This reminds of 2005

Submitted by gustave ferbert on

we ended up that year at 7-5.  The problem back then seemed to be the defense.  The criticism was harsh just like it is now.  Everyone was calling for Jim Hermann's head.   There was the bad loss against Ohio State at home when we were up 2 scores in the 4th quarter.  They had back to back scoring drives where they only had to convert one third down. And then the loss in the Alamo bowl to Nebraska. 

Then in 2006, Ron English takes over on defense.  Chad Henne and the offense matured even more and we were playing Ohio State for the National Championship. 

 

This time around it's the offense.  We have a ton of young talent that just needs to follow through.  Don Brown's defense are typically unstoppable in his third year.  And with 9 all big ten players on defense coming back.  That's not going to be a problem. 

 

So perhaps changes do need to be made.  But the bottom line is that it's foolish to think this program is on the wrong path or will not get better because we had a dismal ending to a tough season.  

MGoBoard

Credit812

January 2nd, 2018 at 10:28 AM ^

the issue with their offense this year is that Oregeron (or Cajun Hoke if you prefer) meddled in the offense, asking Canada to take out all the motions and shifts, which is the key part of his offense.

Go look at the Pitt offense in 2016 when they beat Clemson for a good idea of what Canada's offense can be at its best.

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B1G Winning

January 1st, 2018 at 9:59 PM ^

Which freshman showed that they have the ability to be all-BigTen next year? Black in The 3 games he played? I don't see how we can just assume that this team is just going to light it up next year because they'll have more experience when there's been little to no progression through the last 5 months.

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Tuebor

January 1st, 2018 at 11:15 PM ^

Since you went all caps ill assume you are serious. Beyond 5 stars and high 4 stars recruiting rankings are bull shit. The services favor kids who camp with them and kids who commit to programs with larger fanbases. People arent going to buy subscriptions to read about how their team isn't recruiting well.

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Tuebor

January 1st, 2018 at 11:55 PM ^

What exactly have i said counters recruit analysis? 5 stars and high 4 stars will very likely be good players, but many 3 stars get a bump to low 4 star if they commit to a big brand program. Texas fans arent going to pay to read about how tcu is out recruiting them. And if a 3 star camps with say rivals, they might bump him up to a low 4 star over a kid who camps at scout. Dude hasnt cracked into the top 3 in his career yet those services needed to sell subscriptions. Cant have michigan fans reading about how their qb commit isnt very good. Alex malzone was a 4 star according to scout, espn, and rivals.

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ScooterTooter

January 2nd, 2018 at 12:04 AM ^

OH FUCK, ALEX MALZONE. 

CHECK AND MATE ALL DATA THAT CORRELATES RECRUITING SUCCESS WITH ON THE FIELD SUCCESS. ITS ALL A BIG RECRUITING CONSPIRACY THEORY PERPETUATED BY ALEX MALZONE. 

CAN YOU NEXT DEBUNK THE IDEA THAT EXPERIENCE MATTERS??? SOME CRAZIES ARE TRYING TO ARGUE THAT AS WELL!!!!

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ScooterTooter

January 2nd, 2018 at 4:45 PM ^

SO FUCKING RIGHT DUDE, CLEMSON WON A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ONLY AFTER THEY RECRUITED THE NUMBER ONE CLASS FOUR FUCKING YEARS IN A ROW.

THEY DEFINITELY DIDNT HAVE THREE OUT OF THE PREVIOUS FOUR YEARS WHERE THEY RECRUITED OUTSIDE THE TOP TEN. 

YOU HAVE FUCKING OWNED THIS THREAD SO HARD AND ARE SO SMART BRIAN SHOULD TURN MGOBLOG OVER TO YOU!!!!!!!!!

 

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I Like Burgers

January 1st, 2018 at 10:26 PM ^

Yes Michigan had a third string QB, but I don't think anyone was expecting this.  There was no progress at any position on offense from the start of the year to the end of the year.  Ideally you'd like to see some improvement over the course of a transition year.  There was none to be had this year on offense.  Which means 2018 is going to be a bit of a transition year as well, but more on the mental end.

I mean, Christ, by the time they play Notre Dame they will have only beaten one team (Purdue) with a winning record in almost two years.  TWO YEARS!!!  Prior to that, Oct. 1st, 2016 was the last time they beat a team that finished with a winning record.  That's horrible, and far beyond what anyone was expecting.

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mi93

January 1st, 2018 at 10:06 PM ^

and agree with the OP too.  2005 was a young team IIRC.  Today (this season) sucked, but we'll be fine - OL don't become mashers overnight and that cupboard is taking time to fill (unfortunately).  Depth at QB hurt all 3 years of JH so far - next year there's finally legit QB depth (Patterson appeal pending).

The D should now be in annual reload territory after surviving last year's mass senior exodus.

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ScooterTooter

January 1st, 2018 at 10:33 PM ^

See, it seems people are struggling with the idea that Michigan is somewhere between "Okay, we expected the team to have a transition year, 8-5 is fine" and "OMG, ITS A DISASTER, LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE NEXT YEAR, NO WAY THIS TEAM DOES ANYTHING BUT GO 8-4 NEXT YEAR AFTER THIS LOSS". 

Things have been worse than expected this year. The losses to MSU and South Carolina were terrible losses. BUT, given Jim Harbaugh's track record (which people are now ready to throw out after one bad year), there's no reason to think that the issues that have plagued this team don't have a high likelihood of being fixed. When you couple this with the talent Michigan has brought in gaining another year of experience, there probably isn't much to worry about. This year will likely be a blip on the radar of Harbaugh's tenure here. 

 

 

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BoFlex

January 1st, 2018 at 9:55 PM ^

For some reason, I'm a little skeptical that Harbaugh will fire 2 OCs that have been with him for multiple years/stops, and his own flesh and blood in Jay Harbaugh...

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Here2CWoodson

January 1st, 2018 at 10:01 PM ^

What’s everyone’s issue with Jay? I thought the RBs got better over the course of the year and did a lot with the little the OL gave them. I agree that Drevno/Pep have been bad but Jay seems like an easy target without much to back it up. Am I missing something ?

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Stringer Bell

January 1st, 2018 at 10:02 PM ^

It's actually pretty apt.  Big win over a big name opponent that proves to be incredibly overrated, a bunch of surprisingly close games against very bad teams, struggle through the Big Ten season, then put up a terrible offensive showing in the bowl game with "the future" starting at QB.  2013 is actually a very good comparison

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SpikeFan2016

January 2nd, 2018 at 12:07 AM ^

Literally, scary close...

Similarities:

  1. September non-conference win over a ranked team that ends the season unranked (2013 Notre Dame, 2017 Florida; 2017 was worse). 
  2. As a fringe Top 25 team, suffer a blowout slaughter on the road to a Top Ten conference foe in October to drop from the rankings (2013 MSU, 2017 PSU; Even)
  3. First loss of the year: a close conference loss in October to a team we were expected to beat preseason (2013 PSU, 2017 MSU; 2017 was worse)
  4. Crushing bowl loss in a lower tier bowl game (Even; 2013 was a worse margin, 2017's collapse was epic though and we were more expected to win)
  5. Close games to non-conference teams without actually losing (2013 was definitely worse, but Air Force and Cincy games this year were still closer than they should've been). 
  6. Overperforming versus expectations against Ohio State at home but still falling short (2017 was worse, bigger margin of loss). 
  7. Blowout Minnesota at home. 
  8. Close game against Indiana that we ultimately pull out.

 

2013 did have one more loss though (road collapse at Iowa as well as home chokejob versus Nebraska, compared to the Wisconsin loss in 2017). 

 

2017 was a better season than 2013, but it wasn't too far off and similar in a lot of ways. 

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evenyoubrutus

January 1st, 2018 at 10:19 PM ^

This comparison does not work. Gardner was a RS Junior, multi year starter and showed his 5 star ability previously, and he regressed steadily throughout the season. The playcalling was much worse, if you can believe it. We also got crushed in several games that year, and nearly lost to Uconn and Akron. I don't mean those games were closer than they should have been, I mean they were practically decided by a coin flip. This season definitely resembles 2005 much more closely.

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Mr Grainger

January 1st, 2018 at 9:57 PM ^

I brought this up on an earlier thread and noted that Coach Carr made OC and DC changes in 2005. And they worked. In this case, replacing Drevno with someone who doesn't hand it off to a tight end on 3rd and 1 would be a big step.

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