"Best plays of the decade" candidates so far?
Usually as a pre-season ritural, I go back into the mgoblog archives and find some of my favorite articles. I re-read the "best and worst of the decade' article from 2010 recently, and I was wondering, which plays from 2010-2015 will probably show up on a "best of" and "worst of" list come 2020?
"Best of" -- I'm thinking...
Denard's 90-yarder against Notre Dame
Denard completing a long pass to Junior Hemmingway with a guy draped around his leg.
Jeremy Gallon cloaking device
Jehu Chesson goes bowling for Domers
Jehu Chesson sets the Florida DB's pants on fire
Deveon Smith teleporting through the pile of bodies to run for a TD against BYU
Stuffing Minnesota on the 1-yard line at the end of the 2015 game.
Hopefully, many more to come in the next four years. Denard deserves so much more but you can only have so many 50+ yard runs on the list.
"Worst of", unfortunately, has a lot of candidates...
That horrible pass play against PSU in 2010 where J.T. Floyd gets completely turned around
Gardner's pick six against ND
Gardner's pick six against Akron
Gardner's QB sneak fumble against UConn
The 10-man punt TD against Utah
2015 MSU -- duh
The failed 2-point conversion against OSU
Vincent Smith's pass getting intercepted by ND
The failed 4th down conversion against MSU in the trash tornado game.
The South Carolina QB spinning out of a Jibreel Black sack attempt that would have put South Carolina into third and very long.
What else could be on the list when all is said and done?
August 16th, 2016 at 3:01 PM ^
is quite comical to go back and read the game thread for that game. It is pretty much exactly how you described. It was worse than App. St. and I don't think it is really that close. That was the worst/hardest moment I had ever had as a fan. That is the only sporting occurence that has ever become a problem in my "real life." Took a while to shake it.
August 16th, 2016 at 3:47 PM ^
Exactly. App State was embarassing, but we actually deserved to lose it.
The fact that MSU is a hated rival, we all thought we had won it and then when they won it they literally didn't even do anything to earn it (it wasn't a forced fumble, we literally threw it into his hands as an unforced error, and there were questionable no-calls penalty wise too) just makes it the all time worst loss in Michigan history.
Nobody will ever convince me otherwise. And then to have their players run over and taunt our stunned student section. THE WORST.
That was the only loss ever that took me more than a day to shake off. I was not myself for almost a whole week. Thank god we had a bye the next week because I literally couldn't watch football. Didn't watch a single game the following week.
August 16th, 2016 at 12:01 PM ^
you did.
August 16th, 2016 at 11:30 AM ^
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August 16th, 2016 at 11:32 AM ^
When we beat OSU and MSU.
August 16th, 2016 at 11:57 AM ^
and thinking I needed to fill in your "until we beat OSU and MSU" for you. What a relief!
August 16th, 2016 at 11:36 AM ^
This one could be among the best, at least in my opinion. Many, many candidates have already been mentioned, of course.
August 16th, 2016 at 11:39 AM ^
Denard to Roundtree in UTL 1
It was my senior year at U-M; hands down the best day I had those 4 years.
August 16th, 2016 at 11:55 AM ^
4th down coversion in the tornado trash game was probably the first time I knew Hoke was in over his head....and then the explanation afterwards....just made it worse.
August 16th, 2016 at 3:48 PM ^
I literally blocked this out.
What was the context of that?
August 16th, 2016 at 4:36 PM ^
was something along the lines of, "If executed, it would have been a touchdown." This was definitely a sign of things to come...
August 16th, 2016 at 12:21 PM ^
1A: "Wide open's Gallon! They left him alone! Needs a block!"
Followed closely by...
1B: "He's gonna throw for it... throws to the endzone. Lobs it up.... one on one.... Caught! Michigan touchdown! I can't believe this! Roy Roundtree!"
August 16th, 2016 at 3:53 PM ^
August 16th, 2016 at 1:11 PM ^
We are a little more than halfway through the decade, assuming that this sort of list is evaluated after 2019.
My hope, and a reasonable expectation, is that these next four seasons will be, by far, the best seasons of Michigan's decade.
As a consequence, it is reasonable to believe (or at least cross our fingers and hope) that 8 or 9 of the "worst of" slots have been filled, while a majority of the "best" slots are still awaiting fulfillment.
If this is true, there are at most four "best" slots to fill from events as of 2010.
So my list so far would look something like this:
Denard's Bergkamp run against ND in 2010.
The Final drive of UTL.
"Defense" chant against Northwestern last year. (Small edge over the Minnesota goal line stand, which I prefer since I was there but won't stand the test of time the way "Defense" will).
Jehu Chesson and Jake Rudock combining to immolate Vernon Hargreaves in a demolition of a good Florida team.
In the last four years, hoping for:
A defining, unforgettable Jabrill Peppers highlight.
A key play in a playoff game win.
Rashan Gary killing some guy.
A last-minute comeback play in a huge game.
A highlight from a dominant win against one of our two rivals.
A national championship moment.
C'mon we can do this.
August 16th, 2016 at 1:29 PM ^
It has been a decade with a lot of wackiness. Call it a result of combining a few ridiculously athletic playmakers with some terrible coaching and you have had extreme lows and extreme highs on both sides of the ball and on special teams. This decade will have enough candidates both "good" and "bad" to fill a Top 20 list and still leave of some worthy "honorable mentions". The two ND UTL games by themselves have about four or five "best of" candidates between them -- some once-in-a-generation type craziness there.
August 16th, 2016 at 1:19 PM ^
Braxton Miller overthrows a wide open receiver in the last couple minutes of the game, saving us the humiliation of losing to an eventual 6-6 team that lost its coach at the start of the season and was playing in AA with a true freshman at QB.
August 16th, 2016 at 1:58 PM ^
Best Of:
-Touchdown Manningham
-Denard doing Denard things against ND in 2010 and 2011
-Gibbons kick to beat MSU in 2012. Ugly-ass game, but you take the wins where you can.
-Taking a knee to beat OSU in 2011. Sure, that was the worst OSU team in years, but given where this program has been, you take those wins and be happy with them.
-Annihilating Florida, an SEC divisional champ, in the Citrus Bowl
-Harbaugh being hired. At that point, you thought to yourself this program may just be able to come back from the dead.
Worst Of (oh god, where to start....):
-Wisconsin running the ball what must've been 25-30 straight times on us in 2010 and we could do absolutely nothing to stop them.
-PSU's ragtag, shoddy offense in 2010, led by a walk-on QB and a senile old man, all of a sudden looking like a combo of the NE Patriots and the early 2000's Rams offense, when they played our defense.
-Thorough ass-kickings from OSU from 2008-2010
-You know what, the whole RichRod era was just a "Worst Of" moment.
-The Clowney hit. ESPN and the rest of the college football world never let us forget that happened.
-Akron / UConn
-Pissing away the game against PSU in 2013
-Going into the MSU/OSU games in 2013 and 2014 knowing beyond any reasonable doubt that we were going to lose. That we'd get our shit rocked by MSU, and then even if we put up a fight against OSU, we'd somehow manage to lose.
-Watching OSU hoist a NC trophy while we couldn't even make a damn bowl game.
-2015 MSU game. Because to hell with you don't even need to explain it, that's why.
-2015 OSU game. Because I finally had a reason to get my hopes up about beating a very good OSU team, and those dreams were crushed right before my very eyes.
August 16th, 2016 at 2:48 PM ^
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August 17th, 2016 at 1:41 AM ^
At the time I was mad, but exactly what purpose would have making a bowl in 2014 (2015) served.
I am sure you watched the 2013 Bowl Game against Kansas State. The players didn't give a flying fuck. The 2014 bowl would have been 10 times worse.
Honestly, it was a huge wake up call for the players. The team was poorly coached, but there are many insider accounts on how the players basically mailed it in as far as offseason training. The effort was ridicuously bad and none of the players seemed to even care.
An offseason without a bowl to was a wakeup call to a group of players that seemed content with just going through the motions.
August 16th, 2016 at 2:15 PM ^
Was the one where there was like a long, long rain delay, and when they came back the stadium was absolutely empty? I remember the TV coverage stopped and I had to watch it on my smartphone through the back of my eyelids.
Was that Utah at home? It was absoultely surreal. I've never seen anything like it.
August 16th, 2016 at 2:21 PM ^
August 16th, 2016 at 2:43 PM ^
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August 16th, 2016 at 3:15 PM ^
Brady Hoke's debut and the game with 2 TD returns by Brandon Herron, including a 95-yarder. I was at that game-- we had a great time out in the downpour while it lasted. They started up again and called it off early in the 4th if memory serves. The players seemed to be having a pretty good time for the most part.
August 16th, 2016 at 3:21 PM ^
Also happened in 06 vs CMU and to some extent 2011 vs WMU
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August 16th, 2016 at 3:24 PM ^
August 16th, 2016 at 3:33 PM ^
Worst list:
Taylor Lewan derp getting Vincent Smith beheaded in the South Carolina game, as replayed 1,000 times a year.
Worst list:
StephenJRKing updating his avatar with an older, balder, creepier version of himself.
Best list:
StephenJRKing updating his avatar with an older, balder, creepier version of himself if the reason he always holds a finger over his chin is to cover a giant, hairy chin mole.
August 16th, 2016 at 3:58 PM ^
2 bests from the 2011 OSU game: Denard's 41-yard TD in the first quarter, and Courtney Avery's interception to end it.
1 worst from the misery of 2014: Gary Nova sidestepping Frank Clark's unblocked rush and throwing a touchdown at the end of the first half. Emblamatic of how we could have been a better team, but nonetheless managed to lose consistently.
August 16th, 2016 at 5:30 PM ^
2011 vs ND last min TD play holds a special place for me. It was the onl game I was able to watch live because I was deployed to Afghanistan at the time. Ill never forget that game.
August 16th, 2016 at 6:16 PM ^
August 16th, 2016 at 7:39 PM ^
but the moment my twitter feed said "Rashan Gary has committed to Michigan"
Work was fun the rest of that day.
August 16th, 2016 at 8:40 PM ^
Best:
2010: Denard to Roundree all day vs Illinois, but especially the first play to open the scoring.
2010: Same illinois game, Denard scrambles and throws to Hemingway instead of running, Hemingway somehow avoids 3 tackles after getting knocked back a couple of yards to score.
2014: Not really a play, but Gardner with Barrett after the injury
2005: Maybe too old, but vs Penn State, Henne tosses a TD pass to win the game on a last second play, which only happened because Carr successfully got some time added back on the clock just a play or two earlier.
WORST:
2011: Michigan has 3rd and goal inside the OSU 1, Denard scores only to have the play negated by a holding penalty AND a personal foul after the play made it 3rd and 25+. This of course followed two touchdown runs that were reversed after video replay
2006: Another old one, vs OSU when Crable roughed the passer on a 3rd down stop, giving OSU a fresh set of downs that they turned into points. Ultimately a play you can say lost us that game.
August 16th, 2016 at 10:01 PM ^
August 16th, 2016 at 10:54 PM ^
September 4, 2010: Brock Mealer touches the banner.
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/083115aaa.html
August 17th, 2016 at 1:33 AM ^
When Wolverine Devotee helped expose Brandon as a fraud and got him fired.
August 17th, 2016 at 10:17 AM ^
Nah it really doesn't. It has one.