Ohio State 30, Michigan 27 (2 OT)
Short. [Patrick Barron/MGoBlog]
I'm staring at my laptop and the sea of exultant Ohio State fans on the field below dancing to "Sweet Caroline" and I feel sick.
Sick that Michigan threw away multiple chances to win this game in regulation. Sick that a dozen little plays one way or the other change the outcome. Sick at that spot. That fucking spot.
Michigan should be playing for the Big Ten championship and a spot in the playoff next weekend. Instead, they will sit at home as either Ohio State or Penn State represents the East. That spot, that fucking spot, will stick in the collective Wolverine memory for much, much longer.
The Wolverines controlled most of this game. Wilton Speight battled back from his still-undisclosed injury to throw for 219 yards and two scores, an effort that would take its place in the pantheon of heroic rivalry performances had the outcome gone the other way. Speight's two interceptions, however, were turned into two Ohio State touchdowns, and that allowed the Buckeyes to keep it close enough to force overtime on a 23-yard Tyler Durbin field goal with one second left in regulation.
The defense, which had played a spectacular game, looked worn out in the first overtime period, ceding a JT Barrett touchdown run on the second play. Speight responded with a fourth-down touchdown to Amara Darboh. Michigan's ensuing possession ended with a field goal after a questionable non-call on a third-down pass to Perry, leaving the door open for Ohio State to win it.
Seemingly given new life, the defense forced an all-or-nothing fourth-and-one. Barrett kept it. The officials gave him a generous spot, and even though it appeared on replay that Barrett's right arm—the one holding the football—never reached the line to gain, that spot, that fucking spot, stood upon review.
In a not-so-alternate universe in which the men in charge of the game are competent, there are Muppets and joy and appreciation of one of the most dramatic football games in recent memory or perhaps ever and scrambling to finalize plans for next weekend. Alas, that fucking spot. Alas.
November 26th, 2016 at 10:11 PM ^
First Year of Harbaugh, we get blown out.
Second Year of Harbaugh, we control / lead most of the game, and they need two OT's and a total shit call, in addition to our mistakes, to win. By 3.
Third Year of Harbaugh: we win. Maybe it takes two OT's. Maybe by 3. Or 2. Or 1. But: we win.
Fourth Year of Harbaugh: we blow 'em out.
And there it is: a New Era begun.
And we win happily ever after there on out.
#blueForever
November 27th, 2016 at 12:22 AM ^
OSU had an Ohio High School homer as one of its officials... another than had been previously suspended.... and you think we need to play mistake free football to win when OSU can miss easy FGs and get sacked multiple times, throw incompletions, get stuffed behind the line of scrimmage, etc. Go to hell cause here's the deflection: You want to nitpick Michigan mistakes when every fricken team of every sport makes them, to deflect attention from the incredible good luck and corrupt officiating that helped OSU pull out a win they flat out didn't deserve. OSU almost got mortally embarrassed by pathetic MSU, so get off your high horse.
November 28th, 2016 at 7:14 PM ^
Explain to me how UM making a mistake or not capitalizing on every opportunity it had in the game has a fucking thing to do with shitty officiating. Why does anyone bring this shit up as if it gives a poor officiating performance a pass because our team wasn’t perfect/better?
Team A wasn’t perfect so please disregard the shitty officiating as it nullifies it because team A should’ve been better and overcome that as well.
We all fight our own imperfections and yet when you throw an additional negative element into our lives, does it not make it THAT more difficult to overcome? Who are these fucking morons that continue to use this stupid fucking non-logic?
Thank you moron for explaining I should’ve stepped more carefully while walking on that ledge. However, had Joe-fuckin-blow not chucked that anvil at my head while I was on that ledge, I might actually have had an opportunity to right myself after I misstepped and now would not be dead. Incredibly stupid fuckin moronical logic.
November 26th, 2016 at 4:39 PM ^
November 26th, 2016 at 4:56 PM ^
fuck you
November 26th, 2016 at 7:26 PM ^
I went to the game with three Michigan fans and an OSU fan who is a CEO of a local company. My CEO buddy was totally cool, but it sucked this has been infinity games that I've had to be diplocmatically polite at the end of the game. I came home durnk and wrestled with the kids and my wife is being a bitch about it. Waaaah! Kids cry when they bump their heads (against each other, not my doing.) I can't take any more of this shit. We played well and still lost. muther fucker.
November 26th, 2016 at 9:21 PM ^
You're a cuck.
November 26th, 2016 at 10:07 PM ^
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November 27th, 2016 at 3:10 AM ^
How in the world did you get so many points? You must be Bipolar...
November 27th, 2016 at 12:20 PM ^
You are the worst kind of fan.
November 26th, 2016 at 4:40 PM ^
Michigan should have won 30-10. Not good.
November 26th, 2016 at 4:40 PM ^
Michigan should have won 30-10. Not good.
November 26th, 2016 at 4:41 PM ^
I wish Harbaugh would ditch the ADHD/spacey kid coachspeak crap and just lay into the refs during the presser. No time to be polite--your team just got boned. Act like it. You get enough cash to pay the fine.
November 26th, 2016 at 4:48 PM ^
He did.
November 26th, 2016 at 10:30 PM ^
November 26th, 2016 at 6:59 PM ^
Watch the presser, all he talks about is how badly officiated it was.
November 26th, 2016 at 4:41 PM ^
I give up-officials with a pre-set idea of who they think should win have ruined the game for me. They are incompetent at best, blatant thieves at worst and I'm done investing emotional energy into an event as predetermined as Professional wrestling.
November 26th, 2016 at 5:04 PM ^
I'm sorry to say I said the same thing right after that spot and feel the same way right now. There is too much money involved. The Big Ten has a better chance to get 2 teams in the playoff and make more money if OSU wins. OSU proceeds to get every call, every spot, including one that would have won the game for Michigan. Hmmm... The NCAA already lets bagman cheating go on for any school that makes them money but punishes Southern University. What's the point of continuing with this charade?
I want to keep caring because I love Michigan's players and I love Michigan. But my goodness, caring is just walking into an electric fence over and over again.
November 26th, 2016 at 10:14 PM ^
Big Ten ref'ing has gotten FIFA-level bad.
Maybe just as corrupt too.
November 27th, 2016 at 12:24 AM ^
November 26th, 2016 at 5:11 PM ^
do you believe the ref(s) coulld have left Columbus alive it it had been reversed? They are stupid, but not that stpid.
November 26th, 2016 at 5:11 PM ^
do you believe the ref(s) coulld have left Columbus alive it it had been reversed? They are stupid, but not that stupid.
November 26th, 2016 at 7:50 PM ^
At least they didn't need to worry about leaving that ugly fucking stadium without their balls, since they apparently left them at home today. Gutless.
November 27th, 2016 at 2:00 AM ^
to reverse it if it had been spotted correctly in the first place.
November 26th, 2016 at 7:49 PM ^
lol aren't you the guy who insisted he was gone forever sometime during the Hoke era? Good to see you're set on giving up on M football again.
November 26th, 2016 at 9:16 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 1:55 AM ^
November 26th, 2016 at 10:17 PM ^
it felt fixed.
Just like 2013 March Madness.
We have to get good enough to rise above the fixed-ness.
Or gather enough power to challenge it, strategically.
These are the only two options.
Sucks.
But there it is.
November 27th, 2016 at 12:23 PM ^
I'm just about there too, and it takes a whole hell of a lot to push me to this point. I'm actually going to write a letter (oooh, you show 'em, I know) to the Big Ten (I feel dirty capitalizing that). This is just disgusting, and so unfair to those kids who played their fucking hearts out.
November 28th, 2016 at 9:21 AM ^
Yeah, I just can't believe the refs forced michigan to fumble on the 1 yard line, throw 2 picks, and net 5 yards on 3 possessions in the 4th quarter with the lead. Fire them all.
November 26th, 2016 at 4:45 PM ^
"Questionable" is one way to decribe the no-call on Perry. "Fucking egregious" is another....
November 26th, 2016 at 4:42 PM ^
November 26th, 2016 at 4:47 PM ^
The lack of an impactful running game, much of which stems from poor/middling offensive line play.
November 26th, 2016 at 6:42 PM ^
November 26th, 2016 at 4:48 PM ^
Oh, the "I'm going to act like I'm above the fray and troll my own fanbase" take. Cool, man.
November 27th, 2016 at 12:29 AM ^
He's either OSU or Sparty, there's a few on here who have invested considerable time on the blog, gathering points. Have to be young kids, to have that kind of time. Sooner or later the true colors come out.
November 26th, 2016 at 4:50 PM ^
Yes, Michigan gave this game away.
However, the application of the pass interference rules was...I lack the vocabulary to describe it. There were at least as many no-calls on OSU defensive backs that were identical to the PIs called on the Michigan DBs. Even Herbstreit said the first no-call on OSU was a blown call.
November 26th, 2016 at 5:45 PM ^
November 26th, 2016 at 5:46 PM ^
He either talked up the OSU effort when they got a good play or he talked down the Buckeyes when we made a good play. I'm sure he's trying his best but he is not impartial in this game. Heck, he wore a Scarlet and Gray tie for crying out loud.
November 26th, 2016 at 6:30 PM ^
And he didn't have the balls to say anything about the spot or the PI in OT. Add that to that ticky-tacky Cole penalty and you would think he might be able to remain neutral and talk about what he is really seeing.
November 27th, 2016 at 12:34 PM ^
And to all of the casual fans, or general public watching the game, what the announcers say has a huge impact on their perception of events. It's just bullshit on so many levels, it feels sort of like the election cycle all over again.
Fuck.
FUUUUUUUUUCK
November 26th, 2016 at 4:59 PM ^
November 26th, 2016 at 4:43 PM ^
Saw that Devin Gardner said on twitter that Wilton has a broken collarbone. That seems less than ideal if true.
November 26th, 2016 at 4:45 PM ^
November 26th, 2016 at 4:46 PM ^
...a la the 2015 MSU game, should once again flirt with an "explicit" tag being added by iTunes. If we must suffer, at least we can all suffer together.
November 26th, 2016 at 4:47 PM ^
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November 26th, 2016 at 4:48 PM ^
...everyone is going to talk about the Spot, the lack of review on that call, the officiating was seriously egregious, but it didnt lose us this game.
We turned the ball over 3 times, gifted them 7 points in a pick-six and fumbled on the one yard line. The play immediately prior to Barrett's short run to the sticks is going to stick out - Jabrill Peppers one-on-one with Curtis Samuels in space, and Peppers couldn't make a play. That's a hell of a play by Samuels and literally was the difference in them going for it on 4th and short and kicking a FG with a kicker that already missed two and against our excellent blocking team. I will think of that Samuels play and the Barrett missed call for a long time.
November 26th, 2016 at 4:59 PM ^
November 26th, 2016 at 5:09 PM ^
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November 26th, 2016 at 5:14 PM ^
with Samuel (the third down) was so bad. Jabrill has played without fear his whole career, and he had Samuel lined up and went for the contain in stead of the play. He puts Samuel on the ground there, it's a long field goal and we probably win. Dude has been so great, and that play...
Yes, the spot.
Yes, the PI that wasn't, somehow.
That Samuel play was the worst.
Rob
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