ESPN Oral History of App State
Pretty interesting oral history recap of the App State game on ESPN now. Its interesting to see how that changed things for both schools. But for me, the standout part of the story was Greg Mathews dropping this nugget:
U-M's Greg Mathews: I would say we lost that game probably the week before. I'll speak for myself, and I know there were obviously some of my teammates doing the same thing as well. It was welcome week, where all the students had come back to school and class hasn't started yet and we just got out of camp. Throughout that week, there were a bunch of parties. Every night of the week, it was like a crazy, insane party. I just didn't manage that very well. Guys were missing practice, coming to practice hungover, having to sit out because they were hungover. We lost that game that week.
I'd heard the "everyone was high" rumor before (and still find that completely bogus), but nothing like this from an actual member of the team. That's pretty crazy that people had to be held out of practice because they were too hungover.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^
because we sucked that day
August 29th, 2014 at 12:15 PM ^
In a past life, I was a pretty darn good athlete.
If I were to put on a helmet today, and play a competitive game of anything, I would lose. Not because I sucked today, but because for the last several years I have focused on beer drinking, pizza eating, and couch sitting.
Preparation is key. Yeah, we sucked that day, but there is certainly a cause and effect present in this situation.
August 29th, 2014 at 1:02 PM ^
And that was the day the universe was born. The events of that day had nothing to do with any preceding events.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:15 PM ^
Sure seems to be a lot of retrospectives on The Horror this year. Wonder if there's anything we could have done to avoid the onslought of reminders of that awful day?
August 29th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^
Nothing comes to mind... 7th anniversary is pretty big. Hard to avoid...
August 29th, 2014 at 3:05 PM ^
Winning the original game?
August 29th, 2014 at 3:29 PM ^
Yes.
August 29th, 2014 at 3:14 PM ^
Not scheduling the second game?
August 29th, 2014 at 3:29 PM ^
Also, yes.
August 29th, 2014 at 3:36 PM ^
August 29th, 2014 at 12:15 PM ^
Interesting to hear these perspectives but while we can beat a dead horse a million different ways, this occurred because of a very simple combination of things: quality opponent who we underestimated, lack of focus/preparation in game week and an opportunistic, well-prepared opponent whose coaches took prep much more seriously than ours did.
I am confident that we will not see these factors this weekend and hopefully ever again.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:21 PM ^
another big factor is we had a defensive coordinator that didn't have a clue what do when the opposing team ran a spread offense.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:43 PM ^
You mean the spread offense isn't a gimmick that you can stop with your base defense? You mean to tell me that we actually have to *gulp* gameplan for it?
Side note: The Oregon team we faced the next week was Chip Kelly's first as OC. September 1, 2007 was a major inflection point in football.
August 29th, 2014 at 1:05 PM ^
The really frustrating thing is we got beat by a team with much less talent because they ran a spread SEVEN YEARS BEFORE THAT, Northwestern 54 - Michigan 51. It's one thing that Carr didn't care to adapt his offense until his final game, but it's like he didn't even bother trying to stop it. The chickens came home to roost in 2007.
August 29th, 2014 at 4:02 PM ^
the spread attack, but the upshot of that loss, even if the offense was a precursor that would bedevil Michigan and Lloyd Carr's team for trhe duration of his tenure, that the loss resulted after a fumble on a carry by the A-Train that would have won the game if not for it. And then that game would stand as a footnote to history because of not what it ushered in, but just one of those crazy, great Big Ten games.
Here's the thing, as much as that offense eventually did do Michigan in, actually Michigan ran up against it playing Purdue under Joe Tiller, except he ran a version different than Walker and Chip Kelly and RR when he was at Michigan. It was more short passing, sort of the West Coast offense with Brees at the helm. And Michigan took care of it. They crushed Purdue at home after the Boilers won this comeback game in which Michigan and Drew Henson had taken a commanding first half lead.
The belief was it wasn't the system that was the problem for Michigan, but the personnel. Then came App State and Oregon and all the previous history of Michigan's struggle with the spread offense. And so teams that took on Michigan straight forwardly didn't fare as well as less talented teams that used speed and space to overcome power and leverage at the line of scrimmage to upset individual matchup issues.
Michigan just happened to play three of four teams with dual threat quarterbacks and weapons between the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007 that brought an end to the LC era. Michigan has never looked the same again, until maybe now. And the perception of facing spread teams is now completely different than the gimmick it was formerly considered when Norhwestern first ran it to overcome the talent gap and personnel problems.
August 29th, 2014 at 8:53 PM ^
Michigan single-handedly put that young man on the map with the 2005 Rose Bowl. Set them up for their run to the BCS championship game against USC the next year.
August 29th, 2014 at 9:16 PM ^
August 29th, 2014 at 10:49 PM ^
August 29th, 2014 at 12:17 PM ^
Ugh here we go. Prepare for the next 24 hours to be nothing but ESPN playing the App State card over, and over, and over.
Not that we don't deserve it.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ^
Not only this but I'm sure we'll be treated to plenty of clips of 2007 before or during the game.
August 29th, 2014 at 1:05 PM ^
ESPN wanted this game and we said yes. Of course they are going to milk it. We are not being picked on, we collaborated with ESPN to do this to ourselves.
August 29th, 2014 at 1:06 PM ^
We? I'm pretty sure there's one guy responsible for this.
August 29th, 2014 at 1:23 PM ^
August 29th, 2014 at 12:21 PM ^
Me at 18-21 years old while I was at UM: "So, I have zero classes this week and there are parties in every house on campus. Perfect....... "
Me at 18-21 years old (if I was an athlete): "So, I have zero classes this week, there are parties in every house on campus, and we play a patsy on Saturday? Perfect....... "
August 29th, 2014 at 12:38 PM ^
That is where leadership is supposed to come in.
August 29th, 2014 at 1:56 PM ^
Yeah that was the part that was surprising. Not so much that college kids are going to party and get drunk, but that they were coming to practice and hungover enough that they had to sit out. As someone that's dealt with their fair share of hangovers, you have to be crazy hungover to be to the point where you need to sit out practice.
Its surprising to me that Carr, assistant coaches, and even the other players let that fly. Especially the other players. I can't imagine how pissed I would be if I was out there busting my ass on the hot practice field and someone was sitting on the sidelines because they got shitfaced the night before.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:22 PM ^
August 29th, 2014 at 12:33 PM ^
Pot paging kettle.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:23 PM ^
August 29th, 2014 at 1:08 PM ^
ESPN is a joke but you can't fault them for talking about the biggest upset in college football when the two teams involved meet again for only the 2nd time. Of course they're covering this. And I'm sure everyone who isn't a Michigan fan loves it. I certainly tune in if I see a big school in a close one against a low-ranked team.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:34 PM ^
I follow a couple of sports boards/blogs that are generally filled with good content and intelligent posters. Both sites bitch about ESPN. For years, I joined in the bitching. Maybe I've aged past their key demographic, but I don't watch Sportscenter or any of their other programming that doesn't have to do with an actual live sporting event.
As a result, I feel immune to their news cycles and obsessions (over the years: Mike Jordan, Brett Favre, LeBron, Tebow and John Football). Don't watch. You can find scores and highlights everywhere else.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:40 PM ^
August 29th, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^
A score-casting app and a few analysis site are all you need. Ironically, one of my current favorites is Grantland; I haven't been to espn.com since it launched.
August 29th, 2014 at 4:41 PM ^
I've been going to Grantland for the pop culture/entertainment content a lot lately. The podcasts are good. And I have this weird thing for Molly Lambert. So, there's that.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:49 PM ^
August 29th, 2014 at 12:37 PM ^
As a fresman in 2007 I can confirm. I did see many football players at parties during that welcome week so I can believe Greg Mathews.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:40 PM ^
The Horror sucked. Plain and simple. Tomorrow's game will in no way benefit Michigan, but I do hope we can all just stop complaining whether it's about ESPN's coverage or Dave Brandon scheduling it. It is what it is, and I think we can bury the hatchet on this for good with an easy win and a strong season.
August 29th, 2014 at 1:26 PM ^
I'm with you . . . starting Sunday. I hope.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^
I am glad they scheduled it again. Does UM want to allow App St. to be the only team they have a losing record to? 2007 will never cease to exist, tomorrow's game being scheduled or not. I'd prefer my most recent memory of them to be a good beating in the season opener of what turns out to be an incredible season.
Also, App St. came in and beat us, they deserve to be scheduled again...refusing to schedule them again, to me, is chicken shit and disrespectful.
Tomorrow's gonna be a fun day as we begin to see the fruits of the past few recruiting classes begin paying off.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:47 PM ^
We have a losing record to quite a few teams.
That being said, the only positive to come out of this game is that we shouldn't have a losing record against them anymore. That's grasping at straws though.
August 29th, 2014 at 2:19 PM ^
M is 0-1 against 13 teams, and has a losing series record against 5 others. Three of the thirteen don't exist any more, but ASU (NTASU) isn't unique; in fact, it isn't even the only ASU that M has a losing record to.
August 29th, 2014 at 3:40 PM ^
There's a silver lining to that loss against Arizona State: It's how Ohio State ended up hiring John Cooper.
August 29th, 2014 at 5:13 PM ^
Brandon has scheduled App State, BYU, Oklahoma, and if the rumors are true, Texas for upcoming games. We have losing records against all those teams. If Brandon is pursuing those teams, look for Toledo, Army, Arizona State, Kansas State, Mississippi State, UNC, South Carolina, and Tennessee in the near future.
I think the reference to losing record in the article meant App State is the only team we play in 2014 that we have a losing record against.
August 29th, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^
"2007 will never cease to exist"
Exactly. That's why playing them again is pointless.
August 29th, 2014 at 4:24 PM ^
case, Rocky won the first go around, and the promoters decided to schedule a rematch, because the networks would find an easy storyline to sell, even if the fan base sees no point in replaying a game the favorite has no possibility of winning no matter how big it wins. Promotion won over rational consideration in this case.
But here's the thing about that, if you go out and pretend this team is just somebody you have to deal with because they are on your schedule, and you execute and play with a carefree but confident mindset, you will be fine and everything else will take care of itself. The media is only an issue because they are a necessary evil. Life goes on. And App State then and now are two different places in Michgan football time, space and opportunity.
I mean Michigan isn't even ranked, so that makes this more a novelty contest. And the way you play alters that perception very quickly. Beat their ass big time, and the only people interested, are Michigan and App State fans.
August 29th, 2014 at 1:26 PM ^
August 29th, 2014 at 2:14 PM ^
I'll say this: I went to four practices on the Thursday before the first game in my four years in the MMB. The Appalachian State year was just about the weirdest. It's like the guys were sleepwalking, Lloyd's rah-rah "we're going to take you somewhere nice in January" speech was more than a little flat... Everything seemed really off.
I've also been in the tunnel when the opposing team came up after warmups about, what, 25 or 30 times now between my MMB years and Homecoming. The ASU players came up like they were ready to take on an entire army. They were trash-talking us, and just about bouncing off the walls. It was about ten times the energy you saw from any other team.
Those two things were the only two things I could think about in the week after that game. The disparity was huge. They took us seriously; we didn't. To the winner goes the spoils, I guess.
August 29th, 2014 at 4:32 PM ^
fans back then, I can tell you this: they didn't fear playing Michigan. They thought it would be a challenge winning. But they expected their guys to compete and put on a good show in the Big House. Seriously, the attitude that you describe among the players was prevalent among their fans back then. And why not, their team had won two consecutive national championships. They'd won a bunch of games in a row, and they thought their guys walked on water.
And, of course, Michigan didn't think anything of this point of view, which always makes the underdog more dangerous. As it was, it was actually a great game. And if Michigan executes field goal protection, it wins the game.
August 29th, 2014 at 2:18 PM ^
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