Mich-Iowa @ the Half...

[Deleted User 9015]

Iowa may have a highly-rated defense on paper but let's not forget they played in the BIG 10 west which everybody scoffed at.

Let's also not forget that were it not for a couple fortuitous events we would have won 12-0. I'm sure the other potential playoff teams are quaking in their boots at having to score two touchdowns to overcome our offense.

Football games are largely won or lost on turnovers. Discounting a good bounce here and there really discounts one of the fundamental things for being successful against good teams. Skill alone can pull you to a win against Eastern Michigan. But you have to make something out of opportunity.

Michigan plays a slow-paced style. They won't normally hit 50 points. Bama, Washington, and Texas are strong teams and frankly, any of the four are championship-worthy. It will be how they manage bad luck and capitalize on good luck. Michigan did the most they could with what they got tonight. Burying them based on this performance is goofy.

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Iowa may have a highly-rated defense on paper but let's not forget they played in the BIG 10 west which everybody scoffed at.

Let's also not forget that were it not for a couple fortuitous events we would have won 12-0. I'm sure the other potential playoff teams are quaking in their boots at having to score two touchdowns to overcome our offense.

Football games are largely won or lost on turnovers. Discounting a good bounce here and there really discounts one of the fundamental things for being successful against good teams. Skill alone can pull you to a win against Eastern Michigan. But you have to make something out of opportunity.

Michigan plays a slow-paced style. They won't normally hit 50 points. Bama, Washington, and Texas are strong teams and frankly, any of the four are championship-worthy. It will be how they manage bad luck and capitalize on good luck. Michigan did the most they could with what they got tonight. Burying them based on this performance is goofy.

The two plays that got them to the 5 to score the touchdowns were goofy.

[Deleted User 9015]

Iowa may have a highly-rated defense on paper but let's not forget they played in the BIG 10 west which everybody scoffed at.

Let's also not forget that were it not for a couple fortuitous events we would have won 12-0. I'm sure the other potential playoff teams are quaking in their boots at having to score two touchdowns to overcome our offense.

Football games are largely won or lost on turnovers. Discounting a good bounce here and there really discounts one of the fundamental things for being successful against good teams. Skill alone can pull you to a win against Eastern Michigan. But you have to make something out of opportunity.

Michigan plays a slow-paced style. They won't normally hit 50 points. Bama, Washington, and Texas are strong teams and frankly, any of the four are championship-worthy. It will be how they manage bad luck and capitalize on good luck. Michigan did the most they could with what they got tonight. Burying them based on this performance is goofy.

The two plays that got them to the 5 to score the touchdowns were goofy.

Winners capitalize when goofy happens. Losers get stopped at the goal line.

[Rate This]

Iowa may have a highly-rated defense on paper but let's not forget they played in the BIG 10 west which everybody scoffed at.

Let's also not forget that were it not for a couple fortuitous events we would have won 12-0. I'm sure the other potential playoff teams are quaking in their boots at having to score two touchdowns to overcome our offense.

Football games are largely won or lost on turnovers. Discounting a good bounce here and there really discounts one of the fundamental things for being successful against good teams. Skill alone can pull you to a win against Eastern Michigan. But you have to make something out of opportunity.

Michigan plays a slow-paced style. They won't normally hit 50 points. Bama, Washington, and Texas are strong teams and frankly, any of the four are championship-worthy. It will be how they manage bad luck and capitalize on good luck. Michigan did the most they could with what they got tonight. Burying them based on this performance is goofy.

The two plays that got them to the 5 to score the touchdowns were goofy.

Winners capitalize when goofy happens. Losers get stopped at the goal line.

Even Rutgers could probably capitalize from the 5. One was a return that almost went the distance and the other was a fumble that may not have been a fumble that was picked up by the Michigan player more so he could hand the ball to somebody than anything. But they are building a track record of doing something that only works in a weak conference... score a low number of points and bank on your defense holding the other guys down long enough to score maybe 25. That won't work in the big leagues against more potent styles of offense. This isn't 1993.

[MasterB]

I knew when Michigan scored the touchdown to be up 17-0 that Michigan was going to win and beat Iowa with no offense whatsoever the game was over.

[craig11152]

Another fact I checked out is Iowa is 130th in offense again playing in the Big 10 west we make fun of.
A win is a win but that win did not instill confidence in me for the next game. In fact it just makes me more nervous.
Since I started paying attention to Michigan in 1969 there has only been one time in those 54 years I couldn't have hoped for more from the team.
There were a lot of very good years that most fans would be overjoyed with. But other than 1997 all those other 53 seasons, even the really good seasons, there has always been an "if only" or maybe two or three "if only's" . Some were big. If only beat OSU in 1970 ,1972, 1973, 1974. If only beat Stanford in the 1972 Rose Bowl. I could go on. The thing is in all those losses I felt, going in to the games we could win. Not would win but could win.
Going in to last night I believed we would win.

Going forward I believe we cannot win two more games. My 1-53 record for hope will be 1-54.

Assuming I am right about how this ends maybe I should be happy we made it to the dance 3 times in a row.
People used to make fun of the Buffalo Bills for losing 4 straight Super Bowls. As a Lions fan whose team has never even sniffed a Super Bowl I never understood that. I would be happy to say the Lions lost 4 straight Super Bowls as opposed to what we have experienced. The draft was our Super Bowl for years. Remember the phrase "I-75 eyes" coined by local radio guys to describe the Lions in the last couple games of a season?

[MWmetalhead]

McCarthy and his receivers aren't clicking as well now as they've been much of the season. The o-line's reduced effectiveness is part of the reason for that (McCarthy is facing more pressure). Receivers dropping catchable balls is part of the reason for that. Perhaps lingering pain from McCarthy's earlier injury if he scrambles too hard & often is part of the equation, too?

I'm hopeful the rest between now and the CFP allows some/all of the above issues to be rectified.

[Deleted User 9015]

But they are building a track record of doing something that only works in a weak conference... score a low number of points and bank on your defense holding the other guys down long enough to score maybe 25. That won't work in the big leagues against more potent styles of offense. This isn't 1993.

Michigan has the 12th highest points average for 2023. Only one other team in the playoffs has a point total higher than them: Washington. Michigan had 36.7, Washington had 37.7. One point difference.

Michigan has the lowest points against average at 10.25. FSU is at 8th with 16.2, Bama is at 17th at 19.1, Washington has the 48th at 23.62.

The only team with a strength of schedule ranking higher than Michigan is Alabama. Alabama is third, Michigan is tenth. Washington is 32nd and FSU is 50th.

The numbers don't seem to support anything you're saying here.

[Deleted User 9015]

McCarthy and his receivers aren't clicking as well now as they've been much of the season. The o-line's reduced effectiveness is part of the reason for that (McCarthy is facing more pressure). Receivers dropping catchable balls is part of the reason for that. Perhaps lingering pain from McCarthy's earlier injury if he scrambles too hard & often is part of the equation, too?

I'm hopeful the rest between now and the CFP allows some/all of the above issues to be rectified.

Agreed. I wouldn't want them to carry the negative momentum of a 26-0 win against a ranked opponent to follow them into the playoffs.

At week 13 in a football season every team has injuries and are rolling to the finish line on a chassis held together by duct tape. I think you're being too hard on the team because at this point in the year no one looks like they did in Week 1. It seems to me that between Michigan, Washington, and Bama, Bama has a slight edge, but Michigan taking home the championship would not shock anyone.

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But they are building a track record of doing something that only works in a weak conference... score a low number of points and bank on your defense holding the other guys down long enough to score maybe 25. That won't work in the big leagues against more potent styles of offense. This isn't 1993.

Michigan has the 12th highest points average for 2023. Only one other team in the playoffs has a point total higher than them: Washington. Michigan had 36.7, Washington had 37.7. One point difference.

Michigan has the lowest points against average at 10.25. FSU is at 8th with 16.2, Bama is at 17th at 19.1, Washington has the 48th at 23.62.

The only team with a strength of schedule ranking higher than Michigan is Alabama. Alabama is third, Michigan is tenth. Washington is 32nd and FSU is 50th.

The numbers don't seem to support anything you're saying here.

And they racked up much of that point average towards the beginning of the season against junk opponents. The first game through Purdue they played absolutely nobody. Then the next 4 opponents greatly reduced their points total while scoring way more than those first several teams.

The only thing I can think of is that Michigan is afraid to play top 10 non conference teams early in the season for fear of being out right away. Then they had a pushover big ten schedule to start with after East Cupcake got steamrolled 3 times.

[MWmetalhead]

All I'm saying is there is room for improvement in terms of performance on offense. Hard to win in the CFP if the offense isn't clicking on all or nearly all cylinders.

You are nuts, Neckbeard, if you think the team isn't going to spend time reviewing and working on shortcomings on offense between now and the CFP.

The CFP opponents will be better rounded than Iowa.

Finally, your chassis held together with duct tape analogy, suggesting it applies to "every team," doesn't square with reality. A decent number of teams play better late in the year than early in the year, and often times the injury report is short in late season.

I do actually agree with your very last sentence if you mean national pundits minus Finebaum. I predict we will see a more efficient Michigan offense than what was witnessed last night.

[Deleted User 9015]

You are nuts, Neckbeard, if you think the team isn't going to spend time reviewing and working on shortcomings on offense between now and the CFP.

Reading comprehension is obviously not requisite to admiring a forum because I didn’t say anything of the sort. Hell I’ve even said Bama would likely beat them. I don’t get how that would lead to your interpretation.

And they racked up much of that point average towards the beginning of the season against junk opponents. The first game through Purdue they played absolutely nobody. Then the next 4 opponents greatly reduced their points total while scoring way more than those first several teams.

That’s not much different from anyone else as evidenced by the SOS rank.

The only thing I can think of is that Michigan is afraid to play top 10 non conference teams early in the season for fear of being out right away. Then they had a pushover big ten schedule to start with after East Cupcake got steamrolled 3 times.

Aside from the SEC (and they don’t have THAT many less cupcakes), all conferences are 3-4 strong teams and a ton of Garbo. Still, your argument doesn’t stack up to the numbers.

[MWmetalhead]

Here are the official seedings:

Michigan at 1.
Washington at 2.
Texas at 3.
Alabama at 4.

We are in agreement, Neckbeard, that Alabama will prove to be a tough opponent. I think Michigan has a 40 to 49 percent chance of winning that contest.

I correctly predicted the four teams that would make the field late last night. . I had Bama at 3 and Texas at 4, though.

[MWmetalhead]

Michigan vs. Bama will be the Rose Bowl game, so that's kinda cool!

Plenty of Michigan alums in southern California.

[craig11152]

What do NCAA top tier football, figure skating, gymnastics and ballroom dancing all have in common? Your fate is decided by judges.

I hope more than anything that FSU wins their bowl game and finishes 14-0 . It will slam home what an affront this joke of a "championship" is to sports.
Name another sport where you can win every single game you play and NOT be a champion?