by NewYorkWolverine » Sat Sep 19, 2015 10:10 pm
I'd consider 8-4 a success, and I'm not even factoring in the bowl game into that. I expect the result will be 7-5. Likely losses to OSU and MSU, with one or two more along the way. I hope I'm wrong, but that's my honest feeling.
As much as everyone just wants to pronounce "we're back," I would urge caution. After RichRod's 3-9 in 2008, the old guard had already begun its efforts to run him out of town on a rail. After Brady Hoke's 11-2 in 2011, people were all too willing to put on the maize & blue blinders and announce that UM was an elite team again, when a more careful observation would reveal that UM was very fortunate in several outcomes that season (vs ND, vs OSU, and vs Va. Tech). Traditionalists would dispute this, but RichRod's staff would have achieved the same result in 2002, since their trend was that their annual regular season win total increased by two wins each season. But I digress.
Harbaugh et al. are tasked with restocking the talent pool, reinvigorating the fan base, and fixing many bad habits among players left over from the previous regime. Finding out that players didn't even know the proper three-point stance was shocking, to say the least.