MSU @ M, Game Day, In Game, Post Game Discussion

[Kstat]

Rudock is garbage.

I'm still numb from that game but had that shit happened against Ohio I'd be admitted by now.

I'll still be numb from it 20 years from now, just because I don't feel we really lost. i know it'll go down in the books that MSU won, it just feels like an invalid result.

I'm not even angry about it. I'm angry if I feel we got outplayed in the clutch by the better team, but we didn't despite the yardage difference we had MSU chasing our tails all game long and we stopped them on every single critical 4th down. It was a flawlessly executed gameplan against a team with far, far superior talent on the offensive side of the ball. Harbaugh has been coaching with one hand tied behind his back all year and it really showed yesterday.

Such is life, I guess? Unexplained flukes sometimes happen without reason. Trying to make sense of what happened is a futile endeavor. MSU got a once in a century gift from,the gods, and they took it fair and square. Nobody got cheated. Well, our LB that got ejected was cheated, but that isn't MSU's fault either.

I saw what I wanted to see yesterday, some genuine toughness and composure on both sides of the ball. We did everything we had to do to win the game and lost to a fluke. It's hard to stomache now, but this bodes better for the future than had we trailed the entire game and were handed the game on a fluke play.

You can argue that if U-M were up 2 scores that last play is meaningless, but they simply arent 2 scores better than an MSU team on a day where they don't turn the ball over. At least not this year. They don't have the offensive talent to do that to good teams.

[Rocky Bleier]

I too am reminded of the 1990 game where Desmond gets tripped/tackled on the two-point conversion to end the game. The difference is M was ranked #1 that day. So I rank yesterday's loss lower than that one.

[Cody_Russell]

Both teams had 33 carries and it was for 58 yards (MSU) and 62 yards (Michigan).
Crazy how close that was.

Cook is going to be a 1st Round draft pick, Rudock won't be drafted. That's a big difference in favor of MSU. Over time, Harbaugh will develop his his own QB over years in his system and it will be better.

[Rocky Bleier]

I didn't like going for the punt. Not hindsight. I was yelling at the television as they were lining up and Sparty was sending everybody. Much more room for error. One guy has to long-snap under pressure, another guy has to catch it cleanly, drop the ball toward his foot and kick. Snap it, run 3-4 steps and fall down at first contact. They were at the MSU 47 yd. line.


It probably wouldn't have mattered because Oneill dropped the snap and panicked, but why did U-M have two gunners when MSU didn't have anyone back to receive the punt? One of them was standing by himself on the same side that the jailbreak came from. Shouldn't you max protect when the opponent's only chance to win the game is to get to the punter?

[hack]

Holy fuck -- well I had to rush out to go out for the evening, and I guess my stream picked a great time to go choppy. All I knew is that we lost, somehow, but since I didn't see it I was able to medicate reality away immediately, keep my mind on the evening (some old friends and the Old 97s live, if anyone's a fan), and avoid processing this until now.

Just, well, wow. But this is what happens in rivalry games. MSU knows how to win those. M does now. Forged in heartbreak, and all that. This is utter shit and an awful suckerpunch, but it happened and they'll all be better for it. A loss that helps define and sharpen the mentality going forward.

[hack]

I did also take the time to, when I saw that something was up, delete a message congratulating Froot for Sparty's performance and thanking him for his excellent contributions to the forum this week, and restraint. So what the heck with the MSU thread?

[WM Wolverine]

It serves no purpose. We'll talk about Sparty in the B1G discussion.

[Hannibal]

And worse than Appy State.

No. In terms of losses nothing beats Appy State. Nothing will ever eclipse that shitshow. But that one play is the worst play in Michigan history. Worse than the Kordell Stewart Hail Mary. Worse than Spartan Bob. It's yet another shitty moment for the Sportscenter 50th anniversary show that we will dominate. The Charlie Brown Punt will still be on highlight videos in 50 years. So get used to it.

As far as "better days are ahead" goes, we get Sparty on the road next year with no established QB and after that, the elite recruits are gone. It's clear that we will never beat Dantonio in the absence of an absolutely massive talent gap ala 2007 and 2012. And when we do have that gap we will still need a huge miracle to win it. He has faced us nine times and he has outcoached us nine times. Absolutely nothing changed with regards to this rivalry yesterday. It was the same old sickening shit that I'd give anything to reverse just one fucking time.

[hack]

Seriously? You didn't notice anything different?

[Hannibal]

Different how? We got outgained by 150 yards. At home. The offensive line was one massive prison bitch. Same as last year. In fact, I think that we had fewer rushing yards than the 2008 game. RichRod and Brady Hoke both had games where they hung in close despite getting the shit kicked out of them. Like the 2009
game and the 2011 game. Nothing new there.

[drok]

Hanni - why do you continue to follow Michigan? You seem to derive absolutely no enjoyment from it at all. Serious question, not trying to stir up something.

[Tbone]

I always wonder what guys who do this for a living are thinking. Dantonio absolutely refused to put his kicker on the field - yet the Wolverines were going to punt even with the ball out of the FG kickers range anyway? With 10 seconds left, and half of that would disappear with the 4th down play?

Lets be honest here, snapping the ball to your punter in that situation isn't any different than the Joe Pisarcik play - it wasn't necessary. Run your 4th down play, then MSU has just 1 play to beat you, with 11 guys trying to stop it instead of 1.

Right, they get 2 yards the game is over. If they don't get the 1st down the ball is at midfield with time for 1 Hail Mary at midfield in to the wind. Didn't the coaches stress to just fall on it if it's bobbled. Why have gunners? That play was just crazy. The ball goes right in to the State player's hands that is the furthest up the field in mid air.

If the kicker was trying to throw the game I don't know if it would have worked out any better for State. The 1 player that had a chance to tackle him did get held but no way they are calling that there unless he throws him down.

[Rocky Bleier]

To anyone who has played or coached special teams:

Chesson was all alone split out to the left on that attempted punt. Oneill didn't even look his way obviously looking to kick. Spartans have 10 players on the LOS, one covering the other gunner. Why have gunners? Should Chesson have been on the line where Spartans had it overloaded? Does ONeill need permission to throw to him? Has anyone coached ONeill to fall on a muffed punt? The coaching has been so much better this season, but I wonder if Baxter or Harbaugh get any blame for what happened.

[hack]

Well I get it, drok, and I was in the Hannizone myself about this game. But hey -- it took the refs and a miracle for them to beat us with their first-round NFL QB and with our not-ready-for-prime-time OL. Every team from here on in under Harbaugh will have better quarterbacking and OL play, and MSU will probably have worse. And for the next four seasons we will have people on this roster who will remember this moment and the pain associated with it and it will inform how they practice and play. Forged in fire, etc. etc.

[hack]

Thing about the Monday Morning QBing is that we went up 17-7 after Harbaugh declined to go for it on fourth and a fist, and then Dantonio called up a fake punt that failed on fourth and long from his own side of the field. His defense was holding. He didn't need to give us that field position, but he did, and in 99.999% of scenarios it would have cost him the game. So I don't think it's fair to say Harbaugh got outcoached. In fact I think Harbaugh made better in-game decisions. Being the recipient of a miracle doesn't make you the better coach.