Quote:
Originally Posted by Zimmer4141
For as much as its felt like we've underperformed under Harbaugh, 9-3, 10-2, 8-4, 10-2 is a pretty damn good record in a competitive conference.
It's a reasonable feeling.
2015: Should've went 11-2. Utah loss and tOSU loss are understandable. Damn punt block miracle.
2016: Should've went 13-1. Can't lose to Iowa as a 21.5 favorite and the Ohio State game was rigged. We still get crushed in the playoffs tho.
2017: Should've went 9-4. All regular season losses are acceptable given how many players we lost but the South Carolina collapse was not, but I barely care, and by barely I mean I really don't.
2018: Should've went 12-1. We had the talent last year to beat anyone except Ohio State, Bama, Clemson, Georgia, and Oklahoma. ******ed "conservative" play cost us. We passed the ball fewer times than Wisconsin last year. That's all that needs to be said.
Some games we were just on the wrong side of variance (MSU 15, OSU 16, FSU 16). IOWA 16 is arguably in the "wrong side of variance" category too. At Iowa, at night, with the wind usually as it is + we only had an average QB at best despite his off the chart stats going into that game. The recipe for an upset was all there. Just needed a bad turnover to throw in the mix and we did that too. Same argument could be made for South Carolina. Bad QB play + bad turnovers sunk our ship. I'm not counting the Florida bowl game last year. Lost too many key players + too many key injuries. Although, like the Ohio State/ND game last year, the conservative/******ed play on offense vs Florida was nothing short of disgusting. I still can't get over that last drive before the Half. Unconscionable.
Over the last 4 years, the only game we clearly gave away was ND 2018. That's actually not that bad. Coaches are not gods after all. And the only reason to remain bitter has now been remedied: The fact that we were running an offense that was at least a decade outdated. I'm not a big fan of Harbaugh. I actually seriously think he's partially ******ed. But it's hard not to admire what he did this year. He basically looked in the mirror and decided to throw out an offense that literally made him famous. This guy has no ego. He just wants to win. That's kind've exceptional.
The key to the future will come down to running better/recruiting better at QB. I'm not saying we need a superstar every year. I'm not asking for Mayfield/Murray, Haskins, Tua, Fields, etc. But we can't have any more SP8s or Okorn's. Okorn doesn't need to be discussed but SP8 was an average QB at best with close to zero mobility, and zero WIM factor, 2016 was over before it began becuz of him.
But thank god we're finally out of this QB rut. Our top 2 QBs are way better than SP8. We just gotta keep the QB train going now. Add to that a modern offensive approach and we're positioned to have more 11-2/12-1 years going forward. Now is a time to feel really good about the state of Michigan football as long as one can accept one small brutal truth: ND 2012/2018 is our ceiling.