Okay, a new way
to look at what happened over the weekend with our Michigan Wolverines:
The
Good
Michigan is 3-0!!!
The Defense ranks
5th in the nation in Total Defense
Tied for 2nd
with Defensive TD’s (3 total)
The Defense has
only had to defend the red zone 4 times in 3 games…
Quinn Nordin MAKES FIELD
GOALS
The
Bad
Michigan ranks 72 in
Total Offense
Michigan ranks
tied at 51 in Turnover Margin
Michigan ranks 102
in 3rd downs converted (0.340 efficiency)
The
UGLY
Michigan is 1-9 in Red
Zone scoring ( 1 TD)
It’s NOT
ALL SPEIGHT (Even though a lot of it is on Speight)
Michigan has to
go on the road to Purdue that’s pretty good on offense, but not stellar on
defense.
What’s
it all mean?
Well,
Michigan CLEARLY HAS A Kicker that made 5 Figgies on
Saturday, tying a record held by several kickers at Michigan. Single Game Figgie’s all time:
Player FG Year Opponent
Mike
Gillete 5 1988 Minnesota
JD
Carlson 5
1980 Illinois
KC
Lopata 5 2008 Minnesota
Quinn
Nordin 5 2017 Airforce
I couldn’t remember
KC Lopata and then I remembered that was during the Rich Rod years (a lot of
brain cells destroyed that season.)
Why all the
numbers this morning? Cause the MMQ’s
alter EGO is NERVOUS and numbers make him feel better. Believe it or not: Even bad numbers have a way of
making the MMQ feel better.
But Mr. MMQ, How can a 72
rank in Total Offense and 1 TD in the Red Zone over three games possibly make
you FEEL BETTER???
I can explain.
1st, let’s look at those outstanding defensive numbers along
side the awful offensive stats. For
Michigan to be ranked 5th with an offense that’s ranked
72 (67 point differential!) is amazing.
Take a lot of comfort in the fact that regardless of how good your
defense might be, a 67 point differential from offense to defense rarely
happens! Normally, to be THAT GOOD on
defense, your offense has to at least control the ball, manage the game, and
contribute to scoring.
But MR. MMQ – The OFFENSE
AIN’T DOING THAT RIGHT NOW!
Exactly.
Meaning Michigan has a REALLY, REALLY Great Defense right
now, by the numbers. And, normally, if
your defense
is that good and it gives your offense more touches, by rule the offense should
get better.
Mr. MMQ – Don’t take this
the wrong way, but have you taken up drinking on Monday Morning’s? This offense has had three games to “Get
Better” and so far, all they’ve done is flounder around.
I agree – to a certain extent. However, it’s not all on the offense and the
players on offense. I suspected the play
calling on Saturday was a major culprit as I sat watching with AP. And sure enough, I called a series of plays from
my seat in the 74th row EXACTLY as it went down. That’s a problem if a fan can call exactly
what the offense is gonna do.
Drevno and Jimmy are either doing this on purpose to force things
(especially with the line) and to make them execute against defenses that are
undersized and maybe not that good, or they figure they can just get away with
it for the time being and lean on the “D”.
Michigan’s brain trust may want to get two or three game films out there
making everyone think they’re going to do one thing and then execute something
entirely different in subsequent games…
MR. MMQ: I guess you’re
speaking to gamesmanship and strategy. What about next Saturday? Purdue scares the Bejesus out of me…They don’t
call them Spoliermakers for nothing…
Totally agree.
Michigan opening up as a 10 point ROAD FAVORITE is not the
sort of thing I’m comfortable with.
Especially given the fact that Purdue nearly beat Louisvillle (neutral
site, and maybe not as impressive as we thought based on what Clemson did) and
DESTROYED a Mizzou team that’s kind of a mess. The Spoilers never the less have won two
games decisively with a LOT OF OFFENSE. Michigan will be FORCED TO ANSWER IN KIND on
the offensive side of the ball if they want to win. And I do think this offense is more than
capable if they can fix a couple of things and get the right play calling
behind them.
Mr. MMQ – You HAVE NOT
really made me feel better. What’s the
Take Away?
Look – A lot of you know
that I’m a gambler and
as a gambler, in poker for example, you can sometimes make the exact read you
need to make and fire the right bet only to have a guy call you and hit his
two-outer against you to take down the pot.
Sooner or later, however, there’s going to be regression to the mean
and that same sucker is going to pad your bottom line quite nicely.
It’s just the nature of
the game.
Right now, I’m
looking for a huge regression to the mean on offense. An explosion on the offense when the coaches
guess right against the other team and everything looks easy…And I hope it’s
coming soon.
This weekend
would be a great time.
Let’s Go Blue!
The
Rest of the Mess
NEW
SECTION: YHMA – You Have My Attention
Clemson:
I was sort of believing, but now I’m really believing that Clemson is
going to be back in the mix to defend their National Title. Kelly Bryant is a REALLY GOOD QB and I’m
thinking that Clemson hasn’t lost anything with the departure of
Watson. Dismantling Louisville and
getting L. Jackson to make as many mistakes as he did was a surprise, but it
was even more surprising watching what Clemson did offensively to a suspect
Louisville defense. Clemson is the ACC
favorite right now, and I don’t think that’s a knee-jerk.
Oklahoma State: Mason
Rudolph didn’t play much in the 2nd half due to the fact that he led
the Cowboys to 49 friggin’ first half points against Pitt! I really thought A: Pitt was better than that and B: I wasn’t completely sold on Okie State. I stand corrected and I’m really looking
forward to Bedlam 1 & 2 as both Oklahoma and the Cowboys should be the 1 &
2 teams in the Big iiX come the end of the season.
Va Tech:
Wow…The Hokies also blew out what used to be a decent East Carolina team
and hung 64 points on them in what was a very complete game. (over
600 yards of offense for the Hokies). The
ACC looks very ripe for the taking with only Duke standing in the
Hokies way…
CUD
– Complete, Unmitigated Disasters!!!
Nebraska: Northern Illinois is no cake walk and the
Huskies are the real deal. They’ve got
their fair share of B1G Pelts over the years, but this one comes at a really
bad time for Mike Riley. Nebraska has
started the season 1-2 going into conference play only 3 times in its history, and
two of those are under Riley.
What’s worse: Right now, the
Cornsuckers are only projected to win 2 out of their last 9 games. That’s bad for Riley, bad for Eichrost
(Husker AD who fired Crowd Hating Pelini before hiring Riley) and even
worse for Cornsuker Fans that have not had a taste of the B1G Championship in a
long time. This team is technically out of the CFP and needs a lot of help at
this point to make a bowl….
UCLA: How
bad is UCLA?? Pretty bad, especially on defense. It has to be difficult for a Coach like Mora
to have the weapon in Josh Rosen that can put his team on his
shoulders and score at will, but to then have a team like Memphis more or less
do the same thing to you. This
was the darling upset pick of the weekend and the FMQ laid off it, but I should
have seen the writing on the wall. The
Bruins are effectively out of the CFP race with this loss and may be another
team struggling to find wins at the end of the season, regardless of how well
Rosen performs the rest of the way…
Tennessee: You
didn’t See That Coming?? The play calling late in the Tennessee
Florida game had to drive the knowledgeable and average Cremesicle fan
absolutely insane. Tennessee’s tailback
Kelly is arguably their best player and he barely got a touch in the 4th
quarter. In what looked like an obvious
get it into position to go for the tie, McElwain gambled big and went for the
whole enchilada by letting Franks throw deep to score 6 as time
expired. Tennessee has lost more weird
games than any team I can think of over the last two seasons.
LSU: Is
Ogeron’s Seat Really Hot?? 3rd game of 1st full
season after interim 8 full games last season…Right now, LSU is arguably the
most TALENT – LADEN team of the SEC West.
Great athletes on both sides of the ball, just can’t execute worth a crap
on offense. And when the offense
isn’t on the field, MSU was able to pick apart and destroy the better than average LSU defense. Not sure what to make of LSU right now, but
beating Bama (and Auburn) look like huge hurdles.
Boston College:
Adazzio’s seat didn’t get any cooler and BC is off to a 1-2 start….
BAYLOR: 0-3?
0-3? Nuff said….
CBOTL
– Come Back Off the Ledge
These are losses that looked bad, but there’s no reason to
panic and sell the season duckets yet.
Louisville: It’s make no mistake time for Louisville after
they lost in incredibly convincing fashion to Clemson (see Above). Petrino can still cause problems in the ACC
and after this loss, expect to see a look from Louisville that is “not playing
scared and playing with house money.”
Texas: Two losses takes you out of the CFP
discussion, but taking the 4th ranked team to OT isn’t a bad loss and
Longhorn fans should feel good about Herman’s week #3 progress. Of course, Shorthorn fans are not a very
reasonable or rash group of people and I expect some opening game boos at the
next home game…
PGL
– Pretty Good Loss
CMU: Going up to Syracuse and losing in the Dome
is nothing to be ashamed of. MACTION
Awaits!
CSU: The Rams went into Tuscaloosa loose and ready and
somehow found a way to hang 23 points and 400 yards on the Tide Defense,
which should give everyone that wants to see Bama go down a lot of hope…
WWB
– We Won, But…We Should Be Worried
USC: Suddenly, with Stanford losing, the
Texas and Stanford victories are a little less impressive. And the Rubbers were lucky to beat Texas,
forcing a turnover in the 2nd OT….
Domers: Beat a pushover BC team and is going to have
its hands full for the next couple of weeks.
Expect some tight Domer match-ups, starting this week with Sparty.
Michigan: Still here. Michigan needs to fix the offensive problems
and they need to do it quickly as they start conference play.
Gatorland: Already discussed a little, but everyone in
the SEC East is racing to a 4-4 Conference record. Florida could have easily lost that game.
And
the Rest…
Cincinnati
vs. Miami (not that one): Cinci came off a bad Michigan loss and
rebounded to hand Miami their 2nd loss. I’m a bearcat fan for the rest of the season….
Minnesota
vs. MTSU: MTSU got ROWED OVER
in what was supposed to be a tighter game and had several talking heads stating
that MTSU
had upset potential in the Twin Cities.
Not a Chance! Minnesota is about
to head into the “YHMA” category real soon!!
Purdue
vs. Mizzou: Brohm
has Purdue playing with confidence and a LOT OF OFFENSE. Purdue just became a scary game on the
schedule.
Wiscy
vs BYU: Wow. Wiscy
is just good this season and is looking like an easy candidate to win the B1G
West, unless the Gophers and Spoilers can make some noise in the West.
The 5
Stages of Slappy Fan Grief
- Denial and Isolation –Shorthorns,
Cornsuckers, and anyone else with two losses going into conference play. Everyone knows that 1-2 teams rarely
bounce back in Conference, but here’s to that magic elixir known as “Hopium”!!
- ANGER –UCLA,
Bruin fans will not be happy with Mora and are going to want to see a
change after this season if the Bruins keep losing like they did against
Memphis. .
- Bargaining –The Entire SEC West… Just
beat Bama and we’ll call it a good season...
- Depression –Michigan –
All Alone 3-0 but without a defense can be
depressing in a weird way....
- Acceptance
–
Getting close to a few fan bases
down in this area….
Ref
Rants!
No ref rants immediately come to mind this week…IF you ever
feel there’s one the MMQ should comment on, shoot me a text or an e-mail prior
to Monday!
Idle
Thoughts from Saturday
-Easier time getting in the lot with an earlier arrival.
-Of course, 2nd game and it is Air Force
-Why did Michigan schedule Air Force?
-Right…DB
-Good crowd around the tailgate.
-Cleveland connection in the house!
-Thanks to everyone who swung by!
-12:00 kick doesn’t leave a lot of room for socializing.
-Parachuters…
-Fly-Over
-I guess there are SOME benefits to Air Force
-But it’s not enough to make me want to schedule them again
-Here we go
-Jeez…Same offensive problems, different week.
-Is there no solution to what ails the Offense?
-Thank God for Quinn
-I feel like this is going to be a recurring theme this
game/season
-TGFQ – again….
-At least the defense is playing well against the Triple
Option
-One of the hardest offenses to defend…
-This game is too tight at the half.
-Uh-oh – DPJ has some room to work!
-Thank you DPJ!!!
-And still the problems continue.
-TGFQ
-Crawford – you have to catch that ball on 3rd
down.
-Of course, Jimmy could try throwing on 1st or 2nd…
-There’s more to the offense than execution.
-TGFQ
-Drevno and Harbaugh need to use their imagination.
-I don’t feel like Michigan is 3-0
-I feel like there’s danger lurking in the B1G…
-And I know I’m not alone in that sentiment
THE MMQ’s “I DON’T NEED A COMMITTEE!”
Will return when the Committee makes their first ranking!
The Hot Seat
Still looking for Hot Coach’s wives suggestions!
This week, we’ll take a look at Jimmy’s latest wife (and
hopefully his last) and add her to the list!
ZAPPED
List
We’ll keep track of who’s gone as the season progresses….
- “Holier than Thou” Hugh
Freeze
Electric
Chair of Death Seat!
- Riley
– Nebraska. The
Cornhuskers DESPERATELY WANT to matter again in football. The AD came out this AM with a “vote of
confidence but is angry and frustrated” with the team’s performance. Sooner or later, there’s gotta be a fall
guy in Licoln…
- Kelly–
Beating a team you’re supposed to beat doesn’t get Kelly out of the
ECOD. Beat someone you’re not
supposed to and we’ll revisit
The Hot Seat
- Mulzahn: When you need a 4th quarter
score to beat FCS Mercer at home? Hot Seat #1.
- Sumlin: This won’t end well….
- Bret Bielema: What is wrong with the SEC West? Speaking of which
- Ogeron: What a disaster. Was Les advising you during the game? Also – Is Alleva feeling any of this
heat with the “hasty” hiring of Ogeron?
- Butch Jones -
Tennesse. Just
insane the way the Cremesicles lose under Butch
- McElwain –
Gatorland is still a mess….
- Mora –More
could be higher, but who do you bump down?
- Rich Rod: Arizona is a mess and he needs some wins…
- Graham: ASU – See Arizon
- Odom: Mizzou.
You’re an SEC team that’s not supposed to lose to B1G Cellar
Dweller Purdue…
- Urban Meyer: the suckeyes need to beat someone good
and I’ll take ole Urban legend off the hot seat
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