<p>But a win is a win, and we all knew Iowa was going to be tough. At this stage, only a highly improbably collapse stands between Michigan and an 11-0 record going into the November 18th OSU game.</p>
<p>Definitely, Ball State and Indiana are a joke but doesn't Northwestern have a reputation for pulling off upsets in the Big Ten? I don't know about OSU, Smith and Ginn are so electrifying. It just seems like Michigan lacks that kind of "spark" on the field but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.</p>
<p>That spark is Mario Manningham who should be ready to go against OSU.</p>
<p>we're not going to score a lot of points. our defense is our strength.
that game wasn't THAT ugly. ok the first half, we started a bit slow, but we dominated the second half.</p>
<p>BigE21, Mario will indeed most likely be back against OSU, but will he be at 100%? If he is, Michigan is going to be lethal, with Henne having MM to throw to for the long ball, Arrington to throw to for the intermediate ball and Breaston to throw to for the short ball. But I don't think Manningham will be at 100%. If Michigan is to have a chance against OSU, four things need to happen:</p>
<p>1) Michigan will have to control the line on both sides of the ball. </p>
<p>2) Hart must have a good day</p>
<p>3) Leon Hall must find a way to neutralize Ted Ginn.</p>
<p>4) Woodley and crew must make Smith pay for whatever passes he completes...make him think twice before many another good play.</p>
<p>michigan needs to get 100k down at the shoe to win...</p>
<p>im a huge michigan fan but troy smith is a beast. he is the best, most electrifying player in the country. if theres one key to victory its gonna be shutting him down. obviously, easier said than done. michigans gotta play hard hit hard work hard. lloyd usually has his team prepared, but OSU is most certainly not a pushover </p>
<p>Michigan's strength is obviously their defense. we allow sub 40 rush yards a game but slightly over 200 pass yards a game... the problem is michigan hasnt played very many good teams... yea we wrecked Notre Dame but since then the teams have been mediocre at best... not one ranked team</p>
<p>and when the other team only manages two field goals i dont think it can really be considered an ugly win... Texas and Notre Dame were ugly wins... Michigan was never even trailing.</p>
<p>btw, if notre dame is in the top 10 this week im boycotting BCS rankings... they should have 3 losses so far and have not played well this season whatsoever... its just becuase they are the most famous and one of hte most popular programs they get higher rankings to get higher ratings for bowl games...</p>
<p>Crouton, I agree that Troy Smith is good...but so is Henne. And between Smith and our front 7, I have to say our front 7 are better. But I agree that OSU is going to be very tough.</p>
<p>One more thing, people underestimate our schedule. Trips to Notre Dame, Penn State and Minnesota were not easy, nor were Wisconsin, MSU and Iowa. Those 6 games were as tough a 6 game stretch as I have seen. True that there weren't any world-beaters among them, but most of those teams are worthy opponents.</p>
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the problem is michigan hasnt played very many good teams... yea we wrecked Notre Dame but since then the teams have been mediocre at best... not one ranked team
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</p>
<p>Wisconsin's been ranked for a week or two now and are undefeated with the exception of thier loss at Michigan.</p>
<p>Also, great article about U of M football from ESPN today:</p>
<p>Confirming that Pat Forde is a talented writer and that Lamar Woodley gives really funny interviews.</p>
<p>Trip to Minnesota isn't easy? Did you not witness the game that took place there today?</p>
<p>Michigan State wasn't easy? Friggen Northwestern was up on them 38-3! I don't care about the end result, Northwestern being up 35 points on you is embarassing enough.</p>
<p>A2Wolves, I never said those were all top teams. I said that those were tough games, especially when played consecutively and without a bye week. </p>
<p>Notre Dame and Wisconsin are 7-1 and they are rivals of the first degree. Those are legitimately tough teams. MSU always plays Michigan hard, even when they aren't good. Same thing goes for Iowa. At PSU and at Minnesota are never easy either. All in all, coming out of that 6 game series undefeated is impressive. Coming out of that gauntlet averaging 30 points per game and allowing just 13 points per game is even more impressive.</p>
<p>Henne and company have already proved that last year's record was a fluke but we'll find out if we're championship material soon enough.</p>
<p>It's a little more difficult when you consider that a lot of these teams consider Michigan to be the "big" game on their schedule every year (Minnesota for the Jug, MSU, Penn State, OSU), and probably the second biggest game for some others (Iowa after Iowa State and Notre Dame after USC).</p>
<p>MSU was up a similar number of points on ND, but you don't hear anyone calling them embarassing. Hell, ND gets hailed as heros for having to make comebacks against mid-level teams.</p>
<p>Notre Dame's placement is about right in the rankings. However, I can't believe USA Today still ranks USC ahead of Michigan!</p>
<p>Indiana SHOULD be an easy game, and I'm sure that's what Iowa thought. Ball State is really the only truly easy game we have left before OSU. Indiana and Northwestern have been erratic, to say the least. Let's just hope they play their "normal" games against Michigan, especially sans Mannigham.</p>
<p>After watching the Iowa game, it was clear that Manningham is a true difference maker and we will need him 100% against OSU. If he is 100%, OSU will have their hands full. However, although my heart is with Michigan, my money would be on OSU... especially playing at home. OSU has shown they are currently in a class by themselves. Maybe their armor will show a few cracks before the big game.</p>
<p>Michigan moved up to second in the BCS rankings.</p>
<p>If Manningham is back at 100% vs OSU (which is highly unlikely), then I actually think Michigan has the edge going into Columbus. I just don't see how any defense can possibly handle Henne, Arrington, Manningham, Breaston and Hart. But the most likely scenario is that Manningham will be back, but at 75% or so. Given that he wouldn't be at 100%, I think there is a 50/50 chance for either team. OSU is excellent, but I think Michigan has more depth on defense, a more unpredictible playbook, a hunger to prove the critics wrong and a 1-4 record vs OSU over the last 5 years. Those are very strong intangibles.</p>