Watching this OSU game and thinking about all the "manball" vs. "speed in space" discussions lately, all the talent gap stuff, the uneven playing field, who breaks the rules and who doesn't among the elite and the rest of college football. One thing is abundantly clear that probably plays the most important role in any program's success at any level:
Consistency.
OSU is loaded with talent, speed and size. All are important to their success, we know this.
But beyond all that, they are consistent. They know what they are doing on both sides of the ball no matter who comes in, no matter what year it is, and it doesn't deviate. It adjusts, but it's still the same core identity.
We argue about how they do it, whether Michigan should follow them and go spread or go back to basics with pro style. Wisconsin clouds that further with their decades of "manball" consistency.
But at the core of both OSU and Wisconsin, two programs that don't recruit in the same stratosphere, is a commitment to consistency with what they run from a tactical sense. That is vastly more important than what system you run at the end of the day or even who you bring in to run it on the field.
Other teams prove this too, like Iowa. Ferentz knows what they are and has stuck with that identity his entire career. At times there are wrinkles, but it's still the same core principles year in and year out.
Even Alabama, which moved from a pro style in Saban's earlier years to a pro spread with mobile QBs in the past five years, still retains the same core identity and principles its had from the beginning.
That is what has been missing at Michigan for the better part of 13 years. I've of course argued that pro spread is the way to go for the modern game and I still believe that, but it really doesn't matter what system Michigan runs if the program doesn't stick to it and build on it over time, and to recruit as high as Michigan does every year and not have that consistency is the absolute kiss of death and we are seeing that play out now and it's why many of us have been frustrated throughout Harbaugh's tenure as head coach.
Consistency must be the ultimate goal for this program going forward. The identity crisis has to end for anything to get better. Whether they stick with Gattis going forward(which is what I want) or they go back to pro style with a huddle, or whatever the direction is they want, it must become what they do, year in and year out, at its core, above the talent they bring in, the rules they do or don't break, and wherever the playing field sits. None of those things matter one bit if you don't have a consistent identity at the core of what you do.
Consistency.
OSU is loaded with talent, speed and size. All are important to their success, we know this.
But beyond all that, they are consistent. They know what they are doing on both sides of the ball no matter who comes in, no matter what year it is, and it doesn't deviate. It adjusts, but it's still the same core identity.
We argue about how they do it, whether Michigan should follow them and go spread or go back to basics with pro style. Wisconsin clouds that further with their decades of "manball" consistency.
But at the core of both OSU and Wisconsin, two programs that don't recruit in the same stratosphere, is a commitment to consistency with what they run from a tactical sense. That is vastly more important than what system you run at the end of the day or even who you bring in to run it on the field.
Other teams prove this too, like Iowa. Ferentz knows what they are and has stuck with that identity his entire career. At times there are wrinkles, but it's still the same core principles year in and year out.
Even Alabama, which moved from a pro style in Saban's earlier years to a pro spread with mobile QBs in the past five years, still retains the same core identity and principles its had from the beginning.
That is what has been missing at Michigan for the better part of 13 years. I've of course argued that pro spread is the way to go for the modern game and I still believe that, but it really doesn't matter what system Michigan runs if the program doesn't stick to it and build on it over time, and to recruit as high as Michigan does every year and not have that consistency is the absolute kiss of death and we are seeing that play out now and it's why many of us have been frustrated throughout Harbaugh's tenure as head coach.
Consistency must be the ultimate goal for this program going forward. The identity crisis has to end for anything to get better. Whether they stick with Gattis going forward(which is what I want) or they go back to pro style with a huddle, or whatever the direction is they want, it must become what they do, year in and year out, at its core, above the talent they bring in, the rules they do or don't break, and wherever the playing field sits. None of those things matter one bit if you don't have a consistent identity at the core of what you do.
