Michigan 27, Alabama 20, 1OT

[THE_WIZARD_]

Dogs and cats living together....MASS HYSTERIA!!!!!

[Tom W]

Hannibal, to your point, this may indeed be a premature take. I think the extra Covid year plus grad transfer rule and the newness of the transfer portal have made 2023 Michigan and Washington possible. The expanded playoff will also probably help stanch the inevitable march of the same "super teams" playing for the championship every year simply because the margin of error decreases considerably when you need to play 3 or 4 consecutive games against really good competition.

Maybe it's a foolish, but honest, question, but what makes ohio, Georgia and Alabama able to produce "super teams" and why can't Michigan (or Penn State, for that matter) do the same thing?

[THE_WIZARD_]

Need more surveillance?

[Mike]

Maybe it's a foolish, but honest, question, but what makes ohio, Georgia and Alabama able to produce "super teams" and why can't Michigan (or Penn State, for that matter) do the same thing?

I'd go with: Long term success on the field attracts top talent. They reside in talent rich states. Very stable programs from an administrative and coaching standpoint. Excellent coaching staffs with established recruiting networks.

Now we might be seeing some cracks starting to form in Columbus with regard to staff. The program is worse off than the day Coach Charmin inherited it but that also could be a biproduct of it being at historic highs under Meyer. However, he's clearly doing less with the same level talent that Meyer had and now the QB situation is probably the worst it's been since Todd Boekman was starting. Will OSU go they way of Clemson or at least not a be a team with 11 auto-wins every year? Certainly possible. I think you'll see Texas join that top cluster once they fully weaponize their fat SEC cash in one of the best recruiting states in the country.

[lineygoblue]

Maybe it's a foolish, but honest, question, but what makes ohio, Georgia and Alabama able to produce "super teams" and why can't Michigan (or Penn State, for that matter) do the same thing?

We need to amp up our cheating processes. We're lagging behind the SEC and osu.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Oh I think you are hanging nicely with the $EC in the world of cheating....

[Da Geezer]

I'd go with: Long term success on the field attracts top talent. They reside in talent rich states. Very stable programs from an administrative and coaching standpoint. Excellent coaching staffs with established recruiting networks.

I think Liney has this right. The three super-teams (Texas will be # 4 next year) had long-standing networks for paying players under the table.

What needs to be done in this NIL-fueled marketplace for talent is that the tax returns for all players need to be published. By that, I don't mean in the newspapers, but to a central collection system that can collate the information. Then it would make sense to put a hard cap on how much players can be "paid" by any given program.

The NCAA is always talking about competitive balance, so let's go for balance.

I can hear Talent squeal now.

___________________

UM won for the reasons given in the article, but also because Harbaugh out-coached Saban. I'll point particularly to Saban playing a center who had not been able to reliably snap the ball during the season. With Alabama getting 4-5 Top-100 linemen each year, it is inconceivable to me that he couldn't find someone who could hit the QB in the belly button every time. Harbaugh took the chances that an underdog needs to take to upset a super-team.

[lineygoblue]

As long as cash exists, HS/Future College FB players will get money under the table, and it does happen everywhere. I have no doubt that Michigan, along with every other B1G current and future B1G school, has networks where cash is laundered, and forwarded to players/relatives/friends. No doubt at all.

Michigan isn't squeeky clean, and I don't care anymore. If the NCAA is going to hang the 'cheater' label on us, we may as well live up to the billing, and do it with gusto.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Attaboy

[lineygoblue]

Auntie Liza needs a new Escalade.

[THE_WIZARD_]

You need to call up the old Southwest Conference iffen you wanna cheat professionally...and Oklahoma...hell Marcus Dupree was paid more than Barry Switzer...and the entire SWC made the $EC look like choir boys...

[klondike]

Are you saying Switzer's recruiting acumen wasn't because of that sparkling personality and great hair cut. Fooled me.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Barry was quoted...it's not X's and O's but the Jimmy's and Joe's...