Al Borges Appreciation?
248 yards rushing
503 yards passing
751 yards of total offense
Devin Gardner breaks record for passing yards in one game (also, throws No INTs)
Jeremy Gallon breaks record for receiving yards in one game (yes, that was Braylon's record previously)
Fitz Toussaint had four rushing touchdowns
63 points
THIS OFFENSE BORES ME
October 19th, 2013 at 8:01 PM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 8:07 PM ^
It was there if you go back and watch it. It's just the offense performed much better.
I mean, we ran the ball 54 times in this game, but with a great deal more success.
We also eliminated the turnovers in the passing game, and still hit on a bunch of deep passes.
October 19th, 2013 at 8:11 PM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 8:28 PM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 9:50 PM ^
October 20th, 2013 at 9:11 AM ^
Tremendous. This needs to be on the front page.
October 19th, 2013 at 8:32 PM ^
Come on man. You're telling me the playcalling was the same? Just look at the first two drives, including the first three and out. FWIW I don't necessarily blame Borges for PSU gameplan, I still think Hoke may force his hands at time.
October 19th, 2013 at 9:35 PM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 8:36 PM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 8:41 PM ^
I don't know. I will go back and rewatch on my DVR but it sure seemed like they ran out of the spread a ton more (early on at least) and didn't tip their plays nearly as much. Run/pass distribution rarely tells the whole story.
October 19th, 2013 at 9:15 PM ^
Play was not as predictable.
October 19th, 2013 at 9:28 PM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 8:13 PM ^
or Indiana is just ridiculously bad. I'm afraid it's closer to the latter than the former
October 20th, 2013 at 9:45 AM ^
They did beat PSU 44-24..... and instead of turtling when they were up 11 points going into the 4th quarter, they went for the jugular.
October 19th, 2013 at 8:18 PM ^
That's obviously part of it, but it's not the whole story at all. There weren't half as many powers and isos, and even so, those calls (even though they mostly didn't work again) are a lot more understandable since IU wasn't stacking the box.
I understand the phenomenon of fans basing their opinions of playcalling on whether it worked or not, but that's not what's going on here. Borges called this game much differently, and did so largely in accord with what the fanbase has been screaming for.
October 19th, 2013 at 8:30 PM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 9:12 PM ^
If we had run and come up short, Indiana would have taken its final time out and got the ball back needing a TD and a FG (in either order) made possible by an onsides kick recovery. Not much different than had we thrown an incompletion.
The first down, there, however, gives Mich at least four pre-snap downs with Indiana only able to stop the clock once. Almost a kneel down, as we could have taken a good 2:00 off the clock on the three non-timeout plays. Nice to see Borges go for the high payoff / moderate-to-low risk play.
My only quibble with the Hoke 4th qtr strategy was not trying an unexpected onsides kick after the Indiana DB took a personal foul for drilling Gardner three yards into the endzone. (w/ 13:40 left to go.) Wile booming the ball into the endzone brings it out to the 25. A failed onsides kick would likely end up somewhere between the 35 and 40. Isn't it worth 15 yards of field position for a good chance at a turnover? (IU drove the length of the field for a TD anyway.)
October 19th, 2013 at 10:09 PM ^
October 20th, 2013 at 1:11 AM ^
A squib kick also usually burns 5-10 seconds off the clock.
October 19th, 2013 at 8:40 PM ^
I think it was the same basic game plan, but Al just mixed up his calls in the running game better. That, and the fact that we didn't turn the ball over multiple times in the first half gave him more confidence in the passing game.
October 20th, 2013 at 12:04 AM ^
October 20th, 2013 at 1:12 AM ^
You called me delusional and then basically repeated what I said back to me.
Are you high?
You also realize that a lot of our big passing plays against Penn State came out of I-Form, right?
October 20th, 2013 at 7:46 PM ^
October 20th, 2013 at 12:06 AM ^
October 20th, 2013 at 8:59 PM ^
The vast majority will double down.
October 20th, 2013 at 9:30 AM ^
"It's just the offense performed much better."
Not really.
The play calling, specifically on early down, was much more run-pass varied. They also varied run-pass by formation much more significantly.
October 19th, 2013 at 8:07 PM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 9:33 PM ^
Hey, Does Hoke's Home vs Away win/loss record have anything to do with his gameday traditions, specifically the no eating during the day one? I could see it not affecting as much in the home games because he already has a set internal schedule. But when he's away his schedule might be different.
October 20th, 2013 at 8:50 AM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 8:01 PM ^
Until he beats a top 45 defense, no.
October 19th, 2013 at 8:06 PM ^
IGNORE ND GAME
October 19th, 2013 at 8:25 PM ^
You have rather selective memory yourself.
October 19th, 2013 at 9:13 PM ^
Notre Dame is #46.
October 19th, 2013 at 9:30 PM ^
Still, they were certainly top 40 at the time we played them.
October 20th, 2013 at 9:52 AM ^
ND had played one game.... against Temple.... who just beat Army for their first win of the season....
October 19th, 2013 at 9:15 PM ^
October 20th, 2013 at 1:42 AM ^
October 20th, 2013 at 6:00 AM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 8:01 PM ^
FIRE MATTISON
October 19th, 2013 at 8:10 PM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 9:57 PM ^
October 20th, 2013 at 6:02 AM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 8:02 PM ^
*Indiana Secondary Appreciation
October 19th, 2013 at 8:04 PM ^
Thank god for the offense today. Glad to see the offensive talent utilized effectively.
That said, I prefer to reserve my opinion until I see the MSU game. I had my optimism crushed in the OSU game last year, after the sweet play calling against IOWA in the previous week.
October 19th, 2013 at 8:04 PM ^
October 19th, 2013 at 8:23 PM ^
Exactly, because we all know the ultimate goal each year is to beat the shit out of Indiana's terrible defense, not win EVERY game.
October 19th, 2013 at 8:05 PM ^
Maybe Michigan got all these yards because they played a team with a defense that that little girl football player Sam Gordon could shred?
Do it again in two weeks.
October 19th, 2013 at 8:38 PM ^
On the one hand, yes Indiana defense is bad. On the other hand, we couldn't similarly shred Akron or UConn. So I'll take it.