4) How ma ass taste?
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Questions for Irish
5) Where is your God now?
6) Did you think the beam of sunlight (in combination with the rainbow) would help you?
it would have been a double rainbow
/OMGWHATDOESITMEAN
Ha. In the fourth quarter, the ND fan behind me at the game when the sun started peeking through was like "God is shining on Notre Dame now, what do you think of that?" I simply responded with "Denard."
7. Do you realize all our touchdown Jesus wear dreads at Michigan now?
8. Still think Michigan is a bottom 3 Big Ten team, and if yes...
8a. What would that makes Notre Dame, and, extra credit...
8b. Is that why they won't join the Big Ten?
If the original answer is no, go to #9.
While I don't feel the need to pour salt on the wound so blatantly, I will say it was nice to actually feel like we were going to win after the 95 yd. ND touchdown. Even in our hey day of the mid 90s, I was always a cynical (i.e., average) Michigan football fan. Yesterday, right after the long ND TD, I said to everybody I was with that we were going to win. Such a great feeling to have that kind of confidence in our offense. Thank you Denard, O-line, Tay, Roundtree, etc.
that I felt that confident given our inabilty to move the ball in the 2nd half.
was "it feels like we're down 7" when we were up by 4
I had the exact same reaction. I only had two concerns at the start of the drive: that the coaches would play safe for a field goal and overtime or we would score too fast and leave too much time on the clock. I can't remember feeling that "we have them right where we want them" way before, losing in the final minutes.
when we did score on our final drive, I still wasn't comfortable until Crist's final pass went into the Tuba section.
Hey, remember when ND scored on that 95 yard pass to Rudolph? and the sun came out and the rainbow appeared over ND stadium? and you assumed god was on your side?
you were wrong.
versus the field goal was in character for Kelly. The young QB just didn't give the Iris. If he get's 7 he's a genius. Going to be some good matchups between 2 very good teams in the future.
Unless a coach has a super awesome trick play ready for that situation, why not take the 3 points and go into the locker room on a high note? It's not worth the risk of getting 0.
Also, ND needed 3 scores, and a FG makes it a 2 score game.
With a veteran starter at quarterback and the Irish receivers, I think they've got a decent shot at scoring a touchdown there. It's still a gamble, but it's a huge payout if they make it.
When the starter is out and the third-string quarterback is playing, though, it's definitely a mistake. I don't think it would have been a much better idea with Crist playing. Crist did throw the ball out of the end zone on the hail mary at the end of the game, after all.
Also, ND needed 3 scores, and a FG makes it a 2 score game.
At the time, I thought Kelly should have kicked the FG also. But after thinking about it some more, I am not so sure. At the time, Kelly didn't know whether he was going to get Crist back or not. Obviously, if you know Crist is coming back into the game, you take the points and go into halftime with the score a little closer. But if you think you're going to have Nate Montana for the rest of the day, this might be one of the only chances you'll have to get into the end zone--and being down 14 already, field goals aren't going to be enough. So I think it was a respectable decision by Kelly, even if I still think kicking the sure 3 was the better call.
I love that that Denard Heisman pose photo also includes Manti Te'o getting heisman stiff-armed.
time in a couple of years I think I had this calm come over me when they scored the long TD. This really looks like it is going to be a fun ride and everyone just needs to climb aboard and enjoy the ride!
If ND had their starting QB the whole game, it could easily have been a different story. Their D also held us to only one score in the entire second half.
It's not like we dominated and they were pathetic. Both teams are young and still learning new systems. But both teams look like they are back.
(But it was nice though to pop the bubble of that whole "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow" thing. The same sun shines on our ass too.)
After all the Michigan injuries, transfers, it feels good to win, we also have played under a constant cloud. I've realized your team is only as good as your second stringers, I'm glad to have Tate and devin as our second string qbs, because I'm damn sure Tate could have outperformed Rees or Montana, go blue!
UM took that QB out with their defense. He didn't get hurt in practice or in an accident on the way to the game. They earned having the backup coming in and the poor results that ensued.
But they didn't
And we won.
To hell with Notre Dame.
Hey, remember when ND scored on that 95 yard pass to Rudolph? and the sun came out and the rainbow appeared over ND stadium? and you assumed god was on your side?
you were wrong.
You got Denarded?
nice
I didn't have a problem with the play call but the ball shouldn't have been thrown, at least not to that side. With the TD call, I thought if was a good call. Without Crist in the offense I thought the game hinged on ND getting a TD there, thought the game was over when they missed it.
Pretty good if they stay healthy, Floyd's numbers have been down in the first two games with the new system and new starting QB. Both have yet to finish the year without getting injured for multiple games. And there still needs to be a draft next year before they can be taken anyway.
Not sure what the problem is with the deep passes. Rudolph's big TD shows the arm Crist has but the throws into the endzone, guess he just needs the receiver to run for an extra 10 secs before he releases the ball. I am sure its partly nerves and him trying not to make a mistake, but he seems to have trouble deciding how much air to put under the ball. He still played well, really well well if you take out the int. If he is in for 4 quarters the outcome would have been different, you guys dodged a bullet.
It seemed like Crist was going to be out for the game, and even if Kelly thought he would come back, he'd have good reason to think he wouldn't be as effective (with the vision difficulties). It was a gutsy call that didn't work out, but seeing how bad the ND offense was without Crist, I think it was probably the right call.
This loss was a lot easier than last years, expected it to be a good game going into it and it was but not for all the right reasons. ND losing Crist for anytime this year was going to be a tough for the offense and every ND fan knew it, let alone in the 2nd game of the year for nearly half the game. ND's defense is what kept them in the game despite Robinson going off and that is saying something after last season, not to mention again his performance.
I will give Denard all the credit he deserves, but I pray UM finds yards from someone else on the team to help him out in the offense. 40 passes and 30 rushes a game is a stiff pace to continue for one player the rest of the year. I want to see him do the same thing to the rest of UM's schedule but he won't be able to do that if he falls apart like forcier did from all the hits he took last year.
The only game I root for ND, Good luck Irish, too bad it’s a trap game every year for ND.
yeah still wish ND was able to separate the big ten games more, I liked playing Purdue last out of the bigten schedule in previous years.
I'm just trying to hijack this thread as high up the page as possible to warn other latecomers: don't bother reading further down; Irish has already responded in a very reasonable fashion to a few serious questions, despite a load of antagonistic (but friendly?) jabs. What follows is mostly just a bunch of similar posts from fellow MGoBoarders who can't be honest with themselves.
Irish - it's being reacted to strongly because it does sound something like an excuse, but anybody who watched the game and is actually trying to think would use the exact phrase "dodged a bullet" to describe Michigan's good luck yesterday. If, without injuring any college kids or breaking any laws, we could guarantee that every opponent was forced to play at least 2 possessions with a newborn fawn playing quarterback, fuck yeah we would want that to happen.
And yesterday's game did not play like "whoever scores last wins" all the way through. It started off something like that, but then there was a period when it seemed a lot like Michigan would win by 20 because ND's QBs just weren't going to be able to answer. And then the second half started and shit turned around real quick and M just barely righted the ship and started stopping Crist and Co.
Of course I won't say that Michigan would've lost if it weren't for Crist's injury, but I'm not a fucking joker so I'll admit that his absence certainly hurt ND and if I were a ND fan I'd absolutely think he could've made the difference.
So, fellow M fans - I just recommend that you don't kid yourselves and waste Irish's time and abuse his good nature by acting like Crist wouldn't have changed ND's expected value of total points scored (or like that's not an important value). That makes you sound like a liar and/or a sore winner - just take the win and maintain your integrity. Also, don't act like you're proud of Michigan's ability to injure quarterbacks. That just makes you sound like a dick.
I was listening to the game on the radio so maybe live it would have looked a lot different, but I got the feeling your QB situation was more Michigan 2008 than Michigan 2009, with Crist playing Threet and Montana as Sheridan.
Crist seems to have a lot of Threet in him -- the arm to make all the passes, and the ability to send 25 percent of those passes to outer space.
Go beat Michigan State. We'll be rootin' for ya.
I haven't seen their game from this week yet, their line's looked pretty weak in week 1 but it was just week 1
If he is in for 4 quarters the outcome would have been different, you guys dodged a bullet.
It's a good thing that Michigan has never been forced to play two true freshman QBs against an ND squad. Oh wait......
Also, since you are a fortune teller, what are this week's winning lotto numbers?
Do you not think that ND would have scored more points with Crist on the field?
With Crist as the QB: On 41 plays they had 379 yards of offense (over 9 yards a play), 3 TDs, 1 FG and an 1 int.
Without Crist: 172 yds on 36 plays (4 yards per play) no points and 2 ints.
ND lost because UM's defense was stout against the 2nd and 3rd string QBs, forcing 2 turnovers and keeping them off the scoreboard. Like I said, I thought the game was over at the end of the first half without Crist on the field. Those numbers make it pretty obvious.
But after things settled down to start the second half Crist threw an interception and led three drives where the ND offense stalled and they had to punt. He wasn't exactly unstoppable except when Michigan inexplicably allowed there to be wide open receivers.
Was ND's offense more efficient with Crist leading the team? Sure but, even though it makes you feel a little better, there is nothing that guarantees ND would have won that game if Crist plays every snap. You know.... butterfly flaps it's wings and all that........
I do think ND would have found at least 4 more points against UM's defense if Crist had been in the game for 2 more quarters. I think it is very obvious that the ND offense left a lot on the field without Crist at QB.
If everything else played out exactly the same (including Michigan missing two very makeable field goals) and Crist was in the whole game, sure, you probably get 4 more points. If that's your argument, I'll let you hang on to that.
However, when Michigan absolutely had to, they scored points. Crist in or out, nothing changes that.
2 very make able field goals, that comes down to execution by the UM kicker. Do you not see a difference between Crist going out of the game with a freak injury and missing FGs? They're not even in the same ballpark.
You are a great level-headed opponent and I have a lot more respect for you for coming on this blog after a loss from us, but man am I glad it is you coming up with the woulda, shoulda, couldas instead of us.
GO BLUE!
Did Crist not play because he got hurt in practice or fell during pre-game routine? Or did he get hurt during a play against the Michigan defense?
Playing the "if our QB didn't get hurt during the game we would have won" game is as stupid as us arguing if we had made the two field goals that UM missed.
so you don't see the difference between players executing to their ability on the field and the starting qb leaving the game due to to something you can't prevent or practice for? Then I can't help you
It's not our fault that ND doesn't have depth at the QB position. You lost fair and square, deal with it.
which is understandable after a heartbreaking loss but try to clear your head.
If Crist doesn't get injured, every part of the game from that point on would have changed. Arguing that Crist is good for 4 points and then trying to argue that Michigan's fortune would somehow remain exactly the same is ridiculously close minded.
no you're puttng words in my mouth. I did not say the game would have played out exactly the same at anytime. At what time during the first drive do you think Crist would have gone 8-19 with 2 ints, and no points for the rest of the 2nd half?
Alright and now at what time during the 2nd half do you think he would have played that poorly?
Montana the 3rd string QB still passed for over 100 yards against UM's defense, a kid who never even started a high school game. Does your defense and offense get better when Crist is in the game, because the numbers showed the exact opposite. The UM D gave up more yards when Crist was in the game and the UM offense gained less yards per play when Crist was in the game. How does that not matter when looking at it?
Our defense was absolutely horrible yesterday, and yet we still won. Now, this is either a function of an arbitrary, indefinible thing, like luck, or maybe ND just wasn't good enough to take advantage of our fuck ups, and in the end MICH simply outperformed the Domers when it mattered most.
Regardless, it seemed like one of those games where "the team with the ball last was going to win the game." ND had the ball to end the game, unfortunately they just ran out of time.
If MICH had lost that game I would have felt like we should have won, but let it slip away. I would have come up with a bunch of reasons why we should have won and ND should have lost, however, it's over now. Time to start focusing on next week.
Why is this so complicated? UM's defense was bad before the game started and it was still bad when the game ended. It was still better than either of ND's backup QBs who played for nearly half the game. UM's defense was not better than ND's offense when Crist was on the field. And on top of that UM's offense was the exact opposite.
Crist on the field gave ND the advantage in the game, it was bad luck for ND that he couldn't play 4 quarters, It was good luck for UM as they were able to control the first half and won the game.
It's not complicated. It's just that you've created an arbitrary definition of luck that fits neatly into your perception of what happened in the game. It's illogical, and comes across as a fan, upset because his team lost a close game, attempting to justify why his team coulda/shoulda won, rather than any sort of reasoned analysis.
You argue that Michigan was lucky that Crist went out but you disregard Michigan's gaffes after that point. I'm sorry man. You can't change history for ND only.
You are being irrational. I'm done with this debate.
After reading all of your posts one thing is clear. You are a fucking moron.
If ND had won yesterday, would it then be legitimate for M fans to say that ND dodged a bullet because our best corner dislocated his ankle before the season or our starting safety/LB hybrid got hurt last week or the referees missed the fact that your receiver did not possess the ball when he crossed the goal line on one of your touchdowns? There are a lot of what-ifs that we can point to as well.
I put nearly all injuries down as bad luck. But without knowing/seeing Woolfolk in game to see what he is capable of I don't see it as ND dodging a bullet, there is no way to judge his potential to influence the game. Crist's influence on the field was obvious with the way he played in the first drive and the 2nd half.
I have addressed the TD reception by Jones in here already, and my response hasn't changed.
Anthony Morelli (may God rest his soul) that injuries are just bad luck
I agree that the game would have been different with Crist in, but I honestly don't think that would have definitively given you the edge to win. For starters, completely changing the first half would have completely changed the outcome of the second half. Crist did a pretty good job on his first 3 scoring drives (The 95 yarder was a good throw, but that's not exactly a quality drive, its just a single good pass to the TE with screwed coverage), but much like ND could occasionally stop us, its not like we couldn't stop Crist, which is why the game was 21-17 for like 20 minutes before the last two TDs of the game.
Definitely hate to see your QB go down like that, and you may very well have won that game if he had played all 4 quarters, but you most certainly not would have run away with it. Injuries are all a part of the game, as we have know at Michigan all too well. We've got some god players injuried right now too, and just because they haven't been able to play this year yet doens't mean they are any less of an impact to our team than Crist. At least some of our injured players were out making an impact last year, where Crist had only one game against Purdue to his credit to show what he's worth, so in a way, yes, you did "dodge a bullet" as well. Just like Crist could have led to more points, maybe Hemmingway could have led to more points. Having Woolfolk might have meant we at least get a tackle at midfield on Rudolph's 95 yarder.
I don't mean to be a douche here, and I'm saying this with the utmost respect, just as I did tot he ND fans around me at the game. The internet just isn't good for showing civility effectively sometimes, and I'm sure its mutual for you, especially only a day removed from a game you almost had. Whatever the case though, Crist not getting injured wouldn't have changed how close the game was, and we're not any more lucky he went out than we are unlucky to have some of our own players out; that's all part of the sport.
BTW, FWIW, you guys are were a good group to go on the road for. Very polite and respectful, and had a good time interacting with Irish fans around me. I'm also glad that you guys are believing in Kelly for the most part the way too many of us haven't in RR. Being from West Michigan, I feel ualified to say he's a very good coach, and he will have you back to the BCS soon. Good luck the rest of the year, and good luck against Sparty. Can't wait for the night game next year. Should be exciting. ;)
I certainly don't think ND would have blown the game open with Crist playing for 4 quarters. And I agree with most of your other points, its a good win for UM just please keep denard healthy. Glad you had a good trip for the game, its pretty nice down there.
Its not like Woolfolk is an unkown freshman, he has been playing for a couple of years now and was pretty effective at CB last year. He is a definte upgrade over what we have on the field right now so would have been a difference in the game.
Saying Crist could have changed the game by having played 4 quarters is absolutely the same as saying Woolfolk could have made a differnce had he been in the game. You are using a circular argument here because only what actually happened is known, what is unknown has no bearing on any debate because its all "what ifs".
I am sure Woolfolk would have made an impact on the game had he been healthy, but there is no way to gauge how big that impact would be with him playing at all. Crist played just over half the game for ND, everyone saw how UM defended him and how productive he was in spite of it. It's not the same
I am not taking away UM's win, I have repeatedly said UM deserves the win. I just don't really view it as full loss for ND after the way the game played out. ND is going to lose more games this year, but after the way they played this week, they're going to win many more. I am content with that in Kelly's first year.
LOL
Only a fucking domer.
Guess our losses post Tate injury didnt count either?
From a development standpoint bud, its an L on record for the year. Is it that hard to comprehend what I am saying?
Your team just took another ride on the failboat. toot toot
Haha!!! classic.
... but MIchigan "earned' seeing the backup by making the hits that knocked the starter out. there's no arguing otherwise. you "dodged a bullet" that lineman knocked down several Denard passes that were about to hit wide open receivers in space. see, we can all play the game.
TIA
So UM practiced on how to make ball carriers smack their head on the ground all week? Crist having to come out of the game was bad luck for ND and good luck for UM. You don't practice luck.
Knocking down a pass is something you do practice, in this case the defense executing on the field.
It doesn't change the outcome, UM still won and still deserves to win.
injuries are part of the game. to try to act or discuss how the game would have gone had so and so not laid the wood is ridiculous. i cannot imagine trying to debate with someone on how we would have been in 2008 if McGuffie didn't get concussed, etc.
Oh really? How about the no call on the TJ Jones TD? How about the numerous iffy calls on UM's blocking when I saw numerous worse calls go uncalled against ND? Michigan certainly got away with some stuff and "dodged a bullet" in some instances, but ND got away with more and dodged quite a few bullets themselves. Besides, how is it you can say with absolute certainty that things would've been different had Crist played four quarters? How do you know Crist doesn't throw a pick six on his second drive and completely get rattled the rest of the game; or some other scenario that is just as likely to play out as any other that doesn't lead to the ND homer's ultimate fantasy of ND totally winning every game if not for something they did? How about UM just plain beat them? Your D didn't come through when it needed to, plain and simple. I assume you're just trying to ignore the pain of losing this game and by thinking such things so I'll let it slide for now. But there's no way you can be certain ND crushes UM if Crist stays in. UM left a bunch of points on the field, too, and things could've just as easily turned really bad for ND, Crist or no Crist.
love the emotion +1. all you gotta say is scoreboard. 4 of the last 5. won it in the last :27 seconds. won last years w/ :12 seconds remaining. we won the game.
we're improving by 15 seconds every year. by 2012 we will win with a minute left!
If you can show me someone other than a ND player picking up the ball in the endzone then I will agree that it was a bad no call and the refs messed up big time. It was a stupid move by Jones that could have cost ND the game. But complaining about that without knowing who had the ball is pretty stupid.
With Crist in the game, the ND offense averaged 9.2 yards per play and scored all 24 points, and the defense also held UM to 3.8 yards per play (217 yards on 56 plays) and 7 points
Without Crist the ND offense averaged 4.7 yards per play 0 points and threw 2 ints, and the defense gave up 9.8 per play, and 21 total points.
It was 2 very different teams that ND put on the field with and without Crist. ND played well enough to win the game but not for 4 quarters because Crist was out of the game with a freak injury. UM still won the game and still deserves the W, I am not disputing that at all I just don't view it as a full Loss for ND, not like last years team.
Crist played corner too?? I wish we had a QB that could take snaps there..
Show some dignity, dude. You aren't going to find anyone to agree w/ you on a Michigan board. May want to pack it up, claim some form of "not full loss" victory and head to your own board till next year.
If you don't want to hear what I have to say then don't come into a thread that includes my screen name. Pretty easy fix for you
i love hearing it. Your whining reinforces that WE WON. however, IMO, you are embarrasing yourself somewhat with the coulda/shoulda/woulda's and not a full loses. In my experience, you'd get full agreeement from ND fans everywhere, just not amongst your opponents. Stay as long as you like.
I actually agree with him. The difference in offensive production with Crist in and out was night and day - I'm convinced that our defense would have let up more points had he been in the whole game.
Regardless, that's just one factor among many. No point in arguing too much about it. Michigan got the win and that's all that matters now.
You HAVE to show an ND player picked it up, because if anyone other than that picks it up, or it's blown dead with no one picking it up, it's a touchback, Michigan football. So in your "Crist would have been good for 4 more points" meme (really 5, because a tie doesn't mean a win), he'd really have to makes them 11 (12) points better, if we're taking "luck" out of the equation.
This is even if you can say Crist bring in changes ND's offense, and nothing else. There's nothing to say Michigan doesn't play more aggressively if the game's a shootout, rather than not taking chances with some guys in they weren't afraid of scoring. There are too many layers to say that's the only thing that will change.
It was ruled a TD on the field, don't they have to prove without a doubt that wasn't true before overturning the ruling on the field?
Crist being in the game was a huge factor for ND and UM in this game, the drive numbers show that.
Just that he didn't have the ball before it went in the endzone, which would negate the Touchdown. Which he didn't. They don't THEN have to prove some Notre Dame guy DIDN'T pick it up. Touchback, our ball, 7 less points. Unless you've found that angle that shows some ND guy ended up with it.
I'm not saying it wasn't a huge factor...I'm saying is the drive numbers don't show what other factors may have changed if he played. If you think players and coaches do the same job when you're up 2 TDs vs. a crappy QB than they do in a tight game with a good one, you're crazy. Sure, there's a measurable change in QBs. But there's a Butterfly Effect too. Which can't really be measured, which makes what if's silly.
Actually, I'm more curious how happy you are that he put Crist back in. It didn't seem like his injury was something you should be playing another half of football with. Dude was working the glassy-eyes the whole first half. Being Notre Dame, and a place that tries to hold itself as a place a step above, much like Michigan, were you glad to see your coach risk him for a (tangible) chance at beating us?
It was ruled a TD on the field, the play wasn't challenged by the booth or UM. Yes the replay shows him dropping the ball well before he is in the endzone. But for all I know the ref saw him drop it and a ND guy pick it up, I thought I remembered seeing it on the ground but that was it. All I know is it wasn't overturned, and there wasn't a UM player close to picking it up.
I understand what you mean, just don't necessarily agree with it all.
Staff and physicians weren't going to let him back in if he had a concussion, especially with all the care they're giving Wenger still after his concussion in practice. They still don't think Crist had one, he has apparently tested out fine with everything. Not sure what happened, but I wasn't angry or anything; I have no reason to think they would send him out if they thought it was a dangerous situation for him.
I don't think the Big10 coaches can actually challenge a call. Doesn't it have to be signaled from the ref upstairs? At best the coach can burn a timeout to give them more time to look at it, but I could be wrong.
I'm not sure what the agreement is between an independent and a Big Ten team. I would guess it's the same.
Of course, that would involve someone showing a replay before the ND team is lined up for the extra point...you know, kinda like NBC did when they showed our player stepping out of bounds one second later, 20 times.
And that comment made me lose even more respect for you Irish. Give our guys the credit they deserve. When that ball was dropped, it should have been M ball on the 20.
You're cherry picking those numbers...
"when Crist was/wasn't in..."
Nice. But combining Rees's performance and Montana's isn't really fair. Montana had numbers very similar to Crist for the time he was in. Rees only threw 2 passes (an INT and an incompletion).
As a matter of fact...
If you take out the 95 yard bomb they're almost identical aside from Montana not actually getting on the board.
Both would have a completion average of right arrond 50%.
Crist would have only averaged about a yard more per completion.
Both had an INT.
Montana ran for a few more yards (same attempts) and didn't have a sack like Crist did.
Montana led ND on an 80 (nearly) yard drive before the half and probably would have scored if there had been time. For the quarter and 4 minutes or so he was in Montana put up numbers that were very "Crist-like". I see little reason to assume that the outcome would have been very different had Crist had stayed in.
True freshman in. 38-0. And you guys didn't even take Henne out. Michigan TOOK Crist out of that game with hard hitting.
you don't need to "dodge" the bullet when you can merely out run said bullet :)
It's a little bit of a stretch to conclude that ND would have WON the game if Crist was in for all of the first half. You're assuming that the UM defense wouldn't have gotten a bit more familiar with Crist and that the UM offensive play-calling would have been the exact same regardless of the score. Though to be fair, if I was on your end, I would definitely tell myself the same thing.
Its the 2 ints that Montana and Rees gave up that brought me to that conclusion as much as the offensive stats. Crist would have a pretty big cushion to come up with one more TD in 2 quarters. It is like you said though.
hey, that's just your boy Kelly relying too much on the QB to be successful.
Only bad teams win because their quarterback freaked out... Wait....
Your first paragraph was fine, you lost me after that. All you're doing with this post is rationalizing everything that happened, and your last sentence is outright offensive to the Michigan players, who gutted out a tough win in a hostile environment. Not to mention that you were spotted seven points when your receiver dropped the ball before crossing the goal line. Your team was outplayed, just accept that and give Michigan the credit it deserves.
Edit: to show how incendiary your comments have been, this was a reply to your comment on page one!
We dodged a bullet... Child please. I wonder what you would have said if the phantom touchdown was actually correctly called on the field.
MICH could be considered lucky that Crist was knocked out of the game,because had he played the entire first half ND might have won. However, ND should feel lucky that our secondary made so many horrible mistakes, essentially giving away points, and that our kicker missed two field goals, because this could have just as easily been a Michigan blowout.
Once again those things come down to execution. Your secondary was bad in the preseason it is still bad, your special teams were bad in the preseason and they're still bad. That isn't bad luck thats your team.
Our secondary is really bad, but until the ND game, they weren't ZOMGZ, giving up multiple long bombs on clearly blown assignments bad.
And Crist was injured last year, was he not (http://www.uhnd.com/articles/football/dayne-crist-season-5568/)? Maybe Crist getting hurt was not ND simply getting "unlucky," but rather, a function of Crist simply being injury prone, and that will be something ND will have to deal with all year.
Well, Michigan gave up a 47-yarder against UConn and got beat deep against the Huskies one other time, but the ball was overthrown. UConn also dropped a ton of passes.
Michigan's secondary has been ZOMGZ bad for a while now. It's just that not all opposing teams can take advantage of it.
If he knew Crist was coming back into the game I agree that it was a poor decision to go for 6 at the end of the first half. But It doesn't appear that they expected to have Crist back on the field and ND hadn't gotten into the redzone since the first drive of the game. Chance to cut it to 1 score with UM getting the ball back to start the 2nd half, he had to try for it.
I'm not so sure about that. Crist was on the sideline passing the ball in the 2nd quarter...which he wasn't doing in the first. I feel they knew he was going to go in in the 3rd but didn't want to rush it in the second, so they gave him the halftime to make sure his eye was okay and to get even better.
Because again "if" Woolfolk hadn't been injured out secondary is a lot better.
Irish is a classy ND fan and more than welcome on MGOBLOG anytime. He brings up some good points. The bottom line is that both teams had bad breaks and good ones. It's the way the game is.
I think both teams are on the rise big time and look forward to some exciting games in the next four years. I do think that Kelly's over aggressive coaching hurt ND. In a close game, there's no reason not to take that field goal at the end of the half.
DAMMIT. If Stafford doesn't get hurt the Lions win this game.
Wrong thread same lame argument
Its not a lame arguement. Its football fans talking football.
Denard goes out for the first half, do you win or lose?
Admittedly, I was very relieved to see Crist's final pass sail out of play. I thought we were toast when that rainbow appeared.