Iowa 14, Michigan 13
A Murphy's Law game.
Any number of individual plays could've changed the outcome. Most of the ones that come to mind involve Wilton Speight, who had his worst game of the year, then had injury added to insult at the end.
Speight wasn't alone in his struggles, however. Jehu Chesson missed a chance to bail his quarterback out, instead getting a third-down pass ripped from his hands by Manny Rugamba, costing the Wolverines a chance to put the game away. Khalid Hill missed an assignment that led to an early safety and lost a fumble returning the opening kickoff of the second half. Chris Evans was the only running back who could consistently get anything going. The playcalling, personnel usage, and late-game clock management will be nitpicked to death this week, and not without justification.
While the defense played well on the whole, they couldn't contain Akrum Wadley, who accounted for 167 yards on 28 touches. And, yes, there were multiple questionable calls by the notorious officiating crew led by John O'Neill.
"Not every little thing is going to go our team's way," said Jim Harbaugh. "To win, you've got to make it go your way. We didn't."
Michigan still has everything to play for, but they've lost all margin for error if they want to keep their Big Ten title and playoff dreams alive. Before they even get that far, though, they have to figure out what went wrong tonight. This game should not have been close, let alone a loss, but a number of underwhelming performances occurred in conjunction at the wrong time. There's no sugarcoating tonight.
November 13th, 2016 at 11:35 AM ^
I'm certain Harbaugh is setting up other plays off of these. Last night would have been a good time to break those out. If they are saving them for Urban and friends, I'm ok with that. Just don't leave them buried in the damn playbook.
November 13th, 2016 at 10:58 AM ^
November 13th, 2016 at 11:38 AM ^
I think this game made it very clear that smith should not be the main RB. I understand he is a much improved blocker, but his vision and decision making has become a liability. Evans is the best RB on this team and he should be getting at least 15+ carries a game. Did anyone else notice how smith just stopped and basically let the D-lineman safety him, instead of fighting to make it out of the endzone?
November 13th, 2016 at 11:47 AM ^
November 13th, 2016 at 11:48 AM ^
Wilton didn't have the greatest day. Over throws and under throws. Move on and everyone including coaches learn from it and get better. All you can do.
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November 13th, 2016 at 11:49 AM ^
All around shit show. Don't think play calling was bad. Execution was. My 2 cents.
Beat IU, Beat OSU, Beat Wiscy.
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November 13th, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^
November 13th, 2016 at 11:57 AM ^
November 13th, 2016 at 6:19 PM ^
November 13th, 2016 at 12:05 PM ^
y'all still drinking that kool-aid? "WS, could make it to NYC!" "Oh, WS, could be an early entry into the draft" Don't make me laugh!!! He's a game manager at best, sure he went off against some crappy opponents at home what happens when he's faced with adversity? he just doesn't have the skill set. too many missed throws, and not making plays. don't drink the Kool-Aid.
November 13th, 2016 at 12:44 PM ^
The defense is good, but exploitable as we saw all year vs MSU, Maryland and now Iowa in successive weeks.
Really awful play by the OL which prevented UM from setting Iowa's secondary on fire.
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November 13th, 2016 at 12:57 PM ^
It's really simple guys, offense, defense, special teams, and coaching all didn't bother to show up. Not one unit had a redeemable game. That was the worst Michigan performance I can remember in quite some time. That game shouldn't have been close let alone a loss. Quite frankly I'm getting sick and tired of seeing this program turtle every time it has to play away from the Big House.
Last night was a clown show of the highest proportions.
November 13th, 2016 at 6:18 PM ^
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