Broekhuizen - unsung hero?
PATs are something that generally get taken for granted. But I just wanted to point out that Seth Broekhuizen delivered EIGHT of them on Saturday, plus a field goal. It's not terribly uncommon for this to happen in college football... there's usually a team or two that puts up 56+ every week. But given how maligned our kicking game has been this season, I thought Broekhuizen's performance today was worthy of mention. I suppose you could argue that the one FG he barely missed today kept us from going up by 2 scores, which might've allowed us to win in regulation. But come on, the 3OT bonus coverage was the most fun I've had in the Big House all year!
The fact is, we needed every single point that Broekhuizen kicked today. How 'bout let's show the kid a little MGoLove!
GO BLUE!!
November 7th, 2010 at 1:26 AM ^
My heart stopped when the holder fumbled the snap on the TD that made it 45 - 45. Thankfully, he recovered & the PAT went through anyhow. Possibly the scariest moment of the day.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:34 AM ^
No kidding. Made the ones that came after that even more unnerving (as if being in OT wasn't enough).
November 7th, 2010 at 1:41 AM ^
I actually thought the snap was bad and Doug Rogan made a good play on it. Either way, thank god it went through.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:55 AM ^
I thought I saw that too, but the holder handled the situation so well.
November 7th, 2010 at 9:08 AM ^
I didn't actually see a fumble on the PAT, but I thought something looked off. At the time, I just figured I was having doomsday scenarios running through my head.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:28 AM ^
Good point.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:31 AM ^
was vividly cheering and reminding once 3OT started that it was 2 pt conversions only from that point out.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:35 AM ^
Just imagine what the score of this game might've been if college football didn't have that requirement. for the third OT and beyond. First team to 100?
November 7th, 2010 at 5:37 AM ^
I actually said that that swung the odds in our favor when we entered 3OT. Going from 100% (Illinois PAT) vs., what, 60% (Michigan PAT) probability to nominally even on 2 point tries was huge. I think the rules are our real unsung hero.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:22 AM ^
Based on that reasoning maybe we should always want to go on offense FIRST in OT. That way when we get to the 3rd OT the other team must make their 2 pt conversion after we have made ours. Then again....
November 7th, 2010 at 2:07 PM ^
The "when we get to the 3rd OT" assumption is the problem there. We've played seven OT games in school history and five were decided in the first OT session.
You always want to play defense first in OT, because then when you get the ball, you know exactly what you need to tie or win, and can playcall accordingly. Going on offense first is trickier because while you want to score a TD, you have to worry about coming away empty-handed, so you'll almost always kick the FG on 4th down.
November 7th, 2010 at 2:21 PM ^
But I'd rather have a kicker who can kick the next time we go into OT.
November 7th, 2010 at 2:03 PM ^
I'm pretty sure we've only missed one PAT all season, and it was in the season opener. So calling it a 60% probability is unfair. Our kicking problems seem to begin somewhere around 35 yards out.
November 7th, 2010 at 2:24 PM ^
However, at this point I don't trust the kid to kick consistent (enough) extra points with the game on the line. He may not miss them, but he still scares me every time he's out there.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:32 AM ^
bad bad baaaaaad on kickoffs. I'm not sure why we don't groom Gibbons for the KO duty a la Bryan Wright. He seems to have a huge leg but is inconsistent with his aim. As long as he can drop it in a spot 50 yards wide he's good to go. Broek seems to be clearly better at PAT/FG duties at the moment.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:36 AM ^
Hagerup, not Broekhuizen, had kickoff duties all 8 times today.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:41 AM ^
Our punter is doing kickoffs? Man I need to pay better attention. Glad they tried something new then, although we had 1 OOB again.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:50 AM ^
Yeah.... Hagerup kicked off 5 of 6 times vs. PSU as well. Seth's only KO that day went for only 40 yds. Gibbons hasn't kicked since MSU though I kinda wonder too why they don't use him for KO's. I guess they've decided Hagerup is the man for that.
November 7th, 2010 at 7:20 AM ^
of the day was his best, as was the coverage - worst Illinois starting field position after a kickoff all day!
November 7th, 2010 at 9:04 AM ^
not one kickoff by either team threatened the end zone. Closest was Hagerup's last one that made it to the 5. Illinios kickoffs didn't even make it to the 10. I think Hagerup has done a very good job on kickoffs. He is a true freshman ... wait til Barwis has some time to work with him !!
When its cold you just can't compress the football as well ... alot like golf !!
Go Blue !
November 7th, 2010 at 1:33 AM ^
I was thinking about this after our late TDs (especially the one in the second OT, when our survival in the game was riding on that kick). The Orange Bowl against Alabama has forever taught me not to take PATs for granted in overtime.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:49 AM ^
I was holding my breath on each PAT, especially the snaps. With our luck . . .
November 7th, 2010 at 8:46 AM ^
At least one snap hit the ground and was fixed by the holder. Can't recall off hand but it may have been the 2nd in OT.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:34 AM ^
The Illinois FG kicker kept them in the game while we went 1-2.
I don't think our kicker was horrible or anything like that, but that missed FG kept things a one score game which was big considering how well our defense played in the second half.
I do love the viewpoint of not overlooking the not always simple PAT. I just think the miss FG was huge in terms of keeping some distance between us and Illinois.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:50 AM ^
Don't forget that their kicker also missed a FG - and that was a lot more surprising given that he was 15 for 17 on the season coming into the game.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:36 AM ^
...that kept them in the game early while our D was doing a pretty good job bailing out our offense.
I'm not trying to undervalue our kicker. I think he's done a decentl job being pressed into duty.
I'm just saying that the our missed FG was huge given the circumstance.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:40 AM ^
They didn't show it on TV. but after we scored to make it 31-38 Michigan, the following kickoff, Will Hagerup got flagged for a personal foul. He was jawin and pushing around a linebacker (!!!!) I love that kid! Want to see him run some fakes.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:50 AM ^
I believe we should dedicate this win in honor of the legendary Coach George Lee "Sparky" Anderson.
Bless you boys!
November 7th, 2010 at 3:30 AM ^
Anybody who says they weren't holding their breath and maybe looking a their feet during every extra point in OT is lying. My nerves were shot by end of game.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:25 AM ^
Everyone involved with the PAT's deserves congratulations. It is a team effort.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:44 AM ^
It was a relief to see the consistency. Who knows, maybe a day like that is what he needed to settle down.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:59 AM ^
I think the special teams coaching deserves a little love this weekend. There is still a lot of room for improvement, but as compared to previous weeks, we looked great. Great call on the kick return as well. Congrats guys!
November 7th, 2010 at 9:57 AM ^
Does anyone know why either team was squibbing some of their kickoffs today? I thought I heard that both teams have horrendous return numbers this season.
November 7th, 2010 at 10:37 AM ^
for the AZ st vs. USC game and PAT cost Threet and co. the game. Looks like STeve is playing pretty well. CFB is a game of inches, chances, and confidence.
God Save Lloyd Brady!
November 7th, 2010 at 11:14 AM ^
I just remember forcing my friend not to watch vital extra points and 1-yard 3rd/4th down attempts. Things seemed to go well when he wasn't watching, things seemed to go badly when he was.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:41 PM ^
We just won a post October football game so I guess we can turn anything into a positive....