DrMantisToboggan

April 5th, 2018 at 1:04 PM ^

Obviously not the same thing, but I certainly think that Urban's base offense has been more or less figured out (though he can still just win with superior athletes), which is why you see him trying to change it so much. He's made a clear effort to become more of a vertical passing offense in the last couple years with hiring Wilson and changing the type of QB he recruits.

 

I think Don Brown and holding them to under 100 yards of offense in the first half in 2016 scared the shit out of him. That's not forcing him to run away from OSU, but that's about the best we can hope for.

BassDude138

April 5th, 2018 at 4:08 PM ^

Michigan came out and controlled both games the past two years. The issue in both was poor execution on the QB's. Speight's two picks in 2016 and O'Korn missing what seemed like 100 wide open receivers in 2017. If Don Brown and the defense can get pretty much anything out of the offense in the second half of these games it will be a different story.

Squad16

April 5th, 2018 at 5:33 PM ^

I mean, yeah that played a big part.

 

But the offense gave the defense big headstarts in both games and the defense couldn't hold when it mattered most. Especially in 2017 when we had the lead when OSU's starting QB was injured and then the backup torched us and couldn't be stopped a single time. 

It's mostly on the offense, but definitely not 100% so. In 2017, defense takes a big share.

 

With the way people talk about the defense, if you had been told before the game we were spotted a 14 point lead, nobody would have believed we'd lose by double digits. Same for if you were told "Michigan has a second half lead and JT goes out for the game". 

trustBlue

April 5th, 2018 at 8:23 PM ^

Upvoted, but the offense completely sputtering in the second half played a large role there as well. 

Other than the one touchdown drive, Michigan's offensive drives in the second half consisted of:

6 plays for 13 yards (punt)

6 plays for 8 yards (punt)

8 plays for 36 yards (turnover on downs)

1 play for 0 yards (INT)

8 plays for 47 yards (end of game)

Even with Don Brown's defense, its not like Michigan could hang on to a win by scoring 14 points early and then packing the offense away in mothballs for the rest of the game.

DoubleB

April 5th, 2018 at 1:43 PM ^

because Dabo has a machine right now at Clemson, but Meyer is clearly ahead on the pecking order right now. 

49-4 in the Big Ten since 2012. That is a ridiculous statistic. Bo's first 6 years in the league were 40-4-1 and the league wasn't nearly as deep. Woody's best 6 year stretch was 43-4-1 from 72-77.

ScruffyTheJanitor

April 5th, 2018 at 12:25 PM ^

If both were on the Open market, Harbaugh's market would be just about the same as Meyers-- and Harbaugh would be wanted in the NFL, too, in a way Meyer just wouldn't be. So, yeah, I'd say Harbaugh earns his salary even if just about everyone would say Meyer is a better college coach.

Blue In NC

April 5th, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^

Totally wrong.  First, he did start winning, right away.  Last year was disappointing no doubt.

Second, he took over a program that was decending with ticket sales lagging, revenues falling off and sometimes empty seats and instantly made it "Michigan Football" once again.  For that alone, he has "earned" that compensation.

goblue16

April 5th, 2018 at 12:33 PM ^

Ticket sales increase was from the hype but I guarantee that dies this year if he does not get it done this season so I’d be careful with that. With that said if u want to say his salary is based on name only then fine I can agree with that regardless he is still overpaid. Double hokes salary for 2 more wins in 3 years. Ridiculous

LSAClassOf2000

April 5th, 2018 at 2:44 PM ^

Well, if this is an open question to the board, then yes, clearly he does. I mean, let's put this another way - would you, say, cut his negotiated salary on him over his performance to date even though there's likely nothing in the contract which says you could do such a thing? I don't know that many coaches would accept a job where money could be added or subtracted freely based on wins and losses. That's not how it works. These "he doesn't deserve his salary" statement bug me a bit.

SlickNick

April 5th, 2018 at 12:47 PM ^

If the only positive you can see from comparing the program under Hoke to Harbaugh is "2 more wins in 3 years" you might just be too far gone already. Yes, last year was a bit of a disappointment but with this take you sound more like an ESPN talking head than a rational fan. 

goblue16

April 5th, 2018 at 12:43 PM ^

3 qbs lol wait so you weren’t one of those guys who wanted Speight benched before he got injured? Or Okorn who was benched before injury? Because more than half of the fan base disagreed during the Purdue and during the Rutgers game. But what do I know you clearly were at the Rutgers game when fans cheered harbaugh for benching Peters. Idiot

snarling wolverine

April 5th, 2018 at 12:47 PM ^

Fans can be pretty dumb.  A lot of fans wanted Beilein fired just over a year ago.  If Speight had started all year, I think we'd have probably gone 10-3 again.  He wasn't great, but he was our best option.

Speaking of Beilein, he went 16-16 three years ago, when he too had a young, injury-plagued team...

goblue16

April 5th, 2018 at 1:05 PM ^

Please don’t ever compare Beilein to a Harbaugh ever. Beilein took over trashed program that was second to at the time one of the elite coaches in the country with a dump of an arena and turned it into a consistent winner and made that elite coach his bitch. Harbaugh took over 11 NFL draft picks and couldn’t get over the 10 win hump his second season. Really bad luck screwed us honestly but still not an excuse. Hoke had a shit ton of talent but the guy was in over his head. Harbaugh is definitely a better coach but the results on the field have been average. This is gonna be an extremely crucial season