Why did the Utah loss turn the world upside down?
There has been growing discontent with Hoke for some time now, dating back to at least last season. But the Utah loss seems to have had a disproportionate effect. ESPN is suddenly smelling blood and televising a routine Hoke presser, and MGoBlog and Michigan fandom has lit the torches and picked up the pitchforks. I don't recognize this place.
I get the start of the season is disappointing. Even as a Hoke slappy, I'll admit whatever doubts I had have grown. And I understand how whatever oppostion Hoke had would grow with the loss.
But why have we gone over a cliff after Utah? It's not App State, Toledo, or even an Akron near miss. They're a decent PAC team that came in and we lost a game we shouldn't have.
What am I missing? What was it about Utah?
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
Coaching transitions are not the problem. Hiring crappy coaches is the problem
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^
Because cronyism has no place in Michigan Football. Hoke out Brandon out clean house.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:11 PM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^
People need something to complain about. The Utah game was crap and the coaches deserve all the blame they've received, but once the tide of Michigan fandom gets going it is hard to change the direction. People wanted Hoke out after the last couple of years and dream of some white knight rushing in and saving the day, so any reason to move that process along quickly gets everyone up and going.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^
You know, sometimes I think the Civ (video game) series actually has it right. You manage the population's happiness levels, and they can sit negative for a while, then suddenly cities are revolting and half the world forms an alliance against you.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^
Persians and Japanese form a secret alliance against the Babylonians!
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:14 PM ^
I think you present an interesting question that made me think for a second until I remembered many of the things already posted. For me, it's the consistent regression. We've gotten worse every year overall while improving defensively and bringing in talented players. At some point, we have to face the fact that Hoke can't build and coach a team capable of beating a quality opponent.
I'll admit that I wanted Rodriguez* to stay mainly because I felt like I was seeing improvement and that we'd get there, but some of those defensive performances down the stretch became a tough pill to swallow and was OK to see him go. I don't even have that bitter optimism anymore with Hoke. I don't see the dawn on the horizon because it just keeps getting darker.
EDIT: Not trying to start a RichRod should we/shouldn't we have convo. I don't care at this point. Simply using our most recent debacle as a point of reference as to why our current situation has sent me over the line.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:22 PM ^
I try not to be super-critical of the staff in public for a lot of reasons, but I will say that the Utah game and the presser afterwards stand out to me as the point where it now simply looks a bit sad when you have the same platitudes being put forth against the results on the field - not just the score, but the way it looked from a technical standpoint, and against a Utah team that still doesn't have a realistic shot in the Pac-12 right now.
I think that started building last year really when it became clear that the offense was completely out of sync (say, during the second half of the Akron game), so we hired Nussmeier and that should hopefully be a good move given time, but there are still a lot of things that look, well, "out of phase" about in-game leadership to me, and I think we're right to look to Hoke for that and wonder what the nature of it is.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:28 PM ^
It was a loss at home to a very meh Pac-12 team. One that we should have been able to take care of at home, where Hoke's teams are traditionally very good. It wasn't just that we lost. We looked completely outclassed, at least on the offensive side of the ball. It'd be one thing if Oregon, Stanford or UCLA came in and did that to us. This was Utah.
Not to mention that this was the second time this season that we've played a power-5 opponent, and they've completely shut us out of the red zone. That says a LOT about your team.
I think the Utah game really just laid all the cards out on the table. Notre Dame was at least away, and they've looked really good to start the season. The Utah game you can look at and definitively say we've hit a really bad rough patch. Utah is not that good, and they beat us convincingly. That's why our world is upside down right now.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:35 PM ^
Club Golf has turned on the Athletic Department:
http://collegespun.com/big-ten/michigan-big-ten/michigans-club-golf-tea…
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:39 PM ^
I can understand how the Utah game was a deal breaker for many. It was a poorly played game exacerbated by the lightning delay and the QB substitution. But most were just waiting for a more glorified moment when they could go all out and yell at Hoke with as much support as they were hoping for.
I have been a Hoke supporter and my patience is wearing a bit thin, but I really don't understand the pitchfork/pile-on mentality. It's like our fan base wants to show the sports world how much we're struggling so that we get the attention we've been missing. It's an extremely childish mentality and I think it's hurting our program even more so than the losing.
I think what probably needs to happen, and likely will, is that we'll wait til the end of the season. If we continue on anywhere near a similar trajectory, Hoke will be let go and we'll bring in another moderately qualified candidate who's just as likely to be a bust as a success.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:58 PM ^
I agree with Cold War. The fanbase is flipping out a little too much over this game. Utah is not a bad team - its not really a shameful loss. Yes, it was ugly and Michigan played like shit but that can be turned around.
I'm a little shocked at how M fans are so quickly calling for a coaching change. That is not going to change anything, it will only bring more upheaval. At the beginning of the season - was anyone saying Hoke should be fired if he had a mediocre season? The seat wasn't that hot to begin with but it shouldn't be this hot already. The team has time to turn it around - Big Ten play hasn't even started yet.
Let's all put down the torches and pitchforks for now....
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:59 PM ^
We lost to UTAH @ THE BIG HOUSE!!!! This was the last straw and its a foretelling of the things to come this season and another sign of regression from this team. Prepare yourself for an 8 loss season.
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:03 PM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:03 PM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:04 PM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:08 PM ^
When Scouts are going on ESPN RADIO and saying our team is full of players that are not being developed, that is a big F***ING problem. A problem that we should not be hearing of in year 4 of this failed experiment.
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:35 PM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 4:57 PM ^
That sure does sound like Sparty-level candlepower in conflating correlation and causation so thoroughly.
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:37 PM ^
The rain put people in a bad mood.
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:48 PM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:55 PM ^
Not only has Michigan lost 8 out of its last 12 games, but the last 3 losses have been horrible. Not one of the games did Michigan have a chance at winning in the 4th quarter. You add on the multiple bad decisions that Hoke has made like
- Not going to a hurry up when down 3 scores in the 3rdquarter
- Leaving your two best offensive player on the field late in a blowout loss to Notre Dame (1 getting injured because of this)
- The continual use of the NFL style punt causing your team to be one of the worst teams in the nation at punt return yardage
And People are fed up. I think you saw a lot of people start to jump on the fire Hoke Bandwagon after ND. Then the Miami win didn’t help because it was a close game against one of the worst teams in the nation. Then to have a fringe top-25 team in Utah come into the Big house and dominate you just made everything mentioned above more magnified. ESPN and the national media have taken notice that attendance is down and that fans are unhappy. When you can’t fill the Big House against a PAC-10 team, then you have a problem. ESPN knows that and that’s why the attention has grown nationally.
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:59 PM ^
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, PUNT!!!!
September 23rd, 2014 at 2:28 PM ^
I understand the question to mean why this loss was any different than say the loss at Notre Dame.
Here is why:
1. Utah did not seem to be a great team. Clearly they are a good team (having beaten us handily!) but they are not a team that will challenge Stanford, Oregon, UCLA or USC for the PAC 12 championship. Losing to a great team isn't a problem but losing to a OK team hurts more.
2. The loss occurred despite individual great efforts. Jourdan Lewis ran clear across the long diagonal of the field to save a touch down. Jake Ryan register 10+ tackles. Will Henry intercepted the ball and rumbled into the endzone for a DL pick six. These efforts usually inspire the team to greatness.
3. Self-destruction. Initially the running game seemed to work yet once across midfield the play calling seemed not to continue to try to make Utah defend the run. It started to look like the previous year's offense of trying to hit a long big play pass. This kept putting the OL and Devin Gardner into 2nd and 3rd and very long situations.
4. Perceptions and expectations. The perception was that this team was not great but good. The expectations were that they would not beat the best teams but is "above average". Both were clearly wrong and the truth hurts. This is probably the most painful because the loss to Utah showed that as a team they were not that good. As individual players they are probably superior to Utah but as a unit the coaching and play just isn't there. And fans who endured the past seven years with only one good season really had to face the facts - this team is back to square one. That is why people overreacted even by internet standards.
This weekend's game may decide whethere we plunge into the abyss. Minnesota is clearly a less talented squad but they also clearly buy into Jerry Kill's program. If the Gophers upset Michigan then the team just has given up on the staff and losing out become a legitimate possibility.
September 23rd, 2014 at 2:30 PM ^
We lost to a team that we really should have beaten. Couple that with how poorly we've played all season. . . and the past few years.
September 23rd, 2014 at 2:42 PM ^
Last game before B1G play. Mid to lower tier Pac12 opponent. Didn't reach the redzone. 1 game is a fluke (@ND) 2 games is a trend. If you gave me an over/under 3.5 B1G wins right now I'd take the under.
Maybe Hoke should be the special teams coordinator so he can have a direct impact on a phase of the game.
September 23rd, 2014 at 3:09 PM ^
It was the culmination of a string of disappointments and the most tangible proof yet that this team has not gotten any better over the last two years--maybe even regressed.
September 23rd, 2014 at 3:16 PM ^
Neither was 2008 Toledo.
Neither was 2014 Notre Dame nor 2014 Utah.
There's probably another Top 5 "hits" yet to come on this how-low-can-you-go shit show of a football season.
I just name the next three opponents in my head, and I can somehow visualize some really horrible outcomes that no longer seem impossible, like losses.
vs. Minnesota
at Rutgers
vs Penn State
Michigan is more talented than all three of these opponents. Yet by now we know how OL consistency issues will crop up and put us behind the stcks, just in time for the H.S. Hero Ball and Weekend Interception Festival that we've been watching in recent games.
Things are circling the drain, and all we can do is suffer through it together.
September 23rd, 2014 at 3:18 PM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 3:40 PM ^
The Utah game showed that Michigan is on the path to what, at the beginning of the season, seemed to be the worst case scenario. But it may actual be worse than that. Michigan looks like a team that will struggle to make the Heart of Dallas Bowl, and by that I mean if they improve on several fronts they will make the Heart of Dallas Bowl. That is difficult to accept, with a talented roster, two outstanding coordinators, and a head coach with three years plus under his belt. All of this is exacerbated by a series of moves that, at the same time, gouge season ticket holders and make our beloved univeristy look like McMichigan.
In other words, it's a perfect storm.
September 23rd, 2014 at 3:41 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 23rd, 2014 at 4:26 PM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 5:09 PM ^
It's in conjuction with the ND game. If we were 3-1 having beaten ND, this game would be viewed as an aberration or a simply a bad game against a surprisingly decent opponent. The outlook on the season would be drastically different.
September 23rd, 2014 at 5:17 PM ^
There is one thing and one thing alone that can singlehandedly change the narrative.
Win these next two games and above all beat MSU. If we win that game that is Hoke's turning point. The thing that will get us all to believe.
Barring that unlikely outcome it's just a lot of unfounded, frustating hope.
September 23rd, 2014 at 5:34 PM ^
this encapsulates everything wrong with the program right now. even their shoes won't execute.
September 23rd, 2014 at 6:37 PM ^
Why is Glasgow 30 yards down field? It just seems so me
September 23rd, 2014 at 7:59 PM ^
It's not that they lost to Utah. It's HOW they lost. Same thing with Notre Dame. Take away the punt return TD, and take away Henry's romp into the end zone (if you take away one, you have to take away the other) and we have been outscored in our two non-body bag games by a total of 50-3, with 0 red zone trips.
It would be different if we had lost either game by dramatic fashion, such as a 31-30 loss where the kicker hits a 58 yarder as time expired. That, obviously, is not what happened here. Against quality competition, we've shown the college football our ass for about 8 quarters now. And there's no signs of getting better.
Mix this with the 27-for-27, the losses to Nebraska and Iowa espcially, and the drubbing we received against Kansas State last year, along with the issues we had last year with the OL and the entire offense sputtering this season, and you likely have the witch's brew currently set before us that will likely cost Hoke and maybe Brandon their jobs.
September 23rd, 2014 at 8:10 PM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 8:26 PM ^
September 24th, 2014 at 7:44 AM ^