Capital One Bowl Pics

Didn't really touch on the tailgate itself...or lack thereof. We were some tired boys on Tuesday morning. Tired and unmotivated. I guess we were just going through the motions...waiting patiently for the impending doom. We were bad fans this day. No hope. No chance.

We managed to meet up with Baby Gorilla and his female companion (fresh off her regular season suspension, and proudly wearing Michigan gear), Shep and friends, and the world famous Goody and his fiance...no no, the new one. They all seemed surprised at our lack of enthusiasm. We-the-streakers just chalk it up to too much experience, and too many trips to this god-forsaken bowl venue. You can hand all the Capital One tarps you want on that atrocity, it's still the Citrus Bowl.

Little did we know that everything would change so drastically.

Inside, we ran into Cooper and family from Garsworld, who happened to be in our section. We celebrated the surprising victory together, and stayed long after the final whistle to bask in the glory. A day where everything finally went our way.

I hope you don't have a lot of big expectations for the pictures...like I said, I was suffering from a lack of motivation. Regardless...here they are....

Thank you Blue, for making me so wrong.

The Perfect Storm

​The game plan, the situation, the timing...There are those that put more time into the analysis of the game and to scrutinizing the recruiting process but if you watched Rich Rod's former team Wednesday night none of that information was required to be excited about what the future holds at Michigan.

It feels like the perfect storm. Lloyd gets the respect he deserves (and I'm at the front of the line despite my numerous critical posts) and the seniors finally put it together. The game plan and execution were amazing.

And as I watch the fiesta bowl I can't but think my god that's our offense! Our bowl game had me dreaming of yesteryear but I dream of more today.

The one prevailing thought? Jesus Christ those guys are fast!

No doubt there will be bumps on the road during our transition but if Rich Rodriguez can carry the program with half the class as Lloyd we'll be in good shape. However I'm a little concerned about what seems to be, at least publicly, a lack of enthusiasm for the job. No doubt Rich is playing both sides but I think it's too late. WV already hates him. He might as well show a little more enthusiasm for being at Michigan. Even if this is a stepping stone for the pros he seems too even keeled for what has happened over the last month. Maybe he needs to settle in first, hire his staff, and get things going his way. But at some point I'd like to know he's not just here to spite his previous AD. If it was so hard to leave wouldn't it mean taking the Michigan job would out-weigh any regret or sorrow that leaving created?

The posturing in the media by both sides is tiring and frankly pathetic, immature and self-indulging. It's understandable and I realize the feelings are natural when you have your heartbroken like West Virginia is portraying. But as far as Rodriguez is concerned, it might be more difficult to turn down love.

If I learnt anything in 2007 its that there's more to life than football. But when football is your life you better be sure you're surrounded by the necessary requirements to live...and I'm thankful for being able to say proudly, I have been given these. Family is defined by the individual. And individuals make the family. And fittingly, Lloyd Carr would always quote "The strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack."

So for 2008 I wish Bill Stewart and the Mountaineers the best of luck and may Rich Rodriguez find comfort and success for however long he decides to stay in Ann Arbor. Most importantly, a thank you to Lloyd, you made my experience at Michigan magical and my continued support honorable. Cheers.

It Makes A Difference

​It doesn't matter what anyone says. Winning IS everything.

I can't really express my pre-game feeling in words. I guess "looking ahead" would be the best way to describe it. Looking ahead to the next regime. Looking ahead to the end of the vanilla offense. Pining for the spread, and dreaming that we'll find a way to stop it...next year. I was already dejected before the game was even played. Sad at the way Carr and this group of highly touted seniors exited the regular season, and dreading the way we were going to look on this New Year's Day against a team that we were grossly overmatched by. This was going to be Oregon. This was going to be App State. This was going to be a day to forget. And when a confused Brandon Minor fielded the hooking opening kickoff and stepped out of bounds at the seven, I wouldn't have argued if someone told me it was time to leave.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

For one day...one cloudy south Florida day, Michigan was everything you've wanted them to be for the last ten years. Fast. Unpredictable. Spread out. Florida looked confused on defense, couldn't keep up with our receivers, and had no answer for a balanced attack that came out in more formations in a single game than I have seen in the last 100. It was the football equivalent of a greatest hits album with a couple of obligatory "previously unreleased bonus tracks." We did it all, and we did it with a swagger that created more confidence with each passing tick of the clock. It was the most amazing offensive performance by a Michigan team that I have ever witnessed.

The defense was equally impressive. And again, gave you everything you have been clamoring for. They got to Tim Tebow on seemingly every play, forcing bad throws, getting some sacks, and not letting him out of the pocket. No one was left wide open. Tackles were made...and finished. On option plays, it was as if all 11 members of the defense shifted in unison to the point of the pitch, laying out both the pitch man and the option back. But the play of the day on defense, in my opinion came in the second quarter. After Michigan tied the game at 14 on a Henne keeper, Florida's first play from scrimmage saw Percy Harvin break free down the sideline, certainly headed for a touchdown. But he was caught from behind after 66-yards by Morgan Trent at the Michigan 14-yard line. Yes, Morgan Trent. And Percy...he stayed down for a bit, and wasn't the same the rest of the day. And while it was just one of many statements made throughout the day by the Wolverines, it was perhaps the most potent. Florida failed to get into the endzone on that drive, and saw their field goal attempt blocked. Then Michigan got a penalty for excessive celebration. We're here. We're as fast as you are. And we're gonna shove that fact up your ass until we get a 15-yard penalty.

Such a complete game. So many heroes of the conquering variety. This is what it feels like to see potential realized. This is winning. Winning despite turnovers. A winning gamplan.

Winning is everything, because on a day full of final performances, it is so much better to be able to say "goodbye" than to say "good riddance."

Goodbye Lloyd.

The Wrath of Carr

​MLive has a play-by-play recap of the day's events, which includes this little gem:

A source close to the situation said what was always a close call was pushed the breaking point by the two-week interval between Carr's retirement and the SEC title game, and the combination of LSU's hefty contract offer and the ESPN report on game day made Miles opt to stay.

The source would not comment when asked if Carr's silence on Miles candidacy - widely interpreted as a sign of animosity between the two men and Carr's opposition to Miles succeeding him - was a factor in the decision.

CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Lloyd Lloyd Lloyd

​Two long weeks have passed since Lloyd Carr, pillar of integrity, bastion of good vs. evil, and proponent of the student-athlete has retired. In those two weeks, Michigan has interviewed Ron English and Mike DeBord, and asked for permission to talk to Les Miles at LSU. Outside of that, nothing as been accomplished. Nothing except Fort Schembechler leaking like Niagra Falls, telling apparently everybody that would listen that Les Miles was the guy we wanted.

That's it. So why couldn't we wait????

In the words of Lloyd:

My timing is based on one thing, what is best for Michigan. What is best for Michigan Football. There are no other motives. And this announcement is made at a time when the recruiting process can be handled in a way that this program can go forward.

Which basically means that Lloyd didn't think that Les Miles was best for Michigan Football. Lloyd is a football coach folks. He knows that Les was in the middle of a season. He knew he had a big game on deck with Arkansas, an SEC championship game, and a bowl game that at the time looked like it would be the BCS championship. He knew that in this age of unprecedented media coverage, it would be nearly impossible to pull off a hiring of Les without Les looking like a complete Saban-esque asshole.

Lloyd, in one final flex of the power of Bo, made a decision for the University. Concealed in a seemingly heartfelt and well spoken retirement speech, Lloyd went out the way he came in, and the way he coached throughout his career...answering to no one. And while he declared that he would have no say in who would be the next coach, he has done everything possible to make certain his assistants had a fighting chance to stick around under the new regime...which means to get rid of Les as a candidate.

And so this morning, Kirk Herbstreit became a pawn in the plan. I'm sure Kirk was more than willing. Someone from the Lloyd-loving anti-Les camp leaked a juicy one to him, and he ran with it. LSU players, with their game starting later in the day, were no doubt watching gameday as the news hit. Miles had no choice. An extension that was on the table became the only option to salvage a team on the morning of the SEC Championship game.

We pissed him off. We couldn't shut up. We couldn't wait. And by "we," I mean Lloyd and the anti-Les bandwagoners.

If Lloyd didn't retire until tomorrow, after the SEC championship game, there is absolutely no doubt that Les Miles would be our next coach. But Lloyd didn't want that, so you get what Lloyd wants.

I have defended this man for the bulk of his career. Lloyd is a Michigan Man, a Riverview alum, and a good guy in an industry full of bad ones. But this...this is inexcusable. Lloyd silently declared himself bigger than the program. For that, no matter what happens from this point forward, I may never be able to forgive him. He has made Michigan look bad.

He admittedly retired a season too late, and it showed on the field with the start of the season and at the end of the season. His fingerprints are all over the worst loss in Michigan history. He has been unable to outsmart the sweatervest. He has now written the final lines of his legacy. And if Mike Debord and/or Ron English remain, you will feel the effects of that legacy as Michigan becomes an afterthought in college football.