I can’t disagree with your assessment.
UM usually wins the difficult preseason game though and ND’s strength last year was o-line and this year our strength will be D-liine while they usher in a new o-line… I expect our defence to be next level with better safety play.
My belief would be that if they finish with 3 losses Harbaugh would be fired most likely this year or probably the year after or the Program would accept mid tier status in the Big 10. What do you think his prospects will be if they lose three games?
As I said, I believe that Harbaugh is a good coach, that has proven to be able to win big games in the past. Michigan has had some unfortunate breaks the past couple of years. I like the fact that they have been embarrassed and have a burr in their saddle. I put a fair bit in that. It is the playoff or execution for them essentially.
I wholly agree about Dantonio and MSU. As good as they have been though they have never been elite or been able to hang with the elite. They return a lot from a 10 win team. They have a lot of good but I can’t say anything great, maybe linebackers? I would rank Dantonio as the best pure football coach in the NCAA, but he has never had the horses to be elite. Where are the first round pick projections for next year? They are always consistently good but not great. Which is a lot better than Michigan. They have an established qb, UM doesn’t. However, they will be in a world of hurt if he gets injured. How many MSU players would you take over UM players of you could swap them on rosters? Lewerke jumps out, maybe an o-lineman, possibly a d-tackle. I would take are skilled players on offence, secondary, linebackers, ends… (the whole defence). Is Lewerke better much than Shea?
My belief rests strongly on the fact that UM’s defence will be better this year, the offence was brutal last year and being average is a huge step up. This is a team fighting for it’s coaches life, I believe in the coach.
