There was another thread in reference to Washington having no defense; everyone chimed in with their opinions, and then one poster argued that Penix already beat Michigan while he was at Indiana... so I felt compelled to reply to him, then ended up going on a diatribe about other things, so I thought I'd post it here to in case the information helps anyone make a decision. I'm looking forward to the game tonight.
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Quite possibly one of the worst arguments on this whole thread. All you did was look at the final score, Indiana 38, Michigan 21, without recollecting the game.
You are talking about an early season game from Covid 2020. There were maybe 1000 people at the game.
Michigan took an opponent lightly and didn't care about the game. Whereas Indiana hadn't beat Michigan in like 33 years? That was their Super Bowl.
Furthermore, the Michigan quarterback was Joe Milton. As a Tennessee fan, I like Joe, but he makes a lot of mistakes (even this year) as he did in this game.
Milton's stats came in when the game was more or less decided, but his interceptions were costly. While not a huge arm like Milton, JJ McCarthy is a much better game manager. Yes, JJ struggled at first against Alabama, but we are talking about Alabama's defense with 5-star recruits all over the field; plus, in the first quarter, JJ was throwing directly into the sun.
Blake Corum had 2 carries in that game. Enough said. It wasn't the same team as this year's Michigan.
Giving Michael Penix credit for that win over Michigan as if it has anything to do with THIS Michigan team in THIS environment is ludicrous.
I will say this about Penix: he should have been the Heisman Trophy winner. What else does someone need to do to win it?
Jayden Daniels is an exciting player, but LSU's season was not worthy of him getting the Heisman over Penix.
Now, when it comes down to Washington's offense, they are undoubtedly elite. But they also struggled against Arizona State, Oregon State, and Washington State.
Michigan doesn't struggle against their inferior-level rivals; they blanked Michigan State and Iowa and gave up 7 points each to Nebraska and Indiana. The only slip-up they had, which was predictable, and I bet on it, was Maryland because it was the sandwich spot between Penn State and Ohio State. They were looking for the W and didn't put much prep time into that game.
All in all, I summarize that Washington is a poor man's Ohio State, and if Washington were in the Big 10 this year, they wouldn't be undefeated, but if Michigan were in the Pac 12, they would still be undefeated. Luckily, we can put all that to rest next year when the Big 10 expands, and we see if these West Coast teams struggle in their Rust Belt games.
Michigan 30-17