Over/Under on Harbaugh's first season? Be Honest

Submitted by Wolfman on

Whether you stated it publicly or merely kept it to yourself, everyone on this site had an opinion of how many games we would win in Jim's first year. I was one under but was still met with more than a little skepticism when, after the announcement of his hiring, I predicted 9 wins. I can understand this because I did this fully expecting that Shane or Wilton would be our qb. I correctly picked the three losses during the regular season, but I thought, with luck, we could beat UT and one of either MSU or OSU seeing we had them both at home. I didn't think we would be pushed to our limit by IU or MN but, in retrospect, I'm glad we were for no other reason because these are the type of games that define the character of the team. Further, I think beating the teams you are supposed to beat, no matter how close, makes the statement we won't lose to inferior teams. I was also wrong about the way we would win these games. I thought, finally, given how highly rated our OL was coming in from high school, that our ground game would resemble what we saw in the bowl game against a damn fine FL front seven. I also thought it would by Derrick and Ty putting up big numbers during the season and whoever our qb was would basically be asked to complete safe, timely passes just to keep the D honest. What I saw that line do in the Citrus Bowl gives me great hope for next year though. Given the above, I was even more impressed with Jim's abilities to manufacture points with modest tweaks and understanding each week what he could expect from Jake. By season's end it looked like, in addition to an AA TE, we had an All Big QB and a more-than-impressive receiving corp. I am not going out on a limb by saying 98% of us are extremely happy with his first full campaign. There are always a few that hold ridiculous standards. There have been a number of threads related to the steps he took to ensure future success, and obviously he did well in this regard. I am just curious, and I am sure you all remember the "realistic" number of Ws you thought we would accomplish this season.

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rowtheblue

January 2nd, 2016 at 5:05 PM ^

I had (which I thought was a little optimistic) 9-3 with losses to Utah, Minnesota and Ohio State, didn't even try to guess at the bowl game. Would have liked to get one of the rivalry games, but I know those will come eventually! Now, if only my prediction for Western Michigan to go 14-0 this season would have been correct...

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LB

January 2nd, 2016 at 7:15 PM ^

does not mean zero percent. I had no concerns about his coaching ability, it was everything else. He not only recruits, he does it with an EUTM. He does not just get along with the media, he has them quoting his unique comments. His family ties are a plus beyond what I might have imagined. Michigan got the equivalent of a multi-million dollar commercial yesterday when the commentators were discussing his family. His quirks keep him in front of the media constantly, and in a good way. His competitive nature is not abrasive at all. I feared that this would be a short stop for him - don't worry about that any longer. In short - my expectations were exceeded at every turn, but I repeat myself.

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DairyQueen

January 3rd, 2016 at 2:57 AM ^

Because the egos in professional sports are RIDICULOUS, and I'm not talking about the players (who are maligned and targeted because of the media/their lack of understanding of the business), I'm talking about the front-office, owners, admin, then comes the NFL admin, execs, etc.

It's A LOT of corporatism and beauracracy, and it's ALL ego-driven.

In nearly every single instance, owning a professional sports team is a TERRIBLE investment. (some connections in some markets can be useful, but it's trivial overall)

For those that can afford to own a team, it's like owning an art-piece, an island, a yacht, or a private jet, i.e. it's a pure EGO-purchase.

Billionaires get into the "owning a team" gig PRECISELY because they WANT to MEDDLE with the team, and "be part of the team", in whatever capacity they believe, be in some way responsible for the product. It's both a stereotype and a fact. Like when celebrities want to get involved in racing. They suck. But the drivers/teams themselves need the finances to come from somewhere.

Dealing with all the egos, especially when they're bad (read: SF) is a nightmare.

In College, the coaches are everything and make every decision. This is what details-guys like Harbaugh love. To the moon.

When all that ESPN stuff about was being published/spoken about Harbaugh "not liking recruiting, etc", I was like WTF, did you not know that he essentially coached/recruited while he was STILL AN NFL quarterback???

It's when I realized in ESPN's massive expansion, they sure started watering-down their secret sauce.

All the Quirks. Passion. Energy. Youth. Enthusiasm. Mentality. 

Harbaugh is the EPITOME of college football.

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jabberwock

January 2nd, 2016 at 8:31 PM ^

but closer to the 7 or 8.
I did predict we'd still lose both rivalry games however, even the day befor playing MSU.

Happy to be wrong on the overall record.
Thrilled to be wrong on how much Rudock would be able to turn his season around.

Lot's of offensive questions for next year, but Harbaugh & a monster D will have them challenging for EVERY game.

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freelion

January 2nd, 2016 at 5:06 PM ^

I had Utah and OSU as losses. I maintain that my prediction was 100% accurate. I am not acknowledging the fluke.

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LSAClassOf2000

January 2nd, 2016 at 5:06 PM ^

I was part of the rather large crowd of people predicting a cautious 8-4 in the regular season with a bowl win in a bowl obviously not the Citrus Bowl. Having no clue what would unfold back in August, of course, and then having seen this season develop into something that ended on a high note with a trouncing of the Gators, I am glad to be off here.

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Perkis-Size Me

January 2nd, 2016 at 5:06 PM ^

My honest guess? 7-8 wins max.

My only real problem was that there were so many undisciplined penalties on this team. Not sure they costed us anything in the grand scheme, but a lot of undisciplined penalties.

Hoping Harbaugh gets a chance to work on that in year two. If we want to win a Rose Bowl or national title we can't give us shit like that.



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Qmatic

January 2nd, 2016 at 5:07 PM ^

I called either 10-2 regular season and then a loss to a difficult opponent in a bowl/a 9-3 year with a bowl win. However, that was a really optimistic guess on my part. I didn't expect us to dominate teams like Oregon St, BYU, and Northwestern. I was pretty confident before the season that we would beat State, and we did up until the fluke of the century.

Next year my expectation is to play in Indy and be in the CFP talk all season. The line finally had push yesterday, and if we get the transfer at Center, or if Newsome can step I'm at LT and Cole at C I think we could be real good. We have more outside weapons than we've had since the Manningham and Arrington days. It's going to be hard for anyone to cover Chesson on go routes next season. The D-line will be special and so could the secondary with 2 All Americans. The running game, QB play, and LB play is what needs to improve and if it does I think we make it to the playoffs



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The Mad Hatter

January 2nd, 2016 at 5:07 PM ^

I said 11 wins and I was sure we'd beat MSU and OSU, so I obviously don't know wtf I'm talking about. But I'm a huge homer. I think we're going to win at least 10 games every year.

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Phil Brickma

January 2nd, 2016 at 5:07 PM ^

I said 8-4. I thought they would lose to Utah, BYU, MSU and OSU. The defense proved even better than expected and Rudock's second-half surge really lifted the offense. They improved faster than I expected but the season played out about how I thought it would. MSU loss was fluky but it was a good, close game. BYU is a different animal with Mangum but M proved itself there. Not thrilled with losses to MSU and OSU, but 10-3 is a great start under the new staff. Excited for next season!



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aflapan

January 2nd, 2016 at 5:08 PM ^

7 to 9 wins. The fact that we got 10 has me estatic. We looked awesome in the Citrus Bowl. I like what Harbaugh says, you can tell the players like being on this team. 

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