Oregon Game Sets Tone for Rest of Season

The Michigan football team is going to have to put last week behind them and pretend it never happened. Of course, that is nearly impossible, but from a mental standpoint, the players and coaches have to just move on. All is said and done as far as the Appalachian State game goes, and the season now is at the most important game of the year.

Two things can come from the Oregon game tomorrow. Let's look at the negative first just to get it out of the way. Say Oregon comes in and dominates Michigan with the spread as expected. U-M does keep it close but can't pull out the win. The loss would put the Wolverines at 0-2, and pretty much would kill the entire season for good. Obviously there always is the possibility of getting it turned around even after another loss, but as far as I'm concerned, an 0-2 start in this kind of way leaves me more than simply disinterested.

I won't be the only one either. Some people already are hanging it up after the loss. I don't really blame them, but I'm not going to lose all hope just yet. Now, if Michigan does lose to Oregon, hope will me lost in my mind and the rest of this season will be spent waiting for it to get over with.

Enough with the negative for now, so let's think about the possibility of a Michigan win. Regardless of how it happens, whether it be lucky or just dominating, a win in this game means that the season isn't completely over. National title hopes are, but a Big Ten title and BCS bowl are not out of the question at all.

A win over the Ducks could get Michigan going in the right direction. After all, it would snap this three-game losing streak and would finally mean Michigan defended the spread enough to win. Who knows? U-M could still end up blowing games down the road, but for now, a win is the most important thing.

As far as what I see happening in this game, I'm hoping and praying that Michigan comes out angry. If they play with the anger that all of the fans felt this entire week, then Oregon better watch out. Is this a lot of optimism for a team that was upset by Appalachian State at home? Definitely. But at this point, optimism is all that we have left.

All I have to say is stick it to the Ducks and Go Blue!