Michigan Sports Alternate History
I'm a fan of alternate history books and tv shows so I thought it would be an interesting excercise to look at how events would have transpired differently if a scenerio didn't play out the way it ended up transpiring at Michigan.
I'll start with the rollover not happening.
Tom Izzo is fired after 4 lackluster years at MSU. The MSU AD looks no further than upstart Michigan assistant Brian Ellerbe to fill the spot. Mateen Cleaves leads Steve Fisher's Michigan Wolverines to their second national championship in April of 2000 at the RCA Dome. Michigan returns to the final four 9 more times between 2000 and 2015 and is now considered within the likes of UNC, Duke, and Kentucky. Ellerbe lasts only 3 years and is replaced by a young Tom Crean.
Shawn Crable doesn't get a late hit.
Miraculously Michigan has come back from a huge early deficit to beat the Buckeyes in the Horseshoe. This vaults Michigan to # 1 in the BCS computers and a date with Florida in Glendale. The Wolverines now face a chance to secure their 12th national title and 1st in the BCS era. The game starts out with a flurry of offense as Mike Hart, Henne, and Manningham are unstoppable against the Florida defense. Urban Meyer is no match for Lloyd's 2006 team as celebrations erupt in Ann Arbor and a parade is organized. Lloyd has won 2 national championships and decides to keep coaching for a few more years instead of hanging it up. Ryan Mallett leads Michigan to the 2009 and 2010 big ten titles after big wins against MSU and Ohio State. Lloyd hands off the job to Harbaugh in 2011 as it is his dream job afterall and Stanford has prepped him well. At the same time Tressel is fired over his tattoo scandal and the Buckeyes hire Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia whose offense institutes many growing pains from Tressel's offense. The Buckeyes go 3-9 in 2012, 5-7 in 2013, and 7-6 in 2014. After a beatdown by Mississippi State, Gene Smith fires Rich Rodriguez.
I thought this had to do with alternate uniforms before I clicked.
Am disappoint.
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I think alternate history can be fun to think about and explore, but not if you're just going to flip flop everything so that Michigan wins more than they did
If I hadn't hurt my knee playing semi-pro I would have never got fat and broke my back trying to get back into football shape. I'd have kept playing and broke my back on the gridiron!
If Coach would have put me in, we would've been state champions. No doubt. No doubt in my mind.
Since the thread had the words "alternate history" in it, why did you waste your precious time clicking, reading and commenting? I don't remember a mandatory clicking or reading rule here.
Sports fans say "what if" a lot. In other breaking news, the sun rises in the east, etc...
Is this your first offseason?
Tom Crean?
It is moments like these where I am reminded about how pissed I still am at NBC for moving "Quantum Leap" to the timeslot of death, thus leading to its eventual cancellation. We never got to see the episode where Sam was able to leap into Lloyd Carr and decide to call it a day in 2011, wherein the program is handed off to Jim Harbaugh, thus putting right the timeline, hence the current timeline.
I have glow in the dark race car pajamas
I've been hearing that crap ever since i was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton, and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.
Rumack: I am serious. And don't call me Shirley!
I think if we win the national title in 2006 (may have a better shot than OSU at beating UF given Jake Long at LT, and our defense being head and shoulders above theirs) Lloyd retires at that point, Henne, Long et. al go pro, and 2007 becomes a true rebuilding year on both sides of the ball. There is a chance Michigan hires Harbaugh given he has not made the infamous comments yet at this point. And right now we would be the Alabama of football except without Nick Saban.
I can't imagine we would have hired Harbaugh in 2007. He'd only coached the University of San Diego at that point. He was considered a reach for Stanford to hire, let alone us. If we'd have won it all in 2006, Mike DeBord may well have gotten the job.
Yes, it would have been DeBord.
I am convinced to this day that the reason that the AD got caught flat-footed in the post-Lloyd coaching search is because Lloyd had DeBord all lined up as his hand-chosen successor. He had Henne, Long, and Hart coming back as Seniors in 2007. He was going to win the Big Ten and possibly even the NC and then ride off into the sunset, leaving the team to his trusty Deputy.
But then App State happened. Then Oregon. Then Henne's injury and the anemic Ohio State game. There was no chance of DeBord taking over after that, but there was no Plan B other than to aimlessly search around at the 11th hour for a coach.
March 31st, 2015 at 10:54 PM ^
I know I've posted about this at length on here before, but I think the snowball effect of "Drew Henson stays for his senior year" could have been pretty massive.
Yes. For one, we certainly would have beaten OSU that year and Tressel's infamous "you will be proud of your Buckeyes" speech loses its luster. Who knows where the rivalry goes from there?
Yup, that's what I've long said: make him look like a fool right from the get-go for saying that, and the mystique never develops.
Also, Michigan's other regular-season losses that year. Throw a senior QB in the mix and it's not hard at all to envision a five-point, season-opening road loss on the West Coast, and the "Clockgate" fiasco being turned on their heads. Who knows if Michigan could have beaten Nebraska that year for the MNC, but just getting there would have been big momentum for the following season. Much better momentum than finishing with an ugly home loss to OSU and an uninspired Citrus Bowl blowout at the hands of Tennessee.
We wouldn't have played Nebraska for the title. We would have leapfrogged them and played Miami. We most likely would have gotten thrashed like they did. Still, a perfect regular season would have been cool.
Oh, shit. Yeah, don't know what I was thinking. Miami, not Nebraska. I got crossed up thinking Miami had the Heisman winner and Nebraska won the title.
How that foul was not credited to Hancock, who then later got another (which would have fouled him out). Unbelievable.
There were a lot of things suspect in that game like Burke's 2nd foul or the goaltend.
Yeah those led to at least 8-10 additional points for Louisville.
If a non-braindead referee crew officiates, we probably win by 4-8 points.
Oh trust me....as much as I hate MSU, living in Cardnial territory, UL tears are such a sweet sight right now. They are saying they were robbed and now trying to say there were shennanigans with the UK and Duke game. They're just pissed that again, they're UK's "little brother."
I say karma. I just wished they lost to Michigan instead of state but listening to them cry has been hilarious. Every chance I get I throw the NC 2013 game in their face saying "How many bullshit calls went against Michigan that won you that game by 6 points that were basically foul line totals or from other BS calls?" They can't say much when they're in middle of bitching about bad ref calls.
But of course you mean 2013 and not 2012 (when we lost to Ohio in the first round).
Yup...you're right....not sure why I put 2012. I guess I'm either getting old or just wanted to forget that year.
RR goes for 2 at the end of the game in 2009 and Michigan wins. MSU finishes 4-8 and D'Antoni is fired and focuses on coaching the Phoenix Suns full time.
I think you forgot to mention the NCAA title game from 2 years ago. Burke's block is clean, and after riding a huge wave of momentum from that game-changing moment, he single-handedly wills Michigan to a national title over the remaining minutes. Michigan wins by 6, Columbus and EL weep in utter despair, and all seems right with the world.
And what the hell, why let it stop there? Aaron Harrison misses the buzzer beater in the Elite Eight, Michigan recovers a rare defensive rebound, and Stauskas hits the game winning shot to send Michigan back to the Final Four. Stauskas single-handedly takes down Wisconsin and UConn en route to a second straight title.
Booker and Blackmon commit, McGary doesn't dress for the Tennessee game so he's back for another year. No one gets injured this year, and Michigan is currently playing in its third straight Final Four. First on the docket is taking care of business and ruining Sparty's life by taking them down in the semifinal, and then making history by taking down undefeated Kentucky. Albrecht rains down 3's, and hits the game winning shot.
All of Kentucky's recruits de-commit and come to Michigan, and they all proclaim they will be staying until their senior year. Glory is had.
Or have McGary undergo surgery in November instead of January, and thus be ready to return to the court by March. By the Final Four he's back in game shape and leads us to the title.
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