Michigan Vs. Florida Capital One Bowl - Offense
This game is currently being played on the Big Ten Network. It just started, but it brings back memories because this is one of my favorite Michigan games of all time.
Circumstances weren't great and the stakes weren't high, but it was Coach Carr's last game and I was thoroughly impressed with how our boys played. Additionally, it was against the Heisman Winner and Florida, who were supposed to kick our butts...
It's very impressive to see how our offense came blazing right out of the gate. I think this was one of the most well planned offensive games Michigan has played in a while.
Still think this team was great and could've and should've competed for the NC that year. App State really took us by surprise and took the wind out of our sails...oh, what could've been...
August 15th, 2009 at 5:14 PM ^
was not focused and disciplined to play schemes early in the year...they got torched by Oregon, after the App State debacle. It was nice to see them beat Florida like that, but overall the inconsistency of that season is one of the bigger disappointments in recent memory.
Looks like BTN has the 1999 MSU game on tap... oh boy.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:17 PM ^
Very inconsistent year...
I am still very impressed by Henne's rhythm with his WR's in this game
August 16th, 2009 at 1:04 AM ^
It's easy to forget given the 38-7 result, but we did put up 287 yds total offense vs Oregon in the first half before Henne & Hart left with injuries (in a game over at halftime 32-7).
And in the fourth qtr in the opener, we drove five times into App State territory, but scored only one Mike Hart touchdown (2 pt conversion missed.) I think we could be disappointed with poor execution in the clutch (we took a couple of critical penalties and Henne threw a first down INT), but even w/ the first game blunders we still scored 32.
The defense, on the other hand, got smoked w/ Johnny Sears and the young Stevie Brown on the field.
Up until that year, I considered Henne to be lacking in leadership. What he (and Hart) did to will that team to eight straight wins while putting himself at risk for further injury giving everything he had was heroic.
Florida had no idea what the healthy Mich was capable of. Had Hart not fumbled twice at the goal line on first downs, we could have put up 55.
August 16th, 2009 at 7:01 AM ^
Go back and watch the game and count how many men were on the field for FG attempts and punts. I remember at least one time Mike Hart trying to run on the field to be the 11th man.
August 16th, 2009 at 8:12 AM ^
The App. State game was hubris personified. Nobody wearing maize and blue took that game seriously - players, coaches, fans. Nobody. It was viewed as a glorified scrimmage, and was played and coached accordingly. Hart's absence for a large chunk of that game (while the defense was getting sliced apart) showed how little respect the coaches had for App. State. They figured, hey, he's a little dinged up, doesn't matter, our other backs can handle this. Is there any doubt that Hart is in there much sooner if that's Ohio State on the other side and not Appalachian State?
August 16th, 2009 at 2:01 PM ^
You've summed it up perfectly.
August 16th, 2009 at 3:15 PM ^
I'm not ready to go back and watch that game. It still hurts.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:19 PM ^
sorry to be off topic and completely irrelevant, but does anyone know if there are any recently made rosters for ncaa10 on xbox? i use the lanteri87 one but there have been a lot of changes.
once again sorry to be off topic but i'm not allowed to post new material.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:24 PM ^
Thanks Zero...
and to redeem myself after going off topic:
This was the first Michigan game that I watched after I was accepted to UM. Got me really excited to be a part of it.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:26 PM ^
one of the best football games I have ever seen. Maybe the best.
I have never been so on the edge before.
And to beat the team who kicked the ass of OSU was sweet.
even die hard bucks fans were rooting for us that time.
ahh, memories.
August 15th, 2009 at 9:56 PM ^
Definitely a great game but better than Ohio State 2006 or Iowa 1997 or Penn State 1997? That Iowa game is what proved to me that we had the chops to go all the way.
August 15th, 2009 at 10:25 PM ^
Yeah, I mean, these are the words of someone who hasn't been following the team since we beat OSU last. Games I liked more:
2002 vs. Washington - Holy Brabbs.
1997 vs. Iowa - Huge 2nd half comeback.
2004 vs. PSU - Mario
1996 vs. OSU - the Springs slip
1995 vs. OSU - Biakabatuka
1997 vs. OSU - Obvi.
2003 vs. OSU - Navarre shakes the monkey from his back.
2000 vs. 'Bama - 30Ts.
2001 vs. Iowa - Marquise Walker's 1 hand bonkers catch FTW.
1997 vs. WSU - Obvi.
2002 vs. PSU - 1st OT game in Michigan Stadium.
August 15th, 2009 at 10:33 PM ^
that Mario game against PSU was in 2005 not 2004.
EDIT
Also that 'Bama game was 1 OT not 3 OT
August 15th, 2009 at 11:43 PM ^
Mario was a typo. Bama was my bad. Sorry all.
August 16th, 2009 at 9:19 AM ^
but that Citrus bowl was sweet. We rarely were such dogs as we were in that game. The season was a disappointment, the players were a disappointment, Coach Carr apparently stayed one season too long, we were going down to Florida to play a fine, fine Florida team in what amounted to a home game for them; how many of us were preparing or at least partially expected to be humiliated and embarrassed? All those games you mention were great but few moved me like that Citrus bowl win did.
August 16th, 2009 at 1:21 PM ^
was one of my personal favorites. Junior year at Michigan and my family came from PA with a few of my home town friends(family + friends all die hard PSU fans) and we won that game in overtime! Growing up in PA and the streak of wins we had against them always made going home fun for me not for them.
I can still hear the chants " We own Penn St We own Penn St".
August 15th, 2009 at 5:28 PM ^
That offense would have won the whole damn thing.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:29 PM ^
I love all those players from 04-07 BUT they were easily one of the most underachieving classes for the talent.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:40 PM ^
They went 9-3, 7-5, 11-2 and 9-4. It wasn't that bad, especially considering that Hart missed large portions of '05 and '07, and Henne was also injured for much of '07. They had one inexplicable loss (App St.) but otherwise had pretty good careers.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:47 PM ^
Very true but also 0-4 vs OSU and 1-4 in bowl games. They were one pitch away vs Neb in winning another bowl game but wasn't to be. Like I said I loved those teams, some of my fav but they loss the big ones. I will also give credit to them for taking the hearts out of MSU every year.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:54 PM ^
I can't get too worked up about the OSU record given that Hart never had a chance to play them at home when healthy, and that Henne was practically crippled in '07. Jim Tressel's caught his share of breaks against us.
They were 1-3 in bowls, unless you're counting the 2003 team as well. The three losses were to Vince Young and Texas (on a last-second FG), Pete Carroll's USC, and Nebraska. They shouldn't have lost to the Huskers (actually, they might not have if not for some comically bad officiating) but the other two are hardly embarassing.
August 15th, 2009 at 7:04 PM ^
We had such bad luck with injuries to many key players, at key times throughout that season, we could have done a lot more.
August 15th, 2009 at 6:02 PM ^
CITRUS BOWL.
August 15th, 2009 at 6:32 PM ^
That was the best game I have ever watched.
August 15th, 2009 at 7:18 PM ^
This is up there. But I say the Alabama game was. Along with the 2004 MSU game and the 1997 OSU game.
August 15th, 2009 at 9:47 PM ^
the bowl victory over Alabama in the late 1980s, when Kolesar catches the ball falling backwards. You can hear McGwire murmur "touchdown" before Costas yells "TOUCHDOWN!"
Best ever Michigan game, though, is always the next victory.
August 15th, 2009 at 7:00 PM ^
It's not much of a surprise that we played the way we did. The scheme was shocking for sure and left most of us with the "huh? where did that come from" taste in our mouths. But I do think that this was one of the only games where we had ALL of our players healthy. On top of that the coaches and players had the motivation win to stack their resume and the players to send Lloyd out a winner. Great game either way.
August 15th, 2009 at 7:17 PM ^
Hopefully Tate can bulk up like Henne did.
The 2004 MSU game on BTN last night it said Henne was 6'2 and like 206lbs. Not much more than Tate ( Tate in 2 months from now)
About a MOnth ago Tate was listed at 190. Maybe hes up to 193-195 now.
August 15th, 2009 at 9:49 PM ^
Tate is just fine as he is right now. He will naturally grow 8-10 pounds, mostly muscle, over the next couple of years.
The last thing you want in a spread offense is a QB who can't run more than 4 yards in the pocket before looking to get sacked. That, was Chad Henne after he "bulked up."
August 16th, 2009 at 12:19 AM ^
Chad Henne wasn't a runner before that either. It was stated before that his ideal playing weight would be around 200 lbs.
August 16th, 2009 at 12:33 AM ^
Wasn't Henne a track star in high school? I think his issues with running were more a lack of instict than a lack of physical skill.
August 16th, 2009 at 12:40 AM ^
11.2 in the 100 meters, babby.
August 16th, 2009 at 12:43 AM ^
I think he also won the state title in the javelin, or came close.
The few times Henne did scramble, I thought he looked reasonably fast. It's just he only had straight-line speed. His lateral mobility was iffy.
August 16th, 2009 at 8:11 AM ^
I always thought an intersting comparison for scrambling was between Henne and a guy like Tyler Donovan - the dude who played QB for Wisconsin that year (or even Todd Boekman, if you'd prefer). I'm pretty sure Henne was FASTER than both of them, but he had no feel for when, or where to run when things started going bad. When Henne felt pressure, he turtled - he put both arms on the ball and crouched. Donovan and Boekman both murdered us that year with 8 and 9 yard scrambled on 3rd and long.
August 15th, 2009 at 7:31 PM ^
...and Matthews can catch a punt.
August 15th, 2009 at 7:33 PM ^
To me, the main reason UM won that game is because Carr consistently went against his tendencies. It was as though he was asking an assistant to predict what play he was going to call and then calling something totally different.
If Carr had been that unpredictable during his last four years, that group of players wouldn't have underachieved and Carr would still be coaching at UM. Even USC can't just say "here we come, try to stop us" and be successful anymore.
At any rate, it was great to see Carr go out with a quality win.
August 16th, 2009 at 2:32 AM ^
is incorrect, in fact if they had won that rose bowl against USC he would've retired after that game and not even been around for '07 (and mark dantonio may be the coach of UM right now...) he wasn't forced out, he left because he wanted to
August 16th, 2009 at 9:48 AM ^
I have also heard murmurings that Carr had contemplated retirement had he been able to leave a winner in the Rose Bowl. I always wondered had he announced his retirement prior to the bowl game how UM would have shown against SC
August 15th, 2009 at 8:49 PM ^
I was at the game and it was beautiful to watch. I live in Florida and at the time I was deciding whether to go to college in Florida for free or pay ludicrous amounts to go to Michigan. Something about the game made my decision clear. UM Class of 2012 :)
August 15th, 2009 at 10:03 PM ^
"Exceptional play by Stevie Brown." Haven't heard that one too many times.
August 15th, 2009 at 10:48 PM ^
only 2 people in my pool of 10 picked U of M (1 was me) when they were all M fans and all knew M could win ha i showed them to always trust the big blue i loved this game
August 15th, 2009 at 11:13 PM ^
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/sports/ncaafootball/16gators.html?hpw
Oh, and:
Florida: National Champion
Florida: Ass kicked by Michigan
Florida: National Champion
....
August 15th, 2009 at 11:47 PM ^
The middle part was due to the liberal amount of pressure applied by Ron English. If teams did that this year, Florida would have a hard time moving the ball. All they had against UM was Harvin and um, they don't have him anymore.
August 17th, 2009 at 1:11 PM ^
One word: JamarFuckingAdams
He was BEASTLY in that game
August 15th, 2009 at 11:50 PM ^
What I can't figure out is why we never spread the field like that before. Everyone on offense was on fire and in rhythm. And with the defense we had we certainly should have won more games that year. Why wait all the way until the final game to do this?? Carr did what Sweatervest did to UM in '06: He all of a sudden switched to a spread. But why wait til this game to do it??
August 16th, 2009 at 1:11 AM ^
I was never as emotionally attached to Lloyd as I am with other coaches of teams that I live for, but I teared up big time when he was carried onto the field.
He will be forever immortalized in my MGOBLOG icon.
August 16th, 2009 at 2:58 AM ^
I remember after that game everyone was saying "Oh, that's what rich rod's offense is going to look like and we're going to be great in 2008"
Yeah...
My favorite part wasn't the offense, but those two 4 and outs at the end of the game.
August 16th, 2009 at 1:30 PM ^
was a great game and I have to think ole Rich Rod had some pointers for Deboring in that game on the spread attack. Also Coach Carr was a great coach and he won a National Title for us so for me he is a great coach. Now the game itself was the end of the old Michigan and the start of the new Michigan. That was the last game of Bo's guys and Bo himself and Carr went out a winner.
August 16th, 2009 at 10:31 AM ^
for over 100 years--its impossible to define that 'greatest game ever'. But, it sure is fun to talk about.
What gets me is that when i watch the re-runs of the games, even though i know the outcome, my heart still gets to pumping and before you know it i am yelling at the tv.