ShareThisA coaching staff almost never gathers before a football season and predicts the outcomes of games. They've got better things to do.
So it comes as no surprise that Michigan's Brady Hoke said this week he didn't give a moment's thought in the preseason about what his team's record might look like after eight games. But "I thought about the month of November an awful lot," he said.
November? "That's when you win championships in this league," Hoke said.
Actually, the Big Ten champion will be determined Dec. 3 in Indianapolis. But if Michigan wants to play in that inaugural league title game, it probably needs to sweep its four games this month, starting with Saturday's visit to Iowa. At 3-1 in the league, the No. 13 Wolverines (7-1 overall) are in a three-way tie atop the Legends division with Michigan State and Nebraska.
Even with a perfect November, Michigan can't win the division unless Michigan State drops one of its final four games against Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana or Northwestern, because the Spartans win the tiebreaker based on their head-to-head win.
Michigan's path will be more difficult than MSU's. After facing Iowa (5-3, 2-2), it travels to Illinois before finishing up at home against Nebraska and Ohio State.
"Speaking on behalf of the seniors and the veterans, I think it means everything to us" to be in contention, senior defensive lineman Ryan Van Bergen said. "It means everything, but it also means nothing. We've gotten ourselves to this point. We have seven wins, which matches our total since we've been here. But if we stumble in these last four games, it's not going to mean anything to us."
In what can only be described as a head scratcher, Iowa lost to Minnesota, 22-21, last week. It was the first Big Ten win for the hapless Gophers, who lost 58-0 at Michigan on Oct. 1 and dropped their other two league games by 27 and 28 points.
Hoke said three things went into the upset -- it was a rivalry game, where anything goes, Minnesota's quarterback position has been solidified with improved play by MarQueis Gray, and the Gophers are "a lot better team now than they were (a month ago)."
Added Van Bergen: "I know Iowa's a strong team. It doesn't change my opinion about them. They're still one of the powerhouses in the Big Ten and we have to prepare for them because we want to win a championship."
The Hawkeyes are 5-0 at home and 0-3 on the road.
(Contact Ryan Autullo at: rautullo(at)theblade.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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