Michigan 20, Northwestern, 17

[Jeff Buchanan]

Traveling to Chicago is usually a good weather bet in late September. The forecast remains unclear, it's either going to be nice and 70 or rain and 55. All depends on where the fronts in the region settle this weekend. I'm traveling.

Lots of hope and renewed enthusiasm for M football going forward after the boys delivered an absolute beat down on the Huskerz. For me, the gain is almost all attributable to improved OL play. The kind of improvements I saw are not entirely opponent dependent. The rest of the gain comes from how prepared the D was for what Frost dealt and the physicality and big hits that M laid on the Nebraska offensive players.

Still, there remains fear that the other shoe will drop. That comes from more than a decade of inconsistent and mostly shitty M football where M would play one good game and three bad ones. String two games together with the kind of performance we saw v. Nebraska and that fear may dissipate a bit.

[WM Wolverine]

Nebraska = Rutgers...

Don't make more about this win than beating up on Rutgers. Northwestern has a decent defensive front seven that'll slow M's offense down a bit.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Nebraska = Rutgers...

Don't make more about this win than beating up on Rutgers. Northwestern has a decent defensive front seven that'll slow M's offense down a bit.

Not really and we should take quite a bit from this game.

ESPN's power index after this weekends games:

M = #10

NfW = #53

Neb = #79

Rutgers = #113

[Hannibal]

We'll win but it will be unattractive as hell.

[iam416]

[Hannibal]

Nebraska = Rutgers..

Nebraska = "normal" Rutgers

2018 Rutgers = a middling I-AA team.

[Jeff Buchanan]

We'll win but it will be unattractive as hell.

I think you said something like this as well for the Nebraska game but I loved your post game comments for that game. Nice change-up.

I'm optimistic and while I've got a bias for sure, I'm not looking at what happened Saturday v. Neb from 10K feet like I suspect you are.

As I said in another post. Some of things that happened this weekend for M are not entirely opponent dependent. I think you are able to say the same things about osu's wins because you are probably looking at them in a whole lot more detail. M could stumble v. NfW, Maryland or Wisky but I think, from what I've seen over the last two games, those games are more certain wins than they were after the ND game based on objective data. Certainly, Wisky is a decent test for both the offense and defense. We'll see.

[Jeff Buchanan]

M opens at -13.5 at NfW.

[WM Wolverine]

NW is competent on one side of the ball, I'd like to see the offense be efficient and get in the end zone on a majority of their drives...

Nebraska was awful at nearly every position group. they might win 3-4 games thanks to playing in the B1G west but that program is a long way from being Wisconsin or even Iowa..

Beating up on NW won't erase my doubts about M contending for the B1G. To do that, they'll need to play a team with similar talent and play well.

[WM Wolverine]

Power rankings that combine a ton of computer rankings has Nebraska at 102. They looked similar to SMU, WMU to me...

NW has DL/LBs that will test Ms offensive line. we might learn a little about the progress the OL has made since ND.

??

[iam416]

UNL has 4 road games left against Wisky, Iowa, NW and OSU. They play Purdue, Goofer, Illinois and Sparty at home. 3-8 seems like high end. 1-10 is a legit possibility.

My son chose the UNL game over the Goofer (he and his sister each get a game). Now he wants to switch.

[iam416]

If they can blow nFw out that will be a legitimate good sign.

[Jeff Buchanan]

.......Beating up on NW won't erase my doubts about M contending for the B1G. To do that, they'll need to play a team with similar talent and play well.

I agree with this. Beating up on Nebraska, at face, doesn't change my perception of the chance that M will win the BTE. I still think it's a long shot. Wisky, MSU, PSU and osu will be tough. Running that gauntlet and winning the BTE outright is a 1/100 chance as we sit her right now. But what happens to these teams going forward in outcomes that don't involve M will change the calculus.

I see 2 losses for each of the contenders, whatever number that might be in the end. Lot's of variables will have to fall in favor of the winner of the BTE. Fun times. Just glad M is currently in the discussions and my hope is that they'll stay there. Having a competent QB makes me a lot more confident that M will.

[iam416]

If you see 2 losses for everyone in BTE, then you have to picking ArmPunt to beat Haskins on Saturday. Smart.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Correct. Counting on it, if you will.