Encumbered forever by desire and ambition, there's a hunger still unsatisfied Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon, though down this road we've been so many times.
Yep, we're going down that road, we're going to use song lyrics (albeit good ones) to convey a point. Why? Because it's apt, that's why.
Saturday's contest at Happy Valley was a stunningly effective synopsis of where this football team is right now. To boil it down as succinctly as possible, I 100% believe the following:
When this football team executes, it is capable of beating ANYONE in the country. When this football team fails to execute, it is capable of losing to ANYONE in the country.
That is where we are right now. For 26 minutes on Saturday, a 2-4 Michigan team that was supposed to be a sacrificial lamb for the homecoming crowd in State College, PA came out and punched the #3 Nittany Lions square in the mouth. They outplayed them on both sides of the ball and looked good doing it. 1st quarter stats? 12 minutes of possession, 189 yards. Dominance. With a group of 18 and 19 year-old kids, a patched together O-line, and a suddenly awakened Brandon Minor, the Michigan offense controlled the football game. Penn State was damn lucky to put up 14 points in the first half. A missed tackle and two bone-headed penalties let a solid football team back into a game at home, something we simply do not have the luxury of doing right now. Michigan's struggles came not from being thoroughly outmatched by a superior Penn State team. Rather, as has been the case more often than not this year, Michigan's wounds were self-inflicted. From the first PSU TD to the game-turning safety and subsequent kick out of bounds, too many unforced errors were made to overcome. Penn State then did what good teams do, and put the game out of reach in emphatic fashion.
Once Threet was forced out of the game, all of us in the Michigan section looked at each other with an expression that is sadly all too familiar to those of us of the Maize and Blue persuasion. Like when Hart went down in '05 or Henne in '07, we knew we were in trouble. This team is too young and too inexperienced and too thin at positions like, say, quarterback, to be able to overcome losses like that against a team like Penn State. What happened happened, the Penn State fans rejoiced as though the last 12 years never took place, and we walked out of the stadium shaking our heads at what could've possibly been. If I could change one call, I would've slammed into the line and punted instead of letting Sheridan drop back on 3rd and 20 from the shadow of our own goal-post, but that's neither here nor there at this point.
Quick aside: Penn State is a good football team, don't get me wrong, but I don't walk away from Saturday thinking that they're a top 3 team, and I don't walk away from Saturday thinking they'll beat Ohio State in Columbus. But back to the topic at hand...
This is where the hopes come in, this is where I can sit back and look and say, "you know what, this team is going to be good, damn good in fact." It might not be this year, it might not even be next year, but this staff, and this system, will succeed. Seven games into a miserable year, the improvement is noticeable, the effectiveness of a trimmed down Rodriguez offensive system is apparent, the adjustments were there, the team clicked and moved the ball and looked good doing it. They brought forth an effective gameplan that cut out many of the ineffective behind the LOS passes that have hindered this offense earlier this year. Michigan powered between the tackles, they threw to the tight ends, they used Steven Threet's legs to hold the Penn State D in check, and they looked downfield in the passing game. The execution, when there, is something to see, especially when you factor in the youth and current make-up of the team. The mistakes are confounding and extremely frustrating, but they are fixable.
I walk away from Saturday knowing the following:
1. Threet is a capable quarterback in this offense. Ideal? No. But he's been effective when healthy and has more than 0.2 seconds to make throws. He was surgical in the first half, and I believe had he not gotten dinged up, would've continued marching the football... Once he stopped keeping the ball on the read-option (presumably from aforementioned dinged-upness), the run game started to sputter because the D could simply key on Minor.
2. We have no depth at QB. God love Nick Sheridan, he has been thrown into some of the most horrifying situations this season, but he simply doesn't have the same ability to move the football like Threet does. Threet with backups in Beaver and Forcier next season is not a bad thing in the least.
3. Taking points one and two, we're in a huge world of hurt if Threet isn't ready to go this upcoming Saturday. Given Sheridan's struggles in moving the offense... and I HATE to be this guy, but perhaps if Threet can't play, do we give Feagin an opportunity? I'm not the coach, I don't see the practices, but I wouldn't be upset to see him get a chance if Threet (God forbid) can't go.
4. Evan Royster is a heck of a tailback, tremendous patience and some good ol' fashioned toughness and speed. Hats off to him.
5. Brandon Minor finally put all of those flashes of brilliance into something consistent and sustained, and holy hell was it impressive. Anthony Scirrotto spent most of his day on his back and being carried downfield.
6. The defense picked up the blitizing and was more effective at getting into the backfield... BUT, this defense still gives up too many big plays (this is nothing new) and misses too many tackles. I also do not understand the reasoning behind only playing three down-linemen when we're so loaded on the D-line.
7. I was wrong about this defense in the preseason. They're capable, and have been put in a number of terrible situations over the season... but they aren't the shutdown unit capable of carrying an offense that is either completely on or completely off. The safety play hasn't been good enough, and frankly, neither has the play of our corners. We're so concerned about not giving up the deep ball, that we let teams get 10-12 out routes at will... sometimes we're getting caught in zones
8. I'm glad we have Rich Rodriguez as our football coach.
Penn State walked out of that stadium Saturday with the promise of an unforgettable season still in tow, their fanbase not quite sure what to do with themselves. Michigan walked out knowing they had a top ranked team on the ropes at home and flittered the opportunity away... but they walk away knowing that even now, they can play with anybody. It's not a victory, and for most that means it's not good enough, but right now, that's what we've got, and that's what we have to build on.
Bring on Sparty... and GO BLUE!
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