2012 Football Regular Season in Review Snowflakes
Now we've had a couple days to hopefully calm down and regain some perspective after the OSU loss, I thought we could take a look back at the season in its entirety and collect thoughts and comments here.
Here's the 2012 prediction thread
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/2012-season-record-prediction-thread
The median prediction seemed to be 9-3.
In retrospect, thinking we'd beat Alabama was extremely optimistic, we just aren't at that psuedo-pro level of talent yet. But the other three losses were very winnable except for one fatal flaw in each. Notre Dame may have been the heartbreaker of the year. We were outplaying, even dominating them in most aspects but just couldn't get out of our own way. In the end, 6 turnovers sealed our fate.
The story of Nebraska was, of course, Denard's injury. We seemed to have decent control of the game until Bellomy was forced into a role he clearly wasn't ready for.
Ohio.... well, you know what happened.
On the positive side, beating Sparty and Iowa each ended embarrassing losing streaks. Gardner's emergence as a solid option has single-handedly reversed the outlook for 2013. Despite some slips here and there, it's pretty clear that the defense was no fluke and these coaches can turn out a stout defense even without elite talent.
The thing that struck me was how this season was a mirror to 2011. We won most of the close ones in 2011, we lost most of the close ones in 2012. 2011 the defense overacheived, 2012 the offense underacheived. We beat ND and Ohio in 2011 and lost to Sparty, in 2012 we beat Sparty but lost to ND and Ohio. One constant seems to be that we don't travel that well. That maybe the underlying story of 2012, all our tough games were on the road and we weren't able to win any of them.
Despite the some of the disappointment, I'm looking forward to one last game with (a hopefully healthy) Denard and these seniors.
November 26th, 2012 at 11:55 AM ^
The staff is very good. We are in good hands.
With the expecting of a few games, the D was the back bone of the team. They still are lacking in talent, however, to be a truly elite defense on a national scale.
The offense made us laugh, cry, face palm and cheer uncontrollably. The unit had a major talent deficiency problem and lacked impact players other than Denard's legs, and later in the year Devin's arm. The WR core did show some signs of consistency late, still they are not world beaters.
Our special teams were confusing at times, with little upside sans Gibbons solid kicking and Wile booting a big FG against State and doing a fine job on kickoffs.
Overall, we overachieved and underachieved, and that is the hallmark of an 8-4 team. I think we could have been 10-2, but easily 6-6 as well. Until we insulate our team with more talent, we will be 8-4 every year give or take. I do think winning the BIG should be the stated goal. We are not nationally relevant right now. In the future, we have potential to be a great program, but a lot of big time recruiting and breaks need to go our way. Lastly, I truly believe our overall team speed needs to increase. S&C needs to adjust and build more speed training into their program.
None of you can solve the teams problems by breaking down every play that happened this year and questioning the staff. Real time decisions are never perfect and mistakes happen, especially with hyper aggressive football players and coaches. I think it was Oasis that once sang, "don't look back in anger..." It is was it is, and that season was. That's it.
If you think you can do better, great, go coach some ball and see you on the sidelines while we shred you from our armchairs.
November 26th, 2012 at 12:11 PM ^
Why so angry? Stop projecting.
November 26th, 2012 at 12:50 PM ^
Complains about thread
Writes 500 word response
:p
November 26th, 2012 at 11:56 AM ^
We were 3-2 in close games this year. AF was still in it in the 4th. We beat MSU on the final drive and it took a Hail Mary to beat Northwestern.
November 26th, 2012 at 7:39 PM ^
we lost most of the close ones in 2012.
Obvious response was obvious..........
November 26th, 2012 at 12:59 PM ^
I watched that game on delay already knowing the outcome, but it never seemed close. Uncomfortable, sure, but the way their defense was playing it seemed just a matter of time.
November 26th, 2012 at 11:58 AM ^
some disappointing but resasonable losses, some exciting wins. i feel like the trajectory of the program in upwards and i feel good about re-upping my season tickets and look forward to future success.
November 26th, 2012 at 12:02 PM ^
November 26th, 2012 at 12:04 PM ^
An 8-4 year in a TERRIBLE B1G with the only "marquee" win against MSU... by 2 points...
that and we had a senior QB for the first time in forever. An OL that should have been pretty solid (lost a leader but retained the majority)...
I would call this season a complete failure in the context of Michigan Football (and if you believe the whole "This Is Michigan Fergodsakes" meme then you should agree with the context).
This coaching staff is excellent on defense and average at best on offense which is scary based on what we are losing on O going forward.
Weak, IME.
November 26th, 2012 at 12:22 PM ^
November 26th, 2012 at 12:49 PM ^
I mentioned losing Molk. I am not under the impression that losing Junior was devastating. He is solid for what Denard does (throws jump balls often), but losing a WR of that caliber should happen every year at UofM. Fitz getting hurt sucks, but we should have utilized Rawls which is a fact. Denard seeminglky gets dinged up every year and that is something you should prepare for.
I just think it's funny how we make excuses for one guy and break out the pitchforks for another.
as good as our defense is this year, our offense was equally dynamic during the RR era. I am not saying our offense now is as poor as our defense was then, but well, yea. An 8-4 season is not good by Michigan standards, but the team looks to be getting better as a whole. I am not sold on Borges nor have I ever been .
November 26th, 2012 at 4:13 PM ^
... yes, it was a desperation move, but we were desperate for a reason. As for "it should happen every year", that sounds more like entitlement-fantasy than reality on the ground. The reality is we lost a good WR (NFL caliber - he's on the Chiefs practice squad, I think) and had no replacement, at the same time that we schematically weakened our WR core by moving our slot WR to the outside.
Losing Molk hurt a lot worse than I thought, and I thought it would hurt plenty. Turns out Rimington-award-winning-centers don't grow on trees, and can paper over a lot of stuff. Losing Huyge also hurt worse than I thought, as moving Schofield from the guard spot turned a good guard into a serviceable tackle at the same time as our interior OL disintegrated.
If you think that Fitz and Rawls are equivalent, well, let's say I disagree and leave it there. Actually, I do agree in one respect - neither one is likely to gain yards running behind our sub-par OL.
My main point is that I don't know what we expected to work when we couldn't block running plays at all. We made yards on Denard's legs - remove those, and which running play we called became nearly irrelevant.
November 26th, 2012 at 6:15 PM ^
Then what did you call 2008?
I agree, that when I looked at the schedule during the summer, I was thinking 8-4, but the B1G was not nearly as good as I had thought it was going to be. I think we should've had one more win but I'm not in a state of panic. I would give Borges another year or two but if he can not create a game plan to score points with a pro set against good teams, then Hoke should consider a change!
If we are still only getting 7 to 8 wins per season starting in 2015 with most of Hoke's recruits starting then it will be time to panic.
November 27th, 2012 at 1:37 AM ^
No to your OL comment. IIRC, it was generally accepted our line play wouldn't be as good as last year [to that end, Hoke has invested a lot in the lines].
Consider this:
We are 8-4, yes, but two of those losses didn't come in the Big Ten. They came to ND and Alabama, the two teams likely playing for the National Championship.
Of our two Big Ten losses, one was without our QB (Denard's injury @Nebraska) and we were controlling that game fairly decent with him in, gotta like our chances if he doesn't go down.
The only legitimate criticism is Borges' playcalling against OSU in the 2nd half. This is really the only game that we really, really, really should have won.
At first glance, 8-4 looks like a failure, but then again it's the same record ND had the previous two seasons, and look at where they are right now. Prior season success is usually not indicative of current season success. I could dig up more examples (2001 OSU vs 2002 OSU, for example) but I'm feeling lazy.
November 26th, 2012 at 12:23 PM ^
November 26th, 2012 at 12:26 PM ^
Holy cow, this meme just WILL. NOT. DIE.
November 26th, 2012 at 2:45 PM ^
November 26th, 2012 at 12:28 PM ^
November 26th, 2012 at 12:25 PM ^
November 26th, 2012 at 12:31 PM ^
I remember a 7-6 season (after two losing ones) where there was chatter here about how the staff needed extensions to give them stability in the recruiting arena. Now about 8-4 we need to fire Borges and perhaps even get rid of some posistion coaches. This place is weird.
November 26th, 2012 at 12:49 PM ^
Don't you know? The last thing that happened will happen again every time, repeatedly, forever.
November 26th, 2012 at 12:45 PM ^
It's hilarious to see a lot of 6-6 or 7-5 predictions for undefeated ND. Obviously no one saw their 12-0 coming, but after the fact it's funny.
Fuck ND.
November 26th, 2012 at 1:04 PM ^
I know it's ridiculously early, but M has a very favorable schedule next year and we, depending on the health of the team and if we don't lose any key players due to transfers, have a strong possibility to go 12-0 regular season. The two toughest games on that schedule are ND and Ohio, both home games. With our defense and Mattison, I think it's very possible to be undefeated. I kind of like the two bye weeks, too. Bye weeks suck for fans, but they're great for the players, and what's best for them is more important.
| Aug. 31 | CENTRAL MICHIGAN |
| Sept. 7 | NOTRE DAME |
| Sept. 14 | AKRON |
| Sept. 21 | at Connecticut |
| Sept. 28 | Bye Week |
| Oct. 5 | MINNESOTA* (HC) |
| Oct. 12 | at Penn State* |
| Oct. 19 | INDIANA* |
| Oct. 26 | Bye Week |
| Nov. 2 | at Michigan State* |
| Nov. 9 | NEBRASKA* |
| Nov. 16 | at Northwestern* |
| Nov. 23 | at Iowa* |
| Nov. 30 | OHIO STATE* |
| Dec. 7 | Big Ten Championship Game |
November 26th, 2012 at 1:32 PM ^
I know the thread title explicity says "regular season", but I'm anxious to see how we fare against Georgia/South Carolina and I think that will heavily color how we feel about the season, especially if we win.
November 26th, 2012 at 2:22 PM ^
Greg Mattison has proven he can take straw and weave it into threads of gold. I just can't wait to see his recruiting classes on the field, especially on the D-line. We've seen that pass rushers are natural talents, not something that coaching alone can produce, as this year's team has demonstrated. If we can get a pure pass rusher or two, we are back to the 1997 defense that spent most of every game in the opponent's backfield. That would be fun to watch again.
This year's offensive line made the non-Denard rushing game a big zero. We have one solid group that got redshirted and another one ready to sign on the dotted line in Feb. All things offense improve with good blocking. I hope Fitz can return, but no matter what, we really do need a stud running back that can pound out the yards and run out the clock. Shallman? I'd feel more comfortable with Green. Hopefully, Darboh and Chesson deliver at WR next year, too. I would think Devin's emergence should make Treadwell and other WR recruits believers that the WR position will play a major role in the offense next year and beyond. These familiar tools should keep Borges in his play calling comfort zone and tamp down the magical thinking and over-analysis that seems to crop up at the worst time.
The trajectory is up, but we have a long way to go to get to elite team status. Hoke and Mattison can get us there. Borges? Makes me nervous until proven otherwise.
November 26th, 2012 at 4:08 PM ^
Forty Years Ago in Columbus, or Banging Your Head Against the Brick Wall Slowly
1972: Michigan: 10-0, ranked #3 vs OSU, 9-1, ranked #9
After a scoreless 1st quarter, Michigan drove into Ohio State territory, but the drive stalled at the OSU 18 and they had to settle for a 35-yard field goal.
OSU finally got some offense going midway through the 2nd and scored a touchdown to make it 7-3. UM responded and the Wolverines moved from their own 20 all the way down the field and had a 1st and goal at the OSU 1-yard line. The Buckeye defense stood firm and stopped the UM running game on 3 tries, leading to a 4th-and-goal from the 1-foot line. Schembechler decided to go for it, but Franklin fumbled the snap on the 4th down play and had to fall on the ball at the 3. OSU took the 7-3 lead into halftime.
After OSU scored early in the 3rd quarter to take a 14-3 lead, Michigan responded on their next drive, consuming much of the 3rd quarter on a 13-play march. On 4th-and-goal from the OSU 1, UM finally found the end zone as another Ohio native, fullback Ed Shuttlesworth, dove in for the score. Michigan went for 2 and converted as Franklin found Clint Haslerig for the score. Now trailing only 14-11, the Wolverines had momentum and began another march into OSU territory in the 4th quarter. But on 4th down from the OSU 20, Schembechler decided to go for it again, and this time Shuttlesworth was stopped for a loss and Ohio State took over.
On the ensuing possession, OSU QB Hare was intercepted by Michigan's Randy Logan, setting UM up with a 1st down at the OSU 29. They drove down to a 1st-and-goal at the Buckeye 5, but the OSU defense rose up again. Three runs took the ball to the 1-foot line, and Schembechler once again decided to go for it. On 4th down, Franklin tried to sneak it over, but he was stopped and Ohio State took over at the 1.* Michigan never seriously threatened after that, and OSU held on for a 14-11 win, which meant the conference championship and Rose Bowl berth.
The reason I'm bringing this up is that the general reaction among us UM fans at the time (this is pre-radio sports call-in show and obviously pre-internet) was that Bo was incredibly unimaginative and stubborn in his red-zone/goal-line offensive calls—they were all attempted runs up the middle or off-tackle. Nothing wide, no deception, no passing, just smashmouth manball, 1970s style. It was especially frustrating since Franklin had attempted 23 passes in the game, but down near the goal-line the passing game was shut down.
However, there is one huge difference between then and now: that 1972 UM team finished 10-1 but had to stay home for the holidays due to the Big Ten's criminally mindless Rose Bowl-only policy.
.............
*Most UM fans believe that Franklin scored on that last possession, but you're not going to get the call on the road.
(the above description is a condensed form of the article on 11 Warriors.)
November 26th, 2012 at 4:35 PM ^
Which game was more painful to you Don? The one you just described or the 1974 tilt where game winning field goals through the middle of the uprights are ruled to be wide?
November 26th, 2012 at 4:55 PM ^
Because of the bowl policy, they all sucked horribly, but I'd have to say the '74 game since we had lost (or tied) in 72 and 73. Plus I felt horrible for Mike Lantry for the '73 game, and to see the poor guy miss another game-winner made it that much worse.
And besides, the fucking FG was good anyhow. This is why, in spite of the obvious problems, that I think video review is a godsend.
November 26th, 2012 at 5:05 PM ^
"One constant seems to be that we don't travel that well. That maybe the underlying story of 2012, all our tough games were on the road and we weren't able to win any of them."
If someone could explain this with me that would help alot. In the past two games in 10' and 12' their didn't seem to be nearly as many Michigan fans that would make feel like they invated other teams cities/stadiums. A friend of mine at Minnesota noticed the same thing for their games... I've found this weird for a fan base that has a VERY large following. For the few Michigan fans I met that were college students they are very funny people, and great entertainers. Then again the game was in Ohio so I can understand why most people wouldn't want to go to Columbus. Hope to see more Michigan fans next time. Good luck in your bowl game, we'll be watching from the couch.
November 27th, 2012 at 8:14 AM ^
With no offense to (or from) Al Borges, putting this season into historical perspective, except for what was one of the worst seasons in Michigan football history (2008), this was by far the worst performance by a Michigan offense since 2001 when the Wolverines were ranked 70th in the nation in total offense, yet finished 8-3. Even with Denard Robinson appearing to have been reasonably healthy for two-thirds of the season, this year's offense has been almost Gergian.
In games played to date this season, Michigan’s offense is ranked 80th in the country. By contrast, Michigan’s defense is ranked 12th.
Here are Michigan’s records and total offense and total defense national rankings from 2000 through 2012:
2000 (8-3): O-11; D-74; 2001 (8-3): O-70; D-12; 2002 (10-3): O-52; D-42; 2003 (10-3): O-15; D-11; 2004 (9-3): O-46; D-33; 2005 (7-5): O-55; D-36; 2006 (11-2): O-38; D-10; 2007 (9-4): O-68; D-24; 2008 (3-9): O-109; D-67; 2009 (5-7): O-59; D-82; 2010 (7-6): O-8; D-110; 2011 (11-2): O-42; D-17; 2012 (8-4): O-80; D-12
For comparisons, the national rankings for the teams that beat Michigan in 2012:
Alabama (11-1): O-43; D-1; Notre Dame (12-0): O-48; D-6; Nebraska (10-2): O-26; D-15; Ohio State (12-0): O-47; D-34
One can only hope that the 15 extra practices and the bowl game against what easily could be a superior SEC team will allow for some adjustments on offense that will produce results similar to the 2008 Capital Bowl win over heavily favored Florida.
November 27th, 2012 at 10:41 AM ^
from 2000 to 2008 alabama had lost on average about 5 to 6 games a year. its not like they were always a top 5 team every year and they hadn't been up until the last 3 years.
November 27th, 2012 at 7:09 PM ^
This season, we should have been 9-3. We had no chance against Alabama, especially on a neutral field. Denard's performance against ND precluded a win there. Given those, we probably should have lost to Northwestern.
Given hindsight, which is of course 20/20, Devin should have been the backup in the Nebraska game. This wasn't necessarily due to his performance, since by accounts I've read, he looked bad in the spring game, etc. Rather, it seems as though Bellomy was evaluated incorrectly - that or we just decided to ride without a competent backup. Whichever thing happened, that mistake cost us the game at Nebraska we probably should have won. The Ohio State game was clearly on Borges and his horrible adjustments (or lack thereof) in the second half.
But he's comin' back, folks, no doubt. It just feels like Carr/DeBord all over again.
November 30th, 2012 at 2:00 PM ^
Ultimately the 2012 Michigan football season was frustrating and disheartening, but an impressive effort that yielded average results. I'd give it B- since that's what Michigan usually gives it's students for an "average" result; regardless of effort.
With ohio being the only exception, the losses were explainable, and probably not reversable without huge changes in "luck". Last year, if anything, I though a couple of the wins were less explainable than the loss at Iowa.
The 2012 Wolverines fought hard for every second of every game (after surrendering to Alabama anyway), and fell short a few times. I'm encouraged by the effort and belief of this team; regardless of the numbers. Lets cheer them to 9-4 in Jan!