Stealing NDs schtick. I guess you own it after the asskicking this year. Bold strategy Cotton. Michigan pays about a million dollars a win, just like Texas A&M
It's not that there's anything holding the program back. If the admin and staff want to unequivocally value academics before athletics then they and the fans need to temper their expectations as such, but should know full well that schools that do that now in this era of cfb don't win anything of substance.
That really is a lot like ND, except ND fans think that there can be no talent gap, its all coaching.
Yes, he firmly believes that. There's no proof to that having much if any impact but it makes him feel better so he clings to it.
That the admin and staff “unequivocally value academics before athletics” Do you think that’s why Michigan can’t finish higher than 3rd in the B1G East?
Michigan would have the #1 recruiting class in the Big Ten and probably the country every year if it wasn't for their world class academics and the standards associated with that. That one change would send them on a title run like we've never seen before.
The fuck they don't. You may not, but many/most do. Hell we've had that debate on here before. Many ND fans think the academic restrictions is why they haven't won 800 straight titles.
I'm saying that a school that's going to play that card shouldn't be shocked when they can't win the conference, let alone beat their biggest rival, and continue to act like they can do either.
beeds is the only notre dame fan to post in this thread today and you yourself said he doesnt believe in that so how are we on to notre dame rationalization exactly
So do you believe that your admin and coaches “unequivocally value academics over athletics” or are they just “playing that card” as an excuse for not meeting goals?
https://mgoblog.com/content/obligation This September he told the world that he took nothing but online classes. Fields was part of a university community in the same way someone in jail next to it is. Even in relatively good circumstances online classes are often jokes. A lot of small liberal arts schools are scrambling to get together joke online masters degrees in a hopefully-futile bid to survive in the face of declining enrollment. Those programs exist only to give people bullshit credentials they hope will pass muster in an environment that doesn't really care to examine them. Those are for people for whom the diploma they receive might actually mean something at some point. For an Ohio State quarterback? If Fields even does any of his own work, spelling his name will suffice to pass. I don't have many illusions about the academic standards placed on Michigan players, but I'm dead certain they actually show up on campus because I know many people who have taught or been in classes with Michigan football players. So you wonder at which point the dubious nature of college football becomes outright fraud. "How far is too far?" is not a question that's ever troubled anyone at Ohio State. The NCAA is a joke to be exploited. Classes are a joke to be avoided. Anything not related to beating Michigan is a joke. Michigan's not going to do that stuff. This isn't a value judgment. For a guy like Justin Fields, classes are a stupid distraction. It's reasonable to treat them like that. Michigan isn't going to do that, because the institution thinks things like going to class are important. This is also a reasonable thing to think.
And your dbl is showing. I really have zero desire to have a stupid back and forth where you tell me stuff from 20 years ago and act like its what's going on now about a fanbase you know absolutely nothing about. People simply aren't saying that anymore but if you want to argue why you think this is true, and we all know you do, go ahead. I'm just telling you that you will be speaking into an void alone.
Sorry that it hurt for you to read the UM post, laugh at it, then have it pointed out that ND fans have been doing that for 20+ years.
These are the online Master Degress the great Michigan is scrambling together in order to survive declining enrollment
I don't know what exactly you're trying to play "Got ya" on. They do, and this will be the result for them every year just like it has been for the last 15+
I’m not playing “got ya” I’m just confirming your belief that Michigan can’t win because of “academic prioritization” so I can laugh at you for being dumb
This is a sentiment that most ND fans embraced from 1994-2015. It was a "well we just cant recruit/compete because of academics" and it was pushed hard by all the pay ND sites. That sentiment has changed since 2015, ND can absolutely recruit with its restrictions and build a roster that can compete with anyone. ND has shown that a lot over the last 5 seasons (minus the bizarroworld blowouts at Miami and at Michigan where the team didn't get off the bus). ND has been churning out NFL talent for 5 years now after Kelly figured out how to recruit to ND, thankfully that Alabama asswhipping in 2012 made him completely change his recruiting philosophy. ND now runs kids out of the program and pushes the 85 man limit every year to the brink. ND just needs to find its Tua, Watson, or Fields instead of the Everette Golsons, Malik Zaires, or Ian Books. This is a similar problem that Michigan is having- the complete lack of elite QB play at Michigan and ND for 20+ years now is baffling. Even the best QB's at those schools have been just above average in Brady Quinn and Chad Henne. ND and Michigan have got to do a better job of finding qbs and developing them.
I'm sure some ND fans have come around but many still cling it. Like you said, it went on heavy for 20 years. They didn't flip a switch and every ND fan forget that overnight.
I don't think Michigan has lost 17 of 19 games to Ohio State because Michigan cares more about academics than Ohio State. I also don't think Michigan has the same POV on football that Ohio State and some of the major powers in the South have. As it pertains to the OSU rivalry, I don't think OSU players inherently want to win that game more than UM players do, but I do think OSU cares more about being a dominant football power than Michigan does. I think Michigan has always tried to have it both ways where it wants to be great, but also doesn't want to be viewed as a football factory like other, more successful modern programs. I think Harbaugh at Michigan has actually closed the gap on some of that stuff, as stupid as that sounds coming off yesterday. Prior to Harbaugh, UM wasn't close to other big name schools in terms of financial resources allocated to things like coaching and support staff. Harbaugh brought them into the 21st century in that regard when he showed up. One of the reasons I don't want to fire Harbaugh is I'm not sold that UM is willing to spend that kind of money for someone who isn't a huge name and home grown guy like Jim.
"If Michigan didn't value academics over athletics, they'd be more competitive." And now I reminisce about the time when Michigan didn't value academics over athletics, and I take note of their accomplishments during that period...
We could easily be the dominator of the Clemson series. We just have different institutional priorities is all
What does Michigan do that shows they care less? I'd say paying a coach $9m or whatever it is a year shows they do care as much as anyone else.
My dad still says it from time to time, there is no doubt that a lot of fan base still believes it especially the older ones. TMB group on here does not believe it as a whole as our sentiment has really evolved over the last 4 years.
A lot of the fanbase also thinks ND should still be running the triple option. Dbls just a fucking moron who needs the constant validation of this board, and makes shit up to get people to interact. It's sad. I really wish he was loved at home or something.
I think Michigan cares more about perception than other schools. I don't think Michigan is letting in some kids with off field issues or academic risk that some other programs might. I think most elite programs don't care what people think about them as long as they're winning. I think there are people at Michigan who don't want Michigan to be like that. I'm not saying it's good or bad. I'm not using it at an excuse because that's Michigan's choice. I'm just saying this is my opinion of how the program is run.
No, I don't have many examples off the top of my head of Michigan signing players with significant off field baggage or people who were academic risks elsewhere who UM signed anyway. That's my point, weirdo. The only people I can think of were under RichRod, and he went nuts the year he tried to get some of those guys (most notably Demar Dorsey) in and couldn't.
To me it comes down to the same thing for schools, you can't miss on QB. Like region said, UM has had the same problem as ND the last decade, at least. A lack of game breaking QB. If Patterson would have been as good as people hoped, you would have been fine, maybe not beat Ohio St fine, but potentially 11-0 getting to that game. ND and UM both recruit pretty well and always seem to have good OL and playmakers offensive and defensively, but every playoff team, aside from maybe Sparty and ND last year that year has had elite QBs. You get one and you'll be fine. The issue is Ohio St is just on another level right now.
I think that was true a few years ago. I think UM beats OSU in 16 (and possibly 17) with an average QB instead of a banged up Speight and O'Korn. And the 17 thing I'm blaming on Harbaugh because not pushing Peters for that job during the offseason was 100% on him and screwed everything up the next year or two. Patterson isn't the reason UM lost to OSU the last few years, though. It's weird to me that Harbaugh and Brown haven't been able to turn the statistical success of that defense into significantly better results in recruiting.