From the Depths of Despair ... (Michigan-Rutgers 2020)
I watch the highlights of the 2020 Rutgers game fairly often, though of course wincing while I do. Fun to look back and see, in that game more than any other, the kernels of the dominant 2021-22 teams start to reveal themselves. Sainristil (on offense). Blake Corum. Ronnie Bell. Hassan Haskins. Dax Hill. Cornelius Johnson. Even, sort of, via the repeated misses of Quinn Nordin (not all his fault), the need for Jake Moody.
And, of course, most significantly, Cade McNamara, brought on for the first time to relieve a disappointing Joe Minton and engineer an astounding comeback victory.
It's a terrible game, with crazy swings (down 17 early, up by 8 with less than 35 seconds left, plus additional insanity during the OT), and being in that situation against Rutgers really illustrates how bad things had gotten that crazy/Covid year, but ... I can't stop myself from enjoying watching Cade appear for the first time and sling that ball around.
Here's the link to the highlight package, if you're interested. Good times ... in very bad times.
I’ve been damn near killed online for saying that it reminded me of o’korn vs Purdue in 2017.
2019: Cade was 16-32 for 165 and a td outside of that game.
2021 (vs p5): 193-305 for 2,249. 13 tds and 6 ints.
2022: 14-25 for 180. 1 td and 1 int.
2021: Take away the msu game he’s 165- 261 for 1,866. 11 tds and 5 ints. He had 383 against state, but 95 came off Andrel’s 5 yards slant. 26-43 for 288 1td and 1 int. State had one of the worst pass defenses in the country. For context, CJ Stroud went 32-35 for 432 and 6 tds in just 3 quarters against that same Sparty defense.
Corum looks absolutely tiny compared to now.
What a painful season. And despite the W, that game should have never been that close knowing Rutgers. Rutgers. The defense was particularly porous. Nordin-ouch. But 2020. Covid.
Also reminds me how sad it is how McNamara and All left.
Gosh dang that game was ugly. Michigan's poor defense stuck out like a sore thumb. I didn't realize that Michigan had a RB room that included Charbonnet, Corum and Haskins. Pretty sweet.
2020 as a season, was horrible for cf. But imo it showed who was following covid rules and who wasn't.
No way teams followed all the quarantine rules, sit out 11 days no contact no football, contact tracing and all that and then come out the way bama, osu, clemson and others did. Just no way. No way were qb's and rec's that in tune, oline's that intune without getting the necessary reps and practice time in. Not if they were following the covid rules.
Clemson had a player getting off the plane that tested positive for covid and still the entire team played and only the protesting team forcing that player to stay in the hotel happened..somehow the NCAA, ACC and Clemson let that happen. By contact tracing that player on a plane the entire team should have had to sit and forfeit the game. But we got tv and a game to play... can't give that up.
OSU, harbaugh's infamous call out on Al Washington coaching osu lbers in a picture in mid June or July coaching lber drills, the photo did have a time stamp and got out because an osu insider posted the picture. Which prompted the Ryan Day's "hang a hundred".. line.
Not only were teams not following covid rules, we had heard many things about post spring ball and summer workouts were actually quite true and just how rampant that type of cheating really was/is.
What a weird season? I remember falling asleep on the couch some time in the 1st half when it was 17-0 then waking up toward the end of the 4th.
The one thing that gave me optimism was Cade. While he obviously doesn't have the tools of JJ at his best he was very accurate and made great decisions.
That team (2020) was the first time I felt we had a divided locker-room since the RR era. After 2019, the two guys we thought would be QB (DMAC and Milton) either left or performed poorly. Cade was the starter vs. PSU until he got hurt - Milton could see he was not going to get a chance to start here again and left. Like others here feel, he was a good guy but was just too raw, probably poorly coached, and overwhelmed. The picks vs. UW and then going into the tank in this game would have been hard to overcome for any 20 year old guy.
The good things that DID come out of this game:
1. Cade took control of the QB role seriously and was a leader in 2021, even though he was shaky at times early, he was much better by the PSU and Maryland games. I didn't like his pouting last year, but believe he's a guy who will later probably address the exit more positively and mend any perceived burned bridges when he's an assistant coach somewhere in CFB in his late 20s.
2. DB's defensive schemes reminded my of how (eventually) defenses adjusted to the run and shoot O's of Mouse Davis. Indy gave his D fits with decent talent. That opened the eyes of Schiano using some decent WRs to constantly slant us to death in this game.
3. I also think our DB coach (Zordich) was a big problem. Once we lost the pass rushers, the DB technique was exposed.
4. The bounce back season from 2020 to 21 reminded me of my last two years as a student (1984 and 85 FB season) when we went 6-6 in 84 (losses to MSU and OSU) and then 10-1-1 in 85 with wins over ND, Ohio, Sparty, a Tom Osborne Nebraska team, etc. I remember when we got off to a great start in 85 how a few of the players commented that the locker room was united and that wasn't the case in 84 (people looking out for themselves). Just like guys like Hammerstein and Mike Mallory seemed to help bond the team, we saw that with Josh Ross, Aidan, etc. in 21.
5. For the same reason (knowing out of terrible came greatness), I don't mind watching "lowlights" of the 84 season, knowing what happened in 85. After the big win over Ohio in A2 at end of 85 season, Bo was interviewed on the field and mentioned how much better it was "after that dismal season of a year ago."
January 9th, 2024 at 8:55 AM ^
This is where is started. Down 0 to 17 at Rutgers with a near 90% chance of losing in Q2. Then CJ happened. To appreciate the mountaintop you need to appreciate the depths of despair this team started from. Right here. This is when the path to the Nat Champ began. With team 144's diamonds being forged in team 141.