Things observed from re-wtching the game last night.

1) I didn't realize that they lost their star running back and starting QB sooo early in the game. At 59-9 it wasn't going to make the difference, but they may have been a little more competitive.

2) I stand by my original thoughts that Fitz ran hard and well. He had more yards after contact than the other backs combined. He did not dance. If you look at it from a high as opposed to a field view you can say if he'd make a particular cut he may have gotten more on a given play but nothing obvious.

I know many are gaga over Green and I have high hopes but take out his 30 harder which was so well blocked we'd have gotten 15 or 20, and he averaged 2.9 per carry and did not really move any piles for all of his size. He did not (on very small sample size) look appreciably better than Smith to me.

3) Our D-line got better push than I remembered from watching it live- encouraging.

I didn't see ND's game and forgot to record it but they gave up 25 first downs- is that right? That shocks me.

'shoes

wshoes wrote:

1) I didn't realize that they lost their star running back and starting QB sooo early in the game. At 59-9 it wasn't going to make the difference, but they may have been a little more competitive.

2) I stand by my original thoughts that Fitz ran hard and well. He had more yards after contact than the other backs combined. He did not dance. If you look at it from a high as opposed to a field view you can say if he'd make a particular cut he may have gotten more on a given play but nothing obvious.

I know many are gaga over Green and I have high hopes but take out his 30 harder which was so well blocked we'd have gotten 15 or 20, and he averaged 2.9 per carry and did not really move any piles for all of his size. He did not (on very small sample size) look appreciably better than Smith to me.

3) Our D-line got better push than I remembered from watching it live- encouraging.

I didn't see ND's game and forgot to record it but they gave up 25 first downs- is that right? That shocks me.

'shoes

1) CMU's runningback went out on the 3rd possession. Right after the Devin INT. QB went down in early 2nd quarter I believe. I don't think the loss of the QB was as big as the loss of the RB. He is on the pre-season Maxwell watch list and is a good back. The two QB's were supposedly neck and neck coming out of camp, and both were scheduled to play anyway.

2) I also thought Fitz ran the ball pretty well. Hit the holes and got positive yardage. But, I also thought Green ran the ball pretty well. So did Rawls. This is CMU, so I hope the trend continues.

3) D-Line make Morgan look like an All American LB. He really impressed me Saturday. Looks a step quicker than he was last season.

Green was in the first game as a true freshman... He isnt going to look like Montee Ball... He will be fine.

Despite some costly mistakes, Michigan looked dominating.

EJinGA wrote:

Green was in the first game as a true freshman... He isnt going to look like Montee Ball... He will be fine.

Despite some costly mistakes, Michigan looked dominating.

Yes they did but this was Central. Don't buy your non-refundable plane tickets to Pasadena yet. You can start shopping for them, just don't pull the trigger...

2ndComingOfBo wrote:

EJinGA wrote:

Green was in the first game as a true freshman... He isnt going to look like Montee Ball... He will be fine.

Despite some costly mistakes, Michigan looked dominating.

Yes they did but this was Central.  Don't buy your non-refundable plane tickets to Pasadena yet.  You can start shopping for them, just don't pull the trigger...

Compared to how O$U looked against an even worse team, I feel pretty good about the win.

ohio simply isn't that good, neither is/was Notre Dame. Michigan doesn't compare itself to others, others compare themselves to Michigan.

2ndComingOfBo wrote:

ohio simply isn't that good, neither is/was Notre Dame.  Michigan doesn't compare itself to others, others compare themselves to Michigan.

I'm sure Alabama is looking at film and saying "how do we compare to Michigan".  Ha.

fishgoblue22 wrote:

2ndComingOfBo wrote:

ohio simply isn't that good, neither is/was Notre Dame.  Michigan doesn't compare itself to others, others compare themselves to Michigan.

I'm sure Alabama is looking at film and saying "how do we compare to Michigan".  Ha.

Yeah.  You don't have to compare yourself to anyone when you oversign and pay your players.  That program will get busted eventually (like they have so many times in the past.)  Unfortunately, it will probably be like USC and Saban will have been "retired."

I was happy with our win over CMU.  I like games that are stress free.  But I don't think it really told us much because the Chips didn't have a prayer.

Western did....

For fans a stress free game is fun, but sometimes having some pressure for the team to work through is good. Especially an early game. New players, new positions, some playing for the first time, first game, etc. Having a test and seeing how everyone responds is not a bad thing and it can pay dividends later in the season when you are in a close game.

blu4vr wrote:

For fans a stress free game is fun, but sometimes having some pressure for the team to work through is good.  Especially an early game.  New players, new positions, some playing for the first time, first game, etc.  Having a test and seeing how everyone responds is not a bad thing and it can pay dividends later in the season when you are in a close game.

+2 couldn't agree more.

blu4vr wrote:

For fans a stress free game is fun, but sometimes having some pressure for the team to work through is good.  Especially an early game.  New players, new positions, some playing for the first time, first game, etc.  Having a test and seeing how everyone responds is not a bad thing and it can pay dividends later in the season when you are in a close game.

That would be the rationale for playing Notre Dame the second game of the year. Remember it isn't about winning a NC (that is a bonus), it's all about adding to our 42 B1G TEN Championships. Of course rudy screwed that up now (that was very passive-aggressive of Notre Dame but I guess it's the only ay they can beat us).

2ndComingOfBo wrote:

ohio simply isn't that good, neither is/was Notre Dame.  Michigan doesn't compare itself to others, others compare themselves to Michigan.

Where in the rankings do you think Ohio St. finishes the year?

good question. I see them losing two games. They will lose to either Wisc or @NW and then to us. With two losses they will probably end up around 8-10. it really depends on how they play these cake teams. They sure didn't impress anybody against Buffalo. If they don't blow out SDSU they could drop again, even after a win.

Already posted in another thread but 9-5.  Losses at NW, at home against Penn State, at Michigan, to Michigan in the B1G Championship, and to whatever SEC school they get in the Capitol One bowl.  I can't seem to be able to locate that thread...

LOL @ 5 losses......

They're playing 14 games. The only loss that I somewhat question is the second loss to Michigan in the B1G championship game.

Then go make a lot of money at Vegas. Ohio St.'s over/under on wins is 11.5.

Get rich.

Are you really this uneducated when it comes to football or does your bias just make you hope/wish for certain outcomes so much that you "predict" them?

Also, I don't know how much you guys follow football outside of the Big 10, but the MAC is actually respectable this year. Bowling Green and Northern Illinois are both legit top 25 teams. Buffalo is probably the 3rd best team in that conference this year and not as much of a cupcake as you guys might think. There was no way in hell Ohio St. was covering that over/under, especially missing key players.

Anyone who predicts 5 losses for Ohio St. this year is a moron, trolling, or with some people (no mentioning names), both.

I got 3 losses for Ohio.  Wisconsin, Northwestern, and UM.  I also think UM plays Wisconsin in the B1G championship.

We will see, if I'm right you've got to change your sig. line...

2ndComingOfBo wrote:

Already posted in another thread but 9-5.  Losses at NW, at home against Penn State, at Michigan, to Michigan in the B1G Championship, and to whatever SEC school they get in the Capitol One bowl.  I can't seem to be able to locate that thread...

The only hole I can punch in this is that if O$U loses to Penn St they probably won't get into the B1G championship game to lose to us a second time. It will probably be Wiscy. I like Fish's prediction of UM vs UW in the B1G championship game.

I think you guys overrate Wisconsin. Wisconsin drops a bunch of points on cupcakes every season. Buffalo would beat UMass by 20+ points.

I didn't think Wisconsin would be that good going into the season and a blowout vs UMass isn't going to change my mind.

I've got 2 to 3 losses for Ohio St.

hailtoyourvictor wrote:

I think you guys overrate Wisconsin. Wisconsin drops a bunch of points on cupcakes every season. Buffalo would beat UMass by 20+ points.

I didn't think Wisconsin would be that good going into the season and a blowout vs UMass isn't going to change my mind.

I've got 2 to 3 losses for Ohio St.

I agree with your assessment on Wisconsin but the fact is that their schedule sets them up nice to be in the B1G championship game again. The only stumbles I see for the badgers are @O$U and Penn St. They do have Northwestern at home but it's their homecoming game so I don't see them losing that. The O$U game is their toughest game but Ohio Stadium may as well be Camp Randal east because UW always plays lights out there (expect 2008 I think). So that really leaves Penn St and UW gets that game at home also. So back to my point, the UW schedule sets them up nice to be in the B1G championship game for a third time.

sandyeggo_blue wrote:

2ndComingOfBo wrote:

Already posted in another thread but 9-5.  Losses at NW, at home against Penn State, at Michigan, to Michigan in the B1G Championship, and to whatever SEC school they get in the Capitol One bowl.  I can't seem to be able to locate that thread...

The only hole I can punch in this is that if O$U loses to Penn St they probably won't get into the B1G championship game to lose to us a second time. It will probably be Wiscy. I like Fish's prediction of UM vs UW in the B1G championship game.

Penn State will start really feeling affects from the sanctions this year. They're still decent, just not deep. They'll sneak up on ohio but they'll also lose a few games that they shouldn't (Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nebraska for L's). Wisconsin will also lose three games (ohio, NW, and Minnesota). ohio will luck out and get to go because of the 3-way tiebreaker being BCS ranking...

Neither Purdue, Indiana, nor Iowa will be there either...

@ Iowa?...

Also, the game @Minnesota is late November. I can't remember a Thanksgiving where we didn't have snow up here. That game will most likely be greatly influenced by weather which could even the playing field (snow games tend to neutralize talent differences).