Stalled

Win or lose ... do it with class. Great game. Go Blue.

Borges was certainly disappointing in his insistance on manball (which has not worked all year), but 4 turnovers?? When did we become Nebraska on the road? Can't blame that on him. There is plenty of accountability to be spread around, so let's not heap it all on Al. Time to regroup, prepare and gameplan for a bowl game. Win that for the Seniors.

An 8-4 record.  The best win is......Northwestern?  Looking back, this season was a huge disappointment.  Last year, Hoke said the season was a failure because they didn't win the Big Ten championship, and everyone kind of patted him on the back and said, "no, you did great."  This year, not so many people will be arguing with him.  

This playcalling in the second half of this game was absolutely atrocious.  Borges is pretty bad, but Hoke should step in and give him a reality check from time to time.  Borges was fine in the first half.  Wake him the fuck back up.

Quality post.

Pretty disappointing play calling today. I just don't understand how the offense can be more creative against Iowa than against OSU. I don't remember any play calls that used Denard as a decoy at all. So much for Borges "staying up nights this week" thinking about what to do with both Devin and Denard in the game at the same time.

Denard = run (usually, QB run)

Devin  = pass after pointless play action to Rawls

Why not run play action off of something you actually do?

In fact, don't even remember seeing Denard in the 4th quarter at all (I did miss the last 5 minutes, tho). Maybe he was injured?

I hope some Borges gets some questions about this in the post game presser (not that it'll make any difference or that he will answer them). Also, Hoke should get some criticism for the decision to go for it on 4th and 3 after using the timeout. Punt and lean on your stellar defense by giving them some field position. Especially on the road. That seemed like a pretty obvious miscalculation to me.

This gameplan felt like a lot of wasted opportunity and leaves me longing for what could've (probably should've) been.

An eloquent volley for Team FIRE BORGES

Got out gained with 4 turnovers and still could have won the game on the road.  Darn it!

Good luck in he bowl game.  Can't wait.

I'll start by saying I don't understand 3rd down gives to Rawls or Smith. And I wish Robinson played more in the 2nd half; assume he was hurt. But for crying out loud, the guy who got you 21 first half points is forgotten? If Borges is to blame for the 2nd half, then he should be praised for the first. Maybe Hoke's love if MANBALL superseded other Borges calls. Is Borges perfect? No. Is he a thoughtful guy who was is open to trying a lot of stuff? Is he the guy who called a lot of good plays on 1st down? Turnovers and inability to convert 3rd downs killed us. But to say it's mostly Borges's fault is insulting to the whole team. Shame on you.

I'd prefer someone with a pulse. And brain. Brain would help. Denard in at QB = Run? Srsly? OSU will never figure that out. They're such fucking inbred assholes.

No they figured it out

The last time I looked, Borges worked for Hoke. Hoke preaches responsibility and now is the time for him to take responsibility and fix the coaching problems experienced this year. And I do not want to hear that the players were not good enough. It is the job of the coaches to use the players they have and to win. Hoke and his coaches have failed the team and the fans.

I worry that Hoke may be too loyal to a fault, or he just can’t make the tough decisions. Denard is a fine person and a great player, but he should not be used improperly or to the detriment of the team. And if Borges is failing in his play calling, Hoke should command a change to something that works. If the OL has deficiencies than work other magic; why is that so obvious to everybody but Hoke!

All the great recruits in the country will not overcome bad coaching, and bad coaching will drive great recruits away. If Hoke is not careful, today’s outcome could become regular. I hate to say this but Meyer is a good coach. Is Hoke really capable of bringing glory back to Michigan football?

I worry that the upcoming bowl game will bring more of the same unless fixes are made. Instead of sending the current class of seniors off with a victory, more of the same will bring “more of the same.”

Man-up, Hoke.

The last time I looked, Borges worked for Hoke. Hoke preaches responsibility and now is the time for him to take responsibility and fix the coaching problems experienced this year. And I do not want to hear that the players were not good enough. It is the job of the coaches to use the players they have and to win. Hoke and his coaches have failed the team and the fans.

I worry that Hoke may be too loyal to a fault, or he just can’t make the tough decisions. Denard is a fine person and a great player, but he should not be used improperly or to the detriment of the team. And if Borges is failing in his play calling, Hoke should command a change to something that works. If the OL has deficiencies than work other magic; why is that so obvious to everybody but Hoke!

All the great recruits in the country will not overcome bad coaching, and bad coaching will drive great recruits away. If Hoke is not careful, today’s outcome could become regular. I hate to say this but Meyer is a good coach. Is Hoke really capable of bringing glory back to Michigan football?

I worry that the upcoming bowl game will bring more of the same unless fixes are made. Instead of sending the current class of seniors off with a victory, more of the same will bring “more of the same.”

Man-up, Hoke.

I agree that Al Borges didn't call a great game, but he was running an offense with one QB who had played wide receiver all season, and another whose injury meant he couldn't pass. His only effective running back was out with a broken leg. The offense line isn't talented outside of Lewan. I too wanted to see Devin and Denard on the field at the same time, but Denard isn't a pass blocker and if Devin had gotten injured it would have been the apocalypse. I also don't know what routes Denard was capable of running as a receiver.

Again, I wish some different plays had been called, but there were limited options and scoring 21 in the 1st half with the limitations he faced was an accomplishment.

Brandon should ask for his money back, and fire Borges.

       Did it ever occur to Mr. Borges to try a bubble screen from Devin to Denard, in space, so that Denard could use his natural talents to maximum advantage?

       Did it ever occur to him to up the tempo and attack when he had the opposing defense  dazed and on the run - after the Gallon reception around the 45 in the third qtr.?

       Did it ever occur to him to try a screen pass when the defense was pinning it's ears back and rushing the passer?

       Did it ever occur to him to try a trick play to get a big score in the forth quarter, such as a reverse pass, or passback from Denard to Devin on the other side of the field?

       Did it ever occur to him to try a deep play action pass when he had the ball at midfield and the down and distance was second and one or two?

       Did it ever occur to him to use Funchess in a dink and dunk short passing game to keep the linebackers honest?

       Did it ever occur to him to roll the pocket to one side or another to lessen the pressure on Devin when he had to pass with the threat of a reverse play to the other side with Denard?

   There is a reason why this guy has floated around for so long, and held so many jobs - it is because he is so poor at his job that he cannot hold a job in any one place for very long before he is recognized, and sent packing. My fear is that the poster who said that Hoke will never fire him is correct, and we will be stuck with him, if that is indeed the case, then this is what you can expect - the team will beat the cupcakes, but always lose the big games against the good coaching staffs, many 8-4 seasons, M will = mediocre, and yearly losses to Blohio will ensue, and after three more losses, making Hoke 1-4 against Blohio and 0-4 against Meyer, the alumni and the donors will pull the purse strings and force Brandon to fire Hoke and his whole regime, and we will start over. What a waste of time, money, kid's college careers, the good coaches we have now ect.ect. All because of the refusal to fire one bad coach, who is incompetent, but is hiding behind the friendship he has with the Head Coach, who is too loyal and good-hearted  to fire his friend. Sometimes, no most of the time, you must put well-being of the team over the well-being of the individual. Fire Borges.

markusr 2007 - man your killking me. Whats the difference if you have your head cut off (Borges), or if you are killed in an explosion (Stan Parrish)?Your dead quickly either way

Lastly, macdaddy - If we could raid the Ravens for Mattison, why can't we raid them for Cam Cameron too? Michigan ties, great coordinator, we would have won by two touchdowns if he was running the offense. The bottom line is that you need someone who has an imagination and is willing to try new, unexpected things, and do whatever is needed to win, that IS NOT Borges. There must be dozens of coaches that would be better for this job, look at what happened at Florida, they brought in Boise State's Offensive Coordinator and it turned their whole program around. My chose would be Cameron, but i'll bet there are many others who would be an upgrade. Fire Borges..

I don't like to carp after a loss and I've generally been supportive of Borges, but I have to say that was some of the worst playing calling I've ever seen in the second half of the game.

He really doesn't seem to mesh very well with Hoke's style, in my eyes at anyway. He's had his share of incoherent gameplans, but having our best playmaker sit the fourth quarter is indefensible. I don't know what, if anything, will happen after this season. I just hope that Hoke doesn't have that same blind loyalty that doomed Rodriguez.

I blame the 503 Error.

I love when Michigan lines up in the I formation with our big power back Smitty....