punt counterpunt
2021 big ten championship game
Told ya we'd be back here. [Marc-Grégor Campredon]

Punt-Counterpunt: The 2021 Big Ten Championship Comment Count

Seth December 4th, 2021 at 9:05 AM

Iowa Links: Preview, The Podcast, FFFF Offense (chart), FFFF Defense (chart)

Something's been missing from Michigan gamedays since the free programs ceased being economically viable: scientific gameday predictions that are not at all preordained by the strictures of a column in which one writer takes a positive tack and the other a negative one… something like Punt-Counterpunt.

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PUNT

By Bryan MacKenzie
@Bry_Mac

Hoooooooooly crap that was fun. Not even the most optimistic among us saw THAT coming. We hoped for—and maybe even believed in—an improbable Michigan win. But in our mind’s eye, that win looked much different. Maybe it was a scrappy Michigan team hanging around and making just enough plays to win. Maybe it was Michigan jumping out to an early lead and holding on against a furious late Ohio State rush. Maybe it would be a game of pure chaos in which Michigan was somehow the last team standing.

I can only speak for myself, but I didn’t envision a complete, opening-kick-to-final-whistle demolition. A processing. A workmanlike slaughter. I couldn’t imagine that Ohio State would be the team frantically scratching and clawing down the field, converting fourth downs, desperately trying to sustain drives by pulling plays out of their… uh… Buckeyes, only to see Michigan breeze down the field to undo all of that work in a few plays. Heck, if I told you before the game that one team’s second half drives would look like this…

  • 3 plays, 81 yards, Touchdown
  • 5 plays, 78 yards, Touchdown
  • 9 plays, 66 yards, Touchdown
  • 5 plays, 63 yards Touchdown

…you’d be forgiven if you started reaching for the bleach.

[After THE JUMP: People who blew it.]

But while Michigan fans were understandably surprised, Ohio State players and coaches were completely baffled. Their game plan seemed to be, “be better than Michigan.” And it’s hard to blame them; everything in their football experience said, “in a contest of good-on-good, our good is better than Michigan’s good.” They relied on winning battles. Beating corners. Getting off blocks. Tackling in space.

Michigan’s response? Maniacal effort. Unyielding, delirious energy. Getting after Ohio State from the very first snap. Being the aggressor at all times. Putting Ohio State to a test of wills, knowing that in the fourth quarter, eventually Ohio State would just not want any part of Michigan anymore. And they were right.

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He showed these men of will what “will” was [Fuller]

And therein lies the problem for tonight.

Ohio State was comfortable competing for The Game as a battle of merit and athletic absolutism. They staked their success on the idea that the better team should win, not realizing what that would mean. Iowa, by contrast, makes no such declaration.

Iowa is a practitioner of the idea of predestination. The football gods have decided who will win before the game begins, so trying to change that outcome is pointless. Iowa football is Nihilism in a Cover 2 shell, waiting for whatever is gonna happen to happen. Iowa does not run into the line on 2nd and 8 because they think it’s the best way to win. They run into the line on 2nd and 8 because, why not, one play is as good as another, eat at Arby’s.

The teams that try hardest against Iowa, and who try to force the game, are the ones that end up on the turf. Iowa beat Iowa State by putting up 173 yards at 2.9 yards per play. How? Because Iowa State tried really hard, and turned the ball over 4 times and surrendered 13 points in the second half on a fumble return, a -8 yard field goal drive, and an 18 yard field goal drive. Maryland tried SUPER hard and turned the ball over 7 times. Meanwhile, Wisconsin ran the ball 48 times for 166 yards and won comfortably; the fact that Wisconsin didn’t have any better ideas was a blessing.

Think back to the 2016 game. Most of the problems arose when Michigan tried too much. Devin Bush got ejected for targeting a punter who fell down because he tried too hard. Khalid Hill fumbled on a kickoff return, which—and I love Panda as much as anyone who has ever worn the maize and blue—is a pretty good sign that you’re trying too hard. Michigan tried to bring a gun to a knife fight, and shot itself in the foot repeatedly.

Michigan wants this game. They want this game SO bad. Hassan Haskins and Aiden Hutchinson would run through fire to win this game. This game represents the culmination of everything they’ve been striving for, and the validation of the whooping they put on the Buckeyes seven days ago. These men are lions, and lions are not content to wait around to see whether Fate favors them or the lambs. But against Iowa, the tighter you squeeze, the closer it all comes to slipping through your fingers. Iowa 21, Michigan 20.

Michigan 31, Ohio State 30.

 

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COUNTERPUNT

By Internet Raj
@internetraj

In a 2014 game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks, Lakers guard Nick Young launched a three-pointer in the waning seconds of the third quarter. Confident that he was going to make the shot, Young—aptly nicknamed “Swaggy P”—dramatically wheeled away from basket while his shot is still mid-flight, arms triumphantly outstretched with each hand flashing a three-point symbol. Young’s face oozed a cool, calm, and dare-I-say “swaggy” confidence as he strutted back to the other end of the court. The problem, though, was that Young ended up missing the shot, and the stark juxtaposition of his self-assured mean-mugging in the foreground and a brick clanging off the iron in the background solidified the premature celebration in the most hallowed halls of viral memedom.

In a 2008 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, rookie wide receiver Desean Jackson caught a 61-yard pass from Donovan McNabb and raced to the endzone without a defender in sight. The wideout was about to score his first ever career NFL touchdown, but instead made the inexplicable decision to nonchalantly drop the ball a yard shy of the endzone in celebration.

In the 2007 Chicago Marathon, Andrea Pirtea enjoyed a comfortable 30-second lead over Berhane Adere at the 40km mark. As she approached the finish line, Pirtea began to giddily high-five fans and exultantly wave to throngs. What Pirtea did not do, however, was ensure that her lead was safe. With less than 50 meters to go, Berhane sprinted past her and won the race by three seconds.

In a 2001 game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Giants, placekicker Bill Gramática nailed a 42-yard field goal and, in celebration, leapt triumphantly into the air. Gramática landed awkwardly and tore his right ACL. He was placed on the injured reserve list and missed the rest of the season.

On a blistery winter night in 2008, a young, cocksure Internet Raj was enjoying one of his first legal visits to Good Time Charley’s as an undergraduate at Michigan. As he struck up conversation with another female student at the bar, his confidence was overflowing, although it remains debatable how much of it was buoyed by well-earned charm and how much of it was fueled by healthy pours of Jameson. Of course, Raj was convinced that it was his smooth-faced looks, boyish magnetism, and witty repartee that was charging the undoubtedly electric conversation he was having. Ten minutes later, Raj retreated to his friends in the corner, the proud recipient of a phone number scrawled in pen on his arm. He may or may not have spent the next hour bragging about it, telling his friends “that’s how it’s done”, “I am a boss”, “my game is undeniable” and a litany of other cringey self-exaltations. It wasn’t until several days later he realized that he was trying to text the hotline for the Ann Arbor Public Library system.

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[There’s no .gif or YouTube to share for this one – only the tattered remains of long-crumbled bravado.]

***

I don’t need to bludgeon the obvious point any longer. You know it. I know it. The Michigan football team knows it. Last week was glorious, a 4-hour exercise of pure joy and catharsis. Michigan dominated its seemingly invincible arch nemesis and exorcised two decades’ worth of failure and humiliation. But this is not the time to prematurely celebrate. This is not the time to jovially slap hands and pump fists while the Iowa Hawkeyes pass us by. Today, the Wolverines have an opportunity to do something they have never done in the history of the program: go to Indianapolis, win a Big Ten Championship Game, and earn a berth in the College Football Playoff. After the Chicago Bulls’ record-setting 72-10 regular season in 1995-96, the team famously adopted the slogan “72-10 Don’t Mean a Thing Without the Ring.” That’s almost certainly the mantra that Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines are embracing today. All along, Michigan QB Cade McNamara has insisted that this Michigan squad is “different.” That this team does not buckle under pressure, does not wilt under the bright lights, and embraces adversity.

He's only been proven right over the course of the season. This team wasn’t born on third thinking it hit a triple. This team was born in a dinky dormitory in the minor leagues, hustled their way to the dugout, and are now on the on-deck circle waiting for their shot at glory to make the majors. And they’ve earned it each step of the way.

Michigan 41 Iowa 19

Comments

victors2000

December 4th, 2021 at 10:23 AM ^

These guys are very good!

However, I actually think this is one of their poorer efforts, but completely understandable, because both men know we are going to ROLL THE HAWKEYES and they have to construct their viewpoints based on this fact without ending too abruptly.

Kudos to both!

 

 

Joined: 03/21/2009

MGoPoints: 12912

Blue in St Lou

December 4th, 2021 at 12:29 PM ^

I would never rank them. Every week is an absolute treat. Well, two treats. And I always learn something. This week I learned that the inexplicable problems Iowa's opponents always seem to have come from trying too hard. But, knowing what we know about Iowa, it makes sense. Still, how do you use that knowledge if you're the opposing coach? Tell your team, "Just try hard enough?" I don't think our guys can do that. They've been trying as hard as they can all year. And it'll be good enough today. Go Blue!

Joined: 09/21/2013

MGoPoints: 6718

UMroadwarrior

December 4th, 2021 at 9:40 AM ^

Love punt-counterpunt.  You guys are awesome writers.

 I’m not buying it today, Bryan.  Iowa is an opportunistic, scrappy football team, but they are very flawed, and their flaws (weaknesses) match up against our strengths.  We’re gonna roll today.  No football gods or Hawkeye voodoo is gonna stop this runaway freight train.  It just feels like our guys are on a mission.  Go blue!

Joined: 03/12/2017

MGoPoints: 530

BlueMk1690

December 4th, 2021 at 9:48 AM ^

Michigan football has a date with destiny today. It's definitely in the top 5 important Michigan games of the last 20 years. It's one of those things where even if you really only care about Ohio State this game is still just as important as any Ohio State game. Why? In order to propel the program in a direction where we can compete with OSU year-in, year-out on talent level you need to be in the playoffs. Michigan really needs to be in the playoffs.

Motivation and focus thus shouldn't be an issue. Now when Bryan McKenzie says that 'trying too much' is the problem, what he's really saying is that mistakes in execution are the problem. That doesn't mean you've got to run it into the gut of the line every time, it just means you need to have a plan and execute it without making stupid mistakes. If Michigan and Iowa make the same number of mistakes tonight, Michigan will win.

Every old school football coach will go on at length about execution. Heck, it's about as core a tenet of every good Michigan football team in history as any. Michigan didn't win the national title in 1997 because of extravagant schemes or golden god athletes all over the field. Michigan won on execution. And honestly, it's only fitting that for Michigan to achieve its biggest success since 1997 it comes down to a game that will be decided by execution.

Joined: 02/04/2011

MGoPoints: 12935

M-Dog

December 4th, 2021 at 9:49 AM ^

Back when football was a slog and points were hard to come by in the early 1900's, the punt was an offensive weapon.  It was a way to drive the field into the red zone.

Keep punting your adversary further and further back until you change field position and your offense only has a short way to go.

Trying to achieve this field position through offense was often futile and only led to mistakes that the other team would take advantage of.  Punt it away and let the other guy make mistakes.

You will still see this phenomenon in action today with really bad high school football.  The team that does nothing, but doesn't make mistakes on their own side of the field, wins over and over.

So . . . Iowa appears to only score when the other team is on offense.  Don't let them!  Just give them the ball right back and let their high school offense trip over itself.

If you are not near the 50, punt it away!

/I'm only half kidding.    

Joined: 07/06/2008

MGoPoints: 257507

Grog

December 4th, 2021 at 10:31 AM ^

When Nebraska went up 21-6 on Iowa--all I kept shouting at the TV was for Nebraska to punt whenever they got the ball. Punt on  first down--Iowa's offense is so inept there was no way they were gonna come back

Unless Nebraska...punted...and it was...blocked...and picked up and run into the end zone for a touchdown...

I don't understand why there are teams that take special teams for granted.

Joined: 12/04/2021

MGoPoints: 163

victors2000

December 4th, 2021 at 10:11 AM ^

The attitude, the fortitude, of this team is not going to allow Iowa to pluck victory from the jaws of, uh, 'Us'. The young coaching staff that coach Harbaugh signed up is not going to let that, uh, jaw thing that I just wrote about happen either. I'm starting a new paragraph.

These guys are Champions. Of the East, of Life, and in a short 13 hours or so, of the Big Ten. I like Rajs' prediction, but I think today we will run short of the Red Zone cornucopia of touchdowns that we earned last Saturday, instead having to settle for a couple FGs because of a stout Iowa defense. Also, I am going to cut down on the number of FGs the Hawkeyes will get if they score 19 points, because unless I am mistaken his prediction will allow for 4 FGs and a TD, or a missed extra point on one of two TDs along with three FGs, both results indicating Iowa moved the ball on us, which they will certainly not do: Michigan 33 Iowa 13.

Joined: 03/21/2009

MGoPoints: 12912

An Angelo's Addict

December 4th, 2021 at 10:24 AM ^

We have a date with destiny tonight. We’re about to dominate the Hawkeyes and avenge 2016 + 18 long years waiting for a shot at the big ten. It’s going to be a bloodbath and I simply can’t wait 

Joined: 07/12/2011

MGoPoints: 7982

Blue Vet

December 4th, 2021 at 10:30 AM ^

Dear BMac, trying too hard? What a fascinating idea. And the second time this weekend I've encountered it.

Last night I was reading about Buster Keaton, in Walter Kerr's book The Silent Clowns. Kerr writes that other silent comedians work hard to overcome obstacles the universe presents. Obstacles are necessary: comedy requires conflict.

Keaton, by contrast, is adaptable, working with the universe, taking whatever obstacles pop up and making use of them.

Dear IRaj, ain't dating the ultimate trip wire? We convince ourselves of our "smooth-faced looks, boyish magnetism, and witty repartee"—you and I could be twins—and then comes the face-plant? Buster Keaton never succumbed. Stone-face and determined, he would keep on keeping on.

Be like Keaton. Go, Blue.

Joined: 05/08/2012

MGoPoints: 71143

Grog

December 4th, 2021 at 10:35 AM ^

Bryan IS Iowa

Raj is Michigan in 2016

Bryan gets to the point, has some great funnies, and doesn't waste my time with some long winded boring story

Raj is Khalid Hill fumbling the kickoff. He tries to damn hard to be irreverent and whatever else the hell he is trying to do.

Bryan Mackenzie 13

Internet Raj             0

 

I cannot see a way for Iowa to even score a point until garbage time. Michigan's offense won't be asked to do much today--just score a touchdown in each quarter.

Michigan 28

Iowa       Sad Field Goal at the end

Joined: 12/04/2021

MGoPoints: 163

MgofanNC

December 4th, 2021 at 10:50 AM ^

"one play is as good as another, eat at Arby's."

 

Shakespeare himself could not craft such poetry. This quote better describes Iowa football in 10 words than I could in 10 pages. Simply brilliant. 

 

We saw Ohio State peak 1 week early. Let's hope that isn't us. I think we have a good chance for a comfortable win, but damnit if I don't think that every time we play Iowa. 

 

Go Blue!

Joined: 10/23/2019

MGoPoints: 3785

JBLPSYCHED

December 4th, 2021 at 10:55 AM ^

I said it previously and now I'll repeat: beating OSU last Saturday was the USA hockey team beating the Russians in 1980; tonight's game is our follow-up/finale to seal the deal against 'Finland.' Iowa will not go quietly but a solid and workmanlike performance by the Good Guys gets the job done. Michigan 23, Iowa 6. Go Blue!

Joined: 11/27/2010

MGoPoints: 7441

Basketballschoolnow

December 4th, 2021 at 11:10 AM ^

We have given up more than 18 points three times all year, once when MSU caught us off guard by using tempo, against Nebraska, which used an excessive amount of trickery, and the other time to the 'greatest offense in history.'  None of these probably apply today...

17 points should be enough.  Aidan and Ojabo screaming off the edges against tackles that can't block, a quarterback who can't throw, and receivers who can't create separation?  That leaves Iowa to try to run against a stacked box.

Unless we match our season's turnover total, in one game, it's hard to see a plausible window for Iowa to score enough to keep up.

Joined: 10/14/2019

MGoPoints: 890

UMForLife

December 4th, 2021 at 11:25 AM ^

Bryan-- You are missing one important aspect of Michigan Football this year. They are a turtle team. They can just run the ball, run the ball again, run it one more time, and run some more. They don't take chances unless they absolutely have to do that and they are capable. I know it is your job to write a path for IOWA victory, but this UM team is not built like a juggernaut, but they are capable of being a juggernaut. There lies the difference. They play Iowa's game with superior athletes and superior schemes. They can grind it out and force you to go down field. OSU or MSU would have been a better matchup for Iowa because they are not a grinding team. 

Michigan 38-17.

 

Joined: 11/04/2013

MGoPoints: 63393

AlbanyBlue

December 4th, 2021 at 11:44 AM ^

Excellent job, gentlemen.

I do however think this Michigan team is different. Also, we are constructed to destroy Iowa. Their biggest weapons on O are screens and throws to the TE. No running QB. No quick strike passing game. On D, they are sound but not fast. We should be able to edge the hell out of them, rely on the run game otherwise, and sprinkle in some deep shots. 

Plus, it's not Kinnick, and it's indoors, which will magnify our speed advantage.

Yeah, there will probably be a letdown -- it may be close at the half. We will pull away, and probably will shut them down completely in the second half. 

M 31, Iowa 13. OK, maybe 27-13, or 24-13. Still good though.

Joined: 09/11/2010

MGoPoints: 22040

CFraser

December 4th, 2021 at 11:51 AM ^

I’ll never forget being at the Army bowl in San Antonio during my Army medic days and Desean Jackson doing the early TD drop thing there. Only he backflipped to the 1 I think. Silly. And he did it in the pros too. Lol. 

Joined: 08/15/2017

MGoPoints: 6262

LabattsBleu

December 4th, 2021 at 12:17 PM ^

Fantastic. Well done men.

I am glad Raj's article was after Bryan's as he had a lot of good points... a lot that strike deep into the heart of Michigan fandom - the feeling that somehow, Michigan will beat itself.

That the destruction of the OSU Death Star will cause Michigan players to overlook the on coming Imperial walkers. Resolute. Unstoppable.

But not this day.

I don't think Michigan does that...Michigan will find something that works and will run it again and again and again. This staff has shown it is like Iowa. They don't care how they win. They will happily throw zero passes all game (much to the chagrin of those clamoring for 'Modern Football'). If the other team wants a rock fight, Michigan is happy to oblige them, style points be damned.

Michigan wins this game simply by not giving up any turnovers. Their game plan will reflect that.

Joined: 10/06/2012

MGoPoints: 16413

Amaznbluedoc

December 4th, 2021 at 12:29 PM ^

We got this.  I have every bit of confidence in this team that they have worked hard, have planned, and will execute.  Don't psych ourselves out.  It's time to do this!

Joined: 09/27/2015

MGoPoints: 2240