Let’s get one thing straight. I
wasn’t happy with the decision and I actually thought Fred was maybe outcoaching
Urban a little there to make ohio use their last time out with 0:32 left on the
clock and then Michigan would come out and kick the field goal, and more or
less force OT. I mentioned it out loud
in the stands and the guy next to me simply stated, “Go for it.” I was surprised, but that’s the way I was
seeing it. OT at home is the
conventional wisdom. Then they came out
and went for the two…And it was a very poorly called and executed play.
However, in hind sight and after everyone at the tailgate more or less
said it was the right decision because Michigan’s defense had not stopped Hyde
and Miller for the entire 2nd half, well, I stand corrected on the
decision. HOWEVA, I will dispute
and take issue with the call of the actual play. Devin had to be as nervous as he’s ever been
in a game and while I get that it might have been the greatest confidence builder
and lead in to next season, you have to call a play that has a high level of
success!
And the MMQ is here to say: That
wasn’t it….
In addition, that wasn’t the first Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot moment of the
day for the MMQ. Last week, just last
week, Michigan only had 6 yards of offense in the 2nd half of the
Iowa game well into the 4th quarter.
Saturday, Michigan was marching up and down the field against the
suckeyes and I’m not sure that 12 guys on the ohio defense would have helped
stop what Michigan was doing….
So what gives? IS that poor play
calling in the 11 other games played this season? Has everyone reached a skill and maturity
level that now makes them better for this one game?
Someone interviewed Barney pre-game and he stated that the offense
wouldn’t be leaving “anything in the bag…”
Well, I really wish Barney had opened the bag and reached into it a
little more often and in a lot of other games that Michigan has played and lost
this season. Two I can think of right of
the top of my head might have been victories with that type of aggressive
screen passing getting the ball into open space style of offense.
Again, sour grapes at this point and I am still quite upset with the
loss. There are NO MORAL VICTORIES…You either beat the bad guys or you don’t. It’s really that simple. And to come that close and fail, well, in a
way I would have preferred a blow-out.
At least I wouldn’t have all of these mixed emotions about what to do
with this coaching staff. I still want
to fire Barney…But now I don’t know what to do.
Is it poor game planning on Fred’s part?
Not to mention that the Defense didn’t exactly blow sunshine up my skirt
against ohio, either. I don’t think Hyde
is “all that and a bag of chips” kind of tailback, yet Mattison’s Defense made
him look like a Heisman candidate….
So, there was
an artificial spread of 16 points at kick-off that Michigan nearly
overcame….Big Deal. Great teams find a
way to win that game. The suckeyes were
on the ropes. And that’s when you deliver
the death blow….
To make
matters even worse, in another WTF moment of the day, Satan’s Warriors go down in
what will forever be described as one of the greatest last plays of a
collegiate football game to a team that had only won 2, (TWO – Dos, a couple)
SEC games last season. So, the mightiest
team in the nation lost to a team that was not only not ranked in the top 25
to start the season, most prognosticators only had them finishing 3rd
or 4th in the SEC West. At best.
Question: Knowing how SEC schools celebrate after
something like this and knowing how BADLY Bama fan must still feel requiring
the need to drown their sorrows via clear and brown liquids……I wonder if there
is there any alcohol left in the state of Alabama?
Add to that
one of the two new kids on the block is in the other half of the SEC
championship! Mizzou beat A&M and
has proven without question that the SEC East is comprised of a bunch of chumps.
And any team could go into the SEC East (or west) and be competitive. Period.
END OF ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT THE ALMIGHTY S-E-C…..
THIS IS
SUPPOSED TO BE THE ELITE OF THE ELITE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL! Ha!
Moving On....Moral
Dilemma: I’m torn as to who, as a
Michigan Fan, I should root for Saturday.
I’m sure you all have your opinions that are reading and want to know
what to do and which way we should lean at kick-off. Well, Wiscy losing changed the picture a
little for the MMQ. Let me explain.
Before Wiscy
lost, Sparty losing the B1G Championship would have more or less INSURED that for the entire BCS
ERA, Sparty would have NEVER PLAYED IN A BCS CONTEST! And I would have really liked that. Let me re-state: I would have REALLY LIKED THAT. To be able to say to every Sparty I know for
the rest of my life that in the 16 years of the BCS…you never got a taste of
what playing in a BCS game was like.
Now, Sparty
is almost assured of a BCS slot with whatever happens on Saturday. If they win, they’re in the Rose. If they lose, ohio goes to the BCS National
Championship and Sparty still goes to the Rose – thanks for nothing Wiscy. God…I wanna puke. And Sparty, how big is that domer loss
looking now?
So, who do
you root for?
The lesser of
two evils (Even though after what I saw Saturday, I’m not convinced that the
suckeyes can even stay on the same field with FSU) I guess is if Sparty somehow
finds a way to win the B1G Championship in Indy….At least the suckeyes aren’t
playing for the Natinoal Title and Sparty gets what’ll probably be a pissed off
Stanford team looking for respect. And
FSU probably handles whoever comes out of the SEC championship game…At least it
won’t be Bama.
Oh…what am I
saying….Pray for the perpetual tie in Indy. It could happen……
SIDE
NOTE: Coach “Tough On Urban” Crime Meyer
will NOT suspend the two players that initiated the 2nd quarter kick-off donnybrook and were
subsequently ejected from the Michigan – ohio game. Why this surprises ANYONE at this point is
beyond the MMQ. I was just wondering how
many co-eds Hyde had smacked around the Friday night before the game, but I didn’t see
the report.
5 Stages of Slappy Fan Grief
PRE –GRIEF: HOPE! Suckeyes, Duke, Mizzou…And AUBURN!….Those
are the last 4 teams left that have the hope of somehow doing the
impossible. For the suckeyes, it’s two
fold. Those fans have to realize they
don’t have a defense. So, they will need
to somehow draw up the exact same gameplan against Sparty that they had for
Michigan. Score and score a lot. Mizzou needs to win and then they are rooting
for Sparty to do the unthinkable….meanwhile, if Duke were to somehow pull off
the improbable and impossible, well, there’s going to a whole lot of SEC fans
that will be doing cartwheels….I actually want to add Michigan fans, Gator Fans
and anyone else that feels that their team did less than what was expected this
season. Auburn and Mizzou made it clear
that you can turn it all around in 1 season.
That’s all it takes. Hope…it
springs eternal.
- Denial and Isolation - suckeyes…the smart fans are here. They can no longer deny that their team
is flawed. They saw their beloved
suckeyes get 600+ yards hung on them by a team that barely beat Akron and
U-Conn (that have 1 win between them on the season). They also barely beat a Michigan team
that had lost 4 games and had two games with negative rushing yards. Suckeye fans can’t be happy with the
close victory. If anything, the
suckeye fans are rubbing your buck nuts hoping that you can pull off one
more smoke and mirrors miracle in Indy on Saturday.
- ANGER - Again, I’m right here. I’m so mad I could spit. I’m mad that Michigan doesn’t have a
better record this season and I’m really mad that we played our arch-rival
to the final seconds and then could NOT FIND A WAY TO PULL OFF THE
UPSET. I got even angrier when the
Auburn Tigers as 12 point underdogs managed to pull off the impossible and
beat the evil empire….Yep, the MMQ wants this stage all to himself
today. If you want to join me, feel
free. But anger it is. You have to win Saturday. That’s what rivalries are all
about. I’m sure there are some Bama
fans here, too, but I suspect they are all still too stunned to speak and
voice any anger over what happened.
They lost everything in 1 second…The SEC Title Shot, the BCS Title
Shot….Everything. They will be
looking at the 3rd place SEC bowl (which I think is the Capitol
1 Bowl) and probably not even get a BCS Bowl nod…Hee-hee……
- Bargaining –If there’s anyone left out
there bargaining right now, it has to be teams that are thinking that
there are still some BCS hopes left for them. Or bowl chances at all. If your team has 6 wins, you know
they’re headed somewhere….but until all of this is settled, it’s tough to
know when or where they’re gonna play.
- Depression –Bama fans in here in droves…That
fanbase does not do well after a loss as they don’t get a lot of practice
losing. I’ve heard (not seen) that
there are actually some “Fire Saban” websites that got put up and that a
small group of fans is taking up a collection to have Texas fly Saban in
for an interview. If there was ever
a time that Nick would answer that call, now would be it, Texas. Go get him.
- Acceptance – Everyone
not going to a bowl game and that lost to the arch-rival. It was a crappy year, Gator Fan. But if Auburn has shown you anything,
well, it has shown you that it can all be turned around in a single
off-season. Hokies, Mountaineers, Wildcats,
Trojans…you know who you are!
The BCS Mess
It had to
happen, and it did. Satan’s Warriors go
down in embarrassing fashion and Auburn establishes SEC West dominance. As for the rest of the mess...
|
|
|
Harris
|
USAToday
|
Computer
|
BCS
|
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Record
|
Rank
|
Pts
|
%
|
Rank
|
Pts
|
%
|
Avg
|
Avg
|
Last
Week
|
|
1.
|
|
12-0
|
1
|
2617
|
.9970
|
1
|
1546
|
.9974
|
.990
|
.9948
|
2
|
|
2.
|
|
12-0
|
2
|
2488
|
.9478
|
2
|
1462
|
.9432
|
.960
|
.9503
|
3
|
|
3.
|
|
11-1
|
3
|
2422
|
.9227
|
3
|
1437
|
.9271
|
.920
|
.9233
|
4
|
|
4.
|
|
11-1
|
4
|
2262
|
.8617
|
4
|
1333
|
.8600
|
.840
|
.8539
|
1
|
|
5.
|
|
11-1
|
5
|
2231
|
.8499
|
5
|
1315
|
.8484
|
.830
|
.8428
|
5
|
|
6.
|
|
10-1
|
6
|
2083
|
.7935
|
6
|
1248
|
.8052
|
.690
|
.7629
|
7
|
|
7.
|
|
10-2
|
7
|
1873
|
.7135
|
10
|
1034
|
.6671
|
.740
|
.7069
|
8
|
|
8.
|
|
10-2
|
8
|
1841
|
.7013
|
7
|
1100
|
.7097
|
.700
|
.7037
|
10
|
|
9.
|
|
10-1
|
9
|
1778
|
.6773
|
7
|
1100
|
.7097
|
.600
|
.6623
|
9
|
|
10.
|
|
11-1
|
10
|
1758
|
.6697
|
9
|
1037
|
.6690
|
.620
|
.6529
|
11
|
|
11.
|
|
10-2
|
13
|
1277
|
.4865
|
13
|
765
|
.4935
|
.770
|
.5833
|
12
|
|
12.
|
|
10-2
|
12
|
1398
|
.5326
|
12
|
843
|
.5439
|
.520
|
.5321
|
13
|
|
13.
|
|
10-2
|
11
|
1444
|
.5501
|
11
|
853
|
.5503
|
.460
|
.5201
|
6
|
|
14.
|
|
12-0
|
15
|
1104
|
.4206
|
18
|
547
|
.3529
|
.670
|
.4812
|
14
|
|
15.
|
|
9-3
|
14
|
1258
|
.4792
|
14
|
720
|
.4645
|
.320
|
.4213
|
17
|
I’m sure the
Big 12 is wishing they had a championship game right about now…I know Okie
State would love to have that West Virginia game back. And we all know Sparty would LOVE to have the
domer game back…hee-hee….Acutally, I'm sure Bama Nation wishes we were in the 4 team play-off...but not till next year!
Next week, we’ll be able to review the bowl situation clearly,
but early projections have Michigan showing up anywhere from the Buffalo Wild
Wings against Texas to theTexas Bowl (?) against Texas Tech….Who knows,
really….
Idle Thoughts From Saturday
-Where has
this offense been all year?
-3rd
play from scrimmage…AND WE SCORE??
-Jeez, I mean
I love it…But Jeez…
-This team could
have done so much more with this type of game plan every week…
-OR am I
missing something?
-Are the
suckeyes that bad on defense?
-Could be….
-Which means
they will embarrass the B1G if they get to the title game…
-WE NEED TO
BEAT THIS TEAM!
-Looking good!
-Stop Hyde
fergodsake!
-Stop Miller,
too!
-We can’t
stop anybody…
-But at least
we can score.
-Oh, that was
nice suckeye player…
-Flop
everyone off in the stadium on National TV.
-That should
get you a nice little letter from the B1G office
-At least it
better.
-We’ve still
got a shot.
-Devin to
Devin is working great!
-Butt is
having a Big Day!
-Youngest
Daughter: “Let’s Go Butt!”
-Somehow, I
think she’s saying that just to tick me off….
-But how can
I be mad today?
-All
right! SCORE!
-Two points? Really???
-The crowd is
chanting for 2…but I dunno…
-I have a bad
feeling about this…
-Oh no…….Not
like this…
-There’s
always the onside kick…No…
-Would OT
have been so bad?
-Auburn has
done the impossible!!!
-Show me
Saban NOW AND NOTHING ELSE FOR THE NEXT 5 MINUTES!
-That’s what
I want to see…
-That little
troll’s face all scrunched up…
-Bama Nation
will undoubtedly call for his firing at this point…
-Texas, here
we come!
The Hot Seat
I can’t
believe it’s over. The Final Hot Seat
Mascot nominee is upon us. Leryn did
great last week and slipped into the finals easily. This year’s final nominee was a suggestion
and also a request that I not end the Hot Seat Mascot Season with a Blonde that
would come in and win from behind, so to speak.
Without further ado: Adriana
Lima!
Okay, so we
know now after multiple “backings” of Muschamp that Florida is off the list
with respect to searching for a coach.
That still
leaves USC for SURE and now add to the list Wyoming. Not a big job, but still looking. And the USC coach is pulling the same
re-treads (Petersen – Boise – Just said no today) that USC tried before they
hired Kiffin. Something about college
coaching searches is just wrong….AD’s need to find the inside list of available
good guys….
GONE LIST:
They don’t call it Black Monday for nothing…I added one name here today
so far, but there will probably be more before it’s over. Florida dumped a truck-load of assistants,
but Muschamp remains.
- LANE KIFFIN
- Paul Pasqualoni
- Treadwell
- Carlson – Valpraiso….(I know, not exactly on my
radar, either.)
- Ron English – Eastern Michigan.
- Mussman – North Dakota
- David Christianson - Wyoming
Hot Seat Rank – Getting Serious as
this is the time when the Carousel gets fire up!
- Mack Brown – New AD? New Coach?
- London – Virginia….Its not a good
situation…
- Ogeron – All the guy did was win,
but an interim won’t have the USC job…Jack Del Rio interviewed last week…
- Weiss: Can’t believe he’s still there…
- Paul Johnson – Lost to
Georgia…Look Out.
- Pelini – It’s not good in Corn
land either…
- Biliema: Arkansas Nation does not like a B1G
re-treas – no SEC wins
- Norm Chow - Hawaii
- Holgorensen: No Bowl doesn’t bode well for Dana…
FMQ Betting Results:
Not a great
week, but not terrible, either. We held
our own, but should have stuck with the master plan to take points in rivalry
games, no matter what the numbers are telling us….
Iowa (+3) @
Nebraska: Take the Huskers and lay the 3 for $50
LOSE……
Domers (+14) @
Stanford: Take the domers and the 14 for $40
WIN! Bank $76
Miami @ Pitt (+3): Take Pitt and the 3 for $40
LOSE….One where
taking the points bit me in the Butt….
Gophers (+14) @
Sparty: Take the Gophers and the 14 for $50
WIN! Bank $95
Bama @ Auburn
(+11): Take Bama and lay the 11 for $40
LOSE….But this one
was worth it!
Oregon @ OSU
(+21.5): Take the Ducks and lay the 21.5 for $40
LOSE….What happened
to the Ducks?
Ohio @ Michigan
(+14.5): Take Michigan and the 14.5 for $75
WIN! Bank $142.50
Parlay!
Why not? It’s late and doubling up is getting tougher…
Michigan-Huskers-Gophers $50 – LOSE….
Starting BANK: $397
TOTAL WIN: $313.50
BANK: $710.50
