Pure Speculation

[b bulldog]

I had to write this in regards to the Lloyd Carr coached UM monumental collapse to a decent App St team. As many UM fans have been saying, Lloyd Carr is a average coach at best and at UM that isn't good enough. Teams such as UM,O St, Notre Dame,USC, Alabama and Okahoma are college football's greats and to coach at these schools envokes a great deal of pressure. These schools have their standards set high each year and their goal is to win a championship and anything else is a failure. What this loss makes clear is that while the rest of the conference laughs at the continual disappointments that Carr's team put out every year, this will probably be his last year even if he would change his mind and want to come back to coach in 08. One thing to be sure is that when Carr leaves, the conference as a whole will be disappointed because the staggering giant that is UM football will once again be led by a coach who will hopefully be up to the job. As UM kept beating OSt with Cooper at the helm, the Bucks finally realized that he wasn't getting the job done so Tressel was hired and now they have become a national force once again. Two names that ESPN radio has already linked to the possible opening at years end in Ann Arbor is Jeff Tedford, who has built a power with no committment from the school in terms of facilities ect and John Gruden. One more thing, the Pac 10 will be a power this year and after seeing Wash St give the Big Ten's best in UW, everything it could handle, it will be very interesting to see how that conference shakes out after USC and Cal.

[Bretsky]

Lloyd Carr is to the Big Ten what Wayne Fontes was to the NFC North

Bull, we were worried you jumped out of a building.......j/k

That was the biggest upset I ever remember in college football

[RashanGary]

I think that Michigan is so caught up in the "Michigan guy" crap that Shembeckler spewed in the 70's that they are going to narrow their choices in a coach down to Michigan guys once again and they will paint themselves into a lesser coach again.

Michigan football is turning into a joke because of their inablity to let go of their good old boy philosophy.

I'm glad. Go Wisconsin!!

May the powerhouse get driven into the ground and the next wave of dominace begin with teams like Florida, USC and maybe Wisconsin if we're lucky.

[b bulldog]

We will see but I bet your wrong. The UM coaching job is one of the best in the nation and I think with Bo's death, the program will finally move on. Tedford if he doesn't go to the NFL would be my guess and that move would make the entire conference take note in a bigtime hurry.

[b bulldog]

This game was a joke but to say that the program is a joke is very foolish and ignorant. UW should beat them this year along with O St, Mich St and Penn St but this program that lost to App St still has enough talent to beat any of the above mentioned schools although I wouldn't bet on it.

[RashanGary]

We will see but I bet your wrong. The UM coaching job is one of the best in the nation and I think with Bo's death, the program will finally move on. Tedford if he doesn't go to the NFL would be my guess and that move would make the entire conference take note in a bigtime hurry.

I hope Michigan continues to drive their program into the ground the way Alabamba did.

Go Badgers!!

Sorry, I don't like Michigan :)

[b bulldog]

B, I was up at the lake for the weekend, good thing too.

[Scott Campbell]

Teams such as UM,O St, Notre Dame,USC, Alabama and Okahoma are college football's greats and to coach at these schools envokes a great deal of pressure. These schools have their standards set high each year and their goal is to win a championship and anything else is a failure.


Picking a national champion from among this small handfull of college football teams every year is no better than picking a World Series champion from among the Yankees, Red Sox, Braves and other big market - big spenders. Unless you really enjoy the drama of the Globetrotters beating the Washington Generals, this caste system hardly serves the majority of sports fans. It needs to change.

[Deputy Nutz]

Good thing 905 of the nation didn't see the game on the Big Ten Network.

I agree Lloyd has muffed and tarnished Michigan football.

I was a Michigan fan but it is apparent that when the talent is equal or great than Michigan, Lloyd's ability shines through.

[oregonpackfan]

I agree with your premise about the inability of Lloyd Carr to perform to the high coaching standard that Michigan demands. Unless Michigan wins the rest of the games on the schedule including a major bowl game, Carr is all but gone. Michigan alum will never forgive Carr for losing to a Division I-AA team in "The Big House."

About your last statement "One more thing, the Pac 10 will be a power this year and after seeing Wash St give the Big Ten's best in UW, everything it could handle, it will be very interesting to see how that conference shakes out after USC and Cal." As someone who has watched many Pac-10 games since I have moved out to Oregon 17 years ago, I am still amazed about the lack of emphasis Pac-10 teams give to defense.

Most Pac-10 teams play a very offense-minded game which is very entertaining to watch. But coaches in this conference either don't wish to emphasize tough defense or seem unable to. Rarely, will you see a game between Pac-10 teams end with a score like 17-10. Often the scores end up 38-35.

Unless the Pac-10 teams can improve their defensive squads, they will never rise to the level of the SEC teams, IMO.
_________________

[Bub]

Regarding your statement "gave UW all it could handle" is a bit crazy. Without the muffed punt, and blocked punt mess, this game would have been a complete blowout....even more than the 42-21 mess it was.

This is team that beat UCLA and Oregon St. back to back, and minus a late drive by USC, would beat them too. They only lost to USC 22-28.

This was a different team when they lost their D linemen to injury last year. The lost 3 to finish 6-6 after that happened last year.

[b bulldog]

Was very close till the mid third or early fourth quarter. UW's lack of pass rush and a lack of an explosive back may hurt them down the line.

[BallHawk]

Was very close till the mid third or early fourth quarter. UW's lack of pass rush and a lack of an explosive back may hurt them down the line.

Is PJ Hill explosive? He's not Darren McFadden or Steve Slaton explosive, but he's a damn good back. He basically replicated the stats of both of those backs. He's one of the best backs in the country, no question. He's doesn't get press like the others, but he sure as hell wins games. He's not fancy, yet he still had 7 100-yard games last season and 1 250-yard game.

WSU did what everybody expected them to do. Hang with the Badgers for a half. Alex Brink is a very good QB and I have no shame in admitting that he carved up our defense in the 1st half.

Everybody knew that Wisconsin's offense was too talented and that WSU's defense was too raw. It was fun to watch, but teams without a defense can not hang with Wisconsin. Our lack of defense was concerning, I admit, but I think we'll work that out as the season progresses.

Here's to hoping we'll see Donovan to Swan all year long! :glug:

[Harlan Huckleby]

I think PJ Hill is mostly unimpressive to watch. But then he bursts off a 12 yard run and you say "wow." HE still has a bigger ass than me, which I find baffling.

The lack of depth at D-line is the achilles heel. Every game will be fun to watch, tho, they could win the Big Ten.

[Partial]

Lloyd Carr is to the Big Ten what Wayne Fontes was to the NFC North

Bull, we were worried you jumped out of a building.......j/k

That was the biggest upset I ever remember in college football

Didn't Wiscy beat an undefeated #1 Nebraska when Wiscy was downright terrible?

[Partial]

Was very close till the mid third or early fourth quarter. UW's lack of pass rush and a lack of an explosive back may hurt them down the line.

Is PJ Hill explosive? He's not Darren McFadden or Steve Slaton explosive, but he's a damn good back. He basically replicated the stats of both of those backs. He's one of the best backs in the country, no question. He's doesn't get press like the others, but he sure as hell wins games. He's not fancy, yet he still had 7 100-yard games last season and 1 250-yard game.

WSU did what everybody expected them to do. Hang with the Badgers for a half. Alex Brink is a very good QB and I have no shame in admitting that he carved up our defense in the 1st half.

Everybody knew that Wisconsin's offense was too talented and that WSU's defense was too raw. It was fun to watch, but teams without a defense can not hang with Wisconsin. Our lack of defense was concerning, I admit, but I think we'll work that out as the season progresses.

Here's to hoping we'll see Donovan to Swan all year long! :glug:

Whoa whoa whoa...

PJ Hill spoke with McFadden and Slaton. Nuh uh. Not even close. PJ is not that good. He has a tank of a line. I suspect Clay will pass him if he can stay healthy (too tall) even as soon as next year. Maybe Lance Smith as well.

Pass rush will get better, don't worry. They have the best linebackers and the best cornerback in the country. There defense will be fine.

[b bulldog]

PJ is no where even close to Slaton or McFadden. PJ is a bruiser while the other two are stallions. PJ is very good but not a gamebreraker in the sense that against top flight competition, he will not rip a 65 yard run against the D.

[SkinBasket]

This game was a joke but to say that the program is a joke is very foolish and ignorant.

What made the game a "joke?" That Mich lost? That's not a very funny joke. The only joke is when a fan of a team writes off any loss, especially one of this magnitude, as a joke because they lost to a team they feel naturally superior to - in large part due to the symbol on the helmet instead of the player inside it. It's that big-program sense of entitlement shining through.

[the_idle_threat]

PJ looked really bad on Saturday. If he's supposed to be a bruiser, he didn't look like it. He was slow into the hole and when he made contact with a defender, he tried spin moves (unsuccessfully most of the time) rather than the ol' lower the shoulder and get the extra yards trick. He was a big back trying to run like a small back, and too often failing at it. He scored both of his touchdowns from one or two yards out, and in both cases he went in standing up because the blocking was there.

I was at the game courtesy of a friend's season tix, the people around me knew a lot more about Wisconsin football than I do. They said he lost weight over the offseason (something like 20 or 30 pounds) and perhaps is trying to run like a smaller back. It didn't work for him, and when the backups started coming in late in the game, they looked quite a bit better.

[MadtownPacker]

Damn Bulldog, if Brady craps it up this season you wont have anything to be happy about. :lol:

[Zool]

The only reason WSU hung around were absolute garbage plays. Who the hell runs a blocked punt 15 yards for a first down? That 30+ yard scramble to setup the second TD wasnt exactly a designed play it just happened.

[cheesner]

The only reason WSU hung around were absolute garbage plays. Who the hell runs a blocked punt 15 yards for a first down? That 30+ yard scramble to setup the second TD wasnt exactly a designed play it just happened.How about the Badger punt that went for negative yardage?

[KYPack]

It's official, Dog. Due to their pathetic performace against APP, Michigan has been booted from the Big 10.

Making it the Big Ten again.

[cheesner]

UM out of top 25.


They dropped to #33 from #5 in AP Poll. And who took their place at #5? - The Badgers!

[Deputy Nutz]

PJ Hill will be lucky to be the starting running back at year end. Lance Smith has that ability to make defenders miss in the hole and in the open field, Hill can't make anyone miss anywhere on the field, his only tool is to bull his way through defenders.

Snith needs to be more consistent to earn extensive playing time but he is the back with more upside at this point.

[b bulldog]

After that UM performance, I derserve all the ribbing that I will get and have gotten. My only hope is that this will get carr finally out of Ann Arbor.

[Charles Woodson]

Teams such as UM,O St, Notre Dame,USC, Alabama and Okahoma are college football's greats and to coach at these schools envokes a great deal of pressure. .

Okay, durring my life time Notre Dame has been one of the most overrated schools, have they ever been good? To list them in the same list as USC and O St. is not right.

[Charles Woodson]

After that UM performance, I derserve all the ribbing that I will get and have gotten. My only hope is that this will get carr finally out of Ann Arbor.

Its okay, us seminoles got our ass's handed to us last night

[BallHawk]

After that UM performance, I derserve all the ribbing that I will get and have gotten. My only hope is that this will get carr finally out of Ann Arbor.

Its okay, us seminoles got our ass's handed to us last night

At least you stick with your team and haven't jumped on the Gainesville bandwagon like most of Florida has.

Florida has some of the most fair-weather fans in the country, hands down.

[Charles Woodson]

After that UM performance, I derserve all the ribbing that I will get and have gotten. My only hope is that this will get carr finally out of Ann Arbor.

Its okay, us seminoles got our ass's handed to us last night

At least you stick with your team and haven't jumped on the Gainesville bandwagon like most of Florida has.

Florida has some of the most fair-weather fans in the country, hands down.

there is no team i hate more than the gators :evil:

[LL2]

There is no way Michigan hires Tedford or Gruden. Gruden would make most of those college students want to quit, but why would he go to UM? I'm not sure who the other candidates would be, but I don't want to see those two up there. They tend to be loyal to alums so they might bring one in....say Elvis Grbac?

[LL2]

so they might bring one in....say Elvis Grbac?

Don't take this part seriously.

[Bretsky]

PJ Hill will be lucky to be the starting running back at year end. Lance Smith has that ability to make defenders miss in the hole and in the open field, Hill can't make anyone miss anywhere on the field, his only tool is to bull his way through defenders.

Snith needs to be more consistent to earn extensive playing time but he is the back with more upside at this point.


I don't buy this for a second; PJ Hill is the type of bruising back who does really well in this offense. And he's a good person. Dependable. And remember there were character concerns with Lance Smith; I can't see BB depending on Lance Smith. He sure looks like a great talent, but IMO he's our Terrell
Fletcher in a smaller role and Hill is our Brent Moss with a little bigger role.

[Deputy Nutz]

B, Smith has talent, PJ Hill is an average back at best whose only job is to find the hole and run through it, no hole no ability to create, at least not in the first game this year. His body was shot at the end of the year in 2006 because he runs to upright and doesn't actually deliver a blow at contact.

When it comes to talent he is the third best running back on the roster behind Smith and John Clay.

Don't give me crap about the off the field issues, A. Davis was stabbed by his girlfriend several years ago in a fight, Brent Moss Sold crack, and Ron Dayne was well Ron Dayne, Mr. Personality.

LANCE SMITH BABY!!!

If Smith gets his chance I bet he is a higher draft pick than PJ Hill when the time comes.

[esoxx]

After that UM performance, I derserve all the ribbing that I will get and have gotten. My only hope is that this will get carr finally out of Ann Arbor.

I don't think Carr's the reason they lost the game though. That's an easy way to excuse what happened but it's not entirely accurate.