2011 is the best season since...?
I'm not talking about the team itself-I think '06 was a better squad on the field (and that defense was just ridiculous). But as a fan, 2011 has more to love. And mostly because of winning The Game. At the end of the day, the '06 team lost to Ohio, fell short of a B1G title, and got handled in a BCS bowl. The '11 squad is one for two right now, and even if we get throttled by OU, that won't take the shine off of this season for me.
Which brings us to the question in the thread title. In 2004 we were B1G champs, lost a classic Rose Bowl, and lost The Game. A nice season, that differs from this one largely because of the expectations. It's safe to say 2011 is the best season since 2004, but not better yet-a bowl game is needed to help me make that determination. But if we win that Bowl, especially if it's a BCS bowl, this would have been our best season since the 2003 squad that beat Ohio, won the Big Ten and went to the Rose Bowl...and yes, lost badly to SC. But winning a Big Ten Championship is a bigger deal to me than winning a BCS game.
2011 has been incredible either way, and I'm happy to be mentioning it with seasons where we won the Big Ten. What a welcome change.
November 27th, 2011 at 1:12 AM ^
This may be the best season since 97 since not many expected 10 wins with a chance for 11. 2003 was great but was somewhat expected and it ended in clunker fashion.
November 27th, 2011 at 1:14 AM ^
Of course, winning The Game is huge, but I think '06 was slightly better than this year. Of course, we don't know how this year will end up, but that team in '06 was one win away from playing for the national championship. That tips the scales very slightly for me. Great, now you're making me remember it all again.
November 27th, 2011 at 1:18 AM ^
06 mighta been one Crable late hit away from the championship and I think they could have beaten Florida.
November 27th, 2011 at 1:27 AM ^
See what I mean about making me remember it all again? I've tried to eliminate that damn penalty from my memory. I still think it was a questionable call, even after watching it somewhere around 2,000,000 times. I've always thought some leeway needs to be given to defenders when approaching athletic skill position players on the sidelines, especially when they're tiptoeing around. It's virtually impossible to be measured and in complete control in that situation, especially when the rules are a bit stacked against the defender.
Damnit, repressed UM football memory lives again. I tried at least.
November 27th, 2011 at 8:38 AM ^
Ray Malaluga made the exact same hit against the UCLA QB later that day, which still burns me up. Not only was there no penalty called at the time, but Malaluga was lauded for his fierce, hard-hitting style. To make it worse, ESPN used that clip as part of their "Rivalry" montage yesterday -- just to rub it in a little more, I'm guessing.
November 27th, 2011 at 8:29 AM ^
Helmet to helmet. Makes a difference, since it wasn't so easy for 6'6" Crable to hit 5'10" Smith lower than the helmet.
November 27th, 2011 at 1:17 AM ^
i was there. we got devastated. i think we had a run of bad luck at the rose bowl from 2003-2006 playing squads that got or went on to get national championships in subsequent years, and even playing texas with vince young very close, but it's not inconsequential to get smacked like that on a major national stage.
i think this is probably on a par with 2006 subjectively until we win a big bowl game convincingly. i'm actually really fond of 2007 because the arc of the season--from the horror to crushing notre dame to losing to tressel again to upsetting tebow in the bowl--was just incredibly dramatic.
anyway, this has been an awesome season. go blue!
November 27th, 2011 at 1:20 AM ^
If we win the Sugar Bowl (or other bowl game), I will say it is our best season since the 1999 team that defeated Alabama in the Orange Bowl.
If we lose our bowl game, I would say it is the best season since 2003.
November 27th, 2011 at 1:21 AM ^
2003 we beat all 3 of our rivals. something that hasn't been done since then. 2006 just left too bad of a taste in my mouth.
November 27th, 2011 at 1:24 AM ^
If we get to a BCS game and win, then this season would be the best since perhaps 1999 in my opionion. 1999 was the last time we won The Game . I place a high importance on The Game and bowl games, because Michigan has a crappy record in bowl games historically and a crappy record in The Game recently.
In contrast, Michigan has won plenty of Big Ten championships in seasons where it still got creamed in the Rose Bowl, so winning Big Ten championships doesn't seem as special to me.
November 27th, 2011 at 1:45 AM ^
2003 was the last win before today, not 1999.
November 27th, 2011 at 1:49 AM ^
Sorry, I meant 1999 was the last time we won The Game and a bowl game.
November 27th, 2011 at 2:01 AM ^
that'd be 2000. Henson beat O$U in the Shoe and then we beat Auburn in the Capitol One Bowl (citrus bowl at the time)
November 27th, 2011 at 2:41 AM ^
Fine, best since 2000 *facepalm*.
November 27th, 2011 at 2:45 AM ^
I feel like a Bleacher Report writer. Just wrong, all the time.
November 27th, 2011 at 1:35 AM ^
i think we appreciate their wins more than the previous good teams we've had. This is the most fun I've ever had watching Michigan. I'm in year 15 watching too.
November 27th, 2011 at 1:40 AM ^
You're probably right about appreciating this team's wins more, only because some of the wins this season, and the record as a whole, was unexpected. The teams before the RR era always had high expectations because of the talent that we had. Is there a M fan that expected the results this year? I doubt it. Also, there is the turnaround angle and the fact that these players have started the process of bringing our football program back to where we expect it to be.
November 27th, 2011 at 1:52 AM ^
is the best season ever. These seniors Molk, RVB, Martin, etc. have made this season the most special in my 34 years. I was tearing up tonight watching the postgame mostly because of Molk. I know what he's been through but also have no idea. I wanted this win so bad for the seniors. Go Blue!
November 27th, 2011 at 3:01 AM ^
We beat Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State. Hell it will be tough to top that in any season going forward, but I'm all for trying starting next year.
Also we kind of came from the depths with this team.
November 27th, 2011 at 10:08 AM ^
was to Missouri. And then Tom Osbourne gave his tearful retirement announcement right before the bowl games and all his coaching buddies decided to try and get him a lifetime achievement award.
November 27th, 2011 at 10:57 AM ^
Nebraska was undefeated in 97. I think he means that this is our best year since 97 because we beat ND, Nebraska, and ohio.
November 27th, 2011 at 11:16 AM ^
Always good to beat the top 3!
November 27th, 2011 at 11:29 AM ^
And Benoit Balls was talking about how Nebraska got outplayed by Missouri, but had a lucky ass play that let them score for a tying Touchdown
November 27th, 2011 at 3:15 AM ^
Very 2003-ish.
November 27th, 2011 at 5:29 AM ^
Until we see the bowl game result it is hard to say. It may be the best since 1999.
November 27th, 2011 at 8:31 AM ^
If we had beaten MSU then I'd go back to 2003, and Iowa farther still.
November 27th, 2011 at 8:55 AM ^
There was no B1G Championship, and there was a loss to Sparty. That precludes calling it a "best" season of anything. It was a fun season, but I won't call it a "best" of anything except maybe the best of a shitty decade.
Hopefully, the best is yet to come.
November 27th, 2011 at 10:21 AM ^
I think this season is in a class by itself. Never have we gone through (in my lifetime) such a protracted dark period, only to emerge on the other side so quickly. I've never appreciated a team and a winning season so much. 2003 and 2004 were great, but I went in to those seasons like I did every season, expecting 12-0 and a berth into the national championship game. Maybe I was delusional, but I'd always look at our stacked roster (look at all of these sweet receivers! and I just know this is the year for Timmy Bracken (or a similarly hyped RB who never produced)) and just KNOW we were going to do it this year.
This year, I looked at our roster with walk-ons starting, tiny receivers designed for a system that we no longer run, and so-so RBs (I just know this is the year for Mike Sh . . . nah, I can't delude myself that much), and I thought "boy it would be nice if we got 8 wins and didn't lose in humiliating fashion in the 4 losses." And then boom! We beat up on the weak competition. We lost some games in which we played poorly, but the losses were still reasonably close. And suddenly, we're back. But we're back in a way like we've never been back before. Like in Back to the Future, when Marty goes to the past and gives his dad a backbone and fixes his mom's drinking problem. He's back to where he started, but it's different. It's better. That's what this season is to me, and I've never experienced anything like it.
November 27th, 2011 at 11:00 AM ^
November 27th, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^
The 2011 season isn't over yet, so maybe comparisons are premature. Still glory to be had gentlemen. Great to be a Michigan Wolverine.
November 27th, 2011 at 11:21 AM ^
best season since 1999.
If we lose, 2000.
If we get blown out, 2003.
2006 embarasses me to be honest. We spent all year thinking we were one of the top two teams in the country, complained loudly when we got screwed out of the national championship and then cemented Lloyd's legacy against equal competetion against USC by getting smacked around in the Rose Bowl. Exposed as a fraud for all the world to see. And we lost the game.
November 27th, 2011 at 12:11 PM ^
Though the fact that we beat Ohio tempts me to say 2003. But as thrilling as this year's been, the Big 10 was stronger in 2006 than 2011 and I think the 2006 team was better. Its losses were against really good Ohio and USC teams. Everyone else, we steamrolled...including beatdowns of ND and Little Brother.
This year's team is a plucky band of overachievers. Very few people thought we'd get to 10 wins. Most had a ceiling of 9, and if were honest, thought 7-8 was the most likely scenario. Think about this: in the previous 4 years, we'd gone 23-28, with terrible losses to App State and Toledo, exactly 1 win over Little Brother and 0 wins over Ohio. Our first 2 losing seasons in decades. Oh, and those epic meltdowns in conference play during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, which turned promising starts into disappointment. Our defense, which was once the pride of the conference, sank to an historic low--an embarrassment, to say the least.
But, in a testament to good coaching and the determination of kids who've gone through a lot of adversity in their playing careers, we somehow transformed into a BCS-calibur team. Our defense is good, if not great. Our offense is surging. WE CAN KICK FIELD GOALS!
HAIL.