JT Barrett and the 1973 Rose Bowl Controversy.
As everyone knows, in 1973 Michigan stormed back and scored 10 points in the 4th Q to tie Ohio 10-10, with Michigan QB Dennis Franklin getting hurt with 2 minutes left in the game. Twice in the last 2 minutes, Michigan’s field goal kicker missed the winning kick, but obviously had more scoring chances and ended the game the “stronger side.” According to Wiki, even Woody Hayes admitted his team wouldn’t go to the Rose Bowl.
Two years prior, the Big Ten abolished the “no repeat” rule, which if in effect in ’73, would have prevented Ohio State from going back to the Rose Bowl since they had gone the year before. All signs pointed to Michigan going, yet Ohio State was chosen by the Big Ten AD Committee, purportedly because Franklin was hurt, and since the Big Ten has lost the last 4 Rose Bowls, the committee thought Ohio State had the better chance to win.
Bo was furious about this decision, and remained so until his death. It was so controversial that documentaries and HBO specials were made about it.
JT Barrett went down on Saturday, and now throughout the airwaves we hear pundits voice the same issue – whether Ohio State should be downgraded for the first ever playoffs because they are weaker now without their QB.
I went to school when Bo was still coach. I saw the man up close many times. Never a more intense human being had I ever seen, even when just walking by on the way to lunch. If Bo were alive today, while he would feel bad for the kid’s injury, I would bet my bottom dollar deep down, with his competitive fire, he would have one thought in mind: schadenfreude. Dennis Franklin busted his ass all season long to keep Michigan undefeated and bring Michigan back to earn not only a tie, but a chance to win against Ohio State before he went down. Where were thoughts for Dennis Franklin by the AD committee in 1973? They chose against him.
For Dennis Franklin and for Bo, I will be rooting against the Buckeyes this Saturday, and against their selection come selection show.
Am I alone? Will I get negged for not showing more compassion? I’m tired of the trust fund attitude of too many Michigan faithful who’ve lost the intensity and competitive fire that should naturally come when you’ve lost to your arch-rival 11 out of 12 years. Hoke was the perfect embodiment of this softness – pathetically apologizing to Dantonio after getting pounded by State over a harmless stake gag. Would Bo have apologized? Not in a million years, and I’d bet he would’ve considered firing Hoke on the spot after that apology.
Let’s hope our next coach isn’t a nice guy, but a competitive mother effer who brings even half the intensity Bo brought with him, and demands excellence not only in comportment and execution, but in the level of competitiveness Michigan once had.
December 1st, 2014 at 8:12 PM ^
This is so funny because this is the first thing I thought of after he broke his leg, now that there is a subjective committee voting about who are the "best" 4 teams.
I just couldn't think of a way to say it without sounding like I was happy about it (I'm not), or that it was some sort of karmic/cosmic payback.
I guess I can at least say: They ended our season. We ended theirs.
December 1st, 2014 at 8:13 PM ^
The 1973 decision was just as much a referendum on Franklin's injury as it was on the other Big Ten AD's opinions of Don Canham.
Honestly, the situation is just different here. The playoff committee is up front about the fact that they take injuries into account, and OSU has another game to play. There's a clearly outlined process here. In '73, Wayne Duke and company made it up as they went along.
December 1st, 2014 at 10:35 PM ^
December 1st, 2014 at 11:24 PM ^
Every team has injuries. The karma has nothing to do with wanting/expecting a kid to get hurt. It has to do with the chance for Ohio State fans to feel exactly what Michigan fans felt in 1973 - deprived a well earned bowl invitation due to very similar circumstances.
It was no secret that the 1973 decision was the single worst thing that happened to Bo according to him in his tenure as our coach.
The rivalry may be irrelevant, but it is my belief that that is in part because too many Michigan fans and administrators have lost the competitive fire, instead taking comfort in the fact that we employ Spartans and Buckeyes around us to sustain our equity stakes and share values.
Last night I watched Tom Brady go ballistic on the sideline after his defense failed to stop the Packers, allowing the Packers to seal the win. I just sat there watching him and thought it was irrational. Here his team was, sitting at 9-3, atop the AFC, and this was a mere regular season game, and the man reacted like he had lost the Super Bowl, shouting expletive after expletive. That's the juice we miss here. It's something Brady has, something Bo had, something Hoke has never had, what makes me really want Ohio to feel what we felt in '73, and what I hope our next coach has.
December 3rd, 2014 at 8:44 AM ^
scha·den·freu·de
noun, often capitalized \ˈshä-dən-ˌfrȯi-də\
: enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others
It is of German origin, meaning "from Schaden damage + Freude joy" - Per Merriam-Webster
Not using it incorrectly at all. In this case, the schadenfreude is not due to JT's misfortune. I don't think anyone here is happy the kid's "ankle exploded," short of the most vindictive of us. Rather, it is experienced watching the Buckeye fanbase squirm and complain about how it's not fair, etc etc etc.
While I do feel bad for JT, and would never wish injury on ANY player, from ANY team (including OSU), I will enjoy watching OSU fans talk about how the CFP Committee is out to get them, and how it's so unfair and they deserve a shot. #isbaconparrotafood?
December 1st, 2014 at 11:03 PM ^
It really depends when you start watching the movie. Michigan football has a proverbial lowlight reel when it comes to getting royally fucked over.
In truth, Michigan fans have endured a long tradition of this upfuckage in college football. If its not Woody Hayes and intimidated referees in Columbus in 1972, then it's cowardly actions by MSU's AD Burt Smith, or BIG10 commissioner idiot Wayne Duke, or the incompetence of line judge Gilbert Marchman granting Charlie White a touchdown after crossing the goal line sans football. Few teams had as much success in college football as Michigan did in the 1970s, but at the same time no team/coach/university was as ceremoniously fucked over as frequently as Michigan was.
Nobody knows these names in 2014 really.
A nice story on the whole shitty affair by John Kryk of Toronto Sun sums it up pretty well:
December 1st, 2014 at 11:28 PM ^
I remember the White phantom touchdown. Still remember that huge picture in the Detroit News showing White going vertical over the goal line and the ball a good foot beneath him, and a good foot behind the end zone. Totally agree with everything you said.
December 2nd, 2014 at 1:09 AM ^
December 2nd, 2014 at 6:34 AM ^
It wasn't fair then, and it's not fair now.
If FSU beats Georgia Tech in convincing fashion, but Winston is injured in the second half, should they be eliminated? We have no idea if the backup can play, but this is the trouble the committee has made for themselves. It should always have been "most deserving" rather than "best" because best is totally arbitrary. Once people start pointing to Vegas spreads, the argument is moot, and that is usually the first step.
If Ohio State wins on Saturday, and does so in convincing fashion, they should not be penalized due to injury. Their case is not the the strongest to begin with so there is a ton of gray area here.
That said, of course, we will all be rooting for Wisconsin regardless. I hope they win 50-0.
December 2nd, 2014 at 9:22 AM ^
It wasn't fair then, and it's not fair now. If FSU beats Georgia Tech in convincing fashion, but Winston is injured in the second half, should they be eliminated? We have no idea if the backup can play, but this is the trouble the committee has made for themselves. It should always have been "most deserving" rather than "best" because best is totally arbitrary."Most deserving" = record/SoS?
December 4th, 2014 at 5:30 AM ^
Most Deserving is a function of many things including SoS. It's also arbitrary to a degree, in that eveyrone could apply their own criterai about what makes a team deserving. However, the absence of hypotheical debate means it is not totally so like "best."
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