Credit where it's due
- Thread starter Gocatsgo2003
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Yes true Katatonic. Not sure if it's just because we're young at QB but offense has been pretty frustrating. There has got to be better calls than those options. Every one has been brutal
I knew they were very good, but I still grossly underestimated them. They're going to destroy Sparty next week.
They are not fancy, but that is one incredibly physical and disciplined team.
Not sure what exactly would have worked with our offense. JJ had some decent runs, but in passing situations, their d-line had heavy pressure on CT very quickly. He did a good job given the circumstances.
I don't disagree but don't you think we made easy on them? The NU team that showed up for Stanford doesn't lose this game 38-0. We were unprepared mentally and physically.
We played Stanford exactly when you want to play a good team - in the first week, when anything can happen. Still a great win and I'm proud of our team for it, but this loss says a hell of a lot more about NU this year than the Stanford win.
At this point UM is playing by far the best football of anyone on the schedule. That and they have the best coach.
Everyone is fawning all over Michigan thinking Harbaugh has already established his new dynasty.
They caught lightning in a bottle at the beginning of the game, where everything went perfectly the first few drives, and we were poorly prepared to react/adjust so that was basically it for the day.
They do have a very good D and we have a very anemic O, which has never had to come from behind more than a TD this year. Hence, we imploded after 5 minutes. It will not go like this in all their games.
They caught lightning in a bottle at the beginning of the game, where everything went perfectly the first few drives, and we were poorly prepared to react/adjust so that was basically it for the day.
They do have a very good D and we have a very anemic O, which has never had to come from behind more than a TD this year. Hence, we imploded after 5 minutes. It will not go like this in all their games.
You think they beat us 38-0 just because they got off to a quick start?
As Northwestern fans, we don't get to say sh*t about the media's lovefest for Harbaugh...he used our program and our ranking to build his legend up even more. Aaaannnd then Fitz handed him the shut out on a silver platter (not that he wouldn't have necessarily taken it anyway).
Yes, NU played uninspired ball today, but that also tends to be a byproduct of getting manhandled and being totally outschemed (not to mention ceding momentum to a hungry team and 100K+ crowd the first 12 seconds of the game).
No, NU did not give itself a chance by how it played in the first 5 minutes of the game, but it also gave little indication it belonged on the same field with UM (especially their defense) the last 55 minutes of the game.
If you can't see that JH is one of the best in the biz I cannot help you. He has done it at every level, and in a hurry. He beat up USC and a pretty good coach in Pete Carroll a few times with arguably less talent.
To me, it doesn't. It only adjusts my perceptions and expectations for NU. Did you think NU had a good chance to make the playoffs? Were we properly ranked at #13? We have a freshman QB getting his first college experience, a receiver corps that struggles to gain separation and hang on to the ball, and an improving but not yet solid OL.
I think it shows we're not as deep and talented as Michigan and we have to bring our A+ game to beat them, but who didn't know that? It also tells me a lot about Harbaugh and his staff, that they are doing an excellent job turning around this talented team. However, it doesn't tell me "a hell of a lot" more about NU than games like Duke, Stanford, or Minnesota. I wouldn't be surprised at all if NU rebounds, beats Iowa in surprizing fashion like they've done in the past, and continues to challenge for the title in the West.
Blowouts happen, and they are oftentimes misleading in predicting future outcomes (see Texas vs TCU followed by Texas vs Oklahoma). The Stanford win showed me that we can beat top teams if they're off and we are more focused and prepared. Today, UM got a superlative effort out of their team while NU looked tentative and clearly did not look sharp today. Now let's see how well NU responds. They have a tough rivalry game next week against a very good Iowa team. NU typically bounces back well after blowouts and has pulled many of their best upsets off of such embarrassing losses. The next game will tell me more about this team than what I learned from this ambush. Will we play soft and tentative? Or will we rebound like Minnesota and Texas did, play our best game so far, and thump Iowa?
"There is nothing that cleanses the soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
(Woody Hayes)
The start of the game today was like a flashback except the refs 40 years ago DID throw a flag to wipe out a TD on the opening kickoff. At least the team didn't get pelted by apples from NU fans causing stoppage in play like what happened 40 years ago in the Big House.
I expect Fitz will right the ship and get the team fired up to rebound against a good Iowa team. If we beat Iowa, we're right back in the lead for the West division championship.
I expect Fitz will right the ship and get the team fired up to rebound against a good Iowa team. If we beat Iowa, we're right back in the lead for the West division championship.
I disagree completely. This loss cant truly be measured until at earliest next week.
We were flat and had awful play calling on both sides of the ball.
Did their OL control our DL? Yes. But after doc adjusted and tossed out the passive game plan after the second series, our first team d did the following : punt punt punt fg punt.
The reality is that the michigan offense was stopped over the last 48 minutes (except a trash td with two minutes to go after fitz put in the B squad.
That said, the damage was already done by our offense and special teams.
On offense, their front DL controlled our OL but we didnt adjust as McCall simply was lost. It was incredibly mind boggling that he insisted on options when CT has serious and fatal tendencies and doesnt like running the ball. And on pass plays, McCallwas eating us alive and putting CT in harms way with his insistence on doin the same thing over and over on pass plays. Never mind that we were very predictable. And why runup the gut on 3rd and 2 unless you are content on kicking a fg? Lame play calling.
Toss in a group of players who were as flat as the Coach's plan.
Same thing will happen next week if we coach tentatively. If it happens again next week then expect the same results. If not then we will beat iowa and i wouldnt mind playing michigan again.
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I think hell just froze over because I agreed with every word of a Turk post.
Did you agree with "i wouldnt mind playing michigan again."?? Because I would hate that even if NU beats Iowa. Michigan is better coached, has better players, and is just plain a better team than NU.
I don't think they have better players. They might be slightly deeper but this is essentially the same roster that struggled dramatically under Hoke. What changed? The dramatic swing in our team's performance from our best game of the year to yesterday really makes you question certain things. Yesterday I asked myself if NU would be playing as poorly as it did if the Michigan coaching staff was coaching NU. I am pretty sure the answer is no.
So are Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and Stanford.
Playing Michigan again is only possible if we win the west. I would love to play Michigan again.
Huh? NU hasn't played Wisconsin or ND this year.
Last year, NU beat ND with ND was all beat up, and when their coach had a brain fart and went for 2 when even Pat Fitzgerald would have kicked a PAT. Wisconsin started a free safety turned WR at QB against NU last year.
But I give you Stanford.
I'm not talking about this year, I am referring more to playing tougher opponents in general. The point is all three teams have better overall talent and possibly better coaching than NU, yet we have beaten them. So why would one be afraid of playing Michigan again? We've played them even the past 3 years. Anyway, players love big games and grudge rematches and I doubt the outcome will be as poor as yesterday's game.
You're not "cable Rob Lowe" are you?
What does playing them "even" the last 3 years prove? Brady Hoke was a putz. Jim Harbaugh is one of the best coaches in either NCAA or NFL football. If the Fighting Fitzgeralds played this UoM team 10 times, NU might score in a couple of those games but go 0 for 10. And it has nothing to do with being afraid to play them, I just don't have any interest in seeing NU outcoached and outplayed again.
I'm referring to recent opponents that are generally more talented and probably "better coached" than NU that we've beaten recently, rather than our opponents this year. Playing Michigan again this year implies that we win the west. I'd gladly win the west and have another crack at Michigan. Players like playing tough opponents for the opportunity to beat them. I'd love to play them again.
If you're simply commenting on their newfound ability at football under Harbaugh, then fine. Some NU fans want us to play Kansas, Kent State or drop to the MAC rather than take on tough challenges.
Michigan probably does have better talent, but talent doesn't necessarily make it a better team. OSU I believe has more talent, but right now I'd say Michigan is a better team- or at least a much more consistent one.
Hoke recruited well but the players played under their potential. They probably also lost confidence in their coaches and themselves. Harbaugh has the team playing above their potential, and playing with a lot of confidence.
I think the latter describes the Wildcats the first 5 games of the season. At some point yesterday the NU players lost some of that confidence. Going forward it will be important for Fitzgerald to regain that.
We played that talent even under Hoke and beat RichRod when they had no defensive backfield. We played them even when we were racked with injuries in 2013 and 2014.
So you're just afraid of Harbaugh. He's good. So what? This isn't sword fighting or a shootout.
I'd give NU better odds than that. I also wouldn't expect a repeat performance from Michigan in a rematch either. I'd love to see what NU, with more experience at QB (and Thorson has been improving week by week), would do in a rematch against Michigan.
I'll say that it does matter that a team that had faced no adversity this season and hadn't done a whole lot of winning the two prior seasons was shell-shocked from the start.
Seriously, was there been a comeback win over the previous two seasons years, anything on the order of two touchdowns? And, was anybody on this roster (NVH, Traveon?) a contributor in 2012?
I think that kicking a long field goal rather than going on 4th and 1 pretty much sealed it. "Oooohhhhh, I guess this just isn't our week." (Making would have just prolonged the obvious.)
This loss stings bad, but I wouldn't be afraid to play them again. We'll regroup, and try to execute a better plan. I think Fitz eventually learns and adjusts from his mistakes, albeit WAY to slowly. The only part about playing UM I won't look forward to is all the insufferable prepubescent UM head cases posting over here.
Yesterday's game reminded me of the 30-6 debacle vs. Wiscy in 2012, after we had gotten off to a good start and played OSU tough at home before losing on the last series (effectively). That game haunted me as it was the source of Borland's "fish" comments and a reminder of how tough it can be for NU to match up physically with very good B1G teams.
Wiscy was bad, but this game was worse. It felt like annihilation.
Wiscy was bad, but this game was worse. It felt like annihilation.
Michigan played tough and physical. They were focused and determined. More physical and athletic. They made highlights on the field, not on the sidelines doing the Whip and Nae Nae.
Glades, that game was the beginning of NU's Dark Ages in my opinion. Ironically, we were coming off a 30-0 shutout win over Indiana and were 3-2 at the time when Michigan waxed us 69-0 and we went on to lose the rest of our games (two by a field goal) an then the wheels really fell off for the rest of the decade.
After watching Kelly have another brain fart on extra-point conversions this year, I'm not at all sure that he is a "better" coach than Fitz? I doubt he would be better than 5-1 with NU's talent so far this year.
I had a totally different experience with him during recruiting. I thought he was a great guy. He is intense, intelligent, honest, with a great sense of humor. He is old school, which is what I like. I had no doubt he would bring Michigan back. He is a winner.
Yes. Including the quote from Hayes....not having a perfect record and the MAC/BCS/CFP hovering is kind of liberating...the morning after. This isn't 1995 after all. It's 2015. Time to get bowl eligible next week and build from there.
Nobody is questioning those qualities about him. As a life long Bears fan, those are the same qualities he exhibited during his years as a Bear. What I and many others found objectionable were the unethical and hypocritical recruiting practices he employed while at Stanford. He basically showed during his time there that he does not give a **** about the kids, all he cares about is winning. Eventually his players catch on to his hypocrisy and that is why he has a 4-5 lifespan with most jobs. I will say the college game suits him better because the players move on after 4-5 years and he has a new bunch of pupils to sell his hypocritical message to.
If I had to pick three coaches that I would like my son to play for, he would be one of them. Fitz and Dantonio would be two others. Coaches have to win to keep their jobs and the fans happy. Playing for Harbaugh would be no different than serving your country. I would imagine you are treated the same as a recruit in the military.
I'd argue he cares more about his kids than he cares about winning. He'd rather have a player graduate than go to the NFL. He's crazy. Players get tired of him after a few years because they get tired of getting yelled at, not because he's a hypocrite.
one consolation is that most of the head cases will have moved on to bickering with their Sparty counterparts. That rivalry is much more important to them than jNU.