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Its Michigan Week


lance99

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Looks like Michigan might not be as strong as we thought. They are down 7 at half to a winless UConn team.

They are strong in that they have bigger, faster, stronger, etc. players at every position than we have at any position. I don't care if UM's entire roster was playing with horse tranquilizers in their system, our game against them was impressive.

/endrant

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  • 3 months later...

Like a number of us, I made the trip to Ann Arbor and recorded the BTN broadcast for future viewing. Since the ending was so tantalizing, I purposely held off in watching the recording until the end of the season. I finally got around to watching it yesterday. It's funny how one's memory of a live event does not always jive perfectly with the record. Of course the fantastic tailgating at UM might have had something to do with that :cheers: Regardless, here are a few observations given the benefit of a second look:

1. While he wasn't directly part of the interception party, Malachi Freeman played an unbelievable game. He played great run support AND severely limited Jeremy Gallon in the passing game. I believe he will be the player the team misses most in 2014. Hopefully an effective cover corner can be found among Givens, Cheek, Donte Williams, Trumaine Washington etc.

2. KP16 played even better than I initially thought. Sure the INT from inside the 5 hurt, but several WRs dropped relatively easy throw AND the 1st INT was right off of Dillard's hands. I'm comfortable heading into 2014 with him as the incumbent.

3. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the reactions on the Akron sidelines, throughout the entire game (our seats were high atop the opposite side of the stadium). I especially enjoyed guys like Caponi (who I knew didn't play, but didn't notice the street clothes until yesterday) exhorting his teammates. It provided a stark contrast to the reactions I've been seeing lately from the Zip bench (in a different sport).

4. I was glad to see the BTN sideline reporter giving TB plenty of airtime before each half. Maybe 1 or 2 midwest recruits could have been watching? Regardless, it's great to have a coach who so naturally paints the program in a positive light.

5. Maybe it's because the coaches have their backs to the InfoCision home crowd, but I didn't notice until yesterday how involved DW13 is in running the offense. I expect Dalton to get an even bigger role in 2014.

While the ending was just as frustrating as I remember, I actually felt even more excited for 2014 after watching the recording. The Zips made SO many good plays in the UM game. Granted the Wolverines were far from the best team the Zips played in 2013, but still the program took a step forward with the good showing even though the wins would have to wait a few more games.

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Like a number of us, I made the trip to Ann Arbor and recorded the BTN broadcast for future viewing. Since the ending was so tantalizing, I purposely held off in watching the recording until the end of the season. I finally got around to watching it yesterday. It's funny how one's memory of a live event does not always jive perfectly with the record. Of course the fantastic tailgating at UM might have had something to do with that :cheers: Regardless, here are a few observations given the benefit of a second look:

1. While he wasn't directly part of the interception party, Malachi Freeman played an unbelievable game. He played great run support AND severely limited Jeremy Gallon in the passing game. I believe he will be the player the team misses most in 2014. Hopefully an effective cover corner can be found among Givens, Cheek, Donte Williams, Trumaine Washington etc.

2. KP16 played even better than I initially thought. Sure the INT from inside the 5 hurt, but several WRs dropped relatively easy throw AND the 1st INT was right off of Dillard's hands. I'm comfortable heading into 2014 with him as the incumbent.

3. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the reactions on the Akron sidelines, throughout the entire game (our seats were high atop the opposite side of the stadium). I especially enjoyed guys like Caponi (who I knew didn't play, but didn't notice the street clothes until yesterday) exhorting his teammates. It provided a stark contrast to the reactions I've been seeing lately from the Zip bench (in a different sport).

4. I was glad to see the BTN sideline reporter giving TB plenty of airtime before each half. Maybe 1 or 2 midwest recruits could have been watching? Regardless, it's great to have a coach who so naturally paints the program in a positive light.

5. Maybe it's because the coaches have their backs to the InfoCision home crowd, but I didn't notice until yesterday how involved DW13 is in running the offense. I expect Dalton to get an even bigger role in 2014.

While the ending was just as frustrating as I remember, I actually felt even more excited for 2014 after watching the recording. The Zips made SO many good plays in the UM game. Granted the Wolverines were far from the best team the Zips played in 2013, but still the program took a step forward with the good showing even though the wins would have to wait a few more games.

Thanks.

When I get my 2 downs and 9 seconds back from the big ten, I will rewatch. Until then, I trust your analysis.

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KP16 played even better than I initially thought. Sure the INT from inside the 5 hurt, but several WRs dropped relatively easy throw AND the 1st INT was right off of Dillard's hands. I'm comfortable heading into 2014 with him as the incumbent.
I remember at the half, the thought crossed my mind to pull him. This game was indicative of his season IMO, he had a rough time going through any progressions. I'm not sure he threw one ball passed 5 yards (maybe one) the first half...first read. His good passes were timing plays down the sideline. He threw great timing passes to LT Smith (why did we not continue this throughout the season). Hopefully he works hard this offseason and knows the playbook inside and out. The more comfortable a QB becomes with the playbook, the more he knows where receivers will be, and he'll find the open one...even if it's not the first one he looks at. Wish the season started tomorrow...when is the last time a Zips fan wrote that in an offseason.

I often wonder if our W/L record would have been different than just one if we pulled this game off.

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Thanks.

When I get my 2 downs and 9 seconds back from the big ten, I will rewatch. Until then, I trust your analysis.

Thanks for the reminder to comment on the 3rd-to-last play and the way the officials called it.

After watching the TV replay, I believe the officials correctly spotted the ball about 1/2 yard behind the 1st down marker. LT's knee definitely hit at about the 2 and 1/2 yard line, with the ball at that moment being about 1/2 yard short of the first down.

But the 9 seconds lost (and the announcers were in agreement) was clearly a mistake. There should have been 24 seconds left with the Zips facing 3rd and 1/2 yard to go from the 1 1/2 yard line. It's debatable how much those 9 seconds meant given the situation. The Zips had 1 timeout left, the one they used after attempting the sweep on 3rd down. The only way those 9 seconds would have made a difference is if the running play had resulted in a 1st down (and not a touchdown), because aside from that scenario the Zips had 2 plays left regardless of whether they had 24 seconds or 15 seconds.

As a side note, it looked like Chisholm should have taken the run outside instead of cutting back like he did. His detractors will be quick to agree, but they'll also likely neglect how hard (and well) he ran for much of the game.

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I remember at the half, the thought crossed my mind to pull him. This game was indicative of his season IMO, he had a rough time going through any progressions. I'm not sure he threw one ball passed 5 yards (maybe one) the first half...first read. His good passes were timing plays down the sideline. He threw great timing passes to LT Smith (why did we not continue this throughout the season). Hopefully he works hard this offseason and knows the playbook inside and out. The more comfortable a QB becomes with the playbook, the more he knows where receivers will be, and he'll find the open one...even if it's not the first one he looks at. Wish the season started tomorrow...when is the last time a Zips fan wrote that in an offseason.

I often wonder if our W/L record would have been different than just one if we pulled this game off.

TB really had no option to pull him with NH15 hurt and not active for the game.

The W/L record is a good question. The Louisiana game comes to mind as one that might have gone the other way. I'm not sure about any of the others.

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Tree just sent me a tweet saying "I told ya so!"

Would you like to attempt to elaborate a little, instead of just calling post a joke? We turned the ball over on downs. Turning the ball over with 9 seconds left or 0 seconds left makes no difference. Oh wait, Michigan clearly would have fumbled the snap to kneel the ball and we would have ran it back for a TD.

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