The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/901162
DECEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 5 FROM OUR READERS 1. Win the next three games — Rut- gers, Minnesota and Maryland. 2. Win one of the last two games — Wisconsin or Ohio State. It is good to keep in mind that Michi- gan has not won a single major game this season except for the Florida game. It has lost to Michigan State and Penn State. However, if it won against either Wisconsin or Ohio State, that would be a major step forward and would provide momentum for next year. Of course, I will have egg in my face if we lose any of the next three games. That will show that we cannot rebound from disappointment against teams that we should beat. Yet I feel we can do it, and the final part is to win one of the last two. Take your pick which one. I have my favorite, but you may have yours. It all depends on improvement in ar- eas of weakness. It might help to spell out what those areas are and what can be done to overcome them. Dave Hershey Dallas Our postgame grades are going to reflect what we see on the field, and that was not a good performance against the Nittany Lions. But since then, Michigan has nailed your first step; we'll see if they can manage to accomplish the second. Setting them- selves up for a third straight 10-win season is quite the feat, especially in light of what they lost from last year's team. Dear The Wolverine: I'm sorry but who in their right mind would even suggest getting rid of Jim Harbaugh? I cannot stand fair- weather, bandwagon fans. Harbaugh is the best thing that has happened to Michigan in a very long time. I admit I'm biased when it comes to Michigan, but I'm sick and tired of these college football polls and talking heads (ESPN especially) dogging the Big Ten. While I don't like it, and don't agree with Michigan being left out of the CFP poll, I understand the reason- ing to some extent. They have no wins vs. teams with a winning record, that's not good! However, listening to Nick Saban's talking head Paul Finebaum makes me want to scream. Why are Alabama and Georgia deserving of a playoff spot even though one of them will lose in SEC title game? Why is a two-loss Au- burn more deserving than a potentially unbeaten Wisconsin? The College Football Playoff should not be a rematch between two teams that just played. Outside of SEC coun- try, nobody wants to see that. That said, the Big Ten has been em- barrassing the past two years in blow- out losses by Sparty and the Buckeyes. It's time for a six- to eight-team playoff and then if two teams from the same conference end up in the title game, they would've had to go through top teams from other conferences to get there. As always Go Blue, hopefully our time is coming soon. Laura Webb Lakeland, Fla. We agree with your first point about Harbaugh being the best thing that has happened to Michigan in a long time. The College Football Playoff will work itself out. Any listing before the final one Dec. 3 is essentially meaningless and just a ploy to help the ratings of Harbaugh's best buddy "Pete" Finebaum and the rest of his talking head brethren. We have a hard time seeing an unbeaten Wisconsin team left out — regardless of whom they have or have not played. Dear The Wolverine: I am a homer. I like liking, support- ing, touting or otherwise elevating my team — the Michigan Wolverines. And I particularly like doing that with the football team. I think any criticism that I have leveled has in general been meek. However, let's face it, the Rich Ro- driguez years were painful, even as we enjoyed the exciting talents of Denard Robinson. Brady Hoke delivered success in 2011 basically coaching players re- cruited by Rodriguez. The fan base, me included, looked at the record — 8-5 in 2012, 7-6 in 2013, 5-7 in 2014 — and continuing losses to Ohio State, with no reasonable expectation for a run at a conference championship, and concluded that it had been too long a drought. Hoke had to go. I find it interesting that the expecta- tion for this season after the two losses to MSU and PSU has turned pessimis- tic for the remainder of the year. That pessimism has been fueled by less than stellar play while gaining victories. The Michigan State loss can be blamed on multiple factors, including the weather, turnovers, loss of Wilton Speight to injury and the inability of the offensive line to meet expectations. I did not expect to lose to MSU, but I was only surprised that Penn State handled Michigan so easily. Rutgers did not look like a pushover for the Wolverines in the early going. Credit Harbaugh with responding to the need to replace John O'Korn with Brandon Peters. It was like throwing a switch for the Michigan offense. We hope for continued favorable execution know- ing there are no guarantees. None of the remaining games look to be easy from where I sit. I think that realistically, Michigan looks to beat Minnesota and Maryland. We all know that it has to be done on the field, not by declaration in a letter. The formula for winning at Wiscon- sin or in The Big House against Ohio State depends on Michigan playing better than their talent. One might ar- gue the talent differential with Wiscon- sin, but that is negated by the fact that Michigan plays Wisconsin at Camp Randall. In both of those games, regardless of the outcomes of Minnesota and Mary- land, Michigan has to do what they have not done in a long time. And that is, play better than their talent. That ingredient is what I have not seen in a Michigan team since I can't remember when. Harbaugh's Stanford team did it 2007 against Southern Cal. Bo Schembechler did it multiple times, but the sine qua non (perhaps a medical phrase) of those victories was the 1969 victory over Ohio State at home in his first season as head coach. Recognizing that the players play the game, I would like to see Harbaugh find the spark of success for this team just as he did at Stanford. I am a homer and the table is set. Go Blue!! J. Richard Jaconette, M.D. Battle Creek, Mich. After wins over Minnesota and Mary- land, the table is set for an all-important finish and just the opportunity you de- scribed. Ten wins — in what was a rebuild- ing year — are still a possibility, and then Harbaugh's machine should really kick in to overdrive. No pessimism here. Be Heard! Send your letters to: Wolverine Letters • P.O. Box 1304 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Or e-mail: ryantice@comanpub.com Letters may be edited for clarity or length.