I have spent more time than I should scanning the UM and PSU forums since Saturday, and it is clear that both of their fan bases are defeated and seem to have given up trying to compete with OSU.
In my opinion, they both have decent but not great coaches who are drawing large salaries, they have good facilities and large fan bases (although the arrogance particularly comes through with UM), and they win a high percentage of their games. But these are not happy times in Happy Valley or in Ann Arbor. UM just lost to little brother who just lost to Rutgers(!), and PSU was not really competitive despite their closing the final score to 13 points.
For UM, the loss to Sparty really kicked the crap out them, moreso even than another loss to OSU, since this one was completely inexcusable. Here is a list of the forum topics on MGoblog:
What does it feel like to cheer for a dominant team?
Thoughts on Joe Milton?
Why Hasn’t the Harbaugh Era Worked?
The Football Dilemma
When does basketball start?
Rational Takes - Who do we get?
Anyone make a closer prediction?
Let’s just have one Snowflake thread: Everything Sucks
Fire Harbaugh
You can see how and why they are frustrated, and they have plenty to say about their team. Almost every thread is entertaining, with most of the fans pretty realistic about where they stand.
As for PSU, they don't have as many overall threads but they carry the same frustrations: first being beaten by Indiana in a somewhat controversial finish and now being dominated by OSU. From Black Shoe Diaries, most of the articles and threads are pessimistic even though at least one writer is looking for the light at the end of the tunnel:
Advanced Stats Is A Bunch Of Weird 'If You'd Told Me's': Ohio State
Moral Victories Aren't Victories
Not Good Enough
MMQB - It Wasn’t All Bad
The overall sense from these two fan bases is that they will never compete with OSU, acknowledging that every single phase of our program is set up for success. We had a great run with the Senator, then Coach Meyer came in and raised the bar, and now Day is doing the seemingly impossible by raising the bar even more. While these fan bases are frustrated by where their own (good) programs are, they know they have no chance to reach OSU levels of success now or in the near future.
As one who suffered through the MI games of the 90s and the 1994 debacle with PSU, I have no sympathy for either fan base, but it certainly makes me appreciate our program and the people who brought us here.
