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The missing quarter- playing what if…the Wolverines and the Broncos

For the first time in Michigan Stadium history a game was ended early due to weather.

For those not in attendance, this might be surprising. But for those of us at the game who saw the lighting and experienced the storm which persisted well into the evening we understand that the right call was made.

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The decision was welcomed by the coaches, both to prevent injuries and as motivational fodder for their respective teams.

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M Football 2011-Broncos Busted In Storm Shortened Opener- M 34-Western Michigan 10

By Andy Andersen

Brady Hoke’s debut as the Head Football Coach of the Michigan Wolverines was twice interrupted by thunderstorms and heavy rains.  There were also some uncooperative Western Michigan Broncos when the game was on, at least  in the first half.

During the second lightening delay, the  threat of strong winds, hail, much lightening, and cloudbursts, extended the game delay until 7:30 PM.  Before that, the game was cancelled at 1:27 of the third quarter, at 7:10PM.  How about 137 degrees F on the field at the start of the game?

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A football game had never been cancelled previously in Wolverine history.  It was unbearably hot on the field, and stands, for most of the game, until the rains came.  The score at the time of cancellation was 34 to 10, and became the final.  There is no question that cancelation was the appropriate thing to do, for team and fans.

The Broncos were a tough nut to crack in the first half.  They led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.  It seemed that maybe Michigan’s defense was as inept as last year’s defense.  In the end that did not prove to be true.

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Brady Hoke – Last Stand of the Michigan Man?

I grew up with Saturdays being “days of holy obligation.” When I played football in high school I wore a Michigan t-shirt to counter the bad karma of our very Buckeye-looking uniforms. On a recruiting trip to Michigan I made my case for how Bo needed a 5′ 8″ linebacker with above average speed to play football for him. When I attended the University of Michigan I did my best to spread the Wolverine gospel to my classmates. I followed Moeller, initially scoffed at Lloyd’s appointment but happily celebrated in Pasadena as the Wolverines led by Charles Woodson won the National Championship (KMA coaches poll!!)

When Lloyd retired, I understood that the line of Michigan Men coaching the Wolverines was probably over and that the Michigan Football program was fundamentally changing.

I questioned whether I was fan of Michigan Football or Michigan Football as defined by Bo Schembechler.

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Three and Out: Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the Crucible of College Football

This book by noted author John U. Bacon promises to be the most complete and revealing account of the turbulent tenure of Rich Rodriguez as Michigan head football coach.
Weighing in at 448 pages, I expect an unflinching account of exactly what happened. Bacon had amazing access to Michigan administrators, coaches, and players. At the beginning of the project few could imagine how badly things would turn out.
Was the hire doomed from the start? Did Michigan insiders who disliked RichRod from the beginning undermine him? Did RichRod’s loyalty to his assistants doom the defense to failure? How much did RichRod’s inner circle contribute to his public relations gaffes?
I can’t wait to find out.
Available for pre-order now

Three and Out tells the story of how college football’s most influential coach took over the nation’s most successful program, only to produce three of the worst seasons in the histories of both Rich Rodriguez and the University of Michigan.  Shortly after his controversial move from West Virginia, where he had just taken his alma mater to the #1 ranking for the first time in school history, Coach Rich Rodriguez granted author and journalist John U. Bacon unrestricted access to Michigan’s program.  Bacon saw it all, from the meals and the meetings, to the practices and the games, to the sidelines and the locker rooms.  Nothing and no one was off limits.  John U. Bacon’s Three and Out is the definitive account of a football marriage seemingly made in heaven that broke up after just three years, and lifts the lid on the best and the worst of college football.

From the Back Cover

Sports fans invest great hopes and dreams into their teams. College football fans invest even more, I think, because of the stronger connection they feel with the school and the players. But I’ve never seen any fans ask more of their teams than Michigan football fans ask of theirs.
There are only two groups who are more devoted to the Wolverines, and demand more in return: the coaches and the players. They have the most to gain and the most to lose. They know the stakes. And they accept them—even embrace them. It’s why all of them, from Rich Rodriguez to Tate Forcier to Denard Robinson, came to Ann Arbor. Not to be average, or even good, but “the leaders and best.”
Anything less would not do.
This book attempts to explain how the coach and his team fell short—and what happened when they did.