Michigan's rapid rise

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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With Michigan's dominating win over Northwestern today, they will likely move into the Top 15. If they beat Michigan State at home next week, there is a decent chance they could move all the way into the Top 10 by the time they play us on Halloween. They also have a bye on the 24th, so we'll both be coming into that game fresh.

They'll have Game Day as well this week:

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Go Gophers!!
 

Shows how the right coach can make a dramatic difference in one season. They have some tough games ahead, but are way beyond where most of us thought they would be in Harbaugh Year One.
 

I was going to start a thread on this topic, but looks like Bleed beat me to it. Michigan looks like the real deal. Huge game vs Michigan State next week for the Wolverines. And I realize it's very early, but the winner of Michigan vs Michigan State next week has a decent shot at making the CFB playoff. Only ranked team either team plays the rest of the season is Ohio State - Michigan gets them at home and Michigan State plays them in Columbus.

I would be interested in hearing other GH'ers thoughts on Michigan, particularly their thoughts on how the Gophers match up or how the Michigan/U of M game on Halloween will play out. FWIW I think Michigan will likely beat us because our offense will struggle to move the ball against Michigan's defense. I think it'll be a good game, but realistically we'll need a couple huge plays or bad Michigan turnovers to have a chance to win. 27-17 Michigan.

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Everyone is giving Harbaugh all the credit, and it's ridiculous. They already had a very, very, very good team, and stellar defense. They needed competent QB play, and have been getting with the transfer in of Rudock. Nothing more. Harbuagh doesn't have some secret plan, he just struck gold. There are probably dozens, if not hundreds, of coaches out there who could easily have that team in the same position.

Harbaugh likely has Rudock playing a little better than he ever has before, but come on. Let's get a grip on what's really happening over there. They're back, but it isn't solely because Harbaugh strolled his arrogant ass onto campus.

That said, I think the Gophers should consider bringing in the big-time recruits for a different game this year...
 

TheBulldog said:
Everyone is giving Harbaugh all the credit, and it's ridiculous. They already had a very, very, very good team, and stellar defense. They needed competent QB play, and have been getting with the transfer in of Rudock. Nothing more. Harbuagh doesn't have some secret plan, he just struck gold. There are probably dozens, if not hundreds, of coaches out there who could easily have that team in the same position.

Harbaugh likely has Rudock playing a little better than he ever has before, but come on. Let's get a grip on what's really happening over there. They're back, but it isn't solely because Harbaugh strolled his arrogant ass onto campus.

That said, I think the Gophers should consider bringing in the big-time recruits for a different game this year...
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I agree that Harbaugh isn't solely responsible. That said, I think it's obvious that for all of the quirks in his personality, he's a pretty good coach. But take a look at Michigan's recruiting classes under his predecessors and you will see some pretty solid classes. I don't want to start another "stars v. 'coach 'em up'" debate, but Harbaugh inherited a team with a lot of physical ability. He's gotten them to play together and the addition of Rudock has boosted the offense.
 


How can Michigan rise so quickly? People on Gopherhole tried saying that Harbaugh isn't one of the top coaches in the B1G!
 

Michigan won't win another game. They are a train wreck.
 

TheBulldog said:
Everyone is giving Harbaugh all the credit, and it's ridiculous. They already had a very, very, very good team, and stellar defense. They needed competent QB play, and have been getting with the transfer in of Rudock. Nothing more. Harbuagh doesn't have some secret plan, he just struck gold. There are probably dozens, if not hundreds, of coaches out there who could easily have that team in the same position.

Harbaugh likely has Rudock playing a little better than he ever has before, but come on. Let's get a grip on what's really happening over there. They're back, but it isn't solely because Harbaugh strolled his arrogant ass onto campus.

That said, I think the Gophers should consider bringing in the big-time recruits for a different game this year...
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Have you seen Rudock's stats this year? He's not very good.
 

MNfootballfan said:
How can Michigan rise so quickly? People on Gopherhole tried saying that Harbaugh isn't one of the top coaches in the B1G!
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Yeah, they've given up 14 points in their last 5 games, and shut out three straight opponents because of Harbaugh's elite defensive mind.

The guy is a very good coach, I'm not saying he's not. But, he is not the difference in this turnaround. I'll never believe that, as much as ESPN wants it to be. As said, I'll give him credit for Rudock's performance thus far...which has been a revelation...since that's his specialty. But, with that defense, my daughter could have QB'd that team to a 5-1 and record at this point. Its just hysterical, fanboy behavior for everyone to be all over Harbaugh for this. But, what do you expect from the ESPN propagandists?
 



Plinnius said:
Have you seen Rudock's stats this year? He's not very good.
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Have you seen his stats? 8 total TDs, 6.7 yards per attempt, 1100+ yards and he's played the likes of Utah, BYU, and Northwestern already.....I'd say he's having a pretty good season. Not to mention nearly all their games have been garbage time after half because they are slaughtering the opposition. Beyond the stats, have you watched a game this year? He's thrown a few picks, but from watching their games, he is much better than he was in Iowa.

Maybe I've just been watching Leidner for too long, and it makes Rudock look like Johnny U.
 

TheBulldog said:
Yeah, they've given up 14 points in their last 5 games, and shut out three straight opponents because of Harbaugh's elite defensive mind.

The guy is a very good coach, I'm not saying he's not. But, he is not the difference in this turnaround. I'll never believe that, as much as ESPN wants it to be. As said, I'll give him credit for Rudock's performance thus far...which has been a revelation...since that's his specialty. But, with that defense, my daughter could have QB'd that team to a 5-1 and record at this point. Its just hysterical, fanboy behavior for everyone to be all over Harbaugh for this. But, what do you expect from the ESPN propagandists?
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Right, I mean, look at how Brady Hoke tore up the Big Ten with that defense. I'm sure that your daughter is a better football coach than Brady Hoke, right?
 

I think we can beat Michigan but it will obviously take a well-played game. Win the turnover battle and field position, play great defensively, and do enough on offense. A great atmosphere and crowd will obviously help.
 

TheBulldog said:
Yeah, they've given up 14 points in their last 5 games, and shut out three straight opponents because of Harbaugh's elite defensive mind.

The guy is a very good coach, I'm not saying he's not. But, he is not the difference in this turnaround. I'll never believe that, as much as ESPN wants it to be. As said, I'll give him credit for Rudock's performance thus far...which has been a revelation...since that's his specialty. But, with that defense, my daughter could have QB'd that team to a 5-1 and record at this point. Its just hysterical, fanboy behavior for everyone to be all over Harbaugh for this. But, what do you expect from the ESPN propagandists?
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Before he got the Michigan job I said he was a top 5 active coach in all of football, clearly his work at Michigan helps cement that fact.

Belichek, Meyer, Carroll, Harbaugh, and Saban (In no particular order)
 



I'll admit that Big Blue is better than I anticipated and I'll give Harbaugh a chunk of credit for that. Getting a QB who doesn't have to be the playmaker offensively, but can get other playmakers in position to make the plays has been a big factor. Jabril Peppers has been an absolute stud defensively. Oct 31 will be a definite challenge for the good guys
 

They will be intimidated by the thunderous crowds at the Bank
 

Jake Rudock=Russell Wilson Redux?

We'll soon find out after all the games have been played.

Michigan always had better recruiting classes than most B1G teams.

Anything can happen that changes the trajectory of a team like the Gophers injury bug.
 

Remember when us GohperHolers had the Michigan game as an automatic win, and the Jug staying in Minnesota? (due to the fact we dominated them in the Big House last year). My how things can change quickly.
 

As a Michigan fan, it's just nice to see a coach come in who can recognize and utilize the talent on the field! Not to mention, this staff has been lights-out with their game plans so far this season.

Going to be a fun week this week. (How long has it been since a Michigan fan has referred to State Week as "fun?")

Hoping that the team comes out fired up this Saturday just like they were against Northwestern. Then they have 2 weeks to prepare for the Halloween matchup with the Gophers. Which I'll be at!
 

goldengophers said:
Before he got the Michigan job I said he was a top 5 active coach in all of football, clearly his work at Michigan helps cement that fact.

Belichek, Meyer, Carroll, Harbaugh, and Saban (In no particular order)
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It's early. I'm still convinced his ego will derail Big Blue at some point.
 

As a side note, do any of you know if you guys have a Minnesota Media website like Michigan has with Mgovideo.com?

You can find archives of literally EVERYTHING related to Michigan football, both past and present, at Mgovideo.com if you're interested. Yes, even the 2014 butt-whoppin you guys gave Michigan in the Big House can be found there. Haha

I was just curious if you guys had a website that compiled Minnesota football highlights, full games, game-plan analysis, interviews and such?

Thanks everybody!

Good luck this week!
 

UP Wolverine said:
As a side note, do any of you know if you guys have a Minnesota Media website like Michigan has with Mgovideo.com?

You can find archives of literally EVERYTHING related to Michigan football, both past and present, at Mgovideo.com if you're interested. Yes, even the 2014 butt-whoppin you guys gave Michigan in the Big House can be found there. Haha

I was just curious if you guys had a website that compiled Minnesota football highlights, full games, game-plan analysis, interviews and such?

Thanks everybody!

Good luck this week!
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I believe gophersports.com has archive footage but not real certain of that. Maybe I'm mistaken.

Edit: Click on the Brick-by-Brick link on the digital productions page of multimedia.
 

I know it's hard to cross-compare games. But considering how we performed against Northwestern...And what Michigan did to Northwestern. I'm nervous about playing Michigan to say the least.
 

Harbaugh is incredible. He is also doing this with average recruits. If I recall, their class was ranked around 70 this year, and obviously the talent he previously inherited wasn't too spectacular. When Harbaugh has all his recruits funneling through there, Michigan is going to surpass Alabama as the premier program in College Football
 

50PoundHead said:
I agree that Harbaugh isn't solely responsible. That said, I think it's obvious that for all of the quirks in his personality, he's a pretty good coach. But take a look at Michigan's recruiting classes under his predecessors and you will see some pretty solid classes. I don't want to start another "stars v. 'coach 'em up'" debate, but Harbaugh inherited a team with a lot of physical ability. He's gotten them to play together and the addition of Rudock has boosted the offense.
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hmmm, he inherited a team with a ton of talent that wasn't very good last year. now they're dominating. i think it's fair to say it's all about the coaching. lots of folks refuse to believe how much coaching can impact a team. from schemes, to attention to detail, to recognizing how and where to play people, to how and when to exploit weaknesses in situational defenses, i.e. timing of play calls, to motivation, to attitude and intensity.....it seems to me coaching makes all the difference in the world. obviously there's a limit to how far you can coach up your given talent, but even Kill agrees it's all about confidence and mindset. lots of confidence derived from the right coaches and belief by players in their coaches' systems.
 

TheBulldog said:
Have you seen his stats? 8 total TDs, 6.7 yards per attempt, 1100+ yards and he's played the likes of Utah, BYU, and Northwestern already.....I'd say he's having a pretty good season. Not to mention nearly all their games have been garbage time after half because they are slaughtering the opposition. Beyond the stats, have you watched a game this year? He's thrown a few picks, but from watching their games, he is much better than he was in Iowa.

Maybe I've just been watching Leidner for too long, and it makes Rudock look like Johnny U.
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Mitch also has 8 total TDs. Here's their total stat profile:

Rudock: 106-171, 62.0%, 1135 yds, 5 TD, 6 INT, 120.4 Rating; 31 rush, 84 yds, 3 TD
Leidner: 99-171, 57.9 %, 1009 yds 6 TD, 4 INT, 114.4 Rating; 49 rush, 122 yds, 2 TD

Rudock has been slightly better, but I don't see how you can say he's having a "pretty good season" while criticizing Mitch this badly. You can't have it both ways. They're having very similar seasons.
 

Sparty @ Michigan game

I think it's going to come down to two main things:

(1) Can Connor Cook carry Sparty on his back, like he (and his receivers) did last night vs. Rutgers? The guy has won a lot big games at MSU, and he'll need to be at his very best on Saturday to beat Michigan. I don't think Sparty will be able run the ball effectively vs. the Wolverines, so that means Cook's gonna' throw it 35-45 times.

(2) As suspect as Sparty's defensive backfield is, can their touted D-line stuff Michigan's run game, apply serious pressure, and force Jake Ruddock to beat them? If I'm MSU, I want Ruddock throwing the ball, not handing off.

Michigan has all the momentum and mojo going into this game, but the one major advantage MSU has is at the QB position. Ruddock has been solid for Harbaugh, but he's still an experienced QB that Kirk Ferentz discarded prior to his senior season. If Michigan beats MSU with Ruddock having a stellar performance throwing the ball, Sparty will just have to tip their cap to him. How Ruddock will perform in a big game is this game's biggest unknown.
 

UP Wolverine said:
As a side note, do any of you know if you guys have a Minnesota Media website like Michigan has with Mgovideo.com?

You can find archives of literally EVERYTHING related to Michigan football, both past and present, at Mgovideo.com if you're interested. Yes, even the 2014 butt-whoppin you guys gave Michigan in the Big House can be found there. Haha

I was just curious if you guys had a website that compiled Minnesota football highlights, full games, game-plan analysis, interviews and such?

Thanks everybody!

Good luck this week!
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Yeah, we call him Sid.
 


They're winning on defense. They have arguably the top cornerback combo in the country. Heard the boys on ESPN this morning say that they are the only team improving with every week in the Big Ten. That's coaching! They've had talent, just not the coaches to get the play out of them.


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Respectfully, anyone who thinks Harbaugh hasn't made an instant and major impact on the Michigan program has their head buried in the sand. There's been plenty of talent there while they've been in their tailspin. Talent hasn't been the issue.
 

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