Michigan ranked 20th in the AP Poll

[Riddickulous]

I thought this deserved its own thread.

This is ridiculous. Michigan is a very average team with a very talented player posing as a great team. They are NOT a great team.

Denard Robinson IS the team. His running backs are averaging something like 30 yards a game on 11 carries a game. They have no real offensive scheme. Their gameplan is GIVE THE BALL TO DENARD.

Michigan scored on 4 of 14 possessions on Saturday. They went 7 consecutive drives without a score in the second half, even when Crist threw a pick and we handed them the ball at the 30. They were 3 of 16 on third down conversions.

Special teams? They don't have them. Their punter shanked several punts and their kicker whiffed on two relatively easy field goals.

And the defense is AWFUL. They gave up 535 yards and Dayne Crist played a half. They gave up over 380 yards through the air, and have yet to face Kirk Cousins, Ricky Stanzi, Ben Chappell of Indiana, Scott Tolzien and Terrelle Pryor. Their defensive line barely pressured Crist. Their only sack came on a safety blitz.

I think Michigan can finished with 7-9 wins, but they are not a great football team.

 

[ACamp1900]

DR is THE story of cfb... they are 2-0... we can kick and scream all we want...

they deserve to be there more than us right now.

 

[IrishinSyria]

Michigan sucks, but until anybody proves it on the scoreboard they deserve to be there.

 

[mick2]

Michigan sucks, but until anybody proves it on the scoreboard they deserve to be there.

someone will prove it but dont expect that to happen at least til week 6 when they play msu.

 

[Riddickulous]

someone will prove it but dont expect that to happen at least til week 6 when they play msu.

Sadly they will probably break into the Top 10 before that happens.

 

[IanBr22]

The rest of their TEAM just needs to keep blocking well, catch a couple of balls, run twice, and let DR run the hell out of the ball. Until someone contains him, why stop with that formula.

 

[ACamp1900]

Sadly they will probably break into the Top 10 before that happens.

if they are unbeaten going into MSU then it will be DR's Heisman to lose in the second half of the season... 100% serious.

 

[johnnykillz]

Michigan is good because of a phenomenal athlete. We played them tough. For that, we can be proud. They may be a little one dimensional, but his running ability really opens up passing lanes. Now they have beaten us, I hope they beat everyone else decisively. We almost won that game. I know, close only counts in horse shoes, hand grenades, and public restrooms, but come on...

They deserve the top 20. We would have been there with a win over a good Michigan team in a raucous Big House. Our stadium was NUTS! We were loud. We almost stopped them on fourth and one.

Next year, it's on like Donkey Kong. Now they have earned their place. Allow them to bask in it. In time, it will be our place.

Go Irish! Beat Sparty!

 

[Riddickulous]

if they are unbeaten going into MSU then it will be DR's Heisman to lose in the second half of the season... 100% serious.

That sounds about right.

We'll see. Robinson won't see any serious playing time (barring some kind of monumental failure on the part of the Michigan defense) until Indiana on October second. They play Massachusetts and Bowling Green. Expect Devin Gardner to get some much needed experience in those two games. They need to keep Robinson rested, because he's listed as 6'0", 193 pounds. He's averaging 59.5 touches per game, and 28.5 carries a game. He is not going to last the whole season with that kind of production. Robinson doesn't slide and he's going to take some shots.

 

[mgriff]

They beat us, plain and simple. It's not the first or the last time that an offense hinged on one player. We can see the flaw in their scheme, I think everyone can. The kid is gonna get the hell kicked out of him having to carry it that many times a game. It is not possible for him to hold up all season like this, but until that happens, they have an incredible offense, even if it is DRobcentric. The defense is a liability which will be exploited at some point for a loss or two, and once Denard goes down, Michigan is toast. I would suggest dealing with the fact that we lost to Michigan for the second year in a row when we should have beat them, and relishing the fact that this team will be screwed at some point during the season. Michigan is getting its hopes up, but its just going to make the fall that much harder.

 

[nlroma1o]

ughhh... this thread is gonna cause me to puke... violently... all over my keyboard.... and im at work!!!

 

[IrishLax]

Mike Vick was the whole team for Virginia Tech back in the day.... and he took them to a BCS title game and almost did it again the year after except that he was injured for the game against Miami. So it is totally conceivable that a single player (e.g. a Mike Vick or a Vince Young) can carry a team.

With that being said, the injury that kept him out against Miami was hardly the first of his career. I think he missed about 5 games of combined time over 2 years just from the beating his body took on a daily basis. And he took about half the beating that Denard Robinson is taking now. It is simple probability that Robinson will get dinged up at some point this season.

Rich Rod, however, doesn't care. He is playing to win games not keep his QB healthy. Why? Because, frankly, Gardner is probably just as good if not better than Robinson as a dual threat QB so there is a nice insurance policy on DR should he go down.

Give Michigan the props they are due. It took them two years of suck but they have finally recruited the right guys to run Rich Rod's offense effectively.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

They deserve the top 20. We would have been there with a win over a good Michigan team in a raucous Big House.

^^This. If no one can stop Denard, they'll win a lot of games. If teams figure it out, the rankings will sort themselves out.

I would have expected to have been ranked if we had won.

 

[GoIrish41]

I can name a hundred teams since I've been following college football that have revolved around a single player. How did we look without Crist at the helm?

 

[mgriff]

Having an offense revolve around one player was not invented by DickRod at the beginning of this year. He is going to use that kid to save his job, until he gets hurt, then the flaws with the rest of the team are going to be far more apparent.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Having an offense revolve around one player was not invented by DickRod at the beginning of this year. He is going to use that kid to save his job, until he gets hurt, then the flaws with the rest of the team are going to be far more apparent.

And if he doesn't get hurt, lots of teams are in trouble.

tOSU vs. Mich could be a shoot out.

 

[mgriff]

And if he doesn't get hurt, lots of teams are in trouble.

tOSU vs. Mich could be a shoot out.

It could be, but look at what our defense did against them. We played pretty well and held them to 28 points. I think OSU's defense is better. I would give Denard a 5% chance of making it through the season like this, and even if he does, some of those Big Integer defenses are better than ours; Iowa, Penn State, and Ohio State come to mind.

 

[IrishAlum1997]

Not happy with a loss, but happy that this QB freak of nature is going to make DickRod look relatively smart for a season or two. When his once-in-a-decade talent is gone, Dicky Poo will be back to 7-5 or worse. Still convinced he is not coaching Michigan by 2013, and not by choice.

 

[IrishinSyria]

When his once-in-a-decade talent is gone

Was it the player or the system? All D Robinson is, is a cornerback with a good arm. There are plenty of those at the highschool football level, they just get converted because nobody uses them. I, personally, am terrified of Dick Rod getting established at Michigan because I expect him to be able to consistently field excellent start of the year teams. I also expect those teams will collapse as their QB gets battered to all hell in the Big Ten, thus nuking ND's SOS.

 

[GoingGreen]

It could be, but look at what our defense did against them. We played pretty well and held them to 28 points. I think OSU's defense is better. I would give Denard a 5% chance of making it through the season like this, and even if he does, some of those Big Integer defenses are better than ours; Iowa, Penn State, and Ohio State come to mind.

Don't forget Wisconsin, they're defense is better than Penn State's.

I think over the next two games (UMass, Bowling Green), Denard Robinson isn't going to run as much as he has been. I don't think he'll run very much at all, and that freshman will get a lot of playing time. I don't know for sure though, maybe RichRod will want to get him 1,000 yards in one game.

 

[Irish_Angst]

Yes... we lost to MeatChicken (grrr), BUT (and this is a big however)...

I predict that our record at the end of the season will be better than DickRod's.

 

[PatsandBostonfan1975]

That loss hurt so bad !!!!!!!

That loss hurt so bad !!!!!!!

you know what they won we would be ranked that high if we won so good for them. Their were alot postives for us from that game ill take those( I really took this loss hard!!!!!!) congrats Mich.

 

[phgreek]

Wow...that was fast. 20...whew thats high...

It appears we'll get to fly under the RADAR for a time...and skunkbear gets to be the darling of the media...GOOD!

I'd have rather won, and be dealing with the ranking right now... But the longer our guys can cook w/o the pressure (well more pressure), the better off we are...couple more wins from being done...then we'll see some swagger...

Denard chucked it OK, and ran it lights out...he made good decisions...we'll see how his decision making is when that ranking and the rest of the big 10 is hanging on him...

 

[RDU Irish]

Michigan deserves it. This early in the season a lot of votes can change over very quickly. With a dynamic play maker monopolizing ESPN highlight reels the first two weeks, tons of votes should be expected to swing their way.

 

[Jerry]

you know what they won we would be ranked that high if we won so good for them. Their were alot postives for us from that game ill take those( I really took this loss hard!!!!!!) congrats Mich.

It's sort of irrelevant but I don't think ND would have been that high if they would have stopped Robinson on that last drive and won. I think ND would be 25th or 24th. I think it's Denards highlight reel that has Michigan bumped up to 20.

 

[SoInIrishFan]

I actually like the fact that UM is ranked like they are. It gives Kelly the carrot to hold in front of the horse. We all know who the best team was, but they didn't play like it. Was it all their fault, nope, but the fact remains we lost. Kelly may show the kids UM's ranking every week, just to tick them off. A little fire in the gut goes a long way, when it has to do with something to prove.

Just my opinion, your mileage may vary

 

[IrishandColts]

Enough about Michigan