M-Borg vs. THE Flavortown U Thread, Orig. by Buckeye Paul, absconded w/by talent.

[Optimus Prime]

In Ann Arbor plus a Pryor-less OSU squad, make them ripe for the upset.

[entropy]

I might be in the minority, but I never thought of Pryor as that good. There were other bigten QB's I'd rather have had last year on my team.

[SeanB]

OP, I agree with you! I'm just not ready to concede a momentum shift until Michigan can actually win one of these things. It's been too long. After 7 straight, I'd say the momentum is quite considerably in their favor, even with all the good will we've all been feeling with the Rodriguez ouster, Hoke hire and osu scandal.

[lineygoblue]

ohio will bring a very good squad to A2 this year, and they will be anything but a pushover. And, I'm positive that being tressel-less will only be a motivation for them instead of a "downer". Somewhere in their motivation, they will blame Michigan for Mr. Tressel's absence, which is just horribly silly in so many ways, but what else would you expect from a team from ohio?

However, I feel much more confident of a very competitive ballgame this year due to Coach Hoke and Coach Mattison's familiarity with the rivalry, and what it means to Michigan. Both have personal experience of what kind of preparation goes into a game like this, and they should have our guys ready to play. Seems to me like the intangibles should be on our side, but we may have to wait to see how the season plays out before we can determine that.

Now, if we can just get Michigan season ticket holders to stop selling their tickets to people from ohio.

[entropy]

Jim Tressel made $21.7 million as Ohio State football coach over his decade-long tenure before being ousted for breaking NCAA rules, records from the publicly funded school show.

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[Tom W]

In Ann Arbor plus a Pryor-less OSU squad, make them ripe for the upset.

The only problem is that there's 11 games to be played before either team takes the field. There's too much uncertainty in both programs to even assume that OSU is going to be a sizeable favorite.

Wishful thinking, I know, but wouldn't it be pure icing on the cake if the Fickell era turns out to be a failure of Rodriguez-esque proportion?

[Jamie H]

I said he would put together a good team if he went to Columbus. My point was that he wouldn't be nearly as fearful without the Florida talent, which, in my mind, is better than in Ohio. Nick Satan at State wasn't as succesful as Nick Satan at Alabama.

As Strangelove said, Alabama isn't the same as MSU. I would think almost anyone would recruit better at Alabama than at MSU. Alabama is historically one of the top programs in the country. MSU has won 10+ games twice in 45 years.

[Rocky Bleier]

Well, I'm confused because I think that's exactly what I'm saying. Saban is better at Alabama because it's a better program with better players nearby.

[Jamie H]

So you think that going from Florida to Ohio State is as big of a drop as going from Florida to Alabama? I just don't see it. Florida and Alabama are somewhat equal in terms of national power but Ohio State is exponentially stronger than MSU. Florida to Ohio State is a mostly lateral move. Alabama to MSU is a drop off a cliff.

[Rocky Bleier]

So you think that going from Florida to Ohio State is as big of a drop as going from Florida to Alabama? I just don't see it. Florida and Alabama are somewhat equal in terms of national power but Ohio State is exponentially stronger than MSU. Florida to Ohio State is a mostly lateral move. Alabama to MSU is a drop off a cliff.

Who went from Florida to Alabama? I know Ohio has strong high school football, but I remember the total ass-whooping Urban's Florida team put on tosu. Unless Urban could pull the same kids he had at Florida, and I think he'd be villified if he didn't take mostly homegrown Ohio kids, he wouldn't be able to reproduce his Florida teams. Do you?

[hack]

Even if OSU's team featured all al-Qaeda members, OSU fans would have no problem with it so long as they beat M.

That said, agreed on Pryor -- not that good, actually. Amazing what resources went into keeping that guy happen when he wasn't even really a huge factor in the W-L record. Better a humble caretaker that can throw a pass or two a game in that offense.

OSU's going to take a great collection of players into UM this year, but is it going to be a great team? Odds are they will be a significantly better one than ours when seasons are compared, but on a one-day basis, these guys aren't going to be looking forward to playing UM. The mental edge they once enjoyed is at stake as it's a new era with new coaches on both sides. If our guys come out and win, that edge Tressell gave them is gone. Sets the tone for the rest of the decade. We have to beat them this year. Must.

[Optimus Prime]

ohio will bring a very good squad to A2 this year, and they will be anything but a pushover.

No question Liney, finest money can buy, FACT. (Interim) coach Fickell, suspended starters for 5 games, less their 4th or 5th year starting QB, Hoke better deliver.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Who went from Florida to Alabama? I know Ohio has strong high school football, but I remember the total ass-whooping Urban's Florida team put on tosu. Unless Urban could pull the same kids he had at Florida, and I think he'd be villified if he didn't take mostly homegrown Ohio kids, he wouldn't be able to reproduce his Florida teams. Do you?

Believe Jamie meant that the difference in the ability to draw talent to MSU and Alabama is way bigger than the ability to draw talent to Florida and OSU. And he's right.

[hack]

And so are you, finally!

[Dr. Strangelove]

The Michigan program will be completely broken, perhaps irreparably so, should it not win this season. Might as well close up shop, concede the state to MSU, and concentrate on hockey