Michigan 49 @ Minnesota 24

[Hannibal]

On D we are better everywhere except maybe I’d rather have St. Juste than our 2nd CB. Our DEs and LBs will be monstrously good. Safeties will be very good. DTs will be OK. CBs have no talent and we’ll get assraped and humiliated by the usual suspects again. Minny will no doubt exploit our three-star madia there but I don’t think that it will be enough.

I’ll take our OTs, TE, and RBs too. Not sure about C and OGs but we’ve got “program guys” stepping in there. Not too worried TBH. They’ve got a leg up on QB and WR. But I’m not worried about our QB. I expect we’ll get more out of Milton than the LPGA champion who was masquerading as our QB the past couple of years.

[THE_WIZARD_]

:::lurking:::

[Jeff Buchanan]

Mike, that was a great post on assessment of talent. I was on top of this last season and baffled if not more like pissed off at Harbaugh. My take is that he has wasted a lot of talent. Doug points out that if your QB play sucks it doesn't make any difference how talented your skill players on offense are. My retort was I've seen plenty of OCs that have managed credible offenses with less skilled by recruiting evals QBs.

I agree that if this coaching staff can't put a game together that takes care of the Gophers given the huge talent differential, the first early nails are in the coffin. As Liney points out, Harbaugh probably has tenure. Doug's response, abandoned seat licenses, dwindling gifts from a fed up alumni base and empty premium and bowl seating will have Jim heading back to the NFL..... that is if anyone wants him.

[Tom W]

I expect we’ll get more out of Milton than the LPGA champion who was masquerading as our QB the past couple of years.

Lol - and it’s probably true. You never really got a sense that Patterson ever endeared himself to his teammates. Milton has been with this team for two years. He doesn’t need to play light out- just be competent and let his RBs and receivers do the rest.

[lineygoblue]

we’ll get more out of Milton than the LPGA champion who was masquerading as our QB the past couple of years.

So Patterson finally won a championship?

Who knew?

[Mike]

That was a great line, Hanni. I LOLed.

[lineygoblue]

Doug's response, abandoned seat licenses, dwindling gifts from a fed up alumni base and empty premium and bowl seating will have Jim heading back to the NFL..... that is if anyone wants him.

I think that is probably the only way that Harbaugh will be shown to the door by Manuel. Like the old AC/DC song, "Money Talks", that is absolutely the case on State Street. It got both Rodriguez and Hoke shown to the door, along with Brandon.

If the big ticket folks stop buying the golden balcony seats, and the big donations start drying up, Manuel will have no choice to but cut Harbaugh loose. Especially with the upcoming cash shortage that is about to take place due to lost game day revenues. There's no way they're going to make up for the lost ticket, concession and parking money. The program can survive on the TV and advertising revenue, but just barely.

But, if Harbaugh continues to win the standard 8-9 games every year, he's not going to get fired. Even if he continues losing to those Columbus guys.

[THE_WIZARD_]

HARBAUGH!!! 33 ROW THE BOAT 24

[Jeff Buchanan]

But, if Harbaugh continues to win the standard 8-9 games every year, he's not going to get fired. Even if he continues losing to those Columbus guys.

I con't think so. Harbaugh's teams are losing to his main rival, failing to play up to equal or better teams and gain a win and isn't dominating anyone. Last season's FL loss was an embarrassment of epic proportion. Unmotivated and unprepared. I'm sick of it. I have a feeling I represent the sentiments of a lot alumni within + or - 10y of my 72 years.

If, in this shortened COVID season, he doesn't inject some interest in M football, he's done one way or the other. The reason I feel that way are the subtle clues indicating that ticket sales are at a tipping point. Stumbling though this shortened season is going to be his death nell. He'll be shown the door but fans won't know that's what happened.

[lineygoblue]

You may be right, Jeff. Another loss to OSU could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Ryan Day is on record, stating that he wants to lay 100 on Michigan this year, so that would grease the rails real well. A 100 point whupping might generate a house cleaning that would sweep out Manuel and Schlissel along with Harbaugh.

But the next guys are really going to be on the spot. If the new AD doesn't find the next Dabo, they're going to be gone too.

[Tom W]

It's not entirely true that he hasn't shown moments of dominance. Last year's dismantling of ND and previous pastings of good Penn State and Wisconsin teams, along with a couple doses of little brother justice shows that he CAN get this team to rise up to their potential. It's the uninspired and unprepared flirtations with disaster (and yes, Carr, Moeller and Bo had those too) and, more importantly, the utter bewilderment shown in the face of adversity that drives people nuts. All of those previous coaches faced superior osu (and other) teams, but I can't recall very many instances where everyone just wanted to pack it in and go home during the 3rd quarter.

This year will be very telling and we'll have a decent idea where this is going to go after Saturday night. In addition to the minefield of a schedule, virtually every single season ticket holder and donor will be left to their own devices- literally. They will have full time access to their own HDTVs, coolers full of beverages, indoor plumbing, and Weber grills. They may just get used to it by December 19th and decide that it's a helluva lot more enjoyable Saturday routine than what they've been selling us for the last several years.

[iam416]

Ohio State will struggle with M, as per usual, and there's no way they're scoring a ton against DON BROWN!!!

The exit path for HARBAUGH!!!! really depends on what M fans and boosters expect from their program. I read enough on MGO (well, I used to) and other M sites that suggest the fanbase line is "Ohio State cheats so we can't really compete." If that sort of excuse-making pussery pervades the fanbase and boosters, then losing to Ohio State won't do him in at all.

[Mike]

The size of the MGo crowd is significant, but not nearly representative of the entire fan base. The opinion of Harbaugh and the football program of pretty much everyone I know on a personal level would be far outside the mainstream at MGo. That site has essentially turned into a cult. For real.

[Tom W]

The exit path for HARBAUGH!!!! really depends on what M fans and boosters expect from their program. I read enough on MGO (well, I used to) and other M sites that suggest the fanbase line is "Ohio State cheats so we can't really compete." If that sort of excuse-making pussery pervades the fanbase and boosters, then losing to Ohio State won't do him in at all.

Ah, that sort of mindset is all social media newspeak. It's the same as seeing only MAGA and TDS rhetoric on FB and assuming that one has to pick a side and play on it. Then you realize that you've got 300 contacts and only about a dozen are puking this nonsense onto your timeline. Cooler, more rational heads are wise to just sit back and let the idiots amuse them.

Most people GET that the "College" part of CFB is just a disclaimer. It's really just the Development league for the NFL- but with certain details and nuances that actually make it more intriguing to watch. Likewise "cheating" is just another way of saying that you're doing something better than us, but we can't figure out what that is and/or can't seem to do it.

In other words, just what Mike said.

[iam416]

That would be my hope (and my guess), but MGO does have a huge platform and Brian is as influential a "media" guy for M sports as there is and he's full-on shamless pussery. As long as that slice of the fanbase is relatively small, you have hope. There's still no earthly reason why M should ever lose to OSU like it's lost to OSU.

HARBAUGH!!!!'s obvious and biggest problem is that he is, quite obviously, not a "quarterback whisperer." I'm also not sure that his initial manball philosophy was correct in terms of competing against elite teams, but a really good QB probably makes it work.

Whatever. I like Ryan Day. Hopefully he's at OSU for awhile. Every new hire presents real risk of backsliding.