With one month of football down, what have we learned about Michigan and the rest of the big ten?

Submitted by Dayday on
I've learned that Michigan's defense is outstanding and will keep them in most games. I've also learned I'm now more concerned about 10/21 than I am about 11/27.
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ST3

September 24th, 2017 at 12:35 AM ^

He's like the defensive lineman version of Deion Sanders. His lack of stats can be attributed to all the double teams he draws and the opposition avoiding running his way. He is a BIG part of this defense's success. Winovich is regularly beating one guy while Hurst and Gary occupy 2 (leaving Bush free to blitz up the middle against poor, overmatched running backs.)

Joined: 09/11/2010

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wahooverine

September 24th, 2017 at 9:22 AM ^

This is not a choice. He's draws double teams from the competition because he's pretty much unblockable 1-on-1. So far every team has rightly decided that neither a TE nor their LT tackle can single handedly block Gary. If they attempted that Gary would fling him aside, or just blow by him and crush the QB as he did against AF. Others may finish the play because their path to the QB is easier but Gary's ability (and Don Brown) creates that opportunity. He also blows up the run. This defense is pick your poison.

Joined: 11/14/2011

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stephenrjking

September 24th, 2017 at 1:01 AM ^

On the one hand, there have been a ton of plays where I've looked for Gary and seen him eating (or beating!) double teams and being a split-second later than the other swarming D guys. He's making stuff happen.

On the other, he often plays a similar position to a guy like NFL in-his-prime JJ Watt, a guy I think Gary could be a lot like. And in his prime, Watt was by far the most dangerous person on his defense and he still got counting stats and destroyed everything.

So I'm a bit concerned because I want to say Gary show up the way Winovich has. It hasn't happened yet. He's been good, but he hasn't been great.

Of course Devin Bush might be the best MLB in the country right now. That's a totally uneducated opinion, but he has quickly achieved greatness.

Joined: 03/15/2012

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war-dawg69

September 24th, 2017 at 1:53 AM ^

Hey you said the same thing as me, but you don't get negged because you didn't call out the people who think Gary is not playing well. Anyway you are spot on. He opens up a lot for this defense and no one turns the corner like him. I will say D. Bush is an all-american right know. I get down on our guys (offense mostly) but then I have to check myself because we are so young especially were it matters most and that is our receiving corps. I do believe we continue to grow and O'korn will stabilize and strengthen our offense. I am sure Speight is going to be okay and wish him the best. Both guys are class acts and just good guys, but I think Harbaugh called this one wrong and as O'korn gets first team reps and develops repore with his corps. He looks pretty good and he credited Hamilton early on so lets see what we have. If his decision making speeds up Michigan will flat out roll.

Joined: 10/07/2016

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war-dawg69

September 24th, 2017 at 1:03 AM ^

It's called getting doubled, chipped and schemed away from. Joey Bosa had four sacks his last year and then dominated in the pro's. Gary is not getting blocked by one guy and that is why Bush is getting an open run to the QB. As a matter of fact the same thing happenned to clowny and everyone said he wasn't trying hard anymore. Gary will be a top ten pick and you people have zero football knowledge.

Joined: 10/07/2016

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war-dawg69

September 24th, 2017 at 2:15 AM ^

Pretty good synopsis and to much work. I agree with most, but let's see how this John Okorn thing works out because he has allready credited Hamilton for working with him. Play calling ends with Harbaugh and really this team just needs confidence and execution. Of course I meen the offfense, but look howmuch better they look with a QB who makes teams pay for crowding the line of scrimmage. I was as down as anyone at halftime, but hey I got a gift in the second. Of course the end of the psu game crushed me, but we can shut them down and beat that team. The future of Michigan football is better than most would ever believe. I have a lot of faith in this team and staff. Harbaugh may have to tweek his staff, but he will make the right calls. Don Brown anyone.

Joined: 10/07/2016

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BIGBLUEWORLD

September 24th, 2017 at 12:19 AM ^

I believe our coaching staff is good as any in college football. No reason to second guess them or think about making any changes.

But today did bring up an interesting question: Why didn't the coaches know what John O'Korn could do?

Please note: This is not an ax to grind question or angry question or complaining question. It is simply an interesting question.

 

Joined: 07/14/2012

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ST3

September 24th, 2017 at 12:42 AM ^

He was mediocre against Indiana. I bet he is somewhere in between those extremes most days in practice. But I don't know for sure since I don't see him 20 hours a week at practice. The coaches do. I will trust their judgment. As soon as Harbaugh says he is my guy and he is starting, I will back him 100% as the starter. Until then, it is asinine to think I know more than the coaches.

Joined: 09/11/2010

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garde

September 24th, 2017 at 8:11 AM ^

Can you imagine if JOK started against Florida with so many young players and we lost? People would have been scratching their head.."why did Harbaugh bench his returning starter?"

I suspect the QB battle was real, but experience is always the key. With so many young players out there, there's no way JOK wins out over Speight at the begining of the season (no matter what Harbuagh says about meritocracy). Even though Speight and the offense struggled, the team still hadn't lost a game. Tough to bench a returning starter with a 3-0 record even if he isnt playing well. But the injury gave JOK both him and Harbaugh a new opportunity...and JOK took advantage of it.

There's no doubt JOK is the more talented passer and now he has the chance to prove that. JOK gets the start against MSU..if he plays like he did this week against Sparty, he's the #1 regardless of Speight's health. Even if he's healthy, there is no way Harbaugh starts Speight against MSU. Some fans would boo as he runs out for the first snap. Not the way you want to start a rvialry game.

Joined: 02/26/2015

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bronxblue

September 24th, 2017 at 8:33 AM ^

I think they did know what O'Korn could do, and my guess is this is as good as he's looked since he came to UM. So they were probably a bit surprised. But my guess is they'd say this was a great game from him but they don't know of it's reproducable.

Joined: 11/22/2008

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EGD

September 24th, 2017 at 10:11 AM ^

Remember last month when Harbaugh said O'Korn and Speight had "separated themselves" and were in a close competition but nobody believed him? Yes, I think the staff definitely did know what O'Korn could do--but until yesterday he hadn't shown it in game settings--not only his subpar performance against IU last season but even on his two drives against Florida. Hopefully good JOK is here to stay.

Joined: 09/16/2009

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goblue16

September 24th, 2017 at 12:23 AM ^

The good news is that both PSU and OSU are beatable. The bad news is we still have to beat indiana MSU maryland and wisconsin. Schedule still has some rough games

Joined: 03/28/2010

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Squash34

September 24th, 2017 at 2:48 AM ^

If Michigan is undefeated going into Wisconsin it does not matter if they lose, all they have to do us beat OSU and they for sure win the east. It's not a "probably" thing. It's a fact thing. If they are undefeated going into Wisconsin that means they have beat all the east team except OSU. If the lose to Wisconsin but beat OSU, they would have one conference lose with the tie breaker verse everyone in the east.

Joined: 09/13/2016

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CHUKA

September 24th, 2017 at 12:48 AM ^

I was wondering the same myself at first, but we're seeing him and the rest of the DL demand double teams and free up the LBs. Bush couldn't run around like a madman if Hurst, Solomon, etc. were getting blocked 1 on 1. My biggest question mark is Mone. Is he hurt at all? Or did he just get passed up?

Joined: 10/22/2016

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Michology 101

September 24th, 2017 at 12:38 AM ^

That some of us may have overreacted to the couple of possessions O'Korn did have earlier in the season, but it seems that he can play well if giving a real opportunity.

Though we're just fans of the Michigan football team. It's the head coach's job to make absolutely sure the #2 QB isn't actally better than the struggling #1 starter. I don't ever wish injuries on our players and wish Speight well.

Though it seems Harbaugh would've made us accept futility with Speight if it wasn't for the injury.

Joined: 06/02/2014

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UgLi Eric

September 24th, 2017 at 4:14 AM ^

Good to great against Purdue (an aggressive but still bottom 10% defense) below average to terrible against Indiana (a top tier offense in 2016). I've still some questions for this young man. Firstly, growing up in Florida and playing for Houston, he didn't have those SnowBowl games with the neighborhood growing up (not that I'm a better QB than Johnny, but I definitely played till I couldn't move for a week during the first blizzard every year). Indiana was a snowstorm and Purdue 2017 was basically Florida or Texas weather during football season.

Joined: 10/09/2016

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bronxblue

September 24th, 2017 at 8:30 AM ^

We didn't learn all that much about either QB considering Speight was injured early on this game. Purdue is by far the worst defense Michigan played this year (every other defense is in the top 30 for defensive efficiency; Purdue was in the 60s). O'Korn and the offense only got going later in the third and fourth quarters, when Purdue's lack of depth (and targeting penalties) really started to kick in. We have no idea how Speight would have looked in a full game here either. I'm very happy O'Korn played well and looks competent, but he didn't look great against IU or Florida, and I'm not ready to crown him the starter especially given the near-constant chatter over the past two years that Speight looks better at QB during the week.

Joined: 11/22/2008

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AlbanyBlue

September 24th, 2017 at 12:44 AM ^

We seem to be better off with JOK than with Speight. It's a shame it took an injury to find out.

We still have a crap running game.....essentially the same as it's been for a decade or so.

We still have a crushing defense...same as it's been for a couple years now.

We miss Fisch....also, Drevno looks like a mistake hire. Everything he has been a part of on this team has been underwhelming. An important question for the next few years - will JH break ranks with his choice that hasn't worked out?

We still love to bash our RB's heads into a brick wall....hey, it's Michigan, right?

The mystique is coming off of JH a bit. OL and QB recruiting, assistant choices on the offensive side, and perhaps a misjudgment about the starting QB situation have served to chip away at Harbaugh's legendary status a bit. Happy to have him of course, but he is ultimately responsible for our offensive woes.

 

Joined: 09/11/2010

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AlbanyBlue

September 24th, 2017 at 1:30 AM ^

I expect M to beat OSU roughly 50% of the time. I expect them to beat teams like PSU and Wisconsin most of the time. I expect M to contend regularly for Big Ten titles. I expect M to be in the playoff a couple times per decade.

With one of the best coaches in the country, I expect better than 80%.

And yes, that makes me a disappointed and grouchy fan a fair bit of the time. Doesn't change the expectations I have.

P.S. I just went back and edited for repetitiveness. I hate this place sometimes.

Joined: 09/11/2010

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Squash34

September 24th, 2017 at 3:00 AM ^

First off, they have beat Wisconsin and Penn State every time they played them under harbaugh. Not most the time. Every. Single. Time. Secondly, Michigan was a damn laughing stock 2 years and 4 games ago when harbaugh took over. And was for a decade. OSU on the other hand was on the opposite side of the spectrum. 80% in the first 30 games, while getting hosed by the refs at OSU last year and may the year before, is an amazing outcome. Name another coach that takes a tire fire of a program that every single "expert" said was a 4-5 year rebuild, and wins 80% of the games? I'll give you a hint, there is none. Your expectations are extremely unrealistic.

Joined: 09/13/2016

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samdrussBLUE

September 24th, 2017 at 7:30 AM ^

You're an idiot. And by the way, an 80% win percentage probably does lead to those expectations. It's only been two years.

And the only thing we are really missing from all of that is the OSU wins. We've had some losses we didn't like, but we've gotten some close wins. We just need to take the next step soon to beat more of the great/best teams

Joined: 01/21/2012

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M85steel

September 24th, 2017 at 1:38 AM ^

That to have a decent run game an o has to be able to throw the ball? That to sustain drives you can’t allow a D to stack the box with 8-9 guys because they know your starting qb can’t throw? That to play in this league, a great d will get you most of the way there but you still need an o to score. As far as JH is concerned, it’s been two much better seasons already than the previous seven combined.

Joined: 09/17/2017

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fksljj

September 24th, 2017 at 12:45 AM ^

Defense doesn't need much addressing. Don Brown has it under control. Through 4 games they are only giving up 10 points / game. Offense looked a little brighter today. Some stuff that happened even with Speight, some dropped balls and an int which was the receivers fault. But O'Korn's throws are caught in stride and look much more crisp. He is also much more mobile. The major concern is the o-line. They look like ass. There's no sugarcoating it. Straight. Ass.

Joined: 11/27/2016

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war-dawg69

September 24th, 2017 at 1:26 AM ^

The o-line might look like ass, but teams are selling out against the run. O korn made them pay somewhat. As he gets first team reps and we find who should be playing at receiver. Teams will have to back out of there our we will just throw and kill them quickly. Schoenle should be starting. DPJ just needs some time to get going. Are Te's are going to kill teams. Crawford is less than impressive. DpJ should be back for kickoffs. What the fuck do they see in crawford. He should never run it out or he costs us ten yards. Any contested balls he can't catch. The thing people are seeing is youth, but that is why this team is exciting as they will only grow. Shame Black got hurt but he will be back for Minnesota is my guess.

Joined: 10/07/2016

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Aged Wolverine 68

September 24th, 2017 at 2:29 AM ^

It is starting to look like Md and QBs dont make a good mix. I think they are headed in right direction though under Durkin. Rutgers though? Sadly, they will always be able to claim they beat us in their first yr of conference play. They still look like a bye week.

 

Purdue should be on rise for near future. I doubt Brohm jumps ship before 3rd yr.

 

Neb fans are restless. The calls for Frost are all over the Rivals Huskers brd.

 

Iowa is once again this close. Think in terms of the original Maxwell Smart saying it.

 

When the Bucks play with confidence, they are tough to get a win against. Give em a good smack in the mouth, and they are beatable. 

Joined: 08/27/2015

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