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Not sure I see the stats…

Not sure I see the stats that way.  They had a terrible rushing performance against Utah and a better but poor performance against Cal.  But they were close or above 200 yards against the Pac10 opponents (except Arizona which was 110+ yards).  That includes a really good rushing performance in a losing effort against an Oregon State team that actually played defense (some of whom we will see versus MSU next year).

If you remove our weakest opponents from the analysis, I suspect their rushing numbers and ours look pretty similar.  I bet they averaged more against weaker defenses.  Our running game was certainly better, but I think the comparison at least reveals UCLA did not suck at running the football.

All in all, UCLA only gave up 18.5 ppg and averaged 198 ypg.  If they had a QB, they could have been a lot better.

This hire is probably a bigger concern than their portal success.  But we shall see.  I still think we have every chance to beat them next year if our culture of hard work and execution carries over into our new regime.

And prior to this year,…

And prior to this year, former Wolverine Zach Charbonnet did not stink.  Kelly is not the cutting edge guy he used to be but he is not lousy at offense.

People need to get past the…

People need to get past the Warde hate.  He is not.gopd at his job, but nobody is firing the AD of the reigning National Champs in football. 

Just because you want it and just because you ain't wrong, don't mean it's gonna happen.

Schools do not hand out NIL…

Schools do not hand out NIL dollars.  I believe there is an NCAA rule prohibiting that.  And there are different state laws in different places.

The collectives hook up the NIL dollars.  They are separate entities who develop NIL opportunities, sometimes for individuals ($500k deal with car dealership for QB) and sometimes group deals (all baseball players get Oakleys and $1000). 

There are collectives that have the endorsement of the university (usually univs. license their marks to the collectives) and schools certainly refer athletes to the collectives to help them generate or find NIL opps.  So, the relationship between the collective and the university is real but the collective is supposed to be like a talent agent. 

But the universities are doing very little of that work themselves.  It is more like "Come to University of XXX and we will connect you with our Bagman Collective to hook you up with cash from our no-work endorsement opportunities."

Totally agree.  We are so…

Totally agree.  We are so used to not being on top that we lose our minds when we get there.  Winning programs get decimated after they win it all and they need to reload.  It is a by-product of our success and that Harbaugh is recruiting them does not change that fact of life.  I hope we manage our way through it well enough to do it all again.  

Let's enjoy our time as the reigning champs and let Moore get to business reloading the coaching talent.

We better get used to it.  With two Harbaughs and Mike McDonald out there, I would not be surprised if we get poached a little every year.

These are first-world problems and I would have gladly traded the entire staff for entire staff four years ago.

Sorry everyone, but this is…

Sorry everyone, but this is how life works.  He knows their work better than other potential candidates because he worked alongside them.  Thus, he is going to offer jobs to anyone who he believes can deliver whether they are from UM or not.  Period.  If we expected different because of Harbaugh's loyalty to UM, then that is on us--not him.

Yes, it could impact player retention during the next transfer portal period.  But how likely were those players to stay anyhow?

It is Moore's job to be just as good at talent identification when hiring.  We just got to work our way through it.  Sky is not falling.

This may be the dumbest take…

This may be the dumbest take I have ever seen in this blog. 

Remember the Barwis cult?

If you think cutting scholarships and those Olympic sports is a good idea just to retain an S&C who is demanding a 10 year agreement that is triple his own highest paid ever salary, then you have jumped the shark into SEC fandom.  

If you have to cut sports to retain a darn strength coach, you are prioritizing the wrong things.

Coaching transitions are gonna mean good people leave.  The key is to replace them with new  talent.  The checkbook alone can't stop transition. The Warde whining is out of control. 

We won the Natty and everyone managed to start whining more, not less.

 

I agree.  People are losing…

I agree.  People are losing their minds.  If you pay attention to the transitions other schools are facing, look at how many coaches AND players were lost by Oregon State, Arizona and Washington.  They took as many coaches to their new programs and took a lot the best players.   Jim can't take players to the NFL.

I am still grateful for the Natty and think there are still good things here for SM to build upon.

More likely a show cause if…

More likely a show cause if we ever rehire him in future and non suspension sanctions (schollies, etc.).

Agrees.

 

NIL 4 Retention …

Agreed.

 

NIL 4 Retention > NIL 4  Inducement

https://www.fanatics.com…

https://www.fanatics.com/college/michigan-wolverines/michigan-wolverines-antigua-college-football-playoff-2024-rose-bowl-generation-quarter-zip-pullover-top-charcoal/silver/o-27+t-56972708+p-35225611270922+z-9-1613343974

 

Thus looks pretty close.  There are others on Fanatics too.

https://www.fanatics.com… https://www.fanatics.com/college/michigan-wolverines/michigan-wolverines-antigua-college-football-playoff-2024-rose-bowl-generation-quarter-zip-pullover-top-charcoal/silver/o-27+t-56972708+p-35225611270922+z-9-1613343974
As an attorney, I can assure…

As an attorney, I can assure you the delay is not because anyone is going slow or trying to pad the billable hours.  It will get done when both sides are ready to pin down the final terms.  And Harbaugh is clearly not ready until he is done with the open NFL jobs.  Period.

Also, no one is drafting the contract entirely anew.  They will use the old contract and make just the few adjustments the new terms being kicked around require.  None if the delay is about the time it takes to update the contract.  It is entirely about what the parties want and when the ready to move to final.

The contract will be…

The contract will be finalized as soon as the parties are ready to get it done.  That is how thus works. 

It is the annual NFL dance delaying things.  Let it play out.  If he wants to come back, that is when they will button it up.

Silas Bolden is a very…

Silas Bolden is a very exciting play maker. Would be a great pickup.

I agree.

Obviously the song…

I agree.

Obviously the song is about anxiety over a girlfriend who might be cheating.  But the crowd screaming "Destiny is calling me" resonates in a stadium in the middle of a competition.  I also think that, until this week, being a UM fan has been a little Charlie-Brown and Lucy with the football.  Even when we are good, we are expecting to have things good wrong in the end.  It captures our traditional sense of anxiety over being really good but never coming out on top of the entire heap (see NCAA tourney finals versus Louisville and Nova).

The song was kinda perfect for this year.  It conveys the angst we carried and then allows for a release of shouting about the call of DESTINY and weirdly placed optimism!

It's not perfect, but it works...especially at the Big House.  And I am an alum who predates this new tradition.

Thank you, Jim.  Also, where…

Thank you, Jim.  Also, where can we buy a knockoff set of your Cartiers?

Also, those games will end…

Also, those games will end up with a bunch of opt-outs on each side.  So, kinda hard to base a principled claim to a share of the title when the teams are not behaving in a fully competitive way.

Sure, the call is different…

Sure, the call is different.  There was no injustice in the call.

But it is in the same category of suck it up, stop batching. The game is over.

What goes around, comes…

What goes around, comes around.  We hated the JT Barrett 4th down call.  Cuts both ways.  So be it, we will enjoy this as much as they enjoyed that.

A better person and coach…

A better person and coach than the program deserves.  Lots of tough sledding ahead for him to succeed in the new B1G and the MSU Regents probably won't give him time to improve the culture before improving the win-loss record.  QBs love playing for the guy.  A better hire for MSU than I had hoped. 

 

mmm...I thought you meant…

mmm...I thought you meant Oregon State University.

"Technically they can…

"Technically they can declare all remaining 10 teams ineligible for Pac12 championship."

Maybe they should keep the championship as it is, but replace the trophy with a canned ham.

ACC has a horrific TV deal…

ACC has a horrific TV deal through 2038 or something like that.  It is why Clemson and FSU want out.

Time to join the Pac 2.

Time to join the Pac 2.

Start new football only nationwide conference, with relegation format and more income based on top tier success.  FSU and Clemson would follow soon.

TRO to get immediate timeout…

TRO to get immediate timeout.  Then probably a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of the suspension on a continuing basis.  This gives the parties time to fully brief the issues and law.  Then, months after that, there will be a trial on complaint and relief requested.

For example, the Pac 2 got a TRO in September and the PI hearing is next week.

It explains the bonkers way…

It explains the bonkers way the B1G has tried to say it was imposing the punishment on the university (as opposed to Harbaugh).  They can't punish Harbaugh under the sportsmanship policy because he is not the person who committed the offensive action. They could only punish him for lack of Institutional control under Rule 32--and due process would be required in that process. 

So, Pettiti is claiming to punish the university (not Harbaugh) as a transparent attempt to contort himself into appearing to stay within a rule that is more ambiguous about process.  That there is an obvious way for the B1G to handle this under Rule 32 only makes his effort to deny due process more obvious.

Join the Pac 2!

Join the Pac 2!

JUB...of course rules were…

JUB...of course rules were broken.  If it is against the rules for Stallions to have friends who attend a game in person scout signs based on that in-person attendance....then it is also against the rules for Walters' friends (Schiano and Day) do the same based on their attendance at UM-RU and UM-OSU games.  If anything, it is even worse because it is collusion, which is pretty low sportsmanship.

Hypothetically, say Sparty…

Hypothetically, say Sparty plays UM in October 2022 and films the game.  After the game, they decipher some or all of UM's signals and send them to Purdue.

If UM is found to violate the NCAA rule against in person scouting by getting signals off video taken by third parties who attended an opponent's game in person, then any school that got signals from another conference member who deciphered signals based on their own game versus UM violated the same rule.

:pearlsgettingclutched:

Now, if the rule is only violated if an employee goes to the game, then nobody broke the rules...except if CS went to the CMU game.

Catch phrase from comedian…

Catch phrase from comedian Bill Engvall line:  "Here's your sign."

Mgo rebuild the Pac 12!

Mgo rebuild the Pac 12!

Join the PAC2!!  Rebuild…

Join the PAC2!!  Rebuild from scratch!

Failure to cooperate is a…

Failure to cooperate is a Level 1 NCAA violation.  Those advocating to simply tell the NCAA to stuff it are taking the bait and cutting off your nose to spite your face.

There are many ways to protect your interests without telling them to pound sand or incurring a violation for failure to cooperate.

*Lawyer (who has defended internal, corporate and government investigations of most every type).

Fair enough.  But since a…

Fair enough.  But since a part of this thread has been dedicated to the discussion that "football is different", I don't think it will be hard to prove that student athletes in other sports (of other genders and/or race) were given accommodation and support when experiencing a mental health crisis...while Kiffin demonstrated the lack of judgment in the recording that Kiffin seems to show every so often...presumably cuz this is footbaw!!

Kid had a concussion, check…

Kid had a concussion, check. 

Athletes of other race and gender with depression treated differently, check.

Recording of coach calling ADA claimant the P word, check.

Recording stating "you are off the f-ing team" , check

(scholarship or no, there is a process for medical issues and that aint it).

Now imagine the kid leaves his office and commits suicide.  Just because the harm is less does not mean the kid won't win something on the same basic facts.

You cannot handle mental health crisis for students or employees that way. 

Setting aside that this is a student and not an employee, Kiffin should listen to his own advice.  It is Kiffin who has to realize thst he is at work at a job in the real world.  Not some fictionalized vision of manly ball.  No employer could get away with speaking to an employee in crisis that way or to one requesting disability accommodation. 

That goes double for a university employee with immense resources to direct to the welfare of student.

Kiffin really made it about himself.  "You have to come meet with ME!  I won't be ignored!".  Who gives a damn?  If he is that concerned, send safety officers to do a welfare check and wait until he is ready.  I would focus the case about Kiffin's ego versus a kid in crisis.  HR and student health professionals do those safety checks all the time without hauling people in crisis in for an ass chewing.

All the predicate elements are there for the kid to win.  It may not be a lotto pay day but it will be something.  

There may also be an DoE OCR complaint headed their way.

 

Read that they have two…

Read that they have two years to rebuild the conference to retain P5 status with 8 teams.  Assuming they do, they also get to retain the automatic playoff bid (supposedly hard to revoke before the current CFP agreements expire).  ESPN article said they also had $50 million in basketball revenue coming if the conference exists.  Some value there, if they can rebuild it.

Chip Kelly is the new "tell…

Chip Kelly is the new "tell it like it is" guy.  After UCLA announced its move to the Big 10 last year, he was the one who said it made no sense to have rowing or other nonrevenue sports that play during the week travel cross country.  He was saying that there should just be football only conferences (they just play on weekends) and just let the other sports continue to be students with sane travel schedules.

Obviously this is just a…

Obviously this is just a little good natured ribbing, but it offers an opportunity to share how good Oregon State athletics actually is without piles of cash.  Since 2018, Oregon State is one of just two programs nationally- the other being Texas - to have its football team win at least 10 games in a season, have both its men's and women's basketball teams go to the Elite 8, and see its baseball and softball teams go to the Men's and Women's College World Series, respectively.

I am so sad for Oregon State…

I am so sad for Oregon State.  They have a football team that is on the rise with an alumni coach in Jonathan Smith.  They won 2 of the last 3 against the Ducks.  And should be solid this year.  Their baseball and non-revenue sports are solid.  But a bunch of other also rans get a home.  Just gross. 

Big 12 about to drop to 1-4…

Big 12 about to drop to 1-4 in early bowls as UW pulls away from Texas.  Bowl sit-outs notwithstanding, the Big 12 is only good at playing with themselves. 

I hope you are being…

I hope you are being sarcastic, too.  If not, I would say the Uvalde parents have a thing or two to say about this point of view.  They should intervene to stop crime happening in their presence.  That is the bare minimum. 

The clip was deliciously…

The clip was deliciously delicious.

I saw both a Lucid Air and…

I saw both a Lucid Air and Polestar (by Volvo) at the same shopping center.  The Lucid is amazing and the tech seems incredible.  It's faster than many a Ferrari and Lamborghini.  It'll even have reclining seats the back seat available in the future.  If you are rich, the cheapest model will be $70,000.  

The Polestar was really cool and seems like a better quality Tesla. 

Tesla's quality leaves a lot to be desired.  Tesla feels like you are settling on quality to go electric now.  Lucid and Polestar would not feel like settling.

Agree.  For me the issue has…

Agree.  For me the issue has been that the B1G decided when we realigned divisions that each team needed a crossover match up that would play each other something like 6 straight times.  Why do that at the cost of strengthening the competitive connection among half the conference in the other division?  I don't even know what a Boilermaker is anymore.

"Kumquats.  I don't even…

"Kumquats.  I don't even bring 'em home anymore.  I just sit there laughing and they go to waste."

-George Carlin

 

That's what pops into my brain whenever I see the back of his jersey.

Shaka Smart went to Kenyon…

Shaka Smart went to Kenyon College.  So did I.  Not really relevant to the discussion.  I just love that a Kenyon Lord is a high level D-1 coach...despite his recent tourney results.   But I digress.

I have a lot of problems…

I have a lot of problems with Mork.  But collecting a bonus that was placed into the contract as an incentive to stay until Jan 15, 2020...is not one of them.  It is not a bonus for staying next year.  It is a bonus for staying last year (and until January 15).  It is what the contract was intended to achieve.  

There is nothing unethical about collecting a bonus for staying exactly the time everyone intended for that bonus to accrue.

Harbaugh should have them…

Harbaugh should have them compete, like he always does.  Shea did well.  He even ran pretty well at times.  But, I do think a lot depends on whether there are any offensive changes coming next year.

I do think it is at least worth considering whether DM might be able to run more read option without losing a lot from our (insufficiently used) passing game.  If we stay the same or simply do more pro-style passing, then Shea is probably the choice.  If we consider a shift to using more read option, then DM.

THIS!

THIS!