I enjoy reading your blog and I can feel your honesty on the topics you discuss.
In your honest opinion, do you think Michigan will beat Ohio State this year? I know this is a tough question and I am not really asking you to predict anything.
However, based up on your knowledge of the two teams' offense, defense, & special team, do you see Michigan breaking the curse this year? Better yet, what do you think Michigan's chances are against other rivals such as Notre Dame, Penn State, MSU, & Wisconsin?
Thanks,
Jean
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Thanks for the tough question and comments.
Ohio State definitely has the better talent at most positions at this time. There advantage at quarterback and the defensive line is considerable in our opinion.
That said we think Michigan's chance of beating Ohio State is better this year than next for several reasons and this is going against what most Michigan fans feel. This year's game is played in Ann Arbor and is always better to play at home then the "snake pit" for a Michigan team in which the fans in C-Bus are tough on any Michigan team let alone how good they might be that year.
Ohio State is still young on the offensive line and there best player is our former player Justin Boren. They have nobody (right now in our opinion) to replace Beanie Wells at this time, and will have a drop off at linebacker.
Also think the secondary, especially the safeties will not be up to Ohio State's usual standards under Coach Tressel.
In regards to the other teams in the Big Ten we feel Michigan will have to fight, bite, scratch in every game this year and cannot rely on being Michigan to win games.
Michigan cannot beat themselves which means making mental mistakes with penalties, turnovers, poor special teams play and giving up big plays on defense. That was huge part of last seasons problems besides struggling to learn and run the read-option offense that ranked in the 100's in almost every category last year.
Michigan fans probably do not want to hear this about Michigan State, but they might be a real threat for the Big Ten title this year because this is not your typical Michigan State program anymore. Remember last year everybody was waiting for them to fall at the end, but they fought in several games and came away with wins. This year they do not play Ohio State so that could be a factor for the Big Ten title and their toughest conference game is home against Penn State with their toughest conference road game possible being Illinois.
Penn State loses a lot of depth along with players that started, but they have a key person back and that is Darryll Clark. Some are scared what Penn State might be able to do this year, but we have to see it first with all those players gone.
Wisconsin even though they were ranked high last year at the beginning of the year feel fast and hard after the Michigan game. They were probably the biggest disappointment for the Big Ten and you have to think that Coach Bret Bielema is or will be on the hot seat even though former Coach Barry Alvarez was the one who appointed him in that position and is the current athletic director at Wisconsin.
Iowa could be the sleeper pick in the Big Ten, but not saying they have a chance at winning the Big Ten this year because they have tough games on the road at Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan State.
Notre Dame has better talent and more experienced players at key positions, but will they finally turn it around or could this be the year Coach Charlie Weis looks for a new job after this season and Notre Dame goes hard after Urban Meyer? We has Michigan fans do not want to see Urban Meyer at Notre Dame.
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If you have any questions please e-mail erocwolverine@gmail.com
Written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine
6 comments:
urban meyer at notre dame would be like, well, jeff jackson at notre dame. in the end, i think it would be good for michigan to go up against the best in the game year in and year out. we can muddle in mediocrity, or we can figure out how to beat the best. took red berenson a while to figure out how to consistently beat jackson at lssu, and maybe you know how that turned out.
weis has been a painful joke at notre dame (at least seems to be). i don't think that era can end too soon.
All of the unknowns surrounding Ohio State will be answered well before the start of The Game. Based on past results, you can bet that the linebackers and secondary will be solid by the last game of the season. Add in the advantage that the D-line will have against Michigan's Oline and Ohio State will have no problem controlling the run.
This means that Michigan will need to rely on a freshman QB starting his first game in the rivalry for the victory. That assumes he will still be healthy come late November. Also, Ohio State is quite comfortable playing in the Big House.
Finally, underestimate Boom Herron at your peril. Ohio State will be able to run the ball on Michigan and Michigan will have no answer what so ever for Pryor.
OSU 35 UofM 10
How will the safeties not be up to usual standards if they are the same two starters that have been there for the past two seasons? Nothing changes except there's actually more talent behind them this year.
Boom was solid when I visited OSU this spring, yes I go to OSU and UM coach's clinic each year. But if you think he is not a drop off from Beannie Wells it you who will be disappointed. Besides Herron or any RB is only as good as O line blocking in front of him. And notice you do not dispute my eval of OSUs O line.
MSU has major secondary problems, new QB and new RB and as a result, they have 0 chance at winning the Big Ten this year. Even without playing tUOS, they still have to play PSU and ILL and will lose both of those games as well as against NW and Wisc.
I know this past game didn't go over well but I know this year Michigan is gonna find a way to beat the Buckeyes. As a junior at Michigan, I've seen Michigan at Ohio State in the Big House before and even though we lost, it was a wild experience. This book I breezed through at Borders 100 sporting events you must see live gave the game some love at number 17, but we all know that it should be number 1! Cool book though. GO Blue!!
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