I really didn't know how to title this week's issue....but what I finally put there seems fitting...
If you were going to list them all, it would be an issue on it's own, but a shorter version would be:
1. Michigan - App State...This was the hole in the dike...
2. Stanford - USC - Monumental - USC isn't in the Championship game due to it...
3. Unprecedented number of #2 teams losing (7 out of 9 weeks)
4. Unprecedented number of #1 teams losing....
5. Pittsburgh v. West Virgina -
6. Coaching Carousel....
7. Les Miles Debacle...
8. And so on...
This Weekend:
Mountain Boys vs. the Pitt Panthers: Normally, I wouldn't even write this game up...I, wrongly, assumed that as bad as Pitt was and due to how well WVU was playing - they had put 50+ on a very good U-Conn team the week earlier, that they would win this game walking away. This was a choke of epic proportions...Everything on the line and you lost it to your rival that was having a 4-7 year...To say that this is the worst of all the events is probably an understatement, as WVU probably will never be as close to the BCS titl game as they just were...It's too bad, but in a way, I am GLAD the Big East won't be there...It wouldn't have been right.
LATERS vs. MIZZOU: Well, I told you that Stupor would find a way to win this game, I just didn't realize how convincing it would be...And Mizzou has paid the price, getting knocked out of the BCS for a 1 loss Kansas team. That, in my humble opinion, is a load of garbage. If I am a coach in a BCS conference with a playoff, and I am pushing for a rule that says if you are in the title game, you are automatically your conferences 2nd option for a BCS berth - See Pinkell and Fullmer....More on that in a minute..
LMU vs. Cremesicles: UT kept it close and if it hadn't been for a couple of Ainge brain farts late in the game, this outcome may have been different, given LMU's track record in OT games...
The Les Miles Debacle
Now, I wrote last Friday, based on some information I had seen on some other, more reliable blogs that Les Miles was probably going to be the Michigan Coach...I have learned that until the situation is actually final, in other words, he is standing on the sideline wearing Maize and Blue, that nothing is 100%. However, Saturday morning seemed to confirm the earlier indication that Les was "locked up". In case you missed it, Kirk Herbstreit, A SUCKEYE, reported from internal sources at Michigan that Les was all but signed to a contract and he was bringing a Defensive Coach from Georgia Tech with him to Michigan. While I was willing to believe it, I was a little concerned about the timing and the whole thing didn't pass the MMQ "sniff test".
1. Why let it leak Saturday Morning? What point was someone in the Michigan camp trying to make? And if it's going to leak, why not through Desmond Howard, also on Game Day and HE IS PART OF THE SEARCH COMMITTEE FOR THE NEXT COACH? Unless Howard asked Herbie to leak it, which if he did, he's a moron - OR - he did it as a "favor" to someone else....(Lloyd Carr????)
2. Why would Les, if he is a man of his word, spoken at all to Michigan? That I believe, at least right now, didn't happen. Les himself never spoke to Michigan....
3. Why would a Michigan insider want to hinkey the deal, unless that's exactly what they WANTED to happen...knowing that Les would go off....
My take on this: The money Michigan was willing to put on the table leaked out. Bill Martin is no idiot, and he wanted to make sure there was a deal in place before the perfunctory interview took place. There were some 2nd and 3rd party phone calls, and Les' agent probably said, "That amount will work." His agent then went to LSU and said, "Look, we have a deal with Michigan and Les is going. What do you want to do?"
The Following is FACT (In case you haven't heard or read it): On Friday night - Early Saturday Morning, LSU hammered out a contract that paid Les different amoungs for three different scenarios:
1. If he accepted the contract before the game
2. If he accepted after the game and LMU won
3. If he accpeted after the game and LMU lost...
My guess is there was a $1 Million dollar sliding window in those 3 offers...That's just how the SEC does things...Now, Les probably couldn't walk away from offer number 1. It was probably just too sweet, and when it all comes out, we will probably say, yeah, he did the right thing...But, according the the Coach himself, this was never about money...Or was it?
And maybe someone wiser in the Michigan Camp knew we were getting used..hence the leak. Let's say Lloyd, trying to test the subject, may have called Herbie and said - "Kirk, we have a deal with Les. It's all but done. You can go ahead and report that on Game Day." Lloyd would get the opportunity to see how the new guy would perform under pressure and the "punch in the stomach" and see if he was really the right man for the job, especially when LSU came with their gold....
So, maybe Michigan knew that this was the only way to get out of the Les deal and do it somewhat gracefully - yet it still looks bad - without having to explain their actions to all the fans...
The Detroit Spin Doctors are already trying to say that Les was a jerk for his news conference on Saturday, he wasn't the right guy for Michigan, etc...Right now, I am torn. I would have liked to see someone with that kind of fire come in here and see what could happen...But clearly, Les more or less "used" Michigan to get himself Satan Money - and that's it at the end of the day. Les can try to spin it any way he wants - if I could be in two places at once, I really hate making the decision I made, etc....But at the end of the day, the Maize and Blue got used...Plain and Simple.
I don't know, but there is probably a lot more on this story still to come. I love to put the pieces of something like this together in the aftermath and figure out who was thinking what and when...But my guess is that each side got exactly what they wanted, even though each side is looking embarrassed and upset after the outcome....
So, Who's Left?
Ferentz - OUT
Miles - OUT
Kelly - OUT (He is also someone, and I don't know how, that pissed off Michigan, so forget about this one....)
Schiano - I still say this guy wants the PSU job
Tedford - (California) - Do I really want a guy that lost the last 6 games of the regular season, including one to Stanford?
Grobe - (Wake Forest) - I just don't know much about this guy...
Pinkell - Mizzou -His named surfaced, but how does Michigan think it can get anyone that is on top of their program right now to leave? Have they checked the Ego's of Division 1 coaches lately?
The Bowls (Not all of them, just the relevant ones....)
For a list of all, the Bowls, click here.
Capital One: MICHIGAN vs. GATORLAND....Well, here we are..... Michigan will meet it's evil nemesis from the South...And Lloyd will get a chance to shut up Urban Oscar Mayer Whiner Legend once and for all...This game has a TON of intrigue nationally, not only if you are a reader of the MMQ...(If Michigan STILL doesn't have a head coach, my guess is Lloyd interviews Urban at halftime)
BCS Championship: LSU vs. OSU - Satisfied? Me either....A week ago I was looking at the Mizzou Tigers vs. West Virginia...Now, the Suckeyes, who haven't played since November 17th, slide sideways into this game along with another sideways team, LMU..The Michigan Man that isn't vs. the Vest..I hope they remember the 41-14 thing because it might be a repeat.....Interesting game, but the whole BCS thing sucks...I don't know who the two best teams are, but one of them might be playing in...
The Rose Bowl: USC vs. Illinois I like USC here...Zook is going to find out exactly how hard it is to win out there...but if he can pull if off, great!!
Fiesta Bowl: LATERS vs. West Virginia: Can the Moutain Men Rebound...I doubt it...The largest point spread of any of the BCS games...
Orange Bowl: HOKIES vs. Kansas - Hokie Nation, consider this a gift....You wouldn't have wanted to play Mizzou, but I really can't figure out how Mizzou got bumped out of this game for Kansas...
Sugar: Gergia vs. Hawaii - The Rainbows almost lost Saturday, and that would have been fitting...Instead, we have another evening where we can all go to bed early and get some sleep...
Outback: Cheeseheads vs. Cremesicles - Wisconsin is gonna have their hands full with the Cremesicles...
Chick-fil-a: Tommy vs. Tommy: Twotone vs. Bowden's Boy....Should be a good game - look out for Clemson here. Auburn will be pissed they didn't get a better bid...
Independence: Crimson Satan vs. Colorado - Satan could lose his bowl game, too....
Champ Sports: SPARTY vs. BC - Hey Sparty! You made it to Florida! I know you were dreading having to make that drive to Ford Field...but things are looking up when you make the sunshine state in the Big 10...I even like your draw. You can beat BC....
Cotton: Mizzou vs. Arkansas...so, get this...By only losing twice to the same team that is better than their ranking (Oklahoma) the Mizzou Tigers get to play in the coldest Bowl Game on New Year's day in Dallas...If I am Mizzou fan, I am pissed...and rightly so...I should be eating Oranges not Cow Pies....
Coaching Carousel
Pellini in at Nebraska...Maybe he can restore the Pride...
Dorrel (UCLA) - Gone.....
So, that's it for this week....Next week, maybe Michigan has a new head coach to talk about...
MMQ
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