What a difference a year makes

Submitted by Texagander on
One year ago today, Dave Brandon resigned. The program is now in a place that I think few could have imagined then. Hackett, Harbaugh, Endzone, Elite Defense and Wins have replaced concussions, cover up and confusion. What a difference a year makes.
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Mac Attack

October 31st, 2015 at 7:38 AM ^

And let's talk. I agree that the program is headed in the right direction. I want to see results and hopefully that will come soon but I hate moral victories. Go Blue!

Joined: 07/09/2014

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ijohnb

October 31st, 2015 at 8:02 AM ^

have a short memory. What has transpired this year is not a "moral victory.". National consensus before the season was that 7-5 and any bowl game would have been a success this year. This has been a remarkable turnaround.

Joined: 09/21/2009

MGoPoints: 69986

Year of Revenge II

October 31st, 2015 at 8:10 AM ^

At the time they were played, BYU and NW were big games. And MSU...well... I hear what you are saying and it is well said, but I think the rest of the country is shocked at where we are today compared to one year ago, and although I had high hopes this year for an upset of MSU or OSU, the reality is that so am I. Hoke, Brandon, excuses, beat downs from our rivals and lesser schools as well, etc., etc. Schlissel and Hackett saved our asses from total irrelevance for the foreseeable future. Bigger wins are coming. I am going to sit back and enjoy the evolutionary process. Varmint poontang today!!!

Joined: 11/12/2013

MGoPoints: 9188

Perkis-Size Me

October 31st, 2015 at 7:47 AM ^

Sheesh. A year ago, I wasn't even mad anymore about the state of our football program. I was apathetic, which I think is far more dangerous for a fanbase to be than mad. I didn't care that we got embarrassed by Minnesota or completely de-pantsed by MSU, again.

I just remember looking back and thinking how hopeless Michigan's situation seemed to be. OSU and MSU were on top of the world and we found new ways to hit a lower level of rock bottom every week. Even if Hoke got fired, I had no faith that we'd get Harbaugh, or frankly anyone better than Greg Schiano. I was afraid of the idea that Michigan's best days may have permanently been behind them at that point. The program was a disaster on and off the field. What new coach would've wanted to inherit that?

Luckily, a man crazy and great enough as Harbaugh. What he's accomplished here so far is nothing short of miraculous. Even if we lose to OSU this year(and we all know that game will be close), the progress is undeniable, the gap between us and MSU has closed significantly if not completely, and recruits are flocking in to play for a guy who has coached and thrived in the NFL.

Neither Meyer nor Dantonio can sell that. 99.9% of these kids that come in want to play at the next level. Harbaugh can not only get them there, but can also show them exactly how to succeed when they do.

What a difference a year makes, indeed.



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Year of Revenge II

October 31st, 2015 at 8:29 AM ^

WHAT HE SAID. In spades. Well done, and bravo. I was beginning to feel apathy also, but more than anything I was angry. Yet I had an inner confidence left somewhere that trusted enough students, letterman, alumni, and fans would no longer stand for it, and changes would be made. I wanted HARBAUGH desperately a year ago, and always believed. Now the community is solid, with great leaders who are competent people cut from excellence, and the talented kids are responding. We are building it. More will come.

Joined: 11/12/2013

MGoPoints: 9188

victors2000

October 31st, 2015 at 8:41 AM ^

we used to be. It was all a faded memory, like Pond and Snow and Crisler, something that happened before I was born or at least when I was a little kid. I thought - actually, hoped - coach Harbaugh would be a good hire but this kind of good I expected at the earliest year two. I don't know what Coach Hoke did to Morris - or maybe didn't do to him - but if he was playing at the level he was projected to be by now I think we would be undefeated going into this game.

Joined: 03/21/2009

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gwkrlghl

October 31st, 2015 at 8:41 AM ^

I missed a few games last year for the first time ever and turned off or muted many of them at halftime because I was sick of it. I think Michigan football was on the precipice of becoming a mediocre program for a while but thank goodness for Schlissel and then Hackett who grabbed the wheel as the Michigan Football truck was heading off the cliff because they righted the ship right in the nick of time

Joined: 04/13/2012

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Pepto Bismol

October 31st, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^

I paid almost zero attention to the Maryland game.  I was with a handful of buddies at a bar and no one cared.  Like other games against Northwestern, or the previous year with the Akron/UConn/Indiana debacles, it didn't matter if Michigan pulled out a win because the team was quite obviously garbage, regardless of the official outcome. 

Joined: 02/03/2015

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jonesie022

October 31st, 2015 at 7:48 AM ^

Puts things in perspective that a year later we are 5-2 and a bit disappointed we are not 6-1.

It's like my fellow Colts fans who have used the term "disaster" to describe this season.

I have to remind them that it could be worse. We could be Cleveland, Oakland, or San Francisco...



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team126

October 31st, 2015 at 8:18 AM ^

There is no doubt Harbaugh and friends can coach. Hope the talent level rises up to the top notch and we can regularly beat the likes of Alabama and Tosu. Oh,don't forget to practice punting 3 hours a day so we can beat Dantonio and send him back to the weeds.

Joined: 05/31/2011

MGoPoints: 5250

LSAClassOf2000

October 31st, 2015 at 8:29 AM ^

It is interesting to think about this actually - a year ago, I was simply happy that Dave Brandon was out as AD, merely wondering (for we weren't certain) if we were watching Hoke's last season and as some of mentioned already, growing somewhat resigned to the prospect of protracted "meh", if you will, in football as the future was murky and unclear at best.

Now, we have an AD in Hackett that has turned around the culture of the department in a very short span of time, put back on a more familiar footing and opened the doors once again to the players, students and fans that it supports. Further, this among other factors was instrumental in getting Harbaugh to come home, and in a mere ten months, what he has been able to accomplish thus far is remarkable indeed. 

For the first time in a long time, I feel good about where this is all headed, if you will. 

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matdog05GOBLUE

October 31st, 2015 at 9:13 AM ^

At first I just glance your title thought you were talking about Hillary Clinton statement… I was about to down vote you then quickly read your comment and look back to your title again. Up vote for you.  

 

Joined: 01/06/2011

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atticusb

October 31st, 2015 at 10:12 AM ^

Are things perfect with Michigan football?  Have we reached our goal?  Ok, maybe not... but I can say this... last year the bye week was a relief, this year... well, even with the end of the MSU game, I just really wanted to see the team back out on the field.  That's a nice feeling.  Go Blue!

Joined: 08/23/2015

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ghostofhoke

October 31st, 2015 at 10:33 AM ^

I think the thing that illustrates the different place we are in now the most is the reaction at the end of the MSU game in the stadium. It was shock, disbelief and heartbreak. If that was last year's team, coach and program Hellfire would've rained down on that field along with seat cushions and anything else not tied down. That's the truth. There wasn't an ounce of disgust to be found in that stadium or on campus and that speaks volumes.



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Michighen

October 31st, 2015 at 11:00 AM ^

It generally seems that at the end of a coaching dynasty (Bo, Mo and Lloyd) it takes a while for a program to find it's winning ways again.  It feels so good to be on our way back.  It is like coming out of the wilderness to the promised land...........

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