Hell of a season

The Iowa game is the one that still stings! That was a killer loss!

A thought after a tough loss, tough end of the season, etc.

I'm 51 years old next week. All I knew about M football was winning. Going to a bowl EVERY year. Great recruits coming in EVERY year. Beating MSU like a drum. A back-n-forth rivalry with tOsU (Respect The Game).

Unfortunately, I/we have had to endure 7 lean years. Overall 47-41. 2-12 vs. rivals. Not a factor in the Big 10 or nationally. 1 only bowl win. The emergence of MSU. tOsU creating a talent gap between us.

So here we are, 2 years into JMFH's tenure. 20-6. 1-3 vs. rivals (this will get better). A factor in the Big 10 and nationally again. 2 bowl games. The slow (or rapid?) decline of MSU. Reducing the talent gap with tOsU. Great recruits WANTING to come to Michigan again.

Here is my thought (finally, right?). And it's quite simple.
We are back. Period.
We are relevant. Period.
We were in national championship discussions this year and will be going forward. Period.
I know the 3 losses for us are tough to accept today. That, that doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Period.

Look at what is coming for us in the years to come, if you can. If they are ANYTHING like what I came to expect from Michigan in my (soon-to-be) 51 years, it's going to be good. Great. Period.

M Go Blue!
Happy New Year 2017 MGoBlog!

We lost to OSU, didn't win the B1G and lost the last game of the year. It was not a hell of a season.

the team is much better off. They were competitive in every game. A heck of a season.

We went 2-3 away from the Big House. Was an epic season hype wise, but the 1-3 finish means we didn't live up to the hype. 19 starters leaving, but a ton of exciting young talent coming back. Can't wait for next season, but I think it will be 2018 before we contend again.

Just a really disappointing way to end the year. This team was so fun to watch, but losing 3 out of 4 to end the year leaves a bad taste. Need serious improvement from the OL and QB, and have a ton of holes to fill on defense.

in my head I KNOW it was a good year remembering where we were a few short years ago and now we are a top 10 team playing a New Years 6 bowl and in the hunt for the playoffs right to the very last second....BUT my heart feels like the season is a dissapointment..Cant seem to win the BIG games..3 heart crushing defeats to end the season..its just feels like its been a disappointing year even though it wasnt

Interesting...
Have a look...

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/news/michigan-florida-state-o…

Whats funny is that the same people bitching and crying about the "failed" season are the same ones that had doubts about the offense back in august. We all knew the defense was going to be great and they showed it. Offense on the other side is what we all predicted, OL is still bad, Smith has heart but no vision and speed, and a roster of QBs who are not good at all. Now taking all that into consideration is it still fair to say the season was a "failure"?

I think some of you are forgetting some of the pre-season predictions. I get it right now everyone thinks this team missed an opportunity but his was my pre-season review and it matched up with many of yours. My Record Prediction: 9-3 losses to psu or wisky, Iowa, and osu Offense: New QB that will struggle off and on all year O line that is vastly under talented Average group of running backs Playmaking wr and TE but lack of run game due to poor o line and new qb will hold them back Defense Should be a top 5 defense but may get worn down as offense stalls a lot Overall I think this will be a slightly better version of recent LSU teams. Freaky good defense but an offense that is just not good. Harbaugh will help cover up the deficiencies. Sure guys we had some of you that pick UM to go 12-0 every year but a whole lot of us were shocked at the preseason ranking. Many of you are just remaking history. Frankly I always thought '17 would be a better team than '16. I'll be much more disappointed if next years team isn't better than this one. As we can see though some serious issues to address. Part of my prediction was on having a stud qb situation next year.

Team performed well, but seemed to find a way to come up just short in the end. Not sure exactly to what that should be attributed. Some of it is certainly the inability to run the ball effectively. You need to be able to run especially away from home against better teams. Also they seemed to be a bit snake bit. For example, Peppers not being able to play was bad enough, but it sounded like the injury occurred the day before the game which left little time to adjust. Speight's shoulder was hurt at just about the worst time. Refs in Columbus seemed dubious. Butt goes down last night about time the offense started showing some life. FSU returner is just indecisive enough to get UM coverage team to let up just a little...

Not really. We didn't win the division, didn't win the conference, and lost the bowl game. We lost 3 of our final 4 games.

Sure, going 10-3 is better than 7-5 but Harbaugh hasn't achieved anything that Hoke has.

Before the season started, we had big question marks at QB, O line, & LBs -- key positions to say the least. So, 10-3 from that perspective is over-achieving, especially if you consider where we were two years ago & since Harbaugh we're 20-6, which I think is 6th best in power 5. From where we were? Seriously? Sure, there's room for improvement, but this has been a great start to the Harbaugh era by any estimation (except perhaps the one week when we sat at 9-0 this year). Lots to worry about next year with so many seniors this year, and then with rivals away games in 2018, but: am I pleased with how we're progressing? Hell yes, I am. Am I satisfied? Well, like coach says, satisfied isn't a word one uses in football!