I was around for the twelve years John Cooper coached at OSU. This too shall pass. I hope UM doesn't mortgage its soul to make that happen.

Meanwhile, even including Saturday, this year was the most fun I've had watching UM play football since 2006, largely because of the defense that failed so spectacularly yesterday. If they pick themselves up and play well in the bowl game, I'm willing to call it progress and wait to see what happens next.

I'm actually getting resigned to losses against OSU.  What I can't accept though is the way we lost yesterday - getting dominated and looking like we didn't belong in the game for the last 3 quarters.  That's on the coaches completely.  If we had a better game plan and preparation going in, the game would have been a lot closer IMO.   In a rivalry game of this magnitude with so much on the line I don't get it.  It was bad when it happened in the bowl game last year against SC and inexcusable.  

Michigan fans will probably need to dial down their expectations with Harbaugh unless something changes, like he overhauls his staff or tactics in these big games.  Trying to run the ball down OSU's throat and win time of possession hasn't worked and won't work in the future.  But 10 wins is likely the ceiling for now.  

Trust me, we as fans will not hurt as much as these players and coaches. We question their drive, focus, and determination as if they were not. They knew what was on the line and they were determined because this was part of the revenge tour.

Let's support our team and not let outsiders or poisonous "fans" tear them down.

“In the ulcerating silence, perspective comes the way it always does for its ransom.”

Gord Downie

That lyric makes me feel better today for some reason.  The song is Beautiful Thing by the Tragically Hip.  It made me feel better too.

I probably owe a dozen or so apologies to the various people I told to fuck off last night.   My bad.  

Can someone please explain to me why the coaches and some of our fanbase is dead set on this manball "Bo style" offense?  It's not 1976.  It's completely mind-boggling to me.  Do we get style points or something for being predictable?

We run, run, pass.  Run, run, pass.  Get down by 20 points, start throwing downfield and low and behold we move the ball...  Actually, we were STILL running up the middle while getting blown out, but we started throwing it downfield eventually.

Also, how can it be that everyone in the world, almost literally, knew that crossing routes with fast athletes would kill us, yet we had zero game plan for it?  What the hell were we doing running press man coverage and not having the ability to apply a simple zone defense?  If a guy is getting burned over and over again, you have to AT LEAST replace him with someone faster if your team is incapable of running a zone.  Saquon last year vs our slow linebacker.  Same thing.  Just leave him in to get burned over and over.  It makes no sense.

The players didn't play well, but this was just a god awful display of coaching.  A monkey picking plays randomly would have been significantly better than this.  

Why do we continue to do the same shit year, after year, after year, then act surprised when a good team has a game plan to stop it? 

Listening to OSU after the game, they were actually shocked that Michigan came out with the same exact look they were exposed on the week earlier.  They couldn't believe they would be that dumb and stubborn.

I'm just in awe of how stupid that gameplan was.  Run a zone defense and use a spread offense like everyone else for the love a god...  A real spread with passing downfield.  We are not Alabama.  I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

Michigan football is like my kids.  Sometimes they make me proud.  Sometimes they embarrass me.  Sometimes they frustrate me. Sometimes they really piss me off.  I worry about them.  I desperately want them to succeed and live a good life.  And, I always care for them deeply and wish them nothing  but the best.  I’ll always be there and have been for the past 45 years of my fandom.  

Life is meaningless.  I am literally eating at Arby's as I type this.

I would agree with all of that, except for the part where Ohio State has a better roster than us. They have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball that is either under-coached, or just young and still figuring things out. If you decide to go head up (as Michigan did running the ball right up the middle) you're going to lose. Not a coincidence the two most matchup oriented offenses were able to hang - Purdue & Maryland. 

When they torched us with their base mesh play on the first drive it was clear it was over. It's like we didn't prepare for them one bit, how do we get wrecked by the pass play they run 30 times a game all year? We played zone and stopped it once in the second half, the next play they run a zone beater and have a wide open guy in the middle of the field. We run zone on another play and they have a guy in the endzone with nobody within 30 yards of him. WTF was don brown doing? Where were our massive schematic advantages of the past two years when we finally had players to compete? Why does OSUs LBs suddenly know how to play and their OL suddenly know how to block? Those guys got torched by Minn and PSU and MSU and Purdue.  The world makes no goddamn sense.

I’m not sure we can say we had the better roster. Outside of tight end, it’s hard to argue they weren’t better at every offensive position. 

If we want to start beating OSU, we need to recruit like they do. Luckily, it’s looking like we finally are. 

There is something to be said about momentum: if those passes are caught, if one of those crossing routes are defended once early if the second FG is a TD, everything could have been different. Don’t underestimate the snowball effect. Could have gone the other way too. Let’s not over react to one loss. OSU could easily have lost to Nebraska.

That was easily the most deflating loss I've seen in my fandom of Michigan which goes back to 2006 now. We've had a lot of bad losses, a lot of humiliating losses, and a few all time embarassments, but I think this was a new way to get knifed in the heart. We had the better team, the better roster and OSU completely gutted Don Brown's D and Michigan inexplicably looked like it had never reviewed a second of game tape for this one.

Right when it felt like we were about to take a big step forward, it feels like we took one back. There are reasons for optimism and there are reasons for pessimism, but I personally have given up on believing the hype on Michigan until this team finally beats a good Ohio State team. Still waiting to see that happen for once

This game, make no mistake, was a tipping point.

This is the problem with making statements about what is and what is not before it happens.  It just sounds like sour grapes.  What happened happened and no ifs or could have beens will make any difference.  It happened and we have to accept it.  Although Meyer had a rough year in many respects he still kicked our ass.  We must live with that, the coaches must continue to find ways to succeed recruiting, and they must make adjustments and get the players to believe we can beat them next year.  It was not a tipping point.  It was the status quo.

Michigan should spend it's entire bowl practice playing Ohio State.

Learn to pass on zone coverage; learn to play zone coverage on defense; devise a way to eliminate the effectiveness of the shallow cross by zone blitz, alignment, jams, whatever.  Realize what the rest of us already know: you have multiple elite wide receivers who can't be covered and you have a QB who can hit them.  Impregnate the team with the knowledge that the Ohio State game is the only game that matters.  

The program lost its way a long time ago and still hasn't found it.  Learning how to beat Ohio State,at the expense of everything else, is the way.

Don’t be fooled.

This whole thing about Urban Meyer having a brain cyst is a coverup; what he has is a device implanted in his brain by highly intelligent, though evil, alien beings. These aliens are called the “Grays”.

The device literally calls the shots during games. That’s why he wins. Occasionally the device malfunctions, and the result is the Purdue Anomaly. The device also allows the aliens to cause physical pain to Meyer if he doesn’t listen to their instructions. This is why we see him bent over in pain from time to time.

The solution to Michigan’s lack of invincibility is for Harbaugh to get his ass over to Area 51 as soon as possible, and get an implant from the highly intelligent, good aliens, called the “Blues”, who are giving our government alien technology for national defense. They’ll give him alien technology for football defense. They’ve already given Brown some insight, but his software needs updating.

Yes. Got boat raced by an OSU team with all the pieces playing up to potential for the first time all year. Did it suck? Damn right it did, but that shit happens in rivalry games. Give me the program where it is today - the future looks better than good. 

Kinnel said it and summarized it well.  We all hurt from this loss, but not as much as the players.

Personally still stunned, though I now understand OSU was ready to play their best football of the season and Michigan was not. 

10 wins, and probably slightly outplaying Notre Dame on the road the last 3 quarters, and earning top 10 status will always be something I respect and appreciate about this team.  Pulling hard for a good bowl win.  These guys worked hard and are a really good team.  Just ask Nebraska, Wisky, MSU in a rational moment, and PSU.  Not the best team in the country.  Would still love to see them go out the right way.

"It had the better roster."

That anybody can still make that confident, blanket assertion after Saturday is bizarre.

I am not sure if I am  completely past the shock, so temper my opinion with that notion. I look at the progression since coach arrived, and I see similarities to the Bad Boys era of Detroit Piston basketball. That team as it was developed, had to lose in a conference final before learning how to dethrone the reigning champ. Then they lost in the finals to the reigning champs, and had to learn how to beat them - and more importantly - as well as what it took in order to BE the champs. As a program, there was so much to be done in order to restore it to the 10+ wins each season many of us were accustomed to. To the level where The Game was the season. Well, clearly the team is not quite there, but as a program, the revenge tour and season seems a reasonable facsimile to the Pistons learning to win. The revenge tour wins were like beating the reigning conference champs, while beating osu is more akin to dethroning the reigning champs. Yes, there are playoffs to be had beyond beating osu, but my humble opinion is that if and when the program rises to the level of beating osu, the playoffs will take care of themselves. The Game sucked...but I woke up, I was breathing, and I am still a fan of this team. I also hope I am right about this because the alternative would be disappointing, and I have plenty of that watching the Lions play.