2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

I seem to recall that Rudock was total garbage against Utah, but by the end of the season he was rolling. That's the downside of not developing a QB and having to keep bringing in transfers year after year.

I didn't think Iowa was that good, so I had guessed a win at home following the loss to Wisconsin. I have four more wins coming with @Illinois, @Maryland, Sparty and @Indiana. As far as pulling an upset, I'd say the best shot is home against ND.

I agree they should have kept the pro-style offense. Urban Meyer was leaving, why not give it another shot against a new coach at home before scrapping it?

I think Michigan can win @PSU as long as the game is a day game. I don't see it happening if it ends up being a white out at night.

[marq]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

I think Michigan can win @PSU as long as the game is a day game. I don't see it happening if it ends up being a white out at night.

Damn...it's night...

[sadams33]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

Damn...it's night...

I think if we had a quarterback who could make multiple reads we'd be fine didn't ruddock end up second in passing yards for a season

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

If Rudock had spent more than one season in Ann Arbor, he'd be up there with Chad Henne, John Navarre, etc in Michigan Football history.

I've been re-watching some of those 2015 games and it's just night and day seeing how surgical Rudock was with his reads and decisions and what we've had since then.

[rdnk]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

It's not a good sign when we're letting Big10 jobbers hang around.

In other news, I think it's time for Illinois to pull the plug on the Lovie experiment.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

Today's win will hardly sit well with a Michigan fan base that always wants MOAR! Seems like the Wolverines played about 40 minutes of football today. Now, in a different universe where Michigan had won a B1G title and beaten OSU a couple of times under Harbaugh, going on the road in a trap game while missing Collins/Hill/Paye and winning 42-25 would be totally fine. But, the hijinx--this team always seems to make things as difficult as possible while shooting itself in the dick--and the context mean we're in for another week of extreme hand-wringing, Michigan-style.

Positives? I thought the O-Line was good-to-great and can't remember many plays (if any) where Shea Patterson was really harried by pass rush (rather than his own tendency to hold the ball). The Illini have a really good nose tackle so it's not just a competition level thing. Defense got some turnovers to help offset the offense's continuing Fumblepalooza 2019.

Negatives? FUMBLE! They just fumbled again! I think the QB and each running back, except for Haskins, all had the ball slip out at least once. I hope the "fumblez are totes random" crowd will reconsider their stance. Clearly something is messed up with ball security. Defense looked bush league for about an entire quarter. Letting that awful Illini QB have any success throwing was really a bad look. Seemed like they had multiple guys spying him (or at least caught between pressuring and covering) on multiple plays, so he just got to sit there and dink something to that Imatobhehbehhbehebehbhebehe (however you spell it) transfer guy from USC. The other thing I hated was after paving them for 200 rushing yards at the half, Michigan decided long out routes into the wind was the way to go. Ugh.

Beat Penn State!

[rdnk]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

Today's win will hardly sit well with a Michigan fan base that always wants MOAR! Seems like the Wolverines played about 40 minutes of football today. Now, in a different universe where Michigan had won a B1G title and beaten OSU a couple of times under Harbaugh, going on the road in a trap game while missing Collins/Hill/Paye and winning 42-25 would be totally fine. But, the hijinx--this team always seems to make things as difficult as possible while shooting itself in the dick--and the context mean we're in for another week of extreme hand-wringing, Michigan-style.

Beat Penn State!

I'm not sure I agree. I think the response is more based on what has happened this season. If Michigan comes into the game looking strong against bad teams and undefeated, then we'd all be saying trap game and crisis averted. Is having one game where the offense and defense both play well against a non-Rutgers team too much to ask? Next week seems timely.

[TheShizNo1]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

After watching PSU/Iowa and watching MSU's offense somehow find a way to look worse than ours, I'm feeling more confident about those two games.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

For the PSU game, I think it all comes down to managing the hostile environment and not fumbling. If Michigan can avoid the same start as the 2017 game, I think it'll be a tossup. And no matter how the game turns out, the most important thing to remember is that Joe knew.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

I want to think there’s a possibility, but this has getting boatraced written all over it.


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[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

My feeling is there can't just be blowouts on the road every single year in the PSU game. Just due to entropy, the pattern has to break at some point, so why not this season? That's really all I have to go on--no empirical data to suggest good things to come other than maybe it's just about damn time Michigan gets one that nobody expects them to.

More objectively, the 2017 game probably serves as the best template, but where both teams have lost a ton of talent since then (Gary, Winovich, Long, Bush, Hurst for us and Barkley, McSorely, Johnson, Hamilton, Gesicki, Sanders for them). Saquon Barkley was the x-factor that broke that game open and true frosh Noah Cain isn't the same type of runner, nor is Sean Clifford analogous to Trace McSorely. Nordin's missed PAT and Hudson's ever so close to a gift pick-six probably helped turn what should've been a dogfight into a blowout.

[sadams33]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

My feeling is there can't just be blowouts on the road every single year in the PSU game. Just due to entropy, the pattern has to break at some point, so why not this season? That's really all I have to go on--no empirical data to suggest good things to come other than maybe it's just about damn time Michigan gets one that nobody expects them to.

More objectively, the 2017 game probably serves as the best template, but where both teams have lost a ton of talent since then (Gary, Winovich, Long, Bush, Hurst for us and Barkley, McSorely, Johnson, Hamilton, Gesicki, Sanders for them). Saquon Barkley was the x-factor that broke that game open and true frosh Noah Cain isn't the same type of runner, nor is Sean Clifford analogous to Trace McSorely. Nordin's missed PAT and Hudson's ever so close to a gift pick-six probably helped turn what should've been a dogfight into a blowout.

hopefully we get off to a great start and take care of the football

[ImTellinTim]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

Ah, this again. Cool story Jim.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

Just another woulda coulda shoulda big game loss. You get used to it after awhile.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: 2019 Michigan Wolverines | Speed in Space

Not happy with the result, and with yet another big early deficit (although some of that was on the zebras) but I felt the team gave it all they had. And if that's coming up 1 TD short of the higher ranked team in the most hostile environment in college sports I can be ok with that.

I thought this was going to be another 2016 OSU game where the officials were at least as much of a threat as the other team, but it ended up not being that big of a deal. Sure, PSU got early momentum due to an early spate of bad calls, but I also think that Patterson might've not actually crossed the line on that 4th down play and they called it a TD.

The Narrative(TM) continues about what the team can't do in big games, but the glimmer of hope I saw was an offense that got into gear against one of the best defenses in the B1G (maybe the country) and outgained them 417-283. Subtract a couple of the many, many drops and the outcome might've even been different. No fumbles. Didn't wilt like they did at Camp Randall. The playcalls/scheme/plan finally seemed more like what we had all hoped Gattis and Harbaugh would cook up ever since the offseason. The offensive line might've had their best game in quite some time.

As a result of how close this one turned out, I am a couple of notches more optimistic about Notre Dame next week at the Big House. And, really, if Michigan can take care of business at home (ND, MSU, OSU), it's going to be a lot happier of a fan base.