Juwan Howard coaching record at Michigan, in only 4 years, his first time as a head coach at any level.
2019 team ranked #4 at one point (his first team). Both tournaments canceled due to Covid
2 x Sweet 16 appearances
1 x Elite 8 appearance
1 x B10 Coach of the Year award
1 x AP Coach of the Year award
1 x B10 Championship
1 x #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament
Yet almost everyone in this thread wants him fired. It’s almost unreal. It took Harbaugh 7 years to win a B10 title and Playoff berth and to stop getting epically destroyed by OSU (like no UM team has ever been beaten) and that much time to figure out how to beat a ranked team on the road despite having a ton more experience than Juwan, yet Harbaugh was never at fault.
It’s like we have only middle schoolers commenting in this thread. It’s sad.
Though I agree that suggesting we aren’t a very good basketball team is ridiculous, his other point is not a bad one. We were on fire in November, and not playing great in December. Even Beilein has said this in interviews, so unless you think Beilein is wrong...
In January we lost to Wisconsin, a good but not great team, and came within a millisecond of going to OT against an average MN team. These are not good signs, and certainly are the signs of a great team.
We’ve shown we we have the ability to be great, and we’ve even shown we can win when not everyone is playing great. But last night was the second game in a row where almost no one played great (Teske the lone player), and it’s now the second month in a row we’ve not been dominant against almost anyone. So there is legitimate reason to be concerned. We all hope it’s just a mid-season slump and come February and March we’ll be back to playing great.
I think the original sentence just reads funny. I was confused when I read it at first. I believe it’s suposed to read, “Agaisnt Wisconsin, Michigan had its worst performance since that horrible loss to South Carolina in 2016”. He then goes on to say we had our worst shooting game against MN, making the overall point that our last two games have been awful.
Thank you. Finally a comment that makes sense and isn’t so ridiculously biased as to seem like it’s coming from a 12 year old who’s gf just broke his heart.
People, do we all have amnesia?
Before 1pm on Monday, GMatt was considered a secret weapon on our coaching staff. Outside of his age, he was beloved and thought highly of by just about everyone in this thread. Not only has he been a DC at, let’s name them, Michigan, ND, Michigan again and now OSU, not to mention the Baltimore frickin’ Ravens, but he’s also been an amazing recruiter, pulling in the biggest recruit anywhere since recruiting rankings started (Gary) as well as pulling other 4 and 5* recruits from SEC country. On top of that, he develops that talent. And, when the aforementioned injured Rashan Gary was NOT in the game this season, we dominated. Yes, that’s partially because his absence meant he was no longer being double teamed, but still! We took out our most talented D line player and we got BETTER! (Again, he was injured). And yes, when he left for ND we won the NC...with HIS players! So at the very least that argument means he’s a great recruiter.
Last year our D line was a monster, one of the best in the country. This year we took a step back, not surprising considering we lost our best D lineman and our 2nd best D lineman was hurt all year. Hoke brought GMatt in and our defenses immediately went from pathetic (epically pathetic) to respectable and then to Top 10 nationally ranked. Durkin and DBrown have sustained that (did we forget that Durkin’s defense was top ranked too? On that note, when Durkin got shredded by OSU, this thread said he was garbage....why isn’t DBrown garbage now considering we long for the days of only giving up 40+ to OSU?)
But now that he’s taken a PROMOTION at the premiere football school in the B10 which is also one of the Top 3 football programs in the world, and he’s suddenly an average at best coach who we don’t need.
Just unreal.
Listen, he’s older, he’s going to retire soon, and maybe some young blood will do us good. Fine, I have no problem with that. But suddenly throwing this guy under the bus when he’s done so much for our program, not to mention has been an incredible coach is just childish. Yes he went to a rival. But he’s 70 and it’s his CAREER! He has every right to do that.
Admit this is a huge loss, especially considering that Washington is going to follow him to Columbus, and maybe admit that Harbaugh is struggling.
Great points! Thank you for replying. I appreciate it. Here are my thoughts :)
Recruiting MSU:
My comment about “inferior talent” was referring to recruiting rankings. I apologize, I thought that was implied. It is of course not my perception that UM out-recruits MSU, it is everyone’s perception. Literally every single recruiting analyst and pundit. So this is not really a reality vs perception issue, as much as that supports the counter argument. Michigan gets dramatically higher ranked recruits than MSU. That is the ONLY point I was attempting to make. By “inferior talent”, I was saying that MSU is working with less than Michigan is from a recruiting standpoint, NOT that MSU’s players aren’t talented or don’t have potential. You basically made my point for me. Dantonio is a better developer of talent than Harbaugh. That is fine, but not as much when you are the 3rd highest paid coach in America. MSU certainly has great players, but more, they seem to develop their players, and mostly, they play better as a team.
Recruiting OSU:
I re-read my post, and I can’t find where I suggest that Harbaugh should have won all his games his first year as a coach. It seems you were inferring that? The point about Meyer was that Meyer wins with talent, immediately, and Harbaugh not as much (at least not to the same degree). And how has Dantonio done with “lesser” recruits? We can’t say, “Well Meyer gets great recruits, thus his success” right after pointing out that Dantonio also wins, but with lesser recruits (granted, that was my contention, but I don’t think it’s controversial).
All that said, how has Harbaugh recruited since he arrived? Pretty good I’d say. He has at least one Top 5 recruiting class, and another Top 10 (if not 2), and another Top 5 on the way. Either he’s not recruiting the right players, or he’s not doing as much with those players as you’d think.
Bowl game success
So, OSU and ND are basically 500 in bowls recently (which is not much of an “historical” view, but I’ll enterrtain it), and PSU just under that, but history fails to mention that PSU was rebuilding from a national disgrace during that period, so... And which bowls were OSU and ND in that they lost? Was it The Pea-Shooter Down Home Bowl, or something a little more prestigious? Progress is losing in the Playoff or NC game, not losing badly in The Peach Bowl or to a South Carolina team you should have beaten. Losing to FSU is understandable, and it was a close game. But the other two were embarrassing.
Harbaugh nostalgia
lol. Friend, can you show me where my “love” of Harbaugh ever implied that his QB success at UM meant he won all his games as a QB, or where I ever suggested that history shows we need to get back to the glory days? I’m not even sure what to make of your response, truly. I simply said I was a fan of his, and was pointing out that I’ve been a fan of his since his playing days. My point was that I am rooting for him. At no point did I suggest that as a QB he led Michigan to 4 undefeated seasons and needs to take us back to the promised land of National Championships.
But...since we are talking about past success, how many B10 Championships did he win as a player? How many did Bo win as a coach? How about Carr? How many did they even compete for? How many B10 championships did Bo compete for in his 20 years? How long did it take Bo to beat his rival? To win a big game. To compete nationally. To win a B10 Championship? How about Carr? Hell, I’ll even throw in Moeller for us! Didn’t we think Harbaugh would be a vast improvement above all those, maybe with the exception of Bo? (Yes, we are all aware that Bo never won a NC....got it). Did Bo inherit a ridiculously talented team? Granted it was a different era, but you are the one who is comparing eras.
Now, how many has Harbaugh won as a M coach? How many out-right division championships has Harbaugh won? How many B10 championships games has M even played in since he arrived? How many rivals has he beaten? How about Top 10 teams?
The point isn’t to be mean to Harbaugh or even unfair. It’s not trying to throw him under the bus. It’s simply saying that we must embrace reality, and honestly maybe that’s your point too. It seems that you have already embraced it and believe that this is his ceiling. That is ok to believe. However, it’s not a stretch to say that Harbaugh was brought here to compete for and win championships, both B10 and National. This was his own expectation, the AD’s expectation, the fan base’s expectation and just about every pundit’s expectation. My guess is it was your expectation too at some point. So far he’s not been able to do that, barely even close. If you think he’s getting better and we will get there, I respect that. But it’s bull to say, “We’ve never been that good, so you should never expect it”.
What were your expectations from 4+ years ago? Did you say then, “At year 4, I doubt we’ll ever beat OSU, will struggle agaisnt MSU, will win zero B10 Championships or even compete for any, and certainly won’t win a NC”? If so, you are better at this than literally everyone else who does it for a living.
Success as a team
So, the logic is thus:
1) Michigan has never been a national power (this is untrue on many levels), therefore they never will be? Hmm...how did Dabo do it?”. Is Clemson a historical blue blood and I’m just having amnesia? And have no programs even in history ever gotten better as programs? So, you pay a coach 7 million a year, at the time the highest paid coach in America and of all time, and 1) losing to your rival each year and often BADLY is ok, 2) losing bowl games to inferior teams, and often BADLY is ok, 3) showing marginal progress in 4 years is ok, 4) showing no ability to adjust or be creative on offense is ok.
If that’s ok with you, my friend, more power to you. My guess is it’s not ok to most, including me.
I repeat that I mean all this with respect to you. I don’t mean to attack you or suggest you are a fool or such. We just disagree, and that’s totally ok.
Ok, thank you for your post and comments. I get what you are saying. And my reply is offered with respect, sincerely.
You included two failed coaches by mentioning Hoke and RR, so not sure that’s a strong argument, unless the expectation is for Harbaugh to simply be better than them (he is). And though we were indeed close against OSU once and MSU once, we still lost those games. And it’s not like Harbaugh was close to Meyer in other years. He got blown out at home his first year, beaten by multiple scores his third year and beaten worse than any Michigan coach in HISTORY has even been beaten by OSU this year. Those losses count. Being close one of those years pales in comparison. Had the “close” game been this year, you could argue that we are getting better. But we aren’t actually getting better. Score-wise, we are getting worse. Each year (except the 2nd). That’s not good and it should not be glossed over.
Agaisnt MSU, yes, again, we should have won a couple years ago, but no, we didn’t. Fluke or not, we still lost. And our losses to MSU are often agaisnt inferior teams with inferior players, with all due respect to them. We either honor the recruiting rankings or we don’t. We can say they matter on signing day but say they don’t when MSU beats us again. And yes, we’ve beaten them twice now, and that’s good! But since we are looking at scores, our first win should have been a blowout...it’s was scarily close. Our recent win was agaisnt an MSU team that had like 437 injuries, including their starting QB, RB and WR. So, yeah, a win is a win, but not exactly dominating.
Meyer is indeed a once in a generation coach. But THAT is what Harbaugh wa supposed to be. Either we accept that he’s not or we say he’s not lived up to his billing. You can’t have it both ways. In Meyer’s FIRST year, he took a 6-6 team and went undefeated. Damn. That’s awesome. Playing for the Playoff is expected at OSU. At Michigan, we are literally still trying to win our division (still haven’t done it outright). Meyer is amazing, despite what those in this thread say about him being the devil. You could argue he’s on par or better than Saban if you look at how good he’s been at multiple places (but that’s another argument). But saying that Meyer is just better is saying that Harbaugh will never be great. If that’s acceptable to you, that’s ok, but it means we have different expectations for Michigan, and certainly had different ones for Harbaugh.
Regarding the last point re: “Who will we get that’s better”? I’m so tired of this argument, with truly all due respect. First off, all those who are “football coach recruiting experts”, raise your hands. I’ll wait. My guess is the moderators of this blog may be, but it’s otherise a small band. Why is it that everyone thinks they know all the available coaches? Who thought Dabo Sweeney would take frickin’ Clemson to ‘Bama-like places (not quite, but close)? Anyone? How about ND’s coach (drawing a blank and too pissed to look it up!)? He’s done better than Harbaugh, significantly. Are you really saying in a country of 350,000,000, there’s not a single available coach that could do better? Will there ever be? Are great coaches dead now, and no one else will rise up? Of COURSE there are better coaches! Plenty of them. The fact that you can’t name them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
And being bad in bowls because we are from the north? I’m not even going to address that one.
Listen, I’m a Michigan grad. I’ve been going to games since I was 8. My nicknames have been “Mr. Michigan” and “The General” (Gary Grant) in my lifetime. Harbaugh was my boyhood idol when he played. I WANT him to be great! I’d do anything to be wrong! But how long will this go on before we say that maybe he’s not the right fit? It doesn’t mean he’s a bad person, or that he isn’t a good coach. He’s certainly succeeded in many places! But if he’s met your expectations, after 4 years and too recruiting classes, then again, we have grossly different expectations.
GET A FUCKING OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR, JIM! DAMN!
Again I repeat that I mean this all with great respect.
First off, I am a M fan. We have had season tickets since I was 8, and I'm a M grad (1995), and have wathed every M game for the last 20+ years. I am distraught at the loss, especially since we basically dominated them for 3 1/2 quarters on defense (8 sacks, only 3 third down converesions all game!), but also because Speight basically won and lost this game for us. So so close.
However, I am baffled by what everyone is saying that Barrett definitively did not make the first down. I have watched this reply maybe 15 times, and each time, it appears as if he got the 1st down. Am I looking at it wrongly? The ball, which is in his right hand before he gets pushed back, is exactly where they spotted it, on TOP of the yellow line (which I am assuming is accurately representing the 1st down). Are people seeing this differently? So they put it where the ball's forward progress was, which is where they should have put it. Unless that yellow line was not the first down marker, then what am I missing?
(a reminder that I am a Michigan fan, and not the enemy!).
Recent Comments
Juwan Howard coaching record at Michigan, in only 4 years, his first time as a head coach at any level.
2019 team ranked #4 at one point (his first team). Both tournaments canceled due to Covid
2 x Sweet 16 appearances
1 x Elite 8 appearance
1 x B10 Coach of the Year award
1 x AP Coach of the Year award
1 x B10 Championship
1 x #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament
Yet almost everyone in this thread wants him fired. It’s almost unreal. It took Harbaugh 7 years to win a B10 title and Playoff berth and to stop getting epically destroyed by OSU (like no UM team has ever been beaten) and that much time to figure out how to beat a ranked team on the road despite having a ton more experience than Juwan, yet Harbaugh was never at fault.
It’s like we have only middle schoolers commenting in this thread. It’s sad.
Forgive me if I misread....but what does him being white have to do with this?
Though I agree that suggesting we aren’t a very good basketball team is ridiculous, his other point is not a bad one. We were on fire in November, and not playing great in December. Even Beilein has said this in interviews, so unless you think Beilein is wrong...
In January we lost to Wisconsin, a good but not great team, and came within a millisecond of going to OT against an average MN team. These are not good signs, and certainly are the signs of a great team.
We’ve shown we we have the ability to be great, and we’ve even shown we can win when not everyone is playing great. But last night was the second game in a row where almost no one played great (Teske the lone player), and it’s now the second month in a row we’ve not been dominant against almost anyone. So there is legitimate reason to be concerned. We all hope it’s just a mid-season slump and come February and March we’ll be back to playing great.
I think the original sentence just reads funny. I was confused when I read it at first. I believe it’s suposed to read, “Agaisnt Wisconsin, Michigan had its worst performance since that horrible loss to South Carolina in 2016”. He then goes on to say we had our worst shooting game against MN, making the overall point that our last two games have been awful.
Agreed agreed agreed. It’s like people just have to sugar coat the bad taste. We lost a good coach. Just admit it. It’s crazy to suggest otherwise.
Uh
Thank you. Finally a comment that makes sense and isn’t so ridiculously biased as to seem like it’s coming from a 12 year old who’s gf just broke his heart.
People, do we all have amnesia?
Before 1pm on Monday, GMatt was considered a secret weapon on our coaching staff. Outside of his age, he was beloved and thought highly of by just about everyone in this thread. Not only has he been a DC at, let’s name them, Michigan, ND, Michigan again and now OSU, not to mention the Baltimore frickin’ Ravens, but he’s also been an amazing recruiter, pulling in the biggest recruit anywhere since recruiting rankings started (Gary) as well as pulling other 4 and 5* recruits from SEC country. On top of that, he develops that talent. And, when the aforementioned injured Rashan Gary was NOT in the game this season, we dominated. Yes, that’s partially because his absence meant he was no longer being double teamed, but still! We took out our most talented D line player and we got BETTER! (Again, he was injured). And yes, when he left for ND we won the NC...with HIS players! So at the very least that argument means he’s a great recruiter.
Last year our D line was a monster, one of the best in the country. This year we took a step back, not surprising considering we lost our best D lineman and our 2nd best D lineman was hurt all year. Hoke brought GMatt in and our defenses immediately went from pathetic (epically pathetic) to respectable and then to Top 10 nationally ranked. Durkin and DBrown have sustained that (did we forget that Durkin’s defense was top ranked too? On that note, when Durkin got shredded by OSU, this thread said he was garbage....why isn’t DBrown garbage now considering we long for the days of only giving up 40+ to OSU?)
But now that he’s taken a PROMOTION at the premiere football school in the B10 which is also one of the Top 3 football programs in the world, and he’s suddenly an average at best coach who we don’t need.
Just unreal.
Listen, he’s older, he’s going to retire soon, and maybe some young blood will do us good. Fine, I have no problem with that. But suddenly throwing this guy under the bus when he’s done so much for our program, not to mention has been an incredible coach is just childish. Yes he went to a rival. But he’s 70 and it’s his CAREER! He has every right to do that.
Admit this is a huge loss, especially considering that Washington is going to follow him to Columbus, and maybe admit that Harbaugh is struggling.
Great points! Thank you for replying. I appreciate it. Here are my thoughts :)
Recruiting MSU:
My comment about “inferior talent” was referring to recruiting rankings. I apologize, I thought that was implied. It is of course not my perception that UM out-recruits MSU, it is everyone’s perception. Literally every single recruiting analyst and pundit. So this is not really a reality vs perception issue, as much as that supports the counter argument. Michigan gets dramatically higher ranked recruits than MSU. That is the ONLY point I was attempting to make. By “inferior talent”, I was saying that MSU is working with less than Michigan is from a recruiting standpoint, NOT that MSU’s players aren’t talented or don’t have potential. You basically made my point for me. Dantonio is a better developer of talent than Harbaugh. That is fine, but not as much when you are the 3rd highest paid coach in America. MSU certainly has great players, but more, they seem to develop their players, and mostly, they play better as a team.
Recruiting OSU:
I re-read my post, and I can’t find where I suggest that Harbaugh should have won all his games his first year as a coach. It seems you were inferring that? The point about Meyer was that Meyer wins with talent, immediately, and Harbaugh not as much (at least not to the same degree). And how has Dantonio done with “lesser” recruits? We can’t say, “Well Meyer gets great recruits, thus his success” right after pointing out that Dantonio also wins, but with lesser recruits (granted, that was my contention, but I don’t think it’s controversial).
All that said, how has Harbaugh recruited since he arrived? Pretty good I’d say. He has at least one Top 5 recruiting class, and another Top 10 (if not 2), and another Top 5 on the way. Either he’s not recruiting the right players, or he’s not doing as much with those players as you’d think.
Bowl game success
So, OSU and ND are basically 500 in bowls recently (which is not much of an “historical” view, but I’ll enterrtain it), and PSU just under that, but history fails to mention that PSU was rebuilding from a national disgrace during that period, so... And which bowls were OSU and ND in that they lost? Was it The Pea-Shooter Down Home Bowl, or something a little more prestigious? Progress is losing in the Playoff or NC game, not losing badly in The Peach Bowl or to a South Carolina team you should have beaten. Losing to FSU is understandable, and it was a close game. But the other two were embarrassing.
Harbaugh nostalgia
lol. Friend, can you show me where my “love” of Harbaugh ever implied that his QB success at UM meant he won all his games as a QB, or where I ever suggested that history shows we need to get back to the glory days? I’m not even sure what to make of your response, truly. I simply said I was a fan of his, and was pointing out that I’ve been a fan of his since his playing days. My point was that I am rooting for him. At no point did I suggest that as a QB he led Michigan to 4 undefeated seasons and needs to take us back to the promised land of National Championships.
But...since we are talking about past success, how many B10 Championships did he win as a player? How many did Bo win as a coach? How about Carr? How many did they even compete for? How many B10 championships did Bo compete for in his 20 years? How long did it take Bo to beat his rival? To win a big game. To compete nationally. To win a B10 Championship? How about Carr? Hell, I’ll even throw in Moeller for us! Didn’t we think Harbaugh would be a vast improvement above all those, maybe with the exception of Bo? (Yes, we are all aware that Bo never won a NC....got it). Did Bo inherit a ridiculously talented team? Granted it was a different era, but you are the one who is comparing eras.
Now, how many has Harbaugh won as a M coach? How many out-right division championships has Harbaugh won? How many B10 championships games has M even played in since he arrived? How many rivals has he beaten? How about Top 10 teams?
The point isn’t to be mean to Harbaugh or even unfair. It’s not trying to throw him under the bus. It’s simply saying that we must embrace reality, and honestly maybe that’s your point too. It seems that you have already embraced it and believe that this is his ceiling. That is ok to believe. However, it’s not a stretch to say that Harbaugh was brought here to compete for and win championships, both B10 and National. This was his own expectation, the AD’s expectation, the fan base’s expectation and just about every pundit’s expectation. My guess is it was your expectation too at some point. So far he’s not been able to do that, barely even close. If you think he’s getting better and we will get there, I respect that. But it’s bull to say, “We’ve never been that good, so you should never expect it”.
What were your expectations from 4+ years ago? Did you say then, “At year 4, I doubt we’ll ever beat OSU, will struggle agaisnt MSU, will win zero B10 Championships or even compete for any, and certainly won’t win a NC”? If so, you are better at this than literally everyone else who does it for a living.
Success as a team
So, the logic is thus:
1) Michigan has never been a national power (this is untrue on many levels), therefore they never will be? Hmm...how did Dabo do it?”. Is Clemson a historical blue blood and I’m just having amnesia? And have no programs even in history ever gotten better as programs? So, you pay a coach 7 million a year, at the time the highest paid coach in America and of all time, and 1) losing to your rival each year and often BADLY is ok, 2) losing bowl games to inferior teams, and often BADLY is ok, 3) showing marginal progress in 4 years is ok, 4) showing no ability to adjust or be creative on offense is ok.
If that’s ok with you, my friend, more power to you. My guess is it’s not ok to most, including me.
I repeat that I mean all this with respect to you. I don’t mean to attack you or suggest you are a fool or such. We just disagree, and that’s totally ok.
Ok, thank you for your post and comments. I get what you are saying. And my reply is offered with respect, sincerely.
You included two failed coaches by mentioning Hoke and RR, so not sure that’s a strong argument, unless the expectation is for Harbaugh to simply be better than them (he is). And though we were indeed close against OSU once and MSU once, we still lost those games. And it’s not like Harbaugh was close to Meyer in other years. He got blown out at home his first year, beaten by multiple scores his third year and beaten worse than any Michigan coach in HISTORY has even been beaten by OSU this year. Those losses count. Being close one of those years pales in comparison. Had the “close” game been this year, you could argue that we are getting better. But we aren’t actually getting better. Score-wise, we are getting worse. Each year (except the 2nd). That’s not good and it should not be glossed over.
Agaisnt MSU, yes, again, we should have won a couple years ago, but no, we didn’t. Fluke or not, we still lost. And our losses to MSU are often agaisnt inferior teams with inferior players, with all due respect to them. We either honor the recruiting rankings or we don’t. We can say they matter on signing day but say they don’t when MSU beats us again. And yes, we’ve beaten them twice now, and that’s good! But since we are looking at scores, our first win should have been a blowout...it’s was scarily close. Our recent win was agaisnt an MSU team that had like 437 injuries, including their starting QB, RB and WR. So, yeah, a win is a win, but not exactly dominating.
Meyer is indeed a once in a generation coach. But THAT is what Harbaugh wa supposed to be. Either we accept that he’s not or we say he’s not lived up to his billing. You can’t have it both ways. In Meyer’s FIRST year, he took a 6-6 team and went undefeated. Damn. That’s awesome. Playing for the Playoff is expected at OSU. At Michigan, we are literally still trying to win our division (still haven’t done it outright). Meyer is amazing, despite what those in this thread say about him being the devil. You could argue he’s on par or better than Saban if you look at how good he’s been at multiple places (but that’s another argument). But saying that Meyer is just better is saying that Harbaugh will never be great. If that’s acceptable to you, that’s ok, but it means we have different expectations for Michigan, and certainly had different ones for Harbaugh.
Regarding the last point re: “Who will we get that’s better”? I’m so tired of this argument, with truly all due respect. First off, all those who are “football coach recruiting experts”, raise your hands. I’ll wait. My guess is the moderators of this blog may be, but it’s otherise a small band. Why is it that everyone thinks they know all the available coaches? Who thought Dabo Sweeney would take frickin’ Clemson to ‘Bama-like places (not quite, but close)? Anyone? How about ND’s coach (drawing a blank and too pissed to look it up!)? He’s done better than Harbaugh, significantly. Are you really saying in a country of 350,000,000, there’s not a single available coach that could do better? Will there ever be? Are great coaches dead now, and no one else will rise up? Of COURSE there are better coaches! Plenty of them. The fact that you can’t name them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
And being bad in bowls because we are from the north? I’m not even going to address that one.
Listen, I’m a Michigan grad. I’ve been going to games since I was 8. My nicknames have been “Mr. Michigan” and “The General” (Gary Grant) in my lifetime. Harbaugh was my boyhood idol when he played. I WANT him to be great! I’d do anything to be wrong! But how long will this go on before we say that maybe he’s not the right fit? It doesn’t mean he’s a bad person, or that he isn’t a good coach. He’s certainly succeeded in many places! But if he’s met your expectations, after 4 years and too recruiting classes, then again, we have grossly different expectations.
GET A FUCKING OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR, JIM! DAMN!
Again I repeat that I mean this all with great respect.
First off, I am a M fan. We have had season tickets since I was 8, and I'm a M grad (1995), and have wathed every M game for the last 20+ years. I am distraught at the loss, especially since we basically dominated them for 3 1/2 quarters on defense (8 sacks, only 3 third down converesions all game!), but also because Speight basically won and lost this game for us. So so close.
However, I am baffled by what everyone is saying that Barrett definitively did not make the first down. I have watched this reply maybe 15 times, and each time, it appears as if he got the 1st down. Am I looking at it wrongly? The ball, which is in his right hand before he gets pushed back, is exactly where they spotted it, on TOP of the yellow line (which I am assuming is accurately representing the 1st down). Are people seeing this differently? So they put it where the ball's forward progress was, which is where they should have put it. Unless that yellow line was not the first down marker, then what am I missing?
(a reminder that I am a Michigan fan, and not the enemy!).