We have yet to play better than our "B" game. We have significant injuries at key positions--which we pretty much avoided the last 2 years. Some of our younger guys have not played as well as we expected (eg., Nicholson). And our OL, which was thought to be the absolute strength of our team, has performed well below expectations (perhaps because of injury?). Thus, our FOUR WINS have been somewhat underwhelming. (Note, we haven't "covered" in any of our four wins--which IMO, accounts for a lot of the bitching we've seen on this site).
Nonetheless, we are EXACTLY where we all hoped we would be: 4-0--and highly ranked. But, candidly, we do not deserve to be ranked number 2 at this time. Our "signature win" over Oregon now appears much less impressive. (Although, contrary to the BS our UofM friends are spewing, Oregon was a far better team when we played them than the team that played Utah last night.) Our No. 2 ranking is built primarily on the backs of our 2013 and 2014 teams--both of which finished in the top 5 in the national polls. And, frankly, AP pollsters are pretty lazy. They look at scores, past performance and "expectations" and cast their votes. They don't look particularly deeply into a team's body of work--and seldom watch the entire games of the teams that end up on their ballot. So, the AP poll is quite flawed--at least until we get much deeper into the season.
The jury is still out as to the strength of our pre-season schedule. Coach D maintains that it was a very tough schedule--because all of our opponents played in bowls last year. That is true. However, on the other hand, as we all know, last year's performance does not accurately predict THIS season's results. So, we will see . . . My personal opinion is that Air Force, WMU and CMU were better than I thought they would be. Every team played extremely hard (perhaps because they were playing a top 5 team?) and they held up better in the trenches then I thought they were capable of. When we played Oregon, I did'nt think they looked as good as the team we played last year.
I would guess when the first "official" polls come out in a few weeks we will be ranked in the top 5. Barring a couple big upsets, I don't think we will be ranked in the top 4--primarily because our signature win will not look particularly good by that time. (I think Oregon will have a very tough time righting the ship. I wouldn't be surprised to see Oregon lose at least one more game--that beat-down by Utah likely will have long-term implications to Oregon's confidence. Don't be surprised to see a 6-6 season now from the Ducks.) But, so long as we stay in the Top 10 (or Top 15), it doesn't really matter. The Neb game, UofM game and the OSU game will ultimately determine how successful this season will be. (And, I think Air Force and either WMU or CMU will ultimately have pretty strong seasons--which will help our strength of schedule factor.)
Assuming we are able to get to the OSU game without a loss (which I'm not especially confident of, right now) that game will determine which B1G team will likely represent the conference in the CFB Playoff. We have a long way to go for that to occur. We have huge injury concerns: Conklin, Keiler, Price, Heath, McDowell (altho it appears he's ok), Davis, Copeland, Williamson--am I missing someone? While we have good depth, we are now RELYING on second teamers, in large measure, to take us to the CFB Playoff. Guys, this is not a recipe for success. We have had very good luck with injuries the last few years. It appears that our luck has turned for the worse, this year.
For us to make it to the OSU game without a loss, our offense needs to carry us. And, for that to happen, we really need Conklin, Price and Keiler back--soon. Although we scored 30 yesterday, we were far from impressive doing so. In my opinion, Coach Warner needs to ride Cook. Although Cook can be a little erratic, he can also be light's out (see Rose Bowl). We need to put this offense on Cook's back--tell him we need to score 40 every game--and let him take us. He has great weapons: Burbridge, Kings, Price (if healthy) Lyles and Shelton. All are great talents. In my opinion, with the exception of Burbridge, all are under-utilized. I realize Warner's instructions are to protect the Defense (ie., control the ball) but I believe a 60-40 ratio of pass to run will result in more scoring, open more running lanes and give our team the mindset that we need to score 40 or more to win. Ultimately, if we make it to the CFB Playoff we are going to play teams like Baylor, TCU, UCLA, OSU, Ole Miss, etc--and all of these teams score in bunches!
In year's past I might not advocate for a change in philosophy. But, based on season-ending injuries to 2 of our best defensive players (Davis and Copeland) and the struggles of some of our anticipated stalarts (eg., Harris) I don't see this as being a typical Dantonio defense. IMO, we will not end the year in the Top 15 of defenses in the nation. (I am not prepared to say this is the result of the loss of Coach Narduzzi--but I'm certainly not ruling that out as a significant factor.) So, I'm hoping for a slight change in philosophy--a bit more offense-oriented approach.
Coach D is a pragmatist. He's results oriented. Look at the Cotton Bowl. He's not opposed to opening it up, when necessary. I think we are getting close to that point. I'm hoping Coach D takes the next few weeks to get us ready to play the huge games still to come.
While we don't deserve the No. 2 ranking we are currently [saddled with]. We haven't played even close to our "A" game. We still haven't seen this team operate at peak performance. And, while I don't think we will see our defense get to an elite level this year (our db's are nowhere near as solid as the last few years) we still have the possibility of going to Columbus undefeated. If that occurs, we have a chance. And, Coach D will have our guys ready to play. We will not be intimidated. But, for this opportunity to occur, IMO, we need to ride Cook and our offense. And, I think coach D knows this . . .
Nonetheless, we are EXACTLY where we all hoped we would be: 4-0--and highly ranked. But, candidly, we do not deserve to be ranked number 2 at this time. Our "signature win" over Oregon now appears much less impressive. (Although, contrary to the BS our UofM friends are spewing, Oregon was a far better team when we played them than the team that played Utah last night.) Our No. 2 ranking is built primarily on the backs of our 2013 and 2014 teams--both of which finished in the top 5 in the national polls. And, frankly, AP pollsters are pretty lazy. They look at scores, past performance and "expectations" and cast their votes. They don't look particularly deeply into a team's body of work--and seldom watch the entire games of the teams that end up on their ballot. So, the AP poll is quite flawed--at least until we get much deeper into the season.
The jury is still out as to the strength of our pre-season schedule. Coach D maintains that it was a very tough schedule--because all of our opponents played in bowls last year. That is true. However, on the other hand, as we all know, last year's performance does not accurately predict THIS season's results. So, we will see . . . My personal opinion is that Air Force, WMU and CMU were better than I thought they would be. Every team played extremely hard (perhaps because they were playing a top 5 team?) and they held up better in the trenches then I thought they were capable of. When we played Oregon, I did'nt think they looked as good as the team we played last year.
I would guess when the first "official" polls come out in a few weeks we will be ranked in the top 5. Barring a couple big upsets, I don't think we will be ranked in the top 4--primarily because our signature win will not look particularly good by that time. (I think Oregon will have a very tough time righting the ship. I wouldn't be surprised to see Oregon lose at least one more game--that beat-down by Utah likely will have long-term implications to Oregon's confidence. Don't be surprised to see a 6-6 season now from the Ducks.) But, so long as we stay in the Top 10 (or Top 15), it doesn't really matter. The Neb game, UofM game and the OSU game will ultimately determine how successful this season will be. (And, I think Air Force and either WMU or CMU will ultimately have pretty strong seasons--which will help our strength of schedule factor.)
Assuming we are able to get to the OSU game without a loss (which I'm not especially confident of, right now) that game will determine which B1G team will likely represent the conference in the CFB Playoff. We have a long way to go for that to occur. We have huge injury concerns: Conklin, Keiler, Price, Heath, McDowell (altho it appears he's ok), Davis, Copeland, Williamson--am I missing someone? While we have good depth, we are now RELYING on second teamers, in large measure, to take us to the CFB Playoff. Guys, this is not a recipe for success. We have had very good luck with injuries the last few years. It appears that our luck has turned for the worse, this year.
For us to make it to the OSU game without a loss, our offense needs to carry us. And, for that to happen, we really need Conklin, Price and Keiler back--soon. Although we scored 30 yesterday, we were far from impressive doing so. In my opinion, Coach Warner needs to ride Cook. Although Cook can be a little erratic, he can also be light's out (see Rose Bowl). We need to put this offense on Cook's back--tell him we need to score 40 every game--and let him take us. He has great weapons: Burbridge, Kings, Price (if healthy) Lyles and Shelton. All are great talents. In my opinion, with the exception of Burbridge, all are under-utilized. I realize Warner's instructions are to protect the Defense (ie., control the ball) but I believe a 60-40 ratio of pass to run will result in more scoring, open more running lanes and give our team the mindset that we need to score 40 or more to win. Ultimately, if we make it to the CFB Playoff we are going to play teams like Baylor, TCU, UCLA, OSU, Ole Miss, etc--and all of these teams score in bunches!
In year's past I might not advocate for a change in philosophy. But, based on season-ending injuries to 2 of our best defensive players (Davis and Copeland) and the struggles of some of our anticipated stalarts (eg., Harris) I don't see this as being a typical Dantonio defense. IMO, we will not end the year in the Top 15 of defenses in the nation. (I am not prepared to say this is the result of the loss of Coach Narduzzi--but I'm certainly not ruling that out as a significant factor.) So, I'm hoping for a slight change in philosophy--a bit more offense-oriented approach.
Coach D is a pragmatist. He's results oriented. Look at the Cotton Bowl. He's not opposed to opening it up, when necessary. I think we are getting close to that point. I'm hoping Coach D takes the next few weeks to get us ready to play the huge games still to come.
While we don't deserve the No. 2 ranking we are currently [saddled with]. We haven't played even close to our "A" game. We still haven't seen this team operate at peak performance. And, while I don't think we will see our defense get to an elite level this year (our db's are nowhere near as solid as the last few years) we still have the possibility of going to Columbus undefeated. If that occurs, we have a chance. And, Coach D will have our guys ready to play. We will not be intimidated. But, for this opportunity to occur, IMO, we need to ride Cook and our offense. And, I think coach D knows this . . .
