Iowa 14, Michigan 13 Comment Count

Ace

A Murphy's Law game.

Any number of individual plays could've changed the outcome. Most of the ones that come to mind involve Wilton Speight, who had his worst game of the year, then had injury added to insult at the end.

Speight wasn't alone in his struggles, however. Jehu Chesson missed a chance to bail his quarterback out, instead getting a third-down pass ripped from his hands by Manny Rugamba, costing the Wolverines a chance to put the game away. Khalid Hill missed an assignment that led to an early safety and lost a fumble returning the opening kickoff of the second half. Chris Evans was the only running back who could consistently get anything going. The playcalling, personnel usage, and late-game clock management will be nitpicked to death this week, and not without justification.

While the defense played well on the whole, they couldn't contain Akrum Wadley, who accounted for 167 yards on 28 touches. And, yes, there were multiple questionable calls by the notorious officiating crew led by John O'Neill.

"Not every little thing is going to go our team's way," said Jim Harbaugh. "To win, you've got to make it go your way. We didn't."

Michigan still has everything to play for, but they've lost all margin for error if they want to keep their Big Ten title and playoff dreams alive. Before they even get that far, though, they have to figure out what went wrong tonight. This game should not have been close, let alone a loss, but a number of underwhelming performances occurred in conjunction at the wrong time. There's no sugarcoating tonight.

Comments

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

November 13th, 2016 at 12:24 AM ^

Just not a game plan or execution to win tonight. Iowa is not very good and yet our play made them look solid. I am surprised that JH called such a poor game - losing 14-13 to Ferentz is shit offense. The same team throttled by PSU and held in check by Rutgers just choked UM into a loss.

It felt like Lloydball all over again. Very disappointing. Big damper on the momentum.

SteelBrad

November 13th, 2016 at 12:26 AM ^

This game was 2016's version of last year's game against Minnesota. What could wrong...did.

My biggest nitpick? They had a first down with 2 minutes left and they played to lose. I understand the probability but on the road with everything to gain you roll the dice. The play-calling on that series was horrendous.




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Detroit Dan

November 13th, 2016 at 12:33 AM ^

But it seemed like that long pass on 3rd down was catchable.  It hit the receiver (Darboh?) in the gut.  There were apparently several like that near the end of the game.  Before that, Speight was just off.  

Like everyone else, I just don't get the lack of imagination for the Peppers wildcat snaps.  We did try a few other trick plays, however, without success.  It just wasn't our night.  But we still control our own destiny, so it's an affordable loss.

gbdub

November 13th, 2016 at 1:10 AM ^

On the other hand, Darboh flat outran the safety on two free TDs and Speight missed both. He also missed badly on the flea flicker (a lousy call, frankly, but the play was there). Total team failure, plus Ferentz picking the worst week to realize Wadley is legit and Daniels is shit.




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dragonchild

November 13th, 2016 at 12:52 AM ^

They kind of did even worse than that.  Instead of going full Lloydball to drain clock or throwing the kitchen sink, they went with Pepcat and then a rollout armpunt from an injured QB which almost got complete but also stopped the clock.  They didn't do anything unpredictable to get the first, nor did they keep the clock rolling.  So you had the downsides of both strategies and the benefits of neither.

Harbaugh's game-end management is as bafflingly bad as his first half two-minute drills are brilliant.

Esterhaus

November 13th, 2016 at 12:26 AM ^

 

Was definitive proof there is Alabama and then there is everybody else. We're still near the top of the everybody elses.

My question is whether it is true or not that many of our players suffered from the flu. So does somebody know and will you please share with us?

BleedsBlue

November 13th, 2016 at 12:27 AM ^

These kinds of games are common in college football. That's what makes it great. The crowd and emotions can effect the game immensely This was a classic trap game. We got Michigan State's best game and survived. Tonight Iowa's best game got us. We kinda got out Harbaughed. We're still in the Big Ten drivers seat and can still make the playoff. I'm not going to panic, this road experience will make us better in the long run.

 

Beat Rutgerland

November 13th, 2016 at 12:28 AM ^

Michigan's worst game, Iowa's best, a bunch of stuff not breaking our way, just, overall, one of those nights.

Good teams can drop a game. OSU dropped one, anybody not scared of that team?

When you (posters, not Ace) say the team has to be better to beat OSU, you're stating the painfully obvious, but tonight doesn't erase the dominate performances we've watched all year long. It's surely a concern, but claiming the season is over when there's exactly one team in the country that hasn't had a similar experience this season, Alabama, is an absurd overreaction.

AlbanyBlue

November 13th, 2016 at 12:36 AM ^

This was so reminiscent of an old Bo/Carr game....the team is good, really good even, but once or twice a season, they lose a game they shouldn't lose. On both sides of the ball, everyone is down a notch, and it seems to affect the coaching staff as well. The game was coached tight and played tight. With everyone puckered, a fired-up opponent and some shitty officiating was what it took.

And, for the love of GOD, if your QB is obviously hampered by injury, why doesn't the backup get a sniff? Does he suck that bad....maybe so.

But, fuck, welcome to 10-2, maybe even 9-3. All the highs this year for fucking 9-3.

At least we had the highs, though.....

Tex_Ind_Blue

November 13th, 2016 at 12:38 AM ^

I was about to punch through the walls in my living room when I realized that there were 18-22 year old kids who just lost a heart-wrenching game. On the road. To a team coached by a dynosaur.

Michigan still controls its football destiny. This has been a great season so far. I am going to clap and cheer for these group of Michigan students and enjoy the rest of their season. I am disappointed and angry as hell, but compared to what these players are going through, I am good. 

RobM_24

November 13th, 2016 at 12:38 AM ^

I'm just glad that a loss to Iowa is unexpected. A few years ago, it was a given. Keep building Harbaugh. It'll probably take a few more years of recruiting, but keep building.

Amaznbluedoc

November 13th, 2016 at 12:51 AM ^

Maybe our guys were upset about the election and they needed a safe space or something. Look it was a terrible performance in many respects and we got outplayed and out coached (officiating aside) by a mediocre team. It's on Harbaugh and the kids to try to salvage something and improve though I don't know if that's possible. We have some new injuries (stribling and sp8) and our D hasn't been able to tackle for the last three games. I guess in some ways it's comforting to know that if Hoke were at the helm the same kids would be 6-4. For some a 10-2 season isn't good enough but compared to a few years ago, today aside this is nirvana.

RobM_24

November 13th, 2016 at 12:46 AM ^

I think we assumed that we didn't blow MSU out of the water, bc we didn't "open up the offense". Well, tonight we found out that we probably just aren't as good as we thought. When we needed to move the chains, we could not do it -- pass or run. When we needed to stop their tailback, we couldn't do it. Hopefully Harbaugh will get us there eventually, but we aren't there yet. Moving in the right direction though. This was just a reminder that we're establishing a powerhouse, and not established.

StraightDave

November 13th, 2016 at 12:46 AM ^

A good QB 80% of the time, drop a big one here or there, solid play for the most part, sad to see him leave when he does, but UM fans will be ready for a new face after he graduates.  

turtleboy

November 13th, 2016 at 12:51 AM ^

Holding our opponent to 14 points is not a problem for me. I'm amazed 14 was enough to beat us. Our offense didn't play well pretty much across the board, but I think the much needed adjustments in play calling came too late. We were too fancy and not executing, until the 4th quarter when we simplified things and finally found success moving the ball. Their defense was able to tee off on our plays just by the personnel on the field, for the entire game.

adcough

November 13th, 2016 at 12:53 AM ^

There have been hints for weeks. O line is not that good. Can't put away teams in thd 4 Q when you need to keep the ball. Defense cannot stop nfl type backs. Didn't like their chances in c-bus before and certainly not now. What is sad that psu might go to indy. Uggh

Amaznbluedoc

November 13th, 2016 at 12:57 AM ^

So We f'ed it up and while it's nice to see folks falling back on the "controlling destiny" approach, who has a solid plan for beating Ohio in the snake pit? I just don't see it in the matchups.