Michigan @ Illinois, Saturday, 10/12, Noon, ABC/ESPN Video

[Tom W]

But.. The Team, The Team. The Team...


It's really going to be laughed at when they play this they that 6-5 "Team" is getting clobbered by ohio. It will be impossible for TPTB to not take notice of that.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Oh, wait, I learned another thing from this game. When I suggested M would win just one more game, I just saw it. M will lose to @PSU next week and to ND at night on the following Saturday night.

I'd give M a < 10% chance of winning those two games and if they win it won't be to, uhhh, "the offense is hitting its stride;" it will be because this is CFB and weird shit happens.

MSU? Nope. Dantonio will find ways to win this game in AA by some twist of fate augmented by - yep, M's shitty offense - like he usually does and Harbugh can't.

Then we have @ Maryland. It's a road game and Maryland sucks pretty much like Illinois. You mean the sucky team that made a game of it because M's offense is just bad? Yeah, that one. M can easily lose this game because a number of real factors - let's start with Patterson's inconsistency then move on to M's D still having issues with spready teams that can dink and dunk down the field with quick throws, one or two of which break for chunk plays, then have a pounder that can get short yards. Like a Fr. QB at Illinois doing that with Corbin or Conner getting the short yardage TD. No matter how you slice it, M's defense has an additional weakness in stopping 4th and short or goal and short.

IU? see above.

osu? Never mind.

Yep, 5-7 coming up.

[Hannibal]

We could luck into 7-5. Maryland is really bad and Indiana has choking tendencies against us. That's our ceiling though. Hopefully the Monday after the OSU loss we will be seeing a press conference announcing a change.

[lineygoblue]

I wouldn't be disappointed to see Harbaugh depart either, Hanni .. but I still think its going to take worse than 7-5 or 6-6 to make Manuel pull the plug.

A bit more far-fetched scenario would be if Harbaugh is whacked by all four of PSU, MSU, OSU and ND, would he just simply resign? "Make room for someone with better ideas".

I wonder if we can get the Ravens to fire his brother?

[Tom W]

I'm not sure that a resignation, whether fully voluntary or "encouraged" is too far-fetched. Jimmy has looked rather lost of late. Something is not right.

But John getting fired by the Ravens? THAT's far fetched..

[maxreturn]

Still, I don't think Manuel will fire Harbaugh for 7-5 or even 6-6. They'd almost have to lose all their remaining games for that to happen.

That's a real sad but true statement. It demonstrates the stark difference in competency when comparing the two AD's at Michigan and OSU. First, I don't think for a moment that OSU would've hired Harbaugh had he been available when they had a vacancy. Second, they most certainly would not have put up with this nonsense for more than a year or two at the most.

[maxreturn]

Oh, wait, I learned another thing from this game. When I suggested M would win just one more game, I just saw it. M will lose to @PSU next week and to ND at then move on to M's D still having issues with spready teams that can dink and dunk down the field with quick throws, one or two of which break for chunk plays, then have a pounder that can get short yards. Like a Fr. QB at Illinois doing that with Corbin or Conner getting the short yardage TD. No matter how you slice it, M's defense has an additional weakness in stopping 4th and short or goal and short.

Speaking of the D; Harbaugh's love affair with Brown alienated a far better better DC and caused him to go to our arch rival. Look at their defense now.

[Cody_Russell]

[Kstat]

[lineygoblue]

I think Brown is doing the best he can with what he's got to use. Where his defense tends to shine, is when they don't have to be on the field the entire game. When they can play in short bursts, they can be devastating. The problems Michigan is having now are directly related to the ineffectiveness of the offense. They can't sustain drives, they can't score, and they can't hold on to the ball. One thing they do real well, is consistently give the defense tough field position to defend. That's what is going to lead us to 6-6 or 7-5 at best.

[Kstat]

[Mackenzie]

We could luck into 7-5. Maryland is really bad and Indiana has choking tendencies against us. That's our ceiling though. Hopefully the Monday after the OSU loss we will be seeing a press conference announcing a change.

Hanni, Sounds like it''s almost time to put up a "Who Will Be Michigan's Next Coach" thread. There's probably a lot of sentiment out there for a change. But, the age old question of....... Well, that's the catch, isn't it? I'm not sure they were lining up outside Manuel's door 4 years ago (that we know of). Will it be different this January? Will Miles be in play? I'm not thinking a change will happen but if it does, who then?

[lineygoblue]

Miles is too old. At best he'll be at Kansas for about 3 years then he's done. M had their chance to get Miles when he was still a valuable coaching commodity, and they missed out. Forget him.

If Michigan has to do a coaching search, IMO to get the right guy they'll have to go off the grid. Find a guy who is really good at coaching football who is not on everybody's radar. A real, honest to goodness coaching search to find a guy who is really good at what he does.

[hack]

I was there for that infamous A-Train game. After the game, some co-ed ran up to me and screamed in my face "Michigan can suck my c***!"

Beating them by 60 wouldn't be thorough enough for me.

Did you ask if she shaves or waxes?

[hack]

Agreed. Fourth-quarter collapses explained.