LOL ... Hugh Freeze just found out that Smart got to the natty in year 2

[NewPhoneWhoDis]

I think he brought the toughness back to the Oline. He did the same at tOSU when Meyer was there.

I think the guy responsible for Michigan's toughness coming back is Ben Herbert. He doesn't get alot of press, but he makes $1 million a year for a reason. He completely changed the strength and conditioning program at UM. He caters every program to the individual player and then pits the team against each other by putting up rankings for the entire team for all to see.

So the more you push yourself and the more work you put in, the higher up the board you go. It seems like a genius idea to get guys to challenge themselves.

 

[NewPhoneWhoDis]

At least Day didn't intentionally duck a Michigan game. That would have been embarrassing

So are you saying Day ducked Illinois? Come on with that non-sense. Michigan didn't even have enough healthy players to hold practice, let alone play games. That's why we cancelled a bunch of games, not just OSU.

 

[ellupo]

You're the one that said dog first

I guess the "leave that dog alone" went over you head. Im not surprised. Dog...

 

[ellupo]

I think the guy responsible for Michigan's toughness coming back is Ben Herbert. He doesn't get alot of press, but he makes $1 million a year for a reason. He completely changed the strength and conditioning program at UM. He caters every program to the individual player and then pits the team against each other by putting up rankings for the entire team for all to see.

So the more you push yourself and the more work you put in, the higher up the board you go. It seems like a genius idea to get guys to challenge themselves.

I agree he is important. But I see a different in the Oline after Warriner was at MI and when he was at tOSU. Buckeyes just lost it.

 

[Across The Field]

They just gave up over 5 yards per carry and 180 yards to ND, who don't have the RB's Michigan does, nor the continuity of the OL that Michigan does. So I hope you are right and they don't blitz, because that would give Michigan a big advantage.

I mean, giving up 5ypc to a team averaging over 6ypc with a freight train like Estime isn't bad. They came alive more in the second half but again, that's not a big deal. I also don't see the dropoff from michigan's OL to ND's. Don't forget, OSU also had to keep Hartman in mind at all times. Even after the OSU game he's still 4th in the nation in QB rating, 6th in YPA and 3rd in TDs. I'd argue the gap between michigan's RBs/OL and ND's RBs/OL is matched by ND's advantage at QB.

 

[Across The Field]

I'm 1000% of the WR room at OSU. It is crazy the talent they have, not just in 2021, 2022, but almost every year in the last decade.

If Hartline stays on board, it should continue. The 2023/2024 classes are two of the most unreal WR classes B2B that any team has ever had.

 

[NewPhoneWhoDis]

I mean, giving up 5ypc to a team averaging over 6ypc with a freight train like Estime isn't bad. They came alive more in the second half but again, that's not a big deal. I also don't see the dropoff from michigan's OL to ND's. Don't forget, OSU also had to keep Hartman in mind at all times. Even after the OSU game he's still 4th in the nation in QB rating, 6th in YPA and 3rd in TDs. I'd argue the gap between michigan's RBs/OL and ND's RBs/OL is matched by ND's advantage at QB.

But the RB's were averaging 6 ypc against team like Tennessee State, Central Michigan, etc. That's why I say where a team ranks nationally now means very little.

Michigan ranks at the top of a million categories, but they are ranked that high because they've played nobody. I don't expect McCarthy to complete 80% of his passes on the season, but he has done so, so far.

Unless your OOC was against 3 legit P5 top 25 teams -- the rankings mean little right now, just like, to me, the top 25 means very little until the end of the season and teams have actually played meaningful games. All the rankings we see now are just for the fans to talk about.

 

[Across The Field]

But the RB's were averaging 6 ypc against team like Tennessee State, Central Michigan, etc. That's why I say where a team ranks nationally now means very little.

Michigan ranks at the top of a million categories, but they are ranked that high because they've played nobody. I don't expect McCarthy to complete 80% of his passes on the season, but he has done so, so far.

Unless your OOC was against 3 legit P5 top 25 teams -- the rankings mean little right now, just like, to me, the top 25 means very little until the end of the season and teams have actually played meaningful games. All the rankings we see now are just for the fans to talk about.

Well if that's the case, I'm not sure how you can say michigan is above ND so confidently. ND has played a harder schedule, and I think it's objectively fair to say that their OL, Estime, Jeremiyah Love (4*, #5 RB in his class) and Jadarian Price (4*, 14th ranked RB in his class) are all pretty good. There are definitely plenty of pros and cons about that game, but given the turnover we had on offense and the leaps we needed to take on defense from last year, it wasn't an awful performance from OSU.

 

[NewPhoneWhoDis]

Well if that's the case, I'm not sure how you can say michigan is above ND so confidently. ND has played a harder schedule, and I think it's objectively fair to say that their OL, Estime, Jeremiyah Love (4*, #5 RB in his class) and Jadarian Price (4*, 14th ranked RB in his class) are all pretty good. There are definitely plenty of pros and cons about that game, but given the turnover we had on offense and the leaps we needed to take on defense from last year, it wasn't an awful performance from OSU.

Michigan isn't going to open their playbook in games where it isn't needed. They are going to use vanilla play calling, they are going to get a lot of people snaps and they are go to try and stay as healthy as possible.

It is why I haven't commented about any game other than the ND and OSU game, because they are two teams that you know will be good.

I put Michigan over ND because we return an all-american RB and have the best RB duo in the nation. We also had 3/5 of our OL return, including two All-B1G and one an honorable mention all-american they have going in the 1st round in Zak Zinter for next year's draft. They added the top C and top LT in the transfer portal as well.

With Michigan -- we've had 4 head coaches in 4 games so far this year. I honestly don't put much into anything UM has done in the first 4 games. I think our first real test will be Penn State, so if Sims has some ball control -- the Nebraska game could be close for a couple quarters.