I Told You So

I was sitting on the couch with my fiancé when Michigan was up 30-14, she looked at me and said "Hey they're doing great!" Without skipping a beat I just shook my head and responded "I've seen this game before."

I'm not sure how I can further illustrate how frustrating it is to be a Michigan fan right now, we were winning the game 30-14 and as I sat there I knew - to my very core that we were going to lose that game. The way it had unfolded, settling for field goals, defensive mistakes, big drops in the passing game, overthrows in the end-zone, this was such a Harbaugh coached big game. 

When I was doing my preview for the Big Ten week 9 games I posted that I was planning on doing an in depth preview of the Michigan vs Michigan State game, I decided against that because what I wrote on the preview was perfect. It wasn't going to be about the Jimmy's and the Joe's, it was going to come down to the X's and the O's. 

The Jimmy's and the Joe's showed out in a big way for both teams, Cade McNamara threw for 383 yards and 2 TDs, Freshman WR Andrel Anthony introduced himself to the Michigan faithful by snagging 6 catches for 144 yards and 2 TDs, Eric All tied a Michigan record for catches by a TE in a game with 10 for 96 yards, Ojabo and Hutchinson wreaked havoc in the MSU backfield. Reed and Nailor combined for 155 receiving yards for the Spartans, but it was Spartan RB Kenneth Walker who not only stole the show, not only added his name to Spartan lore in the rivalry but propelled himself to the Heisman front runner position with 197 yards and 5 TDs. You read that right, 5 touchdowns, he WAS the Spartan offense and Michigan's defense had no answer. 

Big time players show up in big time games, so do big time coaches and once again Jim Harbaugh and his staff showed why they don't belong in that category. On multiple occasions Michigan was caught on defense trying to substitute players in when MSU did not, MSU smartly went quick and caught the defense out for too many men on the field and even once for a TD. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 3 times, I dunno, maybe call a timeout? Michigan's defense was often caught off guard and unprepared for the up-tempo MSU used through-out the game. Unable to get lined up correctly, still communicating at the snap. It was a combination of panic and confusion that had disastrous results. 

On offense Michigan found some rhythm in the passing game, McNamara threw some of the best passes he's had all season. However, he still struggled with completing passes down field and the red zone issues that have been plaguing Michigan all season continued. Michigan moved the ball for 552 yards against Michigan State's defense, they had 6 opportunities in the red zone and scored 100% of the time. Sounds great right? Not so fast, of those 6 scores, 4 were Jake Moody FGs and only 2 trips to the red zone resulted in TDs. On the year Michigan is converting 92% of their trips in the red zone into scores. But far too often they are left kicking field goals instead of putting it into the end zone. And unless Corum or Haskins run the ball in then it's almost guaranteed to be a Moody attempt. On the year Michigan has only thrown for 4 touchdowns in the red zone, that's a mark that clearly has to change. 

The refs were terrible in this game, a lot of big calls went against Michigan. But Michigan wasn't robbed by the refs, they blew a 30-14 lead, they allowed a back to go for 200 yards and 5 touchdowns, they failed to convert red zone attempts into touchdowns. The refs played a role in the outcome, but Michigan lost this game. 

I said in my Michigan State week post that I was waiting for someone to put the quarter in the Harbaugh merry-go-round, it took 7 games, 2 quarters, 8 minutes and 13 seconds for someone to finally do the inevitable. In this case it was Mel Tucker who strolled on by the coin-star and decided to have a field day at Harbaugh Fun Land. If you want to know the difference between a coach like Mel Tucker and Jim Harbaugh it was highlighted on 2 4th down plays for MSU. 4th and 1, 4th and 3 in Michigan territory Tucker didn't hesitate. Not only did he go for it, with Kenneth Walker having himself a day, he fooled everyone in the stadium with 2 of the ballsiest calls I've seen in a while by running two pass plays designed to go deep. Tucker showed trust in his QB, and Patrick Thorne, who otherwise had a pedestrian day, delivered. Harbaugh played it safe, as he so often does. That has been indicative of the Harbaugh era, opposing coaches coach to win the game and Harbaugh coaches not to lose it. What Urban Meyer showed in 2016 Mel Tucker proved in 2021, Jim Harbaugh is spineless. And once again the Michigan football players, who played lights out in so many areas were punished for it.

And now I get to use my 4 favorite words.....

I told you so.