One Frame At A Time: Penn State
"I've been thinking a lot about this over the last four, five, six weeks," Harbaugh said after No. 4 Michigan's win. "Because I am the football coach doesn't mean I can dictate to people what they believe. I support our guys. I think this is something, it's not going away, it's gonna keep happening."
Jim Harbaugh didn't know ahead of time about the pregame display of unity and strength by members of the football team, but hearing his postgame comments, it's clear his players have his full support. That became even more important yesterday, when racist propaganda was posted around campus, prompting a denouncement of the fliers from the University and a protest at the Fishbowl.
I know how our readers feel about getting politics mixed with their sports, so I'll keep this brief, though as Harbaugh said, this isn't something that's going away. As a human being, I was horrified to see what appeared on campus yesterday; as a Michigan grad, I could not be more proud of the actions and statements from the players, the support and response from the program, and the swift action taken by many on campus. I hope we can all agree that hate has no home at U-M. For far more nuanced thoughts on this, I strongly encourage you to read these pieces by MTV News's Jane Coaston, a Michigan grad, and SBNation's Spencer Hall.
And now, let's see that ref take a football to the face again.
[Hit THE JUMP for the Penn State game in GIFs.]
As always, click the links/stills to open each GIF in a lightbox, and don't forget to vote for your favorite at the end of the post.
HONORABLE MENTION
Harbaugh sigh of relief.
Harbaugh fist pump.
Harbaugh can't even.
Harbaugh working the JUGS machine.
Harbaugh disputes spot.
Don Brown is mildly peeved.
Don Brown teaching with aggression.
De'Veon Smith TD.
Fake Peppers jet, Smith rampage.
Jourdan Lewis nukes fourth-down screen.
Higdon TD.
Wormley's first-drive sack.
Saquon Barkley's day, basically.
Darboh YAC, part one.
Darboh YAC, part two.
Chris Evans draw.
Delano Hill impressive open-field tackle.
LaVert Hill's late fumble recovery.
Khalid Hill meets pylon cam.
Hill's TD plunge.
McCray interception.
Very effective Peppers blitz.
Perry hurdles cord.
Stribling fade PBU.
Dancing Yip-Yips.
Asiasi touchdown.
McCray/Hurst TFL.
Winovich sack.
10. Jammin'
I haven't featured a MMB GIF yet this year, and I love the way this one comes to life.
9. Quick Burst
I was very impressed viewing this live when I thought Maurice Hurst had simply worked his way around the center. Then BryMac pointed out he'd also looped around the guard.
I be like dang.
Ow. Good thing Jourdan Lewis has a sense of humor.
Big Toe's big hit wasn't the only blow Lewis absorbed on Saturday—he also took some friendly fire celebrating Mike McCray's interception.
Can't blame Peppers for that one.
7. Timing Is Everything
The still is great on its own; the GIF adds another level when Malik Golden sees the scoreboard and, should you choose to interpret it this way, sheepishly puts his hand down.
6. Punt Returns Are Events Now
I mean, good lord, the acceleration by Peppers.
As many people pointed out on Twitter, Devin Bush Jr. laid a thunderous block to clean up pursuit, and another blocker I couldn't identify actually had a two-for-one.
You're going to have a good time with Peppers in the open field and a pile of prone defenders in his wake.
5. Jumpman-Worthy Celebration
Be like Mike, they said.
Mo Hurst listened.
4. Wiltnard Speightinson
This whole sequence is delightful for a host of reasons, not the least of which is Devin Asiasi sending a defensive back into orbit as Speight dives for the sticks.
3. In The Face
Point-first, too. For the second time: ow.
2. Penn State's Offense, The GIF
I could watch this all day. So could Trace McSorley and Mike Gesicki, by the looks of it.
FRAMES OF THE GAME: THIS GUY
Jim Harbaugh's reaction to James Franklin kicking a 21-yard field goal down 28-0—after a timeout, no less—is so pitch-perfect it required two GIFs. Part one:
Part deux:
In a beautiful moment, ESPN's scoreboard chyron changed PSU's score to 3 as James Franklin was writing something in his notebook. Or, perhaps, he was not writing at all. This next GIF, inspired by a chat with Brian—so, you know, blame him for this—is a reference to The Big Lebowski and not safe for both work and those with more delicate sensibilities. What I'm saying is it contains a sketch of a comically oversized penis. You have been forewarned.
It had to be done.
VOTE
September 27th, 2016 at 5:52 PM ^
Pretty sure the guy who gets a two-for-one block is one Keith Washington.
September 28th, 2016 at 10:48 AM ^
"Burns for All Seasons", unjustly maligned....
September 27th, 2016 at 6:09 PM ^
I like to hear it before games but if people want to use it as protest time and break up team harmony but singling themselves out maybe it's just time to whistle the first down and get playing.
September 27th, 2016 at 8:10 PM ^
September 27th, 2016 at 8:18 PM ^
When I say "All it's doing is dividing people" I mean on this particular campus. Nationally it's brought up an important discussion but in Chapel Hill there's been a lot less discussion and a lot more random accusations.
September 27th, 2016 at 6:11 PM ^
September 27th, 2016 at 8:09 PM ^
convinced some colleges do this to themselves just to illicit discussion from their students, make them think about important issues rather than just swig beers 5 nights a week.
September 28th, 2016 at 4:44 AM ^
Tell me more about this new thing called a flier.
September 28th, 2016 at 10:59 AM ^
I remember when I was an undergrad at Ann Arbor back in the early 90's, some White Supremacist group ran a one-page advertisement in the Daily denying the Holocaust. The Daily also ran a long editorial explaining why the position of the advertisement was complete and utter bullshit, but that it was still important in a society that holds the right to a free press as inviolate, to not suppress these opinions.
Point being, bigoted, ignorant fringe groups are going to be bigoted and ignorant and will find a venue to air their point-of-view.
September 27th, 2016 at 6:47 PM ^
Hear, hear
September 27th, 2016 at 6:55 PM ^
Splitting the Harbaugh FG reaction shot vote, I see.
How long until we can get an investigation of Ace's election shenanigans? Hmm?
September 27th, 2016 at 7:05 PM ^
I hope someone somewhere is making a side by side GIF of the Peppers punt return and Denards first TD where he drops the snap in shotgun.
Both of them gave the old "no, no! go, go!"
September 27th, 2016 at 7:06 PM ^
I voted for Wiltnard soley for the Asiasi block. Good lord that was awesome.
September 27th, 2016 at 7:07 PM ^
September 27th, 2016 at 8:07 PM ^
On a more serious note, the sign on the left was legitimately disgusting. No matter what the facts say, drawing that conclusion from them is definitely racist. The one on the right? Eh, I don't know. I do see a lot of people having to apologize for being "privileged whites" and that's not something that should be happening. The best way to do this is not put up stuff like that in the first place, for either side.
September 27th, 2016 at 9:46 PM ^
You shouldnt apologize for being white, that is ridiculous. You should however acknowledge that being white in this country comes with advantages historical and modern that POC in this country do not have.
September 27th, 2016 at 9:51 PM ^
September 28th, 2016 at 9:11 AM ^
Antagonized by what exactly?
September 27th, 2016 at 10:57 PM ^
While I will agree the flyer on the left is not very constructive I was surprised how many facts are supported by data. I was also surprised that the flyer was originally produced in 2011, well before the whole BLM movement. Hopefully thoughtful and reasoned discussion can supersede the current climate of shouting and generalties that only seek to divide.
http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=datool&surl=/arrests/index.cfm#
September 27th, 2016 at 11:27 PM ^
It's far more likely that it comes as a result of oppression and poverty, instead of an actual difference between races. Race is a social construct anyway; all humans share between 99% and 99.9% of the same genes. My (white) DNA when compared with an African's will share 99-99.9% of the same genes, and that is likewise for Asian people, other white people, Middle Eastern people, Australian Aboriginese, etc.
The thing with the facts white supremacists use is that they require low-level thinking. They'll give you a fact that may be in some way true, but it doesn't tell the whole story. If you wanted to find out the whole story as to why any of those facts are true, look no further than the system they've held in place for centuries. White supremacists would never admit it, but white supremacy is the root of higher minority crime patterns.
September 28th, 2016 at 12:50 AM ^
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September 28th, 2016 at 1:04 AM ^
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September 27th, 2016 at 8:10 PM ^
at the Auburn/LSU game tried to catch a kickoff through the endzone and caught it right in the face, eliciting an audible ohhhhhhhhh on the broadcast. Laid her out flat.
September 27th, 2016 at 8:10 PM ^
content based censorship from a government entity is always dangerous no matter how "well intentioned" it might seem.
September 27th, 2016 at 8:24 PM ^
This is the toughest week so far...so many choices!!
September 27th, 2016 at 8:51 PM ^
My favorite remains the Business Decision, simply because Peppers made it seem like he was actually going to block the kicker, which probably made it worse when Lewis was just blasted.
Also, any gif that makes James Franklin seem like a loser is a winner in my book.
September 27th, 2016 at 9:07 PM ^
Shouldn't this have been called Hurst Burst?
September 27th, 2016 at 11:20 PM ^
September 27th, 2016 at 9:15 PM ^
I like the Speight Diving play as it features Crawford, Asiasi, and Speight.
#1 #2 #3 in sequence.
September 27th, 2016 at 9:21 PM ^
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September 28th, 2016 at 1:30 AM ^
September 28th, 2016 at 7:29 AM ^
September 28th, 2016 at 8:38 AM ^
September 27th, 2016 at 9:35 PM ^
Ace,
Thanks for posting the marching band gif! My son is a freshman in the band this year (tuba player), and it brings a whole new feeling watching the band march to the stadium and performing there. This weekend will be his third halftime performance so I'm extra excited. This has been an especially good football season with everything coming together.
Thanks everyone who support the marching band.
September 27th, 2016 at 9:38 PM ^
Would they have come back and made a game out of it? I doubt it. But Harbaugh loves and breathes for competition. I think the game is no fun for him, or less fun anyway, when the other team just rolls over and dies.
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September 27th, 2016 at 10:02 PM ^
September 27th, 2016 at 10:21 PM ^
This is becoming my favorite weekly feature here at MGoBlog.
The TD pass that Speight threw that got called back would make a nice gif. That was a sweet play and sliding catch by Darboh too.
I voted for Timing is Everything because I saw it happen live on TV and it made me laugh then too.
James Franklin is working on his resume above.
September 27th, 2016 at 10:32 PM ^
MTV is still a thing?
September 28th, 2016 at 12:40 AM ^
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September 28th, 2016 at 2:03 AM ^
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September 28th, 2016 at 2:32 AM ^
Known as the "Vice Era," it was best known for popularizing pastel t-shirts worn under expensive Italian suit jackets. Also, stubble.
At least that's what I would guess from an otherwise nonsensical post.
September 28th, 2016 at 1:18 AM ^
Why did Ace have to post the gif with the hand raising? He must of known the comments would turn into a political shitshow.
September 28th, 2016 at 3:33 PM ^
The proprietor and employees of this website are left leaning, politically. Which is just fine with me, because their football content generally kicks ass. Gotta love the qualifier "not to get all political on you, BUT..."
September 28th, 2016 at 8:45 AM ^
Disgusting!
September 28th, 2016 at 9:27 AM ^
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September 28th, 2016 at 9:32 AM ^
While Harbaugh cannot dictate what his players believe, he can decide how he expects them to represent the Michigan football team when they are actively participating in public as a player. Putting their personal self above other members of the team is a selfish act and is not consistent with the axiom "The Team. The Team. The Team." The fist raisers gave no consideration to other players on the team who might not agree with protesting during the playing of the nationals anthem. Their actions were very divisive and selfish. Yet Harbaugh condoned it. Not the type of leadership I expected to see from him.
September 28th, 2016 at 10:09 AM ^
"First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action;" who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season."
September 28th, 2016 at 10:33 AM ^
How does this relate to what I said about Harbaugh?
September 28th, 2016 at 11:09 AM ^
So if 70 players want to pray after games, but 15 don't, should Harbaugh make them pray for team unity? Just because they are a team, does not mean they cannot have different opinions or the right to express those opinions. I also have difficulty understanding how this act is selfish: 1) the players are using the platform they have to call attention to an issue that is much larger than themselves, which is the inverse of selfish, and 2) their act in no way inhibits the freedom of others.
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