SH#$%tty
Way To Start 2018..
The
B1G Was Poised For Greatness…
To be the first conference to go undefeated in Bowl
Season and win 8 Games. And then
Michigan
Gagged. No other way to say it,
really. In what has become a mystery
surrounded by an enigma wrapped up in a riddle, Michigan’s play-calling and
decision making have killed them in Big Games. But more on that in a minute…
A Tale
of Two Halfs
I was cautiously optimistic going into half-time of the
Outback Bowl. Yeah, Michigan looked anemic on
offense in the first half. I’m not even
sure that’s fair word. They flat out
sucked for the first 3 or 4 series and I’m not sure they had a first
down until the 1st quarter had nearly expired.
But Peters appeared to be easing into the passing roll and
Harbaugh & Co. was giving him lots of opportunities as South Carolina was
really stacked to stop the run.
The field goals didn’t bother me and as long as it appeared that South
Carolina was going to dick-trip their way through this bowl making mistake
after mistake, even though Michigan couldn’t capitalize on every
opportunity, it was looking more and more like Michigan could play lousy and
get out with a W.
Only one problem:
The 2nd Half.
Somebody once said that if you aren’t getting better, you’re
getting worse. And you could feel one
team “Getting Better” and you could feel the other team “Getting Worse”. IMHO, it all started with the Higdon fumble
and ensuing challenge.
Harbaugh seems to indiscriminately use Timeouts like
they’re Kleenex and he just sneezed, but doesn’t have a runny nose. I was pretty sure that Higdon wasn’t down when
the ball had come out. But Michigan
Challenged. I’m not sure who makes that
call and who was looking at what replay in the booth in order to make the call,
but the call was made. I
get that it was a crucial possession at a critical point in the game, but the
middle of the 3rd quarter is a bad time to lose your challenge AND a
Timeout.
But that’s what Jimmy did.
You could feel the whirlpool beginning as the
defense couldn’t get off the field on the ensuing USC drive. When they scored, I was pissed, but not yet
at a point yet where despair had set in.
Michigan took the ensuing kick-off and then FRESHMEN QB Peters did something
very freshmen-like: He got himself into
trouble behind the line of scrimmage, got tackled, and fumbled. TO # 2.
Still, all was not yet lost. However, USC managed to find an easy way to
beat the Michigan Defense: Attack the
shorter corners and DB’s over the top.
Which they did. With fantastic
results. USC TD #2.
Michigan got the ball back. And Peters marched them down the field only
to commit another very fresh-men mistake:
Throwing across his body into coverage for a USC INT. TO #3
Then, trepidation set in. I was frustrated and could almost feel the
sense of dread wash across my body as the already shaky DPJ who’d dropped some
balls that were catchable tried to get under a punt…and muffed it. TO#4
Michigan looked EXACTLY as bad as USC had looked in
the 1st half. But Michigan’s
seemed so much more self-inflicted.
Lousy play calling (Anyone watch the Rose Bowl and see how a
“Good” offense can look in either Oklahoma or Georgia?) was extremely costly
and Harbaugh is going to have to stand up and answer for that at some point.
I simply can’t agree with the decision
to go for it on 4th down with 3:00 and change left as you have to
assume your defense can get a stop with field position. Of course they just had given up 3 scores
albeit on short fields for two of them.
Still, assume USC is going to play “Not to lose” and they’re
going to try to run it and you shut them down and get the ball back. It worked out with the missed Figgie by USC,
but then Peters decided that 2 turnovers on his own personal stat line wasn’t
enough and tossed a game sealer to end the misery.
Where does this leave us? Peters, it would appear, is not the
answer. However, I can’t say for sure as
I hated this ESPN2 telecast as you didn’t get to see the receivers downfield so
I couldn’t tell if guys were or were not getting open. I just know that we had open guys all over
the place against OSU that O’Korn couldn’t hit.
It’s hard to grade Peters on guys he might have missed that were open.
Still, the mistakes Peters made cost him more than
a starting job. Game confidence is a big
deal and right now, he doesn’t have it.
Bring on Patterson and McCaffery.
Sickening Stats of the Day
277 total yards
77 yards Rushing….77 YARDS RUSHING against a lousy defense!!! After averaging over 200 in last 6
games…
No points scored in 2nd half
USC scored 14 points on 7 plays and 21 points
in 6 minutes of game time.
Dateline November 2nd 2016:
Michigan was ranked #2
in the country and was undefeated at that point in time. 13
months later, Michigan is 9-8, including 2 Bowl losses. Granted, 3 QB’s playing in one season usually
isn’t a recipe for success. Oh
wait, the suckeyes in 2013-14…
Is There Anything To Look Forward To??
Basketball Anyone?
With respect to football: I think so, yes. But the offense has to take a big step in the
right direction in 2018, which, I know, duh. Which may mean that Drevno isn’t the answer
and Harbaugh may need to sever that long-time tie and move on. I don’t know what else to say at this point
but Michigan’s offense simply doesn’t function when its needed. And that’s a problem I’m putting on the
coaches. Michigan looks befuddled and
confused at times. Actually, often. And Michigan is wasting what has been
two-season of stellar defensive performances.
This is the most disheartening issue right now as I think
about the Denard Robinson offenses that were wasted because Michigan couldn’t
stop anyone and every Michigan Fan prayed for a defesnse and now Michigan has
one. Unfortunately, we forgot to say a small prayer
to keep the offense around.
This loss will linger as anyone you meet when
you have a Michigan shirt on is going to remind you that Michigan screwed it up
for the B1G in the Bowls. Just nod and
take it. We deserve the
ridicule.
The Other Bowls – In No Particular Order…
The Rose
Bowl – Had to be the game of the day. The majesty of the Rose Bowl, the setting,
everything. Double OT that ends in a
heart breaker for Riley’s Laters.
Seriously interested in seeing how good/bad Oklahoma is next season
without Baker Mayfield. Lincoln Riley
could end up looking like an “OK” coach 3 seasons from now unless another Baker
walks on somewhere along the way.
And to all the Pilots in the
Distribution: Get a load of this guy in
a Cessna getting a pic of the B2 that did the Fly-Over:
From the Pilot:
He uses the burst setting on his
hand-held Canon camera that captures images at a rate of roughly a thousandth
of a second. This gives him several images of the bomber, which is important
because Holtzman's preference is for the plane not to block the American flag
or either of the team names in the end zones.
Private aircrafts are restricted from
flying below 3,000 feet at a radius of five miles around the Rose Bowl,
according to Holtzman, and he said everything he does is coordinated in advance
and that he remains in touch with air traffic control and the Pasadena Police
Department.
"I'm above the restricted
area," he said, "but they want to know what's going on."
The Sugar
Bowl: Thanks Bama. I got to go to bed early. And yes, we have 2 SEC teams in the National
Title Game! Ain’t that great!???!!! I’ll explain in a minute that this happening
sooner rather than later is a good thing…
Peach
Bowl: UCF pulls off the impossible and
beats Auburn, who is the only team that’s beaten BOTH TEAMS in the CFP
Final! AIN’T THAT GREAT!!!??? Congrats to Scott Frost and the classy way he
hung around to coach the Knights to the win before traipsing off to Nebraska…It
will be interesting to see how high the Knights “Jump” in the National Rankings
after the win. Can they get all the way
up to #7?
Citrus
Bowl: How fickle a state Florida
can be in December and January. The fans
at the Citrus got to sit in high 40’s low 50’s rain while watching the Domers
take down LSU. Orgeron hire is looking
more suspect after every loss.
Domers going into 2018 on a bit of a roll.
Cotton
Bowl: Suckeyes looked very impressive
in the dismantling of Pac 12 Champ USC.
Urban Meyer seems to figure out a way to win games that are meaningless…
Fiesta: Another B1G team in PSU that looked very, very
impressive in its dismantling of an overmatched Pac 12 team.
Orange: Wiscy vs. Miami was kind of a nail biter, but
not really? I felt like Wiscy was in
charge this entire game. Mark Richt was
not happy at all and let a ref know it. And
got slapped with a 15-yarders, which yes.
Legal and legit.
Music
City: Wildcats on Wildcats
with an awesome finish and an ejection that shouldn’t have been. Here’s a clip, if you didn’t see it:
The baffling part? The referee later stated that refusing
“assistance” from a referee is unsportsmanlike conduct and can result in an
ejection! I didn’t know that
rule was anywhere in the NCAA Football Rule book.
With respect to the rest – I
either didn’t watch enough or didn’t see anything extraordinary happen that’s
worth a comment.
The NC Game
So, are we all happy? We have two schools that are approximately
300 miles apart, one playing in it’s home state and the other in an adjoining
state. Both from the hated
SEC. Yet, this is what we wanted. Or SOME of us wanted.
I’m not saying either
team is non-deserving. Georgia handled a
tough Oklahoma team and Bama is healthy and was able to do Bama things to
Clemson. Which I thought Dabo would see
coming, but whatever.
Be happy. For those of us looking for a 6-8 team
play-off, this should accelerate that process.
There are too many that weren’t at the trough this season and
they will make their voices heard.
MMPG
After a
slow start that included Beilein hair removing TO’s and fouls, Michigan fended
off the not so good Iowa Hawkeyes last night to go to 13-3 on the season. Simpson finally showed some of the offensive
prowess that he has and hopefully Beilein finds a way to keep him in the
line-up and get him more minutes in spite of his “defensive” issues. MAAR and Matthews were key down the stretch
and it would seem that the team is coming together – Sort of. The win won’t do much for the RPI other than
it should hold them in their current spot.
I know it’s early to speculate,
but with the early B1G Season Start, believe it or not, HALF OF THE REGULAR COLLEGE
HOOPS SEASON IS IN THE BOOKS WITH ONLY 15 GAMES LEFT!!! Let’s all thank Jim Delaney for totally
hosing the B1G teams with tight schedules and very little down time (Lots of
3-day turnarounds….)
Games Remaining – Dates – Time
Illinois(H) January
6th Noon
Purdue
(H) January
9th 9:00 PM
Sparty (A) January 13th Noon
Maryland (H) January
15th 6:30 PM
Nebraska (A) January 18th 8:00 PM
Rutgers
(H) January 21st Noon
Purdue (A) January 25th 7:00 PM
Northwestern
(H) January 29th 7:00 PM
Minnesota
(H) February 3rd 2:30 PM
Northwestern (A) February 6th 6:00PM
Wiscy (A) February 11th Noon
Iowa (H) February
14th 6:30 PM
Suckeyes
(H) February 18th 1:00 PM
PSU (A) February 21st 7:00 PM
Maryland (A) February 24th Noon
Traditionally, in the B1G
(or any conference) we all know that winning on the road is particularly
difficult. So last night’s win was big.
Counting all the H’s
above, there’s only another 8 wins on the schedule for The Maize and Blue,
which probably won’t be enough for an NCAA Tourney bid, so they will
need to steal a couple on the road. 3
should be enough. 4 would be friggin’
awesome. 2 or fewer and I’m thinking
Michigan’s chances of getting in will be iffy…. And there’s always a
potential of a home court upset.
And somehow Michigan’s 1 and
done Road Games (no home & home) are against Wiscy and Sparty, two of the
most difficult places to win on the road. THANKS A F@#$%@#$%%KING LOT JIM DELANEY! Minnesota has to suffer at Crisler without a
chance at retribution in the Twin Cities.
Possible
Road Steals? Nebraska and PSU should be locks,
but hey, Basketball. Northwestern is
probably the next logical game Michigan could steal, but they’re playing a lot
better and Michigan won on a last second bucket in Evanston last
season. So, I dunno.
Maryland and Purdue are probably coin flips and the
afore mentioned Wiscy and Sparty, well, let’s play loose and see what
happens. Maybe Michigan can have a
spectacular shooting day against each?
Anything’s possible!!!!
First GREAT News of 2018!
Not that anyone really thought
this was going to happen – Winnovich was never making noise about
leaving...
Winnovich will be another anchor in what will
probably be a top 5 Defense next Season.
Please, PLEASE let’s get a serviceable Offense.
Please…..
Etc.
Rich Rod Canned For Sexual Harassment
in the Workplace???
Arizona was looking for a reason, and they
used the flimsiest one they could find.
Rodriguez passed polygraph and in the end, the complainant wouldn’t
come forward with her “Evidence”. Say
what you want about Rich, but I don’t believe a word of what the accuser is
saying about him. There was an
extramarital affair, yes. But not harassment.
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