August 31, 2019 - The last time we kicked off a season together. Our newest member brought a guest. That guest was over-served. This is the result. On the field, Shea threw for 3 TDs in a 40-21 victory over the 15-seeded MTSU. Sloppy.
Preseason quotes are like Canadian dollars: you can get by with them, but you’re really screwed if you are trying to get something substantial. The submarine has to surface in order for games to be played, and that’s what it takes to find out nearly everything you’ve been told is a lie. Tru Wilson is not going to be the running back, or the second running back. DPJ is in a boot. Two redshirt freshman are starting on the O-Line. The receiving core drops the shit out of some on-target balls. Ambry Thomas is completely fine. Shea and McCaffrey are on the field at the same time sometimes.
The only truth? Ronnie Bell. Ronnie Bell is the friggin’ truth. Okay, he dropped one too but dude’s a dude.
The best 1.6 Million this program spent since removing the halo. My humble request is for all openers to be against teams of this caliber and at home. All the big boys do it. Opening at Utah in ‘15 was dumb, opening last year at ND was dumb, and opening next year in Seattle is DUMB. Give me late August non-Power 5 in our friendly confines moving forward.
Moving in to “what we saw…” I give you the annual obligatory “we’re not going to show anything against (enter lower-tier team here) …and we didn’t. And we won’t next week. And then there’s a bye, and then the Big 10 slate starts on the road in Madison. And after we perform under expectations out there (but me thinks in victory), and in the subsequent several weeks (still winning), we’ll talk about how we haven’t really pulled out the real playbook. Man, I just want a different narrative this year. I’m not interested in waking up in late November stewing in anger wondering why the real speed and the real space never showed up. There were flashes on Saturday. I enjoyed them. I understand the season-long chess match and holding back for later, especially considering the gauntlet coming late. But man if you hold back and sacrifice my comfort, you better deliver in November. On behalf of a irresponsible, dumb, and impatient fanbase, as well as a group of elite athletes that want to flaunt their talents…I ask only that you give us some more, please.
More positives you say? You like true frosh running backs? Zach Charbonnet gives me a little Mike Hart vibe: low center of gravity, bouncing off of tackles, seemingly a good eye for running lanes, but with superior athletic talent to MH. That makes him significantly better than advertised, considering he was advertised as a guy 2nd or 3rd on the chart behind Tru. He’s the starter clearly and will be taking the load. Turner is behind him and thanks for the memories Tru.
Hey, ya, some things were a hot mess, but maybe that’s to be expected? I am happy to give a pass to the sloppiness from yesterday, but a couple of different ball bounces and we would have been on the brink of a disaster. In games like this, I prefer no question, no chance of being uncomfortable. But to be fair, there are less fall practices than there used to be, a brand new offense was installed, new dude is calling the plays, AND a couple of ball bounces in the other direction, and this is 56-0. Perhaps you saw Florida-Miami last week?
I do have questions:
How does speed in space conquer short yardage? Turnovers on downs are like daggers to the heart. I’d rather just fumble.
Speaking of that, what if the dumb fumbles become an official case of the yips and we spend the season on pins and needles yelling at people to hold on to the ball? That would suck. I’ve changed my mind I’d rather turnover on downs.
When Shea and Dylan are both on the field, wouldn’t our 5th or 6th receiver down the depth chart be a better choice than another quarterback in every conceivable situation outside of a double pass? Yes. And we are never running a double pass. WAIT, ARE WE SETTING UP FOR A DOUBLE PASS JOSH?
While Jim said that both QBs would have time in the game, the timing of Dylan’s under center entry in to the game felt like a Shea punishment. So now there’s controversy. Now there are camps. The crowd gave that “oh, I prefer the new quarterback” cheer when DM entered the game.
Next Week: Michigan vs. America. Who will you root for? You unpatriotic bastard. Go Blue.
I thought it was only available on the west coast, or even the west west coast (as in the island) but I spotted some Kona Hanalei in the Ann Arbor Meijer just in time for our Luau tailgate.
Cheers to a new season and Kona Hanalei Island IPA, this week’s UMTailgate.com beer of the week.
Here’s what happened around the internet while you booed Andrew Luck, which, by the way, you can totally do. Dude was the franchise, played his ass off, suffered a bunch of injuries, and finally decided it was better to hang it up. Maybe he gave it all he could, putting his health on the line trying to bring a title to Indianapolis, but he he walked out with two weeks to go before the opener and got paid $100 million…there’s nothing that says you also have to be nice to him.
Jim has been on the receiving end of quite a few click bait motivated gems in the past week.
First the manufactured feud with Luke Fickle, the Adam Sandler-looking doofus auditioning to for the post-Dantonio MSU job. Luke tried to get Jim to lie to get Hudson eligible. Jim didn’t do it. So twitter decided Jim was responsible and an asshole. And the line blurs to where people are thinking Harbaugh is blocking transfers, which is not the same as a transfer eligibility waiver, and doesn’t matter BECUASE THE COACH HAS NO BEARING ON TRANSFERS OR ELIGIBILITY. But that narrative doesn’t make for more clicks, so instead Myles Sims family sees the Hudson story and says “Hey! That must be what happened to us! Harbaugh!” So that story comes out too. So now we have a (unfounded) pattern, and a growing number of angry Tennessee fans that are still pissed that Charles beat Peyton are coming out of the woodwork thinking Harbaugh’s next victim is Aubrey Solomon.
Second, the new John U. Bacon book Overtime, which you can buy right here, has some blurbs that when taken out of context came off a little arrogant and inflammatory. My favorite part however, is that Harbaugh is quoted as saying “It’s hard to beat the cheaters,” which sent the SEC into an uproar. Funny thing is, he never mentioned the SEC. Hmmmm. Anyway, Wolverines Wire has a nice recap of all the controversy manufacturing.
The Wolverines are a “heavy favorite” (obviously) going into Saturday’s game with Middle Tennessee State. You taking the Speed in Space Wolverines minus 34???
Freep takes their best guess at a depth chart.
Michigan’s future running back Blake Corum is an inch shorter than Mike Hart and had 4 TDs on national television Saturday afternoon. Maize and Brew rounded up the videos for your enjoyment.
GAME WEEK! LET’S GO BLUE!!!
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