Just how close we came. A reversal of perspective.

Submitted by MGoPietrowski on
Well, the BIG TEN championship tonight, absent of Michigan, and it has me thinking. We had an incredible season this year. 10 wins. Beating Notre Dame. Beating Ohio. I know, old news to you.

However, many people look at our loss in EL as the reason that we are not all getting drunk in an Indianapolis parking lot right now. I understand that beating Sparty would have taken care of this outright, but I challenge my fellow MGobloggers to look at this from a different perspective.

In one season, Hoke and Co. has entered stage left and not only done these great things but came so so close to getting us to Indy.

Consider this friends, state had 1 loss in Big play, and we had 2. One of our losses, Iowa, was clearly one f*cked up escapade, in which we played bad, yes, but we we're certainly screwed out of our chance to make it right. Hands down worst officiated game since Bo passed. In reality, we could have won that one, but didn't due to FORCES WE COULDN'T CONTROL.

A win there would put us and State both at 1 loss, even with the trash bowl occurring. But do you remember the MSU win over Wisconsin? Of course you do. A pure Wisconsin hating god intervention that led to a miracle hail Mary victory for Sparty. Once again, FORCES WE COULDNT CONTROL.

If not for these things, in one season Hoke and the Wolverines would have navigated to a potential BIG title in their freshman campaign. Just realized this last night.

Neg me, agree, disagree, whatever. At least admit that this is some pretty exciting shit.

GO BLUE

orobs

December 3rd, 2011 at 1:44 PM ^

Michigan lost 2 games they could have won, yes.  But they also beat Notre Dame in a game they didn't really have any business winning.  Either way, it's nice that the only losses come in the last 5 minutes, as opposed to the last 4 years, when some losses were decided by halftime.

JCM26

December 3rd, 2011 at 7:52 PM ^

Living here in Columbus, Ohio I've heard Woulda, coulda, shoulda, if and buts and couple thosand times now.  Okay, here we go - what if Fitz's TD had counted?  What if Dileo had not fallen down on the long pass play from Denard?  What if Denard and Fitz had made the opposite cuts while rushing and had taken it to the house?  What if our defense had not missed Miller on a several occasions for a few more sacks?  What if our defenders had not slipped on a several occasions and prevented a few more long balls?

BrickTop

December 3rd, 2011 at 2:29 PM ^

He reminds of me Dantonio and his attitude towards Michigan. Michigan fans love it when Hoke shows his disdain for Ohio State but when Dantonio does the same to Michigan he's referred to as an angry guy with sociopathic tendancies. Very hypocritical.

JCM26

December 3rd, 2011 at 8:05 PM ^

Their school song is "Carmen Ohio" - not "Carmen Ohio State".  Also, a popular Ohio social chant is for a few fans to shout "OH" and others finish it by shouting "IO".  I've never heard anyone add "State" to that chant. 

uniqenam

December 3rd, 2011 at 1:44 PM ^

Pretty sure we could control not sucking against Iowa.  Not that the officiating wasn't the worst I've ever seen (it was), but we didn't play well enough to win that game.

willywill9

December 3rd, 2011 at 1:45 PM ^

Should have beaten Iowa... shouldn't have needed to depend on those calls, but we should have gotten them.  MSU, we had a fighters chance but didn't play well.  Close yes.... in retrospective, this has been an outstanding year 1.  In many ways I fear year 2 will yield a better team, but a worse record.  But, i'm rambling now, so i'll just go ahead and enjoy the last football saturday before bowl games and Army/Navy showdown.

BlueBarron

December 3rd, 2011 at 1:45 PM ^

Devil's advocate to your logic:

Imagine how close we came to NOT beating Notre Dame, and NOT beating Ohio. We had no reason to win that night game, but we did. B. Miller's final deep pass was maybe 3 yards away from being a touchdown. Even Northwestern had a two TD lead on us, and I remember Illinois giving us a 4th quarter "fright" too.

All I'm saying is, for every moment of "if only..." there was a moment of "no way." We could be 8-4 right now. We could be 12-0 or 11-1 right now. But we're 10-2. Which isn't too shabby.

hart20

December 3rd, 2011 at 1:46 PM ^

A horrible offensive gameplan lost us the MSU game? And that playing like shit lost the Iowa game? Things that are both entirely controllable.

UMgradMSUdad

December 3rd, 2011 at 1:47 PM ^

Not to rain on your parade, the Spartans still would have gone to the title game, even if we beat Iowa. And yeah, everybody already knows we are having a great season with our real wins; we don't need imagined wins.

MichiganExile

December 3rd, 2011 at 1:47 PM ^

There's a time and place for this kind of deep meditation. For instance, I prefer to do all my super-depressing thinking on Christmas while I'm being forced to share a meal with an extended family that makes the cast of the Jersey Shore look altruistic.

LSAClassOf2000

December 3rd, 2011 at 2:10 PM ^

"Neg me, agree, disagree, whatever." - hailtothe

Disagree. Negged.

ADDENDUM: In the end,  it doesn't really matter to me. 10-2 is far above what I thought would happen in August. We were competitive in our losses, which is alone an improvement from last year. I'll take this, no matter how disappointed I may be that we fell short of being in tonight's game, and carry being that close into next year. 

M-Dog

December 3rd, 2011 at 2:01 PM ^

The fact that we are looking at a handful of plays that if they went the other way we would be playing for the B1G is a sign of tremendous progress.  We were in the hunt for the championship.  All with pretty much the same team as last year.

Last year, we were not even in the hunt to have a non-losing B1G record.  Color me happy.

denardogasm

December 3rd, 2011 at 2:02 PM ^

I am so sick of people making excuses. It just makes us look bad.  Tell us to yourself or talk amongst your friends, but don't lay it out in public.  I was driving yesterday listening to that clown Valenti and heard a bunch of M fans call in and say how State got lucky and they're still second fiddle to Michigan and just begging Valenti to rehash all the things MSU has going for them right now.  Why?? They beat us on the field of play.  Did we have a great season? yes. Did they have a great season yes.  And they beat us. Which means they're better this year.  Who cares if we go to a BCS game and they don't. It doesn't make us better because they beat us.  It just means the system benefits us more.  Making these kind of excuses just gives them more material to laugh about when they talk about the Wolverines.  And not making excuses doesn't mean you have to congratulate them and be nice either.  Just go in your room, punch a pillow, scream into your sheets, do what you gotta do, but when you leave your room have your head held high and keep your mouth shut until next year.  Let them talk your ear off, because you have no argument and trying to conjure one just makes us look bad.  

Not all directed at the OP, just been hearing a lot of it lately with all the BCS vs. Rose Bowl talk.  Yes, it has been an exciting season.

Steve Lorenz

December 3rd, 2011 at 2:07 PM ^

I don't think it's as easy as "they beat us, so they must be better". I feel like the two teams are still as close to even as can be. They had the home field advantage this year, which if you watched the B1G season at all, seemed to be the difference in most big games. They will earn what they have earned, as will we. I just don't see it being so black and white in determining who's better though. By that same logic, Iowa is better than us. I don't think that's true at all. They were better than us on one Saturday. 

denardogasm

December 3rd, 2011 at 2:13 PM ^

I'm not trying to say they're that much better than us.  I don't think they are at all.  But when it comes down to it all that matters is wins and losses, and they beat us, and have beat us 4 times in a row, so any defense we put up is futile. The fact that they were better than us on one Saturday is all that matters because it's the only objective evidence.

LSAClassOf2000

December 3rd, 2011 at 2:20 PM ^

There are numerous examples in history of the better team on paper losing outright, and it happens many times throughout regular seasons everywhere. An example  from the B1G this year, in my opinion, would be MSU / ND, a game the Spartans had no business losing. It happens. I sort of have that feeling about our game against Iowa too - we were the better team  on paper, and we lost. 

Steve Lorenz

December 3rd, 2011 at 2:24 PM ^

That's where other factors come into play, like desperation and a real, almost tangible need to win. Remember, ND would have gone 0-3 if they lost that game. I have no doubt they played their hearts out in an attempt to avoid falling into that hole after having real aspirations this season. 

Then Iowa. After seeing them lose to Minnesota, I truly believed that was the worst possible thing to happen on the eve of our game. An embarrassing loss at home to a terrible football team would be all the motivation they would need to play over their heads and beat us, which they did. 

These kind of things matter, IMO. 

M-Wolverine

December 3rd, 2011 at 2:22 PM ^

So Iowa State is better than Oklahoma State this year, because they beat them? MSU could finish 10-4, and we could finish 11-2 (and really, if MSU had lost to Northwestern, they'd still be in the same spot with a chance for a 5th loss). Are they still better? What if a 6-6 State team had beaten Michigan when they go 10-2? That still count?

They were better on that day, at home. They can solidify how much better they were by winning today, getting a ring, and getting to the Rose Bowl. But by your reasoning there's no point in playing the game because MSU already beat Wisconsin. But they will anyway. Ohio State wasn't better than the Badgers, and they won. And Iowa wasn't better than us, even though they won. It happens. It's an MSU mentality that one game is the season. The whole overall thing is the season. There's still more potential for MSU's season to be greater; but it hasn't come to be yet.

denardogasm

December 3rd, 2011 at 2:34 PM ^

How do you get that by my reasoning there's no reason to play today?  They have another opportunity to play, and another opportunity to win.  Yes the whole season matters.  If it was Iowa I was talking about we certainly can say we're better than them, but I'm talking about MSU, who has the same record as us and beat us head to head.  All I'm saying is right now MSU has our number, and making excuses and trying to find nitpicky details that make us look better than them is exactly what we've made fun of Sparty for for the last decade.  It rings strongly of jealousy and it makes us look weak. If we played them again the way we're playing now I definitely think we would win.  If we had played them at home I think we would have had a much better chance to win.  But ifs and buts don't change the outcome.

M-Wolverine

December 3rd, 2011 at 3:52 PM ^

(Sorry for no pretty yellow...on mobile)

"And they beat us. Which means they're better this year.  Who cares if we go to a BCS game and they don't."

So now you're basically saying "wait till tonight"? Because if they lose by 50, people who do polls and say who's better than who will likely say Michigan is better. And how the two bowl games could flip flop the teams, or widen a gap.

I get that you want to beat them. But they're not neutral site games, and them winning 4 in a row has no bearing on this season. Right now they're a better, more accomplished team. And they still have more that they could accomplish for the year than we can. But it doesn't mean they are the better team "for the year." the season will do that. What it determines is on that day, on their home field, they were the better team.

denardogasm

December 3rd, 2011 at 4:07 PM ^

Whaaaaa?? I'm saying that they're playing for the Big Ten Championship and we're not.  I'm not saying the past 4 years have any impact on this year, but it does have an impact on our ability to talk shit to them without looking like idiots, GIVEN that they are also very good in those years. They get to play for their bowl game.  We have to hope multiple teams lose.  You're just arguing semantics. You said yourself "they're a better, more accomplished team." How does the same record with a head to head win not make them the better team for the year?  Only in our biased minds can we argue that we are better on the year, which is exactly what I'm saying.  It should stay in our minds.