Champions of the West

The other day I forgot to give my congratulations to USC for their victory over U of M in this year's Rose Bowl.

If you saw the game, well, you can understand why I was too upset to remember my manners.

Not, mind you, at the Men of Troy but at the listless and uninspired play of behalf of my alma mater. I took some ribbing for it but I had to walk out on the game at the half (Meaning I also missed out on Boise State's remarkable win.). Sure, the score was tied but I could see how the game was going and it was ugly. As a measure of just how effectively the Wolverines were defeated, Henne was sacked six times - five in the first half alone. As for the running game, the total yards gained on the ground at the end of the game was an impressive 12. Now, College football counts the yardage lost on sacks towards the rushing total for some reason probably having to do with the former popularity of the option style of play when quarterbacks were, indeed, their teams leading rushers. But Mike Hart, the running back that's the, well, heart of the team only managed to gain 47 yards. By far his lowest output of the season. So, couldn't pass, couldn't run, and it was only a matter of time before the defense broke in a big way. Since I saw that by the end of the first half I wasn't about to subject myself to another two quarters of watching my team go down in flames.

Which is a shame because it puts the lie to all the things they've managed to accomplish this year. But even an 11-2 record feels like a setback when those two losses come in the most important games. Coach Carr, whom I'm sure is going to take no end of heat about this game and much else, seems to be turning into Michigan's own John Cooper - simply unable to win the big game. Now, I've met the man and, personally, like him a great deal. And the lingering memories of that magical '97 season have earned him a lifetime pass from me. So you'll hear me speak little ill of the man. It's just unfortunate that the climate and culture being what it is that my team is locked into a conservative "play not to lose" mindset. It's not just UofM, of course, but the sort of experimenting and innovation that brought the team into prominence so very long ago are actively discouraged by the tradition they established. Sticking to the script and coming close is rewarded while failing spectacularly is punished. It's a recipe for mediocrity, not excellence. And while it's not quite as bad as I'm making out, it's still in evidence in the way Michigan couldn't or wouldn't change their game plan until far too late.

Now, any pretension to being a serious contender for the national tittle this year have been revealed as a figment of hopeful imaginations. I'm sure that won't stop the hype for next year - I've already heard that with everyone returning and the key games at Ann Arbor this year we have a legitimate shot at things - but, for me, until the team can actually beat top-tier opponents - and not just an overrated also-ran like Notre Dame - then I'm going to be cautious about handing them anything they haven't earned.

It does make me wonder, though, about what's going to happen to OSU in the title game. USC was, after all, only one bad game away from playing them. And they're a team taken to their limit - on their own field - by an evidently inferior Michigan team. Will Florida be able to test them, even surprise them the way Texas surprised the more highly regarded Trojans before them? Time, I suppose, will tell but contrary to what most would suspect, I'm actually rooting for the Buckeyes next Monday. The same way I was rooting on Iowa and Wisconsin earlier. Sure, I'd rather it was Michigan in that title game but it's not. So, when OSU or any other Big Ten team loses it diminishes the Wolverines somewhat, too. Another national title for the conference, though, just adds prestige and fuel to an already great rivalry.