This Month in MGoBlog History - September 2007: Kittens, so Many Kittens

Submitted by Maize.Blue Wagner on

Previously:

August 2007

September 1 - Saturday

Michigan lost to Appalachian St. 34-32. Highlights.

Appalachian St. open thread.

September 2 - Sunday

Aww look, a post with kittens.

More kittens!

Kittens in cups.

Um, another kitten.

Kitten.

A note from a former life.

a couple complaints about yesterday's technical difficulties. if you're an non-michigan fan, whatever. if you're a michigan fan... sorry. but what is there to say?...the internet is not your friend. i'll be back tuesday.

now... KITTENS!

September 4 - Tuesday

Emo week on MGoBlog. Ten years later it’s hard to tell what this meant, but I’ve heard rumors that the blog was pink for a week?

Unconditional Surrender.

Let the record show that Lloyd Carr never learns, and that you are right. We suck. We promise not to hope or expect anything except misery until someone named Tedford or Rodriguez or Schiano is coaching the team and to regard all good events as mere preludes to a fall. We are a defeated people. Give us your treaty. We will sign it.

A UFR is coming. I’m surprised this happened.

September 5 - Wednesday

UFR: Offense vs. Appalachian St.

Blogpoll Week 1.

September 6 - Thursday

Brian spilled liquid on his keyboard. He’s having problems.

UFR: Defense vs. Appalachian St. Here’s the first touchdown:

Ugh. Johnny Sears(-1) turns his hips to the outside as this guy fakes going on a fade route and then cuts it back for a little slant designed to get the first down. Stevie Brown(-5) takes the worst angle in the history of angles, waving at this kid's ankles and turning an eight-yard first down into a touchdown. Welcome to Michigan Safety Hell. (CA, 3, cover -3)

September 7 - Friday

Unverified Voracity Re-Emerges. Lovely quotes…

Aigh. USA Today talks to the Appalachian State coach. Quotes of interest/disgust follow. How easy are we to prepare for?

Coaches and players did not begin looking at video of Michigan until the third week of August, Moore said.

 

<Brian - Maybe our DTs should have done lots better?>

 

"My center (Brett Irvin) is a redshirt freshman who hasn't played a game in more than a year. Will he be able get any movement on their tackles? And he hadn't played in front of more than 15,000 people."

 

<Brian - Do we not have a dime package?>

 

"We noticed that four- and five-wideout sets caused matchup problems for" Michigan's secondary, Jackson said. "It enabled us to create gaps in the defense."

Preview: Oregon.

Finally, three opportunities for me to look stupid Sunday:

  • Oregon goes with the neon yellow helmets, green jerseys, and white pants.

 

  • Henne looks much better, like 65% plus Manningham touchdown better.

  •  

  • 34-32, Oregon.

A closer look at a blocked field goal from the previous week. Who was culpable, Shawn Crable or Greg Banks?

September 8 - Saturday

Oregon open thread. Also, Brian’s appearances on channel 4 got canceled.

Michigan lost to Oregon 39-7. Highlights.

The Sweet Morphine of Low Expectations.  

So I'm all out of rage. The reaction at this point: whatever. Who's the next coach? For the first time since 1968, Michigan is going to go looking; chances are the next guy isn't currently working at a MAC school. Unless it's Brady Hoke. Maybe he can bring back Stan Parrish! Oh, the tingly bits are tingling at the mere possibility.

One thing: yes, Les Miles is back on the table. I know I wrote a big long post claiming he was not a candidate for anything, and I still remain fairly skeptical, but a large portion of the "not a candidate for anything" post rested on the dual assumptions that

  • Michigan would not be looking for a drastic change in the tenor of the program, and

  • Lloyd Carr's personal enmity would be a major negative.

IE: it was written in the expectation that Carr was going out on a high note instead of as Bump Elliot with a national title. Obviously this is not the case and Carr's opinion is likely to carry little weight with an athletic director already inclined towards national searches that acquire proven winners instead of, say, Mike DeBord. So Miles is no longer a longshot. I got a solid tip from someone claiming that he would jump at the job if offered, FWIW, and his public non-statements in the past week about the Michigan job tend to reinforce that vision. He has a specific $1.2 million buyout for Michigan, but that's nothing. Someone will step forward and donate that much if it comes to that.

September 10 - Monday

Game post: Oregon.

Bo is dead.

And, apparently, when he died the spirit of the program went with him. I don't know where it went. Probably Tibet. There is probably a 9-month-old child somewhere in Tibet who has the spirit of the Michigan football program. What a dick, hoarding all that spirit we need. I hope his yak butter goes rancid. But here we are.

Ten years later, I didn’t remember how much of a death knell the Oregon game was for Lloyd’s career. While his retirement was a hot and constant rumor, this game seems to have confirmed what will happen at the end of the year. So, here is the first look at a potential replacement: Jeff Tedford. He was known for offensive prowess and creating star QBs who subsequently flopped in the NFL (Aaron Rodgers notwithstanding). 2007 would be the beginning of the end for Tedford at Cal. He is currently in his first year as head coach at Fresno St.

September 11 - Tuesday

Grumpy mailbag. Brian got some criticism for being so down after the first two weeks, so he has changed the blog theme from Emo week to Emu week because, after all, ‘M’ plays Notre Dame and Jimmy Clausen next.

Blogpoll Ballot Week 2.

Unverified Vor--CRIPPLE FIGHT! ND fans are chirping about how their program isn’t as bad as ours. Also, Les Miles is already having to take questions about the ‘M’ job.

September 12 - Wednesday

ND blogs are very upbeat and positive about Jimmy Clausen. They shouldn’t be.

Blogpoll Week 2.

Both UFRs will be coming tomorrow.

September 13 - Thursday

A couple guest commentators offer their thoughts on how to stop the spread. It’s amazing the journey the Michigan fanbase will take with the spread offense from 2007 (and a few games before App St.) until Denard left in 2012.

UFR: Offense vs. Oregon. A lot of time is spent looking at Ryan Mallett. Henne was hurt during the game, and it’s possible he will be out 2-3 weeks.

Vicious Electronic Questioning with House Rock Built on the upcoming game with ND. His thought is that if the ND offense can do enough, the defense can win them the game.

September 14 - Friday

Unverified Voracity Goes Back to the Well. George W. Bush’s numbers on Iraq have improved, and this is compared to ‘M’ beating ND. Can it really be considered an improvement?

...I mean, ouch. Yeah. In this metaphor Jeff Tedford = Barack Obama; Mike Debord = Hillary Clinton, by the way.

UFR: Defense vs. Oregon. This one is rough too. -9 for Chris Graham; -6 for both safties Jamar Adams and Brandon Harrison.

Preview: Notre Dame.

Finally, three opportunities for me to look stupid Sunday:

  • Hart beats Notre Dame to death with their own limbs. Also goes for 165 and two touchdowns.

  •  

  • Mallett throws two picks; so does Jimmah.

  •  

  • 24-17, Michigan.

September 15 - Saturday

Notre Dame Open Thread.

Michigan beat Notre Dame 38-0. WH highlights 1. Part 2.  And of course, Yakety Sax version.

September 16 - Sunday

Post game player’s press conference videos.

Separate post for the yakety sax highlight video, aka the Jimmy Clausen Heisman campaign.

September 17 - Monday

Monday Recruitin’. So far most of the 2008 class remains solid despite the losses and the coaching rumors. Also, NJ LB JB Fitzgerald has been moved to committed.

Game Column: Notre Dame. Notre Dame is bad, so this game isn’t indicative of much. Also, a picture of Russell Crowe in a ‘M’ hat from the game.

Unverified Voracity Unveils the Time Portal. Henne isn’t on the two deep for the PSU game, and the shine is wearing off the star of Kirk Ferentz’s coaching candidacy.

Blogpoll Ballot Week 3.

September 18 - Tuesday

Unverified Voracity Blows up the Five Year Myth. Johnny Sears has apparently failed a drug test and is off the team.

Blogpoll Roundtable.

3. We're only three games in to the season, but teams and storylines are starting to take shape. Compare your team to a character or theme from a fable or children's tale.

Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall.

Lloyd makes it sound like Henne is practicing.

September 19 - Wednesday

Blogpoll Week 3.

UFR: Offense vs. Notre Dame. All things are looking great with Mallett.

Also (not to go all NDNation on you): the kid has an infectious confidence. His joy for the game that was a delight to see when I reviewed the tape. With Hart gone after the year, Michigan will need a focal point and he seems like the kind of kid to take up that mantle.

Vicious Electronic Questioning with Penn St. blog Run Up the Score.

September 20 - Thursday

Unverified Voracity is The New Yorker with lots of cartoons. One of the contributing factors to the woes of this season is the ‘04 defense recruits.

These are the guys who are contributing in any way:

  • starting DT Terrance Taylor

  • Nickelback Brandon Harrison.

Yuck. (If you want to count Marques Slocum in this class, it's likely he contributes something eventually, but not now.) The rest of the defenders:

  •  

  • OLB Chris McLaurin: moved to TE.

  • DE Eugene Germany: knucklehead. Off team.

  • DE James McKinney: transfer to Louisville after undisclosed medical issue.

  • CB Chris Richards: booted in aftermath of St Patrick's Day Nerd Massacre.

  • CB Johnny Sears: booted for never covering anyone failing a drug test.

  •  

Mmm, that's ugly.

UFR: Defense vs. Notre Dame. Shawn Crable and Brandon Graham led the way with +7 each.

September 21 - Friday

Unverified Voracity Hates Them Hates Them aaaah. Hockey is going to be on BTN. Still no idea if Henne will be playing against PSU.

Preview: Penn St.

Finally, three opportunities for me to look stupid Sunday:

  • Hart: 35-180-2

  •  

  • Four sacks, two interceptions of Morelli.

  •  

  • 23-14, Michigan.

September 22 - Saturday

Penn St. Open Thread.

Michigan beat Penn St. 14-9. WH highlights.

September 23 - Sunday

Post game press conference videos.

 

September 24 - Monday

Game column: Penn St. Mallett played and was 8/9 in the second half, but the story was Mike Hart.

Mike Hart does not care. He does not care that he is the size of Toad and runs about as fast as Richard Nixon, who is dead. He does not care that Michigan ruined everything the first two games of the season as he rode a bike on the sideline. He does not care that some people think he should shut up. He does not care that his legs are on someone else's legs and there is no possible way he can worm the ball to the goal line. It takes someone like this to pull you back from despair and ennui, to turn emo week into something other than emo year.

Also, MGoBlog has made some advancements in the last ten years.

  • UFR will be Wed-Thurs this week if all goes well... I forgot to tape it and the MGoVideo guy's kid changed the channel. So tape is delayed but coming.

Unverified Voracity is Looking at Your Face, Promise because new cheerleading uniforms give options. Also, potential top NHL pick Luke Moffat has committed.

Monday Recruitin’. PA QB Terrelle Pryor has dropped dropped us. TN CB JT Floyd is a soft Tennessee commit but has scheduled an official to ‘M’.

September 25 - Tuesday

Mailbag featuring another contribution from an intelligent guy named Alan Weymouth. Are you still out there Alan? Also, someone asks if Brady Hoke really shouldn’t be considered as a coaching candidate.

Blogpoll Ballot Week 4.

September 26 - Wednesday

Blogpoll Ballot Week 3 (updated).

Here are three 1997 videos that found their way to Youtube ten years later. Only two still work.

Blogpoll Week 3.

UFR: Defense vs. Penn St. Lots of positives after a game without giving up a touchdown. +8 from Brandon Graham and +7 from Will Johnson. Also, Anthony Morelli is bad.

September 27 - Thursday

Unverified Voracity Goes Ooh Ooh Ooh and Then Does a Stupid Neck Choppy Thing including a video of Manningham doing the worm on the field at the end of the PSU game.

Vicious Electronic Questioning with Northwestern blog Lake the Posts.

UFR: Offense vs. Penn St. Mallett had a shaky game, especially the first half. Brian even gave him a “bad read” on a TD scramble after Mallett admitted post-game that he should have thrown it.

September 28 - Friday

Mailbag with lots of coaching talk. Les Miles? Cam Cameron? Are recruits being told that Lloyd is a 100% coming back?

Preview: Northwestern

Finally, three opportunities for me to look stupid Sunday:

  • Manningham finally catches a deep ball.

  •  

  • Our defense gives everyone the heebie-jeebies.

  •  

  • 27-17, Michigan.

Northwestern Open Thread.

On Saturday, September 29 Michigan beat Northwestern 28-16. WH Highlights.

 

Comments

JMK

September 22nd, 2017 at 1:08 AM ^

Hard to believe I have been reading this blog for so long. I remember some of these posts vividly. Congrats (and thanks) to Brian for his longevity.

Everyone Murders

September 22nd, 2017 at 9:31 AM ^

Net-net that month was a bummer, and - as our faithful diarist notes - a death knell for the Lloyd Carr era.  I remember getting a call from a friend who was at Michigan Stadium for Appy State (the game wasn't televised in my area, thank God), and him saying just before the field goal attempt we were going to barely scrape by.  He also complained he drank too much before the game.

He was wrong on both counts. 

smwilliams

September 22nd, 2017 at 10:49 AM ^

The Horror was so long ago that I forgot a lot of the key people. One thing stood out: Brandon Graham only played a handful of snaps. Based on his UFR score in the ND and Penn State game, I wonder if he would've made a huge difference. I mean that Oregon team was really good and would've murdered Michigan, but maybe The Horror is avoided if Graham is healthy. 

The Mad Hatter

September 22nd, 2017 at 12:00 PM ^

It's one of my favorite things on MGoBlog, especially because I was late to the party on this site.

I think I'm going to stop reading it for the next 7 or so years though.

I'm not ready to open those wounds yet.

Mister X

September 22nd, 2017 at 2:00 PM ^

...from 24 Sep 2007.  Man, Brian is such a good writer.  There were so many things that got me hooked on this blog, maybe back as early as 2004(?), but among the many things I've always valued about this site is the quality of his writing.  The UFRs and analysis are outstanding (especially given prior to MGoBlog I was mostly dependent upon the Freep or ESPN for any real Michigan football stories) but things like this column, and the non-haiku "dewey" goodbye to Denard are required reading for any Michigan fan.  If you haven't already go back and read that 24 Sep game column and consider yourself fortunate.

ndhillon

October 17th, 2017 at 5:57 PM ^

Our dance with the Spread-n-shred began with Northwestern

Then Jeff Smoker, IIRC.

Then Vince Young.

Then...this.

Then Rich Rod and Denard.

Then Don Brown and Devin Bush.

We are getting better at this.

M-Dog

November 14th, 2017 at 8:29 PM ^

We promise not to hope or expect anything except misery until someone named Tedford or Rodriguez or Schiano is coaching the team

Yeah, about that . . .