It's a bit funny that the B1G claims you guys were the National Champions and you guys keep bringing this up either through past coaches being asked about the topic or the BTN bringing it up. You don't see a 1997 national championship discussing thread popping up on the board without Michigan bringing it up. We don't need to prove that we were the National Champions, we proved it on the field and have THE trophy to prove it.
Yes it is, whats also cute is that U of M had the #1 hardest schedule out of the top 112 teams and the #1 defense in the country allowing around 13 point on average per game with most games holding opponents below 10 points. And what do they say wins Championships? Defense!
Hardest schedule? Where is this myth coming from?Yes it is, whats also cute is that U of M had the #1 hardest schedule out of the top 112 teams and the #1 defense in the country allowing around 13 point on average per game with most games holding opponents below 10 points. And what do they say wins Championships? Defense!
So hardest schedule, top defense, born champions..... in a sport without a proper one.
Well, no, we cant do this all day as I'm neither this compulsive, dont have the time and frankly I'd rather sort my socks alphabetically before engaging in a quagmire of hypothetical probabilities with a stranger on the internet.Hardest schedule? Where is this myth coming from?Yes it is, whats also cute is that U of M had the #1 hardest schedule out of the top 112 teams and the #1 defense in the country allowing around 13 point on average per game with most games holding opponents below 10 points. And what do they say wins Championships? Defense!
So hardest schedule, top defense, born champions..... in a sport without a proper one.
Nebraska beat five teams ranked in the final AP poll - the poll that gave Michigan their consolation trophy, mind you. Those opponents:
Washington - #18
Kansas State - #8
Missouri - #23
Texas A&M - #20
Tennessee - #7
Michigan played - get this - three opponents ranked in the final poll. Those opponents:
Penn State - #16
Ohio State - #12
Washington State - #9
Michigan beat one of those opponents (Penn State) by more than a TD, and the other two by six points or less. The fact that Michigan even "beat" Washington State is debatable, but we'll ignore that for now.
Nebraska, meanwhile, beat one ranked opponent, Missouri, by a one-TD margin. Every other win over a ranked team that year was by two scores or more, including a 13-point win over Washington, a 30-point win over Kansas State, a 39-point win over A&M and a 25-point win over Tennessee.
That's two teams Nebraska beat, who ended up ranked higher than any team Michigan beat, and the average margin of victory for those games was four TDs.
We can do this all day. It's fun. What else do you got, Michigan Man?
It's all in good fun, my friend. I have great respect for Michigan football. I choose to get agitated about this subject because it entertains me to do so. In reality, my only real wish for that season is that Nebraska & Michigan had gotten to play for the title.
Gotcha Knapplc, well thats why I'm here, always liked The Nebraska ball and now also that Nebrasketball, I was a bit entertained also and might have crossed a small trolling line, glad I stopped as my intention was not to anger anyone, though some of my views regarding the championship may not be popular. So yea, Cheers and I'm off to sort those socks.It's all in good fun, my friend. I have great respect for Michigan football. I choose to get agitated about this subject because it entertains me to do so. In reality, my only real wish for that season is that Nebraska & Michigan had gotten to play for the title.
But don't tell anyone I said that. Anyone asks, I'm super invested in this and it consumes a fair portion of my life.
I'm assuming that you can see the failure in this line of reasoning.The mentioned strength of schedule as usual was based on teams previous years records. When Lloyd Carr saw it for the first time before season started he compared it to climbing mount Everest.Hardest schedule? Where is this myth coming from?Yes it is, whats also cute is that U of M had the #1 hardest schedule out of the top 112 teams and the #1 defense in the country allowing around 13 point on average per game with most games holding opponents below 10 points. And what do they say wins Championships? Defense!
So hardest schedule, top defense, born champions..... in a sport without a proper one.
Nebraska beat five teams ranked in the final AP poll - the poll that gave Michigan their consolation trophy, mind you. Those opponents:
Washington - #18
Kansas State - #8
Missouri - #23
Texas A&M - #20
Tennessee - #7
Michigan played - get this - three opponents ranked in the final poll. Those opponents:
Penn State - #16
Ohio State - #12
Washington State - #9
Michigan beat one of those opponents (Penn State) by more than a TD, and the other two by six points or less. The fact that Michigan even "beat" Washington State is debatable, but we'll ignore that for now.
Nebraska, meanwhile, beat one ranked opponent, Missouri, by a one-TD margin. Every other win over a ranked team that year was by two scores or more, including a 13-point win over Washington, a 30-point win over Kansas State, a 39-point win over A&M and a 25-point win over Tennessee.
That's two teams Nebraska beat, who ended up ranked higher than any team Michigan beat, and the average margin of victory for those games was four TDs.
We can do this all day. It's fun. What else do you got, Michigan Man?
it's just that it ended up being grazing lands of the Nebraska sandhills.Well, no, we cant do this all day as I'm neither this compulsive, dont have the time and frankly I'd rather sort my socks alphabetically before engaging in a quagmire of hypothetical probabilities with a stranger on the internet.Hardest schedule? Where is this myth coming from?Yes it is, whats also cute is that U of M had the #1 hardest schedule out of the top 112 teams and the #1 defense in the country allowing around 13 point on average per game with most games holding opponents below 10 points. And what do they say wins Championships? Defense!
So hardest schedule, top defense, born champions..... in a sport without a proper one.
Nebraska beat five teams ranked in the final AP poll - the poll that gave Michigan their consolation trophy, mind you. Those opponents:
Washington - #18
Kansas State - #8
Missouri - #23
Texas A&M - #20
Tennessee - #7
Michigan played - get this - three opponents ranked in the final poll. Those opponents:
Penn State - #16
Ohio State - #12
Washington State - #9
Michigan beat one of those opponents (Penn State) by more than a TD, and the other two by six points or less. The fact that Michigan even "beat" Washington State is debatable, but we'll ignore that for now.
Nebraska, meanwhile, beat one ranked opponent, Missouri, by a one-TD margin. Every other win over a ranked team that year was by two scores or more, including a 13-point win over Washington, a 30-point win over Kansas State, a 39-point win over A&M and a 25-point win over Tennessee.
That's two teams Nebraska beat, who ended up ranked higher than any team Michigan beat, and the average margin of victory for those games was four TDs.
We can do this all day. It's fun. What else do you got, Michigan Man?
The mentioned strength of schedule as usual was based on teams previous years records. When Lloyd Carr saw it for the first time before season started he compared it to climbing mount Everest. And he climbed it.
So to summon up, it was a great team, hell, Woodson is still playing in the NFL, and that's it. it doesn't matter to me if they won a "championship" or did not as I dont believe there has ever been one. When it was announced that U of M shared this honor, I honestly did the hand stroke gesture and enjoyed that we won the Rose bowl. And really, some of you guys should not get so angry and project teams accomplishments on yourself to the point where you become a bit rabid, life is to short gents, be well.
Michigan fans wish OSU still had Cooper and Ohio State fans can take comfort knowing Cooper hasn't been our coach for a long time.Michigan Fan probably takes comfort in knowing that, no matter what, they have scoreboard on you for that year.I don't know what is funnier, seeing Michigan and Nebraska fans get bent out of shape about this or seeing their respective fan bases wishing it was still 1997..the last time both schools had great teams.
And Ohio Fan can take comfort in the fact that they didn't have to face Nebraska that year, because the beating would have been worse than what they got from TSUN.
