The State Of Our Open Threads: After East Carolina
First and foremost, welcome to the 11th full season of this little football season feature. It's hard to believe that I've taken on what began as a humorous dare and turned it into something that some people enjoy, but also something that some people can't stand. In any case, it's here and we are still doing it, and I am sure all of us are glad that football is back in Ann Arbor.
As usual, there's not much to really breakdown with only one game in the books. We do delve into the statistics as the season progresses, but right now, we're at that stage where, if I did that, I would be sitting here trying to expound on something where n=1, and that is hard to do sober (and of course, I am now sober for the duration, as some of you know).
Of course, we had the Big Ten's new television and media arrangement to contend with as well yesterday, including millions of total minutes across millions of viewers spent watching a pale yellow circle spin at the center of the television screen in lieu of actual game action. The Peacock era is upon us, and it will undoubtedly inspire many to rediscover radio at this rate.
As for the in-game stuff:
Overall, this was a quiet game for us, even by first game standards. There were only 19 fucks given the entire game, and several of those were about the portions of the game hidden from view by Xfinity's wondrous creation. The same really goes for the mere 24 shits given as well, although a few of those were from people who were already in mid-season form in the open thread. I do wish some of you wouldn't take the first game quite so seriously, but whatever. For a bit of contrast though, we managed 34 fucks and 30 shits in last year's Colorado State open thread, so by first appearances, we enter this season in a slightly more serene state, relatively speaking for Michigan fans.
JJ was mentioned 98 times, and among tracked words and phrases, this was far and away the most of anything. Our coach in absentia was mentioned only 30 times actually, but then the terms of the self-imposed suspension were well-known, nothing was a surprise and we also didn't really have a desire to lean into that absence against ECU - Minter did just fine overall. "Offense" came up 39 times, for there were concerns, but I point to our history of somewhat lethargic (but successful) starts.
"Suck" was used 15 times, as was "ass", but these were also largely directed at one of two things - Xfinity and the officials, who were officiating a completely different game than the one which they were working. It's funny how you can be in one place but your brain fools you into believing you are somewhere else, but that seemed to be the case yesterday. More than once, in fact, I asked myself which game they were watching as it couldn't have been ours, and this included the failure to call McCarthy for an illegal forward pass.
Overall, there were 326 instances of tracked words across all of 1,204 posts. It was a small thread, far smaller than the 1,529 posts in last years opener, but then, home game threads tend to be smaller as more of us are there, and yesterday, many of us were trying to interpret the yellow circle and what it might be telling us about the game we weren't watching at that moment.
You won't see charts until we get to conference play, of course, so these will be simple summaries until then. That said, hopefully you find them at least somewhat enjoyable. I know some are merely tolerating these, but then I do this for me, not you.
September 3rd, 2023 at 10:35 AM ^
I bet the state of OSU’s open threads would look a lot different than ours yesterday. 1st game and all but yikes that looked like a different team than we have seen in quite some time. Go Blue!
September 3rd, 2023 at 1:40 PM ^
Biggest point of emphasis is that this Indiana team was not THAT Indiana team. They are supposed to have the worst BIG10 secondary by a wide margin. This was supposed to be the lisptick on a pig game. We may be in uncharted territory (minus the Fickell season).
September 3rd, 2023 at 2:12 PM ^
Long time coming for OSU. They've avoided mediocrity for far too long. I'd love for them to just experience one year of BPONE and dong punchery.
September 3rd, 2023 at 10:37 AM ^
I, for one, thank you for your efforts as I give a fuck as well as a shit, and I do not think you suck ass.
Am I doing this right?
September 3rd, 2023 at 10:46 AM ^
So I take it there were issues for many people watching from home? Interesting.
I was able to watch the first half on my phone courtesy of Delta's WiFi, and it worked flawlessly. Didn't miss any action, and no buffering whatsoever.
Now, I had it on mute, so I can't speak to the quality of the broadcast itself, but I'm assuming Tirico was good and Simms was not good.
Regardless, thank God we won't have to repeat that experience this season!
September 3rd, 2023 at 10:54 AM ^
I thought they were fine. We did miss an Edwards 1 run yard run as they took too long discussing a replay, but other than that, nothing really all that enraging.
September 3rd, 2023 at 10:58 AM ^
My tv only locked up one time on me and it was at an inconsequential time. It froze and I thought it would rebound so I just backed out of it and then clicked back on the game tab and it went right back to the game live. I didn’t miss any more game with that than I did with the announcers who decided to show the Mullings pass four times to make sure we all saw it. I like the other networks but it wasn’t a disaster for me either. I didn’t pause or anything so I don’t know how/if that worked.
September 3rd, 2023 at 11:47 AM ^
I watched it through my Firestick. Picture quality was very good and no buffering or freezes. Announcers were meh as most are and the replay guy was pathetic...
September 3rd, 2023 at 12:43 PM ^
Tirico was pretty good but Simms was awful. He’s not the only offender for crazy comparisons but apparently big, semi-mobile QB=Josh Allen and cross-body throw=Mahomes
September 3rd, 2023 at 2:24 PM ^
And a forward shovel pass is something between a Kansas City Special and "mahomesian" which just sounded wrong.
September 3rd, 2023 at 2:58 PM ^
I don't know if Simms dragged Tirico down to his level, but as a team they were awful. Two things stood out:
a. How do they breathe and talk at the same time? There wasn't a moment of pause in the commentary. They need to shut up once in a while.
b. The fourth quarter was absolute amateur hour. Instead of filling time with irrelevant back and forth dialog, try to just call the game! Down and distance, ballcarrier name, defensive play participant names, rinse and repeat. Identify the current players on the field. We don't give a crap about your juvenile stories trying to prove your NFL bona-fides.
I'm especially offended for the ECU players and those deep on the UM depth chart, who had a once in a season opportunity to be highlighted by name during the broadcast. I don't know if it was a suck ass production job or just lack of preparation, but I would rate this barely above B1G+ level.
September 3rd, 2023 at 6:16 PM ^
The commentary went out for a couple of plays and all you could hear was Carl Grapetine and the band. It was glorious. I wish that were an option.
September 3rd, 2023 at 8:36 PM ^
During covid the only sport to not add in “crowd noise” was the UFC. It was so quiet you could hear the fighters breathing, much less the screams from the coaches. It was so quiet the fighters could hear the commentary from the announcers and used it in the fights! I really wish other sports had done the same, it would’ve been incredible to hear football especially!
September 3rd, 2023 at 8:36 PM ^
Sorry double posted (edited)
September 3rd, 2023 at 10:59 AM ^
Spot on with the shitty officiating...and this includes the rules "expert" in the booth.
September 3rd, 2023 at 11:26 AM ^
Did that guy get even one right ?
That has to be embarrassing for all involved ,the announcers have to sit there and listen to him emphatically state one thing , and the end result is totally the opposite , he may need a new gig
September 3rd, 2023 at 2:26 PM ^
The announcers agreed with him each time he was brought in. The targeting was so obvious and all 3 thought it was just a “good hit”
September 3rd, 2023 at 11:12 AM ^
Thanks, LSA. Looks like we're out of practice.
Would it be too far OT to also have a weekly "State of Brian Ferentz's Contract" thread?
- Average PPG needed: 25
- PPG after Week 1: 24
- PPG more/less than needed to stay employed: -1
September 3rd, 2023 at 1:36 PM ^
I don't think he gets fired if they get less than 25 points per game. I thought it was a bonus incentive.
September 3rd, 2023 at 1:54 PM ^
My understanding was that they need to average 25 ppg and win at least 7 games for him to keep his job. Here's what one article says about his contract:
Failure to meet those objectives means that his contract will end on June 30th, 2024.
September 4th, 2023 at 5:21 AM ^
That's correct, his contract will end, he will not be fired.
There is nothing stopping them from making a new contract, as far as I know.
September 3rd, 2023 at 11:21 AM ^
I'd wager fewer overall posts because fewer overall people watching because of peacock.
September 3rd, 2023 at 11:28 AM ^
I had no problem with peacock, save for it diminishing the fan base who can watch.
September 3rd, 2023 at 11:29 AM ^
Honestly, I didn't even bother attempting to watch for that very reason. I already have a means of watching live games, I will not be nickle and dimed into paying for multiple services on a game by game basis.
September 3rd, 2023 at 12:58 PM ^
Honestly, aside from a bad “interface” and sometimes freezing up, Peacock is a pretty good service. Its going rate is $5.99 for monthly Premium service. For college football alone it is worth it, and I think the “outrage” has been pretty over the top.
September 3rd, 2023 at 6:01 PM ^
Its quality is not my concern. I'm already paying for a service, I'm not renting a second service for one game.
September 3rd, 2023 at 1:31 PM ^
I had zero problems with Peacock. $5.99 and I can cancel now. For the price of a couple beers, I watched the game.
But I rarely watch TV except for M football. I'll pay $6 a game if need be.
September 3rd, 2023 at 2:29 PM ^
Exactly. The people taking a stand over $6 is just weird to me.
September 3rd, 2023 at 2:58 PM ^
We are weird. We're also the same people that don't nickel and dime our own customers/clients.
September 3rd, 2023 at 4:21 PM ^
Some people favor ethics in business dealings and concern for the customer and others want to hang a hundred on other competitors. Just nuance. Comme ci comme ca.
September 3rd, 2023 at 6:03 PM ^
It's $6 now. You give these companies an inch, and they're gonna bleed you for all they can.
September 3rd, 2023 at 11:51 AM ^
Considering how inept Chris Sims and Terry were in analyzing calls and non calls, and the fact the game was streamed instead of "televised" this sounds like a relatively chill football game session. Like many here, I have hopes for a special season and intend to enjoy every game and this team's effort and chemistry as much as possible.
September 3rd, 2023 at 11:48 PM ^
Worst officiating analysis (or lack thereof) I have ever seen.
September 3rd, 2023 at 12:11 PM ^
"There were only 19 fucks given the entire game..."
The rest of the post doesnt matter. +1
September 3rd, 2023 at 2:35 PM ^
I think the points per fuck (PPF) and points allowed per fuck (PAPF) mean more on this board.
Yesterday was a calm, decent Michigan day, which saw 30 points put up against 19 fucks, resulting in 1.579 PPF, and even more telling, 3 very sad points allowed per 19 fucks, or a 0.1579 PAPF. This ratio wouldn't have worked without the sad field goal, so papF you, Mike Houston.
September 3rd, 2023 at 8:39 PM ^
Bless you math person. Carry on your good deeds for us all good sir!
September 3rd, 2023 at 2:27 PM ^
I wonder, are there Mgobloggers that intentionally post copious amounts of obscenities in our game threads, just to mess with LSA's data?
September 3rd, 2023 at 3:09 PM ^
All the damn time as the season goes on. I know they mean well.....once in a while.
September 3rd, 2023 at 4:35 PM ^
We appreciate the effort. Sincerely. Keep on keeping this place in order.
September 3rd, 2023 at 2:32 PM ^
My beef was that they got Chris Simms. They couldn't hire a big ten guy. He was awful.
September 3rd, 2023 at 11:47 PM ^
Should have read the comments first because YES YES YES. Worst color I have seen for a college football game practically ever--or at least since I was forced to watch Gary Danielson drool over the SEC in bowl games.
September 3rd, 2023 at 11:45 PM ^
First time reader here, this cracked me up, I too have encountered some people panicking needlessly early about crud. Oh the kicker hysteria. But thanks especially for calling out Peacock. I actually really like Tirico so who knows what happened but between the mind numbing breaks and the lack of actual analysis about any of that insane officiating, I am seriously wondering if the B1G has lost its damn mind with this NBC contract.