More Than An Ugly Win

Sometimes a win is a win. Sometimes a win is more than just a win.

A coach's first win, is more than just a win. Even if it's only over a MAC opponent. Coach Rodriguez has his first W wearing the Maize and Blue. Rod admitted it wasn't pretty. And, normally, I would have a lot of complaining to do only beating relatively poor Miami, Ohio but not today. This win is also more than just a win because:

--Rodriguez avoided losing Michigan's first game ever to a MAC team;
--Michigan avoided going 0-2 for the second straight year;
--Without this win, 32 straight bowl seasons was in serious jeopardy (could still be);
--In the words of the greatest crime fighter of all time:

Austin: [the guard has just fallen in molten lava] What a... burn?
[laughs]
Austin: That sort of thing could get a man... fired?
[laughs]
Austin: I think he was... hot... for... you?
[laughs]
Felicity Shagwell: That's enough.
Austin: Yeah.

--And more heat, Rodriguez needs not.

Postgame video:

09-06-08: U-M vs. Miami of Ohio postgame press conference

Celebrate Young Man:


And deservedly so. Aside from a couple of potential big passes that were just missed by Miami, (only one of which was a blown coverage) the defense played pretty well and gave up only two field goals. The front looks pretty good, and TT, Brandon Graham, and Obi Ezah played well today. If they can keep up the pressure from the last 3 halves, and the secondary can turn it up small notch, they should really hold Weis U to less than 250 yards on offense. Barring an offensive meltdown (which is no gimme) we've got a reasonable shot to win next week against whale boy.


Quarterback Found.

Steven Threet was erratic at times. But, he had far better command of the offense than did Nick Sheridan. Sheridan was supposed to be the runner. After today, Not So Much. Whether Threet knows the offense better, fakes better, or what, its pretty clear we have a #1. We'll see if Rod sticks with him, or continues to juggle. Please, no more juggling, unless it's in the bag, or Threet completes more than 5 straight passes to Tacopants. At one point, Threet had a couple of long completions to Tacopants on the sideline. Despite that, it's hard to remove the better passer, when he's also the better runner, in command, and moving the offense.

Running Backs.

Honestly, did anyone ever think that Steven Threet would outrush Brandon Minor in any game? Threet 5 for 26; Minor 1 for 15. Better question: Why did Brandon Minor carry only once?

I like the use of many backs. One thing about the 2nd half of Lloyd's tenure that bugged me was his propensity to lean on one back excessively (Anthony Thomas, Chris Perry, Mike Hart) when there were other backs very capable who could have contributed. But, Brandon Minor had the best run of the day, clearly. Shaw and McGuffie also looked good, but why not get the senior the ball more than once? I was also glad to see Grady get the short yardage carries, this makes mucho sense.

More Confirmation That Andre Ware Stinks:

Miami qb pitches left, the ball is fumbled, but the ref blows the whistle thinking it's a forward pass. Andre keeps rambles through the play and the referee discussion following a replay. Had he listened to the explanation by the ref, he and his partner would have known that "by rule, repeat 3rd down". Instead, Andre wonders aloud with his partner whether Miami would go for it on 4th down, and why isn't the Michigan staff yelling that the refs have missed changing the down markers.


Team Comparisons.

Weis U. barely beat San Diego State, who was blasted by Cal Poly; OSU had a similar game to Michigan's against a worse opponent Ohio U; Wisconsin struggled in the first half against MAC opponent Marshall. While there is a lot of work to do on offense, Michigan wasn't the only team to horribly struggle today -- and with the learning curve of a new offense, it could be worse.


SuperCrazy Stats of the Day:

Pat White:

20 rushes for 97 yards
4.9/carry
0 td
11/18 passing
72 yards
0 td
0 int


Steven Threet
5 rushes for 26 yards
5.2/carry
1 td
6/13 passing
63 yards
0 td
0 int


This is Scary.

Miami linebacker Clayton Mullins says we're pretty similar to CMU, and that after a few adjustments, they handled what Michigan was doing. I don't necessarily agree. I think there was more to Michigan's lackluster last 3 quarters than Miami's D, but still:

"They did a few things that we weren't expecting to start off with. With Butch Jones being on [Rich Rodriguez's] staff and now at Central Michigan, I'm pretty sure some of that stuff is exactly what Central Michigan is doing. We adjusted to it. I felt like we played pretty well after that first drive until the last drive. We felt like we could make it happen and that we would be able to stop them. We made the adjustments that we needed to make. After we did that, the defense came together, and we wanted to get back on the field. We just felt like we had everything starting to click, but then we had a few breakdowns at the end."

Couches Are Igniting In A World Of Shit.

in Morganstown (you thought I meant east lansing, and it's probably 50/50 they are after crushing the little emu; but I'm strictly talking mountaineers here. And rightfully so:

Why is it when you try to be honest about Gomer Pyle, I mean Bill Stewart, people say you're not a real fan. I''m 35 and have been rooting for them as long as I can remember. If 7-5 is good with you, waht kind of fan are you. RR created an expectation level of greatness. We didn't always reach it, but we cam close. Stewart is overmatched, and this will become more evident as the year goes on. Is it possible the Oklahoma win is the worst win in WVU history? There's a reason he wasn't a candidate before that game.

Oh, how true that is. Both as to unexpected expectations Rod brought, as well as the cluster**** the wva administration made of the whole mess and Gomer's hire. Nice guy, that Gomer. But, West Virgina Fans: You Are In a World of Shit:

Cheese Curds are Gross

In a losing effort we learned some very important things about this team. First, Chad Henne is not only a great quarterback, he's also a great team leader. Anyone who watched the game Saturday on TV saw Henne out there coaching, and encouraging the players on the field, and especially Mallet. I was disappointed that he didn't play, but he's obviously hurting.

This game had "Beat Ohio State" written all over it. Carr thought Henne was ready to go. He sounded genuinely surprised post game that he wasn't. But, if this had been the osu game, you know he wouldn't have left the field. He looked to be saving the shoulder for The Game. Hart never saw the field, even though he lobbied to get in the game. You know Lloyd was saving Hart for The Game.

Wisconsin looked like a game (contrary to what I believed going in) that the coaches and team said, we're going to give our best effort, but regardless of this game, our first priority is to beat the Buckeyes and go to the Rose Bowl. And, while I would like to have seen them gut it out, and play Henne and Hart to get the win, if they beat osu this weekend with Hart and Henne playing, I'll be happy. You know one thing, Hart won't sit out the OSU game. And, if Henne can play through pain to beat Sparty, he's going to play vs. osu.

The fact that these guys didn't play tells me two things. First, that the players are desparate for a win knowing they're 0-3 vs. osu, and are focusing on osu ahead of the game to put an end to that streak. Second, that Lloyd is already focusing on osu. He wants to get the sweater vest monkey off his back, and beat osu in his final game at Michigan Stadium. At this point, I'd rather see Lloyd back next year than not. But it's my bet he's not. There would be no better way to go out than beating osu, winning the big ten outright, and winning the Rose Bowl. Lloyd would be happy, and Bo would be smiling.

So, I'm going to take this loss with a grain of salt.

We probably win the game by two touchdowns had Henne played. As it was, we coulda shoulda. If Mallet doesn't throw that ball up for grabs, we have a hell of a shot to go up by two little or no time on the clock. Mallet looked like a freshman who hadn't played before. It's his first real road game (I'm not counting NW), so perhaps that's not too surprising. But he looked awful. Anyone who booed Henne or asked for Mallet earlier this season should be forced to put the tape of this game in their dvd player and watch that performance before they are permitted to open their mouth about any quarterback at Michigan. Will Mallet be good down the road? Maybe. He certainly is not what Henne was as a freshman.

Mario Manningham needs to grow up. The bickering with Mallet (even if justified) on the sideline was riduculous. It is spartyesque. Yes, Mallet played horribly. But, Mario, encourage the freshman. Act like the leader you're supposed to be. Hell, you're the second best player in that huddle after Jake with Hart and Henne out, lead. Don't bitch about not getting the ball. I understand that Mallet has an attitude and confidence which doesn't match his play. I understand he doesn't always listen real well. But, Mario, you're supposed to be above that crap, and a team player. Take a lesson from Long or Henne. Grow up.

Most concerning, what in the hell is Ron English teaching our linebackers. Crable blew contain on a couple of big plays, and we couldn't stop the run game between the tackles. Some of that is because we couldnt keep our offense on the field, and the D got worn down. But, some of it is on English shoulders. In the end, though, the badgers had 23 points with about 7 minutes left in the game, which our offense should be able to overcome. With Mallet, though, the D needed to play its best game of the season, and it didn't. While the defense didn't play well, the performance is mitigated somewhat by the inability of our offense to stay on the field, so I spare English from adding this game to spankboard.

Yet, with the bucks loss to Illinois, we've got a shot to take the Big 10 outright and have a great season. Lloyd deserves at least on Honorable Mention for that after ASseD and ODD. This game was not in the class of those first two debacles. Michigan plays osu for all the marbles again. And, we've got a chance to be 10-3. In this crazy season of college football, I'd take that.

Oh, and by the way, is Andre Ware not the single worst color commentator in all of college football? That guy should take his complete lack of insight (and, in fact, blatently wrong statements) and go back to Houston where he belongs. What a tool. The only thing I can say in favor of Ware is that of the two worst draft choices in Lions football history, he's probably 2nd behind Charles Rogers.