Five things to take from this: We must recalibrate our expectations

Submitted by Lordfoul on
Please realize that I have not yet read any of the discussion here on this board since the game ended.  I have heard some tidbits of what was said in the presser.

By no means is this an unacceptable loss.  If we take away the emotional aspect of getting beat soundly by our little brother two years in a row, this was almost a given.  We were playing a team with decent talent, a potent offense, and a desperate need to win.  Our opponent had to have this one, and they played like it.  But still...

I hate losing to State.  It is humbling in a way that is just too personal.  So much smack has been spoken, just within the family, and over so many years... I will be hearing about this one for a while.  There is nothing to say back this time.  Michigan was thoroughly outplayed and had no right to even be in this game.  The Spartoons managed to drive 130 yards for their first touchdown.  State was killing themselves in true Sparty-NO! fashion, taking killer penalties, gifting Michigan the ball with regularity, and it almost cost them.  Never underestimate the power of the Forcier.

Five Things:
  1. The fake punt.  What the hell was that?  I gather that the decision was made by Zoltan.  There has been no worse conscious decision made in recent Michigan Football history.  Yes, there was a lot of game left to be played, and yes, we held them to a field goal which they probably would have managed after a punt from there anyways.  That was still a move that should never be allowed to happen.  That is why I don't blame Zoltan for that.  I understand giving him the read on punts and taking what openings he sees, and bad reads will happen.  At the same time there should be set-in-stone limits to this, like when we are punting from our own 17.  On fourth and inches.  I put this squarely on the coaches.
  2. I don't know whether to defend GERG or throw him under the bus.  It is even more obvious that he is dealing with a completely inept secondary.  The way I see it he has two options to deal with this: 1) Drop everyone, Safeties, CBs, and LBs, back into coverage and rush only the line or 2) Blitz like crazy.  It seemed to me that getting shredded by Cousins led to GERG trying 1 for most of the game and Cousins killed us with his feet.  1 is the path of no contain.  Our defense had Sparty bottled up (or Sparty was killing themselves with penalties) for 3rd and 7, 3rd and 8, 2nd and 25(!), 3rd and 8 again and we would drop into almost a prevent defense only to get burned by Cousins.  Only late in the game did we start to go to 2 and it made a big difference in our effectiveness. 
  3. We can all be excited that this Michigan team has no quit in it.  No two score lead is never safe against us and that is going to be exciting for the rest of the season because we are certainly going to face many more 4th quarter deficits with this crew on defense.
  4. Two more streaks of note went down in this one IIRC.  The long streak of no 2 years in a row to Sparty, and I believe this was our first overtime loss.  They both felt strange, ya know?  Oh, well - Wipe the slate clean and all that...
  5. Congratulations to Michigan St for getting pumped up for the game and handing our asses to us.  They played very well and deserved the win.
Hats Off:
  • Tate Forcier - Wow.  Can this kid get any more exciting?  It seems like it would get boring always bringing him up for accolades but he is just amazing.  Stay healthy young man.  You could yet be the best we have ever seen in a Michigan uniform.  Super Clutch. 
  • Kovacs -  I am officially behind this guy 100%.  No, he is not a great option at safety.  He has an amazing ability to time blitzes, shed blocks and make tackles though.  I almost could see him as a linebacker if he could put on some muscle.  Just an amazing performance for a walk on.
Don't Let George Clooney Near These Guys (DLGCNTG): 
  • Zoltan - Sorry to say it but Zoltan was not good in this game.  Many short punts and of course the bad read.  I still love the guy though.
  • Woolfolk - This guy may be fast, but he can't tackle at all it seems.  Kovacs is not a good safety, but he is better than Troy. 

Looking Ahead:

This game illustrates further that we should be happy with 7 wins and a bowl game this year.  Iowa isn't unwinnable, but it isn't likely that we take one at night in Kinnick IME.  I think we will probably be at 5-3 after Penn St and looking for 2 wins the rest of the way.  Those wins look like Illinois and Purdon't (nice choke job boilers), with Wisky a possibility as well.  I hope we don't have anything riding on The Game as with nothing to lose, I think we win that one.


Have a safe week everyone.  Go Blue!  Beat those Hawkeyes!

Comments

swarwick33

October 5th, 2009 at 2:22 PM ^

I was all for going for it, but they were about 2 chain links short. Last week I watched as Mississippi State refused to QB Sneak it from the 1/4 yard line against LSU on 3 consecutive plays to lose the game. Why do coaches refuse to just line up and dive forward. In all of my years of watching football, I have not seen a QB get stopped on a Sneak more than a handful of times. Why not just line up and have Forcier take the snap and just fall forward? I cannot say that this would have changed the outcome, but I do not know why coaches do not just keep it simple.

Joined: 08/18/2009

MGoPoints: 205

Muttley

October 6th, 2009 at 1:14 AM ^

RR trusted Zoltan with the option, and Zoltan didn't use it wisely. Mich isn't the first team to try a fake punt from their own 15. I recall similar successful gambles by not only Urban Meyer but also Bobby Bowden and Bob Stoops. In Rod I trust. I like what's going on with the Mich program and I can look past one botched play.

Joined: 07/07/2009

MGoPoints: -73245

Aequitas

October 5th, 2009 at 11:50 AM ^

Last season's 3-9 team is even younger and smaller this year. I thought they'd likely go 7-5 or 8-4. I don't respect MSU, not for this game, but for what they're about to do at Illinois. We knew going in, that we were going into a hostile stadium against a desperate team. The other losses I had were ND, Iowa, Penn St and Ohio. Iowa stubbed their toe a bit against Ark St, but if people think that score has anything to do with the Iowa team we'll see next week, they're crazy. Iowa got up on the Red Wolves fast and gave up a pair of late touchdowns. They were looking ahead to a nationally televised night game for Homecoming against what they were hoping was an undefeated Michigan team. I really believe the Iowa game is the toughest game they're going to play all year. Penn State and Ohio State may or may not be as good as people think, but they're good enough to beat us right now unless we play a perfect game and they make a few mistakes. (Most of the PSU, OSU matchups have our kids giving up 2-3 years and a ton of game experience.) 3-9 to 9-3 in the Big East is a bit different than 3-9 to 9-3 in the Big 10 + Notre Dame. These guys are going to compete hard every week and they're going to shock some people still. But they are still young and they need our patience and support every week. I've probably never in my life rooted harder for a team than this one, I can't even begin to describe the pride I felt when they fought back in that rain to tie that game up Saturday... first road game, hostile environment, they didn't fold, they responded and that's huge to me. I would love nothing more than to see them run the table and shock the world, but they've already proven to me that they have a ton of heart and they will represent Michigan very well the rest of the season in every game.

Joined: 09/22/2008

MGoPoints: 718