Like so many others in 2019, I was excited by the idea of Howard finding success here and was so hopeful that it was going to come to fruition after the E8 run. While I will always cherish the positives of that B10 championship season (and appreciate all of those involved in bringing it to us), unfortunately it appears that was nothing more than fools gold. The JH era ended up being very similar to the Hoke era, overachieved early with mostly other peoples players and massively struggled once it was time to establish a culture of your own. I wish Juwan nothing but the best and am glad this didn't fester any longer to further deteriorate his legacy with UM. Onwards to finding our next coach, give Jay Wright a call (I 99.999% expect he'll say no, but you never know) as well as TJ Otzelberger, Darian DeVries, Greg McDermott, Pat Kelsey, even Fred Hoiberg (NU has gotten better year over year). Perhaps Coach B wants to restore his program once again. If you want to get sleezy, I'm sure that the Sean Miller, Will Wade, and even Rick Pitino would be excited at another opportunity to lead a major P5 program (not advocating for it, just pointing it out). There are plenty of options as of present, so hopefully Warde has already started making some calls. To the future!
A few new looks under the hood, at this point I am far more inclined to believe Sanderson's point of view than what comes out of the AD/current staff - they are desperately looking for ways to justify inaction. However, there is nothing there that should change the decision that obviously needs to be made! The worst season in UM bball history while on a 3-year downward trend is more than enough data. The unwillingness to make changes (I found it interesting that during JH's post-game presser he said that they were going to sit down as a staff and come up with solutions - is that insinuating he doesn't want to make any assistant/staff changes, AGAIN!) and the hands-off approach (can't confirm its truth, but I heard on one of the UM podcasts last week that JH doesn't have player mandatory workout/conditioning sessions during the week, which is similar to many NBA teams, but is still unbelievable to me) is icing on the cake. Warde needs to get off his ass and do his job, or someone else can do it for him (which honestly would be the far more preferable route at this point), it didn't need to take more than 24 hours (we are now on day 2, with supposedly no decision until Monday). The longer you wait, the longer all the other teams that have already made coaching changes have to work on hiring their next one, leaving you further and further behind.
There is no question that Juwan has a strong passion for UM and the bball program. That aside, the problem is that the situation they now face (bad culture, poor roster construction, absence of discipline/fundamentals, complete disengagement of the fanbase) is squarely a result of his (and his staffs) efforts, much like Matt Doherty with UNC back in the day (we know how that one eventually ended up). I'm sure that he wants to roll up his sleeves and find solutions, most people would. However, I am nearly certain at this point that he is not the right man for the job to figure out those solutions, because I don't think any of his "solutions" are going to work. The program is currently lifeless and a new voice/leader needs to be brought in to facilitate a complete overhaul, similar to when Beilein replaced Amaker. Doesn't to have to be a "big name" coach, but it does need to be someone with experience coaching in COLLEGE and that understands how to build a proper roster core through recruiting (supplemented with transfers, not as the main pieces) and development. I, like many here, really wanted this to work and was so hopeful after the first two years, but this is not working and we need to move on (but I fear that Warde is going to do the lazy thing and try to ride it out while hoping for the best)
Knocked the trial run out of the park - happy for Coach Moore, he is a passionate guy, I know that he'll work hard and hope that the good times keep on rolling!
Long story short, nobody knows what Harbaugh is going to do (as per usual). I stopped worrying about it, since whatever happens is what's going to happen. Hopefully coach will be back, but if he goes to the NFL I can't really blame him, he's earned that right. Regardless, I hope that whatever the ultimate decision is gets announced ASAP
For me, it was the 2021 @Nebraska game. It was playing out in a fashion where we usually find a way to lose. Instead, our guys withstood the punches made the plays they needed to get the W. The ability to respond to things not going your way in a tough environment was something we hadn’t seen out of them in a long time, and it gave me hope that things may finally be different.
Suspended for road games, but not home games?!? This is the weirdest suspension I've ever heard of. The offense was bad enough that road games are out of the question, but home games are ok? Weirdness aside, this is a huge blow to what was already a massively struggling team. Upcoming road games were going to be near certain losses with Dug, so obviously little hope without him. Also difficult to see how Dug is going to have the requisite mental focus during the upcoming home games that he does play. He was already not looking very good the last few games, imagine this was playing a role in that and will continue to do so. Man, this team is a real mess. Sidenote, if this is in fact an academic issue, blame also falls on the coaching staff, how you can allow your best player to hover around ineligibility, what kind of oversight (or lack thereof) is going on over there?
This year is definitely lost, so nothing can be done about that, will be lucky if we don't finish dead last this year. Once the season ends, there needs to be a complete overhaul of the entire program. Like many, really wanted this to work, but writing is on the wall (weird off the court stuff like this does not continuously happen with strong/healthy, competently run programs) and it's time to start over.
What a game….what a year! This has been the most glorious run of my life as a Wolverine. So proud of our guys, going down as one of the greatest teams in CFB history. Defense was lights out! What a special treat for all loyal Wolverines around the world!
One of the few that went tonight. Throughout the game kept asking myself what exactly did these guys work on in practice the past few days coming off the McNeese debacle, still not sure what the answer is. Energy was not very good the entire game, they remain immensely careless with the ball. Very little offense is run, just basically fling the ball around wildly and shoot a 3. Interior defense was atrocious. Dug picked a bad game to go AWOL. When they hit the 8 minute mark I knew they were in big trouble because the lead was only 4 and the typical 4-5 minute period where our guys do absolutely nothing hadn’t happened yet. Sure enough it was saved for the very end of the game. This team is a disaster. Don’t see how they’re going to win many more games. Really sad…but let’s just get this season over with.
Love it, this team has been feeding on slights and insults all season, keep giving them more fuel!!
That aside, I am finding this increasingly perplexing. Objectively, if UM wins on Monday this is sneakily one football's best teams over the past decade (may still be regardless), yet the way so many "anonymously" speak about our team you'd think we are fighting just to reach bowl eligibility. These coaches do realize that UW hasn't won a game by more than 10 points since they beat Cal on September 23rd right? That includes games against 3-9 ASU, 3-9 Stanford and 5-7 WSU - you know, the types of teams that we were routinely beating by 4-5 touchdowns - guess that's battle tested for you people!!
Unlike offense, where natural talent can prevail over scheme (NBA case in point), defense is more about effort given and communication. If a team decides to prioritize playing good defense and emphasizes that in practice and within their culture, they will probably become better at defense. This is basically what happened when our own Wolverines went from an atrocious defensive team to one of the best as we embraced the Billy Donlon and Luke Yaklich philosophies. Many of the same players that were on our terrible 2015 & 2016 defensive teams were on the elite 2017 and 2018 teams. The fact that we have played absolutely atrocious defense the past 3 years now tells me that this coaching staff does not prioritize defense, or doesn't know how to coach defense, either way that is not acceptable.
Didn't watch, wasn't able to or interested. Not surprised they lost, I put an ML bet on McNeese State earlier today. Can't really speak to the game itself as I didn't watch it, but per box score even on the rebound battle (10 offensive rebounds allowed), -11 for turnovers, -12 on fast break points, -28 on points in the paint. Mind you that they weren't playing Arizona, UNC, or Gonzaga where you may expect splits like this, it was against McNeese State!! We have now lost games to both Will Wade and Todd Golden this year - two guys who are regarded as horrible in-game coaches. Unfortunately, this is the program we have now. Hope that the very vocal & unconditional Juwan defenders amongst us can begin to see the light now. The bball program has been dug into a deep hole, and our coaching staff doesn't have the slightest clue on how to get us out of it. Add on that if the McDaniel rumors are true then things are about to get a hell of a lot worse! Change is very much needed
Best: 2008 Capital One bowl v. Florida --> was GREAT to send Tebow packing and besting Urban is always welcome
Worst: 2022 Fiesta bowl v. TCU --> really had no business losing this game, add that TCU primarily won due to our mistakes and poor play calling decisions and not them making a ton of plays, this is the worst bowl loss I have witnessed UM play
NOTE: I would have picked Brady's win over Bama in 2000 for best, but that was a few years before I became a football fan
This is the most frustrated I have been with the program since the final two years of Amaker. It just feels like we are running in place. I know that there is solid talent on this current roster, and that there is talent coming in next year. But can we honestly say that we have confidence they will be coached correctly and put in a position to succeed if the AD decides to run it back again next year? The 2021 team had 3 McDonald's AAs and only managed an 11 seed (the S16 run was fun, but that season was not). We had two lottery picks and the most coveted transfer in the history of the transfer portal era on our team last year and got blown out by a bad Rutgers team in the first round of the BTT to miss the tourney. This team has multiple pros on it and our defense has dropped 70 spots per Kenpom and it looks like our W/L record may be worse than last year or the year before it!
Thank you for saying this!! When last season ended I was convinced that the only way Juwan could turn this around was by making major changes on his staff (i.e. AT LEAST two new assistants). When no changes were made, I feared that we would get to this point. The chemistry with this staff has been off for at least 2 years now, it just doesn't generate the juice we need and doesn't put kids in the best position to win games. If he didn't make any changes last year, I highly doubt that he will make changes now (while I do love coach Howard, it is clear to me that he is extremely stubborn and headstrong). Coach B had to humble himself MULTIPLE times throughout his career, Harbaugh does it nearly every season. Stagnation rarely leads to success
Different game, and yet again the same story. The inability for our teams (multiple years now) to close out games and execute in tight situations is beyond infuriating. Don't want to hear anything about just being unlucky or being right there with equal/superior teams. The record (what is it now, 2-20 in games that are a single possession at the end or go to OT??) speaks for itself at this point. Losing close games and failing to execute when under pressure has become a facet of the program, and that is simply unacceptable. There is talent on this roster, just like last year, to see it wasted away is just a shame. I will of course continue to support our guys, but there needs to be a change at the top once the season ends...the lack of discipline, attention to detail, and boneheaded decisions (what were Burnett and Nkamhoua thinking on some of those late shots!?!) are sinking this season and the program along with it!!
Even coming off a good win, they can't seem to avoid the drama. While we will likely never know the true details of what happened between the involved parties, the fact that this type of stuff continues to persist - and that individuals of significance such as Jalen are being so defensive over unsubstantiated internet rumors - is not overly encouraging. The chemistry for this team (and the last few ones for that matter), whether it be the coaching staff or the players themselves has been off. Year to year performance trajectories are eerily similar to Brady Hoke. Enthusiasm around the program is similar to that of Amaker's final two years. I love UM hoops and Juwan (he is and forever will be one of our program's greatest players) but its hard to see how this gets turned around long-term with the current staff short of a complete change in philosophy/attitude, which I seriously doubt will happen (if there was any time for staff changes, it was this past offseason and they ultimately made none).
Any arguments by the talking heads that UW should be at #1 makes me question their baseline intelligence and objectivity (not that we should expect anything differently from them at this point though). If you're going to argue that UM did not look great in the championship game (against a top 25 team and top 10 defense by the way), then you can't ignore that UW has looked like shit up until their game against the Ducks for a month plus now. If you're going to put Alabama in, then Texas has to be in, H2H games have to count for something, otherwise what is the point of playing tough out of conference games?? In my personal opinion, Alabama's victory should knock the SEC out, Georgia's strength of schedule was bad and they have no leg to stand on as an at-large. That said, I suspect it will be hard for the committee to keep the SEC out, and FSU will probably get shafted (despite going undefeated and winning their conference championship) due to the QB injury. Will be interesting to see what happens
However it plays out (and assuming that we are victorious against Iowa on Saturday), hoping that we end up matching with either FSU or Washington for the semifinals. Don't think those squads match up well with us. Have a hard time seeing OSU backdoor into it this year, more than a USC upset to Utah would need to happen for that this time, although it's not impossible. Happy that Iowa is up to #16, another opportunity for a "quality win". Why Tennessee is still ranked is beyond me, they are NOT a top 25 squad, the W/L record and eye test confirms it! Still a lot of variance for this final top 4, really everyone 1-8 is still technically in it, should make for an interesting Saturday
Sue, Sue, Sue! Meanwhile they should start exploring options to leave the conference, perhaps this is the start of that super-league some have been speaking about the past few years
Given how this whole thing has gone, wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if this is true. No shock if we learn that some of the same shrieking violets during this saga went even further and directly knew (and instructed) that analysts were doing this, which of course there is no evidence of for our staff. Hope the team has been able to insulate themselves from this a best as possible, beat PSU tomorrow!!
I have learned to not take anything that Dinich says seriously - she has a vendetta against UM and un-objectively takes advantage of any opportunity presented to attack the program. Will the B10 release a statement about this later today...maybe, guess we'll see. In my opinion, I suspect that if anything does come out, it won't be more than a public reprimand and/or a forthcoming fine. Yesterday was likely the critical period if a suspension was coming this week. No way Fox Sports allows the moron commish to have Harbaugh suspended for the OSU game
I hope that UM stands its ground, don't give a single inch to these hypocrites! This whole situation has been massively frustrating, as so many of these coaches and ADs complain/call for blood anonymously (likely because they know that they are all doing the same thing(s) and don't want to be called out/exposed directly). While Walters is unquestionably a fool (especially if ILL having our signs last year is true), I at least give him credit for putting his name to the comments. ESPN is filled with people that hate UM to their core (Thamel, Pete, Dinich, etc...) and now that they don't have a financial connection to the conference, they are all too happy to try and destroy the program. Counterfactual information (which most ignore) and unproven allegations (which many "sports journalists" & commentators spew out uncritically) be damned. UM is absolutely right, sue the B10 (and NCAA) if they try and move forward on this without allowing any due process/investigation to play out - maybe even threaten to leave the conference. These are not federal/state laws that have allegedly been violated, we are talking about NCAA bylaws that 99.9999% of people did not know even existed (myself included) as of 3-weeks ago. Almost all of this is allegations at this point, and the NCAA has not even formally submitted a letter of inquiry about it yet. Furthermore, it sounds like there is a possibility that this information about our code breaking was acquired illegally by certain hostile entities! How all of these morons in charge of other B10 schools (and outside the conference) can be this dumb and shortsighted is honestly shocking. It might be convenient for you now, but this will set up a model that can (and probably will) be repeated over and over again by bad faith actors that don't actually want to compete, but simply want to destroy and defame. What fun would that be.
For the team, go win on Saturday and every other week of the season! That would be the best and biggest middle finger we can send of all of these hypocritical pearl-clutchers! Apologies for the rant, its the first time I've commented about this fiasco on the blog
Didn't get to watch it live, but really exciting that they won nonetheless. After catching up today, this team looks like it has the grit they've been striving for. Obviously it's just one game and it will be critical that the guys keep a level head amongst the hype, but I am excited to see what comes next!
Defense was really good overall - D-line completely took away their run game. Forced some turnovers, which was good to see. Would have liked if our edges could have generated some more pressures on the QB though. A good start to build on as the year moves forward
JJ looked great, really in control of the offense - excluding the botched play on 4th and goal. Really happy to see Blake running smoothly out there. Hoping Roman Wilson is going to have a big year. Was pretty vanilla on offense overall. Don't think we are going to be able to take away much from this game.
Already thought that TCU was a fraud going into the season, but despite that didn't think they would lose today. Guess they're even bigger frauds than I gave them credit for, especially their "defense". Gave up 45 to Colorado? Is Alex Grinch also running the Frogs defense in his free time?!? Going to be a bit of fools gold now, as Buffs will likely start 3-0 (Nebraska and CSU next) and then get smashed against Oregon week 4 - hype train will become unbearable
Poll looks mostly as I expected it would, including UM at #2. However, I am honestly a bit surprised that we did not even get a single #1 vote, figured we would get at least a few. Doesn't matter anyway, as preseason polls don't mean anything outside of early year bragging rights. Win the games on the schedule and everything will take care of itself!
Would have preferred to have gotten this guy than not obviously. But on the bright side, it sounds like he wasn't going to appear in the maize and blue for a least a few years from now, as he plans to participate in his religious mission before matriculating to college. Hopefully the scholarship can now go to someone (HS recruit or transfer) that will contribute to our team sooner rather than later.
Not going to matter anyway, but ridiculous that Tennessee doesn't get a bowl ban despite doing much worse stuff, but Harbaugh gets a 4-game suspension for giving the guys hamburgers
HD really needs to stop talking and just play ball. While I wished him well when he left, I am glad that we are not going to have to deal with another season of the childish public trash talking, it was getting really old (especially since they weren't winning). Not sure that I will ever get over the ski-mask clown show against Wisconsin. There is no need to take pot shots at your former community - said the same thing about Cade and Erick All when they left. You like Kansas, great, just say that and end of sentence, bringing the people of AA and MI into the conversation is not necessary, very immature and not professional at all
Probably not worth getting your hopes up too much over that - although it would be nice to pull off a surprise against them as a return of the favor for the DT last week
Better than TCU, thats for sure! In all seriousness, I think that UM would have been driven by the 2021 loss to give UGA a game (at least for a while). TCU used up all of their mojo to beat us, they were never going to stand a chance in the NC game
Steve's Lunch, Flim Flam, original Stucchi's - also miss the old Blimpy Burger location (food still good, but not quite the same feel at the new place downtown)
Sad to hear. He stepped up in a tough spot last year against ILL and made one of the most important plays of the season with that 4th down catch. I will always appreciate him for that. Wishing him the best with the procedure!
Tough & gritty kid, coming from Rutgers you know he will play stingy defense (which we desperately need). Portal is slim pickens at this point, so given that we have open scholarships (and he already knows the dynamics of the B10) I would happily take him
Not surprised that it was designated as a protected series, but I was honestly kind of hoping that it would be canned for a little bit at least (since I would be shocked if the conference doesn't expand again in the next 2 years, with another round of schedule shuffling afterwards). Rivalries are supposed to be fun, and I think that many of us would agree that this series has not been fun for some time. There has been so much toxic hatred coming from EL regarding sports (coaches should never be instructing their players to try and intentionally end opposing players careers, or getting charged with assault for attacking opponents after the game), it would have been good if they could have been sent a message to remind them that sports is just a game and to tone it down many many notches
An apparently tough schedule (plus UW & Texas), but if they are able to get through it we certainly won't have the hear any of the BS "weak schedule" chatter by the talking heads again. CFP expands in 2024, so dropping a game (maybe even two) won't have a huge impact on their prospects. Honestly, I think the brand name opponents make it seem scarier than it will be in reality. USC will be in transition next year after Caleb Williams leaves and I don't think Lincoln Riley's no-defense approach is going to work great with our heavy ground and pound + play action offensive attack (see them against Utah last year). Have a hard time seeing UCLA winning in Ann Arbor. UW at home is a very likely win (Fickell is a good coach, but I feel like they are making the Rich Rod mistake we made a decade ago culture/approach wise). Toughest game will obviously be @OSU since they will have a second-year starter and we will likely be leading with a very talented freshman or someone else. Like the past two seasons (and this year), the ball will be in our court.
Wow, what a whirlwind. Guess as Yogi Berra once said, it ain't over until it's over! Glad to have him. Would be interesting to one day get under the hood of this and learn how it really went down
Appropriately named! A slimy program, a slimy coach, many slimy players. Much like Tom Osbourne/Scott Frost in 97, Meyer/Tebow whined their way into an NC in 06. Apparently in Meyer's mind a 10 point road loss to 10-2 Auburn was much less egregious than an all-time classic 3 point road loss to #1 and 12-0 OSU. But then again, lying and delusion are his defining characteristics!
Disappointing, but can't say that I'm surprised if true. Figured our chances were pretty much non-existent once the Love situation played out the way it did. Basketball program really seems like a mess right now, not sure what can be done in the short term to straighten it out. UM athletic department desperately needs to focus on getting their ghost-like NIL basketball game up and running ASAP! Just not much depth/talent on this upcoming quad, first time since maybe 2009 I've come into a season expecting a losing record. Hope I'm wrong!
Fortunately he will likely not be needed too much for the first 4 games anyways, so some time to rest & recuperate is available. An opportunity for the other guys in the secondary to get some meaningful game action early, which will hopefully pay dividends later in the year, when having depth becomes more important
Honestly surprised it took him this long to decide. Edey would have been a great draft pick as recently as 10 years ago, but the NBA puts no value into that type of skill set anymore. He will probably have a much better opportunity at PU anyways, earning NIL $$ and the everlasting affection of the Boiler faithful, which is preferable to playing back to backs in Sioux Falls and Southaven (MS) in my opinion
Very good hire, didn’t think they’d get him. However at that price tag it better work out! Young core to work with, very personable coach, maybe better days ahead for the Pistons?
If we were going to get slapped with a streaming only game this year, this is probably the one to do it. Regardless, it is kind of ridiculous. UM and OSU are the main draws for the conference, they should be on the B10 national broadcasts nearly every week between FOX, CBS and NBC. Peacock only is for Indiana v Rutgers or Northwestern v Nebraska or Minnesota v UNC (much like BTN+ is). Doing this silos off a large number of people (both UM fans and causal nationals) from watching - which doesn’t do the conference any good. I know why they’re doing it ($$), but it is still really annoying from a spectators perspective (and this is coming from someone who already has Peacock)
Another tough break, wonder whether admissions is the culprit again (probably). If so, it is imperative that the coaching staff does ultra-due diligence before trying to add someone in the future, as it has happened multiple times now (plus with HS recruits). We haven't seen this problem with the football team at anything close to this level (with plenty of transfers coming in), so there is clearly a way to navigate this and a way not to. Want to hope for the best, but having a hard time seeing how this is going to be a successful or even decent upcoming season, just doesn't seem to be enough there, there (talent wise). Things being this disjointed and un-optimistic should not be acceptable going into year 5 of JH, especially considering the strong infrastructure that was in place beforehand
Can someone explain to me how a team with the worst record in the league (by 5 games) has a near 50% likelihood of getting the 5th pick going into the “lottery”, but only a 14% likelihood of getting #1? That should be inverted. Obviously I have never trusted this process (no way Ewing to NY, Rose to Chicago or Irving to Cleveland was random luck), but this further exemplifies why so many view the NBA as a hot mess right now
Recent Comments
Like so many others in 2019, I was excited by the idea of Howard finding success here and was so hopeful that it was going to come to fruition after the E8 run. While I will always cherish the positives of that B10 championship season (and appreciate all of those involved in bringing it to us), unfortunately it appears that was nothing more than fools gold. The JH era ended up being very similar to the Hoke era, overachieved early with mostly other peoples players and massively struggled once it was time to establish a culture of your own. I wish Juwan nothing but the best and am glad this didn't fester any longer to further deteriorate his legacy with UM. Onwards to finding our next coach, give Jay Wright a call (I 99.999% expect he'll say no, but you never know) as well as TJ Otzelberger, Darian DeVries, Greg McDermott, Pat Kelsey, even Fred Hoiberg (NU has gotten better year over year). Perhaps Coach B wants to restore his program once again. If you want to get sleezy, I'm sure that the Sean Miller, Will Wade, and even Rick Pitino would be excited at another opportunity to lead a major P5 program (not advocating for it, just pointing it out). There are plenty of options as of present, so hopefully Warde has already started making some calls. To the future!
A few new looks under the hood, at this point I am far more inclined to believe Sanderson's point of view than what comes out of the AD/current staff - they are desperately looking for ways to justify inaction. However, there is nothing there that should change the decision that obviously needs to be made! The worst season in UM bball history while on a 3-year downward trend is more than enough data. The unwillingness to make changes (I found it interesting that during JH's post-game presser he said that they were going to sit down as a staff and come up with solutions - is that insinuating he doesn't want to make any assistant/staff changes, AGAIN!) and the hands-off approach (can't confirm its truth, but I heard on one of the UM podcasts last week that JH doesn't have player mandatory workout/conditioning sessions during the week, which is similar to many NBA teams, but is still unbelievable to me) is icing on the cake. Warde needs to get off his ass and do his job, or someone else can do it for him (which honestly would be the far more preferable route at this point), it didn't need to take more than 24 hours (we are now on day 2, with supposedly no decision until Monday). The longer you wait, the longer all the other teams that have already made coaching changes have to work on hiring their next one, leaving you further and further behind.
There is no question that Juwan has a strong passion for UM and the bball program. That aside, the problem is that the situation they now face (bad culture, poor roster construction, absence of discipline/fundamentals, complete disengagement of the fanbase) is squarely a result of his (and his staffs) efforts, much like Matt Doherty with UNC back in the day (we know how that one eventually ended up). I'm sure that he wants to roll up his sleeves and find solutions, most people would. However, I am nearly certain at this point that he is not the right man for the job to figure out those solutions, because I don't think any of his "solutions" are going to work. The program is currently lifeless and a new voice/leader needs to be brought in to facilitate a complete overhaul, similar to when Beilein replaced Amaker. Doesn't to have to be a "big name" coach, but it does need to be someone with experience coaching in COLLEGE and that understands how to build a proper roster core through recruiting (supplemented with transfers, not as the main pieces) and development. I, like many here, really wanted this to work and was so hopeful after the first two years, but this is not working and we need to move on (but I fear that Warde is going to do the lazy thing and try to ride it out while hoping for the best)
Knocked the trial run out of the park - happy for Coach Moore, he is a passionate guy, I know that he'll work hard and hope that the good times keep on rolling!
Long story short, nobody knows what Harbaugh is going to do (as per usual). I stopped worrying about it, since whatever happens is what's going to happen. Hopefully coach will be back, but if he goes to the NFL I can't really blame him, he's earned that right. Regardless, I hope that whatever the ultimate decision is gets announced ASAP
For me, it was the 2021 @Nebraska game. It was playing out in a fashion where we usually find a way to lose. Instead, our guys withstood the punches made the plays they needed to get the W. The ability to respond to things not going your way in a tough environment was something we hadn’t seen out of them in a long time, and it gave me hope that things may finally be different.
Suspended for road games, but not home games?!? This is the weirdest suspension I've ever heard of. The offense was bad enough that road games are out of the question, but home games are ok? Weirdness aside, this is a huge blow to what was already a massively struggling team. Upcoming road games were going to be near certain losses with Dug, so obviously little hope without him. Also difficult to see how Dug is going to have the requisite mental focus during the upcoming home games that he does play. He was already not looking very good the last few games, imagine this was playing a role in that and will continue to do so. Man, this team is a real mess. Sidenote, if this is in fact an academic issue, blame also falls on the coaching staff, how you can allow your best player to hover around ineligibility, what kind of oversight (or lack thereof) is going on over there?
This year is definitely lost, so nothing can be done about that, will be lucky if we don't finish dead last this year. Once the season ends, there needs to be a complete overhaul of the entire program. Like many, really wanted this to work, but writing is on the wall (weird off the court stuff like this does not continuously happen with strong/healthy, competently run programs) and it's time to start over.
What a game….what a year! This has been the most glorious run of my life as a Wolverine. So proud of our guys, going down as one of the greatest teams in CFB history. Defense was lights out! What a special treat for all loyal Wolverines around the world!
One of the few that went tonight. Throughout the game kept asking myself what exactly did these guys work on in practice the past few days coming off the McNeese debacle, still not sure what the answer is. Energy was not very good the entire game, they remain immensely careless with the ball. Very little offense is run, just basically fling the ball around wildly and shoot a 3. Interior defense was atrocious. Dug picked a bad game to go AWOL. When they hit the 8 minute mark I knew they were in big trouble because the lead was only 4 and the typical 4-5 minute period where our guys do absolutely nothing hadn’t happened yet. Sure enough it was saved for the very end of the game. This team is a disaster. Don’t see how they’re going to win many more games. Really sad…but let’s just get this season over with.
Love it, this team has been feeding on slights and insults all season, keep giving them more fuel!!
That aside, I am finding this increasingly perplexing. Objectively, if UM wins on Monday this is sneakily one football's best teams over the past decade (may still be regardless), yet the way so many "anonymously" speak about our team you'd think we are fighting just to reach bowl eligibility. These coaches do realize that UW hasn't won a game by more than 10 points since they beat Cal on September 23rd right? That includes games against 3-9 ASU, 3-9 Stanford and 5-7 WSU - you know, the types of teams that we were routinely beating by 4-5 touchdowns - guess that's battle tested for you people!!
Unlike offense, where natural talent can prevail over scheme (NBA case in point), defense is more about effort given and communication. If a team decides to prioritize playing good defense and emphasizes that in practice and within their culture, they will probably become better at defense. This is basically what happened when our own Wolverines went from an atrocious defensive team to one of the best as we embraced the Billy Donlon and Luke Yaklich philosophies. Many of the same players that were on our terrible 2015 & 2016 defensive teams were on the elite 2017 and 2018 teams. The fact that we have played absolutely atrocious defense the past 3 years now tells me that this coaching staff does not prioritize defense, or doesn't know how to coach defense, either way that is not acceptable.
Didn't watch, wasn't able to or interested. Not surprised they lost, I put an ML bet on McNeese State earlier today. Can't really speak to the game itself as I didn't watch it, but per box score even on the rebound battle (10 offensive rebounds allowed), -11 for turnovers, -12 on fast break points, -28 on points in the paint. Mind you that they weren't playing Arizona, UNC, or Gonzaga where you may expect splits like this, it was against McNeese State!! We have now lost games to both Will Wade and Todd Golden this year - two guys who are regarded as horrible in-game coaches. Unfortunately, this is the program we have now. Hope that the very vocal & unconditional Juwan defenders amongst us can begin to see the light now. The bball program has been dug into a deep hole, and our coaching staff doesn't have the slightest clue on how to get us out of it. Add on that if the McDaniel rumors are true then things are about to get a hell of a lot worse! Change is very much needed
Best: 2008 Capital One bowl v. Florida --> was GREAT to send Tebow packing and besting Urban is always welcome
Worst: 2022 Fiesta bowl v. TCU --> really had no business losing this game, add that TCU primarily won due to our mistakes and poor play calling decisions and not them making a ton of plays, this is the worst bowl loss I have witnessed UM play
NOTE: I would have picked Brady's win over Bama in 2000 for best, but that was a few years before I became a football fan
This is the most frustrated I have been with the program since the final two years of Amaker. It just feels like we are running in place. I know that there is solid talent on this current roster, and that there is talent coming in next year. But can we honestly say that we have confidence they will be coached correctly and put in a position to succeed if the AD decides to run it back again next year? The 2021 team had 3 McDonald's AAs and only managed an 11 seed (the S16 run was fun, but that season was not). We had two lottery picks and the most coveted transfer in the history of the transfer portal era on our team last year and got blown out by a bad Rutgers team in the first round of the BTT to miss the tourney. This team has multiple pros on it and our defense has dropped 70 spots per Kenpom and it looks like our W/L record may be worse than last year or the year before it!
Thank you for saying this!! When last season ended I was convinced that the only way Juwan could turn this around was by making major changes on his staff (i.e. AT LEAST two new assistants). When no changes were made, I feared that we would get to this point. The chemistry with this staff has been off for at least 2 years now, it just doesn't generate the juice we need and doesn't put kids in the best position to win games. If he didn't make any changes last year, I highly doubt that he will make changes now (while I do love coach Howard, it is clear to me that he is extremely stubborn and headstrong). Coach B had to humble himself MULTIPLE times throughout his career, Harbaugh does it nearly every season. Stagnation rarely leads to success
Different game, and yet again the same story. The inability for our teams (multiple years now) to close out games and execute in tight situations is beyond infuriating. Don't want to hear anything about just being unlucky or being right there with equal/superior teams. The record (what is it now, 2-20 in games that are a single possession at the end or go to OT??) speaks for itself at this point. Losing close games and failing to execute when under pressure has become a facet of the program, and that is simply unacceptable. There is talent on this roster, just like last year, to see it wasted away is just a shame. I will of course continue to support our guys, but there needs to be a change at the top once the season ends...the lack of discipline, attention to detail, and boneheaded decisions (what were Burnett and Nkamhoua thinking on some of those late shots!?!) are sinking this season and the program along with it!!
Even coming off a good win, they can't seem to avoid the drama. While we will likely never know the true details of what happened between the involved parties, the fact that this type of stuff continues to persist - and that individuals of significance such as Jalen are being so defensive over unsubstantiated internet rumors - is not overly encouraging. The chemistry for this team (and the last few ones for that matter), whether it be the coaching staff or the players themselves has been off. Year to year performance trajectories are eerily similar to Brady Hoke. Enthusiasm around the program is similar to that of Amaker's final two years. I love UM hoops and Juwan (he is and forever will be one of our program's greatest players) but its hard to see how this gets turned around long-term with the current staff short of a complete change in philosophy/attitude, which I seriously doubt will happen (if there was any time for staff changes, it was this past offseason and they ultimately made none).
1)…
What SHOULD happen:
1) Michigan
2) Washington
3) Texas
4) Florida State
What WILL happen:
1) Michigan
2) Washington
3) Texas
4) Alabama
Any arguments by the talking heads that UW should be at #1 makes me question their baseline intelligence and objectivity (not that we should expect anything differently from them at this point though). If you're going to argue that UM did not look great in the championship game (against a top 25 team and top 10 defense by the way), then you can't ignore that UW has looked like shit up until their game against the Ducks for a month plus now. If you're going to put Alabama in, then Texas has to be in, H2H games have to count for something, otherwise what is the point of playing tough out of conference games?? In my personal opinion, Alabama's victory should knock the SEC out, Georgia's strength of schedule was bad and they have no leg to stand on as an at-large. That said, I suspect it will be hard for the committee to keep the SEC out, and FSU will probably get shafted (despite going undefeated and winning their conference championship) due to the QB injury. Will be interesting to see what happens
However it plays out (and assuming that we are victorious against Iowa on Saturday), hoping that we end up matching with either FSU or Washington for the semifinals. Don't think those squads match up well with us. Have a hard time seeing OSU backdoor into it this year, more than a USC upset to Utah would need to happen for that this time, although it's not impossible. Happy that Iowa is up to #16, another opportunity for a "quality win". Why Tennessee is still ranked is beyond me, they are NOT a top 25 squad, the W/L record and eye test confirms it! Still a lot of variance for this final top 4, really everyone 1-8 is still technically in it, should make for an interesting Saturday
HM: Edwards TDs, JJ TD pass to Wilson, Ojabo sack, 2021 UM takes ball first and scores TD
5. JJ TD passes to CJ
4. Haskins game-sealing TD
3. Corum TD post-Zinter injury
2. Hutch barrels over o-linemen
1. Sainristil PBU
Sue, Sue, Sue! Meanwhile they should start exploring options to leave the conference, perhaps this is the start of that super-league some have been speaking about the past few years
Given how this whole thing has gone, wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if this is true. No shock if we learn that some of the same shrieking violets during this saga went even further and directly knew (and instructed) that analysts were doing this, which of course there is no evidence of for our staff. Hope the team has been able to insulate themselves from this a best as possible, beat PSU tomorrow!!
I have learned to not take anything that Dinich says seriously - she has a vendetta against UM and un-objectively takes advantage of any opportunity presented to attack the program. Will the B10 release a statement about this later today...maybe, guess we'll see. In my opinion, I suspect that if anything does come out, it won't be more than a public reprimand and/or a forthcoming fine. Yesterday was likely the critical period if a suspension was coming this week. No way Fox Sports allows the moron commish to have Harbaugh suspended for the OSU game
I hope that UM stands its ground, don't give a single inch to these hypocrites! This whole situation has been massively frustrating, as so many of these coaches and ADs complain/call for blood anonymously (likely because they know that they are all doing the same thing(s) and don't want to be called out/exposed directly). While Walters is unquestionably a fool (especially if ILL having our signs last year is true), I at least give him credit for putting his name to the comments. ESPN is filled with people that hate UM to their core (Thamel, Pete, Dinich, etc...) and now that they don't have a financial connection to the conference, they are all too happy to try and destroy the program. Counterfactual information (which most ignore) and unproven allegations (which many "sports journalists" & commentators spew out uncritically) be damned. UM is absolutely right, sue the B10 (and NCAA) if they try and move forward on this without allowing any due process/investigation to play out - maybe even threaten to leave the conference. These are not federal/state laws that have allegedly been violated, we are talking about NCAA bylaws that 99.9999% of people did not know even existed (myself included) as of 3-weeks ago. Almost all of this is allegations at this point, and the NCAA has not even formally submitted a letter of inquiry about it yet. Furthermore, it sounds like there is a possibility that this information about our code breaking was acquired illegally by certain hostile entities! How all of these morons in charge of other B10 schools (and outside the conference) can be this dumb and shortsighted is honestly shocking. It might be convenient for you now, but this will set up a model that can (and probably will) be repeated over and over again by bad faith actors that don't actually want to compete, but simply want to destroy and defame. What fun would that be.
For the team, go win on Saturday and every other week of the season! That would be the best and biggest middle finger we can send of all of these hypocritical pearl-clutchers! Apologies for the rant, its the first time I've commented about this fiasco on the blog
Seems like the Wagner's have played well the entire tournament - good for them (love to see it), hope they go win the whole thing now!
Didn't get to watch it live, but really exciting that they won nonetheless. After catching up today, this team looks like it has the grit they've been striving for. Obviously it's just one game and it will be critical that the guys keep a level head amongst the hype, but I am excited to see what comes next!
Defense was really good overall - D-line completely took away their run game. Forced some turnovers, which was good to see. Would have liked if our edges could have generated some more pressures on the QB though. A good start to build on as the year moves forward
JJ looked great, really in control of the offense - excluding the botched play on 4th and goal. Really happy to see Blake running smoothly out there. Hoping Roman Wilson is going to have a big year. Was pretty vanilla on offense overall. Don't think we are going to be able to take away much from this game.
Already thought that TCU was a fraud going into the season, but despite that didn't think they would lose today. Guess they're even bigger frauds than I gave them credit for, especially their "defense". Gave up 45 to Colorado? Is Alex Grinch also running the Frogs defense in his free time?!? Going to be a bit of fools gold now, as Buffs will likely start 3-0 (Nebraska and CSU next) and then get smashed against Oregon week 4 - hype train will become unbearable
Poll looks mostly as I expected it would, including UM at #2. However, I am honestly a bit surprised that we did not even get a single #1 vote, figured we would get at least a few. Doesn't matter anyway, as preseason polls don't mean anything outside of early year bragging rights. Win the games on the schedule and everything will take care of itself!
Would have preferred to have gotten this guy than not obviously. But on the bright side, it sounds like he wasn't going to appear in the maize and blue for a least a few years from now, as he plans to participate in his religious mission before matriculating to college. Hopefully the scholarship can now go to someone (HS recruit or transfer) that will contribute to our team sooner rather than later.
Not going to matter anyway, but ridiculous that Tennessee doesn't get a bowl ban despite doing much worse stuff, but Harbaugh gets a 4-game suspension for giving the guys hamburgers
HD really needs to stop talking and just play ball. While I wished him well when he left, I am glad that we are not going to have to deal with another season of the childish public trash talking, it was getting really old (especially since they weren't winning). Not sure that I will ever get over the ski-mask clown show against Wisconsin. There is no need to take pot shots at your former community - said the same thing about Cade and Erick All when they left. You like Kansas, great, just say that and end of sentence, bringing the people of AA and MI into the conversation is not necessary, very immature and not professional at all
Probably not worth getting your hopes up too much over that - although it would be nice to pull off a surprise against them as a return of the favor for the DT last week
Better than TCU, thats for sure! In all seriousness, I think that UM would have been driven by the 2021 loss to give UGA a game (at least for a while). TCU used up all of their mojo to beat us, they were never going to stand a chance in the NC game
Steve's Lunch, Flim Flam, original Stucchi's - also miss the old Blimpy Burger location (food still good, but not quite the same feel at the new place downtown)
Sad to hear. He stepped up in a tough spot last year against ILL and made one of the most important plays of the season with that 4th down catch. I will always appreciate him for that. Wishing him the best with the procedure!
Tough & gritty kid, coming from Rutgers you know he will play stingy defense (which we desperately need). Portal is slim pickens at this point, so given that we have open scholarships (and he already knows the dynamics of the B10) I would happily take him
Not surprised that it was designated as a protected series, but I was honestly kind of hoping that it would be canned for a little bit at least (since I would be shocked if the conference doesn't expand again in the next 2 years, with another round of schedule shuffling afterwards). Rivalries are supposed to be fun, and I think that many of us would agree that this series has not been fun for some time. There has been so much toxic hatred coming from EL regarding sports (coaches should never be instructing their players to try and intentionally end opposing players careers, or getting charged with assault for attacking opponents after the game), it would have been good if they could have been sent a message to remind them that sports is just a game and to tone it down many many notches
An apparently tough schedule (plus UW & Texas), but if they are able to get through it we certainly won't have the hear any of the BS "weak schedule" chatter by the talking heads again. CFP expands in 2024, so dropping a game (maybe even two) won't have a huge impact on their prospects. Honestly, I think the brand name opponents make it seem scarier than it will be in reality. USC will be in transition next year after Caleb Williams leaves and I don't think Lincoln Riley's no-defense approach is going to work great with our heavy ground and pound + play action offensive attack (see them against Utah last year). Have a hard time seeing UCLA winning in Ann Arbor. UW at home is a very likely win (Fickell is a good coach, but I feel like they are making the Rich Rod mistake we made a decade ago culture/approach wise). Toughest game will obviously be @OSU since they will have a second-year starter and we will likely be leading with a very talented freshman or someone else. Like the past two seasons (and this year), the ball will be in our court.
Wow, what a whirlwind. Guess as Yogi Berra once said, it ain't over until it's over! Glad to have him. Would be interesting to one day get under the hood of this and learn how it really went down
Appropriately named! A slimy program, a slimy coach, many slimy players. Much like Tom Osbourne/Scott Frost in 97, Meyer/Tebow whined their way into an NC in 06. Apparently in Meyer's mind a 10 point road loss to 10-2 Auburn was much less egregious than an all-time classic 3 point road loss to #1 and 12-0 OSU. But then again, lying and delusion are his defining characteristics!
Disappointing, but can't say that I'm surprised if true. Figured our chances were pretty much non-existent once the Love situation played out the way it did. Basketball program really seems like a mess right now, not sure what can be done in the short term to straighten it out. UM athletic department desperately needs to focus on getting their ghost-like NIL basketball game up and running ASAP! Just not much depth/talent on this upcoming quad, first time since maybe 2009 I've come into a season expecting a losing record. Hope I'm wrong!
Fortunately he will likely not be needed too much for the first 4 games anyways, so some time to rest & recuperate is available. An opportunity for the other guys in the secondary to get some meaningful game action early, which will hopefully pay dividends later in the year, when having depth becomes more important
Honestly surprised it took him this long to decide. Edey would have been a great draft pick as recently as 10 years ago, but the NBA puts no value into that type of skill set anymore. He will probably have a much better opportunity at PU anyways, earning NIL $$ and the everlasting affection of the Boiler faithful, which is preferable to playing back to backs in Sioux Falls and Southaven (MS) in my opinion
Very good hire, didn’t think they’d get him. However at that price tag it better work out! Young core to work with, very personable coach, maybe better days ahead for the Pistons?
If we were going to get slapped with a streaming only game this year, this is probably the one to do it. Regardless, it is kind of ridiculous. UM and OSU are the main draws for the conference, they should be on the B10 national broadcasts nearly every week between FOX, CBS and NBC. Peacock only is for Indiana v Rutgers or Northwestern v Nebraska or Minnesota v UNC (much like BTN+ is). Doing this silos off a large number of people (both UM fans and causal nationals) from watching - which doesn’t do the conference any good. I know why they’re doing it ($$), but it is still really annoying from a spectators perspective (and this is coming from someone who already has Peacock)
Another tough break, wonder whether admissions is the culprit again (probably). If so, it is imperative that the coaching staff does ultra-due diligence before trying to add someone in the future, as it has happened multiple times now (plus with HS recruits). We haven't seen this problem with the football team at anything close to this level (with plenty of transfers coming in), so there is clearly a way to navigate this and a way not to. Want to hope for the best, but having a hard time seeing how this is going to be a successful or even decent upcoming season, just doesn't seem to be enough there, there (talent wise). Things being this disjointed and un-optimistic should not be acceptable going into year 5 of JH, especially considering the strong infrastructure that was in place beforehand
Can someone explain to me how a team with the worst record in the league (by 5 games) has a near 50% likelihood of getting the 5th pick going into the “lottery”, but only a 14% likelihood of getting #1? That should be inverted. Obviously I have never trusted this process (no way Ewing to NY, Rose to Chicago or Irving to Cleveland was random luck), but this further exemplifies why so many view the NBA as a hot mess right now
High character guy, a true Wolverine through and through. Hope he balls out this year!