Michigan 48, Rutgers 42 (3 OT)
Congratulations, you just survived the late-night sickos version of the 2010 Illinois game, or the Jersey Shore version of the 2013 Penn State game, take your pick.
For those who went to bed early or chose to do something worthwhile with their Saturday night, Michigan came back from a 17-7 halftime deficit, blew a late eight-point lead, and pulled out a triple overtime victory—at Rutgers. Until one accounts for those last two words, perhaps there'd be some flicker of hope coming out of this, but the overwhelming feeling for Michigan partisans watching this game was wanting it all to be over: the game and this coaching regime.
Quarterback Cade McNamara's five-touchdown (four passing, one rushing) performance in relief of a scuffling Joe Milton gave life to the proceedings and the Wolverines offense. Michigan's overall play, however, was plagued with issues. It took an impressive effort from the running backs, particularly Hassan Haskins, for the team to squeeze out 4.0 yards per carry. The offensive game plan seemed to get scrapped at halftime again, though at least this time it changed for the better.
The passing defense was a disaster, allowing 378 yards on 8.8 YPA to Noah Vedral, whose previous career bests in games with at least 20 attempts were 252 and 7.4, respectively, both of which he posted last week against Illinois. Vedral entered today's game averaging 5.5 YPA with 5 TDs and 7 picks this season; he threw three touchdowns against a lone interception on the game's final, desperation snap.
This game probably didn't move the needle for you. If you thought this coaching staff had run its course, this was a brutal exercise in watching the reasons for that play out in a long, competitive game against freakin' Rutgers. If you thought Harbaugh deserves more time, a win is a win, and perhaps he found a quarterback. (What it says about the coaches that this happened midway through game five is perhaps a point in the former group's favor.)
With this, uh, bounce back to 2-3, Michigan enters next Saturday with a chance to get to a level .500 against a winless Penn State program in a similar state of disarray. Kickoff time is to be announced. Please, you animals, don't put this one under the lights.
[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]
November 22nd, 2020 at 1:04 AM ^
should have locked the thread here.
November 22nd, 2020 at 12:43 AM ^
Hey Ace - you must be in the former group. right? More grist for the mill.
November 22nd, 2020 at 12:43 AM ^
Half the team injured, transferred, or just gave up... This is a young team. This win builds character, shows that we are scrappy and won't give up.
Let's go beat an 0-5 PSU team.
November 22nd, 2020 at 12:51 AM ^
LMAO. Jesus christ.
November 22nd, 2020 at 2:33 AM ^
You're right!
It is kinda of a funny coincidence that Jesus was (allegedly) "scrappy and won't give up".
November 22nd, 2020 at 1:00 AM ^
Absolutely! That's entertainment. Michigan wins a game that could have gone either way, with the 3rd string QB going into the season. McNamara was BRADYESQUE. IOW, he was almost perfect. The defense was down its 2 best players (Hutchison and Paye), and then lost 2 more of its better players -- Magrone and Hawkins -- yet managed to stop Rutgers and win the game. That was a great team effort -- credit Harbaugh, Brown, and Gattis.
November 22nd, 2020 at 5:11 AM ^
Credit Harbaugh and Brown?!?!?! Are you on drugs??? Brown will never shut down a good offense. Harbaugh had Cade sitting on the bench. ID10Ts
November 22nd, 2020 at 12:31 PM ^
Hey, they held Rutgers to fewer than 500 total yards, so there's that.
November 22nd, 2020 at 9:32 AM ^
Harbaugh is the reason Cade hasn't played more this season. Michigan didn't win because of Harbaugh, but rather in spite of him. All teams have injuries especially this year. How many other guys that are currently on the bench should be out there playing? I have zero confidence in JH or DB. It took an injury to get McGrone on the field last year. What are they looking at in practice?
November 22nd, 2020 at 1:05 AM ^
I mean, he's not wrong. but.....c'mon man
November 22nd, 2020 at 2:59 AM ^
The delusion is real... Year 6 and we're fighting off Rutgers to stave off being the dregs of the Big Ten... yikes.
November 22nd, 2020 at 8:33 AM ^
It's shocking how different the team on the field the 2nd half is compared to what we thought it would be headed into the year. We were missing 9 of 22 starters (unless I’m missing anyone)
QB- McCaffrey transferred, Milton benched
WR - Nico opted out
RT - Mayfield injured
LT - Hayes injured
DE - Hutchinson injured
DE - Paye injured
LB - McGrone injured
CB - Ambry opted out
S - Hawkins injured
Plus 7 or 8 of those players were/are All BigTen caliber.
November 22nd, 2020 at 9:09 AM ^
Seriously. And while it sucks to see our team struggle, it's a bit sad and annoying that folks are rooting for us to lose. Why fire a coach during a pandemic with all the players who have been injured or left?
Why? That makes absolutely no sense. And the people here who think they know it all, go out and coach a team if it's that easy.
Everyone gets a free year, if they all come back, this is something to build on.
November 22nd, 2020 at 10:50 AM ^
Dude are you nuts?
We almost lost to the worst team in the league with a first year coach who did not have a Spring practice to get his team ready.
This staff sat a clearly better QB to start Milton 5 games. Can you have any confidence they are making good decisions at other positions?
if you watch what I’m seeing, this staff is routinely out schemed by opponents and it’s not even close. Don Brown is over.
The recruiting gap with OSU just widens every year.
There is zero redeemable quality about this staff.
Harbaugh should return the 7M he stole from the school this year.
November 22nd, 2020 at 11:54 AM ^
How the coaches could think Milton is the better option after two years of watching him and McNamara in practice is mind boggling. Milton has no downfield touch or accuracy, moves poorly in the pocket ('moves' being kind), runs upright and goes down on first contact. No wonder McCaffrey left in disgust. For the past two years they favored Patterson because....he's really good at the practice facility? These coaches are clueless at evaluating and developing quarterbacks. For that reason alone someone who had the reputation of being a quarterback whisperer should be fired.
November 22nd, 2020 at 1:12 PM ^
We did lose to the worst team in the Big Ten. That team is MSU
November 22nd, 2020 at 1:55 PM ^
I’ll always appreciate a well placed dig at MSU (that’s true too)... although what does that say about Michigan :(
November 22nd, 2020 at 2:19 PM ^
I laugh every time someone mentions harbaugh’s salary. He has brought in more money to the university through additional alumni donations than Michigan would ever have seen otherwise. I’m very involved in alumni dealings and this is a fact. I’ll bet you give little or nothing. Lol.
November 22nd, 2020 at 5:22 PM ^
To be honest, I give less than that.
November 22nd, 2020 at 11:09 AM ^
Northwestern was 1-8 in the Big Ten last year and this year they're on top of the Big Ten West. I can't explain or defend some of the decisions this year, but unless we absolutely and obviously have a better choice than Jim, then we should just let this contract play out.
November 22nd, 2020 at 12:59 PM ^
You fire a coach who in 5 1/2 years at a program like MICHIGAN produces these sterling results:
- 0-5 vs OSU
- 3-3 vs MSU
- no B1G titles, nor even playing in the title game let alone CFP
- best road win is against #20 Northwestern
- 1-4 in bowl games
- 0-15 when Michigan is an underdog
- worst halftime deficit in Michigan stadium history & 2nd worst loss ever at home
- 4th highest paid coach in the country
This is not his 1st or 2nd year, this year is a culmination of Harbaugh's efforts.
November 23rd, 2020 at 9:36 AM ^
Yikes, those are really uninspiring stats. When you put it into context like this it's shockingly mediocre. The thought never crossed my mind that this is where things would end up in the wake of the Harbaugh hire and all the giddy excitement that followed. What a shit show, egads.
November 22nd, 2020 at 9:42 AM ^
We ended the game with only three starters from 2019 on the field, two walk-ons playing every snap on defense in the 4Q and OT and still found a way to erase a 17-0 deficit. There are a lot of positives to take from this game. Foremost McNamara makes plays vs. just running plays. The body language of the offense changed drastically with him on the field -- linemen blocked longer, receivers ran better routes, etc.. Milton lost confidence and the entire offense followed his lead.
Our D isn't capable of solving problems with aggression. They have created a lot of problems with aggression. At least the PI's and holding calls from unnecessary aggression were fewer. But boy did Wisconsin exploit our week edges last week and our LBs and DBs just seemed to be out of position a lot this week. If we can make PSU 0-6, get by MD, and play OSU tough the season isn't a total loss. This team loses very, very little for 2021 and the young players are gaining valuable experience.
November 22nd, 2020 at 10:53 AM ^
You do realize all schools have to break in tons of new starters every year right? All schools face injuries? And even so, are you blind to how thoroughly our coaches are being out schemed by opponents?
Fire Harbaugh.
November 22nd, 2020 at 2:33 PM ^
Sorry all schools do not replace a ton of starters every year. And when they do replace a ton of players, unless you are Alabama, Clemson or Ohio st, there will be adjustments.
We had to replace almost our entire O line and then lost two (three for Rutgers) of the replacements for this year to injury.
I do agree there seems to be problems with our coaches being out schemed. But this team brings almost everyone back next year (see, don’t have to replace a ton of players). I say with no one available to come in and save the program we give Harbaugh another year to see if he can right the ship.
November 22nd, 2020 at 11:23 AM ^
Year 6.
November 22nd, 2020 at 12:35 PM ^
At Mississippi State, Mike Leach cleaned house after a third lopsided loss in a row. The result was having only 49 scholarship athletes (from recruiting classes ranked significantly lower than UM year in and year out) remaining at kickoff of their game at Georgia. That group was tied with the UGA Bulldogs late in the 4th quarter. Mississippi State has a scrappy team. I shudder to think of how the Wolverines would perform at UGA.
November 22nd, 2020 at 12:51 PM ^
I'm not saying this is an ideal situation... But in a way it is. We have loads full of young players getting valuable experience this year. Our senior WRs all left, half the defense injured, QB abandoned the team... You really expect us to light it up?
Are we really raving about Mike Leech who is 2-5?
November 22nd, 2020 at 1:00 PM ^
Sarah, ask yourself why is the attrition so high, are all the kids that left just batshit crazy or was there a reason for their departure???
November 22nd, 2020 at 2:24 PM ^
So Leech gets shit on by you for being 2-5 but JH get praise and a pass for 2-3?
November 22nd, 2020 at 9:53 PM ^
I'm not raving about Leach but I am making an upward comparison for the effort his players gave. They also seemed to know their assignments. Two things happened at Mississippi State that have not happened this season at Michigan: the coaches made adjustments to the roster by removing the low effort guys and the coaches paired down the playbook so all of the new rotation guys knew what their assignments were.
Yes, there has been attrition at UM. But other teams have had more attrition. Let me state this again, Mississippi State went on the road to Georgia with 49 of the 85 scholarship athletes they started the season with and hung with Georgia.
Michigan's recruiting has been better than Mississippi State's every year for eternity. UM has better players but has not been able to get as much out of them. That is on Coach Harbaugh. I don't want Coach Leach to come here. I just picked an extreme example to highlight that other coaches are able to do more with less. And that when other coaches recognize there is a problem, they address it.
November 23rd, 2020 at 8:17 PM ^
Attrition is another item a lot of people don't pin on harbaugh. You've had an inordinate of youths leave the program....why? Does he not share the vision well? Do they see favoritism as to who starts? I'm sure the bringing in of transfers to the same position sure doesn't help as well. If the admin decides to keep him, they should definitely lower his salary, his buyout and let him know just how short the leash is. If they don't extend him, recruiting will be digging a hole through the bottom of the barrel.
November 22nd, 2020 at 12:43 AM ^
It is great that Michigan won, but count me in the camp that believes change is still needed on the coaching staff.
November 23rd, 2020 at 9:40 AM ^
Agreed, it was Rutgers for crying out loud. At this point the only win that might give me pause would be against OSU.
November 22nd, 2020 at 12:44 AM ^
There may be no such thing as a moral victory, but there is such a thing as a moral defeat.
The good: The team showed some fight. They didn’t quit, even when things were bad, as they quit last week. And, in that context, there’s some legit stuff to defend here: Dax Hill was out there, but every other star defensive player we were counting on this year—every one of them—was out. We’re missing THREE starters on the offensive line, and Chuck Filiaga is quite clearly the starter in which the staff had the least confidence entering the season.
And Cade looked great.
The bad: Well, the defense. The offensive playcalling much of the game that wasn’t Cade’s rampaging TD drives. The OL. Etc.
Here’s the thing about the play selection: for a good bit of the game, it was plainly terrible. And then Cade comes in and hits passes… AND the plays make sense. Michigan isn’t just running on first and second downs anymore. Actual WR flare screens. That kind of thing.
People are tempted to blame Gattis, and they’re tempted to blame Milton. Why doesn’t Gattis call that stuff all the time? Why didn’t he in OT? Why does the offense work worse with Milton? Why does he miss some of those passes? Why aren’t the coaches starting the CLEARLY better player?
C’mon, guys. We’ve seen this play before. We’ve seen it for years. Yes, it’s possible that Gattis just has massive blind spots in his playcalling. But given what we’ve seen from other offenses under Harbaugh, under multiple “OC” types, it seems like Harbaugh’s influence is visible here. He wants the ball on the ground. He doesn’t want to get away from the run. And he doesn’t really think much of reads, because offenses that have read looks built into them under both Pep and Gattis keep getting away from their reads. 2-minute drills are always a disaster, and the 2nd-and-long run play continues to be a staple. Is it a huge coincidence, or is there a common thread that remained the same between their tenures?
The simple explanation is that when Cade went in, the basic gameplan that was assembled early this week, the gameplan Harbaugh would be in meetings about, perhaps dropping suggestions that he wants a good run-pass ratio, that he wants to establish the line of scrimmage and so on, got thrown out the window. And suddenly Gattis was calling the plays he wanted to call with a QB who could hit the passes. And when the passing game worked, the defenders could no longer count on Michigan tipping runs and had to back off, and Michigan’s running game looked considerably better.
Sounds like Harbaugh is the issue here.
Regarding the Milton – McNamara issue: people are always eager to anoint the backup. What has history shown us? Every QB Harbaugh has coached here except the first one, Rudock, has gotten worse in their tenure. Speight. O’Korn (remember when he came in as a backup against Purdue? He looked great! Then he was the starter and Harbaugh starts focusing on him and…). Peters. Shea. Not just, not improved. They’ve gotten worse game over game and year over year. They get tentative, miss passing reads, look confused. Now, Milton the same.
I don’t believe McNamara was clearly the better QB in all facets in preseason. And Milton does still appear to be a better runner, which is theoretically what you want in a run-based offense that I think Harbaugh expects, which helps explain his role as a starter.
But Cade is clearly the guy now.
Now that he’s the starter, Harbaugh can get his claws into him. I expect Cade to regress over the rest of the season. I’ll be happy if he doesn’t, but saddled with the Harbaugh-influenced gameplan and Harbaugh’s QB coaching, he’ll become less decisive. He won’t be given many RPOs or run reads. Defenses will learn what Michigan likes to do, again, and tee off on it, again. And people will attack the OC, again, as they attacked Drev, as they attacked Pep, as they now attack Gattis.
But it’s Harbaugh’s team. Harbaugh is the common thread of the last four years of failed offenses. Harbaugh is the common thread with the QBs through multiple supposed offensive coordinators. It’s Harbaugh’s way. It will be until he leaves. He simply doesn’t know another way to coach.
November 22nd, 2020 at 12:53 AM ^
Now that’s going full BPONE. The worst part, I think you’ve convinced me to come with you.
*hands you a fake goatee*
evil Blue and evil Stephen
*slap slap*
November 22nd, 2020 at 12:54 AM ^
You nailed it man, couldn’t have said it any better myself. I can’t wait till we finally move on from Harbaugh. He is poisoning the well of this program.
November 22nd, 2020 at 1:10 AM ^
I know the base assumption is that Harbaugh is the source of every problem, but it's been pretty clear that Milton wasn't quite ready to start, even against Minnesota and MSU when he looked acceptable. He was throwing bad passes and struggling to read defenses even then but he was bailed out by bad defense and a better offensive line. If anything I think the playcalling these past couple games was intended to protect Milton as he struggled with teams game planning against him. We'll see if that continues with McNamara.
I do think people are underrating the differences between the two QBs. Milton coming out of HS was a slab of meat with a cannon but also someone who didn't complete 50% of his throws or run well. McNamara threw for 146 TDs who was the #7 QB in the country. He wasn't some scrub, and it makes sense that he'd be able to pick up the offense and execute it.
As for the "nobody is a good QB under Harbaugh", guys like Speight and Peters looked competent under Harbaugh and decidedly not elsewhere. Patterson was basically the QB he was at Ole Miss except he didn't light up a couple of awful defenses to make his numbers look better. Harbaugh has not become the QB whisperer we all expected but this idea everyone regresses under his tutelage feels a bit revisionist.
Anyway, I'm sure there will be massive coaching changes this offseason. I wouldn't be shocked if Harbaugh was gone as part of it. But I reject this idea he's some gremlin who secretly sabotages the team until they somehow overcome his own ineptitude.
November 22nd, 2020 at 1:31 AM ^
Bronx, Harbaugh has been at Michigan for six years. It's not the coaches. And it's not the QBs, all of whom except for Shane Morris and Wilton Speight being guys he wanted to bring in to town. It's him.
He was a QB and he knows just enough about QBing and offense to be problematic. He thinks he knows enough to get it done, and... the results speak for themselves. His players do not improve. Five years of bad QB play are not just bad luck. One or two players? Sure, they could be misses. But every player gets worse.
Here's the 2017 Purdue UFR. O'Korn wasn't perfect, but Brian was gushing about him, and his performance was legitimately good. And O'Korn got worse and worse to the point where he had to be yanked for a RS freshman who wasn't really ready to go (in fairness, Cade looks worlds better than Peters ever did, but again he came in as a backup here). You'll also note Brian's remarks about Wilton's notable regression compared with the year before.
If it is, somehow, just bad luck with QBs, Harbaugh's the one getting them on the roster (his roster management is execrable, between recruiting errors and running off an inordinate number of quality players). If it is, somehow, just bad luck with offensive coaches, Harbaugh's the one hiring them.
Bronx, the alternative here is that Cade was CLEARLY the superior player pre-season and Harbaugh just played Milton because he had been around longer. That's what some people actually argue. Do you really think that? I think it's absurd, but even if it's actually the case... we're back to Harbaugh again.
This is his team. 2-3, barely escaping Rutgers.
November 22nd, 2020 at 2:05 AM ^
We suck now and obviously the coaches should be fired, etc etc. I won't argue that.
But it's weird to just ignore Rudock's trajectory, to ignore how well an undefeated Speight played in 2016 before his injury, and even Shea's improvement (he was setting Michigan passing records at the end of last year).
Has it been good enough? Or course not. Not even close.
But the idea that somehow Milton and Cade were operating completely different game plans (the good one run by Gattis and the bad one by Harbuagh) is super weak analysis. They were running the same plays. Cade was simply running them better and making the easy throws.
I suppose Shea vs MSU and Indiana last year was Gattis? But versus Army? Harbaugh. Versus Alabama? Harbaugh. MTSU? Harbaugh. Maryland and Rutgers? Gattis.
It's weird that Harbaugh just takes the reins in seemingly arbitrary games and then the offense shits the bed. And Gattis doesn't quit and everyone keeps it a secret.
2016? All Jedd Fisch. Except Iowa and Wisconsin ... Harbaugh? OSU? Fisch, except for the interceptions which were Harbaugh.
November 22nd, 2020 at 8:44 AM ^
Harbaugh cared/tried in 2015/2016. With talent left from Hoke (more talent than Harbaugh has ever come close to bringing in himself), we were a solid to very good team. It's abundantly clear to anyone paying attention that Harbaugh stopped caring at the same level after 2016, and after 2018 OSU it went down to zero (NY6 Florida bowl game, hello). He's a stubborn, selfish person collecting as much money as he can. That's it at this point. He doesn't care.
I'm not one of those "he's medicated!" conspiracy theorists, or people who think The Spot alone killed his drive. However, I think he got comfortable in his real life, realized he didn't want to be coaching forever, knew 2017 would be a rebuilding year, and when 2018 went down in flames (more rapidly than any other season), I think he knew "it" (championships, etc.) would never happen here. 2019 and 2020 have been apathetic af from him. Harbaugh is smart, he knows what the smart fans know. This has run its course.
I can't blame him for any of that on a personal level. It's all understandable. If you were in your mid 50s with more than enough money to set yourself up for life plus a ton of children still to raise, I would check out too after working very hard for decades.
What we can blame him for is the fact he's selfish and arrogant enough to bilk the University we are supposed to all love for tens of millions of dollars, as well as damage he's doing to the program to the point where the next person who takes over will have a much harder job than he had in 2015.
November 22nd, 2020 at 9:58 AM ^
"Selfish" and "arrogant" point to having a large ego... which is something that damn near every successful college/pro coach has. And I cannot believe that the guy doesn't love the university as much as anyone. The guy believes in himself and his abilities and, up until the past few years, he was right to do so.
I find it hard to believe that a smart coach who is know for being ultra-competitive is going to recognize that he will never win a championship and then simply "check out" and coast. You might do so, but you are mind reading and projecting.
Yes, he's made mistakes and IMO the college game has changed to the point that it has largely passed him by. Plus, it appears that he is enough of a red-ass that he has run off talent that would be real useful. But he's not apathetic.
November 22nd, 2020 at 1:17 PM ^
Brian also thought Brandon Peters looked much better than John O'Korn and appears to subscribe to the "backup must be better than the starter" mentality when it comes to transitions. Brandon Peters looked fine as a first-year player before he got a nasty concussion and seemingly never really recovered that year; I remember seeing him in the bowl game and wondering why he seemed so lost. He's not been any better at Illinois. Wilton Speight looked fine at Michigan his junior year and got hurt early in his senior year, but that 2017 team was another one with an awful offensive line and a ton of young players; that was the year of Collins, Black (who got hurt early), and DPJ.
John O'Korn struggled mightily at Houston and left because he was passed by Greg Ward, a perfectly serviceable college QB but not someone who should scare away a major P5 QB. The same thing seemed to happen with Shea Patterson, who got hurt but was also struggling at Ole Miss before coming to Michigan. I said it when he came to UM but Patterson looked like a guy who was a little tapped out in terms of growth potential; he looked great down 30 or up 30 but struggled against good defenses that could take away what he was looking for initially. If anything, what seems to happen is Harbaugh takes on reclamation projects, guys he can try to "fix" because he's done so before. But college is harder to build guys up in shorter windows, especially if you are also introducing new offensive styles or systems to fit your personnel. That's not an excuse for Harbaugh, but appears to be the reality.
To me, Milton felt like another reclamation project. Harbaugh looked a raw kid with a huge arm and questionable mechanics and decision-making and tried to turn him into an elite player. He couldn't, at least not yet, and so again that's a crack against Harbaugh if you think he should have cut the cord earlier. At the same time, perhaps Milton just looked better in practice early on because he was throwing against UM's defense and had 3/5th of his starting offensive line on the field.
Last year I honestly think he would have gone to McCaffrey after that Wisconsin game if he hadn't gotten a nasty concussion; he saw some play in a couple games afterward but by that point Patterson was playing pretty well (completing about 62% of his passes for 12 TDs and 2 picks in games against ND, Maryland, MSU, and IU) so a switch didn't make a ton of sense. His decision to leave remains a mystery to me, and if that's due to Harbaugh driving him off then obviously that's another knock against him.
But McNamara isn't some reclamation project; he was a top recruit with a ton of experience. He seems comfortable with the offense and makes the plays that are there. He probably has a lower ceiling than some recruits but he's also not some flyer like Milton; you can watch McNamara play in HS and see how he'd translate to a college offense like the one Michigan wants to run. Guys around his level in terms of recruiting are doing perfectly well this year - Dylan Morris is the starter at UW, Hank Bachmeieir is the starter at Boise St, Taulia Tagovailoa has been really good at Maryland, guys like Jacob Zeno and Jacob Conover are behind senior QBs but seem like good prospects. Him being a pretty good QB who isn't going to win the Heisman but also capable of running Michigan's offense somewhat effectively isn't remotely unexpected, and so I'm more optimistic about him than John O'Korn pulling off one good game.
And I will push back against the whole "Harbaugh doesn't develop talent" because by this point it's lazy BS. Michigan had 10 guys drafted last year in the NFL draft; since Harbaugh has been at UM they've had 30-ish guys drafted to the NFL; you have to go back to the mid-Carr years for that type of production. Yes, guys have left the program; many of them seemingly did due to playing time concerns or injuries. I'm sure he drives some people off; that happens at a lot of schools and I imagine Harbaugh isn't profoundly different in how he treats players.
As for Harbaugh sticking with Milton too long, that's another situation where he can't win with people who want to be mad. He pulls the plug early and benches Milton, we hear "Harbaugh can't develop anyone or let them grow". He sticks with them a bit, we hear "why didn't he start this far-superior player". Based on how Milton played against Minnesota and to a lesser extent MSU I'm sure he played well enough to justify some leeway; as I've been numerous times around here young guys need some time to make mistakes. But at some point you've seen enough and you try someone else. My hope is that McNamara can keep his solid play going; it'll help not facing to defenses like IU and Wisconsin. But this place becomes such an echo chamber of "fire everyone, I'm sure there's some magic bullet HC out there who can fix it all" that I'm a little tired of it all.
November 22nd, 2020 at 2:02 PM ^
These are all good points, and this team has all the hallmarks of “new coach and 2021 team goes 11-2 or 12-1”; or a retrospective look in 2024 of “Cade had great potential but played under 2 head coaches and 3 OC so never developed...”. Who knows, it sometimes makes me feel better to pretend michigan football is some sort of Truman Show like research experiment (although I’m surprised an ethics board approved it given the distress given to the fan base)
November 22nd, 2020 at 3:38 PM ^
Very very very well written
November 22nd, 2020 at 4:23 PM ^
Exactly. Brandon Peters really looked good yesterday, throwing accurately down field. I expect the same with Dylan McCaffrey too. Dylan's next two years will make Harbaugh look foolish. Harbaugh track record with 4* QB's is horrific. I wish we could go back in time and replace Harbaugh with our alleged near miss on Dan Mullen who always gets the best out of QB's and already has Florida beating good teams.
November 22nd, 2020 at 10:17 AM ^
When did Peters look competent at Michigan? He only started in 2007 and I can’t remember any good games (unless maybe there were some against the bottom tier B1G teams) My recollection is that he actually had a few good games playing for Illinois.
November 22nd, 2020 at 1:22 AM ^
StephenJ- you’ve nailed it with your analysis. I am on a group text with former players, fraternity brothers that played with Harbaugh. I was a student trainer with the team from 1982-86 and grew up in Ann arbor and played football and baseball against Harbs until he moved to Palo Alto. The general consensus is that he cant be the CEO and delegate, he is obsessed with tinkering with Gattis’s gameplan and it kills us every game.
Unfortunately he has had 2 episodes with his health and had heart procedures. Hey we are all in our mid 50’s and many have a few health issues here and there. Be he is Jim Fucking Harbaugh and I am an anonymous VP of Sales in Silicon Valley, so it can slide for me, but i cannot for him. Its life, but he is the not the same person and my friends and associates alll agree that its time for him to rest and recover. This game is a fulltime 24/7 shit show and it gets worse every year. Need to go younger and support the hell out of them. They will need it.
i was happy to see Cade play so well tonight, but to sit there and watch us squeak out a Rutger victory was troubling. I am proud the team persevered tonight. At the end of the day, not giving up is what sports are all about.
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