Sep 7 | Michigan

ulukinatme

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Apparently Hoke is considered skinny, 3 minute mark, random rambling around 7 minutes:

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Mandatory Hoke Philosopher King video

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Patulski

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Was just about to say something about this. You're exactly right. Watch the CMU vs UM highlights and watch how slow CMU is. ND defenses are by in large accepted as SEC-style defenses. When a play breaks down and the QB flees, the defense is fast enough to close in on him extremely fast.

I remember the first time I saw Louis Nix pursuing a runner towards the sideline at our stadium and saying to my friend "can you believe how fast that guy is for that size?". I have been watching since 1965 and Nix is the biggest, fastest lineman I have ever seen. More than a few UM fans are going to have that "did you just see that?" moment tomorrow night.
 

irishfan

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Does anyone find it funny that, from the limited time i've looked at UM message boards, there is NO ONE that is genuinely concerned, like our fan base.

why do you think that is? is it the years of sub-par play?

the nature of the series in general?

the close games recently?

what is it that allows them to be ever confidant and us popping alka seltzer on tuesday?

It is weird. They had a lot of close losses, but they were only an 8-5 team last year. They only beat MSU by 2 at home and it took a miracle for them to beat NW. Like I said earlier in this thread, if you replace the recent history, I think most people would expect us to win by 10+ just based on comparing talent/coaching.
 

jimmymac

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Is anyone going to be tailgating tomorrow in Ann Arbor?? Will be there all day until game time.
 

ulukinatme

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One thing I enjoy about the Buckeyes is the common rivals.

So, on Buckeye Planet they were talking about how Purdue's Safety, Landon Feichter, is playing with 2 broken hands this week which could impede his ability to possibly make picks. That led to someone pointing out he'll still be a better receiver than Braylon Edwards...which led to someone pointing out Stevie Wonder is a better receiver than Braylon Edwards...which led to the point that Stevie was already backing up Helen Keller...and now, Michigan's Depth Chart:

X:H Keller Y:R Charles Z(slot): A Bocelli
S Wonder L Braille J Healey
B Edwards R Milsap E Scissorhands
 

arrowryan

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Anyone else watch yesterday's Kelly's conference after practice? It might just be me but he seemed so relaxed about the game. A lot different than how he was his first 2 years
 

Patulski

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It is weird. They had a lot of close losses, but they were only an 8-5 team last year. They only beat MSU by 2 at home and it took a miracle for them to beat NW.

I think Golson had a "deer in the headlights" experience last year, and I think the offense and game plan was tailored towards Golson. We were not as much of a perimeter team last year as we are this year, so Rees's strengths of reading blitzes and getting the ball to people in space did not happen. The biggest exception was his throw to Eifert to seal the game, but otherwise the game was called very close to the vest. It took a long time for Golson to grasp more of the offense and to be able to audible and do some of the things experienced QB's can do.

Rees is the X-factor this year. He is extremely experienced reading defenses and knows where to adjust to what he sees the defense doing by calling audibles. It is his execution that will be the key. If he plays really well and is accurate with his throws with no turnovers, we could win big. If he does not seize the moment and is inconsistent with his accuracy and/or turns the ball over, we'll lose, unless they become a turnover machine as well.
 

rikkitikki08

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Along with a Win tomorrow night i fully expect to see a REESUS sign from someone on college gameday
 
K

koonja

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I agree with this.

Gallon is pretty good and Dileo is a nice complimentary WR, but both of these guys lack size badly. Gallon is 5'8, Dileo is 5'9. Makes the margin of error for a QB really small, they don't have the same kind of catch radius or ups as a 6'3, 6'4 WR.

I'm with you on Fitz Toussaint. I think he'd be a nice back-up RB in previous years at Michigan, but he's not starting material. I'm hoping Derrick Green seizes the job at some point this year.

Michigan is still trying to get the talent level back. Not quite there yet.

What's your prediction for tomorrow's game?
 

condoms SUCk

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One thing I enjoy about the Buckeyes is the common rivals.

So, on Buckeye Planet they were talking about how Purdue's Safety, Landon Feichter, is playing with 2 broken hands this week which could impede his ability to possibly make picks. That led to someone pointing out he'll still be a better receiver than Braylon Edwards...which led to someone pointing out Stevie Wonder is a better receiver than Braylon Edwards...which led to the point that Stevie was already backing up Helen Keller...and now, Michigan's Depth Chart:

X:H Keller Y:R Charles Z(slot): A Bocelli
S Wonder L Braille J Healey
B Edwards R Milsap E Scissorhands

Haha, Reps
 

Gauss

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It is weird. They had a lot of close losses, but they were only an 8-5 team last year. They only beat MSU by 2 at home and it took a miracle for them to beat NW. Like I said earlier in this thread, if you replace the recent history, I think most people would expect us to win by 10+ just based on comparing talent/coaching.
They lost to 3 undefeated teams on the road - that's a big part of why people don't focus much on the 8-5 overall record. Has any team ever played 3 undefeated teams before?

That said, there does seem to be a clear talent mismatch. It's confusing to me why Michigan is getting more than 3 points. Vegas is pricing this game as Michigan having a slight talent edge? And yes, I know Vegas sometimes attempts to balance betting on both sides, but that's rarely a major effect that moves spreads by point than a point or so.
 

Whiskeyjack

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Matt Hinton of Football Outsiders predicts an Irish victory:

NOTRE DAME (+4) at MICHIGAN • 8 pm (ESPN)

• Before last season, the blackest mark against Tommy Rees as Notre Dame's starting quarterback was his penchant for giving the ball away, which he did both too often -– 14 interceptions, five lost fumbles in 2011 alone –- and at especially inopportune moments. For many, the defining moment of Rees' career to date remains an infamous fourth-quarter fumble in Michigan Stadium in September 2011, when the ball slipped untouched out of his hand as he attempted a pass inside the Wolverine red zone. The gaffe likely cost the Irish a decisive score in a game they'd dominated for three quarters and went on to lose in gut-wrenching fashion. (Tellingly, far fewer fans seem to give Rees credit for returning to throw a go-ahead touchdown pass in the same game with less than a minute to play, only to watch the defense melt down in the final seconds.) Altogether, Notre Dame went on to commit 29 turnovers that season, and finished in the red in overall turnover margin all five of its losses.

With Everett Golson taking the vast majority of snaps in 2012, the Irish were no better at moving the ball than they had been under Rees, but they turned the ball over just 15 times, and finished in the red just twice in the regular season. (Tellingly, both of those games were settled in dramatic fashion in overtime against Stanford and Pittsburgh, nearly derailing the "miracle" run to the BCS title game.) With Golson out of the picture this season and Rees once again entrenched at the top of the depth chart, the Irish showed no signs of their old, butterfingery selves last week in a 28–6 rout over Temple, in which Rees passed for three touchdowns in the first half and finished with the highest pass efficiency rating (239.0) in the Brian Kelly era. Michigan is not Temple: On the road, backed up by effectively the same first-rate defense that anchored last year's turnaround, eliminating mistakes takes precedent over explosiveness.

• Even the more realistic corners of the Michigan fan base are betting the house this year on the emergence of quarterback Devin Gardner, who arrived with high marks as a recruit in 2010, looked good in his first extended action late last season, and left coaches and pro scouts alike gushing over the summer. In last week's win over Central Michigan, not so much: Gardner only put the ball in the air 15 times, and was picked off twice. Instead, the good news against CMU was the ground game, a major question mark coming into the season, which racked up 242 yards behind Gardner, true freshman Derrick Green in his first college game, and senior Fitzgerald Toussaint in his first game back from a broken leg. But Notre Dame is not Central Michigan: If Gardner is who Michigan fans think he is, this is the time to prove it.

Prediction. Notre Dame 24, Michigan 20.

Note the following graphic:

Notre_Dame-Michigan_Box.png


UM does not have the edge in a single statistical category.
 

A2forND

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Regardless of the outcome tomorrow night...I'll be signing up for the liver transplant list
 

IrishSteelhead

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Sep 7 | Michigan

I hear ya A2. Better that than heart transplant list. I honestly don't want a nail biter. If a 2011 replay occurs, I may go into a Howard Hughesesque depression complete with a living room filled with jars of p-ss.
 
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stlnd01

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Matt Hinton of Football Outsiders predicts an Irish victory:

It's funny. The majority of predictions I've seen suggest that we're the better team but that Michigan's going to win. I guess it's hard to argue given recent history, and frankly I'd rather be the close underdog, but it seems kind of silly.
 

NDinL.A.

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Is anyone going to be tailgating tomorrow in Ann Arbor?? Will be there all day until game time.

I'll be up there around 1. Probably meet up with nlroma10 a couple hours after that. Where you tailgating? I'll probably hit up a bar until I meet up with nlroma.
 
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Who'saWildManNow

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CMUs defense was AWFUL in every aspect of the game. No speed, terrible angles, zero penetration and no "real" pressure on the passing game.

Gardner would bounce around semi frantic when in reality he had all the time in the world.

If we can pressure with 3 and rush with a 4th at times we will have this game guaranteed.
 
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