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Game #7 – Michigan (2-4) at Penn State (7-0) – Open Thread
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5 Comments| Michigan Wolverines (2-4) | GAME #7 | Penn State Nittany Lions (7-0) |
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| Date: | October 18, 2008 | Location: | State College, PA |
| Time: | 4:30 p.m. ET | Stadium: | Beaver Stadium |
| TV: | ESPN | Favorite: | Penn State by 24.5 |
| Radio: | Click Here | Over/Under: | 47.5 |
| Weather: | Click Here | My Prediction: | Penn State wins |
| Final Score: | Michigan Wolverines – 17 :: Penn State Nittany Lions – 46 | ||
Almost everyone considering this game is expecting a slaughter, and we know it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to predict a PSU victory especially after looking at the Illini and Toledo games.
However, there are those in the football world who are expecting this Michigan team to grow up sometime during this year. They are expecting that “break out game.” Some thought it was the Wisconsin game but we were wrong. Even Joe Pa said in the Detroit News,…
“You know, obviously, they’re struggling a little bit in certain key position, but there’s talent all over the place,” Paterno said. “They’ve got a lot of good kids that are going to be really good. I just hope they’re a week away.” Meaning he hopes that Michigan with all of that talent will wait until the MSU game to put it altogether.
The conventional thinking is, now that Michigan is headed into the second half of this season, with each game they are getting closer to being what they will become next year because they are gaining the experience.
That’s even taking into consideration the argument about the talent level and the adjustment to the new offensive scheme.
More wins not withstanding, at the very least from now on, with each game we SHOULD be witnessing a football team that is getting better and more competitive on both sides of the ball.
That’s my Opinion!!!
it aint over till the fat lady sings and charlie weis hasn’t said anything yet.
that fat son of a bitch is singing loud and clear…it’s over
THe play of the D has been a real head scratcher. We thought the O was going to be a struggle but D was supposed to the strength. Poor S and LB play has been given as the reason for our dismal performance. But that’s like putting the blame on someone. You are a D coordinator, you got to fit the scheme to the personnel that you got. We gave UT 347 yards and were 8-18 on third downs, that’s 45%, we ought to be around 30%.
YOu just can;t sit back and say that our players don;t get it so we are gonna write off this year. Come on man, show something. Players on D look as lost on players on O.
Don;t know about THreet, i guess he was injured but he seems to revert to his bad self after a good start, seems like we can expect a good quarter from him, healthy or not. Maybe he gets better next year dunno. He seems mechanically poor, doesn’t seem to have good footwork at all, doesn’t step into his throws, weird that after 6 games into the season the mechanics issues haven;t even been noticed. Whatever, this season gets a pass and looking at things maybe next year too but from 2010 on we got to get it rolling real good.
GO BLUE!
No one wants to write off this season, however, it's clear that Michigan will not win a championship this year. When you look at players who are clearly out of position, players running and tripping over each other in the back field, it is even clearer that there are players who still don't get it.
The defensive scheme and philosphy is new (3-4 & how the 4-3 package is used) and so even with experienced players it is taking time for the d-players to figure it out. This is the call of the coordinator for each play. Just like the offense, when your personel is not getting it done, then you find a way to compensate for it.
My concern is that I'm missing where the d-coordinator is making proper adjustments when necessary because we've been getting burned repeatedly on the same type of plays. Maybe it's there and I just can't see it.
I don't know, I guess with a new head coach, a new staff, a new defensive coordinator, new O & D systems, a new QB and a new young freshman based offense starting this year, that is why we're getting what we're getting.
However, even if we don't win we should still be seeing some improvement weekly.