The Blue Board

I will say 9-3.

Perfection. Thank you

I'd say 9-3 with losses to Bama, Neb, and OSU. I see The Domers getting super-hyped and providing a great atmosphere only to have their hopes dashed in a close one. They obviously could lose or win one more to go 10-2 or 8-4.

Bama, L
Air Force, W
UMASS. W
ND, W
Purdue, W
Illinois, W
Michigan St, L
Nebraska, W
Minnesota, W
Northwestern, W
Iowa, W
OSU, W

I think that is something getting overlooked. Michigan was 8-0 at home last year, 3-2 in games played away from AA. MSU was 7-0 at home last year, 4-3 in games played away from EL.

Not really. We generally play Iowa tough, even on the road. UM fans still seem to be suffering PTSD from the RR years.

The only games we had trouble in last year were ND, NW, MSU, Iowa and OSU. Three of those were road games and we really didn't play well. The other two games were unusual. The ND game was early in the season before our new D really came together. Yes, we were very lucky to win it, but if we had played that game in November we would have slaughtered them. We improved substantially during the course of the season, while ND arguably got worse. And OSU came into AA with nothing to lose and surprised us with a wide open passing attack they hadn't shown all year. It nearly worked, but OSU's defense couldn't contain our offense.

People should think twice about projecting us to lose any home games this year. We didn't lose any last year and our home schedule is much easier this year. It will come down to our road games. ND, Nebraska and OSU all will be tough, but they're hardly unbeatable. ND will be close. It always is. Nebraska is likely to have another very good but not great team. And OSU is impossible to predict. They will likely have growing pains as they transition to a spread offense, but they should be a much improved team by the end of the season when they play us. None of those three games is a guaranteed win, but none are guaranteed losses either. Every one of those games is winnable, depending on how we play.

Loss vs. Michigan State. Dennard is a poor passer, and has struggled every time against MSU. Spartans take 5 straight against M.

Losses to OSU, MSU, Notre Dame, Alabama and Nebraska.

I think too many B1G fans associated the OSU team they played(with several starters suspended) to the OSU team that Michigan played at the end of the year, who were playing for a continuation of their bowl streak and a silver lining victory over their rival to polish off what had been a nightmarish season. Posey had fresh legs and was a beast at the end of the year. OSU with a full roster was a good team last year,Fickell's conservative coaching and poor imitation of "Tresselball," combined with the suspensions and the awfulness of Bauserman really torpedoed their season. They will be good this year as well but will still lack the "playmakers"(other than Miller and their TE, Stonewhateverhisnameis) Urban needs to be a dominating team.

Also, people are giving Purdue way too much credit in these predictions. While they return a lot of starters, they barely beat a fairly unimpressive MAC team in their bowl game, needing a couple of random successful onside kicks to barely eek out a victory. Tiller has not proven to be an especially great coach, and their QBs looked pretty terrible in most of the games I watched. Their defense was also pretty bad.

I didn't even mention the suspension issue, but the loss of Adams, Herron and Posey gutted their offense for the first seven games. They were an entirely different team by the time we played them.

Yea.....you're one of the vaginas I was talking about.

12-0 your prediction? Outstanding.

****I hate your dumb ass***

12-0. End of story.

I am damn near shocked so many UM fans are predicting a loss against MSU. You guys talk such a big game over in the UM/MSU flame thread. What gives? You guys..... actually respect our team?

It's starting to make more sense with all the little brother jokes. It started off as a funny, "haha" moment when little Mikey ran his mouth. Now it's a battlecry to go back to the JLS days.

Bama:

W - I may be drinking too much koolaid, but I honestly think Michigan pulls out the shocker. Here's why...(It's long because you guys are going to have to see my reasoning)

Michigan's O vs. Bama's D - Bama's D is full of talent, and they will be one of the best in the country, but the X-Factor in this one is Denard. As reported in the spring, he decreased his interceptions by a factor of 4. If that is truly the case, it means he is making better decisions. Couple good decision making with his explosive athletic ability and it will be difficult to contain him. This is a big IF though. I fear that when he steps into a game, he gets too excited and that's when his decision making is poor as are his mechanics. He's proved to be a hard worker, and knows what he needs to correct so I see him being the difference maker. Though Bama's D will be stout, Michigan will score enough to be in position to win the game.

Michigan's D vs. Bama's O - Bama's offense is not designed to score a lot of points and their passing game vs. UM's secondary doesn't scare me, what does is the rushing game. The OL and RBs for Bama will be tough to stop. The X-Factor here is that Bama has a new OC (I think I read that somewhere). Will there be wrinkles that nobody has seen before? Absolutely. It is a matter of how well Mattison adjusts to them, and there is nobody in the country that I would have more faith in than him. Michigan's DL is somewhat suspect since they are replacing a lot, and there are several position changes, but I think they hold their own. The back 7 all return and should be very solid, and good enough to slow down the rushing attack from Bama. Bama's O will win the battle, but I think Michigan's O does too, so the score will be close.

Somewhat random prediction: This game will be decided by a special teams TD.

AF:

W - Triple option is tricky, but Michigan wins this with more talent.

UMASS:

W - Cupcake

ND:

W - If I'm not mistaken, ND has MSU the week before and they will be beat up. No answer at QB for the Irish, and Michigan's D will start clicking the 4th game, much like it did last year. Won't be as close as others have predicted.

Purdue:

W - They can't match up, and will probably see a bit of their former commit in 3rd string QB Russell Bellomy.

Illinois:

W - Tricky game, and they will hang around, but Michigan has more talent, and at the time, better coaching.

MSU:

W - This will be a tough game, and falls in that toss-up category with Bama, Nebraska, and OSU, but Hoke and Co. know that they must win, and after getting beat up last year, UM will bring the fight.

Nebraska:

L - Lincoln is tough to play in, and they will be looking for revenge after being embarrassed last year. Michigan will be worn down following the battle with MSU the week prior.

Minnesota:

W - At this point in the season, I think Kill's health will play a factor (and that's a shame, hate to see that), and Michigan just has too much talent.

Northwestern:

W - Michigan stuggles early, much like last year, but pulls it out by 2 TDs.

Iowa:

W - Michigan is due, though this will be a close one.

OSU:

W - This is a toss-up being in CBUS, but Hoke will have his kids ready for this game, and I am not convinced that Meyer is the immediate answer, though OSU will be playing in their bowl game. In all honesty, I'm only picking UM because I'm a fan, and this one will be a battle for sure.

That's 11-1 folks, which even to me seems impractical. The more I think about Bama, the more that game scares me. Let's go with 10-2...