I waited almost a week so I could post rationally - Cats will beat Michigan

[eastbaycat99]

Ok, this is probably lunacy.

While I, like almost all Cats fans, cringed watching the game Saturday and particularly the second half, there was one very good sign that they will turn the corner, and I believe the game was not indicative of the way the rest of the season and next week will go.

The good sign was Thorson's mobility. While we have been focused on the failures of the Offensive line last Saturday, Thorson showed real progress in being able to take advantage of failure to contain by scrambling and by quick step-ups in the pocket to mitigate against the pass rush. Assuming the O-line is back to full strength by next week, I expect the offense, finally, to be ready to go. The Cats offense under McCall, as we all know, is based on rhythm, precision and good decision making. Having Thorson mobile will open up some openings for decision making, and I expect the game plan to be crisp in setting the stage for Clayton to do so. They will not compete in a track meet, but I do expect the Cats to be able to mount some drives and more importantly, close in the red zone as they did last year as contrasted to this year.

Secondly, one thing that has been absent since the first half of the Purdue game has been the defense forcing turnovers. The only turnover the Cats have had since that first half was the mis-snap on a punt by Akron in the first quarter Saturday. As I wrote before, Patterson is an enormously talented young QB, but he is also short and tends to try to force plays with his legs and while running from a pass rush. I fully expect Hank's game plan to try to exploit these tendencies, and the Cats front 7 has the personnel to do it. The secondary will probably be burned 3 or 4 times for big downfield plays, but I expect these to be offset by several interceptions or fumbles as well as difficulty on Michigan's part in the red zone.

I think the staff will have the team extremely well prepared, and assuming the health of the starters who have been nicked up, I think they will look like a completely different team.

I will gladly move this post to the top and eat crow if they get blown out, but I sincerely believe this will be a very close game.

 

[NJCat]

Ok, this is probably lunacy.

While I, like almost all Cats fans, cringed watching the game Saturday and particularly the second half, there was one very good sign that they will turn the corner, and I believe the game was not indicative of the way the rest of the season and next week will go.

The good sign was Thorson's mobility. While we have been focused on the failures of the Offensive line last Saturday, Thorson showed real progress in being able to take advantage of failure to contain by scrambling and by quick step-ups in the pocket to mitigate against the pass rush. Assuming the O-line is back to full strength by next week, I expect the offense, finally, to be ready to go. The Cats offense under McCall, as we all know, is based on rhythm, precision and good decision making. Having Thorson mobile will open up some openings for decision making, and I expect the game plan to be crisp in setting the stage for Clayton to do so. They will not compete in a track meet, but I do expect the Cats to be able to mount some drives and more importantly, close in the red zone as they did last year as contrasted to this year.

Secondly, one thing that has been absent since the first half of the Purdue game has been the defense forcing turnovers. The only turnover the Cats have had since that first half was the mis-snap on a punt by Akron in the first quarter Saturday. As I wrote before, Patterson is an enormously talented young QB, but he is also short and tends to try to force plays with his legs and while running from a pass rush. I fully expect Hank's game plan to try to exploit these tendencies, and the Cats front 7 has the personnel to do it. The secondary will probably be burned 3 or 4 times for big downfield plays, but I expect these to be offset by several interceptions or fumbles as well as difficulty on Michigan's part in the red zone.

I think the staff will have the team extremely well prepared, and assuming the health of the starters who have been nicked up, I think they will look like a completely different team.

I will gladly move this post to the top and eat crow if they get blown out, but I sincerely believe this will be a very close game.

I respect your optimism.

Won't be close.

 

[ricko654321]

Ok, this is probably lunacy.

While I, like almost all Cats fans, cringed watching the game Saturday and particularly the second half, there was one very good sign that they will turn the corner, and I believe the game was not indicative of the way the rest of the season and next week will go.

The good sign was Thorson's mobility. While we have been focused on the failures of the Offensive line last Saturday, Thorson showed real progress in being able to take advantage of failure to contain by scrambling and by quick step-ups in the pocket to mitigate against the pass rush. Assuming the O-line is back to full strength by next week, I expect the offense, finally, to be ready to go. The Cats offense under McCall, as we all know, is based on rhythm, precision and good decision making. Having Thorson mobile will open up some openings for decision making, and I expect the game plan to be crisp in setting the stage for Clayton to do so. They will not compete in a track meet, but I do expect the Cats to be able to mount some drives and more importantly, close in the red zone as they did last year as contrasted to this year.

Secondly, one thing that has been absent since the first half of the Purdue game has been the defense forcing turnovers. The only turnover the Cats have had since that first half was the mis-snap on a punt by Akron in the first quarter Saturday. As I wrote before, Patterson is an enormously talented young QB, but he is also short and tends to try to force plays with his legs and while running from a pass rush. I fully expect Hank's game plan to try to exploit these tendencies, and the Cats front 7 has the personnel to do it. The secondary will probably be burned 3 or 4 times for big downfield plays, but I expect these to be offset by several interceptions or fumbles as well as difficulty on Michigan's part in the red zone.

I think the staff will have the team extremely well prepared, and assuming the health of the starters who have been nicked up, I think they will look like a completely different team.

I will gladly move this post to the top and eat crow if they get blown out, but I sincerely believe this will be a very close game.

I agree. This is a somewhat hot take... but I actually thought that, overall, on a play-by-play basis we looked like a better team against Akron than against Duke. Even adjusting for talent difference of the opponent (though I think Akron will be a decent team this year). Unfortunately though, all the big plays went against us in the 2nd half. 3 D TD's most obviously, but even on many of those long passes we had pretty good coverage, it was just a perfectly placed ball (and maybe a bit of luck). Duke we looked completely overmatched across a range of different position groups. After the first drive I never really felt like we had anything going on offense, and Clayton looked not himself. He was noticeably more mobile and accurate against Akron, with the notable exception of one terrible pass and then a tipped ball. The fumble six was dumb too obviously.

We also have a tendency to bounce back from brutal losses with a strong performance more often than not (not always, I remember NIU after Cal, and the tailspin after the OSU night game Gameday experience). And I don't think Michigan is a very good team to begin with - have watched some of Shea Patterson and not impressed thus far. Their D is excellent, but I don't think they will score that much against us.

So I expect we will play them close. But... who knows, I wouldn't be shocked if we got blown out either. At this point, nothing NU football does can truly be shocking.

 

[AtlantaCat]

Ok, this is probably lunacy.

While I, like almost all Cats fans, cringed watching the game Saturday and particularly the second half, there was one very good sign that they will turn the corner, and I believe the game was not indicative of the way the rest of the season and next week will go.

The good sign was Thorson's mobility. While we have been focused on the failures of the Offensive line last Saturday, Thorson showed real progress in being able to take advantage of failure to contain by scrambling and by quick step-ups in the pocket to mitigate against the pass rush. Assuming the O-line is back to full strength by next week, I expect the offense, finally, to be ready to go. The Cats offense under McCall, as we all know, is based on rhythm, precision and good decision making. Having Thorson mobile will open up some openings for decision making, and I expect the game plan to be crisp in setting the stage for Clayton to do so. They will not compete in a track meet, but I do expect the Cats to be able to mount some drives and more importantly, close in the red zone as they did last year as contrasted to this year.

Secondly, one thing that has been absent since the first half of the Purdue game has been the defense forcing turnovers. The only turnover the Cats have had since that first half was the mis-snap on a punt by Akron in the first quarter Saturday. As I wrote before, Patterson is an enormously talented young QB, but he is also short and tends to try to force plays with his legs and while running from a pass rush. I fully expect Hank's game plan to try to exploit these tendencies, and the Cats front 7 has the personnel to do it. The secondary will probably be burned 3 or 4 times for big downfield plays, but I expect these to be offset by several interceptions or fumbles as well as difficulty on Michigan's part in the red zone.

I think the staff will have the team extremely well prepared, and assuming the health of the starters who have been nicked up, I think they will look like a completely different team.

I will gladly move this post to the top and eat crow if they get blown out, but I sincerely believe this will be a very close game.

I respect your optimism. I predict a game like last year's PSU game...somewhat close and competitive for a little while, but.... But who knows - - Fitz and staff will have had 2 weeks to prepare.

 

[zeek55]

If our OL is healthy and plays much better, and CT is at 100% and plays a good game... we can beat Michigan.

If we play like we did the last two weeks, we'll lose.


I'll be optimistic this week as well and expect our team to execute at a much higher level.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Ok, this is probably lunacy.

While I, like almost all Cats fans, cringed watching the game Saturday and particularly the second half, there was one very good sign that they will turn the corner, and I believe the game was not indicative of the way the rest of the season and next week will go.

The good sign was Thorson's mobility. While we have been focused on the failures of the Offensive line last Saturday, Thorson showed real progress in being able to take advantage of failure to contain by scrambling and by quick step-ups in the pocket to mitigate against the pass rush. Assuming the O-line is back to full strength by next week, I expect the offense, finally, to be ready to go. The Cats offense under McCall, as we all know, is based on rhythm, precision and good decision making. Having Thorson mobile will open up some openings for decision making, and I expect the game plan to be crisp in setting the stage for Clayton to do so. They will not compete in a track meet, but I do expect the Cats to be able to mount some drives and more importantly, close in the red zone as they did last year as contrasted to this year.

Secondly, one thing that has been absent since the first half of the Purdue game has been the defense forcing turnovers. The only turnover the Cats have had since that first half was the mis-snap on a punt by Akron in the first quarter Saturday. As I wrote before, Patterson is an enormously talented young QB, but he is also short and tends to try to force plays with his legs and while running from a pass rush. I fully expect Hank's game plan to try to exploit these tendencies, and the Cats front 7 has the personnel to do it. The secondary will probably be burned 3 or 4 times for big downfield plays, but I expect these to be offset by several interceptions or fumbles as well as difficulty on Michigan's part in the red zone.

I think the staff will have the team extremely well prepared, and assuming the health of the starters who have been nicked up, I think they will look like a completely different team.

I will gladly move this post to the top and eat crow if they get blown out, but I sincerely believe this will be a very close game.

Hopefully Nebraska puts up a fight! If Nebraska has the stud frosh QB back, they can hang with Michigan

 

[mikewebb68]

It is just a terrible matchup for us. Would be shicked if we win. But I do believe we turn it around for the rest of the season.

 

[pawildcat]

The Cats will need a major improvement in offensive play to hang with Michigan, whose defense is significantly better than the Duke defense NU gagged against.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

It is just a terrible matchup for us. Would be shicked if we win. But I do believe we turn it around for the rest of the season.

We will need some turnovers to have a chance. Can’t see us consistently driving the length of the field.

 

[GlideCat]

We will need some turnovers to have a chance. Can’t see us consistently driving the length of the field.

The problem with playing Michigan in general is that they have a legitimate talent advantage at most positions. That makes up for some coaching and other mistakes. Michigan does not need an innovative game plan. They can keep everything simple and rely on their talent advantages. We have to have a solid and innovative game plan, execute well, and have no mistakes.

To say that we have to play better than we have played thus far to beat Michigan is an understatement. We have to play nearly perfectly in all phases for four quarters. Or we have to hope that Harbags decides to prove something and tries a game plan that his players cannot execute and stubbornly does not change it at halftime.

 

[ricko654321]

It is just a terrible matchup for us. Would be shicked if we win. But I do believe we turn it around for the rest of the season.

Why do you think it is a worse matchup than any other team? Not disagreeing necessarily, just an honest question. What position groups or units are the issue at Michigan specifically?

In my view they have a great D and meh O. I think our O will struggle some but put up ~20 points. I think our D has a decent chance to hold them to that or less.

 

[TejasCat]

Why do you think it is a worse matchup than any other team? Not disagreeing necessarily, just an honest question. What position groups or units are the issue at Michigan specifically?

In my view they have a great D and meh O. I think our O will struggle some but put up ~20 points. I think our D has a decent chance to hold them to that or less.

Exactly. I would rather face a meh O and great D then a passing team that can light up the scoreboard with an average D.

 

[Chuckster1973]

Michigan annihilating Nebraska 32-0 with eight minutes still left in the second quarter.

 

[NJCat]

Michigan annihilating Nebraska 32-0 with eight minutes still left in the second quarter.

ND is whipping Wake Forest, with Book at QB. Irish look big and fast.

 

[kreggk]

Michigan annihilating Nebraska 32-0 with eight minutes still left in the second quarter.

37.

Invited some M grads to a rental house in MI next weekend. I'm glad the game is at 4:30 ET because it looks like I'll be self-medicating in the 2nd half.

 

[corbi296]

Michigan annihilating Nebraska 32-0 with eight minutes still left in the second quarter.

Is Nebraska still playing the walk on QB? If so, I wouldn’t put too much stock in that score.

I am more impressed by what Purdue is doing to a good BC team. Moore is a really good player, Blough is managing the game and Purdue’s defense is making plays.

 

[NJCat]

Is Nebraska still playing the walk on QB? If so, I wouldn’t put too much stock in that score.

Nope, Martinez is playing.

 

[corbi296]

Nope, Martinez is playing.

That’s a different story.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Is Nebraska still playing the walk on QB? If so, I wouldn’t put too much stock in that score.

I am more impressed by what Purdue is doing to a good BC team. Moore is a really good player, Blough is managing the game and Purdue’s defense is making plays.

How is Moore doing this now that there is tape out on him?

 

[eastbaycat99]

That’s a different story.

Martinez is still a freshman, though. He threw a deflected interception on his first possession, and things started to spiral out of control pretty quickly. As has been pointed out by others in earlier posts, the Nebraska defense, particularly its run defense, is weak. They just couldn’t stop Michigan on the ground at all. This game in some ways reminds me of the Cats visit to Ann Arbor in 2015.

 

[corbi296]

How is Moore doing this now that there is tape out on him?

The kid is a player. I saw both of his TDs. He caugh a short pass, broke a tackle, reversed direction and streaked 70 yards for a TD. The second one was a rub route in the red zone that was hard to defend. Once again he broke a tackle and ran 5 yards for the TD. He is very strong and fast for his size.

 

[NJCat]

The kid is a player. I saw both of his TDs. He caugh a short pass, broke a tackle, reversed direction and streaked 70 yards for a TD. The second one was a rub route in the red zone that was hard to defend. Once again he broke a tackle and ran 5 yards for the TD. He is very strong and fast for his size.

He has Earl Campbell-like thighs. Squats something like 500 #s.

 

[zbag51]

Michigan #7 Hudson just called for targeting and will miss first half next week

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Michigan #7 Hudson just called for targeting and will miss first half next week

Two weeks in a row. Their DC Duchebag Brown is spitting nails.

 

[mikewebb68]

Why do you think it is a worse matchup than any other team? Not disagreeing necessarily, just an honest question. What position groups or units are the issue at Michigan specifically?

In my view they have a great D and meh O. I think our O will struggle some but put up ~20 points. I think our D has a decent chance to hold them to that or less.

Meh O? I'd like to have a Meh O like that, lol. But hey, one of the worst teams in the Bottom 10 beat a ranked opponent today, so anything is possible....

 

[L8115]

I think you should go take a look at all the Nebraska threads from last week about how they would beat Michigan, and the score predictions were about 50/50 for Nebraska winning.

I thought this would be a tough game until I looked at how Northwestern has fared...losses to Akron and dominated by Duke's defense. Say a few prayers for your team.

For those who are saying Nebraska is worse...based on what? They shot themselves in the foot vs colorado and troy, both could have been wins and NU had nearly 600 yards of offense vs Colorado. I understand the sentiment though, every team feels the same when they play Michigan, they hate Harbaugh, they hate Michigan, and Michigan isn't OSU so they always feel they can play the role of App State. Sorry, not this year. Prediction:
Michigan 42 Northwestern 13.

 

[L8115]

Two weeks in a row. Their DC Duchebag Brown is spitting nails.

Elite defenses tend to be rude, Brown is certainly a douchebag for allowing only 80 total yards before the 3rd strings were put in. Also 14 tackles for less is incredibly disrespectful. Hudson's targeting was questionable as they usually are. Nebraska got away with several helmet to helmet hits and PIs becasue they were already getting clobbered and the refs were pitying them.

 

[eastbaycat99]

I think you should go take a look at all the Nebraska threads from last week about how they would beat Michigan, and the score predictions were about 50/50 for Nebraska winning.

I thought this would be a tough game until I looked at how Northwestern has fared...losses to Akron and dominated by Duke's defense. Say a few prayers for your team.

For those who are saying Nebraska is worse...based on what? They shot themselves in the foot vs colorado and troy, both could have been wins and NU had nearly 600 yards of offense vs Colorado. I understand the sentiment though, every team feels the same when they play Michigan, they hate Harbaugh, they hate Michigan, and Michigan isn't OSU so they always feel they can play the role of App State. Sorry, not this year. Prediction:
Michigan 42 Northwestern 13.

Thanks for the input. Since it appears from your comment that you haven’t seen Northwestern play and are basing your prediction on the non-conference schedule scores, I will take the content of it based on the level of expertise provided. Please feel free to come back and boast next Sunday if you are correct or apologize if it is close or the Cats win.

 

[L8115]

Thanks for the input. Since it appears from your comment that you haven’t seen Northwestern play and are basing your prediction on the non-conference schedule scores, I will take the content of it based on the level of expertise provided. Please feel free to come back and boast next Sunday if you are correct or apologize if it is close or the Cats win.

right...they are just like nebraska, world beaters with two bad losses. Michigan is underestimating how great this team is.

what game do you want me to watch? I saw the purdue game, they played well in the first half and got shut down in the second.d
I dont think you see why NW is an underdog. NW, who has a loss to a mac school is going to hold their ground against the best defense in the bigten and arguably the country, with an offense ranked 96th. Nebraska has better athletes than NW, and was 40th in offense going into the game, they had 17 total yards at the half WITH Martinez. They pulled Gary and Bush at halftime because it was a massacre. i suggest you watch the film from yesterday's game because its apparent you haven't either


I will say NW does have a decent defense (24th in the s&p) but Michigan is also the highest rated offense they have seen, and usually a defense will break if the offense cant move the ball due to field position.

 

[NJCat]

The high school trolls from Michigan are here.....gonna be a long week......

 

[eastbaycat99]

right...they are just like nebraska, world beaters with two bad losses. Michigan is underestimating how great this team is.
Before yesterday's game Nebraska was ranked 45 in the s&p+, NW is currently 60th. Not sure what you are referencing when saying im only looking at non-conf play. They beat Purdue who shot theirself in the foot that game and out gained NW by 70 yds. That would be a good road win if Purdue wasn't 1-3 with a loss to Eastern Michigan at home.

I don't care how you slice to rationalize your losses, NW is outmanned not just on paper but from a coaching standpoint. Frost called it like it is, Michigan/OSU/PSU are in a different universe than the bigten west pillow fight.

Ok, you added a stat from a conference win and a 3 game S & P. It would still appear you haven’t seen the Cats play, so as I said, I will give your input the weight it would seem to deserve. When you have some insight that most readers here don’t have, we will look forward to hearing it. And again, if it is a close game or the Cats win, I assume based on your continued posting that you will be glad to come back next Sunday and further enlighten us on how it happened.

 

[pawildcat]

right...they are just like nebraska, world beaters with two bad losses. Michigan is underestimating how great this team is.
Before yesterday's game Nebraska was ranked 45 in the s&p+, NW is currently 60th. Not sure what you are referencing when saying im only looking at non-conf play. They beat Purdue who shot theirself in the foot that game and out gained NW by 70 yds. That would be a good road win if Purdue wasn't 1-3 with a loss to Eastern Michigan at home.

I don't care how you slice to rationalize your losses, NW is outmanned not just on paper but from a coaching standpoint. Frost called it like it is, Michigan/OSU/PSU are in a different universe than the bigten west pillow fight.

Not sure how anyone is rationalizing a Nebraska team that was 4-8 last season and winless so far this year is better than Northwestern at this point, but whatever. Maybe they are, but speculation at this point is largely meaningless. If Michigan is in a different universe, this will be the first year that has been true in quite some time. Yes, Northwestern probably is outmanned by Michigan most years as they have more football resources and lower admission requirements for football players. You're not imparting any great wisdom there. Part of the reason the B1G West is such a pillow fight is that once-powerful Nebraska hasn't been holding up its end. Maybe Frost will be the difference-maker and most of us wouldn't begrudge that as Nebraska has a generally classy fan base. We'll see what the next few seasons bring.

 

[L8115]

Ok, you added a stat from a conference win and a 3 game S & P. It would still appear you haven’t seen the Cats play, so as I said, I will give your input the weight it would seem to deserve. When you have some insight that most readers here don’t have, we will look forward to hearing it. And again, if it is a close game or the Cats win, I assume based on your continued posting that you will be glad to come back next Sunday and further enlighten us on how it happened.

I watched purdue vs NW you tool. Fine ill go watch your impressive loss to Akron and your impressive 21-7 loss to Duke....both at home. You would have beat both those teams if not for turnovers, and your aunt would be your uncle if she had balls.

NW is 4-32 against Michigan since 1965, and couldn't beat Brady hoke. Yet a 1-2 team with a loss to a mac school at home is going to stop being northwestern for 1 week and beat Michigan's best defense since 1997. yah, ok.

 

[GlideCat]

I watched purdue vs NW you tool. Fine ill go watch your impressive loss to Akron and your impressive 21-7 loss to Duke....both at home. You would have beat both those teams if not for turnovers, and your aunt would be your uncle if she had balls.

NW is 4-32 against Michigan since 1965, and couldn't beat Brady hoke. Yet a 1-2 team with a loss to a mac school at home is going to stop being northwestern for 1 week and beat Michigan's best defense since 1997. yah, ok.

Admittedly, our fan base is optimistic in predicting a Northwestern win over Michigan. You obviously believe that a fan base should take historically better recruiting and a history of losses into account and just accept inevitable defeat.

How do you feel about Michigan/OSU this year?

 

[PurpleHaze525]

I watched purdue vs NW you tool. Fine ill go watch your impressive loss to Akron and your impressive 21-7 loss to Duke....both at home. You would have beat both those teams if not for turnovers, and your aunt would be your uncle if she had balls.

NW is 4-32 against Michigan since 1965, and couldn't beat Brady hoke. Yet a 1-2 team with a loss to a mac school at home is going to stop being northwestern for 1 week and beat Michigan's best defense since 1997. yah, ok.

Go home loser

 

[eastbaycat99]

I watched purdue vs NW you tool. Fine ill go watch your impressive loss to Akron and your impressive 21-7 loss to Duke....both at home. You would have beat both those teams if not for turnovers, and your aunt would be your uncle if she had balls.

NW is 4-32 against Michigan since 1965, and couldn't beat Brady hoke. Yet a 1-2 team with a loss to a mac school at home is going to stop being northwestern for 1 week and beat Michigan's best defense since 1997. yah, ok.

I assume since you watched the Purdue game you noticed that the Cats Quarterback was limited in number of plays and play selection due to his injury recovery, as he was against Duke. You will also note that 2 starting starting offensive linemen left the second half of the Duke game, and 2 were held out of the Akron game due to minor injury. I assume based on this you will conclude that the statistical output of those game may not be indicative of the team the Cats field next week, which isn’t to say the Cats offense will dominate, but rather that it may well perform like the one that won its last 7 conference games last year. I expect the Cats’ game plan will pretty much rely on short possession passes, delays to Larkin, who seems to be a solid back and the occasional QB run if Michigan overpursues. I would imagine, much like last year, it will result in a lot of punts and playing for field position.

You really should go back and watch Patterson’s play last year, particularly against Cal, and then rewatch the Notre Dame game. He has yet to demonstrate maturity in decision making despite his great physical talents. Unlike Nebraska, I think the Cats have the personnel to limit Higdon and the Michigan run game. I think they will concede some long completions off play action which Patterson is capable of with his great arm. I do think the Cats defensive plan will be to mix its linebacker looks and make Patterson read them. If he is successful, he will demonstrate that he has grown (and that Michigan will finally compete with OSU, PSU and MSU). In that case, come back next week and take a bow because Michigan will win by about 4 touchdowns. If he doesn’t, the game may well come down to red zone execution, where I like the Cats chances.

 

[L8115]

Admittedly, our fan base is optimistic in predicting a Northwestern win over Michigan. You obviously believe that a fan base should take historically better recruiting and a history of losses into account and just accept inevitable defeat.

How do you feel about Michigan/OSU this year?

I always predict a loss where I see it. I said we would @ ND because they have a top 10 defense, it was week 1, and there is no time to work out errors. I said they would lose to osu last year and in general if we play a better team do not expect a win. If Michigan was playing Alabama next weekend I would have one prediction: PAIN.

I don't understand the optimism here because its based on nothing other than a 'feeling'. Nebraska fans had the same 'feeling'. This is delusional. Definition of delusional from merriam-webster:
"a persistent false psychotic belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside the self that is maintained despite indisputable evidence to the contrary"

you lose to a mac team at home, and lose to duke 21-7 at home. Your one win is against a team who also lost to a mac team at home. Yet you are predicting a win because #reasons

I don't mind optimism but there's a difference between hoping for a certain outcome and predicting one. There is no 'predicting' that Northwestern will beat Michigan because that isn't a prediction, that is called hoping, which is based on nothing other than delusional thinking. In order to predict something you look at the available data, past trends etc. and come to a conclusion, meaning it is rational. An accurate prediction is northwestern will get manhandled. 'Predicting' a northwestern upset is called hopium, it feels good to think about all the way up until kickoff and reality sets in.

 

[L8115]

I assume since you watched the Purdue game you noticed that the Cats Quarterback was limited in number of plays and play selection due to his injury recovery, as he was against Duke. You will also note that 2 starting starting offensive linemen left the second half of the Duke game, and 2 were held out of the Akron game due to minor injury. I assume based on this you will conclude that the statistical output of those game may not be indicative of the team the Cats field next week, which isn’t to say the Cats offense will dominate, but rather that it may well perform like the one that won its last 7 conference games last year. I expect the Cats’ game plan will pretty much rely on short possession passes, delays to Larkin, who seems to be a solid back and the occasional QB run if Michigan overpursues. I would imagine, much like last year, it will result in a lot of punts and playing for field position.

You really should go back and watch Patterson’s play last year, particularly against Cal, and then rewatch the Notre Dame game. He has yet to demonstrate maturity in decision making despite his great physical talents. Unlike Nebraska, I think the Cats have the personnel to limit Higdon and the Michigan run game. I think they will concede some long completions off play action which Patterson is capable of with his great arm. I do think the Cats defensive plan will be to mix its linebacker looks and make Patterson read them. If he is successful, he will demonstrate that he has grown (and that Michigan will finally compete with OSU, PSU and MSU). In that case, come back next week and take a bow because Michigan will win by about 4 touchdowns. If he doesn’t, the game may well come down to red zone execution, where I like the Cats chances.

"You will also note that 2 starting starting offensive linemen left the second half of the Duke game, and 2 were held out of the Akron game due to minor injury. I assume based on this you will conclude that the statistical output of those game may not be indicative of the team the Cats field next week, which isn’t to say the Cats offense will dominate, but rather that it may well perform like the one that won its last 7 conference games last year."

NW offense 96, Michigan defense 3. Ill bump that up and say when youre healthy maybe youre around 70. This is still worse than Nebraska. No matter how you rationalize it your offense is likely going to get pounded.

You might have a point with Northwestern's defense holding their own, but you are also assuming Michigan has the same offense as last year's 8-5 team, which they don't. Purdue's offense was rated 40th, Michigan is 23rd. Michigan could have put up 70 points on Nebraska and Higdon could have had 300 rushing yards if they had wanted. Its funny you shrug this off as meaningless, and also tell me not to read to much into your bad losses.

 

[eastbaycat99]

"You will also note that 2 starting starting offensive linemen left the second half of the Duke game, and 2 were held out of the Akron game due to minor injury. I assume based on this you will conclude that the statistical output of those game may not be indicative of the team the Cats field next week, which isn’t to say the Cats offense will dominate, but rather that it may well perform like the one that won its last 7 conference games last year."

NW offense 96, Michigan defense 3. Ill bump that up and say when youre healthy maybe youre around 70. This is still worse than Nebraska. No matter how you rationalize it your offense is likely going to get pounded.

You might have a point with Northwestern's defense holding their own, but you are also assuming Michigan has the same offense as last year's 8-5 team, which they don't. Purdue's offense was rated 40th, Michigan is 23rd. Michigan could have put up 70 points on Nebraska and Higdon could have had 300 rushing yards if they had wanted. Its funny you shrug this off as meaningless, and also tell me not to read to much into your bad losses.

"You will also note that 2 starting starting offensive linemen left the second half of the Duke game, and 2 were held out of the Akron game due to minor injury. I assume based on this you will conclude that the statistical output of those game may not be indicative of the team the Cats field next week, which isn’t to say the Cats offense will dominate, but rather that it may well perform like the one that won its last 7 conference games last year."

NW offense 96, Michigan defense 3. Ill bump that up and say when youre healthy maybe youre around 70. This is still worse than Nebraska. No matter how you rationalize it your offense is likely going to get pounded.

You might have a point with Northwestern's defense holding their own, but you are also assuming Michigan has the same offense as last year's 8-5 team, which they don't. Purdue's offense was rated 40th, Michigan is 23rd. Michigan could have put up 70 points on Nebraska and Higdon could have had 300 rushing yards if they had wanted. Its funny you shrug this off as meaningless, and also tell me not to read to much into your bad losses.

Thanks for conceding that Northwestern might have a decent defense.

With regards to the Michigan offense, it ran up big totals against Western Michigan, SMU and Nebraska, while being held by Norte Dame. Western also gave up 55 points to Syracuse and SMU gave up 46 to North Texas. If you have watched Nebraska beyond your own game, you would know they have trouble stopping a power running game. I think you do have to discount Michigan’s big offensive outputs based on that. Putting together the Cats strength against the run and discounting Michigan’s rushing output based on opposition to date, I think the point I made that Michigan’s success on offense will largely be based on Patterson’s maturity holds. I don’t think that is crazed homerism.

Where my optimism comes into play is in hoping the Cats are healthy and can play a game plan that has been very successful in conference play with Thorson and this personnel group the last few years. That success is based on A very conservative approach that relies on precision in execution, particularly in the red zone and avoidance of turnovers. It is aimed at keeping close to teams with superior physical skills, playing a field position game, and optimizing the red zones both on offense and defense. It also generally shows up as statistically inferior. Assuming the Cats offense is healthy, which I think it will be coming out of the bye week, I think they will keep the game close. If they do, as I said, the outcome will hinge on Patterson’s maturity. Based on all of this, I think this could be a very boring game overall to watch, that is a very low scoring game, but one that may be very interesting for Cats’ fans in the last few minutes.

 

[blockm2]

If Michigan is in a different universe, this will be the first year that has been true in quite some time.

Northwestern hasn't stayed within 37 points of Michigan since 2014. I mean to be fair it was only 1 game since then....