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Grex > Sports > #66: The U of Michigan Wolverines Football item for 1997-1998 | |
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srw
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The U of Michigan Wolverines Football item for 1997-1998
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Sep 27 02:07 UTC 1997 |
Maize and blue fans. Have we got a team this year or what?
Well, we do have the best college football player in the nation.
We also have a very young and inexperienced offensive line that is
playing surprisingly well.
The quarterback looks pretty smart, and even though he has cement feet,
he can throw the ball and take a hit.
No Biakabutuka, but we have a freshman from Lousiana who can really run.
Punting should have been a problem for us, but we have a walk-on kicking
better than our tendered punters usually do.
We have one thing going against us big time though -- the toughest
schedule in the NCAA.
Comments? How badly are we going to beat Notre Dame tomorrow?
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| 34 responses total. |
omni
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response 1 of 34:
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Sep 27 14:42 UTC 1997 |
This item is beyond heresy.
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albaugh
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response 2 of 34:
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Sep 29 18:29 UTC 1997 |
Well, 2 of the supposedly tough teams on this nasty schedule turned out to
not be so tough this year: Colorado has been struggling, though winning, and
Notre Dame has been struggling and losing. The Irish played well against UM,
and exposed some weaknesses that the Wolverines better plug pronto. Let's
hope that they can rebound with a big effort on the road against a weak
Indiana team.
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jep
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response 3 of 34:
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Sep 29 21:35 UTC 1997 |
Colorado had an impressive 20-19 win in the final seconds against national
power Wyoming yesterday. Notre Dame is 1-3. Baylor was never expected to
be a tough game. Michigan had no tougher of a schedule in the pre-Big Ten
season than Michigan State! (-:
The Big Ten is unquestionably the toughest conference in the NCAA this
year. I don't think there's a realistic chance that any team can pass
through it without a loss, and since a 12-0 record is required for a real
chance at the national championship, this means U-M, MSU, Penn State, Ohio
State all have not got a chance among them for an NCAA championship again
this year. It is definitely a shame.
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srw
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response 4 of 34:
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Oct 21 00:42 UTC 1997 |
I would like to see Colorado do well, since we beat them, but not at the
expense of calling Wyoming a national power. Sheesh, they are a WAC
team. There is a reason that Wyoming is not listed in the top 25. The
WAC is not very competitive.
The Big ten had Wisconsin drop out of the rankings this week, but Purdue
replaced them, as they are now ranked 23. That's 6 big ten teams in the
top 25.
Can someone win the big 10 without a loss? The odds are against it, but
not overwhelmingly so. It is disctinctly possible. I'd say two teams
still have a legitimate shot at it.
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srw
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response 5 of 34:
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Oct 21 03:25 UTC 1997 |
Of course State fans want to believe that the big-10 winner will not be
undefeated. That gives them a glimmer of hope. However, while that may
very well happen, I can't imagine that the winner will be MSU. Don't get
me wrong. MSU has a very good team this year. They are ranked 15
nationally as of this week, in my opinion are not overrated. If Michigan
would make the fatal mistake of not taking them seriously, they could
upset them this week. They won't though.
However, MSU is also thoroughly untested. Only one team that they beat
has a winning record this year, and that is WMU. They are a MAC team. .
MSU still has to beat Michigan, OSU and PSU to go to the Rose bowl.
Not a rosy picture for MSU ;-)
Do I really swallow the contention that U-M and MSU pre-season schedules
are equivalent? Let's see:
UM played Notre Dame, Colorado, and Baylor
MSU played Notre Dame, Western, and Memphis
It's closer than I expected because of Colorado's disappointing season,
but they play in the Big 8(12). Compare them with Western? Fooey.
Sorry, you Western Michigan and Memphis fans, but this doesn't wash.
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jep
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response 6 of 34:
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Oct 21 13:52 UTC 1997 |
Baylor wasn't strong competition, either. Colorado was overrated. Still,
Michigan *tried* to play stronger teams.
Not that it matters, in the race for poll rankings. Nebraska plays a
couple of hard games every year. Once again, they're ranked #1, over a
much more deserving Penn State. If either Penn State or Michigan remains
undefeated at the end of the season, that team will deserve the #1
ranking. It may not get it, though, and will lose it anyway after the
bowl games.
I think Michigan will be helped a lot by MSU's loss to Northwestern. I
think State will be demoralized by the loss. The articles in the Lansing
State Journal about the game made the players sound very upbeat, but I
think the players were lying and the sportswriters were letting themselves
be deceived. MSU hasn't cracked the top 10 in years. With a win, they
might have done it this week. With the loss, they've just shown they're
vulnerable.
The line is 1.5 points in favor of Michigan. I think it won't be all that
close. Michigan 30, Michigan State 16.
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srw
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response 7 of 34:
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Oct 30 06:30 UTC 1997 |
The score was 23-7 in a game that the media generally referred to as a
blowout. I think it was anything but. The game was in doubt going into
the fourth quarter. I was still biting my nails at that point. Michigan
won because MSU could not find a way to score on that defense. The 7
points were scored on a special-teams flukey fake-field-goal play. These
points could have mattered a great deal if MSU could have found a way to
score another TD. They didn't.
When that didn't happen, they started to take chances. You take a chance
every time you put the ball in the air against the M defense. MSU found
this out, experiencing 6 interceptions. Woodson is on one side, and
Marcus ray on the other. Woodson is amazing, but Ray is not chopped
liver.
MSU is a good team, that will probably not be able to beat PSU or OSU,
but they still deserve to go to a bowl game. I hope they do upset one or
both of those two, but I also hope it won't matter to Michigan.
Minnesota is coming to town to try to obtain the Brown Jug this weekend.
They are a surprising team, having almost upset PSU, and causing Penn
State to lose their #1 spot. I predict that Michigan will not look past
them, but will be ready to dole out more of the same defense that wins
games. The Gophers will go home empty handed methinks.
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srw
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response 8 of 34:
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Oct 30 06:33 UTC 1997 |
I stand by my position that Baylor was not much, but was more than
Memphis, and that Colorado did not live up to its billing, but was still
a stronger team than WMU. It's all subjective, I guess, but I do believe
this. Yeah, Michigan's non-conference opponents have not been what we
had hoped for, this year.
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albaugh
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response 9 of 34:
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Oct 30 15:28 UTC 1997 |
Two scores I'd haved taped up in the Michigan locker room this week:
Purdue 9, Michigan 3 (1996)
PSU 16, Minnesota 15
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srw
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response 10 of 34:
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Nov 4 20:10 UTC 1997 |
U-M was not emptionally up for the Minnesota game. They played well
despite that. I have no doubt that as we approach what is likely to be
the most difficult challenge of the regular season schedule, that they
will be very emotional and very ready.
I am psyched about the game this week in Happy Valley. This is their
first chance to convince the doubters that U-M is the best in the big
10. They will not be favored.
Everyone is worried about the U-M offense, but I predict they will come
through this week. Look for them to get the ground game rolling.
Can Woodson stop Jurevicius? Good question. I think not unless the line
can pressure McQueary. I think they will, though, and M will win. I am
not denying bias, of course. Have you noticied that Penn State fans are
avoiding this item in droves.
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jep
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response 11 of 34:
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Nov 4 20:37 UTC 1997 |
Penn State is favored by 1.5 points, I believe.
I think U-M is going to win by a couple of touchdowns. Penn State has
really not impressed me against such competition as Minnesota and
Northwestern. If they beat U-M, they'll be playing much higher,
compared with the level they've been playing at in recent games, than
U-M will have to play in order to win the game.
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srw
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response 12 of 34:
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Nov 8 22:08 UTC 1997 |
Just checking in at halftime here. It is 24-0, which is a bigger margin than
even I, the most optimistic of UM football fans, had expected. More
significantly, the Wolverines dominated the entire first half on both sides
of the ball. THey looked awesome.
Now please be aware that Penn State has a great football program. This team
will come back to p[ay Michigan a tough second half. Michigan's job right now
is to come out and win the second half. I think they can do it.
Of note: at the moment Nebraska is trailing the Missouri Tigers. Perhaps the
fact that they don't play any really tough teams will out. Go Tigers.
G O B L U E
(Rose Bowl Bound)
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bruin
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response 13 of 34:
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Nov 9 18:22 UTC 1997 |
We came!
We saw!
We kicked Penn State's ass!
Michigan 34, Penn State 8
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omni
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response 14 of 34:
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Nov 9 18:55 UTC 1997 |
yeah, yeah. next item.
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srw
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response 15 of 34:
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Nov 11 04:39 UTC 1997 |
You gotta problem with that, Jim? Butt they kicked. All over the stadium.
How well did they really play? Well enough to vault past Florida State and
Nebraska, both of which one, and one of which played pretty well. In the
other poll they are still #2, but if you look closely at that poll, you'll
see that it is only by a smidgeon.
I really thought Penn State would have given them more of a fight. I have real
doubts about them now.
OK - time toomove on to next week. Travel to Camp Randall Stadium. Will they
kick butt again? Well, the badgers have played a patsy schedule. They beat
only one decent team, Iowa. That surprised me. Are they for real? I doubt it.
They have VERY BIG lineman on offense. Check out the size!!
Dane will be back to run against Michigan. Maybe our linebackers are quick
enough to run around those trees and do some damage.
U-M's offense has gelled. There should be no stopping us.It will be noisy up
there, though, so I hope they practice hearing the snap count in noise.
I have no worries that they will have a letdown. These guys are amazing that
way. One game at a time. We'll be back in a week to talk about OSU. I'm
looking forward to that too, when the time is right.
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jep
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response 16 of 34:
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Nov 11 13:58 UTC 1997 |
Michigan is behind in one poll by a small margin, and ahead in the other
by a small margin. They're effectively tied with Florida State.
If both Michigan and OSU win this week, and Michigan wins against the
Buyckeyes, they'll be the clear #1 at the end of the regular season.
Ohio State is now ranked #4.
At that time, they will play in the Rose Bowl against UCLA (assuming
they don't lose another game; they've already dropped 2) who will be
ranked about #8. Florida State will play Nebraska, and the winner of
that game will be voted #1 in both polls. If they tie, and U-M wins the
Rose Bowl, U-M might be ranked #1 in the country.
The chance of Michigan remaining undefeated, including in the Rose Bowl,
*and* FSU and Nebraska tying in their bowl game, seems pretty tiny to
me. Although the win at Penn State did convince me they are the best
team in the country, they won't get a national championship this year.
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omni
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response 17 of 34:
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Nov 11 17:07 UTC 1997 |
This is the HOCKEY conference. And I'm supposed to be impressed by football?
HAH!
Bring on some Hockey, please!!!
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albaugh
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response 18 of 34:
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Nov 13 19:09 UTC 1997 |
I wouldn't say that Nebraska didn't play well. Their offense pulled them
through quite nicely. Their defense obviously gave up a lot of points. And
they were extremely lucky to get their last TD in regulation. They were
playing a hot but unranked team. Put all that together, and you saw the
unusual case of a winning #1 team dropped from #1 (all the way to #3 in this
case).
Meanwhile, *if* Michigan is ranked #1 in the final regular season poll (which
will mean they're undefeated), and they win the Rose Bowl, I don't see how
they could be dropped from #1 regardless of the outcome of the #2 vs. #3 game.
Such game, BTW, can't end in a tie - I'm certain that bowl games will be no
different from regular season games, which now have overtime.
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srw
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response 19 of 34:
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Nov 22 06:06 UTC 1997 |
What Kevin said. Michigan has control of its destiny. Just keep winning and
they will be there in the #1 position at the end of the season.
So,
Hype week is coming to an end. We are all tired of hype about the game, and
hype about the players, and hype about what the players said, and hype about
the series and Coopers record against UM, and hype about M being number one
so the tables are now turned from last year, hype about what scenario(s) are
required for ISU to get to the Rose Bowl if they beat M, and hype about
anything else there has been hype about that I forgot. There has been
enough hype to go around many times over.
The game is coming. Finally. You know, the part where they actually decide
who wins, rather than the talking. Well, I wouldn't miss it for the
world. I was there in 1969 and saw M beat OSU 24-12 in Bo's first season, and
that game became part of Michigan's great history. I really remember that game
almost 30 years later. OSU had a great team that year. The best in the
country, but we wanted to beat them because of the 50-14 score the previous
year, and we did.
I am figuring that this game has the potential to be one of the truly great
games ever played in college football. I hope to look back on it 30 years from
now, and remember it fondly, saying "I was there". I don't think OSU has as
good a team as they did in 1969, but they still have a really good team.
Good enough to beat Michigan if our guys falter. I don't think they will.
Regardless of who wins, it is going to be great football that is played in
the big house later today (noon).
GO BLUE!
From the archives, I leave you here with Michigan words to the OSU fight song,
for your cheering pleasure. Sing it loud and often.
It doesn't matter that Woody is no longer with us, we still humble him
whenever Michigan beats OSU. Besides, "John Cooper" has the wrong meter,
and doesn't rhyme.
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Devastate Ohio State, and humble Woody Hayes.
They raise a lot of cattle in Columbus, send them out to graze.
(rah rah rah)
Send them to their ivory towers.
Send them crawling into the showers.
DOWN WITH OHIO STATE! They're a know-nothing party school.
</hype>
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omni
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response 20 of 34:
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Nov 22 07:31 UTC 1997 |
Should have frozen this item a long time ago.
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albaugh
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response 21 of 34:
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Dec 2 22:44 UTC 1997 |
Stop and Smell the Roses, We're going to Pasedena...
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richard
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response 22 of 34:
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Dec 3 00:44 UTC 1997 |
just thank the lord you are going to Pasedena and not going to Miami to
play Nebraskqa in the orange bowl...Nebraska would kill ya...
of course next year the rose will be part of the coalition and
Michigan wont be able to bea tup some inferior pac 10 team and claim
to be national champsions without playing thebest team.
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jep
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response 23 of 34:
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Dec 3 14:00 UTC 1997 |
One might say that Nebraska should count themselves as lucky. I think
the winner of the Alliance matchup will wind up #1 after the bowl games
are done. Nebraska has a chance to be national champions. Considering
their play over the past couple of weeks, with squeaker wins over
inferior competition like Colorado (while stupidly trying to run up the
score) and Missouri (a game they won by sheer luck), they'd have to be
considered as serious underdogs in a contest with Michigan. They should
be considered as underdogs to Tennessee or Florida State, for that
matter.
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albaugh
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response 24 of 34:
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Dec 4 22:31 UTC 1997 |
Richard is idiotic as usual - Washington State is hardly inferior to anyone
at 10-1. Why would the alliance bowl winner be #1 if #1 Michigan wins its
game? Won't happen. This is the year the Big 10 & Rose Bowl get to stick
it to the alliance as revenge for Penn State going 12-0 and getting nothing.
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