Michigan-utah
- Thread starter screwduke
- Start date
They can't get a run game going.. Their D had a good first half.. But it looks like they might be starting to break here in the second half
No surprises here. Their QB was terrible at Iowa. He is still terrible. Utah is a good team and Michigan is not. It's going to take a few years for Harbaugh to get them turned around.
i think a lot of people just assumed that michigan had more talent than what they actually have. hoke was actually a decent coach and he couldn't get anything going up there. rich rod is a heck of a coach he barely went bowling.
Wouldn't hurt my feelings if Harbaugh continues that trend. LOL
That one I saw a lot of. I was pleased. Utah might not be OSU or 'Bama, but they've got a good program going. I figured they would have a bit of a chip on their shoulder with so many people thinking Michigan might romp all over them. I believe Harbaugh will prove a good choice, but you can't turn around a program overnight that's been going down for some time now.
First game with a new HC on the road playing a team considered top 25 and lose by 7. Teams really improve between the early games. That is probably most true for teams in transition. New HC. New QB. I think UM could be a hard matchup by week four. UM had a bunch of penalties on offense. Those are transition mistakes, not bad coaching. Their run game will improve dramatically. Harbaugh's running attack is not easy to learn or perfect.
I think they gave up on rich rod way too fast.
Rich Rod was on an upward trajectory. He likely would have won 11 games the next season. Michigan would have been a consistent winner, but they let their cockiness get the best of them. They fired him and paid a price for that bad decision.
He wasn't really given a chance.......and RichRod didn't help matters.
Michigan is a proud and premier program historically. They have developed this ideal of what their style of play should be.......tough, physical defense.....and a tough, physical running game. Their traditions are old and held in high reverance. It was quite a shock to even hire Rich Rod.....who runs a polar opposite style of play.
Rich Rod had to completely overturn the roster.....which takes yrs to accomplish. During this time he didn't win a ton......and he rubbed a lot of the fans/faculty/alumn the wrong way when he trashed a lot of the traditions that Michigan holds so dear. Then he was let go before ever getting a chance to shine. He would've soared with them and been national contenders every yr.
Then they hired Hoke. A man who upholds the traditions of Michigan and has their style of play. He recruits decently.....not stellar, but decently. His first order of business is to repair the relationships with the fans/alumni/faculty and to completely overturn the roster back the other way.....which takes yrs to accomplish. At first he utilized more of the spread concepts.....utilizing the personnel that Rich gave him.....and this worked at first. But as he tried to change over to the ground/pound offense, he was forced to play more and more underclassmen....and the losses piled up. And thus, he was let go before he could succeed.....
Now, Harbaugh. He has pretty decent talent to work with.....and it's talent that is geared towards the Michigan style of play. If they can grasp the system and new coaching quickly they can do well. They lack a QB, but most positions will return most everyone for next yr. He'll likely have them winning double digits by 2016......or possibly 2017.
This issue for Michigan remains, however. They are fixated on this "Michigan Man" and the "Michigan Style" of play. They've become so tunnel blind. What if Harbaugh leaves after a few yrs? Then what? Are they willing to accept some more yrs of poor seasons while they search for someone that may or may not be out there? At some point they are going to have to let go.....
With Kaepernick, Harbaugh implemented elements of spread offenses. The 49ers used the diamond formation, made famous by Dana Holgorsen, particularly effectively. Running backs and tight ends were often flexed out of the formation and split out wide. Harbaugh's teams are definitely still pro-style power run teams, but he sprinkles in enough zone read type plays to not be the pure pro style that Michigan has grown used to. I think it is similar enough that they won't mind (unlike with Rich Rod), plus Harbaugh is a "Michigan man" who doesn't use words like "y'all" (also unlike Rich Rod). It will be good for them offensievly to get away from the old school ground-and-pound type offense a little bit.
The only thing Michigan has is tradition and it keeps people thinking every year that they will be better than they are... UT is a 25 this year..... These tradition teams will get more consideration than some proven teams.... That's the one thing that I don't like about football media....
The tradition teams get more consideration because they also invest more in football...there are exceptions, but teams that have tradition generally do perform better. Michigan is getting a lot of hype right now because of Harbaugh who has seen some success in college and the NFL. I would say Michigan has a lot more than tradition. They have resources, a good coaching staff, good facilities, a fan base that demands excellence. They will be good again, it just won't be this year.
I watched about half of this game and don't see why people are saying Utah = good, Michigan = bad.
Actually I thought both of these teams looked better than USC, UNC, Vandy or Western, the other games I watch, and while both teams had ups and downs I though overall it was fairly even. Had Michigan not thrown the late interception deep in Utah territory this would likely have been an OT game.
Actually I thought both of these teams looked better than USC, UNC, Vandy or Western, the other games I watch, and while both teams had ups and downs I though overall it was fairly even. Had Michigan not thrown the late interception deep in Utah territory this would likely have been an OT game.
I agree. I thought both teams were decent. Michigan was just more sloppy.....which is common with coaching changes.
