OT- So this is what it looks like when you finally lose your football team

Submitted by iawolve on

***Warning- Read the post before the carpet bombing of neg bangs commence

My point is that with all our troubles, we have at least not seen these depths (which actually could be understandable based on the struggles the last three years). This is coming from an Iowa team, run by a well respected coach, that mailed it in last weekend against Minnesota. Bear in mind, this was a team that started the year ranked #9 and was given 1 in 10 odds by Vegas of playing in the NC game. However, it is also a team that has lost a fourth quarter lead in each of its 5 losses. 

Courtesy of the Iowa Press-Citizen:

"We lost the will to win"- Adrian Clayborn

"Something happened on the way up here: we just didn't have our heads in it"- Allen Reisner

The result was Minny pushing these guys around at the end of the game, just running at Iowa when they needed first downs to bleed the clock. As our fan base continues to roil, it isn't exactly smooth sailing everywhere else. Especially considering this was one of our leading coaching candidates three years ago. Better days can't come soon enough.

beastcoastinc

November 29th, 2010 at 2:23 PM ^

yeah but almost everyone felt like they only won their games last year because of a few lucky bounces...they didn't get any of those this year...except against us....damnit!

Topher

November 29th, 2010 at 2:23 PM ^

For all of its faults, a team that is not "all in" is NOT what Michigan '10 has gone through. 

The team definitely appears to have it together. There just aren't enough talented, experienced, well-coached football players.

snowcrash

November 29th, 2010 at 2:45 PM ^

...for the most part. The team was flat against UMass and got away with it. Other than that, it didn't have any big highs or lows. The Penn State game looked catastrophic at the time but in retrospect was merely bad.

UM this season was played like one of Joe Tiller's Purdue teams. We won the ones we were supposed to win, and didn't have the horses to stay with the top teams. 

dennisblundon

November 29th, 2010 at 2:26 PM ^

The fall from the top is a hard one and it's not pretty as any UM fan would agree. We are in the process of dusting ourselves off and climbing back toward the top. It takes a coach with strong will and a bit of arrogance which we have. RR has won everywhere he is been and still believes he is the man to bring us back to the top.

As for Iowa this loss is a horrific ending to a season that had high expectations. Character is built in these tough times and it sounds like some of their players quit on the team.

Vasav

November 29th, 2010 at 2:43 PM ^

The 2007 team had the hardest, most sudden fall from the top that I can remember. And they sucked it up, dealt with nagging injuries all season long, recovered, and were playing OSU for an outright Big Ten Championship to end the season. They never lost their fight thanks to strong senior leadership, and sent Lloyd out the way he deserved.

Likewise, VT this year recovered from a disastrous start to win 10 straight and will be playing for an ACC title and a BCS game this weekend. Kudos to them. I'll be rooting for them to finish 12-2.

VamosAzul

November 29th, 2010 at 2:30 PM ^

that even when we are down, it seems like the guys on our team are always "All In". When asked about the firing of their head coach, they respond in a positive manner saying things like: "We play for each other" or "no matter what happens, this team is a family". 

Bryan

November 29th, 2010 at 2:37 PM ^

I think it helps that for many of the players on the team have see where this team has come from. The previous two seasons were the worst in the program since the age of the dinosaurs and there is no room to go but up.

It fosters a sense of unity that teams who are only experienced with winning may lack, see Iowa. It's a getting in on the bottom floor mentality if you will, and if they're not all in it together, this thing could fail. 

.ghost.

November 29th, 2010 at 2:34 PM ^

I don't think it was an issue of Ferentz "losing the team."  It was the players who were reaching for some sort of excuse after getting beaten by the worst team in the Big 10.  Ferentz seems like a great coach, and I really haven't heard anything negative about the guy from any players.

El Jeffe

November 29th, 2010 at 3:17 PM ^

It's probably a picture from when he coached there. I'm not saying the poster shouldn't have found a picture of a glowering Barwise in M gear, but still...

EDIT: I am willing to entertain the notion that I missed your sarcasm. Lo siento if so.

Waters Demos

November 29th, 2010 at 2:38 PM ^

That's what's so compelling about this young M team. 

They play their hearts out despite all the criticism, etc... 

Their shortcomings aren't for lack of effort.  They're extremely likeable for that reason IMHE. 

DreadPower

November 29th, 2010 at 2:45 PM ^

Iowa is 7-5 with some nice wins (MSU, Penn State) but lost to Northwestern and Minnesota. Iowa has players claiming that they "lost the will to win" or "didn't have their heads in it", suggesting a lack of effort.

 

Michigan is 7-5 but pretty much lost to every good opponent. Our biggest wins were ND or Illinois, but our players played their asses off every week. There was never a moment when I thought our players weren't trying hard enough.

 

I'll take the team that plays hard.

dougr188

November 29th, 2010 at 3:02 PM ^

7-5 when you have a seasoned QB, expectation of 10 wins, and a team ready to make a splash that stops playing for each other is much worse.

7-5 when you have a first year starting QB, expectations of 7 wins, and a team playing together with no where to go but up.  I'll take it.

st barth

November 29th, 2010 at 3:55 PM ^

The Iowa 7-5 is definitely worse.  I have a connection with the Gopher program who said that their kids were pretty much resigned to just playing out the string after their poor start and Brewster was canned.  How does a team manage to show up and be less motivate than an oppenent like that?  Iowa should be embarrassed (and I guess Illinois too for that matter).  Ouch.

Don

November 29th, 2010 at 3:01 PM ^

Wow, I didn't know that dinosaurs were still around in the 1930s.

1934: 1-7 (0-6 Big Ten)

1935: 4-4 (2-3 Big Ten)

1936: 1-7 (0-5 Big Ten)

During this three year stretch, Michigan went 6-18, and was shut out eleven times. We were 0-3 against MSU, were outscored 0-100 by Minnesota, and outscored 0-93 by OSU.

And we were coached by the legendary Michigan Man Harry Kipke.

jtmc33

November 29th, 2010 at 3:02 PM ^

Some really big traditional programs are bitching, lashing-out, crying, whining, and freaking out as much as (maybe more than) we are right now:

Florida, Texas, Miami Fl., USC, Notre Dame, Georgia, Tennessee, Penn State

To a lesser degree (due to "less" traditional power - not less bitching, moaning, whining): 

Iowa, Washington, Colorado, BYU, UCLA, Pitt

Vasav

November 29th, 2010 at 3:45 PM ^

The top 5 - Oregon, Auburn, TCU, Stanford, and Wisconsin - have four national titles between them, with Auburn's 1957 title being the only one since WWII. Oregon and Wisconsin have never won national titles, while TCU won in 1935 and 1938, and Stanford won in 1926.