UM Football: An Old-Timer's Historical Snowflake Perspective

I'm sorry but I would not say RR left the cupboard bare. We would not have had the success in 2011 if that was the case. O Line yes is a disaster for right now and a lot of that is on RR's recruitment of that position. A lot of other positions had and continue to have young talent. Hoke is bringing in a lot of good players and good guys also.

Have never once figured this team to be undefeated this year. I'm upset we lost. But it is what it is. Time to move forward. Can't let Penn State best us again.

I went to my first game in 80 @ age 10. So there have been ups and downs along the way. I thought my spirit was permanently broken in 91 iirc when Desmond Howard was tripped in the corner of the north end zone on the last play of regulation and we lost to msu. The obvious pass interference call that never came was admitted in Sundays Ann Arbor news by the officiating crew... But I have recovered. Admittedly Carr was on my hot seat by getting owned by tressel. But friends, the rr experiment was the low point from my perspective. Never again must the program be without a groomed successor if you ask me. I honestly think the worst performance was the first half of the Wisconsin game we came back in the 2nd half to win in maybe 09. There were boos in the stands. I too was filled with venom after Saturday's debacle. But after a couple days I'm ok. Our shortcomings aren't masked anymore. If we expect to win going fwd they have to be dealt with as in schemed around. We're going to lose to better teams, but I think we will hang with some who can't find second gear. I do believe M will return to the (successful) power run that we lust after albeit not this year. Quick math says the best programs have averaged 9-3 for 130+ years to achieve the .750 standard.. So some seasons will be better and some worse. I actually blame Brandon for the hype exceeding the product on the field. Hoke never promised anything to us except toughness...and...well, the team is tough if you ask me. They don't get down despite turnovers and getting stuffed over and over for -3 yards. They whiff blocks but fight on. Obviously the day of reckoning is still to come for Hoke. I still believe he will leave planet earth with a campus building named after him.

I was 3 in 69. I too have lived the highs and the lows. I think these losses sting more because we're able to know the team more than ever; be it MGoBlog, Twitter, or BTN. It seems to me the stakes are higher in this era. Maybe I'm wrong. I was invested in the team as much as one can be when I was in school from 84-87, but it's just as painful today as any loss was then. Still love the players and coaches. I just bitch more because I'm approaching 50. Guh.

When I was a junior, I worked for ABC during the 24-12 game so I trump most of the posters in this thread. I'm not as pessimistic as most, but I can recall very few UM losses that were more directly due to coaching decisions than Saturday's loss. I'm not talking about things like running Toussaint 27 times, but things like the delay of game penalty, the failure to call a time out when Gardner's helmet came off; etc. That's what I think many feel most disturbing.

unless youre completed biased or just dont know much about football, most UM fans would have to admit this team lacks talent and the only real reasons for optimism coming into the season were such a mediocre conference and the always enticing unknown promise of youthful roster.  i think most fans beleived UM to be overrated in top 25 entering the season and teh average record prediction was something like 8-4....i figured 8-4 with a probable loss in bowl game (though i figured psu would be close win over summer).  i beleive vegas set UM over/under win total at 9.  so anyone that expected 10-2 was probably just a bit unrealistic and shouldve tempered expectations....not impossible but they wouldve needed to play lights out and mistake free football in essentially every game, so just very unlikely.  my reason for pessimism is the square peg in round hole approach....visions of 2nd half OSU playcalling except its not denard running into 10 man walls, its touissant running into the DT and at least 1 LB shooting A gap.  i gave hoke a pass for 3 yrs due to the awful sitiation he inherited, i just dont think coaches are doing all they can to help their players.  i remain optimistic in regards to hoke recruiting talent and i will certainly refrain from completely judging his classes until they mature - but early indications are not as promising at top 10 level rankings indicate.  in current ncaa football landscape, not only are talented freshmen and especially redshirt freshmen playing more and more but the truly elite players are expected to make impact in first and second years.  every elite team in country has impact freshmen starting and contributing to W's...and i dont see much at UM..true title teams are dominated by upperclassmen but given the nature of 85 man rosters title teams need consistent impact play from multiple players in every class every year. .understand much of it is lack of opportunity but its not promising so far.  i just hope hoke truly understands taht every single 1 of the 85 matters and he cannot recruit role players and nice kids or slews of developmental projects....every scholarship must be awarded with very strong inclination that particular kid will start at UM.....naturally wont happen but cream rises to top and if they truly beleive they have 85 starters (at some point in career) on the roster then the talent should be there....but its not the MAC, cant sign a kid just bc hes a legacy or a joy to coach every day.  completely agree with hoke in building inside-out when he first arrived and every student athlete progresses and develops at own pace but some guys should start jumping off page as freshmen and redshirt freshmen ...cant have a successful season if both the cupboard is bare in terms of upperclassmen , save for handful of stars and average players, and none of the young kids step up.  hoke still gets 5 years to produce and fully realize his vision of UM football in my eyes and if theres still not serious contention then theres a problem.  but im def troubled not only by coaches inability to "put players in best positions to succeed" but also lack of young kids truly making impact....hopefully im very wrong

and have never seen the Bandwagon fall apart so quickly after a loss. It really is disheartening to see such a lack of faith in our coaches and players. 

That being said..We need to play to win, and not to lose.

to remember some very bad times for Michigan football.  Saturday was painful on many levels, but I was still proud of the team.  It's a tough place to play, and they certainly had to overcome a lot of adversity.  They should have won but didn't.  It happens.  I fully expect the team to learn from this and continue to improve.  They may not be improving  as fast as some would like, but compare this road game (their second) with the UConn game (their first) and it's pretty obvious they've made some strides already.  Count me among those who thought the meltdown on this blog after Saturday's game was over the top.  I understand people are frustrated, and some of it is justified.  Michigan football is trending in the right direction under Hoke.  Let's not lose our heads over what happened on Saturday.

i was at UM in 1984. yes, we were 6-6 but don't recall many calling for Bo's head.  jim harbaugh got injured early that year and was replaced by nick sheridan (i mean chris zurbrugge).  and the following year, with a healthy harbaugh, UM finished #2 in the country after beating Neb in the fiesta bowl.  and the previous 2 years UM lost the rose bowl and sugar bowl (bo jackson's team).

shared a B1G title in 9 seasons or won one outright in 10. You have to go back to the 50s to find another such streek!

you're not old. Old is always 10 years away.

I'm with you in general the "f*ck hoke" and "f*ck borges" and crap like that is what bothers me. Hey if we all want to dissect the game and call them out...cool...that is part of the fun right? But when we are mother "effing" this and that and the all "motherf*cking suck" it just gets too much we aren't even having a conversation at that point.

As one even older than you, you're not that old. Second point: This is my favorite post I have seen on this site since Saturday. I can't believe how far down the program went. Saturday was definitely a bump in the road. And I am as concerned as everyone else about the line play with the strength of the schedule coming up. I still see this team as two years away from being where we want them to be. Perhaps it is a function of being in my dotage, but as long as I think they are progressing in that direction, I am going to be pleased.

Resurrected Michigan football.  I was a kid in Ann Arbor during the Bump Elliott years, and yeah football was still the "social season" during the 60's (of course I also went to the Love-Ins at West Park ... ahh the Hippie days!

Anyway Bo brought the tradition of winning football back to AA.  He was way too conservative on offense - because he believed that teams won with DEFENSE.  Shit - we lost those 3 in a row to ohio because he never believed a kicker was worth a scholarship.  The Lantry misses were killers (although to this day one of those was good - but the refs couldn't call it that in Cbus).  Defense could win the B1G back then since it really was the big 2 and little 8.  But his bowl record speaks to the fact that he was simply too conservative on offense.

Too conservative on offense ... where have I heard that recently ???

I wear my fandom around like the next Michigan fan, wear maize on game day, cheer loudly in the bar or my living room and read this blog far too much.  The dismay (complete and sudden loss of confidence) around these parts following the Penn State loss makes me think that a number of you have your self-esteem tied to the success of your favorite football team.  That's pathetic.  Totally pathetic. 

I took both of my sons to the ER this weekend because they had high fevers, and due dillegence etc. They are both fine -still sick, but fine. I mention this because unless you're playing in the games, its just entertainment.  Maintain some perspective and gird up thy loins.