2010 College Football Season Thread

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

Congrads to State. Outplayed us for sure. Denard's 2 picks were the game, and if he didn't throw them still probably would have lost.

The comment about Denard being a "good" athlete, and nothing more ummm gotta strongly disagree there, but I just got home from AA and I'm tired. It was a great time minus the end result. Schedule keeps getting tougher now too...

[timothy1997 0]

Congrads to State. Outplayed us for sure. Denard's 2 picks were the game, and if he didn't throw them still probably would have lost.

The comment about Denard being a "good" athlete, and nothing more ummm gotta strongly disagree there, but I just got home from AA and I'm tired. It was a great time minus the end result. Schedule keeps getting tougher now too...

All prior to the game, Michigan fans were "Denard for Heisman" "Denard over Pryor". Both of those are insults. Denard is nothing more than Tate from last year. Denard is human, he is not as good as Pryor, he is not a Heisman candidate. He can be stopped and his numbers are inflated because Michigan didn't play anyone their first 5 games.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

State played a better game. Simply put.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

The comment about Denard being a "good" athlete, and nothing more ummm gotta strongly disagree there, but I just got home from AA and I'm tired. It was a great time minus the end result. Schedule keeps getting tougher now too...

He moved the ball well enough, but got eaten alive in the red zone. He doesn't have the skills in his toolbox yet to put any touch on his passes (or the recognition of when to use them anyways) and State abused him whenever he tried to zing anything into a tight window. Oh well; he lives, he learns, he runs.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

All prior to the game, Michigan fans were "Denard for Heisman" "Denard over Pryor". Both of those are insults. Denard is nothing more than Tate from last year. Denard is human, he is not as good as Pryor, he is not a Heisman candidate. He can be stopped and his numbers are inflated because Michigan didn't play anyone their first 5 games.

While I agree that UM finally got exposed by a team with a defense, Robinson is only six starts into his career and he has far more staying power in that offense than Forcier ever did. Pryor is impressive, but he's in year three of a much easier offense to run with much better talent surrounding him right now. Imagine what Robinson could do if defenses didn't have the luxury of solely focusing on him every play.

Edited October 10, 2010 by GoWings1905

[BlakChamber 8]

Great, great game by MSU yesterday. The Spartans did exactly what they needed to do against Robinson, which was two things. 1: stop the big play; and 2: force him to pass the ball. The MSU defense did a great job containing the big play. Robinson's longest run of the day was 16 yards! The secondary gave up a couple of long passes, but those 3 picks were clutch. The MSU secondary has come up huge the last few games and the defense as whole has been great, especially after last year.

On offense, it was a very balanced attack. 249 yards on the ground and 287 through the air. Baker, Bell and Caper all contributed and 8 different receivers had catches. Martin was outstanding and really was the spark for the offense. He seemed to do whatever the Spartans needed. They were a stat on TV that Martin has scored a touchdown by rushing, receiving, passing, returning a punt and returning a kickoff. Cunningham is becoming a go-to receiver as well, and it's finally nice to see Dell stay healthy for a change. He's got a ton of talent but has never been able to stay healthy for a whole season. Hopefully I didn't jinx it.

So, if Michigan's regular season ends with yet another loss to the Buckeyes, is DickRod fired? That would put him 0-6 against his rivals. And why doesn't Michigan run Denard at RB and Tate at QB, kind of a Pat White/Steve Slaton set up. Yes, Tate seems like a little *****, but he's been a better passer than Shoelace.

[timothy1997 0]

Great, great game by MSU yesterday. The Spartans did exactly what they needed to do against Robinson, which was two things. 1: stop the big play; and 2: force him to pass the ball. The MSU defense did a great job containing the big play. Robinson's longest run of the day was 16 yards! The secondary gave up a couple of long passes, but those 3 picks were clutch. The MSU secondary has come up huge the last few games and the defense as whole has been great, especially after last year.

On offense, it was a very balanced attack. 249 yards on the ground and 287 through the air. Baker, Bell and Caper all contributed and 8 different receivers had catches. Martin was outstanding and really was the spark for the offense. He seemed to do whatever the Spartans needed. They were a stat on TV that Martin has scored a touchdown by rushing, receiving, passing, returning a punt and returning a kickoff. Cunningham is becoming a go-to receiver as well, and it's finally nice to see Dell stay healthy for a change. He's got a ton of talent but has never been able to stay healthy for a whole season. Hopefully I didn't jinx it.

So, if Michigan's regular season ends with yet another loss to the Buckeyes, is DickRod fired? That would put him 0-6 against his rivals. And why doesn't Michigan run Denard at RB and Tate at QB, kind of a Pat White/Steve Slaton set up. Yes, Tate seems like a little *****, but he's been a better passer than Shoelace.

I would be shocked if Tate is on Michigan next year. I see a transfer big time, just like Ryan Mallett.

Blak, I think anything less than a 10 win season for MSU is a disappoint. Do you agree with the remaining schedule?

[BlakChamber 8]

I would be shocked if Tate is on Michigan next year. I see a transfer big time, just like Ryan Mallett.

I'm actually shocked Tate is still on the team.

Blak, I think anything less than a 10 win season for MSU is a disappoint. Do you agree with the remaining schedule?

My original prediction for MSU was 8-4, with losses against the Wisky, Northwestern, Iowa and Penn State. Looking at the remaining schedule, Iowa is the only game that the Spartans probably won't be favored in. Normally I write off the end of the season in Happy Valley as a loss, but if there was ever a year for the Spartans to win at Penn State, this is the year.

Here's how I could see the schedule shaking out.

Illinois: W. Normally I'd be worried about this being a letdown game, but it seems that finally the coaches have the players focused.

@ Northwestern. W. The Wildcats always play the Spartans tough and dink and dunk spread times can give the Spartans problems, but MSU's offense will be too much.

@ Iowa: L. I'm still going to call this a loss, but I think it's going to come down to the final play like last year.

Minnesota: W. The Gophers are just bad. Decker will still cause problems but again, MSU's offense will be too much.

Purdue: W. Final home game of the season, no way does Greg Jones and the rest of the seniors go out with a loss. Plus, Purdue just isn't that good.

@ Penn State: L. I want to put this down for a W, I really do. But it's the end of the season in Happy Valley and who knows if it will be JoePa's last game. That place has been a snake pit for MSU. But, if Penn State contains to suck it up like they did against Illinois, I might change my mind.

I'm trying not to drink the Green Kool Aide, but it's tough not to right now. 3 in a row over Michigan. 4 straight bowl games. Pass me another glass!

[timothy1997 0]

I'm actually shocked Tate is still on the team.

My original prediction for MSU was 8-4, with losses against the Wisky, Northwestern, Iowa and Penn State. Looking at the remaining schedule, Iowa is the only game that the Spartans probably won't be favored in. Normally I write off the end of the season in Happy Valley as a loss, but if there was ever a year for the Spartans to win at Penn State, this is the year.

Here's how I could see the schedule shaking out.

Illinois: W. Normally I'd be worried about this being a letdown game, but it seems that finally the coaches have the players focused.

@ Northwestern. W. The Wildcats always play the Spartans tough and dink and dunk spread times can give the Spartans problems, but MSU's offense will be too much.

@ Iowa: L. I'm still going to call this a loss, but I think it's going to come down to the final play like last year.

Minnesota: W. The Gophers are just bad. Decker will still cause problems but again, MSU's offense will be too much.

Purdue: W. Final home game of the season, no way does Greg Jones and the rest of the seniors go out with a loss. Plus, Purdue just isn't that good.

@ Penn State: L. I want to put this down for a W, I really do. But it's the end of the season in Happy Valley and who knows if it will be JoePa's last game. That place has been a snake pit for MSU. But, if Penn State contains to suck it up like they did against Illinois, I might change my mind.

I'm trying not to drink the Green Kool Aide, but it's tough not to right now. 3 in a row over Michigan. 4 straight bowl games. Pass me another glass!

I originally thought 8-9 wins. I want more now. I agree on the Iowa game being the toughest left. I can see them losing 2 games but not 3 down the stretch. A 10-2 season while do wonders for the program. If they get thru the rest of this month undefeated tho, they got a serious shot at the Rose Bowl and that would be crazy.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

All prior to the game, Michigan fans were "Denard for Heisman" "Denard over Pryor". Both of those are insults. Denard is nothing more than Tate from last year. Denard is human, he is not as good as Pryor, he is not a Heisman candidate. He can be stopped and his numbers are inflated because Michigan didn't play anyone their first 5 games.

Insults?

-If State's QB had numbers like that would you not be saying the same things? I don't think it matters who they were playing because those numbers are just flat out disgusting. 502 yards in a game? C'mon man!!!! (Chris Carter voice). Was Heisman talk and/or better then Pryor talk stretching it? Yes, but with those numbers it has to brought up. Tebow, Pryor, Vince Young, Pat White, etc never put those numbers up against anyone even if it was some 1-AA school.

-Yes he can be stopped. He is human after all, and on top of that he's only started 6 games. If there was depth last year he would only be a red shirt freshmen right now. He's still learning on the job. MSU to their credit threw a lot of new stuff at him, plus was the best D he has faced. He will learn. If you're going to rip on him just because he's Michigan's QB then I'm done with this. The kid has shown the most improvement of any player I have ever seen at Michigan during one off season in my life time. Compare him to last year, and he's miles ahead of where he was. Last year I would scream when they would let him throw the ball. He couldn't throw, he couldn't make reads running or passing. The progress is incredible. If Tate had that work ethic wow that would be scary.

Speaking of Tate, I agree he won't be back next year. He's barely 2nd string right now.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Insults?

-If State's QB had numbers like that would you not be saying the same things? I don't think it matters who they were playing because those numbers are just flat out disgusting. 502 yards in a game? C'mon man!!!! (Chris Carter voice). Was Heisman talk and/or better then Pryor talk stretching it? Yes, but with those numbers it has to brought up. Tebow, Pryor, Vince Young, Pat White, etc never put those numbers up against anyone even if it was some 1-AA school.

-Yes he can be stopped. He is human after all, and on top of that he's only started 6 games. If there was depth last year he would only be a red shirt freshmen right now. He's still learning on the job. MSU to their credit threw a lot of new stuff at him, plus was the best D he has faced. He will learn. If you're going to rip on him just because he's Michigan's QB then I'm done with this. The kid has shown the most improvement of any player I have ever seen at Michigan during one off season in my life time. Compare him to last year, and he's miles ahead of where he was. Last year I would scream when they would let him throw the ball. He couldn't throw, he couldn't make reads running or passing. The progress is incredible. If Tate had that work ethic wow that would be scary.

Speaking of Tate, I agree he won't be back next year. He's barely 2nd string right now.

This.

[dropkickshanahans 463]

I can't stand our defense. I mean I understand if you're having trouble with coverage or bite on certain plays or moves,that stuff takes time to learn and you'll get better at it through experience, but I can not understand how almost the whole defense can't tackle. Seriously, this is pee wee stuff, is it really that difficult to wrap up? It pisses me off to no end how every runningback powers through our guys' arms like it's a simple dummy drill.

[timothy1997 0]

7-0!!!!!

Still waiting for the other shoe to drop, like I am sure a lot of other Spartans fans are. Really think their 2 toughest challenges left are these next 2 weeks. I will gladly take 1-1 in the next 2 games, but going 2-0 would mean Rose Bowl hype. Curious to see what BCS would do if the Spartans, Boise State and TCU were all undefeated...would they serious send Boise and TCU to their title game or would they put MSU in there to crash the party.

Oh and one more thing...

THANK YOU WISKY FOR BEATING THE BUCKEYES!!!

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

I'm at the crossroads with this team. I'm not wishing failure, but got a lot of questions about them. In my opinion the offense has left around 40 points on the field the last 2 weeks. Thats the players fault not coaching. On the other side this defense sucks. The youth excuse can only go so far, and has run out with me. It can be better then this, but the players are being set up for failure. Thats coaching not the players.

If you told me they are going to lose out I won't disagree. If you said they will finish 4-1 I can't argue that either I guess, but would be shocked. I just don't know anymore about anything...

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

I was there. It sucked. Long weekend, bout to pass out. One thing...Wisconin came out and did exactly what they needed to do and kicked our ass. More on this story after the break...

[dropkickshanahans 463]

I'm at the crossroads with this team. I'm not wishing failure, but got a lot of questions about them. In my opinion the offense has left around 40 points on the field the last 2 weeks. Thats the players fault not coaching. On the other side this defense sucks. The youth excuse can only go so far, and has run out with me. It can be better then this, but the players are being set up for failure. Thats coaching not the players.

If you told me they are going to lose out I won't disagree. If you said they will finish 4-1 I can't argue that either I guess, but would be shocked. I just don't know anymore about anything...

Just one more win and we can get a bowl game. A s***ty bowl game, but it's a start after 2 horrible years.

Edited October 18, 2010 by dropkickshanahans

[timothy1997 0]

Just one more win and we can get a bowl game. A s***ty bowl game, but it's a start after 2 horrible years.

what game is michigan gonna win to get a bowl game?? here is their remaining schedule

@ Penn State

Illinois

@ Purdue

Wisconsin

@ Ohio State

I doubt Michigan will be favored in any of those games and once again ask Michigan fans what is different this year than last year??

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

what game is michigan gonna win to get a bowl game?? here is their remaining schedule

@ Penn State

Illinois

@ Purdue

Wisconsin

@ Ohio State

I doubt Michigan will be favored in any of those games and once again ask Michigan fans what is different this year than last year??

Their offense is much more experienced everywhere. Their OL is on the verge of being elite. So out scoring teams is much more possible. To their credit they haven't thrown in the towel in games when they face adversity as of now (they did last season). Besides that the defense is actually worse. So in short not much difference. I don't expect to outscore Big 10 teams in the late fall. I think they will be favored against Purdue, and thats it. If PSU was at home that game may be different...

[BlakChamber 8]

MSU is #7 in the BCS and #8 in both polls! Those are words I wasn't sure I'd ever type. First time going 7-0 since 1966. It's been an amazing season so far and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down right now. I haven't booked my plane tickets to Pasadena yet, but its nice to be thinking about it. In a way, I'd almost rather go to the Sugar Bowl since I could drive there. But really, if MSU somehow makes it to the Rose Bowl, I'll be there.

As for this week, Northwestern always plays MSU tough and their dink and dunk spread can be annoying, but ultimately I just don't think they have the defense to handle MSU's offensive attack. And this week, it would be nice to see the Spartans just come out and run the game, and not have to wait until the 2nd half to put it away. The Iowa game next week is going to be huge, especially if Iowa beats Wisconsin this week.

Michigan's best chance for a win is at Purdue. Every other game is going to be a struggle to win. MSU and Iowa have shown how to stop Robinson. Will 6-6 with a trip to the Pizza Pizza Bowl be enough to keep DickRod in Ann Arbor? Better question, do you want to keep DickRod in Ann Arbor? Because I'm telling you guys, he is your John L. Smith. A good coach who just isn't in the right situation. I've seen how this story ends, and it's not pretty. The MSU/UM game was a complete reversal of MSU/UM for basically the last 40 years. MSU looked like they had Carr coaching when UM looked like JLS was on their sidelines. Fun fact. Dantonio and RichRod have the same number of Big 10 wins in Ann Arbor.

And as a side note, the funniest part of Michigan's struggles isn't the fact they started out hot and look like they're going to crash and burn, again. Or that they won the coveted September Heisman for the third year in a row (McHurdle, Tate and Shoelace). It's that their fanbase has absolutely no idea what to do. For long suffering Spartan fans, it would just be more of the same for us. But prior to DickRod, Michigan hadn't had a losing season in what, 40 years? I think Bo's worst was 6-6 and Carr's was 7-5. There's entire generations of Michigan fans that have no idea how to handle a losing team. And they have no idea what to do. It's absolutely hilarious.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

Michigan's best chance for a win is at Purdue. Every other game is going to be a struggle to win. MSU and Iowa have shown how to stop Robinson. Will 6-6 with a trip to the Pizza Pizza Bowl be enough to keep DickRod in Ann Arbor? Better question, do you want to keep DickRod in Ann Arbor? Because I'm telling you guys, he is your John L. Smith. A good coach who just isn't in the right situation. I've seen how this story ends, and it's not pretty. The MSU/UM game was a complete reversal of MSU/UM for basically the last 40 years. MSU looked like they had Carr coaching when UM looked like JLS was on their sidelines. Fun fact. Dantonio and RichRod have the same number of Big 10 wins in Ann Arbor.

Agree about Purdue. Don't agree about MSU and Iowa's defense. I'm not taking anything away from them, because are both very good defenses, but Michigan has left over 35 points on the field the last two weeks from bone headed mistakes. Most were so boneheaded I don't give any credit to the opposing defenses because they were literally early Christmas presents. Did they contain the offense better? Absolutely. Did they show a formula on how to shut it down? No.

I like Rich Rod. I hope he can figure out everything, and stick around a long time. With that said if he doesn't fix that defense he can take a hike. Yes the defense is very young, and lacks lots of depth but that excuse has run out with me. It's one of the worst defenses in the country (last time I checked it was the worst). That is unacceptable at Michigan. He needs to do an overhaul on defense, and I'm not just talking about the defensive coordinator. If RR just let him go I would be furious, because he's just using him as a scapegoat. The last DC, Schafer RR let go is doing a fine job a Syracuse now, and was a fine one his previous stops at Stanford/WMU before coming to U-M.

If RR wants to see that improve he needs to show the door to his hillbilly defensive coaches he brought here from WVU. They are cancer to this team. They ran Schafer out of town, and how stupid do you think we are? Has Greg Robinson, who has super bowl/national championship rings ever ran a stupid 3-3-5 in his very long coaching career? No, not once. Greg Robinson may get to drive the car at Michigan, but he doesn't own it, and thats a joke. It's the whole problem because his buddies who are position coaches are using their philosophy.

[BlakChamber 8]

Agree about Purdue. Don't agree about MSU and Iowa's defense. I'm not taking anything away from them, because are both very good defenses, but Michigan has left over 35 points on the field the last two weeks from bone headed mistakes. Most were so boneheaded I don't give any credit to the opposing defenses because they were literally early Christmas presents. Did they contain the offense better? Absolutely. Did they show a formula on how to shut it down? No.

UM left those points on the field because of the defense. I can't speak to the Iowa game because I didn't watch all of the game. But MSU took the big play away from UM. He had 86 yards rushing and his longest run was 16 yards. They stopped Robinson on the ground and forced him to pass, which was the plan. Robinson is certainly a better passer than he was last year where he chucked the ball into the ground regularly, but he's still not that good. MSU forced him to pass and he started to make mistakes. Looking at the box score of the Iowa game, it looks like the Hawkeyes tried the same thing. Robinson only had around 100 yards on the ground and again didn't break off any huge runs. Mistakes weren't made for no reason, the defense forced them.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

UM left those points on the field because of the defense. I can't speak to the Iowa game because I didn't watch all of the game. But MSU took the big play away from UM. He had 86 yards rushing and his longest run was 16 yards. They stopped Robinson on the ground and forced him to pass, which was the plan. Robinson is certainly a better passer than he was last year where he chucked the ball into the ground regularly, but he's still not that good. MSU forced him to pass and he started to make mistakes. Looking at the box score of the Iowa game, it looks like the Hawkeyes tried the same thing. Robinson only had around 100 yards on the ground and again didn't break off any huge runs. Mistakes weren't made for no reason, the defense forced them.

I agree with some of it, and disagree with some it. If you're talking about just Robinson you are correct. MSU did shut down the big plays, and they are a very good defense. U-M still put up the 2nd most yards of anyone that MSU has faced (ND is first). I just don't think 2 of Robinson's INT's were due to good MSU defense. Again, not taking anything away from them just my opinion. You saw them..they were Joey Harrington type throws - just straight up presents. The 3rd INT I agree MSU forced him to do something he didn't want to do, and it resulted in another bad turnover.

Iowa gave up 577 yards, and Robinson was hurt. Who does that against Iowa?

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Against MSU Robinson had two of those throws open, the receiver had a step on the DB, but threw it behind his receiver and into disaster. While he hadn't displayed this problem before, most of his throws come on screens or to stunningly open receivers; throwing into tight windows is obviously not part of his package yet (if it ever will be).

MSU did a good job in forcing those plays by leaving their backside DEs in to contain on every snap, rather than trying to read the option. If Michigan still had a runner like Hart or Minor they could have plundered the middle of the field to take advantage of this, but instead they have Vincent Smith who hits the turf in the face of the slightest breeze.

Looking ahead though, I think PSU, which is wracked with injuries, and probably Illinois and Purdue will be wins. Whereas Michigans godawful secondary got shelled by experienced upperclassmen QBs in the last three outings (seniors Stanzi and Chappell and junior Cousins), all of the next three are freshman QBs that are in the bottom 20th in nation right now in passing. Which will probably go up after they play Michigan, but not enough to beat them, I envision.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Sigh. I seriously wonder why I bother anymore. I'm almost all the way to the point where I have completely accepted permanent mediocrity in my life from Notre Dame Football. Any expectations, even minor, get stomped on and trashed with losses like this every season. I can't comprehend how it is possible to lose 3 of 4 years to Navy and very close to 4 straight. Sometimes I get frustrated watching the Red Wings because they win a lot of nights on talent alone, but at least they frickin win. I want to believe in Brian Kelly, but today was Charlie Weis all over again. Outhustled, outworked, outcoached by a vastly inferior opponent.

I wasn't expecting a miracle in year one, but man you gotta at least win the games you are supposed to. I'm not sure I can bear to watch the Utah and USC massacres still to come. This football program has had no pride for a decade now and that stings maybe even more than the losing.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Pretty exciting end to the Wisconsin-Iowa game.