They actually vetted who was buying the tickets which is why it took so long for them to announce this. They had thousands of requests above their available season tickets shortly after the Deion hire and went through to make sure they were actually going to alums and real fans. It took them several months of vetting and they are announcing now as people have been notified if they got tickets.
As a Colorado Alum, I can tell you that the fan base would be thrilled with a bowl game this year. It's been interesting watching fans of other teams talk about Colorado being disappointed because they may not be a top 10 or top 25 team. Real fans/alums know how bad this team was and they have a tough schedule. A bowl game would be reason to rejoice. The betting over/under is 4.5 wins for reference.
More than anything, Colorado is actually interesting which they haven't been since about 2002.
They have the previous two #1 ranked receivers out of high school and Marvin Harrison Jr (son of that Marvin Harrison) waiting to replace Wilson and Olave… if you are going to try and replace those guys, that gives them a pretty good chance.
Could you see why constantly talking about how great your academic reputation is would rub other fans the wrong way? Or using excuses like academics, other schools cheat but we are clean, and refereeing (this fanbase focuses more on referees than any other school in the country, it is pretty weird). All of these are signifiers of a moral superiority. The Michigan stereotype is that of a Michigan Man looking down their nose upon their opponents who they do not believe is their equal as a person. That generates a different reaction than OSU looking down upon other schools football team.
This entire response is why the rest of the B1G hates UM more than Ohio State. You don't hate OSU as much about their commitment to football as you do UM for believing and constantly bringing up their intellectual superiority. UM fans believe they are better than everybody else. Outside of the B1G footprint, most fans would hate OSU more because they only interact with the football team on TV.
What you are describing is the rise of the Vic Fangio defensive schemes. Lining up in "Tite" formations on the D-Line caused some issues for the Buckeyes in the season and stifled the running game as the unorthodox gap assignments caused challenges for the linemen to get to their blocking angles on zone runs. OSU has started running more gap schemes to deal with this but still view their zone schemes as their bread and butter. Maryland tried running this a lot. Nebraska did it a good amount. They do have counters but it takes them out of what they do best
Downside of trying this is that it really limits the rush angles for Hutchinson and Ojabo as it puts them on the inside shoulder of the tackles. Other thing is that OSU has seen this enough now that it won't be a new wrinkle.
The assertion that both teams have to agree in order to have a night game in November is correct. The B1G knew what it was doing when they scheduled OSU/PSU for October 31. Rare to have a night game in Columbus for OSU/PSU. However, it is always a night game in Happy Valley.
As a grad of Colorado, I will say that Mel actually did a fantastic one year turnaround there. Colorado has been so far in the dumps and he made them respectable. He is a good recruiter going back to his days at Ohio State.
Doing the turnaround that he did at State with the transfer portal is baffling.
Urban was the one that instituted the "nobody can wear blue" policy at OSU. No blue pens for coaches. No blue anything. It was a suggestion of Kirk Barton when he was a grad assistant. Lou Holtz came to the practice facility just to visit and see Urban. He was wearing a blue jacket and Urban made him go change out of it before he could come out to the practice field.
If you are going to commit to this stuff, you have to fully commit. it can't just be gatorade. You need to ban everything red. Coaches can't be wearing red shoes the day after this is announced. That is the difference between the two schools. Fully commit or it's pandering.
The last teams to ever receive any real penalty from the NCAA were OSU for Tatgate (which honestly is a laughable offense looking back considering what goes on today), PSU which had everything retracted, and USC for the Reggie Bush stuff. None of the southern schools have received any sanctions for much more blatant rules violations. Nothing happened to Miami. Nothing happened to UNC. Nothing has happened at LSU for an entire George RR Martin length tome of violations.
The NCAA gave up. Michigan isn't going to get any bigger hammer dropped on them than any other school.
checks notes..... so they would have their first four loss season since Luke Fickell a decade ago? Mr. Putin sir, what interventions do you have in mind?
No doubt he inherited a loaded roster. However, Fields came because of Day and that happened after Urban stepped down. Day has also managed to somehow recruit better than Meyer so far. There is still a chance he is Larry Coker.
I had to log in after cleaning off my keyboard because I spit my drink all over reading this comment. I want a reality show of Jim and Tathan for a whole season. The world deserves that after 2020.
This is my exact thought. He isn’t coming back if he doesn’t believe the QB next year can deliver and improve his draft stock. Same with Ruckert. They both have seen who is going to be throwing the football to them in practice and said “yeah, I’ll do well coming back”. Fair to assume there won’t be a huge drop off after Fields.
Both schools were also surprisingly modern in their football attitudes. They got up for rivalries. They had blue chip recruiting battles that went on for years. They had massive alumni networks who handled illegal payments to facilitate those recruiting battles. These fans and bagmen would get furious at their coaches when they lost big games, and schools relied so much on these people to fund and promote their school parts that they'd often capitulate, then launch searches as desperately insane as today's.
When did UM stop having a network of bagmen and when are they coming back?
Which is the prudent thing to do when every conference member is facing massive shortfalls in funding and a team making the playoff brings in millions in additional revenue. I am sure every school would gladly sign up to receive that check.
I thought the original premise and post was actually pretty solid. Then he gets to the comment section and put an evenrude on the PJ Fleck douche canoe. It was cringe worthy. He earned his vacation in Bolivian.
Urban had the chance to coach ND and chose to go to Florida instead. I am not sure if he will coach again. The brain cyst is real. I also will not be shocked if he does come back to coaching. I think the key for him coming back would be if he could bring Pantoni (recruiting coordinator) and Marotti (strength coach) from OSU to wherever he goes. I think they feel pretty secure at their jobs right now and Urban is at best a five year gamble at a new gig with his health issues.
This is the Neutron Man. The first recognizable OSU superfan. He was actually beloved and his Neutron Dance even had it's own scoreboard animation. Sadly he died in 2004.
All OSU Superfans after Neutron Man are awful. Buck-I-Guy with his cowboy hat and red mustache is the worst. Big Nut, pictured above the Paterno bunch (no idea their official name, Joe Paterno and the Knews? I'll throw that in the ring), is super annoying (although he does some good work with charities, it really gets lost because he is such an asshat on game days).
I don't think it is just the coach. It is a university commitment from the top down that is dedicated to winning football. Until the board, the president, and the athletic department are all aligned, then things wont change.
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.
Pretty different reaction on this board regarding the harbaugh statement when compared to the OSU players coming out and saying they wanted to play. Pretty sure they both had the exact same message.
The argument against having a season seems revolve around player safety (it’s not player safety, it’s all about liability) so let’s go down this path;
We don’t have a season, players become part of the normal population and no longer are subject to regular testing and all of the other care they are receiving while playing.
Play the season and then players are under regular medical supervision and have a reason to not put themselves in risky situations.
what is actually better for their health and safety?
I don't think anybody is saying "they aren't having recruiting meetings" at all. However, I think the rumblings are more along the line of not having a highly coordinated and cohesive recruiting plan where every staff member is working from the same plan. Recruiting very much seems driven by each member of the staff versus a single recruiting coordinator.
Could you provide any examples of athletes that Urban Meyer recruited that would not have been a take for Michigan? Talking to recruiting analysts, Northwestern and Stanford are the only two schools where what you describe is an actual issue.
Noah's Mill from Willett distillery (I love all of their stuff but it is not available in every state).I haven't seen anybody suggest it yet but it is my favorite $50 bottle of bourbon. It is barrel proof, which most of the the best bourbon is, also it is non-chill filtered (takes out too much of the oils and particulates that contribute to full flavor). I love Elijah Craig Barrel Proof but that is harder to find.
I stumbled into a stash of Pappy in Niagara Falls, NY when visiting for a wedding. This was coming up on 9 years ago and I had just read this article by Wright Thompson. https://grantland.com/features/pappy-van-winkle/
Bought 8 bottles. 4 bottles of 15 yr ($85 each), 3 bottles on 20 yr ($125 each), and one bottle of 23 yr ($230). Here is my assessment without delving too deep into individual flavors. I find that I remember how a bourbon makes me feel more than the specific tasting notes.
The 15 yr was hot and had a lot of flavor. It wasn't easy to isolate the different flavors as it just seemed like there was too much going on. It was very good. Just couldn't put my finger on anything. I think it was still trying to figure out what was going to make it great. (Like dating an 18 year old)
The 20 yr had mellowed. it had narrowed its focus on a few different flavors that the palate could pick out and really enjoy. And man were those flavors good. Really took my palate on a journey. Experience has helped it blossom. It knew it's strengths and took me along for the ride. This one is my favorite. (like dating a 30 year old)
The 23 yr is an oak bomb. All of the wildness had been tamed. It doesn't mess around anymore. It was a bit of a single tasting note by this point (oak and vanilla). It has enough experience where it knows that one amazing note can still carry the day. It isn't there to challenge you. It knows what you like. (like being married for 15 years)
Having said all of this, there are plenty of great bourbons out there that can go toe to toe with Pappy. If you do find it, make sure you share it with somebody that will appreciate it. There will always be more old bourbon but you can't replicate shared a experience.
I have no insight into what may or may not be happening with recruits receiving bags. However, I think you need to take this one step further. If they are getting money to recruits to come to their school, and that is the reason for the football success, it is a good investment for the university. If you look at application rates, incoming freshman SAT and ACT scores, and donations to the university among the top football schools in the country (see OSU, Alabama, and Clemson) you will see a steady rise in the academic side of the university. OSU is a much better academic institution than it was 10 and 20 years ago. Football success is a driver for this. I know people in Columbus that have children that are now attending Alabama and Clemson. There is no way an Ohio kid looks at those schools 10-15 years ago. The entire school benefits from the marketing done by the football team. Please tell me how this is morally corrupt? Where are the victims?
I have to thank Wright Thompson for alerting me to Pappy Van Winkle. The week Grantland.com launched he wrote this story. I had just started getting into bourbon. I visited Niagra Falls, NY for a friends wedding and stopped in a liquor store in a not great area of town. In a glass cabinet sat 8 bottles of Pappy (15, 20 and 23) years old. I had never spent more than $60 on a bottle of bourbon before but based upon that article, I bought all of them. They were standard retail price. $85, $125, and $230 for each vintage. I ended up reselling half of them to friends at cost and kept the rest. In the next year, the bourbon boom really took off and the days of ever seeing Pappy on the shelf at standard retail price were gone. He foreshadowed what happened with this line "If you know what Pappy Van Winkle is, you’re already mad at me. If you don’t, I’m about to change your life." Thank you Wright Thompson.
He is in a pretty tough spot answering that question. If he says it makes him angry and then he gets ridiculed. If he gives a non-answer, then he get's questioned about his commitment to the rivalry. I can understand why he would be sick of getting asked this.
I think there is a middle area of expectations between finding under the radar 3*s and expecting a flood of 5*. It is not unreasonable to expect Harbaugh and staff to to get middle to high 4* recruits (players that you can beat Ohio State with). There is a big difference between a middle to high 4* and a 3*. Low end 4* and high end 3* are arguably close. Yes, there are occasions where 3* turn into high draft picks but the odds are much much lower.
I’m not sure Kareem Walker is an example you want to use here. That would imply that Edwards has a bad senior year, Ohio state loses interest, let’s Michigan have him only to flame out of college completely.
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It was on his own property
They actually vetted who was buying the tickets which is why it took so long for them to announce this. They had thousands of requests above their available season tickets shortly after the Deion hire and went through to make sure they were actually going to alums and real fans. It took them several months of vetting and they are announcing now as people have been notified if they got tickets.
As a Colorado Alum, I can tell you that the fan base would be thrilled with a bowl game this year. It's been interesting watching fans of other teams talk about Colorado being disappointed because they may not be a top 10 or top 25 team. Real fans/alums know how bad this team was and they have a tough schedule. A bowl game would be reason to rejoice. The betting over/under is 4.5 wins for reference.
More than anything, Colorado is actually interesting which they haven't been since about 2002.
They have the previous two #1 ranked receivers out of high school and Marvin Harrison Jr (son of that Marvin Harrison) waiting to replace Wilson and Olave… if you are going to try and replace those guys, that gives them a pretty good chance.
Could you see why constantly talking about how great your academic reputation is would rub other fans the wrong way? Or using excuses like academics, other schools cheat but we are clean, and refereeing (this fanbase focuses more on referees than any other school in the country, it is pretty weird). All of these are signifiers of a moral superiority. The Michigan stereotype is that of a Michigan Man looking down their nose upon their opponents who they do not believe is their equal as a person. That generates a different reaction than OSU looking down upon other schools football team.
I have always referred to it as an "emotional hedge".
This entire response is why the rest of the B1G hates UM more than Ohio State. You don't hate OSU as much about their commitment to football as you do UM for believing and constantly bringing up their intellectual superiority. UM fans believe they are better than everybody else. Outside of the B1G footprint, most fans would hate OSU more because they only interact with the football team on TV.
What you are describing is the rise of the Vic Fangio defensive schemes. Lining up in "Tite" formations on the D-Line caused some issues for the Buckeyes in the season and stifled the running game as the unorthodox gap assignments caused challenges for the linemen to get to their blocking angles on zone runs. OSU has started running more gap schemes to deal with this but still view their zone schemes as their bread and butter. Maryland tried running this a lot. Nebraska did it a good amount. They do have counters but it takes them out of what they do best
Nice article on the rise of the Fangio defense.
Nice Article on the "Tite" front.\
Downside of trying this is that it really limits the rush angles for Hutchinson and Ojabo as it puts them on the inside shoulder of the tackles. Other thing is that OSU has seen this enough now that it won't be a new wrinkle.
So rush 5 and drop 7. I think that is how the math worked out in this description.
Every game was a coin flip that year and they came up heads 14 times in a row.
The assertion that both teams have to agree in order to have a night game in November is correct. The B1G knew what it was doing when they scheduled OSU/PSU for October 31. Rare to have a night game in Columbus for OSU/PSU. However, it is always a night game in Happy Valley.
I’m guessing you missed OU getting shut out in the first half against Kansas and only watched the second half of the Texas game.
As a grad of Colorado, I will say that Mel actually did a fantastic one year turnaround there. Colorado has been so far in the dumps and he made them respectable. He is a good recruiter going back to his days at Ohio State.
Doing the turnaround that he did at State with the transfer portal is baffling.
Urban was the one that instituted the "nobody can wear blue" policy at OSU. No blue pens for coaches. No blue anything. It was a suggestion of Kirk Barton when he was a grad assistant. Lou Holtz came to the practice facility just to visit and see Urban. He was wearing a blue jacket and Urban made him go change out of it before he could come out to the practice field.
If you are going to commit to this stuff, you have to fully commit. it can't just be gatorade. You need to ban everything red. Coaches can't be wearing red shoes the day after this is announced. That is the difference between the two schools. Fully commit or it's pandering.
The last teams to ever receive any real penalty from the NCAA were OSU for Tatgate (which honestly is a laughable offense looking back considering what goes on today), PSU which had everything retracted, and USC for the Reggie Bush stuff. None of the southern schools have received any sanctions for much more blatant rules violations. Nothing happened to Miami. Nothing happened to UNC. Nothing has happened at LSU for an entire George RR Martin length tome of violations.
The NCAA gave up. Michigan isn't going to get any bigger hammer dropped on them than any other school.
DPJ was Urban's most hated miss in recruiting. He still thinks he would have been a sure fire first rounder if he went to OSU.
checks notes..... so they would have their first four loss season since Luke Fickell a decade ago? Mr. Putin sir, what interventions do you have in mind?
If OSU has a defense like last year, that is certainly possible.... but even with that performance will it be enough to keep up with their offense?
No doubt he inherited a loaded roster. However, Fields came because of Day and that happened after Urban stepped down. Day has also managed to somehow recruit better than Meyer so far. There is still a chance he is Larry Coker.
Still waiting for OSU to be wrecked by his departure like he wrecked Florida. Utah and Bowling Green seemed to have escaped ok.
Oceans 12 reference. Did not expect to see that tonight.
I had to log in after cleaning off my keyboard because I spit my drink all over reading this comment. I want a reality show of Jim and Tathan for a whole season. The world deserves that after 2020.
This is my exact thought. He isn’t coming back if he doesn’t believe the QB next year can deliver and improve his draft stock. Same with Ruckert. They both have seen who is going to be throwing the football to them in practice and said “yeah, I’ll do well coming back”. Fair to assume there won’t be a huge drop off after Fields.
Clearly OSU as they get all the nice presents.
When did UM stop having a network of bagmen and when are they coming back?
Which is the prudent thing to do when every conference member is facing massive shortfalls in funding and a team making the playoff brings in millions in additional revenue. I am sure every school would gladly sign up to receive that check.
It isn't Traitor Tom, it is TBT, which stands for Titty Bar Tom.
I thought the original premise and post was actually pretty solid. Then he gets to the comment section and put an evenrude on the PJ Fleck douche canoe. It was cringe worthy. He earned his vacation in Bolivian.
Urban had the chance to coach ND and chose to go to Florida instead. I am not sure if he will coach again. The brain cyst is real. I also will not be shocked if he does come back to coaching. I think the key for him coming back would be if he could bring Pantoni (recruiting coordinator) and Marotti (strength coach) from OSU to wherever he goes. I think they feel pretty secure at their jobs right now and Urban is at best a five year gamble at a new gig with his health issues.
And #1 overall QB Quinn Ewers just decommitted from Texas and is being crystal balled to OSU
This is the Neutron Man. The first recognizable OSU superfan. He was actually beloved and his Neutron Dance even had it's own scoreboard animation. Sadly he died in 2004.
All OSU Superfans after Neutron Man are awful. Buck-I-Guy with his cowboy hat and red mustache is the worst. Big Nut, pictured above the Paterno bunch (no idea their official name, Joe Paterno and the Knews? I'll throw that in the ring), is super annoying (although he does some good work with charities, it really gets lost because he is such an asshat on game days).
I don't think it is just the coach. It is a university commitment from the top down that is dedicated to winning football. Until the board, the president, and the athletic department are all aligned, then things wont change.
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.
10 games. Entire season is UM vs OSU alternating home field.
why? Because it’s 2020
Pretty different reaction on this board regarding the harbaugh statement when compared to the OSU players coming out and saying they wanted to play. Pretty sure they both had the exact same message.
The argument against having a season seems revolve around player safety (it’s not player safety, it’s all about liability) so let’s go down this path;
We don’t have a season, players become part of the normal population and no longer are subject to regular testing and all of the other care they are receiving while playing.
Play the season and then players are under regular medical supervision and have a reason to not put themselves in risky situations.
what is actually better for their health and safety?
doesn’t matter as this is all about liability.
Bagmen
I bought a six seater golf cart for the family.... actually this turned out to be the best decision I made in quarantine.
I could care less
I don't think anybody is saying "they aren't having recruiting meetings" at all. However, I think the rumblings are more along the line of not having a highly coordinated and cohesive recruiting plan where every staff member is working from the same plan. Recruiting very much seems driven by each member of the staff versus a single recruiting coordinator.
Could you provide any examples of athletes that Urban Meyer recruited that would not have been a take for Michigan? Talking to recruiting analysts, Northwestern and Stanford are the only two schools where what you describe is an actual issue.
Noah's Mill from Willett distillery (I love all of their stuff but it is not available in every state).I haven't seen anybody suggest it yet but it is my favorite $50 bottle of bourbon. It is barrel proof, which most of the the best bourbon is, also it is non-chill filtered (takes out too much of the oils and particulates that contribute to full flavor). I love Elijah Craig Barrel Proof but that is harder to find.
I also love anything Michters.
I stumbled into a stash of Pappy in Niagara Falls, NY when visiting for a wedding. This was coming up on 9 years ago and I had just read this article by Wright Thompson. https://grantland.com/features/pappy-van-winkle/
Bought 8 bottles. 4 bottles of 15 yr ($85 each), 3 bottles on 20 yr ($125 each), and one bottle of 23 yr ($230). Here is my assessment without delving too deep into individual flavors. I find that I remember how a bourbon makes me feel more than the specific tasting notes.
The 15 yr was hot and had a lot of flavor. It wasn't easy to isolate the different flavors as it just seemed like there was too much going on. It was very good. Just couldn't put my finger on anything. I think it was still trying to figure out what was going to make it great. (Like dating an 18 year old)
The 20 yr had mellowed. it had narrowed its focus on a few different flavors that the palate could pick out and really enjoy. And man were those flavors good. Really took my palate on a journey. Experience has helped it blossom. It knew it's strengths and took me along for the ride. This one is my favorite. (like dating a 30 year old)
The 23 yr is an oak bomb. All of the wildness had been tamed. It doesn't mess around anymore. It was a bit of a single tasting note by this point (oak and vanilla). It has enough experience where it knows that one amazing note can still carry the day. It isn't there to challenge you. It knows what you like. (like being married for 15 years)
Having said all of this, there are plenty of great bourbons out there that can go toe to toe with Pappy. If you do find it, make sure you share it with somebody that will appreciate it. There will always be more old bourbon but you can't replicate shared a experience.
I have no insight into what may or may not be happening with recruits receiving bags. However, I think you need to take this one step further. If they are getting money to recruits to come to their school, and that is the reason for the football success, it is a good investment for the university. If you look at application rates, incoming freshman SAT and ACT scores, and donations to the university among the top football schools in the country (see OSU, Alabama, and Clemson) you will see a steady rise in the academic side of the university. OSU is a much better academic institution than it was 10 and 20 years ago. Football success is a driver for this. I know people in Columbus that have children that are now attending Alabama and Clemson. There is no way an Ohio kid looks at those schools 10-15 years ago. The entire school benefits from the marketing done by the football team. Please tell me how this is morally corrupt? Where are the victims?
I have to thank Wright Thompson for alerting me to Pappy Van Winkle. The week Grantland.com launched he wrote this story. I had just started getting into bourbon. I visited Niagra Falls, NY for a friends wedding and stopped in a liquor store in a not great area of town. In a glass cabinet sat 8 bottles of Pappy (15, 20 and 23) years old. I had never spent more than $60 on a bottle of bourbon before but based upon that article, I bought all of them. They were standard retail price. $85, $125, and $230 for each vintage. I ended up reselling half of them to friends at cost and kept the rest. In the next year, the bourbon boom really took off and the days of ever seeing Pappy on the shelf at standard retail price were gone. He foreshadowed what happened with this line "If you know what Pappy Van Winkle is, you’re already mad at me. If you don’t, I’m about to change your life." Thank you Wright Thompson.
He is in a pretty tough spot answering that question. If he says it makes him angry and then he gets ridiculed. If he gives a non-answer, then he get's questioned about his commitment to the rivalry. I can understand why he would be sick of getting asked this.
This doesn't resemble modern college football at all. Sounds like you want to move to FCS. At least they have a 16 team playoff.
I think there is a middle area of expectations between finding under the radar 3*s and expecting a flood of 5*. It is not unreasonable to expect Harbaugh and staff to to get middle to high 4* recruits (players that you can beat Ohio State with). There is a big difference between a middle to high 4* and a 3*. Low end 4* and high end 3* are arguably close. Yes, there are occasions where 3* turn into high draft picks but the odds are much much lower.
I’m not sure Kareem Walker is an example you want to use here. That would imply that Edwards has a bad senior year, Ohio state loses interest, let’s Michigan have him only to flame out of college completely.