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24-10 Meechigan!

24-10 Meechigan!

Kick the freakin' extra point

There were two huge rivalry games on Saturday where the home team was an underdog.  Both Auburn and Michigan displayed sensation efforts by their players. They also each scored with exactly 32 seconds to go in regulation, trailing by one point. One team decided to go for two and lost the game. The other team chose to kick the point after and wound up winning the game.

 

Hoke did NOT make a gutsy call to try to win the game.  He made a desperate call because he was simply afraid we couldn't beat OSU in overtime. It was inappropriate for him to ask our seniors what to do.  He's our head coach and we (the loyal fans who support our program) pay him millions of dollars each year to make these kinds of decisions.



If you kick the extra point, you extend the game and have a chance to win in OT (or in Auburn's case, a stunning win in regulation).  It's not like the old days when the choice was between a win or a tie.  You get to live and fight another day.

 

If you go for two in that situation, there are essentially two possible outcomes:



1. You lose the game because you gambled and failed to convert.



2. You take the lead but you haven't won the game yet.  The other team still has a chance to kick a winning FG after a decent return and a couple of solid plays.



Yes, Gardner was tired but he was continuing to shred OSU through the air. He is a warrior. You can bet the Buckeye defense was exhausted, too. And who's to say Wile couldn't handle the placekicking.  Gibbons had his own problems in OT.  The bottom line is that Michigan earned a tie in regulation and threw it away.  Gambling to avoid OT showed no confidence in our team.  The result was our ninth loss in ten games to OSU.



Auburn made the right choice. Just kick the freakin' extra point and play on. Our chances looked good, as the home team with all the momentum in an overtime. This is Michigan fergodsakes!

Scoreboardz

A webcam of "Michigan taking down their new scoreboards"?  Wait a minute.  Shouldn't we be taking down our OLD scoreboards?  Anyway, the video after dark is awesome.  In a zen-go-blue kind of way.

 

You must be Hoking

Let me get this this straight.  Brandon fired Rodriguez because he didn't complete the overhaul of our program in only three years.  Now, we're considering a guy who went 22-37 in his first five years at Ball State before finally turning the corner?  Not to mention a mediocre 13-12 record at San Diego State.

There is no way Hoke should be considered for our head coaching job. Who cares whether or not he has a secret handshake and two degrees of separation from Bo? We need a guy that can take us to a national championship. The Schembechler coaching tree only claimed one NC in its 39 year reign.  Aim higher, Brandon.

Another Interesting article about Rodriguez

This thought-provoking article should be a must-read for Dave Brandon.  Especially Reason Number 10.

10 More Reasons Why Rodriguez Should Continue to Be Michigan's Man

Stop me if you've heard this before. . .

"And here's the kick, it's up, it's long enough, it's Goudis!"

Sorry.  Couldn't resist.  Welcome to the Wolverines, Matt.

The Coaching Situation In Ann Arbor

I know, I know.  It's only from Bleacher Report.  Still, an interesting article and comment section.

10 Reasons Why Michigan Would Be Crazy To Fire Rich Rodriguez

No reason to panic -

The sky is not falling.  Remember the fall of 1997?  Michigan was coming off of four straight seasons of four losses each.  The media and our rivals were suggesting that the "M" in Michigan had come to stand for "mediocre".  There were plenty of "Fire Lloyd" t-shirts in the stands on Saturdays.  Starting senior defensive tackle Ben Huff had trashed his knee in the summer.  Senior linebacker and co-captain Eric Mayes blew out his knee in the Indiana game.  Junior safety Daydrion Taylor was lost for the season after a big hit against Penn State. At quarterback, we had a kid named Griese who was a former walk-on.  Yeah, things really looked bleak.  Until we ran the table at 12-0 and won a National Championship in the Rose Bowl.  Forget the gloom and doom.  Players will step up.  Rodriguez and the Wolverines will meet the challenge, win at least 7 this year and bring the Big Ten title home to Ann Arbor in 2011.  Call me crazy, but I believe the future is bright for Wolverine Nation.

Yellow Journalism by a Dying Paper

Look, I still love newspapers and it's really sad to see them shutting down. Unfortunately, some of them resort to desperate, yellow journalism in their death throes. Consider the pathetic hit piece by the doomed Ann Arbor News against Michigan athletics. Now, the Detroit Free Press launches sensationalistic attacks against Rich Rodriguez for doing the same thing that Bo Schembechler was sanctified for. Like all great football coaches, excellence is expected from their players. As Bo said when 65 of 140 players couldn't handle the new culture he brought to the Wolverines, "Those who stay will be champions." The players' extra time spent on football and conditioning is not mandatory but excellence is expected. Most of the players love the family atmosphere at Michigan and the way they are growing as athletes and students. Rodriguez like Yost and Schembechler, has become a true Michigan man. The Detroit Free Press should be ashamed for twisting the facts just to sell papers.

Shoelace & Tate

Imagine two dual-threat guys in the backfield at the same time. The Mad Magicians of Michigan with their quadruple-threat QB spread option. Ya gotta love it unless you're the opposing DC.

In case you missed it -

Excerpts from an NCAA.com article by AP sportswriter Larry Lage:

(August 25, 2008 - 5 days before Rich Rodriguez's first game as Michigan head football coach)

A two-plus hour practice that is as intense as one can be without full pads is over, but Kurt Wermers can't leave yet. He's being disciplined.

The offensive lineman starts his extra work with a bear crawl for 100 yards and 100-yard sprint.

"If you don't like being punished, don't be late!" assistant coach Greg Frye shouts. "C'mon Wermers!"

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound freshman is so exhausted on his next bear crawl that knees are dragging and hands are sliding on the artificial turf. After more crawling and sprinting, Wermers tries to outrace Frye from the far corner of the field to the indoor practice facility.

"I was supposed to be at a team meal at 10:30 and I got there at 10:31," the exhausted Wermers - flat on his back - says to trainer Paul Schmidt.

"Just remember," Schmidt says. "Early is on time and on time is late."

(August 26, 2008 - 4 days before Rich Rodriguez's first game as Michigan head football coach)

At practice, Carlos Brown's option pitch with his left hand comes up short, sending the football bouncing off the turf.

"Run it again!" Magee demands with a few not-fit-to-print words mixed in.

Brown does, perfectly flicking the ball to Brandon Minor.

Rodriguez's wife, Rita, and their two kids - along with other coaches' wives and children - are around again today. Sometimes they watch practice, sometimes they just hang out on the indoor practice field.

"Bo (Schembechler) never had wives and kids around like this,'' former Wolverine Vada Murray said while watching his first Rodriguez-led practice. "But I love the pace of this practice, and Bo would've, too."

Link to the full article:

http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/083008aas.html

Those who stay will be champions. Go Blue!