In a day that saw me utter the “WTF” phrase way more often than
I normally do, Michigan still managed to find a way to win. No I didn’t sell my soul to the devil or
anything (actually, I may have already DONE that), but if there is a limit as
to how many times you can utter that phrase and if you go over a certain mark
you’re heading to the nether world, well, let’s just say I edged a whole lot
closer to the mark on Saturday.
I guess you can add me to the segment
of fans that can still somehow be upset with a W. When I watch this team do great things one
week and then look at them the following week and think, “Who
laced up your shoes for you today?”, it worries me. Too, TOO MANY 1st half mistakes,
miscues and penalties. WTF…
I’m trying to wrap my mind around how a team
can go from playing what was arguably one of the best halfs and games of
football the prior week against the Huskers to nearly gagging against a team
that was MANDHANDLED by Akron and Duke (DUKE fergodsakes). It’s just incredibly difficult to comprehend what
you’re actually seeing week to week. WTF…
And the defense for the first 17
minutes looked like a hot steaming pile of doggy doo-doo that you’re not even
sure you want to pick up even with the handy plastic baggy. Nope, they just didn’t look good…They
gave up over 100+ yards and 17 points as Michigan’s offense kept finding new
and creative ways to go 3 and out. WTF!!!
But then the tide turned, finally.
I get it, I guess. Michigan gets everyone’s best shot. And Michigan doesn’t start well on the
road. And their red-zone success rate on the road
really sucks… I still don’t know which one of those issues concerns me the
most. But the purple kitties are NOT a good
team and Michigan was trailing early.
Kind of like the domers. And that
won’t work against LNU or in the snake pit in Columbus. WTF.
The purple kitties were a team
that watched some tape, did their homework and then went out and executed. If I see the Michigan Defense give up one
more slant pass this season, I’m gonna’ lose it. WTF.
Patterson, in what was probably his worst game, and what
was arguably the best pass protection that he’s seen all season, finally
started connecting with some receivers. Collins,
Gentry and Eubanks the proverbial workhorses and were able to pull in
some throws for chunk yardage. Higdon
carried the ball for the entire game it seemed like. I’m not sure where Tru went, but I kind of
like it when he gets a touch every now and then. What happened to some of those great FB plays
they ran against Nebraska?
At least we had this nice DPJ
reverse right before the half ended that set up the TD. But trickery seems to drive me nuts when so
many things seemed to be working so well against the Huskers…
Winnovich should get some special award for the way he played, as he was pretty much
all over the purple kitties in the 2nd half. Still not sure why he wasn’t elected a Captain, but
I’ll take the effort with a smile. Michigan’s Defense only allowed 47 yards in
the 2nd half. That’s pretty
good.
And if ANYONE can find the tape that actually
shows Higdon holding anyone after he was tackled, I’ll pay big money for
it. It’s tough on the road when you have
to play against the refs, too.
In the end, a W is a W and its WAY BETTER than
an L. The L would have taken Michigan
out of any discussion for the CFP (which I’m not yet ready to give up hope on)
in September. At least Michigan
is still relevant heading into October with a chance to become even more
relevant with the Gauntlet approaching.
Maryland
Wiscy
LNU
PSU
I guess you could say it begins this week
with Maryland coming to the Big House. Again,
how
does EVRYONE get Michigan off a bye?
That’s two in a row…
Extra:
Baumgardner at the Freep does a good job of breaking down the Harbaugh
offense and how it’s “Doing What It’s Supposed to Do”. I guess the days of Rich Rod are gone,
even though that was awfully easy to get used to.
Michigan often uses tight ends West Coast passing
concepts designed to take horizontal chunks that ultimately lead to vertical
shots down the line. That's the system. It hasn't changed.
On the rest of the drives Saturday, where no
points were scored, Michigan ran 10 first down plays for a total of 53 yards.
That doesn’t SOUND like balance to me. Shouldn’t they be throwing a little more on 1st
down? Can you imagine what would happen
if they did that against someone? Maybe
saving it for a Big Game?
I dunno…
The
Rest of the Mess
CUD-
Complete Unmitigated Disasters
Penn State – Here’s
a game and a finish by PSU that looked a lot like something that Michigan would
try. The nittany lions had THE Sex Toy
U by the shorthairs in the 4th quarter leading 26-14. THE Sex Toy U finally got it going, but PSU
could have done so much more on both offense and defense to seal the game. The final play on 4th and 5 where
PSU tried to run vs passing will be the one call Franklin has to live with for
awhile. With a Heisman QB in the
backfield, a pass here would have made sense to this guy. And some of the fans thought it was the wrong
call, also.
This isn’t Franklin’s first encounter
with a hostile homer. It’s just the
latest one and this kind of thing can have a way of snowballing on you if
things go south. Franklin needs
to cool his jets before saying anything to fans. And would be better off not saying anything
at all.
Nebraska – Just got rolled by
the Spoilers after Frost made a remark after the Michigan game when he said, “We
get a game we can win this week!”, which, surprise-surprise, that didn’t sit
well with the Spoilers. At 0-4, Nebraska has put
itself in a position to tie a record that the team set in 1945 (0-5). I don’t think Frost will be talking about “Games
we can win this week” now that the winless cornsuckers have to go to
Wiscy. Cause nobody wins in Madison.
Stanford – This was a winnable
game for the Cardinal, but they just didn’t show up in the 4th
quarter. And what’s
worse, Love was out for a large part of the game due to injury. I don’t know how good the domers really are,
but Blacksburg this week should be revealing.
MSU – Mullen
returned to the school and the program that he built and rescued from futility
only to be greeted like a traitor. Nice
move, Bulldogs. You could have simply
given him a nice round of applause but decided to go a different way. And Gatorland thumped you for it.
South Carolina – This
was a game that had everyone scratching their head last week when it came to
the spread. Well, Vegas was wrong and
the Gamecocks are 2-2 and the Wildcats are 5-0 and RANKED in the top 15. Go figure…If anyone can start making sense of
this CFB season, the MMQ is listening…
Come Back Off The Ledge
Golden Bears – Oregon
blasted the previously undefeated Golden Bears, but the wins that California
had under their belt weren’t exactly over big teams. And Oregon appears to be back. More games to go, but there’s still a
successful season to be had for California.
Syracuse – A
golden opportunity given away on the road in Death Valley.
The Frosh sensation that was named the starter last week that forced
Bryant to announce that he was transferring took a hit to the ole noggin’
and got knocked out of the game. Former
3rd stringer Brice came into a slobber knocker of a game and lodged
the W in where Clemson had been favored by 24 points. The Orange can still get to double digit wins
and they just might.
Texas Tech –
right after I give the Red Raiders a little love for looking like a
better team, the WVU ‘Neers show up and do all kinds of WVU things to TT. You weren’t supposed to win that game, but
fergodsakes, would it KILL YOU to play just a little defense? Still, there’s lots of games in the BigiiX that
TT can win.
We Won But…We Should Be
Worried Week
Clemson – Instant Karma’s
Gonna’ Get You!!! The
old adage is alive and well. QB
Lawrence (AKA – Sunshine from “Remember the Titans” fame), almost like clockwork, got injured early in the game after he
took a shoulder to the helmet. He went
under concussion protocol and Brice had to come in off the bench. While the Tigers found a way, the way forward
is looking REALLY MURKY with respect to the CFP.
Clemson has a great Defense, but as Michigan fans know, that’s only part
of it. Clemson is now the shakiest top 5
team out there. THE STU– already mentioned as part of the PSU post, THE STU showed the world how they can be game-planned against. Every School in the B1G will watch the PSU film and try to mimic how the PSU defense shut down STU. We’ll see how well everyone else does, but STU should also be a little concerned moving forward.
Auburn – Only
beating a 2 loss Sun Belt team by two scores is not a good look. Auburn may have lost a few style points and
the “Malzhan
can’t build any momentum moving through the season” crowd is going to
start griping, even after the W. Sounds
a lot like another fan-base I know.
Texas – Slipped by a very bad
K-State team by a small margin. I just don’t understand the up and down
nature of the Longhorns – Oh, wait. Yes
I do because I pull for a team just like them!
Sooner or later, that’s going to get you...
LNU – Finally got it going
against a really bad Central Michigan team.
The Purple Kitties are next and if the Kitties
perform against LNU the same way they did against Michigan, LNU could be in for
another L.
The
5 Stages of Slappy Fan Grief
- Denial and Isolation –PSU. You had the #2 team in the country by
double digits in the 4th quarter and let them back in the
game. Start listening for the “Fire
Franklin” crowd if he loses before the team comes up to Ann Arbor.
- ANGER –PSU – A lot of
fans think Franklin should have let McSorely chuck it down the field on 4th
and 5…
- Bargaining –Nebraska still looking
for 1 W for the column. Just to say
they earned one…
- Depression –Va Tech,
Nebraska, Texas A&M, Syracuse, Texas Tech, Stanford and PSU round out
the field.
- Acceptance
– Not yet! Season’s still young….
Speaking
Of Buyer’s Remorse…
1. Frost – makes some bad comments about a team
he thinks his team is good enough to beat.
Probably doesn’t sit well with huskers fan base...
2. Kelly-Losing to Colorado is one
thing. Getting CLOBBERED by Colorado is
another. UCLA doesn’t even look like
they want to be there…
3. Taggart – Only beating what is probably
the weakest Louisville team in the last 10 years by 4 points in come from
behind fashion is going to have your fan-base pissed off with you.
Idle
Thoughts from Saturday
-Clemson could lose this game with
Lawrence out!!!
-Well,
it was close.
-Why 4:30?
-3:30 Central doesn’t make
much sense.
-Here we go.
-Why can’t Michigan open up with a
drive and a score on the road?
-You know – take the crowd out
of it a little?
-Here come the purple kitties.
-Let’s go Defense -er – wtf…
-All right, common offense,
let’s get something going here.
-WTF…
-Down two scores in the 1st
quarter?
-There goes the spread...
-WTF!!!!!.
-Oh Jeez. This is going to get out of hand if Michigan
can’t stop them or they don’t score...
-Finally. Hate that it’s on a reverse, but whatever.
-Okay, down two scores going
into halftime.
-Not the end of the world.
-Oh come on! Punch it in!
-Figgies are not my favorite
things when my team is down.
-I know, I know…Points are
important.
-WTF…Another Field Goal.
-Down to the Purple Kitties in
Evanston
-When does Pat Fitzgerald
retire?
-I know he hates Michigan…but
what does he do to his team during Michigan Week?
-I mean, no one should be able
to transform themselves like this.
-I watched the Duke and parts
of the Akron game (on replay).
-NORTHWESTERN SUCKS!
-Except when they play
Michigan.
-Finally – I’lll take it.
-A W is a W.
-We won’t talk about this a
month from nown.
-Bring on the Terps!
THE MMQ’s “I DON’T NEED A COMMITTEE!”
Will return when the Committee makes their first
ranking!
The Hot Seat
ZAPPED List
We’ll keep track of who’s gone
as the season progresses….
- Durkin – I really don’t
know what’s taking so long and that’s forever to leave a guy hanging in
the gallows…
Electric
Chair of Death Seat!
- Ash
– Rutgers: Sooner
or later someone is going to care about the Scarlet Knights football
program, how much money they’re making (and spending) and not getting results.
The Hot Seat
- Frost – Nebraska. Until he wins a game, the seat’s warm
- Kelly - UCLA winless keeps you on the
hot seat.
- Sumlin – Arizona
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