Around the 'Shoe

As they say on Sesame Street....One of these wolverines doesn't belong.

The trash has been taken out

Love this........

GO BUCKS!!

michigan funs alway walk lick they half a pol sruk up dere rear

Yeah I'm fine with them having a nickname they use for us amongst themselves and all that, but pick one that doesn't make you sound like an incompetent fool. I don't want an incompetent rival. Knowingly calling us the name of another existing school in a failed attempt to insult us would fit right in with the definition of stupid; we'd look just as stupid for the same obvious reasons if we started calling them Michigan State. In short, if their fans come here and say exceedingly stupid things like that, I will treat them like they are exceedingly stupid. :)

Yep, no doubt.

Buckeyes could beat Bama. I don't think you will find anyone who can say with certainty that OSU simply cannot compete. At the skill position OSU has as much talent as any team in the SEC. Defensively they are pretty damned good too. The only thing i don't like is the offensive line verses Bama's defensive front. Other than that its not a game that would be a walk over. Bama is not explosive. They are more like a bludgeon. Recruiting wise OSU has done well over the past years. They are talented.

Miller is a better QB than any QB in the SEC........which isn't exactly setting the bar high because SEC QBs are shit.

I'd be hard pressed to predict a score this year. Bama would probably win but it would not be the blowout thats gonna happen this fall wen they play Michigan. OSU is much more talented and can hold their own. I just don't think we generate enough offense to pull it out. Miller is learning a new scheme. The offensive line is thin. Special teams have been bad as well. When you have a team like Bama who likes to play its cards close to the vest, small mistakes can beat you. Saban plays Tressel ball.

But its not like Meyer hasn't beaten Saban before.

I hope Michigan wins. I can't stand SEC fans or their network ESPN. A Michigan win over Alabama makes our win over Michigan in November hold more relevance than it has in the past.

That's pretty much how I see it. I look for Bama to be sluggish early breaking in new offensive skill players, while scUM will high on adrenaline, hyped up to take down the defending NCs in prime time on national TV. Bama will get things on track in the second quarter, then bust it loose in the 3rd quarter as scUM eventually runs out of gas.

We'll see what kind of game coach Hoke really is because he'll be going against the best of the best, a true chess master in Saban. It'll be interesting to see if Hoke plays to win or not to lose. If he's conservative against Saban, it'll be Alabama-PSU (27-11 and 24-3) and Alabama-LSU (9-6 and 21-0) all over again...relatively low scoring because scUM won't be able to move the ball and Alabama'll churn out a win.

For Hoke, it'll be go for broke or choke.

IMHO Michigan has a puncher's chance. What cannot be factored into the analysis is D. Robinson, the most explosive player in the Big Ten and a legit Heisman candidate. I don't think UM wins but this QB they have is exceptional...as a runner. He has improved his passing each year and if he continues to improve as a senior, he'll be a hand full for any team, including Alabama.
Of course I could be wrong.

I agree but...I think Alabama's D will shut down the LOS and force him to beat them with his arm, just like they did with Jordan Jefferson. Hoke's got to know that, which is why I think his plan and game management will have to be nearly flawless. They have to punch Alabama in the nuts and stagger them, i.e., do something daring and unexpected from the outset to put Alabama back on its heels and force Saban to adapt his game plan.

Easier said than done because I was looking at Alabama's roster today. On offense, they have six starters back, including QB A.J. McCarron, a WR, and four of five OLs, including Barrett Jones, who won the Outland at OT but is sliding inside to center so that 6-6/330 Cyrus Kouandjio, who was the #1 OT in the country in 2011, can start at OT. They lost their top 4 receivers, including Trent Richardson but return his backup, who ran for almost 700 yards. And they have their PK back. But their WRs and TEs are young and green. On defense, they return both DEs, who go 6-3/285 and 6-6/294, plus their back-ups, who are 6-4/280 and 6-3/265. They lost both their starting NG and his back-up but they've got a 6-4/320 JC A-A ready to step in. None of the four LBs projected to start weighs less than 237 pounds and all were at least 4-stars coming out of HS. But they're young (3 sophs). Still, that's a huge front seven by anyone's standards, custom built to stop the run. And they also return a CB and a FS plus their punter.

Saban's defensive strategy at Alabama has been built around his linebackers. Upshaw and Hightower were their anchors. With so much talent and depth on their DL, I'd come out testing their young LBs with quick hits to the TE and RB screens and shovel passes. Instead of using the run to set up the pass, I would do just the opposite by using the pass to set up the run. Not vertically as much as diagonally. A 5-yard completion to the TE's as good as a 5-yard run. Hoke can't fall into the same trap Miles and Paterno did. Of course, if I can think of all this, chess master Nick Saban is already 10 moves ahead of me.

it's mind-blowing how fans like you have so quickly forgotten what our past schedules and future schedules look like. so texas, usc, 2002 washington state, 2003 washington, 2003 nc state, oklahoma in the future vt in the future arent good scheduling? MIND BLOWN

We have Urban I'm pretty confident he knows how to handle Bama. No comment on the rest of the B1G

Time to prepare is a great equalizer, even when a disparity in talent exists. On paper, should Boise State have beaten Georgia last year? How many 4 and 5 Star recruits did Boise State have lining up for them? Football becomes a very strange sport when teams and coaching staffs have time to prepare for an opponent. Moreover, much like Boise State, scUM will line up an experienced QB in Robinson. He is a dynamic player that is difficult to prepare a game plan against. I do believe Saban is a savant of defensive preparation, however, a defense can do everything right and a speedster like Robinson can still hurt them. The SEC has plenty of speed at the skill positions but I'm not sure any of them are taking snaps on every offensive play. Robinson can be enough of a catalyst to win. Commence downvotes...

I know 1 year and we suck scheduling. I truely wonder on this board if these people watch CF or just stuck with the OSU fan tag.