Props to Jahvid Best, plus a decent Big 10 article...

[Van]

Good to see someone connected to this year's Cal team who isn't talking out of their ass...

USC, meanwhile, is breaking in a new quarterback and replacing eight starters from one of the best defenses in college football history.

Are the Trojans vulnerable?

"No," Best said.

"I've heard the same thing every year after they lose seven or eight guys to the NFL. Everybody says they're not going to be as good this year. But they come back [every year] and are just as good if not better than the year before. They've proven that no matter how many people leave, they are still going to be one of the best teams in the Pac-10. So we're not counting on them being vulnerable. We're counting on our execution on offense and defense to beat them."

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview09 ... id=4418601

This article on the Big 10 was also fairly interesting...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/ ... ortCat=ncf

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

The problem is the Big Ten has not been worthy recently of representing two teams in BCS games. But, that's what has been happening, and that bumps up every other Big Ten team in the bowl slotting, creating mismatches vs other conferences, resulting in losses and poor bowl records. But...this is the fault of nobody's but the Big Ten. They need to go more than 2-3 deep. Wisky, MSU, and Iowa in particular need to be more consistent.

[Blueblood]

Jet Blue... is a Cal man.... and that means never showing disrespect to an opponent.



This is how Jet Blue really feels about the PAC 10 outcome...


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[TheJON]

If tOSU doesn't go to the BCS, Big-10 wins at least 3 of their bowl games. Buckeyes beat UGA in CapOne, MSU beats South Carolina in Outback and Iowa rapes and pilliges Misery in Alamo then you've got to figure N'Western would have a good shot in whatever the fuck the next bowl is. So 3-4 wins instead of 1. Mgo is right in that teams like Iowa, MSu, and Wiscy have got to be more consistent but I would put more blame on Penn State than those teams. Overall, they've been mediocre since joining the league. They have 1 good year than do nothing for a few years. There's so much talent in that state and area and they've got such great tradition and there's really no excuse for being so average since joining the league. With Michigan being down, I think its a great opportunity for other teams to grab that 2nd and 3rd spot in the conference consistently. Michigan will be back, I just wonder if DickRod is the guy to do it. I almost think the less pressure WVU gig was better suited for a guy that clearly is not mentally tough enough to handle this kind of pressure. So I think they COULD be down for a few more years. But its very hard for the other programs to sustain much. We just don't have the traditions or the recruiting bases and we're all in direct competition with each other. The majority of the teams in this league are all recruiting against each other in much of the same areas and some years Iowa will land a nice class, other years Wisconsin orMSU will land a nice class but its nearly impossible for us all to consistently recruit well and so there's really no way any team outside of Michigan or tOSU (not including PSU because they haven't done much with their potential anyways) can ever step up and be a consistent player. The ONLY difference between the Big-10 and Big-12 is right now OU and Texas are better teams than Michigan (or PSU) and Ohio State. The North is a flat out joke. Sure, Okie State is having a couple good years here but that's been a pathetic program for many years and they'll do what every other program like them does after a couple of years and fall back to mediocrity. Missouri and Kansas are similar to Okie St in that they'll never sustain anything. Nebraska will never be the program they once were as long as Texas and OU the ACC is a shittier league than the Big-10 and so I'm not gonna waste time on them. The SEC is a better league right now because there's just plain better recruits down South. Its quite simple. The Big East is not even close to the Big-10 so no need to talk about them. Then the Pac-10 is a HORRIBLE conference that has 9 teams riding the coattails of USC's success. None of the other teams have done shit the last decade. Oregon and U-Dub have had a year here and there but they've not sustained anything. The 8 or 9 fans in the Pac-10 that are actually die-hard for their teams seem to get very defensive about their conference yet they fail to realize that they are basically the Big-12 North with USC. Big-10 takes a lot more heat when their conference isn't doing so great but no one ever rips on the other leagues when they are down a bit. That, my friends, is called penis envy. We've got the best fans, the best tailgates, some great schools,the best bowl contracts, the biggest budgets, and the best TV package. Rack the Big-10 and our awesome fans!

[M Club]

Michigan will be back, I just wonder if DickRod is the guy to do it. I almost think the less pressure WVU gig was better suited for a guy that clearly is not mentally tough enough to handle this kind of pressure.

it's amazing how a media narrative can influence so many people's thinking.

[TheJON]

M club, I didn't even read the article actually. The media is not influencing my views. In fact, the only media guy recently I've listened to in regards to DickRod is a local radio host here who happens to be a die-hard Michigan fan. I think DickRod definitely CAN win at Michigan but the more I hear him speak and answer the slightest criticisms, the more I wonder if he WILL. We both know that job is a big-time pressure cooker. You guys basically ran out of town a guy with a 78 percent winning percentage and a national title. And Lloyd was mentally tough. He could handle the pressure and the criticisms. But I'm wondering if DickRod has that mental toughness and if not, maybe WVU is where he belongs. it seems like Michigan fan is not willing to be patient with the guy and I can sense a meltdown coming from him if they go 5-7 this year. You don't find it displeasing to hear about current/former players saying a lot of negative things about the guy? I said Ferentz was their best hire a couple years ago and I think by the end of the year that Mgo blogger who melted down at the possibility of Kirk coming to Ann Arbor and then whacked off to the DickRod hire might be taking back some things he said....

[M Club]

you say the media doesn't influence your views before saying we ran llllllloyd out of town? sure there, guy. carr was old and tired. he knew it [tried to walk away a year earlier], we knew it, the world knew it. ferentz would turn in the same record at michigan he's been turning in at iowa.

i don't find it displeasing that a couple of kids who just left the program say they didn't like working so hard. boren's idea of family values is that he could miss whole parts of camp to go back to columbus and mow lawns with his dad.

what i find encouraging is all the old players who have played for bo/moeller/carr checking in on practice and saying it reminds them of bo. i put a lot more stock in what tyrone wheatley, dan dierdorf, or larry foote has to say about the culture of michigan football than toney clemons or justin boren.

[King Crimson]

well, Clemons found a real "feel good" home at Colorado with Dan "the Zen One" Hawkins. Dan's all about the positive re-enforcement, playing egg-toss after practice, and everything from homespun, "aw sucks" homilies to more contemplative koans. i will give Hawk credit that this off-season and camp we've seen far less sentences that begin: "I'm the kind of guy who...." and will then talk about himself for a while.

i suppose there's an LL Cool J ref, there, almost.

[TheJON]

ferentz would turn in the same record at michigan he's been turning in at iowa.

He'd do the same with MORE? Or are you saying Iowa = Michigan???

Would Ferentz have won a ton of games with last year's team? Uhhh.......maybe not. Would have have more than doubled DickRod's win total? Without a doubt. Same goes for this year. Granted, DickRod runs a completely different system than what Ferentz/Carr run, but still........

Flipped on ESPN earlier and they had some dude from the Detroit Press on that says if Western Michigan beats Michigan on Saturday, DickRod is done at Michigan. Not that he would be fired before the season is over, but that there's no way he'd make it to next season if they lose. How fucked up is that if this guy is accurate? We're talking about a home game vs. Western Michigan being the biggest game of the DickRod era at Michigan. Say what you want, but that's fucked up.

[M Club]

Flipped on ESPN earlier and they had some dude from the Detroit Press on that says if Western Michigan beats Michigan on Saturday, DickRod is done at Michigan. Not that he would be fired before the season is over, but that there's no way he'd make it to next season if they lose. How fucked up is that if this guy is accurate? We're talking about a home game vs. Western Michigan being the biggest game of the DickRod era at Michigan. Say what you want, but that's fucked up.

classic jonsense. espn told you dickrod's stay at michigan hinges on this week's game and you still claim the media doesn't influence your views?

the peopl commenting on the michigan situation have proven incapable of critical thinking. it's a short walk from point a [dickrod] to point b [bill martin]. martin wasn't going to fire carr, and he's not going to fire dickrod, so it's a waste of your time to listen to michael rosenberg tell you when dickrod's going to get his pink slip.

dickrod inherited one returning lineman last year, a sophomore who was forced to play out of position. he also inherited steven threet, who is so good that nick sheridan was given substantial playing time. the offense was going to be pitiful. the only real disappointment was the defense. i mean, it was tough, obviously, watching that offense, but it was understandable considering the personnel. the defense, on the other hand was an absolute abomination considering it had legitimate big ten talent, though only at spots. that's the only place ferentz might have done better, otherwise he would have spent all year running mcguffie off tackle into 15 extra concussions and maybe one less loss.

[Blueblood]

Unreal....

USC's CB Wright ruled ineligible....

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id ... ineligible


If it wasn't obvious before this.... this school could be the biggest mess in College Football History....

CB Shareece Wright, knee, academics, out
WR Ronald Johnson, collarbone, out
DE Armond Armstead, foot, out
C Kristofer O'Dowd, knee, doubtful
DT Averell Spicer, ankle, questionable
OG Nick Howell, ankle, questionable
LB Luthur Brown, academics, out
TE Blake Ayles, heart condition, pro/bable
QB Aaron Corp, leg, questionable//
QB Mitch Mustain, illness, probable
CB Patrick Hall, knee, out



Is there ANY institutional control at this shithole.... known as a football factory ???

[TheJON]

classic jonsense. espn told you dickrod's stay at michigan hinges on this week's game and you still claim the media doesn't influence your views?

I did not say this is accurate. I said this is what a Detroit beat writer says. He might be right, he might not be. I don't think any of us know. But what I do agree with this guy is that this is a HUGE game for Michigan. I definitely think that.

By the way, why is it that if I agree with a sports writer/reporter, I'm influenced by them? Why can't I just agree with somebody??

[TheJON]

dickrod inherited one returning lineman last year, a sophomore who was forced to play out of position. he also inherited steven threet, who is so good that nick sheridan was given substantial playing time. the offense was going to be pitiful. the only real disappointment was the defense. i mean, it was tough, obviously, watching that offense, but it was understandable considering the personnel. the defense, on the other hand was an absolute abomination considering it had legitimate big ten talent, though only at spots.

So the fact that the defense underachieved doesn't make you question DickRod's staff? I've followed Greg Robinson's act for far too long, and I don't know what he was thinking hiring that guy. He's been HORRIBLE everywhere he's been. Even in Denver when they won those Super Bowl's, his defenses were nothing special. And I had to talk myself out of not coming out of the stands and taking him out when he was the DC in Kansas City. This guy does not have a good resume and I have no idea why teams keep hiring him. This hire reminds me a lot of Bill Callahan's hiring of Kevin Cosgrove as his DC. I think that was the hire that prevented him from ever really getting much going at Nebraska. People always talk about how his "system" just didn't work there. That's because they don't know what they're talking about. His system put up some monster numbers his last couple of years. But that defense........brutal! I recall Cosgrove left Wisconsin after Wisconsin had a horrible defense, went to Nebraska and took over a defense that returned 8 or 9 starters from one of the better defenses in the nation and turned that Husker D into one of the worst. This Greg Robinson hire is very similar, except Michigan did not have a great defense last year.

I gotta hand it to G-Rob though........dude constantly puts out some of the worst defenses in the league/nation, gets fired and then keeps getting himself a pretty solid gig. Props to him, no props to the team that hires him.

[M Club]

classic jonsense. espn told you dickrod's stay at michigan hinges on this week's game and you still claim the media doesn't influence your views?

I did not say this is accurate. I said this is what a Detroit beat writer says. He might be right, he might not be. I don't think any of us know. But what I do agree with this guy is that this is a HUGE game for Michigan. I definitely think that.

By the way, why is it that if I agree with a sports writer/reporter, I'm influenced by them? Why can't I just agree with somebody??

because some hack in the media uses his commentary to create an air of uncertainty about a coach who isn't going anywhere and you've bought into it. that's why. people who don't follow michigan closely think dickrod's on the hotseat; those that do don't. it's pretty easy to guess where the disconnect comes from, and that's why most people on this board who have questions about another team generally begin a thread addressed to fans of that team: so they don't look like a fool when they chime in with uninformed commentary.

[Van]

Unreal....

USC's CB Wright ruled ineligible....

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id ... ineligible


If it wasn't obvious before this.... this school could be the biggest mess in College Football History....

CB Shareece Wright, knee, academics, out
WR Ronald Johnson, collarbone, out
DE Armond Armstead, foot, out
C Kristofer O'Dowd, knee, doubtful
DT Averell Spicer, ankle, questionable
OG Nick Howell, ankle, questionable
LB Luthur Brown, academics, out
TE Blake Ayles, heart condition, pro/bable
QB Aaron Corp, leg, questionable//
QB Mitch Mustain, illness, probable
CB Patrick Hall, knee, out



Is there ANY institutional control at this shithole.... known as a football factory ???

You just rattled off two cases of exercising institutional control, i.e., suspending people for academic reasons, plus you rattled off the names of nine guys who are out with injuries.

There wasn't a single instance there on your list that even sniffed at any lack of institutional control.

[M Club]

So the fact that the defense underachieved doesn't make you question DickRod's staff?

eh, not really. i think he made a bad hire with schaffer, which is an obvious indictment, but he also jettisoned him pretty quickly. if all the other criticisms of dickrod were even mildly accurate then i'd freak out about it, but otherwise coaches make hiring mistakes. besides, i've had years of jim hermmann and mike debord to desensitize myself toward miserable coaching staffs.

on paper, robinson isn't the most impressive hire, but considering the issues that plagued the defense were specific to shaeffer's mgmt style, my hope is that he works by being a good fit with the staff. problems last year were lack of fundamentals - accounts of practices say this has been the robinson's priority - and miscommunication among position coaches. one player player from another team said during the big ten media days that they had an audible in place to go long if the safeties looked confused about converage responsibilites. robinson can be successful at michigan simply by implementing a somewhat coherent mgmt scheme.

[TheJON]

M club, its not just non-michigan people thinking DickRod is on the hotseat. Our local host is a die-hard Wolverine fan and has connections to the program and he thinks they'll start 0-2 and then Michigan will start getting a short-list of coaches ready. He says the fans aren't on him too bad right now but guarantees that a loss to Western Michigan will completely change that and he will have dug himself too deep of a hole. He's usually pretty dead on with stuff about Michigan.

[Terry in Crapchester]

The SEC is a better league right now because there's just plain better recruits down South.

Even though I think it should be disallowed, y'all can recruit our kids.

SWOON

Sin,

Schmick