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

[AlabamAlum]

Our secondary is hella bad at stopping that thing Knute Rockne called "the forward heave". We've been burned more than toast, especially deep (See West Virginia, Florida Auburn, Miss State, Ole Miss, Mizzou).

Our o-line can pass block okay, but we can't power drive a block for the running game to save our lives. That's why Amari Cooper has set records. We've HAD to throw it.

We have a world class punter, but the rest of the special teams is a complete abortion. Fumbles, missed FGs, and long returns (by the other team) for TDs. Special Teams is coached by Bobby Williams, and he is horrible. I don't know why Nick hasn't fired him. He must know where the bodies are buried.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Sandbaggus Alabamus Gettintitedofthisshittus

[Optimus Prime]

The Harbaugh watch is ruining my vacation.

SI:

NEW ORLEANS -- Forty stories above downtown New Orleans, the sound of clinking glasses and spirited conversation filled the Ohio State hospitality suite on Saturday night. As the clock ticked toward 10 p.m., Urban Meyer worked his way to the exit to prepare for the next morning’s 6 a.m. staff meeting. Just before leaving, Meyer was told that Jim Harbaugh’s chances to become the next head coach at Michigan had moved from probable to inevitable. Meyer’s eyes popped, his eyebrows arched and he mouthed one of his favorite sayings: “Wow.”

Meyer nodded his head from side to side as he digested the information, deciding if he wanted to say anything about the arrival of a new rival. “I don’t know him,” Meyer said. “Obviously I’ve seen what he’s done and he seems like a heck of a coach.” He mentioned how the hire would be good for the Big Ten and silently pondered commenting on the myriad possibilities.

Michigan will get who it wants, to hire Jim Harbaugh as coach
by Zac Ellis Harbaugh’s coming hire at Michigan resonates on many different levels, but the most immediate significance for Ohio State is that it finally has a worthy foil in Ann Arbor, and in the Big Ten. Consider this the start of a wonderfully acrimonious, deliciously contemptuous and unwaveringly intense rivalry. The power of Harbaugh can be summed up by the fact that he’s hijacking the news cycle during the same week that Meyer is readying to play his old nemesis, Alabama’s Nick Saban, in an inaugural College Football Playoff semifinal on Thursday night.
With the Harbaugh era looming in Ann Arbor, Ohio State’s three-year joyride under Meyer could finally hit a speed bump. Since he started in Columbus before the 2012 campaign, the Buckeyes have gone 36-3 overall and 25-1 in league play, essentially lapping the competition. Only Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio served as a worthy adversary, as shown in the Spartans’ decisive Big Ten title game win last year. But even the specter of Sparty took a hit last week with ace defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi’s departure to Pittsburgh. Harbaugh has a lot to do to make Michigan nationally competitive again -- and Ohio State is miles ahead -- but his arrival will give the Wolverines the instant credibility and relevance that they lacked under Brady Hoke.



Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler had their Ten Year War, which ended in 1978. This next decade could well be the sequel, as Michigan will have a coach who can compete with Meyer’s fire, acumen and relentless obsession with winning. The result should be some of the most riveting theatre in college football. “Jim is one of the most competitive people I’ve ever been around,” former Stanford athletic director and current Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a phone interview on Sunday. “My guess is him coming in will take that rivalry to new levels.”

The party certainly isn’t over for Ohio State, as Meyer has a three-year start on Harbaugh and the Wolverines. The Buckeyes are poised to return a roster that is guaranteed to start next season ranked in the top three, on paper the most talented Meyer should have so far in Columbus. Michigan has no functional quarterback, no distinguished star and a depth chart filled with recruits whose production hasn’t come close to meeting their lofty potential.
But Harbaugh proved to be deft at both recruiting and player development during his tenure at Stanford, as Bowlsby recalls the revival of that program as the result of 100 savvy, small decisions as opposed to one big one. While landing Andrew Luck is largely regarded as the Cardinal’s turning point, those around the program view the hiring of strength coach Shannon Turley as equally pivotal. Not only did Harbaugh lure great players like Luck, David DeCastro and Shayne Skov, but he also inherited an underachieving roster and re-wired it into a winner.

Harbaugh also targeted USC’s Pete Carroll soon after his hiring in December 2006, tweaking him publicly and refusing to bow to the USC dynasty. “I think there was some personal animosity between the two of them,” Bowlsby said. “Not sure what that stems from. It got to be chippy in a hurry. It was mostly about USC being in a position [Harbaugh] wanting his Stanford team to be in.”

• KING: What happened between Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers?
There is some comparison to that situation with Ohio State and Meyer, the bell-cow team with the rock-star coach. However, Michigan is the winningest program in college football history, so the hard reset of the institutional mindset shouldn’t be quite as daunting. There is little doubt Harbaugh won’t be able to resist a target like Meyer, much like he won’t bow down to him.


by SI Staff Where will we see Harbaugh’s chase begin? The first scene could play out at Cass Tech High in Detroit, the football powerhouse where Ohio State has two players committed: defensive end Joshua Alabi and tailback Michael Weber. (Ohio State also signed blue-chip defensive back Damon Webb from Cass Tech last year.) Harbaugh could start by lobbying Weber, the four-star prospect who flipped to Ohio State from Michigan earlier this month. Harbaugh will have a powerful pitch, as he can sell both a pro offense and his NFL experience as the best way for prospects to reach the next level. Expect Michigan to brand itself like Stanford, as a jayvee pro-style team.
It needs the help, with Harbaugh walking into a recruiting class that desperately needs momentum, as it has just six committed players and ranks No. 96 nationally, according to Rivals.com, behind schools like Army, Louisiana-Lafayette and Middle Tennessee. Michigan will certainly go on a late flurry and add to its class, but there’s nowhere near enough quality talent left to approach the maximum 25 scholarship players. This means the class will rank somewhere on a scale between lost and limited, and any poached players will be seen as major prizes.

However the first shots are fired, though, remember something that Meyer and Harbaugh would hate to admit -- they’re not all that different. They were both born in Toledo, Ohio, six months apart. (Meyer is 50 and Harbaugh turned 51 earlier in December.) They both had demanding fathers who inspired their success. They both have shown a singular focus on winning that often trends toward mania. Yes, Harbaugh was shaped by a 15-year NFL career while Meyer was a walk-on who rose traditionally through the college coaching ranks. But the common ground remains that both are most comfortable in a football bubble, so much so that neither would want to spend a whole lot of time reflecting on their similarities.

On Saturday night, Meyer took a pass. His smirk said more than his words, as he rapped his fingers on a chair, looked out the window and relished the prospect of a new foil. But the twinkle of possibility soon left his eye, realizing that an old foil loomed much more important in the near future than a new one in the distance. “Time to go to bed,” Meyer said. “Big day for the Buckeyes tomorrow.”

Soon enough, he’ll wake up to a new tomorrow with the arrival of a new rival. And, rest assured, there will be plenty more to say.

[Optimus Prime]

Harbaugh Bitches, Harbaugh!

[iam416]

Good article, OP. The germane quotes:

Ohio State is miles ahead

The party certainly isn’t over for Ohio State, as Meyer has a three-year start on Harbaugh and the Wolverines. The Buckeyes are poised to return a roster that is guaranteed to start next season ranked in the top three, on paper the most talented Meyer should have so far in Columbus. Michigan has no functional quarterback, no distinguished star and a depth chart filled with recruits whose production hasn’t come close to meeting their lofty potential.

Good find, OP. Hard to disagree with any article proclaiming Ohio State's dominance of the B10 under UFM.

Hopefully you'll make some bold predictions, as you did with Hoke, Brandon and, heh, Nussmeier. Heh.

I like the hand I'm playing. Way more than anyone else's in the B10.

[hack]

Michigan isn't likely to peel off a retaliatory streak but we will now get our share, and it's going to be a sizable share. It's gonna suck for you when you cheat and STILL LOSE, and to a team that doesn't need to cheat to win. You will never know the joy of winning clean. I can't wait to feel that feeling AGAIN. Many times.

[Optimus Prime]

Hope and good whiskey keep a man alive. I admit I carried water for many years on behalf of my Alma Mater, you would too.

Obviously Meyer has the jump and a considerable gap, no reason not to put your money where your confidence is.

I know I've got some Mississippi River Boat Gambler in me.

$500 on The Game next fall?

[hack]

I know I've got some Mississippi River Boat Gambler in me.

The least you could have done on HARBAUGH DAY is to spread 'em for some A2 boys rather than some random SEC type. That gambler might not have taken a shower today. But hey - celebrate however you want to for all I care. definitely celebrate tho. We all should.

[lineygoblue]

Again, I'd be happy with Michigan holding serve in Ann Arbor for now.

And, the fact that Meyer and his staff will actually have to come into the game with real game plans, real strategies, and a real effort in order to win.

No more walk-overs. Those days are over. Even in 2015.

[Optimus Prime]

One night (or decade) in Bangkok and the world's Hack's oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free....

[iam416]

Good ol' Hack:

Meyer's not necessarily a long-term solution and even the doddering old version of Lloyd beat Meyer. Meyer also had Tebow for most of his time at Florida, and Tebow is proving to be, somehow, an exceptionally special player. And Meyer doesn't have any sort of mystical hold over Michigan, as Tressell did. We now have confirmation that it was the unfair advantage that comes with cheating, but Michigan no longer has to slay that beast -- it killed itself and Michigan can move on in this new era. Meyer is going to have to beat us without a lot of the advantages Tressell had, and therefore he's not going to have a decade of dominance. He's not even going to be around for a decade.

Here's how hack "knows" Ohio State is "cheating" -- did Ohio State kick the fuck out of Michigan once again? If yes, then CHEATING. Heh heh heh. This is all particularly hilarious when it's clear UM just went, as M fans would put it, all "SEC" to get JH. Heh.

I can only hope you haven't improved your prescience. LOL. Though, I do give you credit for being ambiguous this go around. "share"...heh...ok

[iam416]

And, the fact that Meyer and his staff will actually have to come into the game with real game plans, real strategies, and a real effort in order to win.

No more walk-overs. Those days are over. Even in 2015.

Never really been a walkover save RichGOD's first year. His last year wasn't pretty, but that was competitive for awhile and sort of got out of hand toward the end.

[lineygoblue]

There's nothing "SEC" about how Michigan went about getting Harbaugh. They paid the going rate for a very good football coach.

There was nothing shady about the process. In fact, even the 49ers front office commented that "Michigan did it right" when it came to contacting Harbaugh. I like that a lot.

The 49ers will rue the day that they let Harbaugh walk out the door. I'm guessing they're regretting it already.

[iam416]

Paying out the ass to get your man is exactly what I meant by "SEC". They'll do the same for assistants. I'll go guess M's coaching staff salaries will dwarf everyone else's in the B10. That's to be commended (though when OSU does it, it's going SEC).

The Niners wanted JH gone. Period. They did not want him in the NFL and did what they could to make sure that didn't happen. This is the best case scenario for the Niners...of course they worked with M/did nothing to stop M. I think M owes the Niners more than just a little thanks in getting him to M.

[froot loops]

You can bet Harbaugh will be working the back channels to get the game changing recruits SEC style.