Braylonfest on BTN right now
Can't believe it was almost 10 years ago.
I forgot that Mike Hart had 1,000 yards by the 9th game that year...we can haz that this year?
Everyone was shocked that year when it was announced the game was going to be a 4:30 kickoff. I remember thinking this will be the closest thing we'll ever have to a night game at home.
Went to the game. The only good score in my end zone was the Hart touchdown in the first half. Every other critical play was in the opposite end zone.
It was very windy that day walking to the stadium. It made me very nervous for the kicking game. And even as we made our comeback, the stadium was dead silent on every single PAT. I'll never forget leaving that game. It took a long time before I fully processed what had just happened.
Our regular home uniforms look SWEET under the night sky.
You hear that, Dave Brandon? Our REGULAR uniforms. Something to keep in mind for this year's Notre Dame game.
I remember the wind that day, I had a football game starting earlier in the day and it was just huge gust after huge gust. Probably the overall windiest day I've been around for. Also, as a bit of trivia that I got from the Harrison High School folks who were in the press box watching the game where I was after my game was over, Lamar Woodley knocked Stanton out of the game in both the high school state championship Woodley's team won against Stanton's and in this game.
SHORTS WERE A BAD IDEA.
All those kids in Halloween costumes, freezing their asses off when they were already pissed that the 4:30 start was eating into the evening's planned festivities without OT... Feel like I heard from half my friends that next week that they bailed when things were bad because they were shivering so hard.
As for me, I think I did permanent damage to my vocal cords that day. This one, and that frigid night game at PSU in '06. After both games, I literally couldn't talk for a few days.
I started to get dizzy from the screaming. I remember a moment at the end of the first overtime when they went to a TV break, and the entire student section just slumped down onto the benches. We'd been bouncing and yelling for probably 45 minutes straight. Good times.
.....As Henne loads up for Edwards, a jump ball and it is..........taken away by Edwards! Spectacular touchdown!
/#1 putting in work
In retrospect Michigan State probably wishes they could have found a guy who didn't have a titanium rod for a tibia in one of his legs to cover Braylon.
And a corner that wasn't 5' 9'' or somewhere close to that.
...that I had recorded on the DVR from the other day. Now this game. Both games were a classic, but both games are the reason why many of us love Carr, but he drove us bat-shit crazy. In '04, why did we have to get into desparation mode before we decided to use our weapons. In his last game, where was that offense all season? We had so much NFL talent on that team and waited until we played Florida in the Captial One Bowl before we unleashed it all. ARGH! To this day, I love Carr...but I just wonder "what if we would've used all of the NFL level talent that we had how we should've?"
When evaluating the talent level of the '07 team, I think people fixated too much on high-profile 4-year starters (who, it should be noted, missed time with injury that year) and future NFLers (Henne, Hart, Long) and paid too little attention to weak spots (an O-line otherwise devoid of mature NFL talent and several holes on defense).
Still, if you look at the early '00s, UMich routinely had Top 5 NFL talent. No question ...
Lest we forget, Hart was banged up for a good portion of that season, and Henne was essentially standing on one leg after the Oregon game and throwing with a bum shoulder for about half the year, too. The bowl game was really the first time that offense was at full-strength since early September.
Sure, it's no excuse for the serious attitude and effort problems rampant on that squad (and there were MANY), but it explains the rather anemic offensive effort. I seem to remember that was a pretty consistent part of the latter Carr teams. Dinky, crippling injuries to key skill players in September and October, healthy and rested squad for the bowl game, and the playbook magically opened up.
Two thoughts:
* Braylon was one of the all-time greats (at any level) with jump balls.
* Does the blog really need a post every time Braylonfest is shown on TV? At this point I'd rather see something else entertaining (e.g., UMich vs. UVa in the 1989 basketball tourney).
Don't forget vs MSU 2007. Oh, btw, its on right now.
I missed a relative's wedding and most of a reception as I was at this game, but there were 36, 21 and 24-yard receptions from a certain WR that were worth the grief that I took from my family as a result. In addition to that, the 224 yards from Hart and a TD from Avant helped out as well. To this day, my cousin still gets a little irritated about this and the only thing I can say is, "But...there was Braylon Edwards...."
And here we go!
One thing I have never understood about the BTN replay of this game is why they show the first half in its entirety and then barely show any of the second half, which was much more exciting. That does not make sense.
I think I speak for everyone when I ask.....what in the HELL is that noise during that entire game broadcast?!
Sounds like an aiprlane getting ready to take off.
I left this game early and missed the "Braylonfest" that occurred. I missed it again as I'm just seeing this post. Maybe it's better that way...
Not that I really care considering how incredible watching that in person was, but the draft pick disparity in that game was almost totally overcome by Stanton and Herrmann. And yet the latter was still better than Ron English.
We went like 10 years without really legitimate competent defensive coaching. And we still haven't changed the scheme. Herrmann was as much a 4-3 under guy as Mattison is. I.e. technique/fundamentals really do matter that much.