January 4th, 2012 at 12:08 AM ^
I am so happy for these seniors even if it was an ugly win.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:08 AM ^
Love this team
January 4th, 2012 at 12:09 AM ^
Speechless!! Go Blue!!
January 4th, 2012 at 12:09 AM ^
I love JR!! I love all the SRs on this team. Team 132 officially my favorite
January 4th, 2012 at 12:09 AM ^
Junior Hemingway's comments make it easy to forget any lingering dissatisfaction.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:13 AM ^
Wooooooooooo!!! We're all gonn get laid. i just teared up during Junior's little speach. I apologize for all my angry post during the live blog. I love all of you. Gibbons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EDIt: BRING BACK THE POS-BANG!
January 4th, 2012 at 12:10 AM ^
Our Offense (somehow) did just enough to put points on the board. Our defense was put in horrendous situations (though failing to get off the field on long 3rd & 4th downs was aggrivating), and still held VT to field goals instead of TDs.
That is the story of this game. That is also how the really good teams of the past decade have been built... Great Defense & Special Teams.
I, for one, am now not looking forward so much to playing Alabama, the way that our Offense got manhandled.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:47 AM ^
If Ala wins the NC (and maybe even if they don't) half that team is going to bolt for the NFL. Add to the fact that it's the first game of the year, and i say we have a chance.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:11 AM ^
Watch a replay of Beamer watching the game winning fg go through. Priceless picture.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:19 AM ^
7 FGs in this game. Add two PATs and 6 punts for good measure.
I commend Michigan and VT's soccer teams. Most exciting PK shootout since Japan-USA Women's World Cup.*
*Not denigrating the Women's World Cup. That was an effin' awesome game.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:12 AM ^
But I can't help but feel this one may have been for Bo. It wasn't pretty, but for the first time since 2006 things just feel...good. This game and this season were for team 132 and for those who stayed, but I think it was for Bo too.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:13 AM ^
will be Champions! For realz.
well done Seniors
January 4th, 2012 at 12:14 AM ^
GO Blue, great win for the program, ugly but great. Ill have one more summit EPA for the victory. Hail to the Victors!
January 4th, 2012 at 12:14 AM ^
Who wants to get rich by robbing a bank? Who wants to win a game by stealing it? It feels nice to win, but we robbed them.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:28 AM ^
VT called for a very stupid fake punt, threw an untimely pick, extended Michigan's drives with penalties, allowed the only real big play of the game and overall played right into a bend-don't-break red zone defense.
On Michigan's side, the only people who really underperformed were Denard and Borges. Molk played hurt, the secondary was overmatched. . . and while the defense was overwhelmed, they held. And held. And held. VT gained over 350 yards and got in the end zone. . . once.
You can outplay your opponent for the entire game and still lose because of a few critical mistakes. VT, for the most part, owns those mistakes. And they faced a defense that wouldn't quit if they had bone shards sticking out of their jerseys.
P.S. Uprated your comment because I see your point, even if I don't agree with it.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:31 AM ^
If Vatech did not make mistakes at the most inopportune time we would be sitting here venting over a loss. But they did.
As a great coach once said, if you are in a situation for a bad call to cost you a game you only have yourself to blame. Michigan has to apologize to no one.
Besides, this was not Charles White phantom TD. The ball clearly scraped the ground and his elbow simultaneously hit the white of out of bounds. Would I have overturned it? No, but there was reasonable doubt.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:32 AM ^
Iowa stole money from us. We're just stealin' it back.
It still counts as a win.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:40 AM ^
One team cannot rob another team. You play to win the game. The refs can rob you or you can give away your money.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:15 AM ^
Anyone else she her fangs come out to snatch Hoke from Angelique after the game?
January 4th, 2012 at 12:23 AM ^
but I DVR'd I'll go back and watch it again tomorrow...and by tomorrow, I mean tonight.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:26 AM ^
No one gets in Holly's way when it comes to food. Nobody.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:40 AM ^
We win a big game on Defense and a Field Goal (and only 184 yards of Offense).
Welcome back to Michigan football. Bo's a smilin'.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:15 AM ^
I bet Michigan in Vegas with -1.5. Did I win the bet? How does overtime effect a regular Vegas point-spread bet?
January 4th, 2012 at 12:48 AM ^
Overtime counts. Therefore, if the spread was -1.5, congrats! You covered the spread and won the bet!
I, OTOH, bet when it was -3 and it was a push. Fair enough, though.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:16 AM ^
Actually I just got a LOT emotional. I don't know what broke me more...Hemi's speech or Hoke's smile after the Gatorade bath. Feels good to be a good guy!
January 4th, 2012 at 12:36 AM ^
It was Jr. Dude melted my heart right there.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:21 AM ^
and for Brendan Gibbons. Talk about redemption.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:34 AM ^
but from Texas to Montreal, we are all celebrating.
Yes, college football makes no sense...
GO BLUE!
January 4th, 2012 at 12:38 AM ^
As I posted in the game thread, I think Mattison realized his secondary can't stay with VT's receivers. So he had them play conservatively, even giving up an exasperating number of third-and-longs if it meant taking away the 40-yard post route TD. I mean, they'll still cover the routes, but the principle is better soft & safe than aggressive & burned. Stay disciplined, stay patient, let them into the red zone where the short field neutralizes their speed advantage, then tighted up. There, the secondary can play a more aggressive zone. The red zone is where a safety can cover half the end zone and still dash out in time to prevent a run from getting in. Kind of hard to do that at midfield when the CBs are having trouble covering 40-yard post routes.
It's why Mattison is worth every dollar. It takes guts to give the other team FG after FG, and some awesome coaching to get the secondary to execute that strategy.
As for the offense, it really only had one good drive, and that was extended by a penalty. VT's D othewise shut down Borges, but VT's O kept giving them more chances.
I would say VT's O and D both played hard -- if rather mistake-prone. Borges was a downright liability this game, whereas the Michigan D played their hearts out against an offense that should've owned them.
Kind of fitting, really. The redemption of Michigan's defense is complete.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:47 AM ^
excellent analysis.... i was thinking along those same lines.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:28 AM ^
Go blue!!!
January 4th, 2012 at 12:25 AM ^
Post game news conferences on ESPNU right now.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:25 AM ^
I have to say I think VT did prove they deserved a BCS bowl birth. They looked like a top team out there. But this is Michigan Fergodsakes!
January 4th, 2012 at 12:31 AM ^
It was strange being supremely confident in Gibbons before both the kick to go up 20-17 & the kick to win the game 23-20.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:35 AM ^
Doug Karsh intereviewing Molk: "You were out the first series. What made you want to get in the game?" Molk: "The first snap".
January 4th, 2012 at 12:36 AM ^
January 4th, 2012 at 12:37 AM ^
Somewhere off Burbon Street, VT and ND are sharing a good stiff long drink and cursing Denard Robinson.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:52 AM ^
Someone needs to enlist the services of lsufreek for this. Could be epic.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:40 AM ^
Gibbons was money. The D-line was money. Junior was money. Special Teams was money. We won 2 out of 3 phases of the game, most times, that's all it takes to win on the scoreboard.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:41 AM ^
Yeah, so it was an ugly chick and we don't really want to go back and watch the video tape (except the money shot at the end), nevertheless, we just got laid.
And that's a good thing.
Geaux Blue!!!
January 4th, 2012 at 12:41 AM ^
UM Postgame Presser on ESPNU right now
January 4th, 2012 at 12:43 AM ^
Is there anywhere else to find postgame content besides espnU since Sportscenter is treating this game like the Chuckie Cheeze Ball Pit Bowl?
January 4th, 2012 at 12:46 AM ^
Love the win.
Feel really dirty.
Kinda disappointed at how badly Borges got outcoached by Foster. It was like their team speed, especially their defense, caught us totally off guard. And then we had no answer, no adjustment.
And VT's third down offense was great. We had a heck of a time getting off the field.
But we scraped and we clawed and their fake punt was really really dumb.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:51 AM ^
Looking back, I don't think it was that bad. Our D was the definition of bend but don't break all night. Our O stunk but was able to capitalize on opportunities when it counted. The no-catch was meh... I mean it was called a TD and there wasn't that much to overturn it. On the other hand the ball moved and touch the ground, both seem to be criteria for no-catches. And although the elbow hit the ground inbounds, by the time he really secured the ball, he had slid out.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:55 AM ^
It seemed to me that it was more the result of our Oline getting manhandled than anything else. Molk was injured, the rest I can't make an excuse for, but they were coming at Fitz and Denard all night.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:59 AM ^
I've also not seen so much hesitation from Denard and Fitz running. I know there were people in there lanes that they probably weren't used to seeing, but still... I thought we could have made 3-4 yards a lot of time just making contact and falling forward but instead they would full stop and get gobbled up for a loss or no gain.