Rutgers 26, Michigan 24
Adam Glanzman/special to MGoBlog
Human beings, and not just those associated with Michigan, are capable of extraordinary incompetence. The biggest brain fart tonight was when a guy watched Amara Darboh make a catch, take two steps, dive out of bounds, and place the ball on the ground, then “confirmed” it “incomplete.” The call on the field was malpractice; getting it wrong with the benefit of a DVR and HDTV is so staggeringly separated from reality that most fanbases will go for sinister explanations.
A Michigan Man knows better. Watching this program try to manage a clock, manage an offense, or manage a press release is the kind of thorough education in the extent of the human capacity for ineptitude that you’ve come to expect from the nation’s top public university.
“Blame the refs!” explains why Wile had to attempt a 56-yarder—which Rutgers blocked—and why Michigan had just one timeout to throw against a 1st down-and-kneel drive to end the game. It doesn’t explain why Michigan manipulated the clock to leave their opponent a comfortable 120 seconds to drive at the end of the first half. Or why they forgot they had Funchess for two quarters. Or why a heretofore deep and competent secondary gave up 404 yards to Gary Nova, overcoming a record previously held by the John L. Smith Razorbacks.
Michigan stayed in it, partly because Rutgers is Rutgers. Also because Devin Gardner laughed off two tackle attempts en route to a 19-yard 4th quarter touchdown that needs to be put to Autumn Thunder immediately. I feel awful about how this guy’s career has gone. Given the schedule from here, the Wolverines would be lucky to go 6-6 and unlikely to win four. When the team is this bad and the coaches’ meat this dead, we can check out, or just enjoy the occasional exploits of those who won’t.
People are just stupid sometimes; even Unpossible Throw God Gary Nova himself took a false start(!) this game. This will be important to remember whenever it’s time to commence a headhunt as inevitable as the Big Ten’s empty apology. Humans are only tenuously rational creatures, and as soon as a coaching search commences, all contact with reality is lost.
October 5th, 2014 at 11:21 PM ^
It's okay to have a difference of opinion, you know. Or, to perhaps, play the devil's advocate.
October 5th, 2014 at 7:17 PM ^
it's time someone inform Brady that he was not hired to be a father, he was hired to be a coach. He's failed miserably.
October 6th, 2014 at 11:34 AM ^
The statements about being a father to the players, and as long as the boos aren't for the players is really an attempt to deflect away from what is really going on here. They are statements that are intended to play on emotions without out aid of logic.
I am a bit cynical at this point based on the responses to real issues like player safety. These types of comments feel like calculated statements to change the focus from winning to the other intangibles of his job.
He doesn't get $4M/year to be a father figure, he gets $4M/year to win football games/B1G Championships and Nat'l Championships.
October 5th, 2014 at 8:13 PM ^
"Or why a heretofore deep and competent secondary gave up 404 yards to Gary Nova"
Why? Three reasons. 1) Ralph Friedgen, 2) Ralph Friedgen, and 3) Ralph Friedgen
October 5th, 2014 at 9:02 PM ^
October 6th, 2014 at 1:03 AM ^
I don't think this will stop and Hoke will be the Coach as long as Brandon is here---time for a historic sit down strike next game outside the Stadium and a buring of the unused tickets in protest. As long as people file into that stadium like sheep, the mediocrity will continue.
October 6th, 2014 at 6:57 AM ^
We need Pat Hadden to pull Brady off the team bus and give him the news, coach, we have made arrangements for you to get back to home via Greyhound, thanks for everything. It's time to move on.
October 6th, 2014 at 11:06 AM ^
Did our fearless leader screw up the challenge on the Amara Darboh challenge? I'm pretty certain that we had two timeouts going into that play. The play is ruled incomplete. Brady (to his credit) lets the play clock run down to 1 or 2 seconds (likely seeing if the officials will review the play without a challenge), but then he effs up.
He called a timeout and then challenged the play. Thus burning a timeout for the called timeout and another timeout for the lost challenge.
And then we couldn't stop the clock when Rutgers had the ball.
I deleted the game from my DVR, so I can't confirm this, but i was screaming at the TV about it when it happened...
October 6th, 2014 at 5:41 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 6th, 2014 at 11:48 AM ^
Les Miles will be the 2015 coach.
October 6th, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^
Hello Wolverine fans. As my name indicates, I am a Spartan. Don't worry, I didn't come here to pile on. I came here for 2 reasons... First, I wanted to say as someone that despises the wolverines that Darboh's "catch" was a catch. That was some terrible officiating. The second reason I'm here is because I'm addicted to college football. While I love my team, I also love to hate yours. So, I hope that I can come here and discuss college football (of course with a different perspective) with you guys. Finally, my last couple of thoughts for today are that Gardner>>>>Morris, and that while Hoke is obviously not the best coach, what Brandon did to him was awful. Having him hold his presser without adequate information was throwing him under the bus. Why does this even matter? Because, what coach would want to work for that man? Once Hoke is gone, can you expect an elite coach to willingly work for Brandon?
October 6th, 2014 at 4:38 PM ^
Much like I did when Rich Rod's run was coming to an end, I started going back and looking at the board when he was first announced as the new coach. What we all thought after the ND win in '09, Denard in '10.
The trajectory of Hoke's popularity on this site is nothing short of astounding. The "meh" he was met with at his hire; the "WOW" he got after his "fergoddsakes" press conference, the absolute LOVE we had for him after beating Nebraska and OSU. We applauded his attitude, his positiveness, his clear love for his players... but we also applauded the fact that he knew when to hit the gas and when to pump the breaks. He took risks and he let his coordinators coordinate. We were proud that he wasn't Bo Pelini or Brian Kelly, or Urban Meyer... or even Nick Saban. Some even went so far as to say that they'd rather we lose a game or two every year if it meant we didn't have someone like Saban as coach.
Things went well for us that year and some of it, we knew, wasn' sustainable... a lot of 50/50 plays went our way and we were expecting a regression to the mean re: turnovers. None-the-less, we still thought Hoke was on to something... just read what we were saying then after he won B1G Coach of the Year:
http://mgoblog.com/content/brady-hoke-eats-coaching-awards-dinner#comments
Now... it's like we're not even talking about the same guy. Now, we act like he's been inept since the get-go, like no one actually considered him even decent that year. He was loved for everything we now hate about him. We loved that he was an every-day guy with no pretense, now we call him a fat guy that claps too much and doesn't yell enough.
HE'S THE SAME FUCKING GUY. But when the results are different... everything gets looked at through a different lense.
I'm not saying the board is right or wrong... hell "the board" as an entity has changed since then, posters come and go, but it is an interesting peek into the human psyche. We thought it was working in 2011 because of how he does things. We think it's not working in 2014 because of him doing those same things. In hindsight, the data suggests that '11 was a fluke, which is fine. But I'll never forget how it felt that year to think that we were FINALLY back on the big stage, on the up-swing as a program for the first time since 2006, and how happy I was that it was a guy like Brady Hoke that was taking us there... instead of a Lane Kiffin.
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