Gravestone
11/25/2017 – Michigan 20, Ohio State 31 – 8-4, 5-4 Big Ten
[Bryan Fuller]
John O'Korn sat in a press conference on Saturday and broke down. He blamed himself, and himself alone, for Michigan's latest loss to Ohio State. And he was correct. I don't think I've ever seen a Michigan-Ohio State game so clearly decided by one guy's inability to hack it.
Previous terrible individual performances have been given in concert. The 2007 game featured Chad Henne without a throwing arm, but it also featured an offensive line that had to drag Alex Mitchell out of retirement midseason and the infamous picture that resulted. Nick Sheridan averaged 3.6 yards an attempt the year after, but nobody missed the forest for that particular tree as Michigan finished a 3-9 season with a 42-7 loss. And so forth and so on. The sad fact of the last decade of Michigan football is that when Michigan gets in a competitive game against Ohio State it's usually because someone is playing over their head.
This was different. This was Michigan feeling like the better football team except for one glaring black hole at the most important position on the field. The crowd felt the agony of this keenly with every errant pass or unnecessary sack. O'Korn was not booed, per se, but the desperate groans that issued involuntarily from the assembled masses were almost worse. There's a certain tenor of "ohhhawwww" a crowd can issue that is the pure, distilled sound of frustration. I have memorized this after Saturday, and find it replaying in my head whenever there's a spare neuron not playing Baby Signing Time songs. (This is rarely.)
Even after all those moans Michigan had not one but two shots to go ahead very late. Those ended with back-to-back throws that are burned into the retinas of every Michigan fan and will be replayed when "John O'Korn" is mentioned. Possibly even corn. Or Korn. I can't mention my Pandora station ever again on this website. Those throws were a fourth and four pass that went yards over the head of a screamingly wide open Chris Evans and an interception on which two Michigan receivers were open, and not within 20 yards of the ball.
That is O'Korn's football gravestone, chiseled, checked, and done.
O'Korn knows it, and wasn't going to offer up any bullshit platitudes afterwards. Say what you want about his play—although I can't imagine there's any excoriation in any language that hasn't already been delivered—but the guy did not shy away from the enormity of the thing that had just happened to him, a living, breathing human who has to go through the next sixty years introducing himself to people and hoping they've never heard of the most popular sport in America.
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At about the same time O'Korn was breaking down in public, someone logged on to this website and typed "fuck John O'Korn," into it, posted it, and then got a bunch of upvotes. A guy who started arguing with the various toxic manbabies in this thread that O'Korn was a virtually unpaid person thrust into a position he should never have been in was consistently downvoted.
After taking down several threads and banning a dozen people I yanked commenting for about a day. Naturally, this resulted in these same people fleeing to twitter to tell me it was PATHETIC that I COULDN'T HANDLE NEGATIVITY, because I didn't want them throwing their poop in a place I feel responsible for. And I didn't want to wonder what they were saying while I was doing anything other than commenting on Michigan football. Also, I hate them.
If you're one of these people reading this column I'd like to make it clear that there is something wrong with you. The vast majority of people who come to this site don't post on it, because it is like every other website in the world. Those that do are split between normal people with something to say, and you, the person too dumb to know you shouldn't say anything. You are a tiny minority of this fanbase that gets outsized attention because you're dumb and loud, and most people are willing to throw away the good parts of the comments because of you:
when should i bring the comments back
— mgoblog (@mgoblog) November 26, 2017
Next football season will not be like this, because you will be gone from this website. If you have any doubt in your mind whether I'm talking about you, yes, I am talking about you. If you're mad at Ace for saying the fanbase is the worst part of his job, I'm talking about you. Because he's not talking about 90% of the fanbase, he's talking about you.
No one needs to yell at John O'Korn, who clearly understands the implications of what just occurred in ways you do not. Nobody needs to say anything to John O'Korn ever again. Dude needs a hug and a Malaysian passport. And even though O'Korn just set a winnable Ohio State game on fire in a way that has probably never happened before or will happen again, I care a lot more about his feelings than some jabroni on the internet who doesn't have to introduce himself under his screen name.
That's it. There's no big sweeping theme here, nothing about the direction of this program or where this fits in the historical firmament. Just an incredibly obvious black hole...
Speight's transfer means that Al Borges *never* recruited a quarterback who finished his career as the starting QB at his original school
— mgoblog (@mgoblog) November 26, 2017
...and a bunch of people who are incapable of seeing it.
AWARDS
Known Friends And Trusted Agents Of The Week
![-2535ac8789d1b499[1]](http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/537fc4d56c20_9177/-2535ac8789d1b4991f1c37dee-a502-44d9-94ed-bee425f87474.jpg)
you're the man now, dog
#1 Rashan Gary. Finally got a little sack luck, as Devin Bush flushed Barrett to him on one of his two sacks. He added a third TFL amongst ten tackles, which is a very large number for a DE, especially because he missed a big chunk of OSU's first TD drive with a recurrence of the shoulder stinger (or similar injury) that he's been battling all season.
#2 Mike McCray. Eight solo tackles and two TFLs as McCray was a major factor in Michigan's ability to keep OSU to under 200 yards of offense until a late fade, none of which was on him. He didn't get edged, and managed to survive the return of Oh No Mike McCray On A Flanked Out Running Back without getting targeted.
#3(T) Chris Evans and Karan Higdon. Michigan's tailback duo had 165 yards on 28 touches, 5.9 yards a pop. Evans caught five passes as Michigan finally paid off on that preseason hype; Higdon was able to get the corner a couple times as well. If the offensive line can come together next year one or both are candidates to have All Big Ten season... or at least they would be if they weren't going to cannibalize each others' carries.
Honorable mention: Mo Hurst and Devin Bush turned in excellent performances; Michigan's cornerbacks again almost pitched a shutout, albeit with the aid of a couple drops. DPJ set up Michigan's second touchdown. Mason Cole had an edge two for one that sprung Crawford early in the third to get Michigan's third TD.
KFaTAotW Standings.
9: Rashan Gary(T2 Indiana, #1 Rutgers, T2 Wisconsin, #1 OSU).
8: Devin Bush (#1 Florida, T2 Cincinnati, T2 Air Force, #1 Purdue), Mo Hurst (#1 MSU, #2(T), Indiana, #1 Wisconsin), Karan Higdon (#1 Indiana, #2 PSU, T2 Minnesota, T3 OSU).
6: Mason Cole (#1 Cincinnati, T2 Rutgers, T3 Minnesota), Chase Winovich(#1 Air Force, #2a Purdue, T2 Wisconsin),
5: Khaleke Hudson (T2 Cincinnati, #3 PSU, #1 Minnesota), David Long (T3 Indiana, #1 PSU, #3 Maryland)
4: Chris Evans(T2 Minnesota, #2 Maryland).
3: Ty Isaac (#2, Florida, #3 Cincinnati), Lavert Hill(#2 MSU, T3 Indiana)), Josh Metellus (#1 Maryland), Mike McCray(T2 Air Force, #2 OSU).
2: Quinn Nordin (#3 Florida, #3 Air Force), John O'Korn (#2 Purdue), Sean McKeon(T3 Purdue, #3 Rutgers), Mike Onwenu(T2 Rutgers),
1: Tyree Kinnel (T2 Cincinnati), Zach Gentry (T3 Purdue), Brad Robbins(#3 MSU), Brandon Watson (T3 Indiana), Ben Bredeson(T3 Minnesota), Donovan Peoples-Jones (#3 Wisconsin).
Who's Got It Better Than Us Of The Week
The entire first quarter? Yes, that.
Honorable mention: Oh man I should not have used up the whole first quarter before the honorable mention section. That was a real good first quarter. Oh: Kekoa Crawford
MARCUS HALL EPIC DOUBLE BIRD OF THE WEEK.
Of the two chiseled, checked, and done plays the Evans miss stands out since it was a wide open guy less than ten yards downfield.
Honorable mention: Various other things that happened when Michigan dropped back to pass. I could tell you about them, but you know. Metellus gets lost on two late drag routes. Watson misses a third and thirteen PBU. Nordin misses an XP.
[After THE JUMP: less than usual, i tellya]
OFFENSE
open guys everywhere [Fuller]
That gameplan, man. The number of wide open receivers Michigan was able to scheme truly boggled. McKeon on a wheel route in the endzone; DPJ running an out well past the LB's zone drops on a rollout; Hill in the flat a couple times; Ty Wheatley on the first snap as Michigan revived that double fake screen play from a couple years back; Evans on infamy play. Harbaugh and the offensive braintrust could not have given Michigan a better shot at this game.
There will inevitably be complaints about a run-pass ratio of 29:39, but I don't know, man. If you've given your QB a wide open guy to throw to a few yards downfield and he doesn't do it, I don't know what to do with that. O'Korn performance in this game was so far beyond even his bad performances earlier in the season that I don't think it's reasonable to gameplan around that. Or even if you can. OSU entered this game with the #2 rush defense in the country; it's highly likely that a heavy run, I-form big gameplan is worse than what Michigan managed.
The silver lining. That last interception gave us some insight into the details of the offense since the post-game discussion of it mentioned that Crawford had correctly cut off his route and O'Korn misread it. Michigan's using various option routes in their offense; I know that Michigan has varied between that NFL-style approach and a simpler paint-by-numbers scheme over the past decade. It's not a surprise that Harbaugh and Pep Hamilton are using the former. Another reason the WRs' youth was a big problem.
.jpg "24772909728_f773b6e99d_z (1)")
[Fuller]
Chris Evans, space merchant. After a rough first half of the season, Chris Evans had an outstanding close. Michigan got better at getting him the ball in space to operate and he consistently made the most of those opportunities. He was repeatedly able to edge Ohio State back seven players, and while those guys may be a bit iffy at reading defenses they're amongst the best athletes in the country. Evans thus established he is, too.
In this game he was able to set up Michigan's first touchdown by turning a flare screen into a first down on third and twelve. The playcall got him about seven of those yards as Evans's motions bought him a major lateral advantage on a guy trying to cover him in man; Evans was able to dodge that guy and spin through a second to convert and get down to fullback territory.
.jpg "24769389008_f76474c090_z (1)")
[Fuller]
Higdon was about as effective in his time; in the shot above he's just turned the corner on Jordan Fuller, that near five-star S out of NJ Michigan lost to OSU late a couple cycles ago. He's amply demonstrated his top-class athleticism late this season.
Full circle. Your right tackle for most of the second half: Jon Runyan Jr. This of course brings the position all the way back to where it was this spring, when Runyan started the spring game and was the presumed leader through most of fall camp. Nolan Ulizio emerged literally the last week before the season, struggled, and got replaced by Juwann Bushell-Beatty. JBB was a clear upgrade for most of the year but still seemed very iffy in pass protection; he was one of many Michigan blockers who met a brick, Badger-shaped wall last week.
Runyan seemed no worse, certainly, and I'd venture that most of the five sacks O'Korn took were on him for not getting rid of the ball. I wonder what happened in practice for the sudden switch and Runyan's move to guard. Any deficiencies Runyan had relative to the other guys were probably a mirage.
Ruiz is just starting? Onwenu got a couple snaps last week and warmed up like he was completely healthy this week... on the second team line. Cesar Ruiz continued to start at RG. He's played well for the most part but struggled against Wisconsin; I'm surprised that Onwenu didn't reclaim his job.
That's probably a distinction without a difference moving forward since Ruiz is as holy a lock to start at center next year and that should find Onwenu back in the starting lineup.
DEFENSE
[Fuller]
Backs broken late, as per usual. Ohio State started with 5 three and outs on 7 drives and had 126 yards of total offense halfway through the third quarter. From there: 78 yard TD drive, 47 yard FG drive, 34 yard missed FG, and a three-play, 66 yard TD drive that was a four-minute drill that got out of hand.
How much of that is Michigan getting tired and how much is a couple of individual bad plays and dumb luck in OSU's favor is in the eye of the beholder. The first TD mentioned above featured a third-and-thirteen conversion that Haskins threw into coverage, but Brandon Watson whiffed on his attempt to PBU. That's pictured above; it is just a dumb thing that happened. Haskins then broke the pocket and ran for 22 yards to set up the TD.
Both of the following drives saw Michigan give up a big chunk of yardage on a basic drag route that Metellus was unable to contest or even tackle on, thus setting up the field goal attempts. Then Michigan stiffened and got stops; it was enough to give the offense two shots at a comeback.
The insult-to-injury TD drive at the end was academic. And who wouldn't be out of fight at that point? Before that business at the end OSU had under 300 yards. That's enough for a Speight or Peters offense.
[Fuller]
FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU. JT Barrett delivered the above ball directly to Josh Metellus, who read it and pulled off his receiver to go intercept the ball. He did not intercept it. OSU scored a couple plays later to turn 14-0 to 14-7; if Metellus clears the first level of defenders Barrett's probably putting him out of bounds at the 30 or 40 or even midfield. This is the standout play that coulda shoulda won the game even with the QB play.
Scrambles. Other than the Metellus drag routes mentioned above Michigan's biggest problem on defense was a bunch of man coverage against mobile quarterbacks and broken pockets. Mo Hurst was frequently very close to sacking the opposition but pushed just past the QB. At that point he's past the QB and there's a huge gap up the middle. Barrett and Haskins were both all but invited to rip off somewhere between 9 and 20 yards and did so. I don't think many, if any of these events were actually holds—unless we're using the "Ben Bredeson on a pull" standard the refs used against Michigan—but just Hurst gambling he could make a play and not making it.
The other main thing. OSU found its footing in the second quarter by using a lot of empty backfield runs for Barrett; most of these were QB power right at Winovich, who got washed down the line consistently. Michigan seemed to adjust after OSU's first two TD drives, or OSU just went away from it in anticipation of an adjustment.
A big play; a big bust. Khaleke Hudson had a monster TFL on the edge where he blew through two tacklers and all but ended an OSU drive in the first quarter. He also seems like the guy who blew an assignment on the wide open TE touchdown in the second quarter.
Michigan was in trap coverage. #7's job is to carry the #2 receiver "to the goal post." Blown assignment. https://t.co/odpenQ037D
— James Light (@JamesALight) November 25, 2017
OSU would come back to that later in the game and Hudson forced Barrett to try to fit it in a tiny window that he missed. Up and down day for Hudson, but that'll happen when you are starting a ton of underclassmen. Michigan's defense was good for one or two of those a game this year—thus their tendency to dominate opponents except for ten points worth of offense.
[Eric Upchurch]
Ol' Woods. J'Marick Woods only made a cameo in this game since he was knocked out shortly after Kinnel was, but that was enough time to flash his talent, and establish why is non-nickname is "Woods," for Perd Hapley reasons. OSU broke JK Dobbins into the open field; Woods came up and stopped him dead at about six yards. I'd venture that nobody has been able to stick the slippery Dobbins like that all year.
He did something to his back while doing this and was thus unable to follow up on an impressive start. Still, he's had a few of those this year and nothing alarming in various snaps spotting dinged up starting safeties. He's on track to be a backup everyone's comfortable with next year and has emerged as the clear favorite to replace Kinnel in 2019.
SPECIAL TEAMS
For a small fee, I will be publicly skeptical about punt returns weekly. Just five dollars to see me humiliate myself on a weekly basis by asserting that Donovan Peoples-Jones shouldn't be returning punts.
Blocked extra point. Another missed XP doesn't exactly soothe #collegekickers concerns entering bowl prep.
MISCELLANEOUS
Let's get the ref bonin' talk right. I haven't had the stomach to go back over the game in detail yet; I've seen enough on the internet to think that yes, Michigan got absolutely boned by the referees. But let's get something straight. This item I've seen being passed around is not holding against the guy trying to block Hurst. At least, if I saw this called during a UFR I would be shocked:
Yep never gets held pic.twitter.com/rOAmSM7rmd
— Michael McGuire (@CoachMacBH) November 27, 2017
Hurst puts himself on one side of that OL and tries to get around him. OL is trying to block and suddenly has Hurst at a 90 degree angle; he's grabbing but ends up pushing Hurst upfield, past where he wants to go. You almost never see pushing called a hold. Pulling, yes. Pushing, even while grabbing a guy, is almost always legal.
HERE
With Michigan within striking distance in the 4th quarter, I saw people complain that Michigan went away from the running game. But if you look at the playcalls, that wasn't the case. After O'Korn got sacked and then completed a nice little screen to McDoom for the first, Michigan ran the ball for 9, 3, and 9 yards again. On the next play, O'Korn was trying to hand the ball off when he was stepped on by one of his linemen; that probably would have been for another first. On the next two downs Michigan threw the ball, but they still tried to engage the backs. Evans was wide open on that 4th down, and could have easily busted it for a big gain had the ball gotten to him. For the game, Evans led all receivers with 5 catches (3 if you ignore the last two on the final, meaningless drive), including a great catch-and-run in the redzone that set up Michigan's first score. Going forward, I hope the recent uptick in Evans's receptions (11 receptions in the last 6 games after having 3 previously) is a sign he'll provide that element to the offense going forward. And Higdon, despite some clear limitations due to lingering injuries, ran the ball aggressively and effectively. He should probably be the feature back next year, with Evans providing some change-of-pace plus good hands out of the backfield, and guys like Samuels and Walker grabbing carries as needed.
And credit should go to the offensive line's run-blocking efforts. That Wisconsin game looks more like an outlier than a harbinger of doom, as Michigan was able to get a consistent push against a talented OSU front. Like the rest of the team, they've made strides being legitimately good at opening holes for these backs, and while losing Cole will hurt that effort next year, we've seen enough from Ruiz, Onwenu, and JBB to have some confidence the interior of this line will be able to move bodies effectively going forward.
A look at some rebuilding seasons:
As Brian succinctly stated in his season preview, "This is a transition year between The Year and The Year, unless it isn't." And while many fans donned their maize-colored glasses in the preseason prediction threads, hoping for the lucky breaks to go our way en route to another 10-win season, the fancystats suggested that it was more likely to be a rebuilding year. Bill C. prognosticated before the season that "this program is probably a year away from ignition."
"They'll have to get lucky on a couple freshmen and one right tackle, but teams have been luckier. Just not Michigan." -Brian Cook
For innumerable reasons (some within and many out of the team's control), alllllllll of which have been very clearly hashed out on this site, this was, in fact, a rebuilding season. The issue now becomes whether or not this was a "successful" rebuilding season. The MGoStaff posed themselves the question "are we on track?" The answers ranged from "mostly, yes" to "of course, yes." Ace compared the roster this year to the projected one for next season and concluded, "This year hasn’t been very fun. Next year will be."
November 27th, 2017 at 2:23 PM ^
Just make it an auto-ban for anyone who personally insults a player outside of commenting on their football skills.
You can say John O'Korn is a bad QB. You can't say he's a piece of trash like I saw some people saying on the board.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:28 PM ^
We're here to talk about football, not comment on the worthiness of the players as people.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:50 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 3:00 PM ^
Like you, I'm not going to hold my breath, but that is what we should do.
November 27th, 2017 at 6:02 PM ^
That would be nice, but agree it's unrealistic. I almost never comment on an individual player at all, unless it's in defense of that player. Just don't see the need for it from a casual fan, my opinion means nothing, and no good can come from me trashing a player for not being good enough.
November 27th, 2017 at 6:21 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 7:31 PM ^
Was. I backed off of him a while ago. I'll still point to something he's doing here and there, but not with any vitriol these days.
But that's different anyhow, as he's directly engaging in those exchanges (often inviting them by doing and saying provocative things). I'm not saying things about him on a forum where he can't come defend himself. I still stand by most of what I have said to him.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:49 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 8:03 AM ^
I guess I'm sensitive to the topic, lol.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:47 AM ^
Have you been hanging out with FranklinHatchett?
November 27th, 2017 at 11:27 PM ^
Away from adjectives and adverbs. Instead of saying any player was "horrible" focus on something specific that happened or didn't happen. He overthrew the receiver. A tackle missed his assignment. The receiver didn't hold on to the ball. Whatever. Once you do that, it's easier to look at the game as a whole, the team as a whole, and avoid scapegoating a single player for a team loss. I'm no football mind (and never will be) \\\\ but even I can comprehend there is a good amount of complexity involved.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:49 PM ^
'Trash,' 'garbage,' and similar descriptions for human beings disturb me to the core.
In any of my Army commands, anyone in a position of responsibility who referred to soldiers as 'bodies' knew they would be fired.
This is simple humanity.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:26 PM ^
Sometimes you have to speak forcefully to those disrespecting the intent of the enterprise.
That said, as long as it is not pure dung, I think it is reasonable to highlight concens with the program. I am of the belief that we will look at 2017 as the last year of the pain. I don't think we will beat all of our rivals next year - but ND, MSU, PSU, OSU will have to bring their best to defeat us. I lookforward to a bruising, heart-attack inducing season.
Go Blue.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:27 PM ^
It was a tough, tough loss for JOK and the fans.
Still, I feel like he had an opportunity that millions of fans can only dream of. QBing the great UM football team. He competed hard to win the job and what an accomplishment to get there. If he had to do all over again, knowing he'd be criticized, I bet he wouldn't change a thing. I know I wouldn't. He gave it his all.
Time to move on from his football career from Michigan, but I hope he's around Michigan for a long time. He's a great young man from everything I've read.
Go Blue!
November 27th, 2017 at 2:28 PM ^
Brian, you sir are the best part about MGoBlog. I thoroughly enjoy 99% of what you write, and find myslef agreeing with you at least 90% of the time. Thank you for reigning-in when needed, and banning as necessary. As this year is drawing towards its close, I just want to say how thankful I am for you.
Much like the kids playing this sport we all love so much, there are a lot of kids that need some parenting on this site. I'm sorry that you and your employees have to police what is posted here, but I suppose it comes with the territory. Harmony will prevail with your even handed response.
I too feel quite terrible for the anguish that John O'Korn must be going through. Even if he was a key part in some of the loses this year, I think we should all gratefully acknowledge the work he put in as a player at the University we all love. Much like the scout team reports of one Dylan McCaffrey for this season, it was John O'Korn that helped prepare the team in previous seasons. Certainly those practice reports were the reason why so many expected John to start in 2016, instead of Wilton Speight.
Hopefully those who take every loss so heavily will quickly learn to not put so much stock into a game played by kids. They deceive themselves by storing up their tresures is something so trivial. There is surely something better that everyone should look to for their inspiration and to place their trust in.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:29 PM ^
This one felt even more like we shoulda won than last year's edition. We had a better offensive gameplan, we had a better defensive gameplan, and we even got a big time ST play from DPJ and we still lost. I feel horrible for JOK because I know he's sick, but maaannnnn...it sucks to know we probably win this game with Speight or Peters. We left so many yards on the field.
Ow
November 27th, 2017 at 2:30 PM ^
"And even though O'Korn just set a winnable Ohio State game on fire in a way that has probably never happened before or will happen again, I care a lot more about his feelings than some jabroni on the internet who doesn't have to introduce himself under his screen name."
This game hurts, not because its any big indicator of the state of the program(if anything it was a positive sign that even with bad qB paly we still had a chance to win late), it's that the general randomness of the universe has lead to good people like O'Korn, like Speight, like Hurst, or any of the other seniors to miss a chance to accomplish the one thing they wanted more than anything else, to win the year's last game. John O'Korn might not have been good enough to be a successful starting QB at Michigan, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a good representative of our university and won't be a successful Michigan man in his life. Anybody who can watch his press conference after the game, and still feel the need to heap abuse on him when he's at the lower point emotionally than any of us can imagine really needs to check themselves.
Good luck in all your future endeavors, John.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:32 PM ^
Well said, Brian.
I was at the game and it was certainly agonizing to watch O'Korn throw that pick, or take sacks when he should've just thrown the ball away. But none of us on this board would've done any better. NONE of us. O'Korn should never have been in position to be this team's starting QB, but that's not his fault. Incredible bad luck with injuries this year. It was his turn to answer the bell and he did the best he could.
In the end, I can't find hate a man when he goes out there and gives it his all. Especially when he's performing a job that I have absolutely no idea how to do myself. He just wasn't up to the task, and that's going to happen to EVERYONE in life at some point or another. At some point we're all going to fail miserably at something. From Urban Fucking Meyer on down to Tim Beckman. O'Korn's failure just unfortunately had to happen on a stage as big as this one.
We think we all feel bad? No one in the world felt as horrible as he did after that game, and he doesn't need reminding of it. I hope he was able to walk to class today without being harassed. All the guy needs right now is just a good hug and someone to tell him that everything's going to be okay. At the end of the day, it's just a damn game.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:35 PM ^
O'korn is bad at a game. A game played by kids for entertainment. Tha's okay to say. Your scale of upset to happy/excited for football or a player has to exist within a subsection of a much larger scale, framework, and perspective that is your life. Be upset during the game, but then go back to work, go back to your kids, family, classes, whatever, etc. If you dont and instead criticize a kid that plays a game to entertain you, well your proabbly a shitty person and should evaulate your life. Your also probably the guy/gal that weaves in and out of traffic at 20 over cutting people off and putting their lives in danger to get to your destination 2 minutes faster. There's a lot of you and i say to you Dilly Dilly. Which in Koalanese means "Fuck you".
November 28th, 2017 at 10:02 AM ^
I'm bad at football. John O'Korn is not; no one with a D1 scholarship is.
There's a bizarre, almost pathological lack of humility in the typical sports fan. We watch the 99.99th percentile run around out there, and heap scorn on the mere 99.9th percentile for being "bad."
November 27th, 2017 at 2:35 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 2:37 PM ^
these "fans" are PATHETIC, it's one thing to criticize a young man for not playing well. It's another to want him exiled like Napolean. I too, was also very upset at the QB play on Saturday and several times referred to O'Korn as a "bum" (which was rightfully met with scorn from my wife) and then lamented that Michigan should never have been put in this position in the first place. O'Korn was playing outside of his ability level and he did the BEST that he was capable of, as fans, we cannot ask any more than that. The team meant a lot to him and he didn't tuck and run away from the cameras or the tough questions. That's a man's man right there and I wish him all the best. I also hope he is able to come to The Game next year and see Michigan crater OSUs collective head in.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:39 PM ^
I think Woods enters a starting position next season, with a leap in this offseason. Lets just hope he is ok, because he brought the wood on Dobbins, and it looked damaging.
I thought Metellus played good early in season, but seems to have faded... wonder if that dropped INT is deceiving me here.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:44 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 3:58 PM ^
I've found that quotes from Jack Daniel and Jim Beam also work wonders.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:47 PM ^
being a fan didn't include the invisibility of the internet, and the mindless, meaningless, and hurtful opinions that flow so carelessly from it. I also remember when the "expectation reality" button didn't automatically reset every year to expectations for a 12+ win season - no matter what. We always hated losing, but your team (and ALL its players) was always your team - win or lose. Unfortunately, that middle ground position of being unhappy and frustrated over a loss, while still being supportive of the team, has now been surrendered to the internet trolls that scream the loudest and want instant gratification.
I too have tended to leave this site this year after a loss. I handle losing ok, but this kind of fan disloyalty not so much. Thank you, Brian, for taking the stand you have. And thanks to John O'Korn for giving UM his best effort. Go Blue!
November 27th, 2017 at 2:45 PM ^
For all intensive purposes I could care less. By in large I've done my due-diligence to make due and achieve piece of mind. Case in point!
November 27th, 2017 at 3:15 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 2:51 PM ^
I also disagree that that that that isnt holding in the video clip of Hurst. He has his hand on his back the whole time and when Hurst is reaching for Barrett he cant get there bc of it. Hurst is quick like that. He looks slow here because he's being held and it's pretty egregious.
November 27th, 2017 at 3:51 PM ^
A real comment from MeanJoe07? Wtf?
November 28th, 2017 at 1:16 AM ^
I'm also struggling with Brian's preliminary assessment here. [NB: Attempted to edit images for size/clarity.]
Perhaps upon further review he'll maintain his current perspective, but it appears to me that Hurst has unquestionably beat his OL by frame 2 above. The OL's head and body is squarely behind Hurst, and the only part of him with any leverage on Hurst is his right hand hooked under Hurst's right arm and across his chest. Hurst has a direct route to the QB.
By frames 3 and 4 above, the only reason Hurst isn't able to tackle the QB is the OL has (i) hooked and lifted Hurst's right shoulder from behind him and (ii) pressed his left hand against Hurst's back to gain momentary leverage for this hold. You can see in the live video as Hurst spins around that he's slowed Hurst's movement by grabbing him from behind and immobilized (again, from behind) Hurst's ability to use his right arm to reach for the QB.
The hold continues beyond the above frames in the live video as the OL continues to hold on to Hurst's right arm for dear life while the QB moves up into the pocket and scrambles away.
Describing this as simply pushing an over-pursuing Hurst at a "90-degree angle" feels pretty charitable.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:50 PM ^
And, best of luck keeping/making this my favorite place to visit on the Internet. Go Blue
November 27th, 2017 at 2:51 PM ^
Is Rashon Gary a victum of his own success? It seems like he'll never have the sort of year J. Bosa or Clowney because he's been so well known and gets doubled and held most plays. It seems he's been a star before he's even been a starter. Will he ever put up double digit sacks? He's a beast and I'm so glad we have him, but it would be nice to see his stat line reflect his impact.
November 27th, 2017 at 3:30 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 9:11 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 2:53 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 2:59 PM ^
This was one of the appropriate posts I have read in over a decade of following this blog.
November 27th, 2017 at 3:01 PM ^
The day off from hate was more than worth it - thank you, Brian!
I said it before... While JOK didn't have the talent we need/want at the QB spot, he gave everything he did have. He lowered his shoulder for first downs. He took hits to stand in and throw (whether the pases completed, or not). He won a couple of games for us. And, most importantly, he gave Peters some time to avoid the White Out ringer as he came up to speed. He deserves our gratitude for giving what he had to give.
He didn't quit, like a lot of the dickhead posters that ate the banhammer...
November 27th, 2017 at 8:13 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 11:36 PM ^
Did you see on how many plays (including the TD where he gave a push), O'Korn was going down the field blocking people?
November 27th, 2017 at 3:15 PM ^
1. Gameplan: Yes to the remarkable gameplan pulled together by the offensive braintrust. All you can do as coaches is put your players in a position to succeed. They did that in spades all day. I liked the moving pockets, particularly, and the circle routes with Evans (arrrrrrrgh).
2. JOK I: Just watching live without the benefit of going back to the video, O'Korn's overthrows looked to be as much about a mix of adrenaline, nerves, pressing too hard, and existential anguish as mechanical issues. There were definitely a couple that he looked to be shifting weight backwards, which notoriously will sail a throw, but generally his stance (when his back was to the North endzone so I could see it) wasn't way off, i.e. "open," but he was pretty bounce-house hoppy once he completed his drop. I can't really blame him.
3. JOK II: I honestly think you put a kid with his physical tools in an Air Raid type offense and give him super-simple reads, he could succeed at the Div. I level. He was having that success at Houston til they changed a lot of things about the offense in year 2. But while we're on that subject, the one thing the staff consistently did NOT help him with was getting him uninterrupted views of the secondary without turning his back for PA purposes (or just those shitty I'm-not-fooling-anyone-quick-stick-the-ball-out-to-thin-air-on-obvious-passing-downs fakes where QB's head momentarily looks away from downfield reads).
When a dude is having all kinds of troubles with his reads, the cost of the PA fake (decreased downfield cognition) often exceeds the benefit (freezing LBs for a sec). A little too much of that, in my opinion, esp. on passing downs. I know it doesn't seem like much to look away for a split second, but it really does make it harder to pick up post-snap movement of DBs.
He's as good a fit for a Harbaugh offense as Steven Threet was for a RichRod offense. When you have no confidence in what you're doing, even the simplest throws feel hard.
4. WRs: Receivers need to get cleaner with routes. I spend a lot of time watching WRs when I'm attending live and while there has been some improvement this year, it just looks sloppy to me. Yes, they were popping open anyway because the scheme was great, and no, JOK probably wouldn't have hit them anyway, but this is for next year. This isn't designing the iPhone. Rounded corners are not a good thing. Yes, OSU was grabbing the hell out of them, but hand-combat and knowing how to push off is part of the skills package. Chalk it up to young guys, I guess.
5. Meta: I'm so, so glad I didn't read message boards after the game for a couple days. Oh, and why no running water fountains in the stadium? It rendered my smuggled empty H20 less helpful. Also, the OSU fans in my section were very well behaved even at the end.
November 27th, 2017 at 3:12 PM ^
Fortunately for me, I was busy after the game on Saturday so I didn't get to see any of the JOK posts on here. It must have been pretty bad fo get "grounded."
Hopefully next year we will win and it will be a love fest instead of panic-inducing grievance party.
November 27th, 2017 at 3:15 PM ^
disagree with your assessment here. that is a hold. Hurst has beaten past his man with 3/4 of his back to the OL, but he is still grabbing the front of his jersy. hurst needs to learn to flop when he gets that kind of position to sell it better i guess
November 27th, 2017 at 3:24 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 3:41 PM ^
Brian, I fully understand what you did. Sometimes you need to have a fuse, and sometimes that fuse needs to go off.
But how about some kind of brief message on the front page next time about what you did and why, for those of us who do not hang out on Twitter?
If you are going to communicate about the status of MGoBlog on Twitter, could you also do it, you know, on MGoBlog?
I was out after the game and when I came back all I saw was a static blog with commenting and posting that did not work. I had no idea if there was yet another technical issue, or if the thing was in the process of being upgraded, or if we were all being sent to Bolivia as some kind of group punishment, or if you just turned the damned thing off and went to bed.
November 27th, 2017 at 3:32 PM ^
ugh....in the ol mittens. What a gut punch
November 27th, 2017 at 3:41 PM ^
If so, holy hell, that's why he dropped the ball. Stop wearing mittens, Josh.
November 27th, 2017 at 3:34 PM ^
Brian - Your Twitter response about a person's teeth was very classy Saturday night. Similar to what you don't want people to post on this board, you should not tweet at board members.
November 27th, 2017 at 3:39 PM ^
Promising talent coming to Michigan for 2016 season from Houston.
Tall, good mobility, strong arm and upside from feet-to-the-fire experience from 2013 season at Houston (3,117 yds, 28 TDs, 10 INTs as a true frosh).
But he was wreckless with the football (fumbles, INTs), even at Houston, and it just seemed like his coaches (Doug Meacham, Tony Levine, Pep Hamilton, Jim Harbaugh) tried to reign that in as best as possible, and he became more hesitant and second-guessing himself as a result, and couldn't quite recover from it.
Paralysis by analysis.
More was expected from a 3-star transfer from the run-and-gunny offense of Levine at Houston, and the #32 ranked H.S. QB in the country.
College football is random and insane for no damn reason.
I feel badly that he will have to live with the blame for the MSU game, the PSU game and the Ohio State game outcomes all of which were crushing losses.
What was especially heartbreaking was to see the faces of Chris Evans and Rashan Gary during O'Korn's post game comments and break down.
Hoping O'Korn can somehow go out on some kind of a better-note, even if it is a nice first-down throw in the bowl game when game score and outcome is academic.
I appreciate that he came to Michigan and gave his best effort.
November 27th, 2017 at 3:49 PM ^
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