Michigan Football, Team 137, 2016 Season.

[Mike]

The only good thing about the HokeRod era is that whatever we contracted was easily cleared up with shot of penicillin.

[Jeff Buchanan]

The Michigan hype train is charging down the tracks. Is Jim Harbaugh's team ready?
http://www.sbnation.com/college-foot...chedule-roster

If you like stats to back up predictions, this is a very good piece. I was all ready to lampoon SBNation but this is good stuff. My only gripe is that, well, it's typical pre-season play-off bound hype but wait stuff. This is the standard approach taken by the CFB gurus and talking heads so they won't look bad if it goes one way or the other.

Regardless the numbers and trends that Team 136 produced are nice and if anyone was watching we know exactly why the D dropped off after Ojimuda and Glascow went down. We also know why Jake went from a QB rating of around 106 to around 160 by the end of the season ...... HARBAUGH!!! so, there is that at play with whoever is behind center and I'd be surprised if it wasn't O'Korn.

So, that report is solid and encouraging. I'm of the mind that 9 wins would be a disappointment, 10 acceptable as long as the two losses cannot be to both MSU and osu. Let's be realistic. Sure, M has a great coaching staff and known, capable, if not spectacular, talent at just about every position except QB - but then with QB....... HARBAUGH!!! But, those are two tough road games. Throw in Iowa at Kinnick and that is difficult conference away schedule to go 3-0 with.

I'd be happy as a pig in shit if the Harbaugh coached Team 137 to wins against both MSU and osu on their home turf ..... good turn around from 2015. But I don't think that's realistic. M is likely to drop one of those.

[Mike]

Have to win 2 of 3 against MSU/Iowa/OSU.

And beat everyone else, of course.

[Rocky Bleier]

Where?

From the article that was linked by Cody_Russel:

It appears Speight is the front-runner. That could change in fall camp, but he and O'Korn eased ahead of Morris, to the extent that coaches experimented with playing Morris at receiver.

[Rocky Bleier]

And, if it turns out that Speight beats out O'Korn, then I'm fine with it. I think Harbaugh has shown he can be trusted 100% with that decision.

I'll not be fine with it. If Speight beats out O'Korn that means O'Korn is a bust. No way Speight has improved that much...

[lineygoblue]

Rocky, I still trust Harbaugh and Coach Fisch on this one. If Speight trots out against Hawaii as the starter, its because he's the best QB on the roster. Lets not forget about Brandon Peters. If Speight becomes the starter, and O'Korn slips, I've got to believe they'll start looking at Peters. Its not necessary to preserve a red shirt for Peters, because McCaffery is on the way.

Again, I think Harbaugh has this covered. We'll have a very good QB this year.

[Cody_Russell]

Wow... For once, I'm faster (1 hour) than MGoblog at posting something Michigan related... The SB Nation article.
Cool story.
It's just I've been a big fan of Bill Connelly for 2 years. On the plane trip to Hawaii last August, I read like 50 of those previews for the 2015 season.
It's presented very nicely... AND also very nice for us (very few) Purdue followers because who else goes that in depth about Purdue (.. nobody).

[The Oracle]

Rocky, I still trust Harbaugh and Coach Fisch on this one. If Speight trots out against Hawaii as the starter, its because he's the best QB on the roster. Lets not forget about Brandon Peters. If Speight becomes the starter, and O'Korn slips, I've got to believe they'll start looking at Peters. Its not necessary to preserve a red shirt for Peters, because McCaffery is on the way.

Again, I think Harbaugh has this covered. We'll have a very good QB this year.

Every QB from here on out will more than likely RS. Peters is on par with McCaferrey as far as a prospect goes, so I guarantee JH isn't thinking that way.

[WM Wolverine]

You play to win football games; if a guy helps you win, they play. I really hate burned redshirts but some guys are needed for depth purposes (LB, TE, WR this season) and some are capable of playing well in the B1G as true freshman.

Depth chart is weak at CB, Hill or Long might play as true freshman. A couple linebackers are likely to play as they'll be needed just for the depth chart, likely same for WR. No doubt Gary is going to play at a high level as a true freshman. Ben Bredeson is advertised as a college ready offensive lineman, he could be needed on the offensive line.

[Jeff Buchanan]

QBs...... don't care. From what we've seen on a very limited basis, IMO, O'Korn sees the field better than Speight or Morris but a lot changes month to month with coaching and route running by receivers as well as what kind of chemistry develops between QBs and receivers.

If you look at Harbaugh's history at the college level he seems to be very good at playing to the strengths of his QBs, avoiding their weaknesses and bringing them along with his playbook as both a game and the season unfolds.

Depth Chart at CB ...... While it's thin, I think Don Brown knows how to protect units where the D might have a talent or a depth issue. The author of the SBNation article points out that Brown is so aggressive up front that he is able to play less aggressively on the back side. You're unlikely to see a big play get around or over the top of the back side of his defenses. Opponents have to earn every yard. At the strategic level, we know that games where talent and coaching levels are about equal, it's that one big play that produces a win. I'm hoping M and Brown are going to limit those.

[Hannibal]

I expect to see a lot of true freshmen this year and next. The recruiting classes of '14 and '15 were small and inadequate.

[lineygoblue]

https://www.facebook.com/Wolverine247/videos/898769500228130/

[Rocky Bleier]

Rocky, I still trust Harbaugh and Coach Fisch on this one. If Speight trots out against Hawaii as the starter, its because he's the best QB on the roster. Lets not forget about Brandon Peters. If Speight becomes the starter, and O'Korn slips, I've got to believe they'll start looking at Peters. Its not necessary to preserve a red shirt for Peters, because McCaffery is on the way.

Again, I think Harbaugh has this covered. We'll have a very good QB this year.

It has to be a smokescreen. If Harbaugh named O'Korn the starter now Speight might stop working, and he'll be needed as a backup. Watch film from O'Korn's freshman year at Houston and then tell me that Speight has equal or greater ability.

http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/medi...hitCount=55130

[lineygoblue]

And in a pinch, he's got Morris, .. and Peters in the dugout.

QB isn't going to be a problem.

[Rocky Bleier]

Morris? What's his TD/INT ratio? He took a year off and he's still number 3 on the depth chart. Peters? Kid hasn't played a down yet. He's still an unknown. Speight is serviceable, and they can win most games on the schedule with him, but O'Korn has much more upside. O'Korn's mobility and ability to throw accurately on the run make him much more difficult for a defense to contain. He also has two years of experience compared to Speight's one-shining-moment in Minnesota.