<p>I don't even want to start about the game, but I'd like to read what everyone else thinks in the morning.</p>
<p>Everyone except Nebraska blew it. The refs and Michigan, specifically.</p>
<p>The excitement of the last play almost made up for Nebraska's 15 unanswered points and Michigan turning over the game.</p>
<p>I guess next year can only go up, eh?</p>
<p>Incredibly disappointing fourth quarter...every second of it...down to the last second...and then some...ugh</p>
<p>I was dying at the end. 8 laterals! I thought I was watching a rugby game. It could have been the best ending to a bowl game EVER. But we could play "what if" through the whole game. </p>
<p>The sad thing is, as a Michigan fan you get used to the crushing diappointment, the blown games, the grim bowl results.</p>
<p>There will be great gnashing of teeth and much throwing back the beers in Ann Arbor..........what a mess.</p>
<p>This is now the 4th game in which we've blown a lead?</p>
<p>1) Massey should have pitched it to Stevie Wonder</p>
<p>2) The refs and replay officials were TERRIBLE. BOOOOOOO. They really did cost us the game. They straight blew it. We should not have had to use our time outs like that. There were some awful no calls. BOOOOOOOO.</p>
<p>3) None of that should have mattered, we had the game and lost it. We should have been able to win despite the terrible officiating and replay managment. It's the teams fault as much as anyones.</p>
<p>I feel worse right now than I did when I was deffered...</p>
<p>It wasn't Massey, it was Ecker.</p>
<p>But hey, they deferred me, so its not like i'm cheering for them right now.</p>
<p>We were favored by 11.5 going into the game and ended up losing to a nebraska team who had one of the worst D-1 rushing attacks in the nation. what a huge disappointment considering we were ranked as high as #3 in the nation at one pt. I mean seriously, do I hear any fire Carr rumors getting louder? I think so. I mean c'mon w/a team that has so much talent and brings in one of the top recruiting classes in the nation year after year, Carr hasn't been able to make the most out of their skillz and talents. Well that just goes to show y we've lost to OSU 4 out of the past 5 yrs and have failed expectations yr after yr. Hopefully when I go to UMich nxt yr, things will be more rosy.</p>
<p>Tee hee. We won :)</p>
<p>Of course, this is from the perspective of a Nebraska fan, so I was pretty happy watching it. Admittedly, the officiating was pretty bad and Lloyd Carr should not have had to have wasted those timeouts - but it's a moot point now that the game is over. If Michigan had won, all of you would be arguing the same thing. It was worth arguing over during the game, but not after. There has been worse, too - such as Nebraska v. Missouri, when Missouri won on a mystery 5th down (how does nobody notice that?)</p>
<p>Nebraska does not have a bad rushing attack. They have not been using their rushing attack as they have been in the past. The O-line was largely recruited for rushing purposes, and Cory Ross is one heck of a running back, as he showed last night and last season.</p>
<p>The last play was incredible. If two more Nebraska defenders were negligent, Michigan would have scored a touchdown. </p>
<p>And what the ESPN announcers said with regard to the "'97 rematch" attitude - it wasn't worth it, this wasn't a rematch of any kind. I'm sure that many of you will agree (especially now that you've lost ;)) </p>
<p>All that said, we still know how UMich engineering measures up against Nebraska engineering :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
but it's a moot point now that the game is over. If Michigan had won, all of you would be arguing the same thing. It was worth arguing over during the game, but not after.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Here I disagree absolutely.</p>
<p>It's not worth discussing from the standpoint of changing the outcome, but I would hope that bowl, conference, and NCAA officials wouldn't have the attitude of "it's a moot point." If there are consistency problems in officiating, they should be addressed for future seasons and future bowl games. Games are a lot more enjoyable when the officiating is fair, and where there aren't extended delays in reviewing calls.</p>
<p>I don't just gripe when MI loses--I hate when they win a close one during a match where the officiating was questionable. I prefer to win fair and square, where no one says "yeah, but it that official hadn't missed that blah blah blah..."</p>
<p>One thing Carr's done well is run a pretty clean program. We've had few front-page embarrassments since he was coach. That counts for something, too (IMHO)--enough that I'll forgive some crappy seasons here and there.</p>
<p>Oh no, I meant just from the standpoint of changing the outcome. Sorry :)</p>
<p>Okay, I gotcha.</p>
<p>My dad was happy with the outcome. I told him not to wear his Nebraska gear around Ann Arbor today. Even if Michigan had won, they hadn't beat the spread, and everyone in my family who picked Michigan (even the Husker fans) needed them to beat the spread (my brother-in-law runs a big bowl pool). So some of us still would have been griping. LOL.</p>
<p>Sun belt officials should not be allowed to officiate games in which teams from REAL conferences play. The sun belt is a $hit conference that does not deserve any recognition. The officials of this game should be ordered to pay fines to both the ncaa and the University of Michigan for their incompetence. That said, Michigan did blow it. Blowing a 4th quarter lead 4 times during a season is inexcusable, especially against a mediocre nebraska team. We'll see what the alumni do now...</p>
<p>SMASH THE FANS AND PLAYERS WHO WERE ON THE FIELD. Didnt the band members from the stanford and cal game get smashed and one of them was seriously injured?</p>
<p>What i dont understand is how Michigan was really good last year (loosing to Texas by only a few points) and now they are finishing just a little bit above mediocre. Havent they gained another year in experience since then? Thats what confuses me. Also, the freshman running back from Michigan (I think his name is Grady or something), needs to put in a few moves into his running style. Last year, he was the top running back in the state of Michigan, but all i see him do in games is run between the tackles and get a few yards at best. I understand he is a freshman, but there are a lot of young backs all around the country who were less regarded and outperformed him in every aspect.</p>
<p>Very few true freshmen (if any) outperformed Grady. He will be special. His style isnt moving around- look at him hes like 5'8" 235, hes a bowling ball. I think a lack of senior leadership was the problem this year. Last year Bass, Braylon, and Marlin Jackson got everyone up. Hopeful Henne and other rising jrs/srs can fire the team up next year.</p>
<p>Big question for me is: Will Steve Breaston be back? He has a year of eligibility left, and if he returns, I hope he'll be put in the #1 jersey.</p>
<p>Give The Manninghammer #1, Breaston is a pretty good reciever and a great returner but Manningham will be a great receiver. Stevie B really had a lackluster year catching. I think he comes back to show that he can catch.</p>
<p>Breaston was injured most of the season, and Avant got most of the looks on passing plays. If we didn't have Breaston doing returns, this season would have been a complete disaster. He may not have put it in the endzone very often, but he set the offense up with great field position on a regular basis. Get him the ball and he's going to make plays.</p>
<p>Manningham and Breaston will have to be big parts of the team next year. Manningham will only be a sophomore. We saw it last night with the dropped pass that would have probably gone for a TD.</p>
<p>Put him in #1 and see what he can do. Manningham is certainly going to get his chance down the road.</p>