robmorren2

October 12th, 2013 at 9:46 PM ^

Funk & Borges have to be on notice. You couldn't run the ball against UConn, Akron, or Penn State. It's either coaching or play calling. The run game has been totally handicapped. Fitz had a 12 yard run in the first half, and he ended the first with 11 carries for 6 yards. Do the math.

Magnum P.I.

October 12th, 2013 at 10:05 PM ^

Did you read the names of the teams he just compared us to? Akron, UConn, PSU. I could add Buffalo, Towson, Maryland, Louisiana-Lafayette and other to the list of teams that have performed far better than us this year in the run game.

Please don't make talent excuses. Good god.

scwolverine

October 12th, 2013 at 9:48 PM ^

the coaching job, or lack thereof, was painful to watch.  i have watched Michigan play "not to lose" for years.  we have some of the best athletes in the country and the coaches refuse to use them.  lets run, run, run and run some more!!!!  the coaches deserved to lose this game...the kids did not.

gobluedore

October 12th, 2013 at 9:49 PM ^

I can not believe that we did not give our players a chance to win the game. NO! Brandon Gibbons does not equal PLAYERS, he is one player and although a loss is tough to stomach, it is easier to stomach when you give the entire team a chance to win the game not just one player. That loss is 100%on our choaching staff, at least give the players that put in this situation a chance to make plays. This is the first occurance that I can say I am ashamed to have Brady Hoke as our head coach!! I hope it is the last!! I still believe in him but he needs to do some soul searching after this game tonight!

jrblue

October 12th, 2013 at 9:50 PM ^

I certainly did not expect gibbons to miss a hat trick of field goals.

They played to their kicker who made his last 16 in a row before today. 

 

MGoUberBlue

October 12th, 2013 at 9:52 PM ^

Display of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Perhaps Hoke is over his head as a head coach...ther was no excuse for this loss. Victory was in the bag.....then poof.

MGoKalamazoo

October 12th, 2013 at 9:53 PM ^

Borges has been shit for 2 1/2 seasons and he continues to refuse to adapt to his personnel. If this is really Michigan fergodsakes Hoke needs to grow a pair and get rid of this joke of an offensive coordinator.  #Outrage

bluewoody

October 12th, 2013 at 9:54 PM ^

Al Borges was horrendous tonight. The stubborn up the middle call to fitz. Sweet Jesus, make it end. Al needs to be held accountable for some shit poor play calling. Just a garbage offensive gameplan in OT. Both de in and denard got progressively worse the more time they play with Al

Swazi

October 12th, 2013 at 9:56 PM ^

Gutless.

Not dialing up any blitzes on Penn States drive to tie, completely gutless playcalling by Borges, taking a delay of game when you have time outs, running Fitz up the middle when that hasn't worked all night.

This was a perfect storm of ineptitude. Fire Borges.

StraightDave

October 12th, 2013 at 9:57 PM ^

A Carr era coach that plays not to win.  Deal with it people, you got your guy in Hoke.  More of the same for years to come.   

Sleepy

October 12th, 2013 at 9:58 PM ^

Dear Everyone,

If Gibbons hits a 40 or 33 yard kick, UM wins. Sometimes, the best team doesn't win. Yes, it sucks. Yes, we're still moving in the right direction. Chill the f*ck out. Nothing worth having ever comes easy.

Love,

Sleepy

P.S. I'm also an A's fan. It's been a "glass half full" kinda week.

Grumpy52

October 12th, 2013 at 10:06 PM ^

You really need to point out to me where you see this, "right direction"..  I see a team with soft O and D-Lines. Hardly any playmakers on either side of the football. How many recruiting classes does it take 4? 5? 18?

Soulfire21

October 12th, 2013 at 10:20 PM ^

I can tell you how many it doesn't take, it doesn't take two or fewer, and that's exactly where we are at:  two classes.  Do you understand that we've taken in all the offensive lineman, and many highly rated?  The lines are piss poor right now, and the fact that we could move the ball without Lewan was a complete miracle, but I'm quite certain Hoke & Co. understand this and that's the reason they've been loading up on offensive and defensive linemen.

UMMAN83

October 12th, 2013 at 9:59 PM ^

throw ball over the eight guys stacking the line you tool. i feel like carr is coaching again ... love that pro style offense you offensive garabage

McSomething

October 12th, 2013 at 9:59 PM ^

Can someone please give me one good reason why we should? What have we seen from the offense from the last two years to suggest progress? If you stack the box and dare the throw, he'll line it up and try to run to prove he can. Problem is? The line can't run block for crap. He, apparently, works extensively with the QBs everyday. Really? Because if he were capable of anything there you'd think Morris would've been able to do something other than hand the ball off when literally everyone in the stadium knew that was coming.

blackt0wer

October 12th, 2013 at 10:00 PM ^

I am normally against this "Fire coach X" crap, but yea, the O-line coach is terrible. Gardner was flushed by every team we have played.

Mattison in my view has done a good job with the defense. The secondary needs a little work, and we could use a bit more pass rush, but let's be honest, once Mattison stops playing "prevent" defense, and dials up bitzes and actual plays, we do pretty darn good.

Hoke needs to tell Borges and Funk they gotta shape up. We cannot have this level of mediocrity.

 

Elmer

October 12th, 2013 at 10:06 PM ^

We're just going to get the same B.S. from Hoke, that not winning a Big10 championship is unacceptable and that they have to coach better and blah, blah, blah.  Nothing will change on his staff and we will continue to be a mediocre team.

thriller219

October 12th, 2013 at 10:03 PM ^

Former Michigan fan here, but I gave up when they hired Hoke in 2011, and this is why. To me, it was essentially just re-hiring LLLLoyd Carr.

 

I couldn't allow myself to go through all of the anger/sadness I felt under LLLoyd. It wasn't fair to me or to my loved ones. 

If you were shocked by today's result, you haven't been watching Michigan football long enough. 

 

Only when mediocrity becomes unacceptable will things start to change. I look forward to that day, but I don't foresee it happening any time soon. 

 

Anyone really think Hoke can beat Urban on even a semi-consistent (2/5) basis?

SteelCityMafia

October 12th, 2013 at 10:03 PM ^

I hope we give the "Lane Kiffin" treatment to Borges: fire his ass before he gets back to town.  And take Funk with him.  The entire time he's been at Michigan I can think of two games he actually called well (Nebraska and OSU in '11) and has been a dumpster full of tires on fire the entire damn time since then.  HOW CAN YOU NOT RUN THE BALL FOR POSITIVE YARDS  WITH TWO NFL DRAFT PICKS AT THE TACKLE POSITION, ONE OF WHOM WILL PROBABLY GO IN THE TOP TEN.



And sitting there turtle-ing...Lloyd Carr?? IS THAT YOU?!  Borges: GET THE F*CK OUT.  STACKED BOX? BETTER RUN FOR A LOSS OF TWO.  FIRST AND TEN? BETTER RUN STRETCH LEFT.  2ND AND 12? TIME TO RUN PLAY ACTION, SINCE OUR RUN GAME IS SO DAMN GOOD.  THIRD AND 7? ALL DEEP ROUTES SO GARDNER HAS TO SCRAMBLE FOR 5 YARDS.



GET.  THE.  F*CK.  OUT.

gmoney41

October 12th, 2013 at 10:13 PM ^

No doubt it's sad when we get the ball after a change of possession and there is a tv timeout, and I tell my brother, they will run left and lose 2. 3 minutes later the first play is a run left and they lose 2, I laugh and think that if my dumbass can call the play what do u think a dc who gets paid big bucks is going to do? It's infuriating!!!!

Puget Sound Blue

October 12th, 2013 at 10:03 PM ^

Lots of times, you can point to the cause of a loss as being a deficiency in one facet of the game: poor execution, turnovers, a bad play call or other coaching decision. Sometimes it's a bad break and the other team takes advantage.

But there's plenty of causes here: holes in the offensive line, mental mistakes at crucial points in the game, turnovers, overly conservative play calling, players not executing when they need to, e.g., Gibbons, to name a few there.  In the end, I have to put most of the responsibility on the coaching, particularly in OT. There were multiple instances where it looked like U-M was just wasting downs. I understand the need for ball security - you don't want to give up a big turnover during OT - but we kept running Fitz when it was clear he wasn't going anywhere. At all. Get the yards - even if you want to kick, make it as easy as possible for your kicker. And who knows? Maybe another opportunity to get a TD will open up.

We'll have to reset some expectations for this team this year. The games against Akron and UConn were maybe more indicative of U-M's problems than we wanted to think. Michigan has been playing with fire all season and now they got burned.

RJWolvie

October 12th, 2013 at 10:11 PM ^

With turnover-prone QB & a line that can't block for any run game, playing for your best chance, ie Gibbons, makes all sorts of sense given how reliable he's been. Just a weird night. I'm surprised they were in a position to win at all after that brutal 1st half

blusage

October 12th, 2013 at 10:04 PM ^

Let's face it: Hoke is not a top tier coach. Plain and simple. After 3 years, this team does not look or play like a well-coached team. No excuses about youth: Penn State's qb is a freshman. Other teams do wonders with freshman. The Akron and UConn games were clear indicators that Hoke -- as nice a guy as he is -- is not up to snuff.

Stop drinking the kool-aid gang. Michigan might be "back," but "back" was never really that good compared to other programs in the last 6 decades.

Don't tell me that after 3 years, a team coached by Miles, Saban, Meyer, Peterson, etc. would perform the way that Michigan is playing this season. Hey Brandon, you get what you pay for. Stop shovelling out the "Tradition" and "Michigan Man" crap and get ready to shell out some big bucks for a real coach with a proven track record. Our "Tradition" is that we've won one national championship in about  60 years. Keep your tradition. It's time to try something new. Change is good. Pull a Pat Haden, read the writing on the wall, and make a change. That's how the really good programs do it.

Ty Butterfield

October 12th, 2013 at 10:13 PM ^

Fire Hoke now and things will get worse. Who do you think would realistically take this job? Best case is that Hoke is convinced to fire Borges and Funk and brings someone in who can maximize they talent that Michigan currently has.

Grumpy52

October 12th, 2013 at 10:15 PM ^

Brandon doesn't care what the fan base thinks. He has the power, and Hoke is his hire. He has a big enough ego, that he will hold on to Hoke no matter what. No changes will be made.

We are doomed, and there is no hope. Mike Debord is back calling the offense, and we are back to the Jim Hermann "soft zone".  As a fan, all you can do is suck it up. There is no other choice.