tjyoung

January 19th, 2011 at 10:44 PM ^

Thank you! Oddly enough, i was thinking about requesting this earlier, but I figured you'd get around to it and I didn't want to be 'that guy'.

Joined: 08/23/2009

MGoPoints: 532

JoeBlue-MaizeRage

January 19th, 2011 at 11:29 PM ^

Thank you so much, this brings back great memories. The best coached game by Lloyd I've ever seen. It was so funny to see Hart fumble twice, I had grown so accustomed to feeling certain that the ball would be secure in his hands. 2009 really opened my eyes to how much a team can drop the ball, yikes. Glad those years are behind us.

Joined: 01/19/2011

MGoPoints: 3

michiganfanforlife

January 20th, 2011 at 12:15 AM ^

Interesting time in our lives. I remeber being so excited about Michigan running the spread after that game. Tough to see at that point where this program was actually headed. Three seasons later it's been the roughest stretch in our 130 year history.

I can't wait to get back to Michigan football. I can't wait to get back to a respectable defense. With this new staff, it isn't about hope. It's about passion for your school, respecting our tradition, and making sure you're the most physical team on the field.  Smack 'em in the mouth, Blue.

Joined: 05/05/2009

MGoPoints: 2788

Marshmallow

January 20th, 2011 at 12:22 AM ^

Never in the history of mankind has one game been so massively overhyped and relied upon in support of something so obviously rotten and failed as this game was to prop up the Michigan house of cards that was collapsing in on itself.  

Will people please stop bringing up one isolated instance of the 2007 team performing well against an overrated Gators team to argue how great everything was before RR arrived while completely neglecting App St., Oregon and the dismal OSU performance, all of which happened that very same season!?!

This game was a nice win after everything we went through that season.  That's it.  Not any kind of validation of the mediocrity that became standard in these parts starting around 2001.

Joined: 11/08/2009

MGoPoints: -109

Monocle Smile

January 20th, 2011 at 2:31 AM ^

but only a little.

I was at this game. After a couple days of utter elation, I took a second look at replays and a single thought popped in my head:

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

Where the hell was that offense all year? Did DeBord grow a second head? Was he assassinated and now Cylon DeBord was calling the plays? Whatever the case, it seems Lloyd or whoever installed that system thought "fuck it, I'm throwing downfield" in Rex Grosssman glory. Healthy Hart and Henne were key, but I can't help but get irritated that we didn't see any of that until the bowl game.

That Gators team wasn't overrated in any sense. They were 9-3 going into the bowl. They were just thought to be better than Michigan, and looking at the season, that seemed to be the proper sentiment. The Michigan team that ran out of the Citrus Bowl (fuck Capital One) tunnel was not the same Michigan team we had seen all year.

The "mediocrity" you talk about wasn't truly mediocrity in any sense, but we were hamstrung and thus prevented from perennially competing for the title due to things like this game where something was unleashed that probably could have won more games during the season.

Joined: 09/17/2009

MGoPoints: 23027

funkywolve

January 20th, 2011 at 1:29 AM ^

In fairness to Mattison, he probably could have watched every game UM had played under Carr and not seen that style of playcalling and plays run in a single game.  I'm sure Florida's defensive staff was completely thrown for a loop with the offensive playcalling and plays that UM used that day.

Joined: 10/08/2008

MGoPoints: 20175