MichiganCardinal

I agree with this. The lack of turnovers was the biggest key to the Lions success down the stretch last season. Goff had that remarkable consecutive streak without a pick and everyone was taking care of the ball. They’ve averaged 2.25 turnovers and giving up 27 points per game in the last five. Those need to improve.

I don’t like that argument for saying the Lions aren’t good. They’re 1-2 against teams with a winning record, and they’ll be 1-1 if the Seahawks lose to the Cowboys on Thursday. You can’t lose games you don’t play. I think it’s more important that they’re 7-1 against teams with a losing record. They win games they should win. Speaking of the Cowboys, they’re 0-2 against teams with a winning record. Does that mean if they lose to the Seahawks they’ll finish 8-9? If you want to say the Lions are not one of the top 3-5 teams in the NFL, I’ll agree with you. Because that’s the only group that consistently beats teams with winning records. But I think it’s silly to say that means they’ll finish 8-9 if they don’t beat the Saints.

It means the Lions are a good team with a lot of talent on the roster. They’ve played poorly the last five weeks and are still 3-2 in that time and 8-3 overall. Even if they continue to play poorly, they’ll likely hang with the teams on their schedule and find at least a win or two, barring a total collapse. They’re a good team.

He needs to fire himself. All the reports before the draft were that Tepper forced them to take Young despite the coaching staff wanting Stroud.

Ben Johnson is one smart man for removing himself from consideration for this dumpster fire.

I think the Packers are just a well coached team with mediocre talent. You can’t lose the turnover battle by 3 (4 if you count the failed fake) to a team like that and expect to win the game. That’s not even mentioning that their script to start the game scored two easy touchdowns on your defense.

I agree. It’s due time for them to come out and play a complete four quarter game how they did against Carolina this year, Jacksonville last year, or Arizona the year before. Show people you are legit.

One pattern that could be emerging... We have lost to two great coaches this year in Carroll and Harbaugh, and split with a good one in LaFleur, while beating one great coach in Reid and beating up on mediocre to bad coaching in Arthur Smith, Todd Bowles, Frank Reich, Josh McDaniels, and Brandon Staley. Certainly there is some element of chicken-and-egg here, good coaches tend to have good teams, but Dennis Allen would definitely be the worst coach we have lost to this season, and be the first loss to a team with a clearly worse coach than Campbell. I think I like the Lions here. They have the better roster top to bottom and seem too talented to not bounce back.

vs. Setting: 12/03/2023, 1:00pm on FOX Site: Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA Weather: Climate Controlled Opening Spread: Lions -3 All-Time Series Record: Saints lead, 14-12-1 Last Meeting: 10/04/2020, Saints won 35-29 New Orleans Saints (5-6) Head Coach: Dennis Allen (5th Season: 20-44) Projected Starting QB: Derek Carr (10th Season: 68-85) Last Game: 24-15 L @ Atlanta Falcons (5-6) Looking Ahead to Week #14: Sunday v. Carolina Panthers (1-10) Your Detroit Lions (8-3) Head Coach: Dan Campbell (3rd Season: 20-24-1) Projected Starting QB: Jared Goff (8th Season: 62-48-1) Last Week: 29-22 L v. Green Bay Packers (5-6) Looking Ahead to Week #14: Sunday @ Chicago Bears (3-8)* Elsewhere in the NFL Primetime: Seahawks @ Cowboys (TNF), Chiefs @ Packers (SNF), Bengals @ Jaguars (MNF) 1:00pm: Chargers @ Patriots, Falcons @ Jets, Cardinals @ Steelers, Colts @ Titans, Dolphins @ Commanders, Broncos @ Texans 4:05/4:25pm: Panthers @ Buccaneers, Browns @ Rams, 49ers @ Eagles BYE: Ravens, Bills, Bears, Raiders, Vikings, Giants

Also imagine having Riley Patterson instead of Jake Elliot and having to go for it on 4th and 17 there because you never addressed the position.

I thought Buffalo’s offensive problems were Ken Dorsey? Why are we taking a knee with Josh Allen and a timeout with 20 seconds left. I want them to win, but losing the coin toss and not getting the ball is more fitting here. Let your last offensive play in a loss be taking a knee.

Why wouldn’t both make it? I think Texas gets the short end of the Power 5 stick if FSU wins.

I do think it would mean the infrastructure surrounding the program would stay largely intact, notwithstanding Harbaugh taking some of his people with him. In the same way Meyer left Day on third base, Harbaugh would leave Sherrone Moore incredibly well setup for continued success. Does that mean he is guaranteed to have Harbaugh’s success, of course not (see: Day). If you bring in someone new like Mark Stoops or Jonathan Smith or Mike Elko, they’re going to want to bring in their own staff and reinvent the wheel to some extent. Which, if you’re Michigan State, you desperately want and welcome with open arms. When the wheel looks well on its way to a third consecutive B1G Championship though, maintaining as much as you can is probably preferred.

The only decent team Iowa has played was Penn State and they got embarrassed. Not to say their defense isn’t good, it is, but it doesn’t face good competition often at all and their offense is abysmal. I don’t think this will be a close game at all. Something like 30-3 Michigan

I think that's what made this year so much more important. It was the last of the traditional games. There are very real scenarios under next year's format where they play three times in the span of a month. Week 13 as normal, B1G Championship the following week, one team gets a bye and one team plays a home game in the 5v12 round, followed by yet another rematch in the CFP Quarterfinals.

On that note who would we most like to play in the semi? Granted, last year it was probably TCU and we know how that worked out. It's likely we will return to the Rose Bowl for the game, given that Georgia will request the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans if they are the #1 seed. I would think playing Florida State without their starting QB would be best for us. They've played a mediocre ACC schedule (plus one OOC win against LSU) and they looked pretty pedestrian against a bad Florida team last night. It's never easy to go 12-0, so you know they're a good team, but alongside Georgia/Alabama/Texas/Oregon/Washington, they're probably the most favorable matchup. If Georgia, Michigan, FSU, and Oregon win, it would be interesting to see if they put Florida State at #3 or have Oregon jump them to setup an easier perceived semi for Georgia. I maintain that Georgia isn't going to three-peat. They're more flawed than either of the last two years. I think either Oregon or Michigan could beat them on any given Saturday... or Monday... And that one of them will finish what Ohio State came so close to doing last year.

Odds are very much in favor that Michigan is in with or without a win here, though it is not guaranteed. A loss would probably only knock them out if Alabama beats Georgia.

Meanwhile, A&M leaks that they're hiring Mark Stoops before he signs a contract and he backs out at (literally) the 11th hour, leading to mostly embarrassment for the program and knowledge that whoever they do hire was at least their 2nd choice.

This could have been a really fun game to watch if Cade and Erick weren't out for the season. As it is, score 17 and put in the backups.

vs. Setting: 12/02/2023 8:00pm EST on FOX Site: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN Weather: Climate Controlled Opening Spread: Michigan -22 All-Time Series Record: Michigan leads, 44-15-4 Last Meeting: 10/01/2022, Michigan won 27-14 #16 Iowa Hawkeyes (10-2) Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz (25th Season: 196-117) Projected Starting QB: Deacon Hill (Redshirt Sophomore: 6-1) Last Week: 13-10 W @ Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-7) #2 Michigan Wolverines (12-0) Head Coach: Jim Harbaugh (16th Season: 141-52) Projected Starting QB: JJ McCarthy (Junior: 24-1) Last Week: 30-24 W vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1) B1G Championship Game History

Florida State is onto their 3rd string true freshman QB.

I remember the immediacy of that Michigan-MSU game from 2021. We should have won that game too. People were pissed we didn't, and pretty much everyone thought we were well on the way to a James Franklin classic 10-2 season and another NY6 game. I think everyone would be pretty okay with where we are at now instead.

Karsch is a stand-up guy.

I think the conference champions will always have priority, and I think the best one-loss 12-game team(s) have a hefty burden to overcome any one-loss team that plays 13 games. Right now, we have undefeated teams in the B1G, SEC, Pac-12, and ACC, and a one-loss team in the Big 12. I don't think we will see chalk into the semis, but last year Ohio State only needed USC to lose to Utah. They need more this year. Going with the presumption that Georgia beats Georgia Tech tonight, if they lose the SECCG, Alabama replaces them in the CFP. If anything, an Alabama win probably hurts Ohio State because Georgia's one-loss resume would be better than Ohio State's. If Michigan loses, one-loss Ohio State won't get in before one-loss Michigan. If Washington loses, Oregon is in as the one-loss PAC champion. One-loss Washington versus one-loss Ohio State for #4 would be very tight and could go either way. Washington, playing an extra game, would have split with (then #3) Oregon and beat Arizona and Oregon State. Ohio State would have lost once to #2 Michigan, along with wins over Notre Dame and Penn State. If Florida State loses, it opens the door to the Big 12 and a one-loss Texas. A one-loss FSU versus a one-loss Ohio State will generate controversy, but this is probably a discussion Ohio State wins, if only because FSU has lost their QB for the year. The way I see it, Ohio State needs Georgia to beat Alabama, Michigan to beat Iowa, Washington to beat Oregon (probably), FSU to lose (preferably tonight to a lesser opponent), and Texas to lose to Oklahoma State. If each of those happen you're looking at (1) Georgia, (2) Michigan, (3) Washington, (4) Ohio State... It's not impossible, but it's definitely more than expecting USC to lose to Utah again.

After conference championships, my predictions are for the semis. Next week’s rankings are as useful as preseason rankings. 🙂