Michigan 59, UConn 0 -- postgame discussion

[WM Wolverine]

We'll see how good Sparty is this week vs Washington, good test for them. Beating up on Akron is like M beating up on Hawaii, Colorado State; bottom 5 FBS teams...

Speaking of these two teams, did the B1G decide for them they are rivals? They play the last game of the season again.

[froot loops]

I don't think it's official like it was until 2016.

[Tom W]

Also worth noting that Maryland at home is a lower probability than Iowa on the road.

That's because they didn't take Linesman's Kinnick Curse into account.

[Dr. Strangelove]

We'll see how good Sparty is this week vs Washington, good test for them. Beating up on Akron is like M beating up on Hawaii, Colorado State; bottom 5 FBS teams...

Speaking of these two teams, did the B1G decide for them they are rivals? They play the last game of the season again.

Some years they end with Rutgers and Maryland too. I think Penn State wanted to rotate that last game for whatever dumb reason.

[WM Wolverine]

I'm looking at B1G rivals and most have 2 rivals... Sparty is missing a 2nd one, same for Rutgers who probably should be Penn State but I gave Penn State an Ohio State rivalry as that game is great when the Lions are good. Tons of old rivalries like M-Minnesota, Buckeyes-Illini that are definitely not rivalries anymore. Purpose of this exercise is a future B1G division-less schedule where you play 2 rivals than regularly play 7-8 other teams in a 9-10 game B1G schedule...

Michigan: Sparty, Ohio State
Sparty: Michigan + x
Ohio State: Michigan, Penn State
Penn State: Maryland, Ohio State
Rutgers: Maryland + x
Maryland: Rutgers, Penn State
Indiana: Purdue, Illinois
Purdue: Indiana, Northwestern
Illinois: Northwestern, Indiana
Northwestern: Illinois, Purdue
Wisconsin: Minnesota, Nebraska
Minnesota: Wisconsin, Iowa
Nebraska: Iowa, Wisconsin
Iowa: Nebraska, Minnesota
USC: UCLA + x
UCLA: USC + x

[iam416]

Piss on the Illibuck again and I’ll break your damn face!!!!

[Dr. Strangelove]

I'm looking at B1G rivals and most have 2 rivals... Sparty is missing a 2nd one, same for Rutgers who probably should be Penn State but I gave Penn State an Ohio State rivalry as that game is great when the Lions are good. Tons of old rivalries like M-Minnesota, Buckeyes-Illini that are definitely not rivalries anymore. Purpose of this exercise is a future B1G division-less schedule where you play 2 rivals than regularly play 7-8 other teams in a 9-10 game B1G schedule...

I forget when it was exactly but somewhere between 2000 and 2010 (I think) our streak of playing Illinois finally ended. It was actually a longer continuous series than Michigan-OSU once upon a time

[froot loops]

The official MSU response for a second rivalry if it isn't Penn State is Northwestern. They have fought in the past to get that designation because of the Chicago alumni base. The true second rivalry is Notre Dame. MSU will always push for ND to be in the Big Ten because of this. But absent ND coming into the big ten it is PSU or Northwestern.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Also in a 16 team league, the best option will be to blow up divisions, play 3 (not two) permanent rivals, and rotate the other 12 teams every 2 years. Ideally everyone would play either UCLA or USC every year.

Illinois: Indiana, Maryland, Northwestern
Indiana: Illinois, Purdue, Rutgers
Iowa: Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Maryland: Illinois, Penn State, Rutgers
Michigan: Michigan State, Ohio State, UCLA
Michigan State: Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin
Minnesota: Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Nebraska: Iowa, Minnesota, UCLA
Northwestern: Illinois, Purdue, Rutgers
Ohio State: Michigan, Penn State, USC
Penn State: Maryland, Ohio State, USC
Purdue: Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern
Rutgers: Indiana, Maryland, Northwestern
UCLA: Michigan, Nebraska, USC
USC: Ohio State, Penn State, UCLA
Wisconsin: Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota

[Dr. Strangelove]

Revised after froot demands a Northwestern "rivalry"

Illinois: Indiana, Northwestern, Rutgers
Indiana: Illinois, Maryland, Purdue
Iowa: Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Maryland: Indiana, Penn State, Rutgers
Michigan: Michigan State, Ohio State, UCLA
Michigan State: Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin
Minnesota: Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Nebraska: Iowa, Minnesota, UCLA
Northwestern: Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue
Ohio State: Michigan, Penn State, USC
Penn State: Maryland, Ohio State, USC
Purdue: Indiana, Northwestern, Rutgers
Rutgers: Illinois, Maryland, Purdue
UCLA: Michigan, Nebraska, USC
USC: Ohio State, Penn State, UCLA
Wisconsin: Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota

[WM Wolverine]

3rd rival is generally a marginal rivalry, may as well as play the 12 other members of the B1G more often than play your 3rd rival every season.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Injury update: this isn't new stuff. I'm just catching up. Ryan Hays was back at LT v. Hawaii he looks good to go. LB Nikhai Hill-Green did not play for the first 2 games and, senior offensive lineman Karsen Barnhart a “sixth starter” on the OL suffered a sprained ankle v. CSU. Hill-Green did not dress v. CSU. He could have played v. Hawaii but was held out. Barnhart was not in uniform. Harbaugh said this week that both Hill-Green and Barnhart are, "somewhere between questionable and probable.”

CB Jalen Perry was injured v. Hawaii and was helped off the field and went straight to the locker room. Harbaugh said in his Monday presser that Perry had a "high ankle sprain." We hear this term a lot. I know a little about it. The mechanism of injury is a sharp inversion of the foot that stresses the tibia and supporting ligament on the outside of the affected ankle. It can be a long term recovery depending on severity. If the tibia at the ankle mortise is actually fractured v. tendinous injury only its a big deal and requires surgical repair - usually but not always a plate and screws over the end of the tibia and 8-12w of recovery.

Players that have injury other than a fracture can still have surgery called a "tightrope" procedure. Jalen Hurts had one and was back playing in 4w. Here's a neat video that shows what a hihg ankle sprain is and how the "tightrope" procedure works. TBC, Perry is in the CB rotation but there is pretty good depth in the CB room. His loss isn't a killer but it does damage depth.

https://www.scoi.com/patient-resources/education/tightrope%E2%84%A2-fixation-ankle-syndesmosis

[lineygoblue]

I haven't seen any updates on Donovan Edwards. I'd imagine that they'll hold him out if there's any concern at all.

I'm going to update my prediction a bit for this game. One writer mentioned that he thinks the starters will be in a bit longer today in preparation for the beginning of conference play next week. So, I'll go with the crowd and predict something like a 56-7 score. I've probably jinxed them, but that's what I do sometimes.

Maryland will give them more problems next week. Tua 2.0 will challenge the DB's and likely the entire defense when it comes to containment and creating plays.

[Jeff Buchanan]

You're coming around, my friend.

Harbaugh and the submarine have been silent on Edwards. Nothing to see. He is a key part of the Moore-Weiss offense. No need to rush him back.

[Da Geezer]

3rd rival is generally a marginal rivalry, may as well as play the 12 other members of the B1G more often than play your 3rd rival every season.

I know a lot of PSU fans and not one of them considers Maryland to be a rival. PSU views UM and OSU as rivals. I also predict USC rapidly picks OSU, UCLA and UM as its primary rivals.

There was a poll about five years ago asking each fan base which team was their primary rival. UM was the # 1 "rival" for 6-7 schools. NW, WIS, MIN, MSU, OSU, ILL, IOWA, and one other. ILL in particular was overwhelmingly in favor of UM as a rival going back to Moeller and the way he was treated (Bo's beatdown of his successor). It takes more than some B10 bureaucrat to create a rivalry.

Really, how many B10 schools view ILL, NW, or PUR as a primary rival?

I say let a computer devise a random schedule of 10 conference games without "rivals" and then have a playoff among the top 4 teams.