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The B1G is better without BoPeep on the sidelines.

Some coaches around the country are looking at this year to define (further) whether they are great coaches or good coaches or just mediocre coaches.  One is at Tennessee, which lost a lot of personnel.  Another is at Michigan, which still has some horses obviously, but is facing an almost do or die situation in terms of winning a tough Big Ten division and conference.


What if Michigan indeed has a fine team but ends up 10-3 with a Citrus Bowl win over a 9-4 Auburn?


That could happen, obviously.  I doubt Harbaugh is fired of course, but some grumbling might be heard.  You can only show recruiting success for a few years if you don't win some hardware.


UGA fired a coach that whose last two seasons included 10 wins each and recruited well.


Expectations of course can lead to disappointment.


I wonder how Arky fans think of Bielma these days if they have a 7-6 kind of season.


USC is another team supposed to be there and might not be.  And then Notre Dame is facing a year that is almost a "must win" kind of deal coming off a 4-8 campaign and a tough slate.  What if they end up 8-5 or even 9-4?

Nebraska has produced a lot of really good coaches for Ohio's mid-major programs.

There might be another one coming. Who knows.

What if Michigan indeed has a fine team but ends up 10-3 with a Citrus Bowl win over a 9-4 Auburn?


That could happen, obviously.  I doubt Harbaugh is fired of course, but some grumbling might be heard.  You can only show recruiting success for a few years if you don't win some hardware.

IMHO the crucial year for Harbaugh is 2018, not 2017. He came in to a relatively veteran team and he got them to play like veterans. Then they lost damn near EVERYONE after 2016. Everyone's discounting Michigan this year because it's such a young team. No matter how talented they are, they're not seasoned vets. And Michigan hasn't had enough time of "elite" recruiting that you'd immediately call them a "reload, not rebuild" team.

So if Michigan rolls off another 10 wins this year, people are going to be lauding Harbaugh. But if they only go 8-4 in the regular season, I don't think he's on a hot seat just yet.

2018 it all needs to come together and be in the hunt for CFP. Anything less given Harbaugh's salary, reputation, and recruiting success.

Chip did have Knight's money, but he didn't have Big Ten money. And it's not like Eugene is a cultural mecca. 165K people live there. Lincoln as 275K.

not sure Chip could do it.  but maybe...  really not sure Chip will ever get the chance

I am sure that someone can do it.  Just needs to be the right guy.  It's not impossible.

and I am sure that the program will keep looking for that "right" coach until they have him in Lincoln

I'd rather Chip was hired three years ago than Riley, but Riley is the coach and I'll support him until he proves he can't win the Big Ten.


Hopefully his team improves in it's 3rd season with a QB that can throw the ball and a real defensive coordinator


2018 is the make or break season for Riley in my opinion.  If Riley can't win 10 or 11 games and the West tile in 2018 I'll think he's no better than Pelini and it will be time to find a better coach.


Riley does seem to be recruiting better than Bo.  We shall see if that helps him be successful.

Chip won't be available after 2018. Someone is going to land him. Tennessee or Auburn or LSU would be my guess. I don't see the Butch Jones experiment lasting past next season in Tennessee, the Gus Bus hype seems to be flaming out at Auburn, and Coach O- yeah LSU might as well have a hired Bobby Boucher to coach them- that's not lasting very long if you ask me. That's why if I'm Nebraska, I'm moving on Chip Kelly right now.

Some coaches around the country are looking at this year to define (further) whether they are great coaches or good coaches or just mediocre coaches.  One is at Tennessee, which lost a lot of personnel.  Another is at Michigan, which still has some horses obviously, but is facing an almost do or die situation in terms of winning a tough Big Ten division and conference.


What if Michigan indeed has a fine team but ends up 10-3 with a Citrus Bowl win over a 9-4 Auburn?


That could happen, obviously.  I doubt Harbaugh is fired of course, but some grumbling might be heard.  You can only show recruiting success for a few years if you don't win some hardware.


UGA fired a coach that whose last two seasons included 10 wins each and recruited well.


Expectations of course can lead to disappointment.


I wonder how Arky fans think of Bielma these days if they have a 7-6 kind of season.


USC is another team supposed to be there and might not be.  And then Notre Dame is facing a year that is almost a "must win" kind of deal coming off a 4-8 campaign and a tough slate.  What if they end up 8-5 or even 9-4?

yeah, no. don't see it.

UGA fired Richt because he was there for FIFTEEN years and never broke through. Harbaugh is only going on year 3. He took over a program that was in the wilderness for a decade and literally had no QB. He had to get a Kirk Ferentz reject to be his QB year 1 and he had to work minor miracles with Wilton Speight in year 2. It's not like Meyer who stepped right into a situation where the perfect guy for his system- Braxton Miller was there waiting for him- and so was Cardale Jones- the QB who eventually won that National Title.

2017 was never "the year" for Michigan. It was always about 2018 and beyond.

The schedule sets up nicely for them to go about 10-3, maybe even 11-2 if they catch some breaks. There is literally no pressure there. The guy is still playing with house money.

This Michigan team is very young, but it's extremely talented. There is more talent on this roster than they have had in like a decade. The frosh WR's Oliver Martin, Tarik Black, Nico Collins, and Donovan Peoples-Jones have all been making noise in camp. They have more explosive athletes on offense than they have had in a long time. Eddie McDoom, Chris Evans, Kekoa Crawford- those were guys who got some time last year and showed flashes. They are explosive athletes. Been a long time since Michigan has had a roster full of guys like that on offense. This is a very young team- but they are oozing with talent.

2018 was always going to be his put up or shut up year. He won't feel any pressure going forward until then. 2018 sets up very nicely. Most of the defense will be back and have experience under Don Brown, QB Speight will be a Senior, and all the WR's and young OL will have a year or two of experience. If anything he's only far exceeded expectations thus far.