Crisler 71

October 1st, 2015 at 11:52 AM ^

SEC East powerhouse Missouri lost to Indiana!!!!

Arkansas lost to Toledo.

Everbody in the SEC West lost their bowl games last year.

SEC East champ Georgia has repeatedly lost to Michigan State in recent bowl games.

Tennesee is a dumpster fire.

'Bama hasn't won a bowl game since 2012.

ESS EEE SEE is overrated.  They had a nice run of a souple of teams winning NCs, but in at least one case they benefited from the SEC Is Great meme (AL v LSU) that got Bama in over other conferenced with identical records, only because Bama lost early enough to work their way back.  

SEC bottom power is KY, Vandy (lost to W. KY), TN and good ol' Arkansas.  

The SEC as a whold is barely above 500 against power 5 schools.

 

Joined: 05/23/2011

MGoPoints: 964

1464

October 1st, 2015 at 10:58 AM ^

Which is the bigger fallacy?  The B1G having the best teams in the nation, or the SEC being inherently better at football?

At this point, I would say the former.  The SEC is a good/not great conference, but they could argue at still being the best.  It's close.  My subjectively objective opinion is that there is no way in hell OSU and MSU are 1-2.

Joined: 06/21/2010

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Shemmy126

October 1st, 2015 at 11:11 AM ^

Attempting to be reasonably objective...  OSU won the national title last year, curb stomping the best SEC team in the process on a "somewhat" neutral field.   They essentially returned the same team.   MSU has been solid though certainly not overly impressive with their start this year.   If not the Big 10, who?   The SEC rarely if ever leaves their area even on "neutral site" games.   This is going to change shortly, we shall see.

Just my two cents.

Joined: 02/10/2009

MGoPoints: 275

Danwillhor

October 1st, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^

it's a long travesty that Southern & West Coast schools essentially never play in the cold. At some point, whether a cold-weather team plays in it or not, the NC has to be played outside in the North. Until then there will always be a hint of bias and unfairness.

Joined: 12/02/2008

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gwkrlghl

October 1st, 2015 at 12:43 PM ^

The Big Ten East is being setup to be one of the premier divisions in College Football (if it isn't already). #1 and #2 teams plus Harbaugh and frankly a PSU team with Franklin that should probably wake up someday.

Win another national title out of the division and you're starting to get the same recognition as the SEC West

Joined: 04/13/2012

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BLHoke

October 1st, 2015 at 11:15 AM ^

I'd argue that the SEC is top heavy and the rest of the conference rides the coat tails of the reputation of the top handful of teams every year. Certainly Ole Miss, Bama, LSU and UGA look deserving of their lofty status... But TAMU jumped way up in the polls beating an overrated ASU squad. Miss St jumped back into the top 25 ahead of us by squeaking by a terrible Auburn squad. Then there was the litany of other schools ranked at one point strictly off of conference cache (Mizzou, Arkansas, Tenn). Big Ten does have the defending NC. MSU did beat the Big 12's best team in a bowl last year. UofM based on their résumé looks like one of the more impressive teams in the country thus far. NW as well save for last week (Stanford, Duke). Wisconsin will flirt with the top 25 all season and their 1 loss certainly isn't a bad one... And they also have a couple of 4-0 farces like UF and Tamu in Iowa and Indiana, they just don't have the benefit of the SEC slurp rankings. So yeah, I'd argue that right now, the Big Ten is the best conference.

Joined: 08/17/2011

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StephenRKass

October 1st, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^

This is great news. I'm very, very impressed by Greg Harden. He cares for the kids, and is a critical part of the staff. Read the article by Sam Webb. My suspicion is that Greg and his wife Shelia mean more to mom, and even to Gary, then a lot of the other stuff.

It isn't just about the football. It isn't about the swag. To be honest, it isn't just about the academics. It is about having an emotional and counseling and spiritual support system in place. That is where Greg Harden comes in.

Obviously, many other schools are going to have something similar. But this gives me hope for Rashan Gary coming to Michigan. To use a different kind of example, Treadwell was looking for something else, and wasn't a fit. Gary, on the other hand, is looking for a combination of athletics, academics, and support system beyond those two aspects.

Upon reflection, I wonder if some of the guys who didn't come to Michigan (thinking of Hand) bailed out because of the football not being quite there. I think Hand might well have come to Michigan with the current staff in place.

There is something about Michigan's culture that is very healthy, and that bodes well for the future. Obviously, you have to have the right athletic ability, and the drive, and the academic bona fides. But I think that there is a strong character element at Michigan which is a good thing.

Joined: 07/15/2008

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M-Dog

October 1st, 2015 at 11:03 AM ^

This article gives away all the secrets and what the hot buttons are for Gary's mom.  Now the SEC schools have a scouting report on what to do and not do.

Too bad his OV at Michigan was not last.  Then we could just let the SEC schools be the SEC schools and trip over their own dicks.

". . . and here's the "academic advisor" that will be doing all your coursework for you.  OK enough about boring academics.  Let me show you the room where the Hostess topless pillow fights occur."

 

Joined: 07/06/2008

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Danwillhor

October 1st, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^

these schools find out. When they assume they pull an osu and alienate the family but they assume for a reason - most like it. In this case, those Southern schools will already know what Gary's mom got for her 11th bday. WHEN THEY HAVE TO (big key), they hire people that hire people that find out. We didn't give anything away.

Joined: 12/02/2008

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The Mad Hatter

October 1st, 2015 at 11:15 AM ^

are really serious about the academic side of things, then there is no way he picks Auburn.

Hopefully they really do care about life after football and the value that a Michigan degree will provide.

Joined: 02/17/2015

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RoxyMtnHiM

October 1st, 2015 at 12:03 PM ^

I've argued this before and I'll argue it again: any degree is better than no degree, and an egineering degree from Auburn is a lot more obtainable for a lot of students than a Michigan engineering degree, especially for student-athletes. I'm not saying Rashan Gary is not capable of playing football and getting into the M SoE and succeeding there. I AM saying that the non-elite, lower tier schools produce plenty of perfectly fine engineers, architects, physcists, etc.

I wish my degree was from Michigan, rather than Alabama, but I haven't exactly lived in a box under a bridge because of it.

Joined: 04/21/2009

MGoPoints: 1892

JamieH

October 1st, 2015 at 1:25 PM ^

and that is no insult to the intelligence of the football players.  It is a time thing.  I spent untold hours sitting in TA office hours while getting my EE degree.  Now did I HAVE to do that?  No, but that is how I did well. 

 

UM Engineering is pretty tough stuff, at least EE was.  The time committment is harsh.  Add that on to football and you're asking for a pretty rough go of it.  It CAN be done, and some have pulled it off.  But it is a serious haul to do it.  

Joined: 09/05/2009

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pescadero

October 1st, 2015 at 1:54 PM ^

Eh... depends on how smart you are.

 

I took engineering classes with Kevin Sullivan - he ran track/cross-country and was like a 14 time All-American, plus a 4.0 civil engineering student.

 

Mark Huyge was a Naval Engineering guy.

 

Engineering isn't easy - but I sure spent a LOT of time doing things other than school work.

Joined: 03/28/2013

MGoPoints: 12165

JamieH

October 1st, 2015 at 9:08 PM ^

But is the time committment to track/cross country the same as it is for football?  Those football guys practically LIVE football.  I mean they get up in the morning and lift, then they have afternoon practice.  They are eating meals together.  They have evening film study.  Football is their lifestyle.

I don't know how much time you put in with track.  I'm sure it is considerable.  But is it equivalent to football?

Joined: 09/05/2009

MGoPoints: 28331

pescadero

October 2nd, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^

Football players average about 43 hours per week in season.

Basketball players average about 39 hours per week in season.

Track/Cross Country is about 32 hours per week in season.

 

Football is basically a 4 month season.

 

Cross Country is 3 months (Sep - Nov), Indoor Track is 3 months (Jan - Mar), Outdoor track is 3 months (Apr-Jun).

 

So during their season, football players are a bit more busy - but guys who run both cross and track have a season that basically runs the entirety of the school year.

 

Of course - other than 1 or 2 classes, I didn't think the time commitment was that insane for a BS in engineering (B.S.E. Computer Engineering 1998).

 

 

Joined: 03/28/2013

MGoPoints: 12165

The Mad Hatter

October 1st, 2015 at 2:07 PM ^

You can take it anywhere in the world and get a job with it.  Try taking a degree from Auburn to Thailand and they'll ask you WTF an Auburn is.

And I disagree that any degree is better than no degree.  It all depends on what you're planning on doing with your life.  A close friend works for Netflix.  No degree, just several professional certifications.  He makes north of 200k, not counting stock options or benefits.

Joined: 02/17/2015

MGoPoints: 112109

Dawkins

October 1st, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^

 

Anyone else take note of the irony in this paragraph? 

 

“I met Tyran Steward. He’s a history professor,” Coney said. “He was just telling me about his classes. “I can talk to this guy for hours. The day we left, Sunday morning, we went and had breakfast together and we just talked about everything. Not so much about Rashan, but just about life. Going through questions that I had, picking his brain… I was really impressed by him. I said if Rashan goes to Michigan, Rashan will be definitely taking one of his writing courses.”

 

For those who don't know, Professor Steward is an OSU alum, so its ironic that he's helping us recruit a top player that both Michigan and OSU are after. 

Joined: 05/24/2015

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Michigasling

October 1st, 2015 at 3:39 PM ^

Along with lots of writing, among other things:

-- Lecture at OSU: "Writing History"

-- Current book (also his Ph.D. dissertation):  "The Benching of Willis Ward" (the Michigan football player and teammate of Gerald Ford who wasn't allowed to play against a Southern team, but later became a judge), and he worked on the educational film "Black and Blue" which brought this story to the attention of most of us who now know about it

Also got his Master's at Eastern Michigan, Bachelor's at Morehouse College.

Joined: 11/21/2009

MGoPoints: 7751

FanNamedOzzy

October 1st, 2015 at 12:19 PM ^

Sounds like Michigan did a great job at covering a lot of different important aspects of college life a student-athlete will be facing. As far as academics, support, culture, and guidance, I really doubt other schools can offer just as much as Michigan can in that sense. I mean, we have a former teammate and one of his coaches there already, so that doesn't hurt either.

The biggest difference between this and Hand I think will come down to on the field performance. If I'm Hand, I would be weary of going to a school performing like we did last year, too. If this defense, especially the d-line, continues to perform...we will get him. BOOK IT.

Joined: 08/22/2014

MGoPoints: 4189

StephenRKass

October 1st, 2015 at 1:19 PM ^

Sadly, we all think about Hand. I don't know for sure, and it is water over the dam at this point. But I think for Hand, he liked the coaches, and he liked the academics, and he liked the support system. But the football team wasn't very good. I wouldn't be surprised if Hand would have chosen Michigan, if Harbaugh had been coach. It wouldn't have just been Harbaugh: it would have also been the academics and the support system. But having a good football team is important, after all.

Cut to the chase:  I think our chances are great with Gary, much better than with Hand.

Joined: 07/15/2008

MGoPoints: 23103

M-Dog

October 1st, 2015 at 3:47 PM ^

More than anything, recruits hate even the hint of coaching instability.  Once Hoke and crew started looking unstable, it was over.

The Harbaugh regime looks pretty stable.  Gary should be a litttle wary of all the noise at Auburn however ...

Joined: 07/06/2008

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