the pose

The Teams: 1991

Seth • June 1, 2020 • 9:00am

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Previously: 1879, 1901, 1918, 1925, 1932, 1947, 1950, 1964, 1973, 1976, 1980, 1988, 1999

Special Guests: We've got both defensive captain/Butkus winner Erick Anderson, and 1991 scout team running back of the year Tyrone Wheatley!

1. SETUP AND PAYOFF

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Year 2 of Gary Moeller, coming off a year Iowa went to the Rose Bowl after Michigan lost to them and MSU by a point in consecutive weeks. Stadium renovated, back to grass! This one's personal.

2. THE TEAM

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Offense: Elvis Grbac is Dr. Touch. Stacked backfield; Ricky was the cutter, Jesse had the feet, Wheatley had the speed, Legette had no neck. Desmond went into the season #2 to Derrick Alexander, who got hurt and walk-on Yale Van Dyne stepped up. Big, mean, versatile OL. Ty Wheatley's recruiting story.

Defense: Mike Evans is a walk-on from Massachusetts, Lance Dottin's another big time athlete from there. Hutchinson makes everyone look good, Buster Stanley and Tony Henderson were young for NG but great. Athletes in Brian Townsend and Neil Simpson rotate with big Martin Davis. Young corners Dwayne Ware and Alfie Burch and new safeties Otis Williams and Corwin Brown replacing longtime starters. J.D. Carlson's XP streak.

3. THE NONCONFERENCE

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Slow BC start and constant big plays getting called back: no panic, just a setup for the Massachusetts guys to shine. Two big-time games: not gonna lose a 5th in a row to Notre Dame, total confidence even on the 4th and 1 call, but ND was full of talent. FSU threw out all the trick plays, including the Transcontinental, had some All-Americans, but Michigan was just as good.

4. THE BIG TEN AND ROSE BOWL

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Team finds itself, offense redesigned not just for Desmond but for scoring quickly so they don't have another FSU. Dangerous MSU and more dangerous Indiana, which needs a goal line stand (suck it Erick's brother!). Sleepy midseason—freshmen hit a wall, coaches keep them motivated for blowouts of Minnesota, Purdue, Northwestern, and Illinois. Ready for everything Ohio State had. Washington was another story—most talented team they played. Cornerbacks playing linebacker, linebacker playing end, and one of the best players of the era at DT.

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MUSIC:

"Scenario"—A Tribe Called Quest
"Lithium"—Nirvana
"Breakdown"—Guns 'n Roses
“Across 110th Street”

THE USUAL LINKS

How many times have you been mistaken for Eddie Azcona, Tyrone?

Dear Diary Hasn't Returned One in Forever

Seth •

Last Push. We have the weekend and then HTTV's kickstarter closes. If you just want a book this is fastest and least expensive route (not counting going to an MGoEvent or tracking me down when there's a box in my car). If you want the Fingerguns shirt…

…this is your opportunity. If you want your annual purchase of HTTV stuff to go to a good cause, get in on the kickstarter, because a dollar of book orders and $5 of your t-shirt orders go to Vincent Smith's #EATING charity, which will be starting an urban garden in Flint. Pass along to friends, family, family friends, and anyone you have knowingly shared a "Harbaugh? Harbaugh." with this past year.

A lineman reviews Jake Rudock. Spath came up with a really cool idea for analysis videos: watch some Rudock film with a former player. The player he dug up was Doug Skene. The game was Iowa-Wisconsin. I plan to draw up a couple of them—would like an end analysis. One thing that stood out is he uncharacteristically went deep a lot—against Sojourn Shelton(!) #KirkFerentzTrollsIowaFans

This should be a video. Wolverine Devotee found all the Michigan punt and kick returns since 1948; unfortunately he put them in a chart instead of going down to Bentley, pouring through reels of film, and creating a Youtube of them. We'll just have to watch this one again:

Raindrops on roses and Katzenmoyer missin's. Dez in the pose and that punter needs mittens. 46 falling and sadface Germaine; that's why I watch this again and again.

Is it really that weird that Michigan hasn't had a kick or punt return touchdown in years? No.

Give Norfleet back two of three TDs he's had called back by insano refs calling ticky tack things that had no bearing on those plays and this is like any other era. The rich times were the early '90s, when Dwyane Ware blocked two within weeks, and Derrick Alexander co-existed with the guy who literally won a Heisman for being so good at returns. With return TDs such a rarity across history, two in a season is good, and more than three would be a record. Add the spread punt, which turned half of would-be punt return attempts into fair catches, and I'd bet you a lot of teams are on similar droughts.

WD also did a turf/grass/field turf study if you're nerdy enough to care about that. The only part that really interested me was dates for the different types of surfaces at the Big House:

Surface	Years	Record
Grass	1927-1968	162-72-11 (.684)
Tartan Turf (artificial turf)	1969-1981	73-8-3 (.887)
All-Pro Turf (artificial turf)	1982-1990	46-10-0 (.821)
Prescription Athletic Turf (grass)	1991-2002	63-12-1 (.836)
FieldTurf (artificial turf)	2003-2009	36-14 (.720)
Duraspine (artificial turf)	2010-present	27-8 (.771)

Etc. All you need to know to start paying attention to lacrosse. Jake Butt as James Bond wallpaper. There's only one player (and neither coach) left from the hybrid RR/Hoke Class of 2011. Ugliest Michigan gear. Couldn't get tickets for softball? Go see AFC Ann Arbor in their first-ever league game.

Your Moment of Zen:

Coaches on the road recruiting equals Northwest Airlines video:

Michigan State recruits China.