MSU: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (and the Post-apocalyptic)
The Good:
1) Our first drive. It held such promise!
2) First half defense. Held them to 7 points!
3) Field position. Can’t complain about that, I guess
4) Turnovers created. They kept us in the game, for a while, and would have done even better had the officials not whistled that lateral dead..
The Bad:
1) The O-line. They were dominated for 2.5 quarters of the game, during which time we scored 0 points. At least this is the best front 7 we’ll face all year...
2) The D-line. They were also dominated for the pivotal 1st and 3rd quarters, during which period MSU scored 21 points. MSU’s O-line isn’t that good, but they looked great at times today. Can’t blame the wind for that; its on us.
3) The 3rd quarter in general. Tackling was emblematic of how bad these 15 minutes were for us. We whiffed on a lot of important plays, and got progressively worse through the quarter, allowing the juggalos to go up on us by 14. Thankfully it improved in the 4th. Our offense stank it up as well, pretty much across the board.
4) The playcalling on offense. I know Gorgeous Al has forgotten more about football than I know, and you can’t always have the answers, but I felt like we showed an unfortunate stubbornness reminiscent of our 2009 and 2010 collapses. If ever there was a time to bust out the I-form, it was the point at which it became obvious our shotgun running and passing games weren’t working. This did improve in the 4th quarter, but too little, too late.
5) 3rd down performance. After our best performances of the year in this regard, we put in our worst.
6) Denard’s performance. I hate to say it, as he’s a unique talent and all-around good guy, but Denard was just terrible. Or I dunno...maybe Tacopants’ little brother Taquitopants got his first start for us? Balls were as frequently underthrown as overthrown...
7) Gardner in relief. He didn't look ready for primetime.
The Ugly:
1) The wind. It turned a persistent problem—Denard’s accuracy—into a quagmire of Hamburger Hill proportions.
2) The 4th and Inches call with 7 minutes left. Just get the damned first down, guys.
3) Spielman. Just let Urban Meyer talk, please…
4) Gholston’s cheapshots. The guy is a thug, and if Dantonio doesn’t discipline him, then it says a lot about that program.
5) Bad memories of Big 10 campaigns past, whose turning points were depressing losses to the juggalos. See: 2009, 2010.
The Post-Apocalyptic:
1) Losing to the juggalos for the 4th straight year.
2) Denard’s injury. Despite his epically bad day, we’re still lost without him.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:12 PM ^
to succeed. The play calling was disgusting.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:24 PM ^
The plays were there for the taking in the passing game. I can think of probably 10 open receivers that were missed, most of them early, on what should have big big gains or touchdowns that could have put us in control.
I wouldn't say the playcalling was great (I think a few more screens would have helped with the pressure), and the fourth-and-1 play-action call was awful, but when receivers are running open and Denard can't hit them, that's not on Borges. Our quarterbacks just let us down in the passing game today.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:43 PM ^
Thing is the recievers were open because State would blitz. Denard got absolutely no time to hit them thanks to the O-line and not taking advantage of the blitzes by changing playcalling. I don't think we ran a single screen pass.
It was a bad game overall. However now we get to see how the coaches and players respond to losing. They say you can learn a lot more by losing than you can winning, and both coaches and players can learn a hell of a lot from this loss. If we can rebound then we gain a positive from the loss. If we tail-spin then damn.
October 15th, 2011 at 5:04 PM ^
I agree with your general sentiment. As for this part ...
Thing is the recievers were open because State would blitz.
... isn't that the job of the O-coordinator? Get receivers open behind the blitz and hope your QB can recognize the open guy and hit him. I just the think the "we got outcoached" stuff is inaccurate, because there was a lot of well-designed stuff that the players just didn't execute, including some should-have-been TDs.
October 15th, 2011 at 5:51 PM ^
Spileman? Urban? Is that one (both) of you?
October 15th, 2011 at 6:37 PM ^
Spielman?!?
I'm offended.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:12 PM ^
If another team blitzes, the running backs must help out. Vincent Smith was looking behind him most of the time he whiffed. Play calling was horrendous. Denard IS NOT improving as a passer.
October 15th, 2011 at 6:49 PM ^
Agreed about Denard. I don't know if he's making these throws in practice or something, but throwing, especially on the run, seems difficult for him. More and more I get the feeling that Denard, unfortunately, might not be the passer we thought he could be. He hasn't improved since the start of last year and now we aren't even utilizing him to the best he can be. Usually, his only completions are easy throws or bombs where the receiver makes the play completely.
I hate to say that, but it's the truth.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:23 PM ^
Two weeks with nothing to talk about but losing to those classless fuckers and even then only Purdue to wash the taste out of our mouth. But hey, at least we'll have the fun of Bacon's book coming out in the middle of it for more bad PR and hand-wringing.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:24 PM ^
I especially agree on Spielman. It felt a little biased, but also just points that didn't need to be made, a lot of empty words and bullsh*t
October 15th, 2011 at 5:02 PM ^
Did you catch Spielman saying he told his son to watch Mike Martin, so that he'd learn how the 3-tech should be played. DUH!
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October 15th, 2011 at 5:15 PM ^
I thought Spielman brought some defensive perspective that sorely lacking in the BTN broadcasts. He had a lot of insights into formations and fundamentals that aren't covered by other commentators.
October 15th, 2011 at 8:15 PM ^
He also had some gems about how Devin, no wait Denard, no wait Devin should be starting QB because...I mean, Mkike Martin should be lining up behind center and running the ball.
Spielman is a decent color guy, but he was off his game today. He just seemed like he could care less about both teams, and just mailed it in.
October 16th, 2011 at 12:12 AM ^
I don't think we have to wonder where those guys stand on the Denard/Devin issue. One thing that was odd was Urban Meyer kept harping on the importance of never pulling your QB when he used to do that all the time at Florida, pulling Leak for Tebow and then pulling Tebow for Percy Harvin as a wildcat QB.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:24 PM ^
is stellar. Even though I hate the bad, ugly, and post-apocalyptic, you pretty much spelled everything out perfectly. But fuck the result all the same.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:25 PM ^
At the very end of the game, right before they went to the announcers of the Texas game, Gholston went up to Coach Hoke. I could imagine what happened:
"Hey, Coach Hoke! BAM!!
October 15th, 2011 at 4:45 PM ^
Can I get a gif of his helmet twist?
October 15th, 2011 at 4:46 PM ^
I think that MSU outplayed us, regardless. However, I would never (and have not in the past) take any satisfaction from that dirty ass play of the Spartans throughout that game if it were my team. It's one thing for a coach to preach competition and rivalry, it's another thing to preach hate. Dantonio is exactly the person his team reflected him to be today.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:58 PM ^
I didn't watch very much of the game and didn't see this play. Did that MSU player get ejected? If not, why not?
October 15th, 2011 at 5:13 PM ^
The refs saw it, and flagged him. Somehow he avoided ejection, though, even though it was his second personal foul of the game. (Dantonio, being the "Dean of Discipline," sat Gholston for one play.)
October 15th, 2011 at 4:29 PM ^
And the bad part is, we knew MSU was going to put 8 men n the box to stop the run and blitzall day and we coundn't do anything about it. That's horrible coaching right there.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:45 PM ^
I know the coaching wasn't great, but don't act like their defensive players weren't better than our offensive players. Our players just have to get better on the field, not our coaches did a bad job.
October 16th, 2011 at 1:17 PM ^
Sad to say, but it's true. This will change after our monster 2012 and 2013 classes mature.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:32 PM ^
Good breakdown. I think that MSU's offensive line was solid, but that defensive line struggled against NW and ND for times as well. It is a decent unit without much depth or a dominant tackle (Martin seems more like a DE to me despite the fact he certainly can play inside). The LBs looked lost at times, but also made some plays. The defensive backfield actually played reasonably well save for those missed tackles. Cousins is a mediocre QB, but he can make plays if given time - he's won 21 games as a starter, which is impressive.
I think the defense will come back with renewed vigor in two weeks, and Denard should be solid as well. This team is still 6-1, and unlike past years this doesn't feel like a cratering as much as a tough loss to a good team.
October 16th, 2011 at 1:20 PM ^
And it did look like we could come back, even deep in the 4th quarter. Not sure we would have won, but we had that ability.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:34 PM ^
The good: Michigan's class and integrity
The ugly: MSU's lack thereof.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:35 PM ^
The ugly: uniforms
October 15th, 2011 at 4:41 PM ^
I hate that we're 0-4 since Mike Hart's comment. Boy has that ever haunted us. :(
October 15th, 2011 at 4:50 PM ^
two things I could get back from Hart:
1) Fumble against Florida. He deserved to go out without another fumble.
2) The "little brother" comment
October 15th, 2011 at 4:55 PM ^
yea that looks bad, but I think it's gonna get really sweet in the nxt couple yrs.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:44 PM ^
Not only did they often get just owned, but what was up with the at least 4 times Sparty rushed both inside LB's and we did not adjust to that? That is mostly a coaching issue granted, but that was ugly. Their DT's reallly pushed Molk et. al backward, and our guys were outright beat one on one several times. Very unfortunate, as I assumed the line would be a major strength this year.
Having said that, this is likely the best D we will face. I have faith things will get better. Glad for the bye week.
October 16th, 2011 at 1:22 PM ^
Found ways to bypass questionable O-lines. I don't want to second-guess the coaches too much on the basis of one game, because it's just one game. But I would like to see more of a short perimeter game to offset box stacking.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:56 PM ^
Denard is now leading the country in interceptions.
October 15th, 2011 at 5:01 PM ^
... please spare me all the Kirk Cousins "integrity" stuff. Speaking at the B1G meetings to the coaches.
What a load of crap.
We will win next year and in 2013 at Sparty Central we should hang at least 50 on them.
October 15th, 2011 at 5:02 PM ^
[double-post for some reason]
October 15th, 2011 at 5:01 PM ^
October 15th, 2011 at 5:06 PM ^
I bet you fit in well at Michigan State.
EDIT: This was supposed to be a response to the stupid comment directly above.
October 15th, 2011 at 5:06 PM ^
finish with 1 or 2 losses and this team will have a successful year, Our next game is in two weeks against a horrible Purdue team at home. Easy win. Then we play an Iowa team who is struggling this year another great chance for a win. Then it's Illinois, Nebraska who has to come to our staidum and beat us which I dont see happening and then a very winnable game against a struggling and horrible offensive lined Buckeye team. This season is far from over! This loss sucks. I hate MSU as much as the next Wolverine but were still in this thing.
October 15th, 2011 at 5:08 PM ^
but there's very little positive to take from the day. The OL is worse than thought, and so is the DL. Those are bad places to find out you're not so good. Serious gut checks by both are required if we're to contend for the Legends.
Obvs Denard needs one as well, he was NW-first-half bad all day today.
Anyone else think we need another elite DT in this recruiting class
October 15th, 2011 at 6:53 PM ^
to be worse next year as we lose Molk, Hyuge, Martin and Van Bergen without any quality replacements in line. I fear we may be in for another 3 year transition before we get back to playing Michigan football. Thanks a lot Bill Martin, you F'ing stooge.
October 16th, 2011 at 1:25 PM ^
Not to knock Martin or van Bergen, but I think improvement from our other 3 decent D-linemen (Roh, Black and BWC) will offset at least some of that loss, as should improvement from all 3 starting LBs.
On the offensive side of the ball, Huyge just isn't that great. Molk is the one player I think we'll really struggle to replace or offset the loss of with improvement elsewhere.
October 15th, 2011 at 5:20 PM ^
Let's keep some perspective here. There are different kinds of teams. Talented, complete teams (Wisconsin). Talented, undisciplined teams (MSU). Untalented, undisciplined teams (Minnesota). . . Michigan is an untalented, disciplined team. Our MVP is Denard and his decision-making has been mediocre to disastrous even when he had time to throw. Our defensive line has yet to scare anyone with a winning record. The offensive line has been doing well, but only by playing their hearts out against teams we had a chance against. MSU knew it had the talent and decided to blitz them.
It hurts to say this, but this loss tells me this team finally hit its limit. We all knew this team wasn't good enough to go undefeated. Everyone here damn well knew it, but it was just too painful to admit that we'd lose to MSU four times in a row. Especially to a bunch of thugs.
But I think the coaches knew what they were doing. At least, having picked apart every game so far, even what looked like bad play-calling always had a reason. Everyone worked to keep Michigan in the game, and it really was never out of hand until the pick-six. The problem is that Michigan just doesn't have dominating lines. We know that. The coaches know that. MSU knew that. To have gotten as far as they did is way, way more than we'd hoped for in the beginning of the season, really. They weren't supposed to have beaten Notre Dame or Northwestern.
It's too bad for the seniors, but the up-and-coming recruits will get their revenge. I know it's not much consolation now, but think about it: This is the WORST Michigan team we'll have over at least the next four years. And you know damn well Hoke and Mattison will use this loss as a launch pad to whip this team into a frenzy. Within three years I'll be expecting 1997-style domination.
October 15th, 2011 at 7:10 PM ^
We just aren't that great up front. That's our Achilles' heel and can't be easily remedied. Our defensive front has gotten pushed around a lot this year, but it's been masked by the fact that our back seven (particularly the safeties) have done a very good job of limiting big plays. Our offensive line has often struggled to get a push up front, but it's likewise been masked by the fact that our QB is extremely fast and (normally) doesn't get sacked often. Big, physical opponents are a major challenge for us. We managed to eek out a win against one (ND). We were unable to today.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:22 PM ^
The OL we are recruiting are maulers. Kalis and Mags are the kind of OL who move people. Braden is a huge kid with potential. Pipkins is a big, strong, nasty dude who plays low and eats up space. We tried for Sheldon Day, but struck out there. Anyone who isn't excited to see at least one of Wormley, Strobel or Godin slide down to the 3-tech needs to check their pulse. These kids are difference makers.
Hoke is building this team from the lines back. Our LB haul is impressive and all four of them are hitters. The RB for this class is probably looking at this game and thinking about how much we need a big back. Hope you are ready for a large workload, Mr. Dunn. Looking forward to watching you in spring ball after you EE and escape the insanity.
MSU's tackles don't belong on a 5-1 D1 team. That being said, we don't currently have the talent at DE to exploit them. Brown, Strobel, Wormley, Ojemudia and Godin are all going to have an open audition next summer and fall. You want early playing time? Show us a pass rush and you play now.
Blake Countess is going to be a star here. The kid played tough all day and was not afraid to stick his nose in and hit someone. As much as I have appreciated Floyd, his tackling is... Purdue level. I'm embarrassed. His coverage is much improved, granted, but Countess is the better cover corner in my opinion. T-wolf needs to get healthy and shouldn't see the field until after Purdue. Our safety play has been pretty invisible. After the past few years this isn't just an upgrade in play, this is the second coming of Brandent Englemon. Color me excited. The next step would be getting impact players. Mr. Thomas, just how early can you graduate?
October 16th, 2011 at 1:26 PM ^
We will return to "normal" Michigan levels of talent and execution in the trenches.
October 15th, 2011 at 6:44 PM ^
that is a perfect name for them, except for the fact that I actually like Faygo.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:42 PM ^
This game was really lost in the 4th quarter.We played bad and were still IN this game.Im sure it will get turned around after the much needed bye week.
October 15th, 2011 at 9:59 PM ^
The ugly for me has to be Jordan Kovacs play-making today. For me, he's been the best defensive guy in this year's team. However, all the magic he showed in ND game went down the dump in EL. He missed several huge tackles, 2 of them ending up in touch-downs. I hope he gets the mojo back in this bye-week
October 15th, 2011 at 11:01 PM ^
The Ugly: The officiating. Why wasn't the bubble screen/lateral fumble no-call reviewed? The explanation given by the announcing crew was that since the "player stopped" they couldn't rule it an immediate recovery. Looked like a pretty clear immediate recovery to me but the ball wasn't advanced after the whistle.