Remember the "Michigan to the Playoff?" headlines after Week 3?
December 30th, 2021 at 9:21 AM ^
I approve of the first comment in that thread.
December 30th, 2021 at 9:33 AM ^
that commenter really nailed it!
December 30th, 2021 at 10:01 AM ^
That dude was clearly delusional, just happy that week by week more of us joined in the insanity.
December 30th, 2021 at 9:21 AM ^
Imagine simping for Campbell a year ago. Can't even beat that crappy Clemson team with two new coordinators. 6-6 for the Cyclones next year.
December 30th, 2021 at 9:23 AM ^
Reading the comments, wow. We were all in the BPONE isolation hospital ward then.
December 30th, 2021 at 9:34 AM ^
not all of us.
December 30th, 2021 at 10:06 AM ^
Some as patients, others as front-line hope providers.
December 30th, 2021 at 10:59 AM ^
I wasnt checked out of the BPONE ward till All got that touchdown vs Penn State
December 30th, 2021 at 12:52 PM ^
Pretty much the same for me. I told various family and friends leading up to the PSU game that I thought if we beat PSU, we'd beat OSU. It was all about having a shot at the Big Ten (East) in a home game, which hadn't happened since what, 2003?
December 30th, 2021 at 2:03 PM ^
Same for me as well. That TD showed me what the team was capable of, going into OSU I thought we would likely lose but I certainly thought we had a chance to win. That TD made a believer out of me. GO Blue!
December 30th, 2021 at 9:27 AM ^
The thing to remember is that somebody has to make the playoffs every year. It's pretty safe to make bold predictions like that about undefeated teams after three weeks. Odds are good that most or all of the teams that do make the playoffs will be undefeated then, and more importantly people will forget about all the times that you're wrong.
Although Clemson did nearly lose four games. The pick six that ended up being the winning margin last night was a wild tip drill ball that 99.9% of the time falls incomplete.
December 30th, 2021 at 9:29 AM ^
If I woke up with my head sewed to the carpet, or dropped an extra testical. I’d have been less shocked.
December 30th, 2021 at 9:39 AM ^
Cant believe there isn't a thread about this yet! Questionable is better than out! *Fingers crossed*
December 30th, 2021 at 9:47 AM ^
Is this REALLY threadworthy though?
/s
December 30th, 2021 at 9:40 AM ^
You were pumping the brakes, thankfully the team was pumping it up. You’ve got to pump it up. Don’t you know?
December 30th, 2021 at 9:44 AM ^
IIRC, we were still unranked after week 3? Bold indeed, but at a time where we were still undefeated, it never escaped me as a possibility if we kept developing and getting better week by week. One thing you can't control is how others play, so who would have anticipated Clemson having that big of a drop off? Not to mention the chaotic first three weeks that the posted article above.
Crazy times.
But now it just feels...right. Like all is right with the world again.
December 30th, 2021 at 10:03 AM ^
Now we're preparing to play Rutgers at the big house. And we're about to go into full panic mode. Doesn't bode well for our trip to Madison in two weeks.
December 30th, 2021 at 10:08 AM ^
Spot on.
I think the Wisconsin game, on the road, was when I started to realize there was something different...something great....building.
Then Nebraska scared me again.
December 30th, 2021 at 11:15 AM ^
Nebraska actually made me feel good about this team’s fortunes building on Wisconsin. Nebraska was a dangerous team fighting for its life in front of an amped up home crowd.
Michigan was on the road and had to face adversity and fight from behind. Those games build your character during a long season.
This team doesn’t panic.
December 30th, 2021 at 12:54 PM ^
Hmm... I thought we were #25 after beating Washington. I can tell you for sure that we were #14 when we ran over Wisconsin, as I've rewatched many of the games this week (Maryland now, so you know what's up next!) And I can't imagine we moved from unranked to #14 after a forgettable win against Rutgers.
December 30th, 2021 at 9:45 AM ^
Go Blue!
December 30th, 2021 at 10:03 AM ^
I was in yhen (page 1 comment), and I'm still in now. It has been one heck of a season that truly has been a joy from start to finish, and we're not done yet!
December 30th, 2021 at 10:11 AM ^
We had subs it was crazy
December 30th, 2021 at 10:24 AM ^
These things always make me sigh...and I, usually, smile too. This is akin to picking the winner and the score for this upcoming contest. Among the many guesses in every direction, there will be people who will guess this quite accurately. And among those "winners" there will be many/most who are otherwise pretty damn clueless regarding the hows and whys of effecting their predicted outcome. This is why "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while" came into being.
Considering the fine line that exists between winning and losing...just in this season for Michigan-Nebraska, MSU and PSU-heck, we could have even lost the Rutgers game. But this is why I love interscholastic athletic competition. That these young men and the staff have worked so hard and persevered so successfully through the grind of it all-they deserve a ton of admiration. Go Blue!
December 30th, 2021 at 10:45 AM ^
I've held an opinion for the entire season and I'm not sure how others would feel, so I'm preparing for the backlash...however:
Although I would have definitely preferred he NOT get injured, Ronnie Bell's injury elevated the play of several other younger offensive players, helping create an offense that has become truly multi dimensional.
I think UM's passing game, although not statistically not as strong as some, is very effective and the perfect compliment to the outstanding run game. Young players stepped up when Ronnie got hurt and I think made a passing attack that is greater than the sum of its parts, when looked through the lens of the preseason.
December 30th, 2021 at 1:24 PM ^
I believe there is validity to your "opinion. There are, however, several other factors that I would rate more highly...I believe it would have happened anyway. First, there has been a sea-change in the coaches room. From Jim Harbaugh's first day of hire there was talk of a meritocracy-and it was BS. One of the players noted this very directly in an interview the other day. In previous years the in-coming and second year players were forced to stand in a seniority line and "earn" their way on to the field-this year they are out there making plays...VERY BIG plays. And in this regard, there is nothing more damaging to a team than for the coaches to claim something that the players know is not the truth. All logical and rational thought points to the new hires catalyzing this change...regardless, this error got corrected this year. Secondly, player after player has noted that this is a player-driven team. And if there was a Heisman Trophy for this aspect of play Aidan Hutchinson would be the unanimous winner. Aidan has received great assistance here but he clearly, boldly and unabashedly led the way.
December 30th, 2021 at 11:10 AM ^
It would have seemed even more crazy after week four.
I was not ready to freak out but Rutgers was a head scratcher.