Week Five Fallout: Tate Forcier vs. Terrelle Pryor—Head to Head, Who's Better Right Now?

by HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation

Separating the boys from the MEN.

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After Michigan started the season 4-0 and Ohio State began 3-1, the media and UM fans wanted us to buy what they were selling—That UM was back, and that UM freshman QB Tate Forcier was "the man".

What a difference one game can make.

I've heard and read UM fans referring to Michigan State as their little brother. It must really sting now that "little bro" has won the last two meetings, especially after this past weeks loss.

Every Michigan fan on the planet would have guaranteed a win and a 5-0 start before that game.

Forcier looked bad for all but the last six minutes of the fourth quarter, and UM lost in overtime, 26-20.

Whoops...

[/rant]

Ok, now as for comparing Forcier and Pryor to this point, we don't have much to go on but there are two things we do have that we can use to measure them against each other.

First is their individual performances against a common opponent (Indiana).

Second is their individual performances in the game that each has lost, as both teams are now 4-1.

(For the record, I am doing this because without much ground to stand on, UM fans would have you believe that Forcier is the better QB and a Heisman winner in-the-making, while Pryor, a player they all coveted in 2008, until he chose Ohio State over UM, "crumbles under pressure" and "can't throw" to save his life.)

vs. Indiana

Tate's numbers at home in Ann Arbor:

11/21 passing, 199 total yards (184 passing, 15 rushing) and 3 total touchdowns (2 pass, 1 rush) with 1 interception


Terrelle's numbers on the road in Bloomington:

16/27 passing, 222 total yards (159 passing, 63 rushing) and 4 total touchdowns (3 pass, 1 rush) with 1 interception

Michigan's loss to Michigan State

Tate's numbers on the road in East Lansing:

17/32 passing, 250 total yards (223 passing, 27 rushing) and 2 passing touchdowns with 1 interception

Ohio State's loss to Southern Cal

Terrelle's numbers at home in Columbus:

11/25 passing, 213 total yards (177 passing, 36 rushing) and 0 touchdowns with 1 interception


Clearly Tate played better in UM's loss to Michigan State than did Pryor in Ohio State's loss to USC. But we know USC has one of the top defenses in the nation, while MSU is one of, if not the worst in the Big Ten.

So that tells us that Tate can play better against a bad "D" than Terrelle can vs. a very good "D", or in other words, not much.

Therefore, the best gauge we have are their individual performances against Indiana.

Pryor had slightly fewer passing yards, but more overall total yards (222 to 199) and more touchdowns. Pryor also played Indiana on the road, and the Buckeyes cruised to victory, while Michigan squeaked by MSU in Ann Arbor.

With it being a free country and all, you can make up your own minds, but I know who I'm picking and I don't even have to say his name, do I?

Here's a hint though in case you need it:

He's 12-3 as a starter and Tate only has five career starts....

While I do not claim this to be a scientifically proven and infallible method for comparing the two, it absolutely does provide some insight for now, and provides a jumping off point to spark the debate and add fuel to the rivalry fire.

It will ultimately be settled on the field on November 21, 2009 in Ann Arbor.


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