What's on your Al Borges "Best Of/Worst Of" list?
Now that his tenure at Michigan is officially over, I've been reminiscing over the last three years. There have been highs and lows, but certainly some extreme lows. Personally, the 4th and 1 call from the Michigan State 9 yard line in 2011 still sticks out to me as particularly terrible, though the two point conversion in the BWW Bowl is a close second, while 2013 Ohio State was a high point. I kept waiting for the offense to stagnate but they put together a great game. What do you think are the most infuriating or best playcalls Borges made during his three seasons as OC?
January 9th, 2014 at 4:37 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 5:24 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 5:48 PM ^
GET BACK TO STUDYING!
That's the problem with kids these days, all writing on blogs and not doing their work! Now let me peruse around the internet for another 45 minutes until my boss has left for the day...
January 9th, 2014 at 7:43 PM ^
...and the worst.
Kidding man, we miss you and your work around here.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:38 PM ^
603 yards against Ohio State. That was something else, that was. 6TDs and only 2 punts.
Oh, sorry, "best" = "worst". Forgot where I was for a minute there.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:57 PM ^
Keep fighting the good fight man. Ignore the five games of sub-300 yard outputs and six total debacles. Act like your season long argument holds any substance. The delusion is beautiful to watch.
January 9th, 2014 at 5:02 PM ^
The thread was titled "What's On Your Best of Borges List." (He's changed it now, but that's what it said when I posted.) Why would I mention something other than his best game?
January 9th, 2014 at 5:05 PM ^
Oh I know what the original title said. Your point was still obvious.
January 9th, 2014 at 6:20 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 6:32 PM ^
Well, there's around 40-50 comments on the main page arguing about the 2010 offense so....at least 3-4 years?
January 9th, 2014 at 7:01 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 7:03 PM ^
Hmmmm....Well, Lloyd still gets brought up from time to time in complaints and he hasn't coached here since January of 2008. So I'd say the board will be discussing Borges well into 2020!
January 9th, 2014 at 6:59 PM ^
My guess is he will be the next target unfortunately.
January 9th, 2014 at 7:29 PM ^
I apologize, I thought it was literally a best-of thread. My bad, my mistake! You were in the right, I'm the idiot haha.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:38 PM ^
Vincent Smith HB dive into a 11 man front on 3rd and 5.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:41 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 4:47 PM ^
This should be the end of the thread.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:41 PM ^
Vincent Smith HB pass in the redzone @ Notre Dame last year...smh.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:47 PM ^
When your offense is going nowhere most of the game, the only chance you have might be to risk it all on a play where nobody expects it.
Anyway, I always liked how personable Borges was. Always explained things in a very down-to-earth fashion and spoke intelligently.
EDIT: didn't read the OP all the way. So your interpretation of "best-of" is "all the hate we can possibly muster"? C'mon man. That's no way to roll.
January 9th, 2014 at 6:50 PM ^
that play did have TD all over it. guy missed his block. the INT by smith against ND wasn't a bad call either. it was there. smith underthrew it. it was successful before.
i've just hated his overall gameplans, like trying to turn denard into joe montana, instead of just allowing denard to be denard. and then when we have a better passer, plowing into the line 30 times. but part of that blame is on hoke too for allowing it.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:46 PM ^
Always the throwback screens
January 9th, 2014 at 4:48 PM ^
In no particular order:
- Gardner/Gallon connection, particularly against Indiana. I've never seen anything like that.
- 2013 ND game. Brilliant in-game adjustments combined with near-flawless QB execution
- 2011 Nebraska. Ohio St was awesome too, but we put serious hurt on the team that, according to many, was supposed to win the B1G.
Yeah, I know I did it wrong, but bringing-up the guy's mistakes and getting myself angry seems pretty lame right now. Borges deserves our gratitude for his work, and I'm much more focused on my joy for the new hire.
January 9th, 2014 at 5:01 PM ^
He had some very nice moments and games, which is part of the reason I never quite knew what to make of him. I hope he finds a team with some big offensive lineman, some big RBs, and a QB who can throw it a mile, and I hope he puts up a bunch of points against everyone not named Michigan.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:48 PM ^
QB: Denard Robinson
TB: Vincent Smith
WR: Jeremy Gallon
WR: Roy Roundtree
Slot: Drew Dileo
TE: Devin Funchess
T: Taylor Lewan
T: Michael Schofield
G: Steve Schilling
G: Patrick Omameh
C: David Molk
All Purpose: Devin Gardner
January 9th, 2014 at 4:51 PM ^
Hemingway over Roundtree or Dileo, Schilling didn't play for Borges. Barnum was probably the best LG in Borges's time, or you could take Mealer.
January 9th, 2014 at 6:06 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 6:23 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 11:52 PM ^
Schilling played guard his entire time. What do you remember him as?
January 9th, 2014 at 4:48 PM ^
his left handed, non-option running, true Freshmen QB starting his first game in a bowl game to run an option to the right into the boundery near the goal line.
that was was pure wtf playing calling gold.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:56 PM ^
This is factually the correct answer. Commence thread lock sequence.
January 9th, 2014 at 9:38 PM ^
He had an honestly very smart gameplan that worked great until KSU finally adjusted. But neither of those two great drives ended in touchdowns. That option call I definitely had a WTF moment with Borges. Game over.
It all seems so Borges. HAve great promise, spots of brilliance, but all those wtf moments and coming up to short in the end.
My worst moment with him? The punt fumble recovery against Nebraska. Followed by run run Devin-scramble FG kick. Woohoo. Way to put the cleat to throat there, Al.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:49 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 4:49 PM ^
Nebraska 2011. Ohio State 2011. Notre Dame 2013.
That is all.
January 9th, 2014 at 5:24 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 4:50 PM ^
It may be the call he never made. You have Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner and it took Denard getting hurt for him to finnally put them in the same back field.
January 9th, 2014 at 5:24 PM ^
Don't forget about Denard and Devin's Diamond of Doom. They ran out of that formation before either was injured:
January 9th, 2014 at 7:48 PM ^
+1, forgot all about this.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:51 PM ^
I find it fascinating to think, that had they completed the two-pt conversion vs OSU, if it'd have given them enough momentum and incentive to beat KSU, leaving us at 9-4... Would Borges still have been fired ????
January 9th, 2014 at 4:53 PM ^
...was this a firing of Borges or a hiring of Nussmeier?
I lean towards the latter, which would mean the answer to your question would probably be yes.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:58 PM ^
ohio we probably would have been playing Georgia in our bowl game in Florida
January 9th, 2014 at 7:16 PM ^
Even if we'd made the 2-pointer, Gardner still would have had a broken foot and missed the bowl.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:51 PM ^
Under Center play action pass on 3rd and 10 in the Red Zone against Northwestern in crunch time.
There are so many horrendous calls it is hard to pick one. The guy was just aweful.
January 9th, 2014 at 5:00 PM ^
any third and long play action call with negative yards rushing.
January 9th, 2014 at 5:03 PM ^
No he wasn't. Things didn't go accordingly for a plethera of reasons, some of them of course belonging to Borges, but he was not flat out "awful". Respectfully, that's a blind and honestly ignorant outlook on our OC the past 3 years.
Not a Borges lover, but a football lover and there's so much to the game that many around here just don't get. That's all I'll write on the matter. (neg away!).
p.s. I am pretty pumped for Doug.
January 9th, 2014 at 6:37 PM ^
No my friend, you are ignorant if you think he wasn't aweful. Results speak for themselves. Also, please don't act like your the only one who knows anything about X's and O's, many people on here know a lot about the game.
January 9th, 2014 at 8:00 PM ^
Ok, I'll touch some of that quickly. I assume you're referring to this "there's so much to the game that many around here just don't get"
..by saying "please don't act like your the only one who knows anything about X's and O's, many people on here know a lot about the game"
I did not say there were no people here with football knowledge, I can name 4-5 in one breath. However, the majority here DON'T know intracies, details, X's & Os, etc. of the game. I'm sorry if that offends but it's a fact. I'm not even an expert, myself. I have a good amount of knowledge, yes, and what I don't know, I don't act as though I do and I assume there's more to it than meets the eye.
January 9th, 2014 at 4:52 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 4:53 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 4:55 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 4:55 PM ^
The day he was fired is definitely in my top 10.