Phil Steele: Michigan to Face LSU in Gator Bowl, Jan 1, 2011

by markusr2007 on Jul 20, 2010 3:54 AM CDT

Does anybody know what Phil Steele is smoking this month? So USC gets NCAA sanctions and the guy is suddenly high on Michigan? What gives?

I agree with the prediction of Michigan returning to bowl eligibility in 2010, but the freaking Gator Bowl?

Rich Rodriguez versus Les Miles! LSU vs. Michigan for the first time ever! Wow man, like far out! Except I'm not rolling large enough joints to share Phil Steele's magnificent clairvoyance on this one. Sure, it'd be an excellent game to watch. And all Michigan has to do is finish 4th or 5th in the Big Ten this fall. Looking back on last year's standings, that's like asking 2010 Michigan to pull off a 2009 Northwestern or Wisconsin. Possible yes. I'm just not sure right now. Maybe after Michigan defeats UConn in the opener and then has Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish in a 4th quarter chokehold, it'll all become crystal clear to me.

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Is it really so far fetched?

We have 7 games we should be expected to win, the first 4, illinois, purdue and indiana. Iowa and Michigan state barely beat us last year, Penn State lost key defensive players and their qb. The toughest 2 games will be Wisconsin and Ohio State, fortunately both are at the end of the season. Our offense will be better than the 29.5 ppg we averaged last year, with was nearly a 9 point increase over the season before. Turnovers also decreased from 47 to 28 last season. Imagine if we get that under 20..which is a strong possibility with another year of experience.
Defensively, I believe that Ezeh and Mouton will get it together. They played well before last year and they will improve with another year in the system. It is expected to have a drop in production and to make more mistakes in a new scheme. The O was considerably better in its 2nd year than the first and the D should follow suit. Keep in mind we only gave up 67 pass yards to OSU last year, and they are NC contenders(?)

by Canzior on Jul 20, 2010 9:41 AM CDT reply actions

Love the write up and the optimism

I think you’re right that Michigan will have a substanitally better year than last season, but a Jan 1 bowl game does seem like a bit of a stretch in July. However, I wouldn’t put too much stock in the OSU passing attack being a good indicator. Tressel didn’t need to throw the ball in that game and he wasn’t about to let Pryor screw the game up by chucking it at the linebackers all day. Once he got picked by mouton, Tressel shut the passing game down and simply took advantage of Michigan’s inability to clog the rushing lanes. Our pass defense had little to do with the yards OSU put up in the air.

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by Maize n Brew Dave on Jul 20, 2010 10:39 AM CDT up reply actions