Western Michigan @ Michigan, Saturday, Sept. 8th, Noon EDT, FS1/FSgo Video

[Jeff Buchanan]

Stan, are you taking the bet on WMU +23.5 or not?

[hack]

I'm basically where Stan's at at this point. They roll over patsies and find ways to lose to good teams. If you make your own luck on the field, Michigan teams are making the wrong kind. Other teams have weak position units too, and can't bring in a parade of five-star recruits, yet don't lose to rivals with such stunning regularity. It's just one reason after another. Even when they get the transcendental recruits, they come and go without making a mark or even having a true signature moment we know will be replayed for years and years to come.

Meantime, kind of almost the opposite thing has happened to the basketball program. There, too, we had a coach who was trying on one side of the ball to prove that 2+2 isn't really 4. Beilein smartened up through, changed his approach to defense, and probably is going to win one before he retires. Maybe JH needs to take a hard look at what he's doing and let go some control of that offense to a true OC. Maybe all the bad-coaching moments, like the flags and the slow play and the confusion are down to him trying to do too much.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Michigan committed 5 penalties v. ND. 4 of them were on the defense.

I'd contend that those 4 penalties by the D played a major role in allowing ND's three scoring drives.

Rashan Gary made the comment that 1 or 2 or 3 mistakes like the D made with those penalties can cost you a win. Winovich said it differently but the meaning was the same.

You eliminate those penalties, all three of which extended drives or led to an easy ND score, the game outcome and the post game perceptions are changed.

Look, Michigan lost to ND. M has lost it's last 4 games and is 0-17 against ranked opponents on the road. M is 1-6 v. it's conference rivals during Harbaugh's tenure as HC. Nobody can do anything about the past except whine and complain, pick on players or ding the coaching staff. Waste of time.

[UMStan White]

"Stan, are you taking the bet on WMU +23.5 or not?"

You want to offer less than the spread? Do I have "stupid" tatooed on my forehead? What I am saying is that this team has no offense and the defense is prone to giving up big plays. WMU showed against Syracuse it is capable of making big plays.Should we beat WMU? Yes. If the game is close I won't be surprised but I am not going to take a sucker bet.

[Hannibal]

Coach Harbaugh with his comic take on the offensive line...

"I thought it was improved," Harbaugh said of his offensive line unit. "We look at it and there were a quite a few boxes that were checked to say, hey, this is improved. That was another area, I think, that was improved. We continue to get better in that area, it was one of the areas I think we're improving in."

[hack]

In the same presser, in reax to the question of why Evans got no carries he went on to explain how Higdon and Evans would get exactly the same amount. ???

[UMStan White]

'Nobody can do anything about the past except whine and complain,"

Oh you mean like Gary (who disappeared for this game) or Winovitch complaining that penalties burned this defense other that 96 yard scoring drives and 3rd and 18 running plays and 53 yard passes into double coverage and eight yard TD runs against "the best defense Michigan has ever fielded since the 20's"? But whoopy we get to prepare for a game against WMU followed by SMU. Holy shit! We just might beat them boys! (gonna be close. but late in the 4th quarter the defense might rise up and make a goal line stand like it did against an 0-11 Akron several years ago at home! Send the crowd home. giddy with expectaions!

[Hannibal]

My take on Harbaugh before the season was that he had a job for life unless he had a 4-8 season or something disastrous like that. But after reading the sentiment on Pollyanna central I think that he might not be our coach anymore by 2020. There is a lot more impatience and frustration with the fan base than I thought there was. Brian Cook is pretty much openly admitting that he doesn't want to blog anymore because he is sick of it. I expect by this time next year that we will taking about replacement candidates. I would make Jeff Brohm #1 on the list right now, but at this point, I don't give a shit though because whoever it is will do the worst work of his career once he comes to Ann Arbor. Something has gone very seriously wrong with Harbaugh. He's not the same guy. Marital problems? Health problems? Substance abuse issue? A few people on mgoblog were speculating that he may have gotten on an SSRI or some anti-axiety medication that has zonked him out. Or maybe he figured his $8 MM per year UM salary was his end game and he could unofficially retire.

[WingsFan]

Michigan committed 5 penalties v. ND. 4 of them were on the defense.

Michigan had 7 penalties

[*JD*]

Longest.
Week.
Ever.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Always liked Ace's of mgo Fee-Fi-Fo-Film breakdowns of the up-coming opponent. Seth is now doing this and it's fine (LINK below). Part one just deals with the O so, I'll summarize that.

In it's opening game in SB, M's defense got it's doors kicked in during the first 4 minutes of the first quarter and trailed 14-0 in a flash. This was against a QB who can't pass according to Connely, a weak OL according to anyone you might ask and an inexperienced RB group. WMU is every bit as good on offense than ND and maybe a bit better in some respects. Look for Tim Lester to try to do the same thing to M that ND did on their first possessions. Don Brown needs to have his D prepared for that. Besides, WMU has the best OL in the MAC or so it is reported in this version.

The WMU receivers are way different than ND's big boys but are dangerous in different ways. The QB throwing to them, John Wassink, is Hornibrook good getting the ball deep and into tight windows and/or to the receivers in stride.The receivers are small but fast with the exception of former M WR Drake Harris who is both big and fast enough. This will be a whole new challenge for Hill and company. If Lavert Hill can stick on the Z receiver, Eskridge - the speed demon - all day and Michigan has indeed solved the slot fade problem that plagued them last year it'll go a long way toward shutting down the best part of WMU's offense.

In the run game, LaVonte Bellamy is one slippery dude in space and WMU schemes around that skill set to get him into space. This is a PJ Fleck spread from the same tree as Urban Meyer's, with a lot of the same plays. They will line up in a pistol, then 9 times out of 10 Wassink will motion the RB to a shotgun. Out of this they'll use both PA and RPO schemes. WMU didn't run a lot v. Syracuse because they were in the catch-up mode all of this game but Bellamy is good and will be running behind a good OL with likely two NFL draftees at C and RG. Both tackles are new. The other RB is Jamauri Bogan. He'saveraged 5.7 YPC and notched 27 TDs in 459 carries since 2015, and is best described as Mike Hart but Slow.

I'll sumarize the defensive version of this here when it's published at mgo.

https://mgoblog.com/content/fee-fi-f...n-offense-2018

[Hannibal]

Our defense is so elite that we are talking about what a huge challenge it is going to be to defend Western Michigan.

[Jeff Buchanan]

By the stats from last season you could call the 2017 D elite. This one isn't by stats or by the eyeball test v. ND. In the interior DL, the combo of DT Aubrey Solomon, NT Michael Dwumfour, DT Bryan Mone, DT Lawrence Marshall weren't that impressive. Dwumfour is not Mo Hurst.

The DB's got spanked giving up two big pass plays. Not that great either so far.

Most here, and after the ND game, have already established M football is an average MAC team so, it should be no surprise to that group that WMU may be a challenge to M's 2018 defense.

[THE_WIZARD_]

GO BOAT ROWERS!!!

[hack]

You don't even know what a boat is. I bet you have never seen one in real life. STFU.