Team 137 by Jim Harbaugh. Football talk and Predictions.

[Kstat]

OSU still has JT Barrett and they always have guys to replace outgoing seniors. They'll be fine. MSU losing Cook is a blow but it isn't like the cupboard is bare there either.

Meanwhile Michigan still has some gaps in their depth. Harbaugh's been a godsend but his recruiting effect won't really show on the field until 2017.

I will say I'm looking forward to much improved offensive line play next season. That's one area where depth should not be an issue.

[iam416]

It better show in 2017 because they'll lose the vast majority of their two-deep after next season.

Ohio State isn't going anywhere. IMO, they'll have more talent than M in 2016, but it'll be way younger. We'll see if UFM can bring it along. Having a guy like JTB to steady the ship is huge. In some ways it reminds me of the 2006 team. That team lost a ton on defense, but brought back a loaded offense. Unfortunately, the 2016 team doesn't have the likes of Ginn and Gonzalez at WR.

Anyway, I expect OSU and M to be split choices to win the East going into next season. I don't think either will go undefeated, and I think it's more likely than not that both will have 2 losses.

[AlabamAlum]

What happened with Cardale? I know he stopped getting snaps late in the year, right?

[iam416]

Wrong thread. Short answer: Urbs realized what everyone with fucking eyes knew -- JTB was a more effective QB for this team.

[Rocky Bleier]

What a difference coaching made for Jake Rudock. Thrown out by Ferentz, Rudock is Citrus Bowl MVP, while Kirk is doing his best to explain being blown out in the Rose. JR was no doubt proud to chant "It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine" after the game.

[WM Wolverine]

Iowa will be tough next season, especially at Kinnick. They return a bunch and will be a top 10-12 team...

Sparty won't quite be their usual selves next season, I think that game at Sparty shouldn't be as difficult as Iowa though Sparty always saves the game of their lives for the M game. They are bringing in more talent than usual but they'll be young and inexperienced at the skill position and on the defensive line. Probably shy of a 10-win team and I think they play ND next season too...

M's 2-deep is extremely heavy in seniors for '16. Mason Cole was the only Sophomore starter on offense, no freshman starters... Jabrill Peppers was the only Freshman or Sophomore starter on defense. Team 137 needs to win in '16 as it's going to be the best chance for awhile.

[Rocky Bleier]

Iowa will be Iowa. They're never terrible. Usually mediocre. Sometimes above average. Kirk Ferentz should have been fired long ago, but the good people of Iowa are happy to win 8-9 games per year. They like his square jaw and his humble facade. He won Coach of the Year simply because his team plays in the west and had a cupcake schedule. Wisconsin beats them if Stave doesn't trip and fumble deep in the red zone. Stanford exposed him and his team.

[WM Wolverine]

Iowa will be far from a cupcake, Wisconsin is far from a gimmie too but that's at home...

Wisconsin somehow plays all of Michigan, Sparty and Ohio State next season (and LSU). Now I know they truly make the B1G schedules, they choose a down year to play all their tough opponents in one year then get to miss those programs most every other year.

[Rocky Bleier]

Didn't say they would be a cupcake. Just pissed me off that they were once ranked 4th in the nation because they were unbeaten. And I like Iowa more than most other B1G teams. Stanford's loss to Northwestern hurt them, but it was obvious they were superior to Iowa.

[Da Geezer]

Kstat said:

Iowa isn't that good. If they played on the other side of the B1G no one would care about them.

I've been waiting for someone to bring this up. It is way past time to realign the divisions in the B10. The idea that Northwestern and Iowa made it to New Year's Day bowls is absurd. UM beat Northwestern 38-0 and didn't play Iowa. If Iowa had played any of the "Big Four" B10 East teams (PSU, MSU, UM, OSU in ascending order) they would not have been rated in the top 10. Iowa v MSU for the championship was a false choice. MSU never deserved the rankings that came from two gift games. UM absolutely gives them a game, and the coaching staff at OSU figures they can get by MSU without showing any of their good stuff which they saved until the following week. MSU's placekicker hits a duck-hook that, had it occurred on the golf course, would have been OB. This is the same kicker that Dantonio wouldn't allow to kick against UM.

Much of the "seeding" in the New Years Bowls had, one way or another, to do with either Northwestern's defeat of Stanford in the first game of the year or MSUs gift from the OSU coaching staff. The NW win affected the rankings dramatically. NW ends the season ranked ahead of UM even though UM beat them head-to-head 38-0.

I'd stand corrected on this, but, had Stanford beaten a middling NW team, Stanford would rightfully have been in the playoffs.

From the above you can guess that I rank the B10 teams at season's end as follows:

1. OSU 2. UM 3. MSU 4. PSU/Iowa. I actually believe that UFM was the only human in the US that could have kept OSU out of the playoffs this year. He kept JTB on the bench early in the season, and he had a goofy game plan vs. MSU.

Finally, this season should put to rest any argument that the new playoff system is any better than the old system. Because of a panel of 'experts", we were supposed to get the best teams, but OSU was left out in favor of MSU. So much for picking the best four teams at the end of the season. Some teams, like UM, improve over the year. Others (NW, Iowa, and MSU) regress to the mean. I honestly believe OSU should be playing Ala. for the NC on the 11th.

OK. Fire away.

[Paul L]

Because of a panel of 'experts", we were supposed to get the best teams, but OSU was left out in favor of MSU. So much for picking the best four teams at the end of the season. Some teams, like UM, improve over the year. Others (NW, Iowa, and MSU) regress to the mean. I honestly believe OSU should be playing Ala. for the NC on the 11th.

OK. Fire away.

Agree with most of the post, but there's no way the selection committee could've replaced sparty with osu instead, especially with the msu head to head win in the cess pool (and that late in the season), and winning the B1G CG.

osu has no one to blame but themselves for their CFP exclusion; f them.

[WM Wolverine]

I figured he was watching the women's basketball team play NW.

[Paul L]

I figured he was watching the women's basketball team play NW.

They probably play w more toughness, heh

[whodean]

Agree with most of the post, but there's no way the selection committee could've replaced sparty with osu instead, especially with the msu head to head win in the cess pool (and that late in the season), and winning the B1G CG.

osu has no one to blame but themselves for their CFP exclusion; f them.

Exactly. The entitled attitude was what did Em in, from the beginning. Craptacular schedule gave them no reason to toughen up either.

[Cody_Russell]

Whoever plays my Purdue (or a lot of the B10 West to a less extent) gets an automatic win (except Nebraska randomly) and shouldn't be credited for beating them... Like Iowa.

But yea those three games (at Iowa, at MSU, and at OSU) are the tough ones. Michigan should at least win one of them.
The QB position will be a big factor for Michigan. If O'Korn, Malzone, Speight, or (probably not) Morris plays incredibly well, Michigan has a shot of making the playoffs.
So much uncertainty at QB...