not before Thanksgiving (hat tip to sambojangles)