Maryland @ Michigan, Saturday, October 6th, Noon EDT, ABC National/espn3 video

[iam416]

There's the WWAMC. Glorious to behold.

[iam416]

As it relates to getting calls in your favor, in 2016, 9 B10 teams were ranked 100 or lower in "Opponent Penalty Yards Per Game". M was 112th at 41.8. Ohio State, with it's great defensive line, was 115th at 41.2.

In 2017, M was at 46.1 ppg (93rd). Ohio State was at 51.5 (71st).

In 2015, Ohio State was at 41.4 (117th) and M was at 51.4 (81st).

In both 2016 and 2017, Alabama was dead last in "Opponent Penalty Yards Per Game." Alabama. So far for 2018, Clemson, with it's, you know, so-so DL, is getting 28 ypg for opponent penalties.

The facts ain't good for WWAMC.

[hack]

We'll check the numbers when they come out. I agree that a WWAMC is unlikely. But that's just shit you're blowing up into a strawman.

I personally think it's more likely that something stinks about that OSU '16 game, given the conference's behavior afterward, rather than as a whole. They knew they failed to field a proper crew.

[iam416]

Anyway, the only conceivable way that Maryland stays in this game is if the WWAMC rears its ugly head. M has sort of of been operating on an alternating "on/off" schedule this year. Look like shit against ND; obliterate Western; meh against SMU; obliterate UNL; blah against Evanston High; obliterate...Maryland.

Not scientific is any sort of way, but they're going to obliterate Maryland. Kasim Hill can't pass well enough to make Maryland more than 1.25 dimensional. They have some decent playmakers, but M can load up on them. The one thing that might get Maryland some points is Hill scrambles against in your shit man coverage. But that's it. Defensively, this is the type of team HARBAUGH!!!! looks like worldbeaters against. I expect a methodical 45-10 type beatdown.

Next week, though, that one will be a completely different world.

[iam416]

We'll check the numbers when they come out.

I can't wait for the baselines. Alabama -- the absolute worst in getting opponent penalty yardage because, I guess, their opponents just play clean and Alabama doesn't have the talent to force it otherwise.

But that's just shit you're blowing up into a strawman

I wish it were a strawman. But there's almost nary a significant M loss in a revenue sport of recent vintage that isn't accompanied by a "we should have won but the refs..." I suppose the Villanova assjacking was a big enough beatdown to avoid those claims. And the 2015 OSU game is all about DJ Durkin.

[AlabamAlum]

Yeah. Alabama's opponents' offensive lines don't have to worry about holding calls. The opponents' o-line line facing our front 7 has been called for it 3 times in 4 years with over 4,000 opponent snaps against the best front 7 in football those years.

With the Higdon play, it could be they got the number wrong. That happens regularly in the SEC. Or it could just be a really bad call. It is nothing more than one of those two things, though. Make no mistake, if the refs had wanted M to lose, they would have because there is a judgment call on every snap.

[iam416]

I hope Brian endeavors to prove how maliciously the refs treat Alabama.

[Jeff Buchanan]

People in the right mind don't give a shit about what the refs call during a game - can't do anything about that or, it's out of your control, deal with it. Players know this and for the most part act on it. Fans? Fuck no. They just whine..... mostly not knowing the rules well enough to justify it. Coaches can whine about this stuff in game but risk a 15y penalty. ADs can submit letters to the BT front office about a call; nothing comes of it because, well, that's the way it is. There are ways to improve officiating. Bitching about it is a huge waste of time.

I don't like the targeting rule. If I'm a coach, I'm going to bring this up at meetings where it's appropriate to do so in the off season and if there is a consensus, it will get changed. It's a process.

It would be nice if conferences, across the board, would agree to more rigorous review process and actions of game officials regarding calls that are reviewed by the front office. Right now, these discussions and their outcomes are generally private. Fine. This has been debated extensively in the NBA and the NFL. Trials that made the grading of official's performance public did not make officiating better in the NFL or the NBA and in some cases, it got worse. Calls for public access to the grades and grading process in CFB is problematic for a lot of good reasons that are the same as those that came up in the NFL or NBA......like death threats against officials who made errors and these were made public.

While there is accountability for CFB referee's performance in games via the review process and grades, IMO, things don't seem to improve. Ref's who may not be as qualified as they should be as determined by a review process that is more rigorous than it appears to be right now, would help to thin the ranks of the incompetent and have them replaced by up and comers from the HS levels. I think this has come up in the past and Linesman and Wild Hoss had some good comments about it ....... mostly supporting the idea and indicating there were plenty of good HS refs with proven resumes wanting to step up to the CFB level. That kind of pressure - knowing you are replaceable if you fuck up enough - would greatly improve CFB refereeing, IMO.

It's been noted by folks who have posted here in the past about BT refs that it is very much a good-ol'-boys club of sorts. It's hard to get in and once you're in, it's nearly impossible for you to lose your job. That's a recipe for building a cadre of marginally competent if not very incompetent officials. JMO.

[AlabamAlum]

The ridiculous targeting rule is simply preemptive lawsuit mitigation. When the inevitable billion dollar class action CTE lawsuit is brought against the NCAA, they will say, "Don't blame us! See the lengths we went to to stop it?"

[Tom W]

With the Higdon play, it could be they got the number wrong. That happens regularly in the SEC. Or it could just be a really bad call. It is nothing more than one of those two things, though. Make no mistake, if the refs had wanted M to lose, they would have because there is a judgment call on every snap.

It was a REALLY bad call- the ref specifically told Harbaugh that Higdon was guilty of holding. It smacked of a call that was intentionally fabricated to negate Patterson's run and sap Michigan's momentum. That is so horridly false just shows that this stuff can be gotten away with without consequences.

At least the JTB gift in the 2016 Game could (maybe) be attributed to the refs not having a clear view of the ball in real time and not having the stones to admit it after the replay.

[AlabamAlum]

Well, the ref blew it, then. But I don't think it was to stop momentum or anything else untoward. I assume he saw the two crumple and assumed the defender was dragged down. Bad call is bad. But, again, if he wanted M to lose, they would have. And in a close game he wouldn't even have had to have worked hard to do so.

[Jeff Buchanan]

During yesterday evenings, 247 pod casted interview with Harbaugh, we learned the following:

On Gary and Evans:



On Tarik Black:

Black has been lightly jogging according to teammate Nico Collins and will meet with his primary doctor on Sunday to discuss clearance for a return to game action.

A discussion about the type of foot injury Black suffered on the pod-cast at mgoboard then ensued. Somebody posted that Black had a Jones Fracture which occurs at the base of the 5th metatarsal bone in the foot (your little toe bone). Previous post indicated Black had a fracture of unknown type surgically repaired.

My comments; It's not a Jones Fracture which involves the intra-articular structures of the bone - meaning it's in the joint where the 5th metatarsal joins with the cuboid bones of the forefoot - if he is out of his boot case and jogging. My guess is that he had a mid-shaft fracture of one of the metatarsals of the foot, the 5th is most likely.

In ordinary folks, you're put in a boot cast and a callous forms around the fracture in 2-3w, then you remove the cast and start walking. Retrun to normal activities is in around 6w. Walking helps the healing process. In athletes like Black, you can surgically pin the fracture. It's a very simple procedure. If you look at your own foot you can see how easy it would be to open the thin tissue present there, get to the bone and pin it. All the pin does is make sure that when you do return to normal activity the healed fracture is about 10X stronger than it would be if one just relied on a callous to keep the bones together. Return time to normal activity is still about 6w. The injury occurred during the practice week of 8/26 and before the ND game. My guess is he'll be cleared to practice the week before MSU and will play in that game assuming he practices without problems. If he does have problems, he'll keep sitting until he doesn't

[hack]

I don't know that the spot was the real problem in '16. It was that every single 50/50 call went against M, and 4 of them came on third down and decided the fate of drives. The conference knows it was dirty, which is why it responded as it did.

[hack]

The Villanova game was about 2 things, IMO:

1. Smallball isn't aphysical. Brunson went out there and bullied his way into plays and calls. Kudos to him; lesson for Beilein.

2. Gotta hit the ground running. Get yourself the double-bye in the conference tournament and easier middle-weekend games if you want to be peppy and ready for the FF. I hope that is the program's take-away from it all. They're getting closer and closer.

3. Be better. It's great to wring every drop of talent from three-stars that don't blow up but become nice system players, but get the elite kids in and fit the system players around them. It's moving in that direction for Beilein, which is great. Finally the pipelines are starting to become more packed.

I'm pretty damn excited for basketball season. As far as I'm concerned college basketball is able to overcome its problems (reffing, money, etc) in a way that other sports are not. It's the best the sport.

[hack]

There's that graph I'd mentioned. From https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comment...ting_osu_gets/. Click through and you will also see commentary from Buckeyes who appear to be sane, rational people who do not feel threatened by facts.