U of M thread (in the Lions Forum) :)

[kreton]

I think you guys are crazy. JJ was hitting wide open WR's as Ohio's defense just couldn't grasp some of the movements they were pulling. On the flip side Michigans CBs are some of the best in football and they were draped all over the Ohio WR's. You couldn't get better coverage and Stroud was still hitting guys in stride where only his player could catch the ball. Stroud is damned impressive.

The TO's at the end of the game was him just trying to make shit happen. Day should be ashamed of himself for kicking that FG at the 7 min mark. That was f'ing putrid as they needed the crowd back in it

I'm not saying Shroud had a terrible day, but he did have a bad 2nd half even without the picks. More though, that first INT specifically, he lost his composure and threw a terrible pass. Houston can have him.

[DanO]

If everyone holds serve, I imagine the final four will be

Georgia
Michigan
TCU
USC

I would like to see that for sure. I think the semifinal matchups would be very entertaining games.

My thoughts as well.

[jaadam4]

I'm not saying Shroud had a terrible day, but he did have a bad 2nd half even without the picks. More though, that first INT specifically, he lost his composure and threw a terrible pass. Houston can have him.

The game was over by the time the last INT came into play. The shovel pass INT was tipped by the intended target or it wouldn’t have been catchable.

Those are plays where Stroud was just trying to make shit happen. Granted he wasn’t under any duress for the majority of the day.

But if we’re comparing him to Fields, I like Stroud all day long. I hate Ohio QBs but he’s one that I’d take

[kreton]

The game was over by the time the last INT came into play. The shovel pass INT was tipped by the intended target or it wouldn’t have been catchable.

Those are plays where Stroud was just trying to make shit happen. Granted he wasn’t under any duress for the majority of the day.

But if we’re comparing him to Fields, I like Stroud all day long. I hate Ohio QBs but he’s one that I’d take

In college football loads of QBs put up tons of yards. It is what they do. 3/4s of their games are against inferior talent and even against good teams college coverage is softer. D linemen are slower. Statistically Stroud looks great. So where QBs can really stand out is how they perform in big games. How they perform under pressure. Decision making. Poise. Reading defenses.

Stroud benefits from have amazing playmakers around him. Launching balls to Harrison on plays where he leaves the huddle knowing where the ball is going works in college, but going through progressions is a necessity in the NFL.

Now I'm not saying that Stroud doesn't have those skills, but in big games, they don't seem to be on display. Admittedly I watch OSU once a year. So I've seen Stroud twice. And he put up yards, but he did not make plays when they were needed. I've never seen him go through progressions well to find the 2nd or 3rd receiver. Could be because he doesn't need to. I don't know. But he hasn't shown it (again in the 2 games vs Michigan). He hasn't shown the ability to handle pressure in the backfield well. He gets nervous and makes hasty decisions.

He will go top 10. Very likely still top 5. But yesterday he hurt his stock. He wasn't a lock for #1 overall before the game, and he isn't after the game. He could go #1. I'm not saying Houston won't take him, but right now I don't think they would.

[jaadam4]

I don’t disagree with any of that, I’m saying his throws were dead on. Michigan’s DBs were all over their WR and Strouds windows were very small. I like accurate pocket passers and that’s what he is. If you look at his completions they were beautiful throws, he wasn’t just chucking

Ohio QBs don’t tend to be great at reading defense which is why I don’t like them. That’s why I’d draft and sit him for a year to learn

[chemiclord]

Damn, Michigan has got some running backs, don't they? You'd think you lose a guy like Corum for the year, that a run-heavy offense like Michigan would be in trouble.

Nope. Next man up gashes the Buckeyes, and is carving up Purdue just as explosively. Edwards is something else. Imagine what he could do with both hands.

[jaadam4]

Purdue was no shit though. That Qb was throwing into small ass windows.

i can’t believe Ohio is going to back into the playoffs

[chemiclord]

With the Buckeyes, it really is a case of "who would you put at #4 instead?"

Do you give a 2-loss USC team the spot? Sure, they actually made it to their conference championship game, but they had two bites of the apple with Utah, and lost both, the second time in embarrassing fashion.

Alabama? Has the same detriment as OSU (didn't even qualify for the conference championship game), but with the additional detriment of two losses, and no particularly impressive wins. Ohio State can at the very least say their only loss came to a team already in the playoff.

Tennessee? The team that South Carolina hung 63 on? Whose biggest win was a squeaker against Alabama? And has lost Hooker for the season?

Penn State? Who lost to both Michigan and OSU and didn't look particularly impressive in either of them?

Clemson? Who looked like utter dog shite at the end of the season in losses to Notre Dame and South Carolina?

Do you put Kansas State or Utah in? Even though they won their respective conference championship games, we're talking three loss teams at this point.

[CGVT]

The only question is OSU 3 or 4. I think they should be 4. A one loss TCU should not get punished for playing in a CCG while OSU gets rewarded for not making it to theirs

Not sure the committee will see it that way, but the oddsmakers do.

[Mainevent]

Fuck it, put Ohio #3. Let M beat the Suckeyes twice in the same season and send them into a complete existential breakdown.

[jaadam4]

I was meaning that more in a fuck Ohio way. I get why they’ll be there. Besides Georgia and Alabama who’s on a whole different level and salary cap for recruiting, Ohio is elite. They have more 5 star recruits than most of the Big Ten programs combined.

I just can’t believe their luck that both USC and TCU lost in the same weekend. That would have never happened to Michigan like that.

This also means that they’re going to be a week more rested and didn’t have any injuries like the other programs did during the conference championship rounds.

[jaadam4]

The only question is OSU 3 or 4. I think they should be 4. A one loss TCU should not get punished for playing in a CCG while OSU gets rewarded for not making it to theirs

Not sure the committee will see it that way, but the oddsmakers do.

They’re a far superior team than TCU but I agree, they’ll get the 4 seed.

[chemiclord]

The only question is OSU 3 or 4. I think they should be 4. A one loss TCU should not get punished for playing in a CCG while OSU gets rewarded for not making it to theirs

Not sure the committee will see it that way, but the oddsmakers do.

I'm not seeing much push from anyone to see OSU jump over TCU, especially since it's not like the Horned Frogs got run out of the building yesterday.

As for Ohio State at #3, Wolvy needs to be careful about wishing for that. It's hard to beat the same team twice in a season. Just ask Alabama or TCU.

But I do agree with Jaad on this thing; if it was a 1-loss Michigan team that had been beaten by over twenty by Ohio State, the Wolverines aren't even in the discussion right now. The Committee would happily keep USC or vault Alabama over them.

[chemiclord]

This also means that they’re going to be a week more rested and didn’t have any injuries like the other programs did during the conference championship rounds.

Eh, everyone is going to be off for almost a month. The number of players that would need 5 weeks to be in playing shape that wouldn't be in 4 I would be surprised is much larger than zero.

[chemiclord]

Whelp, Michigan gets TCU in Phoenix.

They should be significantly favored; TCU was a very shaky team all year, but they are a second half team much like the Wolverines. We might see a 7-7 halftime end with a 30-27 final score.