My experience from the BWW Bowl

Submitted by B1G_Fan on

  Being at the game and being able to see the entire field was an eye opening experience for me. There where a few plays i'm not sure translated to TV. I haven't actually watched my DVR of the game yet but, there where several times where you just couldn't beleive what you where seeing. The first play was the play after Funchess stepped out of bound and almost scoring. Michigan lined up with plenty of time on the play clock. to the left side of Morris, you had Lewan and AJ williams on the outside of him. Kansas state had one defender about 2 foot outside of Williams and nothing else. In my head i'm thinking If williams can seal that Defensive back this is a TD and an easy one. There was nobody on the left side of the field, both safeties had cheated over to the right. The ball is snapped and Michigan runs to the right side for a loss.

 The defense substituted way too much. I'm fine with substituting here and there but there where alot of plays where Michigan wouldn't have Countess on the field. Ramon taylor played most of if not all of the snaps on the other side but Stribbling, Lewis and Countess all rotated on the other side way too much. I could say the same thing about Avery at safety. The defense played good enough to win in the second half.

 I would say the most frustrating thing for me as a fan tho was 6'6 Funchess lining up on the outside in man to man coverage with a 5'6 - 5'8 ( he was the same height as Gallon) on him and no help. They had this match up most of the day. A few times they motioned Funchess into coverage. From my seat in the endzone it was hard to see run plays.

 I wouldn't say play calling was predictable on our side, we just didn't take advantage of clear mismatches. Personally I had some pretty cool moments tho. Touissants TD at the end of the game was right in front of our seats pretty much and in the second half me and Brennen Beyer had a moment lol. it was during a timeout and Beyer was trying to get the crowd pumped and I was up at the rail yelling as loud as i could and pointing at each other. It was pretty damned cool in my book.

 The crowd was heavily in favor of Michigan but most of the Michigan fans where extremely old. I was sitting in the "wild zone" and it was extremely quiet most of the game. I was the only Michigan fan on my feet and making any type of noise. The state police had to get me off the rail a few times hehe. The fans behind the Michigan sideline and the band where by far our loudest fans.

 i do have a question for some folks who normally attend games. KSU fans seemed a lot more organized. After ever score they cheer Ksu offense, ksu offense, ksuuuuuuuu offense and things like that but honestly the only cheering i ever heard from Michigan fans where the generic Defense chant and once a Let's go Blue. Is that normal? i need to know this stuff because my next game will be at the Big House. i need to see how Home fans get down at games.

 

Bergs

December 30th, 2013 at 1:35 AM ^

Actually, this is a cool story. B1G_Fan posted a thread the other day saying that the BW3 bowl would be the first ever Michigan game he's attended and I'm glad to see that he did a follow-up.

Also, I'm glad to see that despite his favorite team clearly underperforming he still provided enthusiastic support. We could use more of that around here right now.

GoWings2008

December 30th, 2013 at 9:01 AM ^

You said, "Cool Story bro" in a way that comes across as sarcastic and not really meaning it.  When you really do think its a cool story and not in the "cool story bro" meme, then you should NOT say "cool story bro."  You should say something else.

I know, its confusing and all.  But just trust me on this.  Next time, if you really do think its a cool story, you should say something like "Hey dude, sounds like you had a great time.  Thanks for sharing your experience with the Blog."

UMgradMSUdad

December 30th, 2013 at 1:09 AM ^

I'm guessing that a lot of the Michigan fans at this game were either older than most fans, so don't always participate in all the cheers, or don' t typically attend Michigan games so aren't familiar with the cheers.

As for the offense, given Shane's lack of experience, I'm guessing he wasn't doing much audibling at the LOS.

As for the substitutions, I almost got the sense that the coaches were using this as an exhibition game to try out various younger players in game situations.

Foreverjian

December 30th, 2013 at 1:18 AM ^

I took my gf to the game, it was her first michigan game ever and my first in almost a decade.  I was blown away by the KSU fans and their excitment levels.  It was almost embarrassing how quiet the michigan side was.  I was in a neutral fan area and the UM fans around me were far more hyped up than anything I saw or heard from the 'michigan side'.  I know it was a rough game to watch, but man, our fan base is just tired of the last 2 seasons I think.

B1G_Fan

December 30th, 2013 at 1:32 AM ^

 I haven't uploaded all my pictures yet but here are a few

Photo

 Pre game heading to our seats

Photo

 The first thing i see walking up to the stadium during the Tailgating

Photo: Go blue!!!

and my wife and I during warm ups Go Blue!

Photo

 

B1G_Fan

December 30th, 2013 at 2:32 AM ^

 i was driving so i had Coke lol she had Strawberry ritas. A little alcohol and the cold doesn't bother anybody. Sad tho I have acclimated to the temperature out here. When it drops below 50 i'm wearing a hoodie (thats my winter coat :D)

and she did throw on my other hoodie halfway through the first or second quarter. She tried to be a warrior . She was trying to get us on TV lol or an autograph. I love my wife, her exact quote when i said we cant get one was " I'm sure if i bend over that rail I can get us one"

Jgruss42

December 30th, 2013 at 1:47 AM ^

Road games are always risky.

I live in Chicago and have seen UM okay at Illinois, Northwestern and ND.

You can never tell what the drive home is going to be like.

Seeing a game in Ann Arbor is always special for me - win or lose. I being my kids once a year (they are 9 and 11). We walk around campus and I buy them pretty much anything they want with a block M on it. We walk to the stadium with the band. We stay after the game to watch the band post-game show.

I usually bring them for a crappy September game: cheaper tickets, better weather = easier day with 2 kids.

I am glad you went to the bowl game. On TV I thought the fans sounded pretty equal for KSU and UM (given the circumstances). It's not always easy being a fan, but if you suffer a little bit with your team's losses, the wins are that much sweeter.





funkywolve

December 30th, 2013 at 2:17 AM ^

Agree.  I've scratched my head most of the year with how much they substitute on defense.  I understand the dline needs to be subbed some, but they seemed to sub most of the positions all the time. 

Maizenblueball

December 30th, 2013 at 5:02 AM ^

I'm glad you guys had a good time, despite the outcome of the game.

Also, I know what you mean about living in warmer climates making you soft.  I swear, I became a wuss when it comes to cold weather, after moving from Michigan to southern California.

TallyWolverine

December 30th, 2013 at 5:36 AM ^

Having been in Tallahassee since 1988 and having attended many FSU games, I am used to being in crowds that are loud and rowdy. Even the older fans get into the war chant.

My first Michigan game ever was the Nebraska game this year and most of the people around me didn't make a lot of noise, young or old. I felt like a moron yelling with a heavy southern accent, but like you, I couldn't just sit there. I was just so excited to finally get to see my team and to be at the Big House.

Good insight and great pics.

ilah17

December 30th, 2013 at 7:31 AM ^

So glad you had fun! We've been to a few bowl games and always enjoyed them, win or lose. Wish we could have made it out for this one. My experience at bowl games is that when UM is losing, the UM fans stop cheering. We went to the 2007 Rose Bowl and I was definitely one of a very few still cheering when we had the ball in the 4th quarter. As for the Big House, the cheerleaders lead quite a few cheers by holding up big cards on the field telling the fans what to say, the band prompts Hail to the Victors quite often, people with cow bells prompt Go Blue and sometimes in the second half we do the wave, which is always fun. Hope you enjoy your first game this fall!

ilah17

December 30th, 2013 at 9:51 AM ^

Well I don't think that's true when the game is still close. When there's no chance, it's probably true. But I'm the kind of fan who cheers when I'm at the game no matter what the score is. When I'm watching at home, that's a different story. haha

LSAClassOf2000

December 30th, 2013 at 7:32 AM ^

I was actually hoping that the OP would post a followup to the thread from the other day because I know that many of us have shared our first game stories here and it is always great to hear about how the experience of those seeing Michigan football for the first time in person went. 

B1G_Fan - I am glad to hear you had a good time despite the outcome. Win or lose, there is no memory quite like the first time you see Michigan play in person. Mine was at the age of seven in Ann Arbor as they took on a Bobby Ross-coached Maryland team, so not nearly as exciting as a bowl, to be sure. 

HELLE

December 30th, 2013 at 8:14 AM ^

from fans who go to games and have a great time win or lose. I think fans that watch games from their couch have a much more difficult time dealing with the ups and downs of Michigan Football.

ehatch

December 30th, 2013 at 9:17 AM ^

I was upper deck around the 15 yard line.  No old people in my section.  We weren't making noise because we had absolutely nothing to cheer about.  We were still quiet (even by Michigan standards).  We tried making noise on third downs, and the defense pissed those opportunities away and we didn't have another chance to make noise the rest of the game.  

I thought the offense played decent, though I would have liked to see a few more downfield passes.  It was a great game plan to start with screens and sweeps, but once KSU adjusted and we were down it was time to start going with deeper passes.  

I cannot express how awful the defense was.  After the 3rd down scramble by their non-running QB, the defense quit.  When they bothered to be within 5 yards of a reciever they missed the tackle.  Mattison was equally terrible, there were several plays that were wide open by alignment.  Bubble screens and the middle of the field were wide open.  

Unlike the OP, I have been to probably over 150 Michigan games, but this was my first game in over 3 years.  

Highlight of the night was the free beer I got at 4 Peaks (It took them 10 minutes to change the tap on the beer I ordered).  

evenyoubrutus

December 30th, 2013 at 9:38 AM ^

After reading this I am convinces Mike Debord would produce better results than Al Borges. At least he found ways to exploit mismatches. Borges doesn't even seem to understand what a mismatch is or how it relates to football.

jaysvw

December 30th, 2013 at 10:40 AM ^

The worst part of going to that game was all the pity from K-State fans that were sitting around us.  Yes, pity.  From K-State fans.  We are a national joke at this point, all our high paid coaches and good recruting classes just to get beat (demolished really) by a team full of JuCo kids recruited to a school with 1/4 the budget Michigan has.  Fuck, I can't wait for Sept 2014 to come.

Don

December 30th, 2013 at 10:59 AM ^

KSU would be far more into the game—both players and fans—than Michigan, because of the nature of the two programs. They don't view themselves as being at the apex of college football— nor does anybody else—and having never played the mighty Michigan Wolverines, they were undoubtedly pretty excited at the opportunity to prove they could play with the big boys.

By contrast, neither the Michigan football program or their fans viewed playing a non-power in a minor bowl named after a greasy fried chicken product as anything more than a vast disappointment, and our players played exactly like that was the case.

 

jaysvw

December 30th, 2013 at 3:26 PM ^

I think this is one of the fundemental problems with the Michigan football program.  We still look at ourselves as nationally relevant when in fact we haven't been since 2006.  Far from being the "big boys", beating Michigan, in the eyes of most fanbases isn't what it used to be.

Michigan came out flat and uninspired becuase like you said, the fans and the team looked down their noses at K-State and the BWW bowl in general.  They should have come out fired up with a chip on their shoulder because the reality is, outside of Michigan fans, the country thinks we are a joke.  Crazy as it sounds, recruits watch ESPN and use the internet.  At what point does all the embarassing losses and bad press hurt recruiting (Alabama engineering, hur hur)? That's why games like the BWW bowl are so crucial even if it's not the game we wanted to be in.