tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6136487040752878109.post7498458177575987625..comments2023-03-31T06:54:26.228-04:00Comments on Genuinely Sarcastic: The Battle of Michigan: The War of PerceptionBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16483608908590422213noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6136487040752878109.post-6424818337348208522010-08-05T02:07:12.718-04:002010-08-05T02:07:12.718-04:00Brian – love your work.
You are right about UofM ...Brian – love your work.<br /><br />You are right about UofM losing the perception war. Sparty, to their credit, has done a great job of capitalizing on the current state of flux in AA to turn the focus onto who cares more about the state of Michigan. If this discussion becomes at all relevant into the medium future (2-3 yrs), then as a Michigan fan, we can say for sure that our program has fallen from the elite, maybe for good.<br /><br />One part of the analysis that has been missing from the discussion in my view is exactly why Michigan hired RR. The opportunity for a “program continuity” hire was certainly there (i.e., someone who had a UofM pedigree who would run both a convention pro-style offensive and defensive scheme): Miles, Harbaugh, Hoke, Trgovac, etc. To some extent, Greg Schiano would have been that as well, even though he is not a UofM alum. But that is not the direction we chose. Why? Because, without acknowledging it directly and publicly, I think Bill Martin knew that the old way of doing business was a path to Sparty-esque mediocrity. In the span of four games in late 2006 to early 2007, we got smoked by three spread offense teams and one conventional offense loaded with 5 star talent. We had only two great teams in Lloyd’s last eight years as coach (2003 and 2006); any of the rest could be confused for a decent season at Wisconsin, Iowa, or MSU. That is not what Michigan football is about. Michigan football is about 9-10 wins as a baseline and having a national title contending type of team every fourth or fifth year. It was clear that the entire program needed an overhaul to get back up to that level. So, we rolled the dice on a guy who clearly had command of the offense of the future and asked him to remake the entire program. I don’t think anybody appreciated exactly how hard that would be and how resistant to change the entire Michigan culture would be.<br /><br />In comparison, Dantonio has had to change very little from the JLS regime (the only thing he really has done was make MSU’s offense more predictable – JLS, for all his faults, was a good offensive coach). And the results are largely the same. In his first three years, JLS was 8-5, 5-7, and 5-6, losing to Michigan every year, twice in OT and the other by 7 points. In Dantonio’s first three years, he goes 7-6, 9-4 and 6-7, beating Michigan in the last two years, one time in OT. He loses those two Michigan games, his records go to 8-5 and 5-7. One extra cupcake game on his schedule in 2007 gets MSU to bowl eligibility that JLS missed out on in 2005 due to an 11 game schedule. For all the buzz, there really is absolutely no difference between the performance of the current MSU regime and past ones. Their entire “success” under Dantonio has been a beneficial externality around the regime change in AA. Period. However, Mark Dantonio does have the benefit of playing to a fan base with low expectations, so two wins over Michigan go a long way. <br /><br />The point is that Rich Rodriguez has a very different mandate than Mark Dantonio. RR, in my opinion, was brought in to rebuild the foundation of the Michigan program so that its sustained level of performance was 10+ wins per season, rather than 8 wins. That is a big task, full of potential risk given that it constitutes tearing the entire program apart and rebuilding it from the ground up. But, we weren’t going to be a consistent 10 win program doing what we had always done, like it or not. In my opinion, it is worth going through the experience of the past two seasons if that sustained level of excellence can be attained in the future.BBA1993https://www.blogger.com/profile/17750785160295336215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6136487040752878109.post-34952002206204826552010-08-03T23:33:54.962-04:002010-08-03T23:33:54.962-04:00Let's not give Harbaugh the reigns yet. I don...Let's not give Harbaugh the reigns yet. I don't care if he did play for Michigan, he has yet to prove anything big at Stanford and people are losing it. Hiring Harbaugh would be a mistake. Another extreme philisophical shift followed by mediocre football at best. No thanks. The best scenario is for Rich to get the job done.jsquigghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15551019934410684180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6136487040752878109.post-3482989024603900182010-08-02T18:24:26.027-04:002010-08-02T18:24:26.027-04:00I'm not sure there is a time limit on it. Ask ...I'm not sure there is a time limit on it. Ask Oklahoma State how long Oklahoma had to be down in order to gain the upper hand..longer than the Blake and Schnellenberger years obviously. <br /><br />Michigan might topple out of the Eagle's nest..but it's really not likely, unless the top brass at Michigan decides it doesn't want to compete any longer. I think the 226 million dollar renovation of the Big House speaks to Michigan's commitment to winning football games though.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03299874615501353185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6136487040752878109.post-89169936148708159642010-08-02T14:36:01.210-04:002010-08-02T14:36:01.210-04:00Indeed. Honestly, I don't want UM mired in te...Indeed. Honestly, I don't want UM mired in terrible forever--it's bad for the conference, and it's bad for all rivalries, Capitalized or un-. Pretty much what I, as an MSU fan, wanted out of this UM transition is what I got--but now, I'd definitely like to see Michigan back above So Bad It Doesn't Really Count status, so that beating them, you know, "counts."<br /><br />I can accept that two years in a row is a freaky transitional occurrence--indeed, Dantonio is under a bit of pressure to prove that his first two seasons weren't a freaky transitional occurrence, too. It's really pretty amazing: all possibilities are on the table: either Normalcy is Restored as UM goes 8-4 and beats a 6-6 MSU, or Dick Rod is Sent Back to The Boonies as 9-3 MSU threepeats against 5-8 UM, or anywhere muddlingly in between.<br /><br />Peace<br />TyTy Schalterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07228238666916939672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6136487040752878109.post-11796381559922948672010-08-02T13:20:27.504-04:002010-08-02T13:20:27.504-04:00Ty,
In short, the answer is: More than two years....Ty,<br /><br />In short, the answer is: More than two years.<br /><br />If MSU gets the threepeat this year and UM is 6-6 or 5-7 again and MSU is 8-4ish, then the mental switch you speak of will probably flip for the majority of people, neutral or otherwise. Even then, some people on UM's side will wait to see what Harbaugh brings to the table as the new guy. You consider who's calling the shots in UM's AD now, and what kind of personality a guy like Harbaugh has, if RR fails, you'd be hardpressed to find many people who wouldn't believe bringing in Harbaugh would put Michigan on the fast track for normalcy again. I mean, hell, there are Ohio State fans who ask me "When are you guys getting rid of Dick Rod so you can bring Harbaugh in and get the Rivalry back to where it belongs?"<br /><br />One of the writers for MSU's Rivals site once quipped that "UM football could survive a nuclear holocaust." Well, that theory may be put to the test after this season. Time will tell.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07272986648979988175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6136487040752878109.post-43914337151018942932010-08-02T12:45:42.864-04:002010-08-02T12:45:42.864-04:00Brian--
You're doing this the right way. I l...Brian--<br /><br />You're doing this the right way. I loved the first part, I loved this part, and despite my allegiance I'll likely love the third part as well.<br /><br />There was one sentence in there that nailed it all:<br /><br />"All Mark Dantonio has done is restore what John L. Smith destroyed."<br /><br />Well, that's cause for celebration around these parts. Michigan State an 8-to-9 win program, with occasional outliers in either direction? Yes, please, and thank you--especially if we continue to be served a side of rivalry dominance.<br /><br />These "low" expectations are always pounced upon by Michigan fans as proof positive that MSU still is, and always will be, Little Brother. Well, fine, but contrast "low expectations" of 25-14, and a reality of 22-17, with "proper expectations" of Michigan Football, and the reality of 8-16. I'd rather order a steak sandwich and be sad it came without grilled onions, than order filet mignon and be sad I got served Alpo.<br /><br />Honestly, at what point does the mental switch flip? At what point will it be undeniable that what was no longer is? How long can U of M perennially win fewer games than MSU does, and lose to MSU head to head, and still be the "better" program in the mind of the average Wolverine?<br /><br />The battle for in-state recruiting supremacy may be moot, or indeed wholly imagined by MSU fans. But, until OMG NATIONAL recruits translate into U of M winning more football games than they lose, can M fans mothball this notion that Michigan operates on some magical, rarefied plane?<br /><br />Peace<br />TyTy Schalterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07228238666916939672noreply@blogger.com