Unverified Voracity Is In Year Eight Of This
run run run run run run run away oh oh oh [Christopher Cook]
We're #3.5. Spencer's top whatever:
Handing Florida two pick-sixes was only sportsmanlike, really. Without them, this is a 41-3 game or so, a complete wash, an elimination. Michigan’s chief concerns coming into the year were finding playmakers down the field. Tarik Black and Nick Eubanks did that serviceably enough, particularly so when you consider that Wilton Speight didn’t really have a great game and that the run game took a minute to lock in a stranglehold.
In sum, this Michigan team has great bones, is a handful along the defensive line, has two running backs capable of following an mean offensive line down the field, and has a quarterback who needs help from all that. But really, who doesn’t need a team? And who, among Michgan fans, will ever question the team? The team, the team, the team?
Alabama is a boring #1, as they always are.
Further Florida aftermath. I forgot to check Matt Hinton's weekly column on the SEC since usually it doesn't include extended treatises on a Big Ten team. This time it does:
It was, as McElwain said, a “plain and simple, take your whooping” kind of defeat. But the response from Florida fans was obvious too: Just how long do they have to keep taking it? Is Florida content to be a “take your whooping” kind of outfit? The Gators are nearly a decade removed from national relevance, or even from fielding a remotely competent quarterback for more than a week or two at a time. They’re no closer to filling that role after flip-flopping between Feleipe Franks and Malik Zaire on Saturday, to little effect, or to identifying a reliable playmaker among the skill players. The top two candidates, tailback Jordan Scarlett and receiver Antonio Callaway, were both among the late-breaking wave of suspensions before the game, but anyone who thinks either would have made a notable difference against the Wolverines hasn’t been paying close enough attention over the past two years.
Hinton also includes a long discussion of what the hell was going on with the illegal formation penalty—"dunno," more or less—and surveys the wreckage of the Florida offensive line:
That play — exactly the type of overwhelming debacle that used to unleash “S-E-C! S-E-C!” chants on beaten and broken-down Big Ten teams — was irrelevant to the outcome. But it was thoroughly emblematic of the line’s gradual deterioration over the course of the game. The play that preceded it was also a sack resulting in a fumble; in retrospect the Gators would have been better off if Michigan had recovered the first one just short of the goal line, or frankly if they’d just conceded at that point to taking an intentional safety. At least taking a knee in the end zone would have saved Zaire from a blindside hit everyone else in the building saw coming a mile away.
Every year you take up the banner of whatever P5 team you played in the nonconference. Last year Colorado worked out spectacularly well. This year... it's going to be weird and frustrating to be a proxy Florida fan this year. I fear I will understand the mindset all too well.
Also in aftermath, audio versions. Do you like goofily uninformed folks yellin'? Here you go:
How about the reasonably informed?
This was a bit of a comedown for a fanbase that was a wee bit optimistic headed into a game they were solid underdogs in.
They're not wrong though. Michigan's defensive performance was highly encouraging but it would be wise to pump the breaks at least a little. Florida's wasted more talent than anyone else in the country on that side of the ball:
Since Tebow left, Florida has failed to reach 250 yds of offense TWENTY TWO times, 2nd most in P5. Compare UF talent to similarly bad Os… pic.twitter.com/WhU9FKy6BS
— #DaHale (@DavidHaleESPN) September 3, 2017
That is incredible. Tim Tebow left eight years ago. Florida has endured eight years of Al Borges.
Is this the best sideline reporter moment of all time? Yes. Yes it is.
And now... @AllisonW_Sports does an Ed Orgeron impression pic.twitter.com/oQNX96Vtck
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 3, 2017
It's pushed over the top by Orgeron standing in the background of the shot. Congratulations to Allison Williams for surviving this stunt; going in there was a 50/50 chance Orgeron would overhear and turn her into gumbo.
I mean, okay, I guess you are Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh on the first INT, which I still think is mostly on Crawford:
"Not throwing the ball high over the middle. Those balls get tipped and have a tendancy to go up in the air. During camp we played a lot against man-to-man defenses (vs. Don Brown), with a lot of pressure," Harbaugh said. "I take this onto myself coaching. There are times you throw high and you get away with it because it's zero coverage and there's no deep safeties back there. ... But when you're playing against (zone) safeties, you have to keep the ball below the shoulders.
"Shoulders down, so the arms of the receivers don't go up and tip the ball. We've made more of an emphasis on that."
Speight could have thrown it better; Crawford still had it hit him in the hands, and it looked like he wasn't even fully extended when the ball hit.
I don't really get the other bit of Harbaugh press conference Speight critique:
"Quarterbacks, they want to show that they're the one and they're the guy. And sometimes that leads to always trying to make a big play or always trying to make a play that proves that," he said. "We talked about that (with Speight). You have to let that come to you. Operate within the system, with the reads, be a disciple with mechanics and those big plays will come to you.
Speight's deep shots in this game:
- completions to Tarik Black and Nick Eubanks
- PI drawn by Crawford on accurate post
- Fade route down sideline to Crawford is OOB
- pick six on high-ish ball at open receiver
- incompletion when Speight makes a killer check only to miss a wide open TD
I think that's it. The only one of those that was even a little forced was the PI. Speight's decisions against Florida were excellent. His execution was occasionally lacking. I imagine that's a response to a leading I-already-wrote-my-article question and not something Harbaugh's pulling out of thin air.
Wild Thing Nordin. Says he hit a 63-yarder in practice the other day pic.twitter.com/ohqJWhcP9J
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) September 3, 2017
Wild thing. Yes, this occurred:
Harbaugh said he’s looking for “a season of increases.” That applies, he said, to everyone on the roster -- the coaching staff, the starting quarterback, players on both sides of the ball and even the rookie kicker who carved a zig-zag pattern into the back of his hair last week as an ode to the closer mentality of Rick Vaughn.
Yes, that would be Charlie Sheen’s heartthrob, fire-throwing, near-sighted ex-con character from "Major League" -- yet another reference that predates the referencer’s existence on this planet. Nordin said he had to show YouTube clips to a couple of his teammates for them to understand what he was going for. When asked Saturday if the similarities between him and Vaughn stretch beyond their hairstyles, Nordin smiled. “Yeah, I think so,” he said. Then he turned and walked back into the locker room.
Even the damn kicker on this team has some attitude.
Etc.: Georgia will be without Jacob Eason against ND this weekend; ND favored by almost a touchdown. Here's a new Michigan tumblr. Maryland's win over Texas came at high cost: torn ACL for Piggy, fractured ankle for Aniebonam.
September 5th, 2017 at 12:27 PM ^
If there's one thing that's true about college football in 2017, it's our desperate need for an all-access Ed Orgeron reality show.
September 5th, 2017 at 6:11 PM ^
I could care less about Orgeron. Allison Williams though peaks my interest.
September 6th, 2017 at 1:53 AM ^
I couldn't care less about Orgeron. He doesn't pique my interest at all.
September 6th, 2017 at 12:23 PM ^
September 6th, 2017 at 2:18 AM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 12:31 PM ^
The guy in the Mcelwain out! video sounds like a hillbilly kermit the frog.
September 5th, 2017 at 1:10 PM ^
As Stewie Griffin's asking Brian how his novel was coming along.
September 6th, 2017 at 4:50 PM ^
Sounded more like Kenneth Parcell from 30 Rock to me.
September 5th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^
was really odd to me about most of the fan reaction/shock from Florida was that it was like they did not remember that Michigan completely outclassed and humiliated them 18 month ago. Did they just pretend that it didn't happen? Did they really buy the narrative that Florida's players did not try that day? Why was this outcome so puzzling to them?
September 5th, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^
I really think it has more to do with the fact that Florida has recruited so well the last few years. This almost feels like year 3 of Hoke, when "his" players began trickling into the starting lineup and people felt like his talent would outweigh any coaching deficiencies.
Add into that the fact that everyone in the SEC thinks Harbaugh is the most overrated coach in the history of football, and it was a perfect storm for ridiculous expectations.
September 5th, 2017 at 1:18 PM ^
How good has their recruiting been? I mean, I gather it's been ok, but haven't they been in the 10-15 range? Good, but... Michigan has been top 5. And LSU and Bama and Georgia have all done notably better, if I recall correctly.
Just rationally speaking my guess is that fans figured that Michigan wasn't for real and was replacing all those players. We knew we had guys like Black and Bush coming in to do well, but did they?
September 6th, 2017 at 2:21 AM ^
September 6th, 2017 at 11:03 AM ^
I'm a grad student at UF and most of it boils down to they know nothing about anything and all they hear is Pete Finebaum and ESPN saying how much we lost so we must not be any good.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:26 PM ^
florida wiped out iowa in the bowl game last year, a team that beat what was regarded as a better michigan team then this years. all those things enter the mind of the players.
September 5th, 2017 at 12:46 PM ^
That was 2 teams ago. Do you think Michigan fans expected the same results last year that they got from the 2014 team?
September 5th, 2017 at 12:54 PM ^
Maybe the overall player talent on the 2014 and 2016 teams wasn't hugely different, but the talent on the coaching staff from top to bottom could not have been more stark in contrast.
September 5th, 2017 at 1:00 PM ^
is not apples to apples. That is more like apples to hot dogs.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:49 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^
should not include the blown check-off call. It was a simple 10 - 15 yard pass, that WS chose to make look like a deep shot. And FWIW - I agree with JH that WS must throw the pass to the numbers. Very few WRs will go up and catch that pass over the middle.
I cannot understand how little has been talked about DJP handling the punt returns. That is a huge strength, and also our kickoff coverage was A++. Great hang time and depth on all kickoffs !!!
Can't wait to see this team live on Saturday!
Go Blue!
September 5th, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^
Also agree with Harbaugh. Crawford was still coming out of his break and couldn't fully extend.
September 5th, 2017 at 1:04 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 1:11 PM ^
even a little further back, the zebras started the chain of events with flagging Perry with a ridiculous unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that impacted momentum. So, let me get this straight, guys can stand up and do a super-exaggerated first down sign while staring at an opponent, but we got 15 yards for Perry spinning the ball in excitement after a first down? I couldn't really believe that the announcers were all like "yeah, that is a certain penalty." I guess, if by "certain" you mean "never, ever called in that situation or anything similar."
September 5th, 2017 at 2:15 PM ^
"So, let me get this straight, guys can stand up and do a super-exaggerated first down sign while staring at an opponent, but we got 15 yards for Perry spinning the ball in excitement after a first down?"
Well... one of those is explicitly called out in the Unsportsmnalike Conduct rule, and the other isn't.
After a score or any other play, the player in possession immediately must return the ball to an official or leave it near the dead-ball spot. This prohibits:
- Kicking, throwing, spinning or carrying (including off of the field) the ball any distance that requires an official to retrieve it.
- Spiking the ball to the ground (Exception: A forward pass to conserve time (Rule 7-3-2-f)).
- Throwing the ball high into the air.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:45 PM ^
- Kicking, throwing, spinning or carrying (including off of the field) the ball any distance that requires an official to retrieve it.
The ball was spun in place and did not require an official to retrieve it.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:48 PM ^
Unless you spun it right into the hands of the official -
1) The official had to retrieve it.
2) .0000001" is "any distance"
September 5th, 2017 at 3:02 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 7:15 PM ^
and bounced around the field. Watching a replay of the game right now and the spinning ball bounced off the officials foot and kept spinning away. A legitimate call.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:58 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 3:04 PM ^
the ref should have warned Perry, not thrown a flag ... PERIOD, AMEN.
Go Blue!
September 5th, 2017 at 4:21 PM ^
September 6th, 2017 at 10:50 AM ^
To you, yes. To the rule book, no.
September 5th, 2017 at 5:04 PM ^
Just don't spin the ball: simple solution to this. Perry seems to find trouble.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:21 PM ^
that was the easiest call the refs made all day.
even if it hadn't been flagged, it's dumb as hell. shut up and play. act like you've been there before.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:29 PM ^
buying either of these responses. Refs don't adhere strictly to the letter of the law in every, or really even most, circumstances. Those guys do so much jawing, pushing, staring, etc. at each other they could call unsportsmanlike conduct on basically every play. You know it when you see it and that wasn't it. It was an exciteable reaction but he wasn't showing anybody up and the ball came to rest on almost exactly the first down line. I know a lot of people didn't think Perry should have been playing in the game to begin with, but that doesn't make that call any better. I thought it was a garbage call at the time and I still do.
September 5th, 2017 at 3:13 PM ^
September 6th, 2017 at 1:16 PM ^
don't care to parse the rule, don't care if he was the only player to get flagged for it. it's hotdoggery.
September 5th, 2017 at 1:13 PM ^
and not sure why someone would say that interception was on Crawford. The pass was high and behind him. If he does make the catch it is one hell of a catch by him. Speight kept this game close and if UM wants to win championships he needs to play much better.
September 5th, 2017 at 1:24 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 2:35 PM ^
That's a nice saying, but it isn't true.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:41 PM ^
don't think it is even a nice saying, and it sounds more like a cautionary catch phrase about STDs.
September 5th, 2017 at 3:19 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 3:29 PM ^
Thats not the quote that I replied to.
You're changing things up quite a bit.
September 5th, 2017 at 4:12 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 5:28 PM ^
have the QB throw the ball where it's suppose to be instead of high and behind the WR. I suppose it was also Crawfords fault he didn't catch the ball when he was wide open, for an easy TD, on the sidelines and it was 20 yards over his head. He should've just jumped up and caught it.
September 5th, 2017 at 5:25 PM ^
can't be perfect, but from someone who has extensive experience as a WR, the toughest catch to make is one high and behind you especially in traffic. Try running full speed then jump up and backwards and try to catch a ball.
Bottom line it was not a good pass if he doesn't touch it, it simply sails into the safeties hands who was behind him waiting to catch it, instead of the one who did catch the deflected pass. I would like to see your coach make that catch.
September 5th, 2017 at 5:55 PM ^
Apparently Jim Harbaugh doesn't agree that there was no Speight blame associated with the pass. Indeed, he didn't mention Crawford, and did talk about how you can't throw the ball high over the middle.
Hopefully Harbaugh's comments now mean that it's ok to have a less than 100% happy opinion of Speights play Saturday. He struggled, and I think he needs to improve. It's my perception that Harbaugh agrees with that idea.
Rob
September 5th, 2017 at 1:40 PM ^
That ball was in the middle of both hands, and Crawford wasn't fully extended stretching out for it! It was essentially the same catch that Black dropped on his first attempt. Remember that one? It popped off the very same parts of Black's hands as the Crawford ball slid through on that throw (and was almost picked). Both of those passes should have been caught.
September 5th, 2017 at 3:25 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 4:22 PM ^
There's a huge difference between coming back to the ball and catching one that is a little high and coming out of your break at a full sprint and catching one that is a little high and a little behind you. In no world are those two catches "essentially the same." One, Black's, was routine. The other, Crawford's, would have been a nice catch.
I'm not saying that Crawford couldn't have made the catch to help his QB out or that it was even one of Speight's worst throws on the night (sadly, I don't think it makes the top 5). But it was still a poor throw that would likely be acceptably poor, given the difficulty, if it hadn't bounced right to a Florida DB. Those trying to shift all the blame to Crawford seem like they're compensating for an overly high opinion of Speight's skill level.
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