11w sure ain't worried about Michigan
Just including results from a poll over at 11w about the biggest threads to OSU's championship drive:
As you can see, Michigan barely registers; it's just COVID and PSU. Maybe that's just where we are these days, but it sure would be nice to raise the threat level with an upset this year.
That said, I just heard a rumor: One UM player cut this graphic out and pasted it onto his locker, so he could see it each day as added motivation. He rises earlier than the others, trains harder than the others, and has been getting better faster than people thought possible. His name, you might have heard: Joe Milton. And he has one thing on his mind: Beating those damn Bucks.
September 20th, 2020 at 12:47 PM ^
Respectfully, 11 Warriors can go fuck off.
September 20th, 2020 at 12:48 PM ^
They can also disrespectfully go fuck off
September 20th, 2020 at 1:01 PM ^
“Kindly, eat shit.
love, Meds”
September 20th, 2020 at 1:51 PM ^
osu filth aren’t to be respected.
September 20th, 2020 at 2:33 PM ^
Ya goddamn right
September 20th, 2020 at 12:48 PM ^
RodneyDangerfieldNoRespect.jpg
September 20th, 2020 at 12:49 PM ^
Who cares?
September 20th, 2020 at 1:48 PM ^
Of course OSU has that point of view. Why wouldn't they?
I love Michigan, but you have to be delusional to actually think Michigan is a threat to OSU's potential B10 championship run this year. We haven't beaten them in a decade and a half and have just had two of the the most historical ass whippings in the history of Michigan Football. Add to that that we will be starting a brand new QB that went 3-7 with a td and an INT last year.
It looks like it will be a typical year this year. Gonna be above .500. A decent win here and there. Lose to OSU. That's been a reality for a long time.
September 20th, 2020 at 2:11 PM ^
Agreed. If the team is using this for motivation more power to them! As for OSU fans what do they have to be afraid of? They’re beaten us forever and the last time we actually were favored (2018) they embarrassed us.
But hey if Joe Milton and some other players use this and ball out this year that would be outstanding! I’m just happy we get some big 10 football this year!
September 20th, 2020 at 2:25 PM ^
“You play to win the game.” Though you are right, the interesting part is having Milton take his own future into his hands and use this as motivation.Thats exactly what should be done with such a piece of information. There needs to be agents of change.
September 20th, 2020 at 2:59 PM ^
The only "agents of change" that are gonna shift the tides are better recruiting and coaching. I love our players. I believe they play as hard as they can. But you can play your heart out and want things to be different, but significantly better players are going to win 100% of the time when they are coached just as well as inferior players.
September 20th, 2020 at 3:47 PM ^
Lakeale, Bama wouldn't have lost to a Freeze lead Ole Miss twice if significantly better rosters with equal or better coaching win 100%. OSU wouldn't have lost to anyone in the big ten since Urban got there. Hell, Michigan wouldn't have lost to App state all those years ago, if your claim was true.
Players want to, determination and plain old fashioned luck have a lot more to do with the game of football than people think.
September 20th, 2020 at 4:21 PM ^
Ok, then add better coaching, preparation and scheme to better players. Also, Ole Miss’ roster was much closer to Bama than Michigan’s has been to OSU.
September 20th, 2020 at 5:11 PM ^
What about Auburn's roster to Alabama's or Texas's to OU's?
September 20th, 2020 at 11:24 PM ^
To be fair, much Of the D was high during the Appy State game & the O hadn’t seen each other all summer. You have to respect your opponent which is why OSU occasionally drops 1 to Purdue or Sparty;they’re prepping for UM instead of the weeks opposition.
September 20th, 2020 at 2:58 PM ^
The last two Michigan-OH State meetings alone has given them little concern, let alone since Tressel took over. It's kinda like Michigan always finding a way to beat Indiana every year, even if some games go down to the wire.
September 20th, 2020 at 7:27 PM ^
Sadly, I've been thinking this for awhile now. We are to OSU what Indiana is to us, only they gain more joy from their inevitable victories. It was insulting to hear OSU fans talk crap to me. It's so much worse to be pitied by them...
September 20th, 2020 at 8:31 PM ^
"It was insulting to hear OSU fans talk crap to me. It's so much worse to be pitied by them"
Fuck 'em.
September 20th, 2020 at 4:45 PM ^
The 2022 freshman class would not have even been alive when we beat OSU in 2003. I was 9 and am now 26.
I just went to some 8 year old twins birthday party, they weren't alive when we beat them in 2011 and they're Michigan fans :(
September 20th, 2020 at 8:34 PM ^
The twins are obviously very intelligent. They'll be fine.
September 20th, 2020 at 12:51 PM ^
I think it’s a mental thing at this point. Once we finally get the first victory under Harbaugh we can start winning more often.
September 20th, 2020 at 1:50 PM ^
If only it was "just a mental thing". We have been significantly out recruited and out coached for the last 15 years. Freaking hurts to say that, but it "isn't in our head". They are just better than us at virtually every single position.
September 20th, 2020 at 2:00 PM ^
Much as I dislike saying it, ^^^this^^^.
In another thread someone suggested that the Hoke OSU games were close because the Michigan players of that era "wanted it more" (or something to that effect). It was implied that the current Michigan players "don't want it enough." Right.
September 20th, 2020 at 2:28 PM ^
I watch the game most every year since 2003 with a buddy who is an OSU fan. It has sucked ass. I don't even like talking to him anymore. OSU has been better than us on an overall team perspective since Moeller/Lloyd took over. It's just that Moeller and Lloyd beat them more often than not, or at least often enough have it be the biggest rivalry ever. The Eddie George/Tim Biakabatuka game is the epitome of the rivalry for me. OSU comes into the game undefeated with National title hopes and an eventual Heisman trophy winner and Michigan comes in with a couple of disappointing loses. Our non-Heisman back dominates and we slap that National Title talk out of their mouth. OSU goes on to lose their next game because of the PTSD we gave them.
I don't think you can discount the mental part. I think Hoke's teams had some of that. Devin Gardener had that. 2016 Michigan had that but got screwed by homer refs. I think that game hurt us mentally. We can't beat them even when we beat them. I have no idea how good Joe Milton will be, but I hope Devin Gardner has given him some of that back(or that Milton has it in his bones.)
September 20th, 2020 at 3:49 PM ^
I've posted this before, but it's worth reminding everyone of Lloyd's record vs. OSU.
- First 6 years as head coach: 5 - 1
- Last 7 years as head coach: 1 - 6
Let's be really clear. Lloyd got his full taste of the OSU experience. He may be 6 - 7 overall but it's not like they were winning back and forth over his 13 years.
In the last seven years of LLoyd's tenure the average margin of victory for OSU was 7.5 points. Far better than what has happened under Harbaugh, but still over a TD a game.
The last 7 years of Lloyd's tenure were basically as bad as Rich Rod, Hoke, and Harbaugh have done against them.
September 21st, 2020 at 5:31 PM ^
You do realize that there were just as many officials in that game from michigan as there were from Ohio... right?
And the one who spotted the ball was one from michigan.
But keep crying. Y'all sound like miami fans. Just 13 more years and you'll be where they are.
September 20th, 2020 at 3:31 PM ^
The margin of victories aren’t explained by recruiting alone.
look at the box scores. We might as well be Indiana.
September 20th, 2020 at 2:22 PM ^
Ohio State also recruits much better than every other big ten team but teams like penn state and Purdue at least have some success.
September 20th, 2020 at 3:15 PM ^
It’s called lack of respect. If you don’t respect your opponent and properly prepare, you can get beat. That’s how Purdue beat them. Penn state beat them on some total bullshit. Its kinda like Sparty beating us twice under Harbaugh.
we know all too well what happens when you don’t respect an opponent.
That will NEVER happen to us with OSU. They will always be prepared for us.
September 20th, 2020 at 6:10 PM ^
It absolutely is a mental thing. Did you not see the post the other day? We're fifth in college football in terms of players on NFL rosters. Alabama is #1 and Auburn manages to beat them once and a while. Michigan-OSU is now pretty much the most lopsided major rivalry in college football along with Alabama-Tennessee.
There's a reason as soon as Tressel replaced Cooper they started to beat us regularly despite similar levels of talent.
September 20th, 2020 at 3:01 PM ^
I don't believe Harbaugh will ever beat OSU. Also think he will continue to lose most of his bowl games and road games to any team with a pulse. He does not have an overarching program like Meyer, Saban and other top rated coaches have. He outsources the defensive and offensive aspects of the team to whoever is the DC/OC instead of hiring coaches that fit his system. This is his fatal flaw and I think this approach is different than his west coast scheme he ran for years.
September 20th, 2020 at 4:02 PM ^
Harbaugh may not beat them, but I’m not sure it has anything to do with outsourcing or fitting your system. Saban used to be all about ground and pound, but he gave in and changed after learning the hard way how college offenses exploit the linemen-downfield rules. If anything, Harbaugh deserves credit for being flexible. People put way too much stock into narratives about which coach is smartest.
Saban and Swinney and Meyer/Day get better players. That’s the primary problem. The secondary one is that a great QB could mitigate that talent difference (as Oklahoma has shown), and Harbaugh hasn’t landed/developed one. But the overall talent level is the main issue. It should also be noted that this era of massive talent concentration at a handful of programs has coincided with the end of NCAA oversight.
September 20th, 2020 at 4:29 PM ^
And that Harbaugh hasn’t recruited and developed a single QB is 100% on the head coach.
September 20th, 2020 at 7:15 PM ^
That’s crazy to say, due to the fact that OSU has had outstanding QB play. One OSU QB will come back to earth one of these years. I’m not to worried about Michigan’s recruiting either. I feel like with the players they are getting right now will get them over the hump against Ohio st.
September 20th, 2020 at 12:54 PM ^
We haven’t won in Columbus in 20 years. Ask yourself this, would we be worried about OSU if the script was flipped?
Honestly, COVID is by far the biggest threat to their CFP hopes. They are miles better than anyone in the B1G, and then the conference gave them a joke schedule to boot.
There is a solid chance we see OSU’s 3rd NC since 2002 this year. I’m preparing myself for it now.
Of course anything is possible, and I’m glad the Michigan players are motivated. But unfortunately talent usually wins out, and they also have a great scheme down there as well.
September 20th, 2020 at 1:16 PM ^
Yes, I wish I could day otherwise, but these poll results seem entirely rational.
September 20th, 2020 at 2:45 PM ^
Unfortunately, I am pretty certain that this is correct.
September 20th, 2020 at 3:06 PM ^
Pretty much this...
One loss since 2003?! I mean, i don't know why anyone in Columbus would be worried about Michigan...esp with a new QB and four new starters on the OLine.
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what fans think, its the play on the field that matters - and Michigan has been badly outclassed the last 2 years
September 20th, 2020 at 12:55 PM ^
I mean a 100 plus points in 2 yrs says everything
September 20th, 2020 at 12:56 PM ^
Why should they? We've beaten them once since 2003 and it was in their interim Fickell 2011 year.
September 20th, 2020 at 1:07 PM ^
I was pretty much thinking the same thing
September 20th, 2020 at 2:52 PM ^
Michigan lost it's cultural identity when Bo died.
Martin didn't help things with hiring Rodriguez (good coach, bad cultural fit) who set us back a few years.
You can't question the abilities of Harbaugh. He is a great coach. But he's so quirky and abrasive I don't know if he has the chops to instill a healthy culture of continued excellence. At the very least he lost his edge of being the madman we all wanted to see on the sideline.
It's nothing unusual, when Woody died (1987), O$U was a similar mess with Cooper. Until they sold their soul with Tressel and Daddy Steinbrenner bought off Drew Henson.
September 20th, 2020 at 7:46 PM ^
You are discounting the fact that we had lost 4 of 5 to Tressel already before Bo died.
September 20th, 2020 at 9:19 PM ^
The inability to move past this fervent Bo worship in the athletic department is partly what’s holding this program back. The majority I think is that while traditional bluebloods have gone full football factory, Michigan is trying to straddle this fine line of big time college football and still being an elite academic institution. That’s a lot harder to do these days. The elite of the elite recruits want to win and basically practice for their future, which is hoping to make an NFL roster. I saw on 60 Minutes tonight they LSU had 14 players selected in last year’s NFL draft. That’s insane.
The Bo worship doesn’t help and is how you end up with a lot of backstabbing ala the Rich Rod years and how you end up with Hoke.
There’s also a heightened sense of self importance and self-aggrandizement in this program that frankly most people don’t care about. Most people don’t care about what happened before WWI when there were a handful of competitive teams in the world, and latching onto it like it means anything today is just kinda weird and sad and shows the lack of success we’ve had in the modern era.
September 21st, 2020 at 9:57 AM ^
couldn't have said it better...spot on
September 22nd, 2020 at 10:07 AM ^
I don't understand where academic standing has anything to do with football or this supposition that in order to be good at football, you need to have an inverse relationship to scholastics. If you look at schools like OSU, Clemson, and Alabama, their success on the football field has dramatically increased their application pool, has allowed them to be more selective, and has continually increased their academic standing. This trope that "we care about academics, ergo we can't be good at football" is tired. General studies majors are not contributing nor hurting the school rankings.
September 20th, 2020 at 12:56 PM ^
I mean....are they wrong?
September 20th, 2020 at 12:56 PM ^
well it is a rebuilding year for us. so you can see why. so don't have the talent right now