This is maybe my third post ever, even though I've been a reader since forever and am old enough to have been in the Big House as a kid when Harbaugh tossed a bomb to beat Ohio State in 1985. I only post to express my grave disappointment in this egregious error. That you fixed it quickly is cold comfort. Do better, Seth! Goddammit, you've ruined my day now :)
Their fans keep going on about how they've handled business every game despite everyone dissing them and I'm like, yeah, that's what great teams do. They just think it's unique because they're not used to seeing it.
Year 7 total, but only Year 1 in Reboot 2. How many reboots does he get? Nobody knows. This game was the most Michigan State-iest game ever, not one 'weird' play or ref call went our way. The TD that was overturned was a ridiculous decision that basically cost Michigan the game, something totally out of their control. The missed DPI call on 4th, same thing, though McNamara missed hitting an open receiver. Having McNamara in the tent for one single play, forcing McCarthy to go in immediately after he already put it on the ground. Just a string of negative outcomes that chipped away at the possibility of winning. Michigan was the better team and should have won, but didn't. This is where UM under Harbaugh seems to live.
I have a friend that works at ESPN. He's interacted with Simmons a lot over the years and hates the guy. He's apparently a world class a-hole, total diva and has zero professionalism. Basically, most everyone hates the guy.
I have gone from feeling like I probably won't commit suicide because I innately understand that I shouldn't to actively choosing not to because I don't want to.
From what I can tell, MSU has a weakened O-line. They have a good QB with good receivers. They have an average run game.
Against Michigan's ridiculous D, that's just not enough. The O-line alone will doom them.
MSU's offense is only slightly better than Michigan's and that is against weak competition. They gained 389 yards against the best team they've played, Oregon. Oregon isn't even a top 100 defense. UM gained 380 yards against Northwestern, now #9 defense
Their offenses are nearly equivalent and UM has played a much tougher schedule. Michigan's D is ranked 2 on Total Defense on NCAA's site. MSU is ranked 56.
This game gets decided by basic math. They say Defense wins games, and UM has the best defense. Not like they're going up against some offensive juggernaut. UM wins easily.
Oh yeah, the chip Dantonio carries around with him..... that chip that always reminds his team that nobody thinks they're any good. That'll be the difference, I guess?
Only thing that worries me is Rudock throwing picks.
I never got past the idea that a future legend-in-the-making was going to miss out on a jersey retirement. If Peppers turns out to be the next Woodson and deserves his number to be honored, too bad, because his jersey is already a Legend's number. And then you will have the longer list of guys who wore a Legends jersey and went on to have forgettable seasons or careers. The Number 1 for receivers is a good tradition, let's just leave it at that.
Why would they ever not use their official color of maize in their uniforms? Or on anything? What's the point of having an official color if you ignore it. The current yellow is terrible. The Iowa yellow is Iowa's. Use the original maize.
"This creation is simply meant to be an independently used pump-up song that is organically Michigan, rather than a generic tune that could be heard in any stadium."
This is what these idiots say on their website. As thought the best way to avoid a generic tune and make it happen organically is a crowd-funded effort of pulling in random musicians with little or no ties to Michigan to craft a "pump-up" song.
I'm really hoping this is just a big prank on all of us.
This argument is trotted out by every tsk-tsker and "adult" in any room an argument happens to occur. Where do you draw the line?
First-world problems are still problems, and they're all relative to your standing. In an absolute sense, obviously this is ridiculous. If this is the big problem in your life, your life is pretty sweet. But these are kids, basically.
And who knows, maybe their activism this week on a trivial matter may lead to later activism in something that is more acceptable to you for other people to care about and spend time on, like ending world hunger or child sex trafficking or posting criticism of a what a bunch of 20 year olds care about.
I grew up a UM fan and always will be. I went to ASU during the Jake Plummer years and am a big Sun Devil fan too. I keep reading about these off-the-field problems of Graham. I don't know where that's coming from. I've not heard one negative thing about him in Phoenix. He runs a clean and disciplined program and has brought a lot of stability to a program that Dennis Erickson treated like a furlough program from the county jail. His job hopping? So what? Would you fault a guy for moving from the mail room to a cubicle and then to an office? His leaving Pitt wasn't handled well but if you read the full story, there were at least some mitigating circumstances. Bottom line, it's overblown and unimportant.
My guess is, Graham wouldn't take the job at UM because he's a great fit for the Pac12 and ASU. I don't think he wants the problems..... He's known RichRod for a lont time, is sort of cut from the same cloth I think and saw how he was treated at UM. FWIW, he and RichRod aren't friendly with each other. I like Graham a lot better than RichRod.
I also think Graham enjoys beating RichRod in a rivalry game, which I expect him to continue doing more often than not for a long time. ASU has been called the sleeping giant of the Pac12 for years now, and I think Graham wants to stick around to make that happen. He's working his tail off to raise money from boosters to renovate the stadium and upgrade the facilities too.
The defensive woes are real... but they're a very young D and frankly, the UCLA game was a tire-fire of bad luck and poor timing. UCLA capitalized to the max on every mistake ASU made. It wasn't pretty, but it wasn't indicative of the caliber of team they have. My biggest gripe with Graham is this: he uses his time-outs willy-nilly and his clock management isn't great.
I think the write-up by alum96 was very fair and accurate. I'd take Graham at UM in a heartbeat, but I'd miss him at ASU.
I'm an Arizona State alum, live in Phoenix and love ASU football. I grew up in Ypsi, season tix to Big House from Anthony Carter to Jim Harbaugh, love Michigan football.
I'd hate to lose Graham at ASU, but if I had to, I'd hope it was to Michigan.
He's a legit good coach. His RichRod ties that I've seen mentioned are... well the two men hate each other. And now they coach rival teams, and Graham has beaten him every game. All of the criticism I've heard of the guy when he got the job here hasn't been seen in reality since he's shown up. There really isn't any negatives, other than his odd and terrible use/waste of timeouts. He's recruited well, brought back and reinforced some good traditions that Dennis Erickson squandered, and took what was nearly the most penalized team in the nation and turned them into one of the least penalized teams in one season. He has strict locker room rules for his players and maintains high standards for their off-the-field behavior that seems to work. And he's won. Not every game, but for the first time in over a decade, it feels like ASU is finally heading in the right direction.
I don't see him leaving ASU, though. Partly because he's doing good things and ASU is on the rise... but partly because I think he's a better fit for the Pac-12 and he knows it.
I've just scoured the internet and the android marketplace for a way to listen to the Purdue game on my phone. I should've known to check here, the greatest UM blog in the world.
I have to leave my house to drive to the airport right when the game starts. I have XM in my car so I'll hear the first part. But when I get to the airport in Phoenix, I'm sure the game won't be shown since it's not on ESPN or ABC. Now I can listen to it on my phone. I have a short flight to LA that will cover most of the 2nd half and may have to break the 'no cell phone' rule on the airplane for the first time in my life.
It seems they can only recruit the starring roles.... RB, WR, QB. Unfortunately, there are about 6-7 more guys on the field needed to win. And our Defense apparently will continue to suck?
Recent Comments
This is maybe my third post ever, even though I've been a reader since forever and am old enough to have been in the Big House as a kid when Harbaugh tossed a bomb to beat Ohio State in 1985. I only post to express my grave disappointment in this egregious error. That you fixed it quickly is cold comfort. Do better, Seth! Goddammit, you've ruined my day now :)
Their fans keep going on about how they've handled business every game despite everyone dissing them and I'm like, yeah, that's what great teams do. They just think it's unique because they're not used to seeing it.
Year 7 total, but only Year 1 in Reboot 2. How many reboots does he get? Nobody knows. This game was the most Michigan State-iest game ever, not one 'weird' play or ref call went our way. The TD that was overturned was a ridiculous decision that basically cost Michigan the game, something totally out of their control. The missed DPI call on 4th, same thing, though McNamara missed hitting an open receiver. Having McNamara in the tent for one single play, forcing McCarthy to go in immediately after he already put it on the ground. Just a string of negative outcomes that chipped away at the possibility of winning. Michigan was the better team and should have won, but didn't. This is where UM under Harbaugh seems to live.
I have a friend that works at ESPN. He's interacted with Simmons a lot over the years and hates the guy. He's apparently a world class a-hole, total diva and has zero professionalism. Basically, most everyone hates the guy.
UM a decided schematic advantage?
25-3 Michigan
"It's not a legally binding contract."
Shut up, please.
I have gone from feeling like I probably won't commit suicide because I innately understand that I shouldn't to actively choosing not to because I don't want to.
17-7 Michigan!
From what I can tell, MSU has a weakened O-line. They have a good QB with good receivers. They have an average run game.
Against Michigan's ridiculous D, that's just not enough. The O-line alone will doom them.
MSU's offense is only slightly better than Michigan's and that is against weak competition. They gained 389 yards against the best team they've played, Oregon. Oregon isn't even a top 100 defense. UM gained 380 yards against Northwestern, now #9 defense
Their offenses are nearly equivalent and UM has played a much tougher schedule. Michigan's D is ranked 2 on Total Defense on NCAA's site. MSU is ranked 56.
This game gets decided by basic math. They say Defense wins games, and UM has the best defense. Not like they're going up against some offensive juggernaut. UM wins easily.
Oh yeah, the chip Dantonio carries around with him..... that chip that always reminds his team that nobody thinks they're any good. That'll be the difference, I guess?
Only thing that worries me is Rudock throwing picks.
Figure Cook gets lucky on a 40 yard TD pass because someone in blue trips.
I never got past the idea that a future legend-in-the-making was going to miss out on a jersey retirement. If Peppers turns out to be the next Woodson and deserves his number to be honored, too bad, because his jersey is already a Legend's number. And then you will have the longer list of guys who wore a Legends jersey and went on to have forgettable seasons or careers. The Number 1 for receivers is a good tradition, let's just leave it at that.
sad and irritating that this was allowed to happen.
Why would they ever not use their official color of maize in their uniforms? Or on anything? What's the point of having an official color if you ignore it. The current yellow is terrible. The Iowa yellow is Iowa's. Use the original maize.
Andy Samberg.
"This creation is simply meant to be an independently used pump-up song that is organically Michigan, rather than a generic tune that could be heard in any stadium."
This is what these idiots say on their website. As thought the best way to avoid a generic tune and make it happen organically is a crowd-funded effort of pulling in random musicians with little or no ties to Michigan to craft a "pump-up" song.
I'm really hoping this is just a big prank on all of us.
sucked this year. It is why they lost every game they didn't win. Granted, they lost some key players but still, it's Stanford fer godsakes.
show up to his last press conference wearing a block M hat, say nothing about it and then deflect all questions regarding his future.
I sent an email to Bill Martin in 2006 complaining about Lloyd Carr's inability to win the B10 outright, losses to ND/OSU, etc.... His response?
"I appreciate you sharing your views with me. Bill"
Perfectly dismissive yet polite. Brandon sounds like an overly sensitive a**hole.
This argument is trotted out by every tsk-tsker and "adult" in any room an argument happens to occur. Where do you draw the line?
First-world problems are still problems, and they're all relative to your standing. In an absolute sense, obviously this is ridiculous. If this is the big problem in your life, your life is pretty sweet. But these are kids, basically.
And who knows, maybe their activism this week on a trivial matter may lead to later activism in something that is more acceptable to you for other people to care about and spend time on, like ending world hunger or child sex trafficking or posting criticism of a what a bunch of 20 year olds care about.
I grew up a UM fan and always will be. I went to ASU during the Jake Plummer years and am a big Sun Devil fan too. I keep reading about these off-the-field problems of Graham. I don't know where that's coming from. I've not heard one negative thing about him in Phoenix. He runs a clean and disciplined program and has brought a lot of stability to a program that Dennis Erickson treated like a furlough program from the county jail. His job hopping? So what? Would you fault a guy for moving from the mail room to a cubicle and then to an office? His leaving Pitt wasn't handled well but if you read the full story, there were at least some mitigating circumstances. Bottom line, it's overblown and unimportant.
My guess is, Graham wouldn't take the job at UM because he's a great fit for the Pac12 and ASU. I don't think he wants the problems..... He's known RichRod for a lont time, is sort of cut from the same cloth I think and saw how he was treated at UM. FWIW, he and RichRod aren't friendly with each other. I like Graham a lot better than RichRod.
I also think Graham enjoys beating RichRod in a rivalry game, which I expect him to continue doing more often than not for a long time. ASU has been called the sleeping giant of the Pac12 for years now, and I think Graham wants to stick around to make that happen. He's working his tail off to raise money from boosters to renovate the stadium and upgrade the facilities too.
The defensive woes are real... but they're a very young D and frankly, the UCLA game was a tire-fire of bad luck and poor timing. UCLA capitalized to the max on every mistake ASU made. It wasn't pretty, but it wasn't indicative of the caliber of team they have. My biggest gripe with Graham is this: he uses his time-outs willy-nilly and his clock management isn't great.
I think the write-up by alum96 was very fair and accurate. I'd take Graham at UM in a heartbeat, but I'd miss him at ASU.
I'm an Arizona State alum, live in Phoenix and love ASU football. I grew up in Ypsi, season tix to Big House from Anthony Carter to Jim Harbaugh, love Michigan football.
I'd hate to lose Graham at ASU, but if I had to, I'd hope it was to Michigan.
He's a legit good coach. His RichRod ties that I've seen mentioned are... well the two men hate each other. And now they coach rival teams, and Graham has beaten him every game. All of the criticism I've heard of the guy when he got the job here hasn't been seen in reality since he's shown up. There really isn't any negatives, other than his odd and terrible use/waste of timeouts. He's recruited well, brought back and reinforced some good traditions that Dennis Erickson squandered, and took what was nearly the most penalized team in the nation and turned them into one of the least penalized teams in one season. He has strict locker room rules for his players and maintains high standards for their off-the-field behavior that seems to work. And he's won. Not every game, but for the first time in over a decade, it feels like ASU is finally heading in the right direction.
I don't see him leaving ASU, though. Partly because he's doing good things and ASU is on the rise... but partly because I think he's a better fit for the Pac-12 and he knows it.
Those are all excellent books and Joshua Chamberlain is my favorite as well. He's bad ass.
I've just scoured the internet and the android marketplace for a way to listen to the Purdue game on my phone. I should've known to check here, the greatest UM blog in the world.
I have to leave my house to drive to the airport right when the game starts. I have XM in my car so I'll hear the first part. But when I get to the airport in Phoenix, I'm sure the game won't be shown since it's not on ESPN or ABC. Now I can listen to it on my phone. I have a short flight to LA that will cover most of the 2nd half and may have to break the 'no cell phone' rule on the airplane for the first time in my life.
Go Blue!