Fanblogs.com - Latest Comments in Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

mTm_in_Bugaha — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:30:12 -0000

I'd love to see it broken

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Ben Prather — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:27:38 -0000

2002, the year they beat Michigan, was the year they got rid of McBride because they did not make a bowl game and hired Meyer for 2003.

Meyer was taking Bowling Green into the top 25 that year.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Marko — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 23:05:05 -0000

Urban Meyer record wins against programs will not help you and your weak defense.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Marko — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 23:02:05 -0000

Tigers318,

Do you realize that Michigan's "rebuilding phase" has load of 4 star rated recruits on the offensive side and returning 7 starters and a 5 star recruit on the nations 9th best defense last year?

Michigan's defense is going to give every team on its schedule serious fits with its new defensive coordinator that is extremely aggressive in his play calling.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Ben Prather — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:38:48 -0000

If this where not so, I would be more reserved.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Tigers318 — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:49:27 -0000

But Michigan is in a rebuilding phase right now

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Ben Prather — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:38:52 -0000

2002:
Utah 7 at Michigan 10
Utah was 5-6 that year, Michigan 10-3

2004: Fiesta Bowl:
Utah 35 Pittsburgh 7

Since 2002 Utah is 11-6 vs BCS teams, including:
Oregon St: 0-1
UCLA: 1-1
Louisville: 1-0
Arizona: 2-1
North Carolina: 1-1
Georgia Tech: 1-0
Texas A&M: 1-1
Pittsburgh: 1-0
California: 1-0
Oregon: 1-0
Indiana: 1-0
Michigan: 0-1

Hawaii has nothing like these numbers.

Utah will RUN over the Michigan defense and get a few long shots through the air. Michigan will get some yards on the ground, but nothing though the air.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Marko — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:57:37 -0000

Utah is another "Hawaii" type team. Great in their conference, but not ready to play the big boys. Michigan should beat them by 2 touchdowns considering Utah's defense is suspect.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Zac — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:52:52 -0000

Ben, I can buy MI winning 8 games; I'm not willing to believe 9. I think MI has a better chance of beating WI in the Big House, than Penn St in Happy Valley. Besides, if Penn St has nothing else, the odds are in their favor. Like yourself, the idea of MI NOT going to a bowl is a little farfetched. But winning 9 games after having been exposed to learning the "Rodriguez System" for the 1st time, I can't see that either.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Ben Prather — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:09:03 -0000

Sounds like the best football will be when Utah has the ball, and which ever team gets it going when Michgan has the ball will win.

Utah is looking strong on offense, but ha questions on defense.

The more I read this thread, the more the idea of Michigan going Bowl less looks ridiculous. Michigan will get at least 9 wins.

Ohio State, Wisconsin and Utah are the only teams they should not beat. Illinois, Michigan State an Notre Dame might give them a fourth loss, but the rest should be good wins.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Ben Prather — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:04:10 -0000

I think Utah will beat Michigan because Utah is better than Michigan this year. It does not matter if Michigan underestimates Utah.

For you SEC fans, let me explain about how good Utah is. They would be the #6 team in the SEC, behind LSU, Auburn, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee but ahead of South Carolina, Mississippi State, Alabama and the rest. This is good enough to beat Michigan this year, and should get them to 10-2 in the MWC.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

JB — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:37:10 -0000

Well i stand corrected then dont i......dont pay much attention to Big 11 football

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

UofMSnowboarder — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:17:07 -0000

Illinois's spread offense will be old hat to the UofM defense by mid season, and, though Juice is a great runner, the lack of balance in the running game (losing Mendenhall) and Juice's mediocre arm will be brought to light by what will be a top 20 defense in Michigan.

MSU has a mediocre QB at best (see BC-MSU last year, Hoyer gave BC the game) and the loss of Caulcrick will mean Ringer will be in for many more plays, and I'm wondering if he has the endurance to take the Spartans through the 4th Quarter.

ND's success depends on if their spectacularly horrible O-line becomes competent in the offseason (and I'd add, if The Whale has no say in any play-calling, but that's already been fixed).

Utah is experienced, and the Michigan offense isn't, but again, the UofM D will be great this year, and will more than likely hold off the Ute's.

The Lloyd-Carr-Can't-Lose-To-Penn-State Magic will not be in effect, but JoPa's failures drove that almost as much as Lloyd did. I'm going to guess this game will be the best to watch.

OSU, well... part of it is my own hopes, and part of it is the '69 Michigan-OSU game that makes me think we might be able to notch a W on the belt, but smart money is still probably on the Bucks.

Oh, and JB, MSU-UofM has been fantastic three times in the last 4 years, 2 come from behind victories, and 2 overtime games. Michigan will find a way to beat Little Brother.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

JB — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:44:11 -0000

I think the reason MI will beat UT is because they are more real than App St...no underestimation this time'

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Ben Prather — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:27:03 -0000

SHHHHH! don't let Michigan know people are picking Utah!

It can be a Fanblog secret. I planned to lay low with this game, but someone else brought it up, so...

Michigan saw them play in 2002. Michigan went 10-3 that year, Utah 5-6. Michigan defeated Utah 10-7, back in the days when Utah had no offense, but a killer defense. If they could have scored 14+ points a game they would have won at least 3 more games that year.

Utah returns 14 starters, including Brian Johnson at Quarterback, Darrel Mack at running back and 9 of their top 10 offensive linemen, averaging 6'3" 311 lbs. Last year they went 9-4 with 17 injuries, eliminating 51 starts.

The real question is Utah's pass defense, replacing 2 prominent line backer's and a free safety. Kyle Whittingham was the defensive coordinator who held Michigan to 10 points. Now as the head coach he will have his defense ready. He always has.

( In 2004 the defense gave up a lot of yards and points, but was on the field for 2/3 of the game and played for the turnover rather than the stop until they got within the 20. They had one of the best turnover margins in the country that year and had an offense they could count on to score. )

Utah is far more real than Appalachian State

The real disappointment is that Utah will not get full credit for this likely win because people will reason that Michigan was still learning the new systems. If Michigan IS having trouble learning the systems this game will not even be close.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

JB — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:26:51 -0000

Utah------Win by at least 14 b/c they are tired of hearing about how they are gonna lose 1-0

Miami----uhhhh...2-0

ND------in South Bend..uhhh 3-0

WI----finally beat MI in the Big House...3-1

IL----one-dimensional o but IL finds a way to win...3-2

Toledo----see Miami....4-2

PSU---win in Happy Valley.....5-2

MSU---when is this ever a game???...6-2

Purdue...no.......7-2

MN/NW---beat the crap out of one but miserably lose to the other.....8-3

OSU--Ahhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the usual Nov loss to the Buckeyes...8-4

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Marko — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:21:37 -0000

Michigan will end up with another 9-4 or 10-2 record if things go like they usually do. 3-0 in the first 3 games, most likely splitting Wisconsin and Illinois... after that its only Penn State and OSU that presents a problem for Michigan. Sure, the argument is that Michigan lost a TON of talent, but they still have a lot of talent in key positions with tremendous speed that Lloyd Carr never used. Speed and skill like that will have Calvin Magee putting up 30 pts a game with ease. Also, the defense is returning 6-7 starters from last year, and everyone knows that defense wins games.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

JB — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:19:01 -0000

I dont know... i just cant fathom Mi losing to Utah...how can they be for real... nobody has seen them play????

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Zac — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:41:19 -0000

Zac's Take:

Utah: Let's get one thing straight; the Utes are for REAL. This is why they won't sneak up on MI. MI knows what they're up against. Trust me; Rich Rodriguez won't let them NOT know. He will have them ready athletically. The question remains: Will the players themselves be ready, with a complete grasp of his system? I think this is what tips the scales, and allows Utah to come away with a close one.

The "other" Miami: They won't sneak up on MI, either.

ND: Last year a young ND visited The Big House and were summarily embarrassed by a MI squad which was embarrassed twice. ND was a very young team and have all of that coming back. Experience or no, that's still the ND team which only won 3 games all season. It is for this reason I think MI escapes S Bend with a close one.

WI: The Badgers took care of business in impressive style in Camp Randal. It'll be tougher in Ann Arbor, but like Utah, they'll expose the weakness of a team not having fully grasped a new system.

IL: Last season IL pulled off a big win against OSU in "The Shoe" behind the savy of "The Juice" and the legs of Mendenhall. This year, despite the loss of Mendenhall, they may do the same against MI in The Big House for the same reason as WI. The question is, with IL uni-dimensional, could MI's defense do enough to help prevent the upset?

Toledo: I got 1 word for the upstarts from OH: fagetaboutit!

Penn St: The Lions have to beat em sometime. They couldn't have picked a better year. I see Penn St as being the only other possible team which could stand in OSU's way. While that is unlikely, MI won't stand in Joe Pa's way; not in "Happy Valley".

MI St: This is just like Pitt/WVU. These rivals are geographically so close to each other, there really isn't an away game for either. It's because the Wolverines won't quite have all the bugs worked out of the Rodriguez system, and that MI St practically returns its offense in-tact, that the Spartans escape with the "W".

Purdue: That this will be played in W Lafayette will help, but I just don't think Purdue will have enough in the tank for the entire game.

MN & NW: I don't care where these are played. See Toledo.

OSU: Without question, MI has the heart for the full 60 minutes of this epic battle. Before it's all said and done, they will have shown the Buckeyes just where their hearts are. Despite the valiant effort, OSU still wins.

I see MI going 6-6, and their name puts them in a bowl. There will be too many close ones that could go either way. MI's outcome against UT, ND, IL, MI St, and Purdue could all be different. To find out for sure, tune in; 36 days from now it all begins a'new.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Zac — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:55:30 -0000

I seem to recall ND w/a 6-5-1 record (not certain of this) turning down a lesser bowl many years back. Also, I think undefeated (11-0), North Carolina (1980?) for some reason couldn't go to a bowl where they may have shown they were #1; instead, settled for #2.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Ben Prather — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:17:35 -0000

The only team i can recall turning down a bowl game, other than as punishment for bench clearing brawls, is UCLA.

Looking at the bottom three bowl participating Big 10 teams last year, they played C. Michigan, Oklahoma State and Boston College. Any of these game with Michigan might be interesting this year.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Ohio State Jerseys — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:34:58 -0000

I'm sure they will get a bowl, it is pretty hard not to these days. I don't think there is much chance of them taking down the Buckeyes, even with a new head coach.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Kevin @ Fanblogs — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:17:19 -0000

I don't think that would happen... because of the streak.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Ben Prather — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:11:33 -0000

Utah and Michigan have played only once, in 2002. Michigan won 10-7. Utah was 5-6 that year and Michigan 10-3. I think Michigan was favored by 17 in that game. I'll call for Utah by 10. (If you are from Utah you'll get it) I am as confident in Utah winning this game as I was in Utah winning against Texas Tech in 2004. Michigan is no Texas Tech this year.

I think Michigan beats Miami(OH) and Notre Dame. I am not sure Notre Dame is not going to suck like last year. Then they loss to Wisconsin and Illinois. Wins against Toledo and Penn State come next, followed by a loss to Michigan State. Purdue, Minnesota and Northwestern should give them 7 wins, and they need only 6. They better get them before playing Ohio State.

Re: Is Michigan's bowl streak in jeopardy?

Zac — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:50:30 -0000

I agree with MI beating ND, but I think WI still takes em in the Big House. You're right about one thing. Too many friggen bowls. Even if MI broke even, they'd be in on name alone.