There are... and a lot of reason to be excited!
days until Michigan starts knocking down Gator QBs.
And a lot of reason to be excited...
I recently rewatched the Orange Bowl "abridged version" (where they only show the actual plays).
One think that stuck out to me was the 2nd half was a sneak preview of the 2017 team. After not looking great in the first half, the younger guys stepped up and took over the team. The players who are returning dominated the entire 2nd half (with help, of course, from Taco and friends).
Hurst, Bunting, McCray, Evans, Metellus, Gary and Speight (until that last aborted drive) all made the big plays that got us back into that game against an FSU team that was probably top 4 at the end of the season. I hadn't noticed at the time, but Hill made a huge block on the Evans TD that sprung him.
Watching that game really got me juiced thinking about this season. There are going to be some peaks and valleys due to youth, but the team will be damn exciting.
I actually find that it is hard to turn the channel even if it is a game I never cared about like Illinois vs. Purdue.
I will never call Air Force "easy," and you shouldn't either.
I don't think Cincy is going to be a pushover either.
They're coached by Luke Fickell. So yes, they will be.
Correct. Luke Fickell managed to take the Death Star in Columbus and go 6-7 in the middle of 11-2, 12-1, 12-0, and 12-2 seasons. He is not a high level FBS HC and he's taking control of a bad Cincy program which has probably less the half the talent OSU has
....but does he wear a headset???
/asking for a friend
You mean you don't watch Sports Lite with Mike Hall?!
/s
I can see why people like that program, but prefer to watch the full game broadcasts on YouTube. Usually around early-August is when I start to watch old games on YouTube. I especially enjoy watching older games from 10+ years ago.
There's value in the full broadcast because football is such a marvelous sport and the anticipation, the crowd, the bands, and the planning all contributes to the pacing of a great game. The tension of the build-up to a big play, or the slow amazing aftermath of one, captured as they happened. The Woodson punt return is great, but it's extra-powerful when seen in the context of the 1997 UM-OSU game to that point. That sort of thing.
Still, I don't always have 2-3 hours to watch a game whose result I already know. Condensed games allow a quick-study film review of all the crucial moments. It's a great feature.
Thankfully, technology makes both available.
I'm not complaining, but these are just condensed versions of the broadcasts. Even better would be to pay somebody to sit down and edit 60- or 90- minute versions drawing on all of the game film. There's probably enough clock that can be skipped over to make a 60-minute version, but 90 minutes would allow you to show the scramble prior to the snap -- the "tactical cam" (overall) view would be especially useful there.
Or, here's a thought -- just make the best of the raw game film available online to subscribers...
What about Stanley Jackson's insight or the cameos by Teddy Greenstein? That's worth the price of my cable package right there.
I wish BTN would do that with some of the older games from the 1980's.
I do generally find The Journey to be pretty interesting.
....but I also find their interviews to be quite funny and stimulating....
Personally, I am most excited for this coming season for one reason - I cannot WAIT until 25% of the folks on this board call for Peters to replace Speight each time Speight makes even the slightest error. This will be followed by about 50% of the board saying, "Trust in Harbaugh. If Peters were better, he would already be starting." The other 25% of us will shrug and eat popcorn and watch the message board carnage unfold...
Louanna K. Simon?
They need to find a way to get them both on the field.
/Pours one out for the Denard-Devin era.
Still baffles me why Hoke and Borges never fully grasped that concept.
The 2012 OSU game, if they run the same gameplan in the second half that they ran in the first half, where Denard and Devin were on the field together, Michigan wins that game. But apparently running Vincent Smith right up the gut was a much better idea.....
IIRC, whenever Denard stepped into a formation, Borges would hold up a big sign that said "DENARD ROBINSON WILL BE RUNNING THE BALL ON THIS PLAY."
Somehow, OSU sleuthed what happened next.
Denard had a pretty good first half in that game. Sure, he benefited from OSU having piss poor tackling skills, but he disappeared from the gameplan in the second half. Borges decided to go full-on I-Formation despite it being painfully obvious that we did not have the personnel to be able to run that type of offense yet.
Teams having to defend against Devin and Denard at the same time was a tough thing to do. Even South Carolina had a tough time with it in the Outback Bowl (when Denard was used properly, and not as a Wildcat where it was obvious what was going to happen next). Its a simple concept, and I'm amazed that Hoke and Borges were getting paid millions and still not figuring it out.
No doubt. But it seems like they continued to use him unsuccessfully and without imagination in the 2nd half. Denard would come in as a wildcat, and he ran the ball. He couldn't throw..fine. But I'm sure his elbow was capable of a handoff.
Then they moved Gardner to WR--getting him on the field at the same time as Robinson--and people complained about that too. Especially, of course, when it meant Bellamy was the backup QB in the Nebraska game in which Robinson was injured. Remember that?
THAT"S the thing you are most excited about? Yeeeeshh.
What can I say, I am a masochist. Not the creepy nipple-clamps-and-spankings-from-a-woman-in-leather kind, but still...
Not a gambler, but I would've bet money that you were that kind of masochist.
Yup, agreed. We are finally starting to see the effects of Harbaughs recruits adding speed, depth, and possibly more importantly... Competition within. Something that past players made quite clear.
I don't remember if this was available live, but the Skycam footage of the whole game is available on YouTube. Second half link here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfIj4cchOgs
Some of my favorite clips
- 10:30 into the video above, that Ian Bunting seem route crazy catch. The camera angle does a great job of showing what Speight can see, which is just pure chaos and Bunting "open" against the safety by maybe 6 inches. I will never critize a QB's vision again.
-105:20 in the video, the Chris Evans TD run. Obviously the play is awesome, but the camera keeps rolling after he's scored. Did not realize how much you get hit after a TD; I think I count like 25 different teammates/coaches smacking him.
The way Evans embarrassed the DB in the open field on that TD run has me excited to see what he can do as the "lead" back this year.
If he stays healthy, I'm betting he'll be the best back since Hart. He won't have Hart's numbers, though, because there will hopefully be a lot more split carries. Still, I'm tentatively predicting about 1200 yards at about 5.5 ypc for Evans this year.
gave us for 4 years. But watching that game, there was no comparison between the carries that Evans gave us vs. Smith.
Against a fast, athletic defense like FSU, Smith looked like he was running in mud while Evans was working the D.
Except that hurdle he performed over the FSU defender. I don't dispute anything you said, but still that was cool. More athleticism than I expected from him.
Too much of that is going to depend on the play from the OL. I know we all thought Kalis/Magnuson/Braden were anywhere from mediocre to decent on any given day so we should be at least the same without them, but they were still seniors leading the way.
Aside from Cole, who is going back to being an experienced but undersized LT, Evans is going to be relying on guys who don't have a lot of playing time to their name. And even fewer starts. Hell, our starting center will be either a true freshman, or a fifth year senior who has not played a down of meaningful football since he got on campus.
The unit could grow into something special, as there is definitely talent there. But I won't be surprised if the run game struggles to start the year. Especially against a good defense like Florida's.
A lot of question marks next year, but also a lot of reason for optimism:
-Gary and Hurst becoming a tag team that will be a destroyer of worlds and harvester of souls.
-Year Two of Don Brown. I don't think the defense overall will be quite as good as it was last year, but still good enough. And it will be the second year in the system for everyone, so everyone is more comfortable with what they need to do regardless.
-A lot of incoming speed at the LB position. Bush will be a star, and while I don't know how much they'll play, Jordan Anthony and Drew Singleton are the elite, sideline-to-sideline LBs we need to slow down whatever Meyer throws at us.
-Speight having another full offseason to progress. I don't expect him to be Andrew Luck next year, but I think he'll be more consistent. He's shown that he can bounce back from a bad series and lead big drives in big games. Hopefully next year he can put it all together on a consistent basis.
-The wideouts, man. They're young but man oh man are they talented. I think the passing game will start off a little shakey but will start coming along as the year progresses. Really looking forward to seeing how DPJ and Black transition this season. And then there's Martin and Collins. Speight will have no shortage of options. Just got to hope that Crawford, McDoom and Bunting are ready to lead the way to start the year.
-Evans showed last year that he can be "the guy." Give him another offseason in the weight room, and I expect his game to step up another notch or two. If the OL play at least maintains the status quo, he may be able to run for 1,000 yards.
-The OL still concerns me until proven otherwise, but adding Frey was a great hire. He fielded some solid lines at Indiana with marginal talent. There's no reason his units can't be even better here. I think the line will be a little shakey to start the year, but we'll start to see the makings of a true Harbaugh OL by November.
Excited for this year, but 2018 is gonna rule. Like 19(?) returning starters + year two of Greg Frey + year three of Don Brown. That team is going to be a a heavy favorite to win the Big Ten and make the CFP. Might be a preseason #1 or #2 depending on where we finish this year. A 9-3 or 10-2 record this year probably sees us locked into the preseason top 4
Without football.
I like this number better. Makes it seem quicker.