The future is bright, and it's great to be a Michigan Wolverine
Today was obviously painful, but it’s important on days like this to take a step back and look at the state of the program. The future is bright. After sweating out bowl eligibility the past two years (and not making it in 2009), Michigan is already there. Mattison has taken one of the worst defenses in the country and turned it into a respectable unit in seven games. Borges had his troubles today but has generally shown a broad knowledge of offensive football and a large amount of flexibility. Coach Hoke has already shown himself to be a great bearer of the combination of toughness and class that makes Michigan what it is. More, the staff already has one top-notch recruiting class of verbal commits and a head start on 2013 in the person of Shane Morris.
The team is obviously a year or more away from being the Michigan of old, but that’s okay. Remember that Bo’s 1969 team didn’t dominate. It took Bo some time to get the Wolverines to their rightful place. The current staff will have to have a couple of years of recruiting to fill in the defense and offense with the kind of players that will fit the current systems. Once they do – and there’s every reason to think that they will – Michigan will be back. Remember that SDSU Coach Rocky Long said that it’s not if but when Coach Hoke will win a national championship at Michigan.
If you’re not convinced that it’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine right now, think about Michigan State: Their fans just emerged from their garbage-strewn stadium, having watched their team make a mockery of themselves, and they’re on cloud nine about a season that isn’t going any farther than a bad loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game. MSU supporters are thrilled about at a team that would make Michigan fans embarrassed. MSU gained a victory today, but the arc of college football history bends back toward Michigan as of right now. MSU will not be able to compete with the realities that I mentioned above.
In summation of this somewhat jumbled collection of thoughts: Michigan has a top coaching staff, great recruits are on the way, and the Michigan emphasis on winning the right way endures. Today was just one small stumble on the long road to Michigan football being Michigan football again. In the grand scheme of things, even today is a great day.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:09 PM ^
How dare you bring sanity to the board on a day like today!
/s
October 15th, 2011 at 8:10 PM ^
I'm not ready for this sunshine yet, I still have several hours of whiskey and 'Slippin' by DMX ahead of me
October 15th, 2011 at 10:59 PM ^
Well get ready for the sunshine because there still isn't a team on our schedule that's unbeatable. Purdue at home, Illinois just lost to a lousy OSU team, Iowa who is never as good as they should be and seems to be feeling a surge of bad playcalling recently, and Nebraska who is not as good as they were meant to be. 11-1 still possible. Even more possible: MSU goes 0-2 the next two games (Wisco and @UNL) and we take the division.
Like Denard said, the B1G championship is still out there. Anything can happen. We haven't imploded yet. There's nothing wrong with 6-1 after 7 weeks of football.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:14 PM ^
I wish I had your optimism right now. This game felt like a big flashback to the RR era. Outplayed, outcoached, and low emotion. I shall bookmark your post and hope that sometime this week I will appreciate it for what it worth. Today was simply a bummer.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:06 PM ^
I think we saw a lot of emotion out there today. We saw a team that was obviously overmatched come out and do the best they could against a rival. Don't let the score fool you. We were one play from tying that game. The 4th and 1 play on the 8 was just a killer. Their defensive line just completely overmatched our offensive line which is saying something. We didn't come out flat and we played the hardest we could ask for. I, for one, am absolutely proud of this team for the way they played today. I'm very excited for the progression into the end of this season and the beginning of next season. Hoke is going to get this team together. Forever and always GO BLUE.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:13 PM ^
This game felt like a big flashback to the RR era. Outplayed, outcoached, and low emotion
In "the RR era," we took the 2009 Spartans to OT in their building. I'm upset that we didn't win that game, which we contested with an awful lot of off-field distractions that week which were no fault at all of the players or coaches.
So much for complaining about "the RR era." I wish that Coach Rodriguez had been running our offense today.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:16 PM ^
I wish that Coach Rodriguez had been running our offense today.The problem with that is that he would have been running our defense too.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:31 PM ^
In "the RR era," we took the 2009 Spartans to OT in their building.
That game was practically a carbon copy of this one. Both times we were dominated for about 50 minutes, but MSU turnovers and penalties kept them from building more than a 14-point lead. Both times we got a big play in the passing game to cut it to seven points. The only functional difference was that on the potential game-tying drive, Forcier had an interception pass through an MSU player's hands, while Denard was picked off. One other difference: that MSU team stunk (6-7) while this one is pretty good.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:15 PM ^
I share the OP's optimism. We were just physically outplayed today. The way that State dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball (particularly the way their mediocre O-line manhandled us up front and enabled Edwin Baker to rack up 167 rushing yards) shows that we just don't have enough talent to field a dominant front seven or an O-line worthy of a top-tier Big Ten program. It will take at least a year or two to bring this program back to where it was in the first half of the Carr era. There's nothing that Hoke or anyone else can do about that. But the way recruiting is going and the track record of this coaching staff give reason to believe that the future is bright.
GO BLUE.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:14 PM ^
Here, here! You are a Leader!
October 15th, 2011 at 8:15 PM ^
We were undefeated, ranked #11 in the country, and just lost an extremely winnable game against a mediocre opponent that would have put us in the driver's seat to go to the B1G championship game, all because of extremely questionable playcalling.
As someone who came to U-M in 2000, it definitely feels like we are "back" already.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:25 PM ^
I'm willing to believe this was a one game screw-up by Borges, but I don't see how blowing this game is encouraging for the future. We were the better team. We were ranked higher, we had done better against common opponents, and we pissed away every opportunity to win the game because our offensive coaching staff got schooled.
Saying, "I think we'll get here again and next time the coaches won't fuck it up" doesn't make me feel better about what just happened.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:35 PM ^
but I really don't think we were the better team. We certainly could've won this game, and I don't know how great MSU is. But they're a better defensive team, and at worst you can say we're even on offense (which is potentially opening a can of worms, but I don't really want to have the Denard-effectiveness discussion here).
But yes, even the absinthe is not making me feel better right now, so the thought that we might one day rule the world is not really doing it for me.
Oh good, Lou Holtz is now on. That will surely help...
October 15th, 2011 at 8:47 PM ^
They scored 10 against OSU, 13 against ND, and didn't do much today. 333 yards and 2 (should have been 3) turnovers.
Anything but atrocious playcalling on offense (like having the QB's carry the ball 24 times for 27 yards) which wasted 8 trips into MSU territory and we win the game on the road. We are the better team.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:04 PM ^
But you can't play the "We played better than our point total" game for us and not apply it to MSU in those two games as well. They could have easily scored a lot more against both OSU and ND, but had killer redzone turnovers (and a botched fake FG against ND). It's not like we're the only team that ever commits self-inflicted mistakes.
And to say that they didn't do much today, I really can't agree with. MSU ran the ball at will, even when the situation was obvious. We never sacked the immobile Cousins (while their D sacked our very mobile QBs seven times) and generally couldn't stop their passing game when they tried. I think most neutral observers saw the game as being pretty one-sided.
Still, despite being outplayed for long stretches, we were in this game with five minutes to go, only down a score. That we could play so poorly and still have a chance on the road against a quality opponent - that's something.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:05 PM ^
Fans at Auburn and other places he's been out complained about his play calling too. It's not an anomaly, it's the beginning of a trend. I hope I'm wrong, but Borges didn't show the best play caling last week against Northwestern and he lost us this game. We were easily the better team.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:13 PM ^
If we were "easily better," why were we the underdog? Why did most of the media (and Brian) pick us to lose? MSU has gone 15-3 the past two seasons. It may hurt our pride to admit it, but they're pretty good right now.
I do think we'll be better than MSU from next year onward, though. Their 15 minutes are almost up.
October 16th, 2011 at 2:07 AM ^
on what people who vaguely follow the program think of it? Experts aren't experts at all. We should have won the game. Our players are better. We lost the game because of the coaching. That's what it comes down to.
October 16th, 2011 at 11:35 AM ^
The coaches can only do so much on certain things, it doesn' help when both sides of our Line are getting blown up. I get it when they were blitzing, but there were far too many plays where MSU rushed 3 or 4 down lineman and STILL got pressure or sacked our guys. We got outplayed badly, but we managed to hang in the game until about 4 minutes left in the game in a game that was supposed to be a blowout in the preseason. 10 wins is still very possible and a quality bowl game is still there for us. While it sucks, and yesterday did seem the apocalypse, it's not the end of the world for the season
October 15th, 2011 at 9:21 PM ^
MSU was the better team today. Their defense is much better than ours is right now and their backs and Oline played much better than ours did. Talent wise they are better than us at most positions. After a few years of recruiting like we are right now with Hoke we will be the more talented team.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:26 PM ^
Jason Campbell and Cade McNown would disagree with you, as would the 2004 Auburn team that went undefeated while averaging 30+ points a game and the '97 and '98 UCLA teams that went 10-2 while averaging 40 points a game.
I know today was frustrating, but Borges knows what he's doing. When your QB can't throw the ball to save his life and your opponent (who happens to have the best rush defense in the country) is putting 9 in the box, your options are limited. We just straight up got outplayed.
Don't lose perspective. We'll be okay.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:43 PM ^
if that was the case he would still be employed by one of these schools.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:48 PM ^
As far as I know, he left UCLA on his own terms. And Auburn's offense fell off a cliff after he resigned from there, so I think he's not the bumbling idiot some short-sighted fans are making him out to be after today's setback.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:56 PM ^
He just had a shitty day today. I also think the spread-heavy form of the hybrid offense we saw today just isn't working out. Borges doesn't know that style of offense well enough to get into a rythm calling plays and he seems to ignore a lot of the basics that make the offense effective (namely the stuff that makes the defense work horizontally, which is sort of the whole reason to be in the spread).
I would really like to see us come out in two weeks running more of the downhill, running back centric offense I think we all thought we'd see more of. If we can force teams to react to the non-Denard running game, even if they defend it well, that should make everything else a lot easier and help everybody get into a better flow.
October 16th, 2011 at 2:09 AM ^
I don't want to know what a really shitty day looks like.
October 16th, 2011 at 10:55 AM ^
October 15th, 2011 at 9:42 PM ^
When MSU had to go into the wind and the run became the obvious first choice, they gained only 95 yards in 6 possessions. That included one fumble and 3 three-and-outs. They didn't score a single point going into the wind.
On the flip side, we punted 6 times from inside MSU's 46 yardline (3 times from inside their 40) and turned it over on downs in the redzone. They only crossed midfield once (reaching the Michigan 46) without scoring. Even if you think MSU would have been better under different circumstances, the fact remains that Michigan wins the game easily if Borges does anything but call an atrocious game.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:26 PM ^
I watched the game in a bar (and haven't watched the DVR yet) but are you talking about the backward pass that was dropped and should have been a live ball? I can't believe that no one has made a bigger deal out of this. It would have given Michigan the ball in MSU territory. Instead, MSU went on a TD drive. I thought that this bad call was critical to the game......but I haven't watched the DVR yet.
October 15th, 2011 at 10:12 PM ^
i could not agree more. and it was without a doubt a backwards pass.
October 15th, 2011 at 11:48 PM ^
It was a backwards pass but because it was ruled incomplete and both team just stopped, nobody immediately recovered the ball, it could not be overturned.
October 15th, 2011 at 10:13 PM ^
Wait a minute...Borges cant throw passes for the kids..i love Denard but IMO his inaccuracy finally caught up to US..a bad game and we must improve
October 16th, 2011 at 5:19 PM ^
talent, but they played with more cohesion on both sides of the ball. Our split personality on offense was further complicated by the repeated insertion of Gardner early on. The announcers belabored the question ad nauseum, but I think it did inhibit our getting into offensive rhythm.
And although some of the missed passes are on Denard, the O line failed to protect him, repeatedly. A half second more for him on most plays and it's a different game.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:15 PM ^
I am not being sarcastic, this post really cheered me up. Thanks dude!
October 15th, 2011 at 8:15 PM ^
It's ALWAYS great to be a Michigan Wolverine.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:18 PM ^
The future would be brighter if we could complete some passes.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:19 PM ^
I am not drunk enough for this kind of common sense...come back tomorrow.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:21 PM ^
Agree 100%. I'm not even that upset that we lost anymore. State has an impressive defense and outplayed us. The only thing I'm upset about still is the dirty play by MSU, but that's to be kept in another thread.
I'm glad we get a bye week to heal up some and hopefully basically another bye week against Purdue before our next big test in Kinnick Stadium. Go blue, always!
October 15th, 2011 at 8:22 PM ^
And here I thought you got slammed pretty hard. If not for MSU penalties all game the score would have been a lot worse. Make no mistake, you got punched in the mouth today, literally and figuratively. Denard hurt, the season starts to crumble like the last 2 years.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:48 PM ^
So you have now abandoned all pretense of being a gracious visiting fan?
November 7th, 2011 at 11:52 PM ^
Not to dredge old posts, but I just call it like I see it.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:22 PM ^
Even on bad days like today, I'm glad I'm a Michigan fan. It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:24 PM ^
I like your moxie!
October 15th, 2011 at 8:23 PM ^
This doesn't have anything to do with football but have you guys tried the Wendy's new Dave's big and juicy burgers? Theyre pretty gosh darn good.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:59 PM ^
Thanks. I'll do a drive through for dinner.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:46 PM ^
I remember reading an article about the development of that burger, it was a huge project for them. They market tested them near their headquarters in Ohio and they sold like hotcakes.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:25 PM ^
I agree, we have great coaches, a great recruiting class coming in, and I honestly still see us winning 9-10 games this year, which at the beginning of the year all of us would have taken. I love our guys for staying classy and not stooping to cheap shots and dirty plays, as well as not complaining about it at the presser. Let's heal up with this bye week, and move on to Purdue. Go blue!
October 15th, 2011 at 8:27 PM ^
I agree the future is bright. I am crazy excited to see what this team becomes in two years. I think Hoke is a great coach and hires great coordinators. So far this season we have not truely been tested other than at Notre Dame. This loss certainly provides a great deal of information on the areas where we are weak and that will ultimately be helpful if we want to beat a much bigger rival than MSU.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:31 PM ^
October 15th, 2011 at 8:34 PM ^
I agree with all said except that I think we're still competing this year. We're still a player in the Legends division and this can still be remembered as a great first year for the new regime. I've got my eye on the game against tsio.