Stripped To The Metal, We Root For The Abstract Comment Count

Brian

11/10/2012 – Michigan 38, Northwestern 31 (OT) – 7-3, 5-1 Big Ten

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Maize and Blue Nation

College sports are a rich-get-richer kind of operation. American pro sports reward their best teams with crappy draft picks and salary caps that make it hard to keep successful operations together. Yes, successful operations can keep their heads above water for periods, and the Lions can be awful for 50 years. A relentless gravity still pulls everyone towards .500.

In college, success adds to success. You can tell recruits they'll go to the Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl instead of, like, Nashville or wherever. Your pile of money is larger than someone else's pile of money and you can put up buildings where every brick is an XBox. You can point to some guy making millions in the NFL and promise recruit X will as well. You can tell recruits that you're not going to be fired and replaced by some guy from the Sun Belt, unlike every other school recruiting Derrick Green. The more you win, the higher your draft picks are.

Gravity has no place in college sports, just entropy. Entropy: the tendency of things to move from ordered states to disordered ones. Entropy: the gradual decline and fall of the Carr era. Entropy: Greg Robinson. Entropy: Northwestern football. With 18 seconds left there's a fifty-yard pass on the way, and things are about to get disordered.

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I mean, what can you say when your glorious victory is so clearly a gift from the cosmic random number generator? I have seen many things in my time as a sports fan. None of them have been an opposing safety taking a pass that is about to sail into the turf 10, 20 yards further downfield and flailing at it in such a way as to send it into the arms of the Michigan receiver he'd battered to the ground, gently. Feather-like. After all of that… easy.

Meanwhile, that event had been immediately preceded by a Northwestern fourth-and-one conversion on which the ref had to make sure every chain was ramrod straight and get his nose down to the field level before awarding the Wildcats a first down they probably didn't get but could not be overturned from above. Fitzgerald Toussaint's only decent run of the day ended with a bizarre pop-up fumble. Trevor Siemian came in and tore Michigan's secondary to shreds.

I like it better when the randomness is under a nice ol' narrative. When it's in your face so spectacularly, it's like the gods of math are taunting you for daring to care about anything they have their fickle fingers in. Go home, get a pen, and root for Fibonacci psuedo-randomness, they are saying. What you are doing is the equivalent of rooting for 3, they say. The number. The literal number. Woo 3. Go 3. You are so much more prime than 4. That's so 3! Oh god those people who like 4 are just animals. They poop in coolers, you know, and drive trucks. They're so… divisible.

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Stripped of the narrative bit the mind goes back to a game of partial information, high stress, and plain evidence that worshipping the gods of math gets you nowhere. Big stacks matter in tournament poker, too. With many chips you can lean on people, play with the numbers on your side, and force people to decisions for all their chips. You get to be the gorilla. You get the good recruits.

Back in the day when laws were unclear and jerks hadn't yet banned online poker by attaching a rider to a bill about port security, I played a lot. I was pretty good. I played online satellites until I'd gotten a buy-in to the World Series of Poker, and went. I made the second day in rough shape, and started repairing my busted stack by chopping off preflop raisers. While I'd risk more, I'd be in fewer hands, give off a tight image and get 5-6 blinds instead of 1.5. I would have no illusions about whether I should GTFO if someone played back at me. It was working, and I caught a couple hands. I was on my way to day three.

I'd done this to the guy to my right two or three times already, and his frustration was evident the last go-round. He raised preflop again, and I looked at kings. Long story short, we ended up all-in, he turned over aces instead of anything else, and I did not suck out. Short-stacked after, it was a matter of time.

Brady Hoke hasn't had kings, but he has sucked out, and sucked out, and sucked out.

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Maize and Blue Nation

With 11-2 and a BCS win in the rear view, Michigan picked up the kind of momentum that saw them lock down a top-five class by March. Getting there took a series of desperate heaves to Junior Hemingway. This year the heaves have been a little less desperate but twice Michigan has had 18 seconds and needed big chunks of yards to set up do-or-die field goals and got them. They're not getting every break—see refs in all Nebraska games—but with a combination of skill and fortune Hoke is building quite a stack for himself.

The latest chip is a 2013 starting quarterback out of nowhere, a guy who had looked basically awful in any extended playing time before Denard's elbow injury forced Devin Gardner into the Minnesota game. And even if Saturday was too transparently chaotic to go down as an all-timer, it's another step through this rough patch as Michigan waits for the large, mean cavalry to arrive.

In the meantime let's all just stay here on the floor breathing heavily and slathering narrative over the terrifying randomness of the universe.

Media

Football looks hurty sometimes, and by sometimes I mean all the time.

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Upchurch

Also, here's Gardner chucking that TD to Funchess:

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Upchurch

Brad at Maize and Blue Nation had a day with his shots. He's the guy who grabbed the shots that lead the post and then this is pretty great too:

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Also, nightmare fuel!

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Full gallery here.

The News got a great shot of Gardner:

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David Guralnick/Detnews

That's Bryant in the extremely large track jacket BTW.

More videos posted by Thorin on the board. UMGoBlog shots. Favorites from Mike DeSimone's page.

Awards!

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Brady Hoke Epic Double Point Of The Week. Roy Roundtree, come on down. Not only did you spawn a strange and likely short-lived meme when the Larrys, about whom more later, made a bizarre joke about how he would be better at catching the ball if his name was "Squaretree"—because square things are good at catching I guess—but you also put up 139 yards receiving, including the game-saving deep miracle. Also on 'Tree's docket: a beautiful corner route catch, getting run over on third and seventeen, and a critical hitch-and-run in OT.

Honorable Mention. Devin Gardner (at this rate will be Vince Young by next year, too bad about plateaus and such), Jeremy Gallon (hitch/bomb/punt return/let's ignore those other punt return opportunities), Kenny Demens (a close, close #2 with back to back OT TFLs).

Epic Double Point Standings.

3: Jake Ryan (ND, Purdue, Illinois) deytikerjerbs

2: Denard Robinson (Air Force, UMass)

1.3: Jeremy Gallon(Alabama, 1/3 Minnesota), Drew Dileo (Michigan State, 1/3 Minnesota), Roy Roundtree (1/3 Minnesota, Northwestern)

1: Craig Roh(Nebraska).

Brady Hoke Epic Double Fist-Pump Of The Week. NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW

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YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

This must be awarded to the play that spawned it, which is Demens decleating Northwestern to end the game. In the future awarded to the BOOM YES play of the week.

Honorable mention: Kenny Demens stones Northwestern on third and one too, Treezy to the rescue, Devin Gardner kind of balletically flings a ball way high except it's to Devin Funchess so it's on the money, Jibreel Black forces a Colter fumble, Jordan Kovacs implodes Colter's back.

Epic Double Fist-Pumps Past.

11/10/2012: Mattison baits Fitz, Kenny Demens decleats Northwestern, game over.

Offense!

Our hipster quarterback. WHICH ONE OF THESE DUDES IS DEVIN GARDNER

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you've probably never heard of me

Probably the one on the left. PROBABLY

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Upchurch

Open contempt. Northwestern fans were pretty hype on Nick Van Hoose as the cornerback who might rescue their secondary from its overwhelming Northwesternness; Van Hoose did not play. The Northwestern secondary was overwhelming in its Northwesternness.

This manifested on second down after second down when Michigan generally followed up a one yard run by going with a 2TE I-Form set and throwing a hitch in front of a helpless cornerback, or a corner at a helpless cornerback, or a hitch and go well past a helpless cornerback. I get pretty irritated when Michigan, which cannot run from under center even a tiny little bit, goes OOPS POW SURPRISE PLAY ACTION on obvious passing downs, but in this game it worked because every hitch route came with either a first down or some YAC baked in.

I have no idea why Northwestern didn't just bracket Michigan's single WR hard and dare Michigan to make them pay by getting to the second level—something it seemed they were four or five blocks from on every play. But they didn't. So, yeah.

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Upchurch

RUUUUUUUUUUUU—oh you are nevermind. IIRC, Michigan did not have any called runs for Gardner except the goal line rollout (and that did have a pass option). He got sacked once. That means his seven other rushing attempts were all scrambles. That's more than Denard has acquired in eight games. They were also effective—an average pickup of almost seven yards without any of those coming on fruitless third and longs.

Yeah, that is Vince Young-like. The combination of effective deep balls and a willingness to take off is potentially deadly. Covering four verts and containing Gardner seems hard, and add in dumpoffs to space players like Norfleet and Hayes, and that's a nice recipe. Hopefully Michigan explores that once they don't have to minimize QB impact at all costs.

[UPDATE: After checking out the Gardner errysnap video, Michigan did have another called QB run in a goal-to-go situation that went for five or six yards, so six scrambles.]

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not always pretty, but so far so good / Upchurch

Air check. We should erase the desperation bomb to Roundtree, which was a throw Gardner had to attempt, missed, and got a miracle deflection to complete it. That excised, Gardner was 15 of 28 for 8.3 YPA, two touchdowns, and a turrible interception. Add in the scrambles and that's good in a vacuum. Your context: Gardner was playing a poor defense minus its best cornerback and on an offense that can't run the ball even a little.

Those probably balance out, leaving Michigan with a good performance from a guy who'd been playing WR two weeks ago and has eligibility next year. That is huge.

Unlike last week, I can't remember anything particularly outlandish that happened to alter Gardner's stats since we've already set aside the desperation heave at the end of the game. Gardner actually lost a long completion to Jerald Robinson, and there was nothing on the order of Roundtree, Dileo, and Gallon going all circus for their QB in the Minnesota game. When Gardner missed, it wasn't by much. Minnesota was some good throws interspersed with a lot of shaky ones on which the receivers were great; Northwestern required a lot less heroism from the WRs.

You'd expect rapid improvement from a guy getting almost his first extended playing time and transitioning back to reps at QB from reps at WR; Gardner leapt even that high bar.

Y'all be jumpin'. Michigan has now pulled opponents offsides five times in two weeks with Gardner under center, with Northwestern threatening to go three or four more times.

That's a credit to Gardner's hard count and evidence of how much more comfortable Borges is with an offense that operates from under center. To run those freeze plays you have to be under center quickly enough to try it and then try something else if it doesn't work, something that has not often been the case for most of the year when Michigan was struggling just to get plays in. Against Northwestern, how often did you think "GET OUT OF THE HUDDLE" to yourself? For me, it was zero times. That's down a half-dozen from most games this year.

SIDE NOTE: I've seen a lot of credit going to Gardner for having the awareness to fling those fades when guys go offsides. That's a misunderstanding of what's going on. The way it works is this:

  1. Gardner huts his hut real hard, and then waits.
  2. Guy jumps or does not jump.
  3. If guy jumps, Mealer snaps it, free play.
  4. If guy does not jump, Michigan checks into something else.

So if Gardner gets the ball he knows someone is offsides and he has a free play and just throws the fade. He only gets the ball if he has a free play. The credit should go to Borges and Mealer.

SIDE SIDE NOTE: Yeah, Michigan did try to do similar things under RR from the gun. Bizarrely, what seemed to happen is that Michigan would get a guy to jump but he would get back before Michigan could snap the ball, leaving Michigan to burn a down on a low-percentage play.

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Upchurch

Hello, Fitz. Not that Fitz. Hey, three broken tackles en route to a touchdown on a nothing dumpoff: that is a play. I enjoy Fitzgerald Toussaint making plays. he also picked up a bunch of bonus yards on his 50-yard inverted veer give, and then fumbled. That's his first fumble, right? I guess he gets a pass for it. Even Mike Hart finally broke.

A tip, I say, a palpable tip. Did anyone else notice Michigan removing AJ Williams for Devin Funchess on the third and goal in OT, and think to themselves "rollout to Funchess's side"? Lo, it transpired, and Northwestern covered Funchess but had no one else on the edge once a playside LB tried to shoot inside Omameh and got walled off.

I require more Dileo. Michigan finally had enough of seeing punts hit the ground and put Dennis Norfleet back there in place of Gallon; Norfleet let the next punt hit the ground. Dileo fair-caught the next one. Meanwhile, balls are being tossed at the thus-far ineffective Jeremy Jackson and Jerald Robinson as Dileo watches from the sideline. I humbly request more targets for Dileo, who gets separation and catches passes, instead of larger receivers who do neither of these things

Defense!

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Maize and Blue Nation

Kenny Damn Demens. Remember when he was getting lined up two inches behind a nose tackle on a three man line and obliterated by guards releasing clean? Yeah. Demens isn't going to be a guy who makes every #25 in the future wear his name on the chest, but any time he walks into a bar for the rest of his life sporting that mustache of his someone is going to be like "CONSECUTIVE TFLS TO WIN 2012 NORTHWESTERN" and buy him a beer, and I love it when that happens. See also: Jerome Jackson, 2005 Iowa.

Demens did get beat by Northwestern's #1 WR on their last touchdown, but that's an RPS thing and a function of Michigan's LB slide plus Northwestern consistently gashing Michigan on the corners. Projected % of Michigan fans instantly reminded of Chris Graham against Anthony Gonzalez: 37%.

So sexy. Michigan came out with a a weird three man line featuring Jibreel Black as the NT that all but begged Northwestern to run up the middle on their fourth down, with the results noted above: Ryan gets cut off by the backside G, Black shoots playside of the tackle and forces a cutback on the handoff NW was baited into, BOOM.

That was exactly the plan:

“The last tackle there — number one, I like the call that (defensive coordinator Greg Mattison) made because it was one where it may have talked (Northwestern) into running the football because of some of the space inside,” said Michigan coach Brady Hoke. “And then Kenny just did a nice job of just working inside out to the ball, where maybe a little bit earlier he was maybe getting too far ahead of it.”

Michigan's defense finally got gashed, but man did they dial it up at the end.

Will it happen again? Ohio State is going to be checking out the Northwestern film quite a lot, but I'm not sure they have a Mark-like back to hit that edge. They've got a couple thumpers who will challenge tackling skills more than speed.

Linebacker switching. I didn't notice this live but a lot of people have said Desmond Morgan had a rough game, which seems logical since after a couple weeks of limited linebacker swapping we saw a lot of James Ross, including on the final two Northwestern drives. Ross was the guy who came an inch away from stuffing the Northwestern fourth and one. I'll get to the bottom of what went down in the UFR.

Pipkins comes on. Also receiving a lot more PT: Ondre Pipkins, who had a rough few plays against Minnesota before getting the hook. Again not sure why but probably based on Northwestern being one of those hurry-up outfits that puts a heavy demand on opposing defense's depth. Insert usual desire to be a team that puts that kind of pressure on the opponent.

Getting edged. Michigan's really got to do something about their option scheme, probably. I'll have to check it out to see if it was much different than what happened against Air Force.

Irrelevancies!

Oblig. Kovacs number switch bitching.

Me = Dude (obvs)

Car = Kovacs

Flame = #11

Nihilists = Brandon (obvs)

He's still JKovacs32 on twitter, at least.

“I’ve worn No. 32 for quite some time, I think I’ll always be No. 32,” Kovacs said

Yes. Dammit that needs to be the walk-on-who-plays number. Does no one understand how to make things? /wireseason2

Oblig. game theory bit. Big points to Pat Fitzgerald for going for it on fourth and short with around three minutes left. That is a spot in which it's easy to go NFL and derp your way to shrugging postgame coverage, but the obvious play is going. One yard and you've got the other team trying to complete a 50-yard miracle to tie. Punt and even Michigan's languorous two-minute drill still has time to ease down the field.

Northwestern got it by a few molecules thanks to what seemed like a favorable spot, albeit not one that is ever going to get overturned by the Big Ten's milquetoasty replay officials. (After the Penn State TD debacle they are now the Rod Gilmore Memorial Big Ten Replay Officials.)

Fitzgerald gives back about half of those points on the punt. You hate variance if you are Northwestern punting the ball back with 25 seconds left. NW…

  1. took a delay of game penalty instead of using a timeout
  2. ran out their rugby guy to bash a line drive into Gallon's chest
  3. got a net of 11 yards as a result

Rugby punts are generally effective but tend to be more unpredictable than regular stuff: shanks are easier, and if the returners are positioned correctly they get an opportunity like Gallon got. The play there was to take a timeout and hang one in the air to force a fair catch. The upside of that is about equal to the rugby punt and the downside is nil.

Michigan didn't really face any major decisions. They could have taken a shot at the endzone after the Roundtree completion but chose to kick. The difference between that decision and the end of last year's ND game was one second on the clock and a timeout, which they had against ND but not here. The Roundtree completion took six seconds, and it's easy to see that last one slip off the clock for any number of reasons.

FWIW, Michigan played their TOs right by taking all of them immediately once they were facing do-or-die time on defense. 

Git R Done, for values of R that equal racism. If you don't follow me on twitter you missed the saga of the Larry The Cable Guy clan in my immediate vicinity, a group of redneck yahoos that said a lot of things like "LEZ GO CUMONG" and "GIT EM CUMONG," which was annoying when they did that really loudly after a four yard run—now my hopes are all up and it's second and six—but mostly harmless.

That ceased on a Norfleet kickoff return on which one of them screamed "run like you stole it" and I was processing the I am somewhat uncomfortable with the racial overtones that statement displays thing when one of them almost certainly dropped the n-word. I looked at the MGoWife, and she looked at me to confirm, and then I just really hoped that it wouldn't come up again because if that happens a second time, well… words will be exchanged and I'm trying to panic myself to death at a football game thanks, please let's not get in a screaming match.

It did not come up again. Hurrah. There's no real lesson here except it's not very fun to be surrounded by Larry the Cable Guy.

BONUS BONUS BONUS: a Larry next to me left after the Gardner INT, which lol. I moved over because there was a tall guy in front of me… directly into the path of a woman with four pom-poms whose thought process in relation to those was:

I bet if I shake these really hard they're invisible.

If only, lady. If only.

Here

Inside The Box Score:

* NW ended up with 431 total offense yards. That's the same amount that Alabama, the greatest team ever assembled, a pretty good offense, had against us. I never would have guessed that Alabama and NW would be equivalent at anything. After the Alabama game, I wrote, "If we can hold everyone else under 431, I’ll be happy." NW didn't get more than 431, so I'm not unhappy, I'm just confused.

* Thomas Gordon led us in tackles with 11, not a good sign. Demens and Morgan were next with 9 apiece. Considering Mattison substituted freely with the LBs, that's a lot of tackles.

I bumped Best And Worst but in case you didn't click through:

…this week’s game definitely felt like the first one to showcase Al Borges’s “preferred offense.” It was a number of shorter passes, a dedication to running the ball with the RB, and play-calling that couldn’t fall back on a Dilithium-fueled QB if the first and second reads were not open.  Minnesota showed this a bit in the first quarter, but that game felt over at halftime and so I’m not sure what you could glean from it except that the offensive line still couldn’t get a push inside.

mGrowOld's kid meets Kovacs. MGoUsers of little faith.

Elsewhere

Opponent stuff. The Northwestern blog POV includes an analysis of Northwestern's success on speed option pitches, misery, more misery, and misery. Lake The Posts:

Inches.

Does it need to be said much more than that? Inches decide ball games, particularly close ball games. Against Nebraska inches separated Northwestern from a clinching interception and a devastating blown lead and loss. Against Michigan, those inches mattered even more.

You can slake your schadenfreude needs if you're weird and hold some sort of grudge against Northwestern at the SoP postgame thread.

Blog stuff. The Ann Arbor Chronicle has a photoessay documenting everyone recording the football game. Meta.

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not actually photos of the Roundtree catch

Sap's Decals:

KENNY DEMENS – He didn’t play a perfect game but he did make the tackle of his life – TWICE! It’s a play and situation you dream of as a kid growing up playing Pop Warner Football. Demens not only made the big stop to win the game on 4th Down, but he also made the stop the play before on 3rd Down! OUTSTANDING!

BWS:

Michigan struggled on defense in this game for a number of different reasons. Jake Ryan and Frank Clark both lost contain frequently which gave Northwestern big gains on the ground. In addition, and I think Mattison figured this out before the fourth quarter, but Michigan was defending the speed option in an unsound manner. The playside linebacker was always playing the quarterback, forcing a pitch to the running back who had nothing but blockers in front of him. I think Mattison assumed his corners and safeties could get off of their blocks on the outside the help contain the rushing attack, but Michigan's corners aren't very good at doing this. By the fourth quarter, Michigan started forcing the runs back inside.

I cannot agree with Maize and Blue Nation about this:

The running game. It showed signs of life this week. I think the more pro-style offense that Gardner runs suits Michigan better on offense. We're still trained to run the spread-option, but I don't think it's working for Fitz. He's a downhill runner. I really like that Rawls can come in and compliment Fitz...although, it might be the other way around, actually. I thought the line blocked better this week. Hoke stayed with the same lineup he's had all year across the line, so it was encouraging to see the interior especially, play better.

Michigan got a 50-yard gain on an inverted veer give—blocking not relevant unless you're a WR—and 41 yards on six Gardner scrambles. They also lost six yards on a Hayes jet sweep that's now scouted by opponents. Their other 23 carries went for 49 yards. Death. If Michigan finds itself trailing against OSU there's going to be a point at which it'll be time to run the quarterback from the shotgun even if it's Gardner and the backup option is Jack Kennedy. Michigan just can't move the ball on the ground without the numerical advantage provided by using the QB.

MZone:

U-M Student Section Sucks

And I thought the key play nonsense was bad.

Ha!

The empty seats are past the point of ridiculous now.  Michigan has been reduced to having its football players make videos begging fans (read: students) to show up on time for the games.  WTF?!  This isn't Ball State.  Bo's probably rolling over in his grave.

I'm not sure what more can be done since the athletic department already instituted the points system.  But seeing all those empty seats up there after the game starts is a slap in the face to Hoke and the Michigan players.

That should be "30% of the student section sucks." 70% of them are there. The solution is to give out t-shirts.

FWIW, the key play thing has not been done in probably ten years.

HSR:

It wasn't a perfect day.  The Toussaint fumble was maddening, but a great play by the Wildcat defense. Special K remembered where "In The Big House" was on his hard drive.  There weren't enough holes in the offensive line to run through, things of this ilk.

But it was sunny, warmish for a November day.  Al Wistert got a tremendous ovation from the Michigan Stadium crowd, the MMB put on a funny show, Devin Gardner continued to look good, Roy Roundtree remembered that he's a heck of a receiver, Gibbons is still money, and in the end, Michigan was victorious,   Really, that's more than we should be able to ask for from the football gods.  After all, you need to stay humble.

Warmish? High standards over at the Hoover Street Rag.

Mud Bowl.

Recaps from Maize and Go Blue, TTB, MVictors, Holdin'  The Rope,

Mainstream stuff. Meinke on the division race. Wojo:

For Michigan, it's never over until the last pass is thrown, and tipped, and cradled, and caught. For Devin Gardner, same thing — it's not over even when others think it is.

Nothing is over for the Wolverines, and it's just getting started for Gardner. How many times can a game, or a season, or a young career twist? Gardner was a receiver a couple of weeks ago, hoping to be a quarterback again. Now he's directing a team contending for the Big Ten title.

The Daily on Brady Hoke's magic:

The last time Brady Hoke and Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald were at Michigan Stadium together was Oct. 7, 1995.

Hoke was a first-year defensive line coach on the home sideline. Fitzgerald was Northwestern’s burly junior middle linebacker, wearing a white No. 51 jersey and terrorizing Michigan quarterback Brian Griese.

With the Wildcats leading 19-13 and just 1:40 remaining on the clock, Griese and the Michigan offense were 41 yards from the end zone facing a third-and-15. Fitzgerald had ended the previous drive by tipping a pass out of harm’s way.

Nesbitt FTW; great great angle there. Hadn't even thought about it. Also Estes on not saying sorry.

Gardner saying the right things:

Gardner on Denard Robinson : "This is Denard's team, and this is always going to be Denard's team. He's done way too much for two games to change that."

Meinke has like another column—indefatigable! And another! Baumgardner numbers. Game story.

Comments

dnak438

November 12th, 2012 at 12:43 PM ^

after the late hit was called on Heitzman (I think), which upset me, so I left the live blog. This is not a complaint against the moderators, who do a great job, so there must be a lot of garbage that doesn't get through them. That upsets me even more, though.

BillyShears

November 12th, 2012 at 3:46 PM ^

If you left, you missed the explanation. With the new software, it autoscrolls comments as new ones come in. There was a flood of comments at that point and one of us inadvertently must have clicked approve on that comment while intending to approve a different one. There was actually a few more racist comments that didn't get through. We all do our best, I assure you it was not intentional.

FrankMurphy

November 12th, 2012 at 12:55 PM ^

IIRC, Michigan did not have any called runs for Gardner except the goal line rollout (and that did have a pass option). He got sacked once. That means his seven other rushing attempts were all scrambles. That's more than Denard has acquired in eight games. They were also effective—an average pickup of almost seven yards without any of those coming on fruitless third and longs.

Yeah, that is Vince Young-like. The combination of effective deep balls and a willingness to take off is potentially deadly. Covering four verts and containing Gardner seems hard, and add in dumpoffs to space players like Norfleet and Hayes, and that's a nice recipe. Hopefully Michigan explores that once they don't have to minimize QB impact at all costs.

This is what we get when Al Borges is working firmly within his element. The playcalling in this game was superb. So now can we stop talking about him as if he's the second coming of Terry Malone?

mGrowOld

November 12th, 2012 at 1:04 PM ^

Brian:

I've been thinking a lot since the game about the whole Borges/Denard/Devin "comfortability thing" and I honestly wonder if the reason we are seeing things now we hadnt seen before (audibles, hard counts, hot routes) isnt because of the formation (under center vs shotgun) but rather the QB himself.  The coaches watch the players every day in practice and spend countless hours looking at film so they know them better than we ever will.  Don't you think it's odd that Borges would allow the 2nd string QB who'd been playing wideout all year the freedom to audible out of a bad play but he doesnt let his starter do it?  Is it not possible that the reason Devin has that lattitude and Denard does not is due to their ability (during practice) to consistently check in or out of the right play?  

I love Denard and have been a stuanch and vocal supporter of him but I'm having a hard time reconciling the "new Borges" with the "old Borges" when the only change I see is the guy on the field.  Please understand I am not suggesting that Devin is better or that we have anything like a QB discussion for our last two games (if Denard's healthy he plays) but the radical change in Borges's QB leash has me wondering.

FrankMurphy

November 12th, 2012 at 1:11 PM ^

Not directly related to your post, but last night on ESPN, Jesse Palmer blurted out something about how Michigan might have a QB controversy during their run down of the bottom half of the BCS standings. I used to think he was one of the smarter commentators on ESPN, but my respect for him evaporated when he made that comment. 

MI Expat NY

November 12th, 2012 at 2:05 PM ^

It could just as easily be Borges' comfort in teaching what audibles he wants his QB to look for.  If it's clear that Borges isn't comfortable in calling plays that build off each other out of the spread/shotgun look (I think it is), then it's fairly safe to reason that he's not extremely comfortable with how his offense should adjust in real time to looks the opposing defense gives.  I doubt there is an OC in the country that allows his QB to audible without discussing in advance what keys to look for and what plays to audible into.  Audibling is also a much easier recognition than reading pass-coverages.  If you can trust your QB to read the defense and decide where to throw the football, you can trust him to audible out of plays that won't work.  He just has to be given the authority to do so.  

I could be wrong, as it's my inclination to err on the side of blaming the longtime OC who is coaching an offense he doesn't know than to hint that a 21 year old kid lacks the intelligence to perform the task.

DelhiGoBlue

November 12th, 2012 at 7:37 PM ^

So you would blame a longtime college OC for being ignorant of football, but give credit to a 21 year old player that has played at the college level for all of three years?  Again, interesting.  Long time coach, not intelligent.  21 year old player, intelligent.

Gordon

November 12th, 2012 at 1:08 PM ^

I've heard a certain group of people at or around the Big House use racially-tinged language in the past couple seasons.

It's always either the rednecks (who, for whatever reason, always look like they came here as a random thing to on a Saturday) or the WASPy types whose parents sent those racist letters to the Fab Five.

I've had to get into it with some of those latter people in the past, especially since they spend their Saturdays by dropping a ton of cash to angrily say racist things about everything that's around them.

Do they hate Denard, and every black player on the team?  Yes.  Constant racially-motivated complaints, entirely unprompted.  (It's not like they are saying racist stuff after a bad pass, they are saying it loudly at 1:30 pm while cooking.)

Do they hate the coaches, from Carr to Rodriguez to Hoke?  Yes.  Is it because they are recruiting black players?  Yes.

Do they hate the people tailgating around them?  Yes.

Do they hate Michigan, hate anything progressive surrounding the school?  Yes, they are the first to talk about how we're all godless heathens or whatever for not supporting whatever they support.

(And, before this derail starts, it's not a religion thing.  It's a money spectrum and ignorance thing.)

Frankly, I don't know why they are here.  If they want to dress like yachting twats and shout racial epithets, the SEC is awaiting them with open arms.

JeepinBen

November 12th, 2012 at 1:09 PM ^

Don't look for improvement this year. Our interior OL isn't changing for the last 2 games. But it will change big time next year. We'll have 3-4 new starters, at least 1 will be a RS Freshman. "Al's offense with Al's guys" starts next year, especially on the line.

ShockFX

November 12th, 2012 at 1:09 PM ^

I mean, what can you say when your glorious victory is so clearly a gift from the cosmic random number generator?

 

It's almost like you feel that once a win expectancy is greater than a certain percentage the game should just be called.

Here's the difference between poker and football Brian: In football, the players can change what cards come next.

ShockFX

November 12th, 2012 at 2:31 PM ^

I'm baffled as to how anyone can consider a football game won by luck and not by stepping up and making plays. Devin threw the ball 50 yards, after the 4 man rush didn't sack him, and Roundtree made a circus catch with a guy on his back. What part of that is just luck and not playing making plays?

 

I also don't understand your comment about "designed". The game wasn't designed, the game happened, so I'm not clear on the meaning.

Lionsfan

November 12th, 2012 at 3:54 PM ^

When I say designed, I'm talking about running a play. UTL last year for example, we noticed a break in ND's coverage, and ran Gallon on a wheel route that got him wide open. A hook and lateral is another example, when you pitch it you're forcing the defense to change directions in a way that's impossible to do.

Last Sat was not designed. There is no "overthrow-your-receiver-but-have-the-DB-tip-it-back-to-him" play in the book. It wasn't players stepping up and making plays, but a random event going in our favor. Roundtree didn't jump up near the sideline, snag the ball, and get a foot down. He had no control over the play until the ball was tipped back to him. Loads of credit for catching the ball, but it wasn't "making plays"

Lionsfan

November 12th, 2012 at 5:13 PM ^

It's making a play, but it's a lucky play. Up until the ball was tipped, Roundtree had no control over how the play would end. And when I think about all the things the DB could have done, and how he ended up doing to one thing that got us a catch, that seems a lot more like luck/random event/whatever you want to it to me than our players "stepping up".

The original post I responded to said that unlike poker, players decide what cards come up next, my point is that no they didn't.

Yes, Roundtree made a play. That's not a sure catch, and props to him for tracking the ball as he fell down. But, it was still luck

Butterfield

November 12th, 2012 at 5:15 PM ^

I don't know, couldn't you say that Michigan noticed that Northwestern was playing single coverage and had a size advantage in a jump ball situation, therefore leading to the play that resulted in the tie and ultimately the win?  Circumstances dictated that play call - perhaps had NW played it more conventionally with a bazillion guys dropping deep into coverage, some hook and lateral would have been called.  But in this case, the heave was the perfect play to defeat a defense that was playing astonishingly close to the line of scrimmage. 

jmblue

November 12th, 2012 at 3:06 PM ^

I would say that the luck went against us as much as it went for us.  Beyer's late hit penalty was iffy at best and set up a NW score when they otherwise would have had 3rd and long.  Then NW was given credit for a first down on a very questionable spot - a call that allowed NW to bleed three minutes off the clock.  And then we lost the coin flip in OT (the coin flip winner goes on to win OT a surprisingly large percentage of the time). 

Yeah, we caught a break when the NW defender tipped the ball, but even then, it took a phenomenal effort by Roundtree to haul that ball in - it's not like it fell in his lap.  And we probably wouldn't have needed to chuck it 50 yards in the first place if not for that questionable spot on 4th down just prior.

M-Wolverine

November 12th, 2012 at 2:47 PM ^

...right in this post.  Michigan has been there before, and done it before. They know how to win, and always believed they would win. Even in games that it really probably isn't true. (Check that Bama game out again....we got killed and didn't have a chance, but tell me that team ever quit trying).  Northwestern has found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in every big game they've played this year.   I just used the Crisler quote on tradition in another thread....one of the advantages Michigan has is just that....they know they can always win. Northwestern doesn't know what it doesn't know. So when things get tight, who's going to nut up?  Now, you meet someone who's your equal, like Ohio State, and that doesn't cover up bad play. But in November, against a good Northwestern team?  It can make all the difference.

wiper

November 12th, 2012 at 1:21 PM ^

two plus two poker forums handle?

hard to believe a guy who played poker and is net/forum savvy didn't have a 2+2 account.

triguy616

November 12th, 2012 at 1:25 PM ^

I wasn't super happy with Special K Saturday.  Frequently on 3rd downs, there would be great crowd noise and he would start up SNA, which made everyone stop to do the "Oh"s with the music.  It was especially bad when he started this while Northwestern was setting up on the line.  Seriously? 

borninAnnArbor

November 12th, 2012 at 8:21 PM ^

I like how Hoke actually shows emotion.  All too often many coaches, including Hoke, think stoic is best.  It seems to me that after the play Hoke wanted to just smile as he always does and deflect praise to the kids.  I think there is a moment there where I think he was going to restrain himself but the emotion of winning the game on such a great defensive hit was too much and he had to fist pump.  Not once, but twice.  I think I subconsciously did the same.  If I was the cop I would smile too.

Red is Blue

November 12th, 2012 at 1:36 PM ^

This picture gets me to wondering what the "helmet to helment" contact rule entails.  It seems like the intent is to make leading with the crown of the head illegal.  Clearly, Kovaks is not doing that.  It is actually a great shot of the old axiom "see what you hit."  That being said, is this technically helmet to helmet contact?

 

 

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reshp1

November 12th, 2012 at 2:00 PM ^

The difference is the way Kovacs is hitting, his head is merely in the way of his body making the form tackle. His neck will flex back and the shoulders are what's actually delivering the blow. The helmet contact is incidental. The dangerous play that should get penalized is when a player lowers his head and uses the helmet to deliver the hit, endangering himself and the guy getting tackled. It's subtle sometimes, especially when you have a still frame of them moment of impact, but I think it's usually fairly easy to tell the difference live.

JMK

November 12th, 2012 at 1:48 PM ^

Kordell put the ball in the right vicinity (unlike Devin and the Roundtree catch), and it was the actual game winner (same comment), but maybe, just maybe, that tip was karmic payback for Chuck Winters setting up that jump ball for Michael Westbrook.  Damn, that still hurts.