T
TTLM
Guest
Michigan fan here ... long-time lurker first-time poster.
I've watched the game about ten times now, have started to sober up, and thought I'd share my thoughts.
First of all, I question the credibility of anyone out there saying that Notre Dame was overrated, this was a game between two mediocre but over-hyped teams, etc. Anyone who watched the game would have had to be impressed with ND's offense, particularly Floyd. He looked like the best receiver in the country to me, and reminded me of a younger Calvin Johnson. Not least of all, because he made Cissoko look like a JV player through most of the game. If Floyd doesn't go out towards the end, and CW keeps passing to him, the game might have ended differently.
And speaking of Cissoko, the push on Floyd after he was already down was assinine. I couldn't believe the ref didn't call an unsportsmanlike, and I hope Rodriguez had him running windsprints after practice all week, regardless of whether or not he had to violate NCAA practice hours limits to do it (just kidding investigators!).
At the same time, I don't think the refs cost ND the game. I told anybody who would listen at halftime that it was a miracle UM was only down three, and that if the defense couldn't make some serious adjustments, the game would get out of hand. As it turns out, the D came out and looked like a different group of guys after halftime, and gave the UM offense the opportunity to pull out an unlikely win. I'm not saying this to badmouth CW, but if you subscribe to the notion that a gameday coach proves his worth at halftime, Rodriguez won that battle.
Finally, let me say that it is a pleasure being a rival of ND. Of course every team has its contingent of blowhards and jackass fans, but I find the percentage much lower on this and some other ND message boards than those of Michigan's other "traditional rivals." (I won't name names, but one is an animal husbandry school north of Ann Arbor, and the other rhymes with "Schmoschmio State"). It's nice to read the comments of people who would rather talk about football than how much "WE RULE!" and "YOU SUCK!"
So good luck with MSU. Normally I would root for the Big Ten and against ND (what can I say, I want UM to keep those #1 rankings in all time wins and win%), but in this instance I'd like everyone to shut up about the quality of this ND team, and acknowledge that last week's was a game between two programs on the right track to get back to where they should be.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, I think some of the hand-wringing here over ND's defense might be a bit overblown. Call Rodriguez's offense what you will (unique, creative, gimmicky, etc.), but he does make the defense defend the entire field, and Forcier consistently made people miss in the backfield, when any other UM quarterback in my memory would have been eating dirt. I'm not sure how much more of that you'll see this season.
Regards.
I've watched the game about ten times now, have started to sober up, and thought I'd share my thoughts.
First of all, I question the credibility of anyone out there saying that Notre Dame was overrated, this was a game between two mediocre but over-hyped teams, etc. Anyone who watched the game would have had to be impressed with ND's offense, particularly Floyd. He looked like the best receiver in the country to me, and reminded me of a younger Calvin Johnson. Not least of all, because he made Cissoko look like a JV player through most of the game. If Floyd doesn't go out towards the end, and CW keeps passing to him, the game might have ended differently.
And speaking of Cissoko, the push on Floyd after he was already down was assinine. I couldn't believe the ref didn't call an unsportsmanlike, and I hope Rodriguez had him running windsprints after practice all week, regardless of whether or not he had to violate NCAA practice hours limits to do it (just kidding investigators!).
At the same time, I don't think the refs cost ND the game. I told anybody who would listen at halftime that it was a miracle UM was only down three, and that if the defense couldn't make some serious adjustments, the game would get out of hand. As it turns out, the D came out and looked like a different group of guys after halftime, and gave the UM offense the opportunity to pull out an unlikely win. I'm not saying this to badmouth CW, but if you subscribe to the notion that a gameday coach proves his worth at halftime, Rodriguez won that battle.
Finally, let me say that it is a pleasure being a rival of ND. Of course every team has its contingent of blowhards and jackass fans, but I find the percentage much lower on this and some other ND message boards than those of Michigan's other "traditional rivals." (I won't name names, but one is an animal husbandry school north of Ann Arbor, and the other rhymes with "Schmoschmio State"). It's nice to read the comments of people who would rather talk about football than how much "WE RULE!" and "YOU SUCK!"
So good luck with MSU. Normally I would root for the Big Ten and against ND (what can I say, I want UM to keep those #1 rankings in all time wins and win%), but in this instance I'd like everyone to shut up about the quality of this ND team, and acknowledge that last week's was a game between two programs on the right track to get back to where they should be.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, I think some of the hand-wringing here over ND's defense might be a bit overblown. Call Rodriguez's offense what you will (unique, creative, gimmicky, etc.), but he does make the defense defend the entire field, and Forcier consistently made people miss in the backfield, when any other UM quarterback in my memory would have been eating dirt. I'm not sure how much more of that you'll see this season.
Regards.
![]\/[GoBlue](/data/avatars/m/5/5424.jpg?1643656290){kind=avatar}
